I'm writing in response to Richard B. Beeson's Nov. 5 commentary about student debt, and the ways the University of Minnesota is keeping costs "down." I have a problem with some of his numbers, and this one specifically: In the 1970s, the university received 39 percent of its operating budget from the state; now it receives only 19 percent. Hmmm. How much money came from sports programs in the '70s? A small percentage, I'm sure. Now, sports programs bring in tens of millions of dollars a year through TV contracts, advertising and apparel sales. Of course, the percentage of the operating budget from the state will be reduced when millions come in from other new, more lucrative areas, such as television contracts. Beeson is entitled to spin the numbers any way he wants, but student debt is — and will continue to be — a problem for our kids.

NATHAN BIGBEE, Richfield
ELECTION 2014

Aftershocks and afterthoughts

Here is an interesting question. Would you ask for a recount even if you had no chance in winning? I ask this because Independence Party secretary of state candidate Bob Helland garnered 4.91 percent of the vote at last check, but that is bellow the 5 percent threshold needed for the IP to regain major-party status, which would essentially make it easier to get future candidates on the ballot; no other statewide IP candidate came close. Thus, you have to wonder if the Independence Party would put Minnesota through a recount even if it would not change the outcome of who won.

William Cory Labovitch, South St. Paul

• • •

Congratulations to those Minnesota Democrats for whom Mark Dayton and Al Franken, the great purveyors of the liberal agenda, have to thank for their re-election. Congratulations to the Minnesota Republicans who changed the guard at the State Capitol. Their voices were heard as well.

Perhaps now this liberal vision of plowed-under residential neighborhoods being replaced with high rises where the masses can be stacked like cordwood and there will be a light-rail train at every corner will now fall somewhere back in the less-than-urgent list with parklets.

To my fellow Republicans, I will urge you to resist reigniting the same battles when it comes to some of the hottest social issues. Please spend your newly gained capital on those things that keep Minnesota great for everyone: jobs, the economy, affordable housing, lower property taxes and sound infrastructure.

Everyone has been afforded a do-over in some form or another in this election cycle. Let's really make it count here in our great state of Minnesota.

Mary McIntosh Linnihan, Minneapolis

• • •

Once again, Minnesota voters along with the Star Tribune showed that they are out of step with the majority of Americans when it comes to holding the Democratic Party accountable for its failed policies. The American voter just shouted loudly and clearly that President Obama's economic and foreign relation policies were a failure. Yet Al Franken and Mark Dayton went all in on Obama's policies, and they were still re-elected. Minnesota voters would serve our state much better if they started voting more with their heads and less with their hearts.

Corby Pelto, Plymouth

• • •

I am struck by the irony of the Republican sweep in the nation. Pundits are claiming that it is the result of voter frustration with gridlock in the "do-nothing Congress" and the nation "going in the wrong direction." Yet it has been the Republicans who have run from doing anything on the environment, the immigration issue, income inequality, repairing infrastructure in the nation and even standing behind the president in his attempts to combat ISIL. What exactly do voters expect will change?

Pat Hagerty, Champlin

• • •

The Nov. 3 letter of the day ("Sure, we spend money — but not with very good aim") lays bare the out-of-control funding of political campaigns. Not only does the amount spent assault the senses, but much of the advertising produced and aired with these huge sums of money is misleading and full of innuendo, with some out-and-out falsehoods (in other words, lies). Some of it is childish in nature, which insults a reader's intelligence. It's time for politicians to stand for election based on something other than how much money can be spent.

RON BENDER, Richfield

• • •

Why don't we just change the name of the country to Kochistan and admit to reality and the value of dark money? Thank you Supreme Court, among others. Seriously, for all of those of you delighted at the outcome of the election, please pay attention in the next two years. The Republican economic policies do not work, as evidenced in Kansas, Europe and Japan vs. the relatively better recovery in the U.S.A.

Linda Peterson, Bloomington
POLICE CAMERAS

Minneapolis plan will help good cops and bad

Congratulations to Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges and Police Chief Janeé Harteau on starting to test the use of body cameras on police officers. Nothing could be more helpful to a police officer falsely accused of wrongdoing than the objective witness of a camera. Improprieties would also be exposed. This is a plan where good cops and honest citizens are helped, and bad cops and creeps are discouraged. Beautiful.

Ed Salden, Chaska
DAMS

The grass is not always greener

Dams are considered to be green ("Local dams: Remove or revive?" Nov. 4), but they actually contribute to global warming. The reservoirs behind them can cause surges of greenhouse gases as the water levels go up and down. In a study of the water column at such a reservoir, marine scientists found an astonishing 20-fold increase in methane emissions as water levels were drawn down. Bubbles coming out of the mud and sediment at the bottom were chock full of this potent greenhouse gas. Furthermore, there were findings of poor water quality, including high levels of mercury and trapped sedimentation.

WANDA S. BALLENTINE, St. Paul
ORPHEUM THEATRE

Great memories of my first Broadway show

I so appreciated the article on the Orpheum Theatre and how Bob Dylan brought it back from obscurity ("Bob Dylan refuses to look back," Nov. 5). I was surprised to read that it was 1979; in my memory, I saw "A Chorus Line" a year or so earlier. I came with college friends from Aberdeen, S.D., specifically to see this show. So I dug out my box of ticket stubs I have saved since then. There it was, at the bottom: July 14, 1979, 8 p.m., section 9, row T, seat 5. This gay boy from a town of 56 people in South Dakota saw his first Broadway musical. Thanks, Bob!

Kent Gebhard, Minneapolis