DL News Staff
Author Content
This is kind of a bedbug story. We were on a little island during the war and it had its share of bedbugs. I don't know how they got there. They would get up in the corner of the mosquito nets in the daytime and come out in force at night. Some groups were really ate up. I never had a bite.
A report contracted by the League of Minnesota Cities was released on June 24th and it projects that by 2015 cities all over the state of Minnesota will "be broke." If we continue on this path, Greater Minnesota Cities in general will be at a 15 percent deficit by 2015 and a 32 percent deficit by 2025. What does this mean to our communities? It means a cut to services or a raise in your property taxes. Because we have a lower per capita tax base than the metro area, our cities are going to be hit even harder than the larger cities.
There have been a few accidents to make the news lately relating to driver awareness. There were a couple disastrous motorcycle vs. vehicle accidents in the Fargo-Moorhead area, and one involving a vehicle vs. a young rollerblader in Detroit Lakes. I'd like to call attention to another area where drivers should be aware and understanding; that is runners. With darkness fast approaching in the evenings and the sun slow to rise in the mornings, many of us runners are out in the dark. We run on the sides of the roads, along the lakes and on the sidewalks when available.
With National Wildlife Refuge Week being celebrated Oct. 10-16, it is the perfect time to give a great big thank you to the many people who take care of these wonderful places for the rest of us. In Becker County we are fortunate to have Hamden Slough, the DL wetlands and Tamarac to enjoy. The many employees of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are continually working to improve our environment for the variety of living creatures that inhabit it, as well as always having the time to help the public enjoy this environment.
To our friends in Detroit Lakes and surrounding towns, we (Landon's family) are so grateful for the ways in which you've supported us during this time of tragedy. Our lives have been torn up, and you've been there to help carry us through. We've been very aware of the many ways each of you have surrounded us with your love. We do not know yet the outcome of this horrific tragedy. But, we are living one day at a time, trying to do what's best for Landon, as well as trying to trust our Heavenly Father for the days ahead.
We are all victims in this dairy crisis of human devastation due to the failures and injustice of systems, and actions, or lack of them, and the conduct of greed and sepsis of corruption that sickens and destroys not only the innocent, but also the very ones who wield it for power and profit. No one wins...our pasts that were once futures have proven this. My name is LoriJayne M. Grahn, a Minnesota dairy farmer and consumer.
"Sometimes it's hard to be a woman..." Oh I hear ya Tammy Wynette, I hear ya. And I stand by my man, Dan Griffith, who of course is not perfect, but he is honest. He's someone I call a "servant-leader;" a man, husband, father to our four sons and an attorney who seeks to help and serve others with qualities of integrity, character and leadership (he's won awards for having these qualities). I especially stand by my man as he runs a Minnesota statewide race for judge on the court of appeals.
October has been designated as National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and we at the Lakes Crisis and Resource Center (LCRC) encourage everyone to learn more about how to end domestic violence in our communities. Domestic violence is a problem that is too often kept quiet or ends with devastating results. The human cost is staggering. This year alone, 12 women, two children and four adults lost their lives in domestic-violence-related homicides, according to the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women.
As a member of a family of seven physicians starting with my grandfather, I am very much aware of the responsibilities of a physician to provide compassionate and competent care to their patients, to apply fair and equitable fees for services rendered, and support their local community health initiatives (my dad worked tirelessly to get a county public health department in his Illinois community). Charitable contributions were important, and made judiciously, but not promoted or publicized.
What is a public servant? A simple definition is a person who serves the public interests. This election we have the opportunity to elect a true public servant to the State Senate -- Browns Valley Mayor Jeff Backer. As the City Attorney for Browns Valley the last four years, I have been able to work closely with and observe Mayor Backer perform his duties.