The Outdoors By Scott Rall, Outdoors Columnist Minnesota fishing opener is just right around the corner. This special day will have more Minnesotan’s out and about than any other outdoor opening day. The season opens at 12:01 on May 11. The season for pan fish stays open year-round but for walleyes and other game fish, there… Read More

View From The Cab By David Tollefson, Columnist While many of us are (or should be) concerned about spring cleaning, Paul Malchow, managing editor of THE LAND magazine, in the April 12 issue, covers a multitude of issues for us farmers and rural area residents. I’ll attempt to highlight a few of what I thought were pertinent… Read More

Growing Green By Robin Trott, Extension Educator Have you noticed circular patches of greener grass in your lawn? It’s not uneven fertilizer but fungi feeding on decomposing matter like old tree stumps, leaves or roots, releasing nitrogen. This phenomenon is called a fairy ring. Fairy rings are circular areas of abnormal turf growth, commonly found in… Read More

View From a Prairie Home by Hege Hernfindahl, Columnist I sit here at my desk. I put my desk in front of the window so I could overlook the prairie. No houses or cars block my view. There is nature. Only nature. My dear husband seeded the prairie behind our house to rye last year, because we… Read More

From Where I Sit By Pat Spilseth, Columnist My world is blooming with color! Spring is sprouting blossoms of color throughout the country weeks earlier than normal. The grass is green; the lake is open; bulbs are budding. We’re thinking about turning off our furnace! Temperatures are almost balmy. Recent rain showers are easing the drought we’ve… Read More

Publisher’s Perspective By Tim Douglass, Publisher of the Pope County Tribune I’m an advocate of community journalism and especially newspapers. Okay, that’s probably from Captain Obvious, but needed to be said. Newspapers, we’re told over and over, are a dying breed.  And those who own or work at them are sometimes referred to as “relics.”  We’re… Read More

Minnewaska Musings By Paul Gremmels  Have you ever wished that someone would have invented  “Clap-on/Clap-off”  Long Johns by now?  I have. Especially for spring weather in Minnesota. I mean, you obviously keep your house warm when the outside temperatures are cold. And you also dress accordingly when going outside in cold temperatures. But the going between… Read More

Stoneage Ramblings By John R. Stone You may have heard of Professor David Schultz of Hamline University in St. Paul. He teaches political science and is frequently on television where he is asked to analyze things like presidential races. He did that recently at Senior College at Alexandria Community and Technical College in Alexandria. He is… Read More

Growing Green By Robin Trott, Extension Educator On April 22,2024, the Alexandria City Council once again approved the No Mow May initiative. From Wednesday, May 1 through Friday, May 31, the city will suspend enforcement of its high-grass nuisance provisions for properties that are duly registered as “no-mow.” This, however, does not apply to noxious weeds…. Read More

View From a Prairie Home by Hege Hernfindahl, Columnist It’s late afternoon and I am tired. I have worked in my garden all day and now my body hurts; my knees, my back and even my wrists. It is the bending. The raking. The crouching and even the crawling. All I do to get my garden ready…. Read More