Blog entries from Brett Larson

Brett's Blog — How many apples?

Brett Larson — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:25:36 +0100

Guess how many apples I picked off my tree (and under my tree) last night. The winner gets a bag of apples.

It's a variety called Hazen, which alternates each year with our other tree, which is a Haralson.

I didn't count them all, but counted one container and estimated from there.

They say apples are two weeks early this year. My tree decided to start dropping them a few days ago, and it was amazing how many fell. Most were still good, but about 1/5 of the total were bad, Read More...

Brett's blog — War and Peace

Brett Larson — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:08:14 +0100

I'm about 300 pages into War and Peace, and it's as good as I remember. Better, probably, because I can appreciate it more than when I was 20.

It's amazing writing — the descriptions of gestures and expressions and characters' thoughts that are all so believable and all so different, so each character becomes a real person that you care about, to varying degrees.

He subtly makes you love Pierre, even though he's a big awkward intellectual, and Andrey, even though he's a little arroRead More...

Brett's blog — Streetcar

Brett Larson — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:46:11 +0100

Saw Streetcar Named Desire at the Guthrie last night and I must admit that I dozed off a couple times during the 3+ hour performance.

How do they expect us to stay awake with all those conversations among people? No car chases, no explosions, hardly any sex, no asteroids or supervillains, no spurting blood. What was Tennessee Williams thinking?

I liked the new Guthrie. I had been to the proscenium stage, but this was my first time to the thrust stage, which feels almost idRead More...

Brett's Blog —Strib nails it

Brett Larson — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 15:59:31 +0100

Taking a little vacation in Mpls. We took the train down from Elk River and are biking, walking, or taking the bus everywhere. Should be fun.

Found this on the Star Tribune website. I've been hearing lots of concerns from Isle folks about the mixed messages from the state ("consistently under performing school") and the feds ("making AYP").

The editorial sums the situation up very well.

Brett's Blog — Website comments must follow Terms of Usage

Brett Larson — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 15:19:27 +0100

Every time you comment on our website, you need to click a box that says you agree to the Terms of Usage, yet many of you don't follow them.

If your comments don't appear, it's probably because they don't follow the Terms of Usage, which are as follows.

Comments represent the opinions of those commenting, not the opinions of the Mille Lacs Messenger or its staff. Discussions of issues of public concern and conduct of government officials is welcome, but we ask that you woRead More...

Brett's Blog — Clarification on blog post regarding data practices

Brett Larson — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:38:21 +0100

I published a version of this as a comment under the blog post "Brett's Blog — Tribal cops are subject to state law!"

The post was meant to inform area residents of their rights and the laws that apply, not to criticize local law enforcement, who have been cooperative, helpful and forthcoming as we've tried to cover this story.

Commenters had said the statewide media were scared off this story by "tribal sovereignty" stonewalling. I have no idea if that occurred, but I waRead More...

Brett's Blog — "the American id in all its snaggletoothed, pustulent glory"

Brett Larson — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 11:10:22 +0100

Good article from Salon.com about "vicious, anonymous online comments" — something our website readers know a little about.

Why I like vicious, anonymous online comments
As news outlets push back against trolls, we may be losing something: A glimpse of the real America
By Matt Zoller Seitz

Excerpts: "Some media outlets have decided they've had enough of the endless juvenile trolling and hate-mongering, and have either adopted a stricter moderation policy (Read More...

Brett's Blog — hot day

Brett Larson — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 18:10:07 +0100

Ran four miles on the trails this morning. Barely. Not sure if my lack of energy was due to humidity, lack of water this morning, or recovery from the 11-miler I ran this weekend.

Anyway, I felt better after an hour and rode my bike 6 miles to the county board meeting.

Not much to report, except that it looks more and more like they'll try to rescind the state building code in Mille Lacs County.

Now I'm working on a story on murder sentences, after a recent mRead More...

Brett's Blog — National Night Out

Brett Larson — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 14:34:44 +0100

There was an anonymous negative comment on the website about the National Night Out being held at the Mille Lacs Band government center Tuesday, Aug. 3, from 7 to 9 p.m.

Bugs Haskin called this morning to let us know what's going on, and I think the commenter was not aware of what it is. National Night Out is a law enforcement campaign held nationwide on the first Tuesday of August. The Mille Lacs event has been in the works since last spring, Bugs said.

There will inflatables, a DRead More...

Brett's Blog — Tribal cops are subject to state law!

Brett Larson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:27:17 +0100

I'm dismayed by some of the comments on the website that statewide media backed off on the murder story because of tribal sovereignty.

According to the mutal aid agreement and state statute that allowed for the creation of Mille Lacs Tribal Police, the tribal police department is subject to Minnesota Data Practices laws!

Is it possible that the "big boys" at the Star Trib and TV stations aren't aware of that?

Is it possible that the tribal cops and solicitor generaRead More...

Brett's Blog — Website comment policy

Brett Larson — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:24:16 +0100

There have been some great comments recently that violate our policy and have been removed. If your comment doesn't show up, review the policy and resubmit it. Click "read more" to see the policy.

Terms of Usage:

Comments represent the opinions of those commenting, not the opinions of the Mille Lacs Messenger or its staff.

Discussions of issues of public concern and conduct of government officials is welcome, but we ask that you would refrain from profanity and froRead More...

Brett's Blog — Tribal Law and Order Act

Brett Larson — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:13:44 +0100

Does anyone know if this applies to Public Law 280 states? Looks like most of it's geared toward reservations with federal criminal prosecution.

News release from Interior Department:

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk today praised President Obama’s signing of legislation that will strengthen tribal law enforcement on American Indian reservations. President’s Signing of Tribal Law and Order AcRead More...

Brett's Blog — a few thoughts

Brett Larson — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:37:53 +0100

I've been monitoring the website comments regarding the murder of William Nickaboine. I'm letting most of them go up, reluctantly.

I think about how the families of the victim and the suspects must feel reading these posts, but on the other hand, I realize that a conversation is occurring that people have a strong desire for. We've become the default "blackboard" for that community conversation, and we're happy to provide the service.

I have blocked some of the comments tRead More...

Brett's Blog — Don't know what to say

Brett Larson — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:05:10 +0100

Back from the Boundary Waters Sunday after five-day trip, first message was from Rob telling me about a missing boy, second that they found his body.

It was a great trip. Beautiful campsites (Brant, Gillis, Tuscarora), amazing lakes, no fish, great swimming and weather, good talks and Rumi poems from my friend Kyle, a fun hike to the top of some cliffs with my son Leif and his friend Josiah.

Wish I was still there.

I know people are cynical about journalists and neRead More...

Brett's Blog — Mille Lacs Messenger scooped by Outdoor News!

Brett Larson — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 17:08:12 +0100

More keepers for Mille Lacs walleye anglers

Not sure how this happened: Outdoor News reported today that the protected slot for Mille Lacs walleyes will shrink soon from 18-28 to 20-28 inches — meaning 18 to 20-inch walleyes will be keepers for the rest of the open water season.

Our so-called friends at the DNR fisheries office in Aitkin didn't bother to inform the local paper of this development. I expect flowers and a card, or maybe a bottle of wine and a dozen leeRead More...

Brett's Blog — Books on tribal issues

Brett Larson — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 20:13:44 +0100

A friendly reader offered these suggestions for people wanting to learn more about tribal legal and historical issues:

Cohen
http://www.lexisnexis.com/store/catalog/booktemplate/productdetail.jsp?pageName=relatedProducts&prodId=57318

Pevar
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Rights-of-Indians-and-Tribes/Stephen-L-Pevar/e/9780814767184

Minnesota Tribes: A great general resource

http://www.upress.umn.edu/Books/G/graves_indians.html

Brett's Blog — Eating weeds

Brett Larson — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:06:36 +0100

My garden is overrun with weeds, so I'm eating them: plantain, purslane, creeping charlie, clover, sorel, and my favorite, lamb's quarters.

The mint has taken over the herb garden so I threw a few leaves in, along with dill, parsley, oregano, and thyme. With a little vinaigrette, the result was delicious.

For a main course, I had lentils and rice. See the July 14 Messenger for my basic recipe. Lentils are a wonder food.

Brett's Blog — The Cossacks

Brett Larson — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 12:29:25 +0100

Finally read this Tolstoy novel, one of the few I never got around to. It brought me back to my college days when I wore a cap that said Tolstoy on it and spent an entire summer reading Tolstoy.

It was a nice little tale of a Russian soldier who goes to the frontier and lives in a Cossack village. The Cossacks were a culture of Russians who fought the Chechens on the border of the Caucausus region. They had their own customs and way of life and were suspicious of the mainstream RuRead More...

Brett's blog — This and that

Brett Larson — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 12:50:52 +0100

Had a great weekend. I don't know if I've ever been left alone so long since the kids were born. Leif was at an overnight band trip. Cedar was at two all-day parades. Diane was helping at 4H horse camp at the county fairgrounds in Princeton.

I covered the rendezvous and another event on Saturday morning, then had the rest of the day to do what I wanted, so I threw my bike in the trunk and drove to Maple Grove to bike the trails at the Elm Creek Park Reserve. I pedalled about 20 miRead More...

Brett's Blog — Brainerd Dispatch story

Brett Larson — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 15:53:16 +0100

Good story in the Brainerd Dispatch on Central Lakes College's camp for future American Indian Business Leaders. Click here.