Morning Report pets featured in June

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We featured 15 cats and seven dogs at the end of our weekday newsletter in June.

The photos published in the Morning Report were mostly of readers’ pets, but we also wrote about sibling cats in need of adopting from Feline Rescue.

Three of the pets we wrote about were memorial posts.

For more pet photos, check out our May slideshow.

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Friday, June 28

“Moose is a rescue from the Bond Between,” Jeff writes.

(The Bond Between was formerly known as Secondhand Hounds.)

Moose

“Moose is a 4-year-old Labradoodle,” Jeff writes. “When we got him he could barely walk after five months in a crate.  He now romps around the yard with his Doodle sister, Moxie. Very loving and playful big boy.

Thursday, June 27

“Hey folks, meet Ziggy!” writes Mars King, our fellow newsletter author. “She is a 15-pound Chihuahua mix (10% Chow Chow and 14% Cattle dog!) who also answers to Zig Newton and Prozac Princess.

Ziggy

“The other weekend, this little cutie and her parents were attacked by a neighbor’s dog. Everyone is okay now, but this is a gentle reminder from a local reporter to bring protection — like a spray bottle or a whistle to call for help — on your walks in case you encounter aggressive animals. Stay safe out there doggos!”

Glad everyone is OK. Here are other ideas and suggestions on how to stay safe on your walks. Readers, let us know if you have suggestions as well.

Wednesday, June 26

Meet Thelma!

Shhh, she’s watching the cardinals.

Thelma

“Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal come to eat right before dusk every night,” writes Taji of Moorhead, Minn.

Tuesday, June 25

“Roger loves just ‘hanging out,’” writes Barbara and Richard. “His multilevel warehouse home allows him to overlook family action at lower levels.”

Roger

Monday, June 24

“Here’s my baby girl, California, or as I call her, Cali Bear,” Shanda writes.

Shanda and California.

“She is a 15-year-old Tortie. I’ve had her since she was 2 months old. She is definitely one of the family with her own personality and love for each of us. I love her so much.”

Friday, June 21

Spice

“This is my grand cat,” Karen writes. “You featured my other grand cat, Walter, on Valentine’s Day and it was pictures from my daughter and son in law’s wedding, and it was so special!

“My son has been asking when I will get my other grand cat in the paper, so here is Spice, the sweetest Calico cat you will ever meet. Don’t let her hear you call her a cat though, as she thinks she is human.

“She came from a farm in southwestern Minnesota and was originally my parents’ cat. She now lives in Minneapolis with my son, Forest. Forest knew he would get Spice someday, and he did after my dad got sick and it was too hard for my parents to take care of Spice.

“Spice does not like to leave Forest’s side, but is always up for company and will welcome all humans. She will greet you with a hop, side step and rounded spine, and then sit on your lap. I have heard a few people say they would get a cat if it could be like Spice. She also loves to get in her harness and spend a little time outside.”

Thursday, June 20

“Here is our Ragdoll cat, Mione, and our rescue dog, Maura,” writes Celeste. “They aren’t great friends so this was fun to see on our screen porch a few nights ago.”

Mione and Maura

Wednesday, June 19

“Our beautiful white cat, Lionel, has one green eye and one blue eye,” Suzanne writes.

Lionel

“He was a stray kitty who showed up in our yard about 15 years ago and decided to stay. He has a heart condition and has slowed down recently but is very affectionate and tolerates his medications. He’s a sweet boy!”

Tuesday, June 18 (Memorial)

“This is Sarafina’s story,” writes Carol of Coon Rapids. “We were camping in Florida some years ago and after hearing cat bird sounds (we thought) in a nearby bush, we investigated and found this tiny kitten clinging to a branch! She was very small and very sickly looking.

Sarafina

“We rushed to find a vet where they estimated her to be only about 2 weeks old. We were to feed her kitten formula in a small baby bottle every two hours. We continued on home, nursing this little girl all the way. It was a long road, but the second photo shows her after she recovered and grew. In fact she lived to be 17 years old! Very sweet girl and we miss her still.”

Sarafina

 

Monday, June 17

“This is our flame point Siamese, Harry,” Ned writes. “He is a little over one year old, and a rescue from the Oklahoma City Humane Society. We moved to Oklahoma City from St. Paul last spring. Enjoy keeping up with the news from Minnesota, and the daily pet photos!”

Harry

Harry is gorgeous!

Thanks for reading all the way from Oklahoma, Ned. We we have many readers who stay in touch with home this way, and we appreciate it.

Friday, June 14

Thursday, June 13

“We so enjoy hearing everyone’s stories of their four-legged family members — thank you for sharing the stories and pictures!” Cathy writes.

Miss Kitty

“This is Miss Kitty. She is a senior kitty who we took in after a neighbor decided to move out of state. Her previous home let her go outside, but we keep her inside where she has all the comforts of a safe and loving home. She is independent — she does not like to share ‘her space’ with our other cats — so has her own floor in our home. Miss Kitty likes to talk, is very sweet and full of personality. Thank you for letting us introduce Miss Kitty!”

Wednesday, June 12

“You may remember Oliver, our Pomapoo who crossed the Rainbow Bridge last July,” Debbie writes. “You published pictures of him in the ICU at the University of Minnesota. Before that, you published pictures of him when he was healthy and on our boat. This past February, we welcomed a new little Pomapoo into our family.”

Welcome!

Siegfried Adam

“We named him Siegfried Adams,” Debbie says. “Siegfried was Oliver’s middle name and it means ‘victory, protection and peace.’ Beautiful words for a beautiful puppy. He loves to play with toys and especially with his big brother, Mishka, the Samoyed. He is such a sweet puppy and makes us laugh and smile.”

Tuesday, June 11

Remember those four cat siblings we’ve written about, who were waiting for one home?

The Carnegie siblings. (Courtesy of Feline Rescue.)

“WE HAVE NEWS!” wrote Kate King, executive director of Feline Rescue, recently.”Molly and Spot Carnegie were adopted. We were sad to have separated the four sisters, but overall, it’s great news.

Sophie and Spice.

“We still have Sophie and Spice available for adoption together. Sweet Cyrus is still with us, too.”

This collage (above) shows Sophie and Spice. They look a little sad without their siblings, and they have now been moved from their foster home to the shelter, where it’s easy to pay them a visit. Are there any Morning Report readers out there who could give them one home? Or a home to Cyrus, who still waits.

Monday, June 10 (Memorial Monday)

“Hello, I have a cat picture and story for you,” Robin writes. “This picture of my grandson, Raymond, and my cat, Avery, is from about five years ago. When Raymond came to visit Grandma, Avery was ready to play and loved to read with Raymond! She was the most gentle and loving cat.

“She died of kidney failure in 2021. She was one of the sweetest cats I ever had.”

Thursday, June 6

“This is Gizmo, who turns 1 next month,” Kim wrote in May. “She’s a very active girl who sometimes drives her older sister-cat crazy. But right now she has the important job of helping her mom (my sister, Kelly) recover from total knee replacement surgery.”

Gizmo

We checked in with Aunt Kim on Tuesday for an update.

“Gizmo turned 1 today, June 4!” she replied. “My sister is doing great in her recovery. In fact, she just got her driving privileges back on Monday, so she’s enjoying her new freedom!

“Thanks for doing these pet stories. It really lightens up the news!”

We enjoy it, too. Happy Belated Birthday, Gizmo!

Wednesday, June 5

Jill

“This is Jill!” Sarah writes. “She’s 11 and enjoying her retirement. She’s small but takes over the back seat and basks in the sun on car rides. Jill has brought us joy every day for the two years we’ve had her.”

Tuesday, June 4

Summit

“Our baby boy Summit turned 13!” Scott wrote recently. “He doesn’t get around much anymore due to his age, so we decided to bring the party to him. All of his friends and family came and we had a wonderful time. I haven’t seen him so excited and happy in a long time!”

What a great idea! Tell us more.

Summit and friends.

“It was on Memorial Day — May 27 — which is his actual birthday,” Scott replied. “We had big gold ’13’ balloons, gold ’13’ candles, a slideshow on TV, a cake, etc. Probably had 20 friends and neighbors over who know him from our previous walks around the neighborhood. Now that he can’t walk very well to visit his friends, we decided to invite his friends to visit him and they all came — even the people who we got him from originally when he was only 1 year old (we kept in touch and she even used to dog-sit for us) came from across town to visit him. He still remembers her and got soooo excited to see her when she arrived. He’s such a good boy and everybody loves him, especially us!”

All this love, it’s what every dog deserves.

Monday, June 3 (Memorial Monday)

“It is with great sadness and sorrow that we let you know that our beloved Winnie passed away just before Christmas,” Ken and Pat write. “We also want to thank you for being so gracious as to publish her photos and story twice last year, the second being on Thanksgiving for ‘What We Are Grateful For.’ Our family, especially my wife, who was Winnie’s favorite person, and our niece in the Twin Cities area were thrilled to have her recognized as a very special girl.”

Winnie

Winnie’s early life was a struggle: Abused and abandoned, she was taken in by the Humane Society Silicon Valley. They shaved her matted hair and saved her life after removing cancer found during spaying surgery.

She was adopted by Ken and Pat four days before Christmas in 2016.

The senior blossomed in a loving home.

Winnie and Tobey.

“She went from being fearful and wolfing her food down in less than 40 seconds to one who knew what time it was and would ask for her appetizers and dessert before finishing her dinner,” they recall. “When she went for walks during the summer we were amused to watch her become ‘The Closer’ after those racehorses who are slow to begin and race down the homestretch to hopefully finish first.

“Winnie’s early fractions were very slow as she had to sniff everything carefully and as we would begin the trek for home her pace would pick up and then, with 300-400 yards left, she would sprint for home, hoping that there were chicken treats awaiting her.

“Like many other rescues, her only fault was not living long enough,” they write. “Please continue to implore your readers to adopt homeless pets, especially senior ones … they will be happy that they did.”

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New Stearns County park protects lakeshore, offers chance to restore lost prairie and wetlands

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About 250 acres on the Sauk River Chain of Lakes in central Minnesota will be preserved as a new public park and wildlife preserve.

The property borders the popular chain it narrows into the Sauk River, just south of Cold Spring.

It includes about a half-mile of shoreline, rolling hills and old-growth oak forest, said Ben Anderson, Stearns County parks director.

“It’s just a really unique property located in an area of the county and on a lake that doesn’t have a lot of public access,” Anderson said.

The new park south of Cold Spring, Minnesota, includes rolling hills, old-growth oak forest, a trout stream and heron rookery. (Courtesy of Stearns County)

Several organizations partnered to acquire the property, including conservation groups Pheasants Forever and Dakota Ringnecks. The project also received private donations — including $500,000 from an anonymous donor — and a grant from the state’s Lessard-Sams Outdoor Heritage Fund. The county also used about $333,000 in unused COVID-19 relief funds for the purchase.

The property’s proximity to the city of Cold Spring makes it unusual, said Sabin Adams, state coordinator with Pheasants Forever.

“It was likely slated for development at some point in the future,” he said. “Now we can ensure that it will be maintained as wildlife habitat and as a recreation spot for people.”

Plans are to restore wetlands and native prairie that had been farmed, which will help protect and improve the water quality of the Sauk River and chain of lakes, Anderson said.

“This area serves as a big catch for rainfall that’s coming through there, and we want to treat that water before it gets into the chain,” he said.

Acquiring more than 200 acres for native prairie habitat is a “big win,” Adams said. But he noted that the U.S. has lost an average of 48,000 acres enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program per year since 2007. Farmers enrolled in CRP agree to remove sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species to improve environmental health.

“Anytime we can purchase a property, put permanent protection on it — whether that’s with a state agency, a federal agency, a county — restore the grasslands, restore the wildlife habitat and then open it up to the public so they can enjoy those spaces, we view it as a win all around,” Adams said.

The property includes agricultural land, which will be restored into native prairie and wetlands. (Courtesy of Pheasants Forever)

Restoring native prairie and previously drained wetlands will help hold more water on the landscape Adams said, likening it to a sponge.

“I think that’s a really important story to tell right now, as we’re seeing all of this water rushing off the landscape and into our waterways,” he said. “These types of projects provide this huge service — holding and cleaning our water, letting it percolate into our drinking supply.”

The county plans to get public input on the park over the summer, and have it ready to open sometime next year.

The Outdoor Heritage Fund grant requires the county to allow hunting in the park. Anderson said it will be limited to small game and bow hunting. Plans call for adding some limited trails for hiking and cross-country skiing, as well as a possible boat landing and fishing pier.

The county’s park commission has narrowed a list of possible names for the park and is asking the public to weigh in. Options are Chain of Lakes County Park, Chain of Lakes County Park and Conservation Area or Kinzer Creek Conservation Area.

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Latest flood damage: Minnesota’s soybean crop?

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Across Minnesota, torrential rain pushed ditches and rivers out of their banks, and now farmers are assessing the damage that was done while many fields were under water.

“After corn or soybeans have been flooded this time of year for 24 to 48 hours, if we have warm temperatures, that crop will actually die,” said University of Minnesota agronomist Seth Naeve.

“A pretty dire situation,” is how Minnesota Soybean Growers Association president Darin Johnson described conditions on his farm near Wells in south central Minnesota.

In a blog post, Johnson said seven to 10 inches of rain inundated many fields.

Soybean plants submerged in water start to die after one or two days. (Dan Gunderson / MPR News)

“This is some of the worst drown-out we’ve seen in about 15 years, so it’s been a long time, but there’s still some decent-looking crop around,” he said.

Location is key to crop survival. Higher ground drains more quickly, giving plants a chance to recover.

But even in areas where fields are not flooded, Naeve said soil is saturated from persistent rain across much of the state.

“We’re in a condition now where a lot of our soil could probably get by most of the rest of the year without any additional rainfall,” he said.

Drowning in floodwater isn’t the only risk for crops. Too much rainfall flowing down through the soil takes nutrients the plants need deeper into the soil, sometimes beyond the reach of crop roots. Loss of nitrogen is particularly damaging for corn plants.

Wet conditions can also make controlling weeds difficult because farmers can’t apply herbicides in a timely manner.

Naeve said cool, wet conditions also favor development of plant diseases and some unusual challenges.

He said one farmer in southeastern Minnesota recently had a soybean field destroyed by slugs, a problem Naeve said happens farther south but is rare in Minnesota.

The wet conditions and cool temperatures this summer have combined to slow the growth of crops in many areas and they need warm, dry weather to catch up in a state with a relatively short growing season.

“The crop needs to really cruise and be on the gas all year in order for us to get really high yield,” said Naeve. “I’m hearing a lot of reports about crops that are just kind of standing still right now. They may look OK, but they don’t look like a July 1 crop.”

It will take some time to assess crop damage from flooding. Farmers have until July 15 to report damage to crop insurance agents. The USDA will also gather data about crop loss to help inform crop yield predictions.

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Today in History: July 1, Dominion of Canada is formed

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Today is Monday, July 1, the 183rd day of 2024. There are 183 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On July 1, 1867, Canada became a self-governing dominion of Great Britain as the British North America Act took effect. Called Dominion Day until 1982, the national holiday is now known as Canada Day.

Also on this date:

In 1863, the pivotal, three-day Civil War Battle of Gettysburg, resulting in a Union victory, began in Pennsylvania.

In 1903, the first Tour de France began. (It ended on July 19; the winner was Maurice Garin.)

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In 1944, delegates from 44 countries began meeting at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, where they agreed to establish the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

In 1963, the U.S. Post Office inaugurated its five-digit ZIP codes.

In 1973, the Drug Enforcement Administration was established.

In 1984, the first movie rated PG-13 (“Red Dawn,” starring Patrick Swayze) debuted.

In 1991, President George H.W. Bush nominated federal appeals court judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, beginning an ultimately successful confirmation process marked by allegations of sexual harassment.

In 1997, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule after 156 years as a British colony.

In 2004, actor Marlon Brando died in Los Angeles at age 80.

In 2015, after more than a half-century of hostility, the United States and Cuba declared they would reopen embassies in each other’s capitals, marking a historic full restoration of diplomatic relations between the Cold War foes.

In 2018, LeBron James announced that he would be signing with the Los Angeles Lakers, leaving Cleveland for the second time in his career.

In 2019, 15-year-old Coco Gauff, the youngest player to qualify at Wimbledon in the professional era, defeated 39-year-old Venus Williams in the first round.

Today’s Birthdays:

Actor-dancer Leslie Caron is 93. Actor Jamie Farr (TV: “M(asterisk)A(asterisk)S(asterisk)H”) is 90.
Cookiemaker Wally Amos is 88.
Dancer-choreographer Twyla Tharp is 83.
Actor Genevieve Bujold is 82.
Rock singer Deborah Harry (Blondie) is 79.
Actor Terrence Mann is 73.
Rock singer Fred Schneider (The B-52s) is 73.
Pop singer Victor Willis (Village People) is 73.
Actor-comedian Dan Aykroyd is 72.
Actor Alan Ruck is 68.
Mystery novelist Louise Penny is 66.
Singer Evelyn “Champagne” King is 64.
Olympic track champion Carl Lewis is 63.
Actor Dominic Keating (TV: “Star Trek: Enterprise”) is 61.
Actor Pamela Anderson is 57.
Actor Henry Simmons is 54.
Hip-hop artist Missy Elliott is 53.
Actor Julianne Nicholson is 53.
Singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens is 49.
Actor Liv Tyler is 47.
Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla is 47.
Actor Hilarie Burton is 42.
Actor Lea Seydoux (LEE’-uh say-DOO’) is 39.
Actor-singer Chloe Bailey is 26.
Actor Storm Reid is 20.