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

'Everyone had thought I was dead.' By Jennie Zeitler There are certain experiences that dramatically alter a person’s path. That is the case for Gary Mitchell of Breezy Point. Nearly 60 years ago, at the age of 27, he entered the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) with a friend and walked out alone a week later as someone entirely changed. “I went on a late-season fishing trip with a friend,” he said. “Our canoe capsized.” What followed was a week of survival that

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.

'I love my country so much that I'll even die for her.' By Patricia Buschette Kenny Goodman of Stewart, Minn., tries to fit into his father’s WWII Marine Corps uniform with help from his fiance, Eileen McGraw, a day before Kenny left for boot camp. He was killed by a mortar attack months later while serving in Khe Sonh. Contributed photo On June 28, 1967, 150 young men and women were sworn in to the U.S. Marine Corps. The unlikely setting of the event, a televised pre-game ce

Signs families shouldn't ignore By Brenna Vachal, COO at Arise Cares By caregivers, for caregivers — Arise Cares brings real-life experience and trusted guidance to families navigating care at home. Contributed photo Many families assume home care is only needed after a serious health event, such as a fall, hospitalization, or major diagnosis. In reality, the best time to consider home care is often before a crisis happens. Early support can help older adults remain independe

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

South Haven carver creates art whittle by whittle By Karen Flaten “It’s like a gift shop,” said Nancy, Wayne Nicoloff’s wife, pointing to the living room area of their South Haven house. She was not wrong. The living room and adjacent areas of the house were filled with carved wooden figures – on shelves, on side tables, coffee tables, and – especially the larger carvings – hanging on the walls as one might hang a painting. Wayne Nicoloff of South Haven with a few of his carv

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

By Carl Gadow of Eagan The passage of days and nights is loud and clear, but decades slip by quietly—until something smacks you in the face like a frozen northern pike. That’s when you realize you still fish like it’s 1979—and that what once felt proudly “old school,” now edges closer to simply “old fool.” My own tail-fin-to-the-cheek moment arrived just before Christmas. I was sitting on my pail, patiently jigging for sunfish, when I glanced around at the handful of anglers