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Mourning and grief

There was a time when you came into existence, and there is a time when you will exist no more. Like the saying goes, no one gets out of this life alive. Unfortunately, that includes the people we like and love. Encounters with death are inescapable. The longer we live, the fewer people with whom we have been close. Some people would call that the cycle of life. When a person with whom we have been close dies, we enter a state of grief, mourning, and bereavement. To really understand what grief is about, you have to remember how intimately interwoven your life is with the people ...

Physical therapy graduation: it fits with the season

For the first time in almost 20 years, I found out what it’s like to again be a graduate. I completed two months of physical therapy at Avera Therapy after my hip surgery. The fact that it coincided with high school and college events made me think of how any graduation is a special time. A physical therapy graduation might sound different from an academic one. In reality, however, they have some important similarities. For one thing there’s a sense of accomplishment. After I had surgery I was dependent on my walker. I had to half step my way up and down stairs. I rode the ...

An inherited individual retirement account (IRA) is a potential financial windfall that may create new opportunities to achieve your financial goals. If you are a beneficiary currently or expect to be one in the future, you should know recent legal changes on inherited IRAs can result in costly implications if not followed properly. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has clarified rules included in the SECURE Act (which Congress passed in 2019) that are important for IRA beneficiaries to understand. Read on to determine if these new rules are applicable to your situation. Different ...

Ask a Trooper

Question: I caught part of the news the other night and heard something about the 100 deadliest days. Can you get me more information on that? Answer: I certainly can. Here is some information we shared on the Minnesota Department of Safety blog. The Minnesota State Patrol is urging drivers to make smart, safe decisions as the state enters what is known as the “100 deadliest days” on the road. This stretch, from Memorial Day through Labor Day, is the most dangerous time of year to travel in Minnesota. It coincides with peak travel nationwide and a troubling spike in fatal ...

On the Porch

The following article appeared in The News-Messenger of Lyon County on March 5, 1909: “Mr. Haas has completed the purchase of three lots on Main street at the corner of Fourth, and will immediately begin the erection of the new building for the Marshall Creamery company, which will be the largest and finest creamery and ice creamery plant in the northwest. The structure will be of solid brick, two stories high, 50 feet front with a depth of 100 feet. The front and Fourth street side of the building will be of faced brick. The first story will provide for two complete industries, the ...

The Vietnam War – Bill Curwick – End of tour and homecoming

We have been learning about Bill Curwick, who graduated from Marshall High School before enlisting and training as an Army combat engineer. He deployed to Vietnam in November 1970, serving with the 26th Engineer Battalion at Chu Lai and with Engineer Company (Provisional), supporting units of the 196th Infantry Brigade in Danang. Mail is always important to deployed troops. Bill explained their mail service in Vietnam was good. “Firebase Tien Phuc was quite a ways from Chu Lai, but I could write a letter, hand it off to the first chopper that came in, and from the time he got it in ...