Opinion - The Timberjay

It is the beginning of a new year. I just turned off my radio after the top of the hour’s morning news. I try to keep abreast of what’s happening in the big world out there without … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 1/10/24

This Kansas kid misses Minnesota winter

As a kid growing up in Kansas, snow and ice were happy aberrations in the otherwise brown and dreary winter months. It was a true marvel when we would get enough snow to cancel school, dust off the … more

David Colburn | 12/27/23

Joe Heller's Year in Review

Joe Heller | 12/27/23

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

Savor the light and the dark

Here in the midst of the holidays at the darkest time of the year, it feels right to explore the layers of light and dark that we experience in many ways in our lives. Author Susan Caine, through her … more

Betty Firth | 12/20/23

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

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

What about the economy?

One of the biggest head scratchers in our current political moment is consistent results of polling giving former President Donald Trump a wide lead over current President Joe Biden on the question … more

12/6/23

A lifelong appreciation for the power of trees

As a young child, I discovered the most peaceful place in the whole world, or so I thought, high among the boughs of a backyard scotch pine. There I found refuge from the chaos inside my … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 12/6/23

Time for action is now

Thirty years from now, there won’t be much argument about climate change. Even today, only the truly deluded or utterly ignorant continue to deny the warming that is fueling extreme weather … more

11/29/23

Your child’s next best friend could be an AI robot

There’s a host of new friends for young children with names like Miko, Roybi, Moxie, and Zivko, but they’re not new classmates or neighbors. They can’t play football or soccer in … more

David Colburn | 11/29/23

The four freedoms

America can seem a discontented nation at times. Perhaps it is built into our DNA, since this is a country that was built by the those who weren’t content in the places they were born. This is … more

11/20/23

Write from your heart, and by hand

This week we might pay more attention to what we’re grateful for. I have an odd one. I’m grateful that I was was taught cursive writing in elementary school by teachers who insisted on … more

Betty Firth | 11/20/23

The immigration challenge

The United States is facing an unusual convergence of trends that threaten to upend our economy and the nation’s ability to fund its priorities, particularly payroll-funded programs like Social … more

11/15/23

“Greatest nation” debates aren’t helpful

Is the United States the greatest nation in the world? It’s a natural question to ask, given our penchant for displays of patriotism and our debates about American exceptionalism. But I … more

Lee Hamilton | 11/15/23

Men and violence

America has a problem with violence committed by men. That’s indisputable, as the front and back pages of newspapers and the nightly news broadcasts across the country attest every single day. … more

11/9/23

Fearing those we see as different from us

An important subject has been on my mind for days. It’s about the innate fears we carry of people we see as “different” from us— strangers, “outsiders”, people who … more

Kathleen McQuillan | 11/9/23

Trouble ahead

Election denialism, a concept soundly rejected by sane individuals and courts of law across the country, is now the prevailing ethos of the Republican Party— and that makes it increasingly … more

11/2/23

Memories of my favorite childhood holiday...

Boo! While I hold special memories of Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and other holidays, the holiday I’ve perhaps loved the most over the years is Halloween. The first Halloween I can recall … more

David Colburn | 11/2/23

Are we in need of new role models?

I love libraries because I can wander the aisles and just browse, inviting that unexpected book title to jump out at me. I’ve certainly browsed online retailers and the Arrowhead Library … more

Betty Firth | 10/25/23

Creepy Crawlies

Just in time for Halloween, there’s a new poll out that shows that nearly one-in-three Americans are concerned about being bitten by blood-sucking pests. Of course, had they taken the poll in … more

10/25/23

The effects of climate change on post-corporeal humans

REGIONAL- Climate change has been impacting many different people across the globe. Given the small but non-trivial population of post-corporeal humans in the Ely area, the Timberjay reached out to … more

Catie Clark | 10/25/23

Clean water at VNP

It’s tough to argue with clean water, particularly in the only water-based national park in the country. That’s likely one reason that the Voyageurs National Park Clean Water Joint Powers … more

10/18/23

A Republican-inspired Halloween list

“I don’t make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts.” – Will Rogers Will Rogers, a man of Cherokee lineage who was born and raised in Oklahoma’s … more

David Colburn | 10/18/23

The federal deficit, part II

When it comes to the massive annual U.S. deficit and the growing national debt, it’s worth considering that 23 years ago, under the second term of President Bill Clinton, the U.S. ran a budget … more

10/11/23