I am saddened to hear of cities such as Lino Lakes enacting “English-only” laws and I sincerely hope that other cities in Minnesota will not follow.

As citizens of the 21st century and of the great state of Minnesota, it is in our best interest that non-English speaking residents, citizens and visitors in our communities are able to interact with the local government. Local governments should foster that interaction.

I call on my Mayor R.T. Rybak to prevent similar policy from ever happening in Minneapolis, Gov. Tim Pawlenty to prevent this from happening on a state level and our senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken to prevent similar laws from being enacted on a federal level.

I am a proud Minnesotan, and I hope that we can all come together to make sure that the state supports all of the populations who help make it a great place.

Erika J. Doerr, University alumnus