Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: Can you write about the laws on headlights on when they are to be used? It would probably be a good idea to mention the rules of dimming one’s bright lights. Thanks.   Answer: When you are within 1,000 feet of an oncoming vehicle or following another vehicle… Read More

By Jessica Carlson OTC Master Gardener Starting seeds indoors is one of the most practical ways Minnesota gardeners can make the most of a short growing season. In USDA Zone 4a, we typically have about 110 to 120 frost-free days, often stretching from mid-May to mid-September. That limited window makes planning ahead essential, especially for… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda I learned to speak Appliance way back, right after the U.S. Army sent me back from Vietnam on an early release to attend college. I had three days to get from Quang Tri, Vietnam, to Iowa State University and get enrolled. I luckily found a place to live. It… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: Hi Sgt Grabow, I took my driver’s training course many years ago.   One thing I remember from my training is the steps that goes into making a right-hand turn, including: 1. Looking to my right to make sure no one/nothing is there. 2. Putting on my right… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda “Death cleaning.” A recent article that was so labelled was about what we old farts leave behind us for our children to take care of. Clean up. Oh, sure: We get old and talk a good fight about getting rid of the stuff that has accumulated around us–Okay, let… Read More

By Alice Martin Friends of a Feather You see them year around. Their oversized round head and tiny body, not to mention their curiosity about everything, have made them almost universally considered “cute.” Their black cap and bib and white cheeks are distinctive, and thus, the Black-capped Chickadee is one of the easiest birds to… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: I heard about a thing called “Vanessa’s Law” the other day and I wasn’t quite sure what it was all about. I know it has to do with new or young drivers. Answer: Vanessa Weiss was killed just days before her 16th birthday in May 2003. In her… Read More

By Tim Rova Guest Op-Ed For more than 25 years, the Roadless Rule has quietly achieved something extraordinary: protecting our national forests while keeping them open to the public. I know this not just as someone who values these lands, but as someone whose life has been shaped by them.   Since 2001, this policy… Read More

The Prairie Spy Alan “Lindy” Linda I squinted and peered out past the dark V-shaped laughing gas mask that pressed so suffocatingly down upon my nose. All I could see, looming over me, were the arc-welder blue eyes of the dentist who was at a frightening pace removing tooth enamel with which I had become… Read More

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question:  I listened to your radio show the other day and you were talking about fatal crashes were lower last year, what was the break down on the numbers? Answer: In 2025, Minnesota saw a significant improvement in road safety, recording 370 traffic-related deaths. This marks the lowest fatality… Read More