I’ve lived in Minnesota all but a single year since 1963  (excepting only 1964-65).   Most of that time is in what we know as the Twin Cities, population nearing 4 million); 26 years of that within 15 minutes of the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, and a similar distance from Wisconsin on Interstate 94.  I have been an active citizen all that time.

As the election season ratchets up, the political dark side powers that be have apparently determined that Minnesota is the seat of all evil, rampant crime and corruption and ineptness, generally, and all of this is the Democrats fault.

People like myself (a Minnesota Democrat) know better about our state.

So does Dane Smith, a Minnesotan with solid reporter credentials earned over many years.

Last night Jeff forwarded this long article published Aug 6, 2026 (no paywall) by Dane in Minn Post (founded and on-line since 2007), .  Here’s a snip from his article: “With street crime rates declining, the disastrous ICE invasion and the Iran War proving unpopular, with gas and other prices rising, and with Minnesota showing up near the top in national rankings on quality of life….”

Wherever you live, take time to read this article, not only as it applies to Minnesota, but to your own place in the country or the world.  Note that the article links to the rest of a series of articles from Dane Smith on the general topic.

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POSTNOTE: I plan to post on the 25th anniversary of 9-11-01 on the anniversary, and I would invite reflections from others as well.  If interested in contributing, deadline September 10.

Meanwhile, it is reasonable to expect that the political chaos machine will continue and likely even increase in coming months.  This is no time to go into hiding.

Yesterday Heather Delaney Reese, a longtime blogger with a huge following wrote about  how she “became part of the story” of ICE in real time.  Her account is riveting.  I subscribe to her as well as others, and this is a shared post.  But I encourage your financial support for such writers.

There is lots of credible information out there.  Take the time….

COMMENTS

from Gramee:  Redundancy: I was on Tim Walz’s campaign team the first year he ran for MN congress. No longer remember how that came into being. I do remember driving back and forth from Mankato and learning some strategies from a pro. Most of us were rookies. Tim was in and out of the office a lot, and I came to like him very much. I still do. And the massive amount of sh*t that Donald’s world has piled on him (and on MN) is the stuff of regurgitation. Lots of it. Imperfections? Yes, seems that way. But having the Mar-a-Lago Mafia plus the sordid likes of DeMuth and Emmer on Tim’s butt all day, every day is beyond the beyond. Meh!