Each year, the property tax levy sets the city’s annual operations budget for police and fire services, snow plowing, park maintenance and more.
We are in the middle of the season of hustle and bustle. So much to do, so much to see, so many things to do in preparation for the holidays. Add in the office parties, dinners with friends, plus family gatherings and you’ve got yourself a calendar that’s jammed packed with fun. That is, if …
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, (for those too young for this reference, it refers to vinyl records that would skip and repeat the same thing over and over again and were considered broken) I love unique or unusual critters.
Now that Thanksgiving is just behind us, we’ve reached the official start of the Christmas season. Some may argue that, by the looks of the store shelves and sales flyers, the Christmas season actually started the day after Halloween. Even my Holiday Hits music station went from “The Monster…
Each year the week before Thanksgiving is American Education Week. It is a fitting time to pause, reflect and give thanks for the many people throughout our community who play important roles to ensure our students receive the best education possible.
The holidays are a time for family, community and friendship bonding. However, we need to further this and think beyond the comfort of our close circles. We need to start noticing the circumstances of our community, by thinking beyond our needs and start thinking about others. This is a toug…
Yet another white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) mating season is behind us now. This year I spent a truckload of time in the woods following several large bucks who were actively searching for mates. I was able to capture a pile of images of the most interesting mating behavior.
My skills in the kitchen have gone through a significant metamorphosis over the years. I’m a child of the 1970s and 1980s, where vegetables were found in cans and dinners were found in boxes that often included the name “helper,” so that was pretty much all I knew about meal preparation.
I am always drawn to unique animals. You know, the kind of critters that are different from all others such as the Virginia opossum, which is the only marsupial in America. Or the osprey, a fish-eating raptor that is the only raptor to dive feet first into the water, often completely submerg…
Old technologies never seem to go away, but come back in response to fresh opportunities — like climate change. Consider electric automobiles and trolleybuses.
I just returned home from a weekend with three women that I’ve known for about 40 years. That number is remarkable; but what is truly mind-boggling is that I also have dear friends who I’ve known for over 50 years (basically my entire life).
It’s hard to beat this time of year. The cool days, the colorful trees and pumpkins. Ya, that’s right, pumpkins. I find pumpkins fascinating. Especially the history of pumpkins. You might agree after reading about this amazing vine.
As I meet with stakeholders throughout our community, one little-known fact many are not aware of is that public schools must undergo annual audits conducted by independent accounting firms. Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools is no different, and last Monday the school board received a detailed …
About two-and-a-half years ago, our family made the gigantic decision to bring an itty-bitty puppy into our home. This decision was years in the making and was not taken lightly.
When it comes to confusing common names for animals, I think the American elk has got to be near the top of the confusing list. This came to light last week when I was in northern Montana to film and photograph elk. I ran into a guy from Europe who was also looking to capture images of elk, …
Chuck Marohn is a University of Minnesota-trained civil engineer with a master’s degree in city and urban planning. He grew up on a farm near Baxter, Minnesota and now lives near Brainerd. He’s also a gadfly — so much so that colleagues in the profession (he calls it “the infrastructure cult…
As if 2020 wasn’t enough, 2021 has left a walloping punch. With the pandemic still on the rise, the conflict in Afghanistan and climate change increasingly becoming greater issues, philanthropic efforts are needed now more than ever.
For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed taking pictures. Long before cameras were part of our phones, even before we could immediately see whether our pictures were blurry or if someone’s eyes were closed, way back when we used film and had to wait a week to find out if our photos were…
Standing in a small clearing, deep in the northwoods of Minnesota, I was telling the participants in my black bear photo workshop some of the more interesting natural history facts about the American black bear.
Next weekend is the fourth anniversary of the Pleasant Street Art Walk. This year’s event, on Saturday, Sept. 25, will feature local and regional artists including potters and sculptors, painters, woodworkers, jewelry makers, metal workers and more; some from the Pleasant Street neighborhood.
By the time you read this column, our students will have been back in school for only a few days. Words cannot fully capture how excited we are to have them back!
As we complete the first week of the school year, I think back to when my kids started kindergarten ten years ago.
Every now and then I get an opportunity to work with a species that I don’t have much hands-on experience with. These are often rare or endangered species or a species that is difficult to access and lives in areas that makes it hard to get close to.
The spectacle in Kabul, Afghanistan is painful to watch from either side of the political aisle. In spite of President Biden’s effort to shift some responsibility to former President Trump, and Trump’s pronouncement that it wouldn’t have happened if he were still president, the simple fact i…
I am no stranger to traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles to see, study and document some of nature's most wonderful events. For over 35 years I have traveled to see the epic migration of sandhill cranes in Nebraska, stunning flocks of snow geese in North Dakota and remarkable monarc…
My husband and I just returned from a trip to Las Vegas. It capped off an unusually busy summer of travel for our family. Over the past three months we’ve had three very different getaways: a bucket-list vacation in Hawaii, our annual week at a cabin in my hometown and the Vegas trip to cele…
Every now and then I meet a true wildlife superhero. You know, the kind of person who has dedicated their life to understand and protecting wildlife.
Most of us have heard, or read, the phrase, “One thing leads to another.” There’s even a song with that theme. It’s about history and connections and how seemingly disconnected inventions and events, years apart, come together with unintended and unforeseen, consequences.
Now more than ever our community needs us — our neighbors need us, our family and friends need us. We are in the middle of exhausting times. However, we can’t let this situation bog us down. We have to face reality with intellect.
If you were to ask for a description of Renee Winick, you’d likely receive the standard bits of information: wife, mother of 15-year-old twins, former corporate trainer, current manager of the Winick household, family shutterbug and lover of words.
As a reader of the New York Times, its Sunday edition and Maureen Dowd’s column — I seldom recommend columns, or columnists, but Sunday, July 25 is an exception. It’s a wakeup call. It’s why I’m writing this.
Blackbirds always seem to get a bad rap. As the late Rodney Dangerfield was fond of saying, they “get no respect” in the bird world.
The wide diversity of birds on earth should be a reminder to us all that the natural world is a place where life takes all shapes, colors and forms.
“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
Today’s paper includes an insert about the city’s proposed use of franchise fees to fund street maintenance and replacement. As your city, we are responsible for clean water, sanitary sewer and safe streets. The initial cost for this infrastructure was born largely by development. Developers…
Here’s something to think about: You could spend two, or even three, decades in retirement. To meet your income needs for all those years, you’ll generally need a sizable amount of retirement assets. How will Social Security fit into the picture?
The complexity of nature is sometimes hard to understand and even harder to justify or feel good about, especially when seen through the human lens. I was reminded of this the other day while filming a family of American redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla) that is nesting on my property.
Promise yourself to think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud word, but in great deeds.
The summer of 1990 found my wife and I staying in Rockland, Maine at a hotel overlooking Penobscot Bay. We’d been at a conference in Boston and decided to take a few extra days to explore the Maine coast and Acadia and Mount Desert Island National Parks.
During COVID-19, sentences like “Everything is OK!” “Look on the bright side!” and the infamous “Everything happens for a reason,” have been more prominent. Especially since we have been unable to see people in person, these messages have swarmed social media and have increased how much we h…
We hear a lot these days about racial injustice, white supremacy and systemic racism. There are many misconceptions and sometimes intentional misinterpretations that perhaps I can help clear up.
Greetings Prior Lake! For the past five years I’ve been reporting from the Land of Enchantment — New Mexico — but I’m originally from El Paso, Texas — a culturally rich border city that stands on the Rio Grande across from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
Words have meaning, but they’re imprecise. It’s why there are poets. Google the phrase, “small town feel” and you’ll find over one billion entries. Prior Lake is said to have a “small town feel.” But does a collection of buildings and humans in a political subdivision have feeling — except m…
Spring is a wonderful time of year. Especially right after the thick ice of winter melts off the ponds and small lakes.
If you have children or grandchildren, you may already be somewhat familiar with the 529 plan, a popular education savings vehicle. But you may not have kept up with some recent changes in the plan’s capabilities and in the educational environment in which the plan might be used.
Each spring in nature there is a lot of tragedy and triumph. Heartbreak and happiness. Success and failure.
Call it “The Big Lie,” or “Alternate Facts.” Tell a nation and a people who gave the world Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Martin Luther and Goethe that “You didn’t lose the War. You were stabbed in the back.” Make them yearn for a “savior” to avenge all the “wrongs.” Then sit by and watch …
At Prior Lake-Savage Area Schools, feedback from staff, parents, students and our community is a critical part of our continuous improvement efforts. Our annual stakeholder survey responses help to identify strengths and set goals for areas in need of improvement at both the district and ind…
I am always interested in the unsung hero or the rulebreakers of nature. The kind of critter that is common, yet no one seems to pay any attention to them. Or the bird who is so common throughout the U.S., yet no one seems to notice them.
