All across America there is a vast shortage of men and women who bear the name Firefighter. The National Fire Protection Association reported, "The volunteer firefighter numbers for 2016 and 2017 are the lowest recorded levels since the NFPA began the survey in 1983." Never before has such a need for brave men and women existed.

It was the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend. People in Pocatello were doing a whole host of activities with those they loved. But nowhere in the city, perhaps the state, was something as important as what we were doing. On that windy, slightly overcast day, we were gathered to dedicate the Gold Star Families Memorial Monument.

Ah, summertime. Swimming, campfires, hiking, and of course, backyard grilling. And with the pandemic on its last legs, it’s looking more and more like the summer we’ve been needing for two years now has arrived.

Do you remember group projects in school? Those awful, soul-destroying projects that no one, including the teacher, wanted to do?