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
Christmas Cheer and Community Spirit
Ever wondered why the air feels just a little bit brighter when Christmas is around the corner? Join me, Mike Ennis, as we unpack the festive clues of the season—from the classic tunes and sparkling lights to the scrumptious meals and the slight pinch in our wallets. We’ll also explore local holiday highlights, like the "Sounds of the Season" event featuring Santa and a Christmas concert, along with a fun opportunity to enter Trimont's 2024 Christmas lighting contest. Whether you're in it for the community spirit or just the chamber bucks, this episode promises all the holiday cheer you need.
We shift gears to discuss a less joyous topic—the recent rise in tax bills impacting homeowners—while also celebrating the life of the incredible Justin Fitzgerald. Adding some levity, Tanya Taylor shares an amusing tale of a rental car mishap in "God Hides in the Details." And remember the iconic Cabbage Patch Kids craze? We compare it with this year's unique gift lineup, from vibrating toothbrushes to the Chill Pill sleep-aid. Wrapping up, we highlight Covenant Church’s heartwarming Thanksgiving initiative, offering meals to all without income barriers. Plus, keep your ears peeled for a special Christmas podcast surprise!
All right, here we go. Well, good afternoon. I'm Mike Ennis. This is Martin County Star's Newsmakers Podcast and I'm your host. And wow, lots to talk about today. We missed last week, I'm sorry. I've got a couple of people who are kind of mad at me. They say where was the podcast? It was Thanksgiving. I took the day off, I'm sorry. Well, I'm going to make up for it today. I've got last week's paper. I've got this week's paper. I have some other information I want to share with you. So we're loaded here today and we're going to have a lot of fun. So sit back, hopefully, and enjoy it and let's talk, all right, first of all, the podcast is brought to you today by Martin County Star.
Speaker 1:That's us, and we are looking for you. That's right. We want you as a subscriber. In fact, we want you as a subscriber so much we're offering 20% discount through the end of the year. All right, for the month of December, 20% off. So it's $50 normally if you're in Martin County. So it's $40, okay. And we want to be able to talk to you each and every week.
Speaker 1:Now the podcast is free. You guys know that. All you have to do is go to martincostarcom and then go to the printed paper online, click there and then it'll come up and it'll show you a podcast, and then go, click on that one and you're in, and that's an easy way. I find it very easy. I believe we are listed on Spotify and we're trying to get on Apple Podcasts also. I'll let you know when that happens, okay, anyway.
Speaker 1:Hey, I've got for you today a top five. I was in radio for like 12, 15 years I try to figure it out and I always forget but I was in radio for like 12 to 15 years, and every day I did a top five. Well, I've got a top five for this week. Let me see Top five ways you know it's Christmas time. All right, top five ways you know it's Christmas time. Number five there's Christmas music everywhere. Oh man, no matter what station you turn on, it's playing Christmas music, which I actually like it, but you know, sometimes you can only hear some songs so many times. But anyway, christmas music.
Speaker 1:Number four lights on the houses. Is yours lit up? Ours is not, but if yours is, kudos to you. We love to drive around, though, and look at the lights on the houses. Love, love, love it. We get a big thermos of a hot chocolate and we go for a ride and you know, go into Mankato and you go to you guys know what I'm talking about the Kiwanis Park and they have their Christmas lights and it's beautiful. Just don't go on Christmas Eve. I made that mistake a few years ago. We waited in line for like four or five hours, but you know it was nice. I wouldn't say it was worth a four or five hour wait, but it was worth a 10 minute wait. Anyway, this year we'll go earlier. Number three ways. You know it's Christmas time.
Speaker 1:All of a sudden, the meals at home are getting better. Now, you may be on to me already and some of you may be saying what's he talking about. Well, let me explain. You know, during the year meals are honey. What do you want for supper, I don't know. And you get like a peanut butter sandwich or something, or you know peanut butter toast that's kind of one of our favorites. But all of a sudden we're getting pork chops and things. I figured it out. She's buttering me up for something. I'm not sure what it is yet. I'm on to her, though Don't tell her, because I like the good meals, all right. So anyway, your meals are getting better at home.
Speaker 1:Number two I'm broke. I don't have any money. I'm not saying she spent it all, but I'm saying we've spent it all. We're broke. So that's how you know it's Christmas time and the number one reason I know it's Christmas is I'm freezing cold. I am freezing to death all the time. It is so cold out. Today the wind here is blowing about I'm not exaggerating about 40 to 50 miles an hour. We've got something blowing in and it is nasty. It was beautiful. This morning when I picked the papers up it was like 37 degrees. It was very comfortable, and now not so much. Not so much, all right.
Speaker 1:Hey, here's a couple of things I want to remind you of Sounds of the Season featuring Santa. That's Sunday, december 15th, at the Sin Family Celebration of Life Center on Apple Street East in Tremont. From 2 to 4 pm you can visit with Santa. Free photos. You know it's going to be a fun day. 5 pm Doors open for the concert. 6 pm the Christmas concert with Glenn Henriksen. Now, I've not heard Glenn, but everybody who I know has said man, he's great. There's a free will offering no charge to get in Free will offering no charge to get in free will offering. So I'll bring a few dollars and you know, and kick in right Number, let me see. Another thing is a 2024 Christmas lighting contest for Trimont. Hey, first prize is 75 chamber bucks Good deal. Second prize 50, and third prize is 25 chamber bucks. So winners will be picked by December the 20th. So that's going on.
Speaker 1:If you live in Trimont, you may want to decorate the house. Let me see. Okay, I think this is just for outside. I don't see anything about inside your house. So decorate outside, you know, so they can see it when they drive by. December 5th, tomorrow night this is Wednesday, so it'll be Thursday night.
Speaker 1:I'll post this today and there's a ham bingo at the Trimont Firemen's Relief Association Ham bingo and that'll be at Sins Family Celebration of Life Center, like I said a minute ago, on Apple Street East. Celebration of Life Center. Like I said a minute ago on Apple Street East, doors open at 5, social hour at 5, 6.30, bingo begins. Bingo ends when the prizes are gone. That makes sense. I like the way they wrote that Bingo ends when the prizes are gone, all right. Well, you got that to think about. So you guys, now I'm the world's worst at bingo. Maybe I'll be great at ham bingo, maybe I don't know, we're going to give it a shot though.
Speaker 1:Anyway, okay, some other things going on. We have several open houses to talk about. Let me see. Friday, december 6th, bank Midwest in Sherbert is having their open house and that'll be from 8.30 am until 3 o'clock pm. Holiday treats and refreshments will be served and that'll be at Bank Midwest in Sherbert. Also, a couple of other banks are having open houses. Let's see here who's this one? Oh, this is not a bank, it's Carpets Plus, and they are in Fairmont, at 1010 North State Street, and they're offering apple cider, sweet treats, coffee. Thursday, december 12th, from 10 to 2. So if you are in Fairmont at around that time, stop in. Stop in, check it out, say hi to the nice people there. We actually stopped in yesterday and looking at some carpeting and flooring and said hi to them.
Speaker 1:Triumph State Bank and Trimont Agency they're having their open house and that'll be Friday, december 6th, 1030 am to 230 pm, serving goodies, coffee, cider. They have door prizes. This is kind of funny. A few years ago we went to the open house and then we moved away. We lived in Fairmont for several years. Then we're back, but anyway, we went, I registered, I won. I won a gift certificate at Ace. I was so happy I used that sucker up. Anyway, they also have some free 2025 calendars they'll be giving away. Well, we're going to need those. The new year is coming Again. That's Friday. We're going to need those. The new year is coming Again. That's Friday, december 6th. 10.30 am to 2.30 pm. Stop by, say hi to Jerry and Greg and everybody there. You know, there are a lot of nice people there. A lot of nice people there, all right.
Speaker 1:Also, first, farmers and Merchants is having their open house, and I'm looking for their ad. Oh man, I am so Is that it? No, if I come to it while we're doing the show, I will stop and give it to you. Okay, I'll talk about their open house, anyway, all right. So some other things going on.
Speaker 1:I wanted to mention this. I think this is kind of nice. It's a federated rural electric and they are having their operation round up and they received donations this year. A little over $26,000 came in. That's not bad. The JCC High School Media Center it was $150 they raised and they're going to buy a chess board. Oh, good idea. No, I'm so sorry they didn't raise the money. They're receiving the money to buy those items, okay. So Federated Rural Electric, they give out this money and people get it for their organization, such as Salvation Army they're receiving $1,000. A Bravo Zulu house in Winnebago $1,000. Martin Luther High School, northrop, they're getting $1,000. Grenada, first Responders $1,500. And then they have a list of how they use the money. So anyway, if you want to check that out, that is on page 11 this week in our paper. All right, so look at that one Winter I hate saying the word I really do Winter here.
Speaker 1:You know as well as I do. It's four months long. It's not a three-month winter here. I believe it starts November 21st and it goes until March 21st, sometimes April 21st, but we're going to say it's four months long. I've got the countdown going on. I'm going to put in the paper starting next week how many weeks until spring. I'm going to keep you posted just in case anybody forgets. But anyway I have.
Speaker 1:Oh, here are some winter fun facts. These are some fun facts about winter. Did you know that? I did not know this one there must be pollen or dust in the air to form snow. Huh, I did not know that. I did know, no two snowflakes are alike.
Speaker 1:That's what they say. However, seriously, how do you know that? I mean, they've caught, you know like 50 of them and said, oh, those don't look alike, so I guess they're all different. How do you know that? Anyway, I don't know. They look alike to me when they come down. They're white and they're fluffy and they're nasty. It can never be too cold for snow. I didn't know that either, because I'd always heard, oh, it's 10 below, it's too cold to snow, which I love it. But anyway, it says here nope, it can happen, it's never too cold for snow, and snow isn't white. Doesn't say what color it is, but it's not white. Huh, it also takes about an hour for a snowflake to reach the ground. Well, there you go.
Speaker 1:And then I've got a list here of know the terms Winter, storm watch, freezing rain, sleet, windshield, blizzard warning. I mean all these are. Actually, these are some really good things to know and they're listed here. So you've got the paper that was in last week's paper, by the way, so you may want to grab that one and take a look at that. All right, other things here's a really interesting. All right, I told you I would find it and I did. Let me see. I promised you First Armors and Merchants.
Speaker 1:Okay, their open house is Monday, december 9th, from 11 am to 2 pm. That's Monday, december 9th, and then also Friday, december 6th Again Friday, wait, no, no, I already told you about Trimont, okay, but here's one. Citizens Bank of Ormsby, friday, december 13th, from 8.30 am to 5 pm. Wow, man, they're going to be open all day. Enjoy cookies, coffee, cider, join us for sandwiches and chips until they're gone. And hey, they're collecting hats and mittens for a local mitten tree. That's interesting. They also have 20-25 calendars to give away. So there's a couple more open houses for you Also.
Speaker 1:Farmer State Bank, their open house. Where's it at? There? It is In Trimont. It'll be December 12th, thursday, from 10 am to 3 pm, and then in Dunnell it'll be Friday. I said, did I say Friday? I meant Thursday, sorry, thursday December 12th. And in Dunnell it'll be Friday, december 16th, All right. So keep that in mind also. So pretty much all the banks are having an open house. That does not mean you can have money, you can't take any money, they're just having an open house. Okay, don't get weirded out here, or anything. All right, so anyway, back to the newspaper. I told you I'd find it, so I stopped for a second and I did.
Speaker 1:Back to the paper. I had a really interesting article in the issue before Thanksgiving. So two weeks ago, thanksgiving at Plymouth the history of Thanksgiving. So two weeks ago, thanksgiving at Plymouth the History of Thanksgiving. This was way, way fascinating to me. I'll not read the whole thing to you because it's kind of long, but it's well worth the read. So if you haven't read it yet and you have a chance, go online. Go online, become a subscriber. It's like $35 or something. It's hardly anything, but you can have the online paper and that way you can go back and it's always there. If you're a subscriber, you're already an online subscriber also. Okay, a lot of you don't know that and take advantage of it. That way, if you miss an article, you can go back, you can open it up. Go online, take a look at it. All the papers are there, all the stories are there and they're in color. Yeah, all the comics are all in color, all the pictures are in color. So, anyway, it's kind of fun, but this is a really cool story. It's the history of Thanksgiving and I found it way fascinating Also. Okay, here's one that got my attention Prop Fascinating Also. Okay, here's one that got my attention Proposed 2025 property taxes.
Speaker 1:Did you get your tax bill? Yeah, how about that? That's pretty exciting, wasn't it? I opened mine up and it went up a thousand dollars. Taxes for next year A thousand bucks. Yeah, I think there's some folks out there having buyer's remorse if you ask me. Maybe they're not, maybe they're happy with their decision. If they're a homeowner, they're probably not. Anyway, so there's a breakdown. I have it on here. I was at the council meeting last night and welcome, they were pretty proud of themselves. Their taxes only went up 5.77%. As far as a city Not school board, but city Actually, that's not half bad, but some cities not quite as well. Grenada, for example 20% tax increase. Trimont 18.71%. Sherbourne 19 plus Truman's at 15. Ceylon you're the big winner 26% tax increase. Gee, I know it costs more to operate. It costs more for everybody to operate, but wow, wow I don't often say this On the birth and bereavement page Justin Fitzgerald the title here is was called home.
Speaker 1:He passed away and he was a young, young man. Young man, 46 years old. He lived out at Temperance Lake Ridge in Sherbourne and he passed away from. Let me see it's in here. I'll sing to you. Oh, there it is. Ms. Ms took his life. He just, you know. But I read his story and I was way inspired, way inspired. He's a, he's a. He's a fine young man and he died and he left behind a couple of children and a wife and such, and and if you get a chance and you uh find that story to read about justin, uh do so, really good story.
Speaker 1:Oh, here's another story. It's in the church page this week, this week's paper, god Hides in the Details, and the title may tell you enough, but this was written by Tanya Taylor. I put lots of her stuff in and she submits stuff and I put it in and I enjoy it. She's kind of funny when she writes, and not everything she writes I put in, but a lot of it. But she's talking about going on a trip and how she always likes to when she goes to rent a large vehicle. She likes a large vehicle and how God provided one for her when she didn't think it was going to happen. Anyway, it's God hides in the details. So take a look at that Front page. This week of the paper was. I had an idea and I followed it through.
Speaker 1:What's the gift craze for this year? You know, the biggest one that we can think of, of course, was the Cabbage Patch dolls, those Cabbage Patch kids. Right, remember those Way back 19, I think it was 83, 83, I think. Yeah, there it is 1983. In fact, you may not know this, but the Cabbage Patch Kids was basically what created what we know as Black Friday. It started the whole craze. It started the whole craze. So I got to thinking about that, I looked it up and I came across that, and then I started looking at what are some of the crazy gifts this year.
Speaker 1:There's some wild stuff out there. There's some way cool items. Now, most of these other than the cabbage patch. I didn't have girls, I had sons, so we didn't have a cabbage patch at our house, but I do know what they are, and my wife she did. She had a daughter and a son and she told me she goes, yep, she goes. I was one of those in line getting my cabbage patch for my daughter. So, anyway, you know. But some wild stuff out this year. There's a toothbrush that you put your toothpaste on it and it fits into your mouth and it vibrates both inside and outside of the tooth of your mouth, I mean, at the same time. So it's kind of interesting. Candy was in dental for like 20, 25 years, so I called her in and said, hey, take a look at this thing, is this something that's real? She was looking over, she goes wow, she said that's cool. Well, not promising, but there could be a toothbrush in her stocking.
Speaker 1:You know, here's an item called the chill pill. It's not a pill at all, it's a device. You hold it in your hand and while you go to sleep it sends soft electronic pulses that calm your brain and help to lull you into a deep sleep in just a few minutes. That's what I need. That's what I need. That's what I need. Oh, and then there's this. It's a Vital Health Ring. It's a revolutionary smart ring designed to keep you informed about your health in real time. It's ideal for seniors.
Speaker 1:Slick Device offers features like heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen tracking, blood sugar, sleep analysis. It's a ring. You wear it. It does all these things Keep track of your steps, your calories, how many you burn during the day. I mean, this thing's smart. I have a dumb ring. You know what I mean. It's just a ring, ring, it just sits there, it doesn't do anything. Well, it tells everybody I'm married, but uh, you know, it doesn't. Uh, it doesn't count calories or anything else.
Speaker 1:And then, hey, kudos, kudos, out to the uh covenant church here in trimont. You guys did an excellent job. I'm so proud of them. They served thanksgiving dinners. What you had to do was you had to call in and just reserve how many meals you wanted on Thanksgiving and then you either came up, you could eat there, you could take it and go home with your meals, or you could have it delivered. But there was no income requirements. There was nothing else. Just come and have a meal. Come requirements. There was nothing else. Just come and have a meal Candy. And I did that about four years ago, I think it was. It was a great dinner. This year we actually did something a little different. We made Cornish game hens. But anyway, this kudos go out to those people. What a great job. That's what it's about and I'm proud to know them. They did a good job.
Speaker 1:And I was talking to their pastor and he told me that man, he said the pies. I was like, oh, we had cherry pie. Yeah, we had cherry and I love cherry pie. It's my favorite, he said, but the pies that come in are great and everybody loves it, so kudos goes out to them.
Speaker 1:Other than that, let's see here this week coming up. We've got a couple of new, a couple of different issues coming. This week coming up is Outstanding in your Field, and we're going to put that one together starting tomorrow morning. And then also, of course, we'll have Letters to Santa, and those are always a lot of fun and we'll have those in. I think it's the week after, maybe the week after that, I'm not sure. Yeah, probably the week after that.
Speaker 1:Anyway, so, and I'm thinking about a special podcast for Christmas. I'm not going to tell you what it is yet, only because I don't want to say something that I maybe can't deliver on. You know what I mean. So I'll keep you informed, though, and I'll have, hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, a special podcast for Christmas. Other than that, I'm trying to think of what I'm forgetting. I don't think anything Other than that have a great day, stay warm, stay. If you live here in Minnesota, you know what I'm talking about. If you're outside of Minnesota, then you're saying to yourself why do you live there? I sometimes don't know. All right, anyway, thanks for listening. Talk to you guys again next week. All right, bye.
