Readers Write: Environment, CPE in prison, restaurant fees, H-1B visas

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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In a recent commentary, a Native American chief warns us “once underground aquifers are compromised, they cannot be replaced” (“Why Minnesota’s water future matters for everyone,” Dec. 30). According to a 2023 New York Times article, this is a national problem (tinyurl.com/us-groundwater).

Yet money continues to trump protection of water, one of our most precious resources. In January 2024 the Farmington school district sold almost 200 acres for $18 million to a Colorado company with plans to build a dozen data center buildings. Then the city of Farmington completed an annexation of the land and rezoned it to permit this industrial use — actions propelled by an anticipated increase in property tax revenue (“Farmington residents sue over proposed data center,” Dec. 14).

The operation of a medium-size data center requires about 300,000 gallons of water per day, or more than 109 million gallons per year according to the Berkeley National Laboratory.

In June the city of Elko New Market approved permits and a $3 million subsidy to a California company to build a plant to produce millions of plastic bottles of water for sale to Walmart and Costco while using over 300 million gallons of water each year (“Elko New Market OK to pump more water,” June 14). Both projects will draw these enormous amounts of water from the same source — the Prairie du Chien-Jordan aquifer.

A leader of the Farmington opposition laments “we just feel like we’re being steamrolled.” Meanwhile, the state agencies with the mandate to protect our environment turn a blind eye to the long-term cumulative impact of these massive drains on our groundwater.

Michael W. McNabb, Lakeville

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Thank you Virgil Wind, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, for your thoughtful article on the interconnectedness of all life. And thank you to the Minnesota Star Tribune for continuing to give voice to our Native American brothers and sisters.

As we enter a new year, it is imperative that we increasingly emphasize that the more vulnerable various life forms are the more they are entitled to protection. A burden of proof must lie with all those using potentially damaging procedures to prove unequivocally and applying all available, relevant data that the well-being of humans, non-humans and nature both on a short- and long-term basis is not being jeopardized; and that of course includes respecting the sanctity of water to remain pure. Thus the quality of life deserves to be prioritized over our infatuation with quantity of years, the latter being overly stressed in a reprinted column from the Wall Street Journal (“Your life expectancy ticked back up. Did you feel it?” Strib Voices, Dec. 30).

Kai Laybourn, Bloomington

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To Paul Douglas: I am a lifelong (78 years) resident of Minnesota, and have “weathered” decades of Minnesota winters, but never have I witnessed two consecutive winters in which plows in the two towns of Isle and Onamia, Minn. (where I reside), have not been called on to clear city streets during the entire months of November and December. I am a writer for the Mille Lacs Messenger, and I have confirmed that city plows have not been used in these two towns that surround lake Mille Lacs. Their barometer for plowing is a two-inch snowfall, and we’ve had many one-inches over those four months, but nothing to merit calling out the plows. Seems odd to this old codger. Can you comment?

Bob Statz, Onamia, Minn.

Angela Denker’s commentary on CPE at the Stillwater prison (“What can’t be confined,” Strib Voices, Dec. 28) is a wonderful story of a group of people rarely attended to by media unless something has gone wrong. I have written to you before, complaining of superficial coverage of Hennepin County jail. It’s only fair that I commend you for devoting an entire page to life within the walls. As someone who listened inside the walls for many years in another jurisdiction, I echo Rev. Denker’s transformation, the trust afforded her, the remarkable generosity of people who have no reason to be hopeful. Thank you to her, but also to the Star Tribune for devoting time to a place most of us would rather not learn about — until, upon opening our eyes and hearts, we learn we have true neighbors inside.

Mary Taylor, Minneapolis

It is unfortunate that restaurants feel singled out by the “junk” fee law (”End to service charges troubles restaurants,” Dec. 31). Is anyone still surprised after years of “health and wellness” charges on their dining and drinking bills? Not me. It has always seemed quite transparent. You’re telling us that menu prices are 18% less than they should be, for whatever reason(s). I don’t need to know that, since I’m paying it one way or another. As a small-business owner myself I don’t add a line to my invoices to indicate when raw material prices go up. I pass along what I can and live with either the same or a reduced profit (or even go out of business). If the issue is overreach by the government, I feel you. If the problem is equitable sharing of tips, that’s got nothing to do with the wellness fees and is an age-old restaurant management issue.

Daniel Patton, Minneapolis

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The article on service charges at restaurants starts out by trying to make the reader feel sorry for restaurant owners because, beginning Jan. 1, they can no longer add a service fee without disclosing it to customers. However, later in the article, we learn that an automatic gratuity is permitted (Isn’t that the same as a service fee?). As we read the article, it is clear that the restaurant owners like the fees because it transfers some labor costs to the servers through loss of tips (if one sees an 8% fee, then they may only tip 12%).

The owners unintentionally provide additional justification for the reason behind the law when they imply that they get you into the restaurant with a low menu price and then add on fees to bring the price back up. So what is the difference in customer cost between a menu price that includes the service fee and one where it is added later? My favorite rationale is when the owners state that they clearly disclose the fee on the menu and it’s not their fault the customer didn’t read the fine print. Finally, the article misses the proper solution, which is no fees and tips should be split with everyone and, ideally, built into the price of the menu item. The server is just one member of the team that delivers your food.

Chuck Bye, St. Paul

As the Star Tribune reported Saturday, a “civil war” has broken out in Trump-world over H-1B visas (”MAGA sees ‘civil war’ erupt over H-1B visas,” Dec. 28). These allow non-U.S. citizens to live and work here for up to three years and are a popular staffing tool for tech companies. Donald Trump’s MAGA base opposes all immigration, especially by of people of color. Tech bros like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy support H-1Bs; these workers are generally paid less than are American citizens.

Racism is indefensible of course, but otherwise I have no dog in this fight. However, Ramaswamy has also claimed that Americans are lazy and poorly prepared for tech work. This is simply wrong.

Upon my retirement a couple of years ago, I had taught math, statistics and computer science at the college level for more than 40 years, the last 33 in the department of computer science and information technology at St. Cloud State University.

Students entering my department’s bachelor’s and master’s programs were almost always prepared and focused. In class, they were attentive and diligent, and often had side projects of their own invention. Upon graduation, they were knowledgeable and prepared, and they found good jobs in a growing industry. I would be happy to work with any of them, though I wouldn’t recommend that they work for Musk or Ramaswamy, whose slander of them is unsupported and self-serving.

Bryant Julstrom, St. Cloud, Minn.