editorials

As I went door-to-door in Rosemount this fall in my run for Dakota County Commissioner, the most frequent question I heard from voters was "What does the county do?" Below are some things Dakota County did in 2016. • Became debt-free. Dakota County became the only metro county —...

The Minnesota Department of Revenue estimates that property taxes could climb $344.3 million statewide in 2017. That would amount to a 3.8 percent increase over 2016. That projected increase is contingent on each and every local government across the state approving the preliminary...

I've spent most of my free time in the last four weeks doing home renovations. In late October, I moved into a lovely, split-level townhome with my sister, Jenny. It's set up perfectly for two people — she's setting up on the top level, and I'm settling in on the ground floor....

Think of your kids, nieces or nephews or other young people in your life and then think of what they need each day to grow into great adults: care, guidance, stability and unconditional love. Hundreds of children in Minnesota are waiting for families to give them just that.

For the first time in more than half a century, Forum Communications Co. declines to endorse the Republican candidate for president of the United States. It does not follow, however, that the endorsement goes to the Democratic candidate. This year, we suggest none of the above is...

When Farmington and Rosemount opted out of the granny pod ordinance last month, I thought maybe I should rethink my retirement plan. And then I laughed and laughed. What's a retirement plan? Apparently I'm not alone. Time magazine reports that one in three Americans have saved nothing...

Our house, being a semi-rural property, attracts a lot of bugs. My husband, who claims utter contempt for all things insectoid, has turned our property into a hellacious final resting place for the creepy crawlies. The chicken coop attracts its share of flies. And with the flies come...

Getting called for jury duty is a learning experience. I learned how to follow hand-drawn signs down ripped up roads to the appropriate parking ramp in St. Paul. The construction had my Google maps girl arguing with herself. I learned a lot about my fellow jurors, who for whatever...

There was some ugliness last year when the Muslim American Society of Minnesota announced plans to turn a former Rosemount bowling alley into a mosque. Residents of Rosemount and other nearby cities let loose with hateful, unsupported rhetoric against a group that, like the members...

The Miss Farmington pageant has come a long way since its early days. It has grown, become more complete. Being named MIss Farmington isn’t just a quick path to a scholarship. It’s a commitment to represent your hometown for a year, and it’s an invitation to learn more about...

The challenge of Highway 3 as it runs through Empire Township is, while the problems are easy to see, they are far more difficult to fix. Growing populations have meant an increase in traffic on the road, and all that traffic moving at highway speeds means getting onto and off of...

If the idea of the Farmington School District’s iPad initiative was to inspire students to learn on their own, then sending the tablet computers home at the end of the school year is the next logical step. Superintendent Jay Haugen has called the iPads a key in his effort to identify...

Automated external defibrillators are quickly becoming the modern equivalent of the fire extinguisher. You find the devices, which can provide a lifesaving jolt to a heart in sudden cardiac arrest, in an increasing number of places. If everything goes the way it’s supposed to, you’ll...

There are some disappointed seniors at Farmington High School this week. We know because we heard them at Monday’s school board meeting, and because many of them took to Twitter when they couldn’t convince board members to adjust their timeline for construction work at Tiger Stadium...

If ever there was a good excuse to ignore conventional wisdom about playing with your food, 360 Communities’ Pie in the Face Challenge is it. The nonprofit, which runs a food shelf and provides school support workers in Farmington and operates the Family Resource Center in Rosemount,...