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Thank you for the excellent reporting on the studies on neonicotinoids in the deer population of Minnesota ("Majority of deer exposed to toxin," Sept. 11). What I found most revealing was that the "deer taken in the thick woods of northern Minnesota were just as likely to have neonicotinoids in their systems as those taken among the vast corn and soybean fields of southern Minnesota." And, scientists don't know why! This is alarming, and it makes me think. These wild animals aren't directly eating the crops on which this insecticide is used. Yet, even deer from the Boundary Waters have neonics in their system! What does that say about the amount of neonicotinoids in the farmed animals that directly eat the crops that are sprayed with neonics? What damage are they doing to those animals' health? Have studies been done on that?

And, when will someone study the amount of neonics found in humans who eat those crops and the animals that fed on those crops? In this case, I'm afraid the deer is the canary in the coal mine.

Mark Robinson, St. Paul

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I appreciate all the attention being given to greenhouse gas emissions and the havoc they are creating, but there is another story that is totally underreported: the killing of our pollinators by neonicotinoids. This summer, when I see the occasional butterfly, it makes me sad rather than joyful because I think of all the others I used to see. And there are very few birds on my backyard bird feeder — all the bugs they needed to feed their young have been wiped out, so the chicks perished. When our pollinators are gone, will we be happy eating only corn and soybeans? Farmers in Europe have learned to grow crops without neonicotinoids — ours can too!

Perry Benson, Minneapolis

The Star Tribune Editorial Board makes the case for two bills pending in Congress that would facilitate a rapid expansion of cannabis both recreationally and medically ("Federal catch-up is critical on cannabis," Sept. 11). Without sounding the facts for going slow on cannabis proliferation, the piece is flawed. States that have legalized recreational cannabis such as Colorado and California are rethinking that decision. The harms to adolescents from diverted cannabis, the proliferation of illegal sources and the shortfall of taxes earned to remediate the harms are now being chronicled. Medical and mental health experts saw this coming, but the popularity of an addictive substance that had great economic potential seems too good for policymakers to be thoughtful about.

Minnesota's recreational cannabis legislation is potentially the worst for its recklessness in the country. Every other state had some guardrails like data collection on possible harms and public health analytics, regulated retail locations, etc. The first order of business for policymakers must be decriminalization and expungement. Are the values of this newspaper to choose capitalization (banking privileges for the cannabis industry) over social justice? Why? Who are you?

George Realmuto, Apple Valley

According to multiple modeling groups, the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law by President Joe Biden last month has the potential to lower U.S. carbon emissions by 40% by 2030. I say potential because the law faces a big obstacle — bad policy implementation at the state and local levels.

About $30 billion of the total $369 billion covered by the law is specifically allocated to helping states clean up their electricity sectors. Another $1 billion will be available as grants to states and local governments to update their building energy codes, and $4.3 billion will be given to state energy offices to develop rebate programs for homeowners making energy improvements.

This is a lot of money that can be used to make real progress against climate change, but it won't be worth anything if our elected officials don't use it wisely — or worse, fail to use it at all. We've seen this happen once already when our state Legislature failed to pass a transportation bill this summer, thus losing out on an annual infusion of $100 million in federal money.

The IRA is our first — and perhaps last — real chance to put a massive dent in our carbon emissions. I've been contacting my city and state representatives regularly to make sure they know this, and I urge my fellow Minnesotans to have it on your minds when you cast your votes this fall.

Kelsey Murphy, Minneapolis

As the owner of an electric vehicle since 2020, I was intrigued by the commentary denouncing Xcel Energy's proposed investment in charging stations ("Don't hand Xcel the Minneapolis EV charging marketplace," Opinion Exchange, Sept. 14). While I have been frustrated by nonworking level-3 chargers, it has only happened once in three years. Much more common, in my experience, is pulling up at a charger and finding it already in use by another EV.

Furthermore, I don't understand why a utility's major investment in the charging infrastructure is anything for private businesses to worry about. There are over 2,000 gas stations in Minnesota, and from my experience I would say nearly all of which have more than one pump. Conservatively, I would estimate there are 6,000 to 10,000 gas pumps in our state. There are only 200 public EV chargers, many of which, in my experience, have one or two plugs. Were it not for the local utility's EV charger in Hutchinson, I would not be able to make my weekly trip there for work. Until we reach the point where public EV chargers are as ubiquitous as gas pumps, I fail to see what the writer has to fear.

Chris Bubser, Minneapolis

Although it appears a tentative deal between workers and the nation's largest freight rail companies has been reached, the labor dispute underscores the structural challenge in the railroad industry, corporate concentration. The nation's largest (Class 1) railroads have shed a third of their workforce over the past six years, raised rates on shippers, and struggled with delays and poor service, yet posted record profits last year.

This is what happens when competition is eliminated — higher prices, fewer jobs and fatter profits. In 1980 there were 33 Class 1 railroads, but mergers and an exemption from antitrust law have left just seven companies handling 90% of the nation's freight traffic. Now two of those railroads, Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern, want to merge. The $30 billion deal would further reduce choices and raise costs for small businesses and farmers, meaning increased prices for consumers.

The merger also means more trains carrying oil from Canada will be rumbling through Minnesota on neglected infrastructure. Over the past two decades, Class 1 railroads have spent more on stock buybacks than investing in improvements. The lack of competition leaves rail barons with few incentives beyond enriching shareholders.

The final decision on the merger will be made by the Surface Transportation Board (STB), and members of Congress are speaking out. Minnesota Sens. Amy Klobuchar (who has previously championed repealing the railroads' antitrust exemption) and Tina Smith should join them and call for the STB to reject further monopolization of our railroads.

Justin Stofferahn, White Bear Township