Abraham Lincoln once said: “It is better to remain silent and thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and prove it.” Or something to that effect. As the things people say, both true and untrue, spread around the universe now at the speed of light on various public and internet forums, it’s becoming difficult… Read More

To the Editor, Local news is for everyone. The Lions Reading Program for the Visually and Physically Impaired provides a means for the visually and physically impaired to be kept informed by the hearing of local newspapers read and broadcast through online, through an app, or your smart speaker.  The Lions Reading Program for the Visually and… Read More

By Tucker Henderson Special to the Dispatch I recently wrote a college essay on why Finnish immigrants choose the New York Mills and Heinola, and Topelius area as their permanent home within the United States. I have tweaked and edited it to sound less academic as I don’t enjoy reading dense works like that and I doubt… Read More

“There’s a little good in the worst of us, And a little bad in the best of us. It scarce behooves the most of us, To talk about the rest of us.” I don’t know who the author of that quote is. I can tell you that my uncle quoted it to my cousin so many times and for… Read More

Over the years, I’ve been told many things by my Elders and Betters that have turned out to not be: 1. True, or 2. Fun, or  3.Beneficial, and maybe 4. Physically possible.   One of the first things that are memorable was one of my parents saying: “Open up. This will make you feel better.” Although… Read More

Question: When driving on a road that has a bike lane to the right. Can you turn onto the bike lane with your vehicle to make a right turn? Thank you. Answer: Yes, but you always need to be aware of your surroundings and the rules of the road.  Whenever a bicycle lane has been established… Read More

In the past 11 years I think I have called in sick to work a total of one time. That instance occurred with what I like to call the Chow Mein Hot dish fiasco in which I got sick from eating hot dish with an Asian flare. Of course, when you are the boss and… Read More

To the Editor, As the Shrine philanthropy centers around the well-being of children, and with the name of safety in mind, we will not be having our Annual Birak Shrine Circus in 2021 due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Our Shrine Circus is mainly sponsored by small businesses in the area, we would like to thank each and… Read More

By Tucker Henderson Special to the Dispatch Once you get to a certain skill level in family history research, you start to notice and find things that were formerly unknown. I guess I have achieved to that level, because while searching old newspapers online for any and all variations of “Piippo” (which is misspelled more often than… Read More

Sometimes, you just have to sit down and list some of the  occurrences that happened during the past week or so. By doing that, you find out whether or not the “plusses and minuses” come out your way. Or not. It does sometimes boil down to an old saying: “Sometimes you eat the bear; sometimes he… Read More