I'm writing this article from the comfort of my in-laws' kitchen counter 2 ½ hours south of the Minnesota border.    

We came home to help them get their house ready for sale.  

They have decided to downsize and look for something smaller and easier to maintain as they get older.  

While the girls went through boxes, you could see and feel some levels of frustration as to what to keep, garage sale, donate, or pass down.

It's hard after years to change or even try to accept change.  

When I told my wife I was going to write about change, she laughed and asked "Are you going to tell everybody you suck at it?"

"Yes dear."

What can I say, change is hard.  

Like many of us managing, we get comfortable with certain routines.  

We like how it's going.  

When new ideas come along, we say no because it may put us out of our comfort zone.  

We don't like the idea of being uncomfortable.  

Even when many managers know the results are going to be bad, they stay with what they know, because it's easier.  

Unfortunately they blame everything and everybody else.

Take a look around at our own communities.    

We can see many empty buildings that once housed businesses that didn't change with the times or were comfortable doing business their way.

Since we are city owned, we owe it to our taxpayers to try and make the most profit we can.  

When we get stuck in the same routines, are we doing the best job we can?  

Could a staff member, vendor, or fellow MMBA manager have an idea that may raise profits?

Some of the most successful business leaders I know didn't always come up with their own ideas.  

They took somebody else's and made it better.

I challenge all of us to try something new in the next few weeks.  

Go visit another store, call a fellow member, push yourself to be uncomfortable.

The rewards will be outstanding!!

Bill Ludwig  

Paynesville

The woman accused of setting fire to her Lake Lillian business, K & M Liquor Store, was sentenced Thursday to three years of probation and ordered to pay about $30,857 of restitution on a charge of felony third-degree arson.

Mary Sue Whitcomb, 52, of rural Atwater, was also sentenced Thursday to 90 days of jail and ordered to pay a $500 fine.

Provided she makes an immediate restitution payment, Whitcomb will serve only seven of those days.  

She is eligible for work release.

The maximum sentence she could have received on the arson charge was five years in prison, a $10,000 fine, or both.

Whitcomb entered an Alford plea on the arson charge in June, meaning she does not admit guilt but acknowledges that evidence likely to be offered by the prosecution at trial is enough for a jury to likely render a guilty verdict.  

The plea is recorded as a guilty plea.

As the result of the plea agreement, Whitcomb received a stay of imposition on the felony charge, meaning it may be reduced to a misdemeanor conviction on her record if she successfully completes probation.

A felony charge of insurance fraud also was dismissed as part of the agreement.

The fire at the liquor store occurred in September 2013 and destroyed the business.  

The criminal complaint alleges that Whitcomb left about 15 minutes before a Lake Lillian resident reported seeing smoke.

A fire marshal's investigation concluded that the fire originated in a first-floor bathroom and was deliberately set.  

The investigation also revealed that the business was losing money and that Whitcomb tried unsuccessfully to sell it.  

Court documents say that after the fire, Whitcomb submitted a claim to her insurance company for losses and damages totaling $75,305.

During Thursday's sentencing hearing, both the Kandiyohi County Attorney's Office and Whitcomb's attorney, Steven Foertsch, recommended no executed jail time.

Foertsch argued that Whitcomb should serve no jail time because she has shown responsibility by agreeing to pay timely restitution.

"What this shows is that (Whitcomb) is willing to take responsibility for her end of the deal," Foertsch said.

Foertsch also acknowledged that Whitcomb does not to admit guilt in the case and planned to go to trial before she entered into the plea agreement that was "too good to pass up."

He said the defense planned to have its own fire investigator and witnesses testify at trial.  

He claimed that the fire marshal who examined Whitcomb's business might have exhibited confirmation bias because of knowledge that the business was closing and had limited inventory.

Before pronouncing Whitcomb's sentence, Judge Jennifer Fischer addressed Foertsch's remarks.  

Fischer said she understood Foertsch's argument, but said Whitcomb's reasoning behind entering her guilty plea is irrelevant to the court at sentencing.

"I can't go into sentencing with a mindset that 'She didn't do it'. You pleaded guilty.  

That's the trouble with an Alford plea.  

While you're maintaining your innocence, I consider you guilty, as does the rest of the world."

Whitcomb chose not to make any remarks during the sentencing hearing. 

A hunter raised his rifle and took careful aim at a large bear.  

When about to pull the trigger, the bear spoke in a soft soothing voice, "Isn't it better to talk than to shoot?  

What do you want?  

Let's negotiate the matter."
      
Lowering his rifle, the hunter replied, "I want a fur coat."
      
"Good," said the bear, "that is a negotiable item.  

I only want a full stomach, so let us sit down and negotiate a compromise."
      
They sat down to negotiate and after a time the bear walked away, alone.  

The negotiations had been successful.
      
The bear had a full stomach, and the hunter had his fur coat!