Commentary

Commentary: Inequity and the taxpayer tab for housing development

March 22, 2019

By John Diers Mar 20, 2019 Twenty-five million dollars is a lot of money. It could end up on the public tab if developers are allowed to fatten their profits and unload the costs of their projects on Prior Lake property taxpayers. Growth and development doesn’t pay for itself, nor should retired homeowners or young […]

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Commentary: The more things change

January 5, 2019

By John Diers Jan 2, 2019 There’s an old curse that says, “May you live in interesting times,” and we do. Consider government shutdowns, political rancor, protests and corruption. Some say America has lost its way and is divided because it has strayed from its core principles. Like most kids in grade school, I was […]

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Commentary: Let’s have some accountability

October 8, 2018

By John Diers Sep 29, 2018 Go to the website of the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District, and you’ll find this statement: “Our mission is to educate all learners to reach their full potential as contributing and productive members of our ever- changing global community.” Then go to the 2017-2018 budget on the same website […]

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Commentary: School district should answer questions about survey

August 4, 2018

By John Diers Aug 3, 2018 Does the Prior Lake-Savage Area School District follow state and federal law? Does it follow its own policies? As a parent, what would you do if your middle school son or daughter came home and told you they had to take a survey at school that asked about their […]

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Commentary: Confusion and doubt stoke the fires of democracy

May 27, 2018

By John Diers I’m a septuagenarian and a skeptic. I’ve always been suspicious of majorities and their penchant for simple solutions to complex problems — solutions that are, as H. L. Mencken put it, “clear, simple, and wrong.” I’m not a “team player” preferring to keep, on most issues, what my grandfather called “an open […]

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