South metro letters to the editor

Last update: October 13, 2009 - 4:48 PM

Yes, gaming money

I read with great interest the comment of John McCarthy of the Minnesota Gaming Association where he said he didn't think gaming could contribute $50 million to Vikings stadium construction per year ("Will slots help Vikings get new stadium?" Oct. 6 Star Tribune). Who in the world does he think he is fooling? Have you driven by Mystic Lake any day, any night, at any time and seen the parking lots? I feel quite confident that gaming at Canterbury could raise the $50 million needed for the Vikings. And, after the stadium was paid for, we could use that revenue for the state. It's just about time some of the gaming money was put to special projects, i.e., Vikings stadium and the state coffers. But, alas, this has been tried before and the legislators who have their hands so deep into the present casino management's pockets don't want it. Too bad, we have the Mall of America, Canterbury Park, the Twins, etc., etc., etc., all of which bring in visitors by the gillions, and the people of Minnesota don't make a dime on their entertainment revenue. It just doesn't make any sense.

ROSEMARY HALSTROM

PRIOR LAKE

Who's behind PAC?

Since Gov. Tim Pawlenty has signed up a crack advisory team in his PAC of William Strong of Morgan Stanley (10.7 billion in TARP funds), Phil Muser (architect behind the Swift Boaters), Sarah Taylor (who helped Karl Rove illegally fire U.S. attorneys), Vin Weber (a lobbyist) and other corporate fat cats, we now know two things:

1. He will be going negative from the start.

2. WCCO can no longer give him free air time to campaign.

DEAN WOLD

EAGAN

Trashing our parks

I am a fifth-grader at Glacier Hills Elementary School of Arts and Science in Eagan. On Sept. 19, my mom and I played Frisbee golf at Northview Park in Eagan. We've gone there lots to play Frisbee golf and we're always disgusted by how much garbage we see on the course. I suggested to my mom that we bring garbage bags with us to the course to collect garbage while we played. We only brought two bags and boy, did we need more! In the two bags, we collected 22 aluminum cans, 28 plastic beverage bottles and a bunch of garbage. We took the cans and bottles back home to recycle them.

I suggest that the city of Eagan put trash cans and recycling bins at every few holes. Maybe then people will put their garbage and recycling in the right place, which will not only make the park more beautiful, it will also help the Earth.

JACLYN LEWINE

EAGAN

'Don't get sick'

At his town meeting last month, Republican Congressman John Kline revealed his idea of health care reform. Asked about the astronomical profits of the medical and insurance companies, and their executives' outlandish salaries, Kline replied, "Since when has 'profits' become a bad word?"

Kline conveniently ignores the fact that these companies extract their fabled riches from their policy holders' pockets, that is, from average Americans. For the several million uninsured who can't afford medical care even when their lives are threatened, Kline and his Republican colleagues have nothing to offer. It's too expensive to insure everyone, they say, avoiding mention of the human suffering that the present system inflicts. As the big medical corporations seize the assets of those with catastrophic illness, leaving them indigent, Kline and the Republicans point to the "magic of the market" and defend sky-high profits and predatory business practices. Their idea of health care reform is "don't get sick."

Kline trashed the president and Congress for their reform efforts and called for "starting with a clean sheet of paper." Could it be that his purpose is to kill medical reform and restore Republican control of Congress in 2010? John Kline is a great friend of corporate medicine, but he's no friend of Second District voters.

WILLIAM J. GRAHAM

BURNSVILLE

Recent South Metro stories

Shakopee's Straub makes Top 5 in 'Project Runway' - October 13, 2009

Shakopee's Straub makes Top 5 in 'Project Runway' - On Thursday night's "Project Runway," contestants had to outdo themselves. For Shakopee resident Christopher Straub, it was difficult to improve upon his past success. More