Neighbor,
Today is a big day with the scheduled opening of the Line 3 pipeline across northern Minnesota. We have been waiting a very long time for this occasion and the fact we have arrived at this point is a huge tribute to everyone who persisted throughout what was an exhaustive process.
This pipeline underwent a process of studies, vetting, permitting and public scrutiny unlike anything we have seen in this state. The fact the process was so challenging makes the commissioning of this pipeline even more rewarding. We now have a state-of-the-art mechanism for moving oil safer and more efficiently across our state and I couldn’t be happier to get the new Line 3 up and running.
On another subject, I am hearing great concern from a lot of people regarding vaccine mandates. There are good reasons for the uneasiness that’s building and serious problems are festering in industries such as health care where we already were facing a shortage of workers. It remains to be seen what consequences will develop in response to vaccine mandates, especially for those forced to choose between their medical freedoms and their career.
Again, the concerns I am hearing on this issue are justified and I oppose the government forcing vaccines on workers.
And, finally, you may have heard the state is selling the Mega Morgue the governor spent millions of taxpayer dollars on last year to warehouse COVID-19 corpses. Turns out, the University of Minnesota and Minnesota Department of Health’s absurd “science” and projection of 74,000 COVID-19 deaths by August of 2020 was inflated by around 10-fold and the Mega Morgue was never used.
It’s good news for most of Minnesota’s taxpayers to see the state sell this white elephant of a warehouse. I say this is good news for “most” taxpayers because, while the rest of presumably will have the slate wiped clean, St. Paul taxpayers appear to be taking a bath on it.
Here’s how:
St. Paul taxpayers contributed to the state’s $5.5 million purchase of this warehouse last year. Now, St. Paul taxpayers are again contributing to the St. Paul Port Authority purchasing this warehouse from the state for $5.6 million. That makes twice in the last 16 months or so that St. Paul taxpayers contributed to the purchase of the same building. Good old government.
-Steve