My wife spends many hours communing with the dead. She’s found friends who lived in Civil War-era St. Cloud, then a city of about 2,100, while doing research for St. Cloud State University Archives and Stearns History Museum. These folks have come to life, not by time travel or supernatural powers, but through the pages of the city’s early newspapers.
Measures needed to increase turnout, protect the vote
Minnesotans voted in record numbers on Nov. 6, again leading the nation with the highest voter turnout – almost 64 percent. Stearns County’s turnout reached 70 percent compared with the national average turnout of about 50 percent. That is the highest percentage of voter participation in Minnesota for a midterm election since 2002 and the raw turnout of 2,593,922 was
We should keep Thanksgiving special
Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, the Christmas holiday season is in full swing. However, something I see every year is that Thanksgiving, the traditional American holiday of being grateful and enjoying time with family and friends, is increasingly being absorbed into the Christmas season. Whether you are in favor of this trend or not, I believe it is
Howe thanks District 13 voters
Jeff Howe, Rockville I want to thank the residents of District 13 for the support and the privilege of serving as your next Minnesota Senator. I am humbled by the support I have received and do not take this responsibility lightly. I want to assure you I will represent all of District 13 and will continue to do my best
Newly elected leaders should focus on results, not conflict
It’s time to turn the page. The election is over. A record number of voters have spoken. Even nature sent a symbolic message that a new season is here as voters woke up on the morning after the election to find fall replaced by sharp winter winds and snow. The message is clear. Voters told candidates that in races from
When will we see the last of firsts?
After a 150 years, you’d think we would have lost our fascination with firsts. In its Jan. 28, 1869 edition, the St. Cloud Journal reported Carl Christian Schurz was the first German elected to the United States Senate. The good people of Missouri elected Schurz, described as a German revolutionary and American statesman and journalist. After emigrating from Germany, he
Face front, true believers, one last time
On Monday, Nov. 12, to paraphrase Obi Wan Kenobi, millions of nerd voices cried out in terror as one particular voice was silenced. Stan Lee, who co-created the Marvel Universe (the Avengers, Spider-Man, the X-Men and more), passed away at age 95. This is the second time in my life when I heard of the death of a celebrity that
So what do the midterms mean?
After two years of fervent anticipation and excitement by many, the 2018 midterm elections finally came and went here in Minnesota. The final political pitches were given, the polls opened and the votes were cast. At the time of writing there are some races that are still left to be determined. But with the information we have now, we can