ruminations

Amid the excitement of this spring’s NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, I purchased matching “You break it, you own it” Nike T-shirts for my 6-year-old Iowa granddaughter and me to wear. The slogan was a nod to Caitlin Clark’s record-breaking basketball season. Neither of us is a diehard basketball fan — we just appreciate Clark’s athleticism and love of the game. An added bonus is that Clark…

Results from last month’s general election may have surprised many, but no one was more surprised than I was. Come January, my oldest son, Andrew, will be sworn in as the mayor in Lismore, and I couldn’t be more proud as he steps into a local government leadership role. He said that when he received his mail-in ballot, no candidate was listed for Lismore mayor. Concerned, he started asking…

Monday was a special day for the Rock County Star Herald. For a portion of the afternoon, the office was closed, and all nine of my colleagues and I traveled to the school for the annual Luverne Education Association awards announcement. We were named the LEA 2025 Friend of Education. I say “we” because even though general manager Rick Peterson in his message to those in attendance said, “…

As the junior member in my 37-year marriage, I’ve often joked with and about our seven-year age difference. It's always felt pretty good that I’m always going to be younger in the relationship. Recently the tables turned as he is now retired and enjoys doing his favorite activities on a daily basis and only working when it suits him. I, on the other hand, continue to work full time whether I…

Remember as children when life seemed worry-free? I’ve had glimpses of those simpler times as I divide my time among my six grandchildren. I’ve even named them to keep references simple: Iowa grands, Minnesota grands and South Dakota grands. During the most recent visit with the Iowa grands, who are the oldest at 7 and 5, they introduced me to the public “petting zoo” in Schaller, Iowa. There…

Ten years. It was September 2014 when I started working as a full-time reporter at the Star Herald. A decade’s worth of time capturing the local news and happenings of Rock County. It seems like time has just sped by, and yet it doesn’t. I’ve attended hundreds of meetings and events … talked to hundreds of sources and completed hundreds of stories. I’ve been there for times of joy and…

Two months ago I wrote about how my mother blossomed into a different person since moving into Tuff Home in Hills late last year. For as long as I can remember, she mainly showed her stubborn side and rarely let a softer side of her personality shine. On Sunday, at the age of 96, and after living a full life on her own terms, my mother died. Her service is today (Aug. 15), and I agreed to…

Standing in the middle of Main Street Luverne during Thursday’s Hot Dog Night, I heard a small voice ask, “Are you a newspaper reporter?” Mary (Galagan) Arnold, LHS Class of 1972, was the voice behind the question. With an affirming smile she explained that nine members of her family came to Luverne. One, her son-in-law Kendall Rhyne, set attending Hot Dog Night as a bucket list item. He wasn…

Father’s Day meant a three-generation gathering at our Hardwick farm. There was food, an air-conditioned garage and a recently purchased jungle gym to keep the youngest generation busy. Laughs and a good meal were shared by all the families involved. Family, I’ve realized, has a myriad of definitions. A more traditional definition of family is those related by birth or marriage. Another…

September marks my longest stint working at the same job, and I’d like to thank my predecessor for the opportunity. I began working at the Star Herald in September 2014 as Brenda Winter left the newsroom to focus her energies on her health. This year will mark an important milestone for her, too. Luckily for the Star Herald and our readers, Brenda continues to regularly write her column, “…

Mother’s Day is just over a week away, and my thoughts have turned to what to do to honor that female parent in my life. Along the way, I’ve thought about what the definition of Mom means to me, and I’ve realized I have more than one Mom. … Because Mom is more like a list of characteristics beginning with the letter “L.” To me Mom is someone who learns, listens, leads, laughs and lives in the…

Steps through life are very straightforward. As children we’re told we’ll attend school when we’re old enough and we’re encouraged to achieve a high school diploma. Then we embark on a 50-year journey working at a job or advancing a career before retiring. Some of us get married, have children and become grandparents. And then we die. Instructions for the first three-fourths of my life have…

Next week the Star Herald will publish its annual Home, Lawn and Garden special section. For this year’s feature in that edition, I interviewed Madison Ziegler who recently started Carzel Interior Solutions in Luverne. Among other things, her business finds solutions to the clutter we tend to collect in our homes. After talking with Madison, I’ve decided to do some decluttering by joining…

In 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…

Attending last week’s Minnesota Newspaper Association Convention reminded me why I chose a career in newspaper journalism. Being a conduit for information speaks to my creative nature and fits my personality, and the like-minded conference attendees rekindled my news passions. They include an eagerness to tell people about exciting news, a sense that what I do actually matters and pride in a…

For the new year, I am participating in a 12-week Healthy Human Challenge with about 120 like-minded individuals. Daily points are assigned for meeting our nutrition and step goals. More points are added for drinking water, getting enough sleep, and listening to a self-improvement podcast. I’m motivated to amass the 2,600 points necessary to fulfill the three-month challenge. One thing I’ve…