“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,” Charles Dickens writes in the opening lines of A Tale of Two Cities as he composes a picture of life in England and France set in the 18th century. Described as the least “Dickensian” of Dickens’ novels, it remains one of Dickens’ most widely read books. Dickens took... READ MORE >
As a young boy I would often sit at night on the front steps of our home in Bloomington, MN with my Dad and gaze at the stars. This was back in the day when Bloomington wasn’t the expanded metropolis that it is today, most notably with the addition of the Mall of America in 1992. In the “swell” ’50s,... READ MORE >
Considered one of the most important social commentators of his time, Thomas Carlyle, the feisty 19th century Scottish philosopher, believed “thought is the parent of deed.” I agree that thought is a precursor to action; therefore, when it comes to those who govern, understanding convergent thinking focused on solving a problem becomes critical. Follow the thread or train of thought... READ MORE >
Guzzling an outrageously expensive bottled water – purchased at the San Francisco airport while Renée, my helpmate in life, and awaited our scheduled flight home at the conclusion of a May 2014 County Leader Forum–we wandered into one those “gotcha shops” tucked conveniently along the extensive airport corridor. While looked for a healthy snack–like Snickers bar–she approached me with book... READ MORE >
For years, born out of fear and superstition, many sailors and ships avoided the area where the RMS Titanic went down. After all, there is something ominous about revisiting tragedy; especially, after 74 dark and silent years of sitting very noble and upright on the bottom of the ocean floor. The world awoke April 15, 1912 to the realization that... READ MORE >
Next to Noah’s Ark, the RMS Titanic–double the size of the Ark–is probably the most renowned ship in history; the former built to avoid disaster, the latter became synonymous with disaster. Living on the edge of the largest surfaced fresh water lake in the world, as we do, Lake Superior has claimed its share of floating vessels. Some 350 shipwrecks... READ MORE >
The mighty moose continues to inhabit Minnesota’s North Woods; however, that could change, if we are to believe an unknown source who recently divulged the gobsmacking revelation as to why moose numbers are shrinking in the state of Minnesota. It’s because the same thing is happening with the twig eater’s schnozzola. That’s right! The best available science suggests that big... READ MORE >
According to the Minnesota Climatology Office, the earliest recorded trace of snow in the Northeast region of Minnesota was on Aug. 31, 1949, which served as a harbinger for the 170 inches of snow that would accumulate during the 1949- 1950 winter season – the most recorded in Minnesota in one season. It was also the highest recorded snowpack as... READ MORE >
In an odd sign of the times, an astute Star Tribune reader recently observed, “There are roughly twice as many Critical Habitat ‘moose’ [license] plates in Minnesota than there are moose in the state.” Predation has a lot to do with declining moose numbers, and research would certainly appear to corroborate this fact. The study of predator / prey relationships,... READ MORE >
Ready to tackle a squeamish topic that could make your skin crawl? Given I have limited space, I’ll dispense with pests – like moose flies that tailgate their warm-blooded host for much of the snow-free period – and focus on the known agents of disease in moose that are suspected of significantly impacting moose populations. That would be parasites. Virtually... READ MORE >
