Ripples...

 A Ripple of Kindness... 

reaches the farthest shore

Gender... religion... politics... we ALL belong

Angella Rechtzigel wrote: Today I was on the receiving end of a random act of kindness. A dear friend made me cookies, for no special reason. They are beautiful...and made me cry a bit. 

One thing I have learned this year ~ it doesn't matter what our gender, religious beliefs or political affiliation may be....in the end, we ALL belong to each other. 

Taking care of one another, loving each other and spreading kindness makes this world a better place.

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Watch out for flying balls!

Sue Josephson was touched by the concern and kindness she saw while driving past some girls playing volleyball on the court on 4th Street North.

It’s a busy thoroughfare.

All of a sudden a ball flew out into the street.

No worry!

Every car going in both directions stopped!

Until the girls got their ball back.

Everyone safe!

***

Sing along: “Show me the way to go home!”  

Cannon Falls Police Officer Paul Larson saw a man stumbling along the drive to homes in a residential area.  When questioned, the man explained he was walking home from the bars and admitted to drinking quite a bit.  

He explained he had just moved to town and his roommate was at their residence.  He was very friendly and asked the officers’ name several times and told him it was nice to meet him.  Officer Larson saw that he got home safely.

:)

***

Give aways...

Folks around here like giving away stuff they no longer need.  But how to let people know?  

The Shepherd’s Center, Life Church and Wangen Prairie Church have started a “Sharing” bulletin board.  Here folks can put a note or picture of whatever they would like to give away along with a contact phone number.  

Items have ranged from a new cat collar to hand lotions to a couch to a Wurlitzer organ, a lot of chocolate-mint plants, etc.

Your "Heart's Message"...

 

Sharing your “heart’s message”...
singer-songwriter Paisley Bishop
records at Pachyderm Studio

Driving through the large entry gates you navigate through dense woods and listen to the singing waters of little Pine Creek as you come upon the picturesque house built in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright that now creates a refuge for talented and celebrated musicians expressing their “heart’s message”.

This gem of a “working retreat” on the outskirts of Cannon Falls includes the world famous recording center, Pachyderm Studio.   It has been host to many of these musical “hearts”.     Like the band, Live, going platinum eight times with their album: Throwing Copper and Nirvana recording In Utero, their final studio album with Kurt Cobain.

Paisley Bishop of the Cannon Falls area 

is now one of those “hearts”.

Paisley and her family settled in a valley south of Cannon Falls after moving from California.  While out west she had started a band and within two years recorded her first album, “Take One”.  

Now she was ready for her second one, “Seasons”.  This project was funded by a grant awarded by the South Eastern Minnesota Arts Council funded by a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.

Paisley performs Country, Pop, Classic Rock and Christian (worship) as well as her own songs which she describes as “Folk Rock”.

Trevor Marty of Rochester signed on and they tested their musical combinations at weekly public gatherings for several months.    

At the end of May they stopped these performances and started preparing their final approach to recording at Pachyderm Studio.

Paisley wrote the songs... some from back in 2012 and some about a month before their recording.

“Music is what feelings sound like” is Paisley’s belief.  She continued,  “Music shouldn't be written to fit an A-B-C formula. It should be crafted to express our selves...”

Paisley has the additional responsibility of being her own business manager which means she must copyright and register the album and songs, create a promotional photo shoot, and much more.

Following hours of recording in the separate studio building at Pachyderm, the artists and friends relax and enjoy the evening in the nearby Frank Lloyd Wright styled home. 

Paisley plans to pursue other public performances and also connect with local musicians with the hope that Cannon Falls can become the newest hotspot for live entertainment.



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It’s what we do...

Fluffy white clouds were floating across the beautiful blue summer sky as divers searched for dead bodies in the dark murky waters at the bottom of the lake.

Actually... it was more pleasant than it sounds as our boat navigated Lake Byllesby in a diver training exercise to locate simulated dead bodies by the Goodhue County Sheriff’s Dive Team.

The team...

Investigator Steve Sutton-Brown leads the team.  Members taking part were:  Deputies Tom McGuire, Rod Roberts, Tom Wolner, Sergeant Jason Johnson and Captain Pat Thompson.  Also working in the exercise were Line Tenders, Tris Matthews and Deputy Jordan Winberg along with Deputy Jay Kindseth and Sergeant Scott Powers. 

  They are trained for rescue and recovery - of people or vehicles.  Recently the team recovered a 1975 Chevrolet Malibu from the Mississippi River that belonged to a person who had drowned 41 years ago.

They also dive for evidence recovery.  This is when someone tries to get rid of objects like weapons: knife, gun. rifle, etc.    

When trying to preserve fingerprints on a recovered weapon, it is brought to the surface in a container including the water so fingerprints can be recovered and it won’t rust.

It’s probably going to be very murky and dark at the bottom of the lake or river so divers may use a grid pattern to feel their way along.

In some cases they may have to search the hulls of barges to detect if they are false and are smuggling drugs, etc.

The divers do not get extra pay for their expertise.

As Deputy Wolner explained with a smile, “We’re a bunch of race horses... this is what we want to do.”

For more information on their equipment, etc. check out the YouTube video - TRIAD: Goodhue County Dive Team.