It seems I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting lately. I’m not sure why this is happening, but maybe it all began with a body of water. We took a drive down the river and ended up at the widest part of the same river. It all started because it was such a beautiful day for a drive, and ...

The dog days of summer are gone, even though this week’s temperatures might suggest otherwise. The heat and humidity of August fade into those first cool nights of September with its dewy mornings and from there it isn’t long until that same condensation soaks the knee-down region of my ...

Farmers are the original eternal optimists. Indeed, it was a hailed-out farmer who first coined the phrase “Just wait until next year!” and not, as legend has it, a diehard sports fan. Optimism is an essential component of a farmer’s character. Perhaps the most pessimistic farmer I ...

My Magical Mystery Nostalgia Tour has come to an end. It’s time to return to the present time. Which isn’t that great. But it’s all we got. Pam accuses me of being a serial nostalgic. She’s right. The longer-ago memories are, the more enjoyable they are to retrieve. One definition ...

Recently I was able to connect with other city administrators both near Marshall and across the State of Minnesota. One consistent message was the challenge of finding enough revenue to provide services — whether it be providing public safety, maintaining infrastructure like streets or ...

At this time of year I always get a craving, one that reminds me of growing up on Marguerite Avenue. My family had a set of gardens in the backyard. They were mostly small flower gardens but we had one large vegetable garden below the hill. At this time of year the garden would be producing ...