Locals travel to path of totality to view 2024 eclipse
The highly anticipated 2024 total eclipse of the sun occurred Monday, April 8, across North America, and several groups of Rock County residents traveled to experience the once-in-a-lifetime ev
Student perform 'Legally Blonde The Musical'
When the LHS production of “Legally Blonde, the Musical” opens next week for six evening performances, audiences will be surprised at what they see.
Roeman retires from 38-plus years with county FSA
Stacey Roemen celebrated her retirement from 38 years with the Rock County Farm Service Agency Saturday night at Take 16, which was crowded with family, friends and well-wishers.
Thone wins spelling bee C-H-A-M-P-I-O-N-S-H-I-P
Twenty-three of the best spellers in southwest Minnesota participated Saturday morning in the 2024 SW MN Spelling Bee hosted at the Luverne Middle School.
History Center to host April 18 celebration
The Rock County History Center’s construction project is complete, and staff and volunteers are hosting a celebration from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, April 18.
Palisade Lutheran Church celebrates 150 years of worship
Palisade Lutheran Church will celebrate its 150th anniversary Sunday, April 14, at the corner of Minnesota Highway 23 and 121st Street (County Road 5).
News
- By Lori SorensonSeptember 20, 2023Keeping the Rock County Sheriff’s Office at full staff remains a struggle, according to Sheriff Evan Verbrugge. He shared his quarterly report with Luverne City Council members at their Tuesday, Sept. 12, meeting when he also reported difficulty keeping his department at full capacity. “We just hired a new individual who started yesterday, but in the meantime, we lost another deputy who went…
- By Lori SorensonSeptember 20, 2023Luverne City Council members took action at their Sept. 12 meeting to begin the process of paying for the Kids Rock! community child care center. At Tuesday’s meeting they approved a resolution that sets a public hearing on proposed property tax abatements. The city will notify the school and county that tax abatement bonds will be issued for the child care building renovation project. The…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 20, 2023Public use of cannabis is prohibited in Rock County beginning Nov. 1, according to an ordinance adopted by county commissioners Tuesday morning. No members of the public attended to speak or nor did they provide written public comment at Tuesday’s hearing. The ordinance prohibits cannabis or cannabis-derived product use in: •public parks, trails, streets or sidewalk. •any enclosed, indoor…
By Lori SorensonSeptember 20, 2023Nearly 400 people circled the Luverne City Park Saturday morning for the third annual Out of the Darkness Suicide Walk. “The walk was incredibly moving,” said Angela Nolz, who organized the event along with a team of volunteers and sponsors. The walk raises money for research to end and prevent suicide and to show community support for those who have lost loved ones to suicide or have struggled…
September 14, 2023The newspaper printed its first edition in 1873, more than 150 years ago, and it’s today a thriving operation — and Rock County’s oldest business. The Star Herald online presence saw a major upgrade in the past week with the rollout of a new website. The site features easier navigation, bigger photographs, more content and a better mobile-friendly version for cell phones and other devices. “…- By Lori SorensonSeptember 13, 2023It’s been several weeks since Rock County received significant rain, and a dry harvest has local fire officials on alert. Luverne Fire Chief Dave Van Batavia and Hills Fire Chief Jared Rozeboom are urging farmers to take measures to prevent field and equipment fires. “The No. 1 preventive method is to keep machinery clean,” Van Batavia said. “Crop residue and chaff can find their ways into…
By Mavis FodnessSeptember 13, 2023The soybean harvest in Rock County is starting ahead of the state average, as early-maturing varieties are becoming ready for the 2023 harvest season. Soybeans are turning color, with 67 percent of the state’s crop showing signs of maturity five days ahead of last year and two days ahead of the state average. The USDA Minnesota Field Office reported on Monday that 31 percent of the state’s…
By Mavis FodnessSeptember 13, 2023Victoria Frahm worked to create the perfect starter mix to use in sourdough breadmaking. For 18 of those 24 months, Frahm failed. “The first two times I tried to make my own starter, I killed it,” she said. “But the third time was successful.” On Thursday, Sept. 7, Frahm debuted her cottage business, “Baked from the Heart,” at the Luverne Farmers Market. Frahm specializes in organic…
September 13, 2023Lush green grass suddenly appeared on the boulevard of the parking lot on West Main Street near the library last week. The installation of sod, Sioux quartzite boulders and landscape vegetation is part of the city’s overall aesthetic improvements of downtown corners and streetscapes. The new greenspace also houses one of six artist-created 7-foot-tall nutcrackers in downtown Luverne. This one was…- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 13, 2023Rock County will not be home to the Nature Energy biogas plant that considered expanding locally earlier this year. Nor will any other place in the United States after Shell Petroleum purchased the Denmark-based Nature Energy company. Nature Energy officials visited Luverne and Rock County in January seeking a location for one of 15 renewable natural gas refineries they planned to build in…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 13, 2023Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek school districts will continue to be served by a school resource officer (SRO), according to the Rock County Sheriff’s Office. In recent weeks, as Minnesota schools opened for the 2023-24 school year, several law enforcement agencies withdrew the SROs working in the local school districts. The agencies were at odds with recent legislation that changed how SROs can…
- By Lori SorensonSeptember 13, 2023The third annual “Out of the Darkness” suicide awareness and prevention walk will be from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16, in the Luverne City Park. The event raises money for research to end and prevent suicide and to show community support for those who have lost loved ones to suicide or have struggled personally with suicide. It coincides with similar walks nationwide during September,…
September 13, 2023Workers with Dave Niessink Superior Caulking have been tuckpointing deteriorating spots of the Palace Theatre’s exterior over the past week. It’s among a long list of maintenance that needs to be performed on the 100-year-old building as needs arise. The Palace Theatre was constructed in 1915 by architect W.E.E Greene. The Palace, a 550-seat theater first owned by Herman and Maude Jochims, was…
September 13, 2023The Luverne Fire Department appropriately displayed an oversized American Flag from its extended ladder truck on Monday, Sept. 11, on South Highway 75 in observation of Sept. 11, 2001, when the United States was attacked on home soil by terrorists. The 15-by-26-foot flag could be seen from both ends of Highway 75 in Luverne as it billowed in the breeze.
September 13, 2023As drought conditions continue to expand in Minnesota, some areas of the state are now experiencing exceptional drought conditions for the first time since 2021 (portions of Freeborn and Mower counties in southeastern Minnesota, as well as in portions of Aitkin, Carlton and Pine counties in east-central Minnesota). At this time, the U.S. Drought Monitor classifies more than half of the state in…
September 13, 2023
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