When I turned on my radio this morning the news announcer was relating a story about Fat Tuesday and sharing information on the Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  I have always wanted to travel to New Orleans to experience Mardi Gras.

    When we traveled to the west end of town for a Valentine’s Sunday night out at Bootlegger’s, the wind was really starting to howl. A great meal and hour later, we were slammed in the face as we headed home by a mini blizzard that worked its way into the valley and made visibility while driving a real challenge.

    Folks across Minnesota are experiencing economic hardship that hasn’t been felt since the Great Depression. Statewide, unemployment has reached 7.4 percent and 217,000 Minnesotans are looking for work. For the State Legislature, these stats are both troubling and a call to action. Lawmakers have been aggressive about getting our hard-working residents back on the job since the Legislative Session began Feb. 4.

    Making job creation the first priority of the 2010 Legislative Session, the Minnesota Senate passed a comprehensive capital investment package this week.  State Sen. Gary Kubly, DFL-Granite Falls, said that economic experts predict the bonding bill could create as many as 10,000 much-needed jobs throughout Minnesota.  The bill was passed by the Senate with a strong bipartisan 52-14 vote.

    We have all talked about the weather so I am not going to spend your time and mine carping about the misery of snow shoveling. Bouncing a snow blower off large solid frozen chunks that are hiding under a foot of new snow isn’t worth writing about and hardly worth reading either. Add to that the fact that we all have suffered through this and there is no reason to expound on ice dams on snow-covered roofs and such.

    Have you given much thought to how dependent we are on the internet?
    Have you thought about how the technology just keeps cutting ahead and leaving us behind?
    Have you wondered where all the technology came from in the first place?
    Conundrums.  Conun-drums. Conundrums.

    The infamous prognosticator,   Punxsutawney Phil, peeped his furry little head out of his burrow on Tuesday morning.  When he saw his shadow, he retreated into his burrow and, you know it, we’re in for six more weeks of winter.

    Some well-deserving folks were recognized last Saturday night during the annual Granite Chamber of Commerce banquet. In the weeks leading up to the banquet, there was plenty of discussion about which awards should be given, who should be recognized. There was even discussion about whether or not the chamber should continue to recognize the service that people and organizations give to the community.

    The Minnesota State Auditor issued a report this month that shows Minnesota cities’ property tax revenues have increased 102 percent since 1999.  State Sen. Gary Kubly, DFL-Granite Falls, said this report confirms the trend that the Minnesota Senate has been warning against: when state funding to local governments go down, property taxes inevitably go up.

In many ways, the ongoing restoration of the Minnesota River Basin is a story of success. The water is less polluted, animals and aquatic organisms are seeing an encouraging  rebound and appreciation for the value of the river continues to grow.

    First it rained, and then the Vikings lost, a blizzard and finally a three foot drift of snow blocking the driveway.  Winter, isn’t it a wonderland?

    There’s nothing quite like getting good service in a small town and it can come in some unexpected ways. Last week I was trudging a few items into the house.         Among the things that needed to be put away was a rectangular box containing 12 cans of my favorite beverage. Since most of us enjoy that product as a chilled respite, the only proper place for that would be the 20 year-old refrigerator that we keep in the basement. The sturdy appliance in off-white or “almond” was most modern when my mom bought it from Ladner’s back in 1990 It still looks good and it seems to have a number of useful years of service ahead.

    I received an email this week that I wanted to share titled “The Lost Generation”.  It is written in the form of a palindrome.  I looked the email up on the internet and this is the information I found about the palindrome and the author:  The author is a 20-something native of Atlanta and a student at Columbia College in Chicago.  He wrote the palindrome about himself and his peers; the so-called Lost Generation.

    As lawmakers prepare to face the state’s looming $1.2 billion budget deficit, state Sen. Gary Kubly, DFL-Granite Falls, said that the Legislature will be exploring numerous reform proposals to streamline government and create long-term cost savings during the 2010 Legislative Session.

    Each January for the past several years a few of us take a long weekend and venture to the northernmost point in Minnesota to the Northwest Angle and Lake of the Woods. For several years that destination has been to a small resort on Oak Island which may be the largest island in Minnesota. It is about eight miles off shore from what they all call “The Angle”. Getting there can be quite a challenge.