The NRHEG boys’ cross country team opened the season at the Early Bird Invitational at Fairmont Friday, Aug. 28.

The meet had a different format in that each grade ran a separate race.

Josh Fleming led the Panthers, finishing third in 15:21 on a 2.5-mile course. Tyler Schlaak was ninth in 15:99; Ben Lewer 14th, 17:03 Zach Mely, 16th, 17:15; Braden Routh, 26th, 18:49; Aaron Fleming, 28th, 19:21; Jorey Fischer, 26th, 19:42.

Fairmont won the boys’ team title with 21 points. The Panthers were 10th among 14 schools with 68.

“Josh really gave the race top effort,” said Panthers coach Mike Weber. “For the 11th grade, Josh was a medal winner for third place. Tyler also had a good showing and a decent time to be our runner-up. Ben has really improved from last year and looked solid on the course. Zach was right behind Ben with a good finish. Our final point getter for our varsity runners was Braden in his first race for the Panthers.”

NRHEG did not have any girls’ varsity runners in the meet.

The Panthers run Thursday, Sept. 3 at Stewartville.

Remembering the life of Lee Junior Johnson…..

Funeral services for Lee Junior Johnson, 91, of Ellendale, MN,  will be held at 2 p.m. Tuesday, September 8, at the First Lutheran Church in Ellendale. The Reverend Richard Sliper will officiate.  Interment will be in First Lutheran Cemetery. Military Honors will be accorded by Ellendale Veteran’s Organizations. Friends may visit with family from 4-8 p.m. on Monday at Bonnerup Funeral Service, Ellendale, and one hour before the service at the church.

Lee died on Tuesday, September 1, 2015 at the Mayo Clinic Health System, Albert Lea. 

He was born on August 26, 1924, in Moulton, Iowa, the son of Lee and Belle (Lawson) Johnson.

He attended school and then as a young man he began farming.  It was war time, and he proudly served our country in the US Army Air Corps. When he returned from the war Junior returned to farming and then worked as a buttermaker in Glenville, Madison Lake, Freeborn, Bixby  and the Ellendale Creamery. Lee received certification in refrigeration and also obtained his boilers license, working for E.F. Johnson for eight years before retiring in 1987.

Funeral services for Betty L. Miller, age 92, will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, 2015 at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church in Hartland. Rev. Mark Hillmer will officiate. Interment will be at the Hartland Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Online condolences are welcome at www.bayviewfuneral.com.

Betty died Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015 at Seasons Hospice in Rochester. 

Betty Miller was born May 26, 1923 in Albert Lea, the daughter of Thomas and Beulah (Shiffer) Johannsen. She graduated from Freeborn High School in 1941. Following high school, Betty worked at E.F. Johnson Co. in Waseca. On June 30, 1946, Betty was united in marriage to Dwight Miller at Cross of Glory Lutheran Church. The couple lived and farmed on their homestead in Hartland for over 55 years and had dairy cows for over 25 years. Betty helped with all aspects of farm life including; working in the fields, milking cows and preparing meals for farm hands. Neighbors and friends loved to stop by to sample her famous homemade cinnamon rolls.

All boys, new and returning, grades 1-5 are invited to join Cub Scouts Pack 90 on Thursday, Sept. 17 at the Ellendale school from 6-8 p.m. Join us on Facebook: Pack 90 Cub Scouts.

Memorial services for Thomas Marion Kerns will be held at 10 a.m. on Saturday, September 5, 2015 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in rural Blooming Prairie, MN. Father Adam McMillan will be officiating. Visitation will be held from 5-8 p.m. Friday, September 4 at Bonnerup Funeral Service in Albert Lea and again one hour prior to the service at the church.

Thomas M. Kerns Sr., of Geneva, MN passed away at his home, surrounded by his loving family on Saturday, August 29, 2015. Tom was born on November 12, 1960 to Connie (Mask) and Glen Kerns in Maricopa, Arizona. He has lived in various other states including California, Wisconsin, and most recently Minnesota. He married his wife Sarah in Myre Big Island State Park near Albert Lea on June 4, 2011. Together, they made their home in Geneva.

George Bernard Rotegard died in his home in Bloomington, Minn., of natural causes Friday, Aug. 21, 2015 at age 90.

George was born in New Richland, Minn. on Feb. 8, 1925, the third son of Bernard and Lillie Rotegard of New Richland, owners of Rotegard Drug Store. George was a very popular basketball player in his high school years as he was 6 feet, 4 inches tall and was a star player on the 1943 team. He worked in his dad's Drug Store whenever he wasn't in school from 7th grade on.

He graduated from NRHS in 1943 and was drafted into the U.S. Navy that summer. He was a Pharmacist Mate and participated in the Normandy Invasion in June of 1944. George landed the beach on the second day, picking up the wounded on stretchers, running them to safety, all with a Red Cross band on his arm. He came back on a furlough to New Richland and was reassigned to the Marine Corps. He then was sent to Okinawa and was in that invasion in the spring of 1945. After the war, he spent six months in occupation of Tientsin, China. Back home in New Richland in 1946, he worked in the drug gtore for a short time and then enrolled in the University of Minnesota Business School.

NRHEG football team improves to 2-0

Senior John Cole races down the sideline and gives NRHEG High School football fans something to cheer during the Panthers' home opener Friday night at New Richland. Cole and his teammates had a big game, defeating Lester Prairie-Holy Trinity 34-6 while improving their record to 2-0. (Star Eagle photo by Jim Lutgens)

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

The NRHEG High School football team is exactly where it hoped to be after two weeks of the season.

But the real test comes this week.

The Panthers will take a 2-0 record north to face Waterville-Elysian-Morristown on the heels of a 34-6 triumph over Lester Prairie-Holy Trinity in their home opener at New Richland Friday, Aug. 28.

The Panthers were dominant in all phases, netting 357 total yards while holding the Bulldogs to 125, including 18 rushing.

“We came out and played mistake-free football,” said NRHEG coach Dan Stork, whose squad had zero turnovers and only one penalty. 

Paul Eugene Reb, 86, of Owatonna, died August 27, 2015 at Brookdale Assisted Living-Sterling House, Owatonna.

Paul was born May 6, 1929 in Albert Lea, the son of Walter and Ethel (Schwartz) Reb, who were from New Richland. Paul graduated from New Richland High School in May 1947. Paul was united in marriage to the love of his life Selma Berndt on November 10, 1948 in the Waldorf Lutheran Church and the couple shared 66 wonderful years together. He continued his education studying welding, electronics and incorporating them into lifelong experiences.

At the risk of thinking I am a little off my rocker, I'll throw this out and see if I am the only one who experiences strange things. Well, maybe not so strange.

I was recently standing by my phone, trying to call somebody who didn't answer. Good reason. All of a sudden I realized they were standing right behind me.

Or more often than that, I will think of someone and before I know it, the phone rings - that person is calling me! Coincidence? Perhaps that is the word for it, but I feel it is a sixth sense, a perception that we all have - some more than others. Not something supernatural, just a sense that comes through to our mind for no apparent reason. It just does!

How many times have you heard that somebody has bought a lottery ticket, something they have never bought before, but something told them to do it, and they strike it big?

And another, you get a song in your head, perhaps from long ago. It doesn't go away without reminding you of something in your past. It is just there. You have a hunch, a sort of a "nowhere" idea. 

You have a dream, a premonition. Something happens that you can't understand or know where it comes from. It doesn't say you're psychic or weird. It is just there.

I know I have mentioned her before, but my Indian friend has told me that in her culture they look at every living thing as having a soul, that the wind and the grasses and the motionless trees, etc., carry messages. Many times I have watched motionless trees when all of a sudden a few branches move and I think they are sending a message. Yes, I know you may think I am “touched in the head,” but I do have feelings that there is more to our life than we realize. Why are there "miracles" that no one can explain?

I remember my grandmother telling about the night my uncle Bud went to prom. It had rained and they were building a new road in the area. He slid in the ditch. Grandma said she had been sleeping when all of a sudden she sat straight up in bed and said, "Something has happened to Bud." She asked him the next morning if something had happened. He said, "No, everything is fine."

Years later he did admit he slid in the ditch that night. No one got hurt. Someone pulled out of the ditch. And yes, it had coincided with the time she woke up and knew something had happened to him.

And another. My mother worked at Lerberg's in Ellendale years ago. She and some other employees were in the dry goods department working on something, laughing and carrying on a conversation. She remembers that all of a sudden she said, “Something is going to happen - I can feel it.” She said the feeling even got her shaking. They all laughed and talked about what she said she felt. They told my mother, "You better sit down." A few minutes later, a gentlemen came in the door and asked for her. She learned from him that she was going to be recognized for the work she had done in 4-H. Later she was given a monetary award and a nation-wide story was run on the radio about the event and a reception was held in her honor for her and her family.

Once again, from out of nowhere. Premonition?

I am sure that you have all had a special dream or feeling at one time or another. You think that something has happened before (whatever it was). Hard to understand, but true. The event was definite, like seeing a movie, but it was real.

And another occurrence. You lose something. You hunt for it frantically, then, or maybe sometime much later, there it is right in front of you where it could not have been when you were searching for it. But it is there.

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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. Also if you have an idea for a story that you think would be of interest to our readers, please contact me. 

If you have birthdays and anniversaries you would like include, or news to share 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.

This week’s birthdays and anniversaries include:

• Thursday, August 27th: Martin Johnson, Kory Kress, Alice Randall, Sandra Thostenson, Dee Ann Jensen, Jim Collins, Mary Lageson, Sharon Ramaker, Terry Pelzl, Angela DeGeus, Jessica Marie Nygaard Paulson, Corlyn & Janice Paulsen

• Friday, August 28th: Mitch Helmers, Larry Motl, Bev Newgard, Waynetta Peterson, Rosy Fisher, Lorraine Christensen, Justine Randall, Marlys Van Kampen, Tammy Johnson, Gerritt Molenaar Sr., Jacquelyn Jensen, Linda Kelly, Marvin Thomspon, Jim & Fran Ladlie

• Saturday August 29th: Mark Lee, Eunice Smith, Barbara Klinger, Cheryl & Brian Boettcher

• Sunday, August 30th: Brett Richards, Joel Born, Danielle Cook, Katie Cleven Richards, Staci Hohansee, Donna Demmer, Everett Jensen, Grace Paulson, Craig Schwartz, Eva Elayna Thomas

• Monday, August 31st: Carole Schember, Judy Deml, Terry Walterman, Kari Hohansee, Jerry Flugum, Tony Holmes, Connie Misgen Evenson, John Tasker,  Heather Reese, Nancy Bottelson, Garrett Avery, Ron & Karen Huber, Melissa & Tyler Moe

• Tuesday, September 1st: Jim Motz, Payton Thomspon, Daryl Nelson, Jody Farr, Catherine Carlson, Gregory Ray, Dianna & Matthew Beckman, Adam & Lalya Lang, Jim & Marian Motz

• Wednesday, September 2nd: Krista Paulsen, Brent Broulik, Barb Grunwald, Dean Richards, Logan Callahan, Peyton Moore Ayers, Randy & Barb Horan, Christine & Tom Krause, Amy & Jeff Conley

• Thursday, September 3rd: Marie Carroll, Lori Ingvaldson, Joanne & Mitch Wayne, Dick & Paulette Nelson, Tatum Wilson

• Friday, September 4th: Cody Blouin, Marc Vanden Heuvel, Melissa Wayne, Erin Dobberstein, Daniel Pitcock, Holly Wangsness Dau, Rachel Arends, Melody & Tim Gassnman

• Saturday, September 5th: Beckett Dane Rasmussen, Sydney Marie Schmidt, Jennifer Broskoff Dutton, Bruce Langlie, Beth Ann Suelter, Darren Hanson, Stacy Evenson, Grace Lorraine Kofstad, Rande Nelson, Dennis & Mary Jensen, Chuck and Líymra Hoogland, Brian & Angie Dobberstein

May your special day hold the promise of many bright tomorrows.

SMELLING THE GOAL LINE — John Cole breaks tackles and heads for the end zone on his way to a 25-yard touchdown reception Saturday at Mayer Lutheran. (Star Eagle photo by Nikki Erickson)

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

Forgive the players if the season football opener looked more like a scrimmage than a game.

The season started a week early.

Because of scheduling conflicts for the state playoffs, the NRHEG Panthers opened the 2015 campaign Saturday and survived a sloppy game against an unfamiliar opponent, winning 14-7 at Mayer Lutheran, which is west of the Twin Cities.

“We played as expected after only two weeks of practice,” said NRHEG head coach Dan Stork.

But the bottom line was the win, and the Panthers were pleased in their first season of district play. The Panthers hope for an easier time this Friday when they host Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity.

Off-and-on rain did not help matters Saturday as the teams combined for seven turnovers, five by the Crusaders.