http://www.thelandonline.com en-us Copyright CNHI All Rights Reserved. 5 Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:15:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_184113410.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_184113410.html My mother fondly remembers the smell of burning leaves on the streets of her Chicago neighborhood growing up. There was something so American at the time about being able to burn your waste and not have to worry about the pollutants and other hazards that now concern us. Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:11:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_171101840.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_171101840.html Even though we are in the 21st century, and race should not matter, I’m afraid it still does to all too many in this country. I don’t care about the color, gender, party affiliation, dietary habits, or whether or not they are a pet owner. What matters to me is if they can do the job. Fri, 06 Jun 2008 03:16:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_151155136.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_151155136.html German-Prussian politician Otto von Bismarck once said, “Laws are like sausages. It’s better not to see them being made.” With the recent completion of the 2007 farm bill, that saying took on greater significance. Fri, 23 May 2008 03:12:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_141174235.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_141174235.html If "environmentalism" is a pagan cult whose members worship nature itself, does The Nature Conservancy count as a faith-based initiative? Fri, 09 May 2008 03:13:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_123112307.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_123112307.html A special treat in listening to George Rehm — a longtime University of Minnesota Extension agronomist, now retired — is his remarkable candor. Without the “political restraints” of being on the U of M payroll, he thrives on “telling it like it is.” Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:13:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_115112356.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_115112356.html I have always been a fan of movies made in Minnesota. There’s something so surreal about seeing a place you know well on the big screen. Some of my favorite movies of all-time were filmed in the land of 10,000 lakes. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:14:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_102104251.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_102104251.html Sitting with nearly 100 people March 14 in the Renville County Commissioner’s Chamber at the county office building, I witnessed a most interesting demonstration of grass-roots activism. Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:14:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_087134342.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_087134342.html Before adopting our two beautiful, gifted and utterly exasperating daughters, my wife and I had lived more than 11 years of blissful ignorance known as DINKs: double income, no kids. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:15:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_073115403.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_073115403.html March brings the anticipation of the upcoming growing season, but it also brings business that needs to be tended to prior to getting the planter rolling — research and promotion council elections. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:15:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_059113353.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_059113353.html Reflecting back on my recent two-week experience in South Africa, memories linger of the beautiful rolling hills, the moderate temperatures and the gentle black South African families that we visited. And strangely, I wonder about America. Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:33:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_039123244.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_039123244.html There are plenty of things you can do in this state if you enjoy winter’s splendor. I have tried them all and found no pleasure in any of them. Fri, 01 Feb 2008 03:12:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_031095158.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_031095158.html While it’s noble for a farmer to think of the past — the family’s farmers who toiled the same land, he must also think of the present and the future. Hanging onto a losing enterprise for the sake of the family name can ruin the family’s present and future. Sat, 19 Jan 2008 16:44:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_018151000.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_018151000.html The African continent’s most powerful economy — the world’s 24th largest — is starkly contrasted by extreme poverty in rural areas, compounded by unsustainable land management practices. Fri, 11 Jan 2008 15:24:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_011152443.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_011152443.html Only once in my years have I actually made a resolution. I don’t even remember how many years ago that I resolved to not drink coffee. I never really liked the taste of the mud, but the pot was always on at work and free-flowing after church on Sundays; so I drank. So that was it, one year I just decided no more java. Wed, 26 Dec 2007 15:27:00 +0000 http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_347121404.html http://www.thelandonline.com/l_minds/local_story_347121404.html When you’re stuck looking for the perfect gift, look deep within; the gift has been there all along.