Cell phones have become an integral part of most of our lives, providing an easy way to contact friends, family and co-workers from almost anywhere we choose. Can’t find the location of my latest newspaper assignment? I call my boss. Can’t figure out which bread crumbs would be best for the baked macaroni and cheese?…

I found myself thinking about the late Richie Plass recently as I was browsing for news. He’s fairly well known among locals, but for those who aren’t aware, he was a Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee who found out the painful way decades ago that being an Indian mascot isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, as…

When it comes to cheese, it’s safe to say that it’s loved by most folks. Everyone has their favorite, whether it’s a header full of cheddar or taking a knee for brie. You love it on pizza or as a dip for your chips, but most cheese aficionados. So why would Wisconsin want to go…

We always hear about the so-called War on Christmas, where people feel that they can’t say “Merry Christmas” for fear that you might be considered insensitive to those who celebrate other holidays, such as Hanukkah. If retail workers or others dare to say the all-encompassing “Happy holidays,” it’s seen as an affront to Christians. However,…

Have you ever noticed that when something gets popular, suddenly everyone wants a piece of it? You turn on the television and see some new music sensation or breakout movie star posing for cameras or some trend suddenly flip the switch in people’s heads that makes them think, maybe if I’m a part of it,…

Most of the protests we’ve seen lately have involved the Black community, mostly due to the noticeable slayings of Black people at the hands of White police officers. It was almost a year ago as I was watching the news coverage from a hospital bed as communities all over the country—and even some across the…

Some of the reaction recently by the estate of Dr. Seuss, known in real life as Theodor Geisel, making the decision to stop publishing six of his books, has been extreme. Folks have been crying out “cancel culture” as some of the books that were published before they were even born have been taken off…

Is it my imagination, or is it hard to find a good politician in Texas? I wish that was the opening line of a barroom joke, but it seems to be anything but funny in a state that’s currently struggling to keep the lights on and equally having difficulty digging out from a freak snowstorm….

Sen. Bernie Sanders has been seen through many lenses. He’s been seen as a U.S. senator, a presidential candidate, a liberal, a socialist and—after President Joe Biden’s inauguration—someone who can turn a winter coat and repurposed mittens into a never-ending internet meme. For the last two weeks, the image of Sanders sitting at the inauguration…

More than a week after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol and stunned the nation. Spurred by the words of the sitting president of the United States, it has shown how truly feral we’ve become as a nation. It felt like we’d been hit all over again like we had been on Sept. 11, 2001, when…