Commentaries

October 10, 2008

 Commentaries is where Minnesota Public Radio welcomes your thoughtful opinion about current events and issues. Commentaries are like letters to the editor. To be considered for publication, your commentary should be issue-related, clearly written, and follow our Terms of Use. New insights into ongoing topics are especially welcome. Not all commentaries received are published. For topical interaction with others, visit the discussion groups.

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Which came first, the housing or the farm?

We do not live near a dairy operation, but have spent enough time on farms with livestock to know that animal waste involves odor. And the waste from a lot of animals can generate a great deal of odor and gases even with the best management practices. This brings up a question. Did Excel's operation near Thief River Falls grow rapidly and become a problem to nearby residents? Or, did people choose to build homes near an active (large) operation? [MPR News: Excel Dairy still below air quality standards]

It is certainly unfortunate that this dairy operation can affect nearby residents. However, if the operation was there first... is it really Excel's issue to solve? It seems that complaints and highly charged opinions focusing on large dairy, hog, poultry and beef cattle operations have sharply increased in recent years. It is also apparent that there has been a significant increase in non-agriculture related rural housing in some regions. As governing bodies and regulatory agencies such as the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency consider ways of remediating the issues, hopefully they will take great care not to impose restrictions on these agribusinesses that will harm their ability to remain competitive, ultimately costing revenue and jobs.

Pete Swanson
Robbinsdale, Minn.


Tribal self-determination is for the best

I like to study Federal Indian Law and when I came across the public law 280 provision in both title 18, and title 26 of the United States Code, I always wondered how it would feel to have your sovereign authority taken away from your tribe only to have it given to the state government. I think it was an unfair act passed by Congress especially after we lost everything we had and for them to just go ahead and do that after all the promises and treaties made with us.

The reason that was cited for the act was because of the breakdown of law enforcement in Indian country, but instead of trying to find a much better solution to the problem - like providing more funding for the tribal courts and tribal law enforcement - they went ahead and violated their own treaties and their constitution to go and pass this law which is in everyway disloyal, distrustful, and maybe even illegal.

I pray and hope that our Native neighbors in Minnesota get this [MPR News: White Earth prepares criminal code to replace state law] to happen, it's only right. And yes, "tribal self-determination" is what we been trying to accomplish since we as tribes were given our sovereign status by virtue of the "Indian Reorganization Act of 1934" and this should be no different, the federal government and the state governments should take that into account.

Robin Left Hand Bull
Sioux Falls, S.D.


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