Luverne has new $100,000 winner
The Korner Gas Stop at Main Street and Hwy. 75 in Luverne was a lucky stop for Mary Ellen Polge last week.
The Luverne resident purchased five quick-pick tickets for the November 30 Powerball drawing.
The first line of numbers matched the numbers 1-4-19-21-29 (the Powerball was 8) for a $100,000 prize.
Odds of winning a prize in the Powerball is 1 in 36, and 1 in 120 million for the winning jackpot.
According to lottery officials, prizes of $100,000 from the Dec. 22, 2001, Jan. 19, 2002, March 27, 2002, June 19, 2002, Aug. 10, 2002, Aug. 17, 2002 and Oct. 2, 2002, are unclaimed
One ticket worth $500,000 (Power Play) from the Oct. 12 drawing is also unclaimed.
Players have one year from the date of the drawing to claim their prize.
Palace to show "Jack Frost" for Winterfest weekend
Those looking forward to movies at the Palace, will have the opportunity to go to the show this weekend.
The Palace will open its doors this Winterfest weekend for the movie, "Jack Frost".
"Jack Frost", starring Michael Keaton and Kelly Preston, (John Travolta’s wife) will be shown three times: first at 1 p.m. Saturday, again after the Winterfest parade, and then at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Members of the Blue Mound Area Theatre Group, owners of the Palace, are hoping movies at the Palace will be a regular event sometime after the first of the year.
The most likely scenario being discussed by the board would be a movie on the first weekend of every month.
Take advantage of 0 percent finance
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, the Christmas shopping ritual is well underway.
Since buying such a large number of Christmas presents are compressed into a few weeks, can be taxing on the bank account, the Chamber of Commerce is once again offering Luverne shoppers a 0 percent Christmas loan program.
Twenty-two Luverne Chamber members have teamed up with the three Luverne banks to help make the shopping experience a little gentler on the pocket book.
Here’s how it works.
1. Go to either First National Bank of Luverne, First Farmers and Merchants National Bank or Minnwest Bank and apply for a loan.
2. Banks will issue gift certificates for the amount of the loan.
3. Certificates may be used at any participating business up to Dec. 24, 2002.
4. Merchants are not permitted to give change for certificates. You will be required to pay any amount over the nearest $10 increment in cash.
5. Certificates may be applied to your bank loan if done so by Dec. 27, 2002, with maximum allowable amount set at 10 percent of loan total. Example: One payment in six months of $300 per $300 borrowed.
This is the 14th year for the loan program.
Last year more than $32,000 was borrowed for Christmas shopping through the program.
MnDOT announces safer bridges
According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, two bridges on I-90 in southwest Minnesota will be safer for the traveling public thanks to a new automated de-icing system.
The Freeze Free system has sensors on the bridges that automatically activate the system or enable the MnDOT staff to remotely active equipment to apply chemicals that prevent the formation of ice on the bridges and overpasses.
Overpasses are generally the first places where ice forms.
The two overpasses, located at Beaver Creek and Worthington, have an average of 12 snow and ice related crashes every year.
The de-icing allows the application of chemical much sooner than under traditional methods.
Pavement sensors monitor surface conditions when they are approaching the freezing point.
Within minutes, 36 to 40 application nozzles mounted along the bridge and guardrails spray anti-icing chemicals. Obviously, this is much quicker than dispatching trucks to the site for the traditional method of de-icing.
When the chemical is dispensed, motorists could encounter a spray as high as 18 inches from the ground.
In another test, MnDOT will also test automatic gates.
During a severe storm, MnDOT will be able to close the gates from a remote location to prohibit access to roads that are unsafe.
The automatic gates are expected to save approximately 15 percent of the cost to clear roads more quickly.
Publisher Roger Tollefson can be contacted by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com