Opinion - The Timberjay

Unemployment and workers

Just over a year ago, generous unemployment benefits were being blamed for creating a shortage of workers, as employees laid off during COVID were supposedly lounging at home living on the dole. … more

9/14/22

Chickens in town

When it comes to ordinances, few communities seek to reinvent the wheel. Most adopt ordinances based on the work done by others, with only minor modifications. That could be how Tower’s … more

7/19/23

When pumping gas became a life-changing experience

When it comes to the world of work, for the most part I’ve been a very fortunate soul. From Dodge City to Chicago, from St. Louis to Los Angeles, and from hometown Marion to my newest home in … more

David Colburn | 9/14/22

Why do politicians run for office?

If you followed this year’s elections, at some point the question probably occurred to you: Why do people do this? The endless campaign events, the constant scrutiny… and increasingly, … more

Lee Hamilton | 11/23/22

Park Service violations

The Timberjay’s ongoing investigation into the tasing of an Ash River business owner by rangers in Voyageurs National Park has raised troubling questions about the actions of park law … more

2/15/23

Why don’t you get it?

Brené Brown, Ph.D., MSW, research professor at the University of Houston, is well-known for her many books and podcasts on courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. While conducting training … more

Betty Firth | 2/15/23

Minnesota Power

No one likes to see higher prices for anything, particularly something as basic to our everyday lives as electricity. And that’s one reason that most states in the U.S., including Minnesota, … more

12/13/23

The big lies

How do we achieve accountability for politicians who tell big lies? We’re not talking about the little white lies that people tell every day without much thought. We’re talking about the … more

2/28/24

Do you know anyone confined to an iron lung?

A picture is often worth 1,000 words. Here’s one that I drafted for a blog during the measles outbreak of 2019, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The whole point … more

Catie Clark | 12/13/23

The death of major college sports as we’ve known it

Well over a hundred years ago, alarms were being sounded about the deleterious effects of sports on the world of higher education. Football, played without pads or helmets in the early days, was … more

David Colburn | 2/28/24

Take a second look for schools

The Legislature appears to be giving to schools with one hand and taking away with the other, and it could prove a huge challenge to school districts in our region. We’ve spoken to two business … more

Marshall Helmberger | 5/3/23

ChatGPT, deepfakes, and the fabrication of truth

I hope you will all join me in offering hearty congratulations to our publisher, Marshall Helmberger, for being awarded a Pulitzer Prize in journalism for his ongoing coverage of the copper-nickel … more

David Colburn | 5/3/23

The federal deficit

The United States has a deficit problem, and we don’t need extremist threats of a government shutdown to address the problem. We need members of Congress to actually understand what’s … more

10/4/23

Gondolas, grapes, and grumbles...

Two weekends ago, after my son threatened for three years to get me on Lutsen’s Summit Express Gondola for a ride up to the top of Moose Mountain, his wish came true. He, his fiance Ashley, … more

Scarlet Stone | 10/4/23

Four travel lessons worth every penny

In the latest edition of National Geographic, the story of Jessica Nabongo, the first black woman to visit all of the world’s 195 countries and 10 territories triggered memories of the handful … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 7/6/22

Standing up for the right to read

The story began with a young girl who grew up in Watts, a south side neighborhood of Los Angeles, worlds away from her rural Louisiana home. Her family was part of the Great Migration that began in … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 12/1/22

Adult summer school has just ended

I am back from one of my periodic writing breaks. My last column was in the June 3 edition, and now it is three months later. Time does fly and in many ways I feel like I just completed summer … more

Scarlet Stone | 9/21/22

Tower harbor

For all of two decades, hopes for development at the Tower harbor have met with frustration as the dreams of city officials—to convert the city’s link to Lake Vermilion into an economic … more

7/26/23

What the Florida Black history standards miss

There was little chance that approval of new standards for Black history education in Florida would slip by without igniting some sort of protest, given the state’s recent track record when it … more

David Colburn | 7/26/23

Election interference

The U.S. Supreme Court, as has become its pattern in recent years, acted recklessly last week when it announced it would hear former president Donald Trump’s claim that he is immune from all … more

3/6/24

Assault at Voyageurs

The release of body cam footage stemming from the tasing of Ash River business owner Justin Ebel has largely confirmed what we have suspected from the beginning about this troubling incident at … more

5/10/23

The joy of keeping it simple

This morning began as would any other. A little stiffness in my knees as my feet touched the floor. Strands of hair criss crossing my cheeks, the sign of a restless night’s sleep. I felt a … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 3/6/24

A lifeline of hope, or get up and do something

In our times there has been a lot of commentary about the aftermath of COVID. It is reported that young people and adults are expressing unusual levels of loneliness and disconnectedness, in spite of … more

Betty Firth | 5/10/23

The ambulance crisis

It appears that state lawmakers are hearing the message about the need to fix the broken funding system for the state’s ambulance services, particularly those serving rural areas. The message … more

12/20/23

Applause for area ambulances

“Small Is Beautiful.”That was the title of the influential 1973 economics and philosophy primer by E.F. Schumacher, but it also appears to be a good description of what it takes to be a … more

2/22/23