April 2026

The April news comes to you a bit late from Alaska after 6 weeks on the farm. The farm news as always features nature sightings in abundance. The resident eagle nest resulted in two baby eagles, down one from last year but always fun to watch.  Goslings were seen in every pond, and crane colts were also sighted.  A less pleasant nature sighting was the discovery of 7 deer carcasses along a quarter mile section of a county road that borders the farm, likely from road kills. The now persistent wind toppled a large oak right next to the cabin which luckily fell the right way to avoid great damage.

Every farm needs farm equipment, and the Angstman farm has relied heavily on a Gehl skid steer which was purchased second-hand 30 years ago for $5,000.  That machine has been used heavily almost every day during Minnesota visits with its various attachments.  For example, hundreds of trees had been transplanted around the farm with a tree spade attachment.  The time seemed right to  upgrade to a more user friendly late model Bobcat, so the 50 year old machine was listed on Facebook Marketplace where it sold for $5,500 in a couple of hours. The new one features a heater and air conditioner, which the 11 original Angstman brothers would have a hard time believing. Here is a shot of Grandson Jack  getting an early introduction to the old machine.

Speaking of sale items, someone should have sniffed out this bargain in a hurry which was sent in by ever-alert shopper Rich Gannon

Break-up happened on the Kuskokwim recently and this shot from Dave Cannon in Aniak shows how high the ice stacked up in town.

Bethel had moderate flooding but it has been many years since the giant floods have hit there.

ALO Update

Many cases were settled during the farm visit, including one case while sitting in the skid steer with a headset on. Included in the settlements were three car crashes from the Mat-Su Valley, all for policy limits. There was also a wrongful termination case for two clients against a large Anchorage business, and a wrongful death claim against the State of Alaska arising out of a drowning on the Kuskokwim River near Aniak. The final settlement involved a small child's broken leg case at a ski area in Southeast Alaska.

Mandatory Moose and Other Characters  

Trail cam shots are still a highlight of farm life in Minnesota.  This shot of a deer at daybreak has very unique shading.

This Great Blue Heron is locally known as a shy poke, and they are frequently found fishing on the edge of ponds on the farm.

This turkey seems to be posing for the camera.

This month's Mandatory Moose is a newborn calf. Such scenes are common around Anchorage as moose have learned that the populated areas are a bit more safe from predators than the nearby wilderness.

Baby goats are fun to watch at feeding time.

Hoops, History, and Hard Truths

Someone recently posted a Facebook photo of a famous intramural basketball team at the University of Minnesota called the Soulful Strutters. The Strutters are shown here with their most famous player Dave Winfield who went on to a Hall of Fame career in major league baseball second from right in the back row.

His brother Steve always organized the team and they were a force.  Dave was recruited off that intramural team to become a starter for the Minnesota Gopher basketball team which won the Big Ten title in 1972. Fortunately, the less famous and less talented Rinky Dinks never played the Strutters in basketball but did play them in touch football.  On that night,  Dave Winfield missed the game and the Dinks pulled out a 7-6 victory on a pass from Angstman to Southwell late in the game. Intramural was a big deal at the U of M, with hundreds of softball and basketball teams, and over a hundred football teams. Those numbers have gone down dramatically in recent years as have numbers for amateur team sports nationwide. The Rinky Dinks turned into Old Friendly Dog Farm in the Bethel City leagues, which have basically disappeared now. Young folks are missing out on a positive form of entertainment.

Racism is a hot topic these days, with a segment of the population trying to eliminate any reference to the fact that racism ever existed in America. That effort is based on the flawed notion that talking about and studying racism elevates a topic that is best left in the past and ignored. In Alaska historical racism primarily involved Alaska Native people and of course is still a major issue. A recent post about activist Elizabeth Peratrovich is worth reading as it pertains to that subject.  Elizabeth was related to a Peratrovich family with Bethel ties. She had to be a fearless woman to address the white lawmakers of Alaska at that early date.

Springtime in Anchorage 

Bethel elder Bev Hoffman has spent some time in Anchorage recently and posted this photo of Anchorage that is worth sharing.

Former Bethel guy Don Rearden lives on the Hillside in Anchorage and has this view from his front porch.

That low spot in the mountains is the start of Merrill Pass which is the direct route to Bethel from Anchorage for aircraft.  

Much has been written about the danger of Cook Inlet silt and folks who have died by getting stuck in it.  This video shows how that can happen.

Scandal, School, and Sage Advice

An all-class reunion is scheduled for June in Princeton. There is a chat line set up in anticipation of that event and reading some of those comments brought back memories of some interesting times in school.  For example, the fairly well known romance between a high school student and a 30 plus year old teacher, which culminated in a marriage shortly after graduation.  It's not clear what the laws were at the time, but it was never regarded as anything more than a wink-wink affair by the students that knew.   But the students were well instructed on the subject matter.  In senior social studies, teacher Howie Solheim once told the class that he had good advice for students  involved with romance.  “Just remember this rule.  Keep two feet on the floor and both hands on deck.”  Unfortunately that sage advice came a little late for many at PHS.

The Art of the (Insurrectionist) Deal

The biggest political-legal news of the day is a $1.8 billion slush fund just created by Trump and his attorney general. This transaction is patently absurd, and even some die hard Trumpers are having a hard time discussing it. It all started with a $10 billion lawsuit by Trump against the IRS for the leak of his tax returns a while back.  Trump in fact controlled both sides of the lawsuit, as he supervises the AG who was defending the suit, who also happens to be Trump’s former personal lawyer. That suit was dismissed as the DOJ announced the creation of the fund intended to compensate any party victimized by the government under Biden.  Included in that group are the January 6 defendants who had already been pardoned by Trump.  He will appoint a board to oversee the distribution of the money, set up in such a way that avoids legal review and with specific rules to keep confidential the recipients of the money.  It is hard to imagine a more corrupt scheme.   The money is to be simply removed from the treasury without any court or congress action.  There is one additional bonus for Trump and his family.  All of them would become exempt from tax audits for life. There has been little discussion of an additional factor in this smelly deal.   It sends a message to future insurrectionists that Trump has their back, no matter what they might do. Counter measures were begun the next day, and it remains to be seen how far this bizarre proposal will go, but it is hard to imagine a sane person supporting this autocratic nightmare deal.

On the subject of Trump, here is an interesting look at his view regarding sleeping Presidents.

Here is a clip from a former version of Pete Hegseth, likely the most accurate thing that he has said in recent times.

Speaking of war, the US is not winning in Iran. That country is making twice as much on oil as it did before the war, and with that kind of money will rebuild its weaponry in short order.   Who is winning the war?? The answer might come as a surprise.

But have no fear, America is rolling in money.  The US is closing Alligator Alcatraz after blowing a billion dollars trying to make it work. And Trump wants a billion more for his ballroom that was going to be funded privately and is seeking a personal 2.5% management fee for building it.  There is no end and no bottom

But there still is humor in all of this.  People from Scotland have a special relationship with Trump, mainly because of his outlandish golf courses in that country. This famous Scottish comedian Kevin Bridges is simply hilarious as he discusses Trump in an accent that can best be described as over the top.  There are subtitles of course.