On the afternoon of July 30, Southwest Minnesota State University students in the Summer Bridge program spread out across Marshall in a scavenger hunt. Summer Bridge is a three week program designed to offer students who qualify an opportunity to get a head start on the college experience. ...

As a financial adviser, I help my clients navigate through many questions about estate planning. I encourage all of them to create a will stating how they want their property distributed in the event of their death. But I also recommend my clients consider another legal document, a trust. A ...

The official organization of Grandview township took place in August of 1873 at the first town meeting in the home of Jacob Thomas. The village of Grandview was founded in the spring of 1878 and the town site was plotted by the railroad on July 5, 1878. Grandview was the name chosen for the ...

This year the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. We will participate by remembering the wartime contributions of persons from our region, most of whom are no longer with us. I interviewed Tracy’s Art Marbin in July 2006. Art was born in Lamberton, ...

On July 25, the first day of the Minnesota Executive Order requiring people to wear masks in public spaces, two individuals chose to protest the order by wearing masks that displayed a large swastika. One of the individuals stated, “If you vote for Biden, we’re gonna be in Nazi Germany. ...

During these troubling times it’s so nice to be able to count on natural wonders. Stargazing and amateur astronomy certainly fit that bill, especially now with Jupiter and Saturn in the Marshall evening sky. These two giants of our solar system are really putting on a great show. From now ...

The social news or gossip columns in the old newspapers are always fascinating to read. A special section in the newspaper was devoted to the social media of the day. The whereabouts of local people and events were often featured in these columns. Here are a few from the News-Messenger of Lyon ...

We’ve been learning about Hendricks’ Archie Buseth and his experiences as an Army Air Corps pilot during WWII. Last week we accompanied him as he dropped paratroopers behind the Normandy beaches at midnight on D-Day and later flew medevac flights from those same beaches. A month later, ...

This message is in response to the question in today’s Independent editorial (July 14) by Fran Fier: “Does Marshall really care?” To answer that question just peruse the articles on pages one and two: • Look at the photo on page one. “Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman and ...

What in the world was I thinking? We just had a couple of days when the heat index got to 100ºF, a combination of high temperature and a very high dew point such that it was getting tough to breathe if exercising and with a warm breeze blowing. Then Sunday morning after finishing ...

Summer in southwest Minnesota has a different meaning for everyone, but most people this summer will consume ice cream, which is especially tasty on hot summer days. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan designated July as National Ice Cream Month and the third Sunday of the month as National Ice ...

We’ve been learning about Hendricks’ Archie Buseth and his experiences as an Army Air Corps pilot during WWII. Last week we learned how he trained to fly C-47 transports and then was assigned to the 92nd Troop Carrier Squadron of the 439th Troop Carrier Group (TCG). The 439th TCG then ...

It’s not often that the first garden vegetable of the year is a green pepper, but that’s what happened this past week in my backyard. I’d bought a 6-inch pepper plant and two 6-inch tomato plants as my main vegetable crops of the year, along with a little lettuce and beans. Weeds were ...

It’s important to maintain a level head in times of market turbulence. But that is often easier said than done, especially in the heat of market volatility. Even with the best intentions, investors can be challenged by their own bias and emotions when it comes to making investment decisions. ...

The social news or gossip columns in the old newspapers are always fascinating to read. A special section in the newspaper was devoted to the social media of the day. The whereabouts of local people and events were often featured in these columns. Here are a few from the News Messenger of Lyon ...

Last week we met Hendricks’ Archie Buseth and learned how he enlisted at 21 years into the Army Air Corps on Nov. 10, 1941. Four weeks later Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and his nation was at war. Archie trained as an aircraft mechanic, but the Air Corps pulled him for flight ...

At first glance, the two U. S. Postage stamps below appear to be exactly the same although the one on the left was printed in Bright Rose Carmine whereas the one on the right was in Shades of Gray. Looking more closely, one of the first noticeable differences is the initials above the 3, with ...

According to John Radzilowski in his book, Prairie Town: A History of Marshall, Minnesota 1872-1997, “The second most talked about holiday after Christmas, at least in the early days, was the Fourth of July”. The communities in Lyon County pulled out all the stops to attract as many people ...

This year the world commemorates the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. We will participate by remembering the wartime contributions of persons from our region, most of whom are no longer with us. I interviewed Hendricks’ Archie Buseth in January 2006. Archie was born in ...

The city has taken precautions and steps necessary to deal with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic including visitor/employee recommendations for a safe work environment, meetings via technology when possible, and assisting the community with related preparedness measures. Despite the ...