High school football opener must be soon

Technology is all about changing old habits. Normally I'd consult the school calendar to see when the high school football opener is. The hard copy calendar no longer has sports info. There's a referral in there for how to find the info online. Probably a very simple process.
Very often, necessity forces us to learn. I was forced to adopt debit cards when a local bank had trouble coming up with cash to provide me one day. Surely the Tiger football opener is coming up soon. Sometimes in the past I have consulted the "Minnesota Scores" website for schedule and background info. Probably I'll check there to see if the new schedules are posted. I believe the old "Pheasant Country Sports" site has been discontinued.
The fact that sports is gone from our "on paper" school calendar is a signal, I feel, that the whole paper calendar is on the way out. You're probably looking at the last one. School can save money by skipping this. The yanking of the sports info was sort of a mean trick to pull on the businesses that buy advertising in the school calendar.
So, is the 2019 football opener home or away? I don't buy game tickets. I'll pass by Big Cat Stadium on home opener night out of curiosity to see the amount of community interest. Brace yourselves, because I'm about to say that I hope community interest diminishes. If you've ever sampled my writing before, you know why. The primary reason is student safety, the safety of the students who choose to play the dangerous game of football.
 
Knowledge builds
There is an August 20 article on the Minnpost site by Susan Perry, that adds to the constant disturbing flow of news about football. The headline is "Routine hits to the head, not just concussions, may cause brain damage in football players, study finds."
Information of this type began rolling out long ago. The sensible reaction would be for us to put aside football in our lives and seek a replacement.
Put aside football? It seems a rather shocking suggestion. Surely we'd have a void on weekends, wouldn't we? We feed the beast of football with our interest. The sport can only become diminished when we discontinue our interest. Locally that means we should stop supporting the high school and college programs. UMM has well-developed soccer programs to fill any void. High school has volleyball which is for the girls. Well congratulations to the girls. They're engaged in a safe sport, one that leaves them unscathed by the time they're done.
We used to talk about girls being disadvantaged when it came to sports. I mean, disadvantaged to the extent they didn't have any! And then when it got going, it had to proceed through developmental steps. The law helped ensure that this development would go the whole way, and it has.
We depend on Democratic politicians for this sort of thing, not Republicans. Republicans are happy once it's all over. They are happy that their own daughters benefit. But society can never depend on Republicans to get the ball rolling with this sort of fundamental change.
We are left with the old football model for boys. They are treated like gladiators. We suggest to them that football is a badge of manhood. Boys must show how "tough" they are. I doubt that today's young people are much impressed by these notions.
There have been halting steps away from the old "macho" model, such as less contact in practice. The halting steps forward are not nearly enough of course. Enlightenment will not have been gained until we take the obviously needed stop of eliminating the sport. Surely the sport is not essential.
Susan Perry's August 20 article was prompted by a study in the journal "Science Advances." She quotes the author saying "public perception is that the big hits are the only ones that matter." Author Brad Mahon advises a closer look. He writes that "the public is missing what's likely causing the long-term damage in players' brains. It's not just the concussions. It's everyday hits too."
Mahon is adding to the research but the findings are nothing really new. We have heard a lot about "sub-concussive hits." I don't know how many more times I'll have to write about this. I'd love to be surprised as I stop at Big Cat Stadium early in the fall, surprised to see greatly diminished interest. Wouldn't it be wonderful if no fans at all showed up? That's only a dream at this point. The phasing out of football will be like turning a barge around in a river.
The fans are safe from the injuries. We have spent so much of our lives enjoying football. In theory it would be easy erasing this entertainment and finding something else. Surely it would be easy for the boys to find other outlets. And that's a problem too: a sport associated totally with "boys." It seems outdated. Too dangerous for girls? Well it's too dangerous for boys too.
 
Other considerations too
And there's more than the health angle, as I see it. There is the general cultural angle, the whole idea that our towns need to compete with each other. We live in an increasingly mobile society. We don't draw lines between communities anymore, or see them as isolated islands. High school kids of a particular town ought to see their peers in nearby towns as friends and compatriots as they prepare to embark on adult life. Not as rivals.
What does it prove when a team of athletes can overwhelm a sports rival? I remember watching a Tiger game at Big Cat, on one of those occasions where we lost, and it was clear we were just being worn down toward the end. I thought it was sad. There was no need for our boys' self-esteem to be chafed at.
The physical prowess involved in football says nothing about your character or intelligence - nothing. The helmet you wear provides only the illusion of protection. A helmet! How stupid.
I could suggest another reason why I feel football ought to fade, to disappear. And here I'll quote from an unlikely source. It's not just an online comment, it's a response to a comment! You never know where you'll find wisdom. The comments are below an article on the decline of football participation in California.
The article suggests that parents' fears of injury are a main factor. But a response supplies some sage additional perspective. Please heed: "It's not that they are not playing for fear of injury. They're not playing because technology has given more things to do with less work. They don't want to work that hard, goes for all sports."
One could expound much further on the point made here, how it permeates many areas of our general lifestyle. Football might be seen as a relic from a time when "labor" was generally unpleasant. Such jobs are still with us of course. But tech enables us to get from point 'A' to 'B' so much more efficiently. We grasp work differently. Hours of sweating away on the football practice field just doesn't seem as admirable anymore. It's just a questionable way of spending one's time.
For what it is worth I will plea: Stay home from the MACA football opener. Send a message with your absence. The school administration will listen, I assure you. I think they'd be happier in a world without football than with it. Let them know it's OK to think like this.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Are we in flux locally and nationally?

Church attendance seemed pretty sparse Sunday. The people in the pews are most agreeable folks. Mention the limited numbers and the response is predictable for this community. "It's summer." In other words, you know how it is in Morris.
It's hopeless?  That's what people are pretty clearly indicating. They do this with a shrug. No big deal? "No big deal" is part of the vernacular of Minnesotans. It's a cousin to "heckuva deal" which is a back door, non-commital way of acknowledging that something is big. It's a way of staying calm and encouraging perspective, because in Minnesota the really big deals have to do with coping with weather. If we can do that, we reason, life is a pipe.
Seems like we only got about three weeks of true summer this year. The belated onset of pleasant weather caused me to delay planting my zinnias three weeks. I'm delighted to announce they came up fine anyway. Please drive along Northridge Drive and take a look. But the late planting was an issue along with our abnormally wet summer.
Figuratively speaking, it seems as though tumbleweeds blow through this town in summer. There seems no sense of panic about it. We have pulled the plug on our longstanding Prairie Pioneer Days in summer. My concerns about this appear not to be shared. Well that's fine - I'm an outlier, but I do have vivid memories of when the summer festival was genuinely vibrant. Aren't my memories shared? Are too many of you just fixated on "going to the lake" in summer?
Well congratulations if that's your outlet, but it's not an outlet chosen by everyone. I once discussed this lake fixation with friend Donnie Eich. We were kindred spirits, as we felt no special affinity with lake activity.
 
Morris lake history
Perkins Lake north of Morris was once a hub of genuine lake activity. I am belated in writing about that very important chapter of Morris area history: the lake fun complete with its roller rink! Sometime in the near future I will share at least one blog post about this.
Perkins was past its prime for this fun when my family came to Morris. It was still a place for swimming lessons. It appears the water has become less clean through the years.
Many married couples owed their first meeting to the Perkins Lake hub of activity, and again I'll remind that there is rather irritating ambiguity about the lake name. The sign at the public access has welcomed people to "Pomme de Terre Lake." So is it Perkins or Pomme de Terre? I tried raising the issue in my writing several years ago, but my cries are faint.
The Pomme de Terre Lake chain is a series of three lakes only it seems more like two. One must often differentiate between Pomme de Terre and the city park with the same name just east of Morris. "Pomme de Terre City Park" is on the dam reservoir, a body of water which was once known as "Lake Chrissey," named for a civic VIP. Clarification on place names would be nice someday. Someday. Morris is not a real fired-up place.
 
Trends with churches
And now we're shrugging shoulders over sparse church attendance in August. Well, "it's summer." Summer in Motown when we might imagine tumbleweeds, eh? So we merely shrug. We could dissect churches and see if there's something afoot affecting behavior. And unfortunately this discussion turns political.
I attend a mainstream Protestant church. Is that OK? Anyway, we received a flyer Sunday that included, among other things, announcement of the ELCA's resolution of being a "sanctuary church body," which means that we have humanitarian, Christ-like values.
That's pretty edgy in the age of Trump. I suppose it puts us at loggerheads with the local Apostolics who sometimes look as though they're prepared to worship Donald Trump as an extension of divinity. Maybe he's pure divinity. I tend to view him as quite the opposite. But I'm in league with mainstream Protestants who seem rather in retreat, if you just look at the numbers in the church pews.
The momentum is with the Trump crowd and their churches, what might be termed "fundamentalists." The media often talks about "evangelicals" without providing much of a definition, but we can be sure it doesn't include the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
I actually sent an email to Bishop Elizabeth Eaton recently, advising her on how the synod's critics could eventually try to hurt us. Hurt us because of our political affirmations which increasingly are viewed as "progressive." We just don't buy what Trump is trying to sell us, not like the Apostolics or other local zealots. I'd like to see Trump in prison. He is stomping all over the norms that ensure steadiness in our society.
"Conservatives" used to believe in steadiness (and calm) as a pillar of American society. Don't rock the boat. Trump supporters fancy themselves as "conservative" but they put the Weekly Standard out of business. Conservatives are supposed to believe in minimal government. But we have a president who acts every day like he must grab our attention and make us reverential toward him.
My ELCA talks about "discernment of care of our migrant neighbors in our context, and the promise of forthcoming resources for this work."
We live in a confused time when many of us see these as fighting words. I advised Bishop Eaton that if our detractors really want to do us harm - something Mr. Trump never hesitates to do - they could just cite Martin Luther's extreme anti-Semitism. It's so anti-Semitic we ought just excise it from the historical record.
One inflammatory speech from Trump or a sycophant about this, and Lutherans would be thrown on their heels. Might it totally wipe out at least parts of the Lutheran faith, like the ELCA? It could.
Bishop Eaton sent me a thoughtful response in which she made clear the synod has acknowledged the problem and felt shame about it. She shared a link with a formal statement. We try to leave this soiled linen in the past.
A common excuse is that Martin Luther was just getting old and cranky. We might write off this part of Luther's life, the way Trump's people dismiss the memory of John McCain. Can you believe that McCain and then Mitt Romney actually carried the GOP banner in national elections? And now they're on the suspicious fringe in the mind of Trump's loyalists.
I could pray for this country but I'm not much into praying. Maybe we should pray for the Morris community.
 
Addendum: I'll share a quote toward people who would put themselves forward as my adversaries. The quote is from Jesus Christ: "Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."
 
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Checkered background of Morris school district

It was August of 2006, two months after I left the Morris paper, when we learned that a Morris school board member was sentenced to a year of confinement and two years of supervised release. The Stevens County farmer had sold crops he pledged as collateral on ag loans. He was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ann D. Montgomery for selling soybeans he used as collateral to obtain two loans in 2001 totaling more than $212,000.
On his own behalf, the farmer said he "always intended to pay the loans." He obtained two commodity loans from the Farm Service Agency's Commodity Credit Corporation in November of 2001. This information is from the Stevens County Times. The case was investigated by the USDA and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank J. Magill.
The offending individual resigned from the Morris school board in September. Some people thought he should have resigned sooner. The case hovered for a time. I had a conversation with a former school administrator who suggested restraint, giving the old "innocent until proven guilty" argument. I think that was shallow. Did the offending individual even offer a formal plea of innocence? Was it even that kind of case?
Subsequent to the judgment, I remember taking Mom to a holidaytime staff gathering at UMM where I saw this person among employees. I wondered how someone with his record could be in that position.
 
Too much restraint?
I suppose the "judgment pending" argument was also used when our principal a few years back got nailed with four charges of first degree criminal sexual conduct. Well, that was quite the pickle. And to think this involved the high school principal? A person who in the broad sense should set an example with exemplary behavior?
This individual on the hot seat was kept on, due to the "judgment pending" argument, i.e. "innocent until proven guilty." How far can we allow this argument to stretch? The charges against the principal were dropped. How could the prosecutor have been ambivalent about this? If the prosecutor, who was from outside Stevens County, really truly believed that four counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct were justified, why could not he have carried his convictions into trial?
Just think of the kind of media attention such a trial would have attracted. We are lucky that the case did not make it into the Star Tribune. I checked diligently. I even phoned in a tip. My theory is that the wise souls at the Star Tribune exercised their own judgment, concluding the charges were questionable based on the facts of the case.
I personally felt that the known behavior of the principal showed him in a light where the board could have justified severing its ties with him. I know, I know, a lawyer probably cautioned the board against this due to potential legal action the individual might take if - yes - if the charges were dropped.
The legal litmus test ought not be the only one. But I guess a lawyer would demur. If the worst-case scenario played out and the dismissed principal successfully sued, I suppose the lawyer would have his career scarred. Government employees get far more the benefit of the doubt than the poor saps in the private sector. That's unjust.
There is nothing wrong with setting the highest possible standard for people in our schools. Public schools have the enormous power of compelling kids to attend the bricks and mortar institutions, where they are subject to rules and a regimen that can make it seem like prison. I think it can stultify one's whole life.
Today I think the system is getting more generous. It had better get better, since the monopolistic bricks and mortar model is facing competition from alternatives.
 
Moving to the present
I am writing about all this now because we have a new tidbit. A new piece of ignominy that can be pinned to our Morris school district.
We see this headline from the KMRS/KKOK website: "Former school board member to make court appearance." Oh my, what now? So on Monday, this person - I'm withholding names in this post - will make a court appearance. We learn that he was arrested and charged in June on a second degree burglary charge for breaking and entering into a neighbor's house without consent. The neighbor's security camera identified the person in the house. The neighbors said they had locked their narcotics in a filing cabinet because they believed their medications had been disappearing.
I'm wondering why the county attorney felt he had to tell the radio station about the "best case scenario for the defense." Why not just let the defense take care of itself? Why help the media understand or appreciate what maneuvers the defense might attempt? The prosecutor should be focused on the prosecution IMHO. That's his job.
The allegedly offending individual served on the school board from 2005 to 2016. He used to operate a business that now has a "for sale" sign in front. At present he faces a potential felony charge with a maximum penalty of ten years in prison and/or a $20,000 fine.
Why does our school district get dragged through these situations? It's not conducive with having a good community image.
Speaking of community image, it looks like Morris could end up a stone's throw from an ICE detention facility. Those places are concentration camps. We can only hope the public associates Appleton more than Morris.
We heard our nation's president speak at a political rally the other night, for 90 minutes, in a manner conjuring up images of Nuremberg in the rise of you-know-what. How will this all play out?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Change at paper relative to town's economy

Tumbleweeds in the USA heartland?

The sale of the Morris newspaper reflects something that is going on in the Morris area economy. If a chain couldn't make it here with the "synergy" (economic advantages) that a chain can employ, one must wonder if the alternative would offer any advantages.
Maybe the change even reflects what is happening in the nearby Swift County economy. Huh? The new owner of the Morris paper has his professional roots in Benson. I am hearing horror stories about the Swift County economy. There's the theory that the new Morris paper owner seeks diversification from his home base. So we welcome him here.
Assuredly we have the welcome mat out. One must wonder, though, if the intangible of good intentions will go far in a purely business context. Yes, the intention is to create a true "hometown" product. With all due respect, a statement like this comes off as rather cliche-ish.
(My late co-worker Terry Manney thought I talked about cliches too much. My friend Del Sarlette and I have an inside joke: "Watch that first step, it's a cliche.")
We assume the Morris economy slows in summer. We assume the local economy can stay propped up largely by UMM. There does seem to be a growing divide between UMM and the broader community based on silly political considerations. We appreciate the Superior company, yes, but any foundation industry in the private sector can succumb at any time to the vicissitudes of industry. Small towns across the heartland have become shuttered because private interests could not "keep the faith." An institution like UMM is generally more stable - we ought to do all we can to support it.
Heartland U.S. people have gravitated to a vaguely defined "red state" set of values. They feel that because of this, they cannot be in league with UMM. They give a thumbs-up to Donald Trump, because. . . Well, why? Here's a profane individual whose words even on a Sunday inspire incredulity all over the media, and surely the Trump crowd cannot keep decrying so much media as "fake." I don't hear people on the street talking about fake news.
I think people on the street simply feel flummoxed by what is happening around them. Generally we have seen our community of Morris as immune from the many trends that have hollowed out the heartland. Tom Brokaw uses the term "Great Plains states." UMM is the main reason we can take some comfort. One wonders how confident we ought to feel. We assume the pace of life will pick up here in fall. It might happen again in 2019 as if on cue. We just can't be sure of the extent.
I just came home from a restaurant where a change was taped on the weekly schedule they have posted - now the Saturday closing time is earlier. On my way home I pass by Northern Impressions along a service road, and it has appeared shuttered for a long time. It gets old to see a "for sale" sign for so long. I suppose anything can be for sale.
The Morris newspaper has been sold by Forum Communications, the well-known newspaper chain of the Upper Midwest. Forum supposedly had all the tricks for keeping papers viable. When the Morris paper went from twice weekly to once, the manager told people it was a move to ensure the long-term stability of the business. But now the owner is bailing. I'm told the Forum never made money here.
New owner Reed Anfinson, in order to promote good will, is going to have to spend some. This in the digital age when so much of the info we need and want circulates with no cost to anyone. Author Tom Friedman talks about the old "friction" being gone. The legacy costs of the newspaper business are formidable in today's climate.
 
The Forum and politics
Forum Communications did not endorse a candidate for president in 2016. Why so hesitant? The behemoth newspaper company had a history of having all its properties endorse candidates. All properties had to endorse the same candidates, so it was deemed controversial by many. Maybe even by yours truly.
But Forum decided to just whiff on the 2016 race, telling its readers in effect "you're on your own." Well of course we can handle it. Forum was not alone in backing off the presidential race. Some of those interests are now saying that was a mistake. If they spoke favorably of a third party candidate, they realize now that this approach is always pointless. Fundamentally they had to realize that either Trump or Clinton was going to be president. Much was at stake.
Forum is historically Republican, though they cleverly approve of an occasional Democrat, one who the polls show will win anyway, so they can wave their arms and say they're not so automatic.
So, Forum did not endorse Trump. But they have seemed a little schizophrenic. The Republican in their DNA makes them seem more approving than not. The Forum's Willmar paper had a headline not long ago that would have persuaded me to never again spend a nickel on a Forum product. "Trump works to keep families together." It was a banner job on the top of page 1. It suggested that Trump is this benevolent hero toward migrants at the border. Let's not dissect that - we all know the facts.
Trump's attitude about tariffs is fueling a trade war that looks as though it will disproportionately hurt the very Midwest where small towns and the ag sector are in duress. It's amazing that our Shopko store in Morris just sits vacant on the north side of town. We have lost our summer festival, Prairie Pioneer Days, which was once such a grand affair. I know it's in the fall now. But we could have just upgraded the UMM welcome picnic. Presto, two are better than one.
When a chain newspaper decides to leave a town, it really is concerning, no matter how much the new owner comes in looking like a white knight. The old and tired newspaper business is an uphill struggle now. It's paternalistic - the wise people at the paper who will carefully weigh what information they decide to publish for us. In pre-digital times the system was needed. Today it seems almost vestigial.
The new owner will be very interesting to watch no doubt. No one can question the intentions. But will it be a passing curiosity?
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Morris newspaper being sold

You never know when a nugget of significant community news will come at you. This happened to me yesterday and it had the effect of a couple cups of strong coffee. It comes forth during the slow summer months when we depend on the county fair to sense some semblance of real community activity. Otherwise we're just yawning as so many of us retreat to "the lake" on weekends.
Many of the more economically disadvantaged people do not have "the lake" as an option in summer. But no matter, we can try to find fulfillment right within our community of Morris. The lake people are probably incredulous about that. But they are happy to keep their professional ties going in Morris, so as to make money. They seem to overlook whatever inherent joy might be felt by living here.
I try to seek that inherent enjoyment. But it doesn't help that the community allowed the summer Prairie Pioneer Days to just die. It died and no replacement came forth. And, informed sources tell me it was wiped off the summer slate because so many of the more influential people in Morris didn't want to bother with it during that time of year when they wanted to "go to the lake."
 
Here's the news:
Yesterday (Thursday) I found out from totally well-placed sources that the Morris newspaper has been sold. Or, it's in the process of being sold. Is this a big deal? Not sure about that, because I suspect that the younger adults have grown up in a world so full of communication options, the status of "the local newspaper" probably means little to them. It means more to people my age, n'est-ce pas?
So, I don't wish to fall into a rut of generational thinking.
Surely there is nothing wrong with having a good community newspaper. Over the recent past our paper has been run by a non-local chain. The chain is based in Fargo ND. After they had been in charge for a while, a local businessperson said to me: "All they're interested in doing is selling advertising." It's incontrovertible that Forum Communications made cuts with the obvious motive of maximizing profit while the window was still open for newspapers to make a decent profit.
The cutting strategy appears not to have worked. A well-placed source tells me that Forum has never made money from its acquisition of the Morris paper. Actually the Forum bought both the Morris and Hancock papers, but the latter became a victim of their slash and burn approach.
A source tells me that the new owner, the esteemed Reed Anfinson of the Elbow Lake and Benson papers, will strive to completely reverse course and re-shape the Morris paper along traditional lines. So, the paper will have a heart and soul again.
But is it too late? We all know about the headwinds that the print media are facing everywhere. Much of this is a blessing of course: the easy availability of information online that is free. Anfinson will have to bolster investment in the product, an investment of both money and sheer effort. All of this is totally laudable. But will it work in a business context? That is a huge question and one which may well not have a favorable answer.
I remember the day when we had an open house for the new newspaper building, under Forum's ownership. We had moved from our sweet location in east Morris, across from the Post Office, to a place "across the tracks" in west Morris. I had an odd feeling all along that things just weren't going well. I felt no cause to "celebrate" anything. My parents came and I almost felt uncomfortable they were there. The editor wasn't there that day and he later claimed to not feeling well or something. I doubt that.
At the end of the day I felt an obligation to attend a staff gathering at the Morris Legion, this when smoking indoors was still permitted. A member of upper Forum management was there and he smoked a lot, as I recall. When I got home I put my smelly clothes in the basement until I could get them aired out.
Eventually the company played the typical corporate game with me so that I'd leave, which I did in June of 2006. It's possible the UMM goalpost incident set the wheels in motion for that - the catalyst as it were. I feel bad that my coverage of that even became a topic for unpleasant discussion. The crowning blow was a letter to the editor from Michael Busian when he was still alive. I suspect he was part of a group that developed negative feelings about me - Morris is a town of "groups" of course - and I regret he couldn't get to know me better. I'm really quite human.
I suspect his letter got the attention of Forum higher-ups. Tom Larson here probably got marching orders to turn the screws on me, because his personality toward me changed abruptly. For a long time I enjoyed my contact with him.

A return to Quinco of Lowry
My source tells me the Morris paper under Anfinson will return to Quinco Press in Lowry. I am overjoyed to hear that. Quinco was a big part of my life when I took over the van driving duties from Howard Moser when Howard had arrived at a time in his life when he had to retire. Taking over those duties was an infusion of significant life in my career, at a time when various interests and individuals associated with the Morris school district had become fierce adversaries toward me.
Today I can write about Tiger sports online, getting info from other media sources, and not worry about what anyone thinks.
Our school district went through a torrent of harmful controversy and conflict in the decade of the 1980s, culminating in 1988-90. Education is always being pulled through transitions. The kind of problems we had in the 1980s were typical to a degree, but we just felt it far worse than in other places.
My interpretation is that our biggest problem was the intransigence of our local public school teachers union. It was one of those "groups" that I have alluded to, one of the defining features of Morris MN. In fact, Kevin Wohlers tells me that one aspect of the Prairie Pioneer Days changes is that there is "a group" - his words - that has become absolutely determined to shift the event to September.
In September all the well-heeled "lake people" are pretty much done with going to the lake, right? Del Sarlette has advised me, though, that in September people still find excuses to leave town on weekends, and in September it's to "go to the Cities."
 
Door is closed, probably
I probably will be afforded no more opportunities to work in the commercial media again. I'm 64 and probably losing some of my get up and go. My eyesight has been deteriorating and I'm considering Lasik eye surgery.
I certainly do wish the new ownership of the Morris paper well - I'm not saying that in an obligatory way. And I wish them well even if certain key people might have negative biases toward me. I'm getting Social Security so I do have a foundation. However, I'm afraid of interest rates being cut to zero in which case I could lose all interest on my bank savings. Well, you can't go through life worrying.
My sources tell me Sue Dieter is "out" as part of the change. The rest of the staff is welcome to stay, I'm told. I wonder if Sue's departure will be reported in a way that indicates an amicable situation. If it's non-amicable, do I feel sorry for her? I actually do. She has gotten an image of being rather aloof, maybe even arrogant. But I saw a side to her that was softer and more sympathetic. I will say this: she appeared to defer totally to Forum Communications. I doubt she would ever assert herself and try to advocate for the best way of serving the Morris community.
We'll see how things go now.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

"Muskrat Love" by car dealership?

Muskrat makes its rounds

Have you noticed the depression in the little road that enters Heartland Motors from the east, from the service road network? There's a big pond next to the road. Was the depression a normal part of the design? I have had reason to go there recently and thought nothing of it. Don't wish to discuss the reason because there was a monetary element!
In the last few days I heard an interpretation of the depression or low spot. Don't know if this source had absolute facts at his disposal. It seemed he did but one cannot be sure. Informed speculation? Let's get to the heart of the matter: it is suggested that muskrats have been at work. Yes, the animal kingdom.
I live in a semi-rural setting so I'm aware of how nature makes inroads. I could list many of the usual culprits. Muskrats would be a new one. I have seen muskrats do their thing in the days when my father took me duck hunting. They're cute little creatures actually.
It is suggested that muskrats have done some digging to affect the entry to the car dealership. If true, it's another example of how creatures of the wild can seem benign until they do something that affects you. I'll mention here that we're in August, the month when bats are at their worst as a pest in Minnesota. The hints of fall no doubt cause the winged pests to get into structures more.
Pest control professionals do not respond to skunk calls. They will give you some free advice over the phone. Upon reflection, I can see why it's not practical for the pros to deal with skunks. No matter how professional they are, they cannot guarantee that something bad will not happen. Another problem: even if you live-trap a skunk, if it's a female and has young ones close by, the young ones would be susceptible to dying, and then you'd have skunk carcasses to deal with, right?
I learned that skunks have their babies in May. A neighbor once mentioned he had a skunk get into a window well. A little research shows that's a common occurrence. So, to be prepared, have a board handy that is the right size to insert in the window well, so the furry fellow can get out. Yes, one can panic easily in such situations.

Little brown bat

Bats really freak people out. The going rate for having a bat professional visit is about $700. Well, when you need the service, you really need it. Have you heard or read that it's illegal to kill a bat? You might have. Be advised that the purpose of this "law" is to restrain the bat pros, so if they discover a whole colony they don't just destroy it. Bats have a role in our ecology. I have suggested to Steve Poppe that the WCROC horticulture garden install a couple "bat houses." These are known to attract excited viewers in the twilight hours. Steve says the idea has been discussed.
I once had my mom in church when a bat started flapping up around the ceiling. I took Mom out. I wondered if the service would be ended very soon, but I heard later it was not. A big net was used to corral the animal, I learned. Shall I assume that every church has a net handy like that? Ah, the details that a minister must be aware of.
My father had a storage shed installed on the west end of our property many years ago. It appears sunken a little, no doubt due to critters, perhaps groundhogs which I've seen occasionally but not on an ongoing basis. I wouldn't expect to see one this time of year.
We're doing well hosting cottontail rabbits on Northridge Drive, thank you. No one in our neighborhood these days will shoot them, and I'm thankful for that. Might even be illegal because we're in the city limits (on the edge). Mom and I found the rabbits to be pleasant companions.
Some people are bothered by squirrels but Mom and I weren't.
There are more skunks out and around than you realize. That's because their activity is nocturnal. They are not real defensive creatures and they don't need to be, as they know they have the most potent weapon, to be deployed vs. an adversary of any size. Skunks only deploy the weapon if they feel very threatened.
I wish my father had not installed the storage shed because mice get in there. I will not put a lawn mower or similar equipment in there, and now that I have just one car, there's room in the garage. After Mom died I discarded my father's prize 1991 Lincoln Town Car. Got a grand total of $200 for it.
My experience with creatures of the wild has made me not want to feed the birds anymore. No point in tossing black oil sunflower seeds out and around. Thistle seed is expensive! We did have some fun doing that, though. I'll never forget how we attracted the grand rose-breasted grosbeaks. I inquired if those were rare and was told "no" by the local expert - there are pockets of them.
The highlight of my bird watching was to catch a glimpse of a gray jay, out of its usual territory, in our backyard. It's not unusual to see birds out of place sometimes, I was told - "they fly!"
Go to Niemackl Park in spring to appreciate birds. I've heard you might see a scarlet tanager. There's a peaceful and charming YouTube video of a muskrat making its rounds in winter at Niemackl.
"Muskrat Love" is a soft rock song that shows us anthropomorphic muskrats. Their names are Susie and Sam. Ah, cute. The song was first recorded in 1972. The group "America" recorded a cover in 1973 and it was a minor hit, reaching No. 67 (yes, minor).
Then along came Captain and Tennille, the "Love Will Keep Us Together" duo that eventually got divorced. No big deal about their marriage, but they were superbly talented in the pop field. They recorded "Muskrat Love" in 1976 and found the sweet spot for presenting the tune. Their version rocketed up to No. 4 on the Hot 100 chart. Cash Box ranked it the 30th biggest hit of 1976.

Scott Long would laugh at this

Was the gopher in the movie "Caddyshack" truly anthropomorphic? Probably not, even though this industrious little fellow did his jive-dance. I first saw this movie with Scott Long at the Morris Theater. Scott could hardly control himself laughing at the Bill Murray character. Just imagine those little muskrats at the Heartland Motors pond charming us likewise.
Critters such as these can charm and they can be a real menace. Did I say I personally saw them? On Sunday morning when I was on bike, I stopped by the Heartland pond and immediately saw 3-4 of the little fellows bobbing in the water on the south end.
Is it still just speculation that the animals are causing the entry road to sink some? Might someone want to dispatch the animals? Would pest control do this? Maybe if certain interests wanted to seek insurance to cover damage, the animals should be allowed to live so as to document their presence. Besides, how could you possibly dispatch them after hearing Captain and Tennille's "Muskrat Love?"
For the record, any pest issues at the wonderful Williams residence on Northridge Drive are addressed. A bat pro came and we addressed three issues, one of which was seen as most likely, and for that I had a little home improvement job done by the very capable Mark Woolridge. The problem was a slightly sagging portico ceiling. I couldn't figure out how the bat could get into the basement but they need only a tiny crack of space.
A skunk scare came and went, thank goodness. It was a mother that had young ones in spring. The problem spot has been addressed with chicken wire and bricks. 
I plant zinnias generously in early summer and rabbits have not been a problem. I don't store anything with a motor in the storage shed anymore. On one occasion the wizard Glen Helberg, when he was still with us, fixed our rider and only charged me cost. God bless his memory.
I still "talk" to the rabbits through our picture window facing north sometimes. Mom enjoyed having them as company. I'd say "Look Mom, Mr. Rabbit is here!" Maybe there's a song there. Mom was not as charmed by "Mr. Fox."
I have heard that if you extend your hand in winter with sunflower seed in it, a chickadee might come and land right on your hand! Haven't experimented with that yet.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

We approach fall with Trump-ism still looming

It is August and the time of year when, in my younger and less aware years, I'd get excited about football. You can watch the movie "Concussion" starring Will Smith for free on the "Crackle" site.
I remember one year, a well-known Morris businessman came into the Sun Tribune office and engaged in a little idle conversation re. the Vikings in the ad manager's office. I heard him refer to the "coloreds" on the Vikings team. The people willing to make references like this are fading from society, for sure. But they retain enough of an influence to keep President Trump propped up to a degree. They are his foundation, the people who refer to "the coloreds."
The Sun Tribune employee in the office smiled through the chat in the spirit, I'm sure, of humoring the individual because he was an advertiser. Advertising money rules in such businesses.
Many of us are wondering how history will ultimately record the Trump presidency. It's in the spirit of "once all this blows over." Such speculation is on the increasingly shaky assumption that the U.S. can even survive this stage in our history. Trump continually shatters norms like how you're not supposed to try to interfere with the Federal Reserve. Trump is walking all over that in spades.
Maybe historians will be perplexed someday about why there wasn't more of a revolt from the truly sensible people in society, and that includes a lot of Republicans. Respected conservatives run a great risk at present of being marginalized if they show skepticism about Trump. They seem literally intimidated into silence in many cases. Worse yet, they can be intimidated into submission or acquiescence with the absurd human being who occupies the presidency.
I remember several years ago telling friend Brent Waddell that I felt Neil Cavuto of Fox News had "a trace of humanity." I watched closely because even though Cavuto seemed to "tow the line" a great deal with Fox News, he didn't seem to be blind about it. His conservative sensibilities seemed tempered by a genuine caring about what was right and wrong. Yes, he had an "absolute" about keeping taxes as low as possible. He did an April Fool's gag more than once, as I recall, where he stated a new receptiveness to taxes - then came the April Fool's message. In Cavuto's eyes, limited taxes was partnered with reining in spending.
Look at the national deficit under Trump. Has there been any restraint in spending? I asked friend Dan Pagel, a good old tea partier who felt Jeb Bush could be judged part of "the swamp," if the deficit would be any higher under Jeb than under Trump. The Trump apologists these days, like Rush Limbaugh, seem to shrug and say it's a fool's errand trying to contain the deficit, like it just can't be done. Limbaugh is a professional entertainer and he knows he'll be finished if he criticizes Trump. Psychologists have a term for this: "learned behavior." My term would be "racist-inspired." Shall we throw in "Stockholm syndrome?"
To you racists I'll say that racism is never going to win in the end, so just get over it. Better yet, learn to love all humanity.

Neil Cavuto

I bring up Neil Cavuto because he is now daring from his platform on the propagandist Fox News, to speak truth to power. He is taking on the new Trump-inspired Republican power structure that thinks protective tariffs are fine. He is suggesting "balderdash."
Trump says "the tariffs are not being paid for by our people" but "by China." Trump further says that of the "billions" he claims we're getting from China now, a part of it is being given to American farmers. He says "the farmers, they came out totally whole." I'd ask farmers "are you tired of winning yet?"
Cavuto's response to the president's assertions: "I don't know where to begin." He continued: "Just to be clarifying, China isn't paying these tariffs. You are."
The latest round of tariffs that begin on September 1, on $300 billion worth of goods at ten percent, "that will be felt by consumers directly," Cavuto says.
The Fed chairman made his first public statement about the probability of lowering interest rates, when Trump was threatening the tariffs on Mexico. Those tariffs were cancelled but a good case of jitters set in. Now the Fed may be in the process of a continual rate reduction cycle, which began as "insurance" for the economy in the event the trade war exacts a toll. The interest I get on bank CDs may drift down to near zero, so Trump is now having a direct effect on my life.
I will not be able to give as much money to my church, but since it's a "liberal" ELCA church, a church that believes in climate change theory and accepts gay people on equal terms, Trump supporters couldn't care less. They'd probably like to see the ELCA die. Well, it's in a process of decline anyway.
If Christianity didn't even exist in America, Donald Trump would not be our president. Think about that.
With football getting closer, I'm thinking again about the businessman who came into the Sun Tribune talking about "the coloreds" on the Vikings. He's retired now but once sold pressure washers in Morris.
 
Addendum thoughts: If a "tax cut" is paid for by borrowing, does it really accomplish anything? And, Fox News seems surprisingly receptive to Obamacare now, because the insurance companies see this system is better for them, than what is being suggested by many Democrats. The "talking heads" are getting talking points from the insurance company heavy-hitters.
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com