To the editor: Have you ever had a friend or relative that was depressed about their situation after a divorce? Did they try to explain? Were you wondering what they were talking about? Let me explain: the family court system is set up for one winner and one loser, whether that be the husband or the wife and 80 percent of the time the wife gets the children.  Is it a coincidence, unfortunately not, as the state of Minnesota gives three options? First, you can opt to come to an agreement with your ex-spouse, second you can request that the state take wage withdrawals from the spouses paycheck …

To the editor, I, along with over one thousand Minnesota residents, signed a petition in July 2011 addressed to Congressman and House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), asking him to renew his commitment to TRiO programs in Minnesota. We signed because we are concerned for the future of thousands of low-income students in Minnesota and across the nation. We signed because we were worried that Congressman Kline, like many others in Congress, was forgetting about the critical importance of TRiO to low-income students across the country. As supporters of the Federal …

To the editor: We have made progress. The parts per million of CO2 in the atmosphere is 393.18. This is good news and bad news. Last year it was 392.40. The good news is that this is the smallest increase in years. Last year the PPM (parts per million) was 392.40. This yearly the increase was smaller than last year's. The bad news is that the PPM is as high as it has ever been and we need to have it below 350 by the year 2050 for the planet to support human life according to scientists. Harley Horsager, Lakeville

To the editor: I'm writing in response to a social media posting Council Member Matt Little made. Little wrote, “I have now been in office for nearly 6 months. My vision for the city of Lakeville has been that of safe neighborhoods, strong infrastructure, good schools, and smart policy-making that reduces costs and taxes to the citizens. I look forward to the day when Mayor Bellows and Councilmember Labeau join in this vision.” Mr. Little, I find comments such as this disrespectful and uncalled for. What does making such a comment do to help the citizens and businesses of Lakeville? …

To the editor: In my simple mind I’ve tried to summarize the big picture of the Minnesota budget debate and why a shut down is occurring. Fortunately or unfortunately, this “forcing event” is just what we need to make meaningful changes/choices/priorities. The Republicans proposed a $34.2 billion budget consisting of the 2011 state forecast of $33.3 billion in expected revenue (includes school cost shifting) PLUS using $900 million of the state’s cash reserves. Republicans agreed to spend reserves. The Governor in his June 30 speech said "cuts reduced my proposed budget to $35.7 billion, …

To the editor: My daughter Maia said she would ride her bicycle until gas prices are below $1.75. If everyone would do that we could force the gas prices down, and by riding a bicycle you can save money. So find your backpacks and bicycle packs and hop on! Harley Horsager, Lakeville

To the editor: Each aluminum can takes the equivalent energy of half a gallon of gasoline to make! (This is for a new can—much less for recycled can.) Each plastic drinking bottle takes the equivalent energy of a quarter of a bottle of oil! (This is for a new bottle—much less for a recycled bottle.) Several people have told me that they have given up on recycling because people always throw garbage in the recycle container. Please do not give up on recycling so easily. People who buy the recycling go through it very carefully. So when in doubt, recycle!  But it is very important to rinse …

To the editor: Business owners in America depend on large trucks, and planes to deliver, move and bring services to consumers. It appears were in a double-dip recession, but there is one absolute solution to grow business, and lower commodity prices; the need for cheap fuel. The heart of small businesses will not be buying electric, one-ton vans, eighteen wheelers, or airplanes; average small businesses cannot afford green technology that may see a return in 15-30 years, because at this point, they are just trying to make the payroll every Friday, and pay the mortgages. Further, hoping to …

The city of Lakeville is a conservative town in Minnesota, but you would not know it, as the majority of the City Council is comprised of liberals Matt Little, Kerrin Swecker and Laurie Reib. Little, a 25-year-old, is a community organizer who ran as a conservative, Swecker is from out “east”, and Reib is another community organizer. These three are the majority in charge of a city of 60,000 people and $90 million in debt. The city uses a weak mayor system and the three council member majority is on auto pilot running the city into the ground. With the threat of gas prices looming to $10 …

It's already March—four months since the election. It's typically a time when most citizens get the feeling their elected officials have already forgotten about them. I completely understand that sentiment. One of the many reasons I chose to get involved this early in life is because I grew tired of the multiple promises that seemingly never panned out post-election day. I promised you three basic things during the campaign: limit city property taxes, support our public safety departments, and get more youth involved in the community. We recently got done trimming down the 2011 budget by $160…

To the Editor: Forms of democracy are being shouted around the world in the mainstream media outlets, and with regular folks speaking out about their right to democracy and solidarity.   What is unclear is whether people really know what democracy is? So let’s be clear-cut. According to Webster’s it’s a “government by the people; especially: rule of the majority." In any case, if there is a majority, and that majority is socialist, communist, Nazis, or even a mob then there is a democracy rule, or mob rule. Story has it that when Benjamin Franklin came out of the Constitutional Convention he …

As I observed in the latest Lakeville city council work session, there have been serious discussions about the future of the Kenrick Avenue extension. This $2.6 million road extension would extend Kenrick Avenue between 175th and 183rd Streets. The Tax burden would be at a cost of $191,000 per year, for the next 20 years. According to Council Member Swecker’s web site, her husband, James Swecker, is the Area Director for Applebee’s. Further, at the Feb. 7 City Council meeting, Tom Wroblewski, the Store manager from Lakeville Applebee’s was before the council lobbying for the extension that …

To the Editor: Lakeville's City Administrator, Steve Mielke, is the best of the best. I attended a legislative meeting this morning with mayors, councilors, and legislators from the metro suburbs. When introduced to leaders from Apple Valley, Eagan, and Inver Grove Heights every one of them told me how lucky we are to have Mr. Mielke. My response: “Trust me, I know.”  When I began my campaign for city council back in February of 2010, there were few movers and shakers of Lakeville's political elite willing to sit down and meet with me. The staff, on the contrary, were readily available and …

To the Editor: As an entrepreneur, and a former city council candidate, I find it troubling and pompous when our Lakeville City Administrator is shopping for other positions while supposedly working for our best interest. After connecting with, and courting the city of Eden Prairie, Steve Mielke, the current city administrator, has now suggested “you have to be passionate about where you’re working." That begs the question, if you’re passionate about Lakeville, why would you be out looking for another job? And at $137,000, which is a pay cut from the current generous pay of $151,000 (he makes…

To the Editor: The last three weeks in Lakeville have been brutal for many families. Our community has had to make many tough decisions about what we consider priorities when it comes to our children’s education. There are no good choices; the programs and teachers being cut help our kids reach their full potential as human beings. Different kids respond to different programs and to cut them can be life altering to these young people. That being said, it has also been wonderful to see families and groups come together to save whatever program was important to their family—to see people engage…

To the editor: The elections are final, the real work is about to begin. Although the legislature, counties, cities, and school districts may have a huge budget deficit to solve, it ought not focus solely on numbers.   Now is the opportunity to push for real reforms. We must not just cut dollars; we must redefine and reduce the role of government. You can starve the beast; but eventually you only create a wounded, hungry and angry animal. Instead, we need to tame the beast and limit the size and scope of government to perform its basic Constitutional obligations of public safety, public …