column
By Mavis Fodness, reporterJuly 14, 2020A half mile past my farm home in Battle Plain Township, a magnificent cottonwood tree used to grow tall and proud against the prairie skyline. For more than a decade before its demise, the tree marked the turnaround point for horseback rides, walks, and most recently, my attempts at jogging. Today there’s nothing left of the tree, no stump or hole, just my memory that there used to be that…
By Rick Peterson, general managerJuly 14, 2020As I sat in front of my computer struggling to come up with a column idea that doesn’t focus on the coronavirus or politics, I found myself wondering what I wrote about, say, 10 years ago at this time of the year. So I looked back at my column from July 8, 2010, and believe it or not, the following is the first sentence from that column 10 years ago. “Sometimes when I sit down to write this…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJuly 07, 2020“Yep. It’s a woodchuck.” I made the declaration with confidence after spending half an hour studying a compelling article titled, “Woodchucks and their droppings.” The little fella startled me for the first time last week when he emerged from under a wide-leafed plant in my garden. I greeted his fat little nose and big brown eyes with a lump of dirt followed by a bucket of water. He took no…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyJuly 07, 2020The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911. Rock County Village of Hills continued from 7-02-20 edition of the Star Herald. Since Hills has become an incorporated town, its growth has been steady. Over $30,000 were expended on building improvements in 1904. The state census of 1905 gave the town a population of 320. In 1908 the building improvements footed up over $15,000 and…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJuly 07, 2020I was on a daylong, 75-mile wildlife ride on my Polaris Ranger with a few friends Saturday to observe habitat conditions on public lands located in Nobles County. One of the riders said her friend didn’t know what a side-by-side was. A side-by-side is the slang term for a 4-wheeled all-terrain vehicle. I don’t know anyone who calls a two-passenger, steering wheel equipped side-by-side an ATV.…
By Lori Sorenson, editorJune 30, 2020A “novel” virus is, by definition, a new virus, not previously identified. When it emerged six months ago scientists knew nothing about it, except that it was highly contagious and could kill people. Today we know a little about it, like how it’s transmitted and what it’s capable of. But mostly, it seems, the more we learn, the less we know. Things at first believed to be true about it (like, it…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyJune 30, 2020The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911. Rock County Village of Hills, continued from 6-25-20 edition of the Star Herald. Hills became an incorporated municipality in 1904. It had a population to warrant taking the step ten years before, but the fear of many of the residents that incorporation would result in the licensing of saloons precluded taking any action at that time. In the…
By Scott Rall, outdoor columnistJune 30, 2020The Fourth of July should have every American thinking about our independence and those who made sacrifices to keep America free. I am not sure that an ever-growing percentage of our population still keeps those thoughts at the top of the list for this national holiday. As a kid growing up, I remember that almost every neighborhood would be plastered with American flags waving in the wind up and…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJune 23, 2020I was kidding my girlfriend, Cindy Scott, about how excited she would be when the new puppy shows up at our house on or about the 20th of July. She has never house-trained a dog before, and I was really piling it on when I said how much fun it would be. House training a puppy is not all that hard, but for some dog owners it is just a miserable task. If this is difficult for you, then all I have…
By Jason Berghorst, reporterJune 23, 2020We all want to be right. We all want and need to be part of a group. We believe that those who share our opinions are also always right. These three concepts form the basis of partisan politics. Republicans agree with and defend other Republicans and Democrats do the same for other Democrats. My team vs. their team. Conservatives vs. liberals. We’re right. They’re wrong. It’s how it works.…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterJune 16, 2020Since the first cases of the coronavirus hit Minnesota in March, one of my colleagues went missing. Gone. Poof. Vanished. In the past three months only a handful of sightings of former sports editor John Rittenhouse have been passed on to the newsroom, but none of these by me, this former colleague. Three months ago, as the newspaper was scrambling to understand the new health rules, John quietly…
By Rick Peterson, general managerJune 16, 2020The Luverne Area Community Foundation has created a worthy dedicated fund called the Rock County Veterans Fund. Don’t confuse this fund with the Rock County Veterans Memorial fund. The Rock County Veterans Memorial Fund is dedicated to the perpetual care of the Veterans Memorial on the front lawn of the Rock County courthouse. In fact, while you have the checkbook out, write two checks — one for…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyJune 16, 2020The following appeared in The Rose History in 1911. Rock County Village of continued from 6-11-20 edition of the Star Herald. The growth of Hills during 1892 was substantial and its permanency was assured. It distanced some of the neighboring villages and boasted a larger growth than its rivals.9 Among the new enterprises of the year were the town’s first hotel by T. O. Strandness, a bank…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJune 16, 2020Does anybody know what I am talking about when I call a bird a “shy poke”? This was the name I first learned from my grandpa, Arnold Bender, who lived in Leola, South Dakota. This is the nickname for the great blue heron. Another name for them is a looper. This is for their large slow wind beats. The great blue heron was the subject of many watercolor paintings by my favorite wildlife artist,…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJune 09, 2020I was just learning to read when I handed my mom the anniversary card I’d found in a box on her desk. With all the over-dramatic “ohhs and ahhs” one gives a child for doing a good thing, Mom received the card with appreciation and read it silently. Then — she collapsed into a heap of laughter and could not stop laughing. She laughed the kind of laugh one laughs when trying not to laugh. I’m sure…
By Lori Sorenson, editorJune 02, 2020More than once in the past several days, I’ve opened my mouth to say something profound, but stopped short, realizing that words aren’t enough. There simply are no words to describe the occurrences of the past week in Minneapolis and their ripple effect statewide and now in cities across the nation. There are no words to explain why a police officer would lean on the neck of an already handcuffed…
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