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If I told you that our downtown and its historic buildings were at risk, I bet you'd believe me. And I bet you'd also believe me that there's enough talent in this town to reimagine and reinvent many of these historic buildings — turning anything from a historic warehouse or office building into a cutting-edge residence or hotel.

But what if I said that there was an investment into these buildings that yields a nearly 1,000% return on investment. Would you still believe me?

Well, believe it or not, there is, and it's called the Minnesota Historic Tax Credit (MHTC). However, as much as it sounds too good to be true, unless we do something soon, it will be!

The Minnesota Tax Conference Committee is considering not reinstating this historic tax credit, and yet according to a recent University of Minnesota report, the MHTC has contributed over $5.9 billion in economic activity and supported more than 29,000 jobs in Minnesota since 2011.

Never has our downtown needed more reimagining or reinventing and yet the committee is waffling? Consider this: For every $1 of MHTC issued, $9.90 in economic activity is generated. And if the economics alone don't call for this historic tax credit to get reinstated, what about preserving our state's rich history and cultural heritage?

Members of the Tax Conference Committee, we are counting on you to make the right decision for Minnesota. Don't let us down.

Brian Woolsey, Minneapolis

As a customer of Minnesota payday lenders, the article "Legislation aims to rein in payday loan interest charges" (May 11) was misleading. When you need a loan fast but live paycheck to paycheck like I often do, you turn to lenders who will give you cash secured only by your next paycheck. While the article calls out a bank loan that meets the proposed rate cap, if you are not an established direct deposit customer, you don't qualify.

I feel bad for Sherry Shannon, but the article also wants you to believe everyone is stuck in a similar cycle of debt by doing nothing more than business with a payday lender. The reality is you must pay back what you owe in two weeks. Even when I have used more than one loan in a year, I have never paid double what I borrowed. The 220% interest rate is simply false.

When you don't have credit, payday loans are a helpful option to address an urgent financial challenge. Putting Minnesota's payday lenders out of business does nothing to help people in need. And anyone who has tried to do business with an online lender knows, they charge a lot more, force you to borrow more, and it is hard to trust them. Working with instate lenders who understand your situation, explain their loan, give only the cash you need and are regulated is reassuring, especially when you need a short-term loan.

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The dirty little secret of the payday lending industry is that it counts on long-term cycles of repeat loans from trapped borrowers to make its business model work. The terms of these loans, which now carry an astounding 200% APR, fairly well force borrowers to recycle the loan for weeks, months or even years on end. This ends up costing them hundreds or even thousands in fees for a loan of a few hundred dollars — not what any borrower bargains for when they first go to a lender.

The borrower interviewed for "Legislation aims to rein in payday loan interest charges" who was so burned by payday loans that she now volunteers her time to advocate for reform, is not the exception, but the rule. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, payday lenders collect 75% of their fees from borrowers trapped in 10 or more loans per year — this for a loan marketed as a two-week emergency advance!

As the CEO-designate of Arise Community Credit Union, a Black-led credit union, I know what responsible lending is, and this isn't it.

Minnesota lawmakers have a chance to stop this predatory lending in our state by passing a 36% cap on annual interest rates on payday loans. Yes, this still sounds like a high APR, but for these small loans it works to disrupt a predatory business model while leaving room for responsible lenders to make affordable loans. Eighteen other states and D.C. have already made that move, and Minnesota should be next.

The writer is CEO designee, Arise Community Credit Union.

Our small business, an animation studio with 20-some employees, already offers paid parental and family leave. We do it because it's the right thing to do. Conveniently, it's also good for business, in terms of recruiting and retaining amazing staff. As any business owner can tell you, turnover is extremely costly.

That's why the argument that employers won't be able to afford $0.35 for every $100 in compensation in order to offer these benefits doesn't add up. I'd wager we'll see net savings for small businesses from reduced turnover and a leveled recruiting field against larger employers. Not to mention the proposals for businesses with under 30 employees, which would make this even more affordable for mom-and-pop shops.

And for a business like ours already offering paid leave, state-based paid family leave would actually decrease our costs — especially for years like this one when we celebrated five new babies born to our staff. We hope to put the savings towards increasing pay, investing in overall growth and hiring temporary replacements when needed.

Caitlin Rogers, Edina

A recent morning, as I perused the article on free college tuition for families earning less than $80,000 annually, I was struck by the discord of the lone Republican on the committee who stated, "Everything was done in secret and between the two chairs" ("Program for free tuition is OK'd," May 11).

Is this how Democrats think they should be behaving? Because someone else was perceived as being overbearing and uncompromising, when you get your chance, you opt to do the same? What do you think will be remembered come the next election? Your promises or your bully tactics?

And don't get me started on the whole budget surplus scenario — that was spent so fast I nearly got whiplash trying to figure out where it went. And, I still have not seen a commonsense proposal for how we will pay for all the new spending in the future.

It saddens me that the goal appears to be "I'm going to get mine while I can" instead of "What is truly best for our state?"

It's bad enough to have to see this type of behavior on the national stage. It is just disheartening and tragic to see it play out here in Minnesota. You all should be ashamed.