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Local Columns

What you put in your cart matters

I have this Post-It note on my desk with a single sentence on it. It says, “What you put in your cart matters!” While, this note in my world primarily reflects on mainly recycling, it to some degree reflects as a reminder about a few waste (trash) disposal choices too. As the season ...

Giving and getting

Would you rather give or receive? During this time of the year, we are really focused on the aspect of giving thanks. Well, it is Thanksgiving time, so to think about being thankful is only proper. I expect each of us has a heartwarming story about being thankful for a person, a place, an ...

Swamp things

As we set foot into the stretch of private land the welcoming owner offered up to us on the abnormally warm November afternoon — nearly 60 degrees as we started our trek with two hours before sunset — it wasn’t long until I could hear the squish-squash of each of my lab Ole’s steps in ...

Chicago brings back romance

My wife and I couldn’t go to Chicago, so Chicago came to us. I’m talking about the iconic rock band, not the city. In this case “iconic” can be interpreted as “old enough to involve carbon dating.” The band Chicago Transit Authority was formed in 1967, the year I turned 10. That ...

The Vietnam War – Marland Burckhardt – Desert Storm and Army War College

We have been following Marland Burckhardt, a Russell High School graduate who married his Russell sweetheart in college and began an Army career focused on Military Intelligence operations. He served in Vietnam in 1970 and then he and Barb had assignments across the United States. Marland ...

Final Harvest shows that violent crimes should be remembered

This fall I became reacquainted with the most famous murder case in local history, the 1983 murders of two Ruthton bankers. I reread the book Final Harvest by Andrew Malcolm. I wanted to read it again after 40 years because of how I remember hearing about events as they transpired. Final ...