Absentee ballots now availableThe Minnesota Secretary of State announced this week the availability of absentee ballots for the November 2 general election.Rock County voters should contact the Rock County Auditor’s office to inquire about voting by absentee ballot in person or to get an absentee ballot through the mail.The number of absentee voters has been increasing over the years.In 1998, 4.43 percent of voters in Minnesota used absentee ballots to do their voting. That number increased to 6.7 percent for the 2000 election.According to Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer, "Minnesota voters who will be out of their precinct on Election Day or who will be unable to go to their polling place due to illness, physical disability, religious observance, or service as an election judge in another precinct may vote by absentee ballot beforehand."For in-person absentee voting, the County Auditor’s office will have extended hours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, October 30, and until 5 p.m. on November 1.Additional absentee voting information for people in special circumstances such as students, military and citizens living abroad can be found on the Secretary of State’s Web site at www.sos.state.mn.us.Chuckwagon collects more than $4,000 in its annual fund driveThe annual Rock County DFL Chuckwagon collected more that $4,000 at its 2004 fund-raiser on Tuesday night.Along with the monetary contributions, the 150 to 175 DFLers who attended the event also had the opportunity to hear from Leigh Pomeroy, the DFL candidate in the 1st Congressional District, who will be running against the Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht, and Katherine Ness, candidate for Minnesota House seat 22A. She will be running against incumbent Republican candidate Doug Magnus.Jim Vickerman, the current DFL incumbent senator from Senate District 22, was also on hand to address the crowd, as was a regional representative of the John Kerry presidential campaign.Luverne FFA Chapter launches scholarship programThe Luverne FFA program, in conjunction with Chevrolet and its local Chevrolet dealer, Papik Motors, announced the launch of the FFA/Chevrolet scholarship program.The program is part of a state-wide effort to raise funds for FFA Chapters such as Luverne’s.This is Chevrolet’s 55th year sponsoring the FFA and it’s programs.For 2004, FFA members of the Luverne chapter will be selling tickets to create support and will request $5.00 donations to start the FFA/Chevrolet Scholarship program in Luverne.Along with each $5.00 donation, individuals will also be registered to win a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado.The program started on September 28 and will run until October 22.The goal is to raise more that $4,000 for the local chapter.The money is used to help increase FFA programs, pay chapter fees and help develop Minnesota’s future agricultural leaders.The FFA was founded in 1929 to help young people develop farming and leadership skills.Goodwill had a successful collectionDuring their most recent collection drive, Goodwill Industries of Sioux City collected 42,000 pounds of donated materials, which will be distributed to the 16 Goodwill regional store locations.Through the donated items, Goodwill is able to provide services to more than 200 program participants in various locations. The donations also help to provide jobs to 400 Goodwill employees in four states.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com
