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I live at 38th Street and Columbus Avenue in Minneapolis. I am a nurse, Black woman, and mom to two boys ages 5 and 2.

On Aug. 14, a man was shot to death at the intersection. Another was wounded. At around 12:45 p.m. on a Sunday. My 5-year-old son plays outside with neighbor kids. One of the men lay in the alley behind my house while EMS stabilized him. The previous Sunday, a man was discovered shot to death near 39th Street and Chicago Avenue. My son waits at that intersection for his bus every morning. School starts in two weeks.

The city won't clear the intersection because of optics — political suicide. Mayor Jacob Frey and City Council Member Andrea Jenkins are prioritizing their careers over the health and wellness of children. Sunday afternoon, I heard a neighbor kiddo screaming inside his house.

People drinking in the intersection, standing with guns strapped to their backs. Loitering. Playing dice. If the intersection is fully functional, it deters gun use. Too many witnesses.

Two years ago, George Floyd Square was a place for community healing and solidarity, a place to demand change. Now? It's the Wild West — there is no one who will take full responsibility for the space. The city won't, and the community cannot control the influx of guns, defend against gunshots, or protect our children from the trauma brought about by the lack of action.

Audrey Harrison, Minneapolis

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Memo to a recent letter writer who wrote quite scarily about the disintegration of safety in downtown Minneapolis ("Without it, the city crumbles," Aug. 8). On July 26, my husband and I courageously left the safe confines of St. Paul and drove west to spend our 47th anniversary in that "violent" and "dangerous" metropolis. We had dinner at a downtown restaurant, attended a play at the Guthrie Theater, stood on a couple of corners waiting for rides (the second time was after dark!) and stayed overnight at a Minneapolis hotel. Given our age and the fact that it was obvious that we had wallets and cellphones, it's stunning to think that we were never accosted, threatened or made to fear for our safety in that hellhole.

I do know that crime has increased and people need to be aware and observant, but that is becoming more true everywhere. After all, who would have thought that people could face violence and alleged homicide while tubing down the Apple River in Wisconsin?

Theresa J. Lippert, St. Paul

Numerous articles and letters to the editor describe fears of crime and the reality of uncivil behavior on light-rail trains resulting in the loss of riders and income. Security officers are hired, train lengths are shortened, and yet, the obvious problem and solution is rarely mentioned: Metro Transit originally designed a light-rail system in which fares are paid on the honor system and riders enter without going through turnstiles. This system perversely incentivizes uncivil behavior by making it easy for bad actors to ride the trains.

I suggest that Metro Transit redesign stations so that only fare-paying riders can board. It'll be expensive, but the alternative is to continue with a broken system.

Carole Wilson, Minneapolis

After reading two feature articles on Carlos Correa this weekend, "Family fun made California road trip worth it for Correa" and "Correa navigates the scene in SoCal," listening to the MLB and TV media fawn over him all summer and seeing the amount of money already thrown at him with more to come, perhaps I can't blame him entirely for his continuing woes. After all, he's a young man who made some big mistakes but despite all of the talent, accolades and money, he's still a cheater. And the boos keep coming because he is a mostly unrepentant, unpunished cheater, deluding himself that fans are coming around because they want selfies and getting extra incentive to play harder when the fans jeer and boo.

Here's an idea for Correa: Set up a news conference, leave your excuses and rationalizations aside and admit unequivocally that you cheated. Then offer the baseball world an apology and assurances that you understand the damage you have done to the game. Finally, to show penance for the punishment that you deserved but never received, donate some of your salary, say $50,000, to the community fund of each team that you played against during the scandal. Then get on with your life knowing that you owned your mistake and have done something positive and tangible to support the game that you purport to love. Maybe then I'll leave my boos at home.

I find it interesting that temporary Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Nicole Blissenbach stated that the "correct people are receiving the denials" for hero pay ("1M still in line for 'hero pay'; more than 200,000 denied," Aug. 18). I'm a registered nurse, working in a hospital unit with active COVID patients who was denied "hero pay" because my income is too high. I can assure you that my family income is not $350,000 — not even near the six-digit figure. Several of my RN co-workers were also denied. We all met the qualifications. Perhaps Blissenbach needs to look at some of the 200,000 denials a bit closer.

Bridget Gaeleigh, Richfield

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Dear Gov. Tim Walz: As a FedEx warehouse employee who worked everyday, Monday through Friday, since day one of the COVID pandemic in a building that houses over 290 fellow employees, I guess I was not that "essential" after all. Oh well.

This despite being a part of the team that shipped, handled and delivered millions of COVID vaccines and other essential medical supplies.

But thanks for thinking of me, though.

Neil F. Anderson, Richfield

What it's a name? A lot if you were christened "Karen."

Using a person's name in the derogatory, pejorative way that has become culturally acceptable with "Karen" is disrespectful, cruel and shows a complete lack of empathy on behalf of the user. In fact, it's a form of verbal abuse akin to name-calling. The person who was born with the name "Karen" did nothing to deserve the snickers and jokes they inevitably get when they introduce themselves, nor the deep sense of humiliation when people react in such a way to their name.

It's only been in the past decade where politicians and some in the media have made name-calling seem acceptable, but it's not acceptable and it never has been. Let's all grow up and stop verbally abusing the poor people named Karen — like my sister.