[“Weakie” was elected to be parade grand marshal for this post as he points out the “obvious” at a counter-culture establishment on Madeline Island in the Apostles.]
Two-day caravan through southern part of 7th Congressional District took Gary Carlson, Tom Obert and Jeanne Johnson to newspaper editors in Redwood Falls, Granite Falls, Marshall, Montevideo, Benson and Glenwood. Willmar editor too busy to meet but he’ll receive summary of the REMI study and the CCL press pack pushing the carbon tax and rebate proposal. The two surprises were the Swift County Monitor and the Pope CountyTribune (they also publish the Starbuck Times)–both proudly independent. I expect to get 3-4 articles or editorials out of this trip.
We reveled in the scenery, sweet little towns like Dawson with its tree lined boulevard, turkey-poop ethanol plants and oil trains. Tom took pictures of us at every stop. ~ Jeanne Johnson, Alexandria Citizens Climate Lobby
[Editor’s note: In my efforts to “map” this in the wee dark hours of the morning, I missed going from Granite Falls to Montevideo then to Dawson. A clerical error I really do not feel like taking the time to correct. It was a trip of first impression for me of Granite Falls, Marshall, Montevideo, Dawson, and Benson. 🙂 ]
[Willmar, no editor, let’s go see the pols!]
[Hello, anybody home?]
[This was Redwood Falls. We had a heckuva time finding the paper in these towns. I guess the locals all know where the paper is so they’re not well “marked”!]
[While in Redwood Falls let’s go see . . . the falls! With the requisite “selfie” to prove I was really there.]
[Then to Granite Falls . . . ]
[Yup, that’s what the clock says.]
[The Granite Falls falls.]
[The Minnesota River downstream.]
[The World’s Oldest Rock . . . 3.8 billion years old!]
[On the Minnesota River.]
[As the sign says . . . ]
[I didn’t know this . . . did you?]
[This is Marshall, about the same size as Alex. We spent the night here, this was the following morning. We had dinner at Bello Cuccina, a mini-chain bistro-type restaurant throughout this area! 🙂 ]
[Then on to Montevideo where down the street . . . ]
[It’s sister city! 🙂 ]
[Montevideo newspaper.]
[Then Benson, and ended at Glenwood where I forgot my reportorial duties to get a picture?]
[After a Friday evening with Al and Terry, a/k/a Emergency Stop, at SAWA, the next day, the final weekend in September, proved to be a beautiful day for an afternoon at the winery. Sunny and 81 degrees, Professor Anthony Miltich performing, and joined by some CPF’s. 😉 ]
[Good-bye Marquette Stage . . . ]
Wait, before we go, a trio of contributions from the supervisor:
[There’s always a wedding at the winery . . . ]
[We were joined by friends from Ashby, John and Helen Etnier. Harkening back to the story line at the top of the post, they were actually at the Peoples’ Climate March in New York City . . . ]
[And here’s Helen’s Facebook post to prove it! 🙂 ]
[and again, good-bye Anthony . . . ]
[See you both again next time.]
[Then it was on to SAWA and the Cheese Bots . . . ]
[A new group for us . . . ]
[We have Lindy Pederson, Jim LaRocque, and Marty Sarlette, who you should recognize from Components. They were all buddies back in the day at U of M, Morris. Alex’s own Greg DeGier was also a peer and was in the audience.]
They did a wonderful impersonation of Dave Brubeck here:
“Blue Rondo a la Turk”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xe_W_TWSUI&list=UUDt6CCFM-8cxXEwOQhEwkiA
And then a little Clapton:
“Lay Down Sally”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8Uum9SdRyw&list=UUDt6CCFM-8cxXEwOQhEwkiA
[Our SAWA beverage was new and quite luscious! 🙂 ]
What I didn’t see this week: Our Alex Cardinals upset the high-flying Willmar Cardinals at their homecoming, 34 – 31; our girls’ soccer team upset the undefeated Sartell Sabres; our volleyball team rallying from a 2 – 0 deficit for a 3 – 2 victory at Brainerd; our boys’ cross-country team continuing a terrific year with a win at a 14-team meet; the girls’ cross-country team just 2 points out of first in a 14-team meet (with the Hasz sisters finishing 1 & 2); the Gophers winning the Little Brown Jug; and the Twins Phil Hughes (a great year in an otherwise bleak season) setting a major league record with 11.63 strikeouts for every one walk.
A MODEST PROPOSAL
As the Europeans kick our collective butts for the umpteenth consecutive time in the Ryder Cup, maybe it’s time to reconsider how we produce good golfers! It seems that for years now anytime a kid shows promise in the sport, uproot the whole family and move them to . . . Florida, Texas, Arizona, California. It doesn’t work anymore! We can’t play unless it’s 80 degrees-plus and sunny. The South Korean women dominate their sport – and probably have to play occasionally in (horrors) jackets. The European men – hey, a stocking cap is routine! I suggest that for the sake of our future relevance in the sport, that instead of farming kids out to the “sunshine states,” we send them to the Canadian maritime provinces to learn how to play in “real” weather!
When cheese gets it’s picture taken, what does it say? ~ George Carlin
Up next: Good-bye to Crazy Dave?
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