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Celebrate today

There is a celebration for every day of the year if you are looking for something to celebrate. I hope the daily celebrations for the upcoming week make you smile or maybe facilitate a trip to the library to look for a book to help you celebrate the day in style. Sun. Oct. 1 International Coffee Day and National Homemade Cookie Day. What could be better than a homemade cookie and a cup of coffee on a Sunday? A couple of titles to help are “The New Rules of Coffee: A Modern Guide for Everyone” by Jordan Michelman (641.3373 Michelm) and “Fabulous Modern Cookies: Lessons in Better ...

PBS boasts slate of new shows unaffected by strikes, which it hopes will draw viewers in

NEW YORK — PBS was looking forward to a relatively free lane to offer fresh television to viewers downtrodden by the Hollywood strikes this fall, but that advantage may only last a couple of months now. A tentative deal reached late Sunday in the crippling TV writers strike, with hopes that actors would soon follow suit, has given rise to hopes that new episodes of favorite scripted shows might return sometime this winter. With commercial networks largely bereft of fresh material beyond reality shows, sports and game shows, PBS has a fall schedule of new programming, including a ...

The beauty of nature inspires Royal Dux vase

When we reach the Autumn Equinox, summer is officially over. That doesn’t mean you have to put sunshine and vacation fun entirely out of your mind. Isn’t that what mementos and souvenirs are for? Take this shell-shaped porcelain vase, which sold for $2,460 at Morphy Auctions. Even though it’s not a real shell, it can evoke beach trips and the serenity that comes with them. It was made by Royal Dux, the collector’s nickname for Duxer Porzellanmanufaktur, founded in Dux, Bohemia (now Duchov, Czech Republic), in 1860. This porcelain factory is best known for its art ...

Off the Shelf

We’re looking forward to a busy autumn at the library. The Library Board’s Strategic Planning Committee continues to work on writing our new strategic plan. The committee is currently working on forming goals and objectives. The goals and objectives we set will be the overarching framework we will use when determining which actions we’ll take during the next 5-7 years to deliver on our mission and vision. The committee will next meet on Monday, September 25 at 2 p.m. Please reach out to Library Director April Ide at 507-359-8331 if you are interested in learning more about this ...

Jessica Knoll’s novel ‘Bright Young Women’ is an ode to victims and survivors of Ted Bundy’s crimes

“Luckiest Girl Alive” author Jessica Knoll’s latest novel was inspired by Ted Bundy’s murders of two sorority sisters at Florida State University in 1978. Media coverage often mentions Bundy’s so-called charm and good looks as an oxymoron to his crimes. Instead of romanticizing the killer, Knoll’s “Bright Young Women” is a tribute to victims and survivors. A docu-series about Bundy on Netflix called “ Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” was the impetus for the novel. Knoll was floored by an episode that included the judge’s description of Bundy at ...

When old styles becomes new styles

With its carved giltwood trim and rich velvet upholstery, this sofa would look right at home among the opulent Baroque and extravagant Rococo styles of the 18th century. It was made much more recently, in fact; by Jumbo Collection, a contemporary Italian furniture company that was founded in 1985. It sold for $1,188 at a Hindman auction. Contemporary Italian furniture may be associated with postmodern, avant-garde trends like Radical Design, Studio Alchimia and Memphis, but older styles are always coming back. Rococo style was revived, like many other past design styles, in the 19th ...