Darwin R. Day, 76, Luverne, died Thursday, Feb. 6, 2003, at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Services were Monday, Feb. 10, at First Baptist Church in Luverne. The Rev. Rick Cornish officiated.
Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.

Darwin Day was born to Sidney and Laurena (Reiten) Day on April 5, 1926, in Granite Falls. He was raised and educated in Granite Falls.

He married Shirley Mae Jammerthal on June 21, 1946, in Marshall. Because of his work in the construction industry they moved around a lot. They first lived in Granite Falls, then Flandreau, S.D., next Pipestone and in 1974 moved to Luverne. He worked as a superintendent for Christensen Corporation for many years, building banks, churches, hospitals, nursing homes, etc.

Mr. Day enjoyed fishing, hunting and woodworking.

Survivors include his three sons, David (Nancy) Day, Hopkins, Dennis (Shirley) Day, Bakersfield, Calif., and Gary (Marilyn) Day, Yankton, S.D.; four daughters, Nancy (Verlyn) Anspach, Montevideo, Jody (Terry) Newcomer, Sioux Falls, S.D., Sherry (Keith) Forsberg, Luverne, and Peggy (Bruce) Carlson, Thompson, N.D.; 14 grandchildren; 12 great-grandchildren; one brother, Keith (Paulette) Day, Elgin Ill.; three sisters, Mildred (Wallace) Odegard, Granite Falls, Margaret (Harry) Morland, Marshall, and Lois (Ron) Owens, Willmar; many nieces, nephews, cousins and other relatives and friends.

Mr. Day was preceded in death by his parents, his wife, Shirley, in 1995, four brothers, Donald, Dale, Gordon and Jerry, and one sister, Dolores "Babe."

Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Russell A. Goembel, 90, Harlingen, Texas, formerly of Luverne, died Monday, Feb. 3, 2003, at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen.

Services were Friday, Feb. 7, at First Methodist Church.

Russell Goembel was born in Luverne on April 12, 1912. He grew up and received his education in Luverne.

He married Helen Egge on Oct. 25, 1957. They lived in Sioux Falls, S.D. He worked at Sioux Steel for 17 years before retiring in 1972. They wintered in Harlingen before moving there year-round in 2001.

Mr. Goembel was a member of First United Methodist Church and the Moose Lodge.

Survivors include his wife, Helen Goembel, Harlingen; six sons, Keith (Janice) Goembel, Brandon, S.D., Glenn Goembel, James (Marvella) Goembel, Daryle (Sonja) Goembel, Bryce (Margaret) Goembel, and Larry Goembel, all of Luverne; three daughters, Barbara (Don) Ossenfort, Rapid, City, S.D., Diane (Dave) Stearns, Luverne, Mary Ann (Gordon) Kerschmann, St. Peters, Mo.; one daughter-in-law, Mary Ann Goembel, Valley Springs, S.D.; 42 grandchildren; 41 great-grandchildren; eight great-great-grandchildren; three sisters, Marion Swenson, Grace Miller, all of Luverne, and Ruth (Lionel) Wetzel, Lake St. Louis, Mo.; and a host of other relatives and friends.

Mr. Goembel was preceded in death by his parents, two sons, Clifford Goembel, James Branson, one daughter, Sharon, one brother, Don Goembel, and one sister, Mildred McKay.

Miller Funeral Home, Sioux Falls, was in charge of arrangements.

By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth girls’ basketball team fell out of contention for a Camden Conference championship after losing a 13-point decision in Minneota Friday.

The Panthers were scheduled to play Lincoln HI in Ivanhoe Tuesday, but the game was postponed (no rescheduled date has been announced) due to poor weather conditions in the Ivanhoe area.

Ellsworth, 14-7 overall, hosts Lakeview tonight.

Minneota 65,
Ellsworth 52
A dominating first half by the home-standing Vikings set the stage for a 13-point victory over the Panthers in Minneota Friday.

Minneota ambushed EHS by opening 23-13 and 41-15 leads at the first two quarter breaks.

Ellsworth did outscore the Vikings 37-24 in the second half, but the Panthers simply couldn’t overcome what happened to them in the first 16 minutes of play.

"It was a nightmare," said Panther coach Schnaible. "We shouldn’t have gotten off the bus because we were not mentally ready to play. It was 41-15 at halftime, and I thought it was the poorest display of defense on our part in my three and one-half seasons of coaching in Ellsworth. We didn’t contest any of their shots, and they did a good job of making them."

Jenna Groen scored 25 points, including 19 in the second half, and charted five steals for EHS. Brittney Kramer, Danielle Jenniges and Missy Leuthold added 10, six and five rebounds respectively.

Box score
M.Leuthold 0 0 0-0 0, Jenniges 1 0 2-2 4, Drenth 4 0 0-0 8, J.Leuthold 0 0 0-2 0, M.Groen 0 0 0-0 0, J.Groen 7 1 8-14 25, Kramer 4 0 1-2 9, Timmer 2 0 2-4 6.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 19 of 58 field goals (33 percent), 13 of 24 free throws (54 percent), 37 rebounds, 16 turnovers.
Minneota: 21 of 56 field goals (38 percent), 19 of 28 free throws (68 percent), 37 rebounds, 17 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek gymnastics team capped a 7-7 regular season after competing at a pair of events on the road.

The Cardinals placed second at a triangular meet in Marshall Thursday. L-H-BC beat Martin County West by 3.5 points in a dual meet staged in Welcome Saturday.

L-H-BC has drawn the honor of hosting the Section 3A Gymnastics Championships Saturday. The 10-team event begins at noon in the Luverne High School gym.

L-H-BC 130.15,
MCW 126.65
The Cardinals surpassed the 130-point mark for the second time this season during Saturday’s 3.5-point win over the Mavericks in Welcome.

L-H-BC athletes won all four individual events during an effort that came .125 of one point short of being a school record as a team score.

Cardinal Callen Bosshart, the all-around champion with 33.3 points, led L-H-BC by winning two events. She took top honors on the vault and beam with respective 9.1 and 8.15 tallies.

Bosshart also placed second on the bars with an 8.3.

Amanda Dooyema and Danielle Cook also captured event titles.

Cook, who tied for third place on the vault (8.85) and placed fourth on the bars (7.85), won the floor championship with an 8.25.

Dooyema, who was second on the beam (7.95) and fourth on the floor (8.05), took top honors on the bars with an 8.4.

Cardinal Brittney Boeve earned a tie for third place on the beam with a 7.7.

Individual results
Vault: C.Bosshart, 9.1; Cook, 8.85; Morgan Bosshart, 8.75; Brittany Mulder, 8.5; Boeve, 8.35.
Bars: Dooyema, 8.4; C.Bosshart, 8.3; Cook, 7.85; M.Bosshart, 7.1; Mulder, 6.9.
Beam: C.Bosshart, 8.15; Dooyema, 7.95; Boeve, 7.7; Mulder, 7.6; M.Bosshart, 6.4.
Floor: Cook, 8.25; Dooyema, 8.05; M.Bosshart, 7.85; C.Bosshart, 7.75; Mulder, 7.6.

Marshall triangular
The Cardinals capped a 2-4 Southwest Conference campaign by placing second at a triangular meet in Marshall Thursday.

L-H-BC beat Redwood Valley 126.725 in the conference match, but it came in second to first-place Marshall (136.25 points). The match with Marshall was a non-conference challenge.

Based on the scores against RWV, L-H-BC athletes won three individual events.

Callen Bosshart, the all-around champion with 31.95 points, took top honors on the vault (9.05). She also placed third on the beam (7.5) and floor (8.3).

Amanda Dooyema, who was second on the bars with a 7.25, won the floor with an 8.55.

Cardinal Danielle Cook won the bars (7.8) and placed second on the vault (8.95) and floor (8.375). Brittany Mulder was third all around with 30.5 points.

Individual results
Bars: Cook, 7.8; Dooyema, 7.25; C.Bosshart, 7.1; Mulder, 6.95; Morgan Bosshart, 6.5.
Vault: C.Bosshart, 9.05; Cook, 8.95; M.Bosshart, 8.6; Mulder, 8.6; Brittany Boeve, 8.55.
Beam: C.Bosshart, 7.5; Mulder, 7.45; Boeve, 7.25; Dooyema, 7.05; M.Bosshart, 6.9.
Floor: Dooyema, 8.55; Cook, 8.375; C.Bosshart, 8.3; M.Bosshart, 7.95; Mulder, 7.5.

Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth senior Canaan Petersen (top) looks for ways to score points against Jackson County Central’s Kent Scheff during Thursday’s Southwest Conference wrestling match in Luverne. The Cardinals beat JCC 54-25 for a Parents’ Night crowd.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth wrestling team broke into the win column in Southwest Conference competition by beating Jackson County Central by 29 points in Luverne Friday.

The 3-16 Cardinals were scheduled to open the 3AA Team Tournament against Pipestone in Westbrook Tuesday, but the match was postponed until tonight.

The 11th-seeded Cardinals take on No. 6 Pipestone at 6 p.m. The site of the match has been switched to Lamberton.

L-H-BC-E 54, JCC 25
The Cardinals avoided a winless SWC campaign by beating the Huskies by 29 points during Thursday’s Parents’ Night match in Luverne.

After giving away at least three forfeits per match most of the season, L-H-BC-E was able to field a complete team while reaping the benefits of six forfeits offered by JCC.

The match turned into L-H-BC-E’s favor after JCC’s Jordan Burmeister beat Dusty Seachris by technical fall at 135 pounds to give the Huskies a 22-12 lead.

L-H-BC-E scored team points in seven of the final eight weight classes, including five forfeits, while outscoring JCC 42-3.

The match ended with Cardinals Joel Evans (1:15 over Levi Kruse at 215) and Cody Jagow (1:04 over Jared Knips at heavyweight) recording pins.

JCC’s lone win in the final eight matches came from Kent Scheff, who nipped Canaan Petersen at 160 pounds.

JCC took an 11-0 lead when Sterling Bargfrede pinned Mike Fletcher in 1:42 at 103 and Nate Hodenfield beat Mike Van Wyhe by technical fall before L-H-BC-E’s Anthony Boyenga pinned Corey Dehn in 3:29 to make it an 11-6 difference.

JCC’s Justin Kolander pinned Kerry Fink in 1:34 at 125 before L-H-BC-E received its first forfeit of the night at 130.

Match wrap-up
103 (J) Bargfrede pins Fletcher.
112 (J) Hodenfield t.f. Van Wyhe.
119 (L) Boyenga pins Dehn.
125 (J) Kolander pins Fink.
130 (L) Aaker by forfeit.
135 (J) Burmeister t.f. Seachris.
140 (L) Mann by forfeit.
145 (L) Meyer by forfeit.
152 (L) Je.Saravia by forfeit.
160 (J) Scheff dec. Petersen.
171 (L) Jo.Saravia by forfeit.
189 (L) Cronberg by forfeit.
215 (L) Evans pins Kruse.
275 (L) Jagow pins Knips.

By John Rittenhouse
A five-goal performance by sophomore Natalie Domagala wasn’t enough to extend the season for the Luverne girls’ hockey team Saturday.
The 12th-seeded Cardinals took on No. 4 Austin in a quarterfinal-round game of the Section 1A Tournament in Austin on Saturday.
Luverne, coming off its first post-season victory in program history five days earlier, was unable pull off an upset as the Cards came up on the short end of a 7-5 decision.
The loss ends Luverne’s 9-13 campaign, while Austin advanced to Tuesday’s tournament semifinals played in St. Peter.
Domagala, who recently scored her 100th-career goal, did her best to keep the Cardinals in the game with her five-goal effort.
Unfortunately for LHS, Austin received a four-goal effort from Courtney Hughes and counters from three other players while ousting the Cards from the tournament.
Hughes and Kati Radford-Garcia scored goals for the hosts in the first 8:03 of the game before Domagala found the net with 3:41 remaining in the first period after being set up by Stephanie Morgan to make it a 2-1 game.
Jenny Nemitz answered for Austin with 2:32 remaining in the first period to make it a 3-1 difference.
Jenny Braa and Natalie Morgan set up Domagala’s second goal of the game 45 seconds into the second period to make it a one-goal difference, but Kristen Faber and Hughes found the net before the second period was complete to give the hosts a 5-2 lead.
Hughes scored a power-play goal 24 seconds into the third period, but Domagala countered with a goal with 9:55 remaining after being set up by Natalie Morgan to make the score 6-3.
Hughes increased Austin’s lead to 7-3 with a goal at the 8:44 mark of the final period. Domagala scored two more goals with assists going to Maggie Vanden Hoek and Stephanie Morgan as the third period progressed, but it wasn’t enough to catch the hosts.
Luverne outshot Austin 33-30 in the game. Alyssa Wieneke made 23 saves for the Cards.

By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian girls’ basketball team locked up its second consecutive Red Rock Conference championship by winning a pair of games in Edgerton.

The Dragons beat Edgerton Public by 21 points to gain a share of the RRC crown Thursday before clinching the title with a 12-point win over Southwest Christian.

Adrian, 17-3 overall and 14-0 in the league, ends the regular season by hosting Hills-Beaver Creek tonight before playing in Slayton Monday.

Adrian 56, SWC 44
The Dragons sewed up their second straight RRC title by besting the E-Gals by 12 points in Edgerton Tuesday.

AHS outscored SWC in each of the first three quarters and was never challenged in the final eight minutes of play.

The game was up for grabs at halftime as Adrian sported 11-10 and 22-18 edges at the first two quarter breaks, but the Dragons outscored the hosts 19-9 in the third period to open a 41-27 lead that was trimmed by two points at game’s end.

Maria Gengler, who led the third-quarter charge with 11 points, recorded a double-double with 24 points and 14 rebounds. Andrea Lonneman chipped in 11 points and five assists for the winners. Kylie Heronimus recorded six rebounds and four steals, while Jenna Honermann chipped in five assists and four steals.

Box score
Heronimus 3 0 2-2 8, Honermann 2 0 4-9 8, Cox 2 0 1-2 5, Lonneman 5 0 1-2 11, Gengler 9 0 6-9 24.

Team statistics
Adrian: 21 of 56 field goals (38 percent), 14 of 24 free throws (58 percent), 25 rebounds, 15 turnovers.
SWC: 19 of 42 field goals (45 percent), three of eight free throws (38 percent), 17 rebounds, 19 turnovers.

Adrian 61,
Edgerton 40
The Dragon girls dominated play while coasting to a 21-point win over the Flying Dutchmen in Edgerton Thursday.

Adrian opened an 18-point halftime lead (35-17) and extended the difference to 30 points (53-23) by outscoring Edgerton 18-6 in the third period.

The Flying Dutchmen outscored Adrian’s reserves 17-8 in the fourth quarter, but the game had been settled at that point.

"We played extremely well," said Dragon coach Randy Strand. "We made 61 percent of our field goals, and we did a decent job defensively, too."

Lonneman scored 11 of her team-high 23 points to help AHS open a 15-7 lead in the first quarter. She also had six rebounds in the game.

Gengler scored 20 points to go along with seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Heronimus dished out 13 assists. Honermann recorded 10 assists and six steals.

Box score
Heronimus 1 0 3-5 5, Honermann 2 0 1-1 5, A.Henning 1 0 0-0 2, Cox 1 0 0-0 2, Lonneman 9 0 5-6 23, Gengler 10 0 0-2 20, Mulder 2 0 0-1 4.

Team statistics
Adrian: 26 of 43 field goals (61 percent), nine of 15 free throws (60 percent), 20 rebounds, 20 turnovers.
Edgerton: 15 of 51 field goals (29 percent), 10 of 15 free throws (67 percent), 30 rebounds, 28 turnovers.

Hills-Beaver Creek junior post Trey Van Wyhe lets go of a shot in front of Sioux Falls Christian’s Dustin Warntjes during Monday’s boys’ basketball game in Hills. The Patriots beat SFC and Southwest Christian to extend their winning streak to 10 games.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team owns a 10-game winning streak after besting a pair of foes since Friday.

H-BC earned a share of the Red Rock Conference championship by topping Southwest Christian by four points in Edgerton Friday. The Patriots beat Sioux Falls Christian by three points in Hills Monday.
The 17-4 Patriots can win the RRC crown with a win in Adrian Tuesday.

H-BC 59, SFC 56
The Patriots came out on top by three points in a hard-fought game against the Chargers in Hills Monday.

SFC stunned the Patriots by taking 9-6 and 25-23 leads at the first two quarter breaks, but H-BC rallied to outscore the Chargers 36-31 in the second half to prevail by three.

H-BC moved in front by two points (37-35) by outscoring SFC 14-10 in the second period. The Patriots led by as many as 10 points in the fourth quarter before SFC made some late threes to make it a three-point difference in the end.

Trey Van Wyhe and Kale Wiertzema led H-BC’s second half charge. Van Wyhe, who led the winners with nine rebounds, scored 12 of his team-high 22 points in the third and fourth quarters. Wiertzema scored nine of his 12 points in the second half. He also charted seven assists and six rebounds.

Tyson Metzger added seven rebounds to H-BC’s cause.

Box score
Bush 0 0 7-8 7, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 1 0 0-0 2, Broesder 0 0 2-2 2, Wiertzema 1 2 4-7 12, Metzger 1 0 6-8 8, Van Wyhe 9 0 4-4 22, Leuthold 2 0 0-0 6.

Team statistics
H-BC: 17 of 40 field goals (43 percent), 23 of 29 free throws (79 percent), 34 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
SFC: 17 of 50 field goals (34 percent), seven of eight free throws (88 percent), 14 rebounds, 14 turnovers.

H-BC 64, SWC 60
The Patriot boys locked up a share of the RRC championship by topping the Eagles by four points in Edgerton Friday.

H-BC sported leads at all four quarter breaks and put the game away by making some clutch free throws down the stretch.

Metzger, who scored 33 points in the game, made three free throws in the game’s final 12 seconds to ice the contest.

H-BC raced to a seven-point lead (20-13) in the game’s first quarter before SWC whittled the difference to three points (32-29) by halftime and to one point (49-48) by the end of the third quarter. The Patriots outscored the Eagles 15-12 in the final eight minutes of play to prevail by four.

Wiertzema, who snared six rebounds, recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 assists for H-BC. Van Wyhe scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. Jesse Leuthold added five rebounds.

Box score
Bush 0 0 1-2 1, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 0 0 2-2 2, Broesder 0 0 0-0 0, Wiertzema 3 1 4-6 13, Metzger 7 3 10-12 33, Leuthold 1 0 1-4 3, Van Wyhe 5 0 2-5 12.

Team statistics
H-BC: 20 of 40 field goals (50 percent), 20 of 31 free throws (65 percent), 23 rebounds, nine turnovers.
SWC: 24 of 65 field goals (37 percent), six of eight free throws (75 percent), 33 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

By Lori Ehde
Gold’n Plump executives announced Monday that 140 of the 270 employees at the Luverne poultry processing plant will be out of work as early as this spring.

The announcement follows a corporate decision to relocate the deboning process from Luverne to the Cold Spring plant by April in order to gain some efficiencies.

Gold’n Plump CEO Mike Helgeson said the Cold Spring Plant now has the technology to handle deboning and it makes sense to handle that step there, rather than to transport the product to Luverne.

He said it was a difficult decision to make, considering the impact on jobs in Luverne, but he said the poultry processing market is highly competitive, especially since Russia and other foreign markets have stopped importing American chicken.

"In the end we felt it was necessary to improve our production efficiency and remain strong in a very competitive industry," Helgeson said. "It’s hard to make these decisions when it affects the lives of our people."

While the move will result in the elimination of about 140 positions in Luverne, it will create about 30 new positions in the company’s other facilities.

The first of the layoffs will occur April 17, based on seniority among shifts and departments, and the remaining positions will be eliminated in late May.

"We’re making every effort to minimize the impact to employees affected by this move," said Luverne Plant Manager Greg Aubert. "We realize this will be difficult for many people."

Aubert will remain with the plant, which will continue to operate two shifts. Some salaried workers will be affected, but specific layoffs haven’t yet been decided.

According to Helgeson, of the 140 laid off, the majority of employees commuted to the Luverne plant from Worthington, but at least 10 are Luverne residents and others live in nearby rural communities.

This doesn’t necessarily lessen the blow for a Luverne economy still reeling from the recent loss of Jubilee Foods and its 70 employees.

"Like IBP’s closing, it’s going to have a devastating impact," said City Administrator Matt Hylen. "We had hoped these [technology improvements] would take place in Luverne, rather than Cold Spring."

When Gold’n Plump came to Luverne in 1998, it paid nothing for the use of the plant, which had been donated to the city by IBP when it left town earlier that year, laying off 340 people.

In return for the free building, Gold’n Plump guaranteed it would maintain 120 jobs in Luverne.

Tuesday’s announcement doesn’t breach that contract, Hylen said. "The good news is the plant isn’t closing."

Helgeson said the Luverne plant remains an important part of the company’s future plans, and will continue to produce value-added, ready-to-cook chicken products.

"We have an excellent employee base in Luverne, the community has been a great supporter of our company," Helgeson said.

While there are no firm plans at this time, he added that as the company expands into fully cooked lines, the Luverne plant could see additional lines from that and other ventures.

"We’re not planning to close the plant," he said.

Displaced workers will be encouraged to apply for new positions in Cold Spring, Arcadia or St. Cloud and will be offered relocation packages.

Affected employees will be given at least 60 days notice, and the Displaced Worker Program will be available to eligible employees. The Workforce Center will be invited to conduct meetings on site, and resume assistance will be available.