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  • By Brenda Winter, columnist
    February 01, 2022
    A friend of mine in Luverne put her recycling bin out on the wrong day. The next morning she discovered the bright yellow recycling “tag of shame” attached to it. The tag of shame is usually given to people who place non-recyclable items in recycling bins. You know the kind – they don’t wash the cans or remove the labels. (Yes, you are supposed to.) They try to recycle types of plastic that aren’…
  • By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota Highway Patrol
    February 01, 2022
    We all know the dangers of driving with snow and ice on the roads, but driving with snow and ice on your vehicle is also a hazard. Always take time to remove all snow and ice from your vehicle before traveling. This is for your safety and the safety of other drivers. Snow and ice left on your hood, roof and trunk can shift and blow off – blinding you or the driver behind you. Limited visibility…
  • By Scott Rall, outdoors columnist
    February 01, 2022
    Some fishing and hunting outings end with full game bags or fish stringers, and others end up with nothing but the receipts of the money you spent. Empty fish stringers don’t always mean that the trip was not a fun or successful one, though.  It depends on what criteria you use to define success. I recently traveled to St. Cloud to attend the Minnesota Pheasants Forever state meeting. This event…
  • By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical Society
    February 01, 2022
    The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 7, 1905. Was a Grand Success Such Was Luverne’s Celebration of the Glorious Fourth 6000 People Were in Attendance Notwithstanding Preceding Unfavorable Weather Conditions, Luverne Observes Our Nation’s Birthday With a Notable Successful Celebration—Occasion Graced by Presence of Governor John A. Johnson Who Delivers Inspiring Address—…
  • By Lori Sorenson, editor
    January 25, 2022
    Last week, in the middle of our news meeting, I stood up and paced to the other side of the desk. “My Apple Watch told me it was time to stand,” I told my puzzled co-workers. “So, I stood.” I knew what they were thinking. “If your watch told you to jump off a cliff, would you?” I wouldn’t go that far, but I have become a slave of sorts to the demands of my wristwatch. It reminds me to take more…
  • By Rick Peterson, general manager
    January 25, 2022
    I am learning that as you get older it’s not just your birthday that tells you and others that you’re getting older. While my birthday is down the road a bit and Mary’s is just around the corner, it seems the signs of our advancing ages are popping up all too often. Our middle child is turning 40 this month, and our oldest grandson is graduating from high school this year. After months of Joe…
  • By Mavis Fodness, reporter
    January 18, 2022
    Monday marked Betty White’s 100th birthday and the world waited to celebrate. Unfortunately, Betty had other ideas. The actress, comedian and animal lover died Dec. 31 at the age of 99, 17 days short of the century mark. My sister, Avis, would have been 64 on Monday. I wish she could have made that century mark. Instead, Dec. 24, 2021, marked a decade since her early and unexpected death. I…
  • By Brenda Winter, columnist
    January 11, 2022
    I’m not a fashion diva, and never has that been made more clear than last week when I – like many in Rock County – slogged through the first week of 2022 with a case of the flu. I felt fine Sunday morning, but I opted not to attend church because my husband had been feeling poorly for a few days. Our community’s new-found sense of health caution made me decide against sharing the germs from our…
  • January 11, 2022
    I finally became a Covid statistic just before the end of 2021 when I tested positive. Even though I was fully vaccinated, I still contracted the virus. I knew from the get-go that was a very strong possibility. The reason I went in for testing wasn’t because I was sick and had all the symptoms. It was more like I was a half a bubble off plumb on the feel-good level. Of course, Mary was…
  • By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical Society
    January 11, 2022
    The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 7, 1905. Was a Grand Success Such Was Luverne’s Celebration of the Glorious Fourth 6000 People Were in Attendance Notwithstanding Preceding Unfavorable Weather Conditions, Luverne Observes Our Nation’s Birthday With a Notable Successful Celebration—Occasion Graced by Presence of Governor John A. Johnson Who Delivers Inspiring Address—…
  • By Lori Sorenson, editor
    January 04, 2022
    A young family stopped in the Star Herald office just after Christmas to inquire about a subscription to the newspaper. The newsroom was busy sending pages to press, so I didn’t greet them at the counter, as much as I would have liked to. From across the room, I could hear our front office staff take down their address and subscription information while small talk unfolded. “So, you’re new to…
  • By Scott Rall, outdoors columnist
    January 04, 2022
    I was sitting in my garage over the New Year’s weekend having a few adult beverages with my neighbor when an all too familiar topic was raised. He expressed his angst about the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources — that they are just too powerful. I then prodded for some additional details. I asked him to give me an example of what he thought was too powerful. He came up with a very vague…
  • By Jason Berghorst, reporter
    December 28, 2021
    I have a habit of inserting unsolicited local history into conversations with my friends, co-workers and students.  Not helpful, insightful historical facts that people find interesting, but often random tidbits of how things used to be.  It’s perhaps an occupational hazard for a history teacher living in his hometown and working in the school he graduated from. But more than that, it’s human…
  • By Scott Rall, outdoors columnist
    December 28, 2021
    I have a great job as a self-employed, independent investment adviser, helping people try to get to a comfortable retirement. Saving money for your later years is not something that everybody is good at. I would like to think I have made a measurable difference in that regard for my clients over the past 33 years, but they still needed to participate in order to achieve success, and that takes…
  • By Mavis Fodness, reporter
    December 21, 2021
    My mom used to hide Christmas gifts in the closet under the stairs. I passed by that door every day as I went up to my bedroom. I never gave a thought to what was inside until one Christmas decades ago I just had to see if I was getting the gift I hoped for. As it turns out, I was. The gift was a Breyer horse. Two, actually, because the Clydesdale mare and her foal were a set. They each came with…
  • By Scott Rall, outdoors columnist
    December 21, 2021
    This is a year much like last in that there are more hunters afield later into the season than normal. If Mother Nature delivers like she normally does, there are only a few diehards still chasing what by now are the smartest remaining roosters in the state. This year and last year were very different. This is my hypothesis as to why. In a normal year there are thousands of bird hunters…
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