By Jolene Farley
Investors in a proposed golfing facility near Beaver Creek expect to hear about financing for the project by the end of next week.

"From all angles so far it looks good," said investor Mike Blank.

Things will happen fairly quickly after that, according to Blank. Eighty-six acres of land will be purchased for the development. Dirt work is scheduled to begin in early June.

Plans include a 7,000-square-foot entertainment facility including a restaurant, bar and banquet hall. Thirty-four lots, surrounding a nine-hole golf course, will be available for new home construction.

Seven lots are sold, and the remaining 23 are listed with a Sioux Falls Realtor.

Blank says approximately 35 individuals are interested in lifetime memberships. However, none has been sold to date. The lifetime memberships cost $4,000, and that includes the children until they are 21.

Investors Mike Blank, Rodney Scholten, Leonard Scholten and Tim Lange are not relying on membership sales to finance the initial project.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls' track team captured its fourth consecutive Sub-Section 10A team championship during the annual post-season meet staged in Pipestone Thursday.

Luverne racked up 177.5 points to race past second-place Pipestone-Jasper, which tallied 138 points.

Considering the fact Craig Nelson didn't think LHS was the favorite to win the meet, the Cardinal coach was a happy man after the meet.

"We didn't go to this meet confident that we were going to win it," Nelson said. "The girls rose to the challenge and performed very well. We're equally excited about having 17 girls qualify for the section meet. That's very good representation for our team.Õ

The top four individuals and relay teams qualify for section competition during the sub-section meet.

The Section 3A meet will be staged in Benson today. Meet time is 4 p.m.

Luverne will be led in Benson by three individual sub-section champions and one champion relay team.

Jenni Christensen and Sadie and Hannah Dietrich won the 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash and 800-meter runs with respective 27.89, 1:06.07 and 2:29.78 times.

The Dietrichs also were members of Luverne's 3,200-meter relay, which won a sub-section crown with a time of 10:19.74. Patricia Willers and Victoria Arends are other members of the team.

Luverne's 400-, 800- and 1,600-meter relays earned trips to Benson by placing second at the sub-section level.

Callen Bosshart, Nicole Willers, Maggie Vanden Hoek and Amanda Dooyema ran 400 meters in 55.76, Bosshart, Danielle Cook, Vanden Hoek and Christensen teamed up for a time of 1:55.15 in the 800, and Dooyema, Christensen and the Dietrichs ran 1,600 meters in 4:21.52.

Cook, Tracey Scheidt, Amanda Aning and Serena Franken will compete in Benson after placing second in individual events Thursday.

Cook, who was third in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 51.86, was second in the 100-meter dash in 13.59.

Aning, who cleared 4-6 to place third in the high jump, came in second after clearing 9-6 in the pole vault.

Scheidt cleared the 100-meter hurdles in 17.62 to place second, and Franken was second in the discus with a toss of 90-8.

Bosshart, Arends, Nicole Cronquist and Adria Sherwood placed third in individual events to advance to the section meet.

Bosshart, Arends and Cronquist ran 200, 1,600 and 3,200 meters in respective 29.35, 5:52.5 and 13:44.07 times.

Sherwood whipped her discus 89-10 to place third.

Andrea Drost, Patricia Willers and Cassie Pap round out Luverne's section-qualifiers.

Drost placed fourth in the 800-meter run in 2:42.97, Willers was fourth in the 300 hurdles in 52.33, and Pap placed fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 29-0.

Here is a look at the team standings and the rest of LuverneÕs top eight finishers from the sub-section meet.

Girls' standings: Luverne 177.5, P-J 138, Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth 119.5, Murray County Central 107, Edgerton 65, Southwest Christian 54.

Fifth place: Abby Klosterbuer, 400, 1:09.59; Scheidt, 300 hurdles, 53.27; Allana Gacke, pole vault, 6-6; Marissa Stewart, shot, 31-4 3/4.

Sixth place: Dooyema, triple jump, 28-9 1/2.

Seventh place: N.Willers, 100, 14.23; Chelsea Park, 1,600, 6:59.08; Maggie Kuhlman, 3,200, 15:08.9; Pap, long jump, 14-0 1/4.

Eighth place: Gacke, triple jump, 27-7; Jessica Willers, 100 hurdles, 19.92; Kuhlman, 400, 1:14.56; Christina Smidstra, 100, 14.28.

Kristin Anderson and her 2-year-old son, Robert Hawley, stroll through Maplewood Cemetery Monday after visiting the graves of her grandparents, Elmer and Esther Anderson, and her friend, Corrine Skyberg. Anderson was among many local residents and visitors to stop at area cemeteries for Memorial Day, which saw beautiful weather conditions.

By Katrina Vander Kooi, summer intern
Rick and Lori Scholten arrived at the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board meeting Tuesday night hoping to discuss the alleged assault by Superintendent Tom Knoll.

He is accused of assaulting a their son, 19-year-old Derek Ehde, on Thursday, April 26.

In a letter sent to all of the Hills Beaver Creek School Board Members, Lori Scholten asked for Knoll's suspension.

"This serious indiscretion on the part of Mr. Knoll warrants serious review and action on your part," she wrote.

"Although we are pursuing criminal charges against Mr. Knoll, we believe that our school board also needs to take appropriate action. Mr. Knoll's actions merit immediate suspension by the board.

"We are sure that you appreciate your duty to provide a safe learning environment for our children and one where they do not have to be fearful of physical assault."

Rick Scholten said he'd requested at a previous meeting to be placed on Tuesday's agenda, but it was not, and the school board declined to comment on the issue. "The school board is not doing their job," said Rick said.

The couple left before the meeting began.

He called the Crescent office Wednesday to say that he wonders who's working for whom.

"He's an employee of the school district," he said. "If this would have been a school bus driver, or a teacher or a student, they would have been out of there. Who's supposed to be responsible for whom?"

By Sara Quam
Luverne's garbage collection policies could change after council discussions at the June 12 City Council meeting.

Bill Ketterling of Ketterling Services Inc., Luverne, recently asked the council pointed questions about policies he says are stunting his business growth.

Ketterling said there are services he can provide (and used to provide) that the city has taken over.

The council will review two different ordinance options at its meeting. The differences that will be discussed are whether Ketterling should be able to take over pickup for churches, retirement homes, homes for the elderly and hospice facilities.

If the city loses those specific contracts, Public Works Director Darrell Huiskes said, "We would stand to lose over $25,000 in revenue."

Losing the revenue from refuse collection would effect the city's general fund because about $30,000 a year is put in that fund from collections. It all helps keep taxes down Huiskes said.

"I have an obligation to our citizens. After all, they own this utility. I have a responsibility to them to look at our potential revenue shortfalls and consider all options," Huiskes said. He added that the city tries to provide the best possible service at the least costly price.

Ketterling said of the ordinances on the table, "I don't think either will stand, as is. I think we need to sit down and amend them so it's fair."

Ketterling currently does commercial garbage pickup, handles recycling contracts for the county and county cities and hauls between the Rock County Transfer Station and the Lyon County Regional Landfill.

All garbage is essentially county business in the end. Rock County transports municipal solid waste (standard garbage) to the Lyon County Regional Landfill, and Rock County, in turn, receives demolition materials from there.

Each is transported by Ketterling for a base fee per trip that was increased for 2001.

Hauling between landfills accounted for $37,274 in payments from the county to Ketterling in 2000. That contract is separate from recycling or other collection contracts.

Ketterling uses the Lyon County landfill for his business's municipal solid waste disposal while the city of Luverne uses the Rock County landfill as a measure of local support.

Residential collection
Neither versions of the new garbage collection ordinance before the council would allow Ketterling to be involved in residential pickup, though he still sees it as an issue.

The city has complete control over residential buildings, including apartments, in Luverne. But because apartments are a business that happens to be a residential property, Ketterling sees a gray area where he should be able to do some pickups.

"I would like the opportunity to provide that service," Ketterling said. "I can't see why the city is concerned. I generate a lot of revenue in the city."

Councilman Keith Erickson said he's given the matter some thought. "I would like to see the city deal with things that are residential. Where people are living on a regular basis, it should stay with the city."

Erickson further reasoned that opening apartments to Ketterling would leave home rentals and duplexes up in the air, confusing routes and policy for years to come. "Do we count a six-plex? I mean, where do we draw the line?"

Rental property owner Mike Jarchow suspects his properties would save money using Ketterling, who charges on volume rather than apartment units.

Jarchow said the city charges a $12.50 monthly residential garbage fee for each apartment unit, even though the city makes only one stop per building.

Other issues
The garbage pickup issue was brought to the council by Mayor Glen Gust on behalf of Ketterling.

Last April the council finalized the current garbage collection policy.

City Administrator Matt Hylen said, "It was agreed on between Darrell Huiskes [public works director], Ketterling, and the city - private and public were satisfied. The council has decided to revisit it a year later."

The issue comes up just a year after the city spent $105,000 on a new garbage truck and $101,000 on new receptacles.

Hylen wouldn't comment on whether employees in the public works department could be eliminated if they lose collection stops on their routes.

Ketterling said he hasn't been completely satisfied with the current system, even after last year's discussions. He said he just wants to fairly compete as a businessman in his field - garbage collection. That's why he asked for a few issues to be addressed.

Ketterling wanted to know why Schoneman Park is a city contract, why other county buildings are the city's responsibility, why the city picks up church sites and why Blue Mound Liquor is a city stop.

Churches are charged the same as residential fees, as is Schonemen Park.

Ketterling's question on Blue Mound Liquor was answered by Hylen, who said it is a governmental operation that does not operate to make a profit.

"Any excess revenue generated by the liquor store is paid to the general fund to reduce the need for taxes," Hylen said.

The council's discussion June 12 will likely result in a decision on which version of the ordinance the city will adopt.

By Lori Ehde
Local law enforcement and state investigators continue to field hundreds of calls from the public regarding the murder of Luverne's Carrie Nelson.

As of press time Wednesday, however, there were still no suspects named in the case.

In fact, the only new information released at a press conference Tuesday was that a $10,000 reward is offered for information that may lead to an arrest and subsequent conviction.

Nelson, 20, was found beaten to death at the Blue Mounds State Park entrance building in the afternoon of Sunday, May 20.

The 1999 Luverne High School graduate was a park employee and had been working the 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. shift at the park when she was killed.

Rock County Prosecuting Attorney Terry Vajgrt addressed area media on the steps of the Rock County Law Enforcement Center during Tuesday's press conference.

He declined to answer questions about whether investigators are narrowing in suspects or if Nelson may have known her assailant.

"A lot of times, the dissemination of information can hamper an investigation," he told the media.

Appearing before the media with Vajgrt were Carrie's father, Stan Nelson, Hills, her mother Nan (Karr) Kaufenberg, her stepfather Mike Kaufenberg, Madison, S.D., and her fiancŽ Mike Kellen, Sioux Falls.

"We loved Carrie very much and we miss her," Nan Kaufenberg said, clutching Carrie's photograph to her chest.

"If anyone knows anything about her murder, please come forward. We want to see the person who caused this brought to justice."

Stan Nelson said bringing Carrie's murderer to justice won't bring her back, but he said the guilty person needs to be stopped.

"My beautiful little girl will never again run into my arms saying 'I love you, Daddy,'" Nelson said. "Whoever did this must be caught so they can never do it again."

The Rock County Sheriff's Department, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Minnesota State Patrol are working on the case.

Investigators are still seeking information on two gray Minnwest Bank money bags that were taken from the park office the day Nelson was murdered.

They're also seeking information on a full-size, large white car that was seen speeding away from the park between 2:15 and 2:30 p.m. that day.

A tip line of 283-1301 has been established to field calls from the public.

In addition, investigators particularly urge anyone who was at the park that weekend to call the tip line if they have not yet spoken with an investigator.

The Blue Mounds State Park "Park Partners" booster club is in the process of establishing a Carrie Nelson Memorial Fund. Contact the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce, 283-4061, for information on how to give.

Park is now open
Blue Mounds State Park manager Rick White said the murder has been difficult for him and his staff.

"We've gotten a lot of support from across the division (DNR parks). We've gotten lots of cards and e-mails," White said Wednesday.

The park was officially closed through the holiday weekend, but gates were open to local visitors and those who happened to stop in.

"We were open on a real limited basis because we were still looking for information," White said. "But people were self-registering, and the climbers have been real supportive. The hikers have been out, and a few crappies have been caught in the lower lake."

The "closed" signs have been removed from I-90 and Highway 75. Blue Mounds will be open and fully staffed for Buffalo Days this weekend and Sunday's annual buffalo burger feed and State Parks open house.

White added the wildflowers are in bloom, and 19 baby bison have recently joined the herd.

Arrested park employee
In an arrest authorities say is not related to Nelson's murder, Blue Mounds State Park employee Marcus Lamarre Wilson faces felony charges of fifth-degree controlled substance and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Wilson's wife, Theresa Wilson, Brandon, said she has videotape of Marcus at their daughter's birthday party Sunday afternoon.

Authorities searched Wilson's rented residence on 612 West Warren Street Wednesday night, May 23.

They reportedly found a plastic bag containing 2.2 grams of cocaine and a .25 caliber handgun, which Wilson is not allowed to own due to a prior felony conviction of check forgery in 1999.

Also found in Wilson's home were various drug paraphernalia and $900 in cash.

Wilson, 25, will appear in Rock County Court Monday, June 4. The maximum penalty for the charges is six years in prison and a $13,000 fine, if found guilty.

By Lori Ehde
The highlight of Luverne's Buffalo Day's celebration this year will be photographer Jim Brandenburg's "Chased by the Light" exhibit at the Carnegie Cultural Center.

The artist said Tuesday he's looking forward to coming home for the event.

"It's hometown. It's like family," he said of the upcoming weekend.

He said the exhibit and book signing all tie in with the greater goals set out when the Brandenburg Gallery was established.

"The long-range plan was that I would contribute whatever I had to offer to raise awareness of the prairie and the landscape around the Mounds."

He said he wants to give back to his community for what it's done for him.

"The support the community has given me is extremely humbling and makes me feel very proud of Luverne," he said.

Brandenburg grew up in Luverne and began his career as a natural history photographer and film maker while majoring in studio art at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.

In 1978, he became a contract photographer for National Geographic and has since worked on numerous projects, which have earned him national and international recognition.

In a recent undertaking, he set out to photograph the natural world near his home in Ely. He challenged himself to take only photograph per day for 90 days between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice.

"ÉThere would be no second exposure, no second chance. My work would be stripped to the bones, bringing together whatever photographic and woods skills I have," Brandenburg wrote of the experience.

"I was anxious to begin ... conscious that no matter how earthbound the substance was, its essence was fleeting ... elusive to capture ... there would be but a single chance to capture it... My shutter opened then closed... My journey began."

The resulting feature article, "The Northwoods Journal," in National Geographic's November 1997 issue was, according to editor William Allen, "the most photographs the magazine has ever published in one feature in it's entire history."

Brandenburg's 1998 book, "Chased by the Light," elaborates on his experiences during those 90 days.

Photographs from the book will be featured at the Carnegie Cultural Center on North Freeman Avenue in Luverne through June and July.

Brandenburg will be in town for Buffalo Days for a book signing and visit at the Brandenburg Gallery on Main Street from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 2.

He will also be at the Carnegie Cultural Center that day from 3 to 5 p.m. for a book signing and opening reception.

Spotting a squirrel is another sign that the season has changed, even though it may not feel like it with temperatures dipping into the 30s some nights this week. This young squirrel didn't care how cold it was as he frolicked around in the trees Tuesday afternoon in Hills.

By Jolene Farley

By Lori Ehde
Funeral services for murder victim Carrie Nelson will be at 1 p.m. Friday in Grace Lutheran Church.
Most all who knew her say she'll be remembered for her pleasant disposition.

"She was just a good friend. She was a cheerful girl - always happy," said Luverne's Carolyn Norton.

"We're going to miss her a lot."

Norton was Nelson's classmate and friend at Luverne High School. The two girls were dorm roommates during their first year at Dakota State University, Madison, S.D.

"Everyone has memories of her, I think," Norton said. "She was just there for all of us when we needed her."

Nelson, daughter of Nan (Karr) Kaufenberg, Luverne, and Stan Nelson, Hills, grew up in the Hills-Beaver Creek area and graduated in 1999 from Luverne High School.

She was involved in band, choir and peer helping and had planned to pursue a career in elementary education.

Nelson took a year off from classes at DSU and had been living in Sioux Falls and was commuting to her seasonal job at the Blue Mounds State Park.