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Luverne native has reason to cheer for the LightningOne Luverne native has a special reason to cheer on the Tampa Bay Lightning in hockey’s Stanley Cup.According to Lona Klosterbuer, Christine Mohr Tortorella, was a member of Luverne High School class of ‘71 and is the wife of the current Tampa Bay Lightning coach John Tortorella.Christine is currently a poet and author of children’s books.Her father was Bill Mohr, the Rock County Highway engineer in the last 60’s and her mother, Murtle, was a member of the Gabrielson family.On Monday night the Tampa Bay Lightning evened up the series with the Calgary Flames at two games apiece.Game five is scheduled for tonight, Thursday, June 3, at 8 p.m.They approve this messageWhy do they keep telling us the obvious? Because it’s the law.As we watch the campaign ads over the next six months you will hear the phrase "I approve of this message" many times.The reason the candidates are repeating what appears to be obvious is because of the McCain Feingold Campaign law.The law requires whoever is responsible for the ad, in many cases the candidates themselves, to say out loud that they "approve this message."There are also ads paid for by their political parties.Ads paid for by special interest groups, not affiliated with any campaign are not required to reveal who is responsible for them.Watch out for deerThe Minnesota Department of Public Safety is putting on a big push to get people to look out for deer.According to the Department of Public Safety, more than 5,000 deer-vehicle crashes are reported every year in Minnesota, and it speculates that number could be as high as 60,000 if you add in the number of unreported crashes.Because of recent mild winters, the number of deer in the state is estimated to be more than 1 million, and those 1 million deer are continuously coming in contact with the 12,000 miles of state highways.Motorists can increase their safety by remembering:
Deer are most active from dusk until dawn.
The majority of deer-vehicle crashes occur between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m.
Deer often travel in groups. Drivers who see one deer should expect to see more.
Deer pop up everywhere, but most often in wooded areas and near waterways.
Motorists should watch for deer-crossing signs. They mark areas where deer-vehicle crashes are common.If you think gas is expensiveOK, we don’t think gas is expensive, we know it is.On a recent return business trip from Winona, I found myself filling up my tank and signing my Visa slip for $50.38.But a recent article in the Bulletin, published weekly by the Minnesota Newspaper Association helps put our gas costs into perspective.Here are costs of some other commonly used products when priced by the gallon. Diet Snapple: 16 oz. - $10.32 per gallon Lipton Ice Tea: - 16 oz. - $9.52 per gallon Gatorade: - 20 oz. - $10.17 per gallon Ocean Spray: - 16 oz. - $10.00 per gallon Brake Fluid: - 12 oz. $33.60 per gallon Vick’s NyQuil: - 6 oz. - $178.13 per gallon Pepto Bismol: - 4 oz. - $123.20 per gallon Whiteout: - 7 oz. - $25.42 per gallon Scope: - 1.5 oz $84.48 per gallon Evian Water: - 9 oz. - $21.19 per gallonBy the way, gas is currently selling in Europe for $4.35 per gallon.Moral of the story: Be glad your car runs on gas.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com