Otterblog

Today is the first day for so-called “early voting.” I will get on my soapbox here and tell everybody to vote. I don’t care who you vote for, just so long as you do. Higher turnouts mean more legitimate results, which mean a more confident and more connected government.

You can tell from our coverage that we’re in the thick of the political season, with lots of candidate profiles etc. But anybody who thinks politics is deadly dull ought to read our front page piece on the battle between Rep. Julia Howard and Frank Mitchell. It’s like the West Wing as written by Seinfeld. Mitchell was trying to prove that he lived in Howard’s district, and the State Board of Elections cut him off at every pass. It’s all about details. Where he used the most electricity. Where he kept his toothpaste. Where his dog lived.

The saddest thing in the whole story was Mitchell’s attorney denying that the dog was a pet. It was just a stray, he said. “The dog just showed up.” Ouch.

Friday trivia: Our travel photo of the day shows a woman in Kenmare, N.D. with a U.S. 52 road sign next to her. Here’s the question: U.S. 52 and U.S. 421 intersect in downtown W-S. Where else do they cross paths.

Click here for the answer.