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Community Voices

Does your well water have nitrate?

If your family drinks from a private well, there’s one stop you can’t afford to miss at this year’s Farmfest: the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s free nitrate water testing booth. Bring a sample of your well water to booth #517S, and we’ll test it for nitrate — on the spot, ...

Protecting Minnesota’s safety net means cracking down on fraud

Fraud in state programs isn’t a victimless crime. It affects every Minnesotan who pays taxes and everyone who depends on these programs. When money meant for seniors, people with disabilities, and families in need is stolen, the people hurt most are the ones these programs were designed to ...

The joy of summertime gardening

It’s summertime and the living is easy. The weather is tropical, and the sweat is flowing like lemonade into a glassful of frosty ice cubes. The corn is actively pollinating as of this writing, untold millions of plants making whoopie right out in the open where anyone can see them. This ...

Heavy rainfall: Does it signify worldwide climate change?

Last weekend the Marshall area experienced a deluge, a large amount of rain in a short time span. About 8 inches of rain fell late on Friday night. I slept right through it, didn’t even realize we had so much until I checked my rain gauge and noticed that it was filled past the six inch ...

The clash between science and religion

All of us know things. Some things we saw, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled. Our senses inform us every day. Other things we were told. By a parent, a teacher, a friend, or something we read. We can’t experience everything ourselves. So, we take understanding from human beings who came ...

Enjoying some Duluth delights

The city of Duluth demands only the best. It wasn’t good enough for the town to be located on a Great Lake; it also insisted on being on the shores of the one named Superior. Striving for the best has enabled Duluth to hold their biennial Festival of Sail. My wife and I are enchanted by the ...