Et Tu, Vince
While I am quite fond of the Vince Guaraldi, the solo artist and his trio, there are limits to my affection. I happen to dislike Christmas songs. Yes, each and every one of them. Even the ones by the Vince Guaraldi and his trio.
Opinion
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Teaching kids about giving
On the quest to raising good humans, I realize that most people tend to use the holidays as a teachable time for kids. We encourage the need to do good for others who might have less than we do as we donate food, toys, money and help in our communities and beyond. We do this on overdrive in November and December because these months are within the “season of giving.” And while I wish this was more of a yearround notion; I still jump on board with my own three kids to embrace the season as a time to do for others with no expectation of gain. Many of the best ways to help others costs nothing at all, aside from some time and effort.
Ask a trooper
I heard on TV the State Patrol responded to over 1,300 crashes and 5 fatal crashes the last several days. Do you have any tips for winter driving? Answer: Snow and ice can make driving a bit more challenging, even if you grew up here.
Letters to the Editor
To the editor: The mainstream media are who? Certain radio stations, TV Channels, Internet, Newspapers, Magazines and Facebook are examples of mainstream media. Are they telling the truth in what they report or do they have a political bias which affects what and who they report about..
Celebrating the power of rural
On Nov. 17, across Minnesota and nationwide, we celebrated National Rural Health Day.
Be Kind
World Kindness Day was Nov. 13. It’s a day that needs to be recognized more than ever before. What many people have witnessed during the pandemic is frustration, anger, short tempers, and more. We see signs at fast food restaurants saying, “be nice -these are the employees who showed up,” or in stores saying, “we’re doing the best we can.” But even the signs reminding us to be nice aren’t working. We’re seeing anything but kindness.
Letters to the Editor
To the editor: I recently drove from Minneapolis to Redwood Falls to meet Trixi, an adult cat available for adoption at Duke Memorial Shelter. Entering the shelter, a volunteer welcomed me and shared she was praying Trixi would go home with me.
Homelessness in Minnesota
On a single night in January of 2022, there were 7,917 people facing homelessness in Minnesota. This statistic comes from the Minnesota HMIS (Homeless Management Information System). Homelessness is frequently thought of as people staying in emergency shelters or sleeping out in the elements. However, homelessness is also people staying unexpectedly and temporarily with family or friends because they have nowhere else to go, “couch hopping” or “couch surfing,” and staying in places not typically meant for longterm shelters, such as staying in cars. The Homeless Hub points out that emergency shelters exist in medium to large-sized urban areas but are not generally available in rural areas and small towns.
Letters to the Editor
A recent letter to the editor claims that carbon emissions were not the cause of global warming problems, and somehow Governor Walz actions are not helping either. Evidently 90% of the scientists in the world are wrong and the improvement of clean air is a waste of time. One man declared drinking bleach would cure COVID-19. Another declared that the Sandy Hook School massacre was fake. There is a cost to believing things that are completely false. Just like the false claim that the election was stolen, but only the presidential election, all the other republicans that were elected were fair elections. Stealing top secret documents is a crime and should be prosecuted as such and the penalty should be stiff. Now there are claims that the FBI is corrupt. Donald Trump claimed, why would you take the fifth if you were innocent, and then took the fifth himself over 450 times. What does that tell you? He is a one man crime wave. Somehow his followers think it is fine for him to commit tax evasion and in the next breath claim Joe Biden is stealing the election. If Donald Trump and people like him are the best you can come up with, and you think Putin and Russia are the better option, then we all are in for a rude awakening.
Dress for success
The thing about fall is that it’s not winter. Winter is winter. Winter comes right after fall. Fall is, try to stay with me here, directly after summer. The season of fall is named after a guy who first noticed the temperature dropping and, for some reason, coincidentally, was always dropping stuff. And, in another pretty big coincidence, his name was Fall.