“How’s it going?” is a common conversation starter. I use the reply that Grandpa Nelson favored. “Steady by jerks,” I’ll say. This has never been truer than during my recovery from treatment for tonsil cancer. There are going to be repercussions whenever they slightly kill you ...

Have you ever asked yourself why you should be thankful? In the midst of our hectic lives, doesn’t it become almost too easy to take thankfulness for granted? After all, it’s very easy to toss off a quick thank you, and, then, move on, right? What good does being thankful do for me? ...

I’ve often said that each bird is a trophy, especially in those seasons where winter weather, dry summers, or other situations have impacted populations making it tougher to come by those favorite upland quarries. Even in this autumn of relative plenty, where every walk has produced a ...

One of the basic tenets of life is trust. We don’t know everything, and have to trust experts who are trained and specialize in certain areas of life. Growing up, we all trusted our parents to feed us, clothe us and keep us safe. As children, we just took it for granted they would ...

Nov. 15 marks National Recycling Day and National Recycling Month, and we wish to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all residents for their dedication to recycling over the past year. The state of Minnesota encourages residents in outstate counties to recycle a portion of their waste, aiming ...

Social media has changed lives, often for the better but at times for the worse. It’s transformed how people communicate. It used to be that the phone, the postal mail and face to face were the only options. Now people have online resources and social networking sites to talk to ...