Prior Lake Opinion

Hold on to your wallet. According to Prior Lake Mayor Kirt Briggs, Prior Lake homeowners could get stuck with upwards of $25 million if a recent state Supreme Court decision stands and this upcoming legislative session takes no action on bills authored by Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, and S…

“Growing old is not for sissies”: That headline appears on a T-shirt I wear for workouts at the YMCA. I’m not sure when old age begins, but there are ample reminders when you get there, like regular brochures from the Cremation Society describing how memorable they can make your final departure.

I spotted this headline in the Sunday, Jan. 19, Sunday Star Tribune: “Vadnais Heights’ development tactic: Ask the neighbors.”

An article in the Dec. 21 edition of the Prior Lake American reported that Rick Olson, a self-declared Republican candidate for U.S. Representative for the state’s 2nd Congressional District, agreed with current representative, Democrat Angie Craig, that President Donald Trump should be impe…

Mention gaslighting, and it brings to mind a type of domestic illumination developed and made popular in the 19th century. Today it’s acquired another meaning when applied to politics and politicians. Curious, I decided to look it up and found this definition in the Oxford English Dictionary…

In 1951, my parents and I returned to the Twin Cities from Philadelphia. Dad’s company transferred him there in ‘48, and although I’d been back to visit my grandparents many times, Minnesota was home, and I was glad to be back.

The front page of the Nov. 30 American carried two juxtaposed headlines, one on homelessness in the southwest suburbs, the other announcing the Jeffers Pond senior housing project and its $400,000, 1,900-square-foot condominiums. Ironic, I thought, the haves and the have-nots brought togethe…

The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community welcomed all of us to CommUNITY Day on Nov. 16. Their magnificent cultural center, Hocokata Ti, was the scene for this special event. The focus of the day was on celebrating community connections and strengthening ties and relationships.

Media stories have highlighted the fact that many college students are graduating with debts that equal or exceed their first year’s income. With a reported 45 million Americans with college debt, mostly of voting age, it’s sad but predictable that some candidates for the Democratic nominati…

All my dad wanted in a new car was a heater and a radio, and, after World War II, that’s exactly what he brought home in a brand new 1947 Nash.

An Oct. 4 story in the Prior Lake American (“’Not where we want to be’”) reported what Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools leaders failed to publicly report earlier, that student Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments grades continue to decline.

With the presidential election a year away and health care a top issue, presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have offered single-payer proposals that draw hosannas from the political left, ambivalence from the center and cries of horror and socialism from defenders of …

Mark Twain purportedly said history rhymes. But who cares? That question came to mind when I read “The Decline of Historical Thinking,” an article in the Feb. 4, 2019, issue of The New Yorker.

We are so fortunate to live in the United States, Minnesota and the Scott County/Prior Lake community. But what makes this a community?

Did you vote with your dollars this week in beautiful Prior Lake? Which restaurant, auto repair shop, clothing store, dentist or hair salon did you enthusiastically support?

It was 1948 when I got my start. An older brother delivered the Antigo Daily Journal six days a week to about 100 homes in our hometown of Antigo, Wisconsin. When he moved on to something bigger and better, I took over the route.

The other morning, I was thinking about Kurt Vonnegut’s novel “Slaughterhouse-Five” and its main character, Billy Pilgrim, who occasionally drifts off to visit Tralfamadore — another world whose inhabitants can see in four dimensions and see all of time.

Prior Lake is a growing and thriving community. We are passionate about our lakes, parks and natural resources. We appreciate our schools, the neighborhoods we have created and the commercial districts where we come together for shopping, shared meals and meeting friends.

“The muffled tongue of Big Ben toiled nine by the clock as the cortege left the palace, but on history’s clock it was sunset and the sun of the old world was setting in a dying blaze of splendor never to be seen again.” —Barbara W. Tuchman, “The Guns of August.”

It was 9 a.m. Saturday morning as we watched two wranglers with helpers load our gear and supplies onto four mules, 150 pounds on each for our trek into the Bridger Mountain Wilderness of Wyoming. Son Steve’s plans for the trip included a granddaughter and grandson, plus three friends with c…

Saturday, Sept. 14, is the second anniversary of the Pleasant Street Art Walk. This year there will be over 45 local artists and exhibitors, some from the neighborhood, along with food trucks and music. The city plans to close Pleasant Street from Main Avenue to the Ballard-Sunder funeral ho…

Last week I witnessed two businesses demonstrating great customer service from two very different points of view and by two very different methods.

It is exciting to visit the new cultural center, Hocokata Ti, developed and presented by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community. We have all watched the construction of this magnificent building with its imposing size, shape, and beauty — and with the glorious white tepees near by.

The torches and pitchforks came out at the July 15 Prior Lake City Council meeting. Unfortunately, I wasn’t there, but I read about it in the July 20 American. It seems a developer wants to build 100 homes with lake access on 65 acres of land on the west side of Spring Lake. The developer ma…

Our City Council, citing the lack of proven impact in our community and lack of a guaranteed payout, voted no to filing claims against drug companies that manufacture opioids. It was the right decision. Another reason is that class-action type lawsuits generally never hold individuals accoun…

Two words, Caligula and orgy, came to mind when I saw the photos and the TV and newspaper accounts of the July 4 party at “Cruisers Cover” on the shores of Big Island on Lake Minnetonka. As Star Tribune columnist Jennifer Brooks reported, not only did attendees leave behind piles of trash fo…

There are steam locomotives, and then there’s “Big Boy.” At 604 tons and 132 feet long and with a 4-8-8-4-wheel arrangement, it is the largest, most powerful steam locomotive in the world.

Nexus, Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools’ controversial consultant, has now been paid over $20 million since initial hiring — not a bad gig for a company that didn’t exist until hired by the district, but not good for taxpayers who foot the bill.

At this time of the year around the Fourth of July, we Americans rally around the flag and appropriately take pride in our country and patriotism. The United States is a great country. Every time I return home from my frequent travels, I marvel at just how lucky we are to live where we do.

About a week ago, as we do on most summer evenings, my wife, Marcia, and I were out on our front porch discussing the issues of the day, the fate of the world and the failings of the younger generation. Retired septuagenarians do that sort of thing.

Scott County is one of the best places to live in Minnesota.

Promontory Point is a desolate spot on the high desert above the Great Salt Lake roughly 60 miles north and west of Salt Lake City. It’s no vacation Mecca, just rock, sand and sagebrush, but on May 10, thousands showed up for a special celebration.

These are challenging times. Our southern border is being overrun by thousands of undocumented, illegal immigrants. Iran and North Korea continue to pose potential nuclear threats. Our nation is adrift, floating toward socialism, abandoning the foundation upon which America was built. These …

Go to Rapid City, South Dakota, and you’ll find the face of President Theodore Roosevelt chiseled on Mount Rushmore. T.R., as he was affectionately known, succeeded William McKinley when the latter ran afoul of an assassin in September 1901. Roosevelt was the 26th President and today ranks h…

Climate change didn’t begin with the smoke and soot of industrialization. It’s been a constant component of our planetary history. It was here before we evolved and will be here long after we move elsewhere in space and time — assuming we don’t destroy the planet and ourselves before we vaca…

A whole new field in the study of economics has developed in recent years, that of behavioral economics. This involves how our unconscious biases affect our economic decisions and result in choices that are not optimal. For example, most people avoid losses more than they seek gains, even if…

When people think about the relationship between science and faith, the question that often comes to mind is: So which is right? Faith or science?

Our second president, John Adams, wrote, “Remember Democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes exhausts and murders itself.”

I saw them pull it down that summer of 1962. I’d just finished high school and had a job downtown earning extra money for college in the fall. I took the bus from Bloomington, and every day, morning and evening, I’d go by the corner of Second Avenue and Third Street in Minneapolis and watch …

This is the week when state legislators returned to St. Paul and began the grinding process of going through the legislative proposals of our two political parties — DFL and Republican — to see about areas of agreement.

The term climate change is an impersonal, ambiguous one with negative impacts to “humanity” around the world. But on a recent trip to Tanzania in Africa, I met some of the innocents who will be most affected by the increased droughts caused by the changes in climate resulting from increased …

A couple of years ago I asked a Metropolitan Council planner if the council had ever taken a critical look at the costs and benefits of suburban growth. I was underwhelmed with the response in the negative. Nor, to the best of my knowledge, has the state, or a county, or local government in …

While national politics seem to dominate the news cycle in most venues, I want to talk today about our state government and the work that is going on right now in St. Paul.

In his recent column, John Diers provided background about the $25 million burden that may hit taxpayers in Prior Lake. A decision by the Minnesota Supreme Court brought this issue to a head.

Twenty-five million dollars is a lot of money. It could end up on the public tab if developers are allowed to fatten their profits and unload the costs of their projects on Prior Lake property taxpayers.