To the Editor:
Hi, Sue.  Nick and I got the Gazette last night.  I picked up the mail as I went for a walk and had to start reading it before I even got back home!  I loved your article about the wedding.  Also your editorial was so very good.  I think I had the exact same reaction when I saw those Christmas cards at Target. 
I'm going to take a peek at the online version of the Gazette now before I get to work.  Better run.
Jen (Ellingson) Orsen
Maple Grove, Minnesota

To the Editor:
Hi, Mom.  Your online pictures of the wedding are great.  I looked at them all with the kids again, and now Chris is looking through them.  I just read your feature story and editorial online too.  Very good!
How fun to be a little ahead of the game with your Christmas cards.  It was funny to imagine you wondering if you should really go look at the cards.  Chris and I bought some presents in Alaska and I feel great about being a step ahead too.
Hope your salmon supper is good tonight.  I don't know what we're having yet.
Jenny Norgaard
Gully, Minnesota

To the Editor:
I have been so busy I never got the chance to thank you for the article last spring, "Minnesota's Sweetest Girls" in the June 2007 Gazette.  Sorry. 
From reading your newspaper I know you are really interested in history and personal stories.  If you are free on Sun-day, October 21^st, why not come to the MN History Center in St. Paul?  For the price of a museum admission, you can see the 150 exhibits, my film "The Work of Play," or any number of the 60 film shorts in the festival. 
Have a good day.
Casey Haarstad, Legacy News
MN Greatest Generation

To the Editor:
Please help me inform the citizens of your state of the deadly effects of radon gas.  Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer in nonsmokers; and for people who have ever smoked, chances are much greater of developing lung cancer if exposed to high levels of radon gas over a period of years.
The federal government knows about this worldwide threat, but very few of our citizens know anything about radon gas or of its harmful effects.
Testing for radon gas is very easy.  Buying a test kit at the local hardware store and conducting a two or three-day test can determine if a home has high radon gas.  If it is 4.0 picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L) or higher, it needs to be mitigated according to the surgeon gener-al.  Mitigation is not complicated and can be accomplished in a few hours.
I had no idea what radon gas was and certainly didn't think it was in my house.  On February 8^th, 2006, my husband Joe died of lung cancer.  Joe's cancer doctor had told us that smoking and radon gas cause lung cancer.  Joe hadn't smoked for 27 years.  I tested the house and found the high levels of 11.2 and 17.6 (pCi/L).  Needless to say, I had it mitigated.
On March 8^th, I saw on TV that Dana Reeves, a nonsmoker, had died of lung cancer.  Again, radon gas was slightly mentioned as a cause of lung cancer.
Enclosed you will find an article for November, National Lung Cancer Aware-ness Month.  My purpose is to prevent other deaths due to radon by having every house tested for this killer.  Please help by printing the article in any format you wish.  We can save thousands of lives.
Gloria Linnertz
Waterloo, Illinois

To the Editor:
You published a notice regarding the death of our mother, Berniece Maass.  Berniece and Ervin Maass lived between Victoria and St. Boni for years.  I think there would be a lot of people who knew them.  Now I would like to have you publish this 'thank you.'
The family of Berniece Maass wishes to thank all those who sent cards, flowers, and best wishes.  Thanks also to Rev. Frank Jones, Dr. Holcomb, Waconia Good Samaritan, and Ridgeview Medical Center for the care given to Berniece.  The thoughts, prayers, and support were very comforting.
Steven Maass, Barb Dalbec,
and Ruth Stahlke
Waconia, Minnesota

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