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Local Columns

A Vesta Boy – Dave Hansvick – Family farms and Vesta winters

We have been learning about Marshall’s David Hansvick, the second of three children of Dottie (Penske) Hansvick and John Hansvick. Dave grew up in the small town of Vesta. His family lived on the edge of Vesta, but both parents came from immigrant, farming families. The Hansvicks originated ...

Senior year — greatest time of your life

It is that time of year where we are going to a lot of open houses celebrating graduations. I have listened to many warm, funny and nostalgic stories of senior years in high school. That took me back to my last year of high school, which totally revolved around sports, since that was my ...

Celebrating success as countdown to Sept. 1 begins

As we enter the final month of the 2025-26 school year, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to our Marshall community. Even though we’ve faced challenges this year, our students, staff, and families have shown remarkable resilience, collaboration, and joy. We are closing out a very ...

Ask a Trooper

Question: Did I hear something about a new law about stopping for school buses? Answer: In March 2026, Minnesota law changed to require drivers to stop at least 20 feet away from a school bus whenever the red lights are flashing. The stop arm does not need to be fully extended. This new ...

Going Dutch

You might think that a town with a name like Orange City would have vast orchards of citrus trees, but you would be mistaken. So much for truth in advertising. This isn’t terribly surprising given that Orange City is in northwestern Iowa, far from the citrus-growing region. But Orange City ...

Time to plant

Since moving to the bluff area, I've not had too many opportunities to plant flowers. Coming from an agrarian background, planting season was a welcome time of the year. It made no difference if I planted various grains in the farm fields or if I got to plant the vegetable garden or the ...