editorial

Nonprofit organizations are at the heart of our communities, but many of our local organizations have canceled fundraiser galas and activities due to the pandemic. This is not only a loss of social connections, but it represents lost fundraising that would support 2021 projects that strengthen the community. Nov. 19 is Give to the Max Day, a 24-hour online campaign that supports local nonprofits…

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is considered by many to be one of the most effective pieces of civil rights legislation in our nation's history. Now as we head into the final stretch of the 2020 presidential election, it’s abundantly clear how necessary the law is. Before the Voting Rights Act was in place, several states openly and legally suppressed the votes of African-Americans and other…

We get a kick out of recalling the “good old days” of wrestling with our siblings in the back seat or sleeping in the rear window of the family sedan on long road trips. And we survived to tell the tale. … Well, most of us did. In 1987 more than 4,000 people suffered severe injuries in traffic crashes. Today that number is roughly 1,000. Why? Seatbelts. Belted motorists often walk away from…

Next week, Oct. 4-10, is National Newspaper Week, and the 2020 theme is “America Needs Journalists.” It’s a fitting theme for so many reasons, but 2020 has proven in countless ways that professional journalists are more necessary than ever before. In recent years we’ve watched the ranks of journalists dwindle while the selection of digital “news” sources widens. At the same time, our commander in…

Who knew the postal service and mail ballots would be politicized? Who knew we would distrust mail service to deliver our ballot, yet trust it to deliver our tax refunds? Who knew that same mail ballot voting that military members have used for decades would be discouraged for average citizens seeking safety from pandemic exposure at the polling station? Who knew? These are the times we live in…

Schools in Rock County resumed classes Tuesday, and that means student pedestrians will be crossing streets and driveways, and school buses will be present for pickups and drop-offs. What that means for the rest of us, especially the motoring public, is that we need to be hyper-vigilant in school zones and in neighborhoods where student pedestrians and buses are present. Further complicating…

Census takers are visiting households in Rock County communities to follow up with residents who have not yet participated in the 2020 Census. (See the front-page story) They’re paid, part-time temporary government employees, but the work isn’t easy. Gone are the days of door-to-door salesmen and Avon Ladies, and we rarely get a knock from random Girl Scouts for cookie sales. It’s the world we…

The Minnesota Department of Transportation is thanking thousands of Adopt a Highway volunteers across the state and encouraging others to clean a section of roadway in celebration of the program’s 30th anniversary. More than 3,800 volunteer groups, ranging from four to 25 people, spent an estimated 272,000 hours cleaning roadway ditches in 2019, picking up 40,000 bags of trash across Minnesota.…

A citizen contacted me last week about a concern that several downtown retailers were not wearing masks in their stores and were not asking patrons to wear masks when shopping in their store. The citizen was concerned for personal health reasons, but the information concerned me on a much broader level. The city of Luverne — its council and its staff members — worked quickly and furiously to…

The Star Herald this week carries a story about volunteers assembling personal care kits to be shared with community members. The primary idea is that social isolation and economic hardships of a pandemic take a toll on human beings, especially those with fewer resources. This is especially true for our community members who struggle with brain health. Mark Jabcobson, a peer support specialist in…

After months of stay-at-home or stay-safe orders, we are eager to be get back to our normal routines and activities. Last week our summer routines received a reality check. Some of our youth participating in summer games of baseball recently tested positive for the coronavirus. As a precaution, youth baseball was halted as we take a step back and assess what this new public enemy will do next. It…

We want to recognize our community activity organizers who are creatively moving forward during this coronavirus pandemic by continuing our annual summer celebrations with interesting social distancing twists. A thumbs up to the Luverne Area Chamber for their recent activities and the Helping Build Communities Stronger, who are organizing this Saturday’s fireworks display in Hills. This past…

This weekend we’ll no doubt enjoy the familiar tune and lyrics of our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Beyond the nostalgia, we may not reflect on the history of the piece or its additional unsung verses. It’s storied that the author was a pro-slavery lawyer and the melody was borrowed from a British song about drinking and sex. Yet, the song has lifted our nation’s spirits through…

The Star Herald has worked hard to cover the pandemic and its effects on our community, and because much of the news was so important and timely, we offered it for free online. We hope that over the past three months readers — both new and current — have seen the pride that goes into gathering and reporting local news and appreciate the value of being informed. Our pay wall online returned June 4…

Gov. Tim Walz last week announced another “turn of the dial” to allow business to resume almost as usual in Minnesota, effective Wednesday, June 10. (See the front-page story.) The idea is that our coronavirus case numbers have remained conservative, which has given us time to prepare for what was expected to be a greater “surge” in case numbers than we’ve experienced. What does that mean for us…

It’s been a long three months of social distancing and cautious avoiding of public spaces for fear of transmitting or contracting the highly contagious and sometimes deadly coronavirus. Hyper focus on disinfecting and disconnecting has been effective in our little part of the world, and for that we can be proud. Our community has been spared a widespread and sudden outbreak of the disease. Is it…