Readers Write (May 1): Smoking age, redistricting reform, Big Lake trapshooting team, foreign service, public relations

Here is an approach that parents in Edina (and in other neighborhoods) can take that may help their children avoid smoking their first cigarette, regardless of the legal age to buy the smokes.

Tell their son and/or daughter early on; "If I ever catch you smoking, or find out that you are smoking, the free stuff will end."

No more new gadgets every three months. No nice vacations with friends. No private lessons. No new car during senior year. No unlimited, paid shopping trips. And a big one: no paid tuition, room and board for four years at that private college of choice. (That one would sure keep me on the straight and narrow!)

A little tough love that may help their kids avoid getting hooked on cigarettes in the first place. Some strictness translating into longer lives for young Edina residents, smoke-free.

Every 10 years, Minnesota legislative districts get redrawn by state legislators, based on U.S. census data. And without fail, every 10 years since 1970, redistricting by legislators has been challenged in the courts, costing millions of taxpayer dollars cumulatively.

Minnesota isn't alone in this colossal waste of public money. Wisconsin taxpayers paid more than $2.1 million for legal challenges to hyperpartisan district lines drawn in 2011 by legislators who "packed and cracked" local populations to disadvantage political opponents — millions more will be paid as the case goes to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Moreover, redistricting by legislators presents an inherent conflict of interest, and involving the Minnesota Supreme Court in this political process threatens the neutrality of the judiciary and public trust.

Redistricting reform has received bipartisan support in the past. We can do it ethically and fairly and spend public money on much-needed services and infrastructure. Legislators want to choose the voters; aren't we supposed to choose them?

It was a pleasant display of common sense when the Big Lake School District administration reversed course to allow the trap team photo holding their guns in the yearbook ("Big Lake trapshooting team gets its guns," April 28.) Schools should be commended for supporting the safe handling, storage and responsible use of firearms.

The shooting sports are the fastest growing in our schools. School-sanctioned shooting sports offer youth an opportunity to learn firearm safety and proper technique under the eye of trained and certified instructors. They reinforce the importance of firearms safety, as well as diligence, concentration, teamwork and competition.

Big Lake's trap team photo shows the school has a reason for pride. Minnesota State High School Clay Target League championships started in 2009 with just 30 students participating. In 2015, there were over 5,000. Big Lake's team is nearly double that early start and it demonstrates the success of the introduction of the shooting sports in schools. Big Lake's trap team is boys and girls, a variety of ages, and bursting at the seams. Coaches and instructors there are doing it right.

The writer is senior vice president and general counsel for the National Shooting Sports Foundation.

Many are not aware that in 1996 the U.S. Senate designated the first Friday in May as "American Foreign Service Day." It is on this day that members of the Foreign Service around the world and here at home come together to recognize and celebrate the thousands of people who commit their lives to serving the U.S. abroad and the effect their work has on us all.

Our beautiful state is home to approximately 300 Foreign Service members and their families. I hope that America's diplomats, and the important work they do, will be in your thoughts this May 5th. And take time to get to know the Foreign Service, learn about what we do, and realize the indispensable role these patriots play in protecting and serving America's people, interests and values.

The writer is retired from the Foreign Service.

On April 26, a professor wrote in the Opinion Exchange, "But the incidents with United [Airlines] are not bad PR. Quite the opposite. Communication between the organization and the public worked exactly as it should have." That last sentence is true only because it refers to what happened after the incidents, not during. The professor's definition of PR and the public's definition certainly don't match. Incidents with United Airlines are indeed bad PR. Now, even more people are hopping mad because a rabbit died in transit on a United flight.

Another example of bad PR has involved the Star Tribune. Its leadership told us that to individually pay for a new addition to the paper, a magazine insert, simply don't decline the addition. That would be OK if we had agreed in advance to accept so-called negative options. We hadn't. Even if the majority of subscribers want the insert, the minority clearly face the irritating inconvenience of declining. Besides, there's a principle involved. If I am indeed a member of a minority, I resent being treated as one (I can only guess what a member of a real minority feels like, but I digress).

One good thing is that many subscribers who don't want the insert will overlook telling the paper. That way, the paper will have helped itself to maintain profitability and continue publishing. After all, I really do like the Strib.