The annual sheep haircuts occurred this week, the earliest we’ve ever done them, and not a moment too soon. With the new miniature flock I brought home recently scheduled to start lambing in just under a month, it was either shear now, or wait until after lambing.

Last week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to be one of eight people from Cheyenne River Reservation who were invited to attend National Tribal Training Week in Anniston, AL. What started out as a week of training with FEMA at the Center for Domestic Preparedness turned into a week of enlightenment.

Transitioning to become a parent can be one of the most pivotal changes in a person’s life. Rarely are the hard moments of this change talked about enough. For example, did you know 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men suffer from postpartum depression? Parents of any culture, race, age, or income level can be affected. We commonly hear and get confused about postpartum depression being the “baby blues.” This is a common misconception. The baby blues are very common and happen to 80% of women in postpartum. This occurs within the first few days and lasts a few weeks. The baby blues will usually go away with rest and time.

When I first started getting serious about raising sheep, I knew I wanted a fiber flock. I’d been a knitter for years, and had spent enough time drooling over yarn in specialty yarn shops to know how surprisingly versatile and engaging different types of wool can be. More importantly, however, I’d realized after falling in love with my first bum lambs that raising sheep to be sold primarily for meat was not going to work for my very tender heart.

This little set of prairie towns can be very lonely if you are new A hundred people can gather together and no one will talk to you But this big man with the gentle smile would always walk my way And ask about my wife and kids in the most engaging way Turns out it wasn’t only me who A.J. did this to He took an interest in lots of folks…it’s just what he would do He had a mischief in his eyes, under the surface…and just out of sight He’d bust out that million-dollar smile whenever the time was right This grinning man of mischief spoke so easily with young and old Over tales embellished a hundred times with his many friends of old Like the rest of us he had his ups and his share of down times too But the down times never defined him and his family helped him through He made our parades much better, he gave generously again and again He cut the deck with the best among us…a real man among the men I don’t think if you pressed him, he would admit he was as smart as he was He kept a wealth of knowledge under his vest but wasn’t seeking the applause To be an interesting man with an interesting life, so respected by his peers He showed it’s not how long you live in life…it is the life lived in your years To live as he did, surrounded by friends…his great partner and friend at his side To have a family that he loved so much is to score 100 on an eight-second ride I am honored to have known this man…and so sad to write this epitaph To this big man with the gentle smile and a soul so willing to laugh

Hello from week eight of the 2024 Legislative Session. We are getting down to the wire to debate the rest of the legislation on the docket as we also consider appropriations bills.

Last week, I turned in the manuscript for my next book. It will be a compilation of columns spanning the decade I’ve spent writing these weekly missives to you all. In some ways it will be the easiest book I’ll ever write seeing as it was already written before I even began. On the other hand, it did take ten years.

Prices are going up everywhere. As much as we hate to add to your financial burdens, prices are going up at your newspaper, too.

To the Editor: I was rereading the “Critical Condition” article that was in the February 8th paper. I must admit, I got upset reading the article. I did not sit down to write this letter until I cooled off a bit myself. Then as I reread the article, I find I am still just as upset as I was the first time I read the article. As I have been having conversations with others on the ambulance crew, they are upset as well.

Twenty years ago, I left New York City to move “home” to Minnesota. I put home in quotes because Minnesota was where I went to high school, but at that point I’d lived on the East Coast almost twice that long. Where was home? I wasn’t sure.