By Sara Strong
What seemed like a bleak future is looking brighter for the Southwest Regional Development Commission.

SRDC members gathered in Luverne Thursday, July 11, for their annual meeting to discuss finances along with general SRDC business.

Its nine member counties, including Rock County, last month allowed the SRDC to stay open by approving of a plan to levy extra dollars. That levy will help the organization recover from the failure of Prairie Expo.

At the meeting, members approved selling $1.6 million in bonds to allow for more money to pay off Expo construction costs and outstanding debt. The bond sales that came in at low interest rates will also boost SRDC reserves that were drained by Prairie Expo.

Because of the sales, the SRDC will have to levy less than originally estimated.

Board members want to move beyond Prairie Expo and highlight the positive aspects of SRDC.

SRDC Executive Director Jay Trusty said, "We will continue moving forward as a thriving part of communities in southwest Minnesota."

He has been with the SRDC since last summer. When he joined what was an unstable organization, he said people questioned why he accepted the job. "I told them and I still say that I believe the RDC is a positive part of the area."

Bob Fenske, Lyon County Board Chairman spoke at the meeting. He highlighted the number of jobs affected by the SRDC. Fenske said the revolving loan program helped create 344 jobs and helped retain 701.

"I think that's impressive and I think that all members should be proud of what it's done for southwest Minnesota," Fenske said.

The revolving loan fund now has $110,000 available, and $150,000 committed.

Fair health care
The SRDC's health insurance help plan has been in the works for two years.

Prairie Health Purchasing Alliance will help small businesses and non-profits buy insurance at group rates.

Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System and Avera McKennen are working together to equalize coverage in southwest Minnesota, where Sioux Valley dominates. They have set an Aug. 1 deadline to work on an arrangement.

The Prairie Health Purchasing Alliance, itself will be set up as a non-profit and may be able to help businesses by Jan. 1.

The SRDC itself won't be in the insurance business, but will help other businesses become a pool of purchasing power.

Eric Johnson (left) and Tom Reep of T&L Dirtworks, Lowry, are busy giving each and every Rock County road a name. They're pictured at the intersection of County Road 6 (also 60th Ave) and Pipestone County Road 1 (also 251st Street) near Jasper. The crew started in the northwest corner of Rock County Monday and expect to make their way southeast toward Kanaranzi in a couple of weeks. Individual home address signs will go up this fall. Photo by Lori Ehde

By Sara Strong
Rural Rock County residents will have a specific address this fall - making emergency services, parcel delivery and locating homes or businesses easier.

This week, contractors started putting up street signs in the northwest part of the county, and theyÕre working toward the southeast, township by township.

In about four weeks those should be finished, and individual address markers will be installed by mid-October.

Residents will then be notified what their specific addresses are. The U.S. Post Office will honor both old and new addresses for a full year so everyone has a chance to get their addresses changed.

The cost of installing the 540 street signs is estimated at $70,000. That cost, and most of the individual markers are covered by $100,000 in restitution recently awarded to Rock County in the Global Ventures bank fraud plea agreement.

The individual markers will be advertised for bids so the cost isn't set yet.

The signs follow what Nobles and Pipestone Counties have installed. About half of Minnesota counties have rural address signs in place.

The primary reason for naming rural roads is for emergencies.

With enhanced 911, computers can bring up the residents' names and addresses, along with directions to their homes.

Rock County's current 911 system doesn't correlate to each residence.

Dispatchers update the system as much as possible, but some phone companies don't alert law enforcement departments to address changes if they aren't numbered by street or avenue.

When individual addresses are assigned, dispatchers can use a mapping system to locate callers, even if they are unable to give their name or address.

By Sara Strong
Rock County livestock producers are seeing the first of the Level III feedlot inspections this week.

A county employee will accompany the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Board of Water and Soil Resources to the sites.

The MPCA won't be present for most inspections, except for the first few to get the process underway.

Because of those inspections, the Rock County Board Tuesday approved of the Land Management Office hiring a temporary employee to help the office through the process.

The 30- to 36-month term employee will be classified as an entry-level technician.

Last week's sentencing in the Global Ventures bank fraud case will bring an additional $50,000 to the county to help cover costs of the Level III inspection. The county has another $30,000 from a previous individual plea agreement.

The new position will start on the pay scale of $10.36 per hour. The staff person would go to site inspections with BWSR staff, conduct initial feedlot assistance response and data management, maintain mapping system data entry and assist in permit handling.

Existing staff will be able to handle the more detailed and technical issues involved in the process.

The LMO estimates the cost of a new employee to help through the Level III inventory is $75,000 to $80,000.

The LMO is hosting an informational meeting at 7:30 tonight (Thursday) in the Blue Mound Banquet Center, Luverne. At the meeting, producers will learn specifically what is involved in the Level III inventory process and will have time to ask questions.

There will also be a sign-up sheet for interested people to participate on the Rock County Feedlot Task Force.

The Task Force will discuss rule interpretations within the state feedlot statutes' gray areas and help disseminate public information.

By Sara Strong
Just one Rock County office will have a competitive primary race at the Sept. 10 election.

An unusually high number of seven people have filed for the Rock County Auditor/Treasurer position by Tuesday's deadline: Lisa Ahrendt DeBoer, Nic 'O Lena Bosch, Gloria F. Rolfs, Johnna Bowron-Ahrendt, Kim Gehrke, Candace R. Reese and Ona Reker.

No other local offices in the county or city of Luverne will appear on the primary ballot because, at the most, two have filed.

Also filing for office are:

Luverne mayor, Glen Gust and Keith Erickson
Luverne north ward, Pat Baustian
Luverne south ward, Bob Kaczrowski
Rock County Sheriff, Ronnal M. McClure and Michael Winkels
Rock County Attorney, Donald R. Klosterbuer
Rock County Recorder, Jere Ohme
County Commissioner District 2, Richard D. Bakken
County Commissioner District 3, Ron Boyenga
County Commissioner District 4, Robert (Bob) Jarchow
County Commissioner District 5, Jane A. Wildung
SWCD 2, Vicky Smook, SWCD 5, Donald P. Reker.

By Lori Ehde
The long-awaited thermal oxidizer has arrived at Luverne's Agri-Energy ethanol plant.

It's the $1.5 million solution to the plants odor problem that has prompted community complaints since it began operating in 1998.

The equipment is in high demand and Luverne's been waiting for it since it was ordered in January.

"It's a huge project," plant manager Rick Serie said after it was ordered. "It'll require two additions, one for the electrical panel and one to house the boiler."

The oxidizer and boiler arrived last week, and crews have been working since Wednesday, July 10, to install them.

In the thermal oxidation process, odor is eliminated by venting plant emissions into the oxidizer and destroying them with heat.

Meanwhile, the plant will capture heat off that process in a waste recovery boiler to create steam for the ethanol production process.

In addition, Serie said the plant will realize savings by not having the operational costs of running the dryer scrubber.

Another advantage to the oxidation process is that it will allow the plant to increase production while remaining in compliance with the MPCA's emissions standards.

In fact, Serie said, the plant decided to pay $268,000 more for a larger model that will allow the plant to double its production in the future.

While the oxidation process requires a hefty up-front investment, Serie said it may pay for itself in five years.

Gained efficiencies of the boiler, costs cut by not using the scrubber and the freedom to expand production all make the oxidizer a worthwhile investment, Serie said.

The oxidizer for Luverne comes from MMT Environmental, a Minneapolis company, and the boiler comes from Victory Energy, Owasso, Okla.

The 175-foot stack will remain, but the steam plume coming out of the stack will be eliminated.

The existing boiler will be moved into a support position to be used as backup if needed.

Agri-Energy started production in 1998. It now employs 29 people full-time with an annual payroll of more than $1 million.

It processes 7 million bushels of corn per year and produces more than 20 million gallons of ethanol annually.

By Lori Ehde
Some fears were alleviated Monday when contractors and the Minnesota Department of Transportation met with Highway 75 business owners about road construction.

Work started Monday as planned, but the detour won't go up until Monday July 22 , and if all goes well, the road wonÕt be closed for more than a week.

Original information from the MNDOT office called for Highway 75 to be closed from Taco John's to Main Street for three to four weeks, cutting off prime summer traffic to South Highway 75 business owners.

After finding out about that plan last week, affected business owners organized Monday's meeting to learn more about the project and to request a kinder schedule.

The first thing they learned is MNDOT's early information wasn't entirely accurate. The project will last three to four weeks, but South Highway 75 will be closed for only a week.

During the closure, traffic will be detoured west at Taco John's on Gabrielson Road, which loops around town and reconnects with County Road 4 (Main Street) near the ethanol plant.

Traffic will still have access to all businesses during that closure, but signs on the south end will say "Road closed to through traffic."

During the rest of the construction period, two lanes will be open at all times, and at least one driveway per business will be accessible.

Business owners were relieved to learn the closure would be only a week rather than three weeks, but they were disappointed with the timing of the closure and the project as a whole.

"I think we all know it needs to be done, but it's a shame it needs to be done in the summer - during our busy season," said Stacy Zwaan of Country Kitchen.

Business representatives pointed out that the Sturgis Street Rally during the first week in August typically brings extra business to Luverne, but the road work will be at its worst during that time.

Duininck Brothers Inc., Prinsburg, was awarded the Highway 75 bid, and Duininck supervisor Ron Shimek said Luverne's project is just one of many in the works.

But since Monday's meeting, MNDOT and Shimek arranged to move the railroad work a week earlier to July 22 so it can be done before the Sturgis Street Rally starts.

The detour signs would be up only during the track repair, and other signs will read simply, "Road work ahead." Those signs will be placed on the four interstate ramps and on Highway 75.

MNDOT agreed to hang additional messages on road work signs stating "Access to local businesses open." Those signs have been ordered and will be displayed Monday.

More than 60 people attended Monday's meeting in Pizza Ranch. Many were upset they hadn't received earlier notice about the road work.

MNDOT project supervisor Ken Janovsky said details couldn't be released until after the project was bid July 1.

He explained that information on the work was still sketchy when the first press release was issued, and his estimates of a three- to four-week closure were purposefully conservative.

Though the road will be passable, some business owners said they were afraid the construction signs would prevent I-90 travelers from stopping in Luverne.

Shimek assured them hungry travelers with empty gas tanks stop regardless of construction signs.

"If you didn't, you'd run out of fuel and starve to death," he said, pointing out that many communities along major transportation routes experience road construction.

The "mill and overlay" work will be done from the interstate to the northern edge of Luverne. This includes stripping asphalt down to the concrete, hauling it to a bituminous mixing plant three miles east of Hardwick, and reapplying an asphalt overlay.

The work in town also includes some curb and gutter repair and replacing railroad tracks two blocks south of Main Street.

Rural Highway 75 will be repaved, and some culverts will be repaired north of Hardwick.

MNDOT's early time estimates for the rural detour were also conservative. Shimek said at Monday's meeting the closure between Hardwick and Edgerton will be for two weeks, rather than six weeks.

That work will also start Monday, July 22.

The rural detour sends motorists five miles east through Hardwick on County Road 7 to County Road 2. This will take them north to Edgerton where they will turn west on Highway 268, which reconnects with Highway 75 six miles west of Edgerton.

An early Sunday morning fire at a Kapperman Construction storage facility claimed a building on Southeast Park Street, behind Casey's on South Highway 75, Luverne. The fire was reported at 2:25 a.m. with Beaver Creek and Luverne departments responding. Luverne Fire Department's Don Deutsch said the cause of the fire is undetermined at this time, but it is under investigation.

Photo by Sara Strong

A crane hoists the 86,000-pound boiler to its new location at Luverne's Agri-Energy plant. The boiler and thermal oxidizer are the plant's $1.5 million solution to the odor problem that has plagued the area since the plant began operating in 1998. Story inside.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Virginia Bode, 73, Luverne, died Saturday, July 6 at Luverne Community Hospital. Visitation will be Monday, July 8 from 4 to 8 p.m. at St. Catherine Catholic Church, Luverne. Services will be Tuesday, July 9 at 11 a.m. at St. Catherine Catholic Church, Luverne, with the Rev. Gerald Kosse officiating., Burial will be in St. Catherine Catholic Cemetery, Luverne. Dingmann Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.