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Following the twist and time in history from Bohemia

Columns

A thing that comes with age is increased interest in those who came before. I wish I had asked my parents so many more questions about their lives. Our daughter Abby spent time doing ancestry work on both Pam’s and my side. Others have worked on the Krzmarzicks. Everyone’s work can build on others’ on websites like ancestry.com. Amazingly, we can go back to the 1500s with some lines that led to Abby. Of course, the further back you go, we only know names and where they lived. Earlier this summer, I got to visit a place that is important in my family story. We spent two weeks ...

‘There is a place for us’

Columns

NEW ULM – The New Ulm Film Society (NUFS) continues to encroach on musical theater’s turf, with a screening of “West Side Story,” which could lead to a rumble. The film screening begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 11 at the New Ulm Public Library. “West Side Story” is the fourth film in the New Ulm Film Society musical film series and is often cited as one of the greatest film musicals of all time. The film won 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It still holds the record for the most Oscars won by a musical. It was also the highest-grossing film of 1961, the year it was ...

First month in New Ulm as exchange intern packed with new experiences

Columns

My name is Sam Blomberg, and I have the privilege of serving as the Hans Joohs representative for the New Ulm Sister Cities Commission. Over the course of twelve weeks, I am living and working in Germany. This letter highlights events from the first four weeks. Arriving in Ulm, Germany, I wasn’t sure what to expect. As the sister cities representative, I hoped to gain professional experience and learn about German culture. In Ulm, I found much more: a welcoming host family, an engaging work environment, and a city rich in tradition and culture. My first month has been packed with ...

Help ensure a healthy start to school year

Columns

It always seems like back-to-school time returns too quickly after the fun and freedom of summer. Yet now’s the time to begin looking toward this busy season when it comes to your family’s health care. Clinic appointments can get filled up, so call early to schedule back-to-school preventive checkups. Most health insurance plans cover an annual preventive visit for every member of your family. If you or your family members have not yet had this visit in 2026, consider scheduling now. This visit is an opportunity to check in with your provider on several points: • Current ...

The pain of painting

Columns

The joys of home ownership are infinite. And by “joys” I mean “pain-in-the-patootie maintenance issues.” If a wife says to her husband, “I’m thinking about painting the living room,” what she really means is, “I want you to paint the living room.” The husband might ...

Solve problems instead of fighting

Letters

When I was a young man, the company I worked for sent me to a seminar for people becoming job foreman. It included all trades (plumbers, carpenters, electricians, and others). The speaker instructed us on the duties of a foreman: keeping projects on schedule, working with other trades, evaluating fellow workers, identifying their strengths ...you get the picture. The best way to evaluate a person was to consider the work they did incorrectly or had to redo. That was called an “Oh-poop.” He used a different four-letter word, but it cannot be printed here. Work done correctly and ...