To the Editor, Bieda sits round shouldered next to her table.  She is small, hair back in a bun, an apron over her faded dress.  She doesn’t have dentures, having lost her teeth long ago, however, she always manages to gum her food by chewing carefully.  She sits quietly with a slight smile on her round… Read More

To the Editor, My wife, Susan, and I went on a 15 day Viking cruise in April that started in Barcelona, Spain and would end in Bergen, Norway. We both wanted to visit Finland as well. We decided to fly to Helsinki from Bergen to research my family’s history. My mother, Signe Asmund Hyrynkangas Smith, and father… Read More

Ask a Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: When traveling through cities and towns with stop lights, I see a lot of people crossing the street at crosswalks that don’t seem to understand the pedestrian signals. Can you write about that?   Answer: Yes, I can as this is an important conversation about traffic safety. There are stop and… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener Even though he’s not allergic to bee and hornet stings, our friend Bunkey wants no part of them. That’s why he threw a fit when he noticed a wasp nest being built in a tree a few feet from his deck.  Yellowjackets make a paper mâché type nest made of chewed… Read More

Tucker’s Telegram Tucker Henderson If there’s anything I’ve learned in the past few years it is that time keeps marching on, with or without you. Despite all of our best efforts to preserve our favorite parts of our lives, extend deadlines at school, work, and home and tempt fate with all of our unfinished business,… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda The origins of the words we use every day are nothing short of wonderful. The words themselves are wonderful, too, the way you suddenly see one that is right in front of you but you never noticed before. Like the word “nincompoop.” Can there be a better sounding word for what this… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener Iron is only one of 16 essential elements that plants need to grow. Here are the others. Macronutrients. Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), and Oxygen (O). then there are the secondary nutrients. Calcium (C), Sulfur (S), and Magnesium (MG).  and micronutrients. Iron (FE), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo),… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda I’ve reached an age of balance. Not “balance” as in I do or don’t tip over, but “balance” in that conditions and situations in my life suddenly seem to have balance between them. Example: I’m retired, so there is more time to do stuff. Example: Therefore, I have more opportunity to use various… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener Bunkey noticed some odd lumps on the leaves on one of his Burr oaks. Since it shaded the house from the hot summer sun he didn’t want to lose it. He picked a few of the leaves and took them to the Extension office. There he was told that the lumps… Read More

To the Editor, Thanks, Joe for your selfless decision to step down from the presidency in face of mounting concerns for your age over the next 4 years. This, in no way diminishes the greatness of your presidency which, although criticized by your opponents, will shine brightly by historians as a nation and democracy saving term… Read More