column
March 25, 2026It’s nearly April! Spring is officially here. We’re all going to pretend there’s no possibility of any surprise snowstorms. April has one of my all-time favorite programs: Ag Trivia Night. This year it will be at 7 p.m. April 9 at Take 16. It’s the same format as regular Trivia Night: bring your team of four to play five categories with 10 questions apiece. However, Ag Trivia Night is all…
March 25, 2026I was on Day 4 of Gramma duty. I had just finished logging my Kentucky granddaughters into their online Zoom class. With swiftness and confidence, I signed them in, adjusted their cameras and renamed them in their participant profiles. Check. Check. And check. All systems were a go. Until. Until, I glanced out the window and noticed a backyard chicken sauntering across the lawn. …
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 Nicole RonchettiMarch 18, 2026It’s difficult to describe what it feels like to taste a familiar family recipe. Every person has one, something that their mother or grandmother made that instantly transports them back to their childhood home, even 60 years later. It’s a mixture of comfort, and memory, and nostalgia. This year will be the first time I’ll be spending a major holiday by myself, and as a result I’m going to be…- By Pastor Joe Steenholdt, Christian Reformed Church, LuverneMarch 18, 2026Imagine you’re the messenger of good news to people in bondage. You report that a higher power will personally free them and grant victory beyond expectations. Wouldn’t you expect triumphal news about a strong warrior or overwhelming force? But what if, instead, you announced a poem about a frail servant—someone who gets picked last for kickball and isn’t invited to parties? We look for heroes…
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 Lori SorensonMarch 11, 2026According to Wikipedia, “knocking on wood” is a superstitious tradition to avoid “tempting fate after making a favorable prediction or boast, or a declaration concerning one’s own death or another unfavorable situation.” I’m here to tell you, dear readers, knocking on wood did nothing to help my fate after I recently declared, “Gosh, I haven’t been sick in years. In fact, I can’t remember the…- By Paster Jeremy Wiersema, Steen Reformed ChurchMarch 11, 2026Something is missing. But what is missing? Our culture has changed. What we see happening in our nation and in our state should be concerning. The answer might not be as complicated as some may think. What is missing in our culture today is something that has sadly gone missing in a host of churches as well – its fellowship. Fellowship is the act of being together caring for each other…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMarch 04, 2026My friend said it so casually you might have missed the poetry of it. We were chatting on the phone when she mentioned her husband had ended his attempt at growing out his hair. After going more than a year without a haircut, he came home with a crisp new look. She said, “He looked great!” Then she added, “But he’s handsome no matter what he looks like.” I laughed and thought “That’s not how…
By Nicole RonchettiFebruary 27, 2026I grew up in the woods, surrounded by the birches, spruce and pines of northern Minnesota. For me, being surrounded by trees is a comfort. It feels like home. Some of my fondest memories are of playing under the pines at my family’s ramshackle cabin, and of long walks in the woods with my mother where she would teach my siblings and I the names of the trees and flowers we passed. Everywhere I’…
By Calla JarvieFebruary 25, 2026It’s March! That means spring is within sight! We’ve almost made it, guys!! You can tell we’re getting spring fever at the library because we’ve got all sorts of special stuff planned for you this March. I hope you have your calendar out, because this is going to be good. On Wednesday, March 11, at 6:30 p.m., local author Jessica Vandrovec is coming to speak about her memoir “Held.” “Held” is a…
By Lori SorensonFebruary 18, 2026As I understand it, Valentine’s Day is a romantic occasion for lovers worldwide to prove their affection for one another. Why then, are the store shelves stocked with cards and candy marketed to kids? What do they know about romance? Aisles are crowded with adults shopping for Valentine’s Day cards and candy for their kids to exchange with other kids. What a shame. All those grownups should…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistFebruary 18, 2026At my tender age of 65 I have seen exactly two wolves in the wild. Both were in northern Minnesota and both were by pure accident. They were both seen running across the road in front of my travel vehicle. The timberwolf in Minnesota has had more of its share of litigation over the past 45 years. They were added to the endangered species list in 1978. In 2011 they were removed from the list…- By Pastor Bob Junak, Rock River Community ChurchFebruary 18, 2026This past Saturday was Valentine’s Day… that sacred, terrifying, chocolate‑coated battlefield where men everywhere suddenly remember the wise words of Proverbs 4:7, “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.” And nothing motivates men to seek wisdom faster than realizing they forgot to buy a gift. Every Feb. 14th, the average man goes on a spiritual journey…
By Brenda Winter, columnistFebruary 11, 2026I’m not sure who was more surprised: the woman who put her toes on my forehead during yoga class, or me when it happened. While lying on our backs, we had been instructed to lift our feet over our heads, stretching our toes toward the floor behind us. One of us was facing the wrong direction. The move, called “plow,” is an excellent way to stretch one’s lower back — or, in a crowded space, to…
By Lori Sorenson, editorFebruary 04, 2026Every so often my job puts me in touch with my “inner nature photographer.” An assignment last week was to capture a migrating trumpeter swan in his natural winter habitat. This majestic creature had been spotted in Rock County, and I was determined to document the rare occurrence for the paper. On this cold January day, I would need to prepare for the elements: that meant extra batteries for…
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