column
By Mavis Fodness, reporterJune 15, 2021Monday night, a dedicated group of 4-H horse project leaders assembled new portable bleachers for the horse arena at the Rock County Fairgrounds. It’s no small undertaking. The bleachers arrived last week in a tidy box filled with hundreds of bolts, rivets and aluminum pieces. When assembled, they become a safe and secure public seating area. The old wood and steel bleachers can hopefully benefit…
By Rick Peterson, Tollefson Publishing general managerJune 15, 2021Sunday is Father’s Day and the funny thing about Father’s Day for me is I don’t consider it a day set aside for me as a father. I know that sounds rather confusing, but what I am trying to say is Father’s Day for me is more about three other very important fathers in my life. First is my father, or Dad, as I called him. He died of cancer at the age of 47 some 40 years ago. I think about him often…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyJune 15, 2021The following appeared in The Rock County Star-Herald on March 17, 1949. County Pioneer Growth of Certified Southern Type Brome Seed in State Rock county has gained distinction as being one of the pioneer counties in raising certified Fischer and Lincoln brome grass, a plant of vital importance to soil conservation. Soil Conservationist Jerry Simpson said this week that Luverne was the only…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistJune 15, 2021The lilacs have finished blooming so if you need to prune them, this is the time to get that done. Remember to cut them back far enough to give them room to grow to the size you will want them to be. If there are no leaves on the stems when you have finished the task, that’s OK. They will develop new leaves on the stems that have been cut back. I noticed black spots showing up on Goldsrum…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJune 08, 2021I recently made the seven-hour drive to Upper Red Lake in Minnesota. I figured this was about the 15th time I had made this annual trip to the best walleye fishing in North America. It is a father-son experience I cherish. For those of you who can remember back that far, the walleye fishing on Upper Red Lake collapsed from overnetting and to some extent overfishing by anglers back in about 2000.…
By Rick Peterson, general managerJune 01, 2021Last year COVID-19 put the kibosh on my annual three-day fishing trip. For the past six years a couple of my buddies and I have been spending a few days fishing Lake Sharp on the Missouri River. We camp at the West Bend State Park in South Dakota. It’s not really camping when one of those buddies has a 40-foot RV. As good fortune would have it, the other buddy has a 20-foot Lund that we fish out…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJune 01, 2021I never really figured out what I wanted to do after high school until I was about 28 years old. After graduation I took a few years off from schooling in the sales and marketing arena. I sold cars and then newspaper subscriptions. At age 28 I decided I wanted to be a regional fisheries manager for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. However, this would have required six more years of…
By Lori Sorenson, editorMay 25, 2021Hunting season is upon us, and I don’t mean pheasants or deer. I’m talking about asparagus — spotting it in its natural environment, camouflaged in roadside ditches and grassy field driveways. Asparagus hunting involves special wild game hunting instincts not utilized with big game or birds. It requires an eagle eye and heightened peripheral vision in order to spot a single green stalk among tall…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistMay 25, 2021If you applied systemic rose care as I advised earlier, that was six weeks ago so now is the time to make a second application. All forms of pine trees and shrubs are making their new growth now. That new growth is called a candle. For the more compact varieties of pines like Mugho and Tannenbaum, cutting off 1/2 to 3/4 of that new growth will result in a much fuller and compact plant. Completing…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMay 18, 2021I’ve known people over the years who guard their volunteer time at Redeemed Remnants like it’s a meeting with the Queen. Now I know why. Redeemed Remnants is the resale/thrift store that generates finances for ATLAS of Rock County. ATLAS offers free Christian counseling and other services to people in need. As chairman of the ATLAS board, I’ve been volunteering at Redeemed Remnants to gain a…
By Rick Peterson, Tollefson Publishing general managerMay 18, 2021It seems that I have come to a point in my life where my short-term memory forgets to work. Over my working career I usually begin my day with a daily to-do list. The list generally serves two purposes: first, it gives me achievement goals for the day; but mostly, it helps remind me of smaller tasks I may forget over the course of the day. Just recently I was writing one such note to myself…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyMay 18, 2021The following articles appeared in The Rock County Herald during 1895. Jan. 11, 1895 The HERALD takes great pleasure in announcing to its readers that it has again made arrangements by which it is enabled to furnish the Weekly New York Tribune to its patrons for 25 cents per year, or both for 58 cents, per year. This price is probably less than the cost of the white paper, and the offer is a…
By Mavis FodnessMay 11, 2021In the past year I’ve struggled with feelings of uncertainty, unanswered questions and an overwhelming cascade of local, state and federal happenings that have left my brain — well — foggy. Last week, Minnesota Public Radio aired a segment about exactly what I’ve been feeling. Apparently, mental health professionals have a name for this unsettling feeling that isn’t quite burnout or hopelessness…
By Kent Thiesse, Farm Management AnalystMay 11, 2021The University of Minnesota recently reported that the median net farm income for southern and western Minnesota farmers in 2020 was $102,848. It’s the highest since 2012, which was followed by seven years (2013-2019) of poor income levels in the region. The 2020 net farm income levels in that region were enhanced by robust crop profits that resulted from above-average crop yields, improved grain…
By Lori Sorenson, editorMay 04, 2021There’s a reason music therapy is popular in nursing homes. Songs have a way of stirring memories that carry us back in time, often to happy moments of our youth. Today’s 85-year-olds still enjoy the “big band” sounds that they once danced to, and 75-year-olds may smile to hear Elvis Presley or Johnny Cash. I’ve thought about which songs would stir happy memories when I’m older and needing some…
By Rick Peterson, general managerMay 04, 2021Mary and I spent a couple of days in Des Moines recently for a family gathering, and from there we drove to Redwood Falls for our grandson’s confirmation. We were a couple of hours into our trip when we pulled into a Kwik Star gas station. For whatever reason, what we know as Kwik Trips in Minnesota they call Kwik Stars in Iowa. On our way out the door headed to our car, I noticed this girl…
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