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Community Voices

Funding cuts hit sustainable Agriculture Partnership with University of Minnesota

A significant setback to Minnesota’s growing sustainable agriculture sector is in the works as part of budget cuts being enacted at the University of Minnesota’s College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences. Sustainable agriculture community partners recently received a letter from the college’s dean, Brian Buhr, announcing that he is discontinuing funding for the Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture (MISA) and distributing its projects and endowed chair funds elsewhere. The dean cited budget cuts as the reason, with federal and state funding reductions ...

Momentum in our schools: The choice ahead for MPS

A new school year is always a special time. There’s a distinct pulse in the hallways, focus in the classrooms and a sense of possibility for what lies ahead. Our teachers and staff are ready to build on the progress we’ve made together as a district. At every level, we are seeing our efforts have a real impact in the classroom — from stronger reading skills among our younger learners to growing participation in career and technical education pathways that connect students to real opportunities in our community. We are strengthening support systems that have led to improved ...

Dealing with girlfriend grief

I was beset with numerous challenges back when I was a beginning dairy farmer. There were the ho-hum things such as wrestling with finances and farming with rickety, worn-out machinery. But there were also some really important issues like formulating the precise mixture of junk to haul around in the box of my pickup. All of those pale in comparison to the biggest challenge I faced as young farmer: procuring a girlfriend. My procurement system worked like this: I would saunter up to a pair of Possible Future Girlfriend candidates and dazzle them with my smooth banter. “Hi,” I ...

Assisted Living Week emphasizes importance of senior housing

Next week is National Assisted Living Week, a time to recognize the importance of senior citizen assisted living facilities. It’s an occasion that has personal meaning. I moved last month from a house to an apartment at Boulder Estates. I decided it was time. I put my name on the Boulder Estates list a year ago when I was preparing for hip surgery and when my mother entered hospice care. I wasn’t sure at the time that I wanted to move. I just felt that I should get on the list and make a decision when my name came up. As the year went along I began to lean toward moving. Events ...

You can help save a life by asking the question

Saving lives may sound like the job of first responders or emergency room clinicians. Yet saving a life from suicide can begin with a caring conversation. September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and the courage you show when you talk to someone who’s struggling might be lifesaving to a friend or family member. Many people think about suicide; in fact around 12.8 million people report having seriously thought about suicide, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Close to 50,000 people die by suicide in the U.S. every year. Professionals in behavioral ...

Salsa time

“Your everlasting summer you can see it fading fast / So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last.” — Steely Dan, “Reeling in the Years”, 1972 My wife and I have been doing a bit of salsa recently. I mean the sauce, not the dance. Her new titanium knee is much better than her original one, but not to the point where she’s ready to sashay to the beat of a peppery Latin tune. Turning our homegrown tomatoes, peppers and onions into salsa is a way to preserve a smidgen of summertime. In my imagination, we’ll open a jar of salsa on a subzero winter day, ...