This is a hunch that Mother’s Day brunch was out to lunch, not to be munched in a bunch.
Maybe substitute by using the coming weekend … But don’t do Wendy’s again.
From sitting in nursing home, to alternate times and days for take-in, to hitting more than one garden or lawn, this was not one for the usual books — though that had been part of her work. At least in this case, mom didn’t have to do it. At least in most instances.
We start with Friday night, on the eve of the eve of Mother’s Day, when one couple in my family got together with the kids, most of them, and brought in the basically basic grub they had bought from a kinda fast food place. This was the closest the family got to a brunch, as like in most all families, everyone was busy with commitments. Almost to the point, I might say, of needing to be committed? Do we see a theme here, of alternate ways to celebrate, in my various posts?

— Mom always said don’t be tardy or torporous, or use too many suffixes. But her day was late in coming around, so there …
Now a last Mother’s Day moment.
My New Favorite Clerk said this, about the presence of all the flowers and candles and cake, before coming to work at 5 p.m. “She’s not even my kids’ momma!” Had to think about that one for again, a moment.
But those ladies out and about around that time were wearing sensible shoes and such dresses, or in a few cases such shorts, and in one case jeans that weren’t too tight or short around the tummy. Mom apparently thought herself too late in years for such attire.
But you still rock, mom. See the Picks Of The Week department for listening options, that have now included a.m. time slots too. And psst, in that regard, hey buddy, another buddy just told me his old band is looking for new rehearsal space, somewhere in the population center between Prescott and New Richmond. So where to go and ask, if you’re an early riser. —

For her turn, mom was stuck in the nursing home with dad, and with his new lack of mobility, this is the first Mother’s Day would not hold the option of going out to eat. So mom snuck out to Wendy’s, just down the block, and that was the highlight of her day. (At least she could have revisited the Cinco De Mayo theme and had one of their sizzling burgers, topped with green pepper sauce, but she comes from more of a meat and potatoes family. These days mostly potatoes. Or salad, but no quiche.)
Blocks away, my brother used the time to scatter grass seed where it was needed, as it was not dad’s day yet, and he even incorporated the family dog to chase away birds that might peck at the tiny pellets, which he gladly did. Even though going after birds was a relatively new thing, as he’s more a deer and squirrels hound. I think they were blackbirds, and it would have been fitting if they were baked in a pie. He did blaze a new trail lately, and was introduced to a frog, which he merely nosed and did not lunge at and eat.
His wife and some of those kids were off to near my end of the state, where there is family — and more gardening. One such fine son, who works for an engineering firm, traded blacktop road construction for dirt row construction, not exactly how he would normally spend a weekend. So new digs. And his sister supplied more of the same, and the family got mom her only true gift, scraping off paint and repainting back at home. So for her it would, or would not, be like watching paint dry.
But back to birds, and an apparently absentee mom. I heard a robin chirping very nearby, as I walked downtown, and it didn’t take much looking to see that there was a big nest less than basketball hoop height. Mother bird quickly flew away. Being a nuisance, I stayed for a time, but she did not return. And back the same way about ten minutes later, still no mom robin in the hood.
Back at the building, I encountered in the gathering, not gardening area, a mother who had lost her own mom about the same time last year. Camping out with her son. She was soldiering through, like another middle-aged woman out on the patio who was also bearing a loss of about the same time frame, this time of her son.

Come out and cherish mom with Bo Jon’s flower shop, which boasts one of the most widely themed celebrations for her you’ll find, matching their multi-faceted retail options — and why wait until Sunday?
On May 11, that’s Saturday, is the true-to-form holiday mega-event offered by the downtown River Falls store (I personally think it is a super-store) doing business as Powers Flowers, Gift and Crafts, that features various food and drink, and even alpacas and goats, in addition to their flowers and other plants, in this eat meat and greet. So more powers to you. And Bo Jon’s even does a take on BBQ …
As the Smokey Treats Food Truck will be on location at Bo Jon’s from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The company’s recipes of BBQ-based food and more have been popular enough around the region that they have opened a new location in Hudson, too.
To follow this meaty theme, the treats offered by South Ridge Ranch Bacon will also be available.

— No northern lights, were given the nod by solar flares, as none were seen from a city of Hudson vantage point at midnight, right in the middle of the preferred viewing time on Friday night. That was the weekday things were supposed to flare up for the first time in about 20 years. A friend in New Richmond also had no such luck, and he held out to almost 1 a.m. So no hot flashes for mom. Her cell phone still might conk out, but not her sewing machine or flower pot.
And heathers? Back on earth? Go planting them, as I think they are a plant on this planet. As Heather Boschke of Hudson has written a children’s book about gardening that’s for the birds. Do I tell my green-thumb mother with grandchildren? (I did earlier see two women sporting big floppy garden hats at machines that were slots; I hope they did not lay an egg.)
But nevertheless, rocking out was still done. In two different ways. The chalk on a sidewalk in front of an antiques shop that spells out “Mom’s rock” should be sans apostrophe, unless taking into account the flowers drawn on the concrete, and thus giving a different meaning.
Midweek, a marquee sign of few words for a big retailer read “Mother’s Day,” followed by “Sunday,” as if we needed another reminder. Then it listed some great things you can still buy for her, but the choices as they flashed by sounded a bit cryptic, in that quick glance.
But the day to beat all days has come a bit earlier this May, it seems, just an exact week after Cynco De Mayo. So I feel compelled to again, call mom a Spice Girl, and heating things up at a brunch described in short order earlier is hurricane peppercream sauce (not peppercorn) over pasta. On several other dishes are roasted jalapenos and roasted garlic mayo. Buffalo wings at brunch feature several sauces, listed mildest to hottest. Oddly, leading the way is Jim Beam-infused, then midway through and until the end of the stack are Peking Zing, Diablo (always a popular name for such) and Extreme Jamaican. The less bold can also eat cheese pizza. —

Back to eyeballing Bo Jon’s, the Eagle Eye Farm will have their alpacas featured from 11 a.m. to noon. These creatures have the combined draw of a supple neck and furry coat, in case you try your hand at petting. Mom’s whole family will love it. By comparison, Dick’s Bar and Grill in Hudson has as its mascots similar Argentina-based animals, and they have proven popular from here to as far as Hammond, when parading at festivals and other events.
In like manner, the Bo Jon’s goats will make their appearance from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Depending how they do.) The critters would truly be the goat if by chance they bail early on Mother’s Day, as they have kids too. (Mom always groans at that kind of humor.) Just hope they don’t eat any of the flowers.
Bo Jon’s will also have other pop-up vendors … popping up. But get there before the standard 1 p.m. Saturday closing time.
Now for the adults, free wine samples will be offered by Belle Ame Vineyard, and free mixed drink sips from Delola Spritz. Mother and other adults will get to sample more than one kind of each, to put her in the mood for flowers! This supplements the beverages, alcohol and otherwise, that are regularly provided for sale at Bo Jon’s to make it truly your one-stop shop for such holidays, and even the day to day.
And also for mom, especially, Color Street Nails will be on hand, to color your world.
“We will have fresh flower arrangements, plants, blooming hanging baskets, wine and gifts!” That’s a promise from Bo Jon’s.
The first 50 customers that bring in a receipt of $30 or more from Smokey Treats, dated 05-11-2024, will receive a free blooming plant of the owner’s choice. But they are all beautiful, and this is a 15 value! So for every two dollars you spend, you save a buck.
Bo Jon’s and their hearty floral arrangements are located right in the heart of River Falls, on Main Street in the north end of the downtown.

Here is more of their story!
(Originally published last year)
Think the River Falls music fests are fine? While here, and especially if you stayed too long, stop by Bo Jon’s Flowers and Gifts, as it even has much more. If it’s any gift idea, you’ll find it at this five-some family business. In combinations. If its where you hail from, they’re branching out into Minnesota. I’ll name drop these among the bounty of brands: ikebana, Biedermeier designs, Hogart curve designs, Western Line designs …

So you went out to get her some killer flowers of a kind originating in say Kashmir — high but not in-the-desert dry as the only thing on your list, that’s filled with this and that — mixed in with those from all around our country, but that was not enough.

A cache of chocolate? And also candles? Creatively make it into a combo? Hey, she’ll cater to the crafts you’ll find here, coming for The Kinni. And extend the gift idea, even if its for other people or occasions or even rewarding yourself, much further with a bunch of newly added brands of bubbly? With wind chimes, and (rough)hewn woodworking that’s either vintage or original, also chiming in? And as they say, so much more. All under one roof in a big for River Falls bonafide floral and gift and design center, at what you could call Powers Flowers.
This is so varied and special that even if visiting from another village, say in the Twin Cities, you might want to stop off just blocks before getting to the main tourist district and take care of all your gift-giving business. Maybe why you’re here, need a quick housewarming present or two? And a makeup gift for back at home if you stayed in River Falls enjoying its various amenities way too long, as people tend to do here? Or were here, there or anywhere in the two-county area for one of its many music festivals, and needed a shopping respite between sets?

So build me up a design, buttercup, to paraphrase a popular flora-focused song?
Enter Bo Jon’s Flowers and Gifts. As a family-owned business with a tremendously broad scope, they are capable of — and indeed relish the thought of — creating exquisite arrangements of flora and beyond, while intertwining countless styles across countless countries that include the traditional, garden style, high style, and to incorporate specific brand names, ikebana, Biedermeier designs, Hogarth curve designs, Western Line designs and many more. Whew. Their experienced designers can create everyday arrangements, wedding and special event designs and installations along with stunning funeral pieces, they say. Also offered, just as importantly, are a wide range of gift items including many specialty chocolates, now even wine and beer, tropical houseplants, wooden crafts, local art and candles. As far as their big plans for expanding, they’ll be offering delivery into the Woodbury, Stillwater, Oak Park Heights and Afton areas, while still ironing out exact details. Their large crew — I even recognized an old neighbor from North Hudson, behind the counter and in one of the main floral assembly areas — agree that they love offering products from many favorite small businesses, whether located in the St. Croix Valley or Texas, or parts in-between. “Let our design team work with you to honor the relationships and moments that mean the most to you,” they emphasize, quite emphatically.
The cordial, very helpful and detail oriented young man who answered the phone, promptly, then wrote every word of my long note onto his notebook, is one of the members of the five-person family who carry on a tradition forged by a number of prior owners over many years, and now run the Bo Jon’s who got its name from them. He added that others like him in that way, including his siblings, provide their personal touch of candles and woodworking products, as those were the two biggies he specified, to round out the mix of offerings.
He added that the family was told it might take some doing to get their liquor license, for things like the bubbly for your honey on your honey-do list, as these are not always easy to come by, since for obvious reasons these licenses are in demand. Everybody wants one. So they applied back in a January time frame, hoping to get all such things in order by Valentine’s Day, and were pleasantly surprised to have them all be an actual go by the first week or two of February. It helps to stay on top of such things. Flowers and other featured products too.

Specialty services at Bo Jon’s

They offer a large inventory of fresh flowers that include tropicals, indoor house plants, seasonal outdoor annual plants, dish gardens, contemporary and traditional arrangements, high-style floral arrangements, funeral designs, extensive gift lines, gourmet and fruit baskets, assorted gift baskets, and greeting cards. Got all that, consummate shopper and consumer? They follow with things hard to find under one roof like those wind chimes, garden stones and sympathy-based items, and those from Valley Fudge and Candy Co. Many new vendors are coming onboard soon.
“If you have any questions or need more information, we’re always here to serve you and make your flower-sending experience a pleasure,” they again emphasize. So call them at 715-425-1522, or just stop in at 222 N. Main St. in the center of River Falls, Wis. at the zip code of 54022.
There are many special events planned. Among them, the family caters to weddings, funerals and other such gatherings, and have partnered with Belle Ame Vineyard in River Falls, where in the coming weeks they will be offering to their patrons a Bo Jon’s cart of fresh flowers. The educational facet of the business will kick-in when they host seasonal classes on how to do your own planters, flower arrangements and wreaths, while you enjoy a glass of wine, charcuterie and the beautiful landscape of the vineyard.
Arch rentals that were hand-built by them from 100-plus-year-old reclaimed barnwood, in various styles, as well as centerpieces and other items, are on hand here. This family business now supplies residential and commercial landscaping, outdoor planters throughout the changing seasons, and irrigation systems.
Customers can be supplied with almost anything related to the main focuses of their growing shop. When you are parents, you learn to foster the talents and even expertise possessed by your children and draw these out, and you can see that touch in so much of their merchandise. The kids’ marketing flair, especially in working with their own individual gifts, even is shown by the fact they wrote business plans — and shared their love of plants — for their parents to incorporate. Scores of the sources of product are truly unique. With that said, since the family, as a whole but in particular their mom, loves travel that is regional and beyond, it is only fitting that they should partner to offer their services and products via other like-minded companies in western Wisconsin and especially eastern Minnesota. And deliver to many of those areas.

Here is an article, slightly edited, that tells the tale, posted by the River Falls Area Chamber of Commerce (and Tourism Bureau):
The Powers Family moved to River Falls from Hudson during the height (or depth) of COVID. They were looking for a little more room to spread out without bumping into their neighbors and stumbled upon a house with a little land that made that possible for them. One of the things that they liked to do as a family was to go for country drives, (and there is so much fodder for this in the area, and they even will deliver to much of it). They like to explore and see nature. Ditto. On one of their drives, Erin announced with content that she was home. That was a BIG statement for anyone that knew Erin as she has lived all over the United States and traveled a lot. The next thing she asked Jeff was “Do you want to buy a business and set down roots?”
Jeff and Erin then presented the idea to their three teenagers, (a bold move, but they were very receptive). Then they asked each one of their children to write up a business plan as to what they were interested in, what they could bring to the table and what they absolutely was a non-starter. After reading what each teenager said, and what they were willing to offer, Jeff and Erin embarked on finding the right business that fit their family.
In May 2022, Erin and Jeff as her “not so silent partner,” purchased Bo Jon’s Flowers & Gifts. This allows each of the Powers Family members to bring a little of themselves into the shop, (increasing the skill sets present to five-fold). Erin runs the day to day operations as well, with her creative background, helps dream up all the projects to keep everyone busy. Liam is often seen at the front of the store waiting to welcome customers into the store, much like a Waffle House experience, (and he is a wealth of information). Jonah is often busy with his shop classes at school, (one way he uses that follows), track and his girlfriend but when he has time he likes to make wooden crafts for the store. Cara is a permanent fixture of the store. She is a self described, “plant nerd” and can often-times be found caring for those, even the exotic, in the front of the store or outside. She has a passion for floral design and will one day take over the shop when Jeff and Erin decide to hang up their hats, (and flower pots).
In their free time when not at the shop, the family loves to travel to neat little places and bring back little treasures from their trips, (near and not so near), to share with the rest of the community. Jeff and Cara have taken up pouring their own line of candles called, “Powers of a Candle,” which is sold at Bo Jon’s along with knit hats that Cara makes. The family have sixty-eight and counting animals and often sell their free range chicken eggs to the community. They grow their own fruit and vegetables as well as quite a few of their own flowers that they bring in each year to sell at the shop.
They are excited to continue their journey in River Falls and send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported them throughout their ongoing adventure!

On Sundays they are closed, but on weekdays open from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. That last part is important when you are in town for a weekend festival, and there are many.
They accept the following wide range of payment methods: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and even Apple Pay and Pay Pal.
Areas served just in Wisconsin include River Falls, of course, and bergs like Beldenville, Baldwin, Ellsworth, Hudson, Prescott, Roberts and Spring Valley. None are too small or too big.
Now talking about the tremendous scope of their store. They deliver to these facilities, so many that you’ve probably done business with some of them before and built up trust: Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services, Our House Senior Living River Falls, O’Connell Family Funeral Homes, Comforts of Home, Kinnic Health and Rehab, Wellhaven Senior Apartments, River Falls Area Hospital and Keehr Funeral Home.
Email them at bojonsflowers@gmail.com. You can also find them on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram.

As we now have spring, or are near it, certain doors open, and others close, as even as we’ve seen in so many ways lately, the fickle traffic to which the nightlife scene caters, ebbs and flows, with the weather.
Or like the need to go. Literally. The news was pronounced by a doorman as I walked down that same old sidewalk, as I had done hundreds of times before, to an old club that literally had existed for much more than a century. So even though I’d many times seen an old acquaintance and his business rivaling roto rooter, maybe the older building and its ilk of plumbing could use an upgrade …. The man had been there many a night, ready to go, when the club had just closed and the time was right. That is when they do such cleaning. Just ask a longtime woman friend who just got back in the biz, across more than one city.
It was less then 11 p.m. and the door, the captain said, was closed. Even though programmed to receive, they not for once as they bill themselves as never closing, usually very true except for things like this, were in the mode where it was not, that you could never leave ….
They were ushering people out as, God forbid, as he just might consider it and its glam patron-dancers a shitshow, the glitz gave way, as their shitter had shitted out! It wasn’t working and the place was now closed.
Right away, before I could even laugh too much and get around the nearest corner, people on the near sidewalk and across the curb were lamenting about how they would now be able to pee. Both men and women, so I take it there was more than one toidie that temporarilly conked out. At least this shows that business (had been) good. The mind reels more. Would the bouncers give those who needed to leave a passcode for The John, and its door, to expire if not used in five minutes?
I assume they got all things fixed so they could fix Bloody Mary’s, a hallmark of theirs, in the morning. Maybe they made an emergency, come-after-hours call to the plumbing route-it-out guy, but he could have been out bowling or enjoying other types of nightlife, broadly.

— But other doors were opened up here, as the elements decided which way they would go, even as they again were being fickle, In Through The Out Door? Downtown, even before the Hudson Tap thrust forward its as-such open door policy, which they next-day did, the Awakened Soul shop had their main of two doors flung free, and the same was true of Seasons Gallery. All at a full 90 degrees. —

Back to my cleaning gal, who will not cut corners. See obviously has a green thumb, despite her protestations, saying she kill anything that should grow. We both like Metallica, although she as usually a fan had questions about my karoake version, now done a second time, of Welcome Home (Sanitarium). So all things considered, maybe I should try instead, The Thing That Should Never Be. As one of her new and very small plants, that never made it past the small-bit-of-stringy-stuff-stage, both of them sentimental in nature, died right away and another flourished. To the point that in this not-quite-May, it already was as big as a bush. Her gmail photo(s), of both, do prove it. So I must reference Metallica again, and their song that recently re-caught my fancy, over the Easter holiday and we’re not just talking lilies here, rather the band’s inspirations that prominently include the classic Biblical epic The Ten Commandments … that being the anthem Creeping Death. I quote: “I will be with thee, bush of fire.”
Could have used some of that, in a more balanced way, during the recent thunderstorm disparity that really pointed up climate change. Open door(s), depending on where you live. While here it was cold and windy and rainy and generally nasty, down in the other end of the state, the nearer-than-north, southeast part that is Milwaukee, they were pushing 80 degrees. A guy outside the library had on a hoodie that was closed to a parka, while down there at the beachfront, lord can only imagine, as I know what the new coeds wear this time of year, when the time is right.
They, or Iowa as they are us, were a couple of days later on the high (pressure?) end of a huge weather front that crossed the continent north-south almost to the doorstep of my niece in Texas, as in Austin. She is quite the flashy one as far as fashion, and I wonder how the disparity of her being just-south-of-the-situation effected what she did?
But doors were opened up here, as the elements decided which way they would go, even as they again were being fickle. Downtown, even before the Hudson Tap thrust forward its as-such open door policy, which they next-day did, the Awakened Soul shop had their main of two doors flung free, and the same was true of Seasons Gallery. All at a full 90 degrees. But the latter two did not replicate today, even when it got warm, replaced in that mode instead by Ziggy’s.

(Note: This is the first of an occasional series on super-cool-but-still-smokin’ area deejays, karaoke and otherwise, and charismatic bartenders.)

The longtime karaoke deejay (doing both) at Bobcat’s in downtown New Richmond and other venues, who goes by the stage name Shakin’ Dave because of his jiggly dance moves that evoke Jimmy Buffett and his lowkey shorts and floppy shirt, often shifts and shimmies left and right and does a dip of his shoulders like a Drop C chord, when in action. Dave when at Bobcat’s in the back — which is more central then you might at first note — by the karaoke booth, or when out mingling with the crowd with swagger and moves like Jagger, making me think samba or salsa, while the songs are spinning. The decorative dice are indicative of someone who can roll, and rock, as are displayed on his business card.
He has over years honed his act, where like many deejays, he has some themed music ready to go. Dave’s just-getting-the-party-started early choice when buses of bachelorettes come in to let loose, is generally to instruct the groom, who likely is not in attendance, on just how to treat a lady — and show just what he might be in for. The brief monologue is followed by a song by Shania Twain, “any man of mine better walk the line.” And that’s only the start of such musical comedy. You can add in as foils the likes of Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert, and all three are experienced country music singers — and female. Their target audience with these songs, often grouped in threes by genre, leave only one question on the table, or dance floor: Who will whoop it up most, to follow The Shaker’s suggestion, the bride or a member of her party. Mom too.
But Dave’s got other genres going too — especially anything requiring a hat, maybe a floppy or even frilly one. Dave has plenty of them as part of his costume schtick, and a main one is more like a sombrero, not somber, complete with killer bright colors and numerous strings with small attachments at the edge of the brim. They are not quite to the point of being frayed, just jangle while he jiggles, in a way that can be uniquely lowkey and also remind one of actor Bill Murray’s deadpan demeanor. Put all this together and it works. Or Dave will play a fave song for you just for your listening to it, with the only vocals being those from the original singers, and not your friends acting as backup vocalists. As Dave — who has his presence felt across several endeavors and brings that experience and its banter to this as his night gig — will also spin it that way for you.
The bridal parties usually eat it up, just like wedding cake. Dave is also a main force in bringing in a crowd of regulars singing unusually creative tunes, across genres but not straying too much from them, who have also now started going to the Wild Badger for more of the same.
More recently, Dave pointed out the derivative nature of a band that essentially covered a song by Dobie Grey and played those numbers back to back, then talked up Beyonce covering the classic song Jolene by Dolly Parton and followed it with another remake done by Miley Cyrus. Good commentary, all around.
Dave has gotten behind some of my ragers, welcoming me to the spotlight in front of the stage with screen set at 90 degrees, and expertly prepping the crowd to best enjoy my rather far-reaching takes on these tunes. To wit: Hocus Pocus by Focus that approaches the heights of wild crescendo, You Got Another Thing coming with wailing by Judas Priest, and of course Stairway to Heaven as I try my hand at introducing vocal fills as per Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin. Dave doesn’t mind if I and others get a little outrageous; that’s his stock and trade when kept at controlled chaos.
But Dave is about more than just Bobcat’s. By the numbers, or the phrases, his business is called Dave’s PC and DJ, specializing in weddings, birthdays, graduations (like soon coming), anniversaries (the grandfolks love to rock too and sing more than just classic rock and country), reunions, parties and corporate events too … even maybe Martian Space Schuttle launchings?!? Featuring interactive karaoke and a sound and light show to fit any venue. Indoor or Outdoor.
New Richmond next to only Hudson is a destination place for bachelorette parties in far western Wisconsin. The pattern is for these crews that basically consist of the bridal parties and a few friends, to start at Bobcat’s, maybe even a bit before most local music typically starts, and around the time Bobcat’s weekend karaoke begins, then cross the main street over to the Wild Badger and other venues to the immediate north. Most of the nightspots are quite long and narrow, and people will filter through the venues and then go out to use the back alleys running parallel to the north-south main street, on either of the stretches to be found west and east.
You can find Dave at Bobcat’s every Friday and Saturday night from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. Then back there on Sunday with a somewhat quieter and maybe folkier gig in the afternoon, from 2-6 p.m. and constitutes what usually is a rare time for karaoke. His email is a dead giveaway, see ShakinDave@Buddy-Technology.com.

The border battle that has framed Minnesconsin started with booze but has hit with hemp another stage, and not one with just mainstream pot back there, and backstage, by the roadies.
What is legal in one state is not in another. And vise versa. Makes it tough as thick rope to “weed” it all out.
When Minnesota non-marginalized marijuana, as in making it legal, it set in place a whole series of changes in the non-mainstream marketplace for various hemp and/or cannabis derived products. And not just involving the purchase of Grateful Dead tickets.
Drinks infused with garden variety CBD, and virtually no THC, had been found in some grocery store aisles in western Wisconsin for a few months running, but apparently the stigma that can be associated with having it on your shelf caused them to take it off in almost all cases, a store worker said. And there were market conditions effecting this, as the drinks apparently just didn’t sell all that well and were not as popular as joints. One medium-size grocer on the north end of St. Croix County simply sold out what stock had remained, on special in a mini-fridge next to some juicy energy drinks, then did not reorder, back in late 2022.

— A newer local CBD shop made the claim in an ad, back around Christmastime, that seemingly because of loopholes in regulations between states, you can get a higher THC value with some Wisconsin drinks, and maybe gummies, than across the river. —

That said, most of this was before Minnesota legalized weed. Since then, you can’t find these CBD-infused-only drinks such as seltzer water anywhere in my region, and not too much in the other end of the state, either, (with Illinois and its own laws to obey in tow.) They have been replaced, at least in Minnesota, with such juices infused with full-fledged cannabis — the now legal kind — with no CBD juice to be found, as of a few months back. I first noticed this, about a year ago, when going to a major upscale grocer, and the clerks, two of them, had no clue in which aisle to find CBD-infused drinks, which they had carried. With green veggies? Juices? And they weren’t just one row off. It turned out that the newer version, with real THC, was available at their liquor store component separated by a glass door, in a refrigeration unit. At about $25 for a small pack.
And even Wisconsin has its own version of its stronger CBD adaptation, inspired from The Delta, and not that of the Mississippi. Here in the Badger State, you can buy both Delta 8 (the equivalent, to make a caffeine comparison, of cola), and Delta 9 (more like Dew or even the Old School Jolt, before such CBD things rather than caffeine content were even conceived of.)
And now local companies such as Lift Bridge (although having fingers in both states) are jumping into the fray, with THC-infused juices that up the ante to 10 mg of the hemp-derived stuff in their 12-ounce mixes — labeled as two servings worth and no alcohol — up from the typical 5 mg. Then enter their peer from just down the highway, Oliphant Brewing, which has upped the ante to, a couple of notches up the scale, a 25 mg product — for only a few bucks more per pack — and one with 10 mg of both THC and the now-far-to-find CBD. The higher level drink shows, in one such case of its uncanny container art, showcasing a skeleton crawling on hands and knees and named Extinct, as in T Rex, the creature is pictured with that telltale leaf infused into its forehead. On either side, it shows vapes streaming from the eye sockets, but makes no reference to being a Delta product on its packaging.
A suggestion: In your best effort not to become yourself extinct, ha ha, it might be best to consume the 25 mg drinks in “fifths” to make the total only 5 mg, if you know what I mean, (in an NA and AA way to measure that kind of thinking.)
These products are right now the fodder of and for liquor stores and the burgeoning number of dispenseries, as Wisconsin debates fully becoming a state where you can smoke marijuana. There exist legal and marketplace reasons, and the word is out that six packs that are variety packs are coming, not just the four cans, but for right now, the gist is they are slimly found and run about $17.99 or higher with their cost not lessened by volume discount. Delta 8 runs you about three bucks less.
All of this placement in the market, not of a grocery store but as a business niche, means that kratom, which is said by devoted followers to make ebb a variety of ills, and is legal in most states such as Minnesota but not Wisconsin, has come way down in price at smoke shops in the Gopher State. It was once fairly pricy, but now people can buy enough to last a month, or more likely two or three or more as it can have bad side effects in higher doses, for less than a Benjamin. A question remains from this quagmire: It is staunchly illegal to sell kratom in Wisconsin, but are there major fines if you simply have it on your person, (there is now not much monetary incentive to have “intent to deliver.”)
How do the cops respond to the whole disparity, as the downfall of states rights is that any time you cross such a border you encounter a whole new set of laws, and they say ignorance of such is no defensible legal defense. The barflies have an opinion, back from the start of The Changes: If you are in a neighboring state and have THC on your person — but maybe moreso in Hudson than say, New Richmond — the nice officer just might preach to you that hey, you’re just so many yards or a few miles away from one of the 50 states where it’s legal, so just be quickly, but within the speed limit, on your way back there — if you have not indulged and thus are not intoxicated, a small sampling of patrons have said they believe. Of course these are some of the same people who have sworn that when police stop you, and if they have a squad blinker out, you can use that to get out of your own ticket. And if your drivers license, and I assume you have one, shows you live in the purple state where it’s legal, will that cut you any slack with the officer?
A quick review of a month’s worth of police and sheriff’s report records revealed that there were an average of between one and three incidents a week concerning THC possession in the River Falls and St. Croix County jurisdictions. (The most alleged violations seen continue to involve methamphetamine.) The breakdown provided to the Hudson Star-Observer each week by Hudson Police is not that specific in defining the nature of offenses.
All these new situations point up the need to better train the officers who have to deal with them, like they didn’t already have enough to be astute about. In the state of Wisconsin, the minimum education requirement for a police officer is only a high school degree, although individual jurisdictions can require them to continue further with their education. But don’t have to get a degree in molecular chemistry.

(To preview two more of this blog’s stories, check out the back pages of the current issue of the Hudson Star-Observer.)

So many deaths, in so little time, like a rock song that’s just a bit over two minutes. “Breaking the law,” coming in at 2:12, almost seems appropriate. (Are some just rugged or full-fledged rouges?)
A most recent one hit home locally, at Ziggy’s Hudson. The singer, Tim Sigler, a longtime country man front and center, and cowpoke poking hard on the guitar, also sang and strummed with poignancy and power, then gave a shoutout at the song’s end to the recently deceased Toby Keith, as he’d penned it in a like-minded way. Sorry to say, can Keith Richards, also on guitar, be far behind?!?

— With a few more newer people coming to many family holiday gatherings, I was a bit more eager about their (possibly changing up) warerobe choices — as in a kind of reversal? — than being stuck in a corner and thus trapped by an odd uncle with bad dad jokes, and OK that could be me. What I didn’t expect … Matron vs. possibly grand-matron vs. the brood, now young adults.
In my mind’s eye, I have long pictured a bright new Easter dress with great big colored polka-dots, worn by one of my model friends. But my niece, the night before, was noting the possible coming rain and weighing whether to be especially stylish, or more warm and safe and dry.
Not long before being on my way there, I saw medium-length from any nearby club, a mom and teenage daughter wearing all black, up and down, both in their dresses and clunky heals. Can you do that right before Easter? Would some fashion freaks take you to task for that ensemble, (or praise it)? I am left with this little fact, or opinion, that its truly hard to pull this off. Like white after Labor Day, like all this should matter, although one of the colors makes you super sweat if prompted by heat.
But then what was seen at Christmas and Easter: Some, and not always predictably, were dressed as traditionally fit for the upcoming Mother’s Day, others more bold in say the height of hem, as per New Year’s Eve.
That’s what was noted about others even at church, high rising at sunrise service, along with shoes that were stable and a staple, but still stunning. Simply put, skin was often put on display from just above the ankle — at times and also shown as brown mini-boots — to mid-thigh. Many more skinny and strappy shoes also were seen. And sometimes comfort and being demure and traditonal was in vogue, and the slipper-like shoes still fluffy and long pants thick, with the end result becoming degrees of, being noticeable, or blending in. Do you choose a buckle, or big bow (most of the time), or small or none at all? And how many layers of your clothing will you select? Most of them I spied, if there’s a trend here, showed long, unbroken stretches of similar one-toned fabric, which could be an earth tone, not always colorful or even pastel, like colored eggs are.
I just noticed that I have not said a thing about a blouse style. And I saw few hats, virtually no veils and no gloves.
But in summary, with people I was around, many wore what wasn’t what you’d think. At times the typically two this way and two that was flipped, how far was individually, from their normally featured, brave vs. more bland. —

The tabloids are raking on the alleged soon-to-be-demise of Bruce Willis. Again, not to rake, but a friend who used to pour coffee at a California shop he frequented in his Die Hard days, said that unlike most, he was a hey, look-at-me snob when not natilly attired. (If you visit that caffeine dispenser, maybe better site Serge instead, more of a friend.) Also we as such reference the long-ailing Phil Collins, who was in earlier and healthier days, known to have been, non-invited apparently, the jump-in drummer in an old Stairway To Heaven combo live-lineup, maybe for a last-Bruce-Willis-movie soundtrack? A driver friend says he is not up in the air about it, but has as the only rockin’ out song he can tolerate and indeed love, In The Air Tonight. Collins has said live he didn’t like to be pigeonholed by that tune — which always resonated with me when the big and booming bass drums finally came in — but don’t tell your limo purveyor that.
Then we go back to the turn of the year, and the death of one of the Smothers Bros. The mainstay behind the drug store counter, who has a somewhat retired brother himself, who is another Bruce by name, has had his own spin: Hey he’s not here anymore, but do I want to “smother” him? Hmm. Central is that one brother, more than the other, is as irreverant as you can get with his humor. I was going to ask him about the alleged evil act, with said brother, the last time I was in the drugstore — for my favorite soda, cherry red, with Mr. Jimmy, and wait that was across the river — but hey, I was told the Hudson Bruce was in the store yesterday. And will be tomorrow also, so rose from the dead?
On such themes, a new friend issues frequent citations for his killer band Amigo the Devil, with song after song of lyrics that are thusly as deliciously irreverant, on touchy topics, though a group small in number with its songwriters. God may not get you for (listening to) that, but Satan will. And speed your death (theme of this post) and take you to hell, their ultimate stage. And with an area concert acoming, we’ll both be there. Bluegrass-type stuff with extreme edge.
When I interviewed a very bright high school student up for honors, she also made a favorable reference, to the irreverent but acclaimed band the Dead Kennedys. But as a writer, censor yourself on that one, she requested. The elders might not get the rub.
George from Seinfeld is not dead, as one of my fave bartenders Chad noted when seeing my wallet burgeoning with old receipts, much more than money. Want to buy beer in a 30 pack? It looks like you have enough receipts for that many single sales?
Also, back to real death, O.J. has ran out of juice. Right after my mom saw a classic bumper sticker about him and his follow, chiming in with words that number two dozen. That’s more than half of those seen in that crazily slow Bronco chase at slow speed. A friend from Trinidad said that her World Cup soccer that was pre-empted would be far more interesting. But for quality entertainment, see his humorous bits in the Naked Gun movies. But, was he merely a foil for Leslie Nielsen or a feature in himself.
But to an earlier death I missed, (was it because of a deep fake?), deep as the waters that still house the Edmond Fitzgerald, a song that was a wreck that I’d long loved for its rich tones and touching but quaint folkish lyrics. This tale of many a dead seaman, laid to rest when Lightfoot died about a year ago, was especially popular with me because this disaster occurred basically in my backyard, the rough lakes above the Upper Peninsula, which was not firm enough as a land appendage to save. I used to sing along to the car radio, in a big old beater with astro-turf for seats, both front and back, but not in the shower, as this is like folk and not loud enough to be heard over running water. Lightfoot was a native Canadian, which maybe explained why he was nominated, merely, for five Grammies, but actually won 17 Juno awards, those given in the next country up. What, something other than heavy metal gets snubbed? This could be the story of Jethro Tull, falling in reverse. But sorry to end this tome on tunes, not afoot on a Lighter note.