Watching the nightly network newscasts this week has me wondering who really won the U.S. Revolutionary War some 235 years ago. Somewhere the ghost of Cornwallis smirks as Americans fawn over the heir to the British throne. A KING! HE WILL BE A KING! Despite our protestations those centuries ago, Americans then and now still… Read More →

This commentary in Sunday’s Star Tribune shows the social strife facing women in western North Dakota as the region teems with male workers in the booming oil industry. Reading this reminds me of the stories surrounding northern Minnesota’s Iron Range in the early 1900s as male immigrants poured into this region, most of them single… Read More →

This morning a fire service helicopter buzzed just above the treetops over our home in rural Itasca County. The incredible swing from a cold, snowy spring to today’s hot, dry, windy conditions has brought a sudden and extreme fire danger. We were under a red flag warning with yesterday’s high winds. Large fires prompted evacuations… Read More →

Boise Cascade is laying off 265 workers, about a third of its workforce, at its paper mill in International Falls, Minnesota. Boise will close two lines to focus on more successful products before the end of the year, according to this story at WDIO. International Falls is a paper town and this will have a… Read More →