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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Some folks think diverting Mississippi River water to the parched Southwest is a brilliant plan ("Mississippi River eyed again as water solution for West," Feb. 3). Never mind that it would take decades and cost billions. It also ignores a simpler, faster and cheaper alternative:

Instead of moving water from the Midwest to the Southwest, why don't we just encourage Southwesterners to move to the Midwest?

Bob Lewis, Minneapolis

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The Feb. 3 article about pumping unwanted flood water to parched portions of the West has some merit. But why limit the discussion to just the Mississippi River? Pumping from tributaries upstream could help abate flooding in towns and fields along the banks (think the Red River of the North) while also easing flooding downstream.

Mark Hodapp, Belle Plaine

Minnesota currently gets about a quarter of its electric power from each of four sources: coal, natural gas, renewables (wind, solar, hydro) and nuclear. Each source has its advantages and disadvantages. Coal is cheap, reliable and dirty (inasmuch as it emits CO2). Natural gas is reasonably cheap, reliable, flexible and dirty (CO2). Renewables are relatively expensive (though getting less so), dependent on sunshine and/or wind and clean. Nuclear is very inexpensive (particularly its marginal cost from existing power plants), reliable, clean and feared. But our two existing nuclear power plants, with a total of three nuclear reactors, are integral to Minnesotans' quality of life. They chug along, day and night, producing the baseload power we need for running our businesses and charging our electric cars at home.

Unfortunately the reactors in Minnesota are about 50 years old. They were initially supposed to run for 40 years. If we don't start building new nuclear plants now, by 2040 we will need to triple the amount of power we get from wind and solar (to replace both the coal plants and the nuclear plants). And in 2040, solar will still not produce electricity at night and windmills will still not produce electricity when the wind isn't blowing. I would assert that unless the Legislature revokes the moratorium on nuclear power plants in Minnesota soon, we have no hope of being carbon-free by 2040, and if we are, it will not be the quantity or quality of power that Minnesotans will need.

Neil Crocker, Eden Prairie

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Rachel Walker, Golden Valley

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To organizational management gurus, there is a concept known as a "stretch goal": a bold statement of intent designed to challenge and propel a group or organization to achieve something many deem as impossible.

Probably the best known example of such a stretch goal was the historic challenge that President John F. Kennedy laid before this nation in 1962, now commonly known as the "Moonshot."

At the time that JFK established the goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade, the U.S. space program had yet to break the gravitational bonds of our own planet. Consequently, his statement engendered all the elements of a laudable stretch goal.

As the Minnesota Legislature codifies its stretch goal of having 100% carbon-free electrical generation by 2040, some will scoff. "Can't be done," they will say. And maybe, just maybe, they will be right.

But not me. I'm putting my money on the ingenuity, determination and foresight of the people of the bold north to achieve our very own moonshot.

Tom Baumann, Isanti, Minn.

Ratepayers have won a significant victory with Xcel Energy backing down from a 21.2% rate increase over three years. Xcel has lowered that request to 15.4%, which is still being challenged by the Minnesota Department of Commerce (DOC) described in "Rate-hike request is again on the line" (Jan. 23). The DOC points out that Xcel's request includes an additional $200 million in profit over three years that is not necessary because Xcel is already "flourishing." Agreed.

Xcel has the eighth-highest CEO pay in the state and the second-highest CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio among U.S. utilities, 139 to 1, as reported by the Citizens Utility Board in November 2021. Additionally, taxpayers are providing tax subsidies for renewable clean energy projects as part of the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. Xcel expects to receive $500 million in these subsidies over five years for company-owned renewable energy projects, according to an October Star Tribune article.

Janet Pope, St. Paul

The Star Tribune Editorial Board wants more teachers of color in Minnesota classrooms ("Increase teacher diversity, for kids' sake," editorial, Feb. 4). One wonders why there are not more teachers of color now. Let me offer some possibilities.

Perhaps college-educated people of color are looking for a job with a career path that offers opportunities for advancement. Perhaps they don't want bosses whose training defines them as the problem. Perhaps they want a job that is not continually criticized by politicians and people who do not understand the job. Perhaps they want a job that pays well. Perhaps they want a job with a low likelihood of assault or litigation.

In short, perhaps college-educated people of color are too smart to be teachers.

Rolf Bolstad, Minneapolis

Republicans are lining up at the nearest TV camera or microphone to castigate the administration for not shooting down the Chinese balloon much sooner. And, if it had been shot down earlier over land and had caused death, injury or property destruction, rest assured the administration would have been roundly blamed for that outcome.

What is deafening is the silence of those same Republicans when asked about the Chinese balloons that transited U.S. territory during the last administration.

Realistically, it seems the safest action was taken: destroying the balloon over water to mitigate any damage, plus keeping the debris field much more concentrated for easier retrieval.

To be clear, the Chinese government should pay a price for this incursion, but most likely their satellites are gathering much more data and information than any balloon, and much more frequently.

Ron Bender, Richfield

Maybe we should float a ginormous Winnie the Pooh balloon over China. Just an idea ...