Breaking News

Local Columns

Empty buildings now just ghosts

For 90 years, summers in Sleepy Eye followed the rhythms of the Del Monte factory on the west end of town. Sights, sounds, and smells that everyone knew ebbed and flowed through the pea and sweet corn canning seasons. Now the lot that saw trucks and employees busily crisscrossing sits empty. Weeds grow from the cracks. The conveyors that carried ears of corn into the plant sit quiet, rusting. It’s still weird to drive by, even though it’s been six years since there were piles of sweet corn. Depending which way you go through town, Del Monte is the first or last of three prominent ...

Exhibiting at the fair: it offers plenty of rewards

Last week I proved to myself that there can truly be a first time for anything. I decided on the spur of the moment to enter two of my raised bed garden items in the Lyon County Fair. I participated in the salad tomatoes category and in large marigolds. While I was at it I thought I’d enter a cross stitch project, one that features seven small projects arranged in a photo frame with seven compartments. The raised bed and the stitching both required effort. I wanted people who attend the fair to see my results, to know what I accomplished. It was a bonus when I found out last ...

Welcome back to Marshall Public Schools

As summer begins to wind down and excitement for a new school year starts to build, I want to take a few minutes to welcome everyone back and share some of the great things happening across Marshall Public Schools. First, I want to extend a tremendous thank you to our buildings and grounds, custodial, maintenance, and technology teams. While many of us were enjoying summer activities, these dedicated staff were hard at work preparing our buildings, grounds, technology systems, and learning spaces for the return of students and staff. Their efforts often happen behind the scenes, but ...

On the Porch

In 1959, a bill authorizing a study on whether southwestern Minnesota needed a four-year college was passed into law. The interim committee set up to study the matter came up with seven possible sites for the new college: Marshall, Tracy, Granite Falls, Redwood Falls, Montevideo, Willmar, and ...

Helping clients navigate financial decisions after a loss

Grief can make even the simplest decisions feel unclear. After the loss of a loved one, financial matters can become overwhelming. In these moments, my role as a financial advisor is to bring calm and clarity, helping clients focus on what needs attention now while setting aside decisions that ...