Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | April 11, 2015
I have a love-hate relationship with mud. Mud is a sign of spring, of warmer weather and the coming greening of the woods around my house. When I’m wearing work clothes and mud boots, I love splashing through puddles. I enjoy clearing deadfall out of the creek by our house each spring, sometimes sinking ankle deep in mud. It makes... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | April 04, 2015
Regular readers of Unorganized Territory know that Cook County News-Herald staff are fans of Google Doodles—the fun little drawings and animations produced and randomly offered by Internet search engine Google. Google prides itself on marking unusual dates on the calendar. Although there are frequently special little pieces of art on traditional holidays like Christmas and the 4th of July, more... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | March 28, 2015
It’s interesting that it was during Sunshine Week—the week intended to promote dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information—that the Cook County Board of Commissioners tackled the question of public participation in county board meetings. Sunshine Week, a national initiative of journalists, citizens and community groups, was March 15 – 21, 2015. Smack dab in the... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | March 21, 2015
I know that it will be awhile before spring officially arrives. I’m guessing there will be a cold snap and a snowstorm or two before it completely warms up, but we were blessed with a wonderful weekend. The first weekend of March was the “Dog Days of Winter” celebration up the Gunflint Trail. Last weekend could well have been the... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | March 14, 2015
Our family is getting back into our normal routine after a fabulous few days playing tourist on the Gunflint Trail. For four years now, we’ve reserved the beautiful, big, Caribou cabin at Hungry Jack Lodge during the Mush for a Cure event, to be near all the fun activities surrounding that celebration. When the 2015 fundraiser was cancelled, we kept... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | February 07, 2015
Elsewhere in this issue you will see an article announcing the great news—to me at least— about the Minnesota Newspaper Association industry awards. I am thrilled that the Cook County News-Herald received three awards. You can read more about them on page A3. It is especially nice because just a few weeks ago I wrote about judging the Iowa Better... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | December 27, 2014
We all stay busy at the Cook County News-Herald office. If we aren’t covering a meeting or event, we are writing about it. If we aren’t writing an article, we are reading background information. If we aren’t reading background information, we’re making follow-up phone calls. And if we aren’t writing something, we’re working on laying out the paper—finding the right... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | December 20, 2014
For many years now my house has been the site of some Christmas craziness, the Gingerbread Sleepover. One night in December, my grandkids visit and we spend the afternoon and evening mixing frosting, sorting candies, constructing gingerbread houses and of course, decorating them. I started this annual event when I had just one granddaughter, RaeAnne, who is now 11 years... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | November 08, 2014
I had a lot of fun on Election Night 2014 on air with Jay Andersen and Roger Linehan on WTIP Community Radio. I don’t know how I ended up being part of the WTIP election news team, but I have enjoyed taking part for a few years now. I hope listeners did too. We know at least one person was... READ MORE >
Rhonda Silence starnews@boreal.org | November 01, 2014
By the time readers pick up this issue of the Cook County News-Herald, Halloween will be over. All of the little princesses and pirates, cuddly critters and creepy creatures, and ghosts and goblins will be done with parties and treat gathering. The silly spooky stuff is done and it’s time to get back to reality. And unfortunately, reality for today’s... READ MORE >
