By Lori Ehde
The terrorist attacks on America Sept. 11 rocked the nation to its core. Those not directly in its path watched on television broadcast around the world as two hijacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Center launching the United States into war.
In Rock County, thousands of miles from the immediate danger, local residents instinctively turned their thoughts to friends and family on the East Coast.
That local reaction to a national tragedy tops the annual Star Herald review of news highlights for the year.
9-11-01
Luverne High School graduate Eric Steinhoff had been interning in Sen. Tom Daschle's office for only a week when he was ordered to evacuate the Senate Office Building.
"When planes hit the towers, that was bad, but it was still in New York. But then, the Pentagon was hit, and they said, 'That's it. Everybody's clearing out,'" said Steinhoff, son of Dave and Joan Steinhoff, Luverne.
Hills-Beaver Creek graduates Chris Fagerness and Matt Ebert were roommates in Washington, D.C., and also contacted their parents in Hills after the terrorist attacks.
Their apartment is less than a mile from the Pentagon, and they spent a good share of their morning trying to get home - mostly on foot.
Ebert, son of Gregg and Cyndi Ebert, described the scene as something he'd seen in the movie, "Independence Day."
"Cars were honking, people were scrambling to get out of the area and sirens were going," he said.
In the weeks and months to follow, Rock County mobilized with the rest of the nation in a show of patriotism and support for victims of terrorism.
Murder in Rock County
The murder of Luverne High School graduate Carrie Nelson was likely the biggest news to hit local media in more than a decade.
Nelson, 20, was found beaten to death at the Blue Mounds State Park entrance building in the afternoon of Sunday, May 20.
The 1999 Luverne High School graduate was a park employee and had been working the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift at the park when she was killed.
State and local investigators have been working on the case, but unfortunately, the crime remains unsolved.
A $50,000 reward offered for useful information will expire at the end of this year.
Nelson's friends and family continue to mourn her death, and many still wear orange ribbons in memory of the young woman whose favorite color was orange.
Deep snow, high waters and damaging winds
It wouldn't be a normal year in this part of the country if weather didn't occasionally make the news.
In the case of 2001, Rock County residents saw more than their share of news-making weather.
A harsh winter of near record snowfall forced schools to cancel classes, extending the school year into spring. Frigid temperatures took their toll on livestock, and ice-coated roads and streets made any form of travel - even on foot - a dangerous venture.
Local government units nearly went broke in their snow-removal budgets, and sky-rocketing fuel prices put a strain on both private and public budgets.
When all that snow finally did melt, it overloaded the Rock River, which spilled its banks in April. Wet conditions into spring delayed planting and set the stage for a stressful crop year for farmers.
Wild weather early in the growing season hailed out many acres in the southwest part of the county. Later in the summer, straight-line winds wreaked havoc on tender corn stalks that hadn't yet firmly rooted.