Blue Mounds State Park naturalist Tiffany Muellner will lead hikers on a “Wildlife Mamas and Babies Hike” Saturday morning, beginning at the park’s picnic area.
The hike begins at 9 a.m.
“It’s one of those programs that’s really going to vary,” Muellner said.
Center to the hike will be viewing more than a dozen bison babies and the rest of the herd.
The hike could be long or short, depending on where the herd is in the large pasture area.
“Wherever the bison are, we are going to walk to them,” she said. “We’ll see how close we can get to them.”
Along the way, periodic stops will lead to discussions about the challenges wildlife have raising their young on the prairie.
The main focus will be about the bison calves and how they are raised to adulthood at the park.
“I’ve allotted two hours for the hike,” she said.
Depending on questions, the hike could be shorter or longer than planned.

Members of the Luverne High School FFA Chapter teamed up to present 10 safety demonstrations on the school campus Wednesday morning, May 3, during the chapter’s annual Farm Safety Day. “A lot of kids don’t have the experience of what could go wrong when they’re around farm equipment and animals,” said Chapter President JT Remme. To illustrate the dangers, the FFA members dropped a small soybean stubble bale into a bale shredder. “This is a nightmare scenario,” Remme told the fourth-graders. No one knew Billy the Bale was inside the shredder and the key was left in the tractor. In addition to the bale shredder, FFA students demonstrated the dangers around a semitrailer, grain wagon, hay rake, skid loader, livestock trailer, silage chopper, manure spreader, drone and farm animals (pig, chickens, a calf and two donkeys).

Luverne City Council members are pursuing an investigation into what’s causing brown discoloration on houses in Luverne.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, the council authorized the mayor and city administrator to sign a contract with Braun Intertec Corporation, Sioux Falls.
The firm will assist the city with the “determining and source of an unknown substance that causes staining on personal property within the city.”
The stains have been a problem for nearly 15 years, but answers have been out of reach. Now, city building inspector Chad McClure is hoping for results.
“The MPCA and the EPA haven’t been able to definitively determine what is causing the yellow staining on citizens’ private property,” he said.
“We are continuing to encounter episodes of the staining and feel like we need to continue down the path of finding a resolution for the people in the community.”
He said he and the city were directed to seek help from Braun Intertec as a third-party firm.
“It is our understanding that they will start their investigative process through a fresh set of eyes, looking at all possible explanations, whether that is an environmental or climatic phenomenon, some sort of industrial emission or a combination of several factors,” McClure said. “We are hopeful that their expertise will provide us with the answers needed to move forward with a resolution.”
In 2018 the Minnesota Department of Health analyzed a sample of the substance that discolored dozens of homes and properties in Luverne’s western neighborhoods.
The lab results were “unable to detect hazardous compounds,” so residents were told they need not fear for their health.
The sample tested was scraped from a porch railing and trim from a home in the neighborhood near The Lake where the discoloration was most prevalent.
Lab results didn’t point to a source of the discoloration, however, which left an unclear path going forward for residents.
At first, they spent time scrubbing their homes and white trim, only to have the stains show up the following year. But many have given up and simply painted their houses a darker color that doesn’t show the contamination as clearly.
Without a source, McClure was unable to help residents, but now he’s hoping to find more answers.
According to council discussion, the fee for Braun Intertec services is not to exceed $15,000.

The majority of precincts in Rock County want to keep mail ballots as a voting option, but Rock County commissioners are still considering a return to polling places.
They tabled a decision at their May 2 meeting after lengthy discussion.
After the November 2022 election, county auditor Ashley Kurtz informed commissioners about anonymous calls that left her election workers concerned for their safety.
Since then, she and the commissioners proposed to township supervisors a return to all in-person voting and eliminating mail ballot precincts.
Currently, 18 out of the 24 precincts in Rock County vote by mail, an option that was first available in 2006.
Commissioners are following a proposed Election Worker Protection Act, introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year, for possible guidance.
The protection act prohibits (with enhanced penalties) certain types of threats, harms and intimidation that involve threats of harm to poll watchers, election officials and election agents.
The Minnesota Legislature is in session through May 22.
 
 
Most local precincts want mail ballot
“All 10 of my precincts want to keep the mail ballot option,” said Commissioner Gary Overgaard. “Every one of them wants to do the mail ballot process with the understanding of the issues. Just because of a few people, we shouldn’t change what the majority of the people wish to maintain.”
They cited cost savings, time savings and increased voter participation as reasons to continue using mail ballots for elections.
Overgaard represents District 1, which includes the townships of Battle Plain, Denver, Magnolia, Mound, Vienna and Rose Dell and the cities of Kenneth, Hardwick, Magnolia and part of Jasper.
He said he met with representatives from each of his precincts as well as took phone calls to discuss the anonymous, harassing phone calls the auditor’s office received concerning the validity of the 2022 general election.
Each representative had a similar message for those who make anonymous accusations of fraud but offer no valid proof.
“We’ve got to tell these people, if they have an issue, they have to come in front of us and talk to us in person, with your name, plus what your gripe is and we will deal with it,” Overgaard said.
District 3 Commissioner Greg Burger represents Clinton, Kanaranzi and a portion of Luverne (who have two precincts) townships along with the city of Steen.
“The township people were unanimously in favor of going back to in-person,” Burger said.
“Actually Clinton (Township) was going to talk with Steen city and they were in favor of going back to in-person voting if they could get some help buying the (voting) machines.”
Stan Williamson represents District 2, which has three mail ballot districts: Springwater and Beaver Creek townships and the city of Beaver Creek.
He said Springwater Township representatives were in favor of continuing as a mail ballot district while Beaver Creek and the city of Beaver Creek were favorable to either option.
 
‘Something needs
to be done’
Auditor Kurtz pointed to her staff, who were in attendance at the May 2 commissioners meeting, as the reason safeguards need to be put into place.
She is also worried about her own family.
“It’s hard to explain — I get emotional every time I talk about it — I had voters contacting my family, and I know you can’t stop that, but something has to be done,” she said.
“I don’t even know if changing mail ballot to polling places is even going to change the issue, but we don’t feel safe.”
Commissioners discussed implementing various options such as new protocols to handle anonymous phone calls, more courthouse safety measures, and informing law enforcement of those making threats.

Property values brought Fred Wilgenburg to the Beaver Creek Township tax and equalization meeting last month, and a 20-year-old assessing error brought him to the county commissioners May 2.
“So, I am here to ask the county to fix my rates going forward, as they said they would, but also that the county would fix what was overcharged for the past 18, 19 years,” Wilgenburg said. “I don’t know the exact amount.”
At the Tuesday morning meeting, the assessor’s office didn’t know the exact amount either.
The market value of Wilgenburg’s 2.5-acre acreage near Valley Springs was decreased by $100,000 as a result of the township meeting. Current market value is $325,000.
But before assessor Rachel Jacobs begins the task to determine Wilgenburg’s tax overpayment every year since 2003, commissioners may not have the authority to issue a two-decades-old refund.
“Right, wrong or otherwise, there is some burden to homeowners to question the value, if it is not right. Once you don’t do that, you’ve waived your right to adjust that later. That is just the way the tax system works,” said county attorney Jeff Haubrich.
“I am not sure if the board would have any authority to go back to do some of those prior years. I don’t know if you (as the current commissioners) have authority to make that expenditure.”
Annually the Rock County Assessor’s Office issues property valuation tax statements to Rock County property owners.
The forms, mailed in the spring of each year and available online at the county’s website, detail increases or decreases in market values for the next tax year.
Meetings are scheduled in each township and municipality for property owners to attend and question the information on the notification.
Wilgenburg attended the April 10 meeting for Beaver Creek Township.
He questioned why his and his wife, Amy’s, acreage increased in value by $87,000 in 2023 and will increase an additional $71,000 in 2024.
“As I talked about our property — much of our house was moved in from Iowa in 2003, when we moved here, and it was built around 1940 — they were surprised. They were not aware of that (the home was moved in),” Wilgenburg said.
The assessor at the time, who was contracted by township supervisors, listed the “effective age” of the Wilgenburg home as a new construction in 2003.
The permit to move the home on Tenth Avenue near Valley Springs did not stipulate the age of the home.
“When your home is built, we assume it lives 100 years,” Jacobs said. “So, we put what is called an ‘effective age’ on that home, which is usually the same age as the year it is built.”
However, the effective age of the Wilgenburg home is not 2003, but 1975, as determined by the extent of the remodel and square-foot addition completed in 2003.
Beaver Creek Township’s contracted assessor didn’t know that the 1940s home on a new foundation with a new roof and new siding was not a newly built home.
The assessor noted an inside inspection was never completed in the Wilgenburg home, where finishes would have revealed it was not a new home.
In 2003 the Wilgenburg home was valued at $177,000.
“The reason I didn’t question it before is that the valuation increases were not so large that it caught my wife’s and my attention like it has the last couple of years,” Wilgenburg said.
“I didn’t raise a concern because I naturally thought the property was correctly assessed way back then.”
Increases in market value of 30 percent in 2023 and 18 percent for 2024 were based on countywide acreage sales.
The Rock County Assessor’s Office became the contract assessor for Beaver Creek Township in 2020, the same year evaluation records were computerized from previous contracted assessors, who made manual notes in large binders.
Jacobs said an exterior-only inspection was completed on the Wilgenburg home in July 2020.
She said assessors rarely view a home’s interior to verify the inspection records prior to the mailing of the annual valuation notices.
Notices to schedule an inside inspection are rarely returned.
“People don’t want us in their homes, but when the value is wrong, they yell at us that we haven’t been in their home,” Jacobs said, adding anyone can request an interior home inspection at any time by contacting the assessor’s office.
Since the April township meeting, the interior of the Wilgenburg home has been inspected, which led to the lower effective age and decreased market value for future tax implications.
Commissioners tabled a decision about a refund for the Wilgenburgs until questions about the County Board’s authority are answered.

Meetings
Beaver Creek Township Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday, May 15, at the township hall in Beaver Creek. 
MS Support Group will meet at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 16, at Pizza Ranch in Luverne. All persons with MS, family and friends are invited. Call 507-283-2069 or 507-283-2964.
 
School band concert May 12
Luverne students in grades 6-12 will perform their spring band concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 12, in the school performing arts center. 
Bike Rodeo May 13
Luverne Optimist Club will host its annual Bike Rodeo at 10 a.m. Saturday, May 13, in the Blue Mound Ice Arena parking lot. Everyone is encouraged to attend the bike awareness program. Second-Mile Bicycles will be on hand to assist with bike repairs. Prizes will be distributed to everyone.
 
‘Marlene and Darlene’ return to Generations May 11
Local actresses Brenda Winter and DJ Luethje will return as Marlene and Darlene in “Piece of Cake” at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at Generations. Tickets for the third annual Dessert Theatre are $20 in advance (in the Generations lobby 9:30-1 p.m. April 24-May 8) and $25 at the door to benefit special events at Generations. Email livewellagewell100@gmail.com.
 
Register until May 10 for 4-H camps in June
Youth who have completed grades 3-6 can attend one of two residential camps at Lake Shetek June 19-21 and June 21-23. 4-H staff and high school youth counselors lead activities, small group discussions and outdoor activities during the camps.
Registration is open until May 10. Contact the Rock County Extension Office, 507-283-1302, or mnnext-rock@umn.edu.
 
School choir pops concerts May 19
Luverne choir students in grades 6-12 will perform two spring pops concerts, “It’s R Time,” the music of 2010-2021, on Friday, May 19, in the school performing arts center. One starts at 6:30 and the other at 8 p.m. The second show will include recognition of seniors. Admission is $6 for adults and $4 for students. Activity passes are accepted.
Luverne Music Boosters will serve Take 16 root beer floats between performances for a donation.
 
Mobile dental clinic in Luverne May 18
The mobile dental clinic will be in Luverne on Thursday, May 18, at ATLAS of Rock County to provide dental care for adults and children of all ages. Call 612.746.1530 to schedule an appointment. All forms of insurance are accepted. Organized by #Luv1LuvAll's Rock County Oral Health Task Force.
 
Master Gardeners plant sale May 20
The Rock County Master Gardeners annual plant sale will be from 9 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday, May 20, in the Atlas/Redeemed Remnants Parking Lot. Gardeners bring their pre-priced perennials, annuals, etc to sell (no professional growers). Shoppers get great buys on plants and have gardening questions answered. Call 507 669-2905. 
 
Hardwick Memorial Day program May 29
Hardwick American Legion Post #478 will sponsor a Memorial Day Program at 10 a.m. Monday, May 29, at the Hardwick Veterans Memorial. In case of inclement weather it will be in the Hardwick Community Hall.
Guest speaker is U.S. Army Retired Colonel Kim Henningsen, a Vietnam veteran, of Jefferson, South Dakota. Readers will be Girls Stater Kiesli Smith and Army ROTC Cadet Gunnar Oldre, University of Notre Dame. Madi Oye will provide special music. Coffee, juice and cookies will follow the program.
 
Park bison tours begin May 26
The Blue Mounds State Park has announced that it will begin offering bison tours on Friday, May 26. Call the park at 507-283-6050 for more information or reservations.
 
Community Ed
Community Education will offer the following classes in the next few weeks. Call 507-283-4724 to register.
Grades K-4 during the 2022-23 school year can attend Paint and Snack Classes on May 15, June 12, July 17, and August 14. Sign up for one class or for all four. Fee is $33/class.
Learn how to play Pickleball on May 20. Fee is $5.
Grades 5 through adult, can have an introduction to clay when they make a Taco Fish on May 20. Fee is $25, plus $5 paid to the instructor at the studio.
Soccer Fun for grades K-2 in 2022-23 begins on May 30. Fee is $35/child.
Grades 3-12 can learn about lakes and how to catch fish at School of Fish on May 31. Fee is $38 (and includes an adult buddy.)
 
SAIL classes in Beaver Creek
SAIL classes meet in Beaver Creek Monday and Wednesday mornings now through May 24.
The classes, Stay Active and Independent for Life, improve strength and balance. They meet from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. in Beaver Creek City Hall in Beaver Creek. There is no cost to attend, but pre-registration is required by calling Linda Wenzel, 507-283-5064.
 
SAIL classes in Hills
SAIL classes meet in Hills Monday and Thursday mornings now through June 22. The classes, Stay Active and Independent for Life, improve strength and balance. They meet from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. at Game Plan 4 Hope, 312 W. 3rd St. in Hills. There is no cost to attend, but pre-registration is required by calling volunteer class leaders Carol Gerhke, 507-220-1116, or Nelva Behr, 507-962-3413.
 
SAIL classes at Generations
SAIL classes meet from 9 to 10 a.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings through June 30 in the Generations Event Center in Luverne.
The classes, Stay Active and Independent for Life, improve strength and balance. There is no cost, but pre-registration is required by calling 507-283-5064 or ACE Volunteer Cory Ziegler, 507-920-0587.
 
Library Happenings
For more information about library happenings, call 507-449-5040 or email rockcountystaff@gmail.com.
Books on Tap takes place at 6:30 p.m. the first Monday of each month at Take 16 in Luverne.
The 50 State Challenge for adults and older teens is currently underway where patrons are encouraged to read a book set in one of each of the 50 states through Jan. 1, 2024.
Trivia Night is at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of every month at Take 16 in Luverne. Team registration begins at 6 p.m.
Reminiscence Kits are available featuring various topics such as gardening, pets, baking, sewing, farming and hunting. The kits are designed to use with a loved one experiencing memory loss, encouraging the loved one to open up about activities they once loved in the past.
STEAM kits are also available checkout. Motion, lights, hydropower, robotics and magnets are among the kits.
 
Food Shelf evening hours
The Rock County Food Shelf is open for an additional evening shift from 5 to 6 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of the month. Call Mary at 507-227-5548 or Katie at 507-227-3531.
 
A.C.E. respite care available, volunteers needed
A.C.E. of SW Minnesota (A.C.E.) offers respite care services in Rock County for those needing a break from caring for a loved one.
The respite program offers short-term (1-3 hours), temporary care for families and caregivers by providing a brief period of reprieve from the daily cares they provide to their loved one.
Volunteers provide non-professional supportive services to caregivers to give them time for themselves, relieve their stress and help them remain healthy.
Respite care volunteers are also needed. Trained A.C.E. volunteers provide respite care to family caregivers of adults age 60 and older who are suffering from long-term health conditions.
Contact Linda Wenzel at 507-283-5064 or ace.rock@co.rock.mn.us.

Moms who live in Minnesota are invited to join a free virtual fishing challenge Saturday, May 13, through Sunday, May 14, during Take a Mom Fishing Weekend, when all Minnesota moms can fish without purchasing a fishing license.
To participate in the Mother’s Day weekend fishing challenge, moms simply need to join the Minnesota Moms Fishing Challenge Facebook group (facebook.com/groups/1173295613370541) and submit one photo of each fish they catch.
All participants who submit a fish will be entered in a random drawing for prizes provided by the Student Anglers Organization, including SCHEELS gift cards. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is partnering with the Student Anglers Organization to organize the challenge.
Contest details are available on the Student Anglers Association website (studentangler.org/minnesota-moms-fishing-challenge).
In the contest, no fish is too small and all fish species count.
The Minnesota State Legislature established Take a Mom Fishing Weekend in 1988 to coincide with Mother’s Day. This year, the weekend also happens during fishing opener — seasons begin Saturday, May 13, for walleye, northern pike, bass, and trout in lakes.
To celebrate the fishing season, the Minnesota Governor’s Fishing Opener event is taking place May 12-14 in Mankato. During the event on May 13, several anglers with the Student Anglers Organization will be fishing with their moms on Madison Lake, and the moms will be taking part in the Minnesota Moms Fishing Challenge.
Contact: Benji Kohn, volunteer mentor program coordinator, 651-259-5178.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources asks that people avoid disturbing or touching deer fawns, which are born around this time of year.
Most fawns are born in mid-May to mid-June, and fawns do not attempt to evade predators during their first few weeks of life. Instead, they remain still to avoid being seen. During these times, fawns are learning critical survival skills from their mothers but are often left on their own while their mothers forage watchfully nearby.
Be assured deer fawns are likely fine even if they look abandoned or fragile. Even if the fawn is known to be wounded or abandoned due to a car strike or animal attack, do not transport it without talking to a wildlife rehabilitator. For more information about what to do when people find fawns or other species of young wild animals, visit the DNR website (mndnr.gov/eco/nongame/rehabilitation/orphaned-wildlife.html).

Once upon a time there was a little blond boy who grew up near Luverne between the Rock River and Blue Mounds State Park.
He was made of “snips and snails and puppy dogs’ tails,” with boundless energy and an effervescent love for life. Behind his blue eyes sparks of mischief and brilliance.
He’d leap out of bed at sunrise and grab his bicycle and pole to go fishing in Hallett’s Pond on Darling’s Bend.
The little blond boy had big dreams and important plans, and he couldn’t wait to get out into the wide world to conquer obstacles that might stand in his way.
As he grew, he found a rewarding and challenging career that let him be his own boss and work with wonderful and interesting people.
He married a girl who appreciated his free spirit and nurtured his quest for adventure. Together they built a home with two little boys of their own.
Life was good.
Or so it seemed.
But clouds were gathering on the horizon.
The boy began to falter. He learned that a drink helped to calm his mind, which often spun faster than his feet could keep up.
There was so much to do and too many opportunities to seize and not enough time or resources — or focus — to accomplish them.
One day he found himself alone in his truck with a nearly emptied 12-pack of beer.
It scared him.
And he told his wife. And together they sought help.
But it turns out the help for too much drinking didn’t help to quiet his unquiet mind.
He discovered some street drugs could help him fall asleep at night and get up in the morning.
There were arrests, and jail time and in-patient treatments. And eventually a bipolar diagnosis, which led to a long list of trial-and-error prescriptions.
Which made him feel numb. And apathetic. Which was at times worse than being depressed or manic.
The boy with the big dreams and important plans had become a man searching for the boy he once was.
He watched his marriage, career and other cherished blessings slip through his hands and out of reach.
And hope for a better life began to dim.
How had this happened?
Here’s how:
The little blond boy with big dreams and important plans grew up in an era when brain health was spoken of in whispers.
Brain health professionals were only guessing at how to treat diagnoses, and health insurance reimbursed for brain care at a fraction of what it’s worth.
Which means promising brain health doctors left for specialties with better pay.
And patients had fewer options for care, leaving many innocent souls unable to find relief for their brain health conditions.
The story of the little blond boy doesn’t have a happy ending, and his obituary appears on Page 7 of this week’s paper.
It's the same sad ending as the stories of so many others who lost their hopes and dreams — and their lives — to mental illness.
Rest in peace, Scott.
We’ll keep fighting for better outcomes, but your free spirit is free at last.