Large-checked buffalo-plaid print has been trending for the last few years and doesn’t appear to be making an exit any time soon. The print first made its debut in 1850 and hasn’t entirely left the market since its introduction. Available in a variety of colors, the print is generally two sh…
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Remember when roller skates had two sets of parallel wheels? Before in-line skates we wore leather roller skates. My first pair were metal clamp-ons. They fastened onto your shoes and you used them outside. We lived on a gravel road with no sidewalk, so I would take them to Grandma’s hou…
Recently I traveled to Big Stone Lake to fish with winter fishing guide Tanner Arndt. Tanner and his dad, Artie, also own and run Artie’s Fish House Rentals on Big Stone. The Arndt’s specialize in, and pride themselves on, putting their customers on lots of Big Stone’s numerous and delicio…
Each month Fergus Falls Public Library employees work on creating themed displays to promote topical books. During the month of February, we are highlighting some wonderful books to celebrate Black History Month. Readers of all ages will find important and powerful books that will educate,…
I know you know the kind alright … inconsiderate high-pulp people. If you don’t think so, guess again. I am one. How does the old saying go? “It takes one to know one.” A childhood phrase taught when you’re caught by the very people who do the same. I could go on but let’s stick to the juice.
Two years ago I wrote a profile on Jim Bjork, the retired minister and potter who works out of his studio north of Underwood. We’ve become close friends, and it’s so rewarding to visit him while he’s working on his potter’s wheel. We get into a wide range of topics from science to religion t…
A few days ago, I had one of those moments that make you stop in your tracks and take a look at yourself. I was being interviewed for a TV broadcast and was discussing the football team I coach, what it is like to coach in the COVID-era and how I thought the season was going to go. I was tal…
Recently I traveled to Big Stone Lake to fish with winter fishing guide Tanner Arndt. Tanner and his dad, Artie, also own and run Artie’s Fish House Rentals on Big Stone. The Arndt’s specialize in, and pride themselves on, putting their customers on lots of Big Stone’s numerous and delicio…
Is President Joe Biden prepared to preside over the worst U.S. strategic defeat since the fall of Saigon in 1975?
Precision agriculture makes you think of satellites, self-driving tractors, and computers. Now there is something new, a different way to apply fungicide to strawberries using one of the world’s oldest agricultural practices, bee keeping. But you say, that’s not new, but bee vectoring is.
I am not much of a shopper. Going out to stores to score a great deal isn’t usually my cup of tea, but I will do it from time to time. In fact, I have tried twice recently, the day after Christmas and the day after Valentine’s Day, both attempts were a huge bust!
A recent Facebook video has me torn.
Since the onset of bad winter weather across much of the nation including Southern states there have been many electrical outages and rolling blackouts. If you know someone who has been affected by this, then you know this is no joke.
Publisher
A surprise to many is that Bill Gates of Microsoft fame is now the owner of a company running tests to become the builder of next-generation nuclear reactors.
Pardon me while I break the fourth wall.
I received a call from my daughter this morning.
So recently, I had noticed what was going on with the Gamestop stock. I couldn’t believe what was happening on Wall Street (although I wasn’t opposed to it), hedge fund managers were losing their sleeves on the deal. Millions and, sometimes, billions of dollars were lost because of a group o…
Editor
Jeff Bezos announced last week that he is stepping down as Amazon’s CEO. He built Amazon from scratch. He also built Blue Origin – a pathbreaking spacecraft company – on the side. In the process, Bezos became the richest person of all time.
The vagabond entered into our household. Unbeknownst to us just how the little orange kitty arrived, it mattered not because once it entered into our lives, we became one. And thus it was in the beginning.
It has been a dreadful three months for the Grand Old Party.
What’s the buzz? MySpace. It’s back. Well, kind of. The wildly popular, customizable social media platform of the early 2000s has made a return to the interwebs via a homage site called SpaceHey.
reporter
Recently the Fergus Falls City Council tabled a vote and the Airport Advisory Committee (AAC) decided to not accept the endorsement made by Landrum & Brown (L&B) a company that specializes in global aviation planning and development. L&B endorsed Alexandria Aviation, a company th…
Publisher
When I was in journalism school in college in the early 1990s, I was required to take a couple of classes that, at the time, I thought were pointless.
In January Fergus Falls Otters boys’ basketball head coach Matt Johnson emphasized to his players that it’s an honor to participate in Otter athletics. And with that honor comes responsibility.
It seems that the latest thing in gardening is ornamental grass. Bunkey, for one, can’t understand that as he is constantly digging the darn stuff out of his gardens. There are places in the landscape where an ornamental, flowering grass is just the accent you want. Grasses add movement to …
The Legislature’s top priority for the 2021 session is to establish a new, two-year state budget.
Jeff Bezos announced last week that he is stepping down as Amazon’s CEO. He built Amazon from scratch. He also built Blue Origin – a pathbreaking spacecraft company – on the side. In the process, Bezos became the richest person of all time.
Winter, and all that goes with it, can be a daunting season. For those of us with no children at home to keep us running, winter days can plod along with nothing to do but complain about the cold and snow, and worry about the heat bills. I have long held to the theory that winter is too lo…
From Abraham Maslow, “In any given moment, we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.”
We all have our heroes. One of mine has been Bud Grant, the man who took the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowls.
Reporter
She was a saint who lived among us, you know. Yes, Helen was. I cannot think of one Bible verse she quoted, although she knew his word well. She did more than merely quote scripture; she lived into me and each one who crossed her path it did go.
I’m guessing that bones in our bodies have ways of communicating with each other. After all, I’ve read that even trees with low hanging leaves will warn fellow trees down the pathway if a hungry giraffe is approaching. So why not our bones, especially close neighbors like our two lower leg b…
Thinking about column ideas, reporter Brian Hansel suggested something very interesting — why don’t I write my column from the viewpoint of my dog. I sat and gave this a few thoughts and decided that I would do a day in the life of my dog.
Editor
When it was learned in 2016 that Russia may have hacked the emails of John Podesta and the DNC, and passed the fruits on to WikiLeaks to aid candidate Donald Trump, mighty was the outrage of the American establishment.
Most of us would like to ignore the fact that every year there are approximately 6 million dogs and cats sitting in animal shelters across this country waiting for a second chance. But the reality is that approximately half of them will never find a loving home. Pet overpopulation in our wor…
As restrictions ease, more and more activities are being added to the YMCA schedule. Taylor Giving, the aquatics and sports coordinator, says, “It is a huge thing for people of all ages in the community to be bringing back Y programming. It allows our children and teens to continue to build …
There are school districts around the country that have been in distance learning since COVID-19 reared its ugly head in March.
This Sunday is Super Bowl Sunday and I always enjoy picking a winner, watching the game and, of course, making chicken wings and other tasty treats. This year my pick to win is the Kansas City Chiefs. Their offense is simply too strong to stop. Think about it, the Buffalo Bills knew exactly …
Publisher
“Thank you, Latitia, for being who you are. You gave a strong, honest, straightforward presentation on ‘The View’ this morning—again—in a repeated episode from early December. Your intelligence showed through when you spoke. Your extemporaneous remarks were flawless. You are certainly deserv…
We’re a big fantasy football family. Have been since we started our own league in 2014. My daughter and I never paid much attention to the NFL prior to this, but when the guys in your life love football, you find it in your heart to love football as well – or at least to participate in the f…
The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners has a reputation of working in a bipartisan manner to address a problem and find a solution for the betterment of county residents.
It is Tuesday afternoon and my story is due. I am experiencing a bad case of writer’s block and can’t think of a single interesting story to share with my friends. I decided to look back in the memory banks of my computer and see what I wrote in the past. Sometimes reviewing helps to jump st…
This is the seed catalog season. Gardeners find that their mailboxes have a catalog almost every day. There are a few that find an immediate home in the trash. They are from southern addresses or are catalogs that have plants and seeds that are recommended for our zone but aren’t, or that ha…
Question: I thought I lost my driver’s license. I searched high and low and for the life of me I couldn’t find it. Seriously, I looked near and far and didn’t leave a stone unturned. So I went and applied for a new driver’s license and received it. But just the other day, lo and behold and …
“Do not look back,” was the command of the angels to Lot and his family as they fled Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:17).
“Devastating.”
"The United States acknowledges that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China. The United States… does not challenge that position.”
It’s been my good fortune to meet some amazing people since becoming involved with the North Country Trail community. My love of hiking is what drew me to the NCT and the social aspect is one of the unexpected benefits. Today I’d like to talk about a couple long-distance hikers that I’ve spe…
Will we be affected by the potential shutdown of the Dakota Access pipeline? The short answer is yes and I will tell you why. First, our low unemployment rate of 4% partly stems from jobs in the Bakken (Williston, North Dakota area). Oilfield shifts are typically two weeks on and two weeks o…
Publisher
So the Trumpists have made their voices known throughout the land. Everyone knows they are angry, that they have been victimized by the liberal elite, and thus, they are justified in behaving the way they do, even hitting someone over the head with the American flag.
We are in a moment.
Even though Petunia doesn’t “do” gardening, she does have a plethora of house plants. Most of them spend a vacation outdoors for the summer under various trees. She religiously hoses them off before she brings them inside, but every year she must fight various insects that have hitchhiked inside.
Back in the mid-1950s, when kids in Fergus Falls played sandlot baseball, the Milwaukee Braves were considered “our team” as far as major league baseball was concerned.
Planning a wedding is one of the most stressful events many encounter within their lifetime. Throw in a global pandemic resulting in travel restrictions and immense socioeconomic impacts and you’re in for quite the ride! Regardless of the circumstances, a wedding is sure to be a memorable oc…
reporter
Minnesota’s legislative process is deliberative by design. It often spares us from bad ideas becoming law.
I pulled an item out of the dryer yesterday and was a little disappointed. It was clean and looked like a regular old flannel shirt. However, I thought it was a wool-blend dress shirt. Looking at the tag I realized it was indeed 100 % cotton. Truly flannel. But Eric wears it for dress! …
Spring semester is under way at M State, and we have so much to be excited about.
As much as I don’t want to reflect on it, the last four years and what happened on Jan. 6 has left us looking at our country in a different light. I believe that many of us were concerned before the breach of the Capitol and even more were concerned afterward. 2020 has been a hard year and 2…
Editor
It seems the older I get, the less complicated life has become. We might hear an old-timer say, “I’m content with the simple things in life.” When I was younger, I might have interpreted that comment as banal or indifferent. But now, approaching age 85, I grasp some comforting wisdom in “the…
My life has been a journey of discovery covering more than 84 years. So, what have I learned? I try to think less about myself and more about “the bigger picture.” I’ve learned to control my emotional needs, curb my ambitions, guard against making snap judgements, and center more on the simp…
“We have met the enemy and he is us,” said Walt Kelly’s cartoon character Pogo, half a century ago, about what we Americans were doing to our environment.
