Alan “Lindy” Linda Freelance Writer A long time ago, one of our neighborhood friends out here in farming country invited me over to her place for a bonfire. “We always have one,” she said. It was February, I said. “It’s my birthday,” she said. It’s 12 below zero, I said. But, heck, I’d never been to… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: What is the law in regards to pushing snow from ones driveway out onto the road? Answer: It is illegal to place snow from a driveway on or next to a public highway or street. The Minnesota Department of Transportation reminds everyone, “The placing of snow on or near a public… Read More

Alan “Lindy” Linda Freelance Writer Let’s compare fuel costs. LP (liquified petroleum gases) is varying quite a bit, depending upon whether you summer fill, own your own tank, lease, etc. I figure cost at pennies per Btu. (I use pennies; it breaks down more understandably.) Let’s do the price at $2.35 gallon, or 235 pennies. You… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: Now that winter is here, can you talk about winter travel safety? Answer: Snow and ice can make driving a bit more challenging, even if you grew up here. It not only involves knowing what to do while your vehicle is in motion, but preparing carefully before you leave the house… Read More

Holiday staple can be kept alive for quite some time By Bev Johnson Master Gardener Petunia got an amaryllis from her office pals last week. They weren’t aware that she kills plants almost as soon as they enter her house. This was a potted bulb with a picture on a card showing a beautiful blooming plant…. Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener During the second world war, metal Christmas trees were all the rage.  You couldn’t hang lights on them for fear of electrocution.  To light them, you would have a spotlight with revolving-colored lenses facing the tree.  The boughs folded up against the stem to store.  OF course, a few of the… Read More

Alan “Lindy” Linda Freelance Writer Family legends can be pretty fun. And pretty entertaining. I have one relative, Uncle Hugh, my mother’s brother, who hit every square on the “out there” board. It wasn’t that he wasn’t fun. Oh, no. The stories coming here will illustrate that, despite some of the reality, the memories are fun…. Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: I have a question about headlights, it seems that drivers are using their hi-beams to compensate for their cloudy headlights.  Is this a equipment problem? Answer: Using high beams to compensate for cloudy headlights is a hazard to oncoming traffic.  If your headlights are cloudy it is recommended that you clean… Read More

Rod Bernu Special to the Dispatch Sundays were boring times for young boys in small towns. On an unusually cold 1942 February day, two months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, some of the 15 and 16-year-old New York Mills town boys who hung around together were sitting on a bed of straw inside a cattle… Read More

Alan Linda Freelance Writer Parenting has sure changed since my generation were kids. Most of what our parents threatened to do to us for punishment back in the fifties would now involve half the local social services bureau, along with some emergency responders, the police, and the fire department. And now? It’s all “time out”… Read More