Here is the latest “Bugle Midpoint,” a mid-month Web report on some new local news and information since the publication of our September issue:
Free apple cider making webinar Sept. 24
The Good Acre, a nonprofit food hub in Falcon Heights, is offering a free webinar from 5 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24 on the art of making apple cider. The webinar will be led by cider makers from the Minneapolis Cider Co. In this virtual class, you’ll learn about the different varieties of local cider and spirits made at Minneapolis Cider Company. Head cider maker Rob Fisk will share insights into this year’s apple season and the different types of apples he likes to use. For more information, click on Discover: Apples with Minneapolis Cider Co.
You’ll also be guided through a cider tasting, with sampler packs of cider available for pickup at Minneapolis Cider on Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Oct. 1 deadline for Master Gardener program
The application period to become a University of Minnesota Extension Master Gardener is open through Oct. 1.
Extension Master Gardeners bring science-based horticulture knowledge and practices to Minnesota, promoting healthy landscapes and building communities through volunteer efforts.
Master Gardeners are respected as reliable sources of gardening information for Minnesotans. The University of Minnesota has trained thousands of Master Gardeners; each year, they contribute more than 140,000 hours of service in Minnesota communities.
This year, the training will be all online and spread out over 14 weeks, making the program more student-friendly than ever.
To become a Master Gardener, individuals commit to complete online training and 50 hours of volunteering in the first year. After the first year, they commit at least 25 hours to annual volunteer work to the program.
“Now more than ever, people around the state are turning to gardening as a soothing, family-friendly endeavor and a way to serve neighborhoods and communities,” said Tim Kenny, statewide director of the, Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program.
To learn more about the program and apply, visit z.umn.edu/MG_info.
Yermakoff works at Boreal Art Loft
The art loft art at boreal, a gift, jewelry and clothing store at 2276 Como Ave., is now featuring the landscape watercolors of local artist Nanci Yermakoff through Sept. 29. Loft hours are 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays.
In the October Bugle
Coming in our next issue of the Bugle: Our annual Food & Drink guide appears with an update on how some local restaurants are faring with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
We also get a jump on election season with stories on the St. Paul School Board candidates and the Lauderdale mayor and City Council.
Meanwhile, due to space constraints in the print edition, we will feature information on state legislative races on our Bugle website in October.
Letters to the editor
Dealing with COVID-19
My daughter has started fifth grade at a Montessori school. Over the summer, the school sent a survey to parents asking if they would enroll their kids for another year if the school did not offer face-to-face instruction. Sixty five percent of families said they wouldn’t. The school was already facing financial problems. Not having a full roster of students enrolled would mean it would have to close down permanently.
Now, the school has reopened. They’ve taken some safety precautions, like keeping class sizes small, using outdoor spaces and improving the HVAC system. But there’s still a lot of uncertainty about what this school year will look like. We still don’t have a vaccine and until we do, there will always be a risk for infection.
Throughout the pandemic, President Trump has said he wants things to return to normal as quickly as possible. He wants football stadiums to be filled with fans. He wants to return to doing political rallies ahead of the election. He wants schools to reopen. And while I want my daughter to see her teachers and classmates, I struggle with the very real health consequences that come with that.
From the beginning, scientists and public health experts should have taken the lead in our national response to the pandemic. They were sidelined. I wonder how many families would have responded differently to the survey if the only voice they heard was from a public health expert, rather than President Trump’s?
One of the pledges Joe Biden made if elected is to ask Dr. Fauci to stay on and help with the government’s response. Following science is how we’ll get out of this crisis.
Pam Bosch, Roseville
