The Free Press
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Thumbs up
To the civic leaders who doggedly sought to get a military jet team to come to Mankato for an air show.
For years, a local group has gone to an annual air show hoping to persuade the sought after aerial teams to perform in Mankato. This week came news that the Navy’s Blue Angels will showcase a Mankato air show in 2012.
There will be an added bonus in that the F-18s will be able to land and take off at the Mankato airport because the runways were extended during upgrades a few years ago. In the past, military jets that performed in Mankato had to land in the Twin Cities.
Air shows have been some of the biggest events held in Mankato. The precision military teams draw wonder from even non-airplane enthusiasts. Those who persisted to get the Blue Angels here should be congratulated.
Dayton keeping pressure on Wisconsin
Thumbs up
To Gov. Mark Dayton, who has asked Minnesota’s Department of Revenue to come up with a letter demanding Wisconsin pay the $58.7 million it owes from an old tax-reciprocity agreement between the states.
We’re happy to know that Dayton, who promised an aggressive, no-nonsense approach to collecting funds due the state, is not letting this issue drop. Wisconsin hasn’t refused to pay the bill, but it has delayed the payment for its own reasons. And while we sympathize with our neighbor state’s cash-flow problems, we have our own to worry about. And fair is fair.
Failure to agree on a payment schedule caused former Gov. Tim Pawlenty to end the 41-year-old tax agreement between the states in 2009. And though Dayton risks pulling the scab off a wound with his aggressiveness over the Wisconsin money, he’s putting the state first. Here’s hoping that by putting Wisconsin on the spot, the message being sent is that Minnesota is serious about getting its due — better late than never.
Pawlenty’s polite critique of Palin
Thumbs up
To former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty for having the political courage to say he wouldn’t have done what Sarah Palin did in using a gunsight bulls-eye’s on an election map. The issue was raised as part of the discussion around the Arizona shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.
It may seem trivial and some cynics might say Pawlenty’s a political opportunist, but it takes no small amount of guts to say something that is going to be seen as critical and as challenging Palin’s media star status and her Republican Party rock star status.
Good for Pawlenty for speaking his mind. He did it in a perfectly Minnesota Nice kind of way. We believe him on what he said. He wouldn’t have used gunsights. He’s had his moments of ire as a governor for eight years but he does not generally have a vitriolic nature.
He’s a Minnesotan after all.
—Editorial board
Help during ‘cat crisis’ appreciated
Thumbs up
The Brown County Humane Society would like to thank everyone who opened their hearts and homes and adopted a homeless cat during our recent “cat crisis.” Because the public responded in such a huge way, we were able to reduce our cat population at the shelter from over 100 to under 30.
It is our philosophy that cats that spend time with us are living in better conditions than the conditions in which they had been living, and when they leave us, they are living in an even better environment with their new families. Of course, if the new living arrangement isn’t working, folks are allowed to return the animal.
Thank you also to our many volunteers who worked extra hours during the adoption program.
Our “cat crisis” was created by the abundance of cats in our area. The Brown County Humane Society urges pet owners to spay or neuter your pets so that unwanted cats (and dogs) are kept to a minimum.
Once again, thank you to everyone who adopted a cat, helped in the adoption program, or sent a contribution to help us. It is greatly appreciated.
Gerald Woodley,
co-chair
Brown County Humane Society
Board of Directors
