The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda It was early summer, one of the very first 80-plus-degree days, and by 4:00 that afternoon, I’d had one service call too many. One too many dairy farmers who thought there was something wrong with his milk bulk tank. Refrigerated bulk tanks, for those of you who are not familiar with… Read More

By Cedar Walters West Central Initiative Climate Officer Most of the time, it seems like climate change will affect someone else—somewhere far away. But climate change is already impacting our lives in the Midwest in many ways, including our respiratory health. Increases in average summer temperatures have lengthened the growing season by an average of 20 days since… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda My mother was born in North Dakota, in the middle of The Great Depression, at a time when it was “Root hog or die.” Times were tough. Banks were failing. Drought was everywhere, and then the grasshoppers came. “My job was to watch the bunch of turkeys we were raising,” said my… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener Did you notice an odd “blossom” on a plant? Does it look like a green spiny globe?  A witch’s-broom like flower, a sort of spiny, green globe? That plant has aster yellows and needs to be dug up before it spreads to your other flowers. This disease is caused by phytoplasma,… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: I heard the Minnesota State Patrol got a new design for your patches and squad cars. Can you talk about that?   Answer: You are correct. For the first time in more than 50 years, the Minnesota State Patrol has a new look.   Last year when the Minnesota Legislature approved a… Read More

Thank you to everyone for their concern, encouragement, cards, thoughts and prayers as Elman and our family have gone through this unbelievable journey. The kindness and support of everyone has been wonderful. Thank you so much.  Elman, Rosemary and our families

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