The Luverne Cardinals got off to a rousing start in Southwest Conference football play by trouncing Windom 34-12 at Cardinal Field Friday.

The Cards topped Worthington, Springfield and Southwest Christian during the event while falling to Blue Earth Area during the nine-team event.

The nine teams were evenly divided into three-team pools to start the tournament. After playing two matches against the others in their pool, the pool winners formed another pool, the teams that placed second formed another pool and the third-place finishers formed a final pool for two more matches of play.

Luverne, which was placed in a pool with Worthington and BEA to start play, went 1-1 in the morning to earn a spot in the second pool for afternoon play.

The Cards beat Springfield and SWC in the afternoon, and their 3-1 overall record for the day gave them fourth place at tournament's end.

BEA, which beat both Luverne and Worthington in the morning session, went 0-2 in the afternoon. That allowed the Cards to pass BEA in the final standings.

Luverne opened the morning session of the tournament by securing 15-13 and 15-5 victories over Southwest Conference foe Worthington.

Then the Cards met BEA and came up on the short end of a 2-1 score in a three-game match.

BEA nipped LHS 16-14 in Game 1 before the Cards evened the match with a 15-12 win in Game 2. BEA prevailed 15-12 in the finale.

Competing in a pool consisting of teams that placed second in pool play during the morning, Luverne had a good afternoon that featured LHS winning four of five games and taking two matches.

The Cards recorded 15-12 and 15-5 wins against Springfield to start the afternoon session.

After dropping a 15-12 decision against SWC during Game 1 of the final match, Luverne rallied to post a pair of 15-11 wins to steal the match.

"We took another step forward Saturday," said pleased Mary Jo Graphenteen, the LHS coach. "By looking at the scores, you can tell we played in a lot of close games. We won some and we lost some of those games. If we can cut down on the number of unforced errors we made, it will help us a great deal."

A good share of Luverne's unforced errors came at the service line during the tournament. The Cards completed an unacceptable 84 percent of their serves for the day.

"Our only major downfall was in serving. You can get by with serving 84 percent when you have a lot of aces, but we didn't get many aces. Serving mistakes stopped a lot of our rallies," Graphenteen said.

Lisa Mulder had a good serving day for the Cards, completing 32 of 34 attempts and scoring 24 points.

Susan Remme and Missy Boomgaarden had 30 and 24 kills respectively.

Setter Brooke Lundgren was given credit by coach Graphenteen for spreading the ball around well during the tournament.

Amy Nunez and Nicole Aaker did a great job of coming off the bench and making things happen for LHS, according to the coach.

The 6-4-1 Cardinals play in Jackson tonight.

Luverne won three of four matches and placed fourth overall during the annual Cardinal Volleyball Tournament Saturday.

Net farm income is projected to increase $2.6 billion this fall, but nearly half of that income will come from direct government payments.

"This is not the way a good, wise and fair farm policy should work," said Nobles County Farmers Union president R.J. Mulder. "It's time Congress recognizes that the Freedom to Farm Act has failed and that there is no fairness in the 1996 Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act."

Direct government payments have increased from $7.3 billion in 1996 to a projected $22.7 billion this year, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. That increase came during a time when proponents of a new farm policy said increased market income would replace an ever-declining pool of government payments, which were scheduled to be eliminated in 2002.

"Farmers want a price from the marketplace - not a check from the government," Mulder said. "But for that to happen, farmers need leverage in the marketplace that current U.S. farm policy does not provide."

Since 1996, commodity prices have dropped 45 percent for wheat, 49 percent for corn, 35 percent for soybeans, and the floor price for milk has fallen 13 percent. During that same time, the surplus amount of wheat and soybeans has grown 250 percent while the corn surplus has shot up 512 percent.

The value of agricultural exports has dropped from $60 billion in 1996 to $49 billion this year during a time when the North American Free Trade Agreement, the discussion of globalized trade policies in the World Trade Organization and Permanent Normal Trade Relations with China were supposed to help U.S. farmers export their way to prosperity.

Farmers Union believes that Congress must raise marketing loan rates, extend the period in which farmers can repay those loans, increase the dairy support price and enact measures that stop the market and corporate concentration that is crippling rural America.

"The facts make it clear that this farm policy is not working," Mulder said. "Congress must revamp federal farm policy so it's fair to taxpayers and the farmers who produce this nation's food supply."

Keeping leaves out of the street is an important step homeowners can take to protect water quality in Minnesota's lakes and streams. Leaves are a source of phosphorus that can degrade water quality, said Bob Mugaas, Hennepin County educator with the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

"When leaves fall from our deciduous trees in the fall, they often accumulate on hard surface areas such as streets and driveways," said Mugaas. "Then they may begin to decompose, releasing both organic and inorganic forms of phosphorus. When it rains runoff water can carry this phosphorus into storm sewers and then into nearby bodies of water."

"As cars travel over leaves in streets and driveways, they further grind up the leaves, making them even more susceptible to decomposing while lying on the street."

When there is a heavy rainfall, leaves themselves can be carried directly into lakes and rivers, said Mugaas. Tree leaves can also blow directly into lakes, ponds, and lakes and rivers.

During the growing season, and especially in the spring, tree seeds and sometimes fruits are often dropped liberally onto the ground and the street. "Just as with leaves, traffic driving over these materials crushes them and breaks them up, making them easier to decompose or be carried away in runoff water," said Mugaas. "Like leaves, these materials contain phosphorus and other plant nutrients."

Mugaas does not advocate eliminating trees from our surroundings. "What we can do," he said, "is to keep our street areas clean of leaves and seeds. We can rake or sweep them up during the growing season, especially spring and fall. They can be used for mulching other areas of the landscape. In the case of seeds and fruits, it may be a good idea to compost them to avoid having little tree seedlings sprouting all over the landscape."

Keeping leaves out of the driveways and streets in front of our homes is a way we can each contribute to cleaner runoff and cleaner lakes and streams, said Mugaas. "And it should go without saying that we should not blow grass clippings into the street or onto hard surface areas where they can run off," he adds. "Blow clippings back onto the lawn where they can be chopped up even further with consecutive passes of the mower. Keeping lawn clippings on the lawn contributes the equivalent of about one to one and one-half applications of fertilizer per year back to your lawn."

"History has shown that we did some good over there, and it's nice to see they're finally recognizing that," Lowell Binford said. "South Korea is a prosperous country, and North Korea is in terrible shape. We drew that line."

'Forgotten War' medal
In an effort to ensure American soldiers who fought in the "forgotten war" are not themselves forgotten, the U.S. Defense Department is now allowing Korean War veterans to claim service medals originally offered in 1951.
The South Korean government had offered the Republic of Korea War Service Medal to United Nations Forces, but at that time, the U.S. military was prohibited from wearing medals issued by foreign governments.
Congress changed that policy in 1954, but by then, all but a few GIs eligible for the medal had returned home and forgotten about it.
The Korean government has since renewed its offer of the service medal to U.S. veterans of the war, and last year, the Defense Department accepted that offer, saying it can be worn by U.S. military personnel who saw action there.
To be eligible for the combat award, veterans must have been on active duty in territorial Korea between June 25, 1950, when the conflict started, and July 27, 1953, the date the armistice was signed.

Better late than never
Southern Minnesota veterans who applied received their commemorative pins during an Aug. 17 ceremony at the Steele County Fair in Owatonna.
Luverne's Allen Willers attended that presentation. "I was interested to see what it's all about," he said of his trip. "It's not much of a pin, but it's high time for recognition. It's too bad it didn't come 50 years ago."
Those who didn't attend the ceremony received theirs by mail.
Binford's came in the mail with a letter thanking him for his service. "The violence and valor that was shown during this forgotten war led to the deaths of more than 20,000 American servicemen and lifelong injuries to countless others," the letter read.
"I recognize that the courage you displayed during this difficult time has all but been forgotten. However 50 years after the Korean War ended, I ... would like to thank you for your service to our great country."
The letter, dated Aug. 15, was signed by Congressman Gil Gutknecht.
Luverne's Ralph Sunde, along with Binford and Willers, encourages local veterans to also apply for their pins. "There is a pin available to all Korean War veterans," he said. "If you've earned the right to have it, go get it."
Rock County Veteran Services Officer Ron Hansen has application forms available at his office in the Rock County Courthouse. That phone number is 283-5061.
Medals may be applied for at any time in the next three years commemorating the 50th anniversary of the war.

Casualties of war
Binford has done some research on Rock County's contribution to that overseas military conflict.
According to his figures, 170 people from Rock County served in the Korean War, and of those, 150 were involved in actual combat.
Among those was the late Jim Van Hove, Luverne, who received the highest military honor of valor for saving the lives of several comrades when their position was overrun by the enemy.
Among those who lost their lives in the conflict was the late Arthur Moeller, brother of rural Luverne's Elmer Moeller. The Hardwick American Legion Post was named in his honor.
Sunde, who also received his pin in the mail this summer, remembers the horrors of combat fighting, but he said the conflict broke out in a post-WWII era when men didn't question their patriotism.
"We were called to duty, and we answered the call," Sunde said.

Uncommon allies united for common good
Binford agreed. In fact, he served with "Fritz" Mondale, "which goes to show you everybody served," he said. "There were kids from rich families and poor families."
He recalls leaving the United States on a ship with 8,000 servicemen who boarded in tight spaces for the duration of the 13-day trip. "It was no luxury cruise," Binford said.
While overseas, U.S. troops fought with a number of different nationalities, including Australians, French, Filipinos and Ethiopians, all of whom were also fighting communism.
Despite the very brief mention of the Korean "conflict" in history books, Binford and his fellow Korean War veterans feel their military role was significant.
"We saved South Korea from the North Koreans, who were being pushed by the Russians – the communists," Binford said. "I have very positive thoughts about Korea and what we did and how it's going today."

By Lori Ehde
Korean War soldiers are getting special recognition more than 50 years after serving their country, and many local veterans are happily obliging.

Meet the Blue Mounds naturalist at the Interpretive Center and venture onto the windswept prairie atop the Blue Mounds at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22, to watch the sun set on this first day of autumn.

A mysterious quarter mile long row of stones lying near the crest of the mounds aligns true east and west, and the sun seems to rise and set directly over these stones on the first days of spring and autumn, signaling the change of the seasons ahead. The boulders of this unnatural alignment are all sizes, some small and others quite large. At its east end, in places the wall is four to five feet high; in others the stones recede into the rocky ground and become obscured among the big bluestem grass. There are very few answers to the many questions raised by those stones, only many theories and "might have beens."

Not officially photographed until an aerial survey accidentally recorded it in the 1930s, this unusual line of rocks has been known, but not widely publicized. Since the 1970s, the -alignment' has been studied by both professional and amateur archaeologists, without much agreement to what the meaning of this 1,250-foot-long stone wall may be. The only points everyone seems to be in agreement upon is that this is the work of man and these rocks have been in place a very long time. A recent and popular theory explains this alignment as an attempt by early plains dwellers to develop a rudimentary native astral observatory or compass.

Maybe someday investigation will provide additional information to answer the questions. Until that time, since the stones aren't speaking, this simple rock formation will continue to pose more questions than answers. This will be your opportunity to look at and to ponder this rare and interesting feature of our local prairie landscape. This program is free of charge; however, a vehicle permit is required to enter the state park.

By Sara Quam

The Luverne City Council Monday set the preliminary tax levy for 2001 at a 5.2-percent increase over last year's levy.

That increase, after state aid, amounts to an extra $27,338 from the taxpayers. The total governmental budget for the city is $3,517,306.

In setting the preliminary levy, the city can't increase the overall figure but can lower it before finalizing the levy in December. The council is confident that the numbers will stay the same after spending time refining it throughout the summer.

A Truth in Taxation hearing is set for Dec. 11, when citizens may comment on the budget and five-year capital improvement plan.

Blandin Foundation

The Council also passed a resolution authorizing the city of Luverne to serve as the fiscal agent to distribute funds from the Blandin Foundation.

The Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce and the Convention and Visitors Bureau is a part of the Blandin Community Partnership Grant program already and needed to have a fiscal agent.

Blandin Coordinator and Chamber Director Dave Smith said most other communities receiving Blandin money have used cities as fiscal agents.

As the agent, the city of Luverne will distribute funds as the Blandin projects progress. Luverne has applied for a $124,000 grant from Blandin that includes projects like trail development, day care and after-school care, and youth leadership.

Of those projects, Blandin can prioritize or award a reduced grant, but Smith said he thinks it's likely Luverne will receive the full amount.

In other business Monday, the council:

Agreed to participate in a program that would grant mutual aid between publicly-owned utilities in the event of disasters and emergencies.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse costs provided the utilities publicly set a cost prior to any disaster.

Of the 126 Minnesota Municipal Utilities, about 50 have signed on so far. Staff is checking into whether this will also allow reimbursement for helping communities in Iowa and South Dakota.

Approved a conditional use permit for the Rock County Developmental Achievement Center to expand its building. The building will be expanded to correct various code violations while preserving its existing operating space.

Granted a temporary on-sale liquor license to Blue Mound Liquor in order to conduct a wine-tasting event.

Cancelled the Sept. 25 meeting.