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

Ask A Trooper Sgt. Jesse Grabow Question: Hello, I watched a news report which involved a carjacking in St. Paul, MN.  I live in MN.  The carjacker was apprehended when they attempted to burglarize the victim’s home using the address found on insurance paperwork located in the victim’s car.   I am writing to find out if I… Read More

By Tucker Henderson Reporter A native welcome Before this land was settled by European immigrants, old growth forests grew tall with their towering white pines and floors covered in ruddy-brown needles. American Indians called this their home along with herds of elk, moose, and even bison. Bands of rival Chippewa and Sioux once roamed the prairies that… Read More

Alan Linda Freelance Writer Stinky Yurho had the worst sore throat he thought he had ever had. He was sick. The injustice of being sick upset him. You know the feeling. Just not fair. His throat was killing him. That morning, at breakfast with his also-bachelor brothers Pinball, Coffee, and Belkula, he had to pass… Read More

To the Editor, I think I found a way for me to understand politicians. Look at them as a used car being sold.  Used cars get paint over the rust, an air freshener to cover up the smell. Tire rotation to squeeze out a few more miles. Fresh oil to cover up the dirty oil. Shampoo the… Read More

To the Editor, This is written in response to the recent editorial “A new world order is coming.”  I agree that the new order is upon us as the world changes with advancements in technology, communication, medicine, science, climate, geography and diversity.  Change is inevitable and often causes discomfort.  For example, consider changes in lanterns to… Read More

Alan Linda Freelance Writer The Yurho brothers were sitting in Smut’s Bar and ButcherShoppe Emporium, all four of them: Stinky, Coffee, Pinball, and Belkula. They were tightfistedly nursing  tap beers and watching through the big plate glass window over the bar as several men butchered their way through an assortment of deer. Only in Boatville… Read More