Jerold “Jerry” L. Willford, 74, of Spring Valley, Minn., died Monday, May 27, 2019, at St. Marys Hospital. Jerry was born May 22, 1945, in Preston, Minn., to Merlin C. and Arlone (Hanson) Willford. He grew up in Harmony, Minn., and graduated from Harmony High School in 1963. On March 31, 1967, he married Nancy L. Drinkall at First Lutheran Church in Highland, Minn. The … [Read more...]
Lola Williamson
Lola I. (Nelson) Williamson, 80, of Rock Falls, died Sunday, May 19, 2019, at CGH Medical Center. Lola was born July 2, 1938, in Lanesboro, Minn., the daughter of Willie and Bertha (Gates) Nelson. She married Kenneth Williamson on June 16, 1962. Lola graduated from the Methodist-Kahler School of Nursing in Rochester, Minn., and became a registered nurse. Lola was proud of … [Read more...]
Ricky E. Voigt
Ricky Earl Voigt, a life-long resident of the Preston and Spring Valley areas, passed away peacefully at Edenbrook Healthcare Facility in Rochester on Monday, May 27, 2019, at the age of 61. He was surrounded by his family. Rick lived on the family farm near Preston where he was active in the farming operation until 2003, when he moved to Spring Valley into a home provided by … [Read more...]
Annette L. Emery
Annette L. Emery, of Decorah, Iowa, passed away Thursday, May 23, 2019, in her home at the age of 89. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 29, 2019, at Burr Oak Lutheran Church in Burr Oak, Iowa, with Pastor Matt Larson officiating. Burial will take place in Burr Oak Cemetery. Visitation was from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday, May 28 at Burr Oak Lutheran Church and … [Read more...]
Disaster recovery resources and information
Parts of southeastern Minnesota were hit hard this weekend by severe weather, including three possible tornadoes in Fillmore County. Thankfully, there haven’t been any reports of injuries to people or livestock losses. Next comes the recovery process. Recovering from a natural disaster can be confusing and stressful, but these resources might help. First, be sure to … [Read more...]
James Stanley Johnson
James Stanley Johnson passed away on May 24, 2019, in Mesa, Ariz. Jim was born in Rochester, Minn., to Stanley and Ruth Johnson. Jim worked with his dad at the Johnson Funeral Home and Johnson Furniture Store in Lanesboro, Minn. He opened his own business, the Lanesboro Body Shop, and was a volunteer fire fighter, also in Lanesboro. Jim married Marlys (Rye) on September 3, … [Read more...]
Paul Lavern Kiger
Paul L. Kiger, 85, of Rushford, Minn., passed away on May 23, 2019, at his home, surrounded by family. Paul was born on November 12, 1933, to Ethmer and Blanche Kiger in Boswell, Ind. He had three siblings: Louise Kunkle, Linda McGhee, and Duane Kiger. He was united in marriage to Loreta Fletcher on July 22, 1952. During their 66 years of marriage they raised four children: … [Read more...]
Donna Ione Becker
Donna Ione Becker, 73, of rural Houston, died Wednesday, May 22, 2019, at Mayo Clinic Hospital – St. Marys Campus. Donna was born January 21, 1946, in Devils Lake, N. Dak., to Walter and Ione (Osland) Youngmark. On January 29, 1962, she married the love of her life, David Becker. She worked at About the Horse in Spring Grove for many years and ran the Semcac Dining site in … [Read more...]
Observations from “The Old Soldier”
By Ron Scheevel Preston, MN After weeks of enduring cold weather and countless hours of snowplowing, we finally made the great escape from the endless winter to travel to the southwest for a short vacation. Before we left we were bragging to others about how easy it would be to get to Mesa, Ariz., using our recently aquired smartphones. As we hit the road we realized … [Read more...]
Legislation seeks to limit public say on factory farms
To the Editor, This fall, one of the largest dairies in Minnesota, in my county, proposed to expand by 3,000 cows. We had just 30 days to read thousands of pages of material and submit public comments on top of our normal responsibilities. That’s why we pushed for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to extend the public comment period by a month. They ended up … [Read more...]