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Love, in-love or both

Community Voices

Just about everyone | know has told me that love was the reason they married their spouse. Whether you are married or divorced, love was in there somewhere. Since love is the most often stated reason for marriage, it would be good to know what that is. What follows is what psychologists generally have said that love is all about. One way that you might characterize the stages in a relationship is in three steps. First comes the Romantic stage. In this stage, we put our best foot forward and do everything we can to ensure that the other person wants to keep seeing us. The second ...

Going antiquing

Community Voices

My wife and I recently took a business trip to St. Cloud. She suggested that we leave early so that we could go antiquing. I learned long ago that “antiquing” is a code word for “shopping.” I used to think that “antiquing” meant making something new appear to be old. This is the opposite of what I’ve always been trying to accomplish. I’ve forever been striving to make my worn old farm equipment, cars, and face look like they are nearly new. But there’s only so much that can be done to conceal rust and wrinkles. As we motored along, we encountered a mercantile outlet ...

Transition time

Local Columns

It’s time to transition, but then, when isn’t it time to transition? Some time ago, I was reading the local newspaper and arrived at the letters to the editor section of the paper. In one of the letters, a person was lamenting how much Red Wing has changed. The writer had left the city for about 30 years, and upon returning, was shocked how much the city had changed. Well ... duh! What did you expect? To be driving on gravel roads in the downtown area? The city transitioned over the years to be the inviting, historically beautiful and welcoming city it is today. So, let us ...

Rooftops of memory

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: I remember Katrina. I remember families waving shirts from rooftops, praying for helicopters that never came. I remember looters—not for greed, but for bread. For baby formula. For dignity. And I remember how the government that delayed rescue rushed prosecution. Today, in 2025, we are back on the rooftops. For the first time in American history, a president’s administration attempted to allow food stamps to lapse during a government shutdown. Over 42 million Americans — children, seniors, working families — stood to lose access to SNAP benefits. Not ...

A season of senses

Local Columns

The firearms deer opener brings with it the hope of affixing a tag to the ear of a doe or the antler of a buck after a successful hunt. Doing so, however, goes far beyond the simple act which signifies the end of one’s season in the field. Such a moment is often the intersection of preparation — scouting, sighting in a rifle, and setting stands and blinds in place; skill — selecting the right spot for the wind, competency with a firearm, and knowing a bit about your quarry; and of course a bit of luck — how the deer travel a certain day and what other outside forces might be at ...

I need my polka fix

Community Voices

I spend an ungodly amount of time in a tractor cab during the fall. Outside of sleeping, eating at odd intervals, and doing maintenance, my life is lived in a cab. The tractor radio is my steady companion. Every spring and fall, I spend a lot more time listening to the radio than Pam. The rest of the year, I listen to my wife because that’s what a successful husband does. I listen to a lot of news. (Spoiler alert, it’s bad.) Weather reports are must-listen radio when everything you do depends on weather. I follow the markets. Following the markets means following the mind of ...