column
By Mavis Fodness, reporterJuly 13, 2021For decades this weekly space has featured personal reflections from our editorial staff. The authors have shared various topics and experiences, and some have talked about cancer — either their own personal battles or those of family members. I’ve read their words, sometimes through tears of joy for the author’s triumph, and sometimes with deepest empathy at the loss of life. My logical self…
By Rick Peterson, Tollefson Publishing general managerJuly 13, 2021Mary keeps telling me that I need to stop getting so upset about things I can’t control and take some pleasure in the small things in life. So, with that in mind and as I was making my morning toast, I was lucky enough to be at the end of a loaf a bread, and there was the crust. The little things in life don’t get much smaller, so I stop to enjoy the crust. When I was growing up, the crust was…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJuly 13, 2021It is not very often that legislators call me. I call them regularly, but total solar eclipses are more common than a legislator calling me. About 20 years ago Sen. Jim Vickerman, a gentleman I really respected, called me about wolves, a subject that hardly ever comes up in the ag land zones of Minnesota. Wolves have been listed, then delisted, then listed again about a half dozen times over the…
By Jason Berghorst, reporterJuly 06, 2021“Things happen in threes.” I’ve heard that phrase, or variations of it, numerous times over the years, most often referencing deaths or other bad circumstances and events. I usually dismiss “happens in threes” as simple superstition. If you wait long enough, eventually three people you know are going to die or three unfortunate things will happen to your family. Don’t get me wrong, I’m…- By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota State PatrolJuly 06, 2021Question: What is the law with regard to insurance cards? I was told it must always be available in the vehicle and then I was told that if you do not have it, there is no fine if you produce it within three days. What exactly are the statutes with regard to having your driver's license on you while driving? Answer: The driver of the vehicle is required to provide current proof of…
By Scott Rall, outdoors columnistJuly 06, 2021The more you read about the history of wildlife in the North America the more you come to believe that almost every animal that you see today was at one time almost wiped off the planet by the settlers of a few hundred years ago. Back in the mid-1850s as white settlers came into the area, they plowed up prairies and drained wetlands thus destroying pelican habitat. They were often…- By Brenda Winter, columnistJune 29, 2021For the past four years, teams of Christian kids from the Luverne area have served on a weeklong, in-town mission trip doing the things locally that youth groups often travel hundreds of miles to do in other places. Under the supervision of two or three adults, the teens paint houses, replace siding, build ramps, landscape, pull weeds, move furniture … and even change light bulbs. Yes, change…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyJune 29, 2021The following appeared in The Rock County Star-Herald on March 24, 1949. Luverne Girl Wins County Spelling Crown Margaret Fritz, who is a pupil in the eighth grade of the Luverne junior high school, won the county spelling contest Saturday of a possible 100 words correctly in a written test, also taken by pupils from 11 other Rock county schools. Shirley Hawes of district 45, placed second, and…
By Lori Sorenson, editorJune 22, 2021I stood at the bottom of the inflatable water slide with my cell phone camera pointed at the kids tumbling through the spray and landing in a laughing heap in a puddle at the bottom. I was there on official business as the Star Herald photographer covering Hills Friendship Days, but the kids didn’t know this. A few of them looked sideways at me as they pivoted their bare feet in the muddy grass…
June 22, 2021Question: I own a convertible that I only drive in the summer when it isn't raining. (I hate to put the top up). My commute to work is 1.2 miles each way. It is now of a vintage that I could get collector plates on it, but I've heard there are restrictions on when I can drive it with those plates displayed. What are the rules? I would like to have collector plates but want to be able to…
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…
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