commentary

APPLAUSE to all the local graduates who threw their hats into the air at recent commencement ceremonies. Nearly 120 students in Perham and 50 in New York Mills graduated this...

After a couple centuries of government support, the Protestant mores that have dominated American culture are disappearing from the public square. A majority of Americans support same-sex marriage, abortion and...

Ryan Taylor,Forum News Service I’ve been across the marathon finish line. Three times. In three cities – Chicago, New York and Fargo. I ran 26.2 miles as fast as my...

High school might just be harder today. Not necessarily on the academics side. That’s still up for debate. But on the social side, no doubt. Sure, kids have always been...

This is a monthly feature of our Columns & Commentary page, in which we either applaud a person, group or event for something positive that we feel is worthy of...

APPLAUSE to Lance Rach, chosen as Perham-Dent School District's 2012 Teacher of the Year. It's clear from the obvious enthusiasm of students that this Heart of the Lakes Elementary fourth...

It's a story well known to many people in the Perham area, and one well worth remembering. On Jan. 20, 2011, Zach Gabbard, a 17-year-old basketball star playing for the...

Back in my college days, a fellow from my hometown went around telling people he’d been an all-state high school football player. In reality, he’d been a benchwarmer. He was...

Barack Obama is probably one of the coolest presidents in American history. He reaches rock star status when cameras catch him sporting his Ray-Ban 3217s, which are, for all you...

South Carolina is not a swing state. Solidly Republican, it will vote for Mitt Romney by a large margin this November. With so many other states hanging in the balance,...

PUEBLO, Colo. — When President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented Raymond G. “Jerry” Murphy with a Medal of Honor in 1953, he noted that Pueblo nicknamed “the Steel City,” has had...

A few years ago, I had a friend who didn’t want anyone to know she was going to therapy. Instead, she would announce at her place of business she was...

“He didn’t just see a tangle of plastic and tubes; he saw our beautiful little girl, and he was clearly overcome with compassion for her,” Pam Finlayson told the Republican...

TAMPA, Fla. — Two buzzwords are dominating the presidential campaign: middle class. In speeches, ads and interviews, both parties are saying virtually the same thing to this key audience: We’re...

The Republican convention raised two key questions for swing voters. Does form trump substance? Is fiction more compelling than fact? Compressed into three nights, the GOP event was the most...