Your letters for Oct. 11, 2024

By NewsPress Now

Your letters for Oct. 11, 2024

Benedictine deserves recognition

As a 1954 graduate of St. Benedict’s in Atchison, I was again pleased to see the rankings of its successor college, Benedictine, by the US News & World Report and the Wall Street Journal.

In its ranking of America’s Best Colleges, US News rated Benedictine 6th among 94 colleges and universities in the Midwest region. It is the highest ranked school in Kansas.

The Wall Street Journal, based on satisfaction by current students and recent alumni, ranked Benedictine 6th among its top 10 schools. Princeton and Stanford also are in the top 10. Impressive company.

RegisteredNursing.org ranked Benedictine as the Best Nursing School in Kansas.

At a time when many colleges and universities are struggling to maintain enrollment levels, Benedictine has grown in enrollment each of the last six years. With about 2,200 students, it now is the largest private school in Kansas.

Growth continues, with a new library modeled after Independence Hall the next major project.

It’s not just academics. Benedictine offers a full menu. Its football team, regularly ranked in the NAIA, is 5-1. Its women lacrosse team has made it to the national finals. The Ravens compete, men and women, in basketball, soccer and other major sports.

The college continues to grow under the leadership of Dr. Steve Minnis and a dedicated board. Minnis is a graduate of Bishop LeBlond High School and Benedictine.

Benedictine gained a lot of national recognition with the faith-based commencement speech by Harrison Butker of the Kansas City Chiefs. The college, which has produced a Nobel prize winner, deserves recognition for its total mission.

Bob Slater

St. Joseph



I have a question

I noticed on Nov. 5, the Missouri public will again get to vote on what the minimum price of labor should be, aka the minimum wage. For everyone thinking that’s a good idea, I have a question: Should we also get to vote on what should be the minimum (maximum?) price of houses, cars, groceries, clothing, furniture, etc? Also, not a minor thing, raising the minimum price of labor also amounts to a reduction in the buying power of pensions and social security.

Louie DeLeon

St. Joseph



A mistake voters should not make

Gambling and professional sports interests who are encouraging us to vote yes on Amendment 2 offer us a deal that is too good to be true. The amendment, if approved, would legalize sports betting and on-line betting in Missouri. The bill would greatly benefit gambling corporations and professional sports organizations, but provide few benefits to citizens. It deserves to be defeated.

Amendment 2 supporters tout that sports gambling taxes will fund public education. But we heard that same pitch years ago when Missouri voters approved riverboat gambling. The tax money did go schools, but the Missouri legislature then reduced state’s contribution so as to meet the state education funding formula as schools remained underfunded. Today the St. Joseph School District doesn’t have enough money to attract enough substitute teachers. And past experience tells us this won’t change even if Amendment 2 is passed.

Promoters of the amendment stand to make billions of dollars. Gambling corporations like FanDuel and DraftKings that provide financial support for its passage stand to make incredible amounts of money. Professional sports teams, that already receive state and local subsidies, and organizations like the NFL, which is a tax-exempt organization, will receive millions.

Research shows that the majority of gambling taxes are paid by low income and socially disadvantaged individuals. Moreover, three or four years after approval bankruptcies increase as much as 25%.

Legalizing sports betting is a mistake that Missouri voters should not make.

Keith Evans

St. Joseph