For the first time ever, Sunday's Star Tribune made my day — and year. I have sorely missed Steve Sack's editorial cartoons during his vacation the last few weeks. When I opened the paper to three full pages of his 2019 work in the Opinion Exchange section, I nearly burst into tears of joy. He has been on my mind a lot lately, as I glance at the work of his stand-ins, wondering in most cases, what on earth is the point? I urge the Star Tribune to adopt this New Year's resolution: In honor of Steve Sack, who has no peer, we will cease publishing syndicated substitutes and rerun previous Sack editorial cartoons. Thank you in advance for earning kudos from legions of Steve Sack devotees.
Sandra Nelson, Minneapolis
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To only have Sack's opinions on the Opinion Exchange is completely one-sided. Next week, will you have the Republican rebuttal?
Darlene Blossom, St. Paul
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Sunday's spotlight on cartoonist Sack's hate- and prejudice-laden work once again reminded me of why I canceled the daily Strib. His obsessive hatred of Trump and the Republican Party dominated the work that was published. The cartoon on the cost of an assault rifle vs. the number of people killed in mass shootings perfectly highlighted the incomparable hypocrisy of the liberal left. Sack, in his tiresome and predictable way, ignored the stupendous loss of human life through abortion, which utterly dwarfs the number of gun deaths. But why let a few such inconvenient facts get in the way of another Sack hatchet job when you can buy ink by the 55-gallon drum? I would cancel my Sunday subscription in a heartbeat if not for my wife insisting that the coupons are worth more that the cost of the paper. We're fed up with being insulted, demeaned and marginalized by the increasingly irrelevant mainstream media. Keep it up, Sack. November can't come soon enough!
Bob Kruse, Bloomington
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I have no problem with the Star Tribune publishing cartoons by conservatives, but the grotesque image of a donkey that looked more like some horror show idea of a skull (editorial cartoon by Phil Hands of the Wisconsin State Journal, Dec. 27) that made my 5-year-old cry when she happened to see it was over the top and does no one any good, particularly your newspaper, conservatives or the cartoonist who drew it.
Barbara Robinson, Minneapolis
SPEAKING OF HUMOR
Sack's, good; that of stupid television advertising, bad
Soon it will be 2020, the year I will turn 90. I have had plenty of exposure to publications, television and advertising. So let me say, first, I love the Star Tribune, especially Steve Sack's cartoons and your editorials. But I have a few questions about television advertising, which dominates the screen these days.
When did insurance companies decide that low humor would sell policies? They are investing loads of cash into thinking that readers will make the switch from stupidity to enlightenment.Then there are the lunchtime ads, aimed at us older folks. Do we really have to know about constipation, Depends, alarms, medicines and such while we are eating? Also, how come companies spend so much on cures for skin problems? Are there really thousands of people waiting to know that?
Just think, if television had only lived up to its promise to educate and inspire people, circa 1950s, we would all be so smart. Oh, and another thing. The national weathermen and women love to strike terror in the hearts of viewers with their predictions that "millions" of people are in the path of a snowstorm. Do we have to panic? Well, thank goodness for PBS, our Public Broadcasting Service. And thank goodness for our newspaper. They give us hope.
Mavis Amerson Voigt, Minneapolis
ST. PAUL SNOW PLOWING
When the snow falls, the clock on easy removal begins running
As a resident of St. Paul, I wholeheartedly agree with the Dec. 27 editorial regarding snow removal in our city ("St. Paul is in a rut with snow removal"). St. Paul residents deserve better. However, I disagree with the primary cause of our rutted streets. Our streets are in the condition they're in not because cars aren't ticketed and towed. They are a mess because St. Paul Public Works chooses to wait until snow is compacted and rutted, frozen solid, before even attempting to plow residential streets.
A case in point is what happened Thanksgiving weekend. An initial significant snowfall triggered a snow emergency. Streets were plowed and in reasonably good condition. Sure, some cars weren't moved or towed, but still streets were plowed satisfactorily. A second significant snowfall took place Saturday night into Sunday, ceasing by early afternoon. No attempt was even made to plow until midweek, when residents were asked to voluntarily move cars for plowing. By then it was too late. Snow was compacted, streets were rutted, and the dropping temperatures resulted in streets resembling washboards.
The simple solution is to plow at the first opportunity; don't wait until plowing serves no purpose.
Catherine N. Dienhart, St. Paul
VIKINGS' TOSSED GAME
Big rook
Boooooo. Our family of eight, with two coming out of state, did not pay meaningless cash to watch preseason talent play the Chicago Bears on Sunday ("Proceed with caution: Vikings opt to rest starters for playoffs in finale loss to Bears," Dec. 30). If the game was so meaningless, maybe the Vikings organization will give us a refund for our meaningless ticket.
Come on, they couldn't put the varsity in for the last quarter to at least get the win? And to top it off, we had to sit among Bears fans rubbing our noses in the loss. Boooooo.
Kevin Wendland, Chaska
VIKINGS' DONATIONS
Big whoop
The recent Francis Drake fire was a tragedy on many levels. The Star Tribune reported that two of the Viking players kickstarted a campaign to the now-homeless victims and raised a whopping $25,000, which was matched by the whopping $25,000 from the Wilf family ("Vikings players, owners donate to fire victims, urge fans to do the same," StarTribune.com, Dec. 30).
If I've calculated correctly, the Vikings payroll is close to $200 million, and I'm sure the Wilf family bank account contains a lot more. A tragedy is met by a travesty: Only $25,000, whereas a lot more should have been donated by players who are supported by members of the community purchasing tickets, food and drink at games, clothing and other trinkets.
Two churches opened their doors to provide shelters and meals for the displaced victims on budgets far less than what the Vikings team profits. When will professional athletes and the teams in our community step up in a manner more befitting both status and salaries? Perhaps the Vikings could take a lesson from those two churches and open the doors of the U.S. Bank Stadium temporarily. The ability to prepare food in large numbers exists, and there is a decent chance the team won't be using the place for quite a while. Heck, why don't our teams just build a truly functional shelter for all of the homeless in our midst as a first step of giving back?
