Neighbor,
I would like to wish you and yours a happy Independence Day and hope you are able to get out and enjoy it as much as possible even though things are quite a bit different this year.
While the governor’s executive orders continue to negatively impact many businesses and community events, it is good to see the Park Rapids fireworks will take place as scheduled Saturday at dusk. The display will be visible from throughout the community, so spectators are encouraged to spread out and take in the show.
As for legislative news, we are awaiting word from the governor regarding a special session we expect him to call sometime in the next couple of weeks. His emergency powers extend July 12 and, if he wants to run them out another 30 days, he needs to call a special session. I don’t know anybody who thinks he’s just going to let his powers expire now, so it’s only a matter of when he’ll set the date.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times, but this abuse of power through executive rule needs to end. Once the governor makes it official and enacts another 30-day extension, we will be looking at five months under his unilateral powers that were first declared in mid-March. Our system works best with legislative involvement in the decision-making process, but that has been undermined in recent months and it is beyond time to restore balance at the Capitol.
We will see what happens in the next couple weeks. Until then, let’s enjoy Independence Day and celebrate the United States of America. We are blessed to live in this great nation, even if the day-to-day issues sometimes distract us from that fact.
-Steve