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Rooftops of memory

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: I remember Katrina. I remember families waving shirts from rooftops, praying for helicopters that never came. I remember looters—not for greed, but for bread. For baby formula. For dignity. And I remember how the government that delayed rescue rushed prosecution. Today, in 2025, we are back on the rooftops. For the first time in American history, a president’s administration attempted to allow food stamps to lapse during a government shutdown. Over 42 million Americans — children, seniors, working families — stood to lose access to SNAP benefits. Not ...

A season of senses

Local Columns

The firearms deer opener brings with it the hope of affixing a tag to the ear of a doe or the antler of a buck after a successful hunt. Doing so, however, goes far beyond the simple act which signifies the end of one’s season in the field. Such a moment is often the intersection of preparation — scouting, sighting in a rifle, and setting stands and blinds in place; skill — selecting the right spot for the wind, competency with a firearm, and knowing a bit about your quarry; and of course a bit of luck — how the deer travel a certain day and what other outside forces might be at ...

I need my polka fix

Community Voices

I spend an ungodly amount of time in a tractor cab during the fall. Outside of sleeping, eating at odd intervals, and doing maintenance, my life is lived in a cab. The tractor radio is my steady companion. Every spring and fall, I spend a lot more time listening to the radio than Pam. The rest of the year, I listen to my wife because that’s what a successful husband does. I listen to a lot of news. (Spoiler alert, it’s bad.) Weather reports are must-listen radio when everything you do depends on weather. I follow the markets. Following the markets means following the mind of ...

Still striving for peace and freedom

Community Voices

I noticed this week that Marshall’s Adult Community Center sponsored a presentation about the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. It involved a tense two weeks when the world came close to nuclear war. The missile crisis was a major event in a much longer situation known as the Cold War, which lasted for more than 40 years. It began in the late 1940s, when the Soviet Union had developed the atomic bomb and when it prevented Eastern Europeans from moving to the West. It was still in full swing when I was a child in the 1970s. I remember being part of civil defense drills at Holy ...

Let’s quit rewarding ‘bad behavior’

Letters to the Editor

To the editor: Back in 2023, the “historic” DFL Minnesota Legislature enacted a K-12 education bill that included a $2.2 billion hike in spending on schools. Currently, the district already spends approximately $16,538 per pupil. The bill that passed the Legislature indexed the per pupil formula to the rate of inflation in future years-capped at 3% —with a boost of 4% the following fiscal year and 2% after that. Rep. Cheryl Youakim touted that the DFL was able to deliver on its campaign promise of “fully funding education”. But, even with the claim that education was ...

Vote yes on Marshall Public Schools $2M operating referendum

Editorials

The Marshall school district is one of the better school districts in the state. It is a source of pride for the community and a major asset when families consider relocating to Marshall. Its sports teams’ success is nearly unrivaled in the state and it can point to many academic successes as well. We would hate to see this jeopardized by not financially supporting our schools to maintain its existing programs. The school district has had to tap into its reserves in recent years to meet its operating expenses. Unfortunately, it cannot continue doing that as doing so could leave ...