column
By Rick Peterson, general managerSeptember 20, 2023A recent column of mine was about how I enjoy looking for things other people have lost. A couple of Saturdays ago, while Mary and I, along with Gilbert, the dog, were on a Ranger ride, I got a phone call. The call was from a frazzled mother from Redwood Falls. She explained that her son had been in Luverne most of that day for a cross country meet and had left his iPhone somewhere on the…
By Brenda Winter, columnistSeptember 20, 2023With just a short distance to go, Blondie, pushing her bike up the last hill, looked accusingly at me and said, “I can’t even believe you are making us do this.” Stirring together a bowl of flower petals and dill seed she collected from the garden, my 6-year-old niece beamed at me and announced, “You’re the best auntie ever!” Every family has one, and this one is the one in our family. With…
By Lori Sorenson, editorSeptember 13, 2023There are dozens of mournful songs about September, and until this year it hadn’t occurred to me that the month has such a melancholy reputation. Reduced sunlight can prompt Seasonal Affective Disorder, aptly known as SAD. Transitioning from laid-back summer days to hectic fall schedules can be stressful. For some (like me) the end of summer can signal regret for not accomplishing goals set…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianSeptember 13, 2023The 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. The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on January 13, 1944. Perhaps one of the most vivid descriptions of a pioneer farm home ever to be printed in this column will be the one that follows…- By Pastor Walt Moser, First Baptist Church, LuverneSeptember 13, 2023Have you seen church signs saying, “Everyone Welcome Here!” Do they really mean that? A teacher friend recently posted a picture of himself standing by a whiteboard welcoming his new class. Written on the white board was, “It’s okay to not know everything,” “It's okay to ask questions,” and a few more “It’s okay” statements. Then, at the bottom of the white board, it said, “Everyone is welcome…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterSeptember 06, 2023The weather this past Labor Day weekend met (and even exceeded) the predicted hot and humid forecast. To beat the heat, I spent a portion of Sunday at a water park with my oldest grandchildren. We happily joined other adults and children who chose to don swimsuits and jump into the cooling water. As I looked at the faces of the other adults, I noticed not many were old enough to be…
By RIck Peterson, general managerSeptember 06, 2023I don’t know if you believe in coincidences, but here is proof they do happen from time to time. Last week Mary and I happened to be at the horse races in Des Moines, Iowa. So the Monday morning office conversation centered around horse racing. During the conversation I asked if anyone knew the distance of a furlong. Not sure why, but at the time nobody googled it, so the furlong question went…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistSeptember 06, 2023I was asked a while back about what goes into the decisions made when land is purchased for habitat restoration. This is a topic many folks are curious about so I thought I would explain in a multi-week column just what happens when new public lands are added in your county. When you see a new Wildlife Management Area pop up in your area, it’s hard to believe that many of them have been in the…
By Brenda Winter, columnistSeptember 01, 2023“How about zip lining?!” I said with the confidence of a person who did not know what she was talking about. My three besties and I all turned 60 this year. To celebrate, we took our second “significant decade birthday trip.” This time we went to Montana – land of big skies, grizzly bears and zip lines. I didn’t actually want to go zip lining. I just wanted to be the kind of person that other…
By Greg HoogeveenAugust 23, 2023Did you know there are 108 double-sided stitches on an official major league baseball? The first and last stitch are hidden. My daughter, Tayler, and I were recently going over ideas for my next column when she asked if I knew any weird facts about sports that may interest my readers. I wasn’t sure what to say but quickly started rummaging through the web for content. Here are 10 facts I…
By Lori SorensonAugust 23, 2023A young couple showed up on our porch in June with a gift. “We have something we’d like to give you,” they said in a phone call earlier that day. Their business is Twisted Farmers Fab, which specializes in custom metal art — commercial signs, personalized wall hangings, fire pits and, their latest, hanging wind spinners. On this warm summer evening they handed us a heavy metal circular wind…
By Rick Peterson, general managerAugust 22, 2023I chalked up another birthday earlier this week. The years go by fast with age, as most of you know. Funny thing about getting old … my thoughts aren’t so much on the future but more on remembering the past. Mary and I took our two granddaughters to Arnold’s Park a couple weeks ago, and boy, did that bring back some memories. The Arnold’s Park memory that came to mind was while growing up in…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterAugust 15, 2023As I stood at the starting line of the Celebrity Donkey Races at the county fair, a feeling of doubt came over me. Doubt that I could even get on this animal’s back. Doubt that Ex-Lax (the donkey’s stage name) would even want me riding him around the course. I was wrong to doubt. When organizers announced that the women riding in Heat 3 were to go counter-clockwise around the course, I gained a…
By Betty Mann, Rock County HistorianAugust 15, 2023The 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. The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Dec. 2, 1943. William John Spease, Luverne, now 75, is of the opinion that a man is just as old at 50, or young at 80, and it is the latter goal that…
By Jason Berghorst, reporterAugust 08, 2023“Thanks for coming!” Maybe you’ve heard or said those words recently or often in your life. I sure have. I’m a “thank you” sayer. I’ve thanked police officers after pulling me over and even said thank you to another driver who hit my car in a parking lot. To be fair, the thank you was at the end of our interactions after the accident. I was thanking the man for taking responsibility, working…
By Rick Peterson, general managerAugust 08, 2023Today, Thursday, our youngest grandchild, Ellee, turns 6. Like all grandparents, Mary and I are proud as punch of all our grandkids. Those of us that make up our morning coffee group that are grandparents share stories (brag) about our grandkids at least once a week. Most of the stories are sports-related or how old they are or what grade they are in school, or recently, where they might be going…
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