Martin County Star Newsmakers
Everything you want and need to know about what is going on in Martin County Minnesota.
We look at the paper and talk to the Newsmakers.
Mayor's, City Council members, Coachs, Police, Concerned Citizens, and everyday folk with a story to tell.
Tune in each Friday for a new episode.
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Martin County Star Newsmakers
Martin County Star Podcast: Humor, Heartwarming Stories, and Community Highlights
Ever written a parody song out of sheer traffic frustration? We kick off this episode with a hilarious take on road closures, inspired by a catchy tune you might recognize, and the witty commentary of Aunt Ivy. As we continue, Candy and I are thrilled to bring you updates from Martin County, including the heartwarming homecoming crowning of Bella Fitzgerald and Josh Robin, as well as the much-anticipated grand opening of Highway 4. We also shine a spotlight on 4-H Week, celebrating its significant role in shaping young minds and fostering academic excellence.
We're excited to introduce "Birth and Bereavement," a new segment that honors life's milestones – from joyful births like Sylvia Ray of the Johnson family to standout achievements such as Cori Olson's half-marathon triumph. Meanwhile, our lighthearted discussions about the universal challenge of puzzle-solving are sure to resonate with many. We also geek out a bit with some Bible trivia and explore the fascinating history of 4-H clubs. Plus, look forward to our future plans of connecting you with local councils and candidates, keeping you in the loop with the community’s governance. Join us for a spirited mix of humor, history, and heartwarming community stories!
All right, welcome to episode number two. Episode number two I'm Mike Ennis, I am your host and this week I've got with me Candy, my wife. She's in here and she's going to be helping me host the show. So Candy say hi, hi everyone. There we go. Candy is also the sales manager here at Martin County Star. So if you're an advertiser, you need to talk about some advertising. Candy is your girl, all right, so make note of that.
Speaker 1:We're going to go through the paper today. First of all, let me tell you that we got a really good response in episode one. If you haven't listened to it yet, when you get this one, go back, listen to episode one. It'll fill you in on some of the details of things that are going on down here at the Star. But we're at it again. As we made note here in the newspaper, we've changed the masthead, which you probably saw if you have the paper. If not, well then don't worry, because you don't know. It's been changed. But we've changed the masthead again.
Speaker 1:I didn't like the first one, after the one who designed it picked it out. Well, candy designed it, but I'm the one who said, yeah, let's go with it, and then I said I don't really care for it, so we redid it and I like this one a whole lot better. Page one, though. What we're going to do today is just kind of go through the paper Candy. All right, we'll talk about what's in it and different things.
Speaker 1:By the way, before we start, I did get a couple of comments. One person wrote and said hey, I wish you would talk to the candidates, and that's exactly what we want to do. We did see Corey Reynolds, the superintendent, yesterday, as a matter of fact. Right, that is correct, okay, and we sat down with her and we gave her an open invitation Anytime there's something going on in Martin County West, you can come in, and we'll put her on a podcast. I told her any time at all, all right, so, excuse me, whenever I cough, you talk, okay. Okay, that's the rule here, all right. So, anyway, that's what's going on, but I am reaching out to some of the candidates and I'm going to try and get them on the show, and a lot of them were saying I don't want to be on yet.
Speaker 1:It's too early, but you know they have to remember these episodes don't go away. You know it might end, but it doesn't go away. It stays on the website. The website. Let's talk about that just for a second, okay. Okay, you can go to Facebook, to our Facebook page, if you want, and you can click on it right there and it'll pull up the podcast and you can listen to it right. Then you can go on your smartphone, put in martincountystarnewsmakersbuzzsproutcom and it'll take you directly to our Buzzsprout website, and then there's a link right there. You just click on it and it'll play. Okay.
Speaker 1:And if you call and tell me, man, I've been listening, mike, and I say where do you live? And you tell me some town, I know if you're lying or not. It shows me. It shows it, I know, but hey, I'm threatening now. It shows you exactly. It tells me exactly where everybody's listening from. My son down in Texas. He told me, dad, I listened to your show and, sure enough, it showed up Spring, texas. My other son in Wyoming. It showed up Riverton, wyoming. So I'm like, okay, I know where the kids are and I know where they're listening from. So there's no fooling us here at the Star. We know where you're at Front page, though.
Speaker 1:Let's get back to it for a second. Homecoming was the main topic. We have a picture of the homecoming queen and the homecoming king on the front page. Bella Fitzgerald was named homecoming queen and let me see Josh. Is it Robin R-O-B-E-N or is it Robin? Anyway, josh is homecoming king, so congratulations to both of them.
Speaker 1:Also, this week this past week, I should say we had the grand opening of the highway, highway 4. And let me see the mayor that was in Sherbourne, mike. Yeah, that was in Sherbourne, and I cut off the name of the mayor, bob, bob, bob Rossler, he's the mayor and he cut the ribbon to open up the highway. That was on page one. Uh, then we went on to page two.
Speaker 1:Now, this week we had a lot of 4-H items. This was 4-H week. Yeah, it's 4-H week coming up, starting Monday, and so congratulations to 4-H. Uh, ina minute I'll talk about, uh, the the history of 4-H. You're listening, you're driving, you're at home, whatever. Think about it. What year do you think 4-H started? And then go back a few more years, because it probably did not start when you think it started. So 4-H has been around for a while and there's a really interesting story on that in the Star this week. And congratulations, by the way, to all the 4-H groups. And the 4-H has been around for a while and there's a really interesting story on that in the Star this week. And congratulations, by the way, to all the 4-H groups and the 4-H kids. They really do a great job.
Speaker 1:You know there was an article in fact shoot, I didn't cut that one out. There was an article on one of the pages that talked about 4-Hers. They do better in school, they do better in school. You don't got to look for it by they do better in school, they do better in school. You don't got to look for it. By the time you find it I'll be gone. She was going to look for the paper for that page. I got the papers all cut up laying on the floor here, so you don't even want to see it. I'm glad we're not on YouTube Because they would see what I do here. I destroy things. Anyway, 4-h is interesting.
Speaker 1:I have a story, though, coming up later in the show here about 4-H. I wanted to read to you an Aunt Ivy. I'm not going to do this every week now. I'm not going to read you this week's Aunt Ivy every single week, but this one made us laugh too hard. The question was to Aunt Ivy. The question was.
Speaker 1:I don't mean to complain, but it's October and still Highway 4 is not open. That is true. That is true, that is true. The sidewalks are pretty much in in Tremont, but the road is still closed. Anyways, it goes on. I travel regularly from Sherbourne to St James and I'm tired of the detour. Again, true, and again I don't blame them. When are we going to finish the road? Okay, that's the question mark. Now here's what this I don't know if this guy or girl, anyway, here's what they wrote.
Speaker 1:I took it upon myself to write a little song. Now, this goes to the tune of Old MacDonald had a Farm. Remember that one? Old MacDonald had a Farm. Okay, enough singing. This goes to that tune. Now here's where it gets silly Highway 4 is still closed.
Speaker 1:E-i-e-i-o. I'm tired of the detour and tired of the stall. Oh, wait, wait, there was another line I missed. Oh, they said it'd be open by August. You know, e-i-e-i-o. There we go. I'm tired of the detour, tired of the stall, I just want my road back. Y'all, y'all. This might be somebody from Texas, it has to be, don't you know? Up here. Anyway, that's right. Well, you get the idea. What do you think? Think? Signed E-I-E-I-O, all right. So here's Ivey's response. It says dear E-I-E-I-O brother, that was how do I say it embarrassing. Please don't ever sing that song again. However, the line about I'm tired of the detour and tired of the stall was clever.
Speaker 1:If you're going to write a song about a road, why not write something like A Long and Winding Road by the Beatles Good song, Good song. Now that was a great song. Or On the Road Again by Willie Nelson, going places that I've never been seeing, things I've never seen again. I can't wait to get on the road again. All right, how about King of the Road by Roger Miller? I smoke old stogies I have found Short but not too big around. I'm a man of means, by no means King of the Road. All right, then that was a great song.
Speaker 1:Yep, if you're going to write a song about a road, you do not make it to the tune of Old MacDonald. Yeah, oh, right. A couple more Country Roads by John Denver, thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen, or even Hit the Road, jack by Ray Charles. I love the lyrics of that one. Hit the road, jack, don't you come back. No more, no more, no more, no more. Hit the road, jack, and don't you come back. No more, no more, no more, no more. Hit the road, Jack, and don't you come back. No more, what you say that was in bold, by the way Hit the road, jack, don't you come back. No more, no more, no more, no more. Hit the road, jack, then my favorite part, ivy Road, is what you say. So I encourage you to express yourself. Just don't do it that way With the tune of Old MacDonald. What you say, you're Aunt Ivy. What you say, you're not stuck in my head. What you say? That was the part that finally got to me, but she kept writing what you say.
Speaker 1:Moving on page eight, we have a new feature. It's called the Best and Bereavement page, and our concept is you put best and death on the same page. What's it called? Beth's? He got that, I didn't. Births and bereavements, births and bereavements. And our concept behind that was people like to celebrate, obviously, births. You know it's a big deal and then death can be celebration also. I know Ian Sin over at Sin's Family Life Celebration. That's it. He's got it right. You know it's a celebration of life, and so I thought on the same page it makes sense to feature them both. Anyway, we had our first birth, it was a Johnson family. Sylvia Ray was born August 2nd. How about that? Congratulations and congratulations to UHD, by the way, they delivered that baby. They do a good job over at UHD.
Speaker 1:On the back side of that page was page seven and Liz Goddard. Liz writes, she follows our let me see Sherburn News, welcome and different school boards and stuff like that. But she also writes a column for us and she congratulated and we need to get a hold of Cori Olson. Cori is the daughter of Gretchen at Town Center and Cori ran a half marathon. That's great. I walked a half marathon in three days and anyway, corey ran a half marathon. Corey, she's a great girl. That girl can run too. That's no lie. I've known her for several years now.
Speaker 1:All right, moving on to the entertainment page, are you ready for this? I am. I'm sorry.
Speaker 1:A lot of people like puzzles. You like puzzles? No, not really. I'm not a puzzle person. I'm not either. You know why I don't like them? Because I can't put them together. I'm the worst puzzle putter together-er ever. I can't sit still that long. Well, I just sit there. Give me them little straight lines. You know the borders. I'm pretty good with those, but you get to the middle of them and I'm no good. But here it is Great Puzzle Race at the Fairmont Library. It'll be Monday coming up, monday, october 7th, at 6 pm and let me see Teams, teams of four adults, teams of four adults. I don't know, bring your own coffee, I guess. Anyway, that's what's going on.
Speaker 1:Also, on the entertainment page now we put all the movies that are playing at Jackson, sherbourne, st James and Fairmont five. We put them in the paper each and every week because we want to be that paper that people go to, they grab and they say go to the Star, and they've got all the listings right there. You don't have to go on your phone and look up go to the Star, and they've got all the listings right there. You don't have to go on your phone and look up and go to all these different websites to find out what's playing at those four theaters. You can just look at it. For example, jackson this weekend it's the Wild Robot. It's in 2D or in 3D. Sherbert is playing White Bird. St James has you Gotta Believe? And there's no movie tonight. Well, that doesn't matter. By the time you get this it will already be tomorrow. So Fairmont Five this week is playing Joker, the Wild Robot, transformers 1 and Beetlejuice. Anyway, also on that same page is Shawn Michael. He sends us his movie reviews and this week he is reviewing Wolves and Ocean's Eleven, because they both star Brad Pitt.
Speaker 1:And who else? Ken and I are terrible at movies. George Clooney, we're terrible. We get into those. We get into those contests. We're always like nobody ever chooses us. We know we're going to lose. They all say, oh, seriously, don't give me, don't give me the, don't, don't give me the. Yeah, if it's a kid, they say I don't, I don't want that, and and moms know better, so you know. So we, we pretty much sit out. We're not invited. Girl Scout sign-up carnival is going on. This is for girls, grades K through 12. Tuesday, october 8th, 5 to 6, 30 pm at Grace Lutheran Church. So Girl Scout sign-up.
Speaker 1:When I was a kid my little sister Up here, I don't know if you guys have there was a group called the Bluebirds and brownies. I was a brown called the bluebirds and brownies. Okay, well, the bluebirds were right before the brownies. Oh, they were little ones, not in texas, that was in kansas where I grew up, and my little sister cindy. She was a bluebird and mom was the head, the leader, the den leader, but the mother, or whatever they call them in Bluebirds, the nest mother, I guess. And I used to, you know, I mean Cindy is three years younger than me, so I was, like you know, maybe 12, 11, and they were like 9 and 10-ish years old and I used to go through and I was like the unofficial Bluebird, you know, because I hung around them a lot. They're girls, I was a boy, you know.
Speaker 1:So anyway, okay, pet page. This is page 10. Weird pet this week. Weird pet how to care for your pet snail. I got a picture of a snail on there and everything. Anyway, it's instructions. For example, let me see how to the food for a snail, the enclosure, the handling you can feed them daily. It says all kinds of tips. So if you have a snail in an aquarium, we've got how to do it All right. So keep that in mind. That was on page 10, I think it was, don't worry. Next page is the comic strip page. We have done a novel idea. We put all the comics on one page. You know what a crazy idea. We put all the comics on one page and so you can sit there.
Speaker 1:Can I tell them the story of the guy who Don't mention any names? Don't mention a name. Guy who Don't mention any name, don't mention a name. He told us we stopped in to a certain gentleman just to say hi the other day, and actually to his son, who runs a business, one of our advertisers just to say hi and introduce ourselves, because we haven't met him yet, and his dad was there. He said so, are you responsible for the paper being smaller? And I thought, oh gee, I am in trouble, in trouble. I took it, though, and I said yes, sir, I'm the one he said good, I said why he goes? Because it's easier to read when you're sitting on the john. I said oh, can I quote you? He said no, and then his son gave me his name. But I will not. I'll respect that. Anyway, I suppose it does make sense. But anyway, the spats. I was telling you.
Speaker 1:There's one of the comic strips I really like, and it's called the Spats, and the spats are this one. Okay, here's what it says. It's three pictures this week. It says this is dad talking to his son when I was a kid, we were poor. The son says how poor were you? He says our Thanksgiving dinner was just two rocks and a walnut. Two rocks and a walnut, okay, you ready?
Speaker 1:Page 13 this week was the church page and I pulled out the Bible trivia. You ready for a couple of questions? Yeah, you are Okay. Is the book of Philemon in the Old or New Testament or neither? Neither New Philemon, no, new New Testament Philemon is after what book? After first Philemon? Anyway, don't do that to me. That is your test for the week. Go find out what and where Philemon is in the New Testament. All right.
Speaker 1:Who wrote? Neither shall any priest drink wine when they enter into the inner court. Your choices are Ezekiel, isaiah, daniel or Hosea. Ezekiel, ezekiel, all right, one more, one more. Let me find a good one here. Oh, from Genesis 19. In addition to fire, what did God rain down upon Sodom and Gomorrah? Hail, lightning brimstone or mud? Hail, lightning brimstone or mud, brimstone Brimstone? Yeah, mud probably would have put the fire out. So, god, you're in doubt.
Speaker 1:All right, I told you there was a story here I wanted to read to you about the history of 4-H. I won't read the whole story, okay, because it was pretty long, but I just want to give you a little start. It says, 4-h didn't really start in one place or time. It began around the start of the 20th century in the work of several people in different parts of the United States who were concerned about young people. During the late 1800s. Researchers at public universities saw that adults in the farming communities did not readily accept the new agricultural discoveries being developed on university campuses. But they found that the young people they were more susceptible and understanding and willing to try new ideas. So let me see.
Speaker 1:So the seed of the 4-H idea of practical and hands-on learning came from the desire to make public schools education more connected to the country life. Early programs tied both public and private resources together for the purpose of helping rural youth. Ab Graham started one such youth group in Clark County, ohio, january 1902. 1902. These were all started. Oj Kern started a similar club a month later, in February of 1902 in Illinois. So yeah, I mean people. This was an idea that started cropping up about the same time and they were called here's what's kind of funny they were called tomato clubs or corn clubs or pig clubs or canning clubs.
Speaker 1:And then I've got this picture on here and I'm oh shoot, I missed it. Look it up. And I didn't. There's a picture, though, from 1912 of Marius Malmgren of Hickory, virginia. He's a member of a corn club and he's shown in 1912, he's sitting on top of his corn that he yielded 209 bushels of corn from one acre. And that was back when national corn yields averaged only 45 bushels per acre and he had 209. Ooh yeah, that is a lot. You see the picture, though he's sitting there on top of it. I mean, that's a huge pile of corn. You got it. That's kind of neat.
Speaker 1:And then let's see here Martin County West events. This coming week the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th. Okay, here we go. Next week Monday, october 7th, junior Varsity Football at 4.30, volleyball at Blue Earth at 7 o'clock in Tremont. Tuesday, october 8th, junior high football at Cleveland, again volleyball. And then October 12th excuse me, next Thursday, it's cross country junior high volleyball and football.
Speaker 1:Anyway, it's all in the paper. You go there, you take a look at it and you can see what's going on. So homecoming was kind of. You can see what's going on. So homecoming was kind of dampered a little bit. You know there should be rules. Wabasa played the role of spoiler after winning in overtime 12-6 against the Martin County West Friday in the Mavericks homecoming game 12-6, but in overtime. Well, that's an exciting, that's a defensive game, what that is. The game was scoreless in the first quarter and remained 0-0 up until Maverick senior Jacob Wilms snagged a rabbit pass and ran 74 yards for a Maverick touchdown with 4.30 left in the first quarter. Anyway, lori wrote a really good story here and she's got a good picture of what went on at homecoming. So check that one out Also. The Mavs run past Greyhound and the Raiders. This was in volleyball. And again, lori's got a nice story there from New Ulm and a nice picture with Lori in it or not with Lori in it, but from Lori, I should say. Anyway, so that's what was in the paper this week.
Speaker 1:Lots of good stuff Next week. You know, I told you we're going to be getting some of these different council members and those running for public office and we're going to get them in here. We're going to make them answer some questions. Maybe that's why they're not coming in, I don't know. Make them answer some questions and we have some open invites out to several people from different walks of life around the area and we'll start having those on here shortly, don't forget. Well, obviously, if you're listening, you know how to get to us. If you're not listening, then I guess this is ridiculous to tell you how Right I mean you know, duh. So anyway, pass it on to your friends, though. Let's get this thing going.
Speaker 1:We had a good response on episode one. Hopefully we'll have a nice response on episode two. I look forward to talking to you again next week and it could be earlier, you know, if you sign up, then you'll get a prompt telling you that a new episode has been downloaded. So anyway, thank you, candy, for stopping in. Thank you, it was fun to have you here. I'm hungry. We've got supper. You ate supper? No, that was lunch. We just ate lunch really late, that's true. So now we get supper, all right. So anyway, we'll see you guys next Friday, if not before, all right. So adios, talk to y'all later.
