Editorial

Two years of marathon campaigning ended with last week's historic presidential election. We can be excused for claiming voter fatigue. Elections? We're done with those for now, right? Well, not quite. Believe it or not, just after Thanksgiving -- beginning Dec. 1 -- local citizens...

Among those we elect to local office, school board members arguably have the most important job. They oversee the well-being and education of more than 3,000 students from kindergarten through age 18. Talk about a formidable task. Unless there's a crisis or controversy, we take their...

Greg Danke would have loved the moment early Sunday morning: It was pre-dawn, 50 degrees and absolutely still, save for a lone squirrel ripping acorns from the upper reaches of a red oak behind Dave Page's house. The rodent's "swooshing" of leaves was punctuated now and again by...

Sometimes when you hold public office you help build a monument or have a hand in finding creative ways to fill real needs. Other times you just get to mop up the mess. Pierce County supervisors and their attorneys have been knee-deep in mop water lately. While criticism from some...

No one actually asked us, but we couldn't help noting that: However noble, going green has its practical limits. A proposed geothermal heating and cooling system for the St. Croix County Government Center has been axed in favor of a high-efficiency boiler that costs $675,000 less....

After another wet spring our weather pattern has again gone dry. Until a burst of quick showers Friday and Saturday, the dry spell lasted two weeks and summer's barely begun. The last two years have seen droughts from mid- to late summer. We don't know what's in store for the rest...

Senseless, destructive acts defy explanation We consider ourselves fortunate in River Falls that serious crime is uncommon. What crime police and citizens face is often more of a nuisance. But it hurts all the same and is still reprehensible. Vandalism is more common to our area....

A fire last week at a townhouse rental displaced a mother and her two kids. The cause appears to be a burning bedroom candle. The woman was using a candle because her power had been shut off. Without power, the hard-wired smoke alarms didn't sound. The woman was hospitalized for smoke...

When new School Superintendent Tom Westerhaus comes to town this summer, an immediate goal should be streamlining contract talks. Special attention would go to the contract with the district's 200-plus teachers. Let's face it. These negotiations run way too long. We're not taking...

When it comes to accidents, police don't get many "car vs. house" calls. How fortunate we are for that. Journal readers last week got a peek at what happens when an out-of-control car rams a home -- and goes all the way through. In this case, the home was an apartment bedroom....

If Peggy Foster Harris decided to run for school board on a whim, did 1,151 district residents decide to vote for her on a whim? Interesting question. Foster Harris is fairly new to the area, changed her name last year -- this would further reduce her name recognition -- and she's...

Since 9/11 our awareness for suspicious conduct has grown. We've been asked to remain watchful, to not overlook odd circumstances or assume someone else will see them and respond. Of course it's unlikely that in River Falls such vigilance will catch an international terrorist in...