The Seattle Commune is no more.

The passing of 1963 Fergus Falls High School graduate Chuck Beck on May 23 in Bend, Oregon, has led to several accolades from his classmates and relatives.

Clearly, we are at a phase with the coronavirus that reminds me of those times when I decide to eat too many onions.

I am just like many of you.  I don’t trust everything the government does.  But is the census an invasion of privacy?  Less so than a Google search, in my opinion.  If you look up my name on Google, you can find all sorts of information on me, going back more than 20 years.  You can see me i…

During my newspaper career I have had the opportunity to work at several Wick Communication owned newspapers. 

Some things never change. When I was a kid and was feeling lethargic, crabby, and my face was either pale or flushed, my mom would grab the thermometer, stick it under my tongue and wait for the results. If I had a fever, she would declare me sick and send me to bed, or more likely to the co…

Last Saturday, my family and I went swimming at Pebble Lake. We were having a great time and there were a bunch of different people enjoying the sun, fun and water.

Munching on peanut butter toast and sipping from a cup of warm milk, I finally knew the answer to the question that had been cycling round my circle of family and friends.

An Asian designer virus enters the United States into the American West in dribbles; then from Europe like a bomb, it saturates the world hub of New York, killing tens of thousands of people who would most certainly have voted out the current president, who seems to have played the traitor o…

Some polls now have Joe Biden running ahead of Donald Trump by 10 points and sweeping the battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. This vindicates the strategy Biden’s advisers have adopted:

Gasoline prices fell dramatically this spring, one of the few bright spots for consumers this year. The oil feud between Russia and Saudi Arabia that began March 8, led to a 34% drop in domestic oil prices. Of course, the COVID-19 pandemic is the other driving factor. Around the globe, peopl…

On June 15 the Fergus Falls City Council heard a joint statement in support of human rights from the Fergus Falls Police Department and the Human Rights Commission. The goal of both organizations was recognition of our shared humanity and basic rights inherent to all. 

In light of current political discourse, upcoming elections and the continuing COVID-19 crisis I have chosen to rerun this column that published back in February 2020 regarding the Daily Journal’s Opinion page. Now more than ever the newspaper’s role in a community is an important one in ter…

Jerry Lee Lewis and Eddie Cochran are among the big-name entertainers who performed at the Leaf Lake Ballroom, north of Henning, in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

As a longtime resident of Fergus Falls, I have seen some in the community propose a lot of new stuff over the years. A water park, a hotel and restaurant complex at the RTC and the amphitheater behind city hall are a few that come to mind.

It all started with a Mother’s Day gift. My daughter has mugs custom printed with pictures of family for gifts. Last year she sent me a beautiful 12 ounce mug with pictures of the grandkids. The mug said Happy Mother’s Day Grandma Sue, 2019. I loved the mug and had it on display on my china …

Wow, can you believe that we are almost through the month of June? I sure can’t and I wish that the recent month could continue. So, I have hit that early summer drought in regards of things to discuss, so here is a cornucopia of thoughts I have had recently.

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“Take up your cross and follow me,” says he.

Wednesday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met for seven hours at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii with the chief architect of China’s foreign policy, Yang Jiechi.

Have you ever heard of a movement called “Drive Away CA Cars?” It’s an information campaign sponsored by the Minnesota Automobile Dealers Association. According to the website driveawaycacars.org they are a trade organization representing the new car dealers of Minnesota.

What happens when a state governor does away with the checks-and-balances system? 

Last Friday night, my husband, Eric, and I had the privilege of serving delicious deep fried walleye to hungry friends and neighbors at Elk’s Point on Wall Lake. The club has a dining room and bar on the east side of the lake that serves not only club members, but the community of Fergus Fal…

Newly painted in huge yellow letters on 16th Street, just north of the White House, is the slogan: “Defund the Police.”

Well, I am sitting at my desk at the new location of the Daily Journal on 125 N. Union Ave., and wondering what to think of the new space. Although we knew that we would be moving here for quite some time (even got sneak previews and were able to plan our spaces) it still seems unusual to be…

I try to be careful not to do a double take when I see a dark-skinned person here in Otter Tail County. I could be wrong, but this seems to be the most vanilla part of Minnesota—blond hair, blue eyes, creamy skin, Norwegian pride.

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Drive-in theaters, which once were popular in Otter Tail County and all across the nation, are seeing comebacks.

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One of the things I have seen a lot of on social media is the idea that white people need to acknowledge the privileges they have been given simply because they are white.

When I was in grade school, what we now call elementary school, I had a friend named Olivia. What a wonderful name. If your name is as common as Susan, you will obviously love an uncommon name like Olivia. She was cute, popular and knew how to dance. Livy, as we called her, had long brown ha…

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross." — Sinclair Lewis

Here I am again Lord, avoiding my time with you. I know it’s not always like this but today is one of those days. 

In his statement to The Atlantic magazine, former Defense Secretary General James Mattis says of the events of the last 10 days that have shaken the nation as it has not been shaken since 1968:

Sometimes we need to retreat to a place that is unfamiliar to us, reconnecting with a lifestyle our ancestors lived daily. Back to a more simple time without the majority of electronics and more peace and quiet. It was time to travel back into the woods.

One evening last week my wife, grandson and I were swimming at a sandbar on one of our local lakes. It was a beautiful evening and the water was a bit chilly but manageable. While we were there a jet ski approached with two small boys operating it. My grandson is 9 and by the looks of these …

On June 6, 1944, Medgar Evers was among 156,000 American and allied troops who stormed the 50 miles of Normandy beach in France. The operation, known as D-Day, is commemorated today, 76 years later.

While some people like to get away with as much as they can, and have selfish agendas, there are some individuals who are just selfless, with no agenda in mind at all, other than to help others.

Since I began to write my column again last fall, I have tried to hit on topical issues. Last week, by the time I wrote my column, the George Floyd murder by Minneapolis police officers had not yet developed into the story it became.