Opinions

Those noisy Canadians disrupt life’s solitude

Has anyone else noticed how noisy Canadians are when they move through Kasson, or for that matter, other parts of Dodge County? Yep, they’re rumbling through Kasson blaring their horns, causing gates to drop and lights to go off all around town. And there are other Canadians that honk their horns...

Using facts, not fear

In our caring communities, people are always asking how they can help. There never seems to be a shortage of help. As the coronavirus continues to unfold in ways we’ve never encountered before, the hardest part for many is being asked to stay put. Don’t come out of your home. That’s the message...

U.S. ethanol plants to cut capacity due to lower demand

Ethanol producers in the United States are cutting production by two billion gallons (annualized) due to a sharp decline in fuel consumption and trade restrictions, according to the Renewable Fuels Association (RFA). Why is that a big deal? Roughly 40 percent of the corn crop in the United...

Alternatives to coronavirus news

There has to be more news out there than the coronavirus. It’s the struggle everyone is growing weary of...24/7 news coverage of the outbreak of the coronavirus in the United States, Italy, South Korea and China.Fortunately, there are alternatives to the constant blathering of pretty talking...

Seeing the good

There certainly is little debate that we are in the midst of some unprecedented times as we grap- ple with the coronavirus pandemic. As I checked in on my parents this past weekend, my 86-year-old father shared how he has never experienced anything like this during his lifetime. It seems...

Mayo Clinic stepping up in coronavirus storm

The past few days have been challenging to say the least in keeping our readers informed of perhaps the greatest crisis of the modern age. Information is constantly changing and new twists and turns are coming at every angle. It seems what had been addressed one hour is changing the next. It’s a...

Former presidential candidate said anyone can be a farmer

In a 2016 video from a talk at Oxford University, (Michael) Bloomberg said, “I could teach anybody, even people in this room, no offense intended, to be a farmer.” The former New York City mayor continued, “It’s a process. You dig a hole, you put a seed in, you put dirt on top, add water, up comes...

Todd Hale of Owatonna hosts a weekly Big Band Show on KRFO Radio.

Keeping Big Band music alive on local radio

I’ve only known him for 10 years, but as Sid Hartman, who turns 100 this week after 80 plus years in the radio and newspaper businesses, would say he’s a close personal friend. I’m referring to my dear friend Todd Hale. He has been an icon in the Owatonna area for more than 60 years having...

Coronavirus infects stock market, oil pricesCoronavirus infects stock market, oil prices

COVID-19 or in layman’s terms the coronavirus is bashing the na- tion’s stocks and oil prices. In fact, just Monday alone stock fell precip- itously by more than 2,000, with the Dow Jones Industrial average end- ing the day at 23,851.02. Oil finished the day at 30.92 a barrel. So what? What...

Fat Tuesday brings out the merrymaking at St. Mary’s

Mardi Gras is a Christian holiday and most often associated in the U.S. with New Orleans. Since the mid-1700s, Mardi Gras has been celebrated openly, but not with all the parades and hoopla that we know today. Also known as Carnival, it’s celebrated in many countries around the world on the day...