Back...

When I started here last May, the boss told me that putting out a weekly paper was a bit like giving birth, or helping to give birth, once a week.

Tuesday night was probably our best paper yet, the most news and decent pictures. Yet we didn't get out until about 1:30 a.m., flowing the copy, writing captions, placing photos (him, not me) and figuring out what to hold for next week, to get all the ads in. Then, things weren't jumping right...

When I called in this morning, I reminded him of that "birthing" analogy and said this week, it was like having to yank that baby out! Yet ... it turned out great, the end product. (Links to come, when the stories are online.)

I was in and out of court last week -- my first defamation lawsuit (not me!) And the highway worker won, against a former county administrator. A high legal standard to meet, but the jury -- they're not know as softies here in conservative Barron County either -- awarded the man $175,000 overall, on three verdict forms (for the three instances the man was defamed in the press and at public meetings.)

This civil suit had been dimissed previously, but the Appeals Court ruled it didn't classify as a workers' comp case, because the worker was no longer employed by the county when the defamatory statements were made. Again, when we get it online, I'll link. Quite an interesting case...

Anyway, after a Wednesday sleeping in, catching up at home, and romping on the trails with Buddy (we got 3+ inches of the lightest fluffiest snow Tuesday night/Wednesday morning), I'm recharged. The snow made for an interesting drive home up Cty. Hwy. 25 early Wednesday morning, a straight shot but more guessing where the lane/fog lines were, as the plows hadn't made it through yet.

Still, all's well that ends well, and have I mentioned earlier how satisfying it is to hold your week's work in your hands on Wednesday, seeing the fruits of your efforts come in to play?

Make it a great day; I've got a meeting to cover tonight, and we're already looking ahead here, with another one due out next week. Fertile ground in Barron County, Wisconsin, indeed!