column
By Brenda Winter, columnistJanuary 15, 2025On New Year’s Day my sister sent me a video of our 86-year-old father ripping down the driveway on his new Honda Monkey. The big bike was getting to be a little much, so Dad thought it wise to downsize. He’s usually a safety guy, but in the video Dad – with no helmet – spins his baseball cap around backward and tears off the farm yard. The video records my sister giggling and saying, “There…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianJanuary 15, 2025The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Jan. 1, 1932. Majority of 1931 tax rates are below 1930 Reflects action taken by local tax units of Rock County levying lower budget for coming year Tax levies for 1930 are given for comparison Total tax rates for any division of county may be computed from accompanying figures With a few exceptions, the 1931 tax rates, to be…
By Lori Sorenson, editorJanuary 08, 2025My dad in the 1970s sold O’s Gold Seed Corn and often wore a bright orange windbreaker and cap to advertise his farming side-gig. As a little girl I didn’t give much thought to seed corn, but I could always spot Dad in a crowd in his orange cap. Today, it’s not just the ag salesmen wearing the labels. It seems everyone who buys feed, seed, chemicals, tools or machinery has a matching wardrobe…
By RIck Peterson, general managerJanuary 08, 2025There are always a few of those “changing over to the New Year” tasks that need our attention. Getting used to writing 2025 on checks usually takes a check or two to get in the swing of the New Year. I know you’re probably thinking, “Who writes checks anymore?” I probably write two, maybe three checks a month. We get about eight different weekly newspapers at the office. All eight are from…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJanuary 08, 2025I started out the new year with a spearing trip to northeast South Dakota. I was looking to do a little pike spearing, and southern Minnesota is not the greatest place to do that. For one, we only have a few lakes that have a decent pike population and even fewer lakes that have water clear enough to make spearing enjoyable. Some of only decent pike lakes had frozen out two years ago, and even…
By Mavis FodnessDecember 30, 2024Amid 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…- By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota State PatrolDecember 30, 2024Question: Hello, I am looking at getting my kids an e-scooter for Christmas. I was just curious before making the purchase what are the laws and rules for these things. Answer: Motorized foot scooters (also termed “electric scooters” or “e-scooters”) have seen a marked increase in use recently, primarily due to their introduction in fleets of shared rental offerings in cities throughout the…
By Brenda Winter, columnistDecember 24, 2024Our Kentucky granddaughters told us their “Other Grandparents” are taking them on a Disney cruise. They’ve been promised day spas and swimming with dolphins, carnival shows, island expeditions and food served from mile-long buffets. Grandpa and I were spending last week with the two girls, ages 7 and 9, when we learned about the cruise. Their parents were off galivanting at a tropical resort…
By RIck Peterson, general managerDecember 24, 2024Christmas on a Wednesday followed by New Year’s Day just a week later are not ideal days for those of us in the paper business. Early deadlines set forth by our printer and postal deadlines make for a very chaotic two weeks. A big thank you to our advertisers for their understanding and willingness to get us copy for their ads well ahead of normal deadlines. To the staff at the Star Herald,…
By June KroonDecember 24, 2024Editor’s note: This information was written by the late June Kroon of Steen. Her daughter, Faith DeBoer, shared it last week with the Star Herald for publication. Today I am babysitting my six-month-old namesake, Virginia, while her mother goes Christmas shopping. I have just laid her down to nap. I marvel at God’s miracle of creation as I gaze fondly at the long, dark lashes reposing on red…
By Lori Sorenson, editorDecember 18, 2024The calendar says our Dec. 19 edition of the Star Herald is the final publication before Christmas. Next week’s paper is Dec. 26, at which point we’ll be working on our year-in-review coverage and moving on to 2025. That means on Dec. 15 — a good 10 days away from Christmas — I found myself considering a column about Christmas. Which I wasn’t ready for. Again. It’s not that I’m a scrooge. I…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianDecember 18, 2024County’s November tax settlement under 1931 Apportionments of last five months’ collections with total $140,710; in 1931 figure was $170,933 The November settlement for taxes collected in Rock county from June 1st to November 1st, this year, aggregates $140,710.55. This is a decrease of $30,222.45 under last November’s settlement, and $39,867.82 less than the 1930 November settlement,…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterDecember 11, 2024Results 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…
By RIck Peterson, general managerDecember 11, 2024It’s been just a little over two months since the Rock County Star Herald introduced you to Star Media, our way to expand our presence beyond the printed page. Star Media aired its first podcast in late September and in relatively short order produced 20 different podcasts resulting in over 4,000 downloads. Just in case you have no idea what Star Media is, take a moment and crawl out from under…
By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota State PatrolDecember 11, 2024Question: Every once in a while, I notice some vehicles stop in the road at the railroad tracks when nothing is coming. Can I pass them when they do this? Answer: Some vehicles, such as passenger vans, buses, and larger trucks, are required to stop at all railroad tracks, whether or not a train is present. Do not pass these vehicles. It is illegal to pass any vehicle within 100 feet of a…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianDecember 11, 2024Organization to promote better athletic relationship among members and curtail expenditures Six schools in two states are included in the Interstate High School Athletic league, which was organized last week. Besides Luverne, they are Pipestone, Jasper, Dell Rapids, Flandreau and Garretson. So far only preliminary steps have been taken in the task of organizing the group, but another meeting…
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