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Farmers market stirs childhood memories of gardening

At this time of year I always get a craving, one that reminds me of growing up on Marguerite Avenue. My family had a set of gardens in the backyard. They were mostly small flower gardens but we had one large vegetable garden below the hill. At this time of year the garden would be producing many green beans and tomatoes. The lettuce had grown out, but the potatoes and carrots were ready to dig up in about another month. Mom had several recipes based on our garden produce. Some of my favorites were a lettuce salad with eggs and bacon, buttered green beans, sliced tomatoes, and pot ...

NU Film Society mockumentary series takes tour of ‘District 9’

By Clay Schuldt NEW ULM – The New Ulm Film Society’s mockumentary series will explore an alien–but all too realistic version–of South African politics with a screening of “District 9.” The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 10 at the New Ulm Public Library. “District 9” is a 2009 science-fiction film that explores a South African community populated by extraterrestrial refugees. The film is structured like an expose on government and corporate corruption. The movie uses different archival footage including newsreels, security camera recordings and video ...

Legends of the Iron Range

Editor’s note: Jerry is taking some time off. Here is one of his past columns from his Oldies But Goodies file. Mesabi is the Ojibwa word for giant. Mesabi is also the name given to a range of iron-rich hills in northern Minnesota, knolls that the Ojibwa believed held a sleeping giant. Some years ago, my wife and I made a foray to northern Minnesota to see about sleeping giants and other Iron Range legends. First on our list was the town of Bemidji where stands humungous statues of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox, Babe. Being a farm kid, I had to examine Babe up close to ...

Do the right thing when it comes to the Farm Bill

Last December, I noticed a deposit of $3,089.80 in our checking account. What a nice Christmas gift. It was a payment from the Farm Service Agency. I dug in my memory to recall that months ago I filled out an application for a PARP payment based on some combination of farm income, yields, price, and maybe the price of tea in China. “PARP” stands for something. You can look that up. PARP is a leftover program from the COVID era, stupid Trump policies, and excessive weather events. Weather is something farmers are always fighting with. COVID and Trump were unique maladies. The ...

Dinner is served

A guy can learn a lot when he’s undergoing tonsil cancer treatments. For instance, I recently had an appointment with a woman named Tina, a speech therapist. I learned that it’s important to keep your mouth parts fit and healthy via exercises that help preserve the ability to swallow. Among the exercises Tina assigned me was sticking out my tongue as far as possible. This is great news. It gives me an excuse to stick out my tongue whenever the spirit moves me. If a bystander takes offence, I can shrug and say, “Doctor’s orders.” Lymphedema is a new word in my vocabulary. ...

Paris Olympics showcase world’s best in athletic competition

I’ve been watching television more than usual in the past two weeks, and it’s mainly for one reason. It’s the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Every afternoon and evening it features a wide range of sports, many of which are things people can enjoy as participants for a lifetime. The Olympics are the finest sports event in the world. They’re easily more important than the Super Bowl. They’re even more important than World Cup Soccer or baseball’s World Series. They benefit viewers in several ways. They promote lifetime fitness. They’re a great example of sportsmanship. ...