The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda The other day, someone was complaining about cell phone service. “Hah!” I replied. “You should have grown up with the first rural party lines.” Had they, they might not be quite so upset over what we have now. You have to understand, though, that growing up in the fifties, the first telephone… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow With highs near 50 and the sun in the sky, it can be hard to believe it is March in Minnesota. If you’re not a fan of Minnesota winters, the higher temps and lack of snow this winter is appealing. You might even think that the lack of snow has made… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener The dictionary has it wrong. Gardening isn’t just about plants, it’s about everything else: the soil, the insects, the birds, mammals, reptiles and how you fit in the world. The plants are the final flourish, the gift of reciprocity from all the others. Thus says Alys Fowler. She has a gardening… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda Last week, when the new tax valuation statements came in the mail, I reacted quite negatively, because it seemed to me that county government, in its requirement to raise taxes to balance its spending budget, was out to get me. Then, the other night, I had a dream. (No. Martin Luther King… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: Sgt. Grabow, I have noticed that there are more aggressive actions being taken at roundabouts. Drivers are entering the roundabout ahead of others that are already in the circle. Please remind drivers of the appropriate entering law concerning them. Thank you.   Answer: Thank you for the suggested topic and I… Read More

By Bob Garver Special to the Dispatch I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first installment of director Denis Villeneuve’s take on the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic “Dune” back in 2021. The sounds and visuals were great, and I understood why it won so many technical Oscars that year, but I couldn’t get invested in the characters… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda Did you ever think about how many more ways there are to agree to something than there are to disagree? No wonder we all seem to have too much to do. There are too many ways to agree to do it. Mainly, stuff like this is important to me because I seem… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: I have a question in regards to exploring a business idea that has to do with mobile advertising, such as an illuminated board advertising business. I am concerned about the visual distraction for drivers and was wondering if this was allowed.   Answer: Moving or parked mobile advertising signs that display… Read More

To the Editor, Watching the news and commentary outlets and doing some Googling to try to verify the content of conversations, it has become clear that our current and future presidents are no longer the decision makers in the United States. Russia’s Putin is at the top of the chain directing his United States assets, Donald… Read More

Rod Bernu Special to the Dispatch In the 1930s, as a young boy living in the small town of New York Mills, Minnesota, with a population of some 600 people, news and entertainment outlets were available to our family in bits and pieces. My parents were able to scrape together enough money to purchase a small… Read More