Despite an official letter of opposition from the Marshall County Board and widespread opposition from local residents, an Iowa firm has received tentative approval from the Illinois Department of Agriculture for Sandy Lane LLC Hog Farm, a massive, 20,000-head hog…
Author Archive for Dale Goodner
Vote as if tomorrow matters
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on Vote as if tomorrow matters
A couple weeks ago I was whining to friends about how I used to vote for candidates from both parties. In politics, talk is cheap, so I look for those who have a positive voting record in support of clean…
The wisdom of crowds
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on The wisdom of crowds
James Surowiecki wrote a book a few years ago that began with an anecdote about a crowd that guessed the weight of an ox. When their individual guesses were averaged, they were spot on. The title sums it up: “The…
Becoming at home on the range
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on Becoming at home on the range
Between my father and Roy Rogers, I didn’t stand a chance. Songs of wide open spaces, mountains, and prairies, would weave a tantalizing tapestry of the trail. Dad grew up a country boy working around the farm and orchard, and…
In defense of the dandelion
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on In defense of the dandelion
It’s been called a lot of things: Priest’s Crown, Irish Daisy, Swine’s Snout, Milk Witch and Peasant’s Cloak, to name a few. But regardless of its name, the dandelion is a plant almost everyone knows. This alone makes it special.…
By any other name
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on By any other name
Many Peorians will remember the names, “Uncle Bob and Aunt Billy.” Bob and Sybil Prager were naturalists at Forest Park Nature Center over four decades ago. Bob was a pioneer in restoring some of the beautiful, though little known, flora native to Central Illinois, from the fragile snow trillium, to shooting star, to the eight foot tall big bluestem grass. The clearing where the Nature Center’s “Deer Run Trail” meets “Valley Trail,” is actually an amazingly diverse prairie planting, that was meticulously planted and weeded by Bob, Sybil, and a small cadre of volunteers.
Science Still Rocking Our Cultural Boat
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on Science Still Rocking Our Cultural Boat
But there’s a problem: research can inadvertently put scientists in conflict with commonly held beliefs that might differ from unwelcome new conclusions. Copernicus and Darwin experienced this. The former taught us that the Earth orbits the Sun, not visa versa.…
What is essential
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on What is essential
Nancy Utesch has a quotation inscribed on a stone in her kitchen, right above the stove: “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” This quote from Antoine de…
Tweets Twitters and Onomatopoeia
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on Tweets Twitters and Onomatopoeia
Amid solitude and snow, the sound of “chick-a-dee-dee-dee,” gives voice to the winter wind. That one-of-a-kind call is so common and recognizable it gives the chickadee its unusual name. This familiar bird may be tiny but it has a very…
Cones, Conifers, & Christmas
by Dale Goodner • • Comments Off on Cones, Conifers, & Christmas
The practice of bringing an evergreen tree indoors to celebrate the winter solstice very likely began around the 16th century in Germany. Now conifers and Christmas go together like eggs and Easter; like cake and birthdays, like Molly and Fibber…