World War II

101 year old WWII vet looking forward to fishing opener

May 1, 2024

World War II veteran Richard Staub says he looks forward to the Governor’s Fishing Opener on Saturday, May 11, when he will join the Governor on stage for the event. Richard turned 101 in March and is fit as a fiddle. He owns 5,000 acres west of Rochester that his grandson operates, raising corn...

Area WWII POW camp talk is April 28 in Mazeppa

Apr 20, 2022

Jeremy Darst of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will speak about the World War II prisoner of war camps of southeastern Minnesota at the Mazeppa Community Center on Thursday, April 28 at 6 p.m., sponsored by the Mazeppa Area Historical Society. “There is a little known part of...

Veterans groups salute as Timm returns home

Sep 8, 2021

It happened quickly. Lights flashed. Sirens blared. Motorcycle engines roared. Traveling silently among the noisy escort was a white hearse. Inside were the remains of Lloyd Timm, a Kellogg native who was killed in the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. He was just 19 years old. Afterward his...

Updated: Local honors planned as Pearl Harbor vet’s remains brought home

Sep 1, 2021

Lloyd Timm of Kellogg was only 19 years old when he was among the 429 crewmembers of the battleship U.S.S. Oklahoma killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Afterward his unidentified remains were buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii...

As 100th birthday approaches, Halpaus recalls close calls in WWII

Aug 18, 2021

Harvey Halpaus of Lake City turns 100 years old on Aug. 25, but he still has vivid memories of his trip around the world almost 80 years ago. During World War II, Halpaus worked as a U.S. Merchant Marine, helping to supply U.S. armed forces fighting overseas. Cargo vessels were appealing targets...

After traveling the world, thankful for leadership at home in Lake City

Oct 21, 2020

For many, 2020 can’t be over soon enough. The pandemic has affected everyone in one form or another. Some have sadly succumbed to the disease, others are grieving, many have been isolated from loved ones and millions have lost their jobs. It can’t be easy to feel upbeat and positive during such...

Memories of the Battle of Okinawa 75 years later

Apr 1, 2020

The Battle of Okinawa was launched on Easter Sunday seventy-five years ago and lasted from April 1 to June 22, 1945. It was the largest World War II amphibious landing in the Pacific theater and resulted in more than 50,000 American casualties. Life-long Lake City resident David McKenzie was...

WWII vet tells old stories on new year’s eve day

Jan 9, 2020

On New Year’s Eve Day the owner of Rochester’s Pasquale’s Pizza and Sen. Carla Nelson, Rochester hosting a pizza celebration for the “Greatest Generation” World War II veterans. Ten veterans and their spouses or care givers attended this event and for two hours veterans shared their stories. One...

World War II vets honored at special luncheon

Oct 23, 2019

Seven World War II veterans, five from the Lake City area, were honored Thursday, Oct. 17, at a special luncheon at Lake House on Pepin restaurant. Wayne Quist, a historian and retired Air Force colonel, was the master of ceremonies for the event. He delivered remarks on the war overall and of...

Staff Sgt Dori Nelson Schmauss in WWII

Oct 16, 2019

As the winds of war began blowing in the late 1930s, and Pearl Harbor exploded upon the nation Dec. 7, 1941, two young women in Minneapolis itched to join the cause of freedom. One of the women was Emily Nelson who joined the Women’s Army Air Force and the other was her younger sister, Dori Nelson...