The roads in Minnesota are pothole central. I was going on a shopping trip with my parents to Mason City, Iowa, this past weekend. We could easily tell where the state line between Minnesota and Iowa are. The road conditions take a 180-degree flip. The roads in Minnesota are bumpy and full of potholes and have huge chunks out of the road, and the roads in Iowa were perfectly smooth and had no potholes to be seen.

That is not good on anyone’s car tires. I drive a little car, and it feels like the potholes are worse because my car sinks into them. It’s dangerous. The road workers need to get out there and start repairing our roads. The state is complaining about needing money to do this. I thought we pay taxes to help ease the pain of the cost of road repairs. They have been raising taxes, but where does this money go? If we pay more taxes and put less money into the roads, it doesn’t add up. Where does the leftover money go?

The state of Minnesota and separate counties should be able to support itself and fix problems in our area such as potholes. The government should use the money the citizens of Minnesota pay in for taxes and put it to something useful that benefits us, such as fixing the roads and the big potholes.

Amanda Bergland

Albert Lea High School

English class

Albert Lea