Inflation is slowing

The Feds just raised interest rates a quarter percent, hoping to get inflation under 3%. The side effects are rippling through the economy. There are some signs that food prices are coming down. However, not gasoline, dining out, and perhaps most important of all, not mortgage costs which have doubled. There are no immediate signs of declining.

Financial experts, lenders and real estate people tell us we should not spend more than 30% of our annual income on housing costs. Higher interest rates have a big effect on the cost of your next home if you are planning to buy. For example, in the metro area if you were going to buy a $400,000 home and the mortgage interest was 3%, that would cost you $1,686 per month and your income would have to be at least $67,440.

About the Town

Now the interest is at 6%. That would bring the monthly payment to $2,398 and your income would have to be over $95,920.

A big issue before you make a decision.

There is a shortage of homes on the market and the prices have gone up rather dramatically after the COVID crisis and inflation factors. What are young people who want to buy a home supposed to do? If you are single, you may continue to live with your parents. If you are married, maybe there is an apartment in your parent’s or a friend’s basement. Some singles are joining together with others, sometimes four or five, to rent a home.

Gene Johnson

I have also learned of some apartments and condos with as low as 500 square feet that are available to rent or lease.

It has been a dream for many to own a home because they grow in value. With inflation getting under control, I have talked to so-called experts and they tell me prices are not going down. They will still creep up with the short supply. Many home sales find the prices being bid up $10,000 and $20,000 more than the asking price just because of shortage and demand.

As a result, people aren’t willing to sell. They are staying where they are. When interest rates go back down, that may be another story.

Caught in coin counting

The other day I took my piggy bank to US Bank where they have a coin counting machine available. There was a sign indicating it was out of order so I inquired when it might be repaired. They said a part was ordered, but they weren’t sure. I innocently asked what happened to it and the staff member said you just won’t believe what we find people are trying to run through the machine. They said it’s not only odd coins, but recently they had teeth caught in it. I never thought of a piggy bank as a place to save teeth. I didn’t know what they meant by this, whether it was a gold-filled one or a child’s tooth that they hadn’t put under their pillow for a reward. I had to try another bank.

Showboat Relocated

I’m sure many of you, like Kathy and I, remember the Minnesota Centennial Showboat docked at St. Paul’s Harriet Island where the University of Minnesota theater group put on productions during the summers. It was fun to go there, the plays were good, and it made for a wonderful evening on the Mississippi River.

A couple weeks ago when we were in Winona with our daughter and son-in-law, Stephanie and Chuck, they took us up the Mississippi River to just below lock 5 where the old showboat is moored at a Wisconsin docking facility. It’s just sitting there.

What happened? Well, the U of M theater was able to get a new showboat in December, 2000. The partnership would be with the city of St. Paul Riverfront Development, the Padelford Packet Boat Co. and the University of Minnesota. The construction began the following spring in Greenville, Mississippi. The new showboat arrived at Harriet Island on April 17, 2002. The final curtain call was in the 2016 summer season.

The William A. Thompson Dredge Museum hoped to raise enough money to purchase the old showboat and Dave Belz and Bob Harris set out to raise funds to buy the boat and transport it from St. Paul to Winona.

The plan was to have it moored at the new updated Levee Park in Winona and it would be a venue for area arts, culture and events. The showboat arrived in Winona in 2019 and it looks like not enough money was raised to utilize it for that intent. Therefore, it continues to be idled below lock and dam 5. I cannot confirm, but it’s estimated that it cost them $60,000 to purchase it and have it delivered to Winona. Maybe someone will come along and help bring the old showboat back to life.

I’m Madeline, but my friends call me ‘Mads’

Iam the newest staff writer for Shoreview Press and The Lowdown. I graduated from the University of St. Thomas in May with a degree in English-Creative Writing and a minor in communications.

At St. Thomas, I juggled both academics and being on the track team all four years. As a junior, I spent the whole year designing and editing the student literary newspaper— The Summit Avenue Review— with nine other fellow students. My next great adventure is graduate school, where I am studying creative writing, editing and publishing.

But first, how did I get here?

I grew up in Wyoming– the city, not the state. It is a quiet, small town just about an hour North of the Twin Cities. My family has lived in the same house since before I was born. We have never moved, nor do I think we ever will. I lived

• Limited to 350 words.

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• Letter writers are limited to six letters per year the typical small-town life. I went to elementary school two miles down the road from my house, I played with my older sister and the kids who lived next door, and my favorite place to hang out was the Dairy Queen which was a quick bike ride away from where I lived.

My childhood was consumed with ice cream, friends, school and sports. I did gymnastics from the ages of four to fifteen. From the age of eleven, I spent twentyfour hours at practice each week perfecting my salute and pointing my toes until my feet hurt. When I turned thirteen, my focus started to shift from gymnastics to track. I did both sports until I was fifteen when I ultimately had to pick between them. Track won by a landslide. I attended Forest Lake High School where I graduated in 2019. In my four years on the track team, I gained multiple All-Conference and All-State titles and walked away with two school records.

After I graduated from college, I spent my first month of summer reading ten books, moving out of my college apartment, and trying to learn how to golf. At the beginning of July, I joined the Press Publications team to grow as a writer. They are the perfect fit for me. Everyone is passionate about what they do, and it reflects in their work. I am at my desk from Monday to Friday and spend my weekends sitting on my front porch trying to finish yet another book on my never-ending “to-be-read” list or visiting my friends in the cities.

I have always had a passion for storytelling and writing. It has been something I have enjoyed since I was in elementary school. During my free time, instead of messing around with the cute boys in my sixth-grade class, I would sit in the reading corner trying to finish a book before time was up. My diary was filled with poorly written stories. It still is. But I know that these experiences I have had growing up, in college and at Press Publications will be invaluable to me, wherever I end up.

Madeline Dolby can be reached at shoreviewnews@presspubs. com or lowdownnews@ presspubs.com

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Response to letters

In response to DiCesare’s letter (July 19), Paslawski did not explicitly identify herself as a conservative, a theist, or as someone against COVID-19 vaccines. In order to illustrate the logical inconsistencies of Raeker’s letter (July 5) Paslawski plays devil’s advocate until the end when she identifies herself as pro-life. Both DiCesare and Raeker try to peddle the idea that being pro-life is synonymous with being both a theist and a conservative, but this is increasingly misleading. Likewise, Paslawski’s example about COVID-19 indeed fit the bill of the government telling us what to do with our bodies, motives aside.

The crux of the issue in this thread has been whether human life has inherent value or not. DiCesare and Raeker both suggest that it doesn’t, but what premises led them to this conclusion, and where are the logical parameters to keep vulnerable groups (ethnic minorities, disabled, females) from being singled out as unworthy of life?

DiCesare’s conclusion that abortion only affects a few people is completely wrong. We’re all connected whether we like it or not. To the unborn life that abortion is imposed upon (and to all those people who otherwise would have seen, met, befriended this person, married them, etc.) the abortion made all the difference in the world. Likewise for the parents,who are now on a different timeline and trajectory, physically and psychologically.

What sort of concept of the common good could we possibly deduce and what type of culture would develop from an ideology that doesn’t stand up for the weak, or has an increasingly exclusive idea of who’s worthy of the state’s protection? Any true concept of justice is not compatible with this ‘might makes right,’ ‘ends justify the means’ mentality.

Surely we are made for more than just the worship of big business and big government. If a single person being aborted doesn’t matter how could multiple people dying from COVID-19 matter? Our lives are not purely utilitarian. Life is a gift, no one should need to plead their case for existing.

Student News

The following students graduated from a college or university in spring 2023:

• North Dakota State University: Ashley Fettinger of White Bear Lake, Bachelor of Science, electrical engineering, summa cum laude; Adam Bear of White Bear Township, Bachelor of Business Administration, cum laude; Erika Townley, Bachelor of Arts, marketing.

• University of Vermont: Elizabeth Tuttle of Pine Springs, Bachelors in health and society, cum laude.

• University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse: Gabrielle Potthoff of White Bear Lake, Master of Science, student affairs administration.

• University of Wisconsin-Madison: Lex Waldoch of Dellwood, Bachelor of Science, computer sciences; Jacob Arlandson of Birchwood, Bachelor of Science, mechanical engineering; Matt Anderson of Mahtomedi, Bachelor of Arts, journalism;

Church Brief

Don’t miss well-known musicians, music at annual concert series

The 3rd annual Music on the Lawn outdoor concert series at White Bear Lake United Methodist Church will kick-off August 20 with a tribute to rock & roll greatest duos. The local Super Duos band will perform a tribute to rock’s greatest duos, including Hall & Oates, The Righteous Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, and more.

The free, family-friendly concerts are open to the general public and feature local musicians and weave in the sacred with the secular.