Growing Green By Robin Trott, Extension Educator This cool summer brings challenges to our gardens, with excess water, insufficient sunlight, fungal diseases and numerous pests. Colorado potato beetles, aphids, leaf hoppers and cucumber beetles are particularly active, prompting many homeowners to turn to insecticides for relief. Identifying Pests Before using insecticides, accurately identify the pests in… Read More

View From a Prairie Home by Hege Hernfindahl, Columnist Most mornings, I just sit and stare at the birds and the trees, at the flowers, at the sky. And how the branches of the trees and shrubs seem to dance in the breeze. My mind is empty and I am at peace. God’s world does that to… Read More

From Where I Sit By Pat Spilseth, Columnist My neighborhood on Lake Minnetonka’s Casco Point is a perfect Norman Rockwell scene on the Fourth of July. Celebrating America’s independence makes me nostalgic for the small town Americana life I knew growing up. Kids celebrated each and every day of summer on Lake Minnewaska sunning on old bath… Read More

Publisher’s Perspective By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune It’s July already. It seems like the ice just came off of the lakes and many of us were looking forward to late May and June fishing, which are the best months for fishing. Why is it the summer months always seem to move so… Read More

Stoneage Ramblings By John R. Stone This is an election campaign year and the way things have been going with campaigns over the past few years I’m not looking forward to it. I don’t understand why people have to be so nasty over political issues. We were in South Carolina in February for a week and… Read More

View From The Cab By David Tollefson, Columnist As many of you know, a Farm Bill is slowly making its way through Congress. First of all, as a corn farmer, I am a member of the Minnesota and Pope County Corn Growers associations, so I may have a built-in prejudice since a big part of every Farm Bill… Read More

The Outdoors By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist I went on one heck of a road trip recently. I decided to go see the world, or more precisely, a large part of the state of Minnesota. It was part adventure and part volunteer work and part a small paying side hustle. I am a very passionate supporter… Read More

Growing Green By Robin Trott, Extension Educator I spent Saturday working outside, only to find red spots all over my legs by the end of the day. Many plants in Minnesota can cause skin irritation, and it seems I encountered one of them. To help you avoid the same fate, let me introduce you to several… Read More

View From a Prairie Home by Hege Hernfindahl, Columnist If you read my articles, you know I travel to Europe often. This is mainly to visit family; my siblings and cousins. Also, as a former German teacher, I used to take my students to Germany every second year and my son lived in Belgium; so yes, I… Read More

From Where I Sit By Pat Spilseth, Columnist “Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.”  ~William Shakespeare In the depths of an icy snowy winter I love to imagine summer in Minnesota. I see kids playing on a sandy beach, throwing balls for their pet dogs to retrieve and return, hopefully, building sand castles, splashing in… Read More