January 2024

Dispatch report Jan. 27 •Complainant on County Road 4, Luverne, reported a miscellaneous public assist. •Complainant on N. Donaldson Street reported an accident with property damage. Jan. 28 •Complainant on 40th Avenue, Hills, reported an abandoned vehicle. Jan. 29 •Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported harassing communications. •Complainant on Roundwind Road reported a parking issue.…

The Blue Mounds State Park and Friends of the Blue Mounds State Park hosted their annual Candlelight Hike Saturday night under mild winter conditions and a starry, moonlit sky. Nearly 600 people from near and far turned out to enjoy the hike that included several warming bonfires, cookies and hot cocoa. “The weather gave us a pretty amazing night and I really enjoyed seeing people enjoying the…

Friday’s celebration of the Hills Day Care Project allowed community members to tour the first-of-its-kind building and meet providers leasing space for family day care businesses. Donna Bernhard and Kassie Haak will open family day care businesses once their special licenses are issued through Southwest Health and Human Services in Luverne. The providers have signed agreements with the city of…

Meetings Green Earth Players will meet for their annual meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, at the Green Earth Players building on Main Street in Luverne.   UMC Free Community Meal Jan. 24 The United Methodist Church will host its Wednesday night free community meal at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 24. A pick-up option is available by calling 507-283-4529. Candlelight hike at Blue Mounds State…

January is Poverty Awareness Month, and it’s a good time to take stock of personal beliefs and biases. We in Rock County have a proud heritage of hard-working ancestors who withstood the hardships of wars and wilderness to build the communities and livelihoods we know today. And we’ve heard time and time again that anyone can succeed if they work hard enough. The subconscious message then is…

Dispatch report Jan. 13 •Complainant on County Highway 4 reported a fire call. •Complainant west-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 9, Luverne requested assistance from another department. •Complainant reported an outage. •Complainant on U.S. Highway 75 and 85th Street, Luverne, reported an accident with damage to property. Jan. 14 •Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported a miscellaneous…

Open house An open house bridal shower for Breanna Richters, bride-to-be of Andy Wolters, will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 27, at Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne.

Hoogland graduates from Winona State Nicole Hoogland, Luverne, graduated from Winona State University, Winona, following the Fall 2023 semester. She received Bachelor of Science degrees in data science and statistics.   Northwestern releases Fall 2023 dean’s list Northwestern College in Orange City has announced the Fall 2023 dean’s list. Students must earn a 3.5 GPA or higher with 12 graded…

10 years ago (2014) •A nasty baby pig disease called porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PED) is sweeping swine herds across the nation including Rock County. Rock Veterinary Clinic veterinarian Jason Johnson said the virus has a 100-percent death rate in baby pigs less than 10 days of age. Herds affected by it may lose four to five weeks of production. In older pigs, the virus acts more like a…

St. Catherine Catholic Church 203 E. Brown St., Luverne St. Catherine Ph. 283-8502; www.stscl.org Monsignor Gerald Kosse, Pastor Sunday: 8:30 a.m. Mass. Masses: 9 a.m. Wednesdays, 10 a.m. Friday at the nursing homes – check the bulletin. All Sunday masses will be live streamed on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pg/stccluverne/videos/. Visit www.stscl.org for more information.  …

Longtime Luverne educator and community member Elmer Menage died last week, prompting former students and athletes to reminisce about their beloved teacher, coach and mentor. “He was one of the best coaches I ever had,” said Luverne’s Burdell Braa who played football under Coach Menage in 1972, ’73 and ’74. “He was one of those guys who always had a smile on his face and a one-liner ready. He’d…

Meetings Parkinson’s Support Group will meet at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 22, at Mary Jane Brown Chapel. All are invited. Green Earth Players will meet for their annual meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5, at the Green Earth Players building on Main Street in Luverne.   Community Ed Register for the following classes and activities by calling the Community Education office at 507-283-4724. Learn…

Dispatch report Jan. 6 •Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported a miscellaneous public assist. •Complainant on S. Church Street, Hills, reported vandalism. •Complainant on Interstate 90, mile marker 18, Luverne, requested roadside assistance. •Complainant on Kniss Avenue and Virginia Street requested roadside assistance. Jan. 7 •Complainant on E. Dodge Street reported an outage. Jan. 8 •…

Hills-Beaver Creek graduate Jax Wysong was selected for a Future Innovator of America Fellowship at South Dakota State University, Brookings. He was among seven students in the SDSU College of Engineering selected for fellowships in the various engineering departments. Wysong, a senior physics major, will work under associate professor Jung-Han Kimn to investigate “ghosts” in computational…

10 years ago (2014) •David Van Batavia said one of the most fulfilling aspects of being a firefighter is the rush of jumping onto the trucks when responding to a call. But jumping onto the trucks is the one thing he will not be doing in his new role as Luverne’s fire chief. After former chief Dan Nath retired from firefighting Jan. 1, Van Batavia was elected to the new position. Van Batavia…

Ridgewater announces dean’s list Rose Aristeo, Luverne, was named to the dean’s list at Ridgewater College, Willmar, for the Fall 2023 semester. To be eligible, students must earn a GPA of 3.5 or higher on a 4.0 scale with at least nine graded credits.   Students named to dean’s list at NDSU Fargo Several area students were named to the dean’s list at North Dakota State University, Fargo,…