News from the North Country

Occasionally, I surf over to some Minnesota websites to check out the hometown news. This morning, these tidbits caught my eye. First:

Homeowners in North Minneapolis are becoming frustrated by the rise of thefts in the neighborhood. What’s surprising is what’s being stolen --- not from the inside of their homes, but on the outside.

- snip –

Thieves have been ripping the aluminum siding off of homes in the neighborhood, all for just a little bit of cash.

At the scrap yard, aluminum only goes for 60¢ a pound. Owner Dusty Gibbs had no idea people were stealing the siding; it’s just not worth it.

I am not quite certain how I would react if I woke up to find the siding removed from my home. Of course, since I have wooden shingles on my house, it probably wouldn’t be an issue. Second:

Plans for a series of American Indian blessings at several schools were suspended after some people objected that the blessings would violate separation of church and state.

The blessings were scheduled to start Tuesday, led by Winifred Red Cloud of the Prairie Island Indian Community.

But at Monday’s school board meeting, some residents objected.

- snip –

Tammy Cedergren, a candidate for an open board seat, told board members the event would be equal to her husband, a Christian minister, giving Holy Communion in schools.

Superintendent Stan Siessor said the blessings likely would be canceled. He said he would seek a policy that addresses events that raise concerns about religious encroachment into public schools.

Call me a cynic, but I wonder if Mr. Siessor would consider secular humanism, atheism, or political correctness “religious encroachment?”

And last, an update from Caring Bridge on Paula Coulter, the last survivor of the I-35 Bridge collapse who still remains hospitalized. What follows are some short quotes from the website:

She has made remarkable improvements in both her cognitive therapy as well as her physical therapy. Her long-term memory is perfect and her short-term memory is near perfect.

Paula has mentioned frequently the pain in her right hip/groin area. Today, a CT scan was performed to get to the root of the problem…it had to do with calcification near the area that was causing pain. Paula will begin taking different medication to alleviate the pain.

Medically, her [doctors] think she no longer needs their expertise. Rehab is what she needs now.

“Since my pain is better the past day or so, I am just going to show them that I may not need to move to different rehab. I might just get up tomorrow and start walking.”

So, I guess a good prayer request for the week would be for Mrs. Coulter to heal more quickly and to begin walking as soon as she can.

That’s just a sampling of the news from the Upper Midwest. What’s been happening in your neck of the woods lately?