Hats off to Gloria Carpenter, Denny Harris and Joe Soucheray for their vision of a permanent ice palace here in St. Paul. The St. Paul Winter Carnival and the building of ice palaces goes back several decades and generations and is one of the few things St. Paul can call its own. Minneapolis cannot take this from us. We have earned it, have the rights to it, and the creation of a permanent ice palace would pay homage to all those who have worked countless hours in making the Winter Carnival the success it has been for so many years. My mother, Alice St. Germain Geisen, was in a marching unit for White Satin Sugar and marched in the Grand Day Parade in the 1940s.

As Joe mentioned, the possibilities are endless in what could be done with this permanent landmark to make it memorable.

Let's not let this opportunity slip through our fingers. It's a capital idea for our Capital City.

Larry Geisen, Oakdale

Uplifting ads

In our home, the highlight of the dreadfully boring Super Bowl and equally boring ads was the magnificent 'America the Beautiful' ad by Coke. We don't participate in tech chatter, so luckily have missed the mindless backlash talked about in Sunday's paper. Coke has a history of some truly innovative and uplifting ads; this latest one continues that superior marketing legacy.

Nancy Lanthier Carroll, Little Canada

Avoid quick judgments

I am a pay-inequality statistic ("Size of gender pay gap varies by state, job," Feb. 2).

I made my career choice based (in large part) on my desire to work part time to raise children. Although I entered the workforce at about the same time as my husband, the choices I happily made mean I have about six fewer years' experience, avoided management positions and even now my full-time hours are about 30 percent less than his. And, yes, I make less money.

It's not unusual for a wife/mother to choose a job that is supplemental to her husband's or that pays less than a male-dominated career: nurse vs. doctor; teacher vs. manager. I would challenge the reader, and especially the writer, to avoid quick judgments based on shallow statistical information. For a more intelligent discussion, refer to, "An Analysis of the Disparity in Wages Between Men and Women (2009 for U.S. Department of Labor) or the YouTube video, "Do Women Earn Less than Men" (LearnLiberty). When career choice, hours and experience are considered, it appears that women make closer to 98 cents for every $1 men make.

Knowing that, are you still interested in an onerous bureaucratic fix to the "problem"?

Kathryn Haug, Eagan

No 'big marijuana' yet

The answer to Joe Soucheray's question "So why do the anti-smoking zealots give pot a pass?" The answer is, as of yet, there isn't a corporate "big marijuana" like there is "big tobacco" that they can extort billions of dollars from. Once they've milked the tobacco companies for all they can, then they'll attack pot once it becomes a multibillion-dollar industry.

Don Anderson Jr., Cottage Grove