Columns

Rain does not dampen community spirit. Rain was in the forecast, but it was July Fourth and this is ’merica. As the sun began to set, the mood at Luverne’s annual Fourth of July celebration at The Lake was jovial. An elderly gentleman sitting in front of us succumbed to the music when the band started playing “Fishin’ in the Dark.” Pushing his seed corn cap back on his head, he grabbed his…

Is it just me, or are there a lot more distractions while driving on the city streets these days? I am not referring to texting while driving or fiddling with all the knobs, dials, buttons and switches that cars and trucks come with these days. What I am getting at is all the other modes of transportation vying for space on the streets. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, mopeds and UTVs all have to be…

Question: I heard some talk about a new law of July 1 that allows motorcycles to drive through traffic. Can you explain this as a lot of my friends are talking but I can’t get the same answer from any of them. Answer: Motorcycle lane splitting and filtering are legal on Minnesota roads as of July 1. The new law, passed by the Legislature in 2024, allows motorcycles to share lanes with cars for…

Since I was about 14 years old – that was 50 years ago, I have always been attached to the outdoors.  I started on a bike as my transportation to and from the local lake in my town to go fishing. A kid with a rod and reel and an old-fashioned stringer hanging from the center bar with a few crappies on it if I was lucky that day. I believe that every human being has a magnetic attachment to wild…

I rescued some clearance-priced begonias at Bomgaars a few weeks ago, despite completing spring planting in mid-May. The perky pink blossoms are the perfect spot of color in the wicker planter near our patio door. Especially after the ones intended for that spot are long dead. I have a poor track record for keeping flowers alive in that location at our home. Year after year I peruse the “…

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Feb. 7, 1963.   N.F.O. Family Night will be held February 9 NFO national Directors from South Dakota and Minnesota will speak at a special Family Night gathering of the Rock County NFO, to be held in the Luverne high school cafeteria, Saturday night, February 9. Headlining the program will be Ken Stoffern, Humboldt, S.D., national director…

It was that time of year again when I needed to take the herd of dogs I own to the vet for some routine shots. Not that this is a new thing by any means.  I normally have had at least four dogs at my house since 1995.  The most dogs I have ever had at one time was six, and at the low point in my hunting past I was for a short time down to zero. I had sold a starter dog in May of that year, and…

An email landed in my inbox last fall simply titled “Wind Turbine Visit.” The author was a Maple Grove dad whose daughter is enamored with wind turbines. Yes, that’s right. Those 300-plus-foot tall white metal towers affixed with three Fiberglas blades that spin to generate electricity. A turbine is a rather unusual item for a 5-year-old to like, but Deviana is not your typical kindergartner…

At the time I am writing this column, the topic idea is just that – an  idea. With Hotdog Night just around the corner, some of the staff in our office had the brainy idea of putting together a short video centered around   tossing a hot dog and catching it with a bun. Two-person teams representing each department at The Star Herald have been established, and they are as follow: Our front…

In the June 12 edition of the Star Herald we talked about what a handling dog is and why you might want to train your dog to this higher level. A handling dog is one that can be directed to a bird or other item to be retrieved by using a whistle and hand signals. If you missed last week’s column, you might want to catch up on that one to get a better understanding of the information being…

It seems to be happening more often. I say or think or do something and then quickly realize, “Wow, I’m getting old.” Three weeks ago I finished my 23rd year as a teacher and began my 12th summer working part time at the newspaper.  That means I’m (hopefully) well past the halfway point of my career and solidly in my “midlife” years, if I’m blessed enough to live past the average longevity of…

It has been a very long time since I last laid eyes on a creature I saw last night. For the first time in over five years, I saw a small juvenile red fox. This animal used to be quite common around southwest Minnesota, but for reasons I mention a little later, they have for all practical purposes vanished from my area. The red fox is in the upper quartile of foxes for size around the world. They…

It’s been a long time since anyone dared me to do a trick on my bike. I was the lucky winner of a new Townie Electra at the Take 16 bike drawing last Thursday. (Thank you, Lineage Logistics!) My 10-year-old nephew rode over on his bike to invite my husband and me to join him on a test drive of my flashy new prize. He wanted to “see what she could do.” I thought he meant the bike. Once we hit…

This is the last of four columns about my take on the abundance of choices we have when it comes to selecting and purchasing a simple item. I wrote about the number of choices on the shelf for the perfect barbecue sauces at our local Sunshine Foods store, the plethora of paint colors and sheen to choose from at the Luverne ACE Hardware store, and the aisle after aisle of choices of dog food at…

Question: I read your last article about road construction and work zones. Can you talk about the zipper merge? It seems like a lot of people don’t know what it is or can’t figure it out. Thank you. Answer: The “Late Merge - Zipper Merge” is a driving strategy that requires drivers to change their mindset about merging. Traditionally, drivers have been taught to merge early when a lane is ending…

My four-dog team of pheasant chasers recently reduced to three as my oldest dog Tracer, now almost 14, retires to the carpet at my son’s house in Harrisburg, South Dakota. There are two granddaughters there, ages five and six, who lavish that spoiled dog with constant hugs and kisses.  He is living large, and both he and I are pretty happy about it. This leaves me with an 11-year-old, a 10-year-…