Columns
By Brenda Winter, columnistMarch 19, 2025A “memories from nine years ago” photo showed up on my Facebook feed. It showed my friend Kim, my two sisters and me smiling in a hospital room in 2016, the day after my first cancer surgery. The photo was all the more poignant because I’m still here, but Kim died of cancer in November. Life is like that. Last week we traveled to be with friends in Arizona. Chris is a college friend who made a…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorMarch 19, 2025Another winter sports season is in the books, and what a season it was for Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek teams and athletes! Between the two schools, athletes in three sports competed in state post-season action, four teams reached section championship games, and seven individuals set personal or school records. The Luverne boys’ hockey players participated in their fifth state tournament.…
By Lori Sorenson, editorMarch 12, 2025Former Rock County Star Herald Editor Al McIntosh penned his widely acclaimed “Tired American” commentary in 1965 at the height of anti-government protests and anti-American sentiment. He wasn’t afraid to express his political views on the Star Herald opinion page, though it cost him friendships and garnered plenty of local criticism. He wrote “Tired American” because he was indeed tired. I’m…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistMarch 12, 2025My phone has pretty much been ringing off the hook the past few months as people see dead geese decomposing on the ice of area lakes. The bird flu is not a new thing, but a pathogenic avian influenza outbreak has been working its way across Minnesota since it was first reported in 2022. The danger to humans is very low, but you should avoid contact with infected animals and use protective gear…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterMarch 05, 2025A single clock (picture at right) can be seen clearly through the now windowless former Hills-Beaver Creek High School — its hands permanently stopped at 2 o’clock. That’s probably around the time on Oct. 19, 2011, when staff and students moved out of the 100-year-old building over the MEA break. On the following Monday, classes began in the new high school located on the northwest edge of…
By Brenda Winter, columnistFebruary 26, 2025A friend of mine lives in a relatively nice Glendale, Arizona, suburb. The house a few doors down from hers is home to a group of high school-aged basketball players from across the U.S. They were sent by their parents to attend high school with a primary focus on their ultimate goal – to play in the NBA. Parents who choose Christian schools are somewhat like-minded. Of course there is…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistFebruary 26, 2025This is one of those times of the year when a dog guy gets kind of bored. The ice conditions have been so sketchy that I don’t really feel all that great driving on the ice of the area lakes. More about this next week. So with no seasons open, I took to observing one of the only ways yet available to harvest a pheasant. How do you do that when all of the hunting seasons are closed? You find a…
By Lori Sorenson, editorFebruary 19, 2025It’s been over five years since my sisters and I lost our parents and took over the family farm near Kenneth. The five of us gathered Saturday to paint the kitchen and living room, followed by supper, a little business, and as always, plenty of reminiscing. We had discovered a large, frayed accordion folder with school report cards for each of us girls documenting our achievements from…
By RIck Peterson, general managerFebruary 19, 2025It’s been 20 years since I started working here at the paper. To say things have changed a bit in the paper industry would be an understatement, considering computers, digital cameras, cell phones, internet and social media, not to mention the fax machine that came and went over a relatively short time. All of the afore-mentioned changes came about in the last 30 years or so. Twenty years in…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistFebruary 19, 2025Last week I hinted that I would be trying to add some insight as to why the ice conditions across Minnesota have been so hit and miss this season. What leads me to this subject matter is just how many cars and trucks have made their way to the bottom of so many lakes this winter. One of the conditions I am referring to is why there is so much open water on many area lakes and why, after…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterFebruary 12, 2025Just before Christmas, an obsession began in our house thanks to the office holiday party. A Star Herald gift exchange resulted in a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle coming home with me. The intriguing “Coca Cola memorabilia” picture ultimately led to the opening of the box and clearing off the dining room table for my husband and me to work on it. As a result, we’ve finished 10 puzzles since mid-…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistFebruary 12, 2025Who doesn’t like gifts? I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t like to receive things of value. Some are small and have less meaning, and others might fall under a substantial inheritance. The gift giver makes a determination that the asset is better in the hands of someone else. The Minnesota State Legislature seems to really enjoy giving gifts of great value. The issue is that the gifts…
By Brenda Winter, columnistFebruary 05, 2025The key to successful New Year’s resolutions is to make them so vague that success is ensured no matter the effort. Which is why, after six weeks, I’m keeping all of my New Year’s resolutions for 2025. One of my resolutions for the year was to go to the gym. All I have to do is “go to the gym.” That’s it. Find a parking spot. Boom. I am at the gym. My commitment “to work out” begins if I…
By RIck Peterson, general managerFebruary 05, 2025I never considered myself much of a hat guy. That was until I was searching for a column idea, and as I looked around in my garage, I counted 13 hats and four more in the house … 17 hats in all, so that might make me a hat guy. With the exception of a couple of those hats, I have worn the rest at least once this past year. Four of the hats are for cold weather use. My snowblowing hat is one of…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistFebruary 05, 2025Can you remember the very first game animal you ever harvested? I certainly can remember the first goose I ever shot, and I can tell you exactly where I was when I harvested my first duck. But for the life of me, I cannot remember my first rooster. I can remember my first rooster shot over a trained hunting dog. I have been blessed to have been part of many firsts for other new hunters. Most…
By Lori Sorenson, editorJanuary 29, 2025My sisters and I — all five of us — recently returned from a short Florida beach vacation. Cheap airline tickets in November prompted a flurry of last-minute travel plans, and our Allegiant, Airbnb and Turo reservations were quickly secured. We chose Fort Myers, because January temperatures are typically in the 70s, and our stretch of beach on Estero Island was restored from Ian in 2022 and…
You must log in to continue reading. Log in or subscribe today.
