Outside of the moon the easiest thing to find in the night sky, even in brightly lit urban areas, has to be the seven bright stars of the Big Dipper. As soon as it’s dark enough after sunset, look high in the northwestern sky for the Big Dipper hanging by its handle. Many people think of ...
Last Saturday I turned 46. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that I’m already in my, well, later 40s. It seems like last year when I had graduated high school and was heading up to UMD to attend college. I can still picture some of the clothes I wore in high school, how it was a big deal ...
A little patience needed by motorists THUMBS UP: The summer months often are a time for the needed, but inconvenient road construction. Motorists will be facing some of that inconvenience starting next week when construction begins on Saratoga Street. Motorists are urged to use alternate ...
Father’s Day is almost upon us. If you’re a dad, you certainly may enjoy getting cards and gifts, of course. But, over time, you will gain even greater satisfaction by what you can give your children — such as some valuable financial lessons. These lessons can include the following: ...
This week’s summit between President Donald Trump and North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un contained a lot of good things for Kim. He got a face-to-face meeting with the American president and the recognition of North Korea as a nuclear power that has to be respected on the world stage. He got a ...
Question: If I rent a properly licensed and lighted tow dolly from a rental company, can I tow a non-running vehicle that is not licensed (no current plates) and not insured? Do I need tail lights in addition to the dolly lights? Answer: A tow dolly is used to tow a vehicle behind a ...
Communities big and small are constantly fighting blight. And there’s a lot of reasons to fight it. No. 1, it makes the community look undesirable to present residents and to those who might want to invest or live in there. It also has a negative effect on surrounding properties and it can ...
June Dairy Month is an annual celebration that began in 1937 and serves as a time to reflect on dairy foods and the industry that makes it possible. First created as a way to help distribute extra milk when cows started on pasture in the summer months, June Dairy Month’s rich history ...
Let me share a secret with you. There’s no such thing as the lazy, hazy days of summer! Yes, they can be lazy and hazy but most are, in the words of the good old song, lazy, hazy and crazy — with the emphasis on crazy. Most of us would agree that we long anticipate the days of summer, ...
Spring is the time of year when the world rouses from its long winter slumber and renews itself. The birds are nesting, schoolchildren are looking forward to long, lazy summer afternoons and farmers lose themselves in the urgent business of tilling and planting. Spring is also the season ...
As a large crowd of people watched Saturday’s “Never Forget” remembrance event for the 50th anniversary of the Tracy tornado that killed nine people, Scott Thoma stood on the corner of Rowland and Park Street in Tracy and released nine balloons one by one. And a church bell rang nine ...
The water was clear. Sure, it was finally spring and the ice came off the lake late this year, and like any stretch after that momentous occasion, the water was always crystal clear. Ripping a few flies through the shallows on the even of opener to see how my handiwork looked after a season ...
District manager Keeping your address up to date with a my Social Security account helps us mail your important documents to the correct place. If you receive benefits, you can use my Social Security to update your address. If you’ve moved recently, updating your information sooner rather ...
Part II That fall of 1871 the Carpenters’ situation became life-threatening. Mary was resigned to their lot in life when she wrote, “I try to trust in God’s promises, but we can’t expect him to work miracles nowadays. Nevertheless, all that is expected of us is to do the best we can, ...
To know how far relationships have broken down in Congress, consider this: Just as lawmakers should have been negotiating furiously to nail down the 2018 farm bill, a $489 billion behemoth that would fund agriculture and food assistance for five years, Minnesota U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, the ...
To the editor: We want to thank Alex Peterson from Studio One who fixed the sound system at the Liberty Park bandshell in Marshall Wednesday night for the first City Band concert this summer. The last few years, the audience couldn’t hear the director, Bob Meffert, with clarity when he ...
As our old Earth orbits the sun we’re treated to nearly 70 constellations as the nighttime side of Earth faces different directions of space through the course of the year. Some constellations are bigger and brighter than others and get most of the attention, but don’t ignore the smaller ...
I don’t like turnips. In fact, I loathe turnips. They are the devil’s vegetable and I don’t care how you cook them, they taste like what I would imagine something resembling a sneaker. But here’s something that might blow your mind: Just because I don’t like turnips, doesn’t ...
Mike Sanderson's rodeo career in roping was short-lived. “I did some roping with my uncle,” he told me last Saturday night during the last Stampede Rodeo in Russell. “I did it for two or three years, then I had a bout with cancer. I couldn’t rope anymore. I enjoyed it, but I was never ...
I almost missed taking photos of the Shades of the Past cruise this past Friday evening as I got caught up in finishing up page 2A. Fortunately, I had looked out the windows of the Independent and saw a classic car drive down Main Street. I also heard the rumble of other vehicles heading down ...