Martha Richter, age 77 of Ellsworth, MN, died Tuesday, July 16, 2002 at Parkview Manor Nursing Home in Ellsworth. Arrangements are pending with the Dingmann Funeral Home in Adrian.

Henry C. Mulder, 76, Rock Rapids, Iowa, died Friday, July 12, 2002, at his home in Rock Rapids, Iowa, from a long battle with cancer.

Services were Tuesday, July 16, at First Reformed Church of Rock Rapids. The Rev. Dan Haggar officiated. Burial was in Sioux Center Community Cemetery in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Henry Mulder was born to Charlie D. and Maggie (Toering) Mulder on Oct. 17, 1925, in Lebanon, Iowa.

He grew up on the family farm near Alton, Iowa, and worked for seven years on a neighbor's farm.

He married Garlene De Boom on Dec. 12, 1947, in Sioux Center. They lived in Sioux Center where he worked for another farmer for six years until they began farming on their own.

In 1956, they moved to a farm near Rock Rapids where they continued to farm. He retired and moved to Rock Rapids in 1988.

Mr. Mulder was an active member of First Reformed Church of Rock Rapids where he served as deacon and elder. He also served on the Farm Bureau, Allison Township and ASCS boards, as well as being a Crow's Seed Corn dealer for 35 years.

Survivors include his wife, Garlene Mulder, Rock Rapids; two daughters and four sons and their spouses; Cheryl (Le Roy) Hackrott, Sioux Falls, S.D., Duane (Helen) Mulder, Sioux Center; Dennis (Holly) Mulder, Steen, James Mulder, St. Joseph, Mo., Linda (John) Meyer, Sewartville; Gary (Robyn) Mulder, Holland, Mich.; 19 grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; one sister, Tillie Vanden Brink, Sioux Center, and two brothers, Harry Mulder, Sioux Center, and Charles Mulder, Ireton, Iowa.

Mr. Mulder was preceded in death by his parents, an infant son, Robert Dean, one brother, Dick C. Mulder and one sister Siena Mulder.

Roste Funeral Home, Rock Rapids, was in charge of arrangements.

Herbert "Hobie" Wieneke, 83, Adrian, died Thursday, June 13, 2002 at his home.

Services were held on Saturday, June 15, at St. Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian. Father Gerald Kosse & Father Frank Klein officiated. Burial was at St. Anthony Cemetery, in Lismore.

Herbert was born January 2, 1919, in Lismore, to Herman and Josephine (Geistkemper) Wieneke. Herb attended country school in Lismore Township; and St. Anthony Catholic School. He then attended technical school in Chicago, where he learned small engine repair, a trade he still enjoyed up until his death.
Herb married Frances Klein on April 23, 1946, in Adrian. After their marriage, the couple farmed in Lismore Township. In 1979, they retired and moved to Adrian.

He was a former member of St. Anthony Catholic Church, in Lismore; a current member of St. Adrian Catholic Church, in Adrian; and the Catholic Order of Foresters.

Herb is survived by his wife, Frances Wieneke, Adrian; six children and their spouses, Emily & Ron Goebel, Luverne; Kathy & Mike Sangwin, Laurens, IA; Eileen & Gary Henning, Adrian; Stan Wieneke, Adrian; Verna & Paul Taylor, Wilbur, WA; and Rita & Duane Boltjes, Adrian; sixteen grandchildren, four great grandchildren; brother, Vincent (Marge) Wieneke, Lismore; and two sisters, Rosalia Haffield, Worthington; and Mary Ann (Cletus) Spieker, rural Lismore.

He was preceded in death by his parents; son, LeRoy, in 1976; six brothers, Ed, Clarence, Bernard, Alfred, Donald, & Cletus; and two sisters, Bernice Cook & Alma Madison.

Lynch Dingmann Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Vernice Weiland, age 80, Luverne, died June 17, 2002, at the Hospice Cottage, Luverne.

Services will be held on June 21, at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran church in Luverne. Family visitation will be June 20, from 2 to 8 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne and also from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday at Grace Lutheran Church.

Vernice Irene Bannick was born to Emma (Bock) and John Bannick on October 30, 1921, in Jasper. She attended school in Jasper. Following her father’s death the family moved to Sioux Falls. She worked at a pharmacy and assisted her mother to manage a boarding and rooming house. On June 17, 1942, she married Delmar Henrickson and in 1957 they moved to Luverne. She was a long-time member of Eastern Star.

From 1959 until 1972 she operated a boarding and rooming house in Luverne. On August 11, 1974, she married Jack Weiland. They were known for their love of old time music and dancing. From 1973 until her retirement in 1986 she provided full-time adult foster care in her Luverne home.

She is remembered by many of her skills as a seamstress, a cook, and as an accomplished bread maker. She enjoyed many forms of needlework, and had a talent for sharing her skills with others. She will be fondly remembered as a kind, loving and supportive mother, grandmother, sister, and friend.
She is survived by one brother Robert (Arline) of Denver, CO and her children and their spouses Robert and Bernice Henrickson, Parker, CO, Ronald and Patricia Henrickson, Salinas, CA; Sharon and Darrel Rockman, Luverne; and Barbara and Tom Stanley, Fairbault; ten grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

She was proceeded in death by her parents, husband, and brother Leonard.

A tree will be planted in memory of her by Hospice of Luverne Community Hospital.

Dingman Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Member Tim Knoll (right) and his guest, Al Connell, of Morris, emerged as the champions of the Member-Guest Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club over the weekend. Knoll and Connell rallied from a three-stroke deficit on Sunday to earn a berth in a playoff, which they won to take top honors in the net better ball event.

By John Rittenhouse
An outstanding comeback on Sunday followed by a successful playoff hole led a team to its first Member-Guest Tournament championship at the Luverne Country Club over the weekend.

Member Tim Knoll and his guest, Al Connell, Morris, saved their best golf for the last two rounds of play during the 36-hole, net better ball tournament.

Knoll and Connell recorded an 11-under-par net 61 during 18 holes of play Sunday to move up from a tie for fifth place after Saturday's rounds into a tie for first place with member Jeremy Sudenga and his brother, Jason, who now lives in Sioux Falls.

When Connell registered a net birdie on the first playoff hole, and Jason Sudenga's seven-foot, downhill putt for birdie slid off the mark on the LCC's No. 1 green, the championship trophy belonged to a pair of first-time champions during the 21st version of the event.

No team shot a score lower than a net 64 during both days of the tournament, but Knoll and Connell needed a 61 to earn a shot at the championship Sunday.

When Saturday's opening 18 holes of play were complete, it was the Sudenga team and member Darwin Elbers and guest Keith Boeve (Maple Grove) leading the pack with a net 64s.

Member Dan Serie and guest Chad Wallace (Omaha, Neb.) were one-shot off the pace with a net 65, while member Don Klosterbuer and guest Craig Boysen (Montevideo) finished the day in fourth place with a net 66.

Connell and Knoll, member Bob Frakes and guest Joe Vanderburg (North Arlington, Texas), member Jeff Rollinger and guest Cory Norman (Sioux Falls), member George McDonald and guest Gary Hestness (Audubon), member Pat Strassburg and guest Andy Noll (Fairmont) and member Roger Tollefson and guest Tom Brakke (Deephaven) all finished four shots behind the leaders with net 67s Saturday.

The Sudengas played well enough Sunday to match the net 64 score they recorded on Saturday, but it wasn't good enough to best the hard-charging team of Knoll and Connell.

Both teams ended up with net 128s at the end of regulation play, which set the stage for a playoff.

Jason Sudenga, a scratch golfer, received no handicap strokes for the par-4 first hole, while each of the other three players in the competition had the benefit of receiving a one-stroke handicaps.

Both Connell and Jason Sudenga were safely on the green in two shots. Connell completed the hole with two putts, which gave him a net birdie. Sudenga had a chance to prolong the playoff with his downhill attempt for birdie, but his putt ended up being a narrow miss.

Serie and Wallace showed some improvement Sunday, which led them to a third-place finish. They followed their net 65 Saturday with a net 64 Sunday, leaving them one shot away from joining the playoff with a net 129.

Elbers and Boeve shot a net 66 Sunday after sharing the lead with a net 64 Saturday. They placed fourth overall with a net 130.

Tollefson and Brake and member Steve Smedsrud and guest Troy Veld (Adrian) ended up tied for fifth place with net 132s.

Although their team title hopes slipped away during the playoff, the Sudengas played well enough as individuals to draw more attention to their games.

Jeremy Sudenga walked away with the low-net title with a 133 tally. Wallace was four shots off the pace with a net 137, and member Nate Skattum was third with a net 139.

Jason Sudenga finished two strokes off the pace in the low gross competition.

Serie (72-74) and Norman (73-73) shared top honors in the gross competition with two-over-par 146 tallies. Jason Sudenga was third with a four-over-par 148.

The Derby, a nine-hole competition which follows the first 18 holes of net better ball play Saturday, was again a portion of the Member-Guest Tourney.

Ten members and 10 guests who recorded the lowest gross scores formed the field for nine holes of alternate-shot play, which features one team being eliminated at each hole.

The two teams remaining after eight holes of play consisted of member Tim Connell and Noll, and Jeremy Sudenga and Bill Wallace, the guest of Tom Serie, from Montgomery, Ala.

When the team of Connell and Noll recorded a par on the par-4, ninth hole, it was good enough to eliminate Sudenga and Wallace.

The Dave Lammert Memorial Tournament kicked off the annual Member-Guest weekend on Friday.

The 18-hole handicap tournament serves as a fund-raiser for the Luverne Dollars for Scholars Chapter.

Paula Lammert ended up winning the 2002 version of the event by shooting a net 66.

Sue Skattum placed second with a net 67, while Melissa Sterrett and Mark Iveland (Lincoln, Neb.) share fourth place with net 68s.

Frakes finished in fifth place with a net 69.

Eldon Ehlers 66, Luverne, died Friday, July 19 at home. Visitation will be Monday, July 22 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne. Services will be Tuesday, July 23 at 1 p.m. at the American Reformed Church, Luverne. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery.

Milda (Mrs. Horton) Staeffler, 75, Gladbrook, Ia, died Monday, July 15, 2002 at the Marshalltown Medical and Surgical Center, Marshalltown.

Born Milda Nath on November 13, 1926, in Rock County, MN, she was one of six children born to Marcus and Emma (Schneekloth) Nath. She married Horton Staeffler on July 28th, 1957, in Rock Rapids, Ia. They then moved to Orange, CA for the next 34 years. In 1994, they moved to Gladbrook, IA.

Survivors include her husband, Horton, 3 daughters, Sharon Lee (Thomas) Burke, San Diego, CA., Cynthia Lu (Larry) Blaine of Gladbrook, and Barbara Jean (Bill) Basabilbaso of Newport News, VA., six grandchildren, Garth Werner, Randy Lovin, Christopher Basabibaso, Nicholas Basabilbaso, Duane Blaine and Laurel Blaine, son-in-law Phillip (Joyce) Werner and children Kristen, Joey and Scott, one sister, Norma (Ben) Meyers, Luverne, and three brothers, Carl (Betty), Bill (June) and Orlen (Mary Jo) Nath, Luverne.

She is preceded in death by her daughter, Laurel Ann Werner, her parents, and brother, Harvey.

Hazel Tomlinson, 96, Luverne, died Saturday, June 22 at Mary Jane Brown Home. Visitation will be Tuesday, June 25 from 2 to 8 p.m. with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne. Services will be Wednesday, June 26 at 10:30 a.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home with Rev. Dell Sanderson officiating. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery.

Luverne's Adam Kurtz leaps in the air in an attempt to avoid being tagged out at home plate during Friday's Area A American Legion Baseball Playoff game played in Edgerton. Kurtz was ruled out at the plate, but Luverne won the game.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne American Legion baseball team earned a berth in the Area A Playoff championship game by posting two wins to open the event.

The Cardinals rolled to a 12-run win in Edgerton Friday before besting Slayton by 10 runs at Redbird Field Tuesday.

Luverne, 10-13 overall, played Pipestone for the title in Pipestone last night. A win would give the Cards the No. 1 seed for the District Tournament. A loss would place Luverne in district-qualifying game at Redbird Field Friday night.

Luverne 11, Slayton 1
Jesse Kuhlman tossed a five-inning, no-hitter during Tuesday's home tilt against Slayton.

Kuhlman fanned nine batters in the contest. The lone run he surrendered came in the top of the fourth, when Slayton used three walks and a sacrifice fly to avoid being shutout.

Luverne had a 10-0 lead by the time Slayton scored.

Tony Sandbulte singled and scored in the bottom of the first on a passed ball.

Jake Studer, who drove in five runs with two triples in the game, hit a three-bagger with the bases-loaded in the second inning to make it a 4-0 game.

Studer tripled home two runs, Sandbulte and Adam Reisch slapped RBI singles and Aaron Schmidt chipped in a sacrifice fly during a six-run third inning to make the different 10-0.

After Slayton scored in the top of the fourth, Luverne received an RBI single from Eric Edstrom in the bottom of the frame before Kuhlman blanked the visitors in the fifth to end the game by the 10-run rule.

Box score AB R H BI
Frey 3 2 0 0
Studer 3 2 2 5
Sandbulte 4 1 2 2
Edstrom 4 0 1 1
Pick 3 1 1 0
Schmidt 2 0 0 1
Kurtz 3 2 2 0
Reisch 4 2 2 1
Goebel 2 1 0 0

Luverne 14,
Edgerton 2
The Cardinals opened the playoffs by coasting to a 12-run victory in Edgerton Friday.

Joey Pick drove in three runs at the plate and teammates Adam Kurtz, Schmidt and Reisch all had two RBI during the lopsided win.

Luverne scored three runs in the top of the first inning and never lost the lead the rest of the night.

Schmidt singled home a run and two more counters scored on an error in the first.

Edgerton made it a 3-1 game in the second inning, but the Cards received an RBI single from Pick and Reisch received an RBI for a fielder's choice in the third to make the difference 5-1.

After Edgerton closed the gap to 5-2 in the fourth inning, Luverne scored nine runs in the sixth and seventh frames to put the game away.

Kurtz singled home a pair of runs and Reisch and Schmidt slapped RBI singles to highlight a five-run fifth inning.

Pick singled home two runs, Studer singled home another and one run scored on an error when Luverne capped the scoring with a four-run seventh inning.

Studer fanned six batters and allowed two runs during a five-inning stint as the starting pitcher. He picked up the win. Tom Frey pitched two innings of scoreless relief.

Box score AB R H BI
Frey 6 0 0 0
Studer 4 2 4 1
Sandbulte 6 2 0 0
Edstrom 3 3 1 0
Kurtz 3 2 1 2
DeWispelaere 0 0 0 0
Schmidt 4 1 3 2
Goembel 0 1 0 0
Pick 4 2 2 3
Reisch 4 1 1 2
Goebel 3 0 0 0