Dennis Hinkamp Journalist Profile

Articles

The Salton Sea’s weirdness is what’s appealing

2 months ago | writersontherange.org | Dennis Hinkamp |David Marston

Fascinating and fetid, the Salton Sea in southern California lures me back, every year. Driving south from Utah, I take bits of historic Highway 66 and then skirt Joshua Tree National Park to cruise through little known Box Canyon to Mecca, California. When the landscape opens up, I see the beautiful wreck of the Salton Sea, created by the collision of geology and bad luck. The sea occupies a much smaller footprint of what used to be Lake Cahuilla, which disappeared in the late 1500s.
Turvy-topsy world

Jan 25, 2025 | hjnews.com | Dennis Hinkamp

Well, 2024 dissolving into 2025 certainly has been a turvy-topsy sliver of history. Personally, I have not been preemptively pardoned or post-emptively convicted of anything that I know of. There were weeks that are still blurry in my memory. I will try to summarize. I like the idea of a preemptive pardon just so a could do a few bad things the coming year. Nothing too bad; I'd mostly like to curse more and blame it on a syndrome.
Subterranean Cache Valley blues

Jan 11, 2025 | hjnews.com | Dennis Hinkamp

Are you ready for '25? Make your resolutions now because all our resolve will soon dissolve for sure. Still, we can try to try for better or worse; less of the former and more of the latter. In the end we are all ashes, and our ashes will scatter. No, I'm not being grim, just greeting the new year with my usual side grin. The Mall's gone, future Target regret to come, more Chick-fil-As, more pizza, more fries nothing left to surprise, more Maveriks than we got sense, nobody misses Mike Pence.
Pomegranates: Seasonal fruits with ancient roots

Dec 7, 2024 | cachevalleydaily.com | Dennis Hinkamp

For most Utah consumers, pomegranates are the fruit that hides for 10 months of the year and then pops up like red Christmas ornaments in November. This makes them appear as a seasonal novelty, but they actually have a long history of use. Ben Scow, Utah State University Extension faculty in Washington County and a promoter of pomegranates, shares pictures of pomegranates depicted in ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Chinese murals when he gives presentations.
How the Grinch stole Black Friday

Nov 30, 2024 | hjnews.com | Dennis Hinkamp

All the other sales days are the new Grinches that Stole Black Friday. The only difference is there will be no happy ending in Whoville. Fun fact: Whoville is located inside a snowflake. I had to look it up. Be careful where you step for the next four weeks. I remember the good old days when black Friday was a sacred craven holiday signaling the start of the rampage of consumer lust. Though I never fully participated, I have fond memories of mocking people camping on the blacktop in front of Best Buy.
SLIGHTLY OFF CENTER: Krell No!

Nov 16, 2024 | hjnews.com | Dennis Hinkamp

In times when it seems like artificial intelligence is the only intelligence in use, it is a good time to remind everyone that the Krell warned us. Who were they? The Krell were the last inhabitants of the planet Altair IV as recounted in the movie Forbidden Planet. The movie was released in 1956, but the writer had a spooky talent of predicting the future. The obituary of the Krell would read that they invented a machine so powerful it could read their minds and create anything they desired.
Here's how Southern Utahns can grow their own gourmet mushrooms at home

Nov 4, 2024 | stgeorgeutah.com | Dennis Hinkamp |USU Extension

Need a winter gardening idea? Utah State University Extension recently published a comprehensive guide to help beginners learn to grow gourmet mushrooms. “A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home” is a how-to introduction to fungi cultivation, providing simple steps and practical advice. The guide was created by College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences faculty members Paul Grossl, Melanie Stock and graduate student Jacob Hawkes.
Capybaras and rock ballads

Nov 2, 2024 | hjnews.com | Dennis Hinkamp

This is the last time I will be able to write anything about the election cycle until the next election cycle starts next week. I hope people have noticed that I don't write about politics much. Even though you can guess that I'm more liberal than Bernie Sanders on mushrooms, I haven't written about politics since Monica Lewinski was "dating" Bill Clinton. Those were great days when national newspapers were publishing soft porn nearly every day.
USU Extension introduces “Skills to Support Mental Health in Uncertain Times” series

Nov 1, 2024 | cachevalleydaily.com | Dennis Hinkamp

We may live in “uncertain times,” but some times are more uncertain than others. Utah State University Extension has developed a three-part “Skills to Support Mental Health in Uncertain Times” series. The free series of fact sheets is designed to equip individuals with the practical skills needed to enhance mental well-being, resilience, and psychological flexibility in the face of uncertainty. Daily life can seem overwhelming and distressing.
Ask an Expert - Youth Vaping: What You Need to Know

Oct 30, 2024 | heraldextra.com | Dennis Hinkamp

The use of e-cigarettes, commonly known as vaping, has surged among youth and young adults since the devices were introduced to the U.S. market in 2006The use of e-cigarettes, commonly known as vaping, has surged among youth and young adults since the devices were introduced to the U.S. market in 2006. The battery-powered devices heat a liquid containing nicotine into a toxic aerosol that users inhale. E-cigarettes come in various shapes and sizes.