By Lee Hamilton Here’s a question: When was the last time at least half of Americans said the government in Washington could be trusted to do the right thing all or most of the time? It was right after 9/11, according to the Pew Research Center, and that was really just a blip. Before that, you’d have to go back to the 1960s. And after the 9/11 bump subsided? You won’t be … [Read more...]

By Matt McMillan CEO of Press Publications, Northstar Media, Kanabec Publications, Sentinel Publications and Publishers Printing Service, Inc. Minnesota is home to 14,000 lakes, 12,000 loons, 135,000 seasonal lake cabins and 3.9 million newspaper readers. Really? Really. Every month, 86% of Minnesota adults read newspapers’ print and online issues, according to a new … [Read more...]

Have you ever wondered how many people collect matchbooks? I have. I was curious for no apparent reason. It was one of those things that enters my mind as if it were a message sent from my home planet. I’d been working on my pocket knife collection. I have one in my vast collection — two if I could find the other one — when a matchbook grabbed one of my glittering … [Read more...]

The weather was close. That’s how my mother would have described it. Stifling humidity surrounded me and it wasn’t pleasant company. I’d told stories on stage at the state fair and had a break before yapping again, so I took a stroll on the fairgrounds. The sounds of the fair rushed over, by and through me. I enjoyed watching people eat things I’d never eat unless I was … [Read more...]

To the Editor, When I was much younger, the injustices of society made me angry, now they make me sorrowful.  These sorrows come at all levels: international, national, and local. Internationally we have wars in the Ukraine, Myanmar, Yemen, the Sudan and Ethiopia.  We can not imagine the suffering these wars are causing.  And the refugees created!  It is estimated that … [Read more...]

Publisher Fillmore County Journal jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com Every once in a while, I hear someone around my age or older say, “I’m worried about these young people and their work ethic these days.” They are talking about the next generation of teenagers. The problem is that all of these “young people” seem to be lumped into the same category.  People think they … [Read more...]

Many years ago, I was in the audience when the Rev. Jesse Jackson, the legendary civil rights activist and election mobilizer, gave a speech. He often used the catchphrase, “Keep hope alive!” when he spoke, and he did so that time. The audience picked it up as a chant. “Keep hope alive!” they called. “Keep hope alive!” It was a memorable bit of political showmanship.   A few … [Read more...]

By Jason Sethre Publisher Fillmore County Journal jason@fillmorecountyjournal.com Newspapers started it all with subscriptions. Readers have subscribed to newspapers for more than four centuries.  The first weekly newspapers were printed in Germany in 1609. In the early days of newspaper publishing, Europeans sought news about politics and war.  I guess some things … [Read more...]

By Stan Gudmundson Peterson, MN Over the years I’ve learned a few things about health.  More often than not, the hard way.  In 1997, my wife noticed a nasty looking spot on my neck.  I feared that it might be a dangerous skin cancer.  A USAF flight surgeon removed it and confirmed that it was.  Melanoma.    Don’t worry he said, we caught it early, you have an 86% chance … [Read more...]

By Gerald Wolf Spring Valley, MN Securing an electronic voting system is rocket science.  Counting votes on paper ballots by hand with your neighbor is not.  In a lawsuit filed on June 8, 2022, against the Arizona Secretary of State, (frankspeech.com/article/smith-declaration-and-any-supporting-exhibits) Colonel Shawn Smith (Retired) USAF explains how Advanced Persistent … [Read more...]