In the latter decades of the 1800s, frontier settlers, including those in southeast Minnesota, were eager for entertainment that was not homegrown. There was not yet radio, motion pictures or television. Even if a more urban area was available, there were not yet automobiles or paved roads for convenient travel. Traveling entertainers made a living in rural areas be they … [Read more...]
Kenny Might Have Been Wearing Substandard Bowling Shoes
The tire blew. It was louder than loud. I was waiting to walk across a road when a truck pulling a flatbed trailer carrying a backhoe had a trailer tire blowout as it went past me. The world became quieter. It reminded me of bowling. Before pickleball, there was bowling. Our phy ed teacher, in an effort to oust us from our opaque corners, decided our steep learning … [Read more...]
Ask a Trooper
Question: I am seeing more and more of these “J-turns” in Minnesota. Can you explain those to people who might not be familiar? Thank you. Answer: J-turns are used to decrease fatalities and injuries caused by broadside crashes on four-lane divided highways. At a J-turn, drivers on the side street approaching the divided highway always make a right turn. To cross the highway … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – A Jealous God
By Pastor Kevin Barnhart Spring Grove Evangelical Free Jealousy is a deep and very real emotion. It bubbles up in ways that so often we categorize as negative. Being jealous over possessions, over a physical trait, talents, relationships, over all kinds of things we long for and indeed God commands us not to covet anything. But, and this is the most beautiful caveat you can … [Read more...]
Ask a Trooper
Question: Can you talk about how people need to make proper turns? I see a lot of unsafe maneuvers when it comes to turning. Answer: Drivers who turn improperly cause many traffic crashes. Move safely into the correct lane well ahead of the place where you will make the actual turn. • Slow down before turning. Signal your intent at least 100 feet before the turn. Signals … [Read more...]
We’ll Weather the Weather Whether or Not We Like It
Everywhere I go, something is there waiting for me. It's called the weather. On this August day, a heaviness hung in the air, brought on by heat and humidity. It was stifling. Archie Bunker's famous catchphrase "Stifle yourself" was directed at his sweet wife Edith in the classic TV show "All in the Family." This August day would have stifled Edith without need of … [Read more...]
Time in a Bottle?
By Angela Denstad Time and again we talk about the weeks flying by, we compare the current weather to that of past seasons, we remark on the changes we notice from year to year. Whether small talk or the most profound poetical musings, it all amounts to more or less the same thing: Time passes. And as it does, there’s comfort in predictability, a familiar grounding of … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past – What Else Could He Do? … Muskrats!
The Cassell family carried everything they owned as they walked about six miles on the Territorial Road before stopping at the log farmhouse of Isaac Holmes. It was mid-summer of 1862, about a decade after the first white settlers began to arrive in southeast Minnesota. It was two years after a survey of 40 acres that was being purchased by Theodore Cassell (Kassell, Castle). … [Read more...]
Jesus’ Parables: Storytelling, Improvisation, and Meaningmaking
By Rev. Anders Nelson Mabel-Henrytown Tri-Point Parish - Mabel First Lutheran Church, Scheie Lutheran Church and Henrytown Lutheran Church There’s something really beautiful and interesting in the way Jesus teaches his disciples and, through the beauty of the Living Word, us by means of creative storytelling and meaningmaking. Throughout these summer months, my parish has … [Read more...]
Ask a Trooper
Question: I saw your last article was about stopping. With school just around the corner, can you talk about stopping for the school bus? Answer: I certainly can and with last year’s law change it’s a good reminder. Previously, the law required drivers to stop for a bus’s red flashing lights and extended stop arm. Alarmingly, this could create a situation where some drivers … [Read more...]