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  • By Brenda Winter, columnist
    January 31, 2023
    The other girls recoiled in horror when Great Grandpa Gerald pulled back the plywood cover on his basement-based worm farm, but five-year-old Lillian leaned in, which is why she received a worm farm for Christmas. Grandpa’s worm farm is contained in a 100-gallon stock tank and holds several thousand worms. Lillian’s worm farm is far smaller than Grandpa’s. It’s not a stock tank, or even a 5-…
  • By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota Highway Patrol
    January 31, 2023
    Question: I was wondering if you are stopped at a stoplight in the left turn lane and an emergency vehicle with lights and sirens comes in behind you (either in the turn lane or the lane to your right), what is the proper procedure? Thank you! Answer: When it comes to encountering emergency vehicles while stopped at a stoplight and the only place to move is the actual intersection, it is best to…
  • By Betty Mann, Rock County Historian
    January 31, 2023
    The 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 July 29, 1943. A lone, dim light, shining in the inky darkness, served as a beacon to direct an ox-drawn wagon and its four weary occupants toward…
  • By George Bonnema, Luverne Horticulturalist
    January 24, 2023
    Yes, we have lots of deep snow, and yes, we have cottontail rabbits, and yes, the rabbits get hungry when their food source is buried by the snow, and yes, they will eat most anything palatable they can find, and no, they don’t ask your permission to ruin the plants they choose to eat in your landscape. As a rule, they will not dig down into the snow to find something to eat, but they will eat…
  • By Scott Rall, outdoors columnist
    January 17, 2023
    There is nothing better than a great photo of an outdoor experience. As an old-school kind of guy, the new current trend of everything being digital makes my life a little harder. I actually have a wall of fame in my garage. I have a collection of printed pictures from years of different experiences printed and stapled to this wall. It seems today an actual print is kind of like a dinosaur.…
  • By Brenda Winter, columnist
    January 10, 2023
    The frost on the trees bordering the cemetery Monday morning was spectacular. Blazing white branches sparkling against a brilliantly blue winter sky created a stunning scene worthy of the cemetery’s name, “Pleasant View.” My sister and I drove past the cemetery on our way to spend some time with Dad at the farm. We’ve driven by this cemetery thousands of times. With Mom at the wheel of a ’66…
  • By Rick Peterson, general manager
    January 10, 2023
    Flipper Man will come out of retirement to take the leap for Reezin’ for Freezin’ Luverne Leap at The Lake on Saturday, Feb. 11. The Rock County Sheriff’s Department is organizing the Luverne Lake Leap, Reezin’ for Freezin,’ as a fundraiser for the Luverne Area Community Foundation Grant Fund. Flipper Man has quietly been a longtime supporter of the Luverne Community Foundation, and he has agreed…
  • By Scott Rall, outdoors columnist
    January 10, 2023
    Whenever I am out and about with my Labrador pack, I often get asked which of the four of them is my favorite? My normal response is in what category? This causes a puzzled look on the questioner’s face. I go on to explain if you are looking for a riding companion, then my youngest dog, Ghost, is the winner hands down. You can go for a 300-mile ride and he will sit on the front seat for days. He…
  • By Kent Thiesse, Farm Management Analyst
    January 03, 2023
    At the end of every year, various publications, websites, etc. have their “Top 10” or “Top 5” list for that year. In this issue of “Focus on Ag,” I am highlighting my “Top 5 Ag Topics” for 2022, based on issues that were discussed in the columns throughout the year. Following are my “Top 5 Ag Topics” for 2022.   Strong U.S. net farm income levels continue in 2022 Based on the data in the latest “…
  • By Jason Berghorst
    January 03, 2023
    While I try not to use words that cliché, I know that’s what it sounds like to others when I say things like “When we were in school …” or “Back in the ’90s”… As I get older, I find myself saying things like that more often. Sometimes these statements are just for fun. An attempt to entertain. Other times they are simply sharing a memory that makes me feel good. Often, though, it’s the history…
  • By Scott Rall, outdoors columnist
    January 03, 2023
    Why is it that everything ends up happening on the same day or days?  I have a possible wedding, a retirement party for a great friend, and a decoy show all happening on the same weekend.  I want to be at all three events, but we all know you can’t be two places or even three places at the same time. In the end, it is the first commitment I made that is going to win this tug of war. Twenty-four…
  • By Mavis Fodness, reporter
    December 27, 2022
    Why do we lose things? The question nagged me during the two days spent at home as a blizzard raged outside. It was especially brought to focus when my husband, Bryan, handed me a small pair of scissors he had used while in the horse barn and slid into his coat pocket. The scissors, instead of becoming lost, is now permanently kept in my home office. Engraved on several places around the blades…
  • By Rick Peterson, general manager
    December 27, 2022
    Before I close the book on 2022, I want to thank all of you who took the time to write a note in a Christmas card or drew one of your own. We collected nearly 700 cards this year, and the last box was just shipped off last week to Military Missions Inc. in Lexington, Kentucky. We also dropped some cards and coloring contest entries off at the Minnesota Veterans Home. May you have a blessed new…
  • By Scott Rall, outdoors columnist
    December 27, 2022
    At this very moment, the town I live in is pretty much shut down. Snow in amounts I don’t like along with winds I hate even worse are arriving later today. The pheasants are getting a huge reprieve from hunters that would normally be chasing them until the very end. The snow depths, on the other hand, are giving them a different kind of challenge. It is amazing how wildlife can survive in…
  • By Brenda Winter, columnist
    December 20, 2022
    Last Christmas we gathered at Mom and Dad’s on Christmas Eve like we always do. We four adult kids and some of our adult kids and some of their little kids piled into Mom’s living room. The family has grown so large that we sometimes stack three deep to fit in the square 14x14 living room Grandpa Adolph and his brothers built in the ’40s. Last Christmas we began the evening by attending church.…
  • By Rick Peterson, general manager
    December 13, 2022
    The Peterson blower got its first workout of the season, and more than likely, by the time you read this, Round 2 is in the books as well. Had to put a new electric starter on the nearly 20-year-old blower. Installing the starter is a simple repair, so I thought. After an hour or so of frustration, I did what I should have done to begin with – take it to Eddy. A memory just popped into my head.…
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