KSAX: No More Broadcasts

Well, that's interesting:

"UPDATE: KSAX discontinues broadcasts"
Echo Press, Alexandria, Minnesota (June 29, 2012)

"For many viewers, it’s like losing a long-time friend.

"KSAX-TV, which has provided news programming in the Alexandria area for 25 years, announced Tuesday that it was substantially reducing its operations, effective immediately.

"The local news cut-ins that the station did during Twin Cities-based KSTP-TV nightly newscasts are gone, along with local weather forecasts and locally produced commercials.

"The cutback leaves 17 people without a job. Those employees will receive severance pay and benefits, according to the station’s owner, Hubbard Broadcasting. In addition, KSAX will work with local and state government agencies to help employees with outplacement assistance.

"KSAX's website is also gone. Online viewers are being redirected to the KSTP-TV site...."

My main focus for this blog is Sauk Centre, about 20 miles closer to Minneapolis-St. Paul than Alexandria, Minnesota. Sometimes, though, what happens in the 'big town' down the road shows up here.

In this case, we'll be missing KSAX television here, too: it's part of 'local' cable services.

Vaguely-related posts:

• "Earthquake in Alexandria, Just Down the Road"
  (May 1, 2011)
• "Saturday and Seven Below"
  (January 2, 2010)

Sale Signs; Restaurant and Batting Practice; Sunset

Sunday, June 18, 2012. Unger's big stock liquidation sale is still going. It started last September.


Ungers: stock liquidation sale in progress. September 27, 2011.


Unger's Furniture, this weekend. Look closely: those signs in the windows aren't the ones from last year. June 23, 2012.


The latest signs are getting a little sun-bleached, though. June 23, 2012.


Look even closer: "new management/new merchandise." June 23, 2012.


Sauk Centre's 'other' Chinese restaurant: Four Seas Buffet, near Walmart. That's where Fitness Guru used to be. June 23, 2012.


Four Seas Buffet is newer than their downtown counterpart. There's another distinction, too. June 23, 2012.


Need a little exercise after your meal? Four Seas Buffet has this batting practice setup next door. June 23, 2012.


Sunset. We get one each day, but they're not all this scenic. June 20, 2012.

That's about all I've got for now. See you next week.

Related posts:

• "Unger Furniture's Last Sale; Felling Trailers' New Building; Maybe Snow Tomorrow (and - Rain?!)"
  (February 19, 2012)
• "Beautiful Bright Blue Skies, Estate Tax SNAFU, New Gospel Book"
  (October 2, 2011)
• "Hummingbird Feeder, a Look at Downtown, and Golden Star's Open"
  (June 12, 2011)
• "Moonrise, Freezing Rain, and a Chinese Restaurant"
  (November 21, 2010)
• "Andy's Wok License Revoked, Buildings in Transition"
  (September 1, 2010)

Father's Day, 2012: Picture Postcard Weather Yesterday

Sunday, June 17, 2012. Father's Day. This was another one of those weeks where I didn't get much done: and took all week doing it. I wrote a few posts, washed a few dishes: all pretty much routine.

The weather at the moment isn't quite 'routine.' There's a tornado watch on until 10:00 p.m., so I'm keeping an eye on the Sauk Centre page of Wunderground.com.

Whoops. There's a severe thunderstorm warning for St cloud, New Munich, Lake Henry, Freeport, Hawick, Paynesville, Albany, Roscoe, Manannah, Richmond, Avon, Eden Valley, and Cold Spring. Looks like the excitement's going to be mostly east of Sauk Centre.

It's about 9:05 p.m. or so. The lights flickered just now, so I'll add a photo and stop for the night.


Those silos are across the river: but this shows how 'rural' we are. It's not for everyone, but I've gotten used to the lack of smog and traffic jams. June 16, 2012.

Or, rather, I'll get this entry online: Then I'll stop.

Flowers, Sign Work, an Anniversary, and a Sunset

Sunday, June 8, 2012. Another week, with the usual bright blue skies, leaden overcast, sweltering heat, and chilly evenings. I like Minnesota: the weather isn't boring.

I noticed a sign being set up - or possibly repaired - at the Central Minnesota Credit Union on south Main Street. 'Set up' is more likely, since the framework is where the CMU's sign-on-a-pole used to be.


Looks like Central Minnesota Credit Union's going for a lower-profile sign. June 8, 2012.

Yards and gardens in town are looking good: we've had a pretty good mix of sunshine and rain. My webcam, "Small Town America: Central Minnesota," shows mostly lawns, streets, and sidewalks. On the other hand, I nudged it over a little and fixed the focus: so the view of the hummingbird feeder is a little better.

Now that I've got that shameless self-promotion out of the way, a couple more photos.


Flowers. Sign. Bright colors. June 8, 2012.


Sunset Friday's sunset, south and west of Sauk Centre. June 8, 2012.

Finally, Deacon Lawrence N. Kaas has been a deacon for 25 years, as of this weekend. He's attached to Our Lady of Angels and St. Paul here in Sauk Centre; and St. Alexius in West Union. He spent another 25 before that, serving around the altar in one capacity or another.

Mostly About Candles

Sunday, June 3, 2012. Life happened quite a bit this week: Nothing major or even serious: just 'stuff.'

It's a beautiful day today: 'picture postcard' weather, blue skies, and all that. This is Minnesota, so the weather will probably be different by the time you read this.

If you're in Sauk Centre, you've got the option of looking out the window to see if the sun's out. If not, you could check out my webcam, that gives streaming video of a corner of Ash Street and South 9th: Small Town America: Central Minnesota. It's on 24 hours a day: except for power failures, Internet outages, maintenance on my computer, and the occasional mysterious technical issue.

One reason that I've been distracted is my son-in-law's company, Spiral Light Candle. Their new factory's grand opening was last weekend, and I've got photos. Actually, the first one shows what the former potato warehouse looked like, during construction.


Spiral Light Candle factory, south section: during construction. December 31, 2011.


Spiral Light Candle factory, south section: about a week ago. May 25, 2012.


Spiral Light Candle factory, Grand Opening: the cake. May 25, 2012.

Spiral Light Candle's website (spirallightcandle.com) shows the "candle with a twist," and stores where you're likely to find them. In town, that's Marc'ette Floral, at Main and South 6th, and Hidden Treasure, downtown. I'd hoped to have more to show this week, but like I said: life happened.