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Digging for treasure

Columns

My brother Les, his son Dustin, and I recently embarked on a treasure hunt. We didn’t have a map like the Count of Monte Cristo, so there was a certain amount of random digging involved. Not by hand, of course. Les and I have reached the age where “work smarter, not harder” isn’t just a good idea; our weary bones and creaky joints have made it a necessity. We weren’t searching for silver or gold: the metal we were seeking was cast iron. And we’re talking about a level of digging that required the deployment of Les and Dustin’s excavator. In lieu of a map, Les and I ...

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Editorials

Easter is here Thumbs Up This Sunday most of the country will be celebrating Easter. In the lead up to Easter Sunday, there will be several holiday themed events held in the community. New Ulm’s Park and Rec traditionally holds an egg hunt in Harman Park today before Easter. It will be moved indoors to the Civic Center due to the weather. The Schell’s Brewery will also host an egg hunt this afternoon. Outside of New Ulm, Easter egg hunts are scheduled in Fairfax, Hanska and Sleepy Eye. The current forecast for today is windy and cold, but conditions are expected to improve for ...

First AI glance didn’t measure up to the art of writing

Columns

In the past week I had my first chance to experience AI (artificial intelligence) through my email server. Messages from my sister and friends now come with a suggested AI reply. All it takes is one click and you can reply to the message. There’s nothing wrong with the messages the computer suggests. They’re very well-rounded reactions. Still I don’t use them. I feel that I as a professional writer can do better than a machine. I can make a message more detailed and more descriptive. I can introduce new subjects that a computer can’t anticipate. Letter writing used to be ...

Signs of spring as Easter arrives

Columns

Spring comes in spits and sputters. A beautiful sun-basted day is followed by howling northwest wind, followed by snow/rain, followed by south wind, leading to a beautiful sun-basted day. Winter is slow to let go its grip. March can be unsure of its season. But it is April. Spring will win out. So much is going on out our doors. A green tint slowly colors the Earth. There are chirps and calls of birds we haven’t heard for months. They are returning from winter homes. Welcome back! I lifted a stone and hundreds of ants scurried about, unsure why their dark workspace was suddenly ...

The weight of leadership

Letters

To the editor: U.S. Rep (Brad) Finstad’s newsletter again demonstrated an appalling use of rhetoric and misinformation. Blaming Senate Democrats for “recklessness”, “game playing” and “chaos” is a prime example of misinformation and “political games”. No one asked to shut down DHS. No one asked to shut down ICE. They ask for professional and Constitutional behavior from all federal employees — a minimum ask for the use of our tax dollars. Responsibility and leadership come with a high expectation of honesty. The minuscule percentage of the “worst of the ...

Trump never actually had a plan

Columns

When President Trump spoke at the Saudi Future Investment Initiative on Friday, he offered a pristine example of what he calls "the weave." What detractors take for incontinent verbal rambling is, in his own telling, genius-level embroidery of a rhetorical mosaic. While spinning his tapestry ...