While I'm at it, publishing blog posts, I can't forget to add this Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross Spartans football season preview

Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross
Football season preview

with contribution from Coach Dave Hofland

The Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross Spartans graduated five seniors from their 6-4 football team of a year ago, but will return eight starters from that squad.

Seniors Alex Erickson (QB/DB), Mac Kampmeier (TE/DE), Justin Holslin (C) and Brandon Staples (DB/WR) will serve as team captains.

Juniors Evan Ellison (DE/G), Zach Gibson (G/NG), Daniel Nelson (LB/RB) and Patrick Backman (LB/FB), and sophomore Chandler Erickson (CB) join Alex Erickson, Kampmeier and Holslin as returning starters.

Senior Aaron Vold (DB/RB), juniors Kelly Engquist (QB/DB), Tanner Kirkiede (TE/DE), Cole Rundquist (G/NG) and Adam Asfeld (C), and sophomores Austin Dierks (TE/DE) and Clay Staples (G/NG) are all expected to contribute at the varsity level this season.

"Our strength this year will be our experience and leadership," stated head coach David Hofland. "We don't have great numbers this fall but the kids we have are kids of great character and have been working extremely hard to get ready for the season. We will have a little bit of size with some speed to go along with it. We could have nice mix. Our weakness will, once again, be our depth. We cannot afford injuries. Some of our younger players are going to have to step up to give us that needed depth."

Neal Hofland and Matt Fragodt will assist Coach Hofland, and Steve Haren will coach at the junior high level.

Wheaton, Brandon/Evansville and Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley are the teams to beat in the Pheasant South Conference, while Wheaton, Hills-Beaver Creek and Edgerton are the top teams in Section 3 of 9-man.

The Herman-Hoffman Tribune Editor's blog has a record number of posts in August

With but a few hours left for me in the month of August, I just noticed that I have over 57 "posts" on this blog during this past month. It's been pure crazy! That's almost two unique blog posts per day in August, when many newspaper editor/reporter blogs barely get one or two updates a month! Starting with the first week of August, when I made the trip south to Farmfest for a governor candidate debate, then two county fairs, updates for the Hoffman Harvest Festival, and finally the Donnelly Threshing Bee.

Then the usual civic and community updates on a weekly basis. I've tried my best to keep readers of the Tribune up to date on what's taking place in our local areas and our region. It's important to have an engaged and informed public, especially during an election season like we are in right now.

Prior to this month, the "busiest" months I've had with this blog were December of 2009 (51 posts), 48 in July of this year, 51 in March of this year, and 49 in October 2009.

I will admit, this blog can be very time consuming when I'm dealing with uploading videos and editing photos. Some of the time this work has come at great sacrifice for family time, which can't be sustained long term. I try to be brief on here and keep the good stuff for my hard copy issues that are published every Wednesday at Quinco Press in Lowry.

At the end of the day, though, a newspaper will not survive - in rural areas or the big cities - without a strong, substantial web presence. Over the next few months, we will be working to make the Herman-Hoffman Tribune more profitable in its internet ventures. I ask that you do whatever you can to help us out, mainly by supporting the businesses who advertise on our website and in our print edition.

Thanks for your interest in the Herman-Hoffman Tribune coverage area!

WCA Knights volleyball drops season opener to Underwood tonight

The West Central Area Knights volleyball team lost its home and season opener tonight in a 3-1 match against visiting Underwood.

The Knights now prepare for a second straight home match, coming this week Thursday when neighboring rival Wheaton/Herman-Norcross visits the high school gymnasium in Barrett.

Area volleyball results:
Underwood 3, West Central Area 1
Marshall Area 3, Alexandria 0
Holdingford 3, Foley 2
BOLD 3, Renville County West 0
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 3, Benson 0 (a big win for K-M-S against their Swift County neighbors)

Area girls tennis results on Monday this week:
Osakis Triangular
Pierz went 1-1 at the Osakis Triangular, defeating Parkers Prairie 4-3 and falling to Osakis 4-3.

The Highway 55 bridge by Hoffman is open! Detour signs are taken down

Shown is the final work being done on the Highway 55 bridge between Kensington and Hoffman on Monday morning this week.


According to MN-DOT District 4 public affairs spokesperson Dana Hanson, "There will still be a little miscellaneous work going on but the road will be completely open as of August 31."

WCA Knights volleyball opens the 2010 season at home tonight against Underwood

Best of luck to the WCA Knights volleyball team as they open the 2010 season at home tonight against non-conference Underwood. The B/C squad matches begin at 5:00pm at the WCA High School, with the Varsity match to follow at 6:30.

Bring your Knights pride and cheer them to their first win under first-year head coach JaNee Staples!

In other WCA sports notes... the WCA Knights boys Cross Country team placed sixth out of 18 teams at the season-opening meet in Morris on Monday. They were paced by senior Kyle Toms, who won the title for the second year in a row with a time of 17:12 in the 5K race.

Dog poisoned in Hoffman - he recovered but still might not make it

Click on the poster to enlarge for the details.


...What happened to the dog disgusts me. The criminal(s) will be brought to justice!

West Central Area Knights cross country opens the 2010 season today in Morris

Best of luck to the WCA Knights cross country teams, as they open the 2010 season at Pomme de Terre Golf Club in Morris today at 5:30pm.






In the photo above by Tribune sports editor Kris Beuckens, they are warming up before a long run at a practice last week. They have seven seniors who will lead them to a successful season!

Read more on the team in this week's September 2 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

The WCA Knights volleyball team opens up their 2010 season tomorrow (Tuesday, Aug. 31) with a home match against Underwood. B/C squad matches begin at 5:00pm, with the varsity match to follow at 6:30. More on that will follow later.

Paige Strand is the 2010 Donnelly Threshing Bee Queen

Congratulations to Paige Strand, the newly-crowned Donnelly Threshing Bee Queen. Little Miss Donnelly is Bailey Armstrong, a fifth grader at the WCA Middle School this fall. Check out the September 2 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune to read more on the coronation on Saturday night in Donnelly and see photos from this weekend's Threshing Bee.

USDA and Department of Justice holds anti-trust hearing in Fort Collins, Colorado - MFU is well represented there

Minnesota Farmers Union vice president Gary Wertish and the Yellow Medicine County Farmers Union President are among the MFU members who are attending the Fort Collins, Colorado USDA-DOJ anti-trust hearing on livestock.

The message is simple, to advocate for fair market prices for livestock farmers.

The following is from the Red River Farm Network on Friday morning: Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Attorney General Eric Holder are in Fort Collins, CO this morning, preparing for a full day of testimony on livestock markets and antitrust issues. Political leaders will take a turn at the mic before livestock producers get an opportunity to share their experiences and perspectives. USDA and the Justice Department will hold a final competition workshop in Washington, D.C. in December.

More on this will appear in the September 2 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

West Central Area Knights girls tennis team improves to 3-0 overall in duals this season

The WCA Knights defeated New York Mills today in a Prairie Conference dual by a 4-3 score at the home courts in Barrett.

More will follow later.

45th annual Donnelly Threshing Bee is this weekend - Coronation is Saturday night at 7pm

Shown are the candidates for the Donnelly Threshing Bee coronation, along with the 2009 royalty.












The 45th annual Donnelly Threshing Bee will be held this weekend on Saturday and Sunday. Two ladies are in the Bee Queen coronation, with four girls in the running for Little Miss Donnelly. The coronation takes place at 7pm at the Threshing Bee grounds.

Queen candidates for 2010 are Sara Stallman and Paige Strand. The runner up will be crowned princess.

Little Miss Donnelly candidates are Bailey Armstrong, Samantha Greiner, Logan Mau, and Kellie Wilts. Runner up in the competition will be crowned Little Miss Princess.

Bailey Armstrong, age 10, is the daughter of Jason and Nicole Armstrong of Donnelly. She is entering fifth grade at the West Central Area middle school. Bailey is very active in Girl Scouts, as well as basketball and dance. Her interests include reading, riding bike, playing with her baby brother, listening to music, swimming, and making arts and crafts.

Kellie Wilts, age 8, is the daughter of Doug and Ellen Wilts of Herman. She will be in the third grade at the Herman-Norcross Community School this fall. Kellie is active in 4-H and Girl Scouts. She likes basketball, softball, ice skating, four wheeling, working on the farm, and science.

Below is a video clip from the 2008 Donnelly Threshing Bee.


Here's the official Donnelly Threshing Bee website: http://www.donnellythreshingbee.com

Left out of this week's Tribune sports section by mistake - WCA's girls tennis team is a new member of the Prairie Conference

Left out of this week's sports section by mistake - the West Central Area Knights girls tennis team is a new member of the Prairie Conference, joining another new member to the league, Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa, and former members Osakis, Parkers Prairie, and New York Mills.

The Knights (2-0) host the latter (NYM) this Friday at 10:00am.

I'm in the process of gathering WCA fall sports previews, from the coaches and our sports editor, Kris Beuckens, as well as additional information about Chokio-Alberta/Herman-Norcross football and Wheaton/Herman-Norcross volleyball. In this week's August 26 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune, I had a light story talking about CAHN and WHN football/volleyball, with additional information on those teams coming next week from their coaching staffs.

I hate to say it (because it went by so fast) but the summer is basically over.

Center for Rural Affairs tours Hoffman on Tuesday this week

Here they are getting a first hand look inside the new Ralph Bjelland Memorial Museum.

A nice crowd turns out for Doris Bryson's 95th birthday at Herman United Methodist Church

Doris Bryson celebrating her 95th and her son Glenn Bryson celebrating his 67th Birthday on August 22 at the Herman United Methodist Church. Shown are people celebrating the event. Photo by Jennifer Pederson.

Congressman Collin Peterson will be in Alexandria on Tuesday this week

Collin Peterson will be visiting at Campaign Headquarters at 418 Broadway in Alexandria on August 24, 2010. He will be arriving after 3:00 p.m.

An eating, talking and singing affair is being planned, however, which will commence at 2:30 p.m. as we wait for Peterson’s arrival. We’ve been hoping for months for a visit from our congressman, so we hope our Democrats and friends will turn out in numbers. A ten dollar ticket will be sold at the door to assist with local office and coordinated campaign expenses.

The nationally-known Center for Rural Affairs will be visiting Hoffman next week Tuesday to see all the progress taking place there

The Hoffman Commerce and Ag met for its regular monthly meeting on August 19 at Anderson's Dew Drop Inn. Here they talk about some items with the Hoffman Harvest Festival, plus Muriel Krusemark talked about a surprise visit by the Center for Rural Affairs next Tuesday, August 24, at 4:00pm.



The CFRA website is: http://www.cfra.org/

More will follow later.

Douglas County Fair 4-H auction held this morning

Here's Jackie Oelke of the Runestone 4-H Club with her market lamb during the auction.

Kensington American Legion will lead a Retirement of Colors ceremony at 5:45pm on Saturday at the Douglas County Fair

Shown is where the Retirement of Colors ceremony will be hosted by the Kensington American Legion on Saturday night at the Douglas County Fair.

This is exciting - Fall Prep sports open today with the WCA Knights girls tennis sweeping two matches at the Morris triangular

The West Central Area Knights girls tennis team opened up the 2010 season with two wins at the Morris Area triangular today, winning 6-1 over the host Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta Tigers while winning a tight match with Parkers Prairie 4-3.

First-year head coach Doug Rakoczy reported that in the match with Parkers Prairie, three matches went into third set super-tiebreakers. In one of the three, senior Erin Rudell fought for a 13-11 third set tiebreaker win that tipped the match in favor of the Knights.

Their next action is next week when they host New York Mills on Thursday in a dual meet at 10:00am.

Lots of action taking place at the 123rd annual Douglas County Fair

Plenty of Runestone and Working Wonders 4-H kids showing today in lamb, sheep, and swine categories today at the Douglas County Fair. I'm heading there this morning.

Also at the fair, District One county commissioner Jerry Johnson of rural Evansville will be in a dunk tank! I'm tracking down what day/time that will take place.

Local politicians will be available to meet with this weekend at the Douglas County Fair

The Douglas County DFL invites you to meet a handful of candidates at the county fair this weekend in Alexandria. Here's what they sent me:

Friday, August 20
· MN Rep. Mary Ellen Otremba
· 1:00 – 8:00 – Jim Thoreen
· Bennett Smith

Saturday, August 21
· A.M. – U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson
· 2:00 – 6:00 – Jim Thoreen
· Amy Hunter (11B)
· Bennett Smith

Sunday, August 22
· 12:00 – 3:00 – Jim Thoreen with his 2 brothers and 2 sisters
· Amy Hunter
· Bennett Smith

And yes, the Republicans have a booth too and will be available to visit with.

Below, Douglas County Fair 4-H dairy and goat showing on Thursday morning

(Left) Two Saboliks from Kensington prepare for the dairy show. Also, below is a video clip from the action at the Douglas County Fair this morning...


...and goat showing.


...gearing up for the dairy show.

Plenty of activities for today - on a Thursday!?? - the Morris Soils Lab hosts a Field Day on biofuels plus Douglas Co. Fair 4-H judging

...and also the Hoffman Commerce and Ag club meeting at noon.

The Morris ARS Soils Lab field day is titled "flower power." A slogan that's a blast from the past but with a modern twist...the field day is focused on bio energy crops.

Hoffman Commerce and Ag meets on Thursday (tomorrow) at noon at Dew Drop Inn

The regular meeting of the Hoffman Commerce and Ag will be held at noon tomorrow (August 19) at Anderson's Dew Drop Inn.

Come in to Hoffman tonight for the Farmers' Market, with food served by the West Central Minnesota Runners Club

The Farmers Market runs from 5:00pm to 7:00pm tonight in Hoffman at the city park, adjacent to Highway 27 in the heart of town. Cost is only $5 a person or $20 a family for pork chops, sweet corn, and beans!

**Update on Wednesday night...I've got photos and a video clip from the event added to the Herman-Hoffman Tribune website Dotphoto gallery and videos page at http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com

Douglas County Fair is this week! 4-H livestock entries take place tomorrow with rabbit/chicken judging to follow

I'll have updates on the Douglas County Fair throughout the week. A number of Hoffman-Kensington area 4-Hers will be showing off the results of their hard work at the event.

Great discussion on Ag and Rural policy took place at the Farm Bill forum in Morris today

The ag policy staff of Senator Amy Klobuchar held a 2008 Farm Bill forum at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris on August 16, 2010.

Some great discussion on Ag and Rural policy took place at the forum, hosted by Murdock, MN native Dave Fredericksen. It was great to see Norcross-area farmer Dale Blume attend and give his two cents! He is shown above visiting with Agri-News reporter Carol Stender.

More will follow later...I'll have a story from the meeting in this week's August 19 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

Photo albums from the Hoffman Harvest Festival are available for viewing at the Tribune website

I've started to add albums with pictures from this past weekend's 62nd annual Hoffman Harvest Festival to the Herman-Hoffman Tribune website Dotphoto gallery.

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com

I'll have a handful of photos from the Pope County Fair and the Hoffman Harvest Festival in the August 19 issue of the Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

BMX races are a big hit at the Hoffman Harvest Festival

Other activities are taking place all day today and tomorrow in Hoffman for the 62nd annual Hoffman Harvest Festival. Stay tuned! More will follow later tonight.

All kinds of fun on Friday night during the Hoffman Harvest Festival's first annual Bed Races

Preparing for the bed races...


Getting pumped for the bed races...


Check out a longer video featuring two bed races taking place at the Herman-Hoffman Tribune website videos page.

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com

Turnout is outstanding at the community supper on Friday night in Hoffman, sponsored by Prairie Lakes Coop

The cookout was a fundraiser for the Hoffman Water Tower Project.

Oh, boy, this weather is giving me a workout staying up to speed on everything...

**Update at 7:19pm on Friday...The Pope County Fair carnival is underway tonight (kids' rides) and the turnout has been great, according to Fair Board president Paul Koubsky. The Kids' Day is moved to tomorrow, but the donkey races were canceled due to the flooded grandstand.

Koubsky also reported that the grandstand is scheduled to be ready for the Combine Demo Derby on Saturday night.

Also, as stated above, the Kids' Day which was supposed to be today will take place on Saturday, so all the prizes will be given out tomorrow.

Prairie Lakes Coop having a big cookout tonight to help the Hoffman Water Tower Fund

Come down to the Prairie Lakes Coop supper, moved to Main Street in Hoffman. It takes place from 5pm to 7pm tonight! In the photos, PLC employees prepare for the big cookout! Free will offering to the Water Tower Fund.

Pope County Fair is shut down for today due to the flood!

The Pope County Fair is shut down for the day - no word on the evening activities. Currently, much of the fairgrounds is flooded after the Glenwood area picked up between 6 and 8 inches of rain on Thursday night. Not good!

Heavy rain nixes Prairie Rivers Baseball on Friday night in Hoffman - other Harvest Festival activites will still take place

The Prairie Rivers Baseball game for Friday night @ 5pm has been cancelled.

The Supper served by Prairie Lakes Coop will still be held but on Main Street starting at 5 with the Bed Races to follow.

**Update at 3:20pm...The Hoffman Harvest Festival Bed Races are on! They will take place no sooner than 8pm, the advertised time was 8:30pm. Registration is set for 8:00 on Main Street in Hoffman.

Visit Hoffman History Hut during Harvest Festival

You are invited to visit the Hoffman History Hut during the weekend of the 62nd annual Hoffman Harvest Festival, according to its owner, Ruth Johnson. Hours are on Friday, August 13 from 1pm to 5pm, Saturday, August 14 from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday, August 15 from 11am to 1:30pm (when the parade begins). It is located on Main Street in Hoffman, to the right of the Hoffman Grocery.

The feature exhibit of the History Hut during the Harvest Festival is "A glimpse of Hoffman businesses 50 years ago." Ruth Johnson coordinated the publishing of the Hoffman Centennial book, spending hundreds of hours on its writing and assembly.

Permanent exhibits at the History Hut will also be featured - "Faith of our Fathers", a church exhibit - and "Readin', Ritin', and Remembering", a rural Hoffman school exhibit.

The Hoffman Bearcat classes of 1960 and 1965 will also be celebrating reunions that weekend.

Tornado warning in effect for Kensington-Farwell-Lowry-Glenwood

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for southern Douglas County and northern Pope County in West Central Minnesota.

At 6:55pm, radar indicated a storm capable of producing a tornado. The most dangerous part of the storm was four miles southwest of Kensington, moving east at 50 mph.

Locations in the warning include Glenwood, Alexandria, Starbuck, Lowry, Long Beach, Forada, Osakis, Farwell, Holmes City, Villard, Nelson, and Westport.

Dangerous weather threatens the Thursday night activities at the Pope County Fair in Glenwood

At 7pm, I heard a report that tornadoes were sighted near Swift Falls as well as Appleton.

Below are scenes from Thursday night at the Pope County Fair...you can see a line of trucks getting in for the Tractor and Truck Pull in the grandstand. It doesn't look promising that the event will take place without weather interruptions.
































You can see the full schedule and all sorts of other information about the Pope County Fair by visiting their website: http://www.popecountyfair.org/

The Herman-Hoffman Tribune is happy to partner up with the Pope County Fair board and help promote their events this summer!

BMX Races coming to the 62nd annual Hoffman Harvest Festival this weekend (click on ad to see the details)

The 2010 Pope County Fair - the 124th edition - is underway in Glenwood starting today

Here it is folks, your local primary voting results!

So I couldn't resist staying up a little longer tonight and going to the Secretary of State's website and tallying local primary vote results. In no particular order, here's what I came up with...

Grant County primary vote results

Mark Dayton wins the city of Hoffman's DFL primary vote, followed by Margaret Anderson Kelliher. Results from Hoffman's precinct: Dayton 29, Kelliher 17, Entenza 7. Just to the west in Herman, Dayton also won. Results from Herman's precinct: Dayton 14, Anderson Kelliher 11, Entenza 5.

Republican primary in the 7th Congressional District: Lee Byberg loses to Alan Roebke by a 10 to 6 margin in Hoffman. Byberg wins over Roebke in Herman by a 5 to 2 margin.

Also interesting in Herman...the Republican endorsed candidate for Attorney General, Chris Barden, lost to perennial Republican candidate Sharon Anderson by a 4 to 3 margin.

In Elk Lake Township, Alan Roebke defeated Republican-endorsed Lee Byberg by a 6 to 5 margin. In the DFL governor primary, Anderson Kelliher defeated Dayton with 56% of the vote. Elk Lake Township precinct results: Anderson Kelliher 14, Dayton 9, Entenza 2.

In Land Township, Lee Byberg defeated Roebke 3 to 2 in the 7th Congressional District Republican primary. Anderson Kelliher defeated Dayton in Land Township with 52% of the vote. Land Township precinct results: Anderson Kelliher 15, Dayton 11, Entenza 3.

In the city of Norcross, Alan Roebke won the only Republican vote cast in the 7th Congressional District primary. Byberg was skunked. By the same token, Dayton took all four DFL votes in the governor race primary, with Anderson Kelliher and Entenza getting no votes in Norcross.

Now a look at Douglas County

In Holmes City Township, Alan Roebke and Lee Byberg ended up at a tie, with a 14-14 vote margin, in the Republican primary for the 7th Congressional District. In the DFL governor primary, Dayton won with 49% of the vote. Holmes City Township precinct results: Dayton 33, Anderson Kelliher 23, Entenza 11.

In Solem Township, Dayton won with 61% of the vote (13 total votes)...Final results in the DFL governor primary in the Solem Township precinct: Dayton 8, Anderson Kelliher 4, Entenza 1.

In Urness Township, the Republican-endorsed candidate Lee Byberg is defeated by Alan Roebke by a 9 to 5 vote margin. In the DFL governor primary, Anderson Kelliher scored a victory with 46% of the vote. Solem Township precinct results: Anderson Kelliher 11, Dayton 8, Entenza 5.

Finally, in the city of Kensington, Alan Roebke defeated Lee Byberg in a barn burner of a race, winning by a 2 to 1 margin in the 7th Congressional District Republican primary. In the DFL primary for the governor race, Dayton won with 40% of the vote. Final results from Kensington in the DFL governor primary: Dayton 12, Anderson Kelliher 11, Entenza 6.

Over in Pope County

In the 7th Congressional District Republican primary, again we had a tie. Byberg 2, Roebke 2. In the race for the Republican Attorney General nod, the party-endorsed Chris Barden was left in a tie with Sharon Anderson by a 2 to 2 vote margin.

In the DFL primary for governor in Farwell, Anderson Kelliher won 56% of the vote. Final precinct results from the city of Farwell: Anderson Kelliher 5, Dayton 3, Entenza 1.

In Nora Township, Alan Roebke scored a win over Lee Byberg in the 7th Congressional District Republican primary, winning by a 6 to 4 vote margin. In Nora's results for the DFL governor nomination, Anderson Kelliher won with 42% of the vote. Final results from Nora Township in the DFL governor primary: Anderson Keilliher 14, Dayton 12, Entenza 6.

A bigger look at the 7th Congressional District primary on the Republican side...

With 69% of precincts reporting (as of 23:36 hours on Tuesday night), Lee Byberg is sweating out a tough primary battle with Alan Roebke. The current tally has Byberg at 8,427 votes (63.83%) and Roebke with 4,776 votes (36.17%).

**Update on Wednesday morning at 7:30am... As a whole, Pope County Republican voters sent a negative signal to Lee Byberg, as Roebke defeated him by a 370 to 317 vote margin.

Click here to find the results at the SOS website: http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20100810/

The 2010 Pope County Fair kicks off this week (click on ad below to see the grandstand events)

Video clip of Tom Horner talking about his opposition to ethanol subsidies has been added to the Tribune's website videos page

The link to view the video clip is:

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com/?page_id=432

Ralph Bjelland Memorial Museum will be open to the public this weekend for the Hoffman Harvest Festival

This week these display cases and many others will be filled with Hoffman-related memorabilia at the new Ralph Bjelland Memorial Museum.

Read more about it on page two of this week's upcoming Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

Awesome news - Muriel Krusemark is invited to the Midwest Rural Assembly in Nebraska next week

Muriel Krusemark, the Hoffman Economic Development Authority director, has been invited by the West Central Initiative Fund to attend the Midwest Rural Assembly on August 16-17 in Nebraska.

More details will be forthcoming on this event.

This is disheartening - a very false e-mail is "forwarding" its way around

Here is the text of an e-mail that I received in my inbox, and it is completely bogus.

For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had NO idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they don't pay into Social Security, that they specifically exempt themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest is to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform...in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do NOT want an elite that is above the law. I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop. This is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come. Have each person contact a minimum of twenty people on their address list, in turn ask each of those to do likewise."

So now, please visit this website to see how totally false the above points are:

http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/government/a/proposed_28th_amendment.htm

Ever since the passage of the Congressional Accountability Act in 1995 Congress has been answerable to the same equal employment and civil rights regulations that apply to private businesses. The other alleged disparities, those having to do with Congressional retirement provisions and health care coverage, are also misrepresented above.

**Always, always, always consider the source when you see stuff like this in your e-mail!

Seeking your ideas for improving government - from Rep. Torrey Westrom

The Request for Innovations program is your chance to share those ideas you have for improving the way Minnesota operates.

The House of Representatives Redesign Caucus will continue to accept submissions from the public through Nov. 15 as it strives to find ways of doing things better and more efficiently in the face of a $5.8 billion deficit forecast for the upcoming budget cycle. The Redesign Caucus has established five areas for reform: Local government and collaborative governance, state government, education, health care and
human services, and tax and budget policy. Two proposals will be selected from each area and introduced as legislation.

“We can’t overstate the importance of changing the way we operate because the system we have in place simply is not sustainable,” said Rep. Torrey Westrom, R-Elbow Lake. “Our goal should be threefold: To deliver better value more efficiently with increased accountability.”

A rise in unemployment during the current recession has meant decline in state income tax revenue, a significant factor in Minnesota’s current budget woes. Moreover, projections indicate Minnesota’s tax base will shrink as baby boomers reach retirement age, placing even more importance on a government redesign.

Westrom said technology is one efficiency tool he would like to see implemented to a greater degree and pointed to a recent announcement from the judicial branch as an example. An online service for paying fines is being rolled out statewide over a two-year period as part of an effort to reduce costs, better utilize staff resources and improve service to the public.

“It seems like far too often we limit our choices to raising taxes or cutting budgets,” Westrom said. “It’s time to get past that way of thinking and I look forward to hearing proposals from the public to streamline government and get the best use out of our tax dollars."

Citizens are invited to provide suggestions at www.house.mn/redesign.

Brief tornado touchdown reported south of Evansville on Saturday

A brief tornado touchdown was reported by the public south of Evansville approximately four miles, one mile south of Interstate 94. No damage reports have been given as of yet.

About half ways between Elbow Lake and Fergus Falls, a tornado also touched down. Flying debris was viewable from Elbow Lake, and the storm put a momentary halt to the Flekkefest celebration.

The second logo is painted this afternoon on the new water tower in Hoffman

This picture was taken from the corner of 1st Street and Main Street today at about 3:00pm.

Three video clips from Wednesday's governor candidate forum at Farmfest

I'll be adding more on Friday - right now I'm labeling the ones that I've uploaded.

You can view them at the Herman-Hoffman Tribune website's videos page.

http://www.hermanhoffmantribune.com

Part of the governor candidate debate below - more will be uploaded over the next day

I've got all my photos from Farmfest uploaded to the Herman-Hoffman Tribune's online Dotphoto gallery. Look under "2010 Rural Minnesota events" and you will find two Farmfest photo albums, one from the governor candidate debate and another including general pictures from the farm show.

Click here to follow through to the photo gallery:
www.hermanhoffmantribune.com

This about says it all (seen on the back of a T-shirt at Farmfest today)

Later tonight I'll be adding more photos and commentary from the events today at Farmfest.

Off to Farmfest in the morning - I plan to arrive at 8am for the Farm Bureau pancake feed

Farmfest will be in its second day for 2010 tomorrow. I'll be there all day. It should be fun. Look for blogging and Facebook updates on Wednesday night and Thursday.

From Glenwood, it's roughly a 100-mile drive to rural Morgan, Minnesota (south of Redwood Falls on Highway 67).

Here's the website for the Farmfest show: http://www.farmshows.com/ffst/index.po

First State Bank of Kensington held its annual customer appreciation picnic

The First State Bank of Kensington held its annual customer appreciation picnic on Tuesday night, August 3, at the Runestone Park.

Below is Skilly and Duff providing some great entertainment for the crowd.




Photos from the event will appear on page one of this week's Herman-Hoffman Tribune.

Congressional candidates to debate at Farmfest - including Lee Byberg and Collin Peterson of the 7th District

Democratic U.S. Rep. Tim Walz and Republican Randy Demmer face off before an audience of farmers on Tuesday.

The two participate in a forum at Farmfest near Redwood Falls with candidates from three other congressional districts.

The 1st District candidates from southern Minnesota are Walz, Demmer and Independence Party candidate Steven Wilson. Walz is running for a third term.

Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson will be there, too. So will 7th District Republican challengers Lee Byberg and Alan Roebke and Independence Party candidate Glen Menze. Peterson heads the House Agriculture Committee and is seeking an 11th term representing western Minnesota.

Republican Reps. Michele Bachmann and John Kline won't attend, but two of their election rivals will. Democrats Tarryl Clark and Shelley Madore are participating.

Hoffman Coop builds a new grain bin

Here is a video clip of the laying of the foundation on August 2.

Yeah, I'm pumped for this event - the 29th annual Farmfest begins tomorrow south of Redwood Falls

The 29th annual Farmfest is Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday on the Gilfillan Estate, 7 miles southeast of Redwood Falls.

A congressional candidate forum takes place beginning at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday under the forum tent. Confirmed participats include U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and his opponent in the 7th District, Republican Lee Byberg of Willmar; U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Republican Randy Demmer and Independent Steven Wilson, his challengers in the 1st District. Also participating are Democratic challenger Tarryl Clark, who faces U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn. in 6th District, and Democrat Dan Powers, who faces U.S. Rep. John Kline, R-Minn. in the 2nd District race.

Noticeably absent is Michele Bachmann.

The U.S. House candidates will be quizzed on a variety of issues affecting agriculture and rural communities.

All five of the major candidates for governor have confirmed they will be a part of the candidate forum at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday under the forum tent, an event that I will be attending, photographing, and videotaping. This includes Republican Tom Emmer, Independent candidates Tom Horner and Rob Hahn, and DFL candidates Margaret Anderson Kelliher, Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty will be the keynote speaker at the Forum Tent at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. There will also be a panel discussion on what the next governor needs to know about rural Minnesota at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Panel members include state Agriculture Commissioner Gene Hugoson; King Banaian, economics professor at St. Cloud State; Jim Miller, executive director of the League of Minnesota Cities; and Lee Warne, executive director of the state Rural Education Association.

Farmfest will also include many forums on a wide range of ag-related topics including understanding carbon credits, the future of the livestock industry, weather and commodity outlooks and strategies for agricultural education.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday. Admission is $10 for adults and free for youth under age 18. Parking is free.

It's a picnic in the park! First State Bank of Kensington's annual Customer Appreciation Picnic

First State Bank of Kensington will host its annual Customer Appreciation Picnic on Tuesday night this week (August 3) from 5:00 to 7:00pm at Runestone Park of rural Kensington.

Burgers, ice cream, and more will be served!

Come on out with your family and enjoy some great time with your friends and neighbors.