Readers Write: Vikings, LA wildfires, CenturyLink outages

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

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I have been a Vikings fan for all of my 38 years. Born into a Minnesotan football family, I’m one of many in our state who bleeds purple and has favorite colors seasonally. I remember the 1998 glory days, and even got no homework when the Vikings won — which is probably why I don’t speak French. And yet, I have never, ever loved being a Vikings fan as much as I have this year. Of course, 14 wins doesn’t hurt. And a heartbreaking playoff performance is familiar territory.

But, this year, I’ve found my little boys choreographing their own “celes” while playing street hockey. We’ve watched “Tell Us With Metellus” countless times, and we never miss a locker room speech from Kevin O’Connell. When we drive home from my sons’ sporting events, we talk about speaking kindly, good teamwork, taking responsibility for mistakes and winning gracefully in terms of, “Do you remember what Jets said after the game? What did he say about the other team? How did he talk about his teammates?” And watching Camryn Bynum, Josh Metellus and the crew practice and execute elaborate celebrations has been the funniest, sweetest, most uplifting thing I have ever seen in professional sports. Win or lose, for us the 2024-2025 Vikings have been more than a football team. They’ve been our entertainment, yes, but they’ve also taught us integrity, humility, good sportsmanship, hard work, the value of teamwork and just how to enjoy the heck out of life. And really, that’s better than a Super Bowl. (Please also win us a Super Bowl.)

Caila Rinker, Rochester

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Was it sad the Vikings lost their last chance to shine this year? Yes. But how fun was it to watch the season wins? Sports are a big business. We are entertained. What better ending for a movie than the Rams, whose hometown is suffering from a major fire disaster, winning the game?

Tineka Kurth, St. Louis Park

The Jan. 11 article “2024 was the hottest year on record: Get ready for more” contained this quote: “As long as people keep burning fossil fuels this will only get worse.”

“When you make things hotter and drier, they burn more easily. We have basically tweaked nature, pissed it off and we have altered the climate of this planet in a way that makes it more hostile to our ambitions and safety,” said writer John Vaillant, the bestselling author of “Fire Weather,” the story of Canada’s 2016 Fort McMurray fire, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

A perfect storm of events led to the horrific wildfires in LA.

A couple of above-average years of rainfall created lots of lush vegetation. Unusually hot and dry weather turned that vegetation into tinder dry fuel. It is called climate change whiplash. Add hurricane-force Santa Ana winds and a spark and the results are catastrophic. An army of firefighters with an ocean of water could not have stopped those fires.

But not according to Elon Musk. Musk blames the fires on the Democrats and DEI — or as Musk would have it, DIE — downplaying the role of climate change (“Musk uses wildfire to push conspiracy theories,” Jan. 13). If only Musk, Alex Jones and their white men followers could have been with the LA Fire Department, replacing all of those DEI woman, lesbian and person-of-color firefighters — they could have stopped the raging fire and saved the city. And, of course, climate change had nothing to do with it.

Jeff Bullard, New Brighton

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Politicians Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump should both take a look in their own Florida backyards. Both have called for Democratic California leaders to be held accountable for the destructive wildfires in Los Angeles. Likewise, DeSantis and Trump should be equally held accountable for Florida’s eroding coastlines and repeated devastation from hurricanes. What nonsense these “leaders” promote, even amid massive deaths and destruction in California. All of us, Floridians and all Americans, should instead focus on climate change, its human damage and its human causes.

Tom Westerhaus, Hudson, Wis.

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The Jan. 14 Readers Write section makes it very clear that this publication will continue to promote a green agenda. Placing blame squarely on climate change obfuscates just how poor public policy in California really is. A lack of planning with respect to land management, available water resources and urban planning were aggravated by the seasonal Santa Ana winds. The letters demonstrate how impactful science, when turned into a political agenda, can lead to so much errant thinking. The complexities of climate science are being ignored.

One letter exclaimed, “Climate change is here,” ignoring the fact that climate change never left! The geologic history of earth demonstrates extreme variables that existed before mankind ever did. But few care because it takes away from the demonization of fossil fuels. Another writer said they “feel despair” because of the link to oil companies — they have also bought the propaganda of the green agenda. Scapegoating climate change for poor land and resource management is the goal of the movement. Anything to demonize the fossil fuel industry is fair game.

I wonder if those who wish to shut off the fossil fuel spigot really know what the results would be? Life would change drastically and societies would collapse worldwide. Maybe that is what they really desire? However, I am thankful for the American electorate. President Trump will soon reverse many of the illogical green movement policies. Common sense will prevail as we continue to rely on our natural resources in a responsible manner. With certainty, however, this publication will provide an available format for those who cling to the religion of climate change as other points of view are suppressed.

Joe Polunc, Waconia

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A number of letters appearing in the Jan. 14 edition blame the Southern California wildfires on “climate change” while ignoring the culpability of state and local officials in the devastating scope of this disaster.

California has experienced droughts, high winds and wildfires from time immemorial. For decades, the state has successfully mitigated the wildfire problem through forest management, underbrush removal, controlled burns and aggressive water resource development.

Despite repeated advance warnings, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other responsible officials (like the LA mayor) have turned crisis into catastrophe by failing to effectively implement proven wildfire-mitigation practices. They should not be allowed to avoid responsibility for this failure by blaming it exclusively on “climate change.”

Peter Abarbanel, Apple Valley

My condo building’s landline has been out since Nov. 27, 2024! While most of us have cellphones, we cannot be notified of visitors or admit anyone to the building remotely because the call system operates through the landline. My security system’s monitoring does, too, so the system has not been monitored since before Thanksgiving. CenturyLink has given us more will-be-repaired-by dates than I can remember; all have been missed without explanation. Frankly, I don’t think we’re even on their radar anymore. When my bill arrived a few days ago, I called CenturyLink (an ordeal in itself!) to ask why I had not been given a credit. I was informed that no credit would be provided until the repairs had been made. What a racket — apparently I can be billed indefinitely without CenturyLink having to provide any service whatsoever! I would really like to know where the Public Utilities Commission is in all of this; are they not charged with overseeing the operation of regulated utilities?

Jean Gendron, St. Paul