By Lori Ehde
A rural Hills man was found guilty on all drug charges after a two-day jury trial Wednesday and Thursday last week.

Cory Kelderman, 29, was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, one count of manufacturing methamphetamine and one count of possessing six grams or more of methamphetamine.

Under Minnesota sentence guidelines, the presumptive sentence on these convictions is 86 months in prison, according to Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt.

He said the case represents another victory in the local effort against drugs.

"Law enforcement and our office consider the prosecution of Cory Kelderman to be extremely important," said Vajgrt, who prosecuted the case.

"Information received by law enforcement indicated that Kelderman had been manufacturing methamphetamine for some period of time."

Vajgrt added the case involved cooperation among various agencies.

"The original search of the Kelderman residence would not have been possible without the assistance of South Dakota law enforcement in Sioux Falls," he said.

According to the complaint filed in Rock County District Court, the Rock County Sheriff’s Department searched Kelderman’s home July 19.

Local law enforcement worked with Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Department in South Dakota following the arrest of two individuals who purchased large amounts of cold medicine, pseudoephedrine in Sioux Falls.

When questioned on July 18, these individuals said they intended to deliver the supplies, which included screens and funnels, to Kelderman’s home in Hills.

They said that on July 14 they had delivered similar supplies to Kelderman in exchange for meth.

Based on that information, Rock County officials executed a search warrant of Kelderman’s home the following morning. They found numerous items used to manufacture meth, and in excess of six grams of a substance consistent with the drug.

Kelderman was arrested shortly thereafter, and currently awaits sentencing after last week’s conviction.

Other court activity has transpired since Kelderman’s initial apprehension.

On July 25, Rock County Sheriff’s Department arrested Kevin Dale Smeins, Luverne, after stopping him in Luverne on traffic violation of driving after revocation.

In plain view in the vehicle was a bag containing large amounts of Suphedrine pillboxes. A search of the car yielded roughly 3 grams of meth.

When questioned, Smeins, 42, told law enforcement he was about to deliver the pills to Kelderman’s home in rural Hills that night.

Smeins was sentenced Monday after entering a guilty plea to possession of methamphetamine. Under the terms of the agreement, he was sentenced to 48 months in prison.

In a related case, Kelderman’s uncle, David Leroy Kelderman, 42, was arrested July 26, after Emergency Entry Team officers seized the makings of a meth lab in his Luverne home.

He was sentenced Nov. 25 to 86 months in prison after entering a plea of guilty to the felony offense of manufacturing meth.

His arrest also stemmed from tips from Luverne merchants about suspicious purchases of Suphedrine.

The Sheriff’s Department applauds the residential and commercial tips that led to these arrests and encourages continued cooperation.

By Lori Ehde
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty spent two hours in Luverne Monday morning talking about ways to strengthen rural communities.

Specifically, he outlined details of his proposal for Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ), which would provide tools for outstate Minnesota to spur growth.

"The metro areas are thriving, but the rest of the state is being left behind," Pawlenty said.

"Hundreds and hundreds of jobs are leaving Minnesota to Wisconsin, northern Iowa, Sioux Falls and to North Dakota … Let’s stop the hemorrhaging and turn things around."

The Blue Mound Banquet and Meeting Center was filled with nearly 300 residents and political representatives from Rock County and the tri-state area.

Accompanying the governor at Monday’s meeting were Matt Kramer, Commissioner of the Department of Trade and Economic Development, Rep. Doug Magnus (Rock County’s representative in the House) and Mayor Glen Gust.

‘The whole enchilada’
The governor touted the JOBZ plan as the single most effective piece of legislation to save floundering outstate communities.

"This is the mother of all economic development incentives. It’s the whole enchilada," Pawlenty said. "If you can’t make it with this plan, you can’t make it."

Minnesota’s model would be patterned after successful programs in Michigan and Pennsylvania. Both states have created special "tax-free zones" that have succeeded in developing business and creating jobs.

It would establish qualifying geographic zones where for 12 years, residents wouldn’t pay income or property taxes, and businesses wouldn’t pay state and local sales tax, income tax or property tax.
"It’s a significant incentive," Kramer said. "It’s a powerful tool."

Pawlenty said the plan isn’t without controversy. "The income tax exemption is pretty controversial, because people ask me, ‘What about the wealthy people from Lake Minnetonka moving here to take advantage of a tax haven?’ My response is, ‘Great. I hope they do come and spend a lot of money while they’re here.’"

The point would be to attract businesses and jobs to areas of decline. High poverty, older housing and recent history of job loss would be indicators of such decline.

Under-utilized city infrastructure would be another qualifying point.

For example, a community with an unoccupied industrial park would be a perfect candidate, because the infrastructure is already there, but it’s not producing jobs or tax revenue.

Pawlenty said no single criterion could qualify or exempt a community from the JOBZ programs, because DTED would take a number of factors into account when determining which communities qualify.

According to the current verbiage of the plan, 10 outstate Minnesota zones would be selected, and Pawlenty encouraged any qualifying city to apply.

‘It’s a crisis. The state
of Minnesota is broke’
While the point of the governor’s visit was to talk about JOBZ, he dedicated part of the morning to a budget tutorial.

Minnesota’s deficit is second only to California’s, and it has the largest per-capita deficit of any state in the nation.

"I don’t think average Minnesotans have taken into account what this means for the state," he said.

"This is the worst budget deficit in the history of Minnesota — times three. It’s a crisis. The state of Minnesota is broke."

He said revenues are actually increasing at a rate of 7 percent, but spending is projected to increase by more than 14 percent for commitments already made.

One notable reason for increased spending is that healthcare costs for state employees has been rising by 10 to 20 percent per year.

Considering every state employee down to the local level, plus health care assistance for needy families, the state purchases half the healthcare services provided in Minnesota.

"It’s eating up more and more of our budget and we can’t keep up when revenues go up only 6 percent."

He said the answer to the deficit isn’t to raise taxes and allocate more funds, because that would only treat the symptoms, not the cause.

For example, school districts are losing per-pupil funding due to declining enrollment, and that, the governor said, is due to loss of jobs.

"People won’t stay if they don’t have economic opportunity," Pawlenty said.

The state lost 38,000 manufacturing jobs in the last four years, and raising taxes will only exacerbate that trend.

"We can’t continue to strangle the goose that lays the golden eggs in Minnesota," he said.

Everyone has to tighten belts – including ethanol producers

He said the severity of Minnesota’s budget deficit is going to require belt tightening for everyone.

The unveiling of his proposed budget cuts two weeks ago drew criticism statewide. Renewable fuels
lobbyists, among his most vocal opponents, attended Monday’s meeting in Luverne.

The governor proposed eliminating $26.8 million in payments to 13 plants.

When ethanol representatives protested that they had invested money based on what was promised in subsidies, Pawlenty reiterated that everyone will need to give up something.

"When you get down to the lug nuts of balancing the budget, are higher profits for ethanol producers more important than money for other things?" he said.

"Or do you want to see local nursing homes and school districts get more money?"

Pawlenty said he has a long history of supporting renewable energy, and he complimented ethanol producers on their successes.

But he added that his research showed their dividends were quite generous, and that’s why his budget proposed trimming the producer subsidy.

"Given these choices, I thought maybe you guys could take a little less money this time around.
Everyone’s been promised money. School districts are figuring on funding, nursing homes are figuring on funding," he said.

"We’re at a fork in the road. These are the choices."

Reversing the trend
In addition to cutting the budget, Pawlenty said programs like JOBZ can spur development that will ultimately increase state revenues.
"Let’s get this bill passed this session and have these zones up and running this year," Pawlenty said.
Rep. Magnus is carrying the legislation in the House, and the Senate has yet to introduce its version.
There were concerns Monday about the likelihood of Luverne qualifying the JOBZ program and about existing small businesses benefiting from it.

Pawlenty said he hoped the plan would include a number of tools for tailoring the zone to specific needs.
He emphasized the success of the program, regardless of who’s approved, will hinge on the effectiveness and of local community leaders.

He said they’ll need vision like that of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. "He said, ‘I don’t care where the puck is; I care where it’s going.’ He was able to see the playing field on the ice differently than other players," Pawlenty said.

The Luverne stop was one of several in the governor’s tour of outstate Minnesota in the past week.
He was in East Grand Forks Thursday, Jan. 23, and in Keewatin and Hibbing Friday.

Kindergarteners Madison Fick (left) and Carey taubert donate spare change to the Pennies for Patients can in their classroom at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary School in Beaver Creek. Story inside.

Photo by Jolene Farley

Snowless winter can be
blamed on Mom’s
snowpants preparedness

Monday’s dusting of snow, as uneventful as it may have been for most people, was a big deal in the Ehde household.

Just two days prior to that big weather event, I joined our two boys outside in the yard Saturday expecting to find them tooling around on bikes and trikes. It’s not every year we can enjoy such dry-ground activities in January, but they didn’t see it as an opportunity.

Rather, they saw the gray snowless day as a good time to mourn the absence of winter.

It was cold and blustery, so they were dressed for the elements, but that only drew attention to their plight: They were all dressed for snow with no snow to romp in.

As a moderate snow fan myself, I admit the sight was pretty pathetic.

There they sat, one in front of the other, behind the controls of a snowmobile parked on bare brown grass.

What’s even worse, the sled was parked in the middle of what would normally be a big snow pile on the yard.

"Maahhm, is it ever going to snow?" wailed Jonathan, 6.

He affectionately recalled the winter of 2000-01 when he and Grandpa Ehde made a fort in a snow bank so tall even the big people could stand up in it.

Carson, at 19 months, is too young to know or care about snow. What he does know is that anything with handlebars and ignition keys should go "vvrroom," and this machine was going nowhere.

"Look at the bright side," I tried to reason. "Mom hasn’t slid into a snowy ditch yet this winter, and everyone knows if Mom’s happy, we’re all happy."

Just like washing
the car brings rain …
I have my own reasons for being disappointed in our snowless winter: I was actually prepared for it this year and it didn’t matter.

For the first time in six years Jonathan’s winter outerwear supply was ready for the first snow and well-stocked for the entire winter.

In a typical winter, we scramble to buy snow pants during the first snowfall. That first set wears through by Thanksgiving, and I’m left scrounging through sold-out store racks for more pants in his size.

This year — in October, no less — I smartly bought three pairs of snow bibs all at once. I was even smart enough to buy one a size larger than the other two, in case of a growth spurt before spring.

Until Monday, all three hung uselessly in the back of the closet, along with his new boots and extra pairs of gloves.

I guess it’s like washing the car causes rain … All of Rock County can thank me for our lack of snow this year, because for once, I was prepared for it.

Palace to show second movie
The second once-a-month movie for the Palace Theatre has arrived.

This weekend "The Emperor’s Club" will be shown at the Palace. The movie was released last November and stars Kevin Kline as a teacher in a private boys school. Roger Ebert gave the movie three out of four stars.

The Blue Mound Area Theatre (BMAT) is hoping the turnout is as good for this one as it was for "ET," the first of the monthly movies.

Last Month "ET" drew about 150 movie goers to the recently reopened Palace.

Brandenburg at the Guthrie, Feb. 10
Luverne native, Jim Brandenburg, is teaming up with musician Michael Monroe for a performance at the Guthrie Theatre.

The program, titled "In concert with Nature" will be a blend of Brandenburg’s photographs with Monroe’s guitar, bamboo flute and vocals.

Brandenburg will use the event to preview images from his upcoming book "Looking for the Summer," a sequel to his best-selling book "Chased by the Light."

The event will be at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10.

If you would like to order tickets, you can purchase them online at www.guthrietheater.org

Anybody want to buy a school building, check e-Bay
Now that the new high school building is in full use, the Pipestone School Board was wondering what to do with their high school buildings in both Jasper and Pipestone.

The answer they came up with, was to sell them for $1 on e-Bay.

According to Dave Kruger, Pipestone’s Economic Development Director, the response has been greater than expected.

Between e-mails and phone calls, more than 350 contacts have been made concerning the buildings.

In an interview with the Argus Leader, Kruger said his inquiries have been about everything from movie production to an indoor skateboard park.

Along with the $1, the prospective buyer must also provide a business plan along with proof of financing.

The 58,000 square foot building in Jasper has turned out to be a more interesting building to those calling, as compared to the 200,000 square foot Pipestone building.

Speculation is that the smaller Jasper building would be more manageable and it’s also closer to Sioux Falls.

If the buildings are not sold, the Jasper building will cost $240,000 to raze while the Pipestone structure would cost an estimated $730,000.

Need to organize your finances?
Every year when the New Year comes and goes, there are always resolutions left in its wake.

Quitting smoking and losing weight are usually at the top of the lists.

Getting finances in order is probably a close third, particularly after the excessive Christmas shopping you may have done.

According to Myvesta, a financial health center, 25 percent of people do not look at their credit card statement and 50 percent do not know what interest rate they are paying.

Four tips Myvesta suggests to help get your finances organized include:

_ Add up holiday bills, credit card bills and all other debts. List all your creditors and the interest rates you are paying on the debts.
_
Order a consoli-dated credit report, which contains information from all three major credit bureaus, and dispute any incorrect information you find.
_ Close unused lines of credit, but be careful not to close old accounts since they help your credit history.
_ Track your spending for at least a month to figure out where your money is going, then use that information to develop a plan to be debt free.

Publisher Roger Tollefson can be contacted by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

Gary Besta, 54, Beresford, S.D., formerly of Luverne, died Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003, at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Services were Saturday, Jan. 25, at Wass Funeral Home in Beresford.

Gary Besta was born to Milo and Mary Ellen (Hensing) Besta on April 12, 1948, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He grew up and attended school in Cedar Rapids.

He married Janice Korthals on July 7, 1978. They lived and worked in Luverne until 1988 when they moved to Beresford where he worked at Conklin Family Restaurant. He then worked for Quality Park until the summer of 2002.

Mr. Besta enjoyed watching football and NASCAR.

Survivors include his wife, Janice Besta, Beresford; three sons, Michael (Jennifer) Besta, Tea, S.D., Matthew Besta and his fiancé Amy Glasscock, and Brian Besta, all of Beresford; two granddaughters, Mallorey and Kyleigh; his mother, Mary Ellen Besta, Vinton, Iowa; four sisters, Janice Dolley, Arizona, Ruth (Nick) Korines, Joliet, Ill., Patricia (Willie) Hruby, Palo, Iowa, and Barbara (Dan) Beyer, Mason City, Iowa; his grandmother, Ethel Hensing; and many other family and friends.

Mr. Besta was preceded in death by his father, Milo, his son, Mark, his father-in-law, Dick Korthals, maternal grandparents and paternal grandfather.

Wass Funeral Home, Beresford, was in charge of arrangements.

Dolores "Dode" Mae Wagner, 83, Luverne, died Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003, at Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.

Services were Saturday, Jan. 25, at St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne. The Rev. Gary Klaat officiated. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery at a later date.

Dode Johnson was born to Arthur and Mae (Peterson) Johnson on Jan. 21, 1920, in rural Worthington. She attended school in Worthington and graduated from Worthington High School in 1938. She later attended Worthington Junior College.

She married Jerry Wagner on Nov. 4, 1981, in Park Rapids. After their marriage the couple lived on Potatoe Lake, north of Park Rapids. In February 2001 the couple moved to Luverne.

Mrs. Wagner was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne and a 50-year member of the Eastern Star. She enjoyed fishing, sewing and canine companionship.

Survivors include her husband, Jerry Wagner, Luverne; four children and their spouses, the Rev. Bill (Marilyn) Wendt, Mondovi, Wis., Nicky (Jim) Stubbe, Shorewood, Paula (Eric) Joyce, Apple Valley, and John (Stephanie) Wendt, Hubbard; 12 grandchildren, Jennifer, Sarah, Jane, Mark, Jonie, Jackie, Craig, Adam, Johanna, Hayley, Wade and Nathan; one great-granddaughter, Chelsey; and one sister, Pauline Heck, Luverne.

Mrs. Wagner was preceded in death by her parents and one sister, Gloria Melcher.

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

Raymond Paul O’Toole, 82, Luverne, died Thursday, Jan. 23, 2003.

Services were Monday, Jan. 27, at St. Catherine Catholic Church. The Rev. Andrew Beerman officiated. Burial of cremains was in the parish cemetery.

Raymond O’Toole was born to Elmer and Mary O’Toole on May 11, 1921, in Adrian. He attended St. Adrian School. He farmed the family farm until the age of 28.

He married Deanna Vatland on Oct. 14, 1947, at St. Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian. After their marriage he worked for Cyril Deiterman contracting for three years and then returned to farming in Rock County for 31 years. He retired from farming and moved to Luverne. He became an agriculture inspector for eight years followed by four years of zoning administration.

Mr. O’Toole was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church in Luverne. He was a long standing member of Knights of Columbus. He was also president of the Rock County Fair Board for four years, chairman of the Rock County DFL for eight years, and a member of Rock County Wood Carvers. His hobbies included flower and vegetable gardening, rock gardens, fish ponds and wood carving.

Survivors include his wife, Deanna O’Toole, Luverne; three sons, Patrick O’Toole, Jeff O’Toole, both of Rochester, and Mark O’Toole, Luverne; three daughters, Mary (Darrell) Hemme, Hardwick, Kathey (Gary) Dahedl, Apple Valley, and Barbara (Paul) Brehm, Eagan; eight grandchildren, Brittney O’Toole, Eagan, Andrew and Hanna Hemme, Hardwick, Brianna and Sophie Dahedl, Apple Valley, Alexander, Madeline and Gavin Brehm, Eagan; and four sisters, Lois O’Toole, Jackson, Marion Gleman, West Harwich, Mass., Audrey Bargiesen, Las Vegas, Nev., and Ardith Rush, Sioux Falls, S.D.

Mr. O’Toole was preceded in death by his parents, one son, Michael O’Toole, and two brothers, Phil and Lorne O’Toole.

A tree will be planted in memory of Ray O’Toole by Hospice of Luverne Community Hospital.

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

Services for Marvin Heitkamp will be at 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at St. Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian. The Revs. Gerald Kosse and David Krogman will officiate. Burial will be in the parish cemetery.

Visitation is from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, with a rosary service at 4:30 p.m. and parish prayers at 7:30 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home in Adrian. Visitation is also from 10 to 10:45 a.m. at the funeral home on Friday.

Marvin "Marvie" Heitkamp, 66, Sioux Falls, S.D., formerly of Adrian, died Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2003, at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls.

Marvie Heitkamp was born to Anton and Alvina (Klein) Heitkamp on Aug. 17, 1936, in Adrian. He grew up in Adrian and attended school in Adrian. He graduated from St. Adrian Catholic High School in 1955.

He worked at IBP in Luverne for more than 34 years. He later worked at Gateway in Sioux Falls.

Mr. Heitkamp was a member of St. Adrian Catholic Church in Adrian; Alcoholics Anonymous and celebrated 11 years of sobriety. He enjoyed fishing, camping and dancing.

Survivors include his special friend, Kay Sieler, Sioux Falls; Kay’s family, Thomas Nickel, Montevideo, Tammy Wright, Sioux Falls, and Megan and Jared; four children, Jolene Lofthus, Maple Grove; Connie (Kevin) Nowotny, Michelle (Chad) Loosbrock, all of Adrian, and Jeff (Kristi) Heitkamp, Sioux Falls; seven grandchildren, Cole, Dani, Tanner, Brett, Sam, Nathan and Taylor; one brother, Jim (Alice) Heitkamp, Sioux Falls; and three sisters, Diane Ermler, Spirit Lake, Iowa, Doreen Friedman, Sioux Falls, and Donna Henriksen, Litchfield.

Mr. Heitkamp was preceded in death by his parents, his son-in-law, Scott Lofthus, and one brother, Don Heitkamp.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Adrian, is in charge of arrangements.