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
Regional Political Divides and lots of great info.
Discover how the recent election results underscore a striking regional political divide, where Trump lost Minnesota but claimed victory in Martin County. Can a congressional district voting system, like those in Maine and Nebraska, offer more representative outcomes? Join us as we explore this intriguing possibility and share personal stories, including a nostalgic nod to our connection with the 1960 Minnesota-Iowa football game. We'll also provide a preview of the much-anticipated Hospice Light Up a Life ceremony in Blue Earth.
Meanwhile, get ready for a whirlwind of local news and community happenings! From 12 Baskets' efforts to slash clothing prices amid inflation to Riley Ebling's recognition as a 4-H Agriculture Ambassador, there's much to celebrate. Homeowners, don't forget the essential property tax homestead application deadline looming on December 31st. As we gear up for the Trimont council meeting, will Bruce Borntrager snag the vacant council seat, or are there surprises in store? Finally, we sprinkle in some creative turkey cooking tips from our community network to spice up your holiday season. Stay tuned for potential mid-week updates, and enjoy the engaging tales from the Martin County Star Newsmakers Podcast!
Well, here we are. Welcome to Episode 8, martin County Stars Newsmakers Podcast. I'm Mike Ennis, I am the host and here we are. You know, election's over, right? We finally got through all that, got all the votes tallied and things going on.
Speaker 1:I found some interesting things that I want to share with you guys today. The headline I put in the paper was things that I want to share with you guys today. The headline I put in the paper was Trump loses Minnesota, but wins Martin County. I found that fascinating. You know, down here in Martin County, not only Martin, but Jackson, faribault, cottonwood, the whole southern region of Minnesota is all red and actually, if it were not for Hennepin County, minnesota would be red. Literally, harris won nine counties in Minnesota, Nine counties. Count them, you know and I'm not trying to make a big deal out of this, but let me see Trump, vance, let me see they had a million000 votes statewide and Harris-Walls and Walls is the governor of Minnesota. They had 1,006,500. They won by 137,000 votes in all of Minnesota and he's the governor. They're down, though. This is kind of interesting. Biden won Minnesota in 2020 with 1,00 down, though this is kind of interesting. Biden won Minnesota in 2020 with a million seven. She won with a million six and a half. She lost 63,000 votes or they didn't show up one of the two. And Trump, he actually gained 32,000 votes over what he did in 2020. So you know, it is kind of fascinating to me. Martin County voted for Trump 69.1%. Harris and Walz they got 29.5%. Wow, martin County is solid red. But here's what's interesting is, jackson County was over 70%, over 70.
Speaker 1:You know, now I have a, I'm an advocate. I wish, I think, is it Maine? I think it's Maine and Nebraska. They have different, they have congressional districts and each one gets a vote. I believe, and anyway I wish, that were the rule nationwide. This way, a city like Minneapolis or a county could not control a whole state. In Minnesota, it would have been a different story. Rather than all 10 votes going to Harrison Walls, it would have been probably something like 7 to 3 or 6 to 4, something like that. It just makes more sense to me. You live in a state with, you know, you've got a couple of large cities, and large cities tend to vote blue, tend to vote Democrat, and I don't think it represents the whole state. And that goes also for Texas where they, you know, all the votes went to Trump, and there are some counties and there are some counties and there are some congressional districts in Texas that would have gone blue. So I don't know something to think about. You know, same with California. What do they get? Like 54 votes, 54 votes in California, and you've got LA and you've got Sacramento and San Francisco, but yet there's a lot of California that's red, and so anyway, I think they should change the rules a little bit, not totally tweak everything, just change them up a little bit. Congressional districts I think that's how it should be. Personally Okay, that's just me, no-transcript man Trump is making all kinds of already some political appointments. I keep waiting for the phone to call, but so far no. Anyway, I keep waiting and watching Some interesting appointments. The Secretary of Defense, pete Hegseth from Fox News I did not see that coming. That's a little different.
Speaker 1:I was looking through the bottom of the page. On page one we have down there at the bottom it's things from the past, right, and I was looking through that and I came across this. Dr and Mrs LA Moen and Mr and Mrs Gordon Fromm were among the 65,000 people who attended the Minnesota-Iowa football game in Minneapolis Saturday afternoon. Now this is from 1960. Here's the interesting part for me. Anyway, when Candy and I first moved to Tremont, we bought Gordy Fromm's house, we bought his duplex. So I found that very fascinating. I don't know why I just did. The story goes on. Mr and Mrs Alfred Madsen of Medelia were guests last Wednesday evening at the home of Mr and Mrs Gordon Fromm. How about that? So there we go, what else we got in the paper. Let's go through the paper first and then we'll talk about a couple other things.
Speaker 1:Coming up UHD, they have the Hospice Light Up a life tree lighting ceremony and that will be in blue earth, only in blue earth. December the 6th at 5 PM. I look forward to going to that. You know there's now now there's tree locations all over the place, but the site, their ceremony, is in blue earth only. Okay, so let's see, here In Brysland it's at Farmer's Trust and Savings, delavan, the community room, elmore. At Kathy's Kitchen, kathy's Kitchen, fairmont Hospice Office, at 99 Downtown Plaza Trying to look where else Sherburn, sherburn Nursery and Floral They'll have a tree there also. Please consider a gift of $10 in memory of a loved one. Very nice, very nice. So let me see, $10 will light up a bulb in memory of a loved one on the hospice Christmas tree. Well, there you go. Everybody has had someone affected and someone who hospice has certainly helped, have we not? So $10, you know that's a great idea. Anyway, that is December the 6th, december the 6th, 5 pm. Keep that in mind. Speaking of UHD, we have Gavin coming and he is going to be a part of a podcast here in the next week or so. He wants to be on the podcast and we want him on the podcast. We're looking forward to talking to him about what's going on with UHD and where do they see themselves in the next year, two years, five years, in the Fairmont-Blue Earth area. I think UHD is a great hospital and I look forward to sitting down with Gavin and talking to him and we'll see what's going on there.
Speaker 1:A couple of other things. Oh, here's a couple of things I wanted to pass on to you. Sherburn's Ruby's Pantry distribution. That will be Monday, monday, so you better get on that. The Father Daughter Dance oh, by the way, ruby's Pantry, that's at the Regional Worship Center. Okay, right there inside, right there in Sherburn. Father Daughter Dance that is at the Trimont Covenant Church and that is November 23rd, from 4 to 6 pm.
Speaker 1:I do not have a daughter here. If I did, I had a daughter or a granddaughter here, I would take her to that dance. That sounds like a wonderful time. I'm a lousy dancer, but that's okay. You know, all the raise, the money, it all goes to Haiti mission and I'm I'm very much into the Haiti mission, as a lot of you do, or maybe you do don't know, but I have a grandson in Haiti who is a missionary and so I I keep close tabs on that and I'm certainly uh, I wonder if I could. Just, it's $20 per family, so maybe Candy and I will go over and dance. She's not a daughter, well, she's someone's. Well, she's my father-in-law's daughter. Maybe I could stand in his place.
Speaker 1:The Armstrong Brass Holiday Concert will be Thursday. Next Thursday, november 21st, 6.30 pm in Truman Community Building, and this is sponsored by the Martin County Library. There's no cost to attend, no cost whatsoever. Also, an ad slogan trivia at the Fairmont Brewery. And that will be the 21st. Also Thursday Fun starts at 6.30 pm. So keep both of those things in mind.
Speaker 1:Did you guys catch the Best Christmas Pageant Ever movie? We went last Friday night. Just wanted to go to the movies. You know it was a good crowd in Sherbourne and the movie was great. I thought I'm not in the mood for a Christmas movie. I was wrong. That was a great movie. We totally enjoyed it. What a wonderful time and you know, it was really a lot of fun to go there and see that Sherbourne the movie theater is so busy and so it was nice to see them full and having lots of people there.
Speaker 1:All right, what else is going on? Oh, here's something interesting 12 Baskets Reduces Clothing Prices. I'm still trying to decide if this is an ad or a news item, but anyway, you know, kudos to them. In response to continued inflation and out of a concern for the residents in its service area, the 12 Baskets has announced price reductions on many of its clothing items. These price drops include apparel for all ages and all genders. Well, good for them. Let me see. I'm trying to find how much. Hamlet notes that, while the current inflation rate is around 2.4%. Blah, blah, blah. Anyway, I don't see how much they're reducing. No, no, no, I don't see how much they're reducing, but they are reducing prices. So head over to 12 Baskets.
Speaker 1:My wife loves 12 Baskets, she loves to go in there and she likes, she buys a lot of Christmas ornaments and things from there. You know you pay. You go to a regular box store and you buy a new and you pay. I'll just make up a number. Okay, 10 bucks, all right, you go to 12 Baskets. Maybe it was used for a season, maybe for two seasons, but it's perfectly good, and you pay two bucks. I don't know. It just seems to me it makes a lot of sense. It makes a whole lot of sense. What else is in the paper this week? We'll talk more in just a second. Now, I love this story.
Speaker 1:Dennell 4-H member selected as 4-H Agriculture Ambassador. This is Riley Ebling. Riley is a fantastic young man. I know him personally. I am better for knowing him personally. Riley is a great kid and he is the Dinell 4-H member selected as 4-H Agriculture Ambassador. Wow, riley will serve from October 1st. He's serving now until September 30th of next year. Throughout the year, they will participate in a variety of events and programs designed to promote agriculture and engage communities in hands-on learning experiences. Well, good for you, riley, good job. I saw him at the fair, as a matter of fact, him and his little brother Regan. We were at the fair looking around and we saw, saw him and Riley and they were showing their sheep and it was just so much fun catching up with him. He's a great kid, he's got a good family.
Speaker 1:I found this on the legals page Important property tax homestead notice. This will affect your 2025 property taxes and eligibility for property tax refund. It says have you purchased or moved into a property in the past year? Yes, I checked that box. Yes, I said Contact your county assessor to file a homestead application and I will do that before December 31st. Okay, december 31st. What is a qualifying relative? Let me see. For unoccupied agriculture property, a qualifying relative includes a child, a grandchild, a sibling, a parent or the owner or the owner's spouse. All right, anyway, keep that in mind Martin County Assessor's Office and you can go there and get an application, I'm sure, and you can file. Ok, so keep that in mind.
Speaker 1:Okay, I had an interesting, had an interesting conversation today with a gentleman who, uh, I was outside doing some work and he pulled up and said, hey, you going to the uh trimount council meeting on monday. I said, yeah, I always go. He said it's going to be interesting. I said what? He goes? It's going to be interesting. I said what he goes. It's going to be interesting, you will want to be there. So I don't know exactly what's going on. I guess I'm the last one who ever knows stuff. You know, don't tell the press, but I will be there and I will bring you up to date next Friday Because something's brewing. You know they have one seat to fill. Let me fill you in.
Speaker 1:Three council members resigned in August, like August 29th, right? You guys know that Two of them were still on the ballot. That would be Bruce Bortrager and Bush. They were still on the ballot. So when we had the election just last week, bush won. Bush won. So if he wants, he's back on the council, the very one he just resigned from. But he's back on Kevin Keel. He won the mayor's job, which I think he takes over January 1st, january 2nd, something like that, whatever. So Joanne will be out Now. Ron Shade he won. So he gets his seat, he stays on. But what's interesting is they have not appointed someone to fill John Holtz's seat. That one is still vacant and I think that's what they're talking about. I don't know if they're going to make an announcement of who they're going to put on that seat, but that's my guess.
Speaker 1:Now, borten Traeger he lost by four votes to Ron Shade. I think it was 164 to 160, right to Ron Shade. I think it was 164 to 160, right, I've got that right here. Let's see, I can find it real quick. I'm going to sing to you while I'm looking. Yeah, 164 to 160. Okay, I was right.
Speaker 1:And Borden-Trager lost by four votes. That's, you know, you're going. Really. I'm sure there's five people out there who are going. Oh man, I should have voted. That's what happens, anyway.
Speaker 1:So are they going to put Bruce back on the council or are they going to snub him? What's going on? I don't know. This guy just said be there, there could be fireworks. So I plan on showing up early. I'm going to bring my. I'm going to bring my hard hat. You know I'm going to have my hard hat on, so I'm well protected and I'll be there. So I will let you know. If you're not able to show up, I will let you know next week what went on, if anything.
Speaker 1:So many times people say stuff and then it doesn't turn out. That way it's. You know, sometimes it just doesn't happen, but we are going to be ready for it, just in case it does, let me think oh, barton County Star, if you did not get your papers, it's because we have changed subscriber companies who take care of our subscriptions for us. They went through our records and they deleted some that were getting the paper, as we discovered, for free, and we don't know anything about why or how come is irrelevant, but the point is you're no longer getting the paper, so we want you back. I want you to still get the paper. Hopefully you want it. So drop you know. Just drop us a line, send us a check. It's 50 bucks for the year If you live in Martin County. If you're outside of Martin County, it's $55 for the year. Okay, so keep that in mind.
Speaker 1:Also, you can go to martinco star martincountymartincostarcom, and that's our website and you can sign up there for a month of Martin County Star Online for free. You get all the same news and you get it in color. How about that? All for free for a month. Try it out, see if you like it. We are going to send out a few papers Well, a few, you know, a few hundred. We're picking a couple of zip codes a month and we're sending papers out and letting you sample our paper for a while.
Speaker 1:We're very proud of the Martin County Star. We think we have one of the best looking and best reading weekly newspapers in the area, bar none. We make no apologies. We think we are right up there and we love our paper, and we think you will too, if you knew about it. So if you are listening and you don't subscribe to the Martin County Star, you know, give us a chance.
Speaker 1:Go to martincoestarcom and take a look at it and then either subscribe online or subscribe with the paper. Either way, you want it. If you live outside of Martin County, like if you're up north or you go south for the winter, get it online, you have it that day. Winter Get it online, you have it that day. I put it on on Wednesdays, so you have the paper with the peach on Wednesday. So you know it's a great deal, it's a great buy and it's less than a dollar a week. All right, all of that, all of that. Less than a dollar a week this week oh man, I almost forgot to tell you. I was so close, I was about ready to say, ok, we're done, and then it just hit me this week is how to cook a turkey. A lot of you are saying I know how. No, you don't Not.
Speaker 1:According to second graders at Martin County West. We have the second graders at Martin County West. They sent us their how to cook a turkey. Their instructions, some are pretty good, some are really good, and it'll be in the paper this week. All right, it'll be pages. Let me see 16, 17, and 18. It'll be the last three pages, all in color, and we have two pictures of the classes and so you'll see the kids who wrote them and they have their names. So that way you can say that's my grandson or that's my nephew or that's my boy, and then you can say holy smokes, I can't cook a turkey the way he says. One of them says shoot the turkey, bake him at 500, and then shoot him again. That's what I'm saying. I don't want that turkey. What a buckshot in there, you know. Anyway, all right, so that will be out this week and we're looking forward to it.
Speaker 1:It's actually a good read. I've enjoyed putting it together and I've enjoyed reading all of their comments. Plus, we went back 20 years. We went back 20 years and we found three students from 2004, second graders. Obviously they're out of school now Let me see, two of them are married and the third one I don't believe she's married.
Speaker 1:Anyway, we reached out to them. They sent us what they're doing now. They gave us an update on where they are, what they're doing, and that was always fascinating. And then also, we found out how they cook a turkey now, and a couple of them said I don't do turkey, but I won't give you everything. I don't want to. You know, spoiler alert, right, but you're going to want to read it, it's going to be a good read and it's a lot of fun and you're going to enjoy it. Anyway, that is it for this week, folks. I will talk to you next Friday. Unless something happens crazy at the council meeting, who knows, I may put a podcast out on Tuesday or Wednesday, right? So you know, stay tuned, right? So I'll see you then. Have a great week. I'll talk to you later. Martin County Star Newsmakers Podcast. I'm Mike Ennis Adios.
