mavis fodness
By Mavis Fodness, reporterAugust 06, 2019Sometimes a little hope is found floating amid a sea of sadness. For Luverne native Abby Lange, that hope came June 26 when she helped a woman deliver a healthy baby boy. Abby works as a paramedic with Ringdahl Ambulance in Fergus Falls. The unexpected delivery was the result of a 5 a.m. emergency call of a female not feeling well. The ride to the hospital is something that Abby won’t soon forget…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterJuly 09, 2019Thousands of students — including me — have received diplomas from Luverne High School since it was built in 1956. The LHS Class of 1983 celebrates its “35th plus one” class reunion this weekend. The reunion comes on the heels of the June 20 groundbreaking ceremony that honored the changes coming to the 63-year-old facility. For days leading up to the groundbreaking, I watched two excavators…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterJune 04, 2019A “Tale of Two Cats” unfolded recently on social media involving mystery, mistaken identity and, best of all, a happy ending. The tale opens May 17 with Luverne’s Martha Nowatzki posting that her 18-year-old cat named Shamus “has gone on a walkabout” and had been gone for several days. It’s not unusual for the black cat with a cloudy left eye to cross people’s paths in the area of Freeman Avenue…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterMay 14, 2019My teenaged son and his friends introduced me to Marvel comics just before the cinematic franchise blossomed to include 22 movies and counting. Until the Marvel movies came along, I rarely watched movies at a multiplex, preferring to purchase the DVD and watch the movies multiple times in the comfort of my living room. Younger kids prefer to go to the cinema. One year when Adam and his friends…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterApril 22, 2019He’s arrived. Logan William Blenner. My newest grandchild and first grandson. Born in the early morning hours of the April 11 blizzard. Luckily, the wintry weather didn’t hinder his Iowa parents from getting to the Storm Lake hospital before Logan’s 3 a.m. arrival. The weather hindered this grandma, however, from meeting the little tike until some 36 hours after his birth. He didn’t seem to mind…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterApril 02, 2019In her book, “Girl, Wash Your Face,” author Rachel Hollis answers the question, “How do I …?” How do I pick myself up after a loss? How do I get rid of these looping negative thoughts that enter my head every day? How do I bring more purpose to my life? After reading her book, I’ve determined my question is, “How do I conquer my fears?” I am afraid of heights. I am afraid to wear a bathing suit…
By Mavis Fodness, ReporterOctober 09, 2017Luverne Homecoming King Mark Robinson was surrounded by three friends intent on unscrewing the decorative nut on top of the scepter he received during the coronation ceremony. The mom voice in me told me to see what shenanigans these teenagers were up to. I quickly snapped a photo of the foursome, because you never know if the moment would have story significance. A day later I began pulling at…
By Mavis Fodness, ReporterSeptember 19, 2017Since March, the empty nest stage I thought I crossed into last September has not been the experience I envisioned. As the last of the four children chose to join the Air National Guard and set off to basic training a year ago, I pictured tackling those back-burner projects to keep my mind off no longer having any children at home. I did enjoy reading again, coloring or watching TV with my feet…
By Mavis Fodness, ReporterAugust 29, 2017Naming an animal is not at all unusual. As a child I named every cat — along with a special chicken or cow. Giving an object a name is a little more unusual. In elementary school I gave my first band instrument, a clarinet, the name Clarice. Clarice the Clarinet. I grin at the thought. You might think I named the black plastic instrument after Jodie Foster’s character in the horror movie, “…-
By Mavis Fodness, ReporterAugust 29, 2017Naming an animal is not at all unusual. As a child I named every cat — along with a special chicken or cow. Giving an object a name is a little more unusual. In elementary school I gave my first band instrument, a clarinet, the name Clarice. Clarice the Clarinet. I grin at the thought. You might think I named the black plastic instrument after Jodie Foster’s character in the horror movie, “…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterSeptember 26, 2016As a child growing up in the 1970s and ‘80s, I couldn’t wait to see the latest horror flick. Movies like “The Shining,” “Christine,” “Nightmare on Elm Street,” and “Friday the 13th” would garner excitement. These movies featured a creepy bad guy who was out to hurt teenagers or their family members. Now as an adult, however, I purposely steer clear of horror movies. They have become too real due…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterSeptember 05, 2016Warning: Words printed in italics convey true feelings. Come mid-October residents with Minnesota driver’s licenses may have trouble boarding an airplane or entering military bases or federal buildings. This could include my family as we travel to San Antonio, Texas, for Adam’s graduation from basic training at Lackland Air Force Base. The baby of the family left Wednesday. Taking a deep breath.…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterAugust 08, 2016In my completion of daily horse chores, I often hear the familiar honks of Canada geese as they pass overhead. This spring, however, there was one honk that sounded a little different from the others. I am fairly certain it was Gary greeting me. Two summers ago my family unknowingly fostered a Canada goose into adulthood. What was then a gray and yellow fuzzy ball grew up to be a beautiful black…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterJuly 11, 2016“Back to the Future” is one of those movies I have watched again, again and again. Despite its futuristic title, it’s a movie that brings me back to the past. I was a college sophomore when the film debuted in theaters July 1985. I didn’t see the movie during its first release. I purchased the VHS years later for my first viewing. At the time of the movie’s release, my fellow college students…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterMay 16, 2016May 23 will be a joyous day even though it lands on a Monday this year. It will be the day after my youngest child graduates from high school. It will also be the day after my youngest daughter is married. How these two events came to be scheduled on the same day can be blamed (in part) on the story my husband, Bryan, and I have told our children countless times. We selected our own marriage date…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterApril 25, 2016Story development takes on different forms in the world of journalism. There are timeless stories — those that can be published anytime and entertain readers about a subject. Then there are the fast-breaking stories. These are full of facts about an event or incident. These run in the upcoming publication and inform readers of the latest news. And then there are the stories completed as a record…
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