Dispatch report
Aug. 4
•Complainant on U.S. Highway 75 reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant on Exit 18, Magnolia, off of Interstate 90, reported a transient.
•Complainant on U.S. Highway 75 and 131st Street, requested roadside assistance.
Aug. 5
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant reported an outage.
•A weather alert was issued.
•Complainant on S. West Park Street reported a missing person.
Aug. 6
•Complainant on E. Minnesota Avenue, Steen, reported a civil issue.
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported an open door.
•Complainant north-bound on Highway 23, mile marker 14, Jasper, reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant reported harassing communications.
•Complainant east-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 15, Luverne, reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant reported harassing communications.
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue requested assistance from another department.
Aug. 7
•Complainant on E. Main Street reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant west-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 10, Luverne, reported an abandoned vehicle.
•Complainant at city park requested roadside assistance.
•Complainant west-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 12, Luverne, reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant on Main Street and Estey Street reported found property.
•Complainant on Kniss Avenue and Adams Street reported found property.
•Complainant on Kniss Avenue and Adams Street reported found property.
Aug. 8
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported theft.
•Complainant on 171st Street, Hardwick, reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported lost property.
Aug. 9
•Complainant reported an outage.
•Complainant on N. Jackson Street reported suspicious activity.
•A warrant was issued on 3rd Street E. in Jasper.
•Complainant on E. Second Street, Hardwick, reported trespassing.
Aug. 10
•Complainant south-bound on Highway 23, mile marker 22, Jasper, reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant on Interstate 90, near Minnesota Rest Area, Valley Springs, South Dakota, reported a transient.
•Complainant on 111th Street, Beaver Creek, reported vandalism.
•Complainant east-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 1, Valley Springs, South Dakota, reported a pedestrian.
•Complainant east-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 1, Valley Springs, South Dakota, reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant west-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 38, reported a driving complaint.
 •Complainant east-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 12, Luverne, reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant on Highway 75 and 131st Street, reported found property.
•Complainant on 120th Avenue and 191st Street requested assistance from another department.
•Complainant on 61st Street, Beaver Creek, reported a civil issue.
Aug. 11
•A warrant was issued on 29th Street, Slayton.
 
In addition, officers responded to 1 motor vehicle accident, 1 escort, 14 ambulance runs, 2 parking violations, 6 paper services, 3 animal complaints, 1 fingerprint request, 4 burn permits, 1 vehicle impound, 2 alarms, 5 purchase and carry permits, 3 stalled vehicles, 53 traffic stops, 6 abandoned 911 calls, 4 welfare checks, 3 reports of cattle out, 1 curfew check and 4 follow-ups.

As inflation continues to eat away at family budgets, parents are encouraged to save receipts on school supply purchases to take advantage of Minnesota tax credits.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue reminds parents to use the receipts to claim valuable K-12 tax benefits when filing their taxes next year.
In addition, due to changes made during the legislative session, over 31,000 more Minnesota families will be able to claim the credit this year.
Two tax benefits can help Minnesota families pay expenses related to their child’s education — the refundable K-12 Education Credit (income limits apply) and the K-12 Education Subtraction (no income limits).
“As a parent and grandparent, I know the strain that families feel during back-to-school time trying to balance the need for new school supplies with other family expenses,” said Revenue Commissioner Paul Marquart.
“Saving school supply shopping receipts and claiming either the K-12 Education Subtraction or the expanded K-12 Education Credit will help Minnesota families save some money when filing their taxes next year.”
Last year more than 17,000 families received the K-12 Education Credit for an average credit of $280. Over 134,000 families received the K-12 Education Subtraction for an average subtraction of $1,266.
These programs reduce the tax parents pay and could deliver a larger refund when filing a Minnesota income tax return.
To qualify, the purchases must be for educational services or required materials. The child must be attending kindergarten through 12th grade at a public, private, or qualified home school and meet other qualifications.
 
Save those receipts
Remember to save your receipts to claim the credit or subtraction.
Use a folder or envelope to store receipts for the upcoming tax filing season or pick up a special envelope at our State Fair booth, located in the Education Building.
Most expenses for educational instruction or materials qualify, including:
•Paper.
•Pens and notebooks.
•Textbooks.
•Rental or purchases of educational equipment such as musical instruments.
•Computer hardware (hotspots, modems, and routers) and educational software (up to $200 for the subtraction and $200 for the credit).
•After-school tutoring and educational summer camps taught by a qualified instructor.
Fees for internet service do not qualify.
Details are available at revenue.state.mn.us.
 

LSS meals at Generations
 
Monday, Aug. 21: Santa Fe chicken, carrots, vegetable/fruit, bread stick, applesauce.
Half-Price Day sponsored by American Reformed Church.
Tuesday, Aug. 22: Pasta with meat sauce, romaine salad with dressing, pears, Texas toast, cookie.
Wednesday, Aug. 23: Orange chicken, rice, mixed vegetables, pineapple.
Thursday, Aug. 24: Pork loin, yams, broccoli, bread, dessert.
Friday, Aug. 25: Chicken mandarin salad, pea salad, fruit, dessert.
LSS Dining offers well-balanced and affordable meals in a community atmosphere.
Call Pam Franken at 283-9846, extension 11 to reserve one day prior, to arrange to pick up a dinner or for home-delivered meals.
Gift certificates are available at the meal site or online at www.lssmn.org/nutrition.

Area students named to dean’s list at U of M
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities released the Spring 2023 semester dean’s list. Named to the list from Luverne are  freshman Billi Connell, College of Education/Human Development; junior Solveig Tofteland, School of Nursing; and senior Jordan Winter, Carlson School of Management. To qualify, students must earn a 3.66 GPA or higher with at least 12 graded credits.
 
Wendland named to dean’s list at Luther
Cortney Wendland, Luverne, was named to the Spring 2023 semester dean’s list at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. To be eligible, students must earn at least a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale with at least 12 graded credits.
 

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Dec. 2, 1943.
William John Spease, Luverne, now 75, is of the opinion that a man is just as old at 50, or young at 80, and it is the latter goal that he is trying to reach.
Since he was 11 years old, he’s been working steadily, and to this work and exercises he attributes the fact that he has reached the three-quarter century mark, and is still going.
Speaking of work, Mr. Spease says the hardest work he believes he has ever done is wood chopping. The odd part of it is, he is still at the job. “Come over and take a look for yourself,” he said. Anyone who accepts will usually find logs neatly piled, ready for sawing, or will find them sawed into smaller pieces and already in his basement. In the summer time, he always has a big garden.
Mr. Spease was born at Spitzer, Wis., November 6, 1868, the son of George and Ellen Spease. His father died when he was 11 years of age, and his mother sold out the farm property, thinking that he was too young to do the work alone.
After their sale, Mr. Spease was employed by one of their neighbors to herd cattle for two months. “I received $5 for the two months,” Mr. Spease said, “and it certainly was a very lonesome job, and I became very homesick. The neighbor was unable to keep me over night, so every evening at milking time, I would sneak away and run for home.
As I was training for foot racing, I wore no shoes. One evening, after it had become dark, I happened to be on my way home, when I rounded a high bluff and heard the screech of two hoot owls. Mistaking them for wolves, of which I was very much afraid, I fairly flew the rest of the way home, unmindful of the flint rocks which cut my feet.”
The following year he obtained a job on a farm for eight months, for which he received $25 or approximately $3 per month. After corn picking was completed that fall, he came home and went to school until March 1, when he again left school to go to work. “I never had much chance to get an education,” he said. “When I was 21, my uncle suggested that I go to school to get more education, but then I felt it was too late to start anything, so I never did it.
As he became older, he was able to do a man’s work, and then received $15 a month. He recalls that at the age of 12 he bound grain behind an old-fashioned reaper with a self-rake. Before that, he and his grandmother had bound grain that his grandfather had cut with a scythe.
When he was 20, he left Wisconsin and moved to Odebolt, Iowa, where he worked on a farm for four years at $20 per month. He was 24 years old when on February 14, 1893, he was married at Sioux City to Anna Winkler. That spring, they began farming at Shaller, Iowa. The next year, they moved to Lyon county, where for 15 years, they farmed near Rock Rapids.
(William Speases' story continues next week.)

10 years ago (2013)
•Bill Ketterling has been in the garbage hauling business long enough to remember when cities used dray services.
In fact, when he started more than 40 years ago, he bought out Orville Kannenberg’s Dray Service.
“Orville had the business for sale, and no one else wanted to do it, so I thought maybe that meant it would be job security,” Ketterling said.
The term “drayage” historically refers to the transport of goods over short distances on sideless carts pulled by dray horses.
When Ketterling took over on Feb. 7, 1973, Orville’s route included 40 to 50 stops on Main Street. …
“I was a one-man band,” Ketterling said. “I just kept plugging away at it.”
 
25 years ago (1998)
•Godfather’s Pizza, Luverne, will be open for lunch Tuesday in the former Hardee’s building on South Highway 75.
Thomas Studer, Luverne, has been hired as manager, and Nancy DeGroot and Joyce Sandbo, both of Luverne, are assistant manager and second assistant manager, respectively. …
The Luverne location is the 48th restaurant group operated by ROC Management & Associates, Sprits Lake, Iowa. The franchise group purchased the Luverne property in March, less than three months after Hardee’s closed in January. The Hardee’s restaurant in Pipestone closed at the same time, and a Godfather’s Pizza will soon be there as well.
 
50 years ago (1973)
•Neil Hoven, a 22-year old former Kenneth resident now living in Magnolia, is currently sitting on top in driver’s standing in the Worthington Stock Car races held each Sunday.
Hoven has compiled a total of 1,027 points to date with at least four more races to go before the season ends.
This is Hoven’s second year in racing stock cars, and after an uneventful debut, this season he leads over 40 regular drivers for the honors.
Employed by Van’s Motor Co. in Luverne as a mechanic, Hoven drives a 1962 Chevrolet with a 327 engine. He also races at Rock Rapids, Iowa, and occasionally at Sioux Falls, but he is strictly a quarter or three-eighths mile track racer.
 
75 years ago (1948)
•A heavily loaded runaway trailer menaced traffic on Highway 75 at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The trailer crashed into a telephone pole just north of the H. A. Shelby office and garage. The badly shattered pole will have to be replaced.
Driving the light tractor which was towing the vehicle was Lloyd Siebenahler, 17, Luverne. The outfit is owned by Paulson Dehydrated Products Co. and was being brought to the plant from field operators at Trosky.
As Siebenahler passed the intersection, headed south, in front of the W. L. Merrick residence, the equipment repair house trailer cut loose from the tractor and careened down hill. …
Although the pin and tongue were still in place on the trailer after the accident, it is believed that the pin jumped loose and then dropped back in the hole again. There was no key or nut on the pin and no safety chain as added precaution. One wheel of the trailer was wrecked.
 
100 years ago (1923)
•Convinced that violation of traffic regulations in this city are becoming daily too frequent by many motorists, Mayor R. B. Hinkly has instructed police officers to make a checking record of those guilty of violations, and thus make the city safer for both riders and pedestrians.
To carry out his purpose, the mayor has instructed Chief of Police Connell and Night Policeman Will Linville, to file reports of any cases of speeding or violation of traffic rules which may come to their attention. They have been provided with printed cards by which these gentlemen will be aided in securing all the necessary information for the prosecution of the law-breakers.

The Beaver Creek High School Class of 1963 gathered for a 60-year reunion on Aug. 4 in Luverne. Of the 22 graduates, 16 remain and 13 were able to attend the reunion. Two classmates who graduated elsewhere* also attended. Pictured are (front, from left) Marie (Dunn*) Schroeder, Thelma (Berghorst) Symanietz, Dorothy (Bennett) VanPykeren), Pam (Kahler) Hanson, Carol (Severson) Farrar, Jacque (Sandstede) Eads, Susan (Tatge) VandenBos, (back) Betty (Gorter) Melloon, Mary (Bruxvoort) DeYong, Warren Boeve, Marlin Boom, James VanMaanen*, Roger Eads, Sharon (Wheelhouse) Hattendorf and Neil Bly. Photo and caption information submitted by Roger Eads.)

Arvin Vernon Tilstra, age 92, of Hills, Minnesota, passed away peacefully surrounded by his loving family on Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, at Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
A visitation will be Friday, Aug, 11, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the Reformed Church of Steen in Steen, Minnesota. A funeral service will be Saturday, Aug. 12, at 10:30 a.m. at the church with burial to follow at Eastside Cemetery in Steen.
Please visit www.hartquistfuneral.com to sign an online registry.
Arvin Vernon Tilstra was born on October 23, 1930, to Cornie and Fannie (Hommes) Tilstra on a farm southwest of Rock Rapids, Iowa. He attended country school in Lyon County, Iowa, finishing in Rock County, Minnesota. He then moved to a farm northwest of Steen, Minnesota. Arvin loved the farm and farm animals. He always had a favorite dog that would help him with chores around the farm.
After grade school, Arvin stayed home and helped his father farm until he was drafted into the Army during the Korean Conflict. He and Cena Mae made their profession of faith in February of 1952. While in the service, Arvin attended leadership school in Japan and was in Korea when the war ended. His rank was sergeant when he was honorably discharged in December of 1953.
He married the love of his life and neighbor, Cena Mae Elbers, on June 4, 1954. They made their home in a country school house that Arvin and his dad had remodeled. They lived there for eight years and bought a farm one and a half miles southeast of the school. Their marriage was blessed with three children. Arvin and Cena Mae loved to travel. Together, they crossed the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, visited the Netherlands and Japan, and traveled to the northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest portions of the United States. For many years they traveled to Mesa, Arizona, for a short while each winter. One of Arvin’s more memorable experiences was to go on the Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. and to the Ark Encounter in 2019.
Arvin was very active in his home church, the Reformed Church of Steen, serving as an elder, deacon, Sunday school teacher, and catechism teacher for many years. He was also a longtime member of the American Legion in Hills. He enjoyed attending school activities of his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Arvin was a neat farmer and kept up his machinery well. He enjoyed several “tractor rides.” Arvin loved his Lord, his family, his church, and his country. He appreciated good neighbors and enjoyed the farm. He never missed one year of combining.
On Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, while surrounded by his loving family at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, Arvin went to be with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at the age of 92 years, 9 months, and 15 days.
Arvin is lovingly remembered by his wife, Cena Mae Tilstra of Hills, Minnesota; his children Donna (Norm) Sjaarda of Hills, Darwin Tilstra of Dundas, Minnesota, and David (Debbie) Tilstra of Hills; grandchildren, Jennifer Sjaarda (James Axelson), Angela Sjaarda, Caleb (Nicole) Tilstra, Jayna (Kevin) Tomalty, Micah Tilstra (Michelle Doty), Elijah Tilstra (Fiona Conner), Amanda (Mark) Meredith, Brooke (Matt) Watnemo, Isaac (Ashley) Tilstra, and Paige Tilstra; 15 great-grandchildren; siblings, sister-in-law Ann Tilstra of Hills, Ferd (Bernice) Tilstra of Hills, sister-in-law Joan Tilstra of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Inez Hoogeveen of Le Mars, Iowa, sister-in-law JoAnn Moeller of Mitchell, South Dakota; as well as many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Cornie and Fannie Tilstra; parents-in-law William and Elizabeth Elbers; brother and sister-in-law Fred and Anna Tilstra; brothers John Tilstra, Raymond Tilstra, and Cornie Tilstra; sister-in-law Evelyn Tilstra; brother-in-law Don Hoogeveen; and brother and sister-in-law Gilbert and Henrietta Elbers.
Blessed be his memory.
 
 
 

Donald “Don” Kneip, age 89, of Jasper, Minnesota, passed away on Thursday, Aug. 10, 2023, at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Memorial Service was Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023, at 10 a.m. at the Jasper Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jasper with visitation one hour prior to the service from 9-10 a.m. Burial was in the Jasper City Cemetery in Jasper.
Arrangements are with the Hartquist Funeral Home – Jasper Chapel. Please visit www.hartquistfuneral.com to sign an online registry.
Donald Lloyd Kneip was born on February 10, 1934, to Irvin Alfred and Ruth Elizabeth (Carlson) Kneip in Oak Park, Illinois.  In 1939 he moved with his parents to Villa Park, Illinois, and began attending school there. When he was 14 years old, his family moved to Colton, South Dakota, and one year later to Jasper, Minnesota. After his graduation from Jasper High School, he attended Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
On August 29, 1954, he was united in marriage to Gwendolyn Larson at Trinity Lutheran Church in Jasper. Don held various jobs in Jasper and Sioux Falls, and in 1972 he purchased his father-in-law’s auto repair business and moved his family back to Jasper. While living in Jasper, Don owned and operated Kneip Auto Repair and Sales. During this time, he also owned and operated Kneip Bus Company from 1985 to 1992. He sold his repair business to his son Jim in 1985 and retired from Kneip Sales in 1996.
He served on the Jasper City Council, Jasper School Board, and was a member of the Historical Society and the Jasper Senior Citizens. He enjoyed woodworking and antique auto restoration.
He is lovingly remembered by his four children, Steve (Dede) Kneip of Omaha, Nebraska, Jim  (Debbie) Kneip of Luverne, Minnesota, Barb (Kurt) Facile of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Brenda (Dale) Bostic of Edgerton, Minnesota; 10 grandchildren; and 12 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife of 63 years, Gwendolyn; daughter Susan Kneip; granddaughter Aja Pelster; his parents; and a sister, Virginia Berdahl.