One of the Legislature’s most important responsibilities is ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and that state government is accountable to the people it serves. That responsibility does not end when a bill is signed into law. It requires ongoing oversight, transparency and a willingness to ask difficult questions when government programs are not meeting expectations.
Most older people are independent, but later in life, especially in their 80s and 90s, you or someone you know may begin to need help with everyday activities like shopping, cooking, walking or bathing. For many people, long-term care may mean a little help from family and friends or regular visits by a home health aide. For others who are frail or suffering from dementia, long-term care may involve moving to a place where professional care is available 24 hours a day.
"… we do what we know but we don't know what we're doing" was uttered by Prince Petar Petrovic Njegoš to the Montenegrin people, according to the minister of agriculture I was working with on a USAID dairy project right after we bombed several parts of Montenegro during the Kosovo conflict — that's another story. Njegoš was known for his wisdom and studied thought. I use the term "king" to describe rulers who inherited or assumed their power to rule over their subjects. To judge the legacy of a king, look at what he "knows" and how that affects what he does.
From July 17-19, the Kenyon Country Club will mark its 100th anniversary with a three-day celebration of golf and community events for the Kenyon area.
Hello friends, it’s been a long time since I’ve written. In each month when my column deadline came close, and actually on and off throughout the entire month, I would work with a number of ideas. Many times I’d jot down notes and spend time at the computer. Nothing would hang together. I have written monthly and for four years twice-a-month columns for the Owatonna People’s Press on and off since 1983. Recently I’ve asked myself repeatedly if it’s time to retire from writing columns as a volunteer. I still don’t have an answer for that.
The 2028 presidential election is still more than two years away, but the next major tax debate may already be taking shape: how much of America’s wealth should be taxed before it is ever sold? For decades, long-term capital gains have received favorable treatment under the federal tax code. Sell a stock, business, piece of land, or investment property after holding it for more than a year, and the gain is generally taxed at a lower rate than ordinary income.
While driving on bush roads in the Sahel region of Senegal, West Africa, in 2022, I came upon a rectangle delineated by half-buried tires. It took me a second to recognize it as a soccer field. A few weeks later, in a densely populated neighborhood in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, I witnessed a few cement bricks being placed strategically on a city street to divert traffic, also in rectangular formation. The area was filling with seas of red and yellow (Spain) and blue and white (Argentina, Messi) jerseys. Shoes were sparse. The youth were getting ready for their afternoon game.
Whether it be businesses on Main Street or residential property, the number of places with “blight issues” in the city of Onamia has grown over the past few years and those eye-sores have been constant agenda items during most every monthly Onamia City Council meeting, including the one in July. At that meeting, three Onamia citizens were given an allotted time to air their blight-issue grievances.
