Circle Nov. 7 on your calendar as a reminder to vote no matter where you live in Minnesota. While high-profile elections are taking place for mayor in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, there are a significant number of school board elections and funding referendums taking place throughout the state as well.
Given that the school board has tax authority to fund operations and put forward funding referendums for buildings and numerous other uses, citizens throughout the state should be paying close attention on Nov. 7. Funding for the public school system is one of three principal parts of our property tax bills, along with county and city taxes.
These school board elections and referendums are not the time and place to stay home in protest. Failure to show up and participate is more about ignorance and less about making a statement. School board members are elected officials with a surprising ability to influence not only 13 years of K-12 academics, but your property tax bill as well. Whether you rent an apartment or own your home, you will pay for decisions made by school board members and the districts they represent.
So pay attention or pay the price. Your future depends on your participation.
Jim Hafner, Coon Rapids
SOUTHWEST LIGHT RAIL
It's not just a case of NIMBY for trains near Chain of Lakes
Regarding "SWLRT lawsuit goes to court" (Oct. 5): The article does a disservice by characterizing the Lakes and Parks Alliance as simply "neighbors" filing a lawsuit, whereas supporters also include those in the greater metropolitan area who wish to protect the shared public lakes and parks — especially the Chain of Lakes — from being destroyed by a light-rail corridor.
It is ironic that any other major city in the country would pay to have our current urban lakes and parklands in place — the very setup through which the Metropolitan Council seeks to run hundreds of light-rail trains per day.
Any ruling must consider the complete environmental alteration of this historic park system vs. the right to review appropriate alternate corridors.
M.T. Mason, Minneapolis
GUNS
President could show leadership by speaking out on firearm safety
President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to protect and defend the American people, using every means necessary to ensure their safety, even if it means setting aside certain rights guaranteed to individuals by the U.S. Constitution. His numerous travel bans are evidence of his willingness to challenge those guaranteed rights in the name of protecting American lives.
But now a new threat to American life and public safety has been revealed. The recent massacre of innocent people in Las Vegas gives Trump a new opportunity to show that he genuinely cares about protecting American citizens.
If he has the courage to begin a national conversation about guns, gun safety and the regulation of firearms in America, he will prove that he truly cares about protecting and saving citizens' lives. But if he remains silent, it will appear that his bold talk about the need for high walls and secure borders was more likely prompted by political opportunism that by a genuine concern for the safety of the people.
This is a pivotal moment in his presidency. I'm hoping that the president will not miss this opportunity to demonstrate great leadership.
Charles Hanson, Brooklyn Park
• • •
While we cannot seem to make any progress on gun control when we look at the number of lives lost, perhaps a review of the total medical costs incurred in caring for gunshot victims might get the attention of American taxpayers.
The Las Vegas shooting alone will result in millions of dollars for acute care, and long-term care of the victims will be millions more.
The price of human suffering is immeasurable in any terms. When will the price of owning a gun be too great?
John Fangman, Edina
• • •
I'm in my 70s. In my breast pocket, I'm carrying around more computing power than existed in the entire world when I was born. My current car won't let me accidentally lock my key inside, and my next car will probably drive better than I do. People can now control their home's heating and cooling systems from anywhere in the world.
So why are guns just as dumb now as they were when I was born? Why can't a gun broadcast its location when it is stolen? Why can't a gun decide not to fire when in the hands of a 4-year-old or when accidentally dropped. If we have to have semi-automatic rifles (and I don't believe we do), why can't they send a message to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when they are modified to become fully automatic?
Too costly? Google "cost Glock 9mm handgun" and an ad pops up with a suggested list price of $500. You can buy a smartphone full of bells and whistles for that price — why not smart guns?
Mike Whalen, Woodbury
HEATING AND COOLING
Here are even more ways to save money on energy efficiency
As a nonprofit committed to energy efficiency, we at the Center for Energy and Environment appreciated the recent column "HVAC services are not cheap, so do the proper homework," Your Money, Business, Oct. 1), which shed light on many important issues homeowners face when replacing heating and cooling systems. While we agree with the article's main thrust, we wanted to add two key points missing from the piece:
1. Utility rebates: When making decisions on how best and most cost-effectively to replace outdated HVAC equipment, homeowners should remember that energy utility companies offer sizable rebates that encourage choosing more efficient equipment. For long-term savings, you don't want to miss out on rebates that can significantly offset your costs to buy better, more efficient equipment.
2. Air source heat pumps: Emerging cold-climate technologies such as air source heat pumps offer meaningful energy savings for less money out of pocket. As opposed to traditional ground source heat pumps (referenced in the article), cold-climate air source heat pumps are only about a third of the cost and don't require wells to be drilled, greatly improving efficiency's ease and payback.
Minnesotans value energy-efficient HVAC equipment for its performance and comfort, as well as for savings that add up on utility bills. And because efficiency pays off in multiple ways, we want to make sure that readers are aware of ongoing evolutions in technology and financing that make it more cost-effective and feasible than ever to save energy and money while improving our environment.
Chris Plum and Ben Schoenbauer, Minneapolis
The writers are program development manager and senior research engineer, respectively, of the Center for Energy and Environment in Minneapolis.
AMAZON
A better use for the money?
Regarding the commentary, "Is this the right company to pursue with subsidies?" (Oct. 6): Rather than subsidies for Amazon to locate [a second headquarters] in Minnesota, the money would be better spent on pre-K education and health care for the state's young children. A healthy, educated workforce would benefit all Minnesotans in future years.
