Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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The Star Tribune's editorial on Dec. 21 was titled "Trump must not be above the law." A concern presented was that if the Justice Department does not prosecute him, he "could ride the resulting wave of re-energized Trumpers to the Republican presidential nomination and beyond. What power could stop him after that?"

The power I'd like to see in the first place is an overwhelming, undeniable, verified vote against him in the next presidential election. That would be the best way to rid us of the curse that he is. Go ahead, Republicans. Nominate him. Bring it on.

Jim Bartos, Maple Grove

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Ashli Babbitt was killed during the violent Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault. We don't hear much about her death, but death was entirely foreseeable. On Dec. 22, the Star Tribune ran a Wall Street Journal editorial arguing that the events of Jan. 6 were merely a "rally that turned into a riot" ("No case to charge Trump"). No WSJ mention was made of why Trump wanted to disarm the metal detectors. No mention was made of the likely evidence that Trump knew some protesters were armed. No mention was made of Trump's rhetoric to fight like hell. No mention was made of the 187 minutes of Trump silence during which he watched the violent assault on the Capitol. No mention was made of Trump's anti-Mike Pence tweet or the gallows erected to hang Pence, which doesn't seem consistent with a mere rally.

Trump watched as the violence proceeded. The WSJ blandly dismisses Trump's behavior on Jan. 6 as a mere disgrace. But Ashli Babbitt had a life.

Thomas W. Wexler, Edina

The writer is a retired judge.

Reading the "news" article about Cambria's owner Marty Davis, I kept looking for the news ("Minnesota businessman pushed for election fight," Dec. 21). Surely, a wealthy businessman who knows the president and who makes hefty political contributions is not news. Nor is Davis alone in initially questioning, and finally accepting, the veracity of absentee ballots in the 2020 election. Perhaps the news in this story is that a hugely successful Minnesota company stood up to China and won.

Mary Wetmore, Redwood Falls, Minn.

That's why we also need to enact the housing stability recommendations of the governor's 2018 Task Force on Housing. This includes legal protections to ensure families have fair access to housing and to keep people from losing their homes through evictions, which skyrocketed in 2022. A few basic yet vastly overdue modernizations to state law would help do just that, bringing Minnesota tenant/landlord rules back up-to-date with almost all other states.

First, a statewide pre-eviction notice requirement would allow renters more time and ease to apply for financial assistance, work out a deal with their landlord or vacate, making an eviction unnecessary. Second, eviction actions should be cleared from a tenant's record after a reasonable time has passed rather than stay on indefinitely, and should not appear until after the case is decided. Currently, even if a renter "wins" or completes a mutually agreeable settlement, the eviction can still appear on their public record for eternity. Last, discrimination against tenants who rely on a rental subsidy should be illegal. A subsidy can often help a low-income renter find a new home, but many landlords say, "Section 8 tenants need not apply."

Minnesota needs not only thousands of deeply affordable rental units to be built for the future, but we also need to improve and stabilize access to housing now for thousands of renters currently experiencing harmful rental practices.

Michael Dahl, Bloomington

The writer is public policy director at HOME Line.

The recommendations from the authors of "A house-on-fire alarm for Minnesota housing" only focus on a spend-more approach. This focuses on building new apartments yet ignores that 99% of the apartments that will exist in 2023, 2024 or 2025 have already been built.

Any state policy meant to increase affordable housing needs to include the existing stock of apartments. This could be as simple as a tax break for setting aside some affordable units. Building on the existing property tax value exclusion in place for homesteads and veterans, it could look something like "10% affordable units gets you a 10% property tax value exclusion."

Ronald Hobson, St. Louis Park

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It's important to provide some context to a letter writer's support of Minneapolis' consideration of a 3% rent cap ("A 3% cap is not a major burden," Dec. 20). While a 77% rent increase over three years does seem unusual and is certainly not the norm, notice that rental owners are also dealing with massive increases to their expenses, in some cases to the same degree as the letter writer's example.

Ted Bickel, Minnetonka

The Star Tribune recognized the death of Franco Harris, Pittsburgh Steeler Hall of Fame running back, holder of four Super Bowl rings and of course the person who made the "Immaculate Reception" ("Harris, who made Steelers' iconic catch, dies," Dec. 22). But as a lifelong Steeler fan, and a person who grew up in Pittsburgh, there is a part of Harris' legacy that most people don't know. That was his role as someone who was able to bring together Black people and Italians. You see, Pittsburgh in the 1970s had very strong racist attitudes. For example, as a cabdriver, I was told that only Black drivers should pick up Black customers because it was too dangerous for white drivers to go into African American neighborhoods. Parenthetically, there weren't many Black cabdrivers. Italians, Poles, Croats and almost every ethnic group lived in highly segregated communities.

Then, along came No. 32 — the son of an African American father and an Italian mother. He won the rookie of the year award in 1972, and the Super Bowl MVP against the Vikings in 1975. His high visibility and success finally gave Italian and Black fans something to share and also be proud of together. Harris broke stereotypes just by his very existence. The cool thing was that the Hall of Famer understood his unique role, and for his 12-year career in Pittsburgh helped in a small way to heal racial and ethnic divisions. Franco, you will never be forgotten by Steeler fans — and football fans everywhere.