Columns

I’ve spent most of my life trying to avoid exercise and I think I’ve been fairly successful.  The time that so many of you have spent running, walking, biking and hiking, I’ve spent trying to avoid exercise. I may have burned nearly the same number of calories. One of my favorite exercise memories is the time in high school my sister and I were going to “run around the section.” (That’s four…

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on January 20, 1905.   Petition for Cement Walk On North Side Luverne St. Common Council Grants Petition for Four Blocks of New Walk — Action Taken in Public Rest Room Matter — Plans and Estimates to be Made The common council met January 17, 1904, pursuant to adjournment and was called to order at 8 p.m. with all members present except Mr. Leet. A…

My high school senior caught me off guard last fall with the announcement, “Mom, I’m playing hockey this year.” This from the kid who’s never played hockey … Not that he hasn’t wanted to; we just aren’t hockey people. By that I mean his mother had neither the will nor the means to keep up with our hockey friends on the road and in hotel rooms. I drove my child to open skate as often as he asked,…

Question: I have a question regarding the auxiliary headlights on a truck with a plow. Are they a requirement? I purchased a plow for my truck recently and the lights that came with are not nearly as bright as the stock lights on my truck. My stock headlights actually work perfectly fine over the top of the plow without any glare back at me. Are the auxiliary headlights I always see on plow…

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on January 20, 1905.   To Save Our Shade Trees Danger From Scale Insects Remedy Recommended by Prof. Washburn Which Should be Applied While Trees are Bare I wish to call the attention of the city council, the owners of trees near the city hall and all others who are interested in the beautiful shade trees for which Luverne is noted, to the…

Question: What allows private for-profit ambulance companies to run tax-exempt license plates on their vehicles? Answer: Vehicles owned by ambulance services specifically intended for emergency response or providing ambulance services are exempt under the Minnesota State statutes. All services must have a valid license issued by the board. The license shall specify the base of operations, the…

Before I closed the book on the past year, I went back and checked my first column of 2019 to see what words of wisdom I may have jotted down. As it turns out, I came up short in the wisdom category. My bold and optimistic look at 2019 included four major construction projects that would be well underway by year’s end. The four included tru Shrimp, Premium Iowa Pork, the National Guard Armory and…

“There’s a lot of psychology in that.”  That’s one of my favorite and most used sayings, at least according to my students and the coworkers that I eat lunch with. Paul Harvey had “the rest of the story.” Al Roker has “here’s what’s happening in your neck of the woods.” My signature saying, it seems, is “there’s a lot of psychology in that.” I’ve been teaching psychology for quite a few years now…

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on January 13, 1905.   The committee in charge of the Modern Woodmen’s annual dance which is to be given next Thursday, January 19, have completed all arrangements in a very satisfactory manner and the indications are that the dance will be one of the most enjoyable entertainments of the kind ever given by the lodge. As previously announced the…

Question: I see many vehicles driving down the road with ice and snow coming off of them. What is the law about clearing ice and snow from your vehicle prior to driving? Answer: The law states that no vehicle shall be moved on a roadway, unless the load is secured to prevent any leaking, blowing, shifting or falling debris. Ice or snow that may fall from a vehicle could be considered an unsecured…

Growing up, I often heard the phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses.” Now, I didn’t have any neighbors named Jones, but I knew the saying referred to buying something just because someone else already had the same item. By owning the item, you were at the same high social level, and those who didn’t have said item were somehow at a lower socio-economic scale. Decades later the “Keeping up with the…

In response to the problems we are encountering with our popular and reliable shade trees, it is important to make sure the new trees we plant are getting the best care we can give them. Young trees like linden and maple have smooth bark and are very prone to sunscald damage during the coldest part of winter. This problem usually affects the southwest side of the tree trunk and is the result of…

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on January 13, 1905.   Barely a quorum of the members of the Maplewood Cemetery association turned out Monday evening to attend the annual meeting held in J. H. Furlow’s office. While this fact indicates the implicit faith and entire satisfaction  of the lot owners in the present board, the officers would much prefer to have seen a large turnout.…

With 2020 knocking on the door of the New Year, I usually fill the space this time of the year with my resolutions. I haven’t had great success fulfilling my resolutions, so this year I am going to take a slightly different approach. I have come up with what I am calling my Luverne Bucket List. Simply put, the aforementioned bucket list includes thing I would like to do in 2020 right here in…

So what’s in a name? Obviously a very specific spelling, for one thing. One of the challenges for the Star Herald staff is to spell names correctly — not an easy task. As early as possible at the beginning of each school year, we ask the area schools to email student class lists to us for reference when needing to verify spellings of names of students in our stories. The variety of spellings…

From now on, if anyone asks me for the definition of a good sport, I’m going to answer “Betty Mann.” Betty was willing to portray herself in the “Marlene and Darlene Present the Nutcracker” show at the Palace Theatre on Dec. 22 even though the storyline poked fun at nutcrackers and people like Betty who collect them. Betty brought down the house with her line, “It’s beautiful,” while admiring the…