By Nancy Leasman We hear so much about artificial intelligence (AI), what it can do, how we may use it, the future of using it, and the dangers therein. I do not use AI in my writing other than as a research tool. Pop-up boxes and icons offer their assistance, which I often take as an affront to my ability. Am I not doing well enough on my own? After hearing a radio discussion of the future of AI and whether AI is able to be creative or come up with new ideas, I decided to co

Forada Tornado, Memorial Day weekend, 2022 By Joe Steinhagen I don’t remember it being at all hot and muggy, just rainy. I was upstairs in the living room looking out the south-facing windows and standing in front of them. Suddenly, a tree branch came through one of the about eight windows in that row. I wasn’t really surprised because it was really windy outside and I had about 40 trees on my one-acre lot, just thought that now I’ve got something to fix. Then, all the window

By Jim Palmer With Memorial Day coming up at the end of the month, cemeteries across this country will “come alive.” It is a time when we as a country shine an extra spotlight on the men and women of the military who sacrificed a portion of their life, or gave their entire life, to our country. Flags will be placed, flowers will be displayed, and grass and dirt will be brushed off grave stones. Back in 1868, our country set aside this day to remember the fallen and salute the

By Jan Stadtherr Looking back at my last column regarding the season of spring, I said that pink flamingos pop up in yards before the flowers do. The pink bird is usually standing on one leg. Do you know why? The lanky bird is trying to stay warm by tucking the other skinny leg into its feathers. Ah, yes! Welcome to senior trivia 101! When you share such tiny facts, it makes you feel smarter whether with family, friends, in the local coffee shop, or at card club. For me, triv

By Russel W. Olson By Russell W. Olson of Lac qui Parle Village Martin McLeod was a fur trader and explorer who became the territorial representative for Minnesota in the area known as “Lac qui Parle.” He served from the First Territorial Legislative Session in 1849 through the Fourth Territorial Legislative Session in 1853, acting as presiding officer in 1853. He was very influential as Territorial Representative. As chair of the “Schools” committee, he helped pass highly im

By Carl Gadow Minnesotans don’t look on the bright side. “A yacht would be great,” someone might say, “but where would I store it? Lake Minnetonka is an hour away—without traffic.” Or: “Yeah, I won the lottery, but now I’m going to have to pay more taxes. It’ll probably push me into a higher tax bracket.” I come by this instinct for practical realism honestly. My grandparents lived through the Great Depression, and some of the habits they learned seem to have been passed down

By Sharon Sannerud Relaxing in our new home in our corner of the world, the wind is howling, birds are singing, and trees are starting to show a tint of green. I began to get excited for spring as it is showing itself to me. Our spring awakens the beauty of so many things. Instead of listening to all of the horror in the world at this time in our lives, I am trying to look for beauty in all we can see from our little corner. As I began the day by taxi driving for my husband,

By Annette Gagliardi Pull several (about 8 to 10) Big Boy and Roma tomatoes from your fridge and chop them into a big soup pot. Dice an onion and add to the tomatoes. Stir in red pepper flakes. Chop garlic. Find the oregano and parsley. Sprinkle these so the top of the tomatoes are covered, then stir these into the pot. Take the sauce tasting spoon away from your oldest child. Shred carrots and zucchini. Add all these to sauce and begin simmering. Say, “No you can’t have more

By Carrie Classon There’s a reason I don’t write about current events. The news flies at me faster than I can absorb. I cannot make sense of it all, and it feels as if I should always be doing something more, knowing more, helping more than I am. The parable in the Bible that made the biggest impact on me as a child was the story Jesus told of how, when the master went away, he gave his servants talents to safeguard. Of course, in the literal sense, a talent was a large amoun

By Larry Kiewel She was the youngest daughter of the youngest daughter of prairie pioneers. Born in an April blizzard in 1927, she was educated in a one-room school, babysat for her sister in town to go to high school, and rode a train to attend the land grant university clear across the state. She was a red head, tall, and graceful. She was easy to find in church or school or horse show or county fair. Whatever she wore was accessorized with a large electric smile. She coul

By Stanley Musielewicz It was a beautiful, late spring day in early June. A few clouds drifted across sunny skies, and the temperature was comfortable. School was out, and my family was visiting my grandmother’s farm, which was farmed by my bachelor Uncle Joe. My Cousin Danny was about three years older than me, going into his senior year of high school. He was a city boy, but spent a few weeks every summer helping our uncle with the farming. Danny and I were getting a ride o

By Carrie Classon I had a really good ice-cream cone this week. I suppose this does not qualify as news, but I try not to eat too much ice cream, and I don’t usually keep ice cream in my freezer because I have a tendency to eat it all right away. I love ice cream. I have always loved ice cream. But I have noticed my tendency to eat it until my face goes numb and have avoided it. When I’m in Mexico, I walk by an ice-cream shop every night, where I have bought ice cream before.

Today's Wisdom: "Life is short and there will always be dirty dishes, so let's dance." - James Howe By Bill D. Ward I recently read an article lamenting the fact that today young people don’t dance. The writer cited his experience at several wedding dances in which the only people on the dance floor were older folks. The young folks were on the sidelines looking at their phones. I had to agree with him, but I don’t know why this is happening. When I was young dances were popu

By Tim King We have bird feeders outside of two of our windows. They’re fairly popular with a range of bird species from the tiny seed-eating Gold Finches to the huge suet-devouring Pileated Woodpecker. There is also, occasionally a Barred Owl, attracted by the deer mice and cottontails who visit in search of apple pieces that get tossed out the door. Sometimes a Sharpshinned Hawk visits with hope of capturing one of those tiny, seed-eating finches. It can get crazy out there

By Carrie Classon I’ve always known I was lucky when it came to family. I saw classmates who had impossible siblings, and I knew my curly-headed younger sister was a catch. I knew people who really hated spending time with their parents, and I always had fun with mine—and I still do. I grew up with 36 cousins, 34 of whom were on my mother’s side. It was a lot easier to keep track of my father’s side of the family, but I always felt somehow rich, having so many cousins spread

By Kelsey Wuff, Otter Tail County Master Gardener Ruth Stout was famous for her “No-Work” gardening method, a topic on which she wrote a few books in addition to several other gardening books. Rather than follow traditional methods of gardening, the basic idea of Ruth’s method is to cover your garden area with eight solid inches of mulch. Pull the mulch back to plant, then tuck the mulch back around the plants once they have established. As the mulch breaks down she would sim

By Stanley Musielewicz of Little Falls It was a beautiful, late spring day in early June. A few clouds drifted across sunny skies, and the temperature was comfortable. School was out, and my family was visiting my grandmother’s farm, which was farmed by my bachelor Uncle Joe. My Cousin Danny was about three years older than myself, going into his senior year of high school. He was a city boy, but spent a few weeks every summer helping our uncle with the farming. Danny and I w

By Carrie Classon I have become the treat lady again. Depending on where I’m walking, I either carry dog treats or I don’t. I used to carry them all the time, but when we moved to the city, I stopped carrying dog treats because I feared that the downtown dogs (or their owners) might not welcome my treats. Maybe they were on a diet (the dogs, I mean). Maybe they had allergies. Maybe they would be suspicious of a strange woman doling out treats. So I stopped carrying treats. My

By Nancy Leasman Neytiri has gone home to St. Paul (see February’s Work Out column). She was a quiet house guest for a month, required trail camera monitoring for her people to find her (behind the furnace), and caused a bit of a scuffle to be caught. Since then, she has settled in and seems to appreciate her surrounding, including her people. So, our house is petless. No cats, no dogs, no fish, or birds. The closest thing to a pet is the robotic vacuum cleaner. I named it Da

By Carrie Classon Last summer, Judy approached me one day when I was walking by an old church. “I see you walking by here every day!” she said. “Oh, yes. I need to walk!” I told her. Judy is an associate pastor at this Episcopal church. She did not appear intent on getting me to church, but she was excited because they were having silent meditation in the chapel. She wondered if I might like to join. “It’s open to anyone?” I asked. “Every Tuesday night from 6 to 7. Stay as lo