Ex-Olympic biathlon athlete giving back to help kids find their (ski) paths By Carol Stender Battle Lake native Wynn Roberts is a helicopter pilot flying for both the ND National Guard and for Life Link III of Detroit Lakes, but there was another time he was flying high... with competitive energy and excitement. Roberts was an Olympian representing the U.S. in the biathlon at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Battle Lake native Wynn Roberts is an Olympian. He rep

Accidental call leads to ‘unlikely beautiful relationship’ Submitted by Addy Wolfe of Moorhead Written by Den Bolda of Casselton If you’ve never heard about people who’ve met by accident, let me tell you how I made friends with a man in his final stages of life. You see, I live near the state line, and that means that people sometimes dial the wrong area code when making phone calls. It was just such an error that introduced me to Bob. As it turns out, I have the same telepho

Arlington woman, 89, started twirling in 1952; still twirls flaming baton every winter By Jillian Kellerman Marge Kloeckl of Arlington twirls a fire baton at Arli-Dazzle 2025. Marge was a majorette in the Winthrop High School band from 1952 to 1954. She started with the basic baton, and then introduced the hoop baton, flag baton, and later the fire baton. She taught baton twirling for over 20 years and still twirls the fire baton at Arli-Dazzle every year in Arlington, making

Redwood Falls official has been making calls for 50 years By Larry Magrath Wayne Cook of Redwood Falls has found his own particular season the last three years. As a sports journalist, umpire and referee, accumulating accolades have graced the life of Cook, a fixture of the state’s baseball diamonds, basketball courts, and gridiron. Wayne Cook of Redwood Falls with a plaque inducting him in the 2024 Minnesota Softball Hall of Fame. Cook has received recognition from multiple

Osakis man has been priest for 65 years By Joe Korkowski , The Church of St. Mary, Alexandria; published in The Central Minnesota Catholic; republished with permission Retired New Ulm priest Father Fink makes his home near Osakis. Fink is still serving in the area at age 90. Contributed photo Father Fred Fink is a thoughtful, kind, caring man who has put in countless hours in an effort to help his fellow man. As of Feb. 25, he has been a Catholic priest for 65 years! When loo

Long Prairie Post Office mural commissioned in 1939 during Great Depression By Tim King For the last nine decades, visitors to the Long Prairie Post Office wishing to do the common task of mailing an envelope have had the uncommon opportunity to view a large mural called “Gathering Wild Rice.” Lucia Wiley paints the 1939 mural “Gathering Wild Rice” at the Long Prairie Post Office. Contributed photo The large mural covers the entire wall above the door labeled POSTMASTER. It p

Boys & men come together for Christian camaraderie By Rachel Barduson A couple of the dad volunteers play guitars as some of the boys listen at a recent Dads and Lads event, held at Jerry McCrery’s woods near Henning.  Men have been planning and holding it for 33 years. Contributed photos For 33 years, men in the area have been coming together to plan a unique event called “Dads and Lads,” designed to promote Christian camaraderie among men and boys of all ages.  “Dads and La

Waite Park man has an eclectic collection by Bill Vossler Al Barth of Waite Park once bought several books from a cat in Massachusetts. “That was an odd place, a little garage in a small town in Western Massachusetts, where you enter, look at the books, and the proprietor was a cat. If you wanted a book, you put money in a slot in a box. Totally on your honor,” he said. Several collections are shown here, with Al sitting in front of Twins baseball caps, Twins paraphernalia, a

Fargo man, 91, finishes writing book a year after suffering a heart attack By Carol Stender Harold “Hal” Hase of Fargo wrote a book at 90. He had actually started it a few years before, but, when he suffered a heart attack, he was spurred to complete the book, “Wartime Soul Sisters: Anne Frank and Audrey Hepburn.” It’s not the first time he has authored a piece. Hase wrote for his college newspaper and book reviews for the Bismarck Tribune. He also authored “Who You Are: A Pe

Holmes City woman has housed nearly 60 hockey players By Rita Kostreba This time of year you would expect a story about a blizzard to be about weather. But this story is not about that, it is about the Blizzard Hockey team, and one woman who shelters and supports them. Sandy Bessingpas with three Blizzard hockey players. The boys include (L to R) Calvin Shrenk,  Landon Bird, and Cooper Ness. Bessingpas has opened her home to Blizzard hockey players for several seasons. She gi

Alexandria man part of 50-year old ND cold case that was recently solved By Rachel Barduson Mark and Pat Lindsey at their home in Alexandria. Mark is paging through some newspaper clippings from a North Dakota newspaper that shows a gravestone named “Unknown Male” along with background information on a cold case that was recently resolved. Mark was 28 when he was called to tend to the deceased man  when he was working for his family’s funeral home in Page, North Dakota. Photo

Tribute to a small-town weekly newspaper man (and my grandpa) By Lynn Kuehn of Redwood Falls (Formerly Echo) George B. Hughes at age 89, setting type at the Echo Enterprise, a publication in which he served as editor and publisher for 54 years. Contributed photo This is a story about newspapers. Most especially, it is a testimony on small-town weeklies and the legendary generals who headed them. While there were many such newspapers back in the day, Echo Enterprise  is the sm

Mankato man is nat’l duck calling champion, four-time state champ By Scott Thoma Anderson has been hunting ducks since he was 8 years old. He and his youngest son, Hunter, had a successful hunting trip last year.  Contributed photos A duck call given to him by his father as a youth eventually turned into Mike Anderson of Mankato becoming a world champion duck caller. “A duck call is very much like a woodwind instrument,” Anderson said. “You have to practice a lot to get good

Sauk Rapids man looks back at his small class, one-room school days By Bill Vossler One March, when Curt Ghylin, now of Sauk Rapids, and two classmates were walking on the slough road to his “one-room” childhood school, a skunk popped out of the slough, whipped around and raised its tail. “I said, ‘We have to be careful so it doesn’t spray us.’ But nothing came out. We were surprised and happy. We thought that was quite a deal,” Curt said. Curt Ghylin of Sauk Rapids attended

St. Cloud man has been committed to helping out By Nikki Rajala Curt Hutchens stands in the pit area at the Firestone Grand Prix in St. Petersburg, Fla,  2023. “Be the one” is the American Legion’s motto for working toward zero veteran suicides each year.  Contributed photo Curt Hutchens, 82, of St. Cloud, is an everyday hero. He quietly volunteers for causes from education and veterans to family and faith. The logos on his caps, t-shirts, and conference IDs —  American Legio

Columnist publishes first novel at age 63 By Jillian Kellerman Carrie Classon of St. Paul has changed gears a few times in her life and has not been afraid to try new things. Her most recent venture has been publishing a novel. Contributed photo You may recognize the name Carrie Classon, as we publish her column, The Postscript , here in the pages of Sr. Perspective . Carrie started out self-syndicating her column before it was picked up by Andrews McMeel Universal. The Posts

Woman and son jump in icy waters each winter for Special Olympics By Bill Vossler Lisa is just hitting the water in a recent Polar Plunge. Also gives a sense of other people lined up to do the plunge shortly. Contributed photo When Lisa Edelbrock of St. Cloud steps up to a large hole in the ice, wearing a two-piece bikini, leggings, and sandals, feeling the sharp January wind whip at her--for the 18th consecutive year, again she thinks, “What am I doing here?” What she is doi

Clinton man, 100, passes on woodworking skills to granddaughter By Scott Thoma In 2018, instead of jewelry or candy as a present for her birthday and Christmas from her husband, Gary, Missy Sigler of rural Clinton got exactly what she wanted. In order to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps, she received a table scroll saw for her November birthday and a drill press the following month for Christmas. Missy Sigler and her grandfather, Bud deNeui, with a tri-fold nativity scen

Website launched by family, other advocates, to honor those lost to suicide By Nikki Rajala When Jackson Roeder, 25, died by suicide on Feb. 17, 2017, the family’s grief was acute, each person reacting differently. His parents, Scott and Reyne, were overwhelmed and thought of him every minute. They couldn’t move forward. They wondered where to get mental health help. When the family attended support groups and counseling, they found they weren’t alone — and not being isolated

Menahga man shares childhood adventures with the next generation in the form of storybooks By Vivian (Makela) Sazama Grandkids like to gather around Eugene to hear his fascinating stories about the way things were like when he was their age. Contributed photo For Eugene Kumpula of Menahga, childhood experiences close to his heart turned into a collection of seven children’s storybooks. “These are not just any books; they are a blend of fun, true stories from my own childhood,