Alan Linda Freelance Writer “Build us an apple,” said the apple industry in the state of Washington many years ago, “that is pretty and has a thick skin so machines can pick it.” And it was built. It was pretty, indeed. It had a thick skin, indeed. But it tasted like nothing. “Never mind,” said… Read More

Brian J. Allfrey  Executive Director,  Utah Press Association I am not sure what I expected our country to look like in 2021, but I certainly did not expect it to be so fractured and so bogged down in hate. My oldest son was a year old on September 11, 2001. The wave of patriotism following that day… Read More

It’s almost the end of September; almost all my apples have been picked and dealt with. Some have been sold to an organic retail grocery store in Bemidji; some to an organic “Clean Plate” store in Menagha; some have gone in a barter process to the Amish–(who  told me the other day that they canned… Read More

This Balderdash episode is 15 years old. So you’ve seen it once. Let’s see if it helps you get any more correct this time. It’s the new version of Balderdash. The old Balderdash gave you words—which most people have never heard of—and expected each player to write down the meaning of that word. One player in… Read More

Growing up, the Fourth of July weekend was one of the greatest weekends of the summer. There were fireworks, grilling out, time at the lake and ample importunity to catch up with family and friends.  For many children it is also a hard break from sports, activities and just a few days to relax from the… Read More

By Bev Johnson Master Gardener This is what the Herb Society calls herbs. These are multi-tasking plants. They are grown for cooking, fragrance, medicine, crafts, landscaping, wildlife, and beauty. Herbs can be great ground covers. Just remember, the label groundcover means they cover the ground. In other words, they can be invasive as heck. They can… Read More

What would you say if we told you there’s something that can remarkably increase your chances of surviving a car crash? Something like a force field that will keep you from being thrown from the vehicle during a collision – something that takes almost no time? If such a thing existed, would you use it… Read More

Maybe it’s because none of us are getting any younger, which means we’re getting older, which means we see winters, summers, springs, lots of things, with eyes that are different. Smarter we are, one would hope. But how smart were we about the weather when we were froze on in the middle of May? Had… Read More

There is, perhaps, nothing more important when fishing than coming up with a tall tale to go along with the adventure. After all, catching a fish is fun, telling a good story to go along with the adventure—now that is legendary.  Do you remember the time I battled a 20 pound walleye, only to have… Read More

Although we all hope for the “good old days,” those days when people could be people and behave accordingly, perhaps those days weren’t all that good. Here are some of the medications we used to take a hundred or so years ago. They’re not listed in any order, because all of them are about as bad… Read More