For many years, we have seen tension between local governments and farmers caused by the need to haul heavy loads over roads and bridges that weren’t up to the task.

We got the word again from another reader the other day — our opinion page is too slanted and filled with rants from people who hold abhorrent positions. My knee-jerk reaction was: “Well, yes. Of course it’s slanted; that’s why it’s called an opinion page.” After a few days of further thought and reflection, my reaction is: “Well, yes.

I found myself thinking about the late Richie Plass recently as I was browsing for news.

The first newscast I ever delivered on the radio was 18 minutes long, including the commercials. I started reading at 7:37 a.m. after Paul Harvey News and Comment, and I filled the time until the 7:55 a.m. ABC newscast. Nowadays, a radio newscast runs about three minutes, if the station carries news at all. I remember playing audio clips that ran 30-40 seconds.

Wisconsin’s public school system is dependent upon tax dollars. Schools use state and local taxes to pay for services, salaries, transportation, supplies, utilities and more. Schools also don’t solely control how much tax money they receive, or how much they are able to spend. The legislature sets spending limits for schools and determines how much state assistance they get to offset that spending.

As we headed into the Independence Day weekend, many families fired up the grill and celebrated with burgers and steaks cooked to sizzling perfection or, in sadder cases, charred to an unrecognizable blackened blob.