Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: I am looking at purchasing my first vehicle but I am worried about scams. Do you have any advice for me? Thank you.   Answer: Here is some information we recently shared on our Minnesota Department of Public Safety blog. Picture this: You are excited about buying a car. You drive… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener  Bunkey decided he has enough “gardening smarts” to start his own plants in his own greenhouse. Before he spends any money, there are a few things he needs to know. He may or may not recover the cost of the building for years, especially if he is only growing plants for his… Read More

To the Editor, Every two years, we vote for our representative to the federal government. In the Congressional Seventh District, our choices are limited. The Republican party was split by two factions, and the Hard Right won. Our Representative is Hard Right. The federal government is complicated and busy. No time to be wasted. It was designed… Read More

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