NRHEG PTO to host candidate forums

The NRHEG PTO will host a pair of Meet the Candidates forums for potential school board members. Five people are running for the three open spots, and they will answer a number of prepared questions on Monday, Oct. 22, in Ellendale, and Monday, Oct. 29, in New Richland. 

Both forums will begin at 7 p.m. in the respective school media centers. Please plan to attend and get more insight on the people who will help run our school district in the years to come and be able to make an informed choice on election day!

November 6th is Election Day! The campaigning and hoopla will be over. Hooray! Or will it? 

Sometimes it seems to me we have endless campaigning. That's always been a pet peeve of mine. 

I wonder who is running the office while the candidates are out telling us what they don't think we know. At any rate, are you prepared for the big event? 

Who’s who? What they're running for and more important? What do they plan to do while in office — do we really know? It seems to me that there should be a time and financial limit on campaigning.

They say it is important to vote. It doesn't matter how you vote but vote. To me, that is a little debatable. 

You may have a license to drive but if you don't know how or where you are going, what value is there? I am not a betting person, but I would bet that there is a good share of people who leave the polling place and have already forgotten who they voted for and what they were running for, just like shooting a gun and not seeing what you are aiming at.

Speaking of voting, when you vote, pause, look at the name and substitute the names of your children because that is really who you'll be voting for. Our children need good role models and great leadership. 

They have a right to freedom and equal status as male or female. In a sense, you are signing the declaration of intelligence. Pretty serious stuff, if you ask me.

It doesn't matter your color, gender, how rich or poor, and I guess I could go on. We need people in office who will cooperate with each other instead of working spitefully. 

We need people who will value this country more than riches. How much money can you really spend? 

I've never heard of financial institutions in heaven. Will a limousine really get you there any better than a Ford or a Chevrolet? Do you sleep any better in a posture perfect feather bed, knowing there are those who have no bed at all?

Don't get me wrong, it is good to get ahead, and some people are habitually poor or disadvantaged through some faults of their own. Then, there are those who don't need to work because they are smart enough to have others work for them. And then, there are the people who through no fault of their own just can't make it.

We blame China (and other countries) for taking away our jobs. True, but no one said you had to buy foreign goods.

We as a nation have always worked for a better life for our children. It doesn't mean more of it — it means teaching them to be good people who know how to work and manage their lives.

I love to see "Made in the USA" on the things I buy. When I find labels from other countries I feel cheated, even if the quality of the goods may be comparable to ours. Are we able to let our feelings be known in a way that is supportive?

Illegal immigration is against the law and unfair. Am I wrong when I say there is manufacturing available across the border for their people? If not, why?

Who in their right mind would vote for a president that would devalue women and take away our freedom and right to education? Yes, I know there are some idiots!

I just got an e-mail about how the Catholic church had been the first of all the churches to do any number of good things for humanity, medicine, education, etc. A lot of our churches followed suit. Where would we be without our churches?

Churches used to overflow with parishioners on Sunday and now the churches say they have small attendance, not like it used to be. We need to fill our churches and change the way of thinking of our people, to be honest, to love and not hate and destroy.

We need to learn from the past when the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression of the 1930's forced people to be more practical and creative in their lifestyle. They worked hard, sacrificed some luxuries and though it was a tough life, it was a good life and through cooperation they worked their way out of a financial hole. We can do it too!

Some of our Star Eagle readers have commented they like to read about events such as family and school reunions, birthdays and anniversaries, and birth and wedding announcements. 

In order to read about these important things, we need our faithful readers to pass along the information to us. If you have news, please contact me via e-mail, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; by postal mail, P.O. Box 192, Geneva, MN 56035 or telephone, 507-256-4405.

Birthdays and Anniversaries:

• Thursday, October 18th: Gordon Jensen, Carrie Nolan Allen, Deloris Nelson, Andreas Quinn Vu, Stan & Cindy Nelson, Randy & Cindy Horan, Tait & Jennifer Ingvaldson, Carol & Larry Cox.

• Friday, October 19th: Robert William Pulley, Jody Johnson, Katie Ann Carlson, Jan Klocek Louks, Roger Larson, Jeanene Reese, Kristi Nelson, Everett Thompson, Barbara Olson, Esther Rodi, Jim & Laureen Hohansee.

• Saturday, October 20th: Kimberly Wangsness, Matthew Beckman, Shannon Smith, Diana Beckmann, Jenny Herbst, Erick Widlund, Gladys Winter, Casey Kunkel, Nicole Larson, Doris Scripture Steele, Rick Kelly, Adam Lang, Scott & Joni Groth, Laurie & DeWayne Jensen, Jim & Nancy Bottelson, Brad & Nicole Edwards.

• Sunday, October 21st: Todd Utpadel, Brian Riley, Deb Mucha, Peter Benson, Natalie Kuehni, Steven F. Christenson, Diane & Dan Gallentine, John & Trisha Cyr.

• Monday, October 22nd: Scott Sorenson, Jennifer Pence, Lyle Swearingen, Brian Johnson, Kelsey Wayne, Dave De Vriendt, Mabel Dobberstein, David Polzin, Colleen Thompson, Sage Tristan Lang, Clifford Coy, Diane Gallentine Pfieffer, Kailey Ann Christensen.

• Tuesday, October 23rd: Jacklynn Kress, Marian Dahl, Gene Grubbish, Kimberly Kilian, Grant Ver Hey, Stewart Hatch, Rick & Lana Thompson, Dan & Tina Schmidt, Gary & Deb Nelson.

• Wednesday, October 24th: Noelle Mae Brekke, her 3rd; Jacob Keith Rigby, his 4th; Jeff Dobbertstein, Bobby Dobberstein, Joseph Bailey, Dan Willert, Eunice Hanson, Bob Wayne, Ashley Ashton, Gil & Kay Nelson.

May you find joy and pleasure all around you on your special day!

Recently, I was in a pretty severe car accident, as some of you may know if you happen to have me as a friend on Facebook. Thankfully I’m O.K., just a little sore. 

My dad’s vehicle, unfortunately, isn’t. The insurance company declared it totaled, and if you’d like to see just how much damage I did, there are pictures on my Facebook page.

My dad asked me the day after it happened, “So, did you learn anything?” And as much as I hate to admit it, the accident was completely my fault, and I did learn a lot from it. I realized that the longer I’ve had my license, the more careless I got with my driving. That has changed, however. 

Jumping over a gravel road, flying in the air for 30 feet and running over a tree was not what I had planned on doing that Tuesday, and it was definitely the scariest moment of my life so far. Getting a speeding ticket last spring has caused me to drive the speed limit, and this accident has made me a much more careful driver. I guess sometimes learning the hard way is the only way to actually make a change, especially for young people like myself.

One of the biggest reasons I’m alive right now, though, is because I was wearing my seatbelt. There are people who refuse to wear them, and claim that they hurt more than help in accidents. 

I will always believe that wearing your seatbelt is the biggest way to ensure your safety when driving. If I hadn’t been wearing mine, I probably would’ve gone through the windshield; at the very least, I’d be in a lot worse shape than I am now.

I would like to thank all the people who’ve expressed concern on my behalf, as well. It’s good to know that people out there actually care about my wellbeing. 

That night my dad allowed me to go to a concert I was planning on attending with my boyfriend, Lucas, and some of our friends, and I’m so glad I went. 

I was never really a fan of Marilyn Manson or Rob Zombie, and their music isn’t exactly my style, but it was an amazing show. 

I’ve been to so many concerts I’ve lost count, and this one was by far the best I’ve seen. The artists went all out in making it entertaining for the crowd, instead of just playing their songs and being done. 

Manson performed in a different outfit for each song, and there were different props and such on the stage for each song, too. Zombie was amazing; he interacted with the crowd, had a ton of energy, and overall performed outstandingly. 

What still boggles my mind is why they chose to play in Mankato instead of the Twin Cities, but I’m glad they did.

What I’m most thankful for, though, is that I was still around to attend the concert. I must have someone watching over me, or I wouldn’t have made it out of that in the healthy condition I did. 

Until next time, readers; I’m working on making these a little more regular, so bear with me.

Fall fishing trip to northern Minnesota are always unpredictable. A couple of years ago, my son Brian and I made our annual October fishing/hunting trip to our cabin in northern Minnesota.

The weather was perfect with sunshine and highs in the low 60’s. This year however, things were totally different. 

The temperatures struggled to get out of the 30s and rain mixed with snow coupled with strong winds was pretty much the weather for the majority of the week.

On Wednesday morning, the sun actually made an appearance as day broke over the lake. This was to be short-lived however, judging by the dark clouds that were on the horizon. 

Savor the moment was the isim that popped into my head at that time. There was a thin layer of crusty ice covering everything and the fallen leaves that lay on the ground looked as if they had been frosted like cookies by Mother Nature herself.

I had filled the birdfeeders when we first arrived at the cabin. There were chickadees, sparrows, a pair of Blue jays and a woodpecker frequenting the feeders. 

It is always enjoyable watching the different species of birds that come to feast on the black oil sunflower seeds. I have found this type of seed to be most popular in this part of the bird world. 

Although the fishing thing was pretty much out of the question, there was plenty of inside work to be done on the cabin. In past years, Brian and I have fished in some pretty bad fall weather, but I guess that over time, a person either gets wiser or maybe just loses that need for adventure.

One fall, Brian and I took a late fall trip to my brother-in-law Ron’s cabin on Wabedo Lake. Ron was out of the country flying for Northwest Airlines, but he called us from Japan to tell us what time we needed to be on the lake to catch walleye. 

It was so cold that we were only able to be on the lake for about two hours, before the fingers lost their feeling and we were chilled to the bone. After spending quite a few hours on the lake freezing, we had decided to call it a day.

Upon settling in for the night, the phone rang. It was Ron telling us that “now” was the time we needed to be on the lake. 

It was pitch black, windy and cold, but we headed out to the spot that he had told us would be “hot” and spent about an hour and a half freezing and didn’t get so as much as a hit on our surefire lures.

Sure enough, Ron called the next morning to make sure that we had fished the night before. After a night of freezing and experiencing that exercise in futility, I decided that maybe a “little white lie” wouldn’t be a bad thing for the next time he called.

Looking back on some more memorable fall fishing trips, I can still feel the sting of corn snow hitting my face as a fall snow squall caught us off guard while crossing a lake. My old neighbor Gene and I had some memorable fall trips to Spider Lake. 

During the trips we took were always in late September, we stayed in my pickup camper. I guess the fall colors and the chance of of catching that trophy fish, which is supposed to be greater in the fall, is what kept us fishing that time of year. 

Although I did catch my own personal best walleye in late September on that lake, we never did hit the “mother lode” of fishing on those trips. Gene and I were pretty diehard fishermen in those days so we’d come off the lake long enough to warm up, eat a bite and it would be right back at it. 

There are many good times to be had in the fall. Enjoying the colors and the wildlife are all part of that experience. 

Fall fishing can also be very good, but it’s a little more unpredictable once the lakes turn over because the fish can scatter and you may find them anywhere. That is part of the challenge, but if you can find the baitfish, you will find the fish. 

This summer’s patterns were actually a little out of the normal. With the warm water temperatures, a lot of fish were found suspended over deeper water than they were normally. 

One little lake that we enjoy fishing for northern had fish suspended at 18-ft. in 70 ft. of water. This made trolling deep runners down the middle of the lake an effective method for catching big pike.

I am up at the cabin as I write this column. The sun is shining so I think I’ll have to take a break and head for the lake. 

Who knows, maybe I can have a fish tale or two to share later.

Until next time, take a little time to enjoy the outdoors experience and the world of nature that surrounds us.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers because they are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

"All you did was to complain about the food at that restaurant."

"It was terrible."

"And then you left a $10 tip."

"I wanted them to know what a wonderful customer they had lost."  

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: It's O.K. to eat cake every day. It's somebody's birthday.

I've learned

1. Today's misadventures become tomorrow’s good old days.

2. The bed is a great place for remembering everything I should have done.

3. I have more money than sense and I have very little money.

The news from Hartland

Homecoming was a big success. All trees were toilet papered except for the weeping willow trees that had facial tissues put on them.

Local fishermen give in to pier pressure.

School closes lunchroom due to gray food coloring shortage.

Variety show canceled due to leaky water pipes and piano player's illness, proving that there is more than one way to can a skit.

Ask Al

"Why do humans eat so much fatty foods?" They're easy to catch.

"How can I tell when my farmer husband wants to kiss me?" He will turn his cap around so that the bill is to the back.

"Do you believe in cow tipping?" Sure, 15% is customary, a bit more for exceptional service.

Hey, you!

I was about to begin teaching some writing classes. As I picked up my room assignments, an administrator, who I've known for years, asked me if I should be referred to as Al, Allen, or Mr. Batt. I paused in my reply, trying to come up with the most appropriate name, pleased that he had not included "Hey, you." I must have paused too long, as the man said, "The questions don't get any easier."

A traveling man

I had just eaten some nameless cereal in a hotel far from home. It tasted like shredded catalogs might taste and was the kind of cereal that made me wish I'd stayed in bed. All the flavor had been replaced with fiber. I looked at the woman in charge of the breakfast area. She looked like that wonderful kind of person who would be more than willing to give directions using landmarks that no longer exist.

"The cereal," I said, making a face.

"I know," she replied, mirroring my countenance.

Halloween

Back before zombies could vote, there was a place we called The Passion Pit. It was a drive-in movie theater. We sat in our cars and watched movies on a giant outdoor screen. This enterprise was fond of showing scary movies we called "creature features." In reality, they weren't all that scary. They depended upon the overactive imaginations of their viewers to make them frightening. Nothing I saw in any of those shows was nearly as terrifying as the attack ads that proliferate today.

Did you know?

Lee County in Iowa has two county seats, Fort Madison and Keokuk. 

According to a study by Newcastle University published in the Journal of Neuroscience, the screech of a knife on a glass bottle has been identified as the worst sound to the human ear.

University of Kansas research found that judgments based on looking at someone's shoes were right 90 percent of the time. Liberals do wear shabby shoes and extroverts wear flashy footwear. 

Overheard only because she was yelling into a cellphone in the Calgary Airport

"As husbands go, he went, but I love what you've done with your husband."

Living on a jet plane

I always come back from working on the road a different person. And I get to meet some different people.

I walked to the hotel desk, prepared to make a late night check-in.

The clerk greeted me with a smile before saying, "Are you sure you want to stay here?"

"What?" I replied cleverly.

"It's my last day on this job," she said.  

Customer comments

P. Jean Champoux wrote, "Just a note to tell you that my WV grandfather lost a leg in a railroad accident. He wore a wooden one and amused his daughter, my mother, and her childhood friends by using a hammer and tacks to keep his socks up.

Jeanne Mealy included this at the end of her email, "This e-mail is a natural hand-made product. The slight variations in spelling and grammar enhance its individual character and beauty and in no way are to be considered flawws."

Meeting adjourned

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." — Winston Churchill. Be kind.

The speed limit is 5 miles per hour on North Beaver Lake Road. The speed limit is 10 miles per hour on South Beaver Lake Road. 

Why the difference? Do you suppose it is because the people on the South side of Beaver Lake live at a faster pace than those on the north side?

Other than a few people, there are four kinds of fishers at Beaver Lake this fall: 1. Three eagles. 2. Two osprey. 3. Five kingfishers. 4. 11 diving gulls. I guess you could say fishing is for the birds at Beaver Lake this fall!

Minnesota has the second highest percentage of people who fish, hunt or both, of all fifty states. The percentage is almost 33 percent, or in other words, one out of three (Alaska has the highest percentage).

An interesting thing is that, while on vacation in Minnesota, more people play golf than fish.

Since 1949, 100 percent of Minnesota’s governors have either hunted or fished, or both.

What does all this prove? It proves that if you want to be in the political arena in Minnesota, you had better hunt, fish, play golf or even better, all three. It also proves skydiving is not a political necessity!

As a young boy, I rode my bicycle from my parents’ farm north of St. Olaf Lake to my grandparents’ farm, the Henry and Elsie McFarland farm, just east of Hope on the Straight River.  It was a distance of about 12 miles. 

Their farm buildings (house, barn, chicken coop, hog house, pump house, garage, granary, machine shed, etc.) were in the middle of the section. The only way to get there by vehicle was from the east, by crossing a bridge on the Straight River.

I decided to do some reminiscing of my boyhood. I drove down the road from the east, but the bridge across the Straight River is there no longer. 

There are a lot of gravel pits on their former farm, with the road from the north chain padlocked so that direction was out. The freeway (I-35) is on the west side with no access to their former farm. That left only the south as a possibility to get to their farmstead.

I drove south on Steele County Road #3 until I found a dead-end road going west. That put me south of their farmstead.

I drove into the last farm place on the north side of the road, and noticed the name “Kubicek” as I was driving up to the house. I introduced myself, and asked the man if I could walk across his land to visit my grandparents’ old farmstead. 

He informed me his name was Bruce Kubicek. I could drive north on his field driveway and then across his combined field of beans and I would end up right next to the old building site. He even offered to let me use his four-wheeler (I declined).

I told Bruce that I know a great lady from my writing this column for the Star Eagle, and her name is Rose Ann Kubicek. ‘Twas then he told me it has been a pleasure being my County Commissioner for 12 years, and he agreed his wife Rose Ann is a great lady.

I enjoyed walking around my grandparents’ old farmstead. Thanks, Bruce, for letting me cross your land to get there. (Readers, did you know Minnesota Nice also applies to County Commissioners?)

Bruce says if I write anything about this, I must end with “I’m County Commissioner Bruce Kubicek, and I approve this message.”

— — —

Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent. His wife, Genie, is a retired RN, currently working on her doctor’s degree in volunteering. They have two children, Deb in North Carolina, and Dan in Vermont. This is the Hanson’s 37th summer at Beaver Lake. They leave the lake in mid-October to go south — to Albert Lea — and return in April. Bob says if you enjoy his article, let him know. If you don’t enjoy it, keep on reading, it can get worse. Words of Wisdom: There is always room for God. 

Copied and pasted from last week’s column, changed to 10 font and the scurs are ready for battle once more. They were right about the showers and thunderstorms for Saturday, but did you notice how those crafty scurs didn’t predict any rainfall amounts? How about this week? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 60 and lows close to 40. Mostly cloudy for Thursday with another good chance of a shower or thunderstorm. Highs near 50 and lows of 35 – 40. Cloudy again for Friday with a slight chance of showers. Highs of 50 – 55 and lows around 40. Partly cloudy for Saturday and Sunday with highs of 50 – 55 and lows near 40. Cloudy for Monday and Tuesday with a chance of shower and thunderstorms. Highs around 60 and lows of 35 – 40. The normal high for October 20th is 59 and the normal low is 35. The scurs will be dumping their purple umbrella and cap after the drubbing the Vikings received at the hands of the Redskins. Go Gophers hockey!

Not much going on in the fields this past week, save for some primary tillage on corn ground, and with good reason. Harvest is for the most part over and the soils remain very dry. It remains too early yet for anhydrous ammonia applications and some are wondering if there is enough moisture, especially as we head west, to hold the nitrogen in place once it’s applied. Spring application of anhydrous ammonia or using urea or 32% as alternative nitrogen sources remain viable options should that be the case. The latter two forms are more expensive generally per pound of nitrogen but are better alternatives than fall applying nitrogen and losing it. Some have been advocating the use of fall 2’ nitrogen tests on the premise that we have some nitrogen left in the soil profile that may be usable for the next year’s crop. That may be but past experience with this test followed by warm temperatures and heavy rainfall in April, May and June has rendered the practice questionable at best especially east of Hwy 71 in Minnesota.

So, what is our weather up to? If you listen to several of the pundits, they are claiming a change is coming for the latter half of October. This is where I turn into the original man from Missouri: Show me. So far the predictions for a change other than for cooler temperatures have missed the mark by a mile. If anything it has become even drier, something not even I, the eternal optimist, believed possible. Last year in October at the ranch I recorded .37” of precip for the month. This year thus far I have recorded only .22”. Ah, but the month is still young you say. Looking back, that’s what we were saying last year at mid-month too. And we had, .33” at that time. I’m not trying to be a wet blanket coming off a tremendous crop, but we’re in serious trouble if things don’t change. While the old adage that this is a good time to have a drought as far as crops applies, this pattern has entrenched itself for the second year in a row. It has become very difficult to make it rain anymore. Washing cars or windows and leaving wagons full of corn or hay out doesn’t matter. Tuesday morning that point was driven home when a surprise shower made me wonder if I should back a wagon containing a few screenings into the shed. I decided it was perhaps warranted but by the time I got it under cover, the rain stopped. Imagine that. 

It has been another strange fall. Ladybugs haven’t been the issue they have been in the recent past, although as predicted the boxelder bugs have more than made up for them. Eating my lunch at an abandoned farmstead Monday, I quickly rolled the pickup windows up as I had uninvited guests crawling all over inside. By no coincidence, the old grove contained dozens of boxelder trees. Leaves came off the trees in a hurry even though the colors for a brief moment were spectacular. There still are some pockets of color but the woods look more like the end of October than mid-month. The 10-man dryer at the elevator ceased operation quite some time ago and even the neighbor David’s bin dryer only ran a day or so before it fell suddenly silent. That particular dryer is pretty loud but it creates the perfect white noise to sleep by. How do I know? When its run is over, I don’t sleep as well for a while. The constant howl is soothing and reassuring should I awaken from my slumber, as only a farm boy can appreciate. 

It was finally time to take down the hummingbird feeders, clean them up and put them away. There comes a time when the chance of a straggler at our location is almost nil. And besides, there were still a few salvia that somehow managed to escape the freezing temperatures. The nectar feeders were replaced with suet feeder. To see if the migrating bluebirds would enjoy some mealworms, the jelly feeder was pressed into service. The squirrels have become part of an experiment with waxy corn versus regular dent. In our survey, it appears that squirrels chewing corn prefer waxy by a margin of 3 to 1. 

The show sheep have returned from their travels on the show circuit. The brood ewes at home in the meantime have been getting by on short pasture, some corn screenings and the vegetable peelings and garden leftovers that come their way almost daily. It doesn’t take long for them to appear on a dead run anytime one approaches the fence especially with a bucket in hand. They are a lot like people however and that may explain some of the biblical references to them. They certainly have individual preferences about what they’ll eat. For example, one night we looked over the fence in horror as a few of them looked to be bleeding from the mouth. Turns out these were the ewes that had developed a taste for the out of code tomatoes we’d been tossing from the garden. On a white-faced sheep like a Cheviot, that’s gonna leave a mark.  

See you next week…real good then.

Psychology has long been an interest of mine. I took some classes in high school and college and found it fascinating to try and figure out what was going on in someone’s mind. As a teacher, it can be a critical skill.

Part of psychology can deal with childhood experiences and how they impact your life as an adult. There are certainly the traumatic moments that can scar a child and take years of counseling to overcome. I didn’t have any of those, but I had a repeated experience every year which caused me to despise MEA break.

First, let me clarify. I know it’s technically not MEA break anymore since the Minnesota Education Association changed its name to Education Minnesota. 

I think any of us who grew up in an era where we had “MEA break” will always call it that. EM break just doesn’t have the same ring.

You would think I would look forward to this as one of my “many” paid vacations. (Please note the sarcasm in that statement.) However, I have those recurring childhood memories that have ruined MEA break forever.

Every year, my dad would take that entire week off work for “vacation.” This vacation consisted of spending Monday through Wednesday in some woods, owned by a family member, cutting down trees. 

Once we were out of school on Wednesday, we spent the rest of the weekend with him out in the woods “making wood,” as we called it. We’d help Dad cut up the trees and stack logs in the truck and trailer and make repeated trips home to unload.

Some of these were big logs that Dad and I would then have to put on the woodsplitter to make more manageable. My immense strength was certainly useful in these situations, but my sisters wouldn’t even try if they didn’t have to.

It was usually cold enough to wear heavier jackets, which would be shed as soon as we started working hard. Or as soon as we slipped away and explored the woods and the river that ran through it. I even remember some snowfall, which really made it fun.

I’m not sure how many broken blades Dad had on the chainsaw or how many profanities he uttered over the years when the tree wouldn’t drop the right direction. I do know that I had to work hard for four days of my vacation, which turned out to be no vacation at all.

We don’t have a woodburning stove in our house, so my children escape this cruel torture from my childhood. 

I do have appointments scheduled during MEA break, so we’ll stay busy, but nothing too strenuous. Still, I feel this involuntary shudder every year when I look at the school calendar and see MEA, er, EM break in October.

Word of the Week: This week’s word is sesquipedalianist, which is a person who uses long, unusual, sometimes obscure words in speech or writing, such as, “Mr. Domeier showed he was a true sesquipedalianist by using large words nobody had heard of in his column.” Thanks again to Tali Wayne for this word. Hey, wait, are you trying to tell me something? Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

NRHEG football team battles Maple River to the wire

TOUGH YARDS — The Panthers’ Dillon Parpart (30) follows a block by Nick Bartness for a gain against Maple River at New Richland last Friday. Turnovers killed the Panthers’ hopes for an upset. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)

By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

NEW RICHLAND – Five turnovers kept the New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva football team from stretching its winning streak to two games. 

A gutty Panther squad battled second-place Maple River to the wire before dropping a 21-6 decision to the Eagles in New Richland Friday. 

MR moved into a second place tie in the Gopher/Valley AA Conference at 3-2 and climbed to 5-2 overall. 

Coach Dan Stork’s Panthers remained winless in five conference games and slipped to 1-6 overall. NRHEG is 1-2 at home this fall. 

“Our guys played some great football for the majority of the game,” said Stork. “The turnovers really hurt us tonight. 

By DALE KUGATH

Sportswriter

It was a week that coach Joe Kuechenmeister thought his New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva volleyball team could see where it was.

It’s back to the drawing board for the Panther spikers after being swept by Blooming Prairie and Waterville-Elysian-Morristown. 

The two conference defeats dropped the Panthers to fifth place in the Gopher Conference (3-4) and to 10-13-2. 

Blooming Prairie

NRHEG held leads in games two and three but got outscored 75-57 in dropping three straight games at Blooming Prairie Oct. 9.