Remember When

10 years ago (2011) •The record price paid for Rock County agricultural land at a public auction jumped to $12,4000 Thursday, Nov. 10, as land owned by Robert Kitchenmaster was offered for sale. The sale broke the $9,050-per-acre record paid for 160 acres in Mound Township Aug. 24. Ron Van Ruler was the successful bidder, buying 150 acres of prime farmland three miles east of Hills that had been…

10 years ago (2011) •Rock County members of the local National Guard unit received a really big message from home last week. A 600-foot roll of paper containing hundreds of handwritten messages to soldiers arrived at the Camp Patriot base in Kuwait on Friday. According to First Sgt. Robert Newman, the service men and women unrolled the letter and enjoyed reading the messages, some of which were…

10 years ago (2011) •The Luverne Fire Department was called to the Blue Mounds State Park late Monday afternoon to assist with a controlled burn that got out of control. The park conducts annual prescribed prairie burns in different areas of the Blue Mounds to control non-native species and to encourage the growth of native prairie grasses and flowers. But the flames in this case spread to…

10 years ago (2011) •City of Luverne Public Works Department employees this week have been preparing a large wall of a downtown building for a mural. The mural will go on the west wall of 123 West Main St., greeting motorists as they drive east from Highway 75. Sioux Falls sign painter and artist Gary Hartenhoff has been commissioned to paint a 16-by-80-foot series of panels that tells that story…

10 years ago (2011) •A 9-foot grand piano will permanently grace the stage of Luverne’s Palace Theatre, compliments of Gary and Janine Papik. Janine Papik said the piano’s history began in the old Luverne High School building sometime in the 1920s or 1930s where it stood on the stage in the school’s theatre and was featured in the school’s music programs. When the high school building was…

10 years ago (2011) •Visitors will find it easier to navigate Touch the Sky Prairie following the unveiling of three directory kiosks Tuesday. Dignitaries and school children gathered to see the covering removed from a three-sided, wood-framed kiosk containing maps, brochures and photographs intended to guide visitors across the federally managed 1,000 acre-tract of tall grass prairie in central…

10 years ago (2011) •Judge Timothy Connell wears a black robe over a white collar, but he said ruling from the bench is rarely as simple as black and white. “It’s not a one-size-fits-all sort of thing that comes with experience.” After 35 years of practicing law, Connell has acquired a voice of experience. He’ll retire next week after 24 years as Rock County’s Fifth Judicial judge, but his roots…

10 years ago (2011) •Sanford Hospital Luverne is addressing a scabies outbreak among its staff and patients. According to the Center for Disease Control website, scabies is an infestation of the skin by the human itch mite (sarcoptes scabiei var. hominis). The microscopic scabies mite burrows into the upper layer of the skin where it lives and lays its eggs. The most common symptoms of scabies…

10 years ago (2011) •Rock County Commissioners adopted an agreement with Geronimo Wind Energy to restore county and township roads after a wind tower project in northwest Rock County is completed in 2012. Preliminary road work in Rose Dell, Springwater and Denver townships begins this fall. Geronimo attorney Christina Brusven and Rock County attorney Don Klosterbuer proposed a series of…

10 years ago (2011) •Gary Holmgren held up a training manual the size of a big phone book and said, “This is the basic EMT training manual.” Holmgren has spent the past 19 years making sense of that manual for emergency medical technicians (and several other manuals) during his tenure as the director of the Rock County ambulance program. His job has included everything from driving an ambulance…

10 years ago (2011) •A Rock County participant saw success at the Minnesota State Fair 4-H Beef Show last week. The Champion Prospect Heifer calf was exhibited by Thomas Norman of Rock County. The animals were shown on the first day of the fair Thursday, Aug. 25. Selection of the overall winners was made during the 32nd Annual Beef Championship on Friday afternoon in the Minnesota State Fair…

10 years ago (2011) •A powerful storm swept through Rock County in the overnight hours of Tuesday morning. Nearly 60-mph winds uprooted trees, tore rooftops off buildings and collapsed grain bins, among other reported damage. … The most concentrated area of damage, and perhaps the most visible, was in the center of Luverne, primarily in a two-block area of Estey and Brown streets. There, decade-…

10 years ago (2011) •Legislation dealing with concussions in school sports is dictating how coaches decide when or if an injured athlete should return to the game. Laws passed in more than 30 states this summer essentially prevent coaches and trainers from allowing athletes with head injuries to return to play without proper medical clearance. The law was passed in response to a growing field of…

10 years ago (2011) •Luverne’s new airport manager is enjoying steady business since taking over the reins on May 1. Ben Baum moved his business, Sierra Delta Aviation, LLC, from Custer, S.D., to Luverne when he assumed management and fixed base operation duties at Quentin Aanenson Field. Since then, he and his wife, Lori, and their four boys, have been settling into their new home, new school…

10 years ago (2011) •Dan and Amy Leuthold and their sons, Mitch, 15, and Jared, 13, Luverne, were recently named the 2011 Rock County Farm Family of the Year. They were recognized during the Rock County Fair on July 21 and will be honored in a ceremony at Farmfest in Redwood Falls on Aug. 4. “It’s an honor to be recognized for the work that we love to do, and we thank those that were involved in…

10 years ago (2011) •Beginning this fall parents of Luverne students will use a new information system to follow their children’s academic progress. The program, Infinite Campus, replaces the former JMC system. Luverne Middle/High School Principal Ryan Johnson said the data manager system will be easier for parents, students and teachers to use. “The layout of the new program is more intuitive,”…