By Lori Ehde
Rock County Land Management Director John Burgers, Hills, pled guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud.

In doing so, the court dismissed the more serious charge of bribery.

By pleading guilty to mail fraud, Burgers admits that he engaged in a scheme to defraud citizens of Rock County by obtaining funds and loans in connection with a hog production facility in exchange for preferential treatment.

Burgers has been on paid administrative leave since the Sept. 20 indictment. When asked about the future of Burgers' employment in Rock County, personnel director Kyle Oldre said the matter will be discussed in a closed session during the Dec. 26 County Board meeting.

Burgers admitted in court that in March 1996 he learned that debris and waste were being dumped at a hog production facility owned by Global Ventures Inc.

Instead of notifying the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Burgers contacted a senior officer of GVI and advised him to take care of the problem before he contacted state officials.

A few months later, in June 1996, Burgers approached the same GVI officer and informed him he (Burgers) was in deep financial trouble and needed money.

"I heard rumors the bank and Global Ventures were involved in suspicious money transactions. I knew Dave Logan would see me as something of value and that he would know that I could make it tough or make it easy on Global Ventures," Burgers said in a written statement Sept. 18.

"I expected for that reason Logan could help me get loans at Pipestone Bank," Burgers wrote. Dave Logan used me as his heads-up guy to tell him of potential problems."

In those handwritten statements, Burgers said he received roughly $200,000 in loans from Global Ventures.

During his guilty plea hearing Wednesday, Burgers told the court he received numerous bank account statements through U.S. mail that enabled him to monitor his financial situation and alert him when he would need to obtain additional preferential loans.

Burgers admitted that between March 1996 and April 1999 he repeatedly provided preferential treatment to Global Ventures, abusing his position of public trust.

In a Sept. 20 indictment, both Burgers and Global Ventures were charged with bribery and mail fraud and both entered not guilty pleas in October.

In exchange for BurgersÕ guilty plea to mail fraud Wednesday and his full cooperation in the payment of restitution or fines, the bribery charge is dropped.

In lieu of forfeiture of his assets by the court, Burgers also agrees that, by no later than sentencing, he will sell or surrender the boat, motor and trailer that he obtained with the December 1996 preferential loan from First National Bank, Pipestone, so that these assets may be applied to restitution or fines.

He faces a sentencing guideline range between six to 12 months and 24 to 30 months. His fine range is from $3,000 to $50,000.

A sentencing date is expected in eight to 10 weeks.

The case is the result of an ongoing investigation in Pipestone and Rock counties by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hank Shea prosecuted the case.

By Lori Ehde
Jim Harner and Luverne School Board members have settled on a contract for the interim middle school principal position.

Current Luverne Middle School Principal Dave Deragisch will begin his new superintendent duties in the Hills-Beaver Creek School District Jan. 1.

The Luverne district will advertise the position in January to fill his vacancy, but a new principal wouldn't start in Luverne until July, when the new school year begins.

Harner will serve as middle school principal Jan. 2 through the end of the school year. He will be paid an hourly rate of $35 per hour, with regular hours set from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The district will also pay health insurance premiums during that time.

After 33 years in education, Harner retired from his duties as Luverne middle school principal in 1993.

He came to Luverne in 1971 as high school principal, and his title became middle school principal when the school was restructured to reflect the middle school concept.

Since his retirement, Harner has worked part-time at Luverne Community Education as the defensive driving instructor.

Naming of athletic fields west of the school
On their agenda Thursday, Dec. 13, School Board members were to approve a suggested name for the baseball, softball and soccer fields west of the elementary school.

"Fledgling Fields" is the name recommended by athletic director Harvey Crable's office.

Board members considered the name, but tabled action, because they wanted to consider additional options.

"Fledgling Field on Highway 75 was for our elementary kids," said board member Becky Walgrave.

"When you talk about baseball and softball, primarily for high school athletes, I don't know how I feel about that. I don't know if it truly reflects the intended purpose of that area."

Other board members agreed, and Superintendent Vince Schaefer said he'd return the task to Crable's office and the Athletic Advisory Committee.

Revenue report and
levy certification
The board certified the gross district levy at $2,042,480.09 for taxes payable in 2002. This is a decrease of nearly 769,000 from last year's levy, or a more than 27-percent decrease.

The decrease is due to the state's shift of education funding from property taxes to sales and income tax.

The certified levy amount includes the 10-year $230,000 operating levy approved by voters this summer.

The board also heard a revenue report from district finance officer Marlene Mann, who said last year's revenues and this year's revenues are almost exactly the same. This is "scary," board members said, because expenses are rapidly increasing.

In other personnel matters, the board
hired Steven Lorenzen as assistant boys' hockey coach at $2,000,

hired Crystal Ellefson and Dan Carlson for $8.91 per hour as management assistants to help special needs students,

approved Melinda Krull, Northwestern College, to student teach with Angela Ahrendt for four weeks,

approved Brian Boll as volunteer assistant girls' hockey coach,

considered a one-day leave request by Janet Hanson to attend the Middle School Band performance at the state music convention,

approved a leave request by Judy Thies who will entertain former exchange student Ana Arias.

accepted the resignation, effective Dec. 18, of paraprofessional Robyn Wessels who accepted a position with Rock County Pool and Fitness Center.

In other business Thursday the board
heard a transportation report and set vehicle bid dates. The district, which buses students on 13 rural routes and 250,000 miles a year, will replace three buses with high miles. Bid opening will be at 1 p.m. Jan. 24 in the district office.

heard a first reading on an athletic booster club constitution,

changed the time for the next board meeting to noon on Thursday, Dec. 27.

By Sara Quam
Christmas and Carol just go together. Like Easter and bunny or chips and salsa.

Carol Hoogeveen, Luverne, has amassed a Christmas decoration collection that would make all of Santa's elves proud.

"People might think I'm crazy, but I like them," Hoogeveen said.

She's been collecting Christmas decorations, mostly ornaments, for about 40 years. "People say they could spend a lot of time walking through here and miss a lot," she said.

Art and Carol Hoogeveen's house at 514 N. Spring Street greets people from the street or sidewalk with Christmas cheer.

"So many people comment on the things in the windows," Hoogeveen said.

The front porch windowsills are covered with Christmas decorations facing outward and a large tree anchors the room.

That tree has many older ornaments that hold special meaning for Hoogeveen. Some are from her mother's tree, and some were gifts from family or friends years ago.

"When I take one out I remember who gave it to me or where I got it," she said. "But I've never met an ornament I didn't like. I just get a kick out of them."

While ornaments are her favorite Christmas collectible, garlands, small trees, Santas, angels and snowmen fill the house.

Some of the trees have themes. There's a Disney and Barbie tree, a snowman tree, a cardinal tree, a Santa tree, a nativity and crismon tree, Hershey's and Campbell's trees, a tree with Peanuts and Winnie the Pooh characters, and an angel tree. There's even a seven-foot tree in an upstairs bedroom that's decorated entirely with Precious Moments.

The biggest tree is 9 1/2 feet tall and sits in the dining room. That's covered in Hallmark collectible ornaments except for the angel at the top.

There are some miniature trees interspersed with the larger ones with ribbons and lights or flowers, birds and berries.

Storage space for all the ornaments is organized for faster decorating and packing. Hoogeveen used to put each ornament in its original box but changed to using bubble wrap after Art spent five hours unpacking Hallmark ornaments for decorating one year.

She shops at craft shows and Hallmark gift shops for most of her ornaments and decorations, but some are also gifts. She finds many good deals at the after-Christmas sales.

"I always try to buy on sale and find a bargain. ... I'm going broke bargain hunting," she said with a laugh.

Because she collects so many name-brand ornaments, it might appear that she has a too-refined taste. But Hoogeveen said she just enjoys Christmas and all the fun that comes with it. She truly likes all the ornaments - even the milkweed pod painted to look like a snowman.

"There are so many unique ornaments. I like them all," she said.

By Lori Ehde
A year ago at this time, the family of former Luverne Baptist Church pastor Tom Mabe had one Christmas wish: that he would live to spend another Christmas with them.

A year later, it appears that wish has been granted.

Mabe, now a pastor at Colony Park Church, Edina, is still recovering from what he calls "the heart episode," but he's in far better shape than he was a year ago at this time.

On Dec. 6, 2000, Mabe collapsed in his Luverne home from an aortic aneurysm that nearly killed him.

At the time, he and his wife, Stephenie, were in the process of moving from Luverne to Edina where they were about to start ministering to a new congregation.

On the night he collapsed he was home alone, and church secretary Rhonda Morris had stopped by the parsonage to pick up a television set her son was interested in fixing.

Doctors say if she hadn't been there to call the ambulance, Mabe wouldn't have survived.

In medical terms, he suffered a "dissecting aortic aneurysm," which means his main aortic valve split open and separated from the lining of his heart.

Because Mabe received prompt medical attention, doctors were able to operate that evening to restore blood flow to his body by bypassing the damaged area.

During the surgery, his heart didn't beat for 21 minutes while machines kept blood and oxygen flowing to his brain.

That was a Wednesday. Thursday was a day to wait and see if the procedure even worked, and by Friday it was clear he'd survived the aneurysm and the surgery. It was a day of hope.

The days and weeks that followed held no guarantees as Mabe's health took little steps forward and big steps backward.

Mabe won't use the word "hell," but he said those days were as close as he could imagine the place to be.

"I'm glad I've forgotten most of it," he said, adding that the ordeal was also hard on Stephenie and other family members as their lives revolved around trips between hospital and home.

He said a compassionate network of friends in Luverne helped them through those dark days.

"I really appreciated the support - the prayers and loving concern they showed us during that time. So many people helped in the process. I can't begin to explain what that meant to us," he said.

"We look back on it and realize if we hadn't had that support ...I don't know if we would have come through. It was extremely draining."

Even after his discharge from the hospital, he was faced with the uphill battle of physical therapy.

"I had wasted away for so long," Mabe said. "I had to learn how to walk again."

It would be months before he could think about work, which he finally started in March.

Operating now at only 75 percent of his previous strength, Mabe said his low endurance limits what he can do.

"All in all, as far as my heart goes, it's beating, but I'm not where I was before. I hit a wall at 10 o'clock at night," he said. "At first, just climbing up the stairs to my office was a major chore."

Mabe said he and Stephenie are adjusting to city life and the challenge of their new congregation.

"We're seeing God work each week in our congregation," he said. "There are a lot of good people here. It'll take God's hand in guiding us to greater growth."

He said visits from Luverne people have helped to ease their separation.

"We love everyone in Luverne and have great memories of our time there," Mabe said.

"We were there for 10 and a half years - longer than anywhere else we've lived - so that's home to us."

The Mabes are planning a return visit to Luverne early next year.

By Jolene Farley
By next summer the Minnesota Genealogical Society hopes to have a directory of every cemetery in Minnesota, broken down by county and detailing whom to contact for information on who is buried in each plot.

The directory would compile all information in one place, making genealogical research much easier for family members and others.

Researchers would know who to contact to find out if they have an ancestor buried in a particular region of Minnesota by looking up the county in the directory.

The task of collecting all the needed information began last summer with volunteers from around the state dividing up counties.

After seeing a request for volunteers online, Genealogical Society member Marcia Paulsen, Montrose, agreed to compile the information for Rock, Pipestone, Nobles, Martin, Jackson, Cottonwood, Murray and Watonwan counties, all located in southwest Minnesota.

Paulsen spent her vacation collecting information on these counties. Since her hometown is Round Lake, she was particularly interested in Nobles County and Jackson County.

Paulsen had previously completed several "transcriptions" of cemeteries in these counties. A transcription (an official genealogical term) is to gather information on who is buried in the plots. The information must be submitted to the State Historical Society for publication.

Of her eight counties, Rock County has the least amount of previous genealogical work done, according to Paulsen.

Many counties sent teams out in the 1970s and Ô80s to cemeteries to record those buried in the plots located throughout the county. That extensive research was never done in Rock County, according to Paulsen.

Paulsen was able to locate 25 cemeteries in Rock County from a list prepared as a Work in Progress Administration project in the 1930s, sponsored by the Roosevelt administration during the Depression.

Although Rock County has lagged behind other counties, PaulsenÕs visit last summer spurred Rock County Historical Society volunteers Betty Mann and Naidine Aanenson to start some investigating of their own.

"We are trying to do some investigating, but it takes a lot of time," said Mann. "We hope to continue this in the spring when the weather gets a little warmer."

Mann and Aanenson have contacted some churches asking for a listing of people buried in their cemetery.

Mann is particularly interested in Rose Dell Cemetery, located northwest of Luverne, and completed the listing of names from the headstones in the cemetery.

"So many of them were children. I would like to pursue this further to see if there was an epidemic at that particular time or if the adult stones are simply missing."

If Mann and Aanenson are successful in transcribing all the cemeteries in Rock County, the Rock County Historical Society will be listed as the contact in the directory.

As many as 20 Minnesota counties currently have no volunteers working on gathering the information. Only one county has presented all the needed information to the State Historical Society.

Paulsen asks anyone with any information, such as books detailing who is buried in any cemeteries, to contact the Rock County Historical Society.

"There are many cemeteries across the state that are abandoned," said Paulsen. "The church is gone and the township or a neighbor takes care of it."

Volunteers realize that some cemeteries may be private burial plots with all family members of the deceased long gone.

This makes the chance of tracking down any genealogical information unlikely, but they want to ensure the information they are able to find is on file with the Rock County Historical Society and the Minnesota Genealogical Society.

By Sara Quam
Odor is still an issue for the Luverne ethanol plant, and its manager, Rick Serie, hopes the city can help change that.

While Agri-Energy has reduced odor emissions by installing a scrubber in the dryer stack and by increasing the height of the stack, residents still donÕt like what they smell.

Serie spoke to the Luverne City Council Tuesday to explore whether the city could help Agri-Energy with costs for a thermal oxidizer, which would make the odor all but disappear.

"We truly believe that the correct fix is to install a thermal oxidizer, which they did in St. Paul. It would eliminate 99.5 percent of the odors," Serie said.

At the most recent meeting of Concerned Citizens for Quality of Life, Serie said he would speak to the council.

Serie said he was on a "fact-finding mission" to help gauge whether he should pursue help from the city. He said the low-interest loans cities have access to would be one option he'd like.

Serie said, "It would help us in our decision-making process if we knew what the city would be willing to do."

Council members didn't make any promises but are interested in the prospect of the odor being eliminated. City Administrator Matt Hylen will research what the city could legally do if council members voted in favor of financial assistance.

Councilman Keith Erickson said, "I really do think that we should show support. We need to be creative to see how the city can help."

Whenever tax money is used for business projects, laws limit cities in their scope. New jobs or increased future tax revenues are usually tied to tax money going to businesses.

As far as council members or city staff could tell Tuesday, quality of life or future residential lot sales arenÕt allowable conditions to loaning or granting businesses money.

The thermal oxidizer comes with a price tag of almost $1.5 million. CCQL member Bob Kaczrowski said the city was involved with the plant from its founding in Luverne and should stay involved.

"I think the city is doing a real disservice to the community if something isnÕt done with the odor issue," Kaczrowski said.

Although oxidizers have been around in other production plants, they are relatively new to ethanol.
"This is the ultimate fix, basically," Serie said.

Serie said that the ethanol plant could probably get its own financing for the oxidizer but that the city's access to lower interest rates or grants would make better sense for the business.

"We've come off an extremely good run, but we're down to where itÕs getting pretty tight," Serie said. "Ethanol follows gas prices, and they're going down."

Councilman David Hauge said that the business might have thought ahead and during high profit times invested in the oxidizer.

Serie said, "It's not like we haven't been proactive. We've put a lot of money into solving the odor issue."

The St. Paul ethanol plant was turned down by the City Council and the state of Minnesota for funding help with its oxidizer earlier this year.

Wine tasting events
The City Council regularly approves one-time liquor permits for the Blue Mound Wine Club. In order to let the council know more about events it approves, Christy Hess, wine club founder and leader, presented a summary to the council.

"It's been a wonderful experience," Hess said.

The events are sponsored by city-owned Blue Mound Liquor, where Hess is employed.

Mayor Glen Gust said, "I've heard numerous compliments about Christy and the club itself."

The club was started to familiarize people with different wines and offers them a chance to sample without purchasing an entire bottle.

Each wine tasting event at the Coffey Haus is pre-sold at a cost of $7. It includes six or seven wine samples, cheese, bread, crackers and a dessert. Wine company representatives are at the events to answer questions or give advice.

The guest list for the wine tasting events has increased from an average of 24 the first year to 40 at the last event.

The tasting events have helped sales, too. The first year of the wine tastings, sales increased 5 percent, but as of November of this year, Hess said wine sales are up 15 percent.

Hess said the liquor store has changed the display system so people can find wines more easily. And the store has started shelving the wines on their sides so corks remain moist, which wine connoisseurs appreciate.

By Lori Ehde
The Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce received word this week that the community has been approved for another $157,000 grant from the Blandin Foundation.

The money represents Phase 2 of Luverne's involvement with the Blandin Community Investment Partnership, started two years ago as an offshoot of the Blandin Community Leadership Program.

Last year, Luverne was approved for $124,000 in Blandin money for three community priorities, which were identified in previous town meetings: prairie tourism, youth character and leadership and day care and after school programs.

Of the first grant, $18,000 was spent on developing "Touch the Sky Prairie," the 360 acres that were dedicated northwest of Luverne in September.

Day care hasn't panned out yet in the City Centre apartment building as planned, but $16,000 was spent on Family U and the rest of the $61,000 earmarked for day care and after school was carried over.

Finally, $44,650 was given to the reading mentorship program and youth character building at Luverne schools.

The city of Luverne acts as the fiscal agent for releasing funds, but a committee makes decisions on allocating the money.

The new $157,000 grant will again be divided among the three community priorities.

$86,000 will go toward several projects under consideration for prairie tourism.

$15,750 will fund scholarships for more families to utilize Family U.

$55,250 will go to the new Child Guide program, youth leadership programs and reading mentorships.

"This is really good news for us," said Chamber Director Dave Smith, "especially since now the program is on hold while they (Blandin) see whether it's really having an impact on communities. We're just thrilled to be part of it."

What is the
Blandin Foundation?
The Blandin Foundation was established in 1985 by the family who owned the Grand Rapids Blandin Paper Company in northern Minnesota.

The foundation was established for the express purpose of strengthening rural communities. With that purpose in mind, the foundation has sponsored more than 200 rural Minnesota communities in extensive Blandin Community Leadership Training sessions.

In 1998, 24 Luverne residents participated in that training, which provided skills and tools leaders need to address local concerns.

Two years ago the Blandin Foundation expanded its leadership training to include grant money for qualifying projects.

Luverne is one of only 12 Minnesota communities approved for the Blandin Community Investment Partnership, which operates around a mutual investment of both the community of Luverne and the Blandin Foundation.

By Lori Ehde
Rock County Land Management Director John Burgers, Hills, pled guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud.

In doing so, the court dismissed the more serious charge of bribery.

By pleading guilty to mail fraud, Burgers admits that he engaged in a scheme to defraud citizens of Rock County by obtaining funds and loans in connection with a hog production facility in exchange for preferential treatment.

Burgers has been on paid administrative leave since the Sept. 20 indictment. When asked about the future of Burgers' employment in Rock County, personnel director Kyle Oldre said the matter will be discussed in a closed session during the Dec. 26 County Board meeting.

Burgers admitted in court that in March 1996 he learned that debris and waste were being dumped at a hog production facility owned by Global Ventures Inc.

Instead of notifying the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Burgers contacted a senior officer of GVI and advised him to take care of the problem before he contacted state officials.

A few months later, in June 1996, Burgers approached the same GVI officer and informed him he (Burgers) was in deep financial trouble and needed money.

"I heard rumors the bank and Global Ventures were involved in suspicious money transactions. I knew Dave Logan would see me as something of value and that he would know that I could make it tough or make it easy on Global Ventures," Burgers said in a written statement Sept. 18.

"I expected for that reason Logan could help me get loans at Pipestone Bank," Burgers wrote. Dave Logan used me as his heads-up guy to tell him of potential problems."

In those handwritten statements, Burgers said he received roughly $200,000 in loans from Global Ventures.

During his guilty plea hearing Wednesday, Burgers told the court he received numerous bank account statements through U.S. mail that enabled him to monitor his financial situation and alert him when he would need to obtain additional preferential loans.

Burgers admitted that between March 1996 and April 1999 he repeatedly provided preferential treatment to Global Ventures, abusing his position of public trust.

In a Sept. 20 indictment, both Burgers and Global Ventures were charged with bribery and mail fraud and both entered not guilty pleas in October.

In exchange for Burgers' guilty plea to mail fraud Wednesday and his full cooperation in the payment of restitution or fines, the bribery charge is dropped.

In lieu of forfeiture of his assets by the court, Burgers also agrees that, by no later than sentencing, he will sell or surrender the boat, motor and trailer that he obtained with the December 1996 preferential loan from First National Bank, Pipestone, so that these assets may be applied to restitution or fines.

He faces a sentencing guideline range between six to 12 months and 24 to 30 months. His fine range is from $3,000 to $50,000.

A sentencing date is expected in eight to 10 weeks.

The case is the result of an ongoing investigation in Pipestone and Rock counties by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hank Shea prosecuted the case.

Luverne's Jan Busse holds the 2001 Christopher Radko ornament, "Brave Heart," which the artist designed to donate proceeds to the Red Cross. It doesn't take long for visitors in the Busse home to notice a decorating theme of Radko ornaments. They hang on multiple Christmas trees, they're suspended from the drapery rod in the living room, and they're tastefully displayed on table tops throughout the house. While Busse admits she loves to shop, she said she's never collected anything with such fervor as she does the Radko ornaments. "I kind of got addicted to them," she said. "I just think they're so beautiful." Part of the draw, she said, is that the artist makes a limited number of hand-painted ornaments, each of which takes seven days to create, and then breaks the mold. While the pieces can be quite costly, Busse said she tries to limit her purchases to those under $50, and she's learned which stores (and QVC shows) offer them at special prices. She bought her first one two years ago and the collection now has 27 Christmas pieces, plus another 15 for Halloween, Easter and other occasions.

Photo by Lori Ehde