Readers Write: Vaccine efficacy, state spending, charter schools, greater Minnesota, sustainability

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

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Two points to add to Jill Burcum’s Dec. 22 column regarding concerns over the possible leader of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and his skepticism of vaccines (“A troubling pick to lead HHS”).

First, I recently attended the burial of a long-lived cousin, and a family member commented, “A good way to assess the effectiveness of vaccines is to walk through an older cemetery and count the number of children’s graves per decade.” Starting in the 1950s and 1960s when vaccines started to be common, it’s easy to see that many more children lived to adulthood.

Second, a simple web search brought up a 2023 CDC report, “Progress Toward Measles Elimination — Worldwide, 2000-2022.” Quoting from that: “During 2000-2022, estimated measles vaccination prevented approximately 57 million deaths worldwide. However, millions of children missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an 18% increase in estimated measles cases and a 43% increase in estimated measles deaths in 2022 compared with 2021. Large or disruptive outbreaks were reported in 37 countries.”

Unfortunately, only about 33,000 people have looked at that report, according to its metrics. So yes, more accessible and transparent vaccine data is needed, including in this newspaper and all media. 57 million people saved is a very large number. I trust none of us want to see that number reduced due to political posturing.

Peter Hairston, St. Paul

As someone who has voted for both Republicans and Democrats over the years, I would like to offer some advice to Jim Schultz after reading his commentary (“Five New Year’s resolutions for the state government,” Dec. 22).

The Republican Party has not elected a candidate to statewide office in Minnesota since 2006. It’s not because the entire state is progressive; it’s because the Republican Party keeps nominating extremists. Royce White — their nominee to run against Amy Klobuchar for her Senate seat in 2024 — has publicly stated he thinks “the bad guys won in World War II.” Their last candidate for lieutenant governor, Matt Birk, has alluded to believing that women who become pregnant through rape must deliver the baby.

This state ain’t Texas, Mr. Schultz.

I agree with Schultz that this state has a bloated government. That our taxes are too high. That crime is a serious problem. And that the DFL is too progressive. Nominate a moderate candidate for governor or attorney general, and I will strongly consider voting for such a person.

But I think the right side did win World War II. So if you want a serious change in government, you must start nominating serious candidates.

Jim Piga, Mendota Heights

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I have two resolutions for Schultz and the GOP in response to his Dec. 22 commentary:

First, fat cat billionaires need a diet. Schultz is right, math is undefeated. It tells us the richest keep getting a larger slice of the pie chart. So he wants a tax cut of $4 billion to add to our $5 billion deficit so the wealthy don’t have to pay taxes on their first $50,000. Since many of the lowest-income earners don’t pay taxes, guess who benefits? Instead I suggest means-testing the free school meal program to benefit only those who really need that.

Second, crime. Math says it’s down across the board. And any party who thinks the treasonous attack on the Capitol and its police was anything less than that has no credibility on the subject, not to mention ignoring the crimes of their party leader and his hand-picked cronies, including Supreme Court justices.

Third, while I agree that diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have gone too far, that doesn’t mean we should ignore, pooh-pooh, or outright lie about our state and country’s oppression of minorities and others who aren’t straight, white and Christian.

Karl Samp, Brainerd, Minn.

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In his opinion piece on Sunday, Schultz trotted out the same, tired Republican talking points. Cut taxes, cut spending, stir up old grievances about defunding the police and removing “wokeness” from the government (particularly education). Yes, let’s go back to the days when state government jobs favored white applicants, ignore the realities of what life has been like over our country’s history for people of color as we teach our children, let the rich keep more of their money, and ignore the fact that much of the spending in 2023 was making up for underspending for what Minnesota families needed during previous years. Clearly he wants 2025 to move backward, not forward.

Cyndy Crist, St. Paul

Now that the Minnesota Star Tribune wants to provide its readers with all sides of issues and stories, I expect to see a front-page article about the truly successful charter schools in Minnesota. You can start with the Math and Science Academy located in Woodbury (mnmsa.org). It provides an excellent learning environment, routinely has the highest test scores in the state and was named the best high school in Minnesota two years running by U.S. News and World Report (Nova Classical Academy and St. Croix Preparatory Academy, also charter schools, came in second and third).

Yes, I’m biased. I was a member of the original staff and served on its board of directors multiple times. Now retired, I consider myself lucky to have been part of a remarkable school that started serving students back in 1999. I’ll just sit back and wait for your positive headline!

Ken Thielman, Woodbury

The fulmination by Gov. Tim Walz about the fraud that has been revealed in state and federally funded programs like Feeding Our Future and now the autism program is pitiful (“Frustrated lawmakers taking aim at fraud,” Dec. 22). His lamentation that this massive abuse “pisses” him off overlooks that these incidents happened on his watch — or lack of watch — underneath the noses of his administrators who sniffed nothing while all this wrongdoing was occurring.

During his campaign for vice president, he said he was too busy to sleep. But it looks like he and his administration have been sleeping on the job. Had he — or it — been doing even a halfway decent job, the governor could conserve his bodily fluids or, at least, address these concerns with more than barnyard eloquence.

Marshall H. Tanick, Minneapolis

Just a note of praise for Karen Tolkkinen and her columns. As someone born and raised in rural Minnesota and an urban Minnesotan for many more years, it is refreshing to read her columns. Family and friends that I dearly love in rural Minnesota and I often have differing opinions in regard to politics but we have all put that aside to remain close and not lose contact during these very divisive times. I feel her columns may be helpful for urban folks to understand the rural way of life a bit better by way of describing her and her neighbors’ lives and experiences. Keep up the good work!

Vicky Swanson, Excelsior

Responding to the Dec. 22 article “Friends, family celebrate lives of women killed in north Mpls. crash”: Releasing balloons is a lovely sentiment and visually impactful, but balloons are not biodegradable and cause all kinds of problems. A quick search for supporting information brings up this article from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “Please Don’t Release Your Balloons” (tinyurl.com/wildlifeballoons).

Danette Hudoba, Isanti, Minn.