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Thank you all who attended this year's Home, Garden and Business show. The overall numbers were down somewhat from past years, but the vendors did tell me that the people who did stop to visit seemed very interested and hopefully will do business in the near future.

This was the first year in a long time that the County Press had a booth at the show. I worked the booth both days and I have to tell you, I had a blast. It was so fun meeting so many of our readers and advertisers in such a casual setting. Thanks to Chisago Lakes Community Ed and the Chisago Lakes Area Chamber for putting on such a great event. Everyone that attended seemed to be having a great time.

There comes a time in everybody's life where they will come to a crossroads. Some crossroads are minimal and relatively easy to deal with, while some on the other hand are quite the opposite.

The Chisago County Press and Search Shopper have been thrust into the second . I know what you are thinking, he means the internet is killing the newspaper industry.  Or the economy is really straining the newspaper industry. Unfortunately, the internet is not my problem nor is the economy, but that is the subject of another day.

When my father began running the County Press in the summer of 1978, the staff and budget were so miniscule that my family wouldn't even blink an eye if he worked all through the night trying to improve an already great paper. He toiled for 23 years putting literally every breath he had into this business. You could drive by the Press at any hour of the day and see the lights on with Big John roaming around inside. In fact, I spent the bulk of my childhood staring at a empty chair at the dinner table.

Slowly but surely, he did build the Press into a really great local newspaper. It may have taken years, but he made a commitment to the readers and advertisers, that he would stay true to them if they stayed true to the paper. Dad was opinionated, as a lot of you know, but his opinions were never the final say and he would love to debate virtually any issue with you if he had the time.

The product you see today is strictly the fruit of his labor and I can take no credit for whatsoever. But I like to think that if anything, since becoming part of the Press, we have improved on an already great paper.

When I was young, he used to drag me around town with him. When introducing me to business people around the area, he would say "This is the person who is responsible for putting food on our table and for the clothes on your back". That statement used to confuse me to no end...until I took over the paper. Because it couldn't possibly ring more true, you, the advertisers, and you, the readers, are my lifeline, my family's lifeline, my employees lifeline...deep? Yes. True? Yes.

When I took over after my father's passing, my friends joked that I would never make it in the public eye. I have always been sort of shy when it comes to meeting new people and was apprehensive to say the least. But as I grew more familiar with the business and my surroundings, something happened. The guy who used to fear public interaction, now loves it. The sole reason for my transformation has been you the public. With all of the kind words about how the paper is doing and support from everyone, suddenly dealing with the public was actually well...fun. So I credit you for bringing a typically shy, cynical person out of his shell. Thank you.

I know you are saying, "Where in the heck is this bozo going with this?" Which brings us to my current dilema. There is a new competing shopper that is now in our area. I know what you are thinking, so what, it's a free country. True.  But in this case it is a little different. Here is the twist. This new publication is printed by the exact same publication that has faithfully printed the Chisago County Press and Search Shopper for the last 9 & 1/2 years. Talk about loyalty. Has our economy and the value of the dollar become so important that long time friendships and loyalty mean absolutely nothing? Apparently.

A while back, my son and I were car shopping. Our old Pontiac was leaking oil and really starting to nickel and dime us. We spent the day shopping the "strip" in Maplewood. After visiting with several of them we decided to head home. We stopped at a Lindstrom car lot, got out and took a look. Well, that was five years ago and we are still driving that vehicle we bought that afternoon. On our way home, after purchasing our new van, my son turns to me and asks "Why didn't you buy the cheaper one in the Cities?" After thinking about my father, I said, "because that is the man that puts food on your table and clothes on your back".

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