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A scary season

We’re afflicted with oodles of scariness and creepiness at this time of year. And I’m not just talking about Halloween; Election Day is also looming in the gloom. It’s bizarre that these bizarre things occur at roughly the same time. But I’m OK with that. Let’s get all the frightening stuff out of the way and be done with it. Kids dressed up as superheroes such as Batman or Spider-Man or Taylor Swift are honest when they ring your doorbell and chant “Trick or treat!” Adults who are running for elected office are basically saying the same thing except that they often ...

Political donations should be limited to a thousand per person

When I think about the idea of free and fair elections, my thoughts sometimes turn to my first few days as a Marshall High School freshman. As part of organizing a student council, every homeroom elected a representative. This took place as students from Marshall Middle School, Holy Redeemer, Samuel Lutheran and Lynd were integrating into a freshman class. Even though we came from different schools, many of us knew each other because of church, Scouts, 4-H, community education programs and our neighborhoods. We knew enough about each other to form opinions about who would be a good ...

More than a phone policy: Preparing students for success

One of the greatest responsibilities we have as a school district is preparing students not only for graduation, but for life beyond our classrooms. That means helping students develop academic knowledge, strong character, healthy relationships, and the self-regulation skills they will need to succeed in college, careers, and their communities. This year, Marshall High School took an important step toward that goal by implementing a bell-to-bell personal electronic device policy, which includes cell phones, air pods/ear pods, smart watches, and personal computers. To support the ...

Finding Laura

I’ve been reading the book “Prairie Fires” by Caroline Fraser. I chose it for a couple of reasons. First was that it involves Laura Ingalls Wilder who, along with her family, lived at De Smet, South Dakota for many years. De Smet is about 40 miles west of our farm, so it feels like a ...

Will they stand up against Trump?

Mid-term elections are fast upon us. Mr. Trump says that we should pretend that his name is on the ballot. Okay then. I get to follow two Congressional races. Congressional District One is most of southern Minnesota and District Seven is most of western Minnesota. I am on the edge in CD7. CD1 begins at my line fence which borders two townships. There is a longtime Republican incumbent serving in each of those. I assume they would be happy with you pretending Mr. Trump was on the ballot when you see their names. Trump’s popularity has sunk to historic lows nationally. But support ...

Fall migrations: one of nature’s most interesting mysteries

Autumn is the season of cool weather, brightly colored trees, first frosts, bountiful harvests and school Homecomings. It’s also a season of migration. Creatures that spend the summer in northern regions of North America travel south where they can have a comfortable winter. My familiarity with migration has involved two species. The first is the monarch butterfly, which flies all the way to southern Mexico. The second is the Canada geese. They go from Canada to Missouri through a fly zone that includes southwestern Minnesota. The butterflies were plentiful in 2026. I grew ...