BUDGE COLUMNIST

The beet lovers of Onigamiising

2012 Vegetable of the Year selection for the “One Vegetable, One Community” gardening and food preservation activity is: The Beet. The beet was chosen for this honor sometime during the fall (succeeding kale, the 2011 choice), but the selection was kept under wraps until the official New Year announcement.

By Linda LeGarde Grover , January 11, 2012

Budgeteer columnist Brian Matuszak’s middle name is ‘Debacle’

I know it’s hard to believe, especially when you glance at my picture that accompanies this column, but I am not the smoothest operator when it comes to ... well, anything, really. When the chips are down, I tend to pick them up and, in a panicked state, shove them into my mouth and chew. I have been known to put the D in “debacle”, the SHUN in “humiliation”, and the DORK in “dork.”

By Brian Matuszak , January 11, 2012

Hermantown native Chad Huttel takes on hockey in England

After spending his collegiate years at the University of Minnesota Duluth as a member of the Bulldogs and his high school career at Hermantown with the Hawks, Hermantown native Chad Huttel is now living in England, playing his first season with the Sheffield Steelers.

By Sarah Packingham , January 10, 2012

Thoughts on dog aggression

Many who are bitten report that the dog gave no warning, but animals do give us warnings – often we are just not tuned into them.

By Amy Miller , January 07, 2012

Finding food in the goldenrod galls

Recently, I was watching a black-capped chickadee on a pine branch, and noticed how it appeared to be digging into the wood. Seconds later, it emerged holding a large and tasty caterpillar for a snack. We don’t think of insects being available on these days but, when they know how and where to find them, birds do locate and feed on insects.

By Larry Weber , January 07, 2012

When sports becomes too serious

Sometimes (and far too often), it seems like the emotions and reactions that come with the games we love go too far.

By Sarah Packingham , January 03, 2012

The spider on the wall is totally harmless

With the coming of January, we get ready for the cold and snow so often associated with this month in the Northland. The celebrations of December are past and now we face the chilly season at its coldest times. The snow and cold, along with plenty of darkness (though the days have already begun getting longer), makes for a hard time for some Northlanders each year. And those of us who have dealt with many Januaries learned to cope, and even enjoy this winter month. Whether it is snow and ice sports or various indoor activities that have been pushed off from the warmer times, we move through these days with relative ease.

By Larry Weber , January 01, 2012

Brian’s End-of-the-Year-Best-of-Worst-of-Annual-Wrap-up column

So, 2011 is over and if you blinked, you missed it. If you blinked while nodding your head, you may have been mistaken for Barbara Eden. But even if you didn’t blink OR nod your head OR mistakenly send Dr. Bellows back to the Wild West, 2011 is still over. Seeing as I still have one column left to write this year and not a ton of time available in which to write it (I’m whipping up a batch of figgy pudding to bring to those #@!$! carolers on my front lawn so they’ll leave), I better dig out that musty chestnut of a column idea, and do an End-of-the-Year-Best-Of-Worst-Of-Annual-Wrap-up Column. See if our choices match! (If they do, you need to make an appointment to see Dr. Bellows immediately.)

By Brian Matuszak , December 31, 2011

Peace on earth? Not likely, but it’s not as bad as you think

The worst sound in the middle of a celebratory slumber is that of crashing glass. As consciousness begins its meek tapping, one’s feeble brain begins to crank away at reality. Why is that glass shattering? New Year’s Eve left glassware on the kitchen counter. Is the cat walking across the counter? Is blitzing fluted champagne glasses onto the tile floor so satisfying that he can’t stop himself? Something more sinister begins to eat away at the edge of the reasoning. That’s not glassware. That is bigger –bigger like a living room window – bigger like somebody outside of our locked doors wanting to get INTO our house badly enough to smash through.

By S.E. Livingston , December 31, 2011

Terry Mattson: Happy holidays from all of us at Visit Duluth

It has been an incredible year for tourism in Duluth. Given the challenging economic times our country faces, I find it somewhat difficult to be thoroughly positive about the past year, and, more importantly, about the prospects for Duluth’s tourism industry in 2009.

By Terry Mattson , December 18, 2008

S.E. Livingston: Does it have to be new to say ‘I love you’?

Am I a cheapskate? I bought my daughter’s birthday present at the resale shop.

By S.E. Livingston , December 18, 2008

Virgil Swing: Quick thoughts on three major Duluth issues

The expensive and redundant stadium planned for the Ordean site is just the latest unneeded spending in the infamous Red Plan, but it is the most egregious example of wasting public money at a time the School District is pleading poverty about money for classrooms, where education takes place.

By Virgil Swing , December 18, 2008