Catch the Cougar

My son decided to run the Congdon Cougar Chase 5K this year instead of the 1K as in years past. He  joined the after-school running club and trained for about a month, building up to and completing some 28-minute runs on the Lakewalk. On Saturday, that work paid off when he ran 3.1 miles on a sodden, hilly trail at Lester Park in a downpour of rain, in a time of 30:27. He finished 47th out of 140 runners, and 8th in his division of 9-year-old boys.


He and his friends got drenched, mud-splattered and tired, as witnessed in these before, during and after shots. But they had a lot of fun. The Congdon Cougar that they chase stayed dry under an umbrella and -- very suspiciously -- wasn't muddy at all.

A lack of standards

Since I left the Duluth News Tribune as managing editor in 2008, seldom have I commented on the changes that have occurred since the break-up of Knight Ridder and sale of the paper and its other local publications to Forum Communications. On Sunday, while glancing through the Budgeteer News, I paused at the by-lined story on Temple Israel's upcoming Scholars-in-Residence program.

Since the story was credited as a work of Duluth Budgeteer News reporter Teri Cadeu, I expected to see some original reporting and writing. Beyond the byline, not a single word was original. The article was the press release from the synagogue published verbatim. I know, as I had posted parts of the release on the synagogue's Website the previous day.

Back when the Duluth News Tribune purchased the Budgeteer News and other local publications, I was charged with working with the editors of those publications to raise journalism standards and to foster sharing of news coverage among long-time competitors. Many participated, along with reporters and editors at the Duluth News Tribune, in sessions I led on journalism ethics and standards, including issues such as plagiarism, accepting items of monetary value from sources, and the use of anonymous sources.

One such session specifically outlined the use of press release material in reporter by-lined or newspaper-credited stories. Facts could be used -- as long as they were verified independently. Quotes could be used -- only if those sources refused to be independently interviewed and we reported in the story that they were being cited from a news release. Writing needed to be one's own; the lifting of phrases or paragraphs wasn't allowed unless credited as part of the news release. Failure to follow these guidelines resulted in discipline up to and including termination from one's job.

Sadly, I'm not surprised or even that upset about what I found in Sunday's Budgeteer News. It's simply a level of standards I've come to expect.

"Spring" Break Duluth Style

My son's "spring" break from school began a day early, due to the 7 inches of snow that fell in Duluth. The snow was heavy and wet -- great for making snowmen and snowballs, but difficult to shovel. We've gotten 117 inches of snow so far this winter, making it Duluth's 7th snowiest.

Almost there

One of my son's weekly chores is to take the kitchen and bathroom trash out. He usually does this on Friday mornings before heading to the bus stop. But school is on mid-winter break this week.

Fortunately, he took out the trash and I delivered the compost to the bin on the other side of the house on Thursday just before we left for the ski hill.

On Friday morning, he awoke to a new chore -- digging a path to the garbage and recycling bins while his father shoveled the steps. Given 14 inches of snow fell, wind gusts of 25 to 30 mph created some major drifts between our house and the neighbors', and the snow is up to his shoulders in some places, this may take a while.

"Almost there," he reported, coming inside from his first round of shoveling. To me, it appears he's halfway to the bins.

No worries. I'm expecting an automated call from our trash carrier saying that due to the storm our scheduled trash pickup has been delayed.

The blue robbin

I stepped out on the front porch to await my son's arrival and was astonished to see what looked incredibly like a blue robin. It flew from our stair railing to that of our neighbors', as I admired its bright colors and marveled at how much it looked like a robin.

As the school bus growled to a stop on the corner, a half-dozen of the birds flew across our yards and up into the trees. My friend joined them.

I greeted Sam with the news of the "blue robin." Upon consulting the bird book, I read about the sialia sialis or Eastern bluebird. Sharing openly my naiveté at "birding," it was my first sighting.

Latest resident

Ever since we had seven skunks living under our shed four summers ago, I always like to know who moved in during the winter before I start frequenting our backyard. I wasn't ready for this surprise. The fox was sunning himself on the deck before I disrupted his reverie with my photo-taking. He's kind of cute, though I'm glad we don't keep chickens.

One last first for 2012

Our son skied in his first-ever Junior Alpine Ski Race today at Chester Bowl. He did quite well, posting a time of 29.51 seconds. The highlights for him: skiing with his buddy Blayn before the race and getting his fingers warm after it. The highlights for me: watching him race and thawing my toes. Today's high temperature was 8, with a "real feel" of -11.