Opinions

Support Friday’s Dodge County Stroll

It’s that time of year again. The first Friday in August has become the annual date for the Dodge County Stroll, the local version of Relay for Life. Relays for Life take place throughout the United States as a time to remember those who have lost their lives to cancer as well as supporting those...

Early reading sets a foundation for lifelong success

July marks one of my favorite months atSouthern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF). It is the time of year when we get to distribute more than 20,000 books to organizations that work with young children in our 20-county region. The importance of early literacy cannot be overstated. Not only...

Congratulations to Byron High School for receiving grant for meat education

State Senator Carla Nelson, R-24, congratulated Byron High School for recently being awarded a meat education grant by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture under the state’s Meat Education and Training (MEAT) grant program. The grant is part of a $350,000 round of awards for schools around the...

I Was Thinking... Company’s Coming

Those two words can create diametrically opposite reactions in most homes. Recently we got a call from a high school friend of mine that now lives in Texas. He called to let us know that they were on the way to the Twin Cities for a wedding and if it would be okay for them to stop for a visit. Of...

Take the heat, air quality seriously

As this edition of the Dodge County Independent goes to press on Tuesday, the National Weather Service is forecasting southern Minnesota to be facing the hottest temperatures of the season. The state has also seen an increasing number of days under air quality alerts, some because of fires raging...

Why do we leave our squad cars running?

One question that came up a few times at the Dodge County Fair was, “Why do you keep your squad cars running?” Actually, one man walked in our fair building yelling at me about wasting his tax dollars with our squads running. While he never gave me the chance to debate his concern before he walked...

I Was Thinking... How Did I Get Here?

Once you reach a certain age, each birthday ignites more introspection. Maybe it is because you don’t know how many more birthdays you have yet to celebrate. A common thought that often surfaces is, how did I get to be this age? I remember my grandparents and even my folks reaching these milestones...

Sound of Freedom

If you have not yet seen the new film Sound of Freedom, you should. Putting aside whatever people in the media say about it, it has an important message for everyone. According to the United Nations, nearly 50 million people in the world are enslaved. It is also reported that the number of people...

County Fair concludes, more fun coming up

The 166th Dodge County Free Fair is now history and from all observations it looks like a success. No official attendance figures have been released yet, but the grounds always seemed full of people. Aside from some hazy, smoke-smelling skies on a couple of days thanks to those fires in Canada the...

Nelson encourages constituents to visit MyOldMeds.com for safe drug disposaL

MyOldMeds.com is a free online resource listing over 22,000 convenient and safe medication disposal locations across Minnesota and all 50 states. Hosted by the Pharmaceutical Product Stewardship Work Group (PPSWG), the website provides a valuable public health service by connecting...