The Outdoors By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist I recently did a podcast with Ron Shara Productions host Travis Frank about volunteering. If you would like to listen to it search The Flush Podcast. We spoke for about an hour about what motivates a person to volunteer for 40 years for the same organization. This is the… Read More

View From The Cab By David Tollefson, Columnist From the mid-February 2024 issue of the Farm Journal written by Rhonda Brooks comes this incredible story of a Minnesota farm couple winning the award for non-irrigated category of the NCGA yield contest for Minnesota.  Here it is, edited for length: In 2023, David Heublein grew a contest-winning corn yield… Read More

Growing Green By Robin Trott, Extension Educator The erratic winter weather has left both plants and gardeners confused. With fluctuating temperatures swinging from unseasonably warm to frigid lows, our gardens have experienced false starts aplenty. To navigate this uncertainty, here’s a curated list of April garden chores to temper spring fever: 1. Monitor the Temperature: While… Read More

View From a Prairie Home by Hege Hernfindahl, Columnist Once again, the year turns towards Easter. The six weeks of Lent are behind us. In Norwegian, the word for Lent is Faste, meaning, of course, fast. So, to get ready for the Passion of Jesus, many of us fast, or these days, many of us give up… Read More

From Where I Sit By Pat Spilseth, Columnist Easter is celebrated with  tulips, lilies, hyacinths and hydrangeas beautifying our churches and homes. We honor the risen Christ with hymns accompanied by trumpets, gather family and decorate Easter eggs…Some folks have a chocolate bunny Easter egg hunt for the kids in their neighborhoods. Have you ever wondered about the… Read More

Publisher’s Perspective By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune Some Minnesota lawmakers want to place a question on the 2024 general election ballot that would create an independent redistricting commission to prevent the common practice — including in neighboring Wisconsin — of majority parties drawing highly favorable legislative and congressional district maps that can… Read More

Kevin Frazier: We need to ask the right questions “By asking questions about how we can more responsibly and effectively use that role to create lasting change, we can sow the seeds for a democracy that matches our expectations and allows us to reach our potential.” By Kevin Frazier In the most recent season of… Read More

‘Reproductive Rights’ is a twist on words… From Char Petersen, Starbuck Do not be misled.  “Reproductive Rights” is a twist on words.  Reproductive Rights is abortion which is the murder of a child and a child is a child from the very moment of conception.  Going a bit further, I doubt that it matters to… Read More

Stoneage Ramblings By John R. Stone The future of food was the subject of a four-session class at Alexandria Technical and Community College’s Senior College in January. It was mostly about cellular agriculture, how it works and how it might fit into future food needs of the world. You’re probably heard of Beyond Meat which is… Read More

View From The Cab By David Tollefson, Columnist From the February 16 issue of THE LAND magazine written by Laura Cole, is a true story of courage and persistence in spite of a rather severe handicap. Laura’s sub-title is “Minnesota farmer offers a glimpse of life on and off the farm.” Here it is: Having grown up… Read More