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Giving back to those who have served

“I was one of the lucky ones.” That quote was taken from the Independent special section “Honoring Our Heroes.” (June 29) The section honored military veterans in southwest Minnesota. Gib Christensen of Granite Falls was one of the veterans profiled. He deployed with the National Guard to Iraq 2004-05. His above quote expressed his appreciation to his fellow National Guardsmen who served with him. “We lost three soldiers,” he told the Independent. He especially talked of Jason Timmerman of Marshall who was among those killed. While Christensen worked to fix and ...

Keeping the ‘American Dream’ alive

Independence Day: freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed – else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower Two-hundred-forty-eight years ago, the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Second Continental Congress actually voted to approve a resolution of independence two days earlier, on July 2. It then took those two days to write the reason and messaging explaining to the 13 original colonies why they had voted for independence. Since that signing ...

Campaign sign rules a sign of the times

By now, we all heard the different versions of the upside-down flag outside the home of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The apparent dispute between Alito’s wife and a neighbor reached peculiar levels. In short, a neighbor admitted in one media outlet of posting a profanity-laced anti-Trump sign in her yard. Alito’s wife, Martha-Ann, according to media accounts, responded by flying an upside-down American flag. His wife is also blamed for displaying another flag known as the “Appeal to Heaven.” The dispute between these two neighbors made national headlines because of ...

Plenty of options to keep youths busy this summer

School for most southwest Minnesota students will be ending soon and a lot of youths will have extra time on their hands for a few months. Unfortunately, many youths will fill that extra time with screen activities — TV shows and social media outlets. While we are not advocating against social media time — some of it is educational — we know too much of it can be harmful. Health News reported back in 2022 that new research confirmed the dangers of too much screen time for kids and teens. “Screen time, where you are sitting and watching TV or playing computer games or ...

Look out for large farm equipment on roads

Another planting season is upon us and that means large farm equipment will be sharing rural roads across southwest Minnesota with other vehicles. The Minnesota Department of Transportation this week reminded motorists traveling on these roads to keep a look out for farm equipment. MNDOT ask motorists and farm equipment operators to safely share the roads during planting season. Since 2021, MnDOT says there have been 446 crashes involving farm equipment in Minnesota, resulting in eight deaths and 171 injuries. “Farmers need our highways to prepare and plant fields at this time ...

Don’t let vandalism spoil our enjoyment using city parks

The city of Marshall has many quality of life assets that makes it a great place to live. Among those assets are more than a dozen city parks. In some respects, those parks are likely Marshall’s crown jewels. When making that argument we think about Legion Park’s tall, shady trees along the Redwood River that winds along the park’s border. The majestic baseball field, tennis courts and the pool — even though it will soon be replaced. We also think about Independence park’s pond. The park also has plenty of room for any recreational and festive activity. And of course ...