Page 10A Cold Spring Record Tuesday, May 8, 2012 Milking cows for a living turns out to be the second worst job there is... just behind lumberjacking. That's according to CareerCast in its annual list of the 10 best and 10 worst jobs. If you go by their num- bers, even soldiers and oil-rig workers have better jobs than a dairy farmer. I was hoping they had actually inter- viewed dairy farmers, maybe even visited a farm to see what kind of work is being done. But as I researched their methodology, I found they rely on Bureau of Labor numbers and formulas designed by physicists to measure work. (Yeah, I had the same reac- tion.) They measure things like stress, lift- ing, pulling, stooping and climbing. Being a dairy farmer involves a lot of that. Plus the added bonus of being greeted in the morning with "cows are out". But isn't hard work supposed to be good for you? At least that's what I was told at rock picking time every spring. Plus you get plenty of sunshine and fresh air. No denying there's plenty of stress in dairy farming along with hard work and long hours. But it also comes with the satis- faction in running a good operation and pro- viding a quality product to help feed the world. Guess those experts haven't come up with a formula to measure the pride of rais- ing a herd of high producing Holsteins. Or seeing your kids grow up on a farm instead of a suburb. I've had the pleasure of knowing quite a few dairy farm families over the years. They wouldn't trade farm life for any of those "top jobs". Farming isn't a "job choice".., it's a "life choice". The "best jobs" list had jobs like software engineer, financial planner, computer analyst and mathemati- cian. All done while sitting at a desk! The only "lifting, pulling, stooping and climbing" they do is in an air conditioned gym. I got to thinking about who decided the good jobs from the bad. I'll bet you a good pair of work boots they have no idea of what it feels like to work so hard you can hardly walk. Maybe it's because each generation gets further away from the farm but based on the comments of my kids and their friends they have no intention of working that hard. They'd rather come up with those formulas that gauge how much other people work. Walking a mall for 6 hours is my daughters' idea of a long day. Try "walking beans" for 6 hours. If you can't tell, I'm kinda partial to dairy farming. Is it OK to say I actually like the smell of a dairy barn? My city friends think I'm nuts but something about the mixture of cows, hay and manure triggers a lot of fond memories of our family farm in Canada. There was plenty of hard work but boy did we feel good about ourselves at the end of the day. By the way, also on the "worst jobs" list were newspaper writer and broadcaster. • Guess they were wrong about that too. ......... .jussayn. © Copyright 2012 Strom Communications. All rights reserved This column sponsored by 320-685-3631 • 1-888-685-3632 umber One-Cold Spring General Contractor LIo. #1782 II)IS¢OVlL:II Governor signs !icense fee [H[AI I00O00li:A(00| SCHOOL ,ncrease b,II St. Boniface School is proud to introduce students who participated on the school speech team this year. These students met after school twice a week during the month of April to practice and coach each other on appropriate speaking and presenting skills. These students then participated in the annual "Speech Festival" held at Holy Cross School, along with other area Catholic schools. Pictured here is the speech team for this year: Sara Morris, Sophia Kelly, Jenna Barker, Kya Binsfeld, Rece Winter, Josh Eisenschenk, Kate Fredin, Timothy Harris, Tracy DuHoux, Emily Kieke, Whitney Wenner, Skyla Sprague, and Jayda Woods (not pictured are Jaden Philippi and Alex Holen). Chamber seeks nominations to benefit from breakfast proceeds The Cold Spring Area Cham- ber of Commerce is currently seeking nominations to be the re- cipients of this year's Hometown Pride Breakfast proceeds. In the past, proceeds have been donated to a local project which benefits the Cold Spring Community. Re- cent examples would include: Please send nominations or re- quests to the Cold Spring Cham- ber of Commerce at 20 Red River Ave. S. #110, Cold Spring, MN 56320 or email us at info@cold- springmn.com by May 15, 2012. The Cold Spring Area Cham- ber of Commerce represents its members through communica- tion with the city, school district, MN legislature, and MN Cham- ber. The Chamber provides many networking opportunities throughout the year. For mem- bership information call 320-685- 4186 or visit www.cold- springmn.com. hance the Cold Spring Communi- ty in some way. Preference will be given to projects which have not been recipients in recent years. Those wishing to suggest recipients should email or write to the Chamber with a descrip- tion of the project, organization involved, date of the project, etc. ROCORI Area Community Foun- dation, the Cold Spring Area Historical Society, Scout project to repair Brewery Creek Bridge, Cold Spring City Police Depart- ment drug dog, and Banners for the city. The criteria for such projects are those which benefit or en- + i COLD SPRING Left to Right: Chaplain Gerard Dols, Senator Dan Hall, and Jeff Howe. Jeff Howe attended the Capital Prayer Network's weekly DNR QUESTION meeting on April 26th with Chaplain Gerard Dols of OF THE WEEK Midwest Chaplains at the State Capital in St Paul. Jeff Howe said he was honored by the invi- tation from Chaplain Gerard Dols to attend the Capital Prayer Network meeting in order to share the purpose of his candi- dacy for the House of Repre- sentatives in District 13A. Chaplain Gerard Dols is original- ly from Richmond, MN and cur- rently works for State Senator Dan Hall and the Minneapolis Salvation Army. Senator Hall is the founder of the Capital Prayer Network and one of the founders of the Midwest Chaplains. The meeting was well attended by members of the Capital Prayer Network who pray for Minn- esota's capital and government leadership. The price of Minnesota hunting and fishing licenses will increase in March 2013 for the first time in 12 years, the Minnesota Depart- ment of Natural Resources (DNR) said. On Thursday, May 3, Gov. Mark Dayton signed a House- and Senate-approved bill that, among other things, raises the cost of an annual resident fishing license from $17 to $22 and a resident deer hunting license from $26 to $30. Most resident youth hunting and fishing licenses will be $5 or free. Youth under 16 do not need a fishing or small game hunting li- cense. License fee increases were wide- ly supported by hunting, fishing and conservation organizations. The last general license fee in- crease was approved in 2000 and implemented in 2001. "This action was critical to maintaining the world class fish- ing and hunting that Minnesota enjoys," said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. "I appreciate all the efforts of the organized groups and the individual hunters, an- glers, trappers and others who supported new license prices. I also thank the Legislature for its bipar- tisan leadership and support on this important conservation initia- tive." Enacting the license fee bill maintains the solvency of the state's Game and Fish Fund for the remainder of this biennium, which ends June 30, 2013. New revenue will begin to come into the game and fish fund in March 2013. The DNR estimates the fees will generate about $5 million in fiscal 2013 and approximately $10 mil- lion per year in following years. "The fishing and hunting com- munity has spoken that they are willing to pay for good conserva- tion," said Landwehr. 'Wge will put these dollars to their highest and best use for game and fish man- agement and enforcement. That means providing the results that hunters, anglers and the conserva- tion community are asking for." Landwehr said specific uses of new license fee revenues will be proposed in the months ahead as the agency develops a biennial budget proposal that the governor will submit to the Legislature in January 2013 Q: I saw a bluebird in my back- yard this week. Do I still have time to put up a bluebird house? And which direction should it face? A: Yes, you still have time to put up a bluebird house. Although many bluebirds are already nest- ing in Minnesota, it is not too late to provide them with a nest box. Bluebirds that have not nested yet or whose nests might have failed will also use the boxes. The boxes should face an open field with a clear flight path to the box. Blue- birds prefer open, grassy areas where they can easily watch for predators. - Lori Naumann, information of- ricer, Nongame Wildlife Program Nature provides a free lunch but only if we control our ap- petites. -- William Ruckelshaus It's the Simple Things Breakfast made to order, private suite and bath, around the clock skilled nursing care. This is a new choice in senior care! Assisted Living -Memory Care - Skilled Nursing - End of Life ": d. (320) 257-7445 2,Cherr00woo 1I0 Barry Ave NW • ' i,i:' PDVANCED LIVING lllehmoad ....