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Continue season of giving by donating blood

Along with being the month when we make resolutions or start a new diet or exercise plan, January is also the month to raise awareness about the urgent need for blood donations. Donating blood is a simple and relatively painless way to do something amazing: save lives. January is National ...

Finding connection in later life

Dear Annie: Now that my husband and I are in our 70s, it feels as if our social world has shrunk to the size of a postage stamp. Friends have moved away to be near their children, others are dealing with health issues, and a few have simply drifted off. We used to host ...

Minnesota’s fraud problem

Every week, there is another headline about fraud in Minnesota. From the Feeding Our Future scandal to ongoing problems in childcare and health care programs, taxpayers keep learning that millions meant to help Minnesotans are being wasted or stolen. Minnesotans are generous people. We want to ...

The kayak mystery

Cleaning out an old family farmhouse is an exercise in conundrums. As you sift through all the stuff, you have to constantly ask yourself, “keep or crap?” Many of the decisions are easy. It’s unlikely that anyone will want a yellowed feed store calendar from 2013. Ditto for the rubber ...

Longing to connect with a quiet son

Dear Annie: My son lives at home, but he has no interest in talking to me. He doesn’t eat meals with me and my husband. He just stays in his room and comes downstairs to cook his own food, which is invariably a pan-fried sandwich, possibly with air-fried breaded chicken, followed by crisps ...