My husband Chuck and I were at an event recently, and as it frequently does, the question “What’s happening at the paper?” came up. Usually my answer is “what isn’t happening?”
Our small Cook County News-Herald staff is constantly on the run. We spend a lot of time covering meetings. There is a meeting of one of the myriad governmental entities nearly every day. See page C1 for a list of meetings that we try to keep track off.
We don’t attend every meeting every time. It’s enough to cover the “core” newsmakers, the county, city, townships, the school, hospital and EDA boards, especially when there are big projects or actions that require special meetings.
Case in point, the hospital board with its renovation and School District 166 with its administrative shakeup. Lots of extra meetings!
We keep our ears open for news that comes out of the meetings we don’t attend. And of course, after the meetings we do make it to, there are often follow-up questions, which means phone calls and emails later.
My colleague Brian Larsen was recently asked why he wasn’t “on time” for a meeting. The reason—he had been at another meeting!
And sandwiched in between meetings of all kinds there are events of all kinds. Those are actually really fun. Because we cover celebrations, we also attend things like the Schroeder Historical Society Lunde Tour, Unplugged and Mountain Stage concerts, plays, concerts, art openings and more.
There is always something to do and something to be written up. So when my friend also asked, “So, I suppose you have several weeks of your columns typed up and ready to go?” Chuck and I burst into laughter. When I mentioned the comment to my friend Laurie in the office, she also laughed out loud.
Chuck has seen me frantically typing away in the wee hours of the morning. Coworkers have seen me putting finishing touches on Unorganized Territory in the minutes before the paper is sent off to the printer.
Our stellar proofreader Bill has also suggested that I write several columns in advance. He recommended writing random thoughts, similar to what longtime Cook County News-Herald Editor Ade Toftey used to do in his Jots by Ade column.
And a disgruntled reader recently suggested that we do away with Unorganized Territory altogether. He said the column takes up a lot of “prime space” in the paper and said it should be used for more interesting topics. The reader suggested that my column space should be used to comment on “hard current events” in Cook County and closed by saying if I am not up to the challenge, I should consider finding someone who is.
My friend, Sporto, says the same thing, albeit in a kinder, gentler way. He has scolded me for writing too much about “warm fuzzy stuff.”
I take the comments to heart and there are times when I do tackle Cook County issues. However, as I’ve explained in the past Unorganized Territory is just that—an unorganized collection of thoughts, a bit like Jots by Ade. Sometimes I do comment on local politics and infrequently on national issues. I sometimes write about the history of Minnesota or the history of my family on the North Shore. Sometimes I talk about my grandkids or pets and sometimes—well, perhaps often—I write about the weather. There is no rhyme or reason to the column, which is why it is titled Unorganized Territory.
So apologies to the folks who feel I am wasting their time. But I am going to continue writing Unorganized Territory for as long as I can. I’ve been writing the column for 16 years now, without missing a single week. So there are weeks that are trivial, the rushed, finishing-up-on deadline weeks or the weeks that someone has suggested a silly idea for a column.
But I disagree that I don’t sometimes tackle tough topics. It’s just that when I do, I try not to just spout off my opinion. I feel it is more important to encourage people to learn more about an issue and to become involved. Because wherever you live, whether you’re in unorganized territory, in the city, up the Gunflint or far away in Minneapolis or Chicago, the people who show up and speak up are the ones who make a difference.
Regular readers have heard me say more than once, more than a dozen times, probably more than a hundred times, to pay attention and get involved with politics.
And that’s not a wasted commentary at all.
There never were two opinions alike in all the world, no more than two hours or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity.
Michel de Montaigne
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