Gov. Jesse Ventura took some heat for his recent trip to Cuba from other politicians, questioning why our governor would be on a trade mission with a country the United States has embargoed for political reasons.

Minnesotans, however, ought to be asking, why is a mission to Cuba so high on our governor’s priority list?

There's no question Minnesotans would benefit if the U.S. government were to allow free trade with Cuba. Our farmers in particular, would be able to sell grain to Cuba, which would increase demand and raise prices, which would help our economy.

However, considering the Cuba embargo is a federal issue, it doesn't seem Ventura can do much about the issue at this point. He can shake the hands of all the Cuban dignitaries he wants, but the fact are President George Bush and Congress are preventing Minnesota farmers from selling grain to Cuba, not Cuban government officials.

In addition, it's not like there's a lack of issues on the homefront. Minnesota is about to dip back into a deficit, and it would be nice if our governor was at least giving it some thought. It also would make sense if Ventura was helping out the gubernatorial candidate in his own party, Tim Penny.

Just one more reason to put the Ventura era behind us.