Patrick Tice

Long-haired red and white female corgi sitting on a stump, smiling, with lawn and playground in background.

Hello from Zephyr!

Federal shutdown furloughs thousands of Minnesota workers • Minnesota Reformer A federal government shutdown has Minnesota’s 18,000 civilian federal workers facing furloughs, reassignments, work without pay and threats of being fired. Republicans need a handful of Democratic vot...

Federal shutdown furloughs thousands of Minnesota workers minnesotareformer.com/2025/10/01/f...

Red/white Pembroke Welsh Corgi with long fur, sitting on a stump and smiling for the camera.

Our fluffy corgi, Zephyr.

$6 dry cereal, $10 watermelons, and smaller packages of overpriced everything - that was our eye-popping grocery trip yesterday. At the checkout line, the cashier was talking with the woman ahead of us, and the topic was how hard it was to keep the totals under $300 for typical grocery runs.

Opinion | Now it is the Old World’s turn to rescue the United States As Trump met with European leaders on Ukraine, Churchill’s words from days long ago came to mind.

Gift article - no paywall. Let's hear from George Will this morning. wapo.st/47xIPiD

Opinion | I witnessed Operation Warp Speed. Trump’s refusal to defend it is baffling. The president deserves an NIH director who champions science rather than dangerous nonsense.

Gift article - no paywall.
wapo.st/3V0rCqy

Photos of the Week: Alligator Dip, Steeplechase Stumble, Friendship Day A Pride canal parade in Amsterdam, the Jubilee of Youth prayer vigil in Rome, the World Dog Surfing Championships in California, a rally race through a Finnish forest, wildfires in France, and much mo...

Gift article - no paywall. Atlantic's photos; surfing dog, spectacular lightning in volcanic smoke, Gaza food drop, Pope Leo looks out helicopter window, tourists in France walk through smoke, straw bale wedding couple, more. www.theatlantic.com/photography/...

RFK Jr. announces end to some mRNA contracts, including for flu, covid The targeting of the vaccine technology once considered revolutionary follows intense criticism by conservatives and anti-vaccine activists.

Gift article - no paywall. wapo.st/47fFjcy

Sun shines on shepherd's hook with two hanging flower plants and a colorful cylindrical ceramic birdhouse.

Greetings from the backyard garden.

Opinion | A tribute to an uncommon man "My father-in-law, Claude, died this week at 95. He lived a common life, but to me, he was an uncommon man," Mike Lintner writes.

I guarantee that you will like this gift commentary. (No paywall)
www.startribune.com/tribute-to-u...

Rainy here in the Twin Cities of Minnesota today, too. We've got KY kin in Louisville who are complaining about the WX, too... Making a few FT8 contacts this morning, but couldn't get the Cuban station running POTA on 20m, dang.

Foreground is large (6+ feet high, close to 50 feet long) pile of wood, rocks, rock sculptures, metal art, animal statues and art including moose, fox, dogs, loon, and more. The ranch house is seemingly buried in the background of the photo.

Yard art gone crazy! North of Grand Marais, MN on Highway 61 near the Canadian border.

Today's new word: "agrivoltaics".
1,700 sheep installed between solar panels, a surprising change observed in the animals. farmingdale-observer.com/2025/05/22/1...

Kermit the Frog set to deliver U-Md. commencement speech Thursday Kermit the Frog, the world-famous amphibian, will talk to University of Maryland graduates about “finding your people ... and making connections,” a school official said.

Gift article - no paywall. wapo.st/4jpDeNW

YouTube video by Veritasium How One Company Secretly Poisoned The Planet

Here's one of the best videos I've seen on PFAs. youtu.be/SC2eSujzrUY?...

On a remote Australian island, the birds are so full of plastic they crunch Seabirds have been fishing plastic from the ocean and feeding it to their chicks, researchers say. One bird was found to have ingested nearly 800 pieces.

Gift article - no paywall. Jaw-dropping story about plastic found in birds. wapo.st/4km2PrB

The End of Rule of Law in America The 47th president seems to wish he were king—and he is willing to destroy what is precious about this country to get what he wants.

Gift article - no paywall. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Dark Ages Are Back Americans must insist on academic freedom, or risk losing what makes our nation great.

Gift article - no paywall.

Trump’s Plan to Sell Out Ukraine to Russia His proposal to end the war isn’t a peace plan—it’s a reward for aggression.

Gift article - no paywall. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

Corgi sitting next to chalk art Easter egg.

Bee nice chalk art with cartoon bee.

Happy Easter sidewalk chalk on today's dog walk.

How Trump’s trade war with China might hurt the American farmers who voted him in | CNN Business Which nation might blink first in the escalating China-US trade war? CNN examined China’s largest import from the United States – soybeans – to see how that demand could be met elsewhere and what US f...

www.cnn.com/2025/04/13/b...

Opinion | Why Catholic bishops are ending our refugee work with the government It was a gut-wrenching decision, but we can’t continue with the church’s resources alone.

Gift article - no paywall.

DOW (DJI) -2231.07 at close.

He thinks he can issue commands to the market - how can he be a business school graduate?

Why is there even a ? at the end of that headline?

'The Handmaid's Tale' could really teach something to the kids in St. Francis. Too bad it's banned. • Minnesota Reformer “The Bluest Eye” and “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” are out.

‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ could really teach something to the kids in St. Francis, MN. Too bad it’s banned. minnesotareformer.com/2025/03/19/t...

This isn't 1950. Today travel is much more granular and isn't even close to that era's limited destination model. To return to anything like that, cities need to up their densities and redefine zoning to allow infilling that includes both businesses and residential in close proximity.

Semisonic objects to White House using their song ‘Closing Time’: ‘You missed the point’ The band Semisonic is pushing back at the White House for using their hit song “Closing Time” over a social media post that shows a shackled deportee.

Why don't they think they need permission to use intellectual property? This happens over and over again.

450 acres of 3M's historic northern Minnesota resort sells for $5.38M to public land trusts Public trusts paid $5.3 million for the 450 acres near Park Rapids and will turn over the property to the DNR.

Gift article - no paywall.

DOGE Is Courting Catastrophic Risk Musk has turned a dangerously flawed view of “waste” into a philosophy of government.

Gift article - no paywall. "More than 800 workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have lost their job in recent weeks, including many who helped mitigate climate disasters, track hurricanes, predict ever-stronger storms, and notify potential victims."