Vikings Stadium, Minnesota Private Business Council, Expo 2027, “Hydrogen Economy”, Summit Avenue Bike Trail

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“Viking Home Will Be Paid Off Soon” (May 26) is good news. It’s also good to remember that the stadium proposal fell through because taxpayers would be forced to pay to further enrich billionaire owners. Then NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell flew in for closed talks with lawmakers, and — shazam — the taxpayers were on the hook for “their cut” of the stadium.

I’m glad the Vikings stayed in Minnesota, but it still stinks that the state gave in to NFL blackmail. We should always remember that fact, especially now that the Mayo Clinic has just threatened similar violence from a move that called for safer staffing of nursing staff (“Good Mayo, Bad Mayo: How Minnesota Got the Treatment,” op.) . exchange, May 26).

We should praise the private sector when it does good, but when it interferes in the democratic process we should not be afraid to say so.

Steve Schild, Winona

NEW BUSINESS COUNCIL

Excellent! Former Minnesota Attorney General candidate Jim Schultz announces the formation of the Minnesota Private Business Council, and the first statement about the council is: “The MPBC will oppose a lot of things” (“Minn. Needs a New Voice,” Opinion Exchange , 23. May) .

Exactly what we need; another group that argues against rather than advocating and implementing specific projects and policies to build Minnesota.

Don’t tell me about broader statements like, “We will present a vision for Minnesota where people of all backgrounds and walks of life have the opportunity to work in good-paying jobs,” but about your proposal for improving literacy and math skills in secondary schools – the cornerstones of all professional skills. Instead of bragging about “crazy energy mandates,” tell us about your proposal to help Xcel, Minnesota Power, and others strengthen the transmission system. Tell us what “sound public safety approaches to dealing with violent and other serious crime” are. You’re right, the current approaches don’t work well. And what do you suggest us?

And you will speak out against the Defund the Police policy. Excellent. Most Minnesotans realized two years ago that this was an ineffective way to deal with crime and police problems.

The Minnesota Private Business Council sounds like just another committee that complains about almost anything I don’t like.

Thomas Klein, Richfield

EXPO 2027

The theme of Expo 2027 in Bloomington (“Healthy People, Healthy Planet”) fits very well, as Expo organizers and planners make allowances for the Expo site’s largest neighbor, the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, one of the nation’s premier wildlife refuges include.

The Expo site will overlook the refuge – a 14,000-acre natural treasure that stretches 45 miles upstream along the Minnesota River.

Many expo structures will be built on the bluff overlooking and bordering the refuge’s Long Meadow Lake and Ike Creek trout stream. The Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center at the east end of Bloomington is a short walk from the Expo site and a tube station.

The proximity of Expo 2027 and the National Wildlife Refuge provides an opportunity to highlight the “environmental” theme of the Expo and provide Expo visitors with a conservation exhibit/message. And there is the additional option of offering a van tour of the wild river bottoms and wildlife residents to a limited number of Expo visitors. There are also several kilometers of cycling and hiking trails on the nearby riverbed.

Expo organizers/planners should work with the staff of the Federal Wildlife Refuge, the non-profit organization Minnesota Valley Refuge Friends and the Minnesota Valley Trust for the benefit of both the Expo and the National Wildlife Refuge.

The Bloomington site chosen for Expo 2027 could be a winner, but if not carefully planned and developed, the wildlife sanctuary could be damaged – quite the opposite of the Expo’s main theme.

Edward Crozier, Burnsville

“HYDROGEN ECONOMY”

I am intrigued by the prospect of a new source of fuel/fertilizer as detailed in “Hydrogen economy winkons state, Xcel” (front page, May 21). However, the article glossed over an important factor that should always be addressed in any article like this: How does our precious water resource, Minnesota, play a part in this new technology?

Minnesotans have been here before. Do you remember the original ethanol production in Minnesota? We blindly built an industry that used corn and billions of gallons of groundwater in a part of the state where that resource is limited to make gasoline for cars. Fortunately, the amount of water per gallon of ethanol has dropped dramatically, but let’s not make the same mistake with hydrogen production.

Worryingly, an entire article is written without examining whether water use for this is a sustainable reality. I remember former Gov. Mark Dayton exhorting us when he declared 2016 the “Year of Water Action,” saying that Minnesota residents don’t need more water laws, we need a “new water ethic.” If we have a water ethic in Minnesota, we can hope for articles like this, which always address the question of where water sustainability fits into the technology. I look forward to future articles exploring this potential new fuel source and detailing how it would affect our water resources.

Fred Putzier, Burnsville

SUMMIT AVENUE TRAIL

The most troubling aspect of the May 24 St. Paul City Council vote on the Summit Avenue regional trail was Councilman Mitra Jalali’s speech expressing her support for the plan (“Summit Av. Bike trail ok after long struggle brought”, May 26). ).

I noticed that Jalali spent a lot of time looking at her phone throughout the testimony. She didn’t seem to feel the need to even pretend to listen to citizen testimonies. Listening is the foundation of democracy. Not listening is the first step to ignorance. Not listening is a theme that runs like a red thread through the heated trail debate.

According to witnesses, the planners did not listen to the citizens who invited them as consultants. The planners did not listen to the advice of the consultants they had hired, Bolton & Menk. The planners and city advocates don’t listen when safety experts say the elevated path isn’t any safer. The planners consistently refused to listen to legitimate criticisms of their plan, such as its flawed mathematics and flaws in logic. For example, they claim that the 6-inch grassed buffer will provide storage space for winter snow removal. The sheet of paper on which I will print this letter is 8½ inches wide. Subtract 2½ inches to get the width of your buffer – it’s smaller than a piece of paper. I can only think of two reasons to overlook this obvious mistake: blatant ignorance, or sticking to an agenda unrelated to building a successful infrastructure.

Jalali’s first argument was the death of a cyclist at Snelling and Summit. This unfortunate accident occurred at an intersection under circumstances not accounted for in this plan. She then invoked the death of George Floyd and social justice, equating the lack of an elevated list to Ms Vanderbilt’s social register — a populist and fallacious argument. Floyd died because he was denied due process by a fanatic in power. I suppose if we could ask him, he’d say he didn’t want his death avenged by putting the McLaughlin family (owners of Summit Manor) out of business or cutting through the 100-year-old tree canopy at Summit one replaces area of ​​paving. Rather than harming people and the environment, he would probably want a change in structures that empower fanatics. Fanatics who don’t listen. Demagogues who use their power to advance their ideological goals regardless of factual facts. This is ignorance.

Alice Gebura, St Paul