Opinion

Why I am in Minnesota, if you wish to know

We came back to Minneapolis to see snow on the ground, there being none in Manhattan yet, and to drive around the old neighborhood where I lived when I was broke. It was 1969, I’d quit a comfy job at the U so I could write a novel and become famous. I had an infant son and he and my wife and I lived there for several months, then the money ran out. She suggested we live in her parents’ basement and instead I applied for an early-morning shift at KSJR at St. John’s University and Mr. Kling hired me. I was the only applicant, I discovered later. That shift led to “A Prairie Home Companion” and 42 years of amusing myself on radio. So when I drive by that house, I see an enormous canyon between what might have happened and what actually did, and I say a little prayer of gratitude.

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Kindling of a Kind

January means colder weather, which means we get to set things on fire! Okay. Best fire practices include a fire pit or, in my case, a fireplace. Otherwise, it’s arson. Which is bad. Unless you’re an arsonist. Then, I hear, it’s like, better than drugs good. Still illegal. But I guess some people can’t help themselves. Hence, prisons.

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From the Editor’s Desk

I now know why God created young adults. It is so someone can put tons of work into building six pond hockey ice rinks on the lake, only to take them apart and build them again on land, plus flood them and count on really low temps to make nice ice. (And it wasn’t even that easy — I skipped over all the other details they had to work out.)

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From the Editor’s Desk

Today (Tuesday) Governor Walz announced his education budget proposal, a $12 billion package that his administration says would lower the cost of child care for middle-class families, expand tax cuts, and reduce child poverty. They said this is the first of four budget packages; the governor’s entire two-year budget [proposal] will be released on Jan. 24.

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You be the judge!

A young banker asked a retiring banker what the secret of success was in banking, and he responded, “Good judgment.” The rookie then said, “How do you get good judgment?” The older banker said, “Experience.” To which the youngster asked, “How do you get experience?” And the retiring banker said, “Bad judgment.” Or as Mark Twain famously said, “Good judgment comes from experience, and experience comes from bad judgment.” Anyone who has ever been in business can identify with that statement. As a business leader and parent, the one attribute that I value most is a person’s good judgment.

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Resolve for the New Year

This time of year, everyone’s talking about one thing: how much collective weight we put on in December (I know I did my part). On a related note, they’re also talking about New Year’s Resolutions or NYRs, as no one calls them.

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From the Editor’s Desk

What did you think of our snowed in Christmas week? I liked it but I imagine if I owned a retail business it would have been worrisome. I hope you did what you could to support our local stores for gifts, decorations and food.

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