REFLECTIONS
I am proud to be part of the Steele County Times, even if it is in a small way.
The Times has allowed me to write a column on a regular basis and has given me the freedom to interview some unique individuals.
Best weekly
The Times prides itself in being a community weekly newspaper that has earned the distinction of being the best weekly newspaper in Minnesota two years in a row.
The Times won the most recent reward by claiming 35 awards. Thanks to the leadership of Rick Bussler and to the hard work of some dedicated staff members, subscribers are treated to stories and advertisements with a local twist.
You won’t find articles on national figures unless that story, again has a local angle. Just last week, Times staffers put together a special edition on 19 local people with a “Heart of Steele.”
The news printed in the Times features “happy” news and sometimes sad and sometimes depressing. I like to believe that we print more of the “happy news.” To capture the heartbeat of a community is, therefore, a must that we cover all types of news events.
Just recently, our Alex Malm put together an in-depth report on an ICE team spending time in Dodge County causing its presence offending some residents.
Read about Linda Christianson, a local activist from Blooming Prairie. She recently lost her husband who succumbed to the tentacles of Alzheimer’s disease.
I recently had the opportunity to write a story on an Ellendale man who received a special gift in the mail, a Purple Heart cane.
Readers must help
We need our readers’ help to continue the local news perspectives. If you might have an idea that would generate a good story, call us, or stop by our offices in Blooming Prairie or Owatonna and present your story ideas.
I mentioned national stories with local angles. Bussler recently wrote a feature story on our Steele County sheriff, who as president of the FBI-LEEDA, hosted 14 law enforcement professionals from six states in participating in the first-ever Five Star Chief Executive Institute.
Just skim the next page of The Times and find a feature story by Karen Jorgensen on CERT training. CERT is an acronym for Community Emergency Response Team.
A national sports figure
Finding that local news story wrapped in a national flavor, was not too difficult for me. I remembered meeting then University of Minnesota head football coach Lou Holtz in 1984 at a golf tournament at the Hayfield golf club. Holtz recently passed away at age 89.
Holtz was in the process of winning 10 games over a two-year span for the Gophers.
He was tapped by the University of Notre Dame to be its head coach.
The Internet says this about Lou Holtz:
“One of the most affable coaches of his generation, Holtz won 249 games as a collegiate head coach with 100 of those victories earned at Notre Dame from 1986 through 1996.
“He led the Irish to the 1988 National Championship with a 12-0 record capped by a victory over West Virginia in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl.
“The ‘88 title season began a 64-9-1 (.871) run for Holtz at Notre Dame that included a 23-game win streak, back-to-back 12-win seasons for the first time in school history and a program record nine consecutive bowl game appearances.
“Born Jan. 6, 1937, in Follansbee, W.V., Holtz grew up in East Liverpool, Ohio, and played linebacker at Kent State University. His first coaching opportunity was at Iowa as a graduate assistant in 1960, then William & Mary, Connecticut, South Carolina and Ohio State as an assistant coach.
“He was a member of the Buckeye coaching staff for the 1968 national championship season.”
Holtz is survived by his four children, Luanne, Lou ‘Skip’ Junior, Kevin and Elizabeth, with the latter three all graduating from the University of Notre Dame.
Coach Holtz became world renowned for his demand as a public speaker. Here’s a sampling of his more famous quotes:
"Do the right thing, do the best you can, and always show people you care.
"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”