For a recovering dairy farmer such as myself, going to a dairy farm festival is like a cat attending a hairball convention. Ho-hum. Not much new to see here. Or so I thought. Our neighbors Frido and Sonja Verpaalen opened their dairy farm to a throng of visitors for Dairy Fest, an event that ...

Issues surrounding nitrogen fertilizer pose a significant challenge for Minnesota farmers and our natural resources, prompting increased attention toward nitrogen regulations. While these concerns rightly demand attention, Minnesota farmers are doing what they do best — taking proactive and ...

As the 2024 legislative session drew to a close on May 20, the lack of transparency and bipartisanship troubled me. In my 12 years as your state senator, I have never seen such a disappointing conclusion to a session. Quite frankly, it has got to be one of the most disgraceful endings to a ...

It’s graduation season, a time to look ahead to futures filled with good opportunities. It’s also a time to look back. The graduation ceremony is the final chapter in a high school or college career, a celebration of all that each graduate accomplished. Everyone made choices. Even as ...

With two farmsteads to care for, I have developed a thing about weeds. Specifically, killing them. Liquidating those lambsquarters. Slaying those sunflowers. Murdering those cockleburs. There are various methods available for giving weeds a one-way ticket to the hereafter. A guy can mow them ...

This column is often written in a form called the personal essay. “Personal essays relate the author’s intimate thoughts and experiences to universal truths,” is one definition. “Universal” seems a bit much for mine. Maybe “township truths.” Sometimes personal means my thoughts ...