Stargazing - by Eli Lutgens

Writers can't please everyone

Each person has a distinct voice. When I read stories in the newspaper those voices are loud, clear and unique to each of the Pioneer’s writers. I sometimes wonder if others read in the same way I do. It’s quite enjoyable. I can always tell when Deb Bently has done significant work to a...

A lot of election talk for February

This past week has felt like I've done nothing but talk to candidates running for office. As I write this, it was most recently the Waseca County Commissioner race for District 3. Last week it was the State House Seat election for 19B to determine who will replace John Petersburg. All of the...

A year full of memories in one evening

My father, Deb and I all attended the Minnesota Newspaper Association’s banquet last week to accept awards we had won after entering the statewide Better Newspaper Writing Contest. This was the second time I have ever entered myself for an award. The first time was two years ago with the...

Lost and looking for answers

We’ve lost a lot of good people this year. That’s not something one expects to say in the first days of February. This week it was Brent Possin. Two weeks ago it was Brian Sommers. Brent farmed just up the road from my mom’s house. I went to school with his oldest daughter. I sat...

'Big doors swing on little hinges'

Last week, I was too immersed in the loss of Jane Wagner to write about much else. Our community lost another legend last week, Winston Evenson. For Veteran's Day in 2021, I really wanted to write about Winston. Each year my staff and I go in search of recommendations regarding which veteran...

She breathed live and love into the world

You know the feeling like someone’s standing right behind you? That feeling came over me Sunday evening as I worked on the newspaper. Slowly at first, then more strongly. I spent the day working on the Jane Wagner story, reading stories, talking to people, and finally, putting ink to paper...

60,000 words of reflection

This year I wrote and published more than 60,000 words in my weekly columns. If you’ve read them all, you can add one more to the number of books you’ve finished, since that’s a typical word count for a full-length publication. I found out this week the Minnesota Newspaper Association will be...

What makes a great coach?

Friday morning Mr. Tim Loonan called me. I missed his call so I stopped in to see him. He appeared pleasantly surprised as he informed me that Waseca’s Youth Football Association would be holding an event on Monday he thought I might like to attend. He was right, and I’m glad I attended...

Kind words make beautiful mountains

Many things run through my mind each week as I put the paper together. More accurately, after and before the paper is put together. As I perform the electronic task of piecing the pages together, I think entirely about where things will go; I also worry whether any stories, pictures, and cutlines...

Weekend brings full"fill"ing holiday

I successfully enjoyed my third Thanksgiving dinner Sunday afternoon. Finally, Thanksgiving can be put to bed. (“Put to bed” is a newspaper term for when the newspaper is sent to the printer.) I was enjoying some time with friends this weekend when someone present made a comment about...