Stargazing - by Eli Lutgens

Three different celebrations

I successfully turned 26 years old on Friday. To celebrate I had lunch with my mother and spent the evening with my friends. One of my new friends learned it was my birthday Friday evening and insisted on baking me a cake. So on Sunday when I came to visit, she surprised me with a...

I was certain Thanksgiving was yesterday

As I look back on this past week, I can’t help expressing my appreciation. First, I appreciate the people of our Waseca County community. If good, hard-working, positive-minded people are “gems,” I spend my time surrounded by diamonds. Examples from this week are the two activity directors I...

Football, boomers and attempted murder

Mr. Dave Zika asked that I write about my love for the baby boomer generation this week. Dave happened into the Pioneer office this week while Deb Bently and I were interviewing a potential new writer for the paper. A discussion about Generation Z, those 25 years old and younger, and...

A full week

The world welcomed my niece Aria Leigh Nowak into the world Saturday evening at about 11:30 p.m. Congratulations to my sister Jessica and her fiance Damon. My sister tells me she went into the Owatonna hospital at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday. Both she and the baby were pretty exhausted by the...

Life's little suprises, giant gifts

It was my dad’s 63rd birthday this past week, Oct. 14. My dad, James Dwight Lutgens, was born on Dwight Eisenhower’s birthday, which is how he got his middle name. My dad has been a newspaper person for a long time. Since the day he was born, in fact. The local Waseca Journal published his...

From Lake of the Woods to Mississippi

Last week I wrote about my schedule putting the newspaper together. This week I was on vacation. I left on Saturday for Hill City, Minnesota. My two best friends are Kyle and his wife, Anastasiia. Kyle’s parents own the Blue Moon Resort located on Hill Lake. Three or four times over the...

A week in the life of a publisher

Preparing entries for the Minnesota Newspaper Association writing contest this year, there was a category that stuck out in my mind: “Explaining newspaper operations to readers.” I’ve been asked about this numerous times. How does the paper go out? How do you do it? How does it work? My week...

News doesn't wait, it chases me

I did a little garage sale shopping on Friday. At the very last house I visited, I was greeted by the mother of Terry Huber. It was her garage sale, you see. She stopped me and asked, “Are you from the paper? I recognize your picture.” Yup. That’s me. I wouldn’t have thought the little photo...

My favorite part of the interview

I enjoyed lunch with Deb at Oscar’s this week. I’m reminded how much I enjoy their “fry” sauce. It seems to be essentially mayonnaise with some added seasonings or sauces, but it is delicious. Musing between the two of us, I recalled happenings in Waseca that should be mentioned in the paper...

A weekend adventuring in Akeley

I spent an incredibly relaxing weekend up north at a cabin on a lake near Akeley. It was the first time I have gotten away for a short reprieve in more than a year and a half. The trip started with much uncertainty. Schedules, cars, and moving to a new office complicated matters on Friday....