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The secret to long marriage

Letters

To the editor: As we were celebrating our 58th wedding anniversary this past August, the waitress in the restaurant asked what our secret was to staying together for many years? JoAnn and I both agreed that “thinking of the other person before thinking about yourself” is what makes it work. Just think if all people would follow through on this idea, we would have less violence, hatred and more compassion for others. Do I always do this? No. Does the good Lord ask this of me? Yes. Tom Green Morgan

Unleashing prosperity through regulation

Letters

To the editor: In his 9/5/25 email to constituents, Rep. Finstad says he “was proud to be joined by Rep. Michelle Fischbach in welcoming EPA Administrator, Lee Zeldin, to southern Minnesota for a tour of Christensen Farms.” Under Zeldin, the EPA is busy “unleashing prosperity through deregulation.” Finstad is relieved that the EPA nixed a proposed rule that would have revised the 2004 wastewater treatment standards for meat and poultry processors. He expressed gratitude that the EPA “would not impose additional wastewater discharge regulations on processing ...

No claim after decades together

Columns

Dear Annie: My husband and I have been together for 34 years, married for 25 of them. We both brought children from previous marriages into the relationship; he has two and I have two. A week before our wedding, he surprised me with a prenuptial agreement. I had no time to consult an attorney. The choice was to sign or cancel the wedding. At the time, he owned three properties, and I owned none. One of those properties became our marital home, where we have lived for the past 33 years. I always wanted us to buy or build a home together, but he insisted we already had “our” home. ...

Trump’s promised a golden age

Letters

To the editor: Donald Trump focused on the economy throughout his campaign. He blamed Democrats for the slow post COVID economic recovery, riding to the presidency on promises of an immediate Golden Age. Instead, Trump’s policies have worsened the finances of most Americans. The nation’s job numbers went from lackluster in Trump’s first three months to dangerous levels over the summer. By August the labor market lost 13,000 jobs. The first negative job report since the COVID damaged economy of December 2020. For consumers there are other signs of serious trouble. Trump’s ...

Unwanted attention lingering doubts

Columns

Dear Annie: I have been married to my wife for 25 years, and overall, we have a strong, trusting relationship. But something happened recently that I cannot seem to shake, and it has been gnawing at me more than I would like to admit. My wife’s best friend’s husband, whom I will call “Charlie,” came to her with a very strange request. He told her that a mutual acquaintance of his, “Carl,” a man with a reputation as a ladies’ man, had asked him to approach my wife on his behalf and see if she would be interested in going out with him. According to my wife, she told Charlie ...

Dealing with girlfriend grief

Columns

I was beset with numerous challenges back when I was a beginning dairy farmer. There were the ho-hum things such as wrestling with finances and farming with rickety, worn-out machinery. But there were also some really important issues like formulating the precise mixture of junk to haul around in the box of my pickup. All of those pale in comparison to the biggest challenge I faced as young farmer: procuring a girlfriend. My procurement system worked like this: I would saunter up to a pair of Possible Future Girlfriend candidates and dazzle them with my smooth banter. “Hi,” I ...