column
By Lori Sorenson, editorDecember 03, 2025This week’s Star Herald went to press without the trusty guidance of our proofreader, Esther Frakes, who retired after our Nov. 26 edition. We have smart and capable staff who are assuming Esther’s duties, but we are all nervous about carrying on without her. For 21 years, we’ve enjoyed the assurance of Esther’s eagle eyes on our final drafts before press time. Her job was to catch errors in…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterNovember 25, 2025Over the decades, Thanksgiving has become my favorite holiday. It’s a day where I’ve stayed home, and Bryan and I would prepare a Thanksgiving dinner. We grew to be partners in the kitchen, each of us preparing a portion of the meal. At first, the guest list included only grandparents, but it grew to include our four children and my sister’s family. We’ve served as many as 20 people in our…
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 Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianNovember 25, 2025The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Dec. 11, 1941. A 91-year-old “youngster” who can walk 10 blocks down town and back faster than many people 50 years younger, is this week’s member of the Star’s Diamond Club. He is David Wood McKay, better known as “Dave” among his many acquaintances in Luverne and surrounding community. Born in Scotland on August 15, 1850, and not coming to…
By Brenda Winter, columnistNovember 19, 2025On an early November morning three years ago, Mom and I sat in the living room. She was holding a fluffy, blue and white blanket. Her shortness of breath made it clearer that her remaining time on earth was short. I didn't know the blanket’s ownership was in dispute between Mom and my nephew until she said quietly, “Kingston gets the blanket.” Apparently she and her 8-year-old grandson had a…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistNovember 19, 2025The news is always full of car crashes and other accidents. Some are farm- or work-related or others might be as simple as a guy falling off a ladder or crashing to earth from a tree stand. Almost all of these have one thing in common: The name of the person who died or was critically injured is a name I have never even heard of before. That changed on Nov. 8 when Luverne lost a community…
By Lori Sorenson, editorNovember 12, 2025The American poet John Russell Hays wrote, “The Groves Were God’s First Temples” in 1895 as a tribute to nature. I’m not a fan of abstract poetry and didn’t even know the poem existed until a friend shared it with me after learning about my frequent walks in our grove. I’ve written columns about the joy of long walks on gravel roads, either with a friend or with a dog. However, our aging lab-…
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…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterNovember 05, 2025Marie Kondi is a professional organizer who’s developed a way to create a happy living environment by using our feelings, in particular, the feeling of joy. I find myself craving joy in my new-found widowhood, and the search for joy has been exhausting and elusive. There’s been retail therapy, emersion in each grandchild’s activities … and even a tattoo. Meanwhile, I’ve been working to…
By Calla Jarvie, Rock County Library directorNovember 05, 2025November at the library Holy cow, you guys, the library is busy this month. Normally I save the last couple of paragraphs for events at the library, but there’s so much going on in November, I’m going to use the entire article to talk about it. The Rock County Community Library is having its very own series of TED Talk showings! At 6 p.m. for three Mondays (Nov. 10, 17 and 24) the library will…- By Pastor Joshua HaydenOctober 29, 2025In a conundrum or in despair we run in haste To a life of prayer that revives, But when life is good we slow our pace Because we do not understand the word “abide.” A sign in our yard to keep on praying Is easier than to actually meet for an hour. Yet we see churches all over decaying Because we are not dependent on God’s power. “But I can pray wherever I go!” We shout with self-…
By Lori Sorenson, editorOctober 22, 2025My creative colleagues at the Star Herald have been sharing social media posts about our staff members’ work anniversaries It’s been fun for the online community to get a glimpse of the humans behind the titles in our office, and community reactions to the posts have been delightful and encouraging. This week it’s my turn. We accidentally overlooked my actual work anniversary in April, but it’s…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterOctober 15, 2025Thirty-seven years ago, I stood looking out the second-story window of our rented acreage in Kanaranzi Township. A vast expanse of soybean and corn fields stretched out as far as the eye could see. A feeling of contentment filled me as I held my infant son Andrew. I briefly imagined him working in those peaceful fields, enjoying the feeling of growing something from the rich, black soil. That…
By RIck Peterson, general managerOctober 15, 2025I don’t order a lot of things off the internet, but from time to time I do order a few things. Recently I was in the market for a couple of dog collars. So, like most Amazon shoppers, I typed in what I was looking for, and dozens of options popped up. So, after scrolling through them, I started to check out the reviews. Most of the reviews fell into the three-, four- and five-star category,…- By Pastor Andrew Palmquist, Bethany Lutheran Church, LuverneOctober 15, 2025A veteran newspaper editor was once quoted as saying, “A wise use of the garbage can is the secret to successful editing.” Cutting, chopping, and pitching unimportant sentences and details can be painful but helpful when finishing an article or column. But a wise use of the trash can is not only the secret to successful editing; it is the secret to successful living as well. I have to admit…
By Kent Thiesse, Farm Management AnalystOctober 08, 2025A partial shutdown of the U.S. government began on Oct. 1, with no indications regarding how long that shutdown may last. Most farmers in the Midwest are in the middle of harvest season, so there has probably not been a lot of attention paid to the government shutdown to this point. However, if the shutdown continues for several more weeks, it could start to impact financial decisions for…
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