Letters to the Editor | July 9th, 2015
To the editor:
With a $2 billion surplus, we had a great opportunity this year to make college more affordable for Minnesota students – and for good reason. Many families and students struggle with the cost of a quality higher education, and Minnesota ranks fourth in the nation in student debt.
Unfortunately, students at the Minnesota State University in Moorhead recently learned that they will receive a tuition hike next year. Raising tuition is essentially a tax increase, because you’re taking money out of the pockets of students, many who simply can’t afford it. Now, thanks to these misplaced priorities, the cost of tuition and room and board at Moorhead will be nearly $16,000 next year.
Why, with a $2 billion surplus, is tuition going up? The answer is simple – House Republicans would rather put those dollars toward corporate and business tax breaks. In fact, they insisted on keeping nearly $1 billion of the surplus on our state’s bottom-line for a potential “tax giveaway” in 2016, when an extra $85 million would have frozen tuition for every Minnesota student for the next two years.
Making college affordable should be a higher priority for the Minnesota Legislature, as it was over the past two years. In 2013, Governor Dayton and the DFL-led Legislature froze tuition for all Minnesota students for two years, despite a $627 million deficit. With a $2 billion surplus, it’s simply unacceptable that Republicans chose to raise tuition on students.
Minnesotans shouldn’t have to take on decades of debt to get a college degree that will help them succeed. It’s the wrong way to grow a stronger economic future in Minnesota, and we can do much better. We believe those are higher priorities than corporate tax breaks that will largely benefit the metro-area businesses.
Sincerely,
Paul Thissen,
House DFL Leader
August 19th 2025
June 19th 2025
June 2nd 2025
May 15th 2025
May 15th 2025
_(1)_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
_(1)_(1)__293px-wide.jpg)
By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com Ten North Dakota communities will participate in the nationwide No Kings Day of Peaceful Action on October 18. The grassroots movement is a nonviolent protest against President Trump’s…
By Kooper Shagenakoopershagena@gmail.com One night, Jane Linde Capistran, associate conductor of the Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, sat and drank wine with her friends: “Jennifer Tackling, the associate concertmaster, and…
Friday, October 31, 5-9 p.m.Ziti’s Italian American Restaurant, 3150 Sheyenne St., Suite 170, West FargoSavor a delectable five course meal with beverage pairings. (Nonalcoholic beverages are available upon request, but must be…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com At the end of September, downtown Fargo said goodbye to another old friend; the Spirit Room closed its doors, marking the end of an era. The Spirit Room room has been a fixture downtown for the…
By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWill we be banging or whimpering at the end of the American empire?T.S. Eliot’s poem “The Hollow Men” accurately portrays the end of most empires in his first lines: “We are the hollow men/…
By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…
By Rick Gion and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…
By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Dream-factory documentarian Alexandre O. Philippe connects with a Hollywood legend in “Kim Novak’s Vertigo,” the latest in a series of features exploring the filmmaker’s many…
By HPR staffsubmit@hpr1.com Mark the first weekend of October on your calendar. It’s the weekend of the Studio Crawl, which takes us all on a wonderful, metro-wide tour of our talented (and often wacky) arts community. On October…
Press release“Shakespeare with a sharpened edge.” To launch its 2025 – 2026 season, Theatre NDSU is thrilled to team up with Moorhead-based organization Theatre B to perform a co-production of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and…
By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…
By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…
By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com When we are sick, all we want is a cure. You go to the doctor, they give you a pill, you take it for a bit, then you are cured. It happens. But unfortunately, it is not always the case. …
By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…
By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.comMoral accountability and the crisis of leadership As a recovering person living one day at a time for the last 35 years, I have learned not to judge others because I have not walked in…