This week, I attended the first ever Kris Kringle Festival at Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Denmark. One of the event's festive activities was a wagon ride through parts of the village to do some good old fashioned Christmas caroling. 

Last Wednesday morning, children across the reading area were delighted to find stockings filled with treats and treasures courtesy of the mysterious "St. Nicholas". Every year, this beloved tradition is celebrated across our area in the lead-up to Christmas, giving an excuse to begin celebrating early as well as tide over children's cravings for holiday gifts.

Maybe it’s the fact that December is now upon us, maybe it’s the snowy weather, but I cannot help myself from finally starting to get into the Christmas spirit. While many people start observing the holiday season as soon as Halloween is wrapped up, I prefer to wait in order to make the time more special.

This week, reporting for The Denmark News brought me face-to-face with numerous examples of the awesome things that are possible in our small communities when their people work together. At the same time, our nation collectively observed Thanksgiving last Thursday setting aside time to reflect on what we are grateful for.

This week, I had the pleasure of witnessing one of the biggest and most significant developments of my brief time writing for The Denmark News officially begin.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest appreciation and deepest congratulations to the students, staff and administration at Denmark Middle School for their organization, dedication and conduct in their execution of last Friday's Veterans Program.

Now that Halloween has passed and November is firmly upon us, it is time for some in our society to act like Christmas Day is next week. Major retailers already have replaced their fall and Halloween displays with yuletide merchandise and all too soon Mariah Carey will start belting her haunting herald of the season "All I Want for Christmas" across every speaker in existence.

One thing that continues to concern me more and more is the seemingly ever-growing political divide in our country. It seems that, every day, the two sides of the political spectrum grow further and further apart while piling anger, hate and vitriol in the growing gap in between. It has gotten to the point that partisan politics in this country have reached such a fever pitch  that the idea of "common ground" seems all but non-existent.

With last Monday's potentially community-altering resolution by the school board, OneDenmark now has a more defined path forward than ever towards their goal of a community center in the Village of Denmark.

In recent weeks, I have spent a lot of my time reporting for The Denmark News covering new or potential housing developments being built within the Village of Denmark. While I initially thought  people would be excited to hear about this news, I found myself shocked and somewhat off-put by many of their reactions.

It is not news that needs to be reported to anyone that the Denmark Vikings Varsity Football team is having a rough year. After multiple back-to-back lopsided losses over the past two months, the Vikings were in desperate need for a rallying win on Friday night, a win they were unable to achieve. 

While I prepare to cover my second Homecoming for The Denmark News, I can not help but be somewhat sadly reminded of another fall tradition that, unfortunately, has faded into history. 2023 will mark the sixteenth year since the annual fall "Danish Fest" was celebrated in the Village of Denmark and I, for one, deeply miss it.

Throughout my time working for The Denmark News, I have continually heard the term "hyperlocal". I will admit, the first time I remember hearing the word was in my hiring interview with Publisher Chris Nelson as he was describing to me his vision for the newspaper. Even though the word was new to me then, I have since embraced the term and have done my best to adapt the concept into my journalistic work.

This weekend, I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Father Ron Colombo. For those who do not know, Father Ron served the Denmark community as a Catholic Priest for over twenty years and, in that time, touched and influenced countless lives in so many ways. 

The importance of good teachers cannot be understated. Their guidance and influence on students can have positive impacts that go on for years and years after they have parted ways. Apart from immediate family, children will spend more time with their educators than all but anyone else and, if in the right hands, this time can positively shape who they are and who they will ultimately become.