The weekly U.S. Drought Monitor released the week of July 4 showed slight improvement in drought conditions across some of the primary corn and soybean production areas of the Midwest.
The percentage of corn and soybeans considered in drought conditions both improved by 3 percent from a week earlier, due to significant rainfall in the first few days of July.
Rain fell in a line from southeast Nebraska across southern Iowa and northern Missouri into central and southern Illinois.
On the other hand, drought conditions intensified from a week earlier in portions of southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, southeast South Dakota and Wisconsin.
Even with the significant rainfall in portions of the Corn Belt in early July, it is estimated that 67 percent of the corn acres and 60 percent of the soybean acres remain in some level of drought conditions.
The next few weeks will probably determine the yield and economic impacts from the drought conditions in 2023.  
Rainfall in late June and early July has been very widespread across the drier areas in the southern third of Minnesota and northern half of Iowa, as well as in portions of Nebraska, Wisconsin, and southeast South Dakota.
Except for isolated significant rainfall totals, many locations have received relatively small precipitation totals. The University of Minnesota Research Center at Waseca reported only .16 inches of rainfall during the first 10 days of July.
This followed only 1.56 inches of total precipitation in June, which was 3.82 inches below normal.
Crop conditions at Waseca have maintained quite well due to the 1.25 inches of rainfall received during the last week of June, together with the strong subsoil moisture levels that were aided by the 6.47 inches of rainfall that fell in May.
By comparison, the U of M Southwest Research Center at Lamberton received 2.88 inches of rainfall in June; however, that location and has received only .10 inches of rainfall in early July.
Much of the corn in the Upper Midwest is now entering critical stage of tasseling development and beneficial rainfall in the next two weeks is extremely important in these areas.
Corn generally needs 1 to 1.5 inches of available moisture per week during this critical stage of development.
This can become extremely critical if drought conditions or extremely hot weather exists in areas with depleted subsoil moisture levels.
Soybeans tend to have a much wider window to withstand drought stress than corn. Drought stress in soybeans becomes much more critical as the plants approach the pod setting and seed filling stage in late July and early August.
Based on the July 3 USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report, 51 percent of the U.S. corn crop and 50 percent of the U.S. soybean crop was rated “good-to-excellent,” which was nearly the same as a week earlier.
These are the lowest nationwide “good-to-excellent” crop ratings in early July for both corn and soybeans since the drought year of 2012.
In Minnesota, 62 percent of the corn crop and 64 percent of the soybean crop in Minnesota was rated “good-to-excellent.”
Iowa’s “good-to-excellent” corn and soybean ratings on July 3 were 62 percent for corn and 53 percent for soybeans.
In Nebraska, the 2023 “good-to-excellent” ratings on July 3 were 49 percent for corn and 43 percent for soybeans, while South Dakota was at 49 percent for corn and 48 percent for soybeans.
In the June World Supply and Demand Report (WASDE), USDA estimated the 2023 U.S. national average corn yield at 181.5 bushels per acre and the 2023 nationwide soybean yield at 52 bushels per acre.
Many private crop production and marketing analysts are now estimating the 2023 national average crop yields at 174-177 bushels per acre for corn and 49-51 bushels per acre for soybeans.
Trends in corn and soybean market prices in the coming months will likely reflect what adjustments, if any, that USDA makes in the projected final 2023 corn and soybean yields.

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 Nov. 4, 1943.
         One of Luverne’s oldest residents, Thor Berg, who will be 90 years of age next January 3, is the only Diamond Club member thus far who at one time fished for a living. Although Norway and fishing are synonymous, as fishing at one time was one of its greatest, if not its greatest industry, no previous Diamond Club  member, and there have been a number who were born and reared in Norway, has ever claimed to be a professional fisherman.
Mr. Berg, only brother of Nels Berg, last week’s member of the Diamond Club, was born near Drammen, Norway, the oldest son of Mr. and Mrs. Ingebreckt Berg. As soon as he completed his common school education, he became interested in fishing, and he was about 14 when he first put to sea.
Bulk of the fish caught were cod or herring. Cod, Mr. Berg explained, was used mainly in preparation of “lutefisk,” a favorite food of virtually every Norwegian.
“We’d get about five or six cents each for the cod,” Mr. Berg said, “and about $1 per barrel for the herring. That’s not very much now when you consider the price of fish when you have to buy it, but in those days, it provided a living for many.”
Many times, he and a companion went out 25 or 30 miles to set their nets. Sometimes, when they had extremely good luck, their haul would be four or five tons. Rowing a boat that heavily loaded through choppy and sometimes extremely rough waters provided the men with plenty of work and plenty of scares. However, he never had any serious accidents during the time he was a fisherman.
He served in the Norwegian army one summer, he reports, and he enjoyed it very much. Forty-two days were spent in war games in a wooded part of the country, and this life in the open was enjoyed greatly by the Luverne man.
An uncle, Ole Berg, who had come to the United States, induced Mr. Berg to come to Rock county. He came directly to Luverne from Trondheim, Norway, in 1876, and at that time, Luverne was a small frontier town trying to get a start in life. Philo Hawes’ log cabin was still standing on the bank of the river near where the city power plant now stands, and much of the residential district was then in wheat, or was still virgin prairie.
“When I got off the train and came up town,” Mr. Berg recalls, “I saw a man playing croquet at the place where Backer’s hardware store is now located.”
Mr. Berg was employed on a farm in Mound township, and has walked behind many a plow drawn by ox-team. He has stood on a Marsh harvester and bound grain by hand, and remembers the days when wheat was the county’s chief crop, and the farmers didn’t believe that corn would ever become a paying crop north of the Iowa line.
Roads were wherever a person’s team chose to go, Mr. Berg stated. Wagon tracks led everywhere, and a stranger could easily pick the wrong one and become lost.
He well remembers the famous wind storm that moved the Blue Mound Lutheran church from its former location, west of the Rock Island railroad tracks, to its present site. “The wind just picked it up, carried it 35 or 40 rods, and set it down again,” Mr. Berg said. “Although it was not completely wrecked, it had to be torn down and completely repaired.
(Continued next week.)

Card showers
MaReese Cragoe will celebrate her 90th birthday on Wednesday, July 19. Greetings may be sent to Poplar Creek; 201 Oak Drive, Unit 407; Luverne, MN 56156.
 
Neil and Sharon Dohlmann will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary on Thursday, July 20. Greetings may be sent to them at 410 E. Luverne Street, Magnolia, MN 56158.
 
Open House
Tom and Bev Martius will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and Tom’s 70th birthday with an open house from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, July 15, in the fellowship room at the Living Rock Church in Luverne.

LSS meals at Generations
 
Monday, July 17: Italian chicken, vegetable, fruit, bread, dessert.
Tuesday, July 18: Pasta with meat sauce, Romaine salad with dressing, pears, Texas toast, cookie.
Wednesday, July 19: Orange chicken, rice, mixed veggies, pineapple.
Thursday, July 20: Pork loin, yams, broccoli, bread, dessert.
Half-Price Day sponsored by Minnwest Bank.
Friday, July 21: Chicken mandarin salad, pea salad, fruit salad, cake.
LSS Dining offers well-balanced and affordable meals in a community atmosphere.
Call Pam Franken at 283-9846, extension 11 to reserve one day prior, to arrange to pick up a dinner or for home-delivered meals.
Gift certificates are available at the meal site or online at www.lssmn.org/nutrition.

10 years ago (2013)
•The Luverne Alternative School is no longer located at 110 North Oakley Street in Luverne. It is instead located in the main floor south wing of Luverne High School. …
Alternative school instructors Paul Johnson and Nancy Swanson moved their classrooms to the high school building in June.
School Board member Peggy Adams told board members at the June 27 board meeting she’d received a phone call from a parent of an alternative school student expressing concern about the relocation.
Adams said, “She said her family had chosen the alternative school specifically because it was not in the high school.” Fisher said many students who use the alternative school are actually full-time LHS students who are doing “credit recovery,” meaning they take one or two classes in the alternative school to earn credit for classes they have failed. …
We didn’t have as many kids sign up as we thought we would this summer. We’ll have to see what our student numbers look like in the fall.”
 
25 years ago (1998)
•Luverne’s Dan Cook secured an impressive racing victory in Brandon, S.D., Sunday night.
Competing at Huset’s Speedway, the most competitive track in the immediate area, Cook produced a rare feature victory to highlight last weekend’s results for area racers.
Cook took the checkered flag in the feature event in the 360 sprint car class.
 
50 years ago (1973)
•Elbers, Inc., of Hills, is opening a new appliance warehouse-store in Luverne this week.
Wilmer Elbers, owner, recently purchased the building at the west end of Main street, just north of the Sunrise Hotel, from the LBF Company, and has remodeled it for showroom and warehouse use.
 
75 years ago (1948)
•A bolt of lightning during Sunday night’s thunderstorm caused a blaze which resulted in about $6,000 worth of damage on a farm 5½ miles northeast of Magnolia. The farm, tenanted by Henry Johnson, is owned by P.L. Popkes of George, Iowa.
Destroyed were a 32x40 hip roof barn, 20x24 hog house, 30 tons of hay, one cow valued at $250, two pigs valued at $50 a piece and $200 worth of tools which were in the barn. …
Johnson had no telephone and his neighbor who did have a phone was not home so two passersby drove to Adrian to call the fire department. The Adrian firemen worked until 2:30 protecting the other buildings.
Johnson, however, was rather fortunate in one respect. Five head of cattle and six hogs had been hauled out to market at 6 p.m. that day, and had this not been the case, they would have been in the barn at the time of the fire.
Much harder to take though, was the fact that Mr. Johnson and his brother-in-law had worked in the hot weather all week filling the barn with hay only to have it all burn up.
 
100 years ago (1923)
•Magnolia community will hold an old-fashioned field day at Magnolia next Tuesday, July 17. A program has been arranged for the day which is expected to fill every minute with entertainment and pleasure.
At 10:30 a.m. a ball game will be played between Magnolia and Kenneth, a purse of $50 going to the winner. The picnic dinners will partake in the grove near the town hall, and the Adrian Concert band will be on hand at 12:45 to render a fine concert, preliminary to the address by E.H. Canfield, Esq.
At 1:30 various street sports, such as foot races, sack races, and other contests, will be held, for which prizes will be given. Another ball game, with Magnolia and Luverne as the opposite teams, will be staged at 3 o’clock, and 4:30 Shetland pony free-for-all and horse races, and the farmers’ eighty-rod running race will be held. Besides the kittenball game and band concert, which will be features of the evening’s entertainment, Ben Davis agrees to throw four men in forty minutes. The Davis boys will also put on one of their snappy boxing contests, and little Miss Davis will make her initial appearance as a public entertainer. In the evening a dance will be held at the hall.

Marcia Brandt, age 77, of Beaver Creek, Minnesota, died on Friday, June 30, 2023, at her home in Beaver Creek.
Visitation will be Thursday, July 6, 2023, from 5-8 p.m. with the family present at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church.
Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 7, 2023, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church with Pastor Juanita Parker officiating. Burial will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery at Luverne.
Marcia Brandt was born July 16, 1945, in Rock Rapids, Iowa, to Arthur and Mary (Meyn) Rogness. Marcia grew up on the family farm just north of Hills, Minnesota, where she attended school in Hills and graduated in 1963. After graduation she then attended Augustana College and studied education.
Marcia was united in marriage to James Brandt on June 21, 1969, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills. They made their home in Beaver Creek and were blessed with five children.
Marcia was employed at Hancock Fabric in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, until her retirement in 2008. Marcia enjoyed fishing, boating, bird watching, flower gardening, baking, sewing, quilting, watching the Minnesota Vikings, and turning various caterpillars into moths and butterflies. She also loved spending time with her grandchildren.
Those left to cherish her memory are her husband of 54 years, James; children, Heather (Dale) Steensma of Steen, Minnesota, Amy (Mike) Brandt of Hills, Minnesota, Jared (Julia) Brandt of Luverne, Minnesota, Jennifer (Lynn) DeYoung of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Matthew Brandt of Wichita, Kansas; 17 grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; one sibling, Michael Rogness of Hills, Minnesota.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Arthur and Mary Rogness; her parents-in-law, Russell and Gladys Brandt; her maternal and paternal grandparents; and two grandchildren, Mary Ann Furney and Alex Matthew Brandt.

Paul Julius Nath was born on July 14, 1938, to Julius and Gertrude (Lohman) Nath in Luverne, Minnesota. Both his mother and father were immigrants from Germany. He was raised on a small family farm near Kanaranzi, Minnesota, with five brothers.

Adrianna Joan Sneller, age 87, of Kenneth, Minnesota, passed away peacefully on Sunday, July 2, 2023, while at Edgebrook Care Center in Edgerton, Minnesota.
A visitation was Monday, July 10, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at American Reformed Church in Luverne, Minnesota, with a funeral service beginning at 2 p.m. Burial followed at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.  To sign an online registry, please visit www.hartquistfuneral.com. 
Adrianna Joan Sneller was born June 20, 1936, to John and Maggie (Riemersma) Smit in Hull, Iowa. She was baptized in Hull First Reformed Church in Hull, Iowa, where she attended school through the eighth grade. After school, at 14 years of age, she accepted a job taking care of elderly residents, cleaning houses, and as a nanny.
In 1955 she was married to the love of her of life, William Sneller, in Hull, Iowa. The couple soon moved to a farm by Doon, Iowa, in 1956 and then to the farm they would call home by Kenneth, Minnesota, in 1958. For the next 41 years, Adrianna worked on the farm alongside William, helping with chores, butchering chickens, and raising their three children.
In 1999 the couple retired from the farm and moved to Luverne. Due to some mobility issues, Adrianna moved to Poplar Creek in 2014, then to the Mary Jane Brown Home and finally to Edgebrook Care Center in 2023.
On July 2, 2023, while residing at the Edgebrook Care Center, Adrianna joined her husband in the arms of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, at the age of 87 years and 12 days.
Adrianna was actively involved in the church throughout her life, starting at Hull First Reformed Church, then at the First Reformed Church in Edgerton, and finally at American Reformed Church in Luverne. She had a passion for gardening throughout her life and was an excellent cook, preferring to use the vegetables she had grown. She enjoyed canning and preserving what she grew and canned hundreds of jars of garden produce and meat. She also loved fishing and was able to butcher 100 bullheads in under an hour. Her homemade root beer floats are fondly remembered by her family, as well as Sunday afternoons visiting and enjoying doughnuts. Adrianna especially loved playing cards and winning, and she left many quilts for her family to cherish.
Adrianna is survived by her children, Myron (friend Iva Akkerman) Sneller of Morris, Minnesota, Arlyn (Karen) Sneller of Kenneth, and Linda Cours of Gheen, Minnesota; six grandchildren, Robert (Angela), Steven (Lisa), Sara (Adam), Jason, Chad, and Angie (Eric);  15 great-grandchildren, Riley, Hannah, Nolan, Kayli, Rysley, Zackary, Kelsey, Johnny, Shelby, Tori, Logan, Amber (Todd), Sydney, Tyler, and Jordan; and three great-great-grandchildren, Emily, Ellie, Kaden; and sisters, Julia (John) VanderPloeg of Sioux Center, Iowa, and Marguerite Valentine of Artesia, California.
She was preceded in death by her husband, William Sneller; parents John and Maggie Smit; brothers Anthony, John, and Donald Smit; and several other distant relatives.

Carol Ruth Nicholson Ohlsen, 102, passed away peacefully at Evans Nursing Home in Cresco, Iowa, on Thursday, June 22, 2023.
Carol was a Christmas baby, born on December 25, 1920, to Richard and Helen Nicholson in Lynd, Minnesota.
After she graduated from high school in Lynd, Carol went on to St. Olaf College for a year and then transferred to Hamline University, St. Paul, to major in music.
While there, she met her husband, Roger. To this union were born three children, Gretchen, Bruce and Terry. They made their home in Lynd where Roger and Carol’s dad owned a hardware store/ lumber yard. After selling their business in 1962 they moved their family to Luverne, Minnesota, where Carol made her home until 2013 when she moved to Cresco. She lived at Evans Nursing Home her last three years.
Carol was a lifelong musician, spending over 60 years playing organ for various churches in Sioux Falls, Brookings, South Dakota, and Luverne.
Throughout her life she had a variety of occupations. She worked for the Rock County Highway Department, State Farm Insurance, Creeger’s Clothing Store and many years as administrator for the Blue Mound Towers Apts. where she received many state awards.  She was a social butterfly playing many games of 500 and bridge with friends and family and enjoying events with Red Hat Society, the Tourist Club and RSVP. She loved to travel and to spend winters in Texas and summer vacations at lakes in northern Minnesota. She especially enjoyed attending symphony concerts in Sioux Falls.
In her 102 years of life, Carol witnessed more history than most ever will: 19 presidents, 22 Minnesota governors, Great Depression, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War, the worst act of terrorism on Sept. 11, 2001, and survived Covid 19 twice. She experienced inventions that we take for granted today: Band-Aids, TV, traffic lights, microwaves, Velcro, and numerous others.
Preceding her in death were her parents and two sisters, her husband, Roger, son Terry, son-in-law Ken Becker, grandson Brice, and longtime family friend Jack Dainsburg.
She is survived by Gretchen, Bruce, grandchildren Kimberly (Aaron Johnson) Becker, Todd (Holly) Becker, Amberlee (Eric) Shervin, Bryan Ohlsen, Aaron Ohlsen, Jarod Ohlsen, great-grandchildren Gabriel (Gabby) Becker, Isabella Lehmkuhl, Chloe Becker, Finnley Bonfig, Esmee Ohlsen, Dalton Ohlsen, Freya and Burke Shervin, one great-great grandchild, Aspyn Becker, and many special nieces and nephews.
Carol will be remembered for her wit, sense of humor, classiness, and her love of coffee and chocolate. Her spirit shone brightly to those around her, and everyone who knew her loved her.
The Ohlsen and Becker families would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the staff at Evans Nursing Home for the loving and attentive care Carol received while she was a resident there.
A memorial service will be held in the Chapel of Luverne United Methodist Church on Monday, July 24, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. with burial at Maplewood Cemetery following. The family will be there at 1:00 p.m. to welcome guests.