Opinion

Answering patient questions about measles

As multiple outbreaks of the measles have popped up across the United States, so too have the number of internet searches about the measles virus. When it comes to your health and the health of your loved ones, it’s important to separate fact from fiction. Here are a few frequently asked questions about the measles, with answers from Avera experts: How contagious is measles? Measles is one of the most contagious of any known viral infection. It is more contagious than smallpox, tuberculosis or Ebola. It has an attack rate of 90%, meaning about nine out of 10 susceptible people can ...

Dealing with pedophilia

As I watch the news, there appear to be many people from other countries, in addition to our own citizens, who are in trouble for sexual crimes against children. It is a more prevalent problem than we would like to believe. It is, and has been, a problem nationally and locally. People who do these things frequently have pedophilia. What is that? Pedophilia involves a persistent sexual interest in children, up to and including the age of 12. That interest can include sexual thoughts, fantasies, arousal and also acting on those thoughts and fantasies. They may have no interest in ...

Love has no expiration date

Dear Annie: I’m 65 years old, and after years of focusing on everything and everyone else, I finally feel ready to date again. The only problem is -- I’m not sure how to go about it, or if it’s even realistic at my age. I’ll be honest: I have not been the best judge of character in the past. That makes me extra cautious now, especially when it comes to online dating. Every time I fill out one of those profiles, it feels less like I’m opening myself up to love and more like I’m filling out a job application. Between the high expectations, the endless questionnaires and the ...

What do you like about music?

A festival of sail

My wife and I knew we were in the right place because embossed on our hotel room’s throw pillows were the words, “I like big boats and cannot lie.” As if to drive that message home, a mighty air horn blared outside our hotel. Even though it was a quarter of a mile away, the horn was loud enough to loosen your toenails. I watched in awe as a 1,000-foot-long ore boat slid beneath the aerial lift bridge at a speed that could be nautically described as “super-duper slow.” Big boats indeed! And that was just an appetizer. We were in Duluth, Minnesota recently for the city’s ...

Affirmative Action the reason for lack of experience in top-level positions

To the editor: I recently read a news article about why things went wrong in the performance of U.S. Secret Service at the Butler, Pennsylvania assassination attempt on Trump. It was noted that “pre-existing issues in leadership and training created an environment” in which the failures could occur, like giving significant responsibilities to Secret Service personnel with little to no experience in advanced planning roles. It also noted a lack of coordination and planning between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners.”  In my employment experience, “little to ...