County Road 4 to close on Monday
County Road 4 (Main Street), will be closed on Monday, east of Luverne for approximately 8 to 10 weeks.
The construction will begin just east of the Luverne City Park entrance for two bridge construction projects.
The official detour will include US Hwy. 75, County Hwy. 16 and County Hwy. 9.
For those wishing to get to the golf course for one or two final rounds of the year, the beginning of River Road, at the city park, will still be open, if you don't mind taking a gravel road.
The county request that any trucks and over-width vehicles use the assigned detour route in lieu of alternate routes.
Auditions set for Sanders Family Christmas
Green Earth Players have announced audition dates for the upcoming play "Sanders Family Christmas."
The audition dates will be at 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22, and at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23.
Both auditions will be at the Green Earth Players building, located one-half block east of GlenÕs on Lincoln Street in Luverne.
A recent GEP newsletter described the production as "An evening filled with music, song and holiday cheer and - just a touch of romance! Back home for the holiday season, the lovable, quirky Sanders family returns to warm our ears and tickle our funny bones with their singin' and witnessin'. A smash hit in the 1998-1999 season, this sequel to "Smoke 'n the Mountain" brings us to 1941, with a gospel-singing family in one of their final appearances at Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church. Times are uncertain, but Burl, Vera, Dennis, Denise, Stanley, June and Rev. Oglethorpe are 'fine as from hair' with their traditional Christmas music and some old time gospel and bluegrass tunes to boot."
20 bands to participate in 2002 Tri-State Band Festival
Twenty bands, made up of more than 2,400 students, will be a part of the 2002 Tri-State Band Festival, according to the Luverne Chamber of Commerce.
The bands from Minnesota, Iowa and South Dakota will gather in Luverne Saturday, Sept. 28, for the 52nd annual event.
The festival is one of the longest running festivals of its kind in the Midwest.
The event will begin at 10 a.m. with the parade on Luverne's Main Street, followed by the field competition at 1 p.m. at the Luverne High School athletic field.
Entrance to all field events requires a Tri-State Band Festival button, which can be purchased either at the gate, or on Main Street, prior to the parade.
You just gained 1.3 years of life expectancy
In the last 10 years, between 1990 and 2000, life expectancy increased to 81.5 years for females and 76.5 years for males.
That's an increase of 1.3 years from the previous decade.
The increase in the 90s is actually smaller than it had been in the 80s, when the increase was 1.6 years, or the 70s when it increased 3.2 years.
The difference between men and women is also narrowing. The gap used to be 7.4 years, but now is down to 5.
If you think we are getting healthier, think again. We are still too fat and don't exercise enough, but the increase in the medical system, which has lowered the death rate from diseases such as AIDS and cancer has made a significant impact.
If you would like to know more about the report, Minnesota Life Expectancy in 2000, you can find it on the web at
Publisher Roger Tollefson can be contacted by e-mail at
tolly@star-herald.com