Readers Write: 'Hamilton,' Cheryl Reeve, tariffs, Democrats, U.S. Senate seat

While a wave of ecstasy swept over those people lucky enough to get tickets Thursday for the run of "Hamilton" at the Orpheum Theater later this summer, those who got shut out likely will turn to the secondary market, where demand has driven ticket prices up to several hundred dollars. One alternative to outrageous prices in Minneapolis is to see the show at CIBC Theater in Chicago, where it has run since 2016. Tickets remain for most performances at box-office prices, especially if you can plan your trip several weeks or months out. For the same cost or less of seeing the show here, people can fly or drive to Chicago, plus rent a hotel room for a night or two and experience that city.

Is Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve the most powerful sports figure in Minnesota? (So asks the online headline for the article "More bold and more brave," Star Tribune Magazine, June 10.) On Tuesday, Reeve will be among those recognized with a 2018 Hubert H. Humphrey Public Leadership Award from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota for her contributions to the common good through leadership and service.

Reeve is a brilliant coach because she finds and amplifies the brilliance in others. She cultivates winning teams because she cultivates excellence in individuals, then expects those individuals to find excellence in each other. She does this by holding players accountable, teaching them how to connect with one another and providing them resources to succeed. Her players credit her with teaching them to be "bigger than basketball." Reeve is building a legacy both on and off the court that will have her players talking for years to come not only about what they achieved but how they went about achieving it together. Would that all leaders in the public eye — whether coaches or elected officials or corporate CEOs — followed Reeve's example of "leading together" with high expectations, a strong moral compass and joy! She is a role model to make Minnesota proud.

Thank you, Star Tribune, for shining a bright light on her immense talents.

The writer is dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

In the past month, there have been several articles lamenting the poor fate of Minnesota's farmers as a result of President Donald Trump's tariffs and the countertariffs on U.S. soybeans. These alarmist articles are way off-base.

I grew up on a farm and still own farmland in southern Minnesota. Over the years, farmers have coped with falling prices on one crop or another nearly every year. Not long ago, corn prices tanked, yet the farmers are still farming.

The U.S. produces 108 million metric tons of soybeans annually. The total soybean production of South America, including Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia and Uruguay, is less than that of the U.S. Most of it is exported to Europe, which due to non-tariff trade barriers, imports virtually no soybeans from the U.S. Now, if China begins buying up the South American production, the Europeans will either be driving up the prices of soybeans to compete with China or they will lower their trade barriers and buy from the U.S. If the prices increase, it will wipe out any advantage of buying in South America. If the Europeans begin buying U.S. soybeans, it will more than replace the lost China sales. In either case, it is hardly the armageddon the liberals are forecasting.

The wisdom of the Trump tariffs is that it will eventually level the trade playing field for everybody and expand the markets for U.S. products, something the media is loath to admit.

I am a lifelong Democrat and supporter of the DFL for years, but I am disheartened to see what my party has become lately. The recent DFL endorsements for attorney general (Matt Pelikan), Hennepin County Attorney (Mark Haase) and the Fifth Congressional District for Minneapolis (Ilhan Omar) are all far-left candidates who have almost no relevant experience.

Mr. Pelikan wants to be the chief attorney for Minnesota, yet he's never had a jury trial or even prosecuted a speeding ticket. And he summed up his approximately 10-minute speech at the DFL convention with "love is love and love is the law."

Mr. Haase wishes to be the head prosecutor for Hennepin County, yet he's never prosecuted a case; he wants to abolish bail and release everyone accused of a crime while their case is pending, limit charging 16- and 17-year-olds with felonies, and review prior Hennepin County cases that resulted in felony convictions.

Sadly, DFL conventions have become farcical and irrelevant. They have extremely low turnout, incessant speeches and endless hours, and they produce candidates who are focused more on fighting President Donald Trump on national and international issues than working on the everyday problems of Minnesotans.

My advice for the future — vote for the Democrat who didn't get the endorsement.

There is a critical seat in the U.S. Senate that will be filled in the November elections. In less than eight weeks, on Aug. 14, Minnesota's primary election will be held. Who will the Democratic voters place on the ballot for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Al Franken? Tina Smith, current appointee of Gov. Mark Dayton and Dayton's former lieutenant governor? Or Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics lawyer, now a law professor at the University of Minnesota? Both have strengths, but they have important differences in background and political philosophy. The voters of Minnesota need to know more about these two candidates, who will be heading into one of the most important elections in recent political history. Campaign ads will not suffice. Nor will one-on-one interviews. The voters need to hear directly from them in public debate.

We, the undersigned, respectfully request a debate between Painter and Smith, in a public forum to be determined by agreement between the candidates, as soon as it can be arranged.