column
By Jason Berghorst, reporterOctober 15, 2019They say that working with kids keeps you young. Now in my 17th year of teaching, I’d say that’s true. As a teacher, I hear many of the new slang terms and even know what quite a few of them mean. I’m aware of many famous people on YouTube and I have a front row seat to unfortunate trends in clothing and hairstyles. I won’t comment on the return of male perms, but my profession did allow me to…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistOctober 15, 2019Our 2019 garden season is pretty much finished, and now as we contemplate cleaning up perennial flowerbeds and the landscape, we have to decide what to cut and what not to cut. I am not a fan of clear-cutting the perennial garden in the fall. Plants that hold their form add interest to the winter landscape. Additionally, those stems catch snow, which helps insulate the crown of the plant,…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyOctober 15, 2019The following appeared in The Rock County Star on October 4, 1929. Frank Clague Is Luverne Visitor Luverne was favored on Monday of this week with a visit from Congressman Frank Clague, the Representative of the Second District. The Congressman spent most of the day in the city, visiting friends and renewing political contacts. At luncheon, he was the guest of the Luncheon Club and…
By George Bonnema, Luverne HorticulturalistOctober 08, 2019The inevitable frost is predicted for this week so that means if you want to savor the flavor of a few more tomatoes, you will want to pick as many as you have good intentions for. Fairly mature green tomatoes can be ripened off the vine by wrapping them individually in paper or putting several in a paper bag and storing them at room temperature. The enclosure captures the ethylene gas that…
By Esther Frakes, copy editorOctober 01, 2019As I finish up on 15 years of proofreading here at the Star Herald, I still love my job. One of the most amusing aspects of my job is to see the many ways that a missed or mistyped letter can potentially get us into trouble. The first week that I showed up for proofreading at the Star Herald in late September 2004, I came at my job with a great amount of confidence in my abilities. I just knew…
By Betty Mann, president, Rock County Historical SocietyOctober 01, 2019The following appeared in The Rock County Star on September 20, 1929. Excursion to Land O’ Lakes Arrangements Made for Special Train to Land O’ Lakes Plant in Cities Next Thursday An opportunity to see the Land O’ Lakes Creamery plant in the twin cities at specially reduced rates will be afforded the people of this community Thursday, September 26th, according to an announce-ment…
By Rick Peterson, general managerSeptember 24, 2019It’s been a while since Grandma Mary and I watched the granddaughters for an overnight stint. The granddaughters’ mom and dad were headed to Minneapolis to celebrate their wedding anniversary and take in a Vikings game, so Mary and I were recruited for overnight childcare duties at their home in Hartford. The granddaughters, Brooke and Ellee, are ages 4 and 2 respectfully, so one might think we’…
By Brenda Winter, columnistSeptember 24, 2019Unlike some, my husband and I heard the tornado sirens loudly and clearly when they blasted a severe weather alarm around midnight on Sept. 11. We were asleep. Deeply, blissfully, soundly asleep. When suddenly, a low whining, blaring, horn-like sound filled our bedroom. It was the sound of someone playing a poorly tuned saxophone, or perhaps it was a beagle in pursuit of a rabbit. Perhaps a…
By Lori SorensonSeptember 17, 2019My husband’s parents, Arden and Mary Ellen, said good-bye this week to their little house on the banks of Split Rock Creek. The rolling green pastures, lush farm ground and thick grove of trees are deceptively tranquil considering the destructive force of the river in high-water years. For decades, a closely monitored sump pump kept flood damage at bay — until last week when an 8-inch deluge 30…
By Rick Peterson, general managerSeptember 10, 2019By now the fall high school sports seasons are all underway. Before each season begins, parents, coaches and student athletes gather for a required meeting to discuss a number of rules that need to be adhered to by parents and the athletes. Items that are covered are eligibility rules, player and parent conduct, and additional rules such as game day dress code for the players that coaches might…
By Jason Berghorst, reporterSeptember 10, 2019What makes a person a true Minnesotan? Some may say it’s rooting for the Vikings or the Twins. Others might say it’s having a special taste for tator-tot hotdish, lefse or a Jucy Lucy. It could be owning or using a boat, a hockey stick or a snowmobile. Or is it a propensity to utter phrases like uff-da and you-betcha in regular conversation? Many would say it’s as simple as having a Minnesota…
By Rick Peterson, general managerAugust 27, 2019Last week I reached one of those birthday milestones, something called Social Security age. Twenty years ago that was the age when darn near everyone walked off the job into retirement. Not so much nowadays. With $1,000-a-month health insurance premiums, not many of us can pull the plug on the nine to five. I have quickly learned the new target date for retirement is more likely to happen around…
By Brenda Winter, columnistAugust 27, 2019It was 1971. Or maybe it wasn’t. I don’t know. I was a kid and there were three of us in the back seat of a Ford Mustang with Mom and Dad in the front. I sat in the middle. I always sat in the middle. I was the middle child and that’s where I sat with my older brother on one side and my younger sister on the other. The middle back seat of a Ford Mustang is actually a hump. I sat on a hump with no…
By Lori Sorenson, editorAugust 20, 2019I got a new keyboard for my Mac at the Star Herald last week, and in addition to being shiny and new (and clean), it has a new sound. A satisfying sound. … Almost like a typewriter, minus the ding of the return cartridge. Clickety clackety clickety clackety … “It sounds very productive,” a fellow news writer observed. My previous keyboard arrived quietly. With little ado. Its plastic casing with…
By Jason BerghorstAugust 13, 2019It may only be August, but I’ve decided to make a wish list. Instead of a Christmas list, however, I’m writing a wish list for Luverne. My guess is many local readers have found themselves saying, “I wish Luverne … ,” so I thought I’d turn my thoughts about that into a column. Luverne already has many things that other small towns might wish for. From the historic Palace and nice restaurants to…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterAugust 06, 2019Sometimes a little hope is found floating amid a sea of sadness. For Luverne native Abby Lange, that hope came June 26 when she helped a woman deliver a healthy baby boy. Abby works as a paramedic with Ringdahl Ambulance in Fergus Falls. The unexpected delivery was the result of a 5 a.m. emergency call of a female not feeling well. The ride to the hospital is something that Abby won’t soon forget…
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