Jean Borrell said she saw a huge pheasant rooster at the end of her driveway while she was on her way to 8:00 a.m. church services at Holy Cross Lutheran a week or so ago. It was the largest rooster she’s ever seen. Apparently it was done feeding. . . I had a hen fly across Hwy. 25 south of Monticello on Sunday. Don Latour said he was out hunting Sunday and ended up breaking through the swamp while he was walking. He reminded me pheasant hunting is all over this weekend. With cold weather promised, only the died in the wool hunters will be enjoying the final days. . . It seems like east Maple Lake has been attracting lots of anglers and the crappies must be hungry. The shore off of Hwy. 55 had a fair number of anglers on Sunday, roughly 20 shelters, and I suspect they are catching Sunfish or spearing Northerns. Latour said the lake is crystal clear. . . My brother Charles fished on Ottertail Lake last week and caught one 15 inch Walleye. He said he missed one other bite. If I remember right Ottertail has about 8 inches of ice. He said he felt pretty safe in the ATV and enjoyed riding in an enclosed vehicle.
This is the final issue of the Messenger for 2021 and it has been a year to remember with all the different things that have happened. COVID 19 and its variant may head the list. Viruses constantly change through mutation and sometimes these mutations result in a new variant of the virus. Some variants emerge and disappear while others persist. New variants will continue to emerge. CDC and other public health organizations monitor all variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 in the United States and globally. Omicron is high on the list of variants that is present in the United States as well as other countries.
It’s still not clear how severe of an illness omicron can cause. And even if omicron causes less severe illness, it can still dangerously stress the health system if it spreads unchecked. The fraction of people becoming severely sick may be lower, but the absolute number could be higher, filling up beds in ICUs and devouring resources that would otherwise go toward treating other conditions.
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