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City celebrations bring us back home

The city of Marshall is fortunate to have many organizations that put forward a variety of events, whether it be a summer festival, downtown music event, historical presentations, a parade or the county fair. These occasions do more than entertain, they bring people home and create a genuine sense of belonging. Visit Marshall helps the city promote these events along with supporting them through marketing or putting on the event themselves. The last couple of years, Visit Marshall has sponsored downtown music performances. Eats & Beats brings live music, food trucks, and a lively ...

On fatherhood

Every day, rain or shine or Shinola, I take our dog, Bella, out for a walk. It’s good for both of us, and as her doggy daddy, it’s my responsibility to ensure that she gets her minimum daily requirement of free-range fun. During our walks Bella chases rabbits that she never catches and digs for gophers she never finds. She seems to have learned that it’s not about the destination so much as it’s about the journey. As her dad, I will gladly take credit for her acquiring that nugget of wisdom. East of our farmhouse is a slough that the government and Mother Nature have designated ...

Dog House owner soaking up the success of self serve dog wash

In 2017, I interviewed the owners of a unique new business in Marshall located on Mustang Way near the Southwest Minnesota State University campus. Justin and Wendy McKinney opened the Dog House, which offers a “home away from home” for dogs while their owners go on vacation. At the ...

Be careful with the hugging

I attended a young woman’s graduation from Blaine High School. Most of my graduation ceremonies have been at Sleepy Eye’s schools. The two experiences were different. A lot. On Sunday, May 31, three high schools from the Anoka-Hennepin school district took turns having their ceremony in U. S. Bank Stadium at two-hour intervals. Blaine was in the middle, at 1 p.m. Hailey was among about a thousand graduates down on the football field. There were maybe 10,000 friends and relatives in the stadium bowl on that side. We were all looking for glimpses of our graduates on the giant ...

The Key: a place that provided plenty of Marshall area fun

The Key on Minnesota Highway 19 near the Marshall airport is gone, but it will never be forgotten. I have great memories of both the roller rink and the bowling alley at The Key. Its history corresponds to my years of growing up in Marshall. Ewald Pagel operated The Key from 1975 until the mid 1990s. He reopened the business for a short time after the millennium. An entire generation of pre teens and teenagers enjoyed it as a place to gather with friends. It’s where I learned to bowl, never scoring more than about 160. The nice thing about bowling is that you never totally lose ...

Lynd parents, students deserve answers

Editor’s Note: This letter read to the Lynd School Board was submitted as a letter to the editor. Because of its length it’s being published as an op-ed The last time I was in front of this school board was shortly before my son finished his eighth grade year here in Lynd. He read a statement to the board asking them to consider adding a high school option even if it had to be an online learning environment. Never did I think I would be standing here again while watching Lynd School be torn apart. I chose Lynd even though the bus came at 6:40 a.m. I chose Lynd because Caren ...