Local News from Across the Rainy River District
What does it mean to be human? This question has both puzzled and inspired writers, musicians, artists, philosophers, and thinkers throughout history. In Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, the first of a series of influential works, historian and public intellectual Yuval Noah Harari shines a bright light into humanity’s […]
A recent string of political violence in the United States has unsettled many—and understandably so. Attacks on political figures, commentators and protestors have served as a reminder that politics, even in our day, can turn lethal. Times like this reveal how fragile civics becomes when violence invades politics. Acknowledging past […]
A good gardener will use crop rotation for two reasons: to ensure good soil nutrient supply and for pest control. Crops such as peas and beans (legumes) put nutrients back in the soil as they grow because they have little nodes that take in nitrogen and then ‘fix’ it in […]
Did you know? Most drivers know the basics of highway prep, but it’s easy to underestimate how quickly low visibility, ice, and freezing temps can turn a routine trip into a crisis. Even if you’ve been behind the wheel for decades, winter conditions have a way of throwing a curveball […]
I am the first one to admit I am not a good traveller, certainly not a good air traveller and the reasons are many. I remember an adage from eons ago that went something like “time to spare – go by air” and that certainly is fitting today with the […]
Riddle me this. If a rez dog is walking around outdoors and no one is around to hear it, does Metallica’s “Wherever I May Roam” play loudly from the sky? Where do I begin? Skipper the Rez Dog did not belong to us. That’s the official line. Technically, he belonged […]
Time is certainly marching on! It doesn’t seem like Christmas was that long ago. We made it through another cold day or two and it looks like we are going to be trending warmer. There doesn’t seem to be a happy medium. It hasn’t been too bad for calving at […]
We live in an ever-shrinking world. The internet brought us images of the first bombs striking Iranian territory before the dust from those bombs settled. The U.S. government supplied us with videos of aircraft being launched from carriers and missiles being fired from destroyers and then photographs of those missiles […]
It was just days before Newfoundland first won the Brier. Curling’s national championship was being played at the Regina Exhibition Stadium, which by today’s site standards might rank as an oversized barn that held 7,000 spectators and a few cows. Curling brooms were made of corn straw… you sweep, and […]
At a lunch and good conversation at the Flint House on Scott Street, the new General Manager of the Fort Frances Times extended an invitation that genuinely meant something to me. Alongside my usual columns on Canadian culture, history, music and art (and the occasional attempt at humour), he asked […]
Did you know? In Canada, motor vehicle collisions remain the second-leading cause of injury and hospitalization, and the third-leading cause of unintentional injury deaths. Fatal motor vehicle collisions Canada continues to see a troubling trend in fatal motor vehicle collisions. Most of these deaths are preventable, often resulting from speeding, […]
If you are looking for a powerful read, may I recommend Is a River Alive? by Robert Macfarlane, a British writer widely thought of as one of the most influential contemporary voices in nature writing. You may have to wait a few weeks yet, as this book is only available […]
