It seems like you just graduated high school, but in a week or two you're going to start college. Even if you aren’t a freshman, it’s never too late to start new habits, meet new people, or start new extracurricular activities.

As I look back on my childhood days, there was one ritual in our household that created some anxious moments in the middle of the week. It was the arrival of the local newspapers. 

No doubt you noticed that the front page of this week’s DCI is ... blank!
Goes to show what you’d miss if every page of every newspaper was blank, if us journalists did not plug in the news, week after month after year, so help us God. You would not know:

It’s all fun and games until someone throws up.
Luckily, no one involved in any of the three eating contests on Aug. 11 vomited, although some probably wanted to.
The eating contests were one of the many activities held during Kasson’s annual Festival in the Park celebration, which lasted from Aug. 9 through Aug. 13.

He has grilled good stuff for years, and done some barbeque judging, but Chuck Erickson finally jumped into the Festival in the Park Rib Cook-O fray – and won. The Kasson man placed first in the chicken category, second in pulled pork, and third in ribs on Saturday, earning the title of Grand Champion.

Kasson will spend $54,000 to improve sidewalks on Main Street between Second Avenue and Fifth Avenue Southwest.
City councilors approved the motion Aug. 9 and awarded a bid to Legends Concrete, Rochester.
It has been some time since the city has undertaken a sidewalk project of this size, City Administrator Theresa Coleman said.

A car has crashed after a high-speed pursuit began in Mower County and ended in Dodge County Monday evening.
The crash happened on Highway 56 south of Dodge Center and closed down the roadway for a period. 
It’s unknown the extent of injuries from the crash.
The case is being handled by the Mower County Sheriff’s Office. No further details are available at this time. The DCI will have more when they become available.

I was born into this world with the sole purpose to be a playmate. Any second child knows the struggles of having an older sibling. Any middle child knows the struggles of having a younger sibling.
That’s why they had me, so I could entertain and one day play with my older sister. They didn’t think very far ahead, though. They never contemplated my sister, Katie, hating me.

I can’t remember the last time my father and I didn’t go to Vikings training camp in Mankato.
I think our first trip to training camp was back in 2004, the summer before I began fourth grade. I still have a photo from that day featuring Chris Hovan, Kevin Williams, and other members of the Vikings’ early 2000s defensive line.