Hills City Council members unanimously supported a countywide ordinance on recreational marijuana at their meeting Tuesday night, Aug. 8.
At that same meeting South Dakota business owners voiced interest in starting a marijuana retail outlet, Dakota Herb, in Hills.
Dalton Grimmius and Dylan Stokes (a Luverne High School graduate) operate the business that cultivates, manufactures and dispenses medical marijuana in five locations in South Dakota.
The two inquired about purchasing commercial properties in response to Minnesota’s recent legalization of recreational marijuana.
“We wanted to stop and express interest in expanding our business across the state line from South Dakota into Minnesota,” Grimmius said.
“And Hills makes a ton of sense to us. My house is eight miles from here. It would be ideal.”
Hills Mayor Keith Elbers said Hills is looking at signing a countywide ordinance regulating the use of cannabis and cannabis-derived products in public places.
The ordinance would also stipulate setback requirements for dispensary permits.
“I don’t know any property in town that doesn’t fall within a 1,000-feet of a school property or public park,” Elbers said.
The first retail licenses won’t be valid until Jan. 1, 2025.
“We would like to get ahead of it so we know before we start buying property and then going through the building with permits … if someone is going to be friendly to our business or allow us to be here,” Grimmius said.
“We just want to get the trigger pulled as quickly as possible.”
Hills City Council members attended the July 25 countywide meeting between Rock County and its cities.
Each city supported a conservative, countywide approach to recreational marijuana use in public places.
The ordinance won’t be ready for public review and comment until commissioners unveil the document later this month.
“We don’t have any definite answers,” said Hills council member Stacen Burgers. “There’s no concrete answers for anyone at this time.”

Luverne City Council members updated the public nuisance ordinance in response to last winter’s extreme snowfall.
“We heard from many residents last winter about snow and ice needing to be removed from sidewalks,” Luverne City Council member Caroline Thorson said. 
“There were places with a foot or 18 inches of snow or more built up on the sidewalks,” Mayor Pat Baustian said. 
At their Aug. 8 meeting, council members amended current ordinance language for abating snow and grass nuisances.
“This amended ordinance makes the process more efficient and effective,” said Jill Wolf, Luverne City administrator. 
The new ordinance calls for nuisance notices to be posted on the premises, rather than through certified mail, which can take seven to 10 days. The notice can be posted on the premises 24 hours after a snowfall. 
The owner would then have 36 hours after the time the notice is posted to abate the snow or grass nuisance. 
According to Wolf, if the problem isn't solved, city public works staff will remove the snow, clear the ice or mow the grass at the expense of the owner. If the owner doesn’t pay for the expense, it will be assessed through property taxes. 
Council members asked if the owner or renter is responsible for removing the nuisance at rental properties. 
Wolf said the notice will be posted at the property by public works staff and also will be sent to the property owner. 
“Most standard leases have it spelled out who is responsible for snow removal,” said Luverne City Attorney Ben Vander Kooi. “That kind of thing is in the lease, but ultimately it is the responsibility of the property owner.”
Baustian said, “Many other cities have language like this and it’s worked well for them.” 
The updated ordinance was adopted by a unanimous roll call vote. 
“It’s clear something like this needed to be done,” Thorson said. “Hopefully this helps.”

Mobile dental clinic Aug. 17
The mobile dental clinic will be in Luverne Thursday, Aug. 17, at ATLAS of Rock County (use Community Room entrance) for adults and children of all ages. Call 612-746-1530 to schedule an appointment. All forms of insurance are accepted. Organized by #Luv1LuvAll's Rock County Oral Health Task Force.
 
Free rootbeer floats for
Bloodmobile donors Aug. 22
The American Red Cross Bloodmobile will be in Luverne from noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 22, at Living Rock Church on East Main Street. The Red Cross especially needs Type O negative, Type O positive, Type B negative and Type A negative blood, as well as platelet donors.
Schedule an appointment at RedCrossBlood.org, 800-733-2767, or through the Red Cross Blood Donor App.
Donors will receive a free rootbeer float from A.C.E. of Southwest MN and a $10 e-gift card to a movie merchant of their choice.
 
‘Living Well with Diabetes’ starts Aug. 23
Living Well with Diabetes workshop will be at 9:30 a.m. Wednesdays, Aug. 23 and 30, and Sept. 6, 13, 20 and 27, at A.C.E. of SW MN Rock County, 102 Estey St. Luverne. Learn how to manage diabetes with simple lifestyle changes. Call 507-283-5064
 
Youth prayer breakfast Aug. 24
Rock The Edge will host its third annual Community and Youth Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, Aug. 24, at Luverne High School.
Breakfast is at 6:30 a.m. in the commons, and the program is at 7 a.m. in the performing arts center with guest speaker Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken.
Make reservations by noon Aug. 21 by calling 283-4061. Donations will be accepted. The public is invited to attend.
 
‘Rock the Ride’ Sept. 12
The Substance Free Coalition of Rock County will host a Rock the Ride bike ride event Tuesday, Sept. 12, on the Loop starting at 6 p.m. at the Luverne Aquatics and Fitness Center.
Ride at your own pace and at 7:15 p.m. enjoy free pizza at Luverne City Park. This is a family-friendly event open to the public to support those living a substance free life. Call 507-227-1978 with questions. 
 
Census Info Needed for preschoolers
Families new to the community are encouraged to call Luverne Community Education at 507-283-4724 with information on children ages 0 up to kindergarten. The district uses the information for planning purposes and to alert families about school opportunities. Families with 4-year-olds not yet screened for preschool, should call to schedule a screening prior to kindergarten.
 
Community Ed
Community Education will offer the following classes in the next few weeks. Call 507-283-4724 to register.
Register now for Discovery Time preschool starting in September for ages 3-5. Early Learning Scholarships may be available to those who qualify.
Adults age 65 and older can register by Aug. 18 for MN State Fair Trip on Aug. 28. Fee is $90 per person for this chartered bus trip, including entrance fee.
 Taking Defensive Driving Classes allows adults 55 years of age and older to save on insurance premiums.  After the beginning 8-hour class, every three years drivers take a 4-hour refresher class. The Beginner Class is Sept 11 and 18 (4 hours each evening).
 
Free summer events at Plaza
Yard Games & Fellowship Free fun activities will be available at the Plaza on Main from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, Aug.17, hosted by Rock County Opportunities. Wildflowers Food Truck will be available for lunch.
Music on the Plaza Bruce Dysthe will sing from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 17, at the Plaza. Enjoy the great sounds of one of the area’s finest vocalists. Wildflower’s Food Truck will serve from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Crazy Summer Fun for Kids |This event is hosted by Luverne Chamber at the Plaza on Main from 10 a.m. to noon Friday, Aug. 18. Free lunch will be served for kids. Reservations are requested by Aug. 16. Call the Chamber at 507-283-4061.
Sip & Ride Golf Cart Coffee Tour This event is hosted by Luverne Chamber at the Plaza on Main. Rides depart at 8 and 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, for the Tales of the Graves golf cart tour. Reserve your seat by calling the Chamber at 507-283-4061.
Stick Fitness This is a free exercise class hosted by Luverne Aquatic & Fitness at the Plaza on Main from 10 to 11 a.m. Monday, Aug. 21.
 
Library Happenings
For more information about library happenings, call 507-449-5040 or email rockcountystaff@gmail.com.
Books on Tap takes place at 6:30 p.m. the first Monday of each month at Take 16 in Luverne.
The 50 State Challenge for adults and older teens is currently underway where patrons are encouraged to read a book set in one of each of the 50 states through Jan. 1, 2024.
Summer reading program for youth and adults is currently underway now through Aug. 15. Youth can pick up the “Find Your Voice” reading log to earn prizes for the number of books read. In the adult program, for every five books read, patrons may enter their name to win one of three gift baskets.
Trivia Night is at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of every month at Take 16 in Luverne. Team registration is at 6 p.m.
 
Living Works Safe Talk Sept. 30 in Hills
Learn the warning signs of suicide and how to prevent it at a four-hour workshop, Living Works Safe Talk, Saturday, Sept. 30, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills. Call Diana Buffington, 507-920-2506, for registration information.
 
SAIL classes in Luverne through Sept. 28
New SAIL classes meet from 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays from July 11 through Sept. 28 at Generations Event Center in Luverne. The free classes, Stay Active and Independent for Life, improve strength and balance. Call A.C.E. of SWMN manager Linda Wenzel, 507-283-5064 or A.C.E. volunteer Corey Ziegler, 507-920-0587.
 
Kits available at library
Libraries in the Plum Creek Library System have Storytelling Kits in a wide range of subjects from ABCs to Zoos. Each of the more than 130 kits contains a variety of materials based on the kit’s theme. Some include Wonderbooks, puppets, music CDs and DVDs. Various learning activities can also be found in the kits.
Reminiscence Kits are available featuring various topics such as gardening, pets, baking, sewing, farming and hunting. The kits are designed to use with a loved one experiencing memory loss, encouraging loved ones to open up about activities they once loved in the past.
STEAM kits are also available checkout. Motion, lights, hydropower, robotics and magnets are among the kits.
 
Food Shelf evening hours
The Rock County Food Shelf is open for an additional evening shift from 5 to 6 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of the month. Call Mary at 507-227-5548 or Katie at 507-227-3531.
 
A.C.E. respite care available, volunteers needed
A.C.E. of SW Minnesota (A.C.E.) offers respite care services in Rock County for those needing a break from caring for a loved one.
The respite program offers short-term (1-3 hours), temporary care for families and caregivers by providing a brief period of reprieve from the daily cares they provide to their loved one.
Volunteers provide non-professional supportive services to caregivers to give them time for themselves, relieve their stress and help them remain healthy.
Respite care volunteers are also needed. Trained A.C.E. volunteers provide respite care to family caregivers of adults age 60 and older who are suffering from long-term health conditions.
Contact Linda Wenzel at 507-283-5064 or ace.rock@co.rock.mn.us.
 
 

The Hills-Beaver Creek School District filled the last of its open teaching positions for the 2023-24 school year at Monday night’s meeting.
Board members approved a contract with April Prohl as full-time secondary special education teacher at a salary of $44,970.
The board hired Paul Opheim as full-time secondary agriculture teacher and FFA adviser with required license approval. His salary will be $50,388.
In a special board session Friday, Aug. 4, board members approved Tyson Metzger as full-time English language arts and science teacher. His salary is $55,000.
The new hires replace teachers who resigned over the summer.
Randi Oftedahl resigned as middle school science and social studies teacher, Kale Wiertzema as special education teacher and head boys’ basketball coach, and Cloey Anderson as ag teacher, whose contract the board decided not to renew in May.
In other personnel business at their Monday meeting, board members:
•assigned Chad Rauk as head boys’ basketball coach, Tyson Metzger as assistant boys’ basketball coach, and Lydia Scruggs as assistant varsity volleyball coach.
•accepted the resignation of Courtney Kruger as assistant volleyball coach and Arlen Leenderts as bus driver, effective Sept. 1.
•assigned Mark Top as morning bus route driver.

Luverne High School junior Ryker Johnson submitted the winning design for the 2023 Tri-State Band Festival button.
The Tri-State Committee partners with the Luverne High School graphic arts class to come up with a new button design each year.

Members of the Luverne Economic Development Authority heard updates on the Kids Rock! Child Care Center during their regular meeting Aug. 14.
LEDA Director Holly Sammons reported that the non-profit board overseeing the center has raised over $500,000 toward the $1,000,000 private funding goal. 
“We have seen a great response from what we call our Tier 1 donors,” Sammons said. “These are our larger businesses and donors that board members have had face-to-face meetings with. They have all been supportive and see the need for the project.” 
Sammons said she believes the board has done well advocating for the project and informing the community of the need the center hopes to fill. 
“People understand the vision and see the need,” she said. “It's really been exciting.” 
Mayor Pat Baustian mentioned media attention that the project has received.
“They’ve seen what we’re doing and are curious,” he said. 
Sammons mentioned coverage in the Minneapolis Star Tribune specifically. 
“There was a nice article in the Star Trib on a Sunday a few weeks ago,” she said. “That led an anonymous person who read that article to contact Emily at the Community Foundation and donate $50,000 to the fund drive.” 
Baustian said, “It pays to talk to the media.”
City leaders are in the process of selecting a construction manager at risk and establishing the guaranteed maximum price (GMP). 
“We hope to have that contract signed soon,” Sammons said. 
The USDA is completing the environmental review and will formally obligate funds in September. 
According to Sammons, tentative plans still call for construction to begin in March 2024, with a projected opening in early 2025. 
An executive director will be hired sometime in 2024 to prepare for the opening of the center. 
“That person will be hired by the Kids Rock! Board, and their salary will be paid by the board,” Sammons said. “The board is fully in charge of operating the facility.” 
According to Sammons, the executive director will be instrumental in establishing policies, developing program manuals, hiring staff and other duties needed to prepare for the opening of the center. 
“All of that needs to be done well,” Baustian said. “That will be an important job.” 

The townships of Clinton, Magnolia, Mound, Springwater and Vienna are without assessor services following Joyce Schmidt’s sudden non-renewal of her contract.
She told township supervisors in a July 27 letter that she won’t extend her 2024 assessing services due to unforeseen medical concerns in her family.
“It would be my suggestion that you reach out to the Rock County Assessor’s Office to see what options are available to your township,” Schmidt wrote.
At their meeting Tuesday morning, Aug. 8, the Rock County commissioners accepted Land Records Office Director Rachel Jacobs’ suggestion to offer three-year contracts with Rock County to each of the five townships.
“They are up in the air,” Jacobs said of the affected townships. “They have 90 days to find and fill the assessor position, but really we are the only local assessor around here except for Tom (Houselog).”
Former Rock County Land Records Director Tom Houselog is an independent assessor in Pipestone County, but the five Rock County townships are unlikely to contract for his services.
“Because the whole reason they didn’t come to the county in the first place five years ago is because they didn’t agree with Tom,” Jacobs said.
Assessing contractors must have an Accredited Minnesota Assessor license, according to a mandate that became effective in 2022.
The five townships opted not to contract with Rock County in 2017, when independent property assessor Pete Jessen stepped down as assessor for the city of Beaver Creek and 11 Rock County townships.
Everyone but Clinton, Magnolia, Mound, Springwater and Vienna townships opted to contract with Rock County.
These townships signed a three-year contract with Schmidt at a higher rate of $14 per parcel. With Rock County, the same services were $12 per parcel.
At Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners considered offering the five townships an assessing contract at the $14-per-parcel rate, the same rate they were paying.
“I have a difficult time dropping that rate down to $12 when they are used to paying $14,” said Commissioner Greg Burger.
After initially supporting developing a two-tier fee system, commissioners decided a single fee system for all the townships was a fair and equitable option.
Commissioner Sherri Thompson made a motion to extend an offer of three-year contracts of $12 per parcel (plus 3-percent increases after the initial year) to the affected townships starting in 2024.
Burger seconded the motion.
“We want to be good neighbors and fix the relationship with your office and these other townships. You’re (Jacobs) being proactive in your offer,” Thompson said.
Commissioners, in a 4-0 vote, accepted Jacobs’ recommendation that all township assessing contracts have the same fee schedules. Commissioner Jody Reisch was absent.
Township supervisors can choose to accept the assessment contract with Rock County or make an agreement with another licensed assessor
Because the townships of Clinton, Magnolia, Mound, Springwater and Vienna are without assessor services, these supervisors have 90 days from July 27 to choose an assessor.
If one is not chosen by the supervisors, the county auditor will appoint an assessor.

As we linger in the Dog Days of Summer, the Star Herald applauds the Luverne Area Chamber and its volunteers and community partners for organizing a full summer of entertainment and activities.
Rock County already enjoys a full slate of community entertainment with Buffalo Days, Hills Friendship Days, Hardwick Jubilee Days and the new Beaver Days in Beaver Creek. In between, there’s the Fourth of July at The Lake, Hot Dog Night, the Rock County Fair and others.
In addition, plenty of private ventures welcome public participation. For example, there are regular Take 16 block parties, church picnics, ATV rides, class reunions and other festive gatherings that advertise, “All are welcome.”
Add to these our Palace Theatre and Verne Drive-In lineup of movies and bands, and the Blue Mounds State Park weekends of naturalist programs. There is literally never a dull moment in Rock County.
But just in case we needed something a little more in the middle of the week, in the middle of the day, the Chamber launched its Free Summer Events at the Plaza on Main Street under the canopy.
From live music and story time to Zumba and yard games, there was something for everyone in the itinerary, which continues through the end of summer.
For example, don’t miss the “Sip & Ride Golf Cart Coffee Tours” departing from the plaza at 8 and 10 a.m. Saturday for a Tales of the Graves golf cart tour. (Reserve a seat by calling the Chamber at 507-283-4061.) It’s free.
On Monday, work out your weekend kinks with “Stick Fitness,” a free exercise class hosted by Luverne Aquatic & Fitness at the Plaza on Main from 10 to 11 a.m.
Free is the key word here. Great entertainment at a great location. For free.
Thanks to the organization of the Chamber and a long list of willing community partners and participants.

As I stood at the starting line of the Celebrity Donkey Races at the county fair, a feeling of doubt came over me.
Doubt that I could even get on this animal’s back.
Doubt that Ex-Lax (the donkey’s stage name) would even want me riding him around the course.
I was wrong to doubt.
When organizers announced that the women riding in Heat 3 were to go counter-clockwise around the course, I gained a little confidence.
As a herd animal, Ex-Lax would feel less likely to follow his herd mates’ actions.
All ready I discovered Ex-Lax would tense and round his back, winding up to buck if I grabbed his mane to mount.
When the race started, I placed my hand across the donkey’s mane and slid my leg over his back. Fully mounted we headed off.
And no buck.
Just a casual walk to the grass side of the course, when he promptly dropped his head and began grazing.
He wouldn’t move.
I anticipated this.
Like a horse, a donkey cannot pass up the sweet taste of green grass.
I slipped off the donkey’s back with the dread that I would eventually have to get back on.
Grabbing the lead rope, I dragged Ex-Lax through the grass area and to the dirt where I pointed him to the finish line.
I slipped on his back and coaxed the reluctant animal forward.
As he drifted toward the grass growing at the side of the cement wall where the grandstands were set up, I pulled his head in the opposite direction.
I crossed the finish line in third.
All I felt was relief, and later, a sense of accomplishment.
Last year I didn’t even get past the first turn.
As I leave my donkey riding days behind me, I’ve turned to another event that leaves me with just as much anxiety as the donkey races did.
In a little less than a month, my horse, Emma, and I will travel to the Twin Cities for the WSCA Championships.
As in the donkey race, one class has me riding Emma bareback.
At the age of 58, I’m thinking I’m too old to do activities with entrants whose ages are closer to age 20.
You’d think I should be old enough to know I don’t have to do these activities.
I’m also old enough to know that I can.
Two years ago I told myself I wasn’t the same high caliber of a rider to even compete at the championships.
But I did.
Doubt had me telling myself that I couldn’t, and I believed it.
Age has taught me that if you want to do something, all you have to do is be prepared.
You can bet Emma and I will be practicing, and we’ll be ready to succeed at yet another activity I started.
There’s no doubt about it.