KALISPELL, Mont. — A few years after Michael Sisson retired from a career as a metal fabricator that spanned more than two decades, he started getting bored. So in the spring of 2019, he bought a welder. About eight months and 540 logged hours later, he finished a roughly 125-pound carbon ...
The verdant canopy of the forest spanned as far as the eye could see. Sunlight glowed through the leaves, casting a calming light upon the scene. Shades of chartreuse and evergreen surrounded me. A few leaves in hues of red and orange were scattered on the forest floor, even though there ...
SPANISH FORK, Utah — The long-anticipated Spanish Fork all-abilities park that will feature a wheelchair swing, sensory garden, ground-level merry-go-round and other accessible amenities is set to open today. The Spanish Fork City Council announced during its Aug. 25 meeting that ...
It was a crisp, sunny morning. Dew still lingered upon the grass. A light covering of fog could be seen on a few windows, evidence of the coming autumn. Birds called out in the distance. A chipmunk darted around the lawn, seemingly searching for something. It was tempting to linger outside, ...
JACKSON, Wyo. — Matt Walker neared the summit of the Grand Teton on Aug. 21, topping out on the Exum Ridge. The weather was perfect — bluebird, not too windy. On an Exum Mountain Guides trip with a climbing partner from Big Sky, Montana, the team approached a spot Walker knew well, a ...
It started with just a few tiny drops. It was the type of rain that falls so sparsely and gently that it makes you wonder if you might just be imagining it. But then, the drops began to fall faster, just enough to confirm that it was actually raining. I figured it would just be a sprinkle. ...
MISSOULA, Mont. — A treasured local hot spring and swimming hole near Missoula has been increasingly trashed and abused lately, leading the longtime local owner to finally contemplate the unthinkable. However, a scuba diver volunteered his time to clean the place up and help keep it open to ...
A leaf gently floated down from the old oak tree in my backyard, just as I was thinking of the fast-approaching autumn. As I looked around the yard, I noticed this fallen leaf was hardly alone. A collection of crisp leaves dotted the grass throughout the yard. They seem to be a testament ...
By LAUREN SCHWAHN NerdWallet via AP I haven’t set foot in a grocery store in nearly four months. With a 10-month-old baby to think about, my husband and I have kept trips to the store to a minimum out of an abundance of caution during the pandemic. We’re fortunate to have just about ...
LOGANSPORT, Ind. — He was known as a “numbers guy” for 55 years. Then, one fateful day, Logansport resident Clarence Kapraun turned his back on the infinite possibility of sums and found favor in letters. But it was only one letter, really … specifically, the “Ms,” as he ...
I craned my neck upwards, searching for meteors plummeting through the velvety black sky. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I continued to scan the heavens, hoping to catch a glimpse of even one meteor. However, my efforts were to no avail. I didn’t see any meteors that night. But ...
The glint of bright orange shining through the glass of the frame immediately caught my eye. I couldn’t help but investigate what this partially hidden treasure might be. I gently moved the several framed images that stood in front of it on a low, dusty shelf of a local secondhand ...
ST. PAUL, Minn. — David Pergande was biking on Washington County 18 last fall when he noticed a prime piece of real estate for sale just north of Afton’s Old Village. The nearly $1 million property — 31 acres in all — is home to part of the Valley Creek trout stream, wetlands, a pond, ...
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Roberta Ehret paused when asked if her family farm could possibly survive the coronavirus pandemic. “I feel a little guilty,” she told the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “Actually, business is booming.” She and husband Brian own KDE Farms in Hugo, a four-generation farm ...
MARQUETTE — Sometimes it pays to get up in the wee hours of the morning to enjoy a pastime. For Mike Laituri — who lives in Whitewater, Wisconsin but hails from Palmer and is a 1985 Negaunee High School graduate — getting up early on July 17 resulted in netting, literally, a ...
JANESVILLE, Wis. — Retired teachers Ed and Chris Stried found a simple way to stay fit when the coronavirus ended their normal workouts earlier this year. On March 24, they bundled up and set out from their Janesville home on South Harmony Drive for their first daily walk. Early on, they ...
I left the cushions on my patio chairs the night before, forgetting all about the possibility of rain. That is the first thought that enters my head after a tremendous crack of thunder seems to practically shake the foundation of my house early one Saturday morning. And even though it might ...
DEAR ABBY: We were friendly with our next-door neighbor, who owned a contracting company, and we hired him to renovate our bathroom. At the time, we thought he did a wonderful job. It looked beautiful. Unfortunately, he didn't set the tub correctly, and a slow leak was happening underneath it. ...
MARQUETTE — Outdoors art for youth can be more than simply drawing chalk stick figures on a sidewalk. Like adults, they can take part in an idyllic kind of outside art: plein air painting. A creative community called the Artists Network defines plein air painting as an artistic term used ...
Little patches of clover are working their way up between the cracks in the driveway, while grass, weeds and flowers seem to grow and transform overnight with all the recent sun and rain. The warm sun beats down upon me while birds call out, sing and flutter around in the big old cedar tree ...