for what it's worth
By Rick PetersonJuly 15, 2026My column countdown continues with just one more remaining after this one. I know you’re probably thinking enough already. As I think back about my newspaper career I can’t help but remember how it all started. It all started with Scott Rall. Yeah, that Scott Rall. He was working at the Worthington Daily Globe way back then and he knew I was looking for work and he called me and told me about…
By RIck Peterson, general managerJuly 01, 2026I announced my pending July 31 retirement back in May and the time is sure flying by. I have this month to tie up loose ends and clean out my office. Reflecting back on the last 21 years and my time here has occupied a fair amount of time each day leading up to my last day. Following are personal highlights I have been lucky enough to experience during my time here. In 2007 the Ken Burns…
By RIck Peterson, general managerJune 17, 2026My column for this week is about things I have never taken for granted. Those things remind meof how lucky I have been to work in an office setting for the past 40 years. The hot muggy days recently give me reason to be thankful I work in an air-conditioned office. The same is true in the middle of a subzero cold spell in the dead of winter to be working in an office with the thermostat set at…
By RIck Peterson, general managerJune 03, 2026The column count has now entered June, leaving just five columns left, counting this one, before my retirement on July 31. One of the joys of this job is being involved in a whole host of community events. This weekend is Luverne’s annual Buffalo Days, and because of the Highway 75 construction some of the traditional events have detoured to different locations. For example, the Friday Night…
By RIck Peterson, general managerMay 20, 2026This is my last column for the month of May. I have June and July left and then I step away from the computer on my July 31 retirement date. Before I do step away, we have two very busy months ahead. Last week we published the 2026 Business Directory. This week’s Star Herald will have the 2026 Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek Graduation special edition. Then in early June the Arts and Academic…
By Rick Peterson, general managerMay 06, 2026I started my 40-year newspaper career in 1985 at the Worthington Daily Globe. It was called the Daily Globe back then because it was six days a week, so close enough. I have a handful of columns left to write before I punch out for the last time on my July 31 retirement date. Today, my column reflects on the technology advances in the newspaper industry over those 40 years. In 1985 the Globe…
By RIck Peterson, general managerApril 22, 2026I have shared many of my life events and experiences with you over the years on this page. If you haven’t read or heard I announced my upcoming retirement at the end of July. I told my Star Herald family last week and now it’s your turn. Over the past 40 years, the newspaper business is what I did. In the mid 1980s I started what turned out to be a long and enjoyable career. First at the…
By RIck Peterson, general managerApril 08, 2026April is Earth Month and earlier this week we hosted a Star Media Conversation with Shannon Dwire, president of Millennium Recycling in Sioux Falls. Starting this Thursday, you can watch that episode on our Star Media YouTube page, www. starmedia.today website, the Star Media Facebook page, or on the Star Herald website and Star Herald Facebook page. We discussed the do’s and don’ts of…
By RIck Peterson, general managerMarch 25, 2026The weather and basketball have dominated conversations at the office, at coffee and just about everywhere else. This column is about a little bit of both. The past week to 10 days has been one for the record book as far as the weather is concerned. On Saturday, March 14 we had single-digit temperatures, high winds and a snowstorm. Seven days later we had 85-degree temperatures, calm winds…
By RIck Peterson, general managerMarch 11, 2026It’s been a while, but I am back at the keyboard hunting and pecking out my first column in over a month and a half. Over the last six weeks I have had two emergency room visits, one at Sanford Luverne and two days later at Sanford Sioux Falls. I have been through two surgeries, two different hospital stays, seven weeks of daily IV infusions at the local hospital, countless blood draws and…
By Rick Peterson, General ManagerJanuary 21, 2026Football, football and more football. If you like football, the past few weeks have been a football lover’s paradise. The NFL and NCAA have put on quite a show. From close games to a couple of blowouts, and some controversial calls by the officials, it has been entertaining. On Monday night of this week Indiana University won their first national championship while putting together an…
By Rick Peterson, General ManagerJanuary 07, 2026Mary and I aren’t what you would call moviegoers. From our first date in 1976 and currently closing in on nearly 49 years of marriage in 2026, we have seen maybe four movies, and No. 4 happened on New Year’s Day. We both had seen trailers of the movie “Song Sung Blue” and thought this is one we would both enjoy. At 12: 15 p.m. on New Year’s Day I mentioned that “Song Sung Blue” was playing at…
By Rick Peterson, General ManagerDecember 23, 2025It’s not often that my column hits the stands and mailbox the day before Christmas. So, I thought I would take the opportunity to share a few of my Christmas memories from childhood to grandpa-hood. My earliest childhood memories of Christmas date back to the late 1960s and very early 1970s. The Peterson family Christmas schedule was the same year after year. There was the Christmas Eve church…
By Rick Peterson, General ManagerDecember 09, 2025There are only about three weeks left in the 2025 pheasant hunting season, and due to some mobility issues, I haven’t hunted once this season. However, I have hunted vicariously through other hunters’ Facebook posts and watching YouTube videos. By all accounts from the locals, I am missing out on a banner year of available roosters. Jeff Haubrich had a recent Facebook post where he shared what…
By Rick Peterson, general managerNovember 25, 2025Last weekend The Blue Mounds State Park was closed to the public because of the annual youth deer hunt. Ten hunters between the ages of 12 and 15 spent the weekend trying to harvest a deer. Each of the hunters along with an adult mentor, generally a parent or grandparent, spent the time in pre-determined hunting zones. Only the youth hunters were allowed to harvest a deer. This will be the…
By Rick Peterson, general managerNovember 12, 2025This Friday is opening night for the Green Earth Players’ musical production of “Little Shop of Horrors” under the direction of Shawn Kinsinger and Carol Ceynowa. There will be seven shows altogether: Friday, Saturday and Sunday this week and Thursday through Sunday next week. Show times are at 7 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and at 2 p.m. Sundays. Ticket prices are $14 for adults and $7 for students…
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