Benning Printing & Publishing

The month of chaos has finally come to a close, and with it, another year slips into the history books. Many people will say 2025 was a dumpster fire of epic proportions. I won’t argue that it was easy—but I also won’t say it was entirely terrible. Violence continues in Gaza. The war between Ukraine and Russia grinds on. Mass shootings still scar communities. Fires, floods, and storms remind us daily of nature’s raw power. It’s unfortunate how this is our “normal.” But it wa

In the blink of an eye, Christmas is here. The past few weeks have been a blur—busy schedules, endless errands, and the familiar realization that I’m still shopping for gifts. This time of year always makes me think about where our traditions come from and how they change over time. When that curiosity mixes with my love of mythology, folklore, and the paranormal, it leads me to stories far older—and far darker—than the holiday season we know today. Long before Santa’s sleig

The final book club selection of the year was Mad Honey, co-written by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan. The novel centers around Asher, an 18-year-old accused of murdering his girlfriend, Lily. The story unfolds through two perspectives: Asher’s mother, Olivia, in the present as she navigates the trial, and Lily’s voice in the weeks leading up to her death. This is not a clear-cut case. Asher is the one who discovers Lily’s dead body and is quickly identified as the

To the Editor: #1. 2026 will be another tough year for residents and businesses. It started last spring when valuation notices went out. If you had Commercial/Business property you probably saw a very large increase in your valuations. Or if you had land that was previously classified as AG Homestead and changed to Residential Homestead, the tax on your land doubled from .5 to 1.0. Or in the city of Sebeka, because of sales, your valuation increased 30% in one year. THERE MA

A few years ago, I wrote about my friend Stacey Kananen. She and her family lived in the Clarissa area, and we were classmates for a few years—from about second grade until around fifth or sixth grade. After Stacey and her family left without saying a word (her mom, Marilyn, had worked in the office at the Central Todd County Care Center), we kept in contact for a while, but eventually we lost touch. Another friend helped me reconnect with Stacey years later when Jerene (Pe

December 1-7 is Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week—an annual reminder of a daily reality millions of people quietly live with. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, the two main forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), are often invisible. They don’t always come with symptoms the world can see, and because of that, many people underestimate how serious and unpredictable these conditions can be. I know this firsthand. I have Crohn’s disease, and while I’m fortunate to be in

I turned 60 on Sunday. For the most part it was just like every other day of the last year it just had a different name. What was different was the mindset that came with the event that wasn’t very eventful. I spent a lot of time thinking and pondering what, if anything, turning 60 meant. Was I supposed to have some big epiphany and suddenly see clarity? Was I supposed to evaluate my entire life and my decisions and come to some groundbreaking conclusion? Turns out, 60 is

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope your holiday is filled with fun, laughter, and safety! Travel for this Thanksgiving is expected to be the highest in 15 years. The Transportation Security Administration anticipates screening nearly 18 million people from the Tuesday before Thanksgiving to the Tuesday after the holiday, while the Federal Aviation Administration projects this will be the busiest Thanksgiving for flights in at least 15 years. However, most people will be tr

Years after Jeffrey Epstein’s death, his files are still causing trouble in government. Politicians, both current and former, are under extra scrutiny whenever their names come up in connection with him. Media reports and public interest keep a close eye, putting pressure on lawmakers and officials. The talk around the Epstein files has turned into a lot of noise, making it hard to find the truth. New documents pop up, or people claim they exist, and the internet explodes wi

I’m still mourning Halloween as Christmas decorations explode in my yard. Halloween is my favorite day of the year. I love all the spooky stuff—costumes, decorations, everything about it. I always feel a little sad once it’s over. I can almost hear the mayor from *The Nightmare Before Christmas* shouting, “Only 364 days until Halloween!” With the light show, I usually wait until the first weekend after Halloween to take everything down and put up Christmas decorations. I jus