Readers Write: Farm labor, ethanol, fraud risk, the SAVE Act

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

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Thank you to reporters Emma Nelson and Trey Mewes for bringing to light a major part of the immigration issue in our state: “Farms fear fallout of immigration crackdown” (Feb. 16). Did we enjoy eating those chicken wings with Cheetos during the big football game? Did we find that perfect Jennie-O turkey in the grocery store last Thanksgiving? Did we get our roof repaired last summer in record time? Of course we did, and it was thanks in large part to the hard work supplied by many immigrant workers in Stearns and Kandiyohi counties preparing turkeys at the Jennie-O plant in Willmar, dealing with processing cheese at the Kraft plant in Albany and plucking chickens at what used to be the Gold’n Plump but now the Pilgrim’s Pride factory in Cold Spring. The fact of the matter is (brought out by information in the article) these food-processing plants would not be in business without the labor force provided by we-all-know-who.

Bob Statz, Onamia, Minn.

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I’m responding to a letter writer’s response on Feb. 18 to Evan Ramstad’s column about the “wrecking of Minnesota.” The letter writer asks the question of whether Americans would be willing to work in rural food processing plants “for any wage.” That is not what is being offered by the owners of the plants — they need to produce lots of food quickly and to keep costs down so Americans can afford their products.

There are other considerations as well: A decent percentage of the unemployed people in Minnesota have mental or physical issues that prevent them from being able to work. The food plants are in smaller towns so transportation is also an issue. I’ve not worked in one of those plants, but I’ve heard that the work is fast-paced and physically demanding, and the companies need to keep the quality as high as possible.

America has always exploited immigrants who come here either because they can no longer safely live in their own country or because they hope their children will have better lives in the U.S. Being an immigrant in the U.S., legal or otherwise, has always been daunting between the language, lifestyle and cultural issues. Only the smartest and most capable succeed here.

Nearly all of us are descendants of people who survived that experience and we (both the individuals and the country) are better off for it.

Paul O’Connor, St. Louis Park

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I read of how farmers are worried about the fallout of immigration enforcement. How this impact was not obvious to them given all that President Donald Trump had promised and has been doing for the past year is beyond me. What was telling was the statement from Lucy Richardson of Hispanic Outreach of Goodhue County that some farmers “thought that this administration was going to leave them alone.” So apparently those farmers were fine to go along as long as others were being treated inhumanely and impacted adversely.

Abhishek Chandra, Maple Grove

Like clockwork, corn farmers are again seeking support for their useless product: corn-based ethanol (“Farmers push for ethanol expansion,” Feb. 19). Ethanol never was and never will be a viable gasoline alternative. After nearly 60 years, E-15 exists only as an unneeded additive to gasoline propelled by the corn lobby into a longstanding government mandate.

I came to these conclusions in 1991 when the Department of Energy engaged my employer to evaluate their investment in a co-op corn-based ethanol plant to decide whether to retain or sell their interest. Strib columnist Karen Tolkkinen concluded the same in 2024.

The corn lobby has done an extraordinary job getting the government to subsidize it to ensure it is less expensive than cane sugar and used in every dang thing we consume despite less costly and healthier alternatives. The recent, unwise elimination of Environmental Protection Agency emissions requirements may be the final blow to ethanol as a “fuel.”

Farmers and politicians are now wringing their hands at the prospect of a “widespread collapse” of the agriculture industry if E-15 doesn’t get more support. Together they created this decades-old farming welfare state.

Daniel Patton, Minneapolis

I strongly smell a newly hatched Gov. Tim Walz-led fraud on the Minnesota horizon as another scheme of “write ‘em a check and figure out the details later” looms covered under the title of a business economic recovery program. I pray our abused taxpayers and our elected representatives have learned the painful lessons of millions of unaccounted for dollars wasted in recent past.

Steve Lynch, Grand Rapids, Minn.

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I have been following the commentary and articles in the opinion section and have seen numerous interesting perspectives on the issues of fraudulent billing within the health and human services industry. The industry of service to individuals with disabilities changed dramatically when the state determined that community-based services are morally superior to institution-based services. It was determined that community-based services would be less expensive than institutional services.

All good institutions provided supportive environments for clients and provided opportunities for community integration. Community-based services are only appropriate when clients are responsive to minimal intervention provided by highly vetted professional programs.

Thomas Torkelson, Prior Lake

The writer worked as administrative program director of a residential program with the Wilder Foundation and worked for three community-based programs.

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Recently I read about more companies moving to Florida and Texas, two states that are growing rapidly. Not to worry though, that’s not going to happen in Minnesota. We’re in the news almost daily but for all the wrong reasons. Rampant fraud, violent protests, criminals being released, police forces being reduced.

The Democrats in general, and our governor, attorney general and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have shown the nation that we’re poorly governed and overtaxed, with more importance given to the far left than your average citizen.

We need fresh leadership, and the Democrats should be voted out of office until they once again become a responsible party. It may be asking too much, though, since our cities seem to be full of people who vote for Democrats exclusively and then feel no responsibility when nothing changes.

Peter Behlen, Appleton, Minn.

If the SAVE Act passes the Senate and is signed into law by President Donald Trump, requiring proof of citizenship nationwide to register to vote and overhauling voting laws, I hope lawmakers provide citizens the same generous timeline they gave for Real ID compliance at airports: about 20 years.