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By MICHELLE MCLEAN

Anticipation is in the air at Hillsboro Medical Center.

The completion of a $12.5 million improvement project is one the minds of staff and residents alike.

“It’s exciting beyond words,” said HMC administrator Patricia Dirk.

Passers-by on busy Caledonia Avenue have witnessed major changes since the formal groundbreaking 11 months ago.  (more…)

By NEIL O. NELSON

Grace Cotton needed a scorecard to keep track of her great-grandchildren this spring.

Calendars track birthdays, thank heavens.

But Grace needed a scorecard, in addition to a TV listing and times when the radio was carrying games and wrestling matches to help keep track of the championship seasons two of her great-grandchildren had this year.

It’s enough to make a 93-year-old great-grandmother lose sleep. (more…)

In the eight years since Halstad Telephone crossed the Red River into North Dakota and the heart of Traill County, the rural telephone cooperative has captured 80 percent of the Hillsboro market.

“We’re very connected with the Hillsboro community,” conceded Ron Laqua, HTC general manager.

Halstad Telephone this week announced that it was welcoming its Hillsboro into its cooperative family.

HTC’s Hillsboro customers will officially become shareholders in the company next year. A Hillsboro director will be appointed in January  2009, as well.  (more…)

By NEIL O. NELSON

Halstad Telephone first introduced its telephone networking, cable TV lineup and broadband Internet services to Hillsboro in 2000.

Nine years later, after successfully merging with the Hillsboro community, the Minnesota telephone company is ready to welcome its North Dakota neighbor into its cooperative family of shareholders.

The Halstad Telephone Company board of directors on March 18 voted to bring Hillsboro into the cooperative. Hillsboro exchange customers will officially become shareholders in January 2009. (more…)

Jamie Horne, a two-time all district player and the Burros’ leading scorer and rebounded this year, will be a key to Hillsboro’s success next year on the basketball court.

Hillsboro finished the 2007-2008 campaign with 14 wins and nine losses. The Burros finished fourth in regular season and again in the District 3 tournament.

Coach Elliot Rotvold’s cagers were knocked out of the Region 2 tournament by 2008 Class B champion Grafton. (more…)

By NEIL O. NELSON

Daryl McSparron was as exhausted as his granddaughter when the high school basketball season ended for Brittnye McSparron and the Eastview Lightning.

The Lightning, led by McSparron, captured third place in the season-ending Class AAAA state tournament played in Minneapolis.

The leading scorer for Eastview, McSparron was named to the All-Metro first team and state tournament team. She’s also a finalist for the Miss Basketball title that will be announced April 27. (more…)

Baseball is back on the radio.

We’re told spring is just around the corner.

And I’ve learned that I might be related to the late John Hassler, a Minnesota school teacher turned author. Hassler is known in literary coast-to-coast; I’m known largely in the heart of the Red River Valley, a 50-mile radius at best. The common denominator here: we’re both originally from Minnesota.

In fact, John taught school at Fosston. My grandmother grew up near Fosston.  (more…)

60 YEARS AGO

March 26, 1948 — Hillsboro was chosen as the first in a series of talent shows to be conducted throughout the area by WDAY Radio, announced program manager Ken Kennedy. Gordon Falconer of Hillsboro Dry Cleaners was in charge of local tryouts. The local American Legion Post was sponsor of the Friday night “Talent Parade.”

Traill County agent R.L. Nelson reported “a lively interest” in the rat killing campaign slated for the month of April. Cities and townships were joining together in the eradication effort aimed at preserving food and feed supplies. Orders for poison bait would take two weeks to fill, Nelson said, noting help from state and federal services.  (more…)

Tuesday, April 8 is Election Day in Traill County. Voters will be asked to consider a $7 million bond issue for the construction of a new jail and office complex adjacent the historic Traill County courthouse.

It’s a complex question and we urge voters to seek out the information needed to make an informed decision. We suggest they take advantage of a week-long open house at the courthouse, starting Monday, March 31 and running through Friday, April 4. The building — courthouse, Social Services office and the jail — will be open for “inspection” from 1 to 4 p.m. each day. It’s a golden opportunity to get a up close look at the courthouse’s condition and talk to county employees who know first hand why the measure in on the ballot. (more…)

 and feel good about it . . .  or how to say ‘Yes’ — and mean it.

It’s a two-letter word with such amazing power — if we choose to use it.

As a child, it can stop us in our tracks — depending on the volume of the command . . . and who is commanding. It doesn’t take long for child to discover that a wordless response is equally as powerful. A quivering lip and eyes brimming with tears are enough to dismantle a ‘no.’ It is likely to be substituted with a ‘maybe’ and eventually replaced by a resigned ‘okay.’  (more…)