opinion

I don’t know exactly how or when it happened, but somewhere along the line, the Avenue Bar in Madison became the watering hole of choice for an army of state politicians. I’d quaff a few soda pops with them every Friday afternoon with my Madison Magazine colleagues, former...

There are plenty of volunteers in our community, but among those at the head of the list deserving praise are the volunteer firefighters who respond to calls any time of the day or night. Fire Prevention Week was recently observed and firefighters have safety tips for homeowners,...

With the Twins and Brewers out of any postseason baseball, it’s hard to get overly excited about the playoffs, but it still has my interest because of one team -- the Kansas City Royals. I’m probably not alone in hoping they get to the World Series and -- against all odds -- win...

The news from the Federal Reserve that college loan debt has reached $1.2 trillion -- second only to home mortgages as a category of household debt -- prompted me to have a long-overdue conversation with my second-born. Over a burger and fries at the Oakwood Inn up north, my...

This is National Newspaper Week and we would like to toot our own horn a bit! The newspaper industry, with its print and online formats, continues to play a critical role in documenting the daily activities of communities like Hudson, and others also across Wisconsin and the...

After being around for the construction of the Hudson Middle School, Hudson Prairie Elementary, River Crest, a major remodel at Willow River Elementary and additions at the middle school and Houlton and Rock, there is no perfect location, no perfect time and no perfect price when...

There have been an increasing number of reports about small dogs, being walked by their owners, being attacked by larger dogs. Reports have come in Hudson and North Hudson (not all were reported to the police). In many cases the attacking dogs are being labelled as pit bulls....

My wife and I traveled to Las Vegas for a few days recently and the city continues to thrive. We travelled with Jackie’s sister Sandy and her husband Tom. There was one attraction I hoped to visit and, despite staying only a few hundred yards away, we never made it for a ride...

Citizens of Hudson have added incentive to go the polls on Nov. 4. Not only can they cast a vote in what is shaping up to be a tight gubernatorial race, they’ll have a say in whether a new high school is built and can either second-guess or support Gov. Scott Walker’s decision...

We are encouraged to see the new county board voted, by a 16-2 margin, to keep the county administrator form of government. Readers may recall that the 19-member board includes 10 new supervisors who were elected last April. Most of those elected in April campaigned on maintaining...

I’m excited, as are most football fans, that another National Football league season opens this week. I’m looking forward to pulling for the Packers and hopefully get to another Super Bowl; but I have a few observations. First and foremost, the NFL is “king of the country”...

With the National Football League starting this week, Packer fans are again facing a blackout involving their favorite team on television. Each year Packer games are blacked out when they conflict with Minnesota Viking televised games. Of course that’s because while in theory...

I don’t suspect the Star-Observer will be unleashing a “drone attack photo” anytime soon, but like other technological innovations, it may be coming sooner than I think. I’m sure most everyone has seen examples of drones taking photos of various events. Drones, of course,...

The quest for a new site for a high school/secondary school continues. The dog track is off the table, the district has officially put a for sale sign on the UU property, and the land, offered a while back from the golf course, has already been deemed as unbuildable. If anything...

Booster Days is celebrated in Hudson this weekend, and the summer event offers all of us an opportunity to support one of the area’s hardest working groups -- the Hudson Boosters. In turn, your support goes directly to benefit area youth. Most of this year’s Booster activities...