Edith Leslie, 91, Hills, formerly of Luverne, died Tuesday, April 2, 2002, at Tuff Memorial Home in Hills.

Services were Saturday, April 6, at United Methodist Church in Luverne. The Rev. Bill Clyma officiated. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery, Luverne.

Edith Elsie Leslie was born to Earl Sylvester and Iva Fern (Story) Leslie on Aug. 14, 1910, on the family farm near Luverne. She attended District 16 country school. After her education she did domestic work for several area families before moving to Luverne. While living in Luverne she worked at the bakery, Forrest Dairy, Luverne Laundry Service and Palace Theatre.

Ms. Leslie and her brother, Hugh Leslie, co-owned Tastee Freeze Drive-In in Luverne for several years. They sold the drive-in in 1968, but she continued to manage it until she retired in 1975. She provided care for her parents, her brother and for the last few yeas her sister when they needed it and enjoyed being their caregiver. She moved to The Oaks in Luverne in December 1999. She became a resident of Tuff Village Assisted Living in Hills on Aug. 3, 2001. She moved to Tuff Memorial Home in Hills on April 1, 2002, for hospice care due to recurring cancer.

Ms. Leslie enjoyed playing bingo, crocheting, embroidering and doing crossword puzzles during her retirement years.

Survivors include one brother, Hugh (Mildred) Leslie, Bryon; one sister, Jeannetta Leslie, Hills; and several nieces and nephews.

Ms. Leslie was preceded in death by her parents, one brother, Kenneth Leslie, and one sister, Laura Hengeveld.

Memorials may be directed to Tuff Village Assisted Living at Hills.

Roste Funeral Home, Hills, was in charge of arrangements.

Lois Leenderts, 63, Hills, died unexpectedly Monday, April 8, 2002, at Luverne Community Hospital in Luverne after a sudden illness at home.

Services were Thursday, April 11, at First Presbyterian Church in Luverne. The Rev. John Pehrson officiated. Burial was in Luverne Memorial Gardens, rural Luverne.

Lois Reemts was born to Eppo and Dora (Dirks) Reemts on Sept. 27, 1938, in rural Rock Rapids, Iowa. She grew up and attended country school near Ash Creek. She graduated from Luverne High School in 1956.

She married Leonard "Shorty" Leenderts on Dec. 30, 1956. Following their marriage they moved to El Paso, Texas, where her husband was stationed with the U.S. Army at Fort Bliss. After her husband was discharged from the Army they moved back to Minnesota and settled near Hills where they have farmed together for the past 31 years. She took an active part in the farming operation and was well known for hauling crops into the elevator along with operating all the various farm implements. She was also an accomplished cook and baker. She has been a certified nurses' aide at Tuff Memorial Home in Hills for the past 18 years.

Mrs. Leenderts was an active member of First Presbyterian Church in Luverne and held many church offices. She was a member of the Anchor Group at church for 32 years. She was also a member of an April Fools Club made up of couples all married about the same time. Mrs. Leenderts was a leader of the Blue Ribbon 4-H Club and an active contributor to the 4-H program in Rock County. In 1982 she was honored as Rock County Mother of the Year, and the Leenderts family was honored in 1980 as Rock County Farm Family of the Year. In her leisure time she was active in two bowling leagues.

Survivors include her husband, Leonard "Shorty" Leenderts, Hills; four children, nine grandchildren, and one great-grandson. The children and their families are Alan "Al" (Bonnie) Leenderts, Hills, and their children, Aric (RaeLyn) Leenderts and Tracee (Jerrad) Brouwer and their son, Grant; Lori (Tor) Boen and their children. Michael, Daniel and Timothy, Luverne; Kristie (Peter) Jessen and their children, Jessica, Ashley and Matthew, Luverne; David (Dawn) Leenderts and their son, Dawson, Hills. Also surviving are two brothers, Lloyd (Arlene) Reemts, Valley Springs, S.D., and Larry (Nancy) Reemts, Jefferson, S.D.

Mrs. Leenderts was preceded in death by her parents.

Roste Funeral Home, Hills, was in charge of arrangements.

Russell T. Grout, 91, Escondido, Calif., formerly of the Beaver Creek area, died Wednesday, March 27, 2002, at the Meadowview nursing home in Escondido.

He was born to Thaddeus and Julia (Brooks) Grout on Aug. 7, 1910, on the family farm east of Beaver Creek. He graduated from Beaver Creek High School in 1928 and Macalester College, St. Paul, in 1932. He coached at Elmore High School before moving to Sacramento, Calif., where he worked for Southwest Telephone Company until retirement.

His wife, Grace, worked for Seaboard Finance. They were married on March 27, 1937. She died on Dec. 31, 2000. They had no children.

Survivors include cousins, Norma (English) Herman, Luverne, Ruth (Brooks) Hagen, Sioux Falls, S.D., Marilyn (Brooks) Granald, New York, New York, Dale (Bill) Brooks, Albuquerque, N.M., and Phyllis (Brooks) Bim, Memphis Tenn.

Luverne's Tom Sandager brings the baton across the finish line for the winning 800-meter relay team during the Cardinal Quadrangular Thursday. The LHS boys won eight events during the first outdoor meet of the season.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne boys' track team kicked off the 2002 outdoor season by hosting the annual Cardinal Quadrangular Thursday.

The field actually consisted of five teams with Southwest Christian, Edgerton, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton and Southwest Star Concept-Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster joining the Cards for a meet that was postponed on April 2.

With Luverne winning eight events and racking up six second-place performances, Cardinal coach Craig Nelson deemed the day a success.

"We had some excellent times and performances for it being the first outdoor meet of the season. Some of the kids began where they left off last year, and that's impressive. We had a lot of tremendous efforts, and it gives us some confidence heading into the rest of the season," he said.

Senior Craig Bosch, an all-state performer last season, got off to a solid start in 2002 by winning the shot put and discus competitions with respective 48-11 and 143-1 tosses.

Andrew Norton and Tom Sandager helped the Cardinals win five more events.

Norton cleared 6-2 to win the high jump and covered 19-1 to take top honors in the long jump. Sandager, who won the 400-meter dash in 54.48, ran legs with LuverneÕs winning 400- and 800-meter relays that turned in respective 46.49 and 1:35.97 times. Travis Johnson, Tyler Elbers and Chris Morgan ran with Sandager in both champion relays.

Morgan also claimed a meet title for the Cards by winning the 300-meter hurdles in 45.4.

Luverne had two teams entered in the 400-meter relay, and the second one placed second in 48.79. Kyle Bitterman, Tim Rust, Jerome Willers and Cody Gehrke are the team members.

Other seconds came from Elbers (5-10 in the high jump), Justin Van Wyhe (18-8 1/4 in the long jump), Nick Otten in the 800 (2:18.16), Johnson (24.1 in the 200) and Mark Brockberg (9-6 in the pole vault).

Here is a look at the rest of Luverne's top-eight finishers during the meet.

Third place: Bitterman, pole vault, 8-0; 1,600 relay (Van Wyhe, Otten, Willers and Tim Rust), 3:59.13; Ruston Aaker, 400, 56.79; 3,200 relay (Otten, Aaker, Tim Schneekloth and Jamison Tooley), 9:46.53.

Fourth place: Gehrke, 100, 12.45; Brandon Johnson, discus, 101-10.

Fifth place: Van Wyhe, 100, 12.52; Gehrke, shot, 39-10 1/2; Tooley, 1,600, 5:41.01; Casey Swenson, discus, 96-8.

Sixth place: Tony Willers, shot, 37-4; Norton, 200, 24.66.

Seventh place: Cody Jagow, shot, 36-6; Travis Halfmann, 1,600, 6:21; Thomas Gluf, discus, 92-4; Mike Nelson and Ryan Wynia tied for seventh place by clearing 7-0 in the pole vault.

Eighth place: Gehrke, 200, 25.61; Jon May, 1,600, 6:27.

December
Dec. 21: Pastor Keith and Laura Davis, Hills, a son.
Dec. 27: Jon Menning and Dawn Domeyer, Luverne, a boy.
Dec. 29: Jase and Kari Roemeling, Luverne, a girl.

January
Jan. 5: Eric and Lisa Kiers, Luverne, a boy.
Jan. 8: Craig and Rachelle Fey, Edgerton, a boy.
Jan. 10: John and Karen Currier, Pipestone, a girl; James Ibarra and Velia Moreno, Luverne, a boy.
Jan. 11: Bradley and Nichole Tofteland, Luverne, a girl.
Jan. 15: Steven and Kristen Goedtke, Luverne, a girl.
Jan. 16: John and Karen Rust, Adrian, a boy.
Jan. 19: Michael and Kristy Giesler, Jasper, a boy.
Jan. 24: Dr. Wayne and Cynthia Pratt, Ramsey, a boy.
Jan. 25: Melanie Rust and Joshua Williams, Luverne, a boy.
Jan. 26: Bradley and Angela Ahrendt, Luverne, a girl; Tanya Wickherst, Luverne, a boy.
Jan. 31: Lennie and Janet (Baustian) Varilek, Alpha, a boy.

February
Feb. 2: Mark and Amy Schoeneman, Bonner Springs, Kan., a girl.
Feb. 6: Kraig and Kristi Scholten, Edgerton, a girl; Mark and Anne Hamann, Plymouth, a boy.
Feb. 9: Steven and Kari (Oldre) Csizmadia, Mankato, a boy.
Feb. 14: Gary and Teresa Kruger, Luverne, a girl; Amanda Uithoven and Derrick Rouzer, Luverne, a girl.
Feb. 15: Tim and Kayla Jarchow, Luverne, a boy.
Feb. 19: Douglas and Teresa Reisdorfer, Adrian, a boy.
Feb. 20: Steve and Michelle (Sonntag) Durheim, Okarche, Okla., a girl.
Feb. 22: John and Linda Zimmerman, Eden Prairie, twin girls; Michele Bulau and Bruce Vortherms, Adrian, a boy.
Feb. 27: Jim and Paula Jelken, Luverne, a boy.

March
March 1: Craig and Julie Becker, Sioux Falls, S.D., a girl.
March 4: Michael and Robin VerMeer, Sioux Falls, S.D., a boy.
March 8: Dave and Debbie Klein, Luverne, a boy.
March 9: Timothy and Stacy Behrends, Iona, a girl.
March 19: Matthew and Kathy Wieneke, Lismore, a boy.
March 21: Ricky and Robyn Wessels, Luverne, a boy.
March 22: Daniel and Monica Horn, Adrian, a boy.
March 23: Joel and Terri Strasser, Luverne, a boy.
March 26: Michael and Michelle Anderson, Waconia, a girl.
March 27: Darren and Rachel Ponto, Wilmont, a girl.
March 29: Wayne and Geni Domagala, Brandon, S.D., a boy.
March 30: Curt and Caroline Thorson, Luverne, a boy.
March 31: Cory and Traci Gyberg, Luverne, a girl.

April
April 1: Nathan and Molly Golla, Luverne, a boy.
April 2: Tim and Barb Anderson, Luverne, a girl; Paul and Amy Vande Velde, Lead, S.D., a boy.
April 3: Rob and Holli Arp, Lake Benton, a girl; Michael Davis and Traci Siebenahler, Luverne, a boy.
April 6: Joshua and Michelle Nath, Luverne, a girl.
April 13: Joshua and Becky Ossefoort, Luverne, a girl.
April 16: Chris and Heather Rozell, Adrian, a boy.
April 17: Michael and Angela Boyenga, Luverne, a boy.
April 18: Timothy and Michelle Mitchell, Edgerton, a boy.
April 25: David and Stacy Mente, Adrian, a boy.
April 26: Jared and Tracee Brouwer, Sibley, Iowa, a boy.
April 27: Todd and Glenda DeSchepper, Brooklyn Center, a boy.
April 28: Mark and Paula VanDam, Chandler, a boy.

May
May 1: John and Laura Varley, Adrian, a boy.
May 3: David and Jamie Tofteland, Beaver Creek, a boy.
May 5: Robert and Tracy Kunkel, Adrian, a girl.
May 6: Ryan and Darlene Limesand, Sioux Falls, S.D., a boy; Mark and Rebecca Raymon, Valley Springs, S.D., a boy.
May 9: Shawn and Lana DeGroot, Letcher, S.D., a girl.
May 10: Paul and Susan Fluit, Alvord, Iowa, a girl.
May 14: Brent and Kimberly Grengs, Steen, a boy.
May 15: Thomas and Michelle Bobendrier, Pipestone, a boy.
May 16: Todd and Lesley Schoonhoven, Pipestone, a boy.
May 16: Zachary and Jolene Borman, Luverne, a boy.
May 16: Scott and Melanie Edwards, Hills, a boy.
May 18: Scot and Cherry Schnoor, Rushmore, a boy.
May 21: Jessica Nath, Jasper, a girl.
May 24: Angela Boomgaarden and Brian Jonas, Rock Rapids, Iowa, a girl; James and Sherri Ladd, Luverne, a girl.
May 25: Sidney and Tana Meyer, Rock Rapids, Iowa, a boy; Douglas and Lori Mulder, Magnolia, a girl.
May 29: Pat and Katie Baustian, Luverne, a girl.
May 30: Nils and Rachel Renken, Luverne, a boy.
May 31: Brant and Jennifer Huisman, Luverne, a girl; Brett and Amy Swenson, Plymouth, a girl.

June
June 4: Scott and Lori Ehde, Luverne, a boy; Mike and Wanda Jarchow, Luverne, a girl; Shanee Bixby, Wilmont, a boy.
June 5: Troy and Jill Talsma, Edgerton, a girl.
June 10: Dennis and Danette Smit, Edgerton, a girl.
June 11: David and Joy Rose, Luverne, a girl.
June 12: Dennis and Dawn VanderBeek, Edgerton, a girl.
June 13: Eric and Kristi Mueller, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a boy.
June 15: Nathan and Christina Stamer, Rushmore, a boy.
June 17: Harlan and Lorie Kruid, Steen, a girl.
June 18: Bryce and Mary Lubben, Brewster, a girl; Scott and Jessica Malloy, Beaver Creek, a girl.
June 20: Sgt. Kouri and Nora Wysong, Seoul, South Korea, a boy.
June 22: Barry and Carla Helgeson, Shoreview, a boy.
June 25: David and Emily Gibson, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a boy.
June 26: Ron and Lori Osenga, Jasper, a boy; Dave and Melanie Friedrichsen, Luverne, a boy.
June 27: John and Astrid Rittenhouse, Luverne, a girl.
June 28: Kami Kindt, Ellsworth, a boy.
June 30: Tim and Kris Nibbelink, Winona, a boy.

Versteeg applies for feedlot permit
PUBLIC NOTICE
In Accordance with amended
Minnesota State Statutes 116.07, Subdivision 7a

I Harold Versteeg do hereby give notice that I have applied for an animal feedlot permit for constructing an expansion to my existing feedlot. The construction will consist of a 51' X 160' total confinement barn to house 1000 head equivalent to 300 animal units.

The feedlot is located in the NW 1/4 of section 32 in Battle Plain Township of Rock County.

Nearest State, County or Township road: County Road 7

Construction Location: From the intersection of County roads 7 and 2, 2 1/2 miles west on county road 7, on the south side of the road

The Rock County Land Management Office will be conducting the Permitting Process:

311 West Gabrielson Road
Luverne, MN 56156
(507) 283-8862 Extension #3
(4-11)

Severson probate
DISTRICT COURT
PROBATE DIVISION
FIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
NOTICE AND ORDER OF HEARING ON PETITION FOR FORMAL ADJUDICATION OF INTESTACY, DETERMINATION OF HEIRSHIP, APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND
NOTICE TO CREDITORS
STATE OF MINNESOTA
COUNTY OF ROCK
ESTATE OF
ROBERT S. SEVERSON, SR.
DECEDENT
It is Ordered and Notice is given that on Monday, May 6, 2002 at 9:00 (a.m.) a hearing will be held in this Court at Rock County Courthouse Luverne, Minnesota, for the adjudication of intestacy and determination of heirship of the Decedent, and for the appointment of Gayle Stegemann whose address is: 117 E. Barck Avenue, Luverne, MN 56156 as personal representative of the Estate of the Decedent in a SUPERVISED administration. Any objections to the Petition must be filed with the Court prior to or raised at the hearing. If proper and if no objections are filed or raised, the personal representative will be appointed with full power to administer the Estate, including the power to collect all assets, pay all legal debts, claims, taxes and expenses, to sell real and personal property, and do all necessary acts for the Estate.

Notice is also given that (subject to Minn. Stat. 524.3-801) all creditors having claims against the Estate are required to present the claims to the personal representative or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this Notice or the claims will be barred.

/s/ TIMOTHY K. CONNELL
TIMOTHY K. CONNELL
Judge Date
/s/ SANDRA L. VRTACNIK
SANDRA L. VRTACNIK
Court Administrator Date
Attorney For Personal Representative
BENJAMIN VANDER KOOI, JR.
VANDER KOOI LAW OFFICES, P.A.
127 E. Main
P.O. Box 746
Luverne, MN 56156-0746
507-283-9546
Attorney I.D. No. 112124
(4-11, 4-18)

Karla Osterday's third-grade class is this week's Luverne Elementary featured class of the week. Pictured are (front row, from left) Jessica Brands, Austin Eeten, Austen Klosterbuer, Brittney Buss, Dayton Kern, Dustin DenHartog, Emily VanDerBrink, (second row) BG Xaisongkham, Adam Gruis, Ben Nath, Cody Gaddis, Salinda Fletcher, Alyssa Frakes, Morgan Sommers, Josh VanVeldhuizen, (back row) Mrs. Osterday, Zach Cowell, Thomas Lingen, Josh Ganun, Joey Slieter, Jessica Rome and Gretchen Schneekloth.

Mrs. Osterday's third-graders had their Accelerated Reading party for third quarter. They played board games and had doughnuts with milk for milk break. In math they are multiplying and dividing, and they just finished their weaving project for art class. At the end of April they will take the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Mike Graff (front as Oliver), Dan Nath and Colleen Nath play some of the central roles in the play 'Oliver' being performed by the Green Earth Players next weekend. Story inside.

By Lori Ehde
The odds were not in their favor, but Hardwick's Cliff and Gladys Anderson are the lucky winners of a $30,000 sports car from Royal River Casino, Flandreau, S.D.

Their number was drawn from a barrel containing more than 50,000 other tickets Thursday, April 11.

"It's never happened to me to win that big of a prize," Gladys said Tuesday.

The casino had been offering a spring promotion during the month of March that gave a free chance at the car to everyone who came through the door that month.

"There were people who came in three times a day. I know people in Flandreau with 200 tickets in there," Cliff said. "The first number pulled out of there was ours."

He and Gladys had accumulated a combined 18 tickets for their odds.

The promotion required winners be present to collect the prize, so the casino was filled to capacity on the day of the drawing.

"That place was so packed we couldnÕt even get to the car at the time of the drawing," Gladys said. "We almost needed security to get through the crowd. They were yelling and cheering, 'We have a winner! They're coming.'"

Amid the commotion, the Andersons basked in the front seat of their 2002 electric green Ford Mustang convertible. "We blew the horn and whooped and hollered," Cliff said. "We celebrated a little."

And then, the couple promptly sold the car back to Flandreau Motors for $25,000. "Uncle Sam got $9,000 of it," Cliff said. "But we're happy."

When asked what the couple intends to do with their new-found wealth, they didn't have specific plans.

"We just bought a house in Hardwick, so that money will come in handy," Cliff said.