Here are this week’s letters to the editor of the Herald Times Reporter. See our letters policy below for details about how to share your views.
Thanks for a memorable 65th Lincoln class reunion
I was very privileged to attend the 65th reunion of the Lincoln High School Class of 1960 during the weekend of Aug. 20 and 21.
Thank you to John and Del Torrison for their Friday afternoon reception. Thanks also to Karen Mangin Bouril and husband Paul for the Saturday afternoon reception and the fun beanbag tournament at their beautiful home on Gass Lake. We dined on many flavored pizzas, wonderful desserts and ice-cold drinks of all kinds. It was a fun afternoon.
The class reunion dinner was on Saturday evening at the Manitowoc Yacht Club and was attended by 80 classmates, many with spouses. Until name tags were passed out, we all had difficulty recognizing our classmates.
The dinner itself was magnificent, with several main courses, many salads and sides, and of course, more desserts than one could imagine.
We greeted many classmates living in Wisconsin and surrounding states with several more distant.
Alois Muench traveled from Virginia, Joann Belinske Massengill traveled from Florida and Bill Goehring traveled from Nebraska. I heard a classmate joined us from California.
Joanie Freiberg Champeau and Pat Wagner Korlesky were very able reunion co-chairs, ably assisted by Evie Rasmussen LeClair and Caroline Hardtke Grenier. If I missed anyone, I apologize. It was a memorable reunion among so many close classmates and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
May God bless all with health and happiness until we meet in 2026 for our 66th class reunion.
Chuck Erickson
Burnsville, Minnesota
Whole story needed on Manitowoc ICE detainments
Manitowoc made the big leagues with the arrest of supposedly undocumented Latinos. There were other unsubstantiated charges as well. And just as in other areas of the United States, specifics are hard to come by.
The recent arrests shouldn’t come as a surprise to those concerned. Republican delegates at the 2024 GOP National Convention held up signs that read “MASS DEPORTATIONS,” and 61% of Manitowoc County’s voters voted Republican in the 2024 presidential race.
Maybe people thought “illegals” pertained only to rapists and sex traffickers (of which there are few, if any) only to discover that “illegals” also targets their neighbors: mega-farm workers, those in manufacturing or food processing.
Behind the headlines, immigration arrests feed into a private prison system; a booming business in Trump’s America. Arrests are concerned with the number of brown bodies taken daily, based on race and ethnicity, not law. We’ve seen warrantless detentions with no due process across the country, and now most likely here.
The public has been fed a constant diet of lies. The vast majority of immigrants are simply trying to earn an income, pay their taxes and school their children in a democratic system. Large sums of tax dollars are not being used for immigrant health care. And though they pay into Social Security, as non-citizens, immigrants are unable to receive benefits.
Immigration is a fact of life from time immemorial. If people are going to applaud these detentions, it would help if they knew the whole story.
James Mullins
Manitowoc
Real solutions needed on violence
A national poll of registered voters released by Quinnipiac University Sept. 24 found 71% of respondents think political violence is a very serious problem today and 22% think it is a somewhat serious problem.
The same survey found regarding gun violence that 83% of respondents think political leaders are more interested in blaming others. A mere 10% think political leaders are more interested in finding solutions.
We need to find a way to come together as a nation so we can respectfully discuss our differences and cooperatively solve problems without fear of violence. Politicians should feel safe. Children attending school must feel safe. Everyone in our country and abiding by the law should feel safe.
The problem of violence in our society will not solve itself. Pointing fingers is not a solution. Congress must take the lead. Congressional committees should be formed to study research into the causes of violence, especially violence against political figures and children. These committees should also examine ways to decrease violence, then use the information gathered to take action. We especially need techniques to counteract messages on social media that promote violence.
Let’s create changes in our society that will help us communicate respectfully, disagree without worry and allow children to go to school without fear. Please contact your legislators in Washington. Tell them to get to work on real solutions to decrease violence in our country. The safety of the American people is in their hands.
Kerry Kading
Manitowoc
Our communities are not battlegrounds
The Trump administration and its allies are playing a dangerous game. Their inflammatory rhetoric isn’t just irresponsible — it’s a calculated effort to provoke violence, create chaos and justify an authoritarian crackdown. This is not leadership. It’s incitement.
We must be clear about what’s happening: If violence erupts, they’ll use it as cover to declare states of emergency, deploy militarized forces and treat our cities like war zones. These tactics are designed to intimidate, suppress dissent and dismantle democratic safeguards under the guise of “restoring order.” It’s an abuse of power — and a direct threat to the rights and safety of every American.
This is not politics as usual. This is a test of whether democracy survives. Labeling communities as battlegrounds, turning citizens into targets, and using force as a political weapon is how democracies die. It’s happening here, right now.
We cannot fall into their trap. Violence only feeds their agenda. Our strength lies in mass, sustained, nonviolent resistance. We must speak out, show up and refuse to be silenced. Protect the vote. Defend civil liberties. Demand accountability. The future of our republic depends on it.
Show up for the “No Kings” event from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 18 at Washington Park in Manitowoc.
Deb Martin
Manitowoc
Our letters policy
Letters to the editor are published in the order in which they are received and letter-writers are limited to having one letter published per month. Letters can be emailed to htrnews@htrnews.com and Editor Brandon Reid at breid@gannett.com. Letters must meet specific guidelines, including being no more than 250 words and be from local authors or on topics of local interest. All submissions must include the name of the person who wrote the letter, their city of residence and a contact phone number. Letters are edited as needed for style, grammar, length, fairness, accuracy and libel.
This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: A 65th class reunion, ICE detainments & more topics in Manitowoc letters to the editor
Reporting by Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter / Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter
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