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June is men’s health month: Own your health

When it comes to health care, too many men wait until something feels wrong. Yet the best time to address your health is before an illness or condition develops. That’s why a yearly checkup along with preventive screenings as recommended are so important. Preventive health can save you pain, discomfort and money. But it can also help ensure you don’t lose your ability to work, enjoy time outdoors, or do all the activities you love. Many health conditions can be cured or better managed if caught earlier. A good first step is to learn your family health history. Talk to your ...

Feed your curiosity

Looking back on my high school and college graduations, I can see just how important those moments were. I didn’t fully get it at the time, but graduation really is a big deal. It marks the end of one chapter and the start of another. Right now, a lot of students and families are standing at that same kind of crossroads. With change comes decisions about what to do, where to go, and who to do it with. At moments like this, one question I’ve always come back to is: What’s my why? If you’re graduating high school, you might be off to college, starting a job, joining the ...

On the Porch

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 County on June 2, 1922: Mr. C. Huisenfeldt and Mr. G. Pearcy were fishing at Dead Coon lake Friday afternoon. The school in District No. 2 will close on Friday, June 2 with their annual picnic to be held at the M. Madden home, from 10 o’clock to 4 o’clock p.m. A family reunion was held ...

The Vietnam War – Bill Curwick – combat patrols as demolitions specialist

Bill Curwick graduated from Marshall High School in 1968 before enlisting and training as an Army Combat Engineer. He deployed to Vietnam in November 1970, serving first with the 26th Engineer Battalion at Chu Lai. Bill extended his tour and the Army reassigned him to Engineer Company (Provisional), which supported units of the 196th Infantry Brigade in Danang. Bill’s mom did not approve of his decision to extend his Vietnam tour. “I told my mother it was because I had survived a year in a job that typically ended sooner - the life expectancy for a demolitions specialist was ...

God too big; but the Holy Spirit, now I can dig that!

My friends, we are soon entering my favorite season of the liturgical calendar: Pentecost! Oh, I know that probably doesn’t sound very Lutheran of me. After all, as a protestant denomination, we are pretty Christ-centered. And deservedly so! But I’ve always loved the Holy Spirit. It’s the one expression of our celebrated Triune God that I understand on a very intimate basis. God? … Too infinite and vast for me to wrap my head around. Jesus? While I’m forever grateful of his sacrifice for me and for all people, and also for the model he provided as to how to live an ...

The history of Marshall’s municipal liquor store

Alcohol is the only commodity that has not one, but two U.S. constitutional amendments, the 18th Amendment, passed in 1919, that enacted federal Prohibition and the 21st Amendment that repealed it in 1933. The 21st Amendment gave states explicit power to regulate and tax alcohol within their borders. Soon after the December 1933 ratification of the 21st Amendment, Minnesota passed the Liquor Control Act, which was established to control the manufacture, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages (the three-tier system that remains in effect to this day).  At the time, Minnesota ...