This series arises from a February 2025 interview with two Willard sisters, Verlane and Lois, and a subsequent visit to their former country school. Lois passed away recently, so we dedicate this series to her memory, grateful for her and her sister’s generosity in sharing their early life ...

We spent a weekend in the Cities in December. Pam’s family was celebrating Christmas at her niece’s house. We found a VRBO in Bloomington where we stayed. It was an apartment we rented in a larger building with mostly permanent residents. We had two evenings and mornings to lounge ...

We all know that housing has become less affordable in recent years, and there’s no easy answer for changing it. President Trump’s proposal for 50-year mortgages shows how there’s no easy answer. It sounds great because of the potential for lower monthly payments. It’s important, ...

Although this may not reach Georgia Garvey, the syndicated columnist, who wrote the editorial, “The happy-enough holiday more than good-enough” ( Dec. 23 ), my intent is to share why the celebration of Christmas is “more than good-enough”. Georgia shared her Christmas memories at age ...

It’s not uncommon for people to have issues with sleep. Most will get back to regular sleep patterns sooner rather than later. What if the difficulty with sleep does not stop? What if sleep problems go on and on? Impaired sleep is a threat to a person’s general well-being and ...

When it comes to ice fishing, a hot bite for crappies under the hardwater is tough to beat. While sometimes these finicky fish need to be finessed with tiny jigs tipped with spikes, in presentations more suited for bluegills, the best bites where crappies are aggressively feeding and slamming ...