Around the world in 80 years

There is a conversation I want to have with my children. Both of our kids are at the right age… out of high school and in college but not already claimed by another.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

I’ve shared before in this column the story of my family’s move from Michigan to Minnesota when I was a kid. Our modest backyard bordered an expansive wetland, a not uncommon feature in an eastern Minnesota suburb.

Doppelganger

I was dining recently in a Chinese restaurant and saw, twenty feet from me, a person who to my discerning eyes, from that position, looked very much like my own brother.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

The kids and I just got back from spending a week in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. We camped by a mountain lake, visited family and friends, my son got to go to his first-ever summer day camp, and my daughter got a chance to find out what it feels like to be a part time only child.

Stray Thoughts: The Lap of Luxury

Have you ever thought about the products that are a part of your millennial kid’s world? Multiple containers of gels, balms, and potions disguised as beauty products populate their world.

The Spirit of ’76: Protecting us against the Putin Playbook

As we gather to celebrate Independence Day, it’s a good time to reflect on how our most fundamental freedoms have served this nation well. It’s an even better time to think about what would happen if those liberties were taken away. Sadly, the latter doesn’t take much imagination in 2022.

Little Pasture on the Prairie

Yesterday night, standing with my husband on the front porch watching rain-swollen storm clouds roll toward us from the west, I said aloud, “It doesn’t even feel like we are in the same country as last year, does it?” “No,” he said, and chuckled.

Modern miracle of baby formula

For the past few months, I’ve been fielding questions about the baby formula crisis. Make no mistake, the shortage of baby formula is indeed a crisis. Babies are delicate.

Celebrating Dads on Father’s Day

My Dad, Kyle Nilson By Garrett Nilson In honor of Father’s Day, I wanted to acknowledge how great my dad is. My dad, Kyle, does many things. He is a wonderful dad to me and my sisters. For work, he is a Dewey County Sheriff’s Deputy as well as an EMT. He volunteers a lot when he isn’t working.

Stray Thoughts

Community (For Donnie) A community is defined as a group of individuals with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society.