To place an obituary, please email the following information to [email protected]. Note there is no option to place obituaries through our website. For questions, contact our obituary desk at 651-228-5263.
**General Information:**
– Your full name
– Address (City, State, Zip Code)
– Phone number
– Alternate phone number (if any)
**Obituary Specification:**
– Name of deceased
– Obituary text
– Photo in JPEG or PDF format preferred; TIF and other files accepted. We will contact you if there are any issues with the photo.
– Ad run dates
There is a discount for running the obituary more than one day, but this must be scheduled on the first run date to apply. If a photo is used, it must be used on both days for the discount to apply. Contact us for more details.
**Policies:**
– *Verification of Death:* To publish obituaries, we require the name and phone number of the funeral home or cremation society handling the arrangements. We must contact them during business hours to verify the death.
– If the deceased’s body has been donated to the University of Minnesota Anatomy Bequest Program or a similar program, their phone number is required for verification.
– A death certificate is also acceptable for verification; only one of these options is necessary.
– Please allow enough time for verification, especially on weekends when hours may be limited.
– *Guestbook and Outside Websites:* We cannot reference other media sources or guestbooks in obituaries placed in print and online. We may include a funeral home website or family contact email instead. Contact us with questions.
**Obituary Process:**
– After submission, we will fax or email a proof for your review before publication, including price and scheduled days.
– Review the proof carefully and notify us of any errors or changes before the deadlines on each day of publication.
– We are not responsible for errors after final proofing.
– Changes to the online obituary can be handled by contacting the obituary desk.
**Payment Procedure:**
– Pre-payment is required prior to publication by the specified deadline.
– Call 651-228-5263 with your payment information after you have received and approved the proof.
– Payment accepted by phone only due to PCI regulations:
– Credit card
– EFT (please provide routing and account numbers)
– Cash payments accepted at our front counter Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–3:30 PM.
**Rates:**
– Minimum charge is $162 for the first 10 lines.
– Each additional line after the first 10 is $12.20 (first run date).
– Ads under 10 lines charged the minimum $162.
– Second run date rates are $8.20 per line starting with the first line.
– Each photo published costs $125 per day. For example, two photos over two days is a total of four photo charges costing $500.
**Deadlines:**
– Please adhere strictly to deadline times to ensure publication on requested days.
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**Memoriam (Non-Obituary) Requests:**
Unlike obituaries, memoriam ads are remembrances of loved ones and have different rates. For more information, call 651-228-5280 or email [email protected].
Office hours: Monday–Friday, 8:00 AM–5:00 PM (closed weekends and holidays).
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### Starwatch: Pegasus and Comets in the Evening Sky
One of the classic constellations in the night sky is Pegasus, the flying horse. Currently, Pegasus is soaring in the southeastern early evening sky.
The traditional view portrays Pegasus as an upside-down horse with small wings. However, I see a majestic horse flying right side up with a huge wingspan — drawing on some stars from the neighboring constellation Andromeda to complete the figure.
If you look above the eastern horizon after dark, you’ll see a giant diamond formed by four bright stars known as the “Square of Pegasus.” This square outlines the torso of the flying horse. The star at the top of the square is Scheat, marking the base of Pegasus’s neck. Above Scheat are two fainter stars for the neck and another marking the horse’s snout.
The multi-jointed front leg curves upward starting from Markab (at the right corner of the square) and leads to a moderately bright star, Enif, marking Pegasus’s hoof. On the left corner of the square is Alpheratz. Extending from Alpheratz is a curved line of three bright stars that outline Pegasus’s mighty wings. Just above these wing stars, a parallel line of fainter stars outlines Andromeda, the princess, who appears hitched to the rear of the horse.
Whether you see Pegasus upside down or right side up, the myth involves Princess Andromeda being rescued from a sea monster by Pegasus and the hero Perseus—a story from Greek mythology. Andromeda was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to the monster Cetus, sent by her parents to save their kingdom. Perseus, returning from slaying Medusa, used Medusa’s severed head to turn the sea monster to stone and saved Andromeda. Blood from Medusa’s head created Pegasus, who freed Andromeda, leading to their legendary love and marriage.
Astrophysically, near Andromeda is the famous Andromeda Galaxy (Messier 31), visible with binoculars or a small telescope as a faint fuzzy patch. Under dark skies, it can even be seen with the naked eye. This galaxy is the Milky Way’s nearest large neighbor, over two million light-years away, containing approximately a trillion stars.
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### Two Comets Visible This Week
This week features two comets visible in the early evening sky, though brightness varies and visibility may require binoculars.
– **Comet Lemmon (C/2025 A6 Lemmon)** is near the bright constellations Bootes and Corona Borealis, in the low west-northwest sky after twilight, setting around 9:30 p.m. It will make its closest approach to Earth at about 56 million miles. Try spotting it with binoculars or a smartphone camera.
– **Comet Swan (C/2025 R2 Swan)** is located in the southern sky, just below the constellation Aquila the Eagle. It will be approximately 25 million miles from Earth. Observing Swan usually requires binoculars unless you have very dark skies.
Good luck spotting these cosmic visitors!
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### Starwatch Events
– **Tuesday, Oct. 21, 7–9 p.m.**, Gilfillan Estates, Redwood Falls, MN
Call 507-616-7420 or visit redwoodfallslibrary.org/events/month/2025-10 for details.
– **Wednesday, Oct. 22, 7–9 p.m.**, Loring Park, Minneapolis
Call 612-230-6400 or visit minneapolisparks.org/parks-destinations/parks-lakes/loring_park/
– **Friday, Oct. 24, 8–10 p.m.**, Red Wing
Call 651-385-4565 or visit redwing.k12.mn.us/community-education-homepage/
– **Saturday, Oct. 25, 7–9 p.m.**, Isanti Middle School
Reservations required; call 763-689-6188 or visit c-ischools.org/community/community-education
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Mike Lynch is an amateur astronomer and retired broadcast meteorologist from WCCO Radio in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He authored “Stars: a Month by Month Tour of the Constellations,” published by Adventure Publications. Mike is available for private star parties and can be contacted at [email protected].
https://www.twincities.com/2025/10/19/skywatch-the-great-flying-horse-of-the-sky/
