Prices at fair didn't faze people

Prices for concessions at our county fair struck me as high. I say hardly anything about this because I clearly sense that people out and about don't care. So that's fine if they don't care, really, and we ought say congratulations if their personal $ fortunes are so good. 

We had severe inflation in the '70s and people most definitely talked about it. Our political leaders felt it was an issue. If it's an issue now it does not  seem to rank very high. Kamala Harris tried talking about it in the past couple days. "Tried?" People out here with the strong "red" political inclination would not listen to her for a second - they would only comment on what she says in the context of disparaging her. 

A guy came into DeToy's the other morning and referred to the Democratic nominee as "Camel Hair." Ha ha. That's the attitude around here. It's just reality and I must navigate it. 

In the '70s we heard the term "inflation psychology" as if the phenomenon grew out of our own missteps. So if we just changed our attitude? Balderdash, I would suggest. It was our president Gerald Ford who helped unveil the "WIN" button. Ahem, "whip inflation now." So I guess it was incumbent on us the public to tamp down inflation, through our own resolve. 

Ford also wanted to go back into Vietnam with our military but Congress said "no, we're not giving you the money." 

Is there anything more quaint than to remember the 1976 presidential campaign? Ford vs. Carter? How civilized and congenial it was? There was a harsher tone for the Carter vs. (Ted) Kennedy race for the Democratic nomination in 1980. Those were the days when people in western Minnesota would have taken the Democratic candidate seriously, not seen that individual as nothing more than some kind of boil. 

Republicans are making waves now in states where they have full control: get pornography off the Internet. I remember Rick Santorum making statements about this years ago. South Dakota now appears to be on the verge of taking steps. 

And of course any time you begin protests against "pornography," you get into a thicket of complications. How to explain? I'll just cite the famous quote from someone who I think was a judge: "I can't define pornography but I know it when I see it." 

Does an image of the naked human body by itself constitute pornography? Do we really need to plunge into this morass again? Support felony convictions for librarians who are suggested to have "porn" in their building's materials? Such efforts always break down. The alternative would be to be generous to First Amendment-protected expression. 

Easily accessible porn? You know about "Pornhub," right? Want to see it disappear? Republicans posture on "moral" questions such as this because they realize they can get a certain segment of the public to vote for them. "Protect children." Well, how can anyone argue against that? 

I am going to be especially blunt here, strive for candor. I am recognizing the wisdom included in Bernard Goldberg's most significant book in which he observed "people are notorious for lying about their sex lives." By the same token, people lie when they say they think pornography is disgusting. How unclean and immoral it is etc. 

It is the point of view which maybe we should aspire to. In the recesses of our private thoughts, we are programmed much differently. People enjoy sexual feelings. But what about protecting kids? Here's where I'll venture into raw frankness. Buckle up. I have no problem with kids discovering a site like Pornhub and spending time there, because: they will find in a short period of time that it becomes boring. They will become "desensitized." 

This happens with adults all the time I'm sure. And I'll argue it's a good thing because it takes our minds off sex. The horrible moral stigma of sex can cause great distress. And maybe this is especially true with kids/boys. Let the boys "get over it." Don't make them desperate to find naked images of women. Don't make them feel out of their minds guilty if moms discover evidence of sexual interest. 

I won't be more explicit re. "evidence of sexual interest. " So Maybe I'm not being so frank after all. Even I have limits. 

Let kids see some porn and they will not view sex as this huge foreboding forbidden forest as it were (for lack of a better description). 

Did I deal with anxiety from all this in my own youth? Well yes. I will reflect no further.

 

More on our county fair

It's in the books now: the 2024 Stevens County Fair. Concessionaires have totaled up their profits. 

I have a sense that the 4-H foodstand is slipping some. I think people are gravitating to the other end of the grounds around where the Cattlemen and wrestling program do their thing with concessions. There's a big top tent and picnic tables there, quite inviting. 

I do sense some basic erosion with the 4-H foodstand. I hope they do not continually raise profit targets, because a chief purpose of the 4-H foodstand is public relations for that wonderful program. 

I do not take in any of the special entertainment at the fair. A friend shared with me the following:

I heard that the featured performer in the grandstand show Friday night wasn’t very good - lots of complaints on the Facebook today.

 

The newspaper this week 

I shared with the friend who is quoted above:

 

Went to library this afternoon, looked at fishwrap. Big featured photo at top of page 1, whole width of the page, of the Friday night entertainment which you indicated was mediocre. I too have heard some comments about this. Not a great subject to feature on page 1. I would have sought a photo that showed kids' involvement at the fair, specifically 4-H where there are always photo ops.

 

The school referendum

Everyone is so happy about school referendums. And it's "referendums" and not "referenda" - I looked it up. They always pass in Morris, right? Well, was not so easy or routine this last time. It passed but by a tight margin. So let's unload some wheelbarrows-full of $ for the school again. I don't want to come off sounding like a curmudgeonly older person who gets skeptical about school spending. 

I did not vote - would have voted "no" if I had. You "yes" people needn't be upset with me - you got your money, good luck. I reflect on the referendum in a post that appears on my "Morris of Course" site. Here is the permalink, thanks for reading:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2024/08/school-referendums-no-longer-slam-dunk.html 

 

As a follow-up I share further from an email I sent to my musing correspondent:

 

Wow, I just went to kmrs site. I was skeptical they'd even have a report on referendum because it's not like the old days with Marshall. But it was reported there! And I was surprised at how close the vote was - very close. Based on this, I'm surprised I didn't hear more "talk on the street" leading up to it. I guess I should have voted. I would have voted "no" but I figured that all referendums are slam-dunk for passage these days. Just think back to the 1960s.

At church coffee Sunday, Mike O. was at my table and I noted how part of the money will be for "seating at the tennis courts." He confirmed that. Then I said "what we really need is seating at the softball complex - that's more important." He didn't respond. Well, maybe for the next referendum. I'm sure the school can come up with a new list. They will. But now it looks like referendums cannot be assumed for passage.

Someone on the "no" side should have submitted a letter to the editor. Remember how Warren Luebke and Ken Johnson tag-teamed on this once? They failed but they worked hard to educate us. Remember the referendum for the "new elementary school?" But it wasn't just for an elementary school, as it included a lot of other stuff like new varsity gym, band room and choir room. Wanda sure has the band room decorated nice. I hope she has a lot of returning talent.

 

My friend responded:

 

Bri -

There already is some seating at the softball complex, but none at all at the tennis courts. Lots of people come to watch the tennis matches.

I, too, am surprised at the closeness of the tally. It’s a good thing that not enough Scrooges voted. There was very little publicity on either side of the coin – just the flyers mailed out. No letters to the editor (not that anyone reads the paper any more), no “Community Connection” on KMRS (not that anyone listens to that station any more), and no “social media” blitz from either faction. I’m surprised anyone showed up to vote at all.

 

Our discussion continued with me sending the following missive:

 

The problem with the small section of aluminum bleachers at Holmberg Field is that only from the very center can you see the whole field of action. So it just does not seem like a professionally planned layout at all. Of course I investigated all this before a game was ever played there. I am an outlier. Ironically the secondary field has a little better seating for fans. And then there's the third field which is the one most recently completed. I walk by the place almost every day and have not seen much game action there. I have written from the start that the batters face the sun too much at that field. This is on the same spot as the old UMM softball field, which was actually planned well with sun angle in mind. 

The old UMM softball field had fences that an adult of average height could easily look over. The new place [Holmberg Field] is terrible. If you sit on the first or third base sides, you are having to look through the fence at an angle. And you have to bring your own chairs. Many people choose to put their chairs down out by the outfield fence. I see this all the time. Not desirable. And then the fans are looking right at the outfielders' butts. 

One theory I have is that all new fields of this type have to stress safety so much - protect fans from foul balls, especially with fans looking down at their phones. Remember the old school art deco auditorium. I still regret that we razed that. But it had the "drop-off" at the front of the stage which would be a real hazard now.

The way the softball complex was originally announced, I really expected it to be super-duper. And it just is not. And they promised us a paved parking area. You have to watch what these schools are up to.

I wonder if Tiger sports will make progress toward getting more timely game review information online in various places. The paper coming out once a week absolutely doesn't cut it.

The radio station website has already had its "heyday." That's too bad.

- BW

 

Watch the Tigers!

We're close to high school fall sports. This always starts soon after the fair. We're welcoming soccer as a fall sport. Reportedly very popular among the Hispanic youth. Congratulations to them. I hope the appeal goes beyond that demographic. We must try to expedite the end of football. Too bad it is taking so long. I am not impressed by this Pope guy who coaches. I'm not talking about his coaching ability. 

I write more about the clarion call posed by repetitive head trauma in football in my Aug. 8 "Morris of Course" post. Here's the link, and again, thanks. 

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2024/08/you-can-learn-teamwork-in-band-and.html 

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Addressing history in a small community

Moving from one community to another has become such a routine thing. Far fewer, if any, emotions attached to it. We adjust and can easily get into a new circle of friends. Join a new church if church is a "thing" for you. 

This phenomenon has been widely commented upon: our more mobile society. In line with this is the ease of commuting. I am amazed at the extent some people do this. To each their own, of course. I remember a Morris High School principal who lived in Willmar. His last name was like "croquet." I do not understand why any such arrangement would be practical or desirable. 

So the question arises: Is it really so necessary to appreciate the history of the community in which you live? There should be at last a cursory recording of any community's history. But I'm wondering about a full-fledged museum. This is on my mind on this early morning of mid-August because of our "historical society" here in Morris. Make that Stevens County I suppose. 

Well, the museum has fallen into some tumult. It's in transition. 

I'm thinking about the museum's location in west Morris. 

What to make of west Morris? It is separate from the "business district." Not nearly so much business over there. It is obviously "on the other side of the tracks." Is that expression sort of a putdown of that set of neighborhoods? Generally speaking the residences show signs of aging. I sometimes shoot baskets at Wells Park and find there is an industrial noise issue. Maybe when you live close to that, you learn to ignore it. 

Back when the "cemetery chimes" were rather a raging controversy in east Morris, people would bring up the church bells. They'd argue that no one really had an issue with those, so why the hubba about Ted Storck's chimes? Is this another case of where people learn to ignore the sounds? 

Simply making the pro-chimes argument probably made people think about church bells more. So after a few moments of considering that, maybe we'd conclude "church bells are a total anachronism." Maybe they were once helpful for being aware of the time of day. Well, nowadays? No such need at all. Maybe we're just hoping that God is paying attention to us. 

People mention also the trains that come roaring through. Do we learn to just blot that out too? It's nice to not be distracted by noise pollution too much. As for the industrial noise, we certainly appreciate the presence of local industry. 

Our Stevens County museum

It is easy for our local museum to be out-of-mind. The building is in an out-of-the-way place, tucked in among the old but charming west Morris neighborhoods. Really, you have to go out of your way to have the museum cross your mind, don't you? 

My belief has always been that the library and museum should be in the same building. This would make people much more aware of the museum. Helpful for getting $ considerations. But in this age of our "more mobile society," just how top-of-mind is the local community's history? 

And weaved in with this is: how important is it to have a local cemetery? Do we need it at all? 

Decades roll past and the residents of Morris in past eras become strangers to us. Quite different from when America was in what I would call the "Peyton Place era." The latter: So many lifetime residents out and around, each with a life story including of course warts, and then they're buried and we're reminded of both them and their warts. 

Today people move around so liberally that you can erase the slate.  Forge sort of a new identity. Of course many people, I believe, just protect their privacy more. Maybe that is a very healthy thing. 

Along with "Peyton Place America" I would offer the term "Norman Rockwell America." We didn't even have an interstate highway system until the '60s, right? Man, just think how transformative that has been. We got a preview with "Route 66." Remember when "Lucy and Ricky" took the trip on Route 66 with their apartment landlords? And there was a whole TV series called "Route 66." 

Route 66 seems primitive now compared to all our contemporary assets for travel. Let us emphasize here too that cars are so much better made now, able to withstand serious commuting. Man, does anyone worry about getting a "flat tire" anymore? Many of you might remember the days of agonizing over that. Mercy. 

I wrote just a few days ago about how a local ELCA minister's husband has reportedly taken a job in Minot. This is totally consistent with my thoughts as I write this. No longer a bombshell move: moving to Minot or anywhere else. When our chief librarian of a few years retired and moved out to Idaho, no big deal at all. We might forget that in a past era this kind of relocation would be seen as drastic. The America of today is so different. 

We wonder if the ELCA minister who I reference can even stay in Morris. She is so highly thought of, I presume she could find a new parish in short order. But it's all speculation. 

Our world has gotten smaller because of the Internet of course. We can research new opportunities that might be presented anywhere. Just with a few clicks. 

Some might say we are losing our sense of community. Perhaps it's a maudlin thought, just like the idea that people at the local diner will "know your name." That's how it used to be. Morris does not even have the classic type of main street diner. I used to go into "Ardelle's" (or "Kelly's" before that) and see familiar faces at a certain hour. People who went through standard routines. 

The "Peyton Place" type of town had an array of interesting personalities. The downside was that we'd get to know people's baggage and peccadilloes. Yet we loved our "hometowns," right? Of course we did. So it was natural to get your body put in the ground there when you died. As for someone who might move to Idaho at retirement, well I wonder how necessary that is. Not necessary at all, I would argue. 

I can walk through our Morris cemetery and see a whole lot of names that might have once carried weight with memories. Many do not any more. "Edson." Who was that? Well he was sure important once. God rest his soul. But time marches on. Change marches on. We can only hope that change is for the better.

 

Ah, Ms. Grove

Our Stevens County museum is in the "Carnegie" building. So it was established as a library. Mom and I used to walk to the library there. We were familiar with Ms. Grove. The building had aesthetic value on the outside. Was it worth preserving for that reason alone? Inside it is nothing. Many very old buildings are like this, seem rather cramped on the inside. 

The huge flaw of our museum is that there is no parking lot close by. Just residential streets. That's why I wish the museum was just built onto the library. Would make a world of difference for foot traffic. 

West Morris is a residential place. That's wonderful. But the important public stuff is concentrated on the east side. That's wonderful too. 

I think the "mobile society" trends will increasingly make a small town's history less important. Remember how iconic the local "bank presidents" were? You ought to smile at that reference. Today it's totally different as we have "branch managers" who really just blend in with the rest of us. And that's wonderful too.

 

Addendum: The great movie reviewer Roger Ebert talked about how movies portray small towns as the most desirable places to live, "where everyone knows your name at the local diner." The irony, he noted, is that the people who make movies do not have that view at at all. 

Garrison Keillor comes to mind too, how he wrote about the small town newspaper office that gets subscription renewal checks with exotic place names on them. These subscribers just have to know what's going on in their old stomping grounds, Keillor wrote. "Is Norm really selling the hardware store?" These people have to know the goings-on in such a place, even though they wouldn't choose to live there again "even if you paid them."

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Growing pains at our county fair?

In the always-room-for-improvement category, from an email from a friend on this Sunday morning:

I heard that the featured performer in the grandstand show Friday night wasn’t very good - lots of complaints on the Facebook today.

 

Maybe it's time to expand the Stevens County Fair? Expand the grounds or expand parking? This year for the first time I noticed a couple "park and ride" signs at remote places like Grandstay and Hudson Inn. A friend told me the feature was offered last year too. A "shuttle system" to the fairgrounds as it were. 

And after dealing w/ the fair this year, I most certainly say "amen" on the shuttle idea. Man, the situation gets congested out there. 

I finally navigated the situation by walking or riding bike. There is no obvious place to park one's bike. Well, there's another feature that the fair people might consider. I just went out beyond the Lee Center lot and parked my bike in the weeds. A friend wondered if I was worried about someone stealing it. Fortunately I use a bike of zero value, deteriorated. Gets me from point A to point B still. 

Walking? My body is still in good enough shape. 

My friend who made the bike comment was a high school classmate. Isn't it neat to renew old acquaintances at the fair like this? I was reminded of our changed times, bigly you might say: her party included a younger brother who I had only vaguely known in a previous time. He was accompanied by his same-sex partner. Introduced literally as a spouse. We take such things in stride today. Older people who are inclined to think it's strange or objectionable will still be polite and keep their composure in this situation. 

Change rolls forward and the protest voices are just that: voices. They diminish with time just like the secessionist voices of the U.S. Civil War. The Union was correct in describing the movement as a (mere) rebellion. Voices of discontent, that's all. It's a part of human nature. 

In that vein I'll note that I saw several Steve Boyd T-shirts out and around. That's the fellow who appears to think our incumbent congressperson is not conservative enough. Hell's bells, just consider that for a very long time we had a Democrat representing this district! Today we are so "red" we are just bleeding it. I even saw the Steve Boyd booth at the fairgrounds exhibit building. I walked up to the people and said "Doesn't Michelle Fischbach have the endorsement of Donald Trump?" A very good question, I might note. 

The Trump followers out here have behaved like total cult members. So it's surprising that some within this "red" crowd would find that the Trump-endorsed person is not good enough for them. Is this like the Confederacy of the Civil War? Futile? 

I'm sure if I were to meet Steve Boyd, it would be a pleasant encounter. I don't know what makes people like that so regressive in many of their views. And why isn't the "nationwide abortion ban" in the national Republican platform? Huh? Why? "Life begins at conception." That's what Boyd believes. 

Will the Democrats ever have a shot at anything out here again? The local Dems did venture to have a booth at the fair. I wonder if these people feared for their physical safety. I saw the official Republican Party booth not far from the Boyd people. Nice red signs promoting the sexual assault perpetrator for president. Trump would be in bigger trouble now if he hadn't been able to pack the Supreme Court with his people. They will absolutely protect him. 

I have read that the Minnesota State Fair has become a problem because the people are so absolutely thick on the grounds, it can be literally hard to walk through. I have actually read of real annoyance about this. I was reminded of this Saturday afternoon at our Stevens County Fair. That's when I encountered my high school classmate and her full family party by the old "rest cottage." 

I think there's a newer rest cottage now. I remember when I was with the newspaper and Eleanor Killoran made a big push to resuscitate the old rest college. A very nice idea and I rather puffed it on the front page. How can you deny the wishes of such a sweet old woman? Let's be honest: she was a little eccentric too. 

I think it was her eccentric trait that made her want to re-establish the outdoor performing stage - i.e. "bandshell" - at East Side Park. She pushed through that idea as well and it has simply cost city taxpayers money for maintenance. Let's observe that the idea of an outdoor stage at the park was a miserable failure. 

These "donors" shouldn't be doing us these "favors." Someone donates for something rather superfluous like some kind of "arts" facility and there are ongoing maintenance expenses that can be considerable. Not long ago I saw someone perched up high on a crane doing some touch-up painting at the Killoran building. It really is a "building." Don't tell me a contractor like that comes cheap. 

I can remember the people for whom things are named in this town. Our former football field was called "Coombe field." It's gone now but I still remember Bill Coombe. I remember his old colleagues commenting on how he set himself up for retirement so perfectly and then he died quickly. Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die, I guess. 

Mr. Coombe liked referring to himself in the third person.

I knew Don Chizek for whom the baseball field is named. I kept stats for the Tiger baseball team in a long-ago time. Remember how "scorecards" were hawked at the old Metropolitan Stadium? That whole system for recording a baseball game has faded into obsolescence. I used it for our high school. So long ago: Why do I even bring it up? The past can be instructive.

Eleanor Killoran was my accompanist for the high school music contests. I literally went to her home. The late Howard Moser and I would talk about how her place seemed kind of "spooky." I smile. Definitely an eccentric older person but object of affection too. John Inman told me the story about how she'd park right in front of Willie's, not to drop someone off but to just "park there." Lots of stories about interesting people in a small town. Maybe a few circulating about yours truly. 

So today it can be hard to walk through the fairgrounds - such a crush of people. And parking gets so congested we need a "park and ride" system from remote places. It's all so wonderful, right? And I am amazed that I hear virtually no complaints about prices for concessions that strike me as quite high. Well I am 69 years old. Believe me, people from an earlier time would faint about the prices today. 

So we're totally comfortable with inflation. I don't think we should be, but we are. We are on the verge now of seeing the Federal Reserve begin a new round of "rate cuts." Rate cuts have come to be like heroin injections. Whenever storm clouds appear for the economy, it's rate cuts and money printing by the Fed that we all rely on. In my opinion this will work until it simply doesn't. There is no free lunch. Hey that's kind of a conservative thought, isn't it? Maybe I'm sort of conservative after all. 

Maybe this country actually is careening toward a crisis. 

It appears that the perpetrator of sexual assault has a real chance of being president again. He'll seize control of the Federal Reserve. He'll seize control of everything. We all have gotten so "conservative," we may feel satisfaction with Liz Cheney, Mark Milley and others put on trial and sentenced to death. Lethal injection? Firing squad? Everything that seems outlandish with Trump slowly ends up becoming normalized. 

People have no qualms about a sexual assault perpetrator becoming our president. I think the people of past times in this community would faint over that. The late Truman Carlson was the most "proper" citizen you could ever find, by any criteria. He felt he had to leave his ELCA church. "Gay rights" was flashpoint. Carlson if he were alive today would be front/center promoting Donald Trump. So I find the human animal to be very perplexing and mysterious at times. 

Everyone is so happy and optimistic today. I grew up when boys had to worry about being sent to Vietnam to die, to die violently. And the American people were like sheep about this for a very long time. They believed John Wayne. 

Well today our society countenances Donald Trump. The power of the entertainment industry where Trump built his identity. We get fooled every time, don't we?

"Forgive them Lord for they know not what they do."

 

Addendum: My old high school friend who I reference was in the Twin Cities when the bridge fell into the river. As was I. A cousin of hers had told me about her experience once, how she had some serendipity: she was delayed at one point, otherwise she might have been in danger from the tragedy. 

Me? I was in the Twin Cities for a reunion concert of the old Bill Chase band at the Minnesota Music Cafe in St. Paul. I was with Del Sarlette. We phoned our families upon arrival to tell them we were OK. The concert went off as planned. 

Bill Chase RIP

We could see TV screens around the room that had constant updates on the bridge calamity. We couldn't hear the audio because of the concert, and the Chase band was known to be loud! Well it was from the 1970s. You might remember it was a trumpet-oriented group. "Get It On," that was their biggest hit. 

The band was known to have died in a plane crash in southern Minnesota. They could still have a reunion concert because of "alums." Plus there was the special guest from Japan who could play the high notes just like Bill Chase. This was Eric Myashiro. Del and I had a good time. And my high school friend got through unscathed also. 

On Saturday I made the pledge to her that I will have my Caitlin Clark song recorded. It's nice to have a feeling of commitment now. C'mon Brian let's get going.

 

Remember Dave Holman? He's at right in this photo I took in 2012 at the fair. He was sort of a Harold Stassen with his political habits. Dave was a long-time media specialist at our public schools. Long ago we called these people "librarians." Dave was running for something when the photo was taken. A "surrogate" is at left! Dave has passed on to the next life. Word is, it was covid.
 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Faith Lutheran to lose Pastor Emmy?

Rev. Emmy Swedlund

ELCA churches have had a struggle ever since gay rights grew into a flashpoint. Has the issue calmed down some? I'm really not sure. When someone like the late Truman Carlson felt he had to leave First Lutheran in Morris, it is a concerning matter. 

We want all our Christian churches to be beacons of moral leadership. I think the ELCA churches still have a most uplifting message and role. They have lost support. But can they revive themselves? Or more accurately, can the people rise up to make them as strong and relevant as ever? No answer is certain yet. 

In Morris we have the most challenged situation of two ELCA churches. Yes, two "in town" ELCA churches, so it's not as if one is the "country" church. These churches are in the old residential sections of Morris. This in itself is cause for some concern because there are signs of blight here and there. It's truly a contrast with the east end of the community out toward the river. Compare the houses out there with what you see around First Lutheran and Faith Lutheran Churches. 

Recently we have all gotten the signal that Faith Lutheran has hit the jackpot as it were. In a time when pastors have been hard to come by, "presto!" and Faith Lutheran got a person perceived by all as a real winner. 

And so First Lutheran might have been left feeling as though it's flailing away. It seems un-churchlike for our two churches to compete, but we are after all human. Let us admit the impulse. First Lutheran is looking up because of a well-accepted interim pastor. But it's "interim," in other words short-term. So we might be hanging heads somewhat, concerned that all the momentum is going with our brethren on the west side of town, yes "on the other side of the tracks." 

Everything is, or was, coming up roses for Faith Lutheran. I personally attended 3-4 services there and found it to be 100 percent vibrant. Definitely they had gotten over the hurdle of the gay rights/ordination thing. People who fled because of gay rights or homophobia went mainly to Good Shepherd, CW has it. (That's "conventional wisdom.") Good Shepherd is out by the dog kennel. You might say it's a "country church." 

I'm not sure if I'm teasing or not when I say Good Shepherd is a total bastion for the Trump/MAGA crowd. That is how I perceive it. Would they deny that? I'd be surprised if they did deny it. Americans are insulted daily by the headlines prompted by Trump, his antics and his clear legal troubles. If you simply try pointing to the "hush money" case and how it involves a porn star, the likes of the Good Shepherd people would probably just laugh, write you off as someone who just can't handle Trump. We have heard the term "Trump Derangement Syndrome" or TDS. I have turned this term on the Trump people themselves. They are the ones who have TDS. 

We should feel pride on this day (Tuesday) when Kamala Harris has picked Minnesotan Tim Walz as her runningmate. 

The Trump people will not back off. There are the "conservative" churches around Stevens County where the people will not back off. Did all of this just grow out of homophobia? When it comes to homophobia, the problem with enforcing a prohibition on gays is that it's like Jim Crow: as a pure matter of policy, it cannot be enforced with anything like legal precision. Jim Crow had to go when it did, because of the coming "rainbow" nature of our racial complexion. 

And with gays, what to do about those who truly keep their private life to themselves? Act on rumor? Suspicion? Any lawyer would tell you that it was unsustainable, morally objectionable. So life goes on and "to each their own." 

I would feel uncomfortable if my church had an openly gay pastor who showed advocacy. If he/she could simply strive to be a capable professional minister, well then that is laudatory. 

Faith Lutheran, Morris

Faith Lutheran has been in clover over the recent past. They "landed" this wondrous person, "Emmy." So I wondered, "is this too good to be true?" There are pastoral vacancies all over the place. Could someone like her be comfortable long-term in Morris? We're in the land of 10,000 lakes but there is no lakes recreation in the immediate Morris area. Advocates for UMM have long talked about the problem of attracting people because of the lack of job opportunities for spouses. 

Generally speaking we have the reputation of being "remote." I point out the coyote howls that are so readily heard here. How can we compete with the Rochester coordinate campus of the University of Minnesota? The Rochester community is projected to erupt with growth over the next two decades. Star Tribune recently had article about this. 

Meanwhile, Morris? We delude ourselves sometimes. We're in denial. But we really are kind of an outpost. An outpost in the rural Seventh Congressional District where our elected congressperson, Michelle Fischbach, is 100 percent joined at the hip with Donald Trump. Have you seen her little ad promos on YouTube? She totally sells herself this way. 

All you need to know about Fischbach is that she supports Trump, the man found responsible in a legal proceeding for sexual assault of a woman, an assault that Judge Kaplan has explained to us as being the same as rape. So that's our man. And Fischbach is our woman. 

So maybe I can't blame a women pastor for looking to leave a church here in coyote-land. 

I first heard the rumors on Sunday: Pastor Emmy will leave because her husband got a job a considerable distance from here. At first I heard Bismarck. Ah, the rumors. This morning (Tuesday) I spoke with a very well-positioned person with Faith Lutheran and he said the husband's job was in Minot. "Why not Minot?" 

This individual further informed me that the husband has already begun there. So wouldn't it seem necessary for Emmy to re-locate? As a former full-fledged journalist I will assume nothing. I wouldn't even assume that they are not separating or getting divorced. I have been around the block multiple times. I was with the Morris newspaper in a time when two members of management began an adulterous affair. They left the paper, got married and later divorced. I still see her original husband at Faith Lutheran, good guy, wrestling advocate. 

So, I didn't come into town on a turnip truck. We'll see what happens. But I know how I would lay the betting odds. 

Emmy's husband works in "promotion." That's what my prime source said. We smiled as he noted that "this means your job is to make something look better than it is." Ah yes. 

Apparently Emmy has been coy with how much longer she'll be at Faith. People seem to be assuming, as I do, that she will be leaving. But when? If she makes clear that her departure is in fact imminent, then I'd advise the church council to tell her to just speed it up. "Don't worry, we can take care of ourselves. We've done it before." 

A new minister owes a little more long-term loyalty to "the flock." Having it be so transitory is just depressing. (The Federal Reserve taught us all the word "transitory," remember?)

Hey, did you know that the Lutheran denomination in America did not get its first woman pastor until 1970? What would it do without women now? Maybe in a couple decades we'll be thankful for the gays too.

First Lutheran used to have a big "UMM Sunday" in the fall. That has been gone a long time.

The markets

Well we had the jolt of economic news yesterday (Monday). Sort of a "black Monday." I emailed a query about this to Jim Morrison and I was pleased to get a response from Jim, sort of a local Warren Buffet. Jim wrote:

 

Brian,

It seems to me that the bond market itself is bringing interest rates down, not the Fed.

The rapid drop in 10 year Treasury yields really surprised me.

I am not buying into the bond bulls’ belief in low long-term rates. I’m rolling over my August Treasury bonds into October maturities.

As long as the highest yields are in short-term bonds, I’m staying with the short maturities.

Jim

And in response to that I'll just nod my head and pretend to understand everything he wrote.

Caitlin Clark Foundation!

I quote here from an email I sent to my fellow UMM advocate Warrenn Anderson on Sunday:

 

Caitlin Clark

There is a "Caitlin Clark Foundation." It provides backpacks filled with school supplies for schoolchildren in Des Moines area. What a wonderful idea! Does anyone do that kind of thing for the Morris kids? I don't even think the cost would be prohibitive. Great idea for someone. I'd be glad to help out. If I get annoyed by UMM enough, maybe I'll shift my estate to Caitlin Clark Foundation.

I walk through edge of UMM campus every day. Every day all summer I see people all over the place like on their little golf carts but these are EMPLOYEES who are working to maintain the campus. That is not what UMM is all about. We should see more student activity even in summer. The campus just sits there. And it's expensive for the state to just have it sit there. 

We need a "base closing commission" in MN for the closing of some colleges. Of course, we know Morris might be on the list. Rochester is booming while we're just the opposite out here where we hear the coyotes. And look out for bears now too. I wonder if it's actually getting a little dangerous for people and dogs to be out along the biking/walking trail.

The Rochester campus of the U was Tim Pawlenty's big idea. Political?

A hawk has been hanging out in my backyard so maybe it will pick off some critters. Did you know that owls go after skunks because owls have no sense of smell?

- BW

Bear sightings in Clay County, oh my!

I noticed some cricket noise last night. A hint of course that autumn will take over. The cricket sounds might be said to coincide with the county fair. We surely are on the doorstep of the fair. 

We might as well have an overpopulation of crickets because all forms of wildlife seem overpopulated. Perfectly logical in light of the mild winter followed by the endlessly wet spring/summer. I had my encounter with skunks earlier this summer. 

I typically awaken at about 4 a.m. and turn on the floodlights around the Williams house. Just curious as to what all is going on. Full disclosure: I often awaken at around 3 a.m. but I hesitate to profess that as it would seem odd. Well, I retire most early in the evening. A sign of advanced age? Lawrence Welk was known to live this way. So Johnny Carson asked him: what exactly goes on at (that early hour)? 

Well I can report some activity from when I began my day this morning (Saturday). "Mr. Raccoon" traipsed by. Unwelcome visitor just like "Mr. Skunk." 

Rabbits? I know people with gardens hate them. Jerry Witt had a reputation for taking a no-nonsense approach with rabbits. I am not aware of any harm these animals would do at my place. In many years I plant zinnias out front but I have found the rabbits are not attracted to them. This year I passed on the zinnias because we had such cool weather toward the end of May. I was concerned the flowers might not even sprout. 

The adversity of May/June abated at my place: In other words the skunk family really did move on. This is a pest that can keep you awake nights obviously. My defenses in the future will be redoubled. Many people have this problem. People can get them under decks. 

 

Well, hello

Ahem, a little bigger

Fargo radio has informed us that bear sightings have been up in Clay County. This is simply consistent with all my other observations. Wildlife is truly flourishing because of our pattern of mild and wet weather. Clay County really isn't that far away, is it? So we might wonder, really, if bear presence might happen here. 

You might remember the black bear that came into Morris about a decade ago. Got up into tree and became quite the item of curiosity. Legend has it that a daycare group of kids got up close to the tree to get their fascination. Law enforcement tried selling us a story when that episode was over. But I was surprised and shocked how many people I knew believed it. 

The police chief went right to the newspaper. The newspaper might have known, or could have assumed, that it was going to be used for spreading some sheep dip. If I had still been with the paper? Could I have kept a straight face? Would I be willing to go along with "humoring" our readers? 

Do you remember? 

I probably would have confronted anyone with my doubts, thus buttressing my already well-established reputation, but in the end I would have "gone along to get along." Was there really any alternative? 

As I recall, law enforcement and the City of Morris staff reported that the bear had just moved along on its own accord. This after law enforcement personnel including the DNR had converged here. I remember reading about that. Converged for what purpose? Just to watch for a while and then notice that "Boo Boo" had just wandered away? Why bother? 

Sorry to exercise my sense of reason perhaps excessively but there is no way that bear, which incidentally had been wounded, would be allowed to just leave and go who knows where. If it left going north, it might head out toward my neighborhood of Northridge Drive. My family had a little dog then and I often had it outside for his "business" once or twice during the night. A wounded bear bounding along would be most ominous. 

The city manager wrote a column in which he thought the bear had "probably gone back to where it came from." Charming, yes. 

In my estimation the bear was either put down or transported away post haste. Had the bear caused any harm to anyone after LE had gotten the full heads-up about it, we'd be talking lawsuit city. In Clay County I guess this kind of episode is a current worry. 

The skunks were bad enough. Skunks are actually known to be pretty gentle and personable. Really. This is truly offset by their one scary quality. Raccoons? I don't know about them. I guess these are known to be around Lake Crystal. I know someone there who has live-trapped them and transported them to Long Lake. 

Long Lake makes me remember the late Doug Rasmusson. He wrote about the carp. Quite the raconteur, Mr. Rasmusson was. He was a creative gem just like Delmar Holdgrafer of Donnelly. Whenever I ponder why I have never had a female significant other, the following statement surfaces in my head: "I don't want to end up like Del Holdgrafer." 

But it's kind of sad. Such a relationship could be enriching. But the risk is concerning. For the time being I'll just be vigilant with the skunk/raccoon issue. Bears? Let's not rule it out.

Money matters

If I write about money y'all will continue reading, right? I quote here from an email I sent to Jim Morrison a few days ago.

 

Jim - I went to Dakotah Bank a couple days ago and got new CD that pays 4 percent interest for 17 months. A couple weeks ago I went to Cyrus and got 10-month CD with 5.25 percent. So for the foreseeable future things look OK.

The cacophony of voices never lets up for the necessity for lots of rate cuts beginning immediately. Your buddy Jeff Gundlach said the Fed should have cut at the last meeting.

I'm seeing commentators saying it's a certainty for a succession of rate cuts to happen all the way through 2025 and 2026. How can they be so sure about this? When I was young I was told you could never be certain of what the Fed was going to do. It was a truism. Now all these commentators have it figured out.

If all these rate cuts happen, wouldn't this push up inflation? How could it not? When will the American people actually start panicking about inflation? It hasn't happened yet. I got my homeowners insurance statement the other day and this time I don't think I'll pay it. It goes up drastically, continually, like car insurance, and then they tell us all the reasons why it goes up. They always have reasons. I may stop driving and use public transit. Besides, I don't want to have to figure out if I should get an electric car. Cars are full of electronic systems now and when they break down, it costs a fortune to fix. That's why car insurance rates go up too. And wait 'til we get our property tax statements.

We cannot rule out Trump winning election. And he says he wants "influence" with the Federal Reserve. Obviously that means he'll want to run it. Do not ever bet against him getting more power. He would never recommend an interest rate increase.

Just avoid Bremer, please

How come we never hear about the interests of savers? What's wrong with wanting a nice interest rate of return on products like CDs? At present, who would bother even asking about a one-year CD? Why do banks even maintain these, as they are total vestiges. Just like the "commercial money market account" at Riverwood. Paid something like .03 percent interest for a time.

Riverwood keeps pushing their "free checking" like it's a big deal. I want accounts that pay me something. Why should I "give" my money to the bank?

Bremer is the worst - they obviously have no interest in dealing with savings customers. I practically got physically ill trying to deal with them, and then a few months later I got a letter from Bremer in a window envelope pushing some "credit card." So they want my business for that. It's all about loans and credit cards now. 

While inflation still threatens us, but nobody seems to care.

- BW