Bernard Kurtz, 75, Luverne, died Friday, July 5 at Luverne Hospice Cottage. Visitation will be Monday, July 8 from 2 to 8 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne. Services will be Tuesday, July 9 at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, Luverne, with Rev. Dell Sanderson officiating. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery.

Ruth Marie Jensen, 79, Worthington, died Saturday, June 29, 2002, at Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.

Services were Tuesday, July 2, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Worthington. The Rev. Larry Brixius officiated. Burial was in St. Mary Cemetery.

Ruth Schmidt was born to William and Marie (Couture) Schmidt on Aug. 29, 1922, in Detroit, Mich. She attended grade and high schools in Detroit. She graduated from Providence Hospital School of Nursing in June 1944.

She entered the U.S. Army Nurse Corps as a second lieutenant in February 1945 and served until her discharge in May 1946. While serving in the Army Hospital in Galesburg, Ill., she met her future husband, James W. Jensen, who was wounded in the invasion of Saipan. They married on Feb. 4, 1947, in Detroit. After their marriage the couple moved to Round Lake. They retired and moved to Worthington in 1980.

Mrs. Jensen was a member of St. Mary Catholic Church in Worthington for more than 50 years; CCW, the Benedictine Oblate of Assumption Abbey in Richardton, N.D., Round Lake American Legion and Round Lake American Legion Auxiliary.

Survivors include six children and their spouses, Br. Aaron Jensen OSB, Richardton, Greg Jensen, Milford, Iowa, Teresa (Gary) Anderson, Waterloo, Iowa, Rita (Jack) Tolsma, Dan (Leslie) Jensen, all of Worthington, and Chuck (Kris) Jensen, Bemidji; 10 grandchildren, Brendan Nagel, Adam Nagel, Erica Anderson, Zach Anderson, Amanda Jensen, Alicia Jensen, Matt Jensen, Erik Jensen and Laura (Gavin) Bell; and two stepgrandchildren, Latina and Sophia Albersman.

Mrs. Jensen was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Jim, on Aug. 9, 1992, and two brothers, Fred and Russell Schmidt.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Worthington, was in charge of arrangements.

By John Rittenhouse
Luverne played its way to a second-place finish in the First Division of the Lincoln D. Wacker Foundation American Legion Baseball Tournament in Jackson over the weekend.

Luverne went 3-1 in its division, placing second to unbeaten Worthington.

The Cardinals beat Fairmont by nine runs in SaturdayÕs opener before falling by 12 runs to Worthington in the second game. Luverne nipped Jackson I by one run Sunday before besting St. James by four.

Luverne ended the weekend with a 5-7 overall record. The Cards play at the Brookings, S.D., Tournament Friday through Sunday. Luverne plays in Pipestone Monday before hosting Adrian Tuesday.

Luverne 10,
Fairmont 1
The Cardinals scored 10 runs in the third and fourth innings during Saturday's opening win over Fairmont.

Luverne trailed 1-0 early in the game, but a four-run third inning followed by a six-run fourth set the stage for a nine-run win.

Tony Sandbulte slapped a two-run double during the third inning. Jake Studer and Luke Iveland singled home runs in the frame.

Adam Kurtz had the big blow in the fourth when he stroked a two-run double. Eric Edstrom, Studer and Ryan Goebel drew bases-loaded walks, and Aaron Schmidt received an RBI for a fielder's choice.

Kurtz pitched a six-inning, one-hitter to notch the win. He fanned four batters.

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

Worthington 14,
Luverne 2
The Cardinals were unable to keep up with the eventual division champion when they took on Worthington in Saturday's second game.

Worthington scored three runs in the first, second and third frames before adding five more in the fourth.

Luverne, on the other hand, was limited to a pair of first-inning runs.

Sandbulte doubled home a run and Kurtz recorded a sacrifice fly to account for Luverne's runs.

Jesse Kuhlman pitched the first three innings and took the loss. Iveland pitched in relief.

Box score AB R H BI
Frey 3 1 1 0
Iveland 3 0 1 0
Sandbulte 2 1 1 1
Edstrom 0 0 0 0
Studer 2 0 1 0
Kurtz 1 0 0 1
Kuhlman 0 0 0 0
Pick 1 0 0 0
Schmidt 2 0 0 0
Goebel 1 0 0 0

Luverne 16,
Jackson 15
The Cardinals pulled out a one-run win in a wild game against Jackson to begin play Sunday.

Luverne scored 15 of its 16 runs in two innings and held off a late challenge by the hosts to win by one.

After taking a 1-0 lead when Edstrom doubled home a run in the first inning, Luverne opened a 16-9 cushion when it scored eight runs in the second inning and seven in the fourth.

Jackson scored six runs in the fifth and sixth innings to trim the difference to one run at 16-15, but it never did catch the Cards.

Kurtz delivered a grand-slam homer to account for four of Luverne's eight counters in the second. Other highlights in the rally were an RBI single by Kuhlman and an RBI ground out by Schmidt.

Edstrom singled home two runs and Schmidt drove in another with a fielder's choice while providing the highlights of Luverne's seven-run fourth inning.

Schmidt pitched the first three innings of the game without gaining a decision. Kuhlman tossed three innings of relief to pick up the win.

Box score AB R H BI
Frey 3 1 1 0
Iveland 3 2 1 0
Studer 1 3 0 0
Edstrom 3 1 2 4
Kuhlman 2 2 1 1
Schmidt 4 2 1 2
Pick 3 2 2 0
Goebel 3 1 0 0
Kurtz 4 2 3 4

Luverne 12,
St. James 8
The Cardinals ended their tournament appearance with a four-run win over St. James Sunday.

Trailing 7-3 after St. James scored five runs in the fourth inning, Luverne rallied to score nine runs in the next two innings and secure a victory.

A six-run fifth inning that featured a two-run double by Schmidt, RBI singles by Kuhlman and Edstrom, an RBI double by Joey Pick and a sacrifice fly by Kurtz gave the Cards a 9-7 lead.

After St. James scored once to make it a 9-8 game in the bottom of the fifth, Luverne scored four times in the top of the sixth to put the game away.

Kurtz doubled home a run and Adam Reisch singled home a run to account for two of the three runs in the sixth.

Luverne scored single runs in the first three innings. Edstrom singled and scored on an error in the first, Ryan Goebel provided a sacrifice fly in the second and Iveland doubled and scored in the third.

Studer pitched the first three innings without earning a decision. Tom Frey picked up the win by tossing two innings of relief. Kurtz pitched the final frame.

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

By John Rittenhouse
Adrian won four straight games to win the Second Division of the Lincoln D. Wacker Foundation American Legion Baseball Tournament in Jackson over the weekend.

The Dragons won all four of its games to take top honors in their five-team pool.

Adrian opened the tournament by beating Jackson II 11-1 and Welcome 13-9 Saturday.

The Dragons nipped Okabena 9-8 Sunday before wrapping up the division title with a 16-1 victory over Minnesota Lake later in the day.

A nine-run first inning by the Dragons set the stage for an easy victory over Jackson II during Saturday's opener.

Adrian went on to outscore the Jackson squad 2-1 the rest of the way to win by 10 runs in four innings.

Tannar Heronimus pitched four innings of three-hit ball to pick up the win.

Levi Bullerman and Dusty Spieker both went two-for-three at the plate, while Dusty Henning, Brandon Wolf, Pete Hohn, Joe Kruger, Cliff Lynn, Matt Eickhoff and Heronimus picked up one hit each.

Adrian opened an 8-0 lead after three and one-half innings during Saturday's second game against Welcome and coasted to a 13-9 victory.

Tyler Wolf pitched four innings to pick up the win, while Hohn and Heronimus worked one inning each in relief.

Bullerman and Eickhoff led the way at the plate with four and three hits respectively, while Spieker, Jake Salter and Heronimus added two safeties each. Kruger and Hohn had one hit each.

After falling behind 2-0 early in Sunday's first game against Okabena, Adrian scored nine consecutive runs before fighting off a late challenge to win 9-8.

Wolf pitched six innings of seven-hit ball to record a victory.

Henning led off the game with a solo homer before slapping a double and a triple during a three-hit performance at the plate.

Derek Vastenhout, Kruger and Spieker clubbed two hits each, while Salter and Glen Kruger added one each.

Adrian fell behind Minnesota Lake 1-0 in the first inning before scoring 16 unanswered runs to win 16-1 in five innings during SundayÕs finale.

Wolf pitched five innings of three-hit ball to gain his second victory of the day.

Bullerman and Salter led the offensive charge with three hits each, while Vastenhout picked up a pair of safeties. Henning, Glen and Joe Kruger, Wolf, Spieker and Nick Weidert had one hit each.

The 6-3 Dragons play a double-header in Worthington Sunday and a twin bill in Luverne Tuesday.

By Lori Ehde
A Hardwick woman is recovering from injuries she received after falling out of the back of a moving pickup Saturday on Highway 75.

Christina Casazza, 25, was riding in the back of her friend's Dodge Dakota pickup holding a mattress the two were transporting to CasazzaÕs new residence in Luverne.

The driver, 27-year-old Jeannie Shamatt, Hardwick, had just turned the corner from Hardwick and was headed south on Highway 75 when the wind caught the mattress and flipped it out of the pickup bed.

In the process, Casazza, who had been riding in the back to stabilize the mattress, was thrown onto the road.

The ambulance was called to the accident at noon Sunday. She was taken to Luverne Community Hospital and was airlifted to Avera McKennan Hospital, Sioux Falls.

Casazza, speaking from her hospital room Monday, said the pickup wasn't going very fast when she fell Ð possibly 30 to 35 miles per hour.

She said she had no broken bones, but abrasions to her head required staples and she suffered bruises and abrasions over her entire body.

She was under observation for a slight concussion, but she was told sheÕd likely be released later that afternoon.

The Minnesota Highway Patrol also responded to a rollover accident earlier that day on Interstate 90 by Adrian.

A 1995 Ford Aerostar mini van was totaled at 7:30 a.m., but its driver, David Coon, Cottage Grove, suffered only minor abrasions and didn't require medical attention.

Coon, 23, had been wearing his seatbelt.

By Sara Strong
A University of North Dakota study on nitrogen and water supplies is still ongoing and has long-term implications on water treatment in the area.

Scott Korum, a UND, Grand Forks, professor and the study's principle investigator, said that so far Luverne is about average in the denitrification process.

"The good news is that it looks like, in the chambers that we added nitrate, we are getting denitrification," Korum said.

Denitrification is the process of converting nitrate into a harmless gas.

Nitrates in ground water have been problematic for water treatment throughout the Midwest.

Nitrates enter ground water most commonly from agriculture fertilization.

Treatment facilities remove nitrates from drinking water, but denitrification can also occur naturally, and thatÕs what the UND study is all about.

The study of seven sites in North Dakota and Minnesota started last September and will continue through the spring, with a final report due a year from this September.

In Luverne's case, denitrification appears to be helped along by naturally occurring sulfide minerals and iron minerals. The helpful iron isnÕt the rust-type of iron that the city already removes from water.

Korum said the natural denitrification process is relatively slow, but is still happening.

"The bad news is that we don't know what the products of the denitrification are." Korum said.

In a type of chemical reaction, the ground loses part of its composition in order to remove the nitrogen.

"It's taking from our landscape, which built up over thousands of years," Korum said.

He doesnÕt know what the implications of that are, and thatÕs part of the studyÕs importance.
Filtering out the nitrate takes naturally occurring minerals at a faster rate than nature replaces them.
Researchers donÕt know how long the landscapeÕs composition can support denitrification and donÕt know enough yet to hypothesize.
The two sites in Luverne will continue to be tested every couple months.

Besides the city of Luverne, information will be shared with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, who are also helping to fund the study.

By Lori Ehde
Sentencing is scheduled for Monday, July 8, for all parties involved in the Global Ventures and Pipestone County financial crimes.

Rock County Feedlot Officer John Burgers was charged last fall with soliciting and accepting bribes from Global Ventures hog production in exchange for preferential permitting treatment.

His wrongdoing surfaced during the course of a federal investigation into lending practices of First National Bank and Trust, Pipestone and Garretson.

Subsequent federal indictments were levied against former CEO of Global Ventures, David Logan, and former bank president Michael Morgan.

Logan, former Pipestone city administrator, admitted to violating lending limits and providing insider loans, some through the creation of fictitious companies.

According to the indictment, Logan and Morgan conspired to arrange a series of illegal loans to companies controlled or created by Logan, including two in which Morgan also held an interest.

Morgan was charged in March with misapplying more than $13 million in federally-insured bank funds to invest in hog production businesses, including Global Ventures and others he and Logan held interest in.

As the FBI and IRS investigation continued in Pipestone County, indictments were also levied against other Pipestone County businessmen.

For example, retired Pipestone construction company owner William A. Winter admitted to providing money to Logan while he was city administrator for the purpose of obtaining preferential treatment regarding city contracts.

Pipestone County veterinarian Gordon Spronk admitted last fall that he assisted Morgan and Logan in making false statements to and influencing First National Bank in Garretson in order to deceive bank regulators.

Spronk, Morgan and Logan each owned a little less than one-third interest in Global Ventures at the time, and Morgan owned First National Bank in Garretson and Pipestone.

Hearings begin at 9 a.m. Monday in U.S. District Court, Minneapolis, and are expected to conclude by 4:30 p.m.

See the Star Herald, Thursday, July 11, for a report on those sentence orders.

By Sara Strong
In just a year at the post, Vonnie Nergaard has learned a lot about coordinating the local Retired Senior Volunteer Program.

She and regional supervisor Mary McLaughlin presented the Rock County Board of Commissioners with a program update at the last board meeting.

The county gives RSVP 96¢ per capita to help fund the local coordinator position.

Rock County Board of Commissioners Chair Jane Wildung said, "ItÕs more than worth the county's money to help fund volunteer programs."

Rock County has 34 sites, or organizations, that use RSVP services and has about 200 active volunteers at any given time.

Rock County RSVP members have contributed 32,000 hours of volunteer service in 2001.

Nergaard said, "A lot of people can't get out, but they still do it."

Some of the less physically active volunteers contribute by completing needlepoint projects, for example, and donating them to organizations for fund-raisers.

Regional RSVP Executive Director Mary McLaughlin said, "Volunteers are really important. And when you look at the statistics in Minnesota, only 1 to 2 percent of the potential volunteers are volunteering."

Minnesota has a volunteerism rate higher than the national statistics, McLaughlin said.

"One thing the volunteers say is that they get out of it just as much as whoever they're volunteering for," McLaughlin said.

Recently, RSVP volunteers helped Relay For Life prepare luminary bags by folding them for people to purchase and decorate.

Nergaard said new volunteers are always welcome to the program. "We accept them from 55 and older, and we'd like them to start earlier so they're with us longer."

The average age of Rock County RSVP volunteers is probably in the 70s, Nergaard estimated.

Getting those in early-retirement to volunteer is more difficult. People who are retired from their careers often have part-time jobs, family commitments or interest in things like travel that keep them from RSVP.

Nergaard and McLaughlin said the group of volunteers Rock County has is keeping busy and can always use new members.

As a side note, McLaughlin looks forward to increased federal funding due to the strong support of volunteer programs by President Bush. He is especially interested in senior volunteers.

RSVP will be part of a national move to generate more volunteer activity. The Get Involved campaign will be seen on local billboards and brochures and includes plugs for RSVP and other similar organizations.

By John Rittenhouse

Two Hills-Beaver Creek High School seniors were honored by the Red Rock Conference baseball coaches this week.

David Top and Justin Van Maanen are two of 12 players to receive honorable mention when the 2002 All-Red Rock Conference Baseball Team was announced.

Along with the 12 honorable mention selections, 21 players were listed on the All-RRC squad.

Adrian, the league champion, led the list with six All-RRC picks. Juniors Pete Hohn, Dusty Henning and Joe Kruger, and sophomores Tyler Wolf and Brandon Wolf and freshman Levi Bullerman made the team from AHS.

Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin placed five players on the All-RRC roster. Seniors Dusty Schroeder and Adam Wright, junior Mitchell Schroeder, sophomore Mark DeYounge and freshman Grant Wall made the team for the Wolverines.

Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove and Murray County Central placed three players each on the all-league team.
Seniors Colby Pack, Corey Fishel and Travis Kottke made the team from RRC-W-WG. Senior Nick Bruning and juniors Joe Larson and Brandon Kathman cracked the list for MCC.

Rounding out the team are Edgerton seniors Brian Van Hill and Chad Ruiter, and Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster-Southwest Star Concept juniors Tyler Leopold and Mitch Leopold.

Other players to receive honorable mention include Adrian junior Dusty Spieker, ML-B-O junior Kody Karschnik, RRC-W-WG seniors Ryan Baker and Matt Olsem and junior Dusty Trapp, Edgerton senior Jeremy Landhuis and juniors Chris Van’t Hof and Josh Eernisse, SV-RL-B-SSC senior Chad Frericks and MCC junior Weston Mahon.