We can’t escape numbers. Usually, this time of year, we keep an eye on baseball batting averages, win/loss records and how many days the temperature reaches 90 degrees. But since spring, watching a new set of numbers took over our attention – the Department of Health’s daily posting of how many Minnesotans tested positive for Covid-19, how many have died
Discover the people behind the beer
Beer drinkers in Central Minnesota, like most of the rest of America, enjoy a wide selection of beers, thanks to the recent popularity of small craft breweries. Today’s local craft brewers, such at St. Joseph’s Bad Habit, can trace their heritage back more than 150 years. That lineage is the subject of a new book, “Central Minnesota Beer – A
Please wear a mask
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to sweep the nation, the numbers are simply horrendous. 4.6 million cases have been confirmed as of the time of writing in the United States, with more than 150,000 dead. Despite these statistics, it seems like a large chunk of people seem to be “over” Covid-19, not thinking it deserves concern. While I too am
3 big challenges: Covid-19, racism, global warming
Jim Graeve, St. Joseph Dr. Martin Luther King told us “the arc of history bends toward justice.” George Floyd’s murder bent the “arc” in a straight line to our hearts, heads and consciences. It made my stomach turn and I wept. There is much in the media about reparations to our Black brothers and sisters for our more than 400
Don’t hate those who disagree with you
Rick Schultz, St. Joseph mayor Rick Schultz, St. Joseph mayor Occasionally…not very often, I feel compelled to voice my humble opinion to the masses. This time I feel an obligation to react, not emotionally, but rationally to the ever, ongoing events which seem to be tearing us apart. To date, I’ve never received as much incendiary mail as I have
Schools face tough fall
Despite best efforts, sometimes there’s no good answer to a problem. That certainly seems the to be the case with how to start the school year during a public health crisis. Everyone agrees students need to go back to school, but the health and safety of students and teachers has to come first. State health and education leaders told school
No way are sports back to normal
We don’t have it totally under control. It’s not going to be just fine. It didn’t miraculously go away by April, when it got a little warmer. “We think some of the states can actually open up before the deadline of May 1.” And how’d that work out? No, 99 percent of COVID-19 cases are not totally harmless. “The coronavirus
Goodbye Jemima; hello Black Lives Matter
Goodbye, Aunt Jemima. The Quaker Oats Co. decided recently to “retire” her as a marketing image for its pancake mix. I grew up with Aunt Jemima. That is, we kids in the 1950s ate stacks of scrumptious syrupy pancakes almost every day. Mom would make them from a box showing the face of a grinning plump-faced Negro woman wearing a