A full-sized pool table occupies a major portion of our basement. It’s been years since I’ve shot a game, but I’ll never part with that pool table. I was 21 the autumn when I launched my farming career by renting a rundown little dairy. Its largest field had grown a crop of corn. A ...

For some of us, the most difficult thing to say is: “I don’t know.” It seems hard to admit that we have a lack of knowledge about anything and, we seem to think it's a sign to the world that we have a weakness – that we have failed somewhere along the line. Well, welcome to my ...

Is it something in the air? Is it something in the water? Is it the educational system? Is it the gene pool? Why is it that the Southwest Minnesota/Marshall area seems to have so many successful entrepreneurs? Of course we know that there are successful farmers and businesses throughout ...

By 1958 there was movement in the direction of incorporating the creameries in this southwestern area of Minnesota. A meeting was held in Marshall to make initial plans, and by Nov. 1, 1958, the Southwestern Minnesota Dairy Association was incorporated under the laws of the state of Minnesota ...

Social Security is an earned benefit. Your earnings history is a record of your progress toward your benefits. Social Security keeps track of your earnings so we can pay you the benefits you’ve earned over your lifetime. This is why reviewing your Social Security earnings record is so ...

The Minnesota Department of Education publishes an annual “Report Card” for all public schools and school districts. Included in this are many different data points or sets and what one might term “measures” for schools and districts — things like a school’s demographics, seeing if ...

Membership: the value of being part of a group that you believe in. A group that brings or adds to your life journey. So a little bit on membership at the Center! Dues are $15/person per year if paid on or before Jan. 1. After Jan. 1 dues are $20/person for the year. The dues are for the ...

College tuition prices are rising at an alarming rate. According to ValuePenguin Inc., the cost of attendance of four-year public university in 1990 was $5070 per year and by 2019 that cost rose to $25,290. At a four-year private university, the cost of attendance in 1990 was $13,480 per year ...

United Way of Southwest Minnesota (UWSWMN) is coordinating our second personal hygiene drive this year to benefit area food shelves, crisis programs, schools, etc. during the month of October. Personal hygiene items are an on-going need at various schools and human service providers. All ...

Last month the YMCA celebrated its 175th anniversary with a global youth event in its birthplace of London, England. George Williams, a 22-year-old department store worker gathered 11 friends on June 6, 1844 (exactly 100 years before D-Day) for a Bible study serving young men seeking escape ...

Do you need Home Care services? The Home Care services that we provide are separate than the hospice services that we provide. Home Care is NOT end of life care. Home Care services we provide are great if you are transitioning home after an illness, injury, surgery, or seeking to shorten a ...

In the 1930s, a popular outdoor recreation area in Lyon County became a park. The 27 acre tract of land along the Cottonwood River in section 2, Custer Township was named Garvin Park. The park came into existence through the efforts of local people and H.C. Garvin. Mr. Garvin was a station ...

Much has yet to be written about the formative years of computer-based social media, and that’s because many of its standards still haven’t been established. We know that concerns about electronic etiquette happen every day. Someone’s choice of words, or even the choice of a particular ...

Today it’s common for Americans to spend 2, 3 or even 4 decades in retirement. This means people have ample time to relax and achieve a bucket list of dreams. However, the flip side is that retirees need to ensure they have enough savings to last through their lifetime. One complicating ...

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 Marshall News-Messenger ...

For those who have used Marshall’s Country Club Drive passing the Marshall Golf Club (MGC), you may have noticed that they are no longer there. For the users of the golf course as well as many of us who have travelled in the southwest part of Marshall, the two stately, peaceful, beautiful, ...

I love my family’s farm. I love its location on top of Buffalo Ridge with its expansive view of the hills, fields, and pasture all around. I love its smells, particularly the smell of the first cutting of alfalfa in June. I love its remoteness, where I could live in quiet privacy, see the ...

Joseph Fifield was a veteran from the War of 1812, and he is buried at the Russell Cemetery in Lyon County. The following information is from a May 26, 1979, article in the Marshall Independent about historian Arthur Louis Finnell’s search on information regarding Joseph Fifield. It was ...

Last week was one of those Weather Channel weeks, a stretch of days when natural forces in a distant location spoke volumes. With our current instance it was Hurricane Dorian. It seemed like an unusual Atlantic hurricane event. We never knew exactly what to expect. Dorian progressively ...

If you have not been following the story regarding Lyon County recycling, the following may help. On June 17, Lyon County received notice from the current recycling contractor of the contractor’s intent to sever the existing recycling contract which was set to expire Dec. 31, 2020. The ...