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Cheers to the politicians in summer parades, a senator’s recovery and the bittersweet easing back to normalcy. Sen. John Hoffman recently shared a photo of himself smiling, standing, roller bag at his side as he checked out of intensive care. Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, survived multiple gunshot wounds by the same accused attacker who killed former Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home June 14. Hoffman has more surgeries ahead, but his transfer is a sign of hope as are the waving politicians from Hermantown to St. Paul in summer holiday parades, a routine activity that somehow felt like a bygone era just three weeks ago.
Jeers to recreational drownings, including the recent death of Minnesota State Trooper Mollie McClure, a Jackson native, in South Dakota and Hari Kiran Gowd Senagana, a 25-year-old from Kansas, who died while swimming in Tettegouche State Park. May their tragic deaths serve as a reminder to stay well within our abilities when dipping into natural waters and not take chances no matter how slight they seem. Many public pools and beaches are staffed with trained lifeguards on the lookout for struggling swimmers. Out in the wild, even the most experienced swimmers can encounter unforeseen challenges with temperatures and currents, finding themselves overwhelmed. Let their unfortunate deaths serve as another warning to exercise more caution than may seem necessary, especially in unfamiliar waters.
Cheers to Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher for publicly advocating for additional security at the Capitol and asking important questions about when and how legislators were notified June 14 about an attacker with a hit list who was impersonating a police officer. Fletcher has yet to get answers to his questions so we hope he keeps pushing. Also to be applauded is Fletcher’s call for magnetometers at the Capitol and his opposition to encrypted police communications. If police communications had been broadcast in plain language, legislators and the public would have had a better understanding in real time of the ongoing threat from the killer. This is not the time for public safety officials to conduct private meetings about ongoing security concerns. This needs to be an open, public conversation.
Jeers to the University of Minnesota for giving sweet deals to the football coach while escalating tuition for students and facing a deficit. The Board of Regents agreed to an extension for Coach P.J. Fleck, keeping his annual salary at $6 million while increasing his retention bonuses by $2.3 million. Athletic Director Mark Coyle said the coach “has added significant value to the university, its student athletes and all of Minnesota.” That’s highly subjective of course. The Gopher football team went 8-5 last year, which isn’t bad. But doling out $2.3 million in retention reward! Come on! All that money lining the pockets of the coach while students just saw the U hike tuition and cut academic programs. At least Regent James Farnsworth had the courage to call out the pay to Myron Frans, saying, “I think it’s understandable for a board member such as myself, who has a fiduciary duty, and the public to go: ‘Hey, what’s going on here?’” If only more overseers were pressing that question.
Cheers to former U.S. Sen. Al Franken, who continues to make us smile, laugh and think. Franken recently mused on social media about selling NFTs of his likeness. He posted an jacked-up illustration of himself in a skintight muscle shirt standing in front of Mount Rushmore with fireworks exploding in the background, a bald eagle in the foreground, his right hand hoisting an American flag and a copy of U.S. Constitution in his left. One of Franken’s comedian friends, none other than Steve Martin, responded that the former senator should consider selling cologne, “Frankenscents?” Martin queried. The current president does it so why shouldn’t Franken get in on the profiteering?
Jeers to the $430,000 needed to prep Gov. Tim Walz for an appearance before a U.S. House committee. This charade says plenty about the state of our politics. Walz said in an interview Thursday that he needed the legal prep because the sworn testimony was a transparent gotcha attempt to ensnare him and the governors of New York and Illinois into perjury. Republicans now want to score political points by claiming the governor wasted money on “public relations” prep after they demanded he appear before the Republican-run House Committee for a public flogging that wasn’t at all about workable solutions on immigration. The Republicans, including three from Minnesota, need to take responsibility for their role in this circus. Will there ever come a day when House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and U.S. Reps. Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber make an effort to treat the lawfully elected governor with the dignity that he — and the majority of voters who elected him — deserve?
