Columns
By Rick Peterson, general managerApril 05, 2022Ask anyone from our office or most everyone I know, and they’ll tell you I have been complaining for years about the wind. Like many of you, I grew up in southwest Minnesota and have spent my entire life in these here parts, but I don’t remember when the wind has influenced or ruined so many outdoor activities. It seems the days of a nice breeze have long been forgotten. Just off the top of my…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistApril 05, 2022Prescribed fire is one of the most beneficial management tools and is one of the most misunderstood. Spring burning gets a really bad rap from those who do not fully understand prairie ecosystems. Even when these benefits are explained, there will always be a certain percentage of folks who will disagree as they have drunk the wrong Kool-Aid served up at some local coffee shop. The most difficult…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyApril 05, 2022The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 18, 1902. This is continued from the March 31 edition of the Star Herald. Summer Training School For Teachers of Rock County and Vicinity—Four Weeks’ Term Begun Monday. READING. The study of some good selection as Vision of Sir Launfal. With this I plan to give outlines of work from Clark on “How to Teach Reading” applying the steps from…
By Lori Sorenson, editorMarch 29, 2022It’s college basketball playoff season and also calving season in our neighborhood. And thanks to modern technology, we took in riveting versions of both last week over beers and brats at the neighbors. One of the supper guests was casually monitoring his cell phone for live-feed video of a heifer in labor. A nearby television screen carried riveting Arkansas upset of No. 1 Gonzaga in NCAA…
By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota Highway PatrolMarch 29, 2022Question: With spring being here and the melting snow, can you talk about what a person should do when coming across water on roads? Answer: Flooding can occur when streams and rivers flow over their banks, when dams or levees break, when there is run-off from deep snow, or any time there is heavy rainfall. Floodwaters can be found on roads, bridges and low areas. Flash floods can come rapidly…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyMarch 29, 2022The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 18, 1902. Summer Training School For Teachers of Rock County and Vicinity—Four Weeks’ Term Begun Monday. The Rock County Summer Training school for teachers opened Monday in the High school room with Prof. E. M. Phillips, of Albert Lea as conductor, and Estella Scofield, of Ortonville, F. E. George, of Pipestone, and Ella Probst, of…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistMarch 29, 2022Writing an outdoor column can help make our readers more informed about wildlife and resource issues. My column today is about Earth Day, and my research for this script has resulted in my gaining a large amount of new information to share with you. Earth Day was started in 1970 primarily as a student campus activity. The date of April 22 was chosen because it fell between spring break and…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistMarch 22, 2022Last week I encouraged you to get started cleaning up and pruning your landscape. There are a few plants that I do not want you to prune now. This list includes all forms of lilacs, weigela, forsythia, spring-blooming spirea, mock orange, azaleas, and rhododendron. All of these shrubs have their flower buds formed in the buds of new growth, and any pruning now will remove potential flowers. For…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterMarch 22, 2022In two months voters in Congressional District 1 (which includes Rock County) will face the first of several ballots to fill the U.S. representative vacancy. I say “several” ballots because in the middle of filling the vacancy for five months, another vote will take place to fill the same position during the November general election for the two-year term beginning in January. The best scenario…
By Rick Peterson, general managerMarch 22, 2022In the span of less than two weeks we turned our clocks ahead an hour, pretended to be Irish for a day, and celebrated the first day of spring. All good signs of longer, brighter, warmer days ahead. All of those are signs that the outdoor grilling, smoker and flat top griddle season is here. Remember the good old days when all you had for outdoor cooking was a round charcoal grill on a flimsy…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyMarch 22, 2022The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on July 4, 1902. Condition of the Crops. The Reports are Generally Encouraging Recent Rain and Warm Weather Have Given Vigorous Impetus to the Growing Grain and Wrought Marked Improvement in the General Crop Conditions—Interviews with Well-Informed Farmers and Land Owners. Another heavy rain Tuesday night, followed Wednesday by sunshine and higher…
By Brenda Winter, columnistMarch 15, 2022Like most of you, I’ve been keeping a pretty sharp eye on world news lately and it doesn’t look good. That’s why I’ve started reading books written for preppers. Preppers are people who prepare for long- or short-term emergencies by having storage closets full of food, bunkers in the woods and ammo. For a few days or a few months, preppers desire to be prepared when “the stuff hits the fan.” (…
By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota Highway PatrolMarch 15, 2022Question: I am a new parent and I am not sure if I am doing this child car seat thing properly. Is there somewhere I can go to find out if I am doing it right? Thank you. Answer: Congratulations on parenthood! I know the feeling and there will only be more questions as time goes on. For child passenger safety, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Office of Traffic Safety has a map that you…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyMarch 15, 2022The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on June 13, 1902. Relic hunters have been busy the past week unearthing Indian skeletons which were discovered by a road crew engaged in excavating a road through Kanaranzi hill, about two miles north of town, says the Rock Rapids Review. “The skeletons found are similar to those found in the mounds on the Sioux river in the west part of the county…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistMarch 15, 2022We are predicted to have a week of wonderful spring weather, and I am sure some of you really want to plant some seeds to get a head start for your vegetable garden. But I beg you to wait until early April. I don’t have a weather crystal ball, but I do have knowledge about starting seeds too early, resulting in spindly, weak plants you will have to “baby” to survive when you plant them in the…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistMarch 15, 2022When out on my wildlife rides, I routinely stop at bridges to check water clarity and to see if northern pike can be seen getting ready to spawn. Pike are about the first fish in our area to spawn and will often stage in the shallows under the ice when there is open water near shore. This happens even when the lake is still ice-covered. This time of year, most of the water I see is usually pretty…
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