COLUMNS

MARILYN HAGERTY: On Syttende mai, an Uff da for the closing of the Bronze Boot

Dear Shirley, Even though we are Danish, I have to admit that the Norwegians think of everything. This is Syttende mai — the Norwegian Independence Day — and they are serving lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at their lodge at 1401 Ninth Ave. S. in Grand Forks.

By Marilyn Hagerty , May 16, 2012

RYAN BAKKEN COLUMN: Minnesota legislators score a TD with stadium vote

This is great news for diehard Vikings fans. This is even better news for people who ridicule the grape Kool-Aid drinkers. Like me.

By Ryan Bakken , May 14, 2012

LLOYD OMDAHL: Legislature can, should adjust schedule

The outdated biennial legislative system is not serving the state very well today, nor will it in the future.

By Lloyd Omdahl , May 14, 2012

ALWAYS IN SEASON: The fits and starts of bird migration

Spring migration proceeds in fits and starts, delivering half a dozen new species one day and none the next, and producing new species in one place and not in another.

By Mike Jacobs , May 13, 2012

RYAN BAKKEN: More than walleyes offered as tourism options

I grew up one block from The World’s Largest Oxcart, Crookston’s No. 1 tourist attraction for decades. Even as a grade-schooler, I was baffled why travelers were lured off U.S. Highway 2 to this oxcart-on-steroids.

By Ryan Bakken , May 12, 2012

ANN BAILEY: Mother’s Day brings back many memories

Today, Mother’s Day, seems like a good time to reflect on my mom. Though she died in September, there isn’t a day that goes by that I am not reminded of her, not once but many times, or that someone who knew her doesn’t mention to me how much they miss her.

By Ann Bailey , May 12, 2012

PRAIRIE GARDENER: Wisconsin botanical garden is a beauty

Beauty, inspiration and education are terms that can be used to describe the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Wisconsin’s capital city. On a recent bus tour, the Prairie Gardener along with 49 others from this region who were headed back home from an East Coast break with Judy’s Leisure Tours of Fargo, had a chance to visit both the outdoor and indoor gardens. With stormy weather possible that day, the choices ensured at least one venue would work.

By Darrel Koehler , May 12, 2012

IN THE SPIRIT: Their circle is unbroken

Last Sunday, after morning Mass and lunch, 10 women returned to the peaceful sanctuary of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in East Grand Forks. They wore identical cross pendants and placed their chairs upfront in a semi-circle. Natalie Mack Wavra no longer joins them, but because of her, this circle of faith, family and friendship will forever be unbroken. In quietness, the prayers began.

By Naomi Dunavan , May 11, 2012

SOCIAL SECURITY Q & A: Unexpected payments raise questions

Q. After retiring in 2011, I started my Social Security this year and work part time. Recent-ly, I received unexpected earnings from work done last year, before I retired, that will put my 2012 earnings over annual earnings test amounts. Will I have to return some of my 2012 Social Security benefits?

By Howard Kossover , May 11, 2012

DOUG LEIER: It’s time of year when thoughts turn to fishing

It’s hard to believe when I glance at the calendar that it’s May, and not June or maybe July. The early arrival of spring-like temperatures after a mild winter can do that. So, while open water fishing has been viable since mid-March, between work, school and other responsibilities, not everyone has yet made their initial fishing excursion.

By Doug Leier , May 10, 2012

OUR OPINION: Here’s hoping the Boot stays alive and kicking

As the world now knows, Herald columnist Marilyn Hagerty sometimes writes in “North Dakota Nice” code. If she devotes most of her column to a restaurant’s napkins, decor, parking and other nonessentials, that might be because she’s too polite to write about the food. But no one has needed codebooks to understand Marilyn’s columns about the Bronze Boot.

By Tom Dennis , May 10, 2012

MARILYN HAGERTY: Moose are scarce; Mattracks move gingerly around Karlstad

You go north on Interstate 29 until you get to Drayton, N.D. You take a right and keep going east on Highway 11 until you hit Karlstad, Minn. You aren’t in Karlstad long before you realize the biggest show in town is the Mattracks factory. Well, that and Wiktel Co., run by the Wikstrom family. It serves much of northwest Minnesota. Matt Brazier, 31, was 12 years old when he drew a picture of rubber tracks on tires and asked his father, Glen Brazier, if they could do that. He said they could. They did. And now there is a factory in Karlstad that employs 50 people.

By Marilyn Hagerty , May 10, 2012

OUR OPINION: Rural post offices get welcome reprieve

This one’s worth delivering overnight: Put an Express Mail stamp on the Postal Service’s latest plan, and drop it off at the nearest post office. Which, it looks like, will be kept open after all, thanks to the promising new plan.

By Tom Dennis , May 09, 2012

MARILYN HAGERTY: A week to drink water and sing in shower

Since last I wrote you, I have been out and about. I have been up to Karlstad, Minn., to check out their beautiful new Nordhem restaurant. And I have been to St. Thomas, N.D., to have tea in the historic Garnett House. These people like to hear about my going viral in March. And for me, the best part of all my viral escapades is sharing the experiences with friends who read the Herald right here in this area. They are the people who matter the most to me.

By Marilyn Hagerty , May 09, 2012

THE EATBEAT: North Side Cafe is home-style cooking kind of place

The tomato soup I ordered was good. It had that homemade quality with chunks of tomato in a milky base. The meatloaf sandwich was very large and a little too heavy on the salt.

By Marilyn Hagerty , May 09, 2012