To the Editor, Many of us are concerned about pressing environmental challenges like pollution, plastic waste, loss of wildlife and biodiversity, and climate change, but feel unsure where to begin. The key is simply to start. Take one action, then another. And always keep in mind that progress is more important than perfection.   This month, lets… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda It’s always entertaining to see how humans name stuff. All this tendency of ours to name a thing or a happening in a way to not call attention to it is just, well, entertaining. For example: In the latest information released by the Minn-DOT (Minnesota Department of Transportation), the intersection just this… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question:  I bought a used boat dock; do I need a permit to get it to my lake house?   Answer: You can move a boat dock on Minnesota roads without a permit if the dock is no wider than 8’6”, no higher than 13’6” and no longer than 110’.  The move… Read More

To the Editor, It was a sunny, winter day in the mid-1960s at the Channing outdoor hockey rink in Fergus Falls. Now, more than a half century later, his impression remains indelible. I stood nervously in tattered leather hockey skates on wobbly legs, struggling to stay upright. It was my first day of hockey practice. The… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda The  number 80 has always been around me. It shows itself in some quite different ways. One of the first ways it appeared to me was in the size of the farm in Iowa in which I grew up. It was the “home” 80, because the “homesteaded” 80, where my great-great-grandfather first… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener Don’t chuck those seed catalogs even if you don’t plan to send for seeds.  But only if they originate in the upper tier, i.e. the cold states.  There is a plethora of information in those pages. For instance, if you plan to plant a tree this spring. A seed catalog can… Read More

To the Editor,  The 2001 legislative session saw major changes to the state’s property tax system and one of the results was that seasonal properties, “cabins” if you will, were taken off the school district operating levy tax rolls. The result was an impoverished local tax base for schools to try and convince local voters to… Read More

To the Editor, Everyone benefits from child care, even those without young children. A lack of access to child care affects parents’ abilities to work and has a major impact on our local economies. Child care educators work long hours for minimal pay, are tasked with keeping our children safe and happy, and rarely receive the… Read More

To the Editor, The election is coming up too soon and many have not done their homework yet on who would be the best candidates to vote for. This election will determine whether we remain with and strengthen our hard  won and fought for democracy or dive into the abyss of authoritarianism. The lines are already… Read More

Out on a service call once, I was searching in vain for a wrench or wire or some missing part, this while everything was spread out on the basement floor in front of the furnace which I was trying to get working.  Although I had just had the part in my hand, it seemed that… Read More