When it comes to home, local leaders have been stepping up. But there isn’t enough investment from the state back into our communities — and that’s a problem in the long run.
I was one of the 29-30 people who attended the May 10 Shakopee School District forum. I was totally shocked by the few people who attended. I have grandchildren in the schools and have always been interested in education.
Like many, I vote based on my values and my hopes for the future of our country. Right now, our electoral system (plurality voting) hinders the power behind our votes. It forces us to vote strategically instead of with our values. For example, third-party voting. Furthermore, this complicate…
What a disappointing week for those of us represented in the Minnesota House by Erik Mortensen.
The Shakopee public schools are desperately trying to pass a referendum. I believe the path forward is not to tell our citizens to forget about the past and to just get over it. The correct way forward is for the current school board to let our citizens know that they truly understand the de…
I would like to thank the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals at St. Francis Regional Medical Center for their care during my recent stay.
Why have we become a nation that wants to take sides on everything possible that happens in our world today? How can we honestly say that one person’s emotional, physical, or other pain is more to bear than the next person? As a nurse, helping and caring for patients, I cannot and will not j…
It's instructive that as I sat down to write about the problem of gun violence in the United States, three more reports of shootings with multiple casualties came across my computer screen. You literally cannot keep up with the number of mass shootings we have in this country every year. Eve…
April is national Volunteer Appreciation Month and I want to thank all the volunteers out there that make our communities stronger, safer and healthier for everyone. Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, volunteers are needed more than ever at nonprofits and we applaud all of you that are…
Every Scott County business with unreimbursed COVID related losses since March 1, 2020 should be livid.
Someone recently wrote we should stop bringing up Rod Thompson. He dug his own hole, I have no problem throwing dirt on the thief. We need to remember the school board tried to hide his crime by paying him off to go away. If it wasn't for this newspaper's reporters uncovering the truth, they…
I wish to thank the city public services people. They have done an excellent job this winter, clearing our streets. Perhaps something that a lot of people are not aware of is the job they do on walkways. My wife and I walk our dog every day, usually using the walkways of Vierling Avenue. Yes…
Civility is in peril. Sunday morning we were enjoying a nice long walk and it was peaceful and quiet. We approached an unmarked intersection where a man with his two dogs were standing, waiting to cross. Another man in his car had stopped well short of the intersection to allow them to cross…
I need to respond to two letters in the March 13 Shakopee Valley News. The first involves continued misinformation about the 2020 election. I could not believe President Biden would openly state that he approved of election fraud. It took me more time to type in the the quote listed than for…
Minnesota Valley Electric Cooperative (MVEC) members were mailed a packet for MVEC’s Annual Meeting. Included was a bylaw question. One of the proposed bylaw changes removes director term limits.
Shakopee’s administration and school board members are surprised that class sizes were increasing for the 2021-22 school year. What did they think was going to happen? They are surprised that enrollment is down, small kindergarten class. It’s only going to get worse. More students are going …
Sincere thanks to all the wonderful volunteers who arranged and assisted over a thousand Scott County residents to receive the Moderna COVID vaccinations on Wednesday, March 3. Joan, the nurse who gave me my vaccination, was so good that I didn't even feel the needle going in.
I find myself wondering what Rep. Erik Mortensen is thinking with his choice to host his upcoming “Liberty Chat and Listening Session” as a hike at Murphy-Hanrehan Park in Savage.
I was sad to see the comments from a person who stated so much misinformation in the Feb. 20 opinions.
Hundreds of thousands of Americans participated in the 2017 presidential inauguration festivities. Not all of them were cheering on the new president. Black clad antifascist protesters smashed storefronts and caused other damage. Some police officers were injured and over 200 protesters were…
Following the stunning insurrection at the nation's Capitol, the phrase "this is not who we are" was offered by some, to soothe and help begin a process of healing.
Upon reading the article in the Jan. 30, 2021 edition of the Shakopee Valley News regarding River Valley Festival dissolving I became a little upset about the funds that were in the festival account being distributed to another city way outside of the Shakopee area.
What happened to the America that I grew up in? An America that welcomed immigrants and embraced those looking for a better life in the greatest country on Earth. An America where people were considered innocent until proven guilty. An America where the news media reported the facts and the …
The events of this past week have caused five people to lose their lives, leave our country with a major black eye, and completely undermined the process of governance that has existed for almost 250 years. The reaction has left people with shock and anger with knee jerk reactions across the…
At first blush you may be merely frustrated that 52.5% of Shakopee voted for a progressive candidate but because of the vote-splitting spoiler effect, Republican Erik Mortenson will represent our community in St. Paul.
I am a local small business owner who is one of many who have been negatively affected by the shut downs and “pauses” put into place by Gov. Tim Walz. While I believe that COVID-19 is real and we all need to contribute to eradicating the virus and being successful members of our community, I…
I am writing in response to your piece about Mr. Mortensen.
As of this writing, the U.S. death toll from COVID-19 is 267,596. The hospitals are strained to accommodate patients. Some have even stopped taking new patients and referring them to other facilities. Doctors, nurses, and other health care workers are stressed as never before in recent times…
After reading Gary Shelton's editorial, I think he needs to turn off his TV news and put down his paper. Maybe he could cheer himself up by looking at his 401K balance. He believes, among other things (according to his editorial last week) that President Trump is vain, dishonest, vulgar and …
We need Eric Mortensen to help solve COVID-19-related problems facing our community, not host potential super spreader events. Please do something useful to address the increasing behavioral health crises. For example, every county in the state has a mental health crisis team. This emergency…
This is in response to the Nov. 14 letter to the editor by Josh Ondich, who wondered if we would ever know who won the presidential election. The answer is yes, we know who won.
We love Shakopee. In these challenging times, we must make our community whole by supporting the small businesses who continually give back. Local restaurants, retail stores and service businesses need our citizens’ help more than ever. Buying local means you support parents, friends and nei…
I agree with Brett Martin’s letter of support for Shakopee teachers.
I'm both humbled and honored with the confidence the Shakopee voters entrust in me.
I have always promoted third-party voting as a way to highlight your issue to major party candidates for whom you would have to hold your nose or cross your fingers to support. My preference though would be to pass ranked-choice voting where a voter could support a candidate or party that em…
The events of the presidential election during the past weeks with legal challenges, recounts and ongoing absentee ballots being accepted after Election Day in multiple states.
During the last election cycle, I wrote a letter of support for Brad Tabke for the seat he currently occupies, the House 55A seat. Part of that letter said: "Brad is ... reaching deep to understand what our community wants from their state representative, and he's willing to work to find com…
I am certain that Rep. Brad Tabke is a great dad, a wonderful husband, and a supportive friend.
I am a ‘94 graduate of Shakopee, a mother of an alum, and a mother of four future graduates, whom I open enroll because I believe in Shakopee schools. Sweeney Elementary, West Middle School and Shakopee High are integral parts of my children’s lives. I have also been fortunate enough to work…
On Nov. 3, voters in Shakopee School District will decide what the future of our schools will look like. When I began on the board in 2018, fiscal responsibility was my main focus. I believe that the operating levy our board unanimously approved is a balanced approach. It takes the concerns …
I read Peggy Gleason's wonderful letter in the Oct. 10 paper and had to agree with all she said. You are either pro life or pro death. I love how Planned Parenthood tries to sell their business as women's "health care." Just go there and try to get a chest X-ray or annual check up and see ho…
As many of you may have heard, Shakopee has been chosen as one of the 50 best cities in the United States by Money Magazine. Shakopee was 30th out of 50 cities and I believe this shows the city is moving in the right direction.
Local government should be a democratic process where different ideas should be considered. In my opinion people in Shakopee are not getting this process anymore. Let me explain.
The city of Shakopee, like other municipalities across the state, has had a commission in place for decades to oversee its electric and water utilities operations. The Shakopee Public Utilities Commission has existed for nearly 70 years.
The day after the presidential debate, I asked my students their thoughts. One student said that he was curious about how a presidential debate should go, then explained to his class how he looked up the 2008 McCain/Obama debate. He said, “I learned about the process and more importantly how…
Recently current and former Shakopee Public Utility Commissioners and employees have banded together in a bid to preserve the current SPUC form of governance. As part of that effort, they have tried to paint the actions of the City as a “power grab,” a financial coup, a “political” action, o…
Recently the Shakopee City Council decided to place on the ballot the issue of eliminating Shakopee Public Utilities as an independent entity that provides electricity and water to the residents of Shakopee. This action was taken in spite of the fact that:
The driving habits of so many people these days makes one wonder how these individuals manage to keep a driver’s license.
