Candles and Mirrors

This week the Topic welcomes a new columnist, DeAnn Kruempel, who shares stories and memories in a series she calls “Candles and Mirrors.”Kruempel began writing columns in 2020 under the heading, “Nooks and Crannies.

The Pitfall of Worry

Everyone is conditioned to worry. Our conditioning begins as soon as we learn to speak. Since we see everyone around us worrying, we emulate their behavior. There are no limits to what you worry about. You worry about the past. You worry about the present. You worry about the future.

Stray Thoughts: Coming Home

Imagine for a moment that the old lady next to you once had lightning-fast reflexes and was someone other teams feared going head-to-head against… a fierce competitor and a highly competitive athlete.

LETTER... The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

To the Editor, It’s been quite the year as Dewey County Emergency Manager. I’ve had the opportunity to walk amongst first responders, stand before leaders, help educate children and adults, sat with those who needed to be heard and listened to. To say it’s been an experience is an understatement.

Prairie Doc: Adoption – It’s complicated

My personal connection with adoption began nearly 30 years ago. As my mentor Dr. Holm and I hurried to the hospital, he told me about the child he and his wife Joanie had recently adopted.Rick loved being a father, even more, it seems to me, than he loved being a doctor.

Let God show you

I think I did most things right. I prepped the soil in my planters, added potting soil, topsoil, and Miracle Gro , which is pretty fancy for around here.Yet, most of my veggies did not grow.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

When I was a kid, my family spent as much of our summer vacation as possible at a tiny cabin in the woods of Northern Michigan. Growing up we called it a cottage, but we might also have called it a hut. It had NO amenities–not even running water.

Backpacks and back to school?

School is back in session so it is time for a little pop quiz. What is an item that almost every student carries? If you said backpack you are off to a great start. Do you know what it takes to be at the head of the class?

Leaving our rural community better than we found it

When I was a child, my mom ingrained in me the mantra: “Whatever you do, leave it better than you found it.”That statement resonates daily in my work as a community coach with rural leaders.

Stray Thoughts: Cognitive Dissonance

Have you ever been alone in a room full of people, where everyone there had a different impression of what had been or was occurring than you did, but that you saw with your own eyes the truth of what you professed and they had not?