Columns
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 20, 2024Have you ever heard the saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?” Well, try reteaching an old(er) dog, (young)er tricks. After years and years of not playing golf, I (the older dog), have joined the Luverne Country Club and taken up golf (the younger trick) again. I was on the school golf team when I first learned the sport of hitting a small ball into a small hole that was placed far…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistMarch 20, 2024I recently did a podcast with Ron Shara Productions host Travis Frank about volunteering. If you would like to listen to it, search “The Flush Podcast.” We spoke for about an hour about what motivates a person to volunteer for 40 years to the same organization. This is the length of time I have been working on behalf of Pheasants Forever. I recently was named as the first-ever Pheasants Forever…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMarch 13, 2024A year ago, from atop a 10-foot snow pile in the field next to our house, I took an “aerial” picture of 5 feet of snow covering our backyard. I’m not usually 10 feet above the yard, so I thought the angle was interesting. It was March 12 and the day’s high was 39 degrees. Yesterday, wearing T-shirts, we burned the grass off the asparagus bed at the farm and cleared out the flower bed. The tulips…
By RIck Peterson, general managerMarch 13, 2024From the cheap seats over the weekend I experienced the agony of defeat and the thrill of victory. Believe it or not, the agony and thrill happened in the same game. Like most of the country, I have become a fan of the Iowa Hawkeyes and Caitlin Clark. I was going to watch the Sunday Big 10 Championship game from my cheap seat in the garage. Not realizing the game was slated to start at 11 a.m…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistMarch 13, 2024I spent part of the day today rounding up a few pheasants from some friends to add to mine. I am preparing my donation to the Mulligan Stew Feed hosted by the Round Lake Sportsman’s Club this weekend at Round Lake Vineyards. I just smile when I hear people tell me that they won’t eat any wild game. Each person has their own description of what “too gamey” tastes like. I eat all kinds of wild…
By Lori Sorenson, editorMarch 06, 2024I’ve made it a habit to pay for gas at the pump to avoid convenience store snacks and beverages, but when Luverne’s long-awaited Kwik Trip opened last month, I went inside to check it out. Yes, the store lived up to the hype of bright lighting, clean restrooms, fresh food and happy helpers. However, as a lifelong coffee drinker with an affection for strong brews, I gravitated to the Kwik Trip…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors columnistMarch 06, 2024This column is being written solely to generate discussion surrounding some proposed gun legislation being floated at the Minnesota State Capitol these days. I repeat, this is to create discussion and not explode the virtues one way or the other of these proposed legislations. Now, I am a gun guy and regularly spend time on the range participating in all kinds of recreational shooting, from…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterFebruary 28, 2024In an era of political correctness, I’m happy to see a state agency is not shying away from humor, and it comes from an unlikely department: the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Eight years ago, the Department of Transportation began “Message Mondays,” where the state’s electronic message boards along state highways and interstates display safety messages to travelers. The target…
By RIck Peterson, general managerFebruary 28, 2024Every four years Feb. 29 shows up on the calendar, and for some it’s their birthday. To those folks I say, “Happy Birthday.” For me and thousands of pheasant hunting enthusiasts, it means it’s Sioux Falls’ turn to host the Annual Pheasant Fest. This year’s event kicks off on Friday for three days of all things pheasant hunting. There is literally something for everyone. Over 400 exhibitors will…
By Scot Rall, Outdoor ColumnistFebruary 28, 2024Minnesota’s Legislature is now in session, and as always there are bound to be some issues that surface when it comes to natural resources funding. When it comes to funding sources, Minnesota has done a pretty good job of protecting many of these funds from diversion to other non-related spending. The Land and Legacy amendment that was passed in 2009 was passed by a constitutional amendment to…
By Brenda Winter, columnistFebruary 21, 2024On May 9 the “elderly spinster sisters from Leota, Minnesota,” Marlene and Darlene, played by DJ Luethje and me, will take the stage at the Palace Theatre for the annual Generations spring fundraiser. This year’s show is called “Without George.” When George Bonnema died unexpectedly in December 2023, he left a void bigger than most. One of the many positions he vacated was being the “Life Force…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorFebruary 21, 2024Senior Anika Boll is heading back to the girls’ state hockey tournament for her fifth year in a row with the team. I had an opportunity to visit with her this past week about her experience on the team. “I am excited this is how my final high school hockey season is going to end,” she said. Anika was on the girls’ hockey team as an eighth-grader back in 2020 and in 2024, five years later, as a…
By Lori Sorenson, editorFebruary 14, 2024My mother-in-law cautioned me about her son early in our dating years. “You know, these Norwegian men aren’t very affectionate,” she told me, in case I should want to escape the relationship before I was too invested. Of course, she laughed when she said it, but she wasn’t wrong. My husband is a kind and gentle man, but affectionate, he is not. Especially in public. During our own wedding…
By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota State PatrolFebruary 14, 2024Question: Hello, I thought I read somewhere that rest areas help reduce crashes. I saw a trooper at a rest area the other day, and it got me thinking about that. Can you write about that? Answer: More than 20 million travelers stop at Minnesota rest areas annually. Rest areas serve as an essential safety feature on the highway system by giving travelers a place to stop and rest. This helps…
By RIck Peterson, general managerFebruary 14, 2024Every time something about the world’s largest nutcracker coming to Luverne is published in the paper or on Facebook the anti-nutcracker folks seem compelled to voice their concerns. Earlier this month it was Groundhog Day, and I can only imagine the local naysayers from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, when they heard about the idea of Groundhog Day. I can’t help but imagine the conversation at the…
By Scot Rall, Outdoor ColumnistFebruary 14, 2024Earlier this month I planned a few days off to go spear fishing for pike, but I got a call that ice conditions were not good enough to pursue my effort safely. So goes the winter with little to no safe travelable ice. On the other hand, it does make regular travel plans a lot easier, so I have a great alternative plan for those who can’t be on the ice. On March 1, 2 and 3, Pheasants Forever is…
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