One of the main problems with nuclear power is the size and complexity of gigantic central plants. It has been shown that factory-manufactured smaller reactors are safe — think about the nuclear powered subs, aircraft carriers, etc. Nuclear-powered vessels have been operating since 1955 with a good safety record. A group of small, prepackaged (modular), below-ground plants is a better solution than a large, complex, central unit. The reactors would be assembled in a manufacturing facility with strict quality control under ideal conditions, unlike large-site built units. By placing these units in a distributed fashion, grid reliability increases. By placing them underground, terrorism events are greatly reduced ("The case against nuclear energy is still powerful," Opinion Exchange, April 14).

It appears Finland has developed a way to safely store the spent fuel. A number of well-done technical articles can be found online by searching for "small nuclear reactor." Westinghouse and several other manufacturers are developing this technology.

Personally, I have and continue to fully support the application of renewables (especially solar photovoltaics) and conservation. However, I believe small nuclear reactors are a good complement to renewables as part of a solid energy backbone, if executed properly.

Martin Lunde, St. Anthony

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I read Ron Way's piece "Times change. Minnesota's nuclear moratorium must end" (Opinion Exchange, April 11) with great concern. Times have changed, but nuclear power is not safer and is still contaminating the environment. Nuclear energy is creating new problems with war exposure at Ukraine's Chernobyl plant. Uranium mining, processing and transporting continue to release radioactive isotopes into our land, air and water.

Years ago we worked to stop the construction of new nuclear power plants in Minnesota, which eventually led to a moratorium. We showed that renewable energy could provide for our future energy needs better and safer than nuclear power could.

All this while renewable energy becomes more advanced and cheaper to produce, continuing to provide more and more living-wage American jobs.

The Nuclear Energy Resource Service states, "The war in Ukraine and its consequences show us, more than ever, that the status quo of relying on nuclear and fossil fuels is untenable. ... [I]t is positively clear that we must invest in a secure, reliable, resilient, decentralized, democratic, and 100% clean and renewable energy system."

According to the Climate Council in 2016, "Denmark gets over half of its electricity from wind and solar power and in 2017, 43% of its electricity consumption was from wind — a new world record! That's the highest percentage of wind power ever achieved worldwide. The country aims to be 100% fossil-fuel-free by 2050." And, "Germany is a world leader in renewable energy and in the first half of 2018 it produced enough electricity to power every household in the country for a year."

What is the reason we cannot do the same thing here in Minnesota?

Ron Holch, Circle Pines

I want all Minnesotans, of every color, to get the blessing of good health care. I am concerned about what our state agency — the one in charge of making sure that low-income people get equitable treatment so they can access good health care — is not doing.

The two items from last week drawing attention to Dr. Nathan Chomilo's research on disparities negatively affecting Black Minnesotans on medical assistance left out any mention of a remedy currently initiated in the Legislature ("How to make Medicaid racially equitable," Opinion Exchange, April 4, and "Racial equity sought in Medicaid," April 6). Rep. Tina Liebling has authored a bill in the House that expands the opportunity to all medical assistance patients to choose doctors who offer them culturally appropriate care. Sen. Jim Abeler introduced the same bill in the Senate, the Medical Assistance Opt Out bill. Currently, most medical assistance patients are forced into limitations on which doctors they see because of the restrictions of managed care companies that the state compels them to accept. However, the new bill would grant all medical assistance patients the freedom of choice of doctor that the state grants to only some patients.

I applaud the legislators whose bill is designed to correct this exasperating disparity. I encourage you to interview those legislators to report on the possibility of a fast, painless remedy that granting freedom of choice can offer to the majority of medical assistance patients.

Diane J. Peterson, St. Paul

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Medicaid recipients are forced to enroll in managed care, which denies them the freedom to choose health care providers. That can result in lack of access to the type of health care services they need if those services are not in the managed care network.

While applauded as a means of improving equity for the Black community, the state's Medicaid recovery policies have exactly the opposite impact. Centuries of policies that have denied the Black community the ability to accumulate generational wealth are largely responsible for the vast inequality. Estate recovery falls primarily on those of modest means. This disproportionately affects people of color given the disparities in household wealth. That only serves to expand the generational wealth gap and sustain racial inequality.

Paula Overby, Eagan

I used to love Major League Baseball. My affection for the game has waned because MLB is tone deaf. Inflation, COVID, war and civil unrest didn't deter the players' union and MLB from a lockout. Fans across the country are trying to make ends meet, and the sticking points for baseball are million-dollar minimums and pitch clocks.

Closer to home, the Twins postponed the opener last week from Thursday's rain to Friday's balmy 40 degrees. Are the owners so ineffectual that they cannot demand a change in scheduling on a permanent basis? Games should not be scheduled in Boston, New York, Chicago, anywhere in Pennsylvania, Detroit or Minneapolis before April 15, at the earliest. Here's a marketing idea at no charge: The Twins should open every year in Tampa, Fla., Arizona or Milwaukee. Snowbirds down south and the border battle in Wisconsin will guarantee a turnout. Maybe the Minnesota tourism department might even pull a switcheroo and market the Land of 10,000 Lakes for summer travel.

C'mon baseball, get your act together. By the way, keep me posted on the weather so I can schedule my "flex" game tickets.

Dan Gunderson, Minneapolis

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A yellow brick: I saved it from the rubble of Met Stadium. It is not from a road famously traveled by a girl named Dorothy and her oddly nice friends. Yet, it can similarly bring us closer to home.

They say baseball is too slow and is losing us. But maybe we are losing ourselves.

We hate to wait.

If there weren't moments of silence between ticks of a clock, all the ticks would run together.

In baseball, every pitch is like the tick of a clock. In the time that intermits, we can appreciate the game within the game. Or we can weave this together with a conversation with a friend — and the game becomes an interesting backdrop with a splendid field of green in front of us and blue heavens above.

If only this yellow brick road can lead us again to wait. Tick … Tick …

Kim Vanderveen, Winsted, Minn.