Letter about a call to duty... To the Editor, My Fellow Vietnam Veterans, yesterday Republican Senator John McCain, one of my heroes, came out and said “Congress no longer has the credibility to independently tackle a probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and President Trump and his associates’ ties to Moscow.” Regardless of your political … [Read more...]
A View From the Woods ~ Insidious pesticide use harms pollinators
I don’t often mix the personal reflections of this column with my professional life. However, I recently worked on a project that revealed a huge environmental problem that is little known, even to the people who are involved in it. I behooves me to share what I have learned. Many are aware of declining monarch butterfly populations, because we so rarely see them … [Read more...]
In praise of pragmatism
As you watch the healthcare proceedings on Capitol Hill, imagine what things might be like if we lived in more functional political times. In particular, what if Congress were run by pragmatists? It would not change the issues at hand. On the one side, you’d have the Republican majority in Congress, which for the most part believes that the healthcare system should be left … [Read more...]
Divided we stand
Being divided is nothing new for this country. It has struggled since its inception 240 years ago. “The work of Democracy has always been hard. It has been contentious and at times bloody.” (Barack Obama) April 19, 1775, the first shots of the Revolutionary War were fired at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. The country was divided between those who were Patriots, … [Read more...]
Marching for science
In today’s political climate, there are many protests, marches, and signs declaring justice for an array of reasons. However, on April 22 there will be a new march. One that not only exemplifies the need for justice in this area, but to amplify the importance it has on our everyday lives. We are not the powerful society or humans we think we are without it. What type of issue … [Read more...]
Minnesota’s anti-protest bill
By David Webb Lanesboro, MN To several of us constituents who have written to him urging he reject HF 322, Minnesota’s anti-protest bill, Representative Davids has only proferred excuses as to why he chooses instead to toe the party line. They deserve public rebuttal. 1. While acknowledging the first amendment of the Bill of Rights - “The people shall not be deprived … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… Daycare dilemma
We have a really big challenge in this area, that impacts both families and businesses. There’s a daycare provider shortage. The demand is far greater than the supply. I hear about it on a weekly basis from friends all the time. We recently tried to hire a person for a newly added position at our company, and I told her the biggest challenge she would face … [Read more...]
Fertilizing the local food economy
There’s a misconception that just because it’s winter, farmers aren’t busy. However, the off-season is when farmers are busy doing bookwork, making machinery repairs, selling and buying seed and laying the groundwork for a successful spring. Just like a farmer, the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) has been working hard to bring a range of supports to its … [Read more...]
We the people (with a nod to Charles Dickens)
By John Jordan To begin with, the world did not end. Ok, the election did not go the way I wanted it to. I am appalled by the character of the president. To mention just one aspect, he must be held accountable by us fellow men for his physical assaults on women and his bragging about it. To dismiss such behavior as “just locker room talk” is absurd and false. As I read … [Read more...]
Talking turkey about climate
So I’m taking the garbage out on a rainy, 50+ degree Monday morning in February, and I think to myself: self, I’ve been on this earth for three decades and a little more, so I’m old enough to remember Februaries where the temperatures didn’t climb out of the 30s, let alone into the 50s. Heck, I remember a nasty St. Paddy’s snowstorm just back when I was in college, but it seems … [Read more...]