The annual NRHEG Early Childhood Family Education Vehicle Fair is set for Monday, Sept. 14 at 6 p.m. in the west parking lot of the New Richland School.

The event is free to all preschoolers and their families. Every preschooler attending will be given their own hard cover book.

Registration materials available for the Fall Session.

ECFE fall classes start Monday, Sept. 28 in New Richland and Tuesday, Sept. 29 in Ellendale. All classes begin at 6:15 p.m. and will be held in the pre-school rooms at each site.   Cost of the fall session is $10 per family. For more information call (507) 417-2667.

I've never been one to get excited about food at the fair. I don't know why, but there are many who can hardly wait for the fair so they can taste all the new goodies that are available. Admittedly, the smells make everything so tempting and never fear, there will always be a many new items available to try each year.

Pronto pups are my failing. I still get hungry for them from time to time. My mother remembers when they first came on the fair scene years ago when she was a 4-H’er and went to the Minnesota State Fair. The kids all loved them then and still do today. They were probably 20 cents apiece back then, and they were just a plain ordinary "pup." Since then they have been lengthened and been jazzed up a bit, but the plain ones, with a little bit of ketchup, are still my favorites. My mother on the other hand likes hers with mustard. And of course, there are other people who can hardly wait for the fair each year so they can have a foot-long hot dog.

Yes, we can get pronto pups in the grocery freezer section, but they just don't taste the same as those that come fresh out of the big deep fryers. Foot-long hot dogs probably were born at the fair, but now the supermarkets have them available in the meat department. Many foods we take for granted at the local stores now got their start at the fair.

I still have visions of people going around chewing on a turkey leg like so many cavemen did many, many years ago. That has never been anything I would get hungry for, let alone try and eat as I am walking around the fairgrounds. Is there anything tougher than trying to eat a turkey leg full of bones like sharp needles and skin so tough it makes it hard to chew? But they do look and smell tempting.

Many churches and fraternal organizations still offer those good old home style foods. They have fresh waffles and pancakes hot off the grills available for breakfast, as well as serve great roast beef dinners and homemade pie among other things.

And we can't forget all the great Mexican foods available, including the fajitas, burritos, quesadillas and tacos, along with the shish-ka-bobs, hamburgers, and Spamburgers, as well as big, deep cups of French fries and onion rings, hot out of the deep fryer. I also hear they offer deep fried Snickers and Twinkies.  And what would the fair be if it didn't have fresh sweet corn and Godfather’s pizza? Last year the Steele County Fair even had alligator.

The fairs also offer cheese curds and deep fried ice cream, but once again they are not to my taste. However the Dairy Barn at the Minnesota State Fair always had good shakes that I couldn't resist when we went to the fair years ago. There was a time the dairy industry allowed fairgoers to drink all the milk they could for 10 cents, but I am sure the price has gone up. And we can't forget the 1919 Root beer or the sno kones.

Then there were those who sent their kids through college with money made from their fresh lemonade stand at the fair  Another little stand made s'mores, which didn't require a great deal of capital or too large of a stand, but they kept busy. Pineapple on a stick is healthy and there are plenty of people who look forward to enjoying a good old caramel apple or chocolate dipped bananas.

Mini doughnuts became popular a number of years ago, and admittedly they are easy to eat as you make your way around the fairgrounds. Funnel cakes were also a popular choice for some, as are elephant ears. Once again that was not anything I ever got hungry for, and the same goes for taffy and cotton candy. Burke’s Taffy has been at the Steele County Fair for 75 years. All of our county fairs also have fresh popped corn and caramel corn available to munch on. The upcoming Steele County Fair also offers pickles on a stick.

Over the past few years, deep friend cookie dough, cookie dough shakes and paper cups of baked cookies became the thing to enjoy. My mother never let my sister and I eat raw cookie dough because of the raw eggs within them. Here again, the cookie dough items have never appealed to me.

Years ago, people had to bargain to have a stand at the state fair. It had to be something new and different than what was already there. I am not sure if that is the case today.  I did learn the Steele County Fair this year will have over 100 stands that will offer assorted foods and drinks so I guess no one will go home hungry.

Somehow, though the names are intriguing, the thought of some foods that would be prohibitive if the price wasn't already out of my range. It is still hard to beat a vanilla ice cream cone at McDonald’s for a buck, as far as I am concerned.

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 20th: Dale Nelson, John Scrabeck, Tammy Bergland Techau, Andy Christensen, Diane Cleven, Delbert Karsjens, Jozie Annamarie Johnson, Kim Jensen, Jamie Nelson, Larry Pierce, Tianna & Joshua Kubicek

• Friday, August 21st: Lori Moon, Avery Hullopeter, Abriana Harris, Scott Tracy, Larry Klocek, Viola Klocek, Dawn Dobberstein, Mary Richards, Cindy Anderson, Roger Johnson, Sara Degan Misgen, Jodie Lee, Jaden Jensen, Cody Lembke, Michael Olson, Jasmine Obermoller Evans, David & Cindy Callahan

• Saturday, August 22nd: Thayne & Becky Nordland, Ava Moon, Julie Johnson, Kyle Wallerich, La Donna Cummins Fallen, John Butler, John Glynn, Diane Butler, Dale Kelly, Aaron Ladlie, Dale Kelly, Nancy TaBelle

• Sunday, August 23rd: Jessica Lutgens, Jared Dawson Lee, Logan Dale Marzolf, Terry Holland, Ann Klemmensen, Matthew Knudson, Steve Wilker, Scott Wright, Quinn Vu, Vernon & Jeanne Simonson, Amy & Marshall Svoboda

• Monday, August 24th: Rick Storlie, Michelle Gowlland, Nicholas Chrisensen, Sam Worrell, Tanya Hughes, Natalie Deml, Elizah Lee Ackland, Crystal Johnson, Terry Vaith, Jeff Kycek, LaNell Leak Sunde, Corey Peterson, Mary Edon, Ralph & Cheryl Dobberstein, John & Cindy Christensen

• Tuesday, August 25th: Chloe Lynn Muilenberg, Carl Glienke Jr., Evelyn Anderson, Renee Brandt, Ted Dahl, Jayme Hohansee, Craig Kammerer, Jessica Kubat, Pete Rietveld, Mary Larson, Melissa Peterson, Jim & Lynn Arends, Mark & Deb Hillesheim, Deb & Jim Bohnoff, Rachel & Michael Grunklee, Leah & Dama Clark, Everett & Linda Lang

• Wednesday, August 26th: William Michael Rodney Tuttle, Christopher Cook, Clarice Pence, Catherine Haugen, Mike Riley, Elijah Lee Ackland, Catherine Mae Haugen, Tim Falksen, George Stieglbauer, Michael Rodney Tuttle, Sharon Peterson, Travis & Kelly Johnson, Angie & Michael Den Herder

• 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

Wherever this year takes you, may you find happiness along the way.

There has been much discussion about Mille Lacs Lake and the closing of the walleye season. Many folks feel that the netting of walleyes by the Mille Lacs band of Ojibwa is the culprit but I don’t really believe that it is the only culprit. According to DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr the lake has been co-managed with the Mille lacs band since the 1990’s. There are many theories as to why it happened but right now there seems to be no easy fix.

The Mille Lacs Band has suspended netting for a year except for ceremonial purposes. They have a stake in this as well as the local resort owners and local businesses. Most people drive to this large body of water for one reason: to fish walleye. When that option is taken away tourism takes a big hit. Although the lake has an abundance of smallmouth, northern and musky; these fish do not draw the same number of fishermen that the walleye do.

There are many opinions out there but I see no “quick fix” to the situation but hopefully the DNR will come up with a plan that will work and restore the lake to what it once was. Red Lake was in a similar situation a decade or so ago and has since come back to be a viable walleye lake once again so there is light at the end of the tunnel but for some resort owners and businesses the end of that tunnel may be too far away.

I have from time to time written about my outdoors experiences as a youth. This time, however, I’d like to move ahead a few years to when the boys were small and we would vacation at Big Sand Lake near Squaw Lake. My wife Jean and her family vacationed there almost every year while she was growing up. The resort that they stayed at was Anchor Inn and the fact that it is still there almost makes it unique in this day and age. Jean and her siblings will occasionally talk about the fun that they had fishing from the bridge at Anchor Inn. This resort actually sits on the Bowstring River which runs between Little Sand and Rice Lakes. You can get to Big Sand by navigating the channel between Big and Little Sand.

During the years that our family vacationed at Big Sand we often stayed at a resort called Sioux City Resort. This resort like many other “mom & pop” resorts has been sold off and is no longer there. We had many great times at that resort when the kids were younger and before we had our camper. I have many fond memories of the lake and the resort that once prospered amongst the tall pines on the west shore of the lake.

It was and most likely still is a very good walleye lake, especially early in the year. There is a large island situated directly east of where the resort once was and I can recall more than one occasion where deer could be seen swimming either to or from the island. I had actually fished the lake with my Uncle Ben when he and Aunt Marcie took me along with them for a week‘s vacation. We had driven to Deer River and stopped at an information building that used to stand along the highway in Deer River. Ben asked if there was a resort in the area that might have a vacancy and they told us that there was a resort on Portage Lake by Inger, which was on the south end of Big Sand and connected to it by the Bowstring River. The couple that owned the resort were originally from Geneva which gave real meaning to the phrase “it’s a small world”. That week we caught a lot of northern, and some dandy crappie. In the evening we would go and anchor on the Sand Lake side where the river came in and fished walleye. Using a jig and minnow we managed to boat some nice eaters and that made the whole week seem like a dream come true to this aspiring young fisherman.

When we started taking vacations as a family I usually tried to take the first full week in June which seemed to be the best for walleye on that lake. With no locator to guide me I would use trees, points and cabins to mark good fishing spots. Out in front of the old brown cabin seemed to be the hotspot almost every year. Jean would also fish and Brian was now old enough to fish while Brad sat on a blanket in the bottom of the boat and played with his Hot Wheels and coloring book. This was the only way that the whole family could get out fishing.

Those were good times and we always caught plenty of walleyes; the northern were plentiful but there were a lot of “hammer handles” and today the lake has no slot limit for walleye but a 9 fish limit for pike that are 22-inches and under. We did actually catch some dandy pike in that lake over the years.

Each year as the calendar turns over to June I think back to those days vacationing at Sioux City Resort and catching walleye on Big Sand Lake. I do believe that I have psyched myself up enough to plan on fishing Big Sand, at least for a day, on the first full week of next June.

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

I wish you wouldn't complain about everything.

You do the same thing.

Then you should know how annoying it is.

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: The world always steps aside for people who know where they are going and for giant fuel tanker trucks.

The cafe chronicles

The waitress brought the twins — salt and pepper shakers. She was an uptalker. She gave her declarative sentences an upward intonation that made them sound like questions. He ordered a small orange juice. The waitress brought him a large orange juice. He complained, not wanting to pay for a large orange juice. She drank half his orange juice. Everyone was happy.

I miss the local café. It closed. It was like the old TV show, "Cheers." Everybody knew your name. When one of the central characters walked into that bar, everyone said "Norm!" It was the same for me at the old cafe. When I walked in, someone always said, "You again?" That was nice.

The sign said, "Road work ahead, behind and on both sides"

I put a "Road work ahead" hood ornament on my car. That saved me having to look for the ubiquitous signs. Cratered roads are automotive suspension test tracks.

"I'll curse that bridge when I come to it," I grumbled. I added that it was roads like this one that made me want to talk to myself. Then I realized I’d been talking to myself.

I fantasized that walking might have been a faster way to travel. I remembered a day long ago when I pulled alongside a hitchhiker with my old Rambler that I’d bought from Jeddeloh’s. "Hop in," I said.

He looked at my chariot and replied, "No, thanks. I'm in a hurry. I’d better walk."

I drove through a series of orange barrels signifying road construction on my way to a nursing home. I walked to the right room. "I feel guilty about not coming to see you sooner," I said. I hoped he appreciated my guilt feelings. I guess the most important thing was that I was there. I've learned that the perfect birthday, thank you or sympathy card is the one I send. We talked about sweet corn. We both loved the stuff. He told me it was best if you had a boiling pot of water waiting at the end of the corn row as you picked it.

I told him that whenever I went to town this time of the year, I made sure to lock my car to keep people from depositing excess zucchini into it.

He said that his new home was OK. He’d just attended services at a new church. He was worried that the pews might prove too hard for him, but he slept right through the whole sermon, just as he had in his old church.

And the teacher said

"Your paper is exactly the same as Tommy’s, how do you explain that?"

"We used the same pencil."

"I don't think so."

"I was paying homage to another’s work."

That wasn't me. I didn’t copy from anybody's paper. I specialized in creative answers. I once wrote a poem in Pig Latin, because that made it easier to rhyme. I read it aloud to myself. My teacher snuck up on me.

"Don't let me catch you doing that again," she warned. 

"I'll try not to," I replied, "but it’d help if you stopped being so quiet when you walk."

I must have had great teachers because I still take classes. I took one on straw bale gardening, a variant of container gardening. The idea is to grow vegetables in a bale still secured by twine by planting once the straw began to decompose. This offers a warm, moist and nutrient-rich environment for seedlings. The added height is good for anyone with difficulty bending over or doing the heavy work of turning the soil. Weeding is eliminated.

Kolacky Days

The sign said, "Parking for Czechs only." I had a check in my wallet, so I parked. My wife and I attended Kolacky Days in Montgomery, an annual celebration of that city’s Czech heritage. A kolacky (some spell it kolache) is a sweet pillow of dough with fillings of prune, poppy seed, apricot, etc. We bought some at Franke’s Bakery, which makes up to 2,000 dozen kolacky for the weekend event.

Meeting adjourned

An ordinary day becomes extraordinary when served with kindness.

After 37 summers of walking around Beaver Lake, it was just natural to keep on walking now that we’re living in Albert Lea the year around. On my morning walk by Fountain Lake, a female runner moving at a fast pace, sweat running, headband, jogging apparel, is headed right at me. Wendy Schultz, you brought back memories of old when the same thing happened many times on my morning walk around Beaver Lake. 

Genie and I attended the annual meeting of the Ellendale Area Heritage Society at the old Thompson Boat House on the south side of Beaver Lake. It was well attended with many stories and sharing of great memories about the Beaver Lake area. Memories of the waterslide, Black Wool Rental, bathing suits, cattle in the lake, skinny dipping, fishing, swimming, etc., were enjoyed by all. (The coffee and goodies were the frosting on the stories.)

Many times, for one reason or another, my Adams apple has caused talking and swallowing to be temporarily a bit difficult. One such recent happening was when the luminaries, in the grandstand, were lit to spell, “Hope,” at the annual Relay for Life in Albert Lea.

Going into the baseball season for the Twins, I told myself I’d be happy with a .500 percentage year. It looks like my sights might be a little high. Do you realize every game the Twins play at Target Field is about three million dollars spent in Minnesota? (30,000 in attendance at a conservative $100 per person.)

Have you shopped at Salvies in Albert Lea? This store just might have what you want that is not edible or drinkable. The store is run by two lady CEOs with both answering to the title of Major. If you are looking for the location of Salvies, the store is on 416 Bridge Avenue. Salvies is most certainly a store with reasonable prices. (Both Ellendale and New Richland have a similar store.) I can never remember the right name of the store so I just call it Salvies.

Thanks to Crystal Miller and employees of the Albert Lea Tribune for being such great hosts in giving the Noon Albert Lea Lions Club a tour of your facilities. (I’m a long time member of the Noon Lions.) We were each given a “visitors special edition,” plus a “got issues” yellow t-shirt with Albert Lea Tribune on the back in the size we wanted. The special edition with our Lions group picture was printed while we were there!

Some interesting statistics about the tribune: 

14 tons of paper per month to print the paper. 

Older people (over 55) are the highest percentage of readers.

Over $50,000 yearly incomes are the highest percentage of readers.

It is one of 25 daily papers in Minnesota.

Two of the current female employees are good winkers!

———

Bob is a retired AAL (Aid Association for Lutherans) agent, currently working on his master’s degree in Volunteering. 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. Bob says if you enjoy his column, 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.

In middle school phy ed, we always had to do physical fitness tests. I generally liked these and did pretty well… except for the sit and reach. I had/have zero flexibility and always failed that test miserably.

However, flexibility is not all about the physical aspect, as I recently discovered with our family vacation to Missouri. Michelle and I had visited the Show-Me State on our honeymoon nearly 17 years ago and decided to take the kids through Kansas City, St. Louis, and Hannibal (hometown of Mark Twain). We’d visit some of the places we had all those years ago, along with baseball games at Kauffmann Stadium and Busch Stadium.

We didn’t plan much, preferring to fly a bit by the seat of our pants – no reservations, tickets, etc. This worked well right from the start. We had planned on visiting Kansas City first, but upon checking the weather forecast before we left, we saw extreme heat warnings for the next two days. We didn’t want to think about watching a ballgame in that, much less do anything else. Flexibility kicked in with the ability to change it up and head to Hannibal first, leaving KC as our last stop.

I expected to need flexibility with driving all that way, anticipating plenty of road construction along the way. However, that flexibility wasn’t needed much. There was no place in Missouri where there was more than a mile stretch of construction, except areas marked as having lane closures at night, when the crews could work out of the sun and it wouldn’t stop up traffic as much. The roads in Missouri are beautiful; maybe Minnesota could take some notes?

The great thing about not planning is that you don’t have to be all these places at certain times. You can take time to explore and discover places you might not have otherwise. Just wandering the streets of Hannibal and looking at all the Mark Twain-related stores was fun. We timed tours of the caves and a steamboat cruise pretty close to the mark and enjoyed the ability to just go back to our hotel and relax.

Flexibility of headwear is important when visiting other stadiums. While I wore my Minnesota Twins cap around both St. Louis and Kansas City, I bought hats for the local home teams to wear to their games. Even at the game, I discovered the flexibility of fans. In St. Louis, I had Cardinals fans next to me who lived in Chicago, a tough sell to Cubs supporters. There was also a San Diego Padres fan behind me. The toughest might have been the Pittsburgh fans around us, since that was the opposing team!

We had originally planned on visiting the zoo in KC, but found out the one in St. Louis was free and ranked one of the best in the world, so we changed plans. Upon arriving in KC, we found out there was a Legoland there, which Anton said we HAD to see, so we adjusted our plans.

We found flexibility in others as well. Trying to find a museum in KC, I got hopelessly lost and ended up in Kansas. Stopping by a bank to get directions, a gentleman there showed the goodness in mankind and actually had me follow him down some crazy roads to just a short distance from our goal – now that’s a flexible schedule!

The flexibility even extended to when we returned home. We had planned on being gone six full days and driving home the seventh. However, we were sick of hotels and just wanted to get home, so we drove from KC to Ellendale the last evening rather than stopping again. It was nice to get into our own beds, even if it was late!

There are times it’s nice to follow a more rigid schedule; our trip to Florida a couple years ago is a good example of that. But these driving trips are more exciting without as many plans. We still saw the things we really wanted to see and also found some neat places, like the Science Museum in St. Louis.

If you’re open to being flexible, I highly recommend a trip to Missouri. There really is a lot to see, but it’s best discovered on the fly. Sometimes those vacations can create the best memories!

A couple items of business before I depart and start thinking about school again! First, this is my 156th column. My New Ulm math tells me that makes three full years of writing in this space! Thank you so much to all of you who read my ramblings every week. A special thanks to those of you who continue to give me feedback, whether it’s positive or negative; I really enjoy hearing from you!

Also, my apologies for not having a Word of the Week last week. I had one, really I did! It’s in my file on my computer, but I failed to copy it on my e-mail to the paper. So here are last week’s and this week’s!

Word of the Week: Last week’s word was osculate, which means to touch or bring together, as in, “The music was able to osculate the congregation, as everyone belted out their favorite hymn.” This week’s word is tellurian, which means an inhabitant of Earth, as in, “It was interesting to see the many varieties of tellurians while on vacation.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!

The scurs and the Weather Eye clicked for a third week in a row. Suddenly junkyards are being flooded with calls for used heater controls from AMC products. Who knew? Will the scurs continue to be bulletproof or are their days of being golden limited? Starting Wednesday, mostly cloudy with a good chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the mid-70’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Thursday, partly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows around 60. Sunny and warmer Friday with highs in the low 80’s and lows near 65. Saturday, mostly sunny with a good chance of an evening shower or thunderstorm. Highs in the upper 80’s with lows in the mid-60’s. Partly sunny on Sunday with highs in the low 80’s with lows in the upper 50’s. Monday, partly sunny with an increasing chance for showers and thunderstorms by evening. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 60’s. Mostly cloudy for Tuesday with a good chance for showers and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70’s with lows in the low 50’s. The normal high for August 22nd is 80 and the normal low is 59. With a sudden break before the Stat Fair, the scurs are suddenly lost without a cause.

Crop progress continues to be steady. With sweet corn yields reported over 10 ton per acre in areas, it could be a very positive sign of things to come. Corn was beginning to show some dents already, especially on the ear tips, which still makes it R4 corn but is approaching R5 rapidly. Soybeans continued to operate within the R5 level of maturity with some of the early-planted, early-maturing soybeans beginning to show signs of R6, soybeans with full seed in the pod at one of the four uppermost nodes with a fully developed leaf. Soybean aphid control measures have been a mixed bag with some fields, especially those treated prior to threshold levels requiring retreatment. This is why waiting until threshold is a good idea. Thinking one can outsmart Mother Nature is a fool’s game, especially with a pest we have only slightly more than decade’s worth of experience with in the U.S.

Observations from the window of the oval office the other morning included the sighting of a bull thistle in the pasture. When one is an agronomist, one makes mental notes of such things since you don’t want the neighbors to think you’re some kind of slob. After chores, pursuit of the cirsium vulgare was on. Armed with my trusty bean hook, I was determined to make a quick end to the problem weed. In addition I also found plumeless thistles (Carduus acanthoides). Spellcheck really sucks, by the way, if you’re trying to write about anything agronomic, but I digress. Anyway, of course when you find one thistle you generally find a dozen without looking very hard. Thistles tend to bolt at varying times so no matter how hard one tries, there always seems to be another one showing up. And worst of all, you’ll probably miss one or two so your neighbors will still think you’re a slob.

The garden at the ranch continues to move along. More muskmelons arose from under the canopy of leaves and the sweet corn should be nearing perfection within the next week. Numerous squash and pumpkins are also evident as the vines begin to show signs of winding down as fall approaches. The tomatoes are beginning to behave as though their fruit will start to ripen once September draws near. Given the number of plants it should result in an avalanche of tomatoes. Cukes and string beans are continuing to produce, although they too are showing signs that without some rains in the near future, their eventual demise is certain.

The dogs continue their appreciation for air conditioning. When Mrs. Cheviot travelled south to the Iowa State Fair, Mr. Cheviot turned the AC back on. The humidity in the house had risen to unacceptable levels and Fudgie and Ruby weren’t sorry when the thermostat was dialed down to 75. Besides, with the Pro Farmer Crop Tour looming near on the horizon, Mr. Cheviot needed his beauty rest. After chores, the last thing needed was more panting from the dogs or Mr. Cheviot.

The Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour will be well underway by the time this reaches print, so those of you getting this electronically will be the beneficiaries of this preview. Things looked about the way through the windshield as I would’ve expected. Minnesota and Iowa on the route from home to the Illinois border looked general fantastic from the road. As we moved into Illinois from about Galesburg on, the corn crop in particular began to be up and down, not to mention nitrogen deficient. The appearance of the soybeans was more subtle with damage from excess moisture becoming more evident as we got closer to the Illinois and Indians border. Larger drown out spots were apparent and the crop was beginning to show signs that rain would be beneficial in areas. In Indiana, there was some decent looking corn and soybeans along with the same variability we’d seen in Illinois. Ohio was much the same from the Indians border to Columbus. What does that tell you? It tells you looking out the windshield, we really can’t know much other than physical appearance. That’s why we’re out here, to take an actual measurement of the crop yields as well as a close up and personal rating of its condition. Follow us on AgWeb.com and our Tweets on #pftour15 as we roll through the eastern Corn Belt to our final destination Thursday night in Rochester, MN.

See you next week…real good then.

Bank to match donations 5-to-1 to finish Washburn House project

There has been a great deal of progress on the Old Washburn House building on Main Street in the months since the State Bank of New Richland donated the building to the Area Food Shelf of New Richland. 

Many hours of labor have been donated by area residents and student classes from NRHEG throughout the spring to begin this renovation project.

The roof has been repaired and the interior of the building has been cleaned out and is ready for the next phase of the project.

The State Bank of New Richland has announced a matching gift program to raise funds to assist in this next phase. 

Bernice C. Patterson, 82, of Rochester, died peacefully at St. Marys Hospital on Saturday, August 15, 2015. We are blind-sided by her passing just three days after a surprise diagnosis of non-alcoholic HCC liver cancer. Because she was at peace with death and ready to be with God, we gave her our blessing to leave us now, because mom is always right.

Bernice was born March 2, 1933 in rural Hartland, Minnesota to Narvin and Gunda Olson. She graduated from Ellendale High School in 1951 and received her three-year RN diploma from Naeve School of Nursing in Albert Lea, MN in 1954. She loved working as an operating room nurse throughout her career, retiring in 1983. She enjoyed sewing, crocheting (especially scrubbies), doing crossword puzzles, and volunteering at the Senior Center.  She also enjoyed watching the Twins and Vikings on TV.