Opinions

Depressed and isolated for some this Thanksgiving

As a youngster, one of my favorite holiday traditions was Christmas caroling at the senior apartment buildings in my hometown. It always made me feel good when I saw the twinkle in the eyes of senior citizens, including my grandfather, as they listened to members of our 4-H club sing holiday carols...

It's fun to reflect on words written about BP and its citizenry

Now that I am finally retiring from a busy newspaper career of nearly 60 years, I am taking time to reflect on the many columns I have written the past six years for the Steele County Times. My column is called Reflections. That's just what it is: reflections on communities, people, farming,...

Veteran journalist Howard Lestrud covers the state football championship game featuring the Blossoms of Blooming Prairie last November at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Howard always had a camera and notebook in hand to cover events going on around the area. He is retiring after suffering a minor stroke.

Losing a great community journalist

For almost six years our readers have enjoyed the benefit of a veteran community journalist covering Blooming Prairie and other areas of Steele County. Whenever I needed something to be covered, I could always count on Howard Lestrud to be there. His work ethic is unmatched as no one I have ever...

These rank as my top stories, top columns

It really is fun to reflect back on my six years as a busy staff writer for the Steele County Times. As a young lad, I remember my parents having a subscription to the Blooming Prairie Times, a weekly newspaper. I also remember them having subscriptions to two daily newspapers, the Austin Daily...

Fighting the curse of the postal service

It’s the curse of the postal service. That’s what I am fighting once again with the U.S. Post Office, the agency that I rely on to deliver this newspaper each week to our readers. We have been experiencing unusually long delays in recent weeks with some of our readers getting their newspaper. For...

It is finally time to retire

Yes, it's finally time to retire and time to take care of the health of one Mr. Howard Lestrud. I have retired before from my newspaper career but was coaxed out of retirement by the current owner/publisher Rick Bussler of the Steele County Times. Alan Van Ormer, had fallen on an icy day and...

The Pumpkins in the Prairie guys include Jeff Peach of Owatonna, left, and his son, Dan Peach of Blooming Prairie of B to Z Hardware.

Peach brings Halloween joy

Let’s face it, 2020 hasn’t exactly brought a lot of joy to people for a variety of reasons. First it was a devastating fire followed by a deadly pandemic that has swept across America and wreaked havoc on Main Streets. But you wouldn’t have guessed any of those problems on Halloween night along...

Blooming Prairie Schools Superintendent Chris Staloch finds a spot on his office wall for a special plaque presented him by the United Way of Steele County.

It's about bringing people together to help others

Blooming Prairie School District Superintendent Chris Staloch always seems to be coming up with the right words. "With Living United being our motivator, we are always bringing people together to help others," Staloch says. Staloch, in his second year as superintendent of schools at Blooming...

Silencing a sports icon

What a marathon! That’s about the best way to describe the remarkable career of a sports icon that became a household name with Minnesotans for decades. Sid Hartman, who will likely go down as putting together the longest career in the newspaper and radio professions ever, died Oct. 18 at the age...

Autumn tree colors are cherished by all of us

We are fortunate in southern Minnesota to be treated to some breathtaking colors of autumn caused by a phenomenon that affects the normal green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs. Why do the fall colors emerge? They are a wonder of nature. Rains and wind will chase the colors away but...