Wal-Mart, 'Immigrant' News, and Summer Storms

Sunday, May 23, 2010. One more week, and it's Memorial Day weekend: the unofficial beginning of summer. Between thunderstorms last night and a warm and humid day, it already feels like the warm season.


Another photo from that band concert. Some outstanding seniors were recognized. May 17, 2010.

That dreary succession of rainy days had at least one good effect: The lawns in town are magazine-cover green. The weeds in our yard were flourishing, until we gave the lawn a somewhat-overdue spraying. The trick now will be to mow the yard - or wait a little while, and harvest the hay. I think we'll opt for mowing.


Each time I see that sign, I think of 'take out' food - but that's not what they mean. May 19, 2010.

The Wal-Mart Superstore on the south side of town has been open a for a little more than three years now. (April 18, 2007) Some of my more earnest and serious online acquaintances were
convinced that Wal-Mart would "destroy" this small town. Hasn't happened so far.

On the other hand, we've got another employer in town - that's drawing folks in from the Interstate.

I'll say this, though: our Wal-Mart doesn't look like those 19th century pictures of 'Small Town America' you see now and then.


Small town America, 2010: a Wal-Mart superstore is part of this small town: Not exactly the Currier and Ives look, but it works. May 19, 2010.

I didn't know what to expect when I saw that headline on this week's Sauk Centre Herald front page: "Gimse's bill could help local police with immigration." The bottom line seems to be that there may be an opportunity for Sauk Centre's police to take a four-week federal program in how to work with Federal Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) officials. Sounds like a reasonable idea. I opined about that, and related topics, in one of my blogs. (A Catholic Citizen in America (May 18, 2010))


Our Lady of the Angels church: I've got a few words about the financial situation elsewhere. (A Catholic Citizen in America (May 23, 2010))

Today's evening thunderstorms are moving away from us - can't say that I mind having missed them. We had a bit of a light show around 2:00 this morning: which I slept through. I got a report of them from my oldest daughter: who was up then, dealing with a cold.