The following excerpts are from Star Tribune Opinion articles ranked by highest online readership this year. To read them in their entirety, go to startribune.com/opinion and use the embedded links.
22 for '22: The most-read opinions
Our readers were interested in Twin Cities crime, COVID, politics, Ukraine and legal weed, among other topics.
December 29, 2022 at 11:45PM
- "From Steve Sack: thank you, and farewell," by our Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist: "It's with extremely mixed feelings that after 42 years, and some 10,000 cartoons, I have decided to retire from the Star Tribune."
- "Anarchy in Minneapolis goes unchallenged," by Andy Brehm: "I love Minneapolis. Despite its sad state, I go out of my way to support its restaurants and retailers. My parents still call downtown Minneapolis home even though their neighborhood looks and feels nothing like it did when they moved in. It breaks my heart to see the deterioration of our once-great city in such a short span of time."
- "Samuels over Omar in DFL primary," by the Star Tribune Editorial Board: "DFL-endorsed Rep. Ilhan Omar has represented this diverse district for two terms and is vying for a third against the strongest opponent she has faced to date: former Minneapolis City Council Member Don Samuels. After interviewing both and considering their records, the Star Tribune Editorial Board is endorsing Samuels in the Aug. 9 DFL primary."
- "Minnesota, in decline, needs a turnaround in 2022," by Andy Brehm: "We need to stop focusing on our past, acknowledge the deficient direction of the present and make bold change for a brighter future."
- "Minnesotans should put their masks back on," by Eva Enns and Katy Backes Kozhimannil: "When one person masks, they reduce their own exposure to the aerosols of others. When everyone masks, there are far fewer aerosols released into the air in the first place."
- "Minnesota's legalization of marijuana will be the nation's best," by Ryan Winkler: "Minnesota is on the verge of passing the best cannabis legislation in the nation because it reflects the best of our state."
- "Don Samuels should call off his campaign," by Roxxanne O'Brien: "What is Don Samuels thinking? I mean, really. Last week, a person on Twitter questioned why Samuels was challenging Rep. Ilhan Omar for her seat in Congress 20 months after a tragic incident in which a child drowned under the care of Samuels and his wife, Sondra. Samuels callously responded: 'Can't swim but can govern.'"
- "Trump is finally finished," by New York Times columnist Bret Stephens: "Donald Trump's hat is in the ring, but he's finished as a serious contender for high office."
- "Ethnic studies will turn schools into extremist boot camps," by Katherine Kersten: "Minnesota parents: In the midst of the Twin Cities' ongoing crime surge, do you want your children taught that the sense of disorder in carjackings and 'smash-and-grab' looting is merely a social 'construction'?"
- "War is hell when white people are dying," by Ahmed Tharwat: "People in the Middle East have seen enough of invasions through the years. Now they are just sitting on the sidelines to watch the war [in Ukraine] unfolding from afar."
- "Trump must not be above the law," by the Star Tribune Editorial Board: "Trump's legacy is now in tatters, tarnished beyond redemption by his actions. It is now imperative that he and his co-conspirators be brought to justice."
- "Restore order in Minneapolis," by the Star Tribune Editorial Board: "Simply put, the criminal acts on display Monday and early Tuesday in Illinois and Minneapolis reflect an unacceptable mix of too many guns on the streets, a lack of respect for human life and disregard for the rule of law."
- "Is sex still necessary?" by New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg: "Fewer adults have live-in partners than in recent decades, and young people, despite their apparent panoply of options, are having less sex."
- "Following the facts to Mar-a-Largo," by the Star Tribune Editorial Board: "Most presidents know that when they leave office, they leave almost everything from their presidency behind, from official records to the Oval Office drapes."
- "Wake up — World War III has begun," by the Philadelphia Inquirer's Trudy Rubin: "If Russia's Vladimir Putin can take over a peaceful country by brute force in the 21st century, and deliberately slaughter civilians to achieve his goals, then we are all at risk. He will not stop with Ukraine."
- "Crime, not COVID, killed my retail business," by Walter Dillon: "Despite investing thousands of dollars into my store in Little Canada — which included state-of-the-art security measures — I became victim to a spree of brazen burglaries that saddled my family with mounting debt."
- "Retirees like me don't need, or deserve, a tax cut," by Steven Dornfeld: "Eliminating state income taxes on Social Security might look like a boon for low-income seniors. But look again."
- "Dimick, Winkler for Hennepin County attorney," by the Star Tribune Editorial Board: "While many are calling for criminal justice reform, the office has also been pressured to aggressively prosecute those responsible for increased crime. It'll be a critical balancing act for the county's next top prosecutor."
- "Governor hits snag on fishing opener," by the Star Tribune Editorial Board: "The Governor's Fishing Opener was canceled in 2020, and scaled back in 2021. Maybe that's why people seem so invested in this year's opener. It has to make up for the ones that got away."
- "A no-knock failure left Amir Locke dead," by the Star Tribune Editorial Board: "Yet another Twin Cities family is mourning the death of a young Black man at the hands of police, once again captured on a traumatic video that prompts more grief, more anger, more questions."
- "SWLRT wreck came despite plenty of warning," by Mary Pattock: "For years, concerned Minneapolis residents warned Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council of problems they would face building and operating the Southwest light-rail project (SWLRT). Instead of heeding our advice, the agencies dismissed us as ignorant NIMBYs, discounted our wisdom and pushed the project through."
- "Remote learning? We're done with it," by Caroline Hood: "We're no longer twisting our lives into knots in order to make the impossible possible."
Minnesota’s robust systems should inspire confidence in the process.
