Last year many of my columns involved moose in one way or another. This one will deal with moose population increases, but in Finland, Norway, and Sweden rather than in North America. Moose have inhabited all three countries for at least 7,000 years. Management actions have ranged from none to total protection numerous times as abundance levels varied from extreme […]

Sampson was a biblical character, a Nazarite, last of the Judges. He could slay a lion and massacre an army of Philistines with only a donkey’s jawbone. But mostly he had great hair. Countless artists have offered their best guess at Sampson’s great hair and while historians may quibble over the details of the exact stylings, everyone thought his hair […]

You know you are on a loopy track when you see the dedication of The Ghost of Craven Snuggs—it’s to a decrepit International pickup truck. When is the last time you read a murder mystery where the lead investigator was dead 15 years? You will find that novel in the collection of the Grand Marais Public Library. A retired Grinnell […]

I recently spent two full days cleaning my office. This room has been a” catch-all” for six months since my parents moved in with us. My husband said the piles were getting scary. As I write my column, I have a clean desk and room and feel highly organized. But maybe it’s too clean, as I have no inspiration for […]