First snow of the season on the deck this morning (just a dusting)…DK

Today we played what may be the last round of the year at Dahlgreen in Chaska. Golfing in Minnesota will re-launch again in the spring with new features and content. See you soon!

We’ve been using a SonicWall SOHO3 hardware firewall at HSRA for several years to filter Internet content and comply with federal law regarding student access. A few weeks ago, it started to go bad and needed to be replaced. I didn’t like some of the support policies of SonicWall, so I asked around and was referred to company called Astaro and their ASG120 product. (more…)

This week my Catholic Aid Association (CAA) sales representative, Sam Welter, brought over my new life insurance policy. I’m not Catholic, but wife is and she used to work there. They have good products and have been around for a long, long time. When I left NWA, I rolled over all of my pension to an annuity at CAA and purchased a new term life policy to make up for the one I used to have from work. Sam told me about a new term life product they were rolling out that required a much more stringent health qualification process. If I could qualify for the new plan, I would pay the same premium, but get about $150,000 more in coverage.

A nurse came out to my house about a month ago and I finally got the word that I passed. My cholesterol levels were much better than my last physical (203 mg/dL on a “good” scale of 140-280) and my wife says the triglyceride results were even more impressive: 58 mg/dL on a expected value range of 10-200. My readings were high on two measures: alkaline phosphatase and lactate dehydrogenase. Both can be related to kidney and liver issues, so I need to research that more. They must not be that bad, though, or I’m sure I would have been turned down. I also rolled over the rest of my NWA 401K money, so I don’t have to worry about the NWA bankruptcy any longer…DK

This week is National Freedom of Speech Week. Guess how the school my kids go to decided to honor this event? By banning student access to newspapers in the library.

I came home from work and the local NBC affiliate, KARE 11, was running an interview with the school principal, Miles Haugen, as the lead story on the five o’clock newscast. According to the story, the parent of a seven-year-old complained in an e-mail to the school:

• “[the newspaper is] not appropriate reading material for elementary aged kids. [allowing other students to have continued access] would silently endorse the kids reading them. It’s like leaving a loaded gun on the table. [forbidding my child] to take one will only make the paper a fascinating forbidden fruit. We don’t want (child’s name) exposed to the sex, death and general mayhem that have become the standard fodder for newspapers and TV news. We are not just trying to protect our child but all the kids (child’s name) goes to school with and lives in the world with.”

The newspaper as a loaded gun? Are you kidding me? Thanks for your concern, but I want my kids to become informed, intelligent readers, citizens and learners. Censorship should not be a part of their world.

Mr. Haugen is in his third year as principal and I have respected his leadership. This decision, however, needs to be reconsidered. We plan to contact the superintendent’s office tomorrow and will visit the school when they re-open after MEA week.

If need be, I’ll get both kids their own subscriptions to the paper so they can carry them every day in their backbacks. No reason they should be hindered because of one misdirected individual and a bad decision by the people paid to educate them…DK

UPDATE: Here is the email response I received from Mr. Haugen:

Unfortunately, the KARE11 news story was not accurately reported. Students may continue to read the newspaper at any time during the school day. We just want teachers to be aware of when a student is reading the newspaper and what headlines are found on the newspaper.

Hope this answers your question. I’m sorry about the confusion.

UPDATE 2: The American Library Association has an Office for Intellectual Freedom. They have a challenge database form to report issues of censorship (Adobe Acrobat, 8K).

UPDATE 3: The story has been picked up by the Associated Press and was published in the Star Tribune and Pioneer Press this morning. My wife is quoted in that story and a new bit of information was released: the original email complaint offered to “buy a paper for the school that the parent considered child-safe.” Just what my kids need–the Shiny Happy Day News. No thanks…DK

While working on my election research, there were a few question marks. In the Eagan city council race, candidate Buzz Anderson did not have any website or email information listed in his filing. I did a Google search and found his business email at the Minnesota Retailers Association. He replied with the following contact info:

• Email: andersonrus@comcast.net
• Work Phone: 651-227-6631
• Cell: 651-307-4994

In the second district congressional race, the Independence Party candidate is listed as Douglas Williams, but he is not listed on the Minnesota Independence Party website. I thought that was really odd and contacted Marian Brown, the IP chair for CD2. She said Mr. Williams does not have the endorsement of the Independence Party and they don’t really know much about him. He appears to be a fringe candidate based on the limited information available online, but I’m still not sure how he got on the ballot as an IP candidate.

Lastly, I was having a hard time deciding who to pick for Eagan mayor. The recent retail developments near my house gave me an opportunity to write both candidates to get their opinions on zoning and development. I emailed Mike Maguire late at night, but he replied within 10 minutes and we ended up exchanging several emails around 1am. His answers were very thorough and I generally agreed with his positions. Cyndee Fields took a little longer to reply and was more succinct, but I also liked her answers. That one is still a toss-up for me…DK