Since my niece, Isabelle, was little, she was always a planner. She was the only kindergartner I knew who laid out her outfit for the following day on her bed the night before. “Which …
One of the things I absolutely love about living here in Northwest Wisconsin is that I don’t absolutely dread my commutes to and from work … for just about the first time. In another life, …
Have you ever been faced with this question from your teen? Daughter: “Hey, Dad, how old do I have to be to start dating?” After you pick your jaw up off the floor and scan the …
This week’s questions are both connected to situations where the reader writing in wants a rule to follow, but they actually get to decide who they want to be in each situation.
Katherine Woolley is about to start her senior year as an environmental education major at Western Colorado University. When Katherine arrived for her second round as a summer naturalist …
I spent last week “up north” with my parents. While my husband, Peter, and my cat, Felix, stayed at home and played cat games, I drove up to my parents’ cabin four hours north. The …
It’s probably not something he’s going to brag about, but there’s a guy sitting in the St. Louis County Jail right now who will forever be able to say he was the first real life bad guy …
Looking at the calendar, today marks my official fourth anniversary as editor of the Inter-County Leader. That’s a full presidential term or a governor’s term. I remember seeing the …
Songs from the height of a hot summer can end up defining the sound of the whole year. Take a trip back in time to see what was put to the platter in July in different decades, whether you remember …
Sometimes research is intriguing. Sometimes it’s tedious. And, sometimes, it’s just fun. As I skimmed the April 3, 1930, Journal of Burnett County, I saw this item, “A social evening …
The Wild Wonders Summer Camp kids chattered away as they dug into their lunches, oblivious to the yellow-bellied sapsucker who skirted up and down the bark of the tree just a few feet away, in search …
I haven’t been giving out dog treats for a while. Sometimes, I am the treat lady on my walks, and sometimes I do not carry dog treats. I love dispensing treats, but I hate getting turned …
Well, it’s back in the news again. The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday, July 14, to pass the Sunshine Protection Act of 2026 (H.R. 139), sending it to the U.S. Senate for …
From a distance, the forests of July look like a lush tapestry of green. But when you step into the loosely woven strands and take a closer look, the leaves are etched with feeding trails, dissected …
I go to the theater every chance I get. In an earlier life, I worked in the theater, and unlike some actors and technicians I know who spent years working in the theater and now never want …
Board member Tammy Brenizer recently shared about the Frederic Grocery Cooperative’s work to buy and run the local grocery store as a member-owned business. Now that the temporary information …
On a warm day at the end of June, the whole world buzzed with life. Painted turtles slid off sunning logs as we paddled up the channel into Big Bay Lagoon on Madeline Island. Song sparrows whistled …
As far as I know, most of my people were farmers. On both my parents’ sides, my Scandinavian ancestors came across the ocean looking for better topsoil. I know immigrants came for many reasons—to …
Social gatherings can be a source of stress even before the event happens, as this week’s questions demonstrate.
The North America fur trade of the 1600s to 1800s was an international operation where European goods were traded for North American furs. The fur traders were Europeans or North American-born men of …