Opinion
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 Scott Rall, Outdoors ColumnistJanuary 07, 2026To some folks these two words are pretty scary. These two words are “silencers” and “suppressors.” To others they are just the common names for a firearm accessory. Suppressors or silencers were heavily regulated starting in 1934. This intense regulation was to prevent criminal and others of ill intent during the days of prohibition. They were and are still regulated as an NFA item. NFA stands…
By Kent Thiesse, farm management analystDecember 30, 2025In the following, I am highlighting my “Top 5 Ag Topics for 2025,” based on issues that were discussed in my columns throughout the year. They include tariffs and China trade, low grain prices tight profit margins, high government farm payouts, the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ and record beef prices. Tariffs and the China Trade Deal If there was a “2025 word of the year” in agriculture, it…- December 30, 2025Happy New Year, Star Herald readers. We in the newsroom find satisfaction in reviewing and highlighting the top stories of the year in our final December edition. We feel it showcases our progressive local leadership and our resilient community residents. It also shows we at the Star Herald take our work seriously throughout the year as we document local happenings, big and small, good or bad…
By Brenda Winter, ColumnistDecember 30, 2025As Jim and I reviewed our personal highlights of 2025, we were amused to conclude the year's "best" was the wooden patio screen we built from repurposed hog barn lumber. Seeds for the patio project were planted when we concluded something was needed to shield the patio from the comings and goings of the busy city park behind our house. We studied what we consider to be Luverne's best mid-…
By Scott Rall, Outdoors ColumnistDecember 30, 2025I really need someone to tell how much it is going to snow this winter. We got snow early on and in one weekend hunting pheasants in South Dakota it made it all the way to 12 below zero. I have a dog box equipped to handle this but it did not keep from checking on them several times throughout the night. The snow in this location was so deep that a group of 4 gave up after one morning of hunting…
By Calla Jarvie, Rock County Library DirectorDecember 30, 2025Happy 2026! The Rock County Community Library wishes you the best year to come. Did any of you make a New Year’s resolution? Mine is to finally reach my Goodreads reading goal. I always start off really strong, dip a little in the spring, rebound in the summer and early fall and then just crash and burn. This year, my goal was to read 75 books. I made it to 70. Close, but no cigar. Whatever…- December 23, 2025Christians believe “God so loved the world that he gave his only son” to take away the sins of the world (John 3:16), and as such, Christmas is a celebration of the arrival of Jesus as told in the Bible’s second chapter of Luke: In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. … And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to…
By Lori Sorenson, editorDecember 23, 2025I enjoy seeing the variety of Christmas trees this time of year as people’s personal tastes and holiday spirit are expressed in their choice of lights and ornaments on the branches. Many are truly beautiful, and I marvel at the creative investment in each of them. My tree is also beautiful, in its own homemade sort of way. When the kids were little, they made ornaments in Sunday school and…
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…- December 23, 2025Strong, Brave and Hopeful This fall has been rough for Luella and our family. Luella began experiencing an increase in seizures over the summer, and in September a severe seizure on the school tennis court resulted in a concussion and eight stitches. Lingering concussion symptoms followed, and beginning in November she had six seizures in just four weeks. The physical and emotional toll was…
- December 09, 2025December is Seasonal Affective Disorder Awareness Month which calls attention to a winter depression condition now known as Seasonal Depression. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI, the condition is characterized by recurrent episodes of depression in late fall and winter, alternating with periods of normal mood the rest of the year. This month, NAMI encourages people to…
By Brenda Winter, ColumnistDecember 09, 2025It was Christmas 1967, or maybe '68. My four-year-old eyes were wide with wonder as I cradled the new Christmas doll. Locks of beautiful synthetic chestnut hair curled around her angel-like face. Eyelids with long, thick lashes blinked for real when she reclined and sat up again. Awake or asleep, the tiniest hint of a smile remained on her perfectly formed red lips. But, oh, that hair. It…
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 Scott Rall, Outdoors ColumnistDecember 09, 2025As soon as Thanksgiving has come and gone, it is the Christmas shuffle that creeps up on me. I do not wait until the last day or two, but I am never way ahead of time. I get a bad taste in my mouth when I must default to a gift certificate when all else fails or the procrastination overcomes me. I am a “consumable-product-gift” kind of guy. Buying a gift that sits on a shelf or hangs on a wall…
By Calla Jarvie, Rock County Library DirectorDecember 09, 2025Like it or not, the holidays are upon us. Are you a “Christmas tree-goes-up-on-Nov. 1” kind of person? Or are you a “Christmas-tree-goes-up-after-Thanksgiving” kind of person? I’m more of a “What Christmas tree?” kind of person, because I have cats. If you’re the first kind, you’re in luck, because we have all the Christmas books and movies out at the library. We have a very solid…
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