LOCAL VIEW

Local view: Vaccines are safe and save lives

This week (April 20-27), we celebrate National Infant Immunization Week. Thousands of infants and children die each year, mostly in impoverished Third World countries, of vaccine-preventable diseases. We are fortunate in the U.S. to have life-saving vaccines available for infants and children.

By Dr. Linda Van Etta , April 24, 2013

Local view: Americans won’t let fear stop them

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: I am a big chicken. Not the scared-of-my-shadow type chicken, unless it’s dark or I’m alone in an empty house, but a scaredy-cat nonetheless. I have an irrational fear of spiders, which some people refer to as a “phobia,” but I think “phobia” somehow implies I am crazy. There is nothing crazy about being scared of creatures that are faster than I am, can bite and are sometimes poisonous. Never mind I am roughly a million times bigger than they are. I look at this as a case of the-bigger-they-are-the-harder-they-fall. Which is why I have my 4-year-old kill them for me. No way she will go down as hard as I will.

By Moriah Erickson , April 21, 2013

Local view: Everyone can create goodness to drive out hate

Tragedies such as at the Boston Marathon leave me feeling helpless against the circumstances in our world. I read the stories, hear the testimonies and watch the terrors unfold. Yet from my home in northern Minnesota I feel distant from the events.

By Ahnna Peterson , April 21, 2013

Local view: Society needs the Church in dark time

We Catholics have had a historical couple of months. Pope Benedict XVI resigned. A conclave took place. And we welcomed our new Holy Father, Pope Francis. With these events, the Church has been in the news quite a bit, and during this time I have noticed a consistent desire from many in the secular world, and in our Christian community.

By Fr. Ben Hadrich , April 21, 2013

Old-school passion sadly lacking today

Another person from a great era died a few months ago. His name was Vance Hopkins (“Duluth middle school students write condolences to family of assistant principal,” Dec. 6).

By Dan Celentano , April 20, 2013

Local view: Congress must end sequester and start working for us, its employer

It is not too late for Republicans and Democrats to sponsor a bill to nullify the sequester and save hundreds of thousands of jobs.

By Donald E. Maypole , April 19, 2013

Local view: Morality comes from within

In the biblical story of Eden and in the doctrines of other religions, morality — the ability to determine right from wrong — comes from an outside, supernatural source. Adam and Eve were not created with morality; they only gained it after eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Followers of major world religions would have you believe that without their God or gods, there is no basis for determining right from wrong.

By Erik Bergholm , April 17, 2013

Local view: Human-trafficking act needs to protect all victims

Is the federal Trafficking Violence Protection Act doing enough to protect the victims of human trafficking?

By Donara Rudman , April 16, 2013

Local view: Why restore the NorShor?

The NorShor Theatre is not only at the center of our city; for many of us, it is the heart of our community. As with any centenarian, it has led a complex life, some of it prosperous and parts of it tumultuous. But by all accounts, it has been a legendary journey.

By Gary Doty, Marcia Doty, Jerry Peterson and Tim Meininger , April 14, 2013

Local view: Special education a good investment

Special education may be squeezing classrooms and costing districts money, as two days of News Tribune coverage reported last month, but it has been invaluable to our family.

By James and Beth Wilde , April 14, 2013

Local view: ’Til death do us part

As a retired judge, I have the power — and the joy — to preside over weddings here in Minnesota. I typically say a few words at the ceremony and usually review my proposed comments with the prospective bride and groom. In looking back over my notes from past ceremonies, I can see I must sound like a cheerleader for the benefits of marriage as I legally usher men and women into the status of husbands and wives.

By Carol Person , April 13, 2013

Local view: Love is not conditional

In our region, we are made of Lake Superior. It literally flows through us in so many ways, from the water we drink and the beer we brew to the art we create and the rivers we canoe. One of the greatest things about Lake Superior is its accessibility. Open to everyone, Lake Superior always is giving its beauty and resources for the benefit of all, regardless of what it receives in return. It’s always there for us, enormously expanding to the horizon as a constant reminder of just how great our lake is.

By Shane Bauer , April 13, 2013

Local view: When will we ever learn?

Our growing, crippling debt didn’t originate because of local issues like education. The reasons are several, including the previous administration’s decision to fight two wars on a credit card and to reduce taxes at a time when additional tax money sorely was needed.

By Bernie Hughes , April 12, 2013

Local view: Food for thought: Time for campus to connect with the community

I read with excitement the March 11 business-page story, “Locally grown food moving mainstream in Northland,” which highlighted the important announcement by Duluth’s Essentia Health Systems that it would be purchasing 20 percent of its food from local sources by 2020, which would be in line with the Superior Compact.

By Judy Breuer , April 10, 2013

Local view: Make a date for talk on improving your health

I hate exercise. I think it’s because I used to do so much of it. Before Nike and way before Lycra bodysuits I was the kid sprinting home from school. Not jogging, not running — sprinting.

By Patrick Francisco , April 09, 2013