Letters: ‘Minnesota’ is missing from the flag. Is this why?

Opportunity waves Our new state flag strikes me as the equivalent of a corporate logo I see however that Minnesota is missing from it That must be so that we can sell off the naming rights later Julia Bell St Paul Litany and a question We have gone from an billion state budget surplus to a long term billion deficit The federal executive is now inspecting Minnesota autism services providers for manageable Medicaid fraud The federal leadership is probing a practicable scheme to defraud the Minnesota Housing Stabilization Services Campaign The Twin Cities Light Rail Green and Blue Line extensions are well over budget Gov Walz a year congressional representative runs up thousand in legal fees to prepare for a Congressional hearing The Minnesota Department of Tuition provides million in grants for meals to children during the Covid epidemic with inadequate delivered When will state governing body provide the honest and cost effective programs and services Minnesota taxpayers deserve Richard M Ryan Woodbury How long will it take The July edition included a column headed Trump completely realizes that the Russian despot isn t reliable It says he made this startling discovery decades after practically everyone else How long will it take more Americans to recognize that a good share of Trump s signed executive orders will not serve greater part citizens well Mary DePrey Roseville Toward a more perfect union with emphasis on toward The July column by William Hine Perfection isn t what made America great is a refreshing and insightful reflection on the essence of the American political experiment Indeed perfection has not been attained but that was never the goal The goal was not for perfection it was for an approach to perfection a more perfect union The staggeringly unique contribution to world political history by the Framers in addition to recognizing the absolute sovereignty of the people was their creation of a constitution that institutionalized the process toward perfection Yes we have made every error a people can make toward itself and to others but we have learned a little something along the way as well This lesson has allowed us to get nearer to perfection For example would any Black person want to return to live in the America of Or would any Black person in want to live in the America of How about those living in would they want to return to the slave s life of Clearly during each -year period things got better sometimes not much better but nevertheless better No perfection on this trajectory by a long shot especially if you are the one enduring endless racist inhumanities The best in our nature condemns these failures and attends actively and hopefully to a better present and future With all our failures we can find special hope in the process In our rage we should never lose sight of this fundamental Endless expos s of social failure without reflecting on the unique prospective and opportunity that brought millions of immigrants to America deeply distort historical reality Alas any recognition of this foreseen has too often been vilified as one pejorative ism after another Though balance comes more nearly to the truth it is seen as caving to the isms It is common in modern decades for social commentators and historians remind us of past failures on the road to perfection But the reminding is often narrow and excessive By narrow I mean biased to the point of near blind prejudice Episode in point the Project that views the Declaration of Independence as pure hypocrisy and indeed all of America s history as nothing more than a consistently vile travesty against Black people The Project s neglect of the full context and its utter disregard of the process toward perfection is too distorted to be very constructive The healing of the matter would be enhanced and better balanced with less expression of fiery hate of our past and more acknowledgement and celebration of the process Louis Lavoie Plymouth Go for the gusto A latest letter writer made an intriguing proposal regarding the planned raising of the railings on the Mendota Bridge in which he suggested that bicyclists should walk their bikes across the nearly mile-long pedestrian bikeway rather than have the state raise the railings Cyclists have pointed out that MnDOT lowered the railing from inches to inches during the bridge s rehabilitation project This has prompted concerns among bikers that the lowered railing could post a hazard to both bicyclists and pedestrians The main concern seems to be that in the event of an accident or collision with another biker on the narrow pedestrian bikeway a cyclist could potentially be thrown over the bridge and into the river below during periods of heavy winds As it now stands next year MnDOT plans to raise the railings back to their previous height of inches at a cost of million I ve bicycled across that bridge hundreds of times over the years It s one of the the majority unpleasant sections of trail anywhere in the state The pedestrian bikeway is quite narrow and windy There have perpetually been concerns from cyclists that a mishap or collision could occur on the bridge Those concerns have only increased with the lowering of the railings The proposal that cyclists walk their bikes across the bridge thus saving the state million is an idea that has merit However I don t think it s practicable to pass a law to require cyclists to walk their bikes Bikers might be coaxed into walk their bikes on a voluntary basis I can envision a concession stand being set up on either end of the bridge The concession stands would rent life jackets to concerned cyclists That way if they go over the railing they ll be able to float down the river and be rescued Under this plan the state would save million and the concession stands would offer a few up and coming entrepreneur the opportunity to supply life vests to wary cyclists Hey it would also add a spirit of adventure when moving across the bridge a little tonic for tedium in our humdrum lives Why be tepid about life Go for the gusto and save the state chosen money M L Kluznik Mendota Heights An approach to fixing St Paul s rent-control problems The latest rent dispute on Ashland Avenue in St Paul could have been avoided along with greater part other St Paul tenant landlord problems in new years The landlord-abuse issue came to the forefront in when the Saint Paul Housing Justice Center collected enough signatures to have a referendum placed on that year s ballot It called for a cap on rent increases It would retroactively impact existing landlords large and small That vote and future City Council decisions were made by those either with conflicted interests both the tenants and landlords or by those purely not understanding the rental business The abuses tenants have experienced are large monthly rent increases without adequate early notice from predatory landlords This was usually done by larger out-of-town developers who initially offered new rental units inexpensively in order to expeditiously obtain occupancy and initiate cash flow Later large rental increases would follow without much notice given to the tenants St Paul now finds itself in yet another bad situation that rewards newer construction by not limiting those properties to any rental cap At the same time it penalizes owners of older properties by not allowing more than a rent increase One thing I learned early on was that the majority critical asset for a landlord was to keep good tenants The same holds true for tenants who have good landlords The open field creates this dichotomy A landlord will keep the rent as affordable as manageable for his best tenants So back to Ashland Avenue and fixing our rent control mess going forward The City should require through ordinance that landlords be required to offer an initial lease term to renters a minimum three-year lease The leases would have to reflect total rents for each following year This would require the landlord to plan for future expenses and be open and honest to his renters At the same time his tenants would be allowed to terminate their occupancy annually for any reason The lease term can also be extended annually by mutual consent All other lease terms would apply This approach will improve stability in the field and for tenants It will help as well with lenders and developers confidence That will then both increase new advancement and help stabilize the City s tax base John Mannillo Mendota Heights The writer a former landlord and developer is involved with the In ight St Paul group Gratitude for the way West Seventh Pharmacy did business On June our neighborhood announced goodbye to a trusted friend West Seventh Pharmacy After years of system to the people of St Paul it closed its doors for the final time For so multiple of us West Seventh Pharmacy was more than a place to pick up prescriptions It was a thread in our neighborhood s history and a constant in daily life During Jeff Johnson s years of ownership it became an especially familiar and deeply valued presence Jeff and his unit remembered your name sought about your family and made sure you had what you needed Their kindness and consistency made the pharmacy feel like home On behalf of Riverland Public Healthcare I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to Jeff and the entire West Seventh Pharmacy company Your commitment to this neighborhood has been extraordinary and your presence will be deeply missed In latest weeks specific public members have unveiled themselves navigating a gap in care We re grateful for the trust Jeff has shown in pointing several of his longtime customers our way That trust is not taken lightly and we ll do our best to honor it with care that feels like home as he did for so a great number of years David Thorson The writer is CEO and chief curative officer of Riverland District Wellness Garbage gaffe One of my neighbors particular renters put electronics waste next to their garbage containers I presume that they expected it to be picked up by regular trash collection After a month of not being picked up it then appeared in the alley next to the garage of another neighbor Rather than properly dispose of the electronics waste the original owner obviously chose an easier approach for the waste I notified my neighbor where the electronic waste originated from and then I published what happened in a very detailed manner on St Paul s concern case form and submitted it I realize that it s limited what the city can do Neither my neighbor nor I saw the renters transfer the electronics from their property to hers So I didn t expect the city to cite the renters for this I did presume that the city would remove the electronics and properly dispose of them though What happened instead After nothing happened for about two weeks I announced it again Then the city sent a letter to the victim telling them to remove the electronics promptly or she would be fined and also charged additional money for the city to clean it up Here s what it states on St Paul s Property Code Enforcement page If materials are illegally dumped in the society right-of-way the City s Community Works Department will remove the items If materials are left on the property including the boulevard or alley the owner must arrange pick up with their garbage hauler or remove the items and properly dispose of them That s right the victim the property owner is responsible for properly disposing of illegally dumped items in both the alley and the boulevard next to their property I contacted a St Paul code enforcement person to confirm this Yes this is correct After reading St Paul s property code enforcement rules on illegal dumping I was embarrassed for both the City of St Paul and myself For St Paul that they would further punish the victim of an illegal action For me because my actions that were meant to help my neighbor instead led to her being threatened by the city for a code violation I apologized to her that my actions hurt instead of helped her My question is what will the City of St Paul do to right their very inappropriate actions against a homeowner my neighbor She maintains her property to a very high standard and in other means is a good neighbor to have The residents of St Paul have endured a lot over the past limited years Although specific things have improved to a limited extent St Paul still seems to be part of the matter with the lingering negative issues present in the city We are especially discouraged when the city adds to our burdens Please don t do things that encourage yet more good residents to leave Correct and apologize for your mistakes This is definitely one of them Stop punishing innocent casualties and correct this injustice Dale Carlquist St Paul Inspiration Thank you Pioneer Press and especially Mary Divine the author of the obituary article about Wendi Ward the owner of Practical Goods in St Paul We live in trying times of so a multitude of wars a loss of care for the poor disdain for the immigrant and a disregard for our common home the Earth How inspiring to know that there are or have been people of Wendi s caliber living her truth committed to peace and also committed to our common home our planet May she rest in peace Pat Schober-Branigan St Paul More humor and humanity Although I often disagree with Joe Soucheray I do read his articles I very much enjoyed the article about his battles with the mulch mountain in his driveway I understand that he is going for a crank vibe but it gets tiresome especially when there is no balance I miss the days when Joe Soucheray s articles appeared alongside Ruben Rosario s humanity focused articles may he rest in peace I also miss Molly Guthrey s family focused Daily Juggle articles To restore a few balance to the Local Section I am respectfully requesting that the Pioneer Press add a weekly article alongside Joe Soucheray s articles that counters his testiness We would all benefit from more humor humanity and positivity Kelly Anderson St Paul Sainted I was standing in line in Siren to buy strawberries from a vendor When the ground is uneven I use a cane but that day I pulled my collapsible cart It would enable me to journey the berry pails over to my car while using the handle to steady myself While I was waiting my granddaughter drove past and saw me She informed her -year-old son Jackson that they should help me get the berries to my car We loaded them in the trunk and I collapsed the cart and returned it to the trunk Jackson looked up worry on his face GiGi you don t have a cane You can use my head for a cane He stood ramrod straight I put my hand on his head and we systematically walked from the back of the car to the driver s door He was certainly a SAINT that day Joyce Glover Grantsburg Related Articles Artist of Suni Lee sculpture in St Paul now stolen hopes it s returned to neighborhood Little Africa Festival Parade includes debut of deli territory gallery St Paul City Council extends state of urgency in cyberattack for days Midway Cub Foods staying open through August Festival of Nations to return to St Paul in with a new name