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Money matters

Columns

Dear Annie: My sister “Kendra” and I are not very close and only communicate two to three times per year, mainly in emails. Kendra sold her home and moved out of state. Through our sibling, I heard that she listed her house high to begin with and had to come down on her price in the end but made a decent amount on it. I never commented on how much she made or didn’t make on her old house; I felt that was absolutely none of my business. When she moved and posted pictures of her new house, I commented that I was happy for her. Fast-forward to me selling my home a year or so later. ...

Awkward arrangement with husband

Columns

Dear Annie: I’ve been reading your column for a long time, and I admire how reasonable and nonjudgmental your advice seems to be. My husband and I were childhood sweethearts. We are currently separated, and I am concerned that this might lead to divorce. This is my second marriage. We have two children. Our first child was born in February 2016, and my husband decided to quit his job of 17 years to stay home with the baby and me while I healed. We were married a few months later, in June 2016. I returned to work that September, but not my husband. He hasn’t worked a real job -- ...

Dealing with older age depression

Columns

Depression in older adults can have some serious consequences. For many people their first bout with depression begins in later life. They may deny or minimize the depressed feelings, but still display the symptoms of depression such as changes in the way they think, developing physical problems, or lose interest in previous interests and activities. Sleep issues or insomnia can also be a marker. People with late-life depression may complain of fatigue, slow thinking, slower physical movements, express loss of interest in living, and voice hopelessness about their future. Complaints ...

Grüße aus Ulm!

Columns

Greetings from Ulm! Thank you to the Sister-Cities Commission of New Ulm for facilitating the Hans Joohs Exchange. I am about seven weeks into my 12-weeks stay in Ulm, Germany. Below is my first article, of three, for the New Ulm Journal about this wonderful experience. It has been said ...

Waste - what is the definition?

Letters

To the editor: Mr (U.S. Rep. Brad) Finstad said he is proud to vote for the Recessions Act as an act to eliminate “waste”. Perhaps I don’t understand the waste in SNAP and Public Media. I understand fraud and improved efforts to see financial assistance gets to the people who need it. I understand focused funding to provide priority educational efforts. Perhaps I need the definition of waste used by Mr Finstad in this context. Perhaps Mr Finstad didn’t mean to use the word “waste”. But he did. What else is a “waste”? What else can we look forward to being ...

Enjoying some Duluth delights

Columns

The city of Duluth demands only the best. It wasn’t good enough for the town to be located on a Great Lake; it also insisted on being on the shores of the one named Superior. Striving for the best has enabled Duluth to hold their biennial Festival of Sail. My wife and I are enchanted by the romance and adventure of old-fashioned sailing ships, so we motored to Duluth to swash some buckle. The tall sailboats looked like prickly caterpillars when they were moored with their sails stowed. But when they were on the harbor under full sail, they were butterflies, floating gracefully and ...