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Could there be a more clarifying difference between politicians with the accolades showered upon former Republican Gov. Albert Quie and the presumed presidential Republican nominee for the 2024 election, Donald Trump? Quie was seen as an honest person who had in his heart and his policy commitments the well-being of the state of Minnesota (as governor) and the United States (as a member of Congress for 20 years). Former President Trump is now charged of having sought to demolish the Constitution of our great nation.

Full disclosure: I have been Quie's daughter-in-law for more than 52 years, so I speak from great respect and love for that man. But I am also a staunch, longtime Democrat and an ordained Lutheran pastor. We shared both love of God and care for the people of this nation. All through those years, we discussed religion and politics and disagreed in fundamental ways on a number of issues, especially regarding the rights of queer people. But we hung in there, and I would trade a thoughtful, moderate Republican like him for someone from either party who focused on power and self-aggrandizement.

May his death and the ensuing accolades inspire all of us to listen to those with whom we agree and disagree, to use actual facts to determine how we assess policies affecting our neighbors, and to base our policies on what fights disunity and, instead, creates community for our neighborhoods, state and nation.

Melinda Quivik, St. Paul

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Quie was a mensch and then some. The Sydney Jewish Museum defines "mensch" thusly: "A mensch, in Yiddish, is a person of integrity, morality, dignity, with a sense of what is right and responsible. But mensch is more than just an old Yiddish adage. It is relevant now, across the world, more than ever. 'To be a mensch is to be supportive. To be a friend, to be calm in troubled times,'" according to a former justice of the High Court of Australia. For many years at the Minnesota Department of Human services, part of my job was responding to letters written to the governor. Quie was the only governor who sponsored a luncheon at the governor's mansion to thank his letter writers. His appreciation was heartfelt. At that event, the governor made it abundantly clear how much he appreciated the work of his letter writers. He noted that the answers to those letters might be the only contact those constituents ever had with the governor. He sincerely wanted those contacts to be good ones even when the response couldn't resolve the issue. Quie's empathy, decency and humanity shone brightly. He was, in every sense of the word, a mensch.

Steve Katz, Minnetonka

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My mother, who recently turned 99, recalls leaving a key for Quie so that when we were away for the evening he could let himself into our house in Rochester after a day of campaigning in the First Congressional District. My dad had a stint for a while as Quie's finance manager, so Quie stayed with us frequently while I was growing up. He towered over me but was always kind, soft-spoken and gentle. I recently discovered a cache of old cards and letters that my mom, somewhat of an amateur archivist, saved from those days. Among them are invitations to the governor's mansion, personal thank-you notes and Christmas cards, always with a religious theme, that his wife, Gretchen, designed and had printed. In 2021 my parents moved to the Twin Cities, and I reached out to one of the Quie brothers, thinking that my dad would love to get together with his friend Al. But my dad's dementia was already too advanced, and a meeting would have been fruitless. My dad died over a year ago. However, I hope I can get my mom to his funeral next month. She is probably one of the few peers left to pay tribute to his life. She would like that.

Kimerly Miller, St. Paul

Regarding Walter McClure's hypothetical about saving one 10-month-old infant vs. a dozen 10-day-old embryos in his "A friendly letter to pro-life believers" (Opinion Exchange, Aug. 21): We would all similarly save (I hope) a 10-month-old infant vs. a dozen elderly, nonmobile patients. The variable missing from this pro-life argument is time, actualizing in potential. The embryos, given time, will actualize into infants, children and adults. The elderly, regrettably incapable of escaping the hypothetical fire, have actualized all these stages, while the infant is still early in their actualization. The choice here is not a utilitarian greatest-good-for-the-greatest-number, but maximizing the potential life to be actualized.

Gary Myers, Carver

Thanks to St. Cloud's public school board for highlighting overlooked realities about charter schools ("Charters costing students, districts?" Aug. 18). Charters were supposed to be, as board member Al Dahlgren pointed out, laboratories where ideas could be tested and, if successful, put into practice more widely. But some charter proposals say little about innovation. That happened here in Winona, where I served for 12 years on the school board. Most recently, when declining enrollment forced the school board to close Rollingstone Elementary, a K-4 school with 70 students, opponents said they'd start a charter school but provided few details about innovation. The K-5 charter that resulted has about 40 students, averaging fewer than seven per grade. The charter threat was also raised in the lead-up to two other Winona school closures caused by declining enrollment. In neither case did proponents articulate how their plan would be innovative.

Winona's district, which has high transportation costs due to being big geographically, also has three other charter schools, three Lutheran schools and a K-12 Catholic school system, the latter of which would either be much smaller or wouldn't exist at all if not for huge donations from deep-pocketed supporters.

The demographic tsunami that has gutted enrollment at every educational level puts a terrible squeeze on traditional public schools, and charters worsen the problem by pulling resources that would be better spent without the duplication that charters create. If charters are going to continue, they should at least be expected to prove they're fulfilling the mission — creating educational innovation — set forth when they were created.

Steve Schild, Winona

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The recent article "Charter costing students, districts?" was troubling for sure but not surprising to many Minnesotans. The results of the Minnesota experiment with touting the "freedom of choice" of charter schools are a dismal failure for all students and taxpayers and public schools struggling with less enrollment and thus less funding, all the while trying to teach more challenged students not accepted by charters. Meanwhile, the charter school students' basic math competency skills greatly lag those students in traditional public schools in the district and, while charters keep the money, students are quietly transferring back to a public school. So can we finally call this experiment a failure? Skeptics and critics have been proven right. I challenge former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, proud supporter of this misguided initiative, to respond publicly to Minnesotans. Let's hear from you, Tim!

Jean M. Mitchell, Edina