Viewpoints

As Minnesota continues to make job gains – October’s unemployment rate fell to 3.9 percent—communities across the state are thriving.  The Department of Employment and Economic Development announced recently that Minnesota employers added 9,500 jobs in October.
Over the past three months the state has added an impressive 28,300 jobs. This impressive growth has contributed to Minnesota’s recent recognition as one of the best states in the country for business growth.

This is a time of year that many Minnesotans are thinking about making a donation to a charity. Minnesotans have a history of being generous with both their time and their money to help others.

The famous poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost ends with “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” When it comes to criminal court, many offenders could be said to take the path often-traveled, the path from juvenile delinquency to misdemeanor offenses to gross misdemeanor offenses, and eventually to felonies and prison.

It’s the beginning of the holiday season, a time when family and friends come together to celebrate. The bad news is that this is also when thieves of all kinds are trying a variety of scams. To help you keep the sparkle in your holidays, the Minnesota Society of CPAs offers this advice on scams to avoid so you can keep the season merry.

This is a topic I hesitate to broach, because we all know how nutso American consumers can get, especially at holiday time.
The last thing I want to do is incite looting, hoarding or the kind of violence that broke out over Tickle Me Elmo. I believe in peace on Earth and goodwill toward men, unless you're standing between me and the last Xbox One, in which case you're about to be pistol-whipped with the nearest pricing gun.

Judges are so “opinionated” because in most civil cases they are required to detail the factual basis and legal reasoning for their decision in a written opinion.  
In the vast majority of criminal cases, other than pretrial motions to suppress evidence or dismiss a criminal charge or a court trial on the charge, the judge is not required to file “findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order,” the explanation for the judge’s decision.

Remembering earlier times in West African country
 “I wish I could describe to you the way it is between 6:15 and 7:30 p.m. when the sun goes down. There’s always at least one big cloud that is glowing hot pink. At the same time, you can hear one or two Liberian boys playing a flute-like instrument. This part of the day is indescribably beautiful,” I wrote to my parents from Liberia many years ago.

I sat down to write this article after just coming in from my morning walk. All my pockets were full – of plastic bottles I picked up along the way! Which made me think it might be time to review the three R’s and how implementing them can protect the environment.

The Department of Corrections, the state agency that is responsible  for prison administration and the supervision of felons on probation, and which makes sentencing recommendations to judges, has considered  and implemented alternatives to incarceration over many years. Those in prison for a definite term serve 2/3 of the sentence in prison (encouraging good behavior) and 1/3 on supervised release, if they have no disciplinary offenses in prison.