At the beginning of this school year, I was asked to speak at a few schools about the annual Journal Student Writing Project, now in it’s 23rd year. The Journal Student Writing Project offers an opportunity for high school students to sharpen their writing skills, pick their topics of interest, and share their ideas and talents with readers of the Fillmore County Journal in … [Read more...]
The promise of America
Decades ago, it was easy to talk about “the promise of America,” as historians and boosters did regularly, and have most people understand what you meant. These days, I worry they’d look at you as if you’d taken leave of your senses. Even before the pandemic threw us back on our heels, many people here and abroad increasingly viewed our country and its system of … [Read more...]
Reining in government spending will be very tough
With a $1 trillion infrastructure package on the books and the Biden administration’s $1.8 trillion “Build Back Better” measure preoccupying the Senate after passing the House, government spending is very much on Americans’ minds. In public meetings, I frequently hear people say that government’s share of the economy is too big, and it’s likely that voters’ feelings about … [Read more...]
Welcome to 2022…
The year twenty-twenty-one has left us in the dust To keep people safe, wearing a mask was a must The year started with a carryover from twenty-one Illness, death, and unsureness were not done The heated world of politics continued to abound Splitting families and friends right to the ground This little thing called COVID has changed many plans And … [Read more...]
Can we find our way to the common good?
I still remember a question I got years ago. It was at a public meeting in southern Indiana, in one of those squat, featureless cinder-block buildings you find all across the country. This young woman stood up and commented that I’d traveled throughout the U.S. and had met all kinds of people. So she wanted to know: What was my impression of Americans? I didn’t even hesitate: … [Read more...]
Letter to the editor about ‘Tis the season for giving…
To the Editor, Well, it’s that time of year when we see the realization of the annual tax increase and this year, we have the proposed Harmony utilities increases. The Harmony residents have again seen a ~3.33% increase in the city’s budget. If you look back four years, in 2018, the budget was $718,800. For 2022 it is $804,070, a difference of 11.86% or $85,270. That is … [Read more...]
Gratitude
President/CEO Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation With the new year just days away, I have been taking some time to reflect on this past year. It was a year that, although challenging for many, filled me with hope and inspiration for the future of southern Minnesota. It was also a year during which we celebrated an important milestone here at Southern Minnesota … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Muskrats, milkweed and bismarks brought much-needed income
Part two of a series Making money with milkweed? Well, not all that much money, but children all over the United States, including some in southeast Minnesota, once harvested milkweed pods as either a patriotic duty or a source of badly-needed family income – or both. During the Great Depression of the 1930s and during the citizen rationing of World War II (1941-45), economic … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotion: “Comfort, O comfort my people”
Rev. Peter J. Haugen St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church The “Hallelujah Chorus” of Handel’s Messiah is rightly famous, with its triumphant “Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” and “For the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth” and “King of kings and Lord of lords! Forever and ever! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!” Much less known is how “Handel’s Messiah” begins. After the overture, a soaring … [Read more...]
Letter to the editor about The Christmas Story…
In October we were “scared out of our wits.” In November we were “thankful.” Now it is December. It’s time for “Peace on Earth”! One memory I cherish of my childhood was Christmas morning. My family would gather around the fireplace where we would be enchanted by the flames dancing before us and listen to my father’s voice as he read aloud the story of Christ’s birth. … [Read more...]