July 6, 2010 - Summer is with us, and so to, all the little gas powered machines and gardening tools--devices that can be just a bit erratic when it comes to getting them started and keeping them going. You may not know what to do, but this week, essayist, Peter Smith honors a noble, quintessentially Minnesotan profession whose practitioners almost certainly do.
June 8, 2010 - Watch it on TV or follow it on the Internet, and the Gulf oil spill seems both surreal and far away. But essayist Peter Smith says the lessons of the spill apply right here in Minnesota.
January 12, 2010 - The battle is on for the smartest smartphone. Apple's iPhone and Google's new "Nexus One" are competing for the hearts and dollars of this year's phone buyers. But with so many phones out there, commentator Peter Smith is starting to notice some side effects.
January 5, 2010 - January's arrival has some of us thinking about New Year's resolutions.... or cursing the cold. But it has essayist Peter Smith contemplating his own mortality. Mortality, and an old sofa.
December 22, 2009 - Essayist Peter Smith shares a story about one of his favorite Christmas memories… about a man named Mr. Dinklenberg.
December 15, 2009 - Santa Claus is making his list and checking it twice. But essayist Peter Smith says when he was growing up, it didn't matter if he was naughty or nice. Smith came from a huge family, and even Santa had to be practical.
December 8, 2009 - With a major blizzard bearing down on us, it's time for motorists across the state to pause and review their cold weather driving techniques. Essayist Peter Smith designed this refresher course.
September 22, 2009 - And no one's denying the tough months ahead. In all, the district estimates as many as 58-hundred students in Minneapolis will need to find a new school to attend next year, once this plan is in place.
September 15, 2009 - The students have returned to liberal arts college campuses across the region. And commentator Peter Smith says that means across the region, thousands of alumni are secretly wishing they could return too.
September 1, 2009 - Commentator Peter Smith shares his view that he can do without going to the State Fair….from the smells, the people, and the sounds; it’s all an overload of sensations.