Thumbs up, Thumbs down

Thumbs up to L-BF community
Thumbs up to the Littlefork-Big Falls school district community for attending informational meetings about a four-day school week. Many of those attending the meetings would not be directly impacted, but attended to hear about the idea as a member of the larger community.

Thumbs up to survivors

Thumbs up to caregivers
Thumbs up to the many caregivers in Minnesota. They play a valuable role in our society and should be recognized, which is encouraged through the proclamation of National Family Caregivers’ Month in November.

Thumbs up to explanations

Thumbs up to fall festivals
Thumbs up to the Covenant Church and other groups who hosted fall festivals for kids on Friday night. The Covenant Church was wonderfully decorated, they had many different carnival games and sold pizza and hot dogs cheap. It was a fun and safe environment for the kids to play in and just have a great time. Thumbs up to those who donated their time to make it all happen.

Thumbs down to no local service

Thumbs up to baseball
Thumbs up to Major League Baseball for postponing the World Series. Weather turned into the ridiculous Monday (and Tuesday) in Philadelphia and threatened to turn a memorable series sour, but commissioner Bud Selig and the powers that be stepped in and thankfully postponed action until the weather gets better. Baseball is not a sport to be played in 30 degree weather with heavy rain, nonetheless a World Series game.

Thumbs down to pennies

Thumbs up to Falls Rotary
Thumbs up to the International Falls Rotary for raising and donating $15,000 to the city of International Falls to create a picnic area with pavilion at Riverside Park. It’s these kinds of community improvements that can draw visitors, business owners and residents to add to our area’s economy.

Thumbs down to pig farm
Thumbs down to MowMar Farms LLP, Fairmont, for allowing the manager of a pig farm to remain on the job, after he was seen on video abusing pigs at the farm. The man should face criminal charges and lose his job immediately.

Thumbs up to coalition
Thumbs up to the coalition of women in Massachusetts who conceived of the idea of The Clothesline Project. The traditional symbolism of a clothesline combined with the intimate effect of personal clothing which vividly illustrates the raw realities of how women and children were murdered domestically, is brilliant.
The Clothesline Project is an experience, and ‘brings home’ the devastating problem of domestic abuse. Thumbs up also to Friends Against Abuse and the Backus Community Center for bringing the Minnesota project to Borderland.

Thumbs up to Coleman

Thumbs up to VNP staff
Thumbs up to Voyageurs National Park staff who assisted in two incidents in September. Staff responded to Hurricane Ike in Texas and Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Thumbs down to lack of compromise
Thumbs down to the reluctance to reach compromise by the Northwoods Bible Church and Joe Jessop on a road vacation issue. Suggestions made by county commissioners Tuesday to compromise should be considered by both parties.

Thumbs up to heating assistance

Thumbs up to Congress
Thumbs up to congress for not approving the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street at first glance and giving in to the 'have to act right now' pressure. Thumbs up for listening to the taxpayers who are paying for it and trying to come up with the best solution for all. Perhaps this is a lesson learned from the Patriot Act, the Iraq War and countless other bills that watered down our Constitution and resulted in widespread lack of confidence in our legislative bodies.

Thumbs down to overspending

Thumbs up to county board

Thumbs down to Palin
Thumbs down to Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin for not stopping the practice of billing sexual assault victims for their rape kits while she was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska. Rape kits are used to gather evidence after a sexual assault and cost between $300 and $1,200. Sexual assault victims should have access to justice regardless of whether they can afford a rape kit. By forcing them to pay for the kits, the city was punishing people who did not choose to become victims in the first place.

Thumbs up to Rasmussen