It’s a very gray day. Today is exactly the sort of day I am most grateful for dogs.

One of the things my family likes to do is visit our local library about every other week. Over the years I have gone from reading mainly science fiction books to being captivated by history and biographies. In January of this year, I ran across a book on Alfred Hitchcock. It was a very fasc…

There have been many pictures and images about COVID-19 which have filled up Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and any other social media outlet since it started.

So, how are you doing?

A year’s worth of news was packed into the week of March 8-14. Microscopic virus. Bull market. Bear Market. Circuit breaking stock trading stoppages. Federal Reserve rates cuts. Oil. Peacetime state of emergency declaration. National state of emergency. Panic buying. Empty store shelves. Sch…

I had considered keeping this month’s column light and cheerful; you know, maybe something like, “Top 10 things to do while you are quarantined with Coronavirus.” I had a list of great ideas going: Spring clean your garage, finish your kids’ baby books (my kids are all between the ages of 33…

So, this is probably my last theater review for a while. As I am writing this March 16, the Governor of Minnesota has closed movie theaters for the foreseeable future, and I bet the Governor of Wisconsin is not far behind. It seems like forever since I went to see this movie last week with a…

“Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

One of my favorite songs has been “New York Minute” by Don Henley because I’ve always liked Don Henley, and the combination of lyrics and melody can’t be beat in my opinion.

There have been numerous studies about the health benefits of sunshine. Just 15 minutes a day in the sun gives the average person their daily dose of Vitamin D.

A few things from the last month:

In one of the U.S. Capitol hallways that House members pass through regularly to get to the chambers, there’s an inscription of a comment by Alexander Hamilton. It comes from his 1788 remarks to the New York convention on ratifying the Constitution, and reads simply, “Here, Sir, the people govern.”

I think Pollyanna might have gotten a bum rap.

I was looking forward to Onward which is one of the new movies released by Pixar, you know the studio that gave us such wonderful movies, as Toy Story, Up and Monster Inc., to name a few. Pixar movies are known for their great characters, engaging plots, and for giving us themes that we can …

St. Patrick’s Day is Tuesday, the time when all the world is Irish, at least for a few hours.

Sometimes, you just need to step back. The political conversations I hear these days are strikingly negative, dominated by what’s amiss in Washington, by the deep divisions in the country, by President Trump’s actions and the aftermath of his impeachment, and by the difficult problems we fac…

During the hectic legislative session in February, one thing got lost: the public’s ability to participate fully in the process.

Bob suggested we all do pushups.

Last week, Department of Health Services Secretary Andrea Palm joined us in Baldwin to hold a roundtable of family caregivers from all over our area. This is an important issue that we are working to address on the Governor’s Task Force on Caregiving because as Wisconsin’s population ages, s…

Before we get too far into the review, I think it is important to note if you or your friends have experienced extreme Domestic Violence and are planning to see this very chilling and very suspenseful film it could disturb and upset you. If you or somebody you know is in need of help, the na…

What does the public like?

Happy Lent to you all.

When he was just a young teenage schoolboy, George Washington sat down and copied out 110 “Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior.” Many of these had to do with simple manners. “Cleanse not your teeth with the tablecloth, napkin, fork or knife,” reads Rule 100. Good advice at any time.

My husband, Peter, likes buying in bulk.

The Call of the Wild is about a dog named Buck who is taken from his home in the south and learns to survive as well as thrive in the Yukon during the gold rush.

One of the many complaints I heard or read online when I was in the newspaper business the last time was, ‘We live in Wisconsin, not Minnesota. I’m sick and tired of reading or hearing about news in the Twin Cities. I have no idea what is happening in Madison.’

The 2020 election cycle is in full swing and with its return, you can be sure that many others things will follow.

Agricultural producers interested in diversifying and taking on a new element to their operation are encouraged to apply for a Value Added Producer Grant (VAPG) through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The roof fell in on the church I started attending

I know this is going to sound funny at first, but Sonic the Hedgehog is probably the most controversial film that we have in 2020 so far. Back in May 2019, a trailer for the movie was released and it was universally panned. People were up in arms because of what this version of Sonic looked …

For every $1 of goods produced, manufacturing generates an additional $1.37 to the economy, and each manufacturing job creates another 2.5 jobs in local goods and services. Clearly an investment in American manufacturers can have a big economic impact. In regions like ours, with over 20% of …

When looking for a column topic this week, I was seeking something pertaining to President’s Day because I’m a history buff and Presidents are a history topic that is never unending.

Even though we had our coldest night of the winter last week, signs are favorable for warmer weather. The sun is rising sooner in the morning and setting after we come home from work. You can feel it in the air, springtime is coming.

As founder of We the Irrelevant, a website that tracks how well (or poorly) the actions of legislators match up with what the public has asked them to do, I have sent multiple open records requests to Wisconsin legislators on a variety of controversial initiatives. Each time, I’ve asked them…

I was looking at my hair in the mirror.

With little fanfare, the 2020 census got underway on Jan. 21 in a tiny community along the Bering Sea called Toksook Bay, Alaska. It is so remote that the census bureau director from Washington, D.C. was late to his own ceremonial kick-off event. Lizzie Chimiugak Nenguryarr, a 90-year old el…

Birds of Prey is a comic book movie set in the DC comic universe. It features a minor character Harley Quinn who is the girlfriend of one of Batman’s arch nemesis the Joker. In this movie, Harley and the Joker break up. She then joins forces with a superhero team to save a little girl from a…

Tuesday marked an annual milestone for me in which I’m still proud to earn:

Last week, we visited about politics. I figured I would push the envelope a bit more this week to get some serious buzz from a controversial topic.

Like a lot of our neighbors, I grew up on my parent’s dairy farm right here in Somerset. My mom and dad milked around 140 cows with each of us kids helping out when we were old enough- and even when we were not. We still remember the small things from those days; sunlight dancing through air…

Last week I started doing something I’ve never done before. I started writing fiction.

Forget what T.S. Eliot says about April.

I was in shock that in less than a month that there could be two similar quality movies released in theaters. However, I guess January movie releases have a reputation to uphold. I really did think that I wouldn’t witness a movie worse than The Grudge, well Gretel and Hansel had other plans …

I was invited to attend the dedication of the Veterans Memorial Wing at the Hammond Health Services on Jan. 29.

The first votes in the nomination process that will determine the names on the ballot for the presidential election in November happened this week.