Some may already know that in March, two buses containing about 70 freshmen and six adults left the high school parking lot of Tracy Area High School before dawn on a Wednesday to go to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. What most don’t know is how the school was able to make this ...

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 ...

A week ago last Saturday, I opened the Independent Newspaper to the Opinion (editorial) page to find the statement: “Here’s an oddity: The number 243 is a prime number, divisible by three.” It made me wonder if one of my 11,000+ former pupils would write in to explain that 243 is ...

Well, it’s time we have that talk. It may feel uncomfortable, you might be embarrassed and there could be some giggling about it as well, but it’s imperative we have this talk. No, I am not talking about the birds and bees. I’m referring to talking with our loved ones, whether a ...

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 Minneota Mascot on ...

United Way of Southwest Minnesota is holding our annual summer reading program, Wild About Reading: Meet at the Trail in June and July. This program was redesigned and launched last summer based on survey feedback from local parents/caregivers. The goal of this program is to promote literacy ...

The 2019 market season will begin on Saturday, July 6, and operate every Saturday through October from 7:30 a.m. to noon in the parking lot between the Schwan’s Corp 1 facility and the YMCA. 2019 highlights: Market information is available online. On the Web at marshallfarmersmarket.org ...

Even though school officially ended for the 2018-2019 school year on May 31, things continue to be busy in and around our school sites this summer. There are a few updates I thought might be good to share. One of our main tasks during the summer is finalizing our school district budget, as ...

The Adult Community Center is often seen as one place. Actually it is one physical building with three different and separate programs housed within its walls — each with their own purpose. So let’s take a look at each. Adult Community Center is here to serve those 55 and best through a ...

Almost five years ago now, we supposedly downsized from a two-story-plus-basement abode to a one-story-no-basement. At the time, we got rid of some furniture including a hide-a-bed sofa, some lamps, a large antique glass-windowed bookshelf, an antique wind-up Victrola (1910 era) and several ...

When it comes to seeing the brighter side of life, there’s no better occasion than the summer solstice in a temperate latitude. Being too far north or south to be regarded as tropical usually means having the chance to experience stark differences between various times of the year. Every ...

Irwin Alfred Stellmacher was born May 1, 1896, in Renville to Henry and Louise Yunker Stellmacher. In 1906, he moved with his parents to Marshall where he finished school. In 1917, he went to the Rahe Automobile Training School in Kansas City and received his diploma on June 15, 1917. On April ...

Making financial decisions takes time, attention and energy at any age. In the case of elderly adults, it can become increasingly difficult to manage daily finances, particularly if their health is declining or they’re experiencing a cognitive issue. If you’re providing support to aging ...

This week’s column is a continuation of First Lt. George H. “Sonny” Ehrreich of Marshall, who was killed in action on June 7, 1944. The photograph this week is another image of Sonny, and it is courtesy of his nephew, Gary Peterson. Sonny’s sister, Mary Lou Peterson of Marshall and her ...

It seems that each year it gets later and later into the spring before I get up the energy to dust off my bicycle and get out to enjoy a ride. Yes, it is still spring for another nine or 10 days before summer kicks in. At least this year I managed to still have enough air in the tires that I ...

The end of each school year always includes graduation, which in turn calls for thought about taking that giant leap from the friendly confines of high school into the big adult world. Part of that process centers around the meaning of education. What exactly resulted from 13 years of K-12 ...

Last week, I shared a photograph of First Lt. George H. “Sonny” Ehrreich of Marshall, who was killed in action on June 7, 1944. The photograph this week is another image of Sonny, and it is courtesy of his sister, Mary Lou Peterson, of Marshall. Mary Lou and her family have graciously ...

"It’s never too late to start,” and “You’ll never learn any younger,” were two maxims I heard multiple times from my mother when I was growing up. As I have grown older, both maxims seem to be losing their imperative instruction. In response to the second maxim I once responded to ...

The late spring was no more evident than when the water passed my waistline while wading out in the delta of the inflowing feeder creek, looking for walleyes. The chill was dampened through the stocking feet of my waders and the jeans I wore underneath, but as I reached into the floating ...

The weather in our region has been a tad bit soggy this spring, much in the same way that the oceans contain a tad bit of moisture. I don’t have to look beyond our garden to see proof of this. Where there should be tomatoes growing in black loam, there is an Olympic swimming pool-sized body ...