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Thumbs up Northern lights unite the country Nearly all of North America was treated to a rare display of the northern lights this week. The lights were visible as far south as Florida. As a result, social media was saturated with photos of the northern lights from everyone with a camera. It was a rare example of everyone coming together to appreciate the beauty of the natural world. The reason the northern lights were so intense on Tuesday is that energy from two solar flares hit the atmosphere at the same time. The overlapping energy resulted in the extremely vibrant green and red ...

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THUMBS DOWN Tragedy in Hanska  The community of Hanska was hit by unspeakable tragedy last week following the double homicide of Justin Reinarts and Tabitha Trescott. There are no words to describe the depth of this loss. Reinarts and Trescott were valuable and cherished members of Brown County and to lose them so suddenly is difficult to understand and raises questions as to why it was not prevented. The alleged suspect in this crime had previously been convicted of multiple assaults and was currently facing charges for stalking. This suspects’ criminal record is one red flag ...

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THUMBS DOWN Daylight savings still a thing This Sunday at 2 a.m. daylight saving time goes into effect and clocks will fall back to 1 a.m. This means everyone gets an extra hour this Sunday. While it is great to get another hour back after losing one in the spring, it is still annoying to go through this clock upkeep every six months; especially since it is widely unpopular. Both political parties have pushed legislation to stop daylight savings, and have seen overwhelming public support for the bipartisan efforts. But it never goes anywhere and after this federal government ...

Olsen’s concertina put smiles on many faces for decades

“Is everybody happy.” Larry Olsen yelled out that more than once when he played his concertina with his brother Leon, who was also working his magic on the musical instrument well known in polka circles. While Larry hails from the Lake Benton area, his brother resided in New Ulm. But the two brothers often got together to share their love for polka. Leon Olsen died on Oct. 22 after a brief battle with cancer at the age of 72. When it comes to polka music, Leon Olsen’s resume is extraordinary. He definitely leaves a musical legacy that rates among the great ones. He ...

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THUMBS UP NU schools teaming up with St. James, Madelia on gymnastics Thursday, the New Ulm School board approved an application for cooperative sponsorship that would join New Ulm’s gymnastics program with St. James and Madelia’s program. Superintendent Sean Koster explained that New Ulm Public Schools already partners with Minnesota Valley Lutheran and Cathedral High School on gymnastics; however participation levels are low. The three New Ulm schools have 13 participants. St. James and Madelia are in a similar situation with nine participants total. For this reason it makes ...

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THUMBS UP NU Emergency Food Shelf prepared to help The New Ulm Emergency Food Shelf is prepared to handle an influx of new clients. Executive Director Brad Kirk confirmed that the food shelf is well-stocked, thanks to the support of donors and the help of volunteers. Currently, the food shelter assists around 160 families each month. Kirk is confident that it could be expanded if other food assistance programs are impacted by the government shutdown. Recently, it was reported that funding for SNAP would only last through the end of October. If the government does not reopen by ...