Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

The Star Tribune article last week about the Minneapolis City Council's approval of the new Office of Community Safety stated that "voters rejected a similar measure" last year ("Council OKs new safety office," Oct. 21). This is misleading. It's true that the rejected charter amendment would have created a Department of Public Safety similar to the just-approved Office of Community Safety. However, it is important to remember that people were not opposing the idea of a new, overriding Public Safety Department; in fact, there is widespread enthusiastic support for that office. They rejected that proposed amendment because of language stating that police would be employed by the city only "if necessary," without a clue as to if, when, how and by whom it might be determined that the police are "necessary." This was just too open-ended, especially during a time of rising crime.

John Satorius, Minneapolis

U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips' Oct. 20 commentary on protecting abortion rights contained a few misconceptions that I would like to correct ("I'll continue defending abortion rights, families' needs," Opinion Exchange). First, abortion is not a liberal/conservative issue. Many moderates and liberals oppose abortion while many conservatives support it. One cannot tell where one stands on the political spectrum simply by a person's stand on abortion alone. Second, Phillips states that he cannot understand why pro-lifers only care about life before birth. This, in nearly all cases, cannot be further from the truth.

Speaking for myself, a lifelong feminist and pro-lifer, I have always supported social justice issues along with sexual, racial and cultural equality. I support help for the hungry and the homeless and have always supported affordable health care and education for all. I oppose war and the death penalty and strongly support protective gun measures, which will save us from needless gun violence.

I am also very concerned about climate change and, yes, I recognize that overpopulation plays a part in that. However, the development of more superior forms of contraception and other nonlethal forms of family planning will go a long way to address that issue.

I am also very involved in animal rights issues. I have long believed that we don't "own" animals — rather, they are placed in our care as their guardians, to be treated responsibly and humanely.

The fact is that the pro-life movement is a very large tent indeed, with members of all types of communities. I would invite Phillips to become better acquainted with us!

Kay Kemper, Crystal

I have a question for Scott Jensen:

You were a moderate, reasonable Republican senator from 2017-2021 with a career that requires an understanding of medical science.

You supported gun control. As a physician, you claimed to support women and empowered patients to take control of their own care. You were considered to be bipartisan. You have claimed to put students first while on a school board in Waconia.

In 2021 you took a sharp turn to the extreme right where you think government should take control of women's reproductive rights, do not support gun control, want to repeal the clean-car rule to help with climate change, stated false information about COVID and vaccinations. You also now want to shift money from public schools to private schools.

What happened to you that caused this extreme shift? Why do you have such inconsistent views from someone who was educated in medicine and science? Should Minnesota be concerned about your stability on your stated views, and can we trust what to expect from you?

Ev Bjork, Stillwater

I want to commend the University of Minnesota for reconsidering its graduation plans ("U works on plan for grads to walk stage," Oct. 21).

I graduated from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology (now the College of Science and Engineering) in 1975. When I received my notice for graduation, I was told there would be no cap and gown ceremony, no walking on stage for receiving my diploma, no calling out of individual names.

I wrote the IT department to express my disappointment. A faculty adviser invited me to come to his office, where he explained that the student IT advisory panel (which I had no knowledge of) had ruled that this is the way graduation would be. I told him that I had been waiting for a notice of graduation planning and would have volunteered to participate if I had known that a planning meeting had been scheduled.

As a result, my parents and I sat in an auditorium with all the other IT grads and their families. C. Peter Magrath stood in front of us and told us that he granted us the degrees that we had earned. That's all the ceremony we had.

Even nearly 50 years later, I still feel disappointed.

My congratulations to the current class of graduates. I hope you receive the ceremony you earned.

Joan Marie Verba, Robbinsdale

I am writing to express my support for re-electing Julie Blaha as state auditor. As an Osseo school board member, I believe Blaha is the best candidate to support Minnesota's public school system.

Blaha worked as a middle school math and science teacher in the Anoka-Hennepin School District for over a decade. In her role as state auditor, she is responsible for oversight of local government, including school districts.

Blaha secured bipartisan funding and legislation for a school team that could complete annual financial audits for school districts that would not disrupt their budgets. The team would include five to six auditors who could complete about five medium and small school district financial audits per year at no cost to the school districts.

However, due to additional oversight needs across the state due to an influx of federal COVID-19 relief money, and the extra pressures on school districts to adapt to the pandemic, Blaha put the plan on hold until next year. This gives the auditor's office and school districts time to complete new COVID-19 oversight requirements.

Blaha plans to continue her focus on objective, financial data that helps local communities make their own decisions about their schools. The groundwork she laid will create the additional oversight Minnesotans want for their schools. She knows that parents and residents deserve strong financial audits so that we know that school funding is properly spent in ways that support each and every student.

Tamara Grady, Maple Grove

I'm a lifelong cross-country ski enthusiast. However, Minnesota is in the middle of a severe drought, yet ski hills in Minnesota are using water resources to make artificial snow. Two recent articles, "Ski hills break opening records amid cold temps" (Oct. 20) and "With upgrades, ski trail may be open all winter" (Oct. 4) both tout manufactured snow as a means of drawing skiers. Full disclosure: I've skied the past couple of years on well-maintained trails with manufactured snow at Hyland Lake ski area. I've benefited from this technology. However, in the midst of a severe drought, the use of fresh water resources to manufacture snow in October — or even deep winter months — seems ill-advised. But it seems especially irresponsible when 70-degree temperatures were predicted for last weekend.

In addition, I'm wondering why more city, county, regional and state officials are not calling for water restrictions and water conservation. In the middle of a severe drought in a large portion of our state, not to mention the nation, manufactured snow is not a necessity, nor a technology for which scarce water resources should be used.

Mary Berg, Apple Valley