on second thought
By Lori Sorenson, editorMarch 07, 2023I invested in snowshoes this winter after several treks across open fields in a borrowed pair with my neighbor friend, Wendy. In January she purchased two sets, one for herself and one for a snowshoeing partner (lucky me). My only previous experience with snowshoes was 15 years ago in the Blue Mounds State Park with their rented wooden raquettes and rawhide laces. I remembered that it took nearly…
By Lori Sorenson, editorFebruary 14, 2023In addition to journalism and survival skills, college taught me the harsh consequences of a sedentary lifestyle and reckless diet. Late night homework with Cheetos, on-demand cafeteria soft-serve and weekend beer and pizza sent me home in sweatpants after my first spring semester. Fortunately, a 20-something metabolism and occasional three-milers on the gravel road near Kenneth took care of the…
By Lori Sorenson, editorJanuary 24, 2023It’s been four months since we lost our Carson to suicide, and I haven’t yet made an appointment with a grief counselor. I’m grateful for professionals who can guide a conversation, and I fully intend to have that conversation. I just haven’t felt the right moment or the right reason. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t had therapy. Webster defines therapy as “treatment intended to relieve or heal…
By Lori Sorenson, editorNovember 21, 2022The calendar says it’s time to be thankful. … for things like a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs and food on the table. … like turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing (the homemade kind from Mom’s recipe). And pie. I’m especially thankful for loved ones, like my husband, our children and our families … and for loved ones in heaven — not because they’re in heaven, but because we were…
By Lori Sorenson, editorNovember 01, 2022“Forever indebted” is how I’m feeling lately. We picked up the supper tab for my sister, Lisa, one day last week. “You didn’t have to do that,” she objected. It’s true we didn’t. But it seemed like a small thing considering all she’d done and been for us in the days following Carson’s passing. She contacted family, organized helpers and food, kept me on track when my brain short-circuited,…
By Lori Sorenson, editorOctober 11, 2022Carson has been gone for a month. It’s been one of the hardest parts of grieving his loss — knowing that with each passing day he’s slipping farther into the past. There will be no new social media posts, no new Christmas card photos with his smiling face among our own, and no new milestones in his life to celebrate. What we have of Carson’s 21 years is the current sum of all we’ll get. But we’re…
By Lori Sorenson, editorAugust 30, 2022We bought a smart TV on a “too-good-to-pass-up” Prime Day deal earlier this summer and finally set it up two weeks ago. It’s an Amazon Fire TV, and as such, is powered by none other than Alexa herself. In fact, instruction No. 1 was to open the Amazon app on my phone and follow instructions from there. Among them was to download the Alexa app and set her up to power the TV by voice command. “…
By Lori Sorenson, editorAugust 02, 2022Matt and I recently met friends near Hill City, South Dakota, for our annual ATV ride on the trails of the Black Hills National Forest. As always, the four-day getaway included campfire conversations, relaxing picnics on scenic overlooks, and — best of all – abundant wildflowers. We have wildflowers in Rock County, but there’s nothing like rounding the curve of a wooded trail that opens into…
By Lori Sorenson, editorMay 31, 2022As I surveyed storm damage through the Star Herald camera lens Monday, I couldn’t help but notice how Mother Nature took out her wrath on two neighboring farms but skipped the one across the road. When the National Weather Service jarred us from our sleep at 2:15 a.m., we sheltered in the basement like everyone else. We emerged to find our home and property still intact. Others didn’t. It raised…
By Lori Sorenson, editorMay 10, 2022As a kid, I often pondered who and what I might grow up to be — an artist, musician, athlete, teacher. (Don’t we all dream of being teachers?) Why didn’t I just enjoy being a kid? I had a great childhood. Yet I distinctly recall a preoccupation about what comes next. I still do. Maybe we all do. It’s a universal curse that hinders life enjoyment. Or perhaps it’s a survival mechanism — like…
By Lori Sorenson, editorApril 19, 2022I wash and reuse solo cups and zippy bags, but it seems like a tiny way to save the planet amid criminal Amazon deforestation and unfettered factory emissions in urban China. Friday, April 22, is Earth Day — a time for global reflection on the millions of small ways we can collectively make a big difference. In honor of Earth Day Friday, April 22, an organization called Green Citizen suggests a…
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 Lori Sorenson, editorMarch 08, 2022Our Esther Frakes arrived back in Luverne last week after galivanting through the southern United States with her friend Betty. It sounds like she had a grand time, and as such, probably didn’t miss us at the paper. We, however, missed her dearly. Esther is our proofreader, which is a humble term for the person who makes the news department look better than we are. She catches misspelled names,…
By Lori Sorenson, editorFebruary 15, 2022“Judgment is mine, sayeth the Lord.” “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” “Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” These and other non-Biblical adages (God helps those who help themselves) have been ringing in my ears over the past several weeks as our Cancun vacation dates drew nearer. A year ago at this time,…
By Lori Sorenson, editorJanuary 25, 2022Last week, in the middle of our news meeting, I stood up and paced to the other side of the desk. “My Apple Watch told me it was time to stand,” I told my puzzled co-workers. “So, I stood.” I knew what they were thinking. “If your watch told you to jump off a cliff, would you?” I wouldn’t go that far, but I have become a slave of sorts to the demands of my wristwatch. It reminds me to take more…
By Lori Sorenson, editorDecember 07, 2021Those who know me know I wear my Dutch heritage like a badge of honor. I’m frugal to the core in such a way that I’ve made a sport out of finding the best deals and recycling household items. Like plastic service ware. Most plastic forks, knives and spoons in my pantry have been used, washed in the dishwater and reused more times than I can count. I get laughed at, but no one knows the difference…
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