I wasn’t the fastest runner in high school cross-country. On a really good day, I would place in the upper echelons of the pack, but generally, I was one of those kids who got a participation ribbon. I accepted the ribbon and quickly moved on to whatever drinks or goodies were standing at attention on the nearby table. Nowadays, I haven’t any idea where these ribbons are; … [Read more...]

As many of you already know from previous articles, I give tours to the public. At the beginning of every cave tour, I go through a regular spiel, giving my name, going over rules, and encouraging questions. I don’t fully understand the reason for my joy of a guest getting my attention by calling me by name, but it exists nonetheless. Remembering “faces and names and … [Read more...]

The Voyager 1 spacecraft is humankind’s farthest flung object in the cosmos. Aboard the Titan-Centaur rocket, Voyager 1 was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 5, 1977. Its mission: to extend NASA’s, and humankind’s, exploration of our solar system beyond the outer planets. Earlier this year, Voyager 1 ventured beyond the solar system, more than 138 AUs … [Read more...]

Recently, the Minnesota Commissioner of Health visited Fillmore County to speak of the overall health of Minnesotans and ask residents our thoughts on the matter of well-being. I had a chance to ask the commissioner a few questions and to speak to him of my concerns about soil quality and availability. He said our way of farming (worldwide) is not sustainable and there must be … [Read more...]

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July. The United States has been through many trials in the last 241 years, and people of all colors and creeds have made their marks in history. This leads me to ask, what’s the big picture, America? In what condition do we want to leave our communities for those who come after us? I recently attended an Energy Breakfast (where we … [Read more...]

It’s Spring! And last week was National Small Business Week (April 30 – May 6). It’s okay if you missed it. I will do my best to convince you that we can live local every week of the year. I am privileged to have been asked to speak for the Fillmore Central National Honor Society on the night of the Spring Equinox. I feel I wouldn’t have this opportunity if I lived amid a … [Read more...]

  Have you ever been asked the question, “If you were stranded on an island, what three items would you bring with you?” or something similar? I find these questions very fun to think about. You get to be inventive, funny, or really buckle down to think critically on it. Virtually everyone has been given the opportunity to split something in half to share with … [Read more...]

In Lincoln’s Gettysburg address he stated, “…our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” In my last article, I wrote about towers of foresight and the importance of considering long-term implications of our political decisions. History has shown how attempts to silence the … [Read more...]

Tall structures for seeing distant objects have been vital in virtually every successful civilization. For millennia, the heights of buildings were very limited to only several stories due to a lack of either innovation or resources. With stone and mortar, watchtowers allowed sentinels to keep watch over great swaths of distant land. With only a few more innovative methods … [Read more...]