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Raising lung cancer awareness during November

One of the best things you can do for overall good health is to quit smoking or never start in the first place. November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and the Great American Smokeout is on the third Thursday of November each year – Nov. 19 in 2026. The good news is that cigarette smoking rates have been declining for decades. Yet lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S., accounting for about one in five of all cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. Each year, more people die of lung cancer than colon, breast and prostate cancers ...

The hangover month

Of all the months of the year, November most closely resembles a hangover. This is not just because it follows the twin bacchanals of Oktoberfest and Halloween. It’s also due to the fact that here in the Northland average high temperatures are plummeting and days are growing shorter at a ...

Dealing with Global Darkening

We can’t deny it anymore. It’s getting darker. It’s darker earlier and longer. This weekend, with the time change, the darkening goes into hyper drive. It is Global Darkening. (I know. It’s half the globe. Work with me here.) There are Global Darkening deniers. They say it is scheme of left-wing woke socialists who want us to turn our lights on. I say the evidence is irrefutable. Look out the window, you darkening deniers. I guess this has happened before. That is little consolation. This plague of dimness seems oppressive even if it did happen a year ago and the year ...

Voting by mail serves as a good option for modern elections

My voting process was simpler in Election 2026 than in the past, thanks to services provided for absentee ballots. I filled out the application on Monday, and voted on Thursday at Boulder Estates when election officials came to assist us. It saves me a trip to the polls on Election Day. It wouldn’t have been the end of the world if I’d have had to vote in person. I’m able bodied and still drive my car. It was just more convenient to vote early. It’s much more than a convenience for many of my neighbors. Some of them have physical health issues that would make it very ...

A stronger city through community generosity

Per Minnesota Statutes, cities can accept gifts of property, including money or land, and use them if they follow the donor’s terms. A city can accept donations “for the benefit of its citizens,” suggesting that accepting donations, like making donations, must be done for a public purpose. A resolution accepting the gift and the donor’s terms must receive an affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members of the council and fully state the donor’s terms. Each year the city of Marshall is fortunate enough to partner with many organizations-both public and private who help ...

Purrington finds a home for displaying art

Last January the Independent reported on the Marshall City Council voting to approve a lease agreement with Marshall Area Fine Arts Council for the use of vacant office space on the second floor of City Hall. The agreement also allowed for MAFAC to use the common area outside the office for ...