column
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistSeptember 20, 2022I promised a while back to share with you my four-part series on dog training obedience and some more advanced training that you can accomplish on your own if you choose to do so. I will start this conversation with a variety of quotes I have coined over my 25 years of training experience: •If you don’t mind a dog that barks a little bit, you’ll have a dog that barks a little bit. •The dog will…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterSeptember 13, 2022Sunday marked six weeks since Millie and I competed in a horse show. Rain postponed one show, and the other was canceled for lack of entries. The cancelations broke a pattern of preparation I followed every two to three weeks all summer. The pattern created my relaxed frame of mind by balancing practice with working a full-time job. A six-week layoff is a long time to practice, and negative…- By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistSeptember 13, 2022Writing about dogs is my favorite subject. If you have been a reader of my column for any length of time, you can already tell this by the number of times they occupy this space. Dogs, especially hunting dogs, are a 12-month-a-year effort. Whether it’s training a new dog or keeping the older dog sharp as a tack, both take consistency, time and commitment. With dove season opening a few days back…
By Brenda Winter, columnistSeptember 06, 2022Last week I saw a young woman with a flat, tan tummy wearing a cropped top. As I observed her exposed tummy, I reflected on why my tummy is not exposed. A long time ago my stomach, too, was flat and tan, but in 1988 the last weeks of pregnancy sent stretch marks like lightning bolts across that fruited plain. It was ’99 or maybe 2000 when I had my first abdominal surgery. The scar runs eight…
By Rick Peterson, general managerSeptember 06, 2022Under the heading of full disclosure, I would be in the group of folks that would be guilty as charged. What’s the charge, you ask? The charge is doing more than my share of complaining about all the inconveniences the road construction is causing. It seems at every turn one of those orange “construction ahead” signs staring you in the face. A week or so ago on a Friday evening, Mary and I were…
By Lori Sorenson, editorAugust 30, 2022We bought a smart TV on a “too-good-to-pass-up” Prime Day deal earlier this summer and finally set it up two weeks ago. It’s an Amazon Fire TV, and as such, is powered by none other than Alexa herself. In fact, instruction No. 1 was to open the Amazon app on my phone and follow instructions from there. Among them was to download the Alexa app and set her up to power the TV by voice command. “…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterAugust 23, 2022Riding a donkey was not on my “bucket list.” But my recent experience of doing just that was a topic of conversation days after the Celebrity Donkey Races during Rock County Fair last month. I hope fair organizers bring the event back for 2023, for I have some unfinished business with a donkey named Amos. You see, the little gray-and-white donkey developed a special bond with me. Prior to the…
By Rick Peterson, general managerAugust 23, 2022Mary and I have grandkids who live in three different states — Minnesota, South Dakota and Iowa. As you are probably well aware, it’s back-to-school shopping season. The parents of our grandkids are in various stages of their back-to-school shopping, depending on when their school starts. It’s fair to say all are nearing the panic stage of the back-to- school shopping season. Simply put, I am…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County HistorianAugust 23, 2022The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older. This article is continued from last week about David E. Payne, one of Luverne’s pioneer presidents. The article appeared in the April 15, 1943, edition of The Rock County Star Herald. While in North…
By Brenda Winter, columnistAugust 16, 2022Our dear Charlotte has gone to the big chicken coop in the sky. It was the madness of the Covid lockdowns in the spring of 2020 that brought her to us. I purchased chicks for my nieces and nephews, hoping the presence of new pets would help the children deal with the pain and isolation caused by remote schooling. What it actually did was distract them for about 10 minutes – leaving me with pet…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianAugust 16, 2022The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older. This article appeared in the April 15, 1943, edition of The Rock County Star Herald. Helping to move the buildings of an entire village using only oxen as motivating power, earning his own living at…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistAugust 16, 2022It took me until I was about 35 years old to realize that each time you purchase a firearm it should be “in addition to the one I already have,” instead of trading in the one I already had. It was more a case of having enough funds so I could afford the new gun without the price offset of trading in the one I currently owned. I visit all the time with parents who are considering a gun purchase…
By Jason Berghorst, reporterAugust 09, 2022A few weeks ago, my 11-year-old television quit. My first course of action was to ask two tech-savvy friends for TV advice. Both suggested a “smart” TV. One specifically suggested an Amazon Fire TV that he had purchased online earlier this year. Being a middle-aged, traditional shopper, I wasn’t quite ready to purchase a TV online. So, off to Best Buy I went. No doubt the young salesperson saw…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistAugust 09, 2022Marvelous rain this weekend, and I am so very grateful! I’ve been able to water enough to keep my gardens producing quality produce, but that seems such a futile effort considering the size of the gardens coupled with heat … rain changes the whole picture! It is August, and if you have fern leaf peonies, you’ll notice they are turning yellow because they have finished their growing cycle for the…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistAugust 09, 2022I was sitting in my garage the other night with a couple of guys who had just finished up shooting on their trap league for the week. They are both avid hunters and both have hunting dogs of differing ages. It seemed like only about an hour had passed when in fact more than four hours had turned off the clock. Outdoor lifestyles and passions have always been my most vivid memories. As I recalled…
By Lori Sorenson, editorAugust 02, 2022Matt and I recently met friends near Hill City, South Dakota, for our annual ATV ride on the trails of the Black Hills National Forest. As always, the four-day getaway included campfire conversations, relaxing picnics on scenic overlooks, and — best of all – abundant wildflowers. We have wildflowers in Rock County, but there’s nothing like rounding the curve of a wooded trail that opens into…
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