Readers Write: Government shutdown, homelessness, Minneapolis teachers, Allina strike

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

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As the record federal shutdown continues, an older person like me recalls the days when the president would avoid an impasse by sitting down with leaders of both parties. A compromise would be hammered out and legislation would get passed that both sides could live with. As a result the citizens would see the federal government as a functioning body.

Currently both parties are entrenched, and, unfortunately, President Donald Trump is definitely not acting as a mediator. Instead he insults Democrats by calling them names, which only makes the situation worse.

I’m not picking sides but simply want a president who will function in a manner that will help make our government work. People are suffering. Is that asking for too much?

John M. Schwanke, Cumberland, Wis.

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Bob Huber, Bloomington

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As the government shutdown stretches into its second month, let’s be clear: The government is not shut down. What is shut down are programs and services that someone has decided are essential. Most of the government is still open. But, it is not performing. It is broken.

I wonder how fast the “shutdown” would end if everything was really shut down. No air traffic control at all. No courts. No presidential and congressional staff.

No, the services that serve the needs of political and economic elites are still open, but food stamps are closed.

What a sad commentary on the United States of America. The president, representatives and senators we elected can’t agree to deliver the services that ordinary Americans need. The beacon of democracy is pretty dim.

J Fonkert, Roseville

The federal government shutdown, the passing of H.R. 1 (the Big Beautiful Bill) and the executive order on homelessness are effectively punishing poverty. These shifts from a housing-first solution to a punitive approach make it impossible for increasing numbers of families to secure their basic needs for food, housing, medical care, child care and employment.

I’m not saying the sky is going to fall. But I am saying the roof will collapse unless our local government entities do something to prevent it. It is imperative that state and local governments step up and support housing justice for all. And today, that starts with the city of Minneapolis supporting and providing funding for family shelter.

Hennepin County is already supporting parents, children and single adults experiencing homelessness and housing instability, but it cannot do it alone. The city of Minneapolis should have a stake in sheltering its most vulnerable residents. The mayor’s proposed budget of $1 million is earmarked for funding Hennepin County’s 2026 winter shelter operations, which will keep another 150 beds available. Of course, winter shelters are a critical need and must be funded. But that isn’t where the need ends.

The city must step up to meet this unprecedented moment and fund the actual needs of its community, and fund family shelter.

Working in a family homeless shelter, I tend to be optimistic about change because every day I see people transform their lives. And I am still optimistic that the City Council and Mayor Jacob Frey will invest in its most vulnerable families. The budget is not set in stone. We still have another chance to rectify this and re-establish hope that our two bodies of city governance can lead together and create a robust response to the cascade of harms facing families experiencing homelessness.

Hoang Murphy, Minneapolis

The writer is chief executive officer at People Serving People.

We send our daughter to our neighborhood school because my family believes strongly in public education and is committed to Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS). Watching district leadership’s choices, I wonder if they share that same commitment.

Certain leaders spend more time publicly discussing school closures and “district transformation” than making the case for the fantastic education my child receives from her teachers. To make MPS the first choice for families, leadership’s focus should be on students’ and educators’ needs in the classroom. The union’s contract proposals provide a clear road map for that.

I’m proud to be involved with Minneapolis Families for Public Schools, a group of over 450 families who aren’t seeing our trust in public educators reflected in the district’s leadership. We’re calling on leadership to make the right choice to support and grow our schools by improving working conditions for teachers and learning conditions for our children — not planning for decline.

If they won’t make that choice and fight for the things our kids need, they’ll see my family on the picket line alongside our educators.

Tom Harmon, Minneapolis

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It’s almost as if we’ve seen this movie before and we know how it ends. The money isn’t there. At some point the teachers’ union will have to recognize their role in the demise of MPS.

Jessica Swartz, Minneapolis

As a retired Allina family practice physician, I fully support the primary care providers’ strike against Allina, and proudly walked the picket lines with them the other morning (“Allina doctors stage one-day strike,” Nov. 6). As I phased into retirement during my last three years of practice, I worked part-time. This was six hours of scheduled patients three days per week. However, to properly complete all my needed work, I was in the office 10 hours each of those days. I also needed to log into my computer at home the other four days of the week to keep up. So I often worked 40 hours per week but was officially considered half-time. Although I greatly miss caring for my patients and seeing my colleagues, I am so glad I retired last year after 35 years at the clinic.