Readers Write (July 29): Food co-ops, evolution, sports injuries, Jason Lewis, crime coverage

It was great to see the article on the Wirth Cooperative Grocery in Minneapolis, especially in the United Nations' International Year of the Cooperative ("Activists aim to end 'food desert' by opening co-op," July 22).

What other business model would give startup money and advice to a potential competitor, as East Side and the Wedge have done? The North Side recognizes that the presence of a co-op can be a game-changer in a neighborhood.

When our co-op, Mississippi Market, built a store on the corner of Selby and Dale in St. Paul, it was one of the most feared intersections in the Twin Cities. Construction of our store began a cycle of hope and renewal. We've seen the same thing happening at our recently opened store on West Seventh Street.

An environmentally safe cleaners has built a store next door; a charter school is about to open across the street, and a community garden is in the works. Our sales have exceeded all expectations, though we opened at the height of the recession. A store owned by the community gives back to the community!

NILGUN TUNA, St. Paul

The writer is board chair of the Mississippi Market Food Co-op.

* * *

After being exposed to the idea of creation and a study of what the Bible had to say on the matter, I started reading books written by scientists who supported biblical creation. I then came to the conclusion that belief in macro-evolution also takes a great deal of faith, more than believing in creation.

KIRK NICKMAN, BLOOMINGTON

• • •

Leschak's commentary was certainly a high point. He treated a contentious subject with understanding and tolerance, and made a solid case that we have to get on the same page to solve some of the serious problems threatening our planet.

GUNN ERICKSON, SHOREVIEW

The Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth and all the host therein. Since God created all things, he also created evolution. The Earth had to have been a wild place in the beginning, and the creatures that inhabited it had to be tough.

As the planet calmed and modified, so did the creatures, including humans. Why would God not use his creation of evolution to modify the Earth and all in it? It's just logical. God is still in control!

DELORES OSTMAN, BLOOMINGTON

* * *

Who cajoles the kids to engage in sports year-round? Adults do ("Pro athletes aren't the only ones battling knee injuries," May 10). Who feeds them false visions of athletic glory? Adults do. Who strives to make them believe that there is nothing more important in their very young lives than to push their bodies to the literal breaking point?

MIKE WORCESTER, COKATO, MINN.

Jason Lewis' recent attack on Paul Krugman has left me somewhat confused ("Someday we'll pay for all this easy money," July 22).

Krugman has a four-year degree in economics from Yale and a Ph.D. in economics from MIT. He's a professor of economics who has taught at Yale, MIT, the University of California at Berkeley, Stanford and the London School of Economics. Krugman has published 20 books and more than 200 scholarly articles in professional journals on economics.

Lewis, according to his biography, is a career talk-show host and failed candidate for office who has a four-year degree in education/business from the University of Northern Iowa and a master's degree in political science from the University of Colorado. Lewis also passed one exam provided by the National Association of Securities Dealers. To my knowledge, he has published no articles on economics in scholarly journals and has taught no classes in economics.

Since both Krugman and Lewis are fairly partisan, I just can't decide which one is more credible when it comes to economic issues. If only one of them had won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2008, it would be easier to decide. Oh, wait -- Krugman did.

• • •

It seems Lewis has created a contradiction for himself in this latest column. He wants to regain the standard of living produced by Keynesian economics without Keynesian principles. Good luck, Mr. Lewis.

BRUCE FISHER, ST. LOUIS PARK

* * *

I was among the readers unhappy with the July 13 front-page headline "You can come home now ... I killed the kids." But Star Tribune Editor Nancy Barnes' explanation for the headline was a pathetic defense ("With the darkest news, we walk a fine line," July 22). She acknowledged that some mothers hid the papers from their children, and that was fine with her.

Your readers understand that the paper makes choices to increase advertising revenue and cover the news in a professional journalistic manner. Tabloids clearly cater only to advertisers, set a low bar on what they will do to attract readers, and their "reporting" is judged accordingly. Does the Star Tribune truly wish to emulate that business model?