By Bev Johnson Master Gardener Proven Winners Color Choice shrubs is introducing a dwarf weigela as a permeant replacement for coleus (really?). Midnight Sun weigela is only a foot tall and 18 inches wide and has colorful foliage.  It grows in full sun or light shade.  Our own Bailey Nurseries has a new ninebark out this spring…. Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: My truck was backed into yesterday and the mirror on the driver’s side broke off mirror. It is dangling by the wire now.  Will I be legal to drive if I remove it or do I try to tape it back into position until it can be fixed?   Answer: I… Read More

Bev Johnson  Master Gardener Bunkey decided last year that buying plants was too limiting so he determined to start his own. He bought all the proper equipment, covered flats, seed starting mix, shop lights and chains to put them at the proper distance from the new sprouts, heating cables and timers. He set up shop… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda As an aging human who wants to live forever, I’ve had to become accustomed to doctors looking up, down, in, and around every one of my openings. I’m calling these human apertures “openings” in respect for Miss Martin, the noble, prim, heroic woman who taught at Douglas # 8, the country school… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: If I am driving down a two lane road and a State Trooper is driving toward me with their flashing lights on, am I supposed to move over? Answer: When approaching any authorized emergency vehicle equipped with emergency lights, the driver of each other vehicle shall yield the right-of-way and shall… Read More

New year brings new possibilities By Bev Johnson Master Gardener This time of year the gardening magazines check with the commercial nurseries to see what new plants they are developing for the coming gardening season. Here are a few for our 3B- 4A zone. Baileys has a new big leaf hydrangea for us. Endless Summer Pop Star…. Read More

Publisher’s Perspective Chad Koenen The little things in life can oftentimes leave the biggest impression. Take for example the impact left by Donna Geiser when the longtime volunteer visits elementary school students in East Otter Tail County to share about the importance of recycling. Both of my daughters have had the opportunity to learn about… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda We’ve spent the past below-zero days sitting around St. Paul the Parlor Stove, which I dug out of the far dark corner of the pole shed this past fall. There it had sat, ever since the pole shed collapsed on it from snow load four years ago in another shed. It broke… Read More

Bobbi Adams  Chief Medical Officer  Tri-County Health Care I love the holidays and the gleeful excitement that comes with the approaching winter. However, all too often, illness comes with it. As a healthcare provider, I’ve grown used to the sniffles and the sore throats, but this year things are different. Hospitals and clinics around the state are… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow With winter upon us I felt the need to share some insight from our Department of Public Safety blog in reference to winter driving when the weather and road conditions deteriorate.  “When the National Weather Service starts using words like “life-threatening,” our Homeland Security and Emergency Management division sits up and pays… Read More