Our state mourns the loss of Cold Spring police officer Tom Decker. I know that I cannot even begin to understand what his family and community must be feeling. We should honor his contribution with a memorial park or the naming of a public building in addition to a ceremony that fits the needs of his grieving loved ones. However, the gratuitous use of hundreds of police vehicles (with many empty seats, no less) to parade across the state was an unfortunate waste of public resources, especially during a time of serious budget constraints.

TAYLOR FAY, MINNEAPOLIS