Star News

Though it’s not always popular to say, all of Minnesota’s (or any other state’s) early childhood programs are not equally effective. Telling that controversial truth, and helping guide families to the most effective programs, recently helped Minnesota win $45 million from the U.S. Department of Education. Finally, we’re saying what makes sense: early childhood programs, [...]

My extended family has held football season tickets for many years, and we’ve always had a tradition of swapping tickets with family and friends. I’m worried that a new trend toward restrictive tickets will make it either more difficult or just impossible to have such an exchange. It seems counterintuitive to pay a ‘convenience fee’ [...]

According to new reports, pull tabs could generate $72 million for a Vikings stadium. DFL Rep. Terry Morrow is part of the legislative stadium working group and has tentatively endorsed pull tabs to provide $340 million toward the state’s share of stadium funds. Is Morrow asking Vikings fans or gamblers to pay for a new [...]

We would like to sincerely thank the residents of Elk River and surrounding communities for their support, thoughts and prayers and generous donations given during the Sweets for the Sweeties fundraiser in honor of our twins, Kennedy and Khloe, born prematurely on Aug. 21, 2011.  We are so happy to finally have both girls at [...]

Hopefully the more information out here about things like this … the more people will make choices that really serve the greater good. Although I’m afraid it doesn’t always work that way … it’s still important to put out the information. Good letter on ALEC. Thanks. — Jon Frasz, Facebook (Editor’s note: Frasz posted this [...]

Something’s happening here, but what it is ain’t exactly clear to most Minnesotans. Have you ever heard of ALEC? Probably not, they don’t advertise what they’re up to. But member Reps. Mary Kiffmeyer and Sondra Erickson certainly know. ALEC stands for American Legislative Exchange Council and is almost entirely funded by some of the largest [...]

It’s time for us to stop putting the oil companies in charge of protecting our natural environment. They’re not doing a very good job. They are telling us that this new pipeline will be good for us because it will make jobs. They forget to tell us that sometimes these things spill and cause messes [...]

A survey of area school superintendents revealed that all educational opportunities for each Minnesota student are not equal. Joe Nathan, director of the Center for School Change at Macalester College and an education columnist for ECM Publishers and Sun Newspapers, contacted superintendents to see what their priorities were for this new legislative session. While top [...]

The same District 728 Community Education staff who stepped up into new roles after $300,000 was cut from the department’s budget two years ago deserves to have the Elk River Area School District step up for them now. The $117,000 price tag may seem costly, but that’s only because the district admittedly dragged its feet [...]

It really was a pure golf shot, arcing high into the late May, crystal clear blue sky. The problem was, it headed toward the third green rather than the 12th, the hole I was actually playing. Walking up to the green to apologize to the group in front of us, I let out an audible [...]