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Anxiety over my PET scan

My finger hovered over the mouse button. Did I really want to read this report? No matter what it said, it would be life changing. The report contained the results of my latest PET scan. I tried to beg off the procedure, telling my medical team that I’d been thoroughly inspected by our dog, Bella, and our cat, Sparkles. The doctors replied that didn’t count. It all began in March of 2024 when I noticed an odd lump at the base of my jaw. Thinking it might be cat scratch fever (don’t play tag with a cat unless you’re faster than a cat), I was prescribed an antibiotic and ...

Near and far

Taking a break from coordinating plans for the upcoming pheasant opener, which in itself will be a shift from previous starts to the season and a return to my hometown of Valley City, I greeted my wife’s cousin and her husband at the door of our house. Not often fielding family from that ...

Road closed

Do you see a road closed sign as an opportunity or an annoyance? As we all know, it's that time of the year when needed road work causes numerous road closures. Yes it's annoying, but hopefully, the closure leads to an improved road. Of course, that closure also means a detour awaits us. The question then becomes what will that detour lead us to? Will it lead us to new discoveries or will it be just a some old/same old journey? Well, here's a recent experience with road closed sign. On our way to join family members for a luncheon reunion, we encountered three road closure signs. ...

Ask a Trooper

Question: I was arrested for DWI, where do I find information about ignition interlock? Answer: First-time DWI offenders arrested at 0.16 alcohol-concentration level or above and second-time offenders can voluntarily enroll in the ignition interlock program to regain legal driving privileges. If they don’t enroll, they face at least one year without a driver’s license. Offenders with three or more offenses are required to use interlock for three to six years, or they will never regain driving privileges. The law gives DWI offenders a chance to regain driving privileges by ...

Celebrating Ruth’s visit to Sleepy Eye

You might have heard. Babe Ruth played in Sleepy Eye. For thirty years, I’ve tugged and pulled at that game in every possible way. My fascination with that day in my hometown’s history began when I was doing research for the Brown County Historical Society 30 years ago for an exhibit: “Baseball and Brown County, A Glove Affair.” Growing up here, we always knew about Babe’s visit. The picture of Babe and Yankee teammate Bob Meusel in front of the grandstand appeared in the paper every so often. They looked cold. That fall was the 75th anniversary of the Oct. 16, 1922, ...

Cemeteries offer valuable clues to the history of Marshall

The city of Marshall is blessed with two great cemeteries (Calvary and the Marshall Cemetery), two places that offer many windows into the community’s past. They should be visited, even by people who don’t have a loved one buried in them. They should be enjoyed. They should lead to learning experiences. All of that will happen today with cemetery walks at the Marshall Cemetery. Walks planned for 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. will feature information collected by project coordinator Maureen Keimig. In between the walks there will be a presentation at the Marshall Lyon County Library by ...