Readers Write: Minneapolis' future, the library, federal cuts

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

I live in East Phillips, near the Smith Foundry. For years, it spewed black smoke and acrid smells. For years, we asked our city and state agencies to take action. Illegal pollution was making us sick, sometimes even killing us. My own granddaughter was born healthy but developed severe asthma. No one cared.

The article (“Pollution complaint system is faulted in Smith Foundry report,” Feb. 14) affirms our experience. For years, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) failed to respond to our complaints. They failed to double-check the foundry’s emission reports. They failed to conduct surprise inspections. They failed to act even after a May 2023 EPA surprise inspection found that, for at least five years, the foundry had been grossly violating the law’s pollution standards.

That November, someone leaked the EPA report. It confirmed our worst suspicions. We ramped up our demands and took to the streets. If the foundry wouldn’t follow the law, it must shut down. Finally, in July of 2024, the foundry announced it would close.

Where was the MPCA all this time?

State agencies are supposed to protect our clean air and waters. They’re supposed to make sure polluters stay within legal limits. But all across Minnesota, they aren’t. Just six miles away, St. Paul Brass and Aluminum foundry continues to pollute Frogtown.

Something is very broken here. When polluters don’t follow the law, state agencies must shut them down. What are they waiting for? What will it take?

Nicole Mason, Minneapolis

•••

Here’s the big picture: The single most important race crime in U.S. history — that is, the brutal, video-documented murder of a Black man by a white police officer spanning nine minutes and captured on camera for the whole world to see — took place in our city. An average city would respond like Mayor Jacob Frey, diminishing the efforts to memorialize George Floyd Square as “a colossal waste of time and tax dollars” while suggesting that we are “content to let this site sit idle, without any meaningful development” (“City Council overrides veto of Floyd Square,” Feb. 28). Wrong. We are not content — not by a long shot — and a great city would take this opportunity to lead the world and create something that we can be proud of. Which are we? Great, or average?

Larry LaVercombe, Edina

•••

I just saw what could be the 100th story about how to fix downtown Minneapolis, in this case suggesting making it a “women’s sports epicenter” and a “social justice capital” (“Meet Minneapolis preps for a makeover,” Feb. 27). The article used phrases like “year-round vibrancy” and “radiant cultural hubs.” Sounds nice!

The morning that story was published, I got an email from the building where I unfortunately own a condo advising that there was human feces smeared on and around the Nicollet Mall door.

Consultants have to eat, of course, but some of the basic issues with downtown aren’t rocket science, and could be fixed by going back to how we dealt with antisocial behavior a decade or so ago. Which is to say, by dealing with it at all.

Nick Magrino, Minneapolis

I’m writing to express my appreciation for my recent experience at the St. Louis Park Library.

I needed to get some work done, so I walked to the library. The person at the desk greeted me with “welcome.” I used the fast Wi-Fi and spent 2 1/2 hours getting done what I needed to get done.

Meanwhile, all kinds of small miracles were going on around me. A teenager was being tutored in one study room; a young woman was on a Zoom meeting in the other. The tables were filled with people of all ages working or studying. An older guy was doing a puzzle. Young families were buzzing all over the children’s section. A yoga class was starting in the big meeting room.

And the books. People browsed. People (including me!) picked up reserves. People chatted with each other and with staff.

I’m not trying to be too flowery. It was a Wednesday in a Midwest suburb. Lots of horrible things are going on in the world and none of those problems were solved. But my goodness, what a magical place with kind, hardworking people.

To those who maintain, patronize and support places like this: Thank you.

Ben Butler, St. Louis Park

I’m feeling the effects of the broad cuts by this administration. A year ago, I called Social Security to have my check deposited in a new account. I waited an hour on hold to talk with someone who took care of me. Today, I tried to call to get help in receiving the higher amount from my husband’s SS because he died Wednesday. I was repeatedly told to go online.

Can I even trust this? In our darkest hours, we want to talk with a human being, especially if we are in our senior years. I can’t imagine the chaos for anyone needing tax information this year.

Patricia Norby, Plymouth

•••

Most people are not aware of the research that the Department of Veterans Affairs does. VA research led to development of the nicotine patch, shingles vaccine, prosthetic devices for amputees and much, much more that benefits the general public as well as veterans. The Trump administration is now cutting funding for VA research programs, separate from its NIH funding cutbacks. They have fired hundreds of VA researchers while canceling, suspending or disrupting over 370 studies. Over 10,000 veterans may have their medical care affected immediately.

The VA Chiefs of Staff Advisory Committee has pleaded for help, writing that veterans “will lose access to clinical trials that are integral to the care of cancer, mental health conditions, and a host of other medical and neurological conditions.” This is on top of the staff cuts, which now include another 1,400 on top of the 1,000 cuts already announced. Many of these workers are veterans themselves, who contribute greatly to the understanding the VA has of veterans and their special health care needs.

I want to continue the high-quality, holistic care I receive from the VA. Let Congress know that the VA must be funded and staffed if the nation is going to keep its promise to veterans.

Arlys Herem, Minneapolis

•••

What Elon Musk is doing, with Donald Trump’s blessing, is not how reductions in force (RIFs) are done in the real corporate world. Why be so abrupt, cruel and dramatic? I’ve worked for major corporations that have gone through RIFs, and they have been humane, organized, with consistent messaging and some form of severance package. Managers at some level of the impacted departments were involved in the selection process of those that would be let go. OK, reduce the workforce, but do it with a sense of logic and respect for your employees.

Dave Halper, Oakdale

•••

I was laid off from two different jobs that I loved, one after seven years and one after four years on the job. In both cases, I was given months of notice and severance pay, and yet I still experienced a lot of angst and even PTSD. To watch the richest man in America brandishing a chain saw with glee after terminating the jobs of dedicated federal employees who are hurting makes me sick. Shame on him and his enablers.

Mary Beth Liekhus, Minneapolis

•••

All I can say about the current administration is that we have the best government that money can buy.

Theodore Nagel, Minneapolis