By Lori Ehde
Bulldozers returned to Lincoln Street Monday after several weeks of inactivity on that construction project.

Work started July 9 on rebuilding the county-state-aid road and was due to be finished by the end of September.

According to Rock County Highway Engineer Mark Sehr, Rupp Construction, Slayton, is aware of the deadline but has opted to work on other projects in the area.

For every day the project extends into October, a $400 per day penalty will be imposed, Sehr said.

Penalties will be deducted from what the county pays Rupp when the work is completed.

The $300,000 project includes work on sewer and water lines, and sidewalks, curbs and gutters.

Lincoln Street from Cedar Street east to Blue Mound Avenue is torn up. Traffic can get to Glen's Food Center parking lot from Lincoln, but everything east of the grocery store is impassable by vehicle.

In addition to Glen's, others affected by the closed street include the Fire Department, Post Office, County Attorney's Office, Luverne Senior Center and apartment buildings.

By Lori Ehde
In a project that has already seen its share of setbacks, Lincoln Street work in Luverne hit another bump last week.

After putting in the curb and gutter along both sides of the street, crews noticed an elevation error that would have caused problems in the direction of water drainage at Spring and Oakley streets.

This prompted removal of 250 feet of new curb and gutter on the south side of the street Friday.

"It was our mistake," said Rock County Highway Engineer Mark Sehr. "There was an error in our elevation measurements."

Sehr said the error cost the county about $5,000, but it didn't affect the timeline of the project. He said concrete crews were scheduled to work on a different project while the 250 feet of curb and gutter was torn out.

Work started July 9 on rebuilding the county-state-aid road that was due to be finished by the end of September.

Rupp Construction, Slayton, opted to work on other projects in the area for several weeks this summer, and for every day work extends into October, a $400-per-day penalty is imposed, Sehr said.

Penalties will be deducted from what the county pays Rupp when the work is completed.

The $300,000 project includes work on sewer and water lines, and sidewalks, curbs and gutters.

Lincoln Street from Cedar Street east to Blue Mound Avenue is torn up. Traffic can get to Glen's Food Center parking lot from Lincoln, but everything east of the grocery store is impassable by vehicle.

Others affected by the closed street include the Fire Department, Post Office, County Attorney's Office, Luverne Senior Center and apartment buildings.

Sehr said paving could start as early as next week.

"If the weather holds, we should wrap up the whole project by Oct. 26," he said. "It might be before then, but I'm not going to guess anymore on this project."

Sod work on the boulevards will be completed next spring.

By Sara Quam
A small piece of property was annexed into the city of Luverne after a public hearing Tuesday.

Darold Laabs' property is mostly in Luverne, but a .3243 acre parcel is an "island" of township land surrounded by property in the city.

The city of Luverne wanted the land annexed to prevent problems if the Laabses would happen to sell the land to someone who doesnÕt care for it as well as they do.

City Attorney Don Klosterbuer said that because township land falls under different regulations for building codes, weed control and garbage collection future use of it would be in the city's control.

Councilman Keith Erickson said, "I think we should be consistent, and thatÕs why IÕm in favor of the annexation."

Laabs, who lives on Fairview Drive, said he didnÕt object to having a final piece of his property annexed into the city, but that he was concerned about his taxes increasing.

Another part of his property was annexed and it increased four times in assessed value. He asked the City Council to use caution when looking at his taxes next year.

Property values are determined by the assessor, but property owners can approach the City Council with clarifications or complaints during a meeting of the Board of Review.

Municipal liquor
The council passed a resolution in opposition of the sale of wine for off-premise consumption in outlets other than the municipal liquor store. Legislation is being proposed that would open up wine sales in grocery and convenience stores.

Blue Mound Liquor Manager Rich DeSchepper said he thought the legislation would open up the market to more underage alcohol sales.

"The pop-wines are very popular with kids. They'll have much more exposure," DeSchepper said.

Mayor Glen Gust said, "I do have a little background on this because I happen to be on the Minnesota Grocer's Board."

He said that the law would make sense in metropolitan areas where there are fewer municipal liquor stores but that rural legislators won't support it and that it won't likely pass.

"I think we don't need to do anything. Why deal with something that's not going to happen? It's a waste of time and effort," Gust said.

Councilman Jim Kirchhofer said he believed that it was appropriate for the council to present its side of the issue before it's voted on rather than after.

DeSchepper said that Blue Mound Liquor doesn't allow anyone inside the doors unless they're 21 years old, and all clerks are of legal drinking age. He said that the Municipal Beverage Association fears that underage clerks and salespeople wonÕt be as diligent.

The council acknowledged that liquor sale spot checks in Luverne haven't shown illegal sales in the past.

Lewis and Clark
Utilities Director Red Arndt gave the city an update on the project. He said that federal funding will determine how fast the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System is completed.

But even with high federal dollars, Arndt reminded the council that water won't come to Luverne for 12 years. "I want to remind people not to get discouraged. It takes a lot of money and it looks like nothingÕs going on, but it's a long-range plan and we will see results."

Now in their second week, the students work at the shops from 1 to 3 p.m. every school day, gaining valuable experience and insight on possible careers.

"It gives me a head start to see what it's like in the shop," Brockberg said Monday. He's not sure he'll go into auto mechanics for a living, but this will help him decide.

"I'm leaving my options open," he said. "I've always liked to fix things and do stuff in the yard.
This just helps me expand my horizons."

So far, Dreckman said the arrangement with Brockberg is working out well. "We help him learn things in the business, and he's getting his hands dirty," Dreckman said.

At the same time, the businesses are finding ways the arrangement helps them, too. For example, one day when things were busy at Luverne Body Shop, Mary Aaker said De Kam washed up a car that was ready to be returned to a customer.

"It's an extra set of hands when he's here, too," she said.

The decision to take on an intern goes beyond the work that's getting done, the business owners say.

Aaker said when Luverne High School offered the auto body and auto mechanics programs, any student who wanted to see what those jobs were like had the chance to find out.

"Now they don't anymore," he said. "This way a few can have the opportunity to try it."

By Lori Ehde
When the budget axe fell this spring, Luverne High School lost its auto body and auto mechanics vocational programs.

The classes no longer exist, but with a little creativity and participation from local businesses, two senior students are still getting their hands greasy while padding their academic rŽsumŽs.

Jeremy De Kam, Luverne, is working an apprenticeship with Kevin Aaker at Luverne Body Shop, and Mark Brockberg, Hardwick, is working under Rich Dreckman at Align Tech and Tire.

High School Principal Gary Fisher said these two students were particularly at a loss when the program was cut, because they had met most of their other requirements for graduation.

Besides that, funding had also been cut for the School to Work program in business education.

"I said if they could find a business in the community to offer the opportunity for them to explore the work environment, then we'd see what we could do," Fisher said. "They did the legwork and talked to the businesses."

From there, insurance issues and parameters for grades were worked out.

"Grades will be based on the employers' view of the job they did and things like their work ethic," Fisher said.

He will review the students' work with the employers at the end of each quarter to determine their grades.

Luverne students Chris Anderson and David Weis (front) stock the vending machines with new soda and milk daily as part of their curriculum in vocational skills.

By Sara Quam
Students in Luverne finally "got milk."

This year vending machines are stocked with 2-percent, chocolate and strawberry milk, thanks to a local initiative to include more healthy beverages alongside sodas. Milk is joined by water and fruit juices in 10 of the 45 possible beverage slots.

The Rock County Wellness Committee and Mark Lundgren from the school had a lot to do with it.

Wellness Committee chairman Paula Anderson said, "It is important for parents to know that the school and the community are working to improve the health of our children."

Last year, state legislators voted down a resolution that would have banned pop sales during school hours. The legislation was backed by dental associations and health advocates but opposed by schools which use the revenue to supplement budgets.

Lundgren thought this was the perfect compromise.

"Coke was very generous to include a dairy product - competition to them - in the machines. We talked to them about the milk, and they don't have a milk product out yet."

Coke agreed to let Land O' Lakes provide the milk.

Lundgren said, "ItÕs an experiment right now, but it's going pretty well."

More products fit in the new Coke machines that are out this year, so there was room for milk and juice.

If either the larger machines or Coke's agreement had fallen through, milk probably wouldn't be available. The school would have had to buy a separate machine just for milk, and they are costly to maintain, so Lundgren doubts it would have worked.

Even though milk is available, Mello Yello is still the biggest seller by far. Diet Mello Yello, which is slightly better for teeth and contains fewer calories, isn't selling as well as the school had first thought.

Soda sales generated about $8,000 for Luverne schools last year, impacting the student activities budget. The funds went to the Student Council and were then funneled to other school groups. Yearbook costs, for example, are kept down thanks to money from the pop machines.

Andrea Drost's mom, Deb, drives an Early Childhood Family Education group to the pumpkin patch. Andrea is sitting on the steps of the trailer and helps children pick out pumpkins.

By Sara Quam
She's not quite a pumpkin fairy, but Andrea Drost, 15, helps keep Rock County stocked with the seasonal favorite.

The Luverne High School sophomore started growing pumpkins when her brother, Tim, was born. Her dad, Gary, wanted to give her something to keep busy with, and somehow, the pumpkins stuck.

Thirteen years after her first miniature pumpkin patch, Andrea now harvests two-thirds of an acre and is a major wholesaler of the produce locally.

Along with selling the pumpkins, she's turned them into an educational opportunity.

The patch itself, along with group tours and a Powerpoint presentation, are a Future Farmers of America project for Andrea. She has to document the success of her pumpkins in detailed costs and work analyses.

The work includes planting pumpkins with a corn planter and tilling between the rows twice a week. She also puts in time hoeing between individual plants to keep weeds out of the way.

Tours and pumpkin shoppers stop by the farm to get their harvests for the season. Early Childhood Family Education has had many group tours this fall, and Andrea leads them through a short educational presentation on how pumpkins grow from seeds to plants.

During one recent tour, Andrea included the children in the discussion on pumpkins. After showing them a picture of orange-colored blossoms, she asked, "And you know what they turn into?" The preschoolers all jumped in to shout "pumpkins."

Throughout her years raising the pumpkins, she has put aside profits for college savings. But thatÕs only after she donates 10 percent to her church.

"I keep 25 percent for fun, teen-age stuff," she said.

Even though Andrea has collected money from her crops, she is getting more out of it than that. "It's so fun to see the kids' reactions. Something so simple makes them so happy," she said. "I actually have more fun seeing the pumpkins grow and watching the kids have so much fun."

And she's learning about more than just yields. She said, "A lot of what I'm learning is that hard work, in the end, pays off. When it's 90 degrees in the summer and youÕre working in the field, you kind of wonder if it's worth it, but it is."

By Sara Quam
An area housing study dominated discussion at the Luverne Economic Development Authority meeting Tuesday.

Jason Haehn of Admark Resources, St. Cloud, presented the study's findings. He concluded that the city of Luverne could support an additional 30 units of houses to sell and another 80 to 84 units to rent over the next three to five years.

He summarized the rental portion of the study by saying Luverne needs to meet more needs for renters even though the vacancy rate on apartments is now 11 percent. The industry standard is 5 percent, and the vacancy rate in 2000 was 7 percent overall.

"There are units there, but they're not being used for some reason," Haehn said.

Luverne City Administrator said, "I don't think that number gives an accurate picture."

Hylen said that although 11 percent of the apartments are vacant, the vacancies are concentrated in the City Centre Apartments and Blue Mound Tower. Take those off the chart, he said, and the vacancy rate is closer to 2 percent.

Haehn said that the small square footage of Blue Mound Tower units might not appeal to families with children or even a couple in some cases. He suggested that other options like making two units into one or using the apartments for assisted or congregate living might help fill the space.

The City Centre Apartments' vacancy problems are different. They charge among the highest rental rates in the area. The units may also suffer because of a lack of marketing or because the building used to be a school and many renters will remember it as such.

Haehn further clarified the vacancy rate of 11 percent by saying that some apartments don't advertise and that some of those surveyed expected vacancies to fill shortly based on recent applications.

As far as home purchasing, the selling price of homes in Luverne has steadily increased from a median $28,500 in 1989-90 to $65,000 in 1999-00. The city currently has more than 80 open lots available.

This study will be used to develop a Community Development Plan that will detail actions to implement housing improvements, taking into consideration the population's age and income.

In other business the LEDA:
Looked at a draft of Moorhead's border city legislation. The LEDA is coming up with a draft of guidelines for businesses wanting to apply for border city incentives. The city can determine an ideal number of employees or a minimum dollar amount in order for businesses to complete the application process. It will recommend these policies to the council.

Discussed the possibility of advertising requests for proposals for the sale of the LEDA apartment units. The LEDA bought and developed the apartments with the intention of selling to a private party as long as it didn't come out at a loss. Tax laws are more favorable now than they were at the time the apartments were constructed in the early 1990s, so now might be the best time to sell, the LEDA decided.

The Mounds View and Evergreen Apartments on the north side of town are full and even have a waiting list.

Agreed to offer the Christensen house on Blue Mound Avenue for rent for the winter on a short-term lease until the LEDA decides whether to sell it in bid form. The house was part of an agreement when the city purchased land for the Evergreen addition. The LEDA obtained the house when the residents were ready to move out of it.

Investor Ben Davis lines up to drive off hole No. 1 ... or what will soon be hole No. 1 on the golf course planned east of Beaver Creek. Surveyors work in the background plotting a road through the development that will include an entertainment facility and 34 residential lots.

By Jolene Farley
An idea conceived one and one-half years ago is becoming a reality. A golf course near Beaver Creek will be open by next spring if things run according to plan, according to investors.

Construction work began Tuesday shortly after investors closed on an 86-acre parcel of land east of Beaver Creek purchased from Steve and Kathy Thurman.

Surveyors began plotting the road to a planned development of 34 lots available for home construction, a nine-hole golf course and an entertainment facility.

A limited liability corporation was created by investors Mike Blank, Rod Scholten, Ben Davis, Leonard Scholten and Dan Van Otterloo before beginning the project.

Financing wasnÕt the biggest hurdle for the project, Davis said. A development including several housing lots, a golf course and an entertainment facility needs extensive planning.

"No one has ever set something up like this in less than six months," he said.

Prairieland Development, a state entity formed to spur development in rural Minnesota, was instrumental in moving the project along.

"They worked with us on a business plan and discovering if there was a viable market (for the project)," said Davis. "They were instrumental in helping us."

Investors hope the road will be complete and the lots sectioned off and sold within the next two to three weeks.

Median price of the lots is $26,000 to $27,000, with higher end lots priced at $30,000 to $31,000. Least expensive lots are priced in the low 20s, according to Davis.

Some lots are already spoken for, even though the partners did not actively market them. Word of mouth is basically what sold them, Davis said.

Local contractors will be used for all construction, with the five partners acting as general contractors, according to Davis.

All construction companies involved met with the partners last week. "Everybody is in line and ready to roll," said Davis.

When asked how the partners came up with the idea of building a golf course, Van Otterloo said, "We love the sport and we spent so much time on different courses. We watched how they were developed, the tree placement and scenery."

This love of the game led to the idea that they themselves could build not only a golf course but a whole development.

Extra credit for the project becoming a reality should be given to Rod Scholten and Mike Blank, according to Davis. "They have really done a lot of the leg work," said Davis. "They are the golfers; we are the caddies."

Amenities in the entertainment facility, which may be open as soon as next spring, include a banquet hall seating about 300 people with a built-in stage area and a bar and restaurant seating 70 people.
The partners shy away from a sports bar atmosphere for the clubhouse. "It's going to be a community clubhouse. We want to make sure everyone is comfortable," Davis said.