Did you hear?

Do you own a century farm?The Minnesota State Fair’s Century Farm program is again going to honor Minnesota families who have owned their farms for at least 100 years.Qualifications for the century farm designation include:
The farm must be at least 100 years old according to authentic land records.
The farm must have been in continuous family ownership for at least 100 years. (Continuous residency on the farm is not required).
The farm must be at least 50 acres.Since 1976, a total of 8,135 farms have been designated Century Farms.Those receiving the Century Farm designation receive a certificate signed by the president of the State Fair, the president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation and Gov. Tim Pawlenty.The family also receives an outdoor sign signifying the Century Farm recognition.For more information, contact your local Farm Bureau office or the Minnesota State Fair at 1265 N. Snelling Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108.Symphony and Chamber Orchestra to perform at high schoolBlue Mound Area Theatre, operator of the Palace Theatre, is sponsoring a concert by the South Dakota Symphony Chamber Orchestra and the Augustana Chamber Choir.The Chamber Orchestra, a group of 18 to 25 musicians, consists of members of the Dakota String Quartet and Dakota Wind Quintet as well as other members of the orchestra.The Augustana Chamber Choir is under the direction of Luverne native (LHS Class of ’71) Dr. James Johnson. The program will include Mozart’s "Divertimento, K.136" and "Concerto for Violin No. 5 in A Major" with soloist Magdalena Modzelewska.The concert will be performed in the Luverne High School Theatre at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 17. Tickets for the event may be purchased from Luverne High School music students, at the Luverne Chamber of Commerce or at the Carnegie Cultural Center.Proceeds from the performance will benefit the Palace Theatre and the Luverne High School music programs.Changes at the blood bankIf you are a regular at the blood bank, you will notice some changes next time you donate.In the past, the first thing you had to do after you walked through the door was to grab a clipboard and start filling out a lengthy series of questions.The blood bank will still require some information from you, but now someone will sit down with you and take your information orally, and in private, of course.All blood banks must adopt the new process.According to the American Red Cross, the new procedure has several benefits, including:
The questions are simpler and easier to understand.
More accurate answers increase the likelihood that ineligible donors will be deferred earlier in the process.
More accurate answers will reduce the likelihood that eligible donors will be unnecessarily deferred, and that will help increase collections.
Over time, the donation process will become speedier.Two blood banks service Rock County, the American Red Cross, which collects at Grace Lutheran Church, and the Community Blood Bank, a joint venture of Sioux Valley and McKennan Avera hospitals, which collects at Luverne Community Hospital.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com