Readers Write: Small-town papers, public education, Omar Fateh, Scott Jensen, Nicole Mitchell

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

•••

A few months ago, I decided to subscribe to the Minnesota Star Tribune. Not because I needed more to read (my nightstand stack would beg to differ), but because I believe — deeply — in the importance of local journalism. If I say I value informed communities and civic engagement, then I figured it was time to put my money where my mouth is.

Since then, my little routine of reading the paper has become something of a conversation starter. Whether I’m flipping through the pages before a meeting or waiting for dance practice to end, someone inevitably comments: “You still read the newspaper?” Yes. Yes, I do. And I love it. I can’t count the number of times I’ve been able to say, “I actually just read about that in the paper …” and help someone understand the bigger picture. To some, reading the paper is old-fashioned. And maybe, now that I’m in my 40s, I am, too. But there’s something grounding about holding the news in your hands — something reliable in an increasingly noisy world.

That’s why it broke my heart to read last week that the Fulda Free Press — my hometown newspaper — is closing its doors (“3 Minnesota newspapers print their final editions,” July 18). As a kid, I lived for Thursdays, when we’d find out who made the front page (I proudly did more than once). I even spent a year recording each edition onto cassette tapes for a local woman who was blind — because the paper mattered that much. It was local. It was personal. It was part of our community fabric.

So here’s to the Fulda Free Press and to every small-town paper that’s ever made a big impact. You may be considered old-fashioned, but you’re also irreplaceable. You will be missed.

Laura Meier Schmitz, Burnsville

I’m a parent of two neurodivergent children. We gave public schools a real chance. There were caring teachers and special ed supports in place, but our kids still weren’t getting what they needed. With 30-plus kids in a class, individualized support just wasn’t possible.

We made a painful, expensive choice to pursue alternative education. We’re not wealthy, but we are doing what we have to do to help our children thrive.

I don’t see real reform happening in public education to address kids who fall into the gray areas. Kids like mine who don’t fit the mold but still deserve a quality education. Instead, I see families quietly carrying the burden when the system can’t meet their kids’ needs.

This new federal tax credit isn’t a fix to public education, but the funding exists whether Minnesota opts in or not. Why shouldn’t families already paying out of pocket get some relief? And maybe this money will allow a few others to find the help they need. Because the important thing is to raise healthy humans.

I want public schools to succeed. But let’s stop pretending one system works for all kids. Families deserve options and support when it doesn’t.

I do not understand the Star Tribune’s use of “Somali American” for mayoral candidate and state Sen. Omar Fateh. He was born in Washington, D.C. My father was born to a German immigrant family in Michigan. He was never referred to as a “German” American. When he fought in World War II, along with others in his same situation, he was never referred to as a “German” American.

Fateh is an American and no reference needs to be made to the nationality of his parents.

Michael D. Rohrer, Minneapolis

Like many Minnesotans, I long for political leaders in the mold of late U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone. So I was intrigued to catch Wellstone’s words in an unexpected place: Dr. Scott Jensen’s social media posts. Earlier this week he posted on Facebook, “It all comes down to this: we all do better when we all do better.”

Failing to attribute the quote to Wellstone, one wonders if Jensen is aware this is a famous refrain of Wellstone’s. Though some readers may feel this to be a contradictory (or absent-minded) stance for Jensen, I would like to take the opportunity to welcome him to Wellstonian politics (“GOP’s Scott Jensen makes 2nd bid for governor,” July 18).

Consider another oft-repeated Wellstone quote, “Never separate the life you live from the words you speak.”

In that spirit, let’s applaud Jensen’s Wellstonian words — and press him to live up to them.

Jack Gangestad, Minneapolis

According to Republican state Sen. Mark Johnson, DFL state Sen. Nicole Mitchell (who correctly has announced plans to resign from the out-of-session Senate no later than Aug. 4), “a jury needed just three hours to confirm what was already clear: she shouldn’t be a senator. Not after April 22, 2024. Not in January of 2025. And not today” (“Sen. Mitchell to resign seat by early August,” July 22).

I don’t live in Mitchell’s district, and even if I did wouldn’t have voted for her in 2026 had she chosen to run again, but the quote really just makes me wonder if anyone has told Johnson about what the current president of the United States (a Republican) was up to on Jan. 6, 2021. Or that that man, whom he surely voted for and supports to this day, was found guilty on 34 felony convictions (as compared to Mitchell’s two convictions). Or if he knows that one of the first acts by that president when reclaiming office this year after leading an inexplicably successful “law and order” campaign was to — checks notes — pardon nearly everyone involved with the Jan. 6 riot that led to millions of dollars of property damage to a public building, countless injuries and even was related to five actual deaths of police officers.

Adam Skoglund, Eden Prairie

•••

I see little evidence that the Democratic Party still exists, except for the daily two or three, and today five, requests for contributions. Until I see some leadership and thoughtful opposition to the daily horrors perpetrated by this administration, I will give my contribution directly to public radio and television, where I know I get value for my money.