Opinion

I have the sense that winter in Minnesota after Christmas has a kind of hunker down feeling. There is busyness leading up to Christmas and New Year’s Eve. There are parties, gatherings, shopping, cooking, programs and the like. Once all of that is over we hit January and there isn’t a big holiday to work and plan around. The weather typically gets to the coldest that it gets all year and people tend to stay at home and indoors a bit more. Perhaps part of that is post-Christmas recovery, and part of it might be that there isn’t as much going on, or so it seems. So sometimes these months feel like quiet or even unimportant months (unless you are love ice fishing or are involved in basketball, of course)

Today we will consider words. Words are the building blocks of language. People use words for all kinds of reasons. People use words to convey ideas and emotions, to connect to other human beings, and to navigate, shape, and understand the world. It’s like I always meant to say: Words is good, man.

Rick Jorgenson

A couple of weeks ago, many children were awakened by parents or perhaps parents awakened by children because Santa came. There was excitement and joy in what was about to happen as they rushed to see the new gifts under the tree. Although many parents forced their children to get to bed so that “Santa could come,” if the children had their way, they would have stayed awake and would have been vigilant all night.

This article explains the story behind the new Championship Banners that you may have seen in last week’s paper, which the school board authorized for display. During a board work session, we discussed how to leave a lasting legacy for our champion teams that all members of the community could easily see. After thoughtful discussion, we decided to honor all past championship teams and, moving forward, hang a banner for each top-three team. This year, we were fortunate to have two teams reach that honor, joining the eight previous championship teams.

For three years running, Beyond Reason has considered the new year’s resolution. A new year’s resolution is just a goal, a commitment, ranging from the very specific (lose ten pounds/only eat a whole food plant-based diet/save $5,000) to the very abstract (workout more/eat better/save something). In a vacuum, a new year’s resolution isn’t funny. Luckily, a new year’s resolution, however specific or abstract, involves a human. A human is funny. A human with goals is the gift that keeps on giving.

Have you ever ventured beyond the surface of this terrestrial ball, passing through the gateway of the earth’s crust into the dark, cave realms beneath? Several years ago, some of my family did just that, exploring a cave in the Black Hills. It was a journey into the remarkable and bizarre, revealing stalactites, fossilized organic matter, and the unique boxwork formations riddling the underground dwelling. The caverns were carefully lit to showcase their wonders without disturbing the delicate ecosystem.