June 30, 2017
When I was in seventh grade, I entered my junior high school’s free-throw contest. Entrants shot 25 free throws and then, based on their total made, were seeded for match play competition—best of ten. In both seventh and eighth grades, I won the school championship. In ninth grade, I set the school record by swishing 25 straight shots in qualifying—but I was upset in match play.
June 20, 2017
When I was growing up, few opportunities existed for women in athletics. I wondered which of my female classmates would have excelled in sports. Covering sports for the Minnesota Daily in the late 1960s, we rarely reported on female athletes because women’s teams did not exist.
June 4, 2017
To ensure a happy life, it is important to have a few good friends—and a good lawyer. I have been fortunate to have both in Marshall H. Tanick for about 50 years. In May, Tanick turned 70, an elite age he shares with President Trump and Governor Dayton.
May 23, 2017
When a college decides to close, the decision significantly affects the students, faculty, staff, and the communities it serves. At the end of December 2016, after several years of expanding, the Minnesota School of Business/Globe University discontinued most of its operation. The two for-profit schools are part of a family business owned and operated by Terry and Kathryn Myhre. The Myhre family bought Globe (founded in 1885) in 1972 and the Minnesota School of Business (founded in 1877) in 1988. For this blog post, the schools will be referred to as one entity—MSB/Globe.
May 18, 2017
Before my oldest daughter enrolled in the University of Southern California (USC) in fall 2001, I had three perceptions about the institution. I believed that the university had a great football team, that it was located in a rough area of Los Angeles and thus not safe, and that it enrolled primarily rich kids, thus earning the acronym University of Spoiled Children. One perception was accurate, but two were not.
May 7, 2017
With the arrival of spring, people are emerging from their domiciles and winter hibernation to enjoy the pleasant weather, biking or walking, often accompanied by their dog—or dogs. I am seeing more people with not only one but often two or three dogs. The number of dogs licensed by the city of Vadnais Heights has decreased the past eight years; however, I swear that the pet population is surging despite dog demographic data from the city indicating otherwise.
April 5, 2017
As the high school version of March Madness ended last weekend with the state basketball tournament, I came across a dusty scrapbook chronicling the Duluth East High School l965-66 season—51 years ago, more than a half century. Newspaper clippings were falling out, and I had to re-tape them in order to reconstruct that memorable experience.
April 3, 2017
Scanning the Minneapolis Star Tribune obituaries in early March, I came across one for Richard C. Hawk who passed away at age 83 of a heart attack in Leawood, Kansas. The obit summarized Dick’s many accomplishments in business, higher education, and music. But perhaps his most significant achievements were the development of Minnesota’s programs to provide access to and choice of higher education opportunities. His legacy is important and impressive, but his passing appears mostly unnoticed in Minnesota.
January 13, 2017
[Phil wrote the following piece in June 2015 prior to his youngest daughter’s college graduation.]
January 13, 2017
Greetings and welcome to Phil’s Focus, my new blog, which will provide a forum for sharing my experiences, reflections, and views on a variety of topics including education, sports, books, current events, fascinating people, and much more.