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, ...

Generally in life, I’m not big on looking back. Jobs, old relationships, major screw-ups and minor mistakes I try to leave in the rear-view mirror taking with me on the road ahead only the lessons learned from those experiences. There’s an old saying I’m fond of about moving forward at ...

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 ...

As we all know, we get older with every minute of every day. But what has that aging process accomplished? Perhaps a walk through some history will help answer that question. During a recent visit to our local county history center, I decided to meander through the agricultural exhibit ...

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 ...

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 ...