column
By Lori Sorenson, editorFebruary 18, 2020I enjoyed taste-testing chili last week at Schomackers Home Galleries where family members (who happen to be business partners) competed for bragging rights to the best recipe. Brothers Joe and Tony Schomacker and their dad, Randy, were chili cooks, and Sharon baked sweets to sell on the side. The whole thing raised money for local charity. To make it more interesting, the three crockpots of…
By Jason Berghorst, reporterFebruary 11, 2020I’m in the process. And let me tell you, it’s been a real process. If you haven’t heard, our “normal” Minnesota driver’s licenses will no longer qualify as adequate identification for boarding a domestic flight after Oct. 1. At least that’s how I understand it. When my driver’s license renewal notice arrived in December, I realized this was my chance to upgrade to my “real” ID. I had two months…
By Rick Peterson, general managerFebruary 11, 2020Friday is Valentine’s Day. Truth be told, that is not one of my favorite days. Valentine’s Day puts undue pressure on me to be romantic — not one of my strong suits. I can be compassionate, caring and downright sentimental, but romantic not so much. To make matters worse, Mary will find herself sitting in the dentist’s chair to start her day. In the past, I’ve done the standard Valentine gift…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterFebruary 04, 2020More than a year ago local readers were introduced to Ryan and Martha Tofteland. The young couple and their children, Finn and Liv, were visiting Ryan’s parents, Steve and Julie Tofteland, and his childhood home in rural Luverne for Thanksgiving 2018. It was a bittersweet visit for the young couple. Two years prior, in August 2016, Ryan was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou…
By Rick Peterson, general managerJanuary 28, 2020A few weeks ago we published the salaries of city department heads and the increases they were going to receive. We do the same with county and school personnel. The fact that we publish such information was the topic a conversation one day at coffee. Most at the table found it important while others (just one) really felt it was unnecessary. The argument against publicizing the salaries was that…
By Brenda Winter, columnistJanuary 28, 2020I’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…
January 21, 2020My 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,…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyJanuary 21, 2020The 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…
By Rick Peterson, general managerJanuary 14, 2020Before 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…
By Jason Berghorst, reporterJanuary 14, 2020“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…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyJanuary 14, 2020The 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…
By Sgt. Troy Christianson, Minnesota Highway PatrolJanuary 07, 2020Question: 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…
January 07, 2020Growing 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…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyJanuary 07, 2020The 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.…
By Esther FrakesJanuary 01, 2020So 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…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyDecember 22, 2019The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on December 18, 1931. Rock County’s Total Population is 10,962 Second Census Bulletin Gives Detailed Report of 1930 Enumeration; Luverne Has Population of 2, 644 Rock County’s total population is given as 10,962 in the second series population bulletin of Minnesota for 1930, in the 15th census of the United States. The report embodies a…
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