Caught up...

I finally caught up with posting columns. The one below is from Wednesday. We've been crazy busy lately. This weekend is Ryan's high school graduation party and my parents are coming to visit. We've got some cleanin' and cookin' to do yet before Sunday, but overall everything is in good shape.

In other exciting news not yet mentioned, my cow Marnie had a heifer calf almost three weeks ago. She weighed less than 50 pounds at birth (normal calf is closer to 100) but is spunkly little girl. Nate likes to pick on me by telling me she died because the cats got her. Jacob helped name her the obvious choice: Mini. I haven't taken any pictures of her yet, but I'll try to this weekend.

6/20 Column...

Depending on who you are and what your purpose is, public records can be your best friend or your worst enemy. As a journalist public records are a tool I use often. From accident reports to court records I use public records on a daily basis. Although I’ve never had to use the official open records request, we learned about it in my college media law class. As an FYI, the law is called the Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA. Over 70 countries have some form of open records. Among journalists, these are known as sunshine laws--set rules on access to information or records held by government bodies. Sweden's Freedom of the Press Act of 1766 is the oldest law of this kind. Most of the U.S. open records laws were put in place in the 1970s.

So why do I go into open records? A couple Nate and I are friends with recently had a brush with open records. Mike is a friend of Nate’s from high school and was Nate’s roommate before we were married. His girlfriend, Kristen, moved to the area a few years ago from Green Bay. Despite her being a native Minnesotan, she’s adapted to the group quite well. For the past few years, Mike and Kristen have watched couple after couple say their vows. I’m sure it got annoying how many times people asked them, “So when are you going to get married?”

On the surface both seemed content with the way things were, so Nate and I figured it would happen just out of the blue someday. I ran into Kristen at a benefit last winter. We got on the topic of weddings and I couldn’t resist asking myself.

“Oh, we’ll probably just do something like you guys did,” she said, meaning a very small ceremony with a justice of the peace. I didn’t think much about it again until last week. As Nate and I were sitting around the supper table Friday night, Nate’s dad piped up, “So I see in the Star News Mike and Kristen are getting married June 22.”

We both about choked on our tater tot hotdish.

Our first thought was concern for Kristen, as she’s been working through a major illness since last fall. Then we came to our senses and decided quiet was just how they wanted it. I stopped in to visit Mike Monday night and asked about wedding plans. He said they hoped to elope now and have a big wedding next summer. However, since the newspaper came out he said his phone hasn’t stopped ringing. A marriage license, just like an accident report or court sentence, is a public record. While FOIA is vital for open government in this country, it can sure screw up a surprise.