Henrietta Wagenaar, 78, Luverne, died Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the Luverne Hospice Cottage. Funeral services will be Friday, Feb. 7 at 10 a.m. at the First Baptist Church, Luverne, with Rev. Rick Cornish officiating. Visitation one hour prior to services. Arrangements are being handled by Engebretson Funeral Home.

Mildred Stogsdill, 79, Luverne, died Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Luverne Community Hospital. Services will be Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 11 a.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne, with Rev. Rick Cornish officiating. Burial will be Friday, Feb. 14 at Cypress View Cemetery in San Diego, CA.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth wrestling team was unable to record a win while hosting a pair of Southwest Conference matches late last week.

Windom-Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin handed the Cardinals a 51-point setback Thursday. Redwood Valley topped L-H-BC-E by 23 points Friday.

The 2-16 Cardinals will attempt to snap a seven-match losing skid when they host Jackson County Central tonight.

RWV 51, L-H-BC-E 28
A late surge by visiting Redwood Valley gave it a 23-point win over the Cardinals in Luverne Friday.

L-H-BC-E trailed 24-22 after Anthony Boyenga pinned Anthony Bongard in 57 seconds at 119 and Kerry Fink covered Tony Iverson in 49 seconds at 125, but RWV won five of the final six matches of the night to win handily.

RWV, which received 24 points worth of forfeits during the duel, outscored the Cards 27-6 in the final six weight classes.

The run featured pins from Ross Gewerth (3:49 over Ruston Aaker at 130), Tom Anderson (52 seconds over Justin Mann at 145) and Dusty Myers (1:00 over Matt Goembel at 160). A forfeit at 135 and Bo Hagert’s 5-4 decision win over Canaan Petersen also padded RWV’s late run.

Dusty Seachris kept RWV from winning the final six matches of the night when he pinned Nate Bernardy in 5:02 at 140.

RWV drew forfeits at 171 and 189 to open the match before L-H-BC-E pulled to within two points (12-10) with a major decision from Joel Evans (10-2 over Paul Panitzke) and a pin from heavyweight Cody Jagow (17 seconds over Jammie Gegner).

A forfeit at 103 and a pin by Brady Myers (52 seconds over Mike Van Wyhe at 112) gave RWV 24-10 cushion before L-H-BC-E received its wins from Boyenga and Fink.

Match wrap-up
171 (R) Dahmes by forfeit.
189 (R) Heiling by forfeit.
215 (L) Evans m.d. Panitzke.
275 (L) Jagow pins Gegner.
103 (R) Hodgson by forfeit,
112 (R) Myers pins Van Wyhe.
119 (L) Boyenga pins Bongard.
125 (L) Fink pins Iverson.
130 (R) Gewerth pins Aaker.
135 (R) Gewerth by forfeit.
140 (L) Seachris pins Bernardy.
145 (R) Anderson pins Mann.
152 (R) Hagert dec. Petersen.
160 (R) Myers pins Goembel.

W-ML-B-O 63,
L-H-BC-E 12
The Cardinals were unable to hand the Cobras their first Southwest Conference loss of the season when the teams squared off in Luverne Thursday.

W-ML-B-O dominated the match by scoring the first 45 team points in what ended as a 51-point victory for the visitors.

Along with scoring 24 points with four forfeits, W-ML-B-O scored 36 points with six pins.

Travis Elg (1:03 over Mike Van Wyhe at 112), Nick Kulseth (1:38 over Kerry Fink at 125), Jeff Stuckenberg (44 seconds over Anthony Boyenga at 130), Travis Winters (3:25 over Dusty Seachris at 135), Jason Kruger (3:29 over Jesse Saravia at 140) and Cody Anderson (2:46 Jose Saravia at 189) won by fall for the Cobras.

W-ML-B-O’s John Kremmin topped Justin Mann 8-2 at 145 to pick up his team’s lone decision win.

L-H-BC-E received a pin from heavyweight Cody Jagow, who stuck Kevin Zschetzsche in 1:25.

Cardinal Canaan Petersen edged Ryan Fast 5-4 at 152, and Joel Evans downed Brady Jansen 10-4 at 215.

Match wrap-up
103 (W) Bergendahl by forfeit.
112 (W) Elg pins Van Wyhe.
119 (W) Bergendahl by forfeit.
125 (W) Kulseth pins Fink.
130 (W) Stuckenbroker pins
Boyenga.
135 (W) Winters pins Seachris.
140 (W) Kruger pins Je.Saravia.
145 (W) Kremmin dec. Mann.
152 (L) Petersen dec. Fast.
160 (W) Hall by forfeit.
171 (W) Winters by forfeit.
189 (W) Anderson pins Jo.Saravia.
215 (L) Evans dec. Janzen.
275 (L) Jagow pins Zschetzsche.

By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth boys’ basketball team bounced back from a Jan. 28 home loss to Dawson-Boyd by slaying a pair of Camden Conference foes since Friday.

Ellsworth strolled to a 29-point win in Lake Benton Friday before topping Russell-Tyler-Ruthton by 21 points in Tyler Tuesday.

Ellsworth, 19-2 overall, hosts Minneota and Lincoln HI Friday and Tuesday respectively.

Ellsworth 71, R-T-R 50
A strong effort on the defensive end of the court gave the Panthers a 21-point victory in Tyler Tuesday.

After sporting 18-15 and 36-35 edges at the first two quarter breaks, EHS picked up its intensity on defense while outscoring the Knights 35-15 in the second half.

"Our defense was the key," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "I was very proud of the way our kids played defensively in the second half. If we wouldn’t have played good defense, I don’t think we would have won this game."

The game fell into Ellsworth’s favor when it outscored R-T-R 26-3 in the third quarter. The 52-38 lead the Panthers brought into the fourth quarter was whittled down to 19 points by game’s end, but the Knights were unable to recover from a rough third period.

Curt Schilling, Brant Deutsch and Dylan Kvaale scored 27, 22 and 11 points respectively for EHS.

Box score
Schilling 10 0 7-7 27, Jenniges 1 0 2-2 4, Janssen 0 0 0-1 0, Kvaale 4 1 0-0 11, Deutsch 7 0 8-10 22, Brommer 1 1 2-2 7.

Ellsworth 79, LB 50
The Panthers controlled play throughout Friday’s 29-point road win in Lake Benton.

Ellsworth outscored the Bobcats in each of the first three quarters and played the hosts to a draw at 21 in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers raced to a 22-11 lead in the first quarter before outscoring LB 19-8 in the second period to gain a 41-19 halftime advantage. When the Panthers increased the lead to 29 points (58-29) in the third quarter, the game was all but over.

"We pretty much took control of the game right away," said Panther coach Kvaale.

The night was a special one for EHS senior Deutsch, who scored his 1,000th career point during the third quarter. Deutsch scored a team-high 18 points and nabbed six rebounds in the game.

Schilling, who had three steals, recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Kvaale added 12 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals to the winning cause. Tom Janssen scored 11 points, and Travis Jenniges charted eight assists.

Box score
Schilling 7 0 1-2 15, Jenniges 3 0 1-2 7, Janssen 2 1 4-6 11, Kvaale 6 0 0-0 12, Deutsch 8 0 2-3 18, Brommer 0 0 3-3 3, Gacke 0 0 5-6 5, Farrell 1 1 1-2 6, Myhrer 1 0 0-0 2.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 55 percent field goals (totals were unavailable), 17 of 24 free throws (71 percent), 31 rebounds, seven turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls’ hockey team advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Section 1A Tournament by posting a one-goal win in overtime against Mankato East in Mankato Tuesday.

Tuesday’s win was preceeded by home losses to Worthington Thursday and Morris-Benson Saturday, which ended an 8-12 regular season for the Cards.

Luverne plays No. 4 seed Austin, a 4-1 winner over Worthington Tuesday, in the section quarterfinals Saturday in Austin. Game time is 7 p.m.

Luverne 4, ME 3
The Cardinal girls recorded their first win in post-season play in the three-year history of the Luverne High School hockey program in Mankato Tuesday.

Playing No. 5 Mankato East on its home ice, the 11th-seeded Cardinals received a pair of goals from Natalie Domagala late in the game to advance in tournament play.

ME, which tied the game at two with a pair of second-period goals, gained its first lead of the night at 3-2 early in the third period.

Luverne, however, received an unassisted goal from Domagala with less than three minutes remaining in regulation play to force overtime. Domagala scored again with 4:00 left in overtime after being set up by Stephanie Morgan to give the Cards their victory.

Jenny Braa gave the Cards a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the game. Domagala and Morgan received assists for the goal.

Domagala set up a goal by Sadie Dietrich that gave LHS a 2-0 cushion in the second period before ME came storming back to knot the score by period’s end.

Alyssa Wieneke stopped 33 of 36 shots to get the win in net. Luverne had 22 shots on goal.

M-B 5, Luverne 4
The Cardinals capped an 8-12 regular season by dropping a one-goal decision in overtime to Morris-Benson in Luverne Saturday.

Luverne took a 4-3 lead with 3:11 remaining in regulation play when Dietrich netted a short-handed goal after being set up by Domagala, but M-B’s A. Janssen tied the game with 34 seconds left in the third period and won it for the visitors with a counter 28 seconds into overtime.

M-B led 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period after receiving goals from K. Mahoney at 12:49 and 3:58.

Domagala tied the game at one after being set up by Morgan at the 12:00 mark of the opening period.

Luverne’s Dana Smeins tied the game at two with a power-play goal with 5:59 remaining in the second period, and the Cards led 3-2 when Domagala found the net with an unassisted tally when LHS was in a short-handed situation at 1:53. Suzanne Gluf and Dietrich set up the goal by Smeins.

M-B’s A. Evenson tied the game at three with a goal 53 seconds into the third period.

Luverne outshot M-B 28-22. Wieneke made 17 saves for LHS.

Worthington 3,
Luverne 0
Luverne’s bid to win a third straight Southwest Conference championship came to an end with a three-goal loss to the Trojans at the Blue Mound Ice Arena Thursday.

With a 3-2 league record entering the tilt, the Cardinals needed to beat Worthington (3-1-1 entering the game) to win the league crown.

Worthington, however, scored one goal in each period and used a standout performance by goalie Danielle Koopman to upend LHS by three goals.

Koopman was brilliant in the net, stopping all 34 shots she faced in the game. Luverne outshot the Trojans 34-15, but they couldn’t get the puck past Worthington’s goalie.

Three different players scored goals for the Trojans.

Amanda Duitsman opened the scoring with 2:17 left in the first period. Kelsey Rogers made it a 2-0 game at 9:31 in the second period. Rebecca Lehr capped the scoring with 7:59 remaining in the third period.
Taylor Nelson made 12 saves in goal for LHS.

Luverne senior Danielle Cook lunges toward the vault during Saturday’s home gymnastics meet against New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva. Cook placed second in the event with a score of 8.95 points to help the Cardinals post a 129.25-122.3 win over the Panthers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek gymnastics team turned in a pair of record-setting performances during a three-meet week.

After dropping an 8.75-point Southwest Conference decision in Marshall Thursday, the Cardinals broke the old school scoring record of 127.35 points established Feb. 8, 2002, during a pair of home meets Saturday and Monday.

The Cardinals scored 129.25 points during a 6.95-point victory over New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva Saturday. The new record lasted two days as L-H-BC compiled 130.275 points during a 27.675-point win over St. James Monday.

L-H-BC, which has won two consecutive meets for the first time this season, takes a 4-7 record into road meets against Redwood Valley and Martin County West tonight and Friday respectively.

L-H-BC 130.275,
SJ 102.6
Records fell on two fronts during Monday’s 27.675-point home win over the Saints.

As well as establishing a scoring record as a team, Callen Bosshart set an individual school record in the all-around competition.

Bosshart, who won the all-around title, compiled 33.875 points in the meet. Her effort surpassed the old school record of 33.5 points in all-around competiton.

Bosshart placed second on the bars (8.3) and won the beam (8.1), floor (8.45) and vault (9.025) crowns.

Amanda Dooyema helped the Cardinals sweep the individual events by taking top honors on the bars with an 8.6 effort. Dooyema also placed second on the beam with a 7.8.

Brittany Mulder and Morgan Bosshart, who finished second and third in the all-around competition with 32- and 30.3-point efforts, turned in strong performances.

Mulder tied for second place on the vault with teammate Danielle Cook with 8.85 tallies. She placed third on the beam (7.7), and tied for third place on the floor (8.2).

Morgan Bosshart placed fourth on the vault (8.75) and bars (7.3).

Along with tying for second place on the vault, Cook placed second on the floor (8.3) and third on the bars (7.65).

Brittany Boeve helped the team’s cause by placing fourth on the beam with a 6.3.

Individual results
Bars: Dooyema, 8.6; C..Bosshart, 8.3; Cook, 7.65; M.Bosshart, 7.3; Mulder, 7.25.
Beam: C.Bosshart, 8.1; Dooyema, 7.8; Mulder, 7.7; Boeve, 6.3; M.Bosshart, 6.2.
Floor: C.Bosshart, 8.45; Cook, 8.3; Mulder, 8.2; Dooyema, 8.1; M.Bosshart, 8.05.
Vault: C.Bosshart, 9.025; Cook, 8.85; Mulder, 8.85; M.Bosshart, 8..75; Boeve, 8.675.

L-H-BC 129.25,
NR-H-E-G 122.3
The Cards turned in their first record-setting performance of the week during Saturday’s 6.95-point home win over the Panthers Saturday.

Callen Bosshart set the stage for victory by winning the all-around (33.4), bars (8.15) and vault (9.0) titles.

Bosshart also was involved in a three-way tie for second place on the beam with teammates Dooyema and Mulder (7.55 points), and she placed second on the floor with an 8.7.

Dooyema placed second on the bars with an 8.1, and Cook was second on the floor (8.35) and vault (8.95).

Boeve recorded an 8.65 to place fourth on the vault.

Individual scores
Bars: C.Bosshart, 8.15; Dooyema, 8.1; Cook, 7.75; M.Bosshart, 7.65; Mulder, 7.225.
Beam: C.Bosshart, 7.55; Dooyema, 7.55; Mulder, 7.55; Boeve, 6.75; M.Bosshart, 5.65.
Floor: C.Bosshart, 8.7; Cook, 8.35; Dooyema, 8.1; M.Bosshart, 7.85; Mulder, 7.75.
Vault: C.Bosshart, 9.0; Cook, 8.95; Boeve, 8.65; M.Bosshart, 8.6; Mulder, 8.6.

Marshall 134.95,
L-H-BC 126.2
The Cardinal girls opened their busy week by dropping an 8.75-point decision to the Tigers in Marshall Thursday.

Marshall’s Gretta Blom and Jessica Dolan carried their team to victory by winning two individual events each.

Blom, the all-around champion with 36.275 counters, took top honors on the floor (9.05) and bars (9.25). Dolan won the vault (9.35) and bar (9.25) titles.

Three Cardinals placed third in individual events.

Dooyema recorded a 7.95 on the bars, Cook 8.8 on the vault and Callen Bosshart 8.0 on the floor.

Individual results
Bars: Dooyema, 7.95; C.Bosshart, 7.9; Morgan Bosshart, 7.65; Cook, 7.6; Brittany Mulder 7.65.
Vault: Cook, 8.8; C.Bosshart, 8.6; Mulder, 8.55; M.Bosshart, 8.5; Brittany Boeve, 8.25.
Beam: Dooyema, 7.85; Mulder, 7.65; C.Bosshart, 7.6; Boeve, 7.2; M.Bosshart, 6.35.
Floor: C.Bosshart, 8.0; Cook, 7.85; Dooyema, 7.35; M.Bosshart, 7.15; Mulder, 6.85.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team disposed of a pair of Red Rock Conference foes while extending its season-long winning streak to eight games.

The Patriots thumped Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster by 19 points in Round Lake Friday before posting a come-from-behind victory over Edgerton Public in Hills Tuesday.

H-BC, 15-4 overall, will play a key conference game against Southwest Christian in Edgerton Friday. The Patriots host Sioux Falls Christian Monday.

H-BC 52, Edgerton 46
A 17-2 run in the fourth quarter gave the Patriots a six-point win over the Flying Dutchmen in Hills Tuesday.

After facing 14-4, 28-16 and 36-28 deficits at the first three quarter breaks, H-BC put everything together while outscoring Edgerton 24-10 in the fourth quarter to steal the victory.

H-BC’s 17-2 run, which ended when Edgerton hit a three-point shot in the final seconds, is what saved the Patriots.

"We went on a 17-2 run in the last four minutes to win the game," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "We really didn’t play very well until then."

Tyler Bush, who had three steals in the game, ignited H-BC’s surge with a three-point play and scored nine of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Tyson Metzger scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Trey Van Wyhe added 15 points and seven rebounds. Jesse Leuthold and Kale Wiertzema both had seven rebounds. Wiertzema also charted eight assists and three steals.

Box score
Bush 4 0 5-6 13, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 0 0 2-2 2, Wiertzema 0 0 2-4 2, Metzger 4 1 8-10 19, Leuthold 0 0 1-2 1, Van Wyhe 6 0 3-4 15.

Team statistics
H-BC: 15 of 41 field goals (37 percent), 21 of 28 free throws (75 percent), 30 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
Edgerton: 17 of 51 field goals (33 percent), eight of 14 free throws (57 percent), 29 rebounds, seven turnovers.

H-BC 68, SV-RL-B 49
The Patriots racked up their seventh straight win by rolling to a 19-point victory over the Raiders in Round Lake Friday.

Three H-BC players reached double figures in scoring during a game that the Patriots locked up by the end of the third quarter.

After nursing a slim 15-13 lead at the end of the first period, H-BC increased the difference to nine points at halftime (34-25) before outscoring the Raiders 19-9 in the third quarter to sport a 53-34 advantage. SV-RL-B battled the Patriots to a draw at 15 in the fourth quarter.

Metzger, who had four assists for the winners, recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds.

Wiertzema chipped in 18 points and nine assists, Van Wyhe added 15 points, Leuthold contributed 10 rebounds and two blocked shots, and Bush kicked in nine assists and four steals to the winning cause.

Box score
Bush 0 0 0-0 0, Wysong 0 0 0-0 0, Jackson 0 0 0-0 0, Roozenboom 0 0 2-2 2, Broesder 0 0 2-2 2, Wiertzema 3 1 9-10 18, Metzger 5 3 3-6 22, Leuthold 3 0 3-5 9, Van Wyhe 6 0 3-4 15, Spykerboer 0 0 0-0 0.

Team statistics
H-BC: 21 of 45 field goals (47 percent), 22 of 29 free throws (76 percent), 29 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
SV-RL-B: 20 of 48 field goals (42 percent), two of five free throws (40 percent), 20 rebounds, 11 turnovers.

By Sara Strong
The Palace Theatre is hosting a flashback of the last 25 years of Luverne community theater. With that comes some familiar players and songs from past productions.

The variety show (7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9) celebrates the Green Earth Players and the Palace Theatre. The anniversary show will raise money for the Palace as it acknowledges community theater’s contributions to local entertainment.

"It’s been a great opportunity for people who love live theater — to act or to take part in all phases of production," Ben Vander Kooi, program emcee, said.

Besides being an advocate for keeping the Palace open, Vander Kooi is president of the Council for Arts and Humanities in Rock County, which envelops organizations like GEP.

Having community theater return to the Palace keeps the historical theater true to its original intent, Vander Kooi said.

LaDonna Van Aartsen is directing the variety show and said a play from each year will be acknowledged — in song, statements or a short scene. Only original cast members will perform.

She said, "It’s fun to see everyone remember the old plays during rehearsals."

One actor who’s having fun remembering his time on stage is Dr. George McDonald. He hasn’t made acting a big hobby, but his lead role in "The Odd Couple" as Oscar made an impression.

"I can remember everything about the play. It should be a lot of fun to do it again, if I can remember my lines," McDonald said.

"The Odd Couple" was staged 22 years ago.

Tammy Makram, director of the Council for Arts and Humanities in Rock County said, "It’s very appropriate for [the Green Earth Players] to be raising money for the Palace, because they’re back in the Palace now."

She also said the show has a bigger impact on the community than just this one event. "If people want to be able to enjoy entertainment at the Palace, they need to come and support events like this."

Break a leg
The Green Earth Players’ premier production was "Ten Nights in a Barroom," directed by Tom Brakke in June 1978. The musical melodrama was performed at the Luverne High School Little Theatre.

Brakke, now living in Deephaven, is coming to Luverne for the anniversary show.

The June 7, 1978, Star Herald listed cast members. They were Bruce Kurtz, Melissa Weinman, Mary Peterson, Jeff Crull, Gerrit Van Aartsen, Ardella Johnson, Harlan Van Wyhe, Gary Swenson, Virginia Von Holt, Gregg Ormseth, Wade Shores, Jeannee Emery, Sally McFadden, Mark Harrison, Kariann Dahlen, Randy Wulf, Wendy Johnson, Lisa Gradert, Margaret Olsen, LeAnn Reu, Fred Manfred Jr., and Kris Achterhoff.

Other production staff included Donna Schmidt, musical director; Kevin Van Westen; Keith Van Westen, producer; Jim Hatch, associate producer; Dave Shapley, technical director; Mar Weinman, sets; Dean Mogck and Brenda Mann, stage managers; Mary Keitel, choreography; Julie McFadden, makeup, and Carole Achterhof and Audrey Walgrave, costumes.

To attend
The Carnegie Box Office will sell advance tickets for the
7 p.m. Feb. 8 and 2 p.m. Feb. 9 performances, but there is no reserve seating.
Carnegie hours are
11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. The Carnegie’s phone number is 283-8294
and it is located at
205 N. Freeman, Luverne.

Tickets will also be sold before performances at the Palace Theatre.

Green Earth Players season tickets aren’t being honored, because the anniversary show is a fund-raiser, not a standard production.

By Sara Strong
Seniors who can’t afford to an assisted living facility or who can’t hold out to get on a waiting list might have another option.

Lutheran Social Services asked Rock County for a contract to provide assisted living services to residents of the Centennial Apartments in Luverne.

The Board didn’t object to the contract in principle, so Family Services will start the process of working on a contract for the Board’s final approval.

LSS already provides a similar service in Nobles County. It contracts for the care providers and gives residents a choice to accept services and to specifically choose the ones they want.

Assisted living through LSS would provide a higher level of care than the home care that’s currently provided through Nobles-Rock Public Health, but residents could still use Public Health if they chose.

Bonnie Fredrickson, director of Nobles-Rock Public Health, said "It’s good for people to age [where they
are] rather than move to get services."

Her only concern with LSS providing assisted living is that Public Health may lose up to $8,000 per month from clients it now has in the Centennial Apartments if they chose another option.

No matter who provides it, assisted living costs more than home health care, but would still prevent nursing home placements, which are the most costly alternative.

LSS and Rock County Family Services asked the Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center, which is building an assisted living facility in Luverne, if it would consider this move competition.

With a strong community need for assisted living, the Mary Jane Brown Center wouldn’t object.

With Family Services consenting to the Centennial contract with LSS, it can revoke the contract if it finds that services aren’t adequate for residents.

County wages/hires
The Board of Commissioners approved a hiring freeze, anticipating the worst in state budget effects.

It also discussed the proposed state legislation freezing wages of state and public employees.

The wage increase freeze wouldn’t apply to elected positions, such as auditor/treasurer, recorder and sheriff.

As employees retire or leave positions vacant, department managers are asked to make due without the position filled. If it seems impossible, they will have to formally request to fill the position with the County Board.

Public employee union members organized a meeting Tuesday night regarding the salary freeze.

Corrections
The good news in Community Corrections is that numbers of people on probation is holding steady with the population increase.

The Rock County Board of Commissioners voted to pass a two-year Community Corrections plan at its Tuesday meeting.

In a joint meeting with Nobles County, Rock County got an update on Community corrections.

Both counties will see an increase in the next few years in the 20 to 29 age group, which is the group that commits the most crimes. Even if most of the crimes are misdemeanors, the system will be busy.

Juveniles are becoming a bigger concern for corrections as well. In the last two years, there have been 200 and 165, respectively, on probation in the counties, but through a special diversion program, more are avoiding probation.

While in custody, the goal is to stave off future offenses.

There will be more teachers in the jail, offering life skills classes and special women’s programs.

He said that risk assessment there can help criminals and victims. "That assessment tool will allow us to put the most resources in those with the greatest risk of re-offending — it’ll give us a bigger bang for our buck."

Although the majority of crimes are misdemeanors or DWI and drug convictions, minorities make up a disproportionate amount of the local jail system.

Eighty-six percent of the population of Nobles and Rock Counties is Caucasian, but 48 percent of the probation population is made up of minorities.

Community Corrections looks for continued involvement with the Collaborative groups in both counties, which have appeared to help in crime prevention.

In other business Tuesday, the board:
Asked to get a report from Sheriff Mike Winkels on suspect pursuit policies.

Three officers, Evan Verbrugge, Jeff Wieneke and Ken Baker were involved in an accident Dec. 29 while chasing a stolen vehicle on a gravel road. Reduced visibility from road dust was a factor in the crash.
Damage to the squad cars ranged from $480 to $3,200.

Saw a fee collection tally from the License Center. Rock County collected $77,097 in license fees in 2002 and the state of Minnesota got $2,256,180 collected in Rock County. Rock County’s License Center was noted for being one of the most accurate in the state.

Approved asking a district representative and senator to change the county recorder position from elected to appointed. The current recorder, Jere Ohme, approves of the legislation.

Proposed a lease agreement for land used in the Continental Western Group expansion. The lease will go to the Luverne Economic Development Authority for approval. The county set the lease on its .39 acres at $1,000 per year. There is an option to sell at the 10-year mark for $10,000.

Approved the purchase of filtering software for the Internet and e-mail. The software blocks certain Web sites and personal e-mail accounts (such as Yahoo! or Hotmail) not located on the county’s server. In the past, viruses have come through this type of Internet use and the filter will help stop that.