By Sara Snipes While I usually take this time to discuss recent events in the scientific realm, this time around I thought I would share another avenue to get a daily or weekly dose of current events and, you guessed it, SCIENCE! Some of us are already familiar with podcasts, but some of us still don’t understand what the hype is or why that ‘annoying app’ on your phone is … [Read more...]
Observations from “The Old Soldier”
By Ron Scheevel Preston, MN After weeks of enduring cold weather and countless hours of snowplowing, we finally made the great escape from the endless winter to travel to the southwest for a short vacation. Before we left we were bragging to others about how easy it would be to get to Mesa, Ariz., using our recently aquired smartphones. As we hit the road we realized … [Read more...]
Legislation seeks to limit public say on factory farms
To the Editor, This fall, one of the largest dairies in Minnesota, in my county, proposed to expand by 3,000 cows. We had just 30 days to read thousands of pages of material and submit public comments on top of our normal responsibilities. That’s why we pushed for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to extend the public comment period by a month. They ended up … [Read more...]
Regional UMN Extension events are worth the drive
The University of Minnesota Extension is a big organization, with educators in agriculture, natural resources, youth development and more. While I often highlight local workshops and events like the Tesmer Farm Safety Day and Land Rent Workshops, our regional and state educators also put on high value workshops that are worth attending. Below is a small sampling of these types … [Read more...]
Climate science or climate science fiction?
One recent FCJ commentary detailed how panic stricken Democrats have become in their desperation to take down President Trump. The current employment and business boom has made the U.S. economy the envy of the world. Democrat leaders are now past panic stage and have entered a phase of full blown hysteria. But wait: there are some topics to exploit that may help the … [Read more...]
Good Earth Village
To the Editor, Thank you for your recognition of Good Earth Village’s anniversary. However, one of the visionary’s name, Ham Muus, was misspelled. Lutheran historians will note that he descends from an early Norwegian pastor who was one of the visionary founders of St. Olaf College (Muus chapel). Thank you, Ham Muus, Dr. Barr, and the many local people who volunteered to … [Read more...]
One Moment, Please… Getting the next generation involved
On May 8, our newspaper office was graced with a bright and talented group of writers. These were the Fillmore County Journal Student Writers, participating in the 20th annual Journal Writing Project. Every school year, starting in September, Assistant Editor Ellen Whalen contacts all seven school districts in our circulation area to let administrators and English … [Read more...]
Devil’s Advocate… The lies they tell U.S.
When you truly know someone, you can generally tell when they are lying or not telling the entire truth. It’s more difficult when you don’t know someone, and harder still if you admire them and often agree with their point of view. It’s easy to let our guard down, because let’s be honest, trust isn’t a bad thing. That doesn’t mean too much trust can’t get us into trouble, … [Read more...]
It’s crunch time here at the Capitol!
By Senator Jeremy Miller Fillmore, Houston and Winona Counties The Minnesota House of Representatives, currently lead by Democrats, and the Minnesota Senate, currently lead by Republicans, have each passed their proposed budget bills and they are headed to conference committees to work out the differences, of which there are many. Prior to the House and Senate passing … [Read more...]
Soil compaction – An annual springtime issue
Soil compaction is an annual spring time concern for farmers, gardeners and anyone else working on wet soils. But what is compaction and why is it such a concern? First, think about what a healthy soil looks like. If you could dig up a column of healthy soil without disturbing it, you would find a balance between solids and pore space. The pore space would be partially full … [Read more...]