The Cathedral of St. Paul is seen through wildfire smoke and rain from across the Mississippi River on June 3 in St. Paul. Smoke from fires burning in Canada had made Minnesota's air quality some of the worst in the world. (Leila Navidi/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes a mix of guest commentaries online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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Rochelle Olson, the well-sourced author of Cheers & Jeers, is off for a few weeks. Other members of the Minnesota Star Tribune Editorial Board have stepped in to keep the feature going during her absence.

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Cheers to state and federal agencies for important work that allows consumers to monitor air quality in real-time. During a week in which wildfire smoke from Canada blanketed much of Minnesota, the monitoring provided by the agencies has been crucial. Airborne fine particles can cause shortness of breath, fatigue, wheezing, coughing and chest pain. These pollutants can also exacerbate existing conditions such as cardiovascular disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ground-level ozone can have similar impacts. People can mitigate the harm by staying in the know and responding accordingly, such as by adjusting activity, running the air conditioner instead of keeping windows open, and using an air filter or mask. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Now app gives consumers air quality ratings tailored to their location. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has also daily reports and forecasts at tinyurl.com/PCAAirQualityForecast. Minnesotans also can sign up for air quality alerts by email.

Jeers to U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber and his Republican colleagues for including a sweetheart deal for a Chilean mining conglomerate in the recently passed budget reconciliation legislation, aka the “Big Beautiful Bill.” The Chilean firm, Antofagasta, aims to open a copper-nickel mine on the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness’ doorstep and within its watershed. This risky type of mining is new to Minnesota and has an abysmal environmental track record worldwide. The Stauber-led measure would undo protections for the BWCAW watershed put in place by the Biden administration. It also would provide other highly favorable terms to assist Antofagasta in opening the Twin Metals mine near Ely. The U.S. Senate will next take up the reconciliation bill. Hopefully, cooler heads there will take the long view: protecting the BWCAW for future generations to enjoy.

Cheers to the traveling exhibit “Inclusion,” by the Minnesota Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, that’s on display at the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm, Minn. At a time when online trolls are backsliding on the use of the “r-word,” we must confront cultural callousness about people who are different. This exhibit chronicles more than 100 years of history about people with developmental disabilities, highlighting the policies and progress that have improved lives. It will be at the museum in Chisholm through the end of June.

Jeers to Luzy Ostreicher, developer of the proposed Incline Village housing and retail project atop the central hillside of Duluth. Also, to the city that failed to properly vet this $500 million project that aims to populate some of the Zenith City’s most attractive real estate. After ground was broken last December, little work has been done. Now the city is having a hard time getting information as another Ostreicher project declares bankruptcy. The project has 45 days to get right or it will be called off. Developers are important, but no project of this size should start this badly. The world may need less cynicism, but the people who vet public projects like these could use a little more.

Cheers to CNN for its Saturday night broadcast of “Good Night, and Good Luck,” the stage version of the outstanding 2005 film chronicling journalist Edward R. Murrow’s unflinching reporting on Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. George Clooney, who wrote, directed and played CBS executive Fred Friendly on-screen, performs as Murrow in the play that just broke its own weekly revenue record, perhaps because it’s touched a nerve about the necessity of the press to respond resolutely to government bullying — the kind CBS itself faces from the Trump administration regarding “60 Minutes.”

Jeers to House Majority Whip Tom Emmer for singling out a teenager who qualified with her team for the state girls’ softball tournament. We already know where Emmer stands on trans kids and just about every other issue; he’s squarely with President Donald Trump, whose administration is trying to ostracize, erase and eliminate the trans community. The issue of transgender high school students playing sports is currently being litigated in federal court by adults, which Emmer, a lawyer, surely knows. The 64-year-old grandfather had no reason to pile on beyond a desire to intimidate. Is this why Emmer went into public service? To use his power to punch down and hurt kids? Note that Emmer chose his words for maximum effect, referring to the teen as a “man,” as if high school kids are ever referred to as anything other than boys and girls.

Cheers to those who risked or lost their lives in the D-Day invasion — or for that matter, in any theater during World War II, in any matter conducive to the war effort. June 6 marks the 81st anniversary of the invasion, in which nearly 160,000 Allied troops, including 73,000 Americans, participated directly, and millions indirectly. Few survive today. Even as their living example slips fully into history, their efforts — and their reasons — must be remembered.

Jeers to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for ordering the removal of gay rights icon Harvey Milk’s name from a Navy ship and for considering similar erasures for other civil rights figures. According to Military.com, which first reported the story, a naval official confirmed that the timing — during Pride month — was intentional, and was intended in part to align with the objective of “re-establishing the warrior culture.” Milk, according to the same website, came from such a culture; his family had a long history of naval service, and Harvey himself was a diving officer on a submarine rescue ship during the Korean War. Obviously, which person gets their name on a place or thing has become trans-ideologically sensitive. History is a lot to bear. Hegseth now has a place among the Minnesotans who’ve made a mark on federal governance. The ones held in esteem didn’t build their legacies by backsliding.