Free Press goes multimedia

It’s no secret that newsrooms around the country are seeing tectonic shifts in how they deliver the news and how it is consumed. When I first started in this business, we were still setting type with hot lead and reporters used typewriters.

The press ran one time and readers had a summary of everything happening in one edition.

Today, with our online news site, we have multiple deadlines bringing you locally breaking news as soon as we can. When the recent snowstorms hit, we presented you with the latest traffic news, forecasts, photos of the storm and warnings. And we kept at it all day. No waiting until the next morning.

We’ve also added the E-Edition, which provides subscribers not only with an archive of all the stories we’ve published in the last 30 days, but email alerts when topics of interest are published.

Now, as people change the way they get their information, we have responded again. Starting today, smart phone users can see the latest news and sports on our new mobile Web site. No need for a special URL; just use www.mankatofreepress.com and it will redirect to the mobile standard.

We’ve found that Android is strong in this area, not surprising given the presence of Verizon. But we have found people with iPads are finding their way to our site. Well, those people who are also subscribers can retrieve the E-Edition replica of the print edition from our mobile site too. The link is found at the bottom of the page.

We soon will have free apps available for your iPhone, Droid, Blackberry and the iPad.

The Free Press has come a long way since those hot metal days. We need to respond faster to differing ways people enjoy getting their information. Our website is the leader in online traffic for regional news in the Valley. Our two magazines — The Mankato Magazine and the MN Valley Business Magazine — continue to gain popularity and appreciation. And our agricultural publication, The Land, continues to deliver its special appeal to our Minnesota and Iowa communities.

But the digital arena is where we continue to push the boundaries — establishing social media networks with Facebook and Twitter. We also are in a partnership to bring you events on www.greatermankatoevents.com And recently we unveiled a new service called VisitMankato.com for your shopping needs. We have so many various offerings we had to change our name to The Free Press Media. We do this so we can remain the largest and best media source for news, information and advertising in the region.

Our mobile site, just like our website, will be supported by advertisers, as is our print edition. As we deliver news to you, we grow and our advertisers receive the best place to bring their message to you.

As we continue to point out in our print advertisements, we urge you to support these advertisers.

Newspapers cannot exist on subscriptions or newsstand charges alone.

Our award-winning news team is transforming and working harder to bring you the news faster and in various options — including photos and video. And now straight to your smart phone.

We are committed to remaining the best source for news, information and advertising. That means we will continue to address the various ways you want to find those sources. We thank you for continuing to support The Free Press and watch for more changes that are bound to come.

North Mankato displays its changes

On Monday night, Mayor Gary Zellmer held his annual tour to show several areas of recent construction and "other sites of interest" to a bus load of community businesspeople, civic leaders and the curious.
He had a lot to show off.
There were 36 areas in the 11/2-hour tour some of the highlights of which I'd like to touch on:

View Mayor's tour in a larger map
A. Gold Cross Ambulance will be siting at the #2 Fire Station on Howard & Lor Ray cutting down the response time for upper North Mankato.
B. Energy efficient lights will be replaced at Caswell Park and the old ones donated to Loyola.
C. Capstone, corner of Howard & Lookout Drive, is adding 24,000 sq ft to its present 45,000 sq ft facility
D. New construction underway on Howard Drive West (expansion of the industrial park area) includes Timpte Inc with five acres for sales & service, and Minnesota Truck & Tractor, both for sales and service.
E. They are butting up against the future expansion of the Highway 14 intersection and extension of County 41 that will cover over 14 and link north with County 6 (Timms Road)
F. The new Beans Plus Daycare on Carlson Drive & Rolling Green Lane has a capacity of 197 children and it is hoped will serve the growing industrial base on that side of town.
G. Mike Drummer has two subdivisions being constructed on Timms Road and Rolling Green Lane. On the Rolling Green side, is Cottages at Benson which butts up against Benson Park. It will have 40 single townhomes and three will be constructed first.
H. Across Timms on the same corner will be Parks Edge Subdivision. These 70 acres will have 173 "tight" lots (meaning no variances) and construction will feature the first 21 lots.
I. Benson Park will be undergoing extensive work to bring its 70 acres to a natural park and play setting. The city commissioned Hoisington Koegler Group to draft a five-year plan. The first step will be some underground piping and infrastructure work. Also, Mike Drummer has donated 25 "good-sized" oak trees for the savannah of this project.
J. The 40-acre site of the future elementary school on Carlson Drive and Lor Ray Drive will include eight soccer fields. These will complement the four soccer fields on the north end of Dakota Meadows Middle School and will be tournament quality.
K. That new construction underway at Commerce is the new Commerce Drive Dental Clinic. Still to come to the west of that is a 3-acre site for Mankato Mortuary.
L. The Thompson Fishing Pier was detailed in a recent Free Press article here.
M. The Taylor Library expansion project is adding about 60% more space including a basement for seasonal storage. They hope to complete it by the end of the year.
N. A loan program whereby up to 2-for-1 grants are available for local businesses have helped improve the Bonito Guadalajara Mexican restaurant and Circle Inn on Belgrade Avenue. There is hope that other businesses will take advantage in an effort to revitalize the 200 block.
O. The west side of Lee Boulevard Hill will feature a bike path to relieve some of the high-speed conflicts with walkers on the east side sidewalk.

An old dog learns new trick

It was late in the morning on Labor Day. Weather was perfect at 72 degrees and sunny. My wife and I were sitting on the rear of my car, legs dangling as we waited. The parking lot was empty and very quiet. My insides were less so.

I was preparing for what would turn out to be a thrill of a lifetime, doing something I always dreamed about.

Up until now I had convinced myself that to undertake such a thing was "impractical," "superfluous." There are better ways to spend your money, I would tell myself. Anyway, it's over in a flash and then what do you have?

***
The white sedan pulled into the lot and a tall man with sunglasses emerged.

"Morning," he said cheerfully, pulling out a notebook and two headsets from his car.

"He looks really young," whispered my wife, a little worried.

"Not much wind today," I said trying to appear somewhat knowledgeable. I reached into my pocket and handed him an envelope given to me by my staff.

He took it and smiled as we walked to the hangar. "Funny thing. They do want to get paid for doing this." ***

It was my 60th birthday and my staff had chipped in for one hour of flying lessons. Apparently I have a disorder that manifests itself with my loudly professing my childhood dreams in small gatherings. Remarkably, they caught on.

When one of my daughters found out she said, "So either they like you or they're hoping the plane will crash."

It was a small plane -- a Piper Archer II. You could tell by the cracked, weathered fiberglass that it was old. I wasn't going to ask how old. He didn't ask my age and I likewise was trying to be just as courteous.

As I boarded from the right side, the pilot said "Scoot over." Since that's traditionally the pilot's side, a warm awareness fell over me -- like something you feel when a bullet whizzes by your head. "You'll be more comfortable over here for what you'll be doing."

I'm thinking now my daughter was on to something.

He explained the functions of the instruments, the adjustments he was making and patiently answered the obvious questions he must have heard a hundred times before ... at least, I HOPE he heard them a hundred times before.

He then primed the cylinders, fired up the engine and we taxied for takeoff, quickly climbing to 1,500 feet. As we leveled off, he set the GPS and then said "OK, it's yours. Just keep the horizon level between the top of the dash and the window." Frankly, that was the easy part. What people may not know is that when you are in the air, flying is relatively easy. You point and go. I've been a passenger in small planes before and I found flying just as relaxing as driving in a car.

But now I was in the pilot's seat. It's vastly different. There's a high degree of mutual awareness among pilots up here. We all want to know where you are at and how close you are or will be. Chatter on the radio helps as does telegraphing your position, especially approaching other airports.

Unlike driving a car where you can see your threat relatively easily, the sky can be a bit of a trickster.

"You might want to move over to your right a little to avoid those guy wires on the tower," the pilot said. The tower looked pretty far off but I dutifully followed the instructions. When we did pass the tower it looked pretty damned close and I said so.

"It can be deceiving," he noted. "And when you're going 130 mph, it comes up pretty fast."

That's the first I heard of the speed we were traveling. It sure didn't seem that fast. For an old single-engine plane, it was feeling pretty darn good! I relaxed a little.

***
The pilot's name was Luke. He served in the Air Force and when he got out he was hooked, flying commercial, contract and private. He was part of a club now and, as a favor, he occasionally gives some informal flying lessons to friends and friends of friends.

You could tell he was an experienced pilot. He had the same "4C" demeanor I've noticed in others of his ilk ... calm, classy, confident and congenial.

One time in Alaska, we flew with a retired stunt pilot who wore a ball cap that had a pony tail attached. I worried that we had a clown at the helm. I was wrong. He was just relaxing and having fun but when he was in the air, he was Sky King of the Glaciers.

Luke was Sky King of the Minnesota River Valley.

As we flew close to North Mankato, I wanted to take some photos so he took over. He banked smoothly and quickly flew low enough so I could get some photos of my town house by Benson Park.

Then he feathered the engine so I could get the best shots. They turned out to be some beautifully crisp pictures. My wife later said she wished she was on the driveway waving to us.

When I took back control, I noticed that I was conscious of his flying style. When I had the stick I tried to battle the wind currents. With Luke in control, I didn't notice them. It was smooth, easy, solid.

Later I became aware that flying isn't about correctly reading instruments or adjusting gauges or "steering." First, it's about feel. Pilots don't conquer the sky; they flow with it. Unlike a car that goes left or right in a forward motion, a plane has four variations. The rudder moves the plane left or right. The elevator moves the plane up or down. The aileron rolls the plane left or right. The thrust controls the speed. An experienced pilot performs these functions as if it were second nature.

Secondly, it's not about steering. On the way back to the airport, Luke said we would do a couple of "touch and goes" (land and then take off again). Then he said... "And the second one will be yours." Say what!

This is when you learn that flying is not about pulling and pushing the wheel. That only controls the elevator which means going up or down.

It's about the throttle or speed control and using your foot pedals to maneuver the ailerons for left and right shifts and rolls of the plane.

After the descent and then takeoff with Luke squarely in control, we flew back up to 1,500 feet and flew parallel to the airstrip for awhile. Then I banked 90 degrees and began the descent to the runway. While Luke controlled the throttle speed, I had (some) control of the rudder and aimed for the runway. "Keep the top of the runway in your sight and descend slowly," Luke said. He was feathering and I was pointing (although I was conscious his hand was slightly nudging the stick).

We touched down and veered slightly to the right. That's when I discovered that when on the ground, a steering wheel is worthless. It's all about the feet working the ailerons, or those sections of the wing you see move upon landing, which guides the direction of the plane ... the propeller (or throttle) gives the thrust; the "feet" tells the plane where to go.

By speeding up the prop and braking on the left, the plane does an about-face on the runway and we taxi back to the hangar where my wife was waiting.

When I emerged, Luke graciously fibbed and told her "The landing was all his." That's when I noticed my armpits were sopping.

After profusely thanking Luke, I walked back to the car and my wife turned to me and asked "You OK? You seem like you're in a daze."

I'm sure it was the grin. An old dog can have a Cheshire grin, right?