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By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota State PatrolApril 29, 2026Question: I am looking to purchase a used vehicle. I have been online and checking things out and some of these listings appears too good to be true. Do you have any advice on what a person can or should do so they don’t become a victim? Answer: If it’s too good to be true, it usually is. Online marketplaces are full of stolen and tampered vehicles. To reduce the risk of becoming a victim of…- By Pastor Sarah Zender, Grace Lutheran ChurchApril 29, 2026As our hope of spring becomes more confident, as we start to wonder if we can put away our winter things yet, as 80-degree days make the snow feel like a memory, something shifts in us just as the seasons shift. The days grow longer, the air softens, life springs up in surprising places! Buds turn into leaves, tulips surprise and delight, and a robin begins to make a nest on the light above my…
By Lori SorensonApril 22, 2026On a recent Sunday morning I put a frozen Stouffer’s family-size lasagna in the oven before we headed out the door for church. During the service, I mentally patted myself on the back for such good planning. We would arrive home to a kitchen filled with aroma of Italian baked pasta, cheese and meat sauce. And while it cooled on the counter, I would prepare leafy green lettuce salads with…
By RIck Peterson, general managerApril 22, 2026I have shared many of my life events and experiences with you over the years on this page. If you haven’t read or heard I announced my upcoming retirement at the end of July. I told my Star Herald family last week and now it’s your turn. Over the past 40 years, the newspaper business is what I did. In the mid 1980s I started what turned out to be a long and enjoyable career. First at the…- By Pastor Praveen Muthsuamy, Hills United Reformed ChurchApril 22, 2026We read in 2 Samuel 11:1-2, “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel. And they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained at Jerusalem. It happened, late one afternoon, when David arose from his couch and was walking on the roof of the king’s house, that he saw from the roof a woman bathing; and…
By Brenda Winter, columnistApril 15, 2026We are building a yard shed. All of our neighbors have yard sheds. Some have two. We need a shed. The key words for architecture and space planning are “form” and “function.” Form is what something looks like. Function is what something does. As for what this new yard shed will look like, Jim and I both want it to look “kind of cool.” We want it to have a bit of a mid-century modern…- By Rev. Dr. Steven Voris, First Presbyterian Church, LuverneApril 15, 2026With a groan, Pastor Paul rolled over in bed, startled by the ringing of his cellphone. He groaned again when he saw the time was 5 a.m. With shaking hands, he picked up the call and did his best to sound wide awake. The voice on the other end of the line was chipper, “Yes, Pastor, this is Frieda Falter. You’ll never guess where I am.” With concern in his voice, Pastor Paul replied, “I hope…
By Nicole RonchettiApril 08, 2026I’ll admit that I cry very easily. If a book or a movie has a bittersweet ending, my friends and family know to have a box of tissues on standby. But I don’t think I’ve ever cried as hard as when I watched “When Life Gives You Tangerines.” That might not sound like a winning endorsement, but bear with me. The story starts off in post-war Korea, focusing on a young, soon to be orphaned girl…
By RIck Peterson, general managerApril 08, 2026April is Earth Month and earlier this week we hosted a Star Media Conversation with Shannon Dwire, president of Millennium Recycling in Sioux Falls. Starting this Thursday, you can watch that episode on our Star Media YouTube page, www. starmedia.today website, the Star Media Facebook page, or on the Star Herald website and Star Herald Facebook page. We discussed the do’s and don’ts of…
By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota State PatrolApril 08, 2026Question: Can you write about the laws on headlights on when they are to be used? It would probably be a good idea to mention the rules of dimming one’s bright lights. Thanks. Answer: When you are within 1,000 feet of an oncoming vehicle or following another vehicle at a distance of 200 feet or less, your headlights must remain on low beam. Your headlights must be turned on at sunset and used…
April 01, 2026Question: I just purchased a pull behind camper. I have never owned or pulled one before. What do I need to know? Answer: If you pull a camper or trailer with your vehicle, you must maintain at least 500 feet of following distance from other vehicles. When loaded, 10 to 15% of the trailer’s weight should be balanced on the hitch between the trailer and vehicle. When correctly loaded, the…- By Lori SorensonApril 01, 2026After we sent pages to press last week for our March 26 edition, I began the familiar process of second-guessing AP (Associated Press) style choices, editorial judgement and potential errors and omissions. It’s a press day curse shared universally by newspaper editors around the world. This week, the bothersome word choice was “unchartered.” I had quoted our Rock County Land Management…
March 25, 2026It’s nearly April! Spring is officially here. We’re all going to pretend there’s no possibility of any surprise snowstorms. April has one of my all-time favorite programs: Ag Trivia Night. This year it will be at 7 p.m. April 9 at Take 16. It’s the same format as regular Trivia Night: bring your team of four to play five categories with 10 questions apiece. However, Ag Trivia Night is all…
March 25, 2026I was on Day 4 of Gramma duty. I had just finished logging my Kentucky granddaughters into their online Zoom class. With swiftness and confidence, I signed them in, adjusted their cameras and renamed them in their participant profiles. Check. Check. And check. All systems were a go. Until. Until, I glanced out the window and noticed a backyard chicken sauntering across the lawn. …
By RIck Peterson, general managerMarch 25, 2026The weather and basketball have dominated conversations at the office, at coffee and just about everywhere else. This column is about a little bit of both. The past week to 10 days has been one for the record book as far as the weather is concerned. On Saturday, March 14 we had single-digit temperatures, high winds and a snowstorm. Seven days later we had 85-degree temperatures, calm winds…
By Nicole RonchettiMarch 18, 2026It’s difficult to describe what it feels like to taste a familiar family recipe. Every person has one, something that their mother or grandmother made that instantly transports them back to their childhood home, even 60 years later. It’s a mixture of comfort, and memory, and nostalgia. This year will be the first time I’ll be spending a major holiday by myself, and as a result I’m going to be…
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