The Brainerd Dispatch for the first time ever, Friday made “Today’s Top Ten Front Pages” in Newseum.org, Washington, D.C., the most interactive museum. What this means is that the Dispatch’s Friday front page was singled out as one of the best pages not only in newspapers in the United States, but newspapers in the entire world!

My latest food stop was at The Lakes Grill & Bar, north of Baxter on Highway 371 and across from Brainerd International Raceway. The story and photos may be found on the food page of today’s (Thursday, April 26) Brainerd Dispatch. One thing you won’t find in that story was the fact that breakfast will be served at the eatery. I didn’t mention it in my story because I didn’t go there for breakfast. I’m usually not up that early. But looking at the menu there are a few things I would be...

I have the opportunity to sit in real estate continuing education classes and the message to the Realtors seems to be the same in all of them: Newspapers are dead. Period. Case in point: One Realtor instructor told us how he, at the behest of his Seller, placed a one inch classified ad for an open house in the Star Tribune…and he got NO visitors to his open house. Conclusion: That was a waste of his money and newspapers don’t work. Everyone in the class nodded appropriately – I cringed.

Thursday I was forced to play nine holes of golf for a segment the Brainerd Dispatch is putting together for the Brainerd Lakes Marketplace. Eric Peterson, director of golf at Cragun’s Legacy Courses in East Gull Lake, was kind enough to accommodate me and Dispatch reporter/Sideline View co-producer Jessi Pierce for the afternoon. Mitch at the front desk was trusting enough to believe me when I told him this unbelievable scenario and ushered us off1 to the back nine of Dutch’s where we wouldn’t...