Archive - May 2008

Well I have a spook in the house. Where he came from I do not know. He may have followed me home from some of the many locations that I have been to. Probably from the Landmark, I have been taking a number of my classes there.

It’s not a major haunting, just enough to let me know he’s there.

From the University of Minnesota Extension:

Recent research from the University of Minnesota and other land-grant universities from across the U.S. has found that salary is not what is most valued by low-income, rural women when they are looking for jobs. Instead, they want a job that is flexible with their time schedules, and understanding with issues of transportation and childcare.

By Jodi DeJong-Hughes, University of Minnesota Extension

Many things affect the impact of agriculture on soil and water quality in Minnesota. Annual row-crops like corn and soybeans don’t protect the soil from direct raindrop impact until the leaf canopy closes, which is usually mid- to late June.

The period from April through June has the greatest potential for water runoff in Minnesota. It’s wet, and soil moisture conditions are at or near field capacity while transpiration rates from row crops are low.

The vast majority of Minnesota’s 965 community water supply systems provided safe drinking water to their users each day throughout 2007 with few problems of contamination, according to a report by the Minnesota Department of Health.

The results of monitoring tests for calendar year 2007 are summarized in the newly released edition of the department’s report on the state of Minnesota’s drinking water. Those results once again revealed little evidence of contamination problems in the state’s public water supply systems. MDH has published the report annually since 1995.

A Hutchinson mother has brought a civil lawsuit against Hutchinson School District 423 on behalf of her sixth-grade son.

The lawsuit, which names Jeanne Ibbitson as the plaintiff and Hutchinson School District and Middle School Principal Todd Grina as the defendants, alleges that the school district violated Ibbitson’s son’s constitutional rights of free speech, equal protection and due process. Ibbitson was unavailable for comment Friday afternoon.

Robert Rodriguez just wants to rockRobert Rodriguez is working on a new children's adventure film starring Jimmy Bennett, James Spader, John Cryer, Leslie Mann and William H. Macy.

“Shorts” will feature child actor Bennett (“Evan Almighty,” “Poseidon”) as a boy who discovers a magic rock that grants wishes. According to Reuters, Rodriguez's story has the rock causing "havoc among the kid population, but things get turned up several notches when adults get their hands on it."

Rodriguez is well known for his violent action and horror flicks, ranging from his “El Mariachi” trilogy to last year's “Grindhouse: Planet Terror.” But he bounces back and forth between adult and kiddie fare, having also written and directed the “Spy Kids” trilogy and “The Adventures of Shark Boy & Lava Girl in 3-D.”

3M will participate in the Third Annual JPMorgan Basics and Industrials Conference on Wednesday, June 4, in New York. George W. Buckley, chairman, president and chief executive officer, will speak at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time.

Further presentation details will be posted on 3M’s Investor Relations home page at http://investor.3M.com/ shortly before the event.

3M operates its largest North American manufacturing plant in Hutchinson, where it employs about 1,500 people.

The work of local potters Tom Wirt and Betsy Price can be seen in the American Society of Interior Designers Minnesota Chapter’s annual Showcase Home.

This year’s featured property is at 4300 Fremont Ave. S., Minneapolis. Clay Coyote pottery is featured in the Great Room designed by Gabberts’ Design Studio.

Season 2 begins at 8 p.m. Sunday, June 8 on the History Channel. Four familiar faces: Alex, Hugh, Rick and Drew return. This time, they head north of the Arctic Circle, where two clients, the Mallik Gas Hydrate Research Project and MGM Energy, rely on the short ice road season as the sole supply for their energy ventures. This season, the truckers will be driving on unknown river and ocean ice roads, which have different hazards than what they are accustomed to.
To learn more visit online at www.history.com and follow the link for Ice Road Truckers.

More than 27,400 copies of the monthly Relish magazine will be delivered in the Leader Shopper and Meeker County Advertiser this weekend. Watch for these recipies:

Peach pudding cake
Amaretto peach cobbler
Swiss chard scramble
Salad de Lille
Lime refresher drink
Grilled shrimp skewers
Omelet nachos
Meatballs in sofrito sauce
Plantain and pineapple sundeas
Summer rum slushes
Melon rum punch
Pineapple honey orange smoothie
Berry fruit dip
Chocolate flowerpot cake and frosting
Tropical chicken skewers
Sugar snap peas with mint and lemon