Twas about a month before Christmas and all through our house the creatures were stirring and even a mouse. Well, the mouse I found had nibbled cheese I had forgotten in my Jeep. Decorations were hung and four trees we did trim. All in anticipation of Santa in hopes we’d see him. December Flurries December sure flew by in a […]
Young love in an old cabin
Part 1: We were young at the time and only occasionally acting like adults. It was the end of our summer and I suppose we were marking it with a weekend away. We two had worked the summer on the mall on campus in the city. She lived off Hennepin in Uptown and I lived off Hennepin on the other […]
Wildlife – 3. Humans – 0.
Now that winter has unmistakably and irrevocably arrived, my bird feeding addiction has completely taken over my life. I scatter tons of sunflower seeds on the ground beneath my deck. I order roasted peanuts from Amazon and spread them liberally on the deck railing. I cut up small pieces of suet for my “little” birds and bigger pieces for the […]
Resolutions for a New Year
As I sit here in our VRBO in Decorah, Iowa writing this column we have just finished Anderson Christmas 1.0 and will be celebrating the Holthaus Christmas 2.0 in about two hours. (Cousin Christmas 3.0 has been pushed back to January.) I am understandably tired but not stressed. I guess I have learned to let things go. Easy recipes and […]
State appeals court upholds Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness challenge to state’s rules for nonferrous mining near the BWCAW
On December 27, the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld a lawsuit filed by Northeastern Minnesotans for Wilderness (NMW) that challenged the adequacy of the state’s nonferrous mining rules. The lawsuit filed by NMW was brought under the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act. At the heart of the matter, NMW contends that the state’s rules for where mines can be built fail […]
BEYOND REASON
New Year’s ResolutionsHere’s a fun fact I just read it in new book called The Blue Zones Challenge by Dan Buettner. Most New Year’s Resolutions last for 4-6 weeks. Then people go back to their old habits. So, there are two ways to approach this problem. You can do what the experts who follow the people who live the longest suggest and […]
Top baby names at St. Luke’s Hospital
Despite the ongoing pandemic, there were plenty of sweet blessings bestowed on Northland families in 2021. At St. Luke’s, more than 800 babies were born to families from December 2020 through November 2021. The most popular names for girls this year were Hazel (6), and Charlotte, Mila/Myla and Nora (5 each). For the boys, there was a tie for the […]
Burned Out & Burned Up
We use the term “burnout” to talk about many aspects of our lives, but it’s really an occupational phenomenon. When we’re thinking about how burnout might be impacting us, we can learn a lot by looking at how we feel about our jobs. When we’re burned out: We feel exhausted. There’s too much to do, too little time to do […]
Cook County Law Enforcement briefs
Tuesday, December 14 1:43 p.m. Pike Lake Road: Animal Concern. Two dogs took off about an hour ago. One dog is a male yellow lab, about 85 pounds; the other dog is a female German Shepard mix. Caller was house-sitting for a friend when the dogs ran off. Caller was worried the dogs might go after someone’s chickens. About ten […]
Matters of Record
Steven Austin Garrett, 45, Highlands, Texas, pled guilty on December 9, 2021, to a petty misdemeanor of not having a Minnesota Driver’s License After 60 Days Residency (30 Days for Commercial Driver’s License), on November 7, 2021. Fines and fees total $185. Jeremy Wade Peterson, 44, Lindstrom, Minnesota, pled guilty on December 14, 2021, to a petty misdemeanor of Transportation […]