By Lori EhdeTollefson Publishing’s new general manager went to college on a football scholarship, but he’s succeeding in life on a solid degree in common sense and people skills."It’s not rocket science," Rick Peterson said about his 20-year publishing career. "No matter where you work, you learn people skills."Peterson comes to Luverne from Redwood Falls, where he was publisher of the Redwood Gazette and regional director for Liberty Group Publishing, overseeing the operations of seven publications in southwest Minnesota.Along with heading up daily operations of the Rock County Star Herald, Luverne Announcer and Hills Crescent, Peterson will become Roger Tollefson’s partner in business."I’m thrilled to have someone with his background and abilities to work with," Tollefson said.Peterson first tested his common-sense approach to business in the early 1980s when he left college to manage the Country Kitchen in Worthington.He learned that quality workers produce quality products and he learned how to work with customers to sell that product.The same theory applies to the newspaper business."The front page is our showroom, and our news is our product," Peterson said. "And every week, it’s something new. That’s what I find the most interesting about this business. We put out a new, fresh product week in and week out."Another rewarding aspect of the news business, he said, is community involvement."Newspapers should be pillars in their communities," he said. "By nature of what we do, we know the mayor, city council members, county commissioners, school board members, superintendent … and we know them by first name. Not everyone can say that."This, he said, perfectly positions news organizations for community leadership.In Redwood Falls, Peterson and the Redwood Gazette spearheaded several community projects, including a downtown business development program, baseball field improvement and fund-raisers for various causes.This involvement will also be a goal for Peterson at Tollefson Publishing. "I think that’s a role a newspaper should play in every community," he said. "You have to be able to recognize when there’s a need for something, and we do have the ability to take that lead role."Peterson came to Luverne’s news market, he said, for a chance at ownership."Roger has given me a unique opportunity to be a partner in this newspaper, and I am very grateful for that."At the same time, Petersen looks forward to the challenge of ownership."It’s a commitment to the community to keep the paper part of the community," he said. Peterson said he’ll also work to connect the community to the paper."There’s a quality product produced here already, and my goal is to enhance that," he said. "I want people to rely on the Star Herald for their news and information. … We don’t run AP stories in our pages. What you get in this publication, you can’t get anywhere else."He said the newspaper’s success in a community hinges on the success of the businesses it works with, so he looks forward to promoting and supporting the town. "It goes hand-in-hand," he said.Peterson found his niche in the publishing industry with an advertising job at the Worthington Daily Globe, and shortly thereafter launching his own shopper, the Nobles County PioneerIn 1989, he filled the position of editor and publisher at the Redwood Gazette, Redwood Falls, where he worked for 16 years.Peterson is renting an apartment in Luverne until his wife, Mary, can join him after the school year ends this spring. She’s a paraprofessional at Reede Gray School in Redwood Falls.They have three grown children and one grandchild.