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What a tangled web is being woven in South Dakota. We're talking the state's attorney general and impeachment. Impeachment has happened but the matter is ongoing. I address the matter on my "Morris Mojo" podcast. What a mess for all concerned. It was more than a mess for the family of Joe Boever, the victim in the traffic collision. Here is the permalink for my podcast episode:
Moving on to another matter, I can share about area newspaper circulation for you. This is from an email I sent to a friend from church the other day:
Randy Olson of "Bonanza Valley" writes about Morris newspaper:
What's so sad about that is that their newspaper covers 2 school districts and just cannot be doing a good job of it, when you're constantly dividing up your pages to serve two separate and distinct communities. So their circulation is about 1,800 each week. This figure was over 3,000 with the combined totals for the Hancock Record and Morris Sun Tribune in the year 2015 according to my records. Their circulation has plummeted!!
In a follow-up email from Randy:
After the (Morris-Hancock) merger they stood at the 2,186 figure I found for October 2018.
Some time after that 2018 audit, the sale to the Anfinsons took place.
They've struggled in the last 3 years and fallen to a circulation of 1,807.
In defense of the Anfinsons, the environment for newspapers has been utterly brutal in 2020 and 2021.
Re. the Willmar newspaper, from Randy:
Their circulation figures have dropped by a shocking amount.
In October 2018 their circulation was 9,132.
Three years later, that figure dropped to 5,055 !!!!!! Let that sink in for a moment.
NOTE FROM YOURS TRULY, BRIAN WILLIAMS:
My blogging about Tiger sports may be nearing an end. My information sources are drying up. The Willmar paper has been a primary one. But of course they have withdrawn almost completely from Morris. Sometimes if a team in their territory plays Morris, we might see individual game stats, but it's very hit-and-miss. Imagine, Jackson Loge not on All-Area Team! Mark Torgerson put his individual stats on Maxpreps after each game, but when he's gone I doubt very much the new person will do that. Most likely I put Mark on to Maxpreps several years ago. Those stats aided me a lot. So, what's left now? Well, the radio station website. And that's very helpful but the game summaries tend to be very brief. But that website is the best local source now. The newspaper website is a "teaser" site, little current value on anything, almost none. Click on sports and you'll see about 90 percent UMM. And UMM has its own thorough sports website. Of course the "print" Morris paper only comes out once a week - obvious timeliness problems. (Name of former Morris school administrator, withheld) would have a cow about that, would use foul language.
Remember, people will have to pay $2 for the Morris paper at the stores, starting May 1. People will have to start adjusting their behavior due to inflation, at some point. So many people are screaming now for the Fed to raise interest rates. Even Jamie Dimon! But the Fed just sits there.
Hop-scotching to another topic
Whither the economy? Whither our investments? Whither banks? I invite you to read a portion of the email I sent to Jim Morrison the other day. Hey, how about inflation?
Jim - So inflation is now 8.5 percent as of this morning. But market is going up because of belief that "inflation has peaked." Like you once said: good news is good news and bad news is good news. There is always an up side for market-watchers. The quarter-point interest rate increase has meant nothing. CD interest rates haven't budged. Some articles online are trying to interpret why. Are we forever past the times when you could really get paid interest on savings, even a passbook account? A one-year CD? Why would anyone even inquire about that now?
One by one these Fed officials are becoming household names. Started with Powell and now it's Bullard and Brainard. Plus Janet Yellin has the grandma image with her white hair. But when I was young, I couldn't have told you anything about the Fed. And now, they appear to govern our prosperity 100 percent. But aren't people going to start getting scared of inflation? When people can't get interest on savings accounts, might that push them to personal bankruptcy sooner? Along with the higher prices we are all having to pay? And then, more people will have to apply to the government for help, right? You have to pay your bills.
But the Fed has to "keep the punch bowl out," and "stay accommodative." Wouldn't it be mean to stop doing those things. The Fed knew they were wrong when they used the word "transitory." So why did they do it?
Why don't more people speak out about property taxes? We have this infernal "softball complex" on east edge of Morris which we don't even need. The sports monster rules, cannot be stopped.
Hop-scotching to music
I wrote song lyrics about Donald Trump a while back, will not have song recorded, will share lyrics as poetry here. It does have a melody. My feelings about Trump have grown more harsh since. Not sure if I could write a "light" song about him now. But I invite you to read, and thanks.
"He Won the Highest Office"
by Brian Williams
We thought we knew him from TV
But don't you know it's just not real
He played the role of rich guy
So we just went along
And look how far the ruse went on
He took the escalator ride
With wife Melania at his side
So now we knew his vision
Was far beyond the tube
He must have thought we all were rubes
CHORUS:
He won the highest office
And made his home the White House
Though he did not get more votes
He still felt his oats
He won the highest office
The biggest scandals he withstood
Just look at Access Hollywood
You might say he was Teflon
'Cause nothing ever stuck
So poor ol' Jeb was out of luck
He had a Stormy dalliance
We knew it was not real romance
She had a sexy body
I guess that's what they say
And Mr. Trump would have to pay
(repeat chorus)
No matter what he said and did
He had his flock of loyalists
For every tweet at midnight
No matter how uncouth
He got applause from all his crew
He had the virus on his plate
He thought injecting bleach might rate
Or shine a little UV
It might just do the job
We could not keep a straight face long
(repeat chorus)
He did not like the Russia probe
To that he took a fire hose
But why was he so cozy
With Vladimir his bro
Will we discover why it's so?
His re-election bid was stopped
Despite his claims of voter fraud
So he enlisted Rudy
To scare up quite the fuss
We never saw the kraken once
(repeat chorus)
And then the end was getting near
Would MAGA simply disappear?
He built up their conviction
To disrupt all they could
So they tore up the neighborhood
We saw the shaman with his horns
Would it become a perfect storm?
It seemed more like a circus
Befitting Mr. Trump
We can be sure he ate it up
(repeat chorus)
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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