By Lori Ehde
Luverne Alternative School students choose to learn in the alternative setting for a number of reasons, ranging from teen pregnancies to catching up to meet graduation requirements.

Alternative School Director Jan Olson informally surveyed students about why they’re in the alternative school and not in Luverne High School classrooms.

She shared their responses with School Board members during their regular meeting Thursday, Jan. 23.

Olson said many of the students are "freshmores," who are in 10th grade but haven’t officially reached that status with their course work.

Those students are catching up in the alternative school.

"I kind of cringe when I have ninth-graders come down there," Olson said. Most alternative students are juniors and seniors. "It’s going to take them longer, but they think they can graduate with their class."

Most of the students are Luverne district residents and two Adrian students are here to get their coursework on track for graduation.

Some are pregnant and trying to work and keep up studies at the same time, and others mentioned they’re in alternative school because they got in trouble or felt they didn’t fit in the regular school setting.

Some work night jobs and said that they attend alternative school because it’s too hard to get up for 8 a.m. classes.

When board members questioned the use of alternative school by those who want to sleep in, Olson said there’s usually more to it than that.

"When they come at noon, they’re better prepared rather than coming in half asleep," Olson said.

She added that some students have trouble staying in school at all, and at least alternative school keeps them on track for graduation.

"It prevents these kids from dropping out," Olson said.

She pointed out that these same students are in class in the evenings, at a time when many students their age can get in trouble.

"It’s an important bridge for the high school and alternative school to work together on," Olson said.

The Luverne Alternative School opened five or six years ago with only a handful of students.

Today it’s staffed by three part-time instructors who offer high school classes in the brick building at 110 N. Oakley St. (the former agriculture services building).

An average of 70 students attend per week, an average of 18 per day. Of those, 17 are full-time students and 16 are part-time.

Classes are offered from 12 to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

Balanced budget, so far
Marlene Mann, district financial officer, presented board members with a revised expenditure budget for 2002-03.

Expenditures this year will total $12,061,089, after adjustments for staff contract settlements and hiring two additional teachers in second and third grade.

Mann presented the revised revenue budget of $12,522,068 in December. This figure is based on current aid promised by the state.

The district’s budget so far is balanced, but with threats by the Legislature to cut school funding, Mann said she may end up preparing another revised revenue budget before the end of the school year.

In personnel matters Thursday the board:
Accepted the resignation of Rhonda Winter, Early Childhood Special Needs teacher, effective Feb. 14.
Approved a leave of absence without pay Feb. 17-26 for Sharon Oksness, paraprofessional,
Approved the resignation of Julie Schroeder, paraprofessional, effective Jan. 31.
Approved a preliminary seniority list for licensed staff
Approved seniority lists for custodial staff, paraprofessionals, early childhood staff and the alternative school.

New buses
Board members accepted low bids from Grande American Bus Sales (Blue Bird) for a handicap mini bus and a 72-passenger regular bus.

Both are 2003 models that the district will begin using at the start of the new school year.

The handicap bus cost $49,000, including a $275 white roof the board approved for air conditioning efficiency.

"We do have some medically fragile kids, and that bus goes all summer long to Sioux Falls," said Superintendent Vince Schaefer.

It seats 18 passengers plus two wheel chairs. It has a wheel chair lift and single door lift.

The 72-passenger bus cost $60,500. It has a 190 HP diesel Caterpillar engine, which meets new air quality standards.

That price includes trade on a 1989 59-passenger bus that the district will be able to utilize the rest of the school year.

In other business Thursday the board:
Set the driver’s education fee at $225 per student for summer 2003 class sessions. This is a 25 percent increase to help the district meet costs of offering the service.

Schaefer said it costs the district $275 per student, and the board may consider another increase in future years to bring the fees in line with costs.

Elected officers and divvied up committee assignments. Dan Kopp is the new board chair, Becky Walgrave is vice-chair, Bill Stegemann is clerk and Colleen Deutsch is treasurer.

Noted the next regular School Board meetings are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Feb. 13, Feb. 27 and March 13.

By Sara Strong
The Luverne Airport Board is looking forward to the possibility of a flight instructor to be stationed at Quentin Aanenson Field.

Rob Dykstra, Sioux Falls, is a crop sprayer, retired Air National Guard member, and certified mechanic and flight instructor. He’s interested in stationing flight classes out of the Luverne Municipal Airport to help increase traffic and exposure.

"I’m more than willing to promote aviation," said Dykstra, who will negotiate a tentative contract with the board.

A possible runway expansion would mean more than a part-time person would be ideal at the airport, but until then, Dykstra could be what the airport needs to improve service.

Any instructor at the airport would be an independent operation, not a city employee. Dykstra did indicate he would like a deal on gas prices (paying 20¢ over cost) for the extra traffic he’d bring to the airport.

He may be willing to do minor mechanical work on planes, such as changing tires. Air taxis and cargo flights could be available through Dykstra if he decides to add those services.

"He’s been doing this forever and we’re lucky to have someone like this looking at us," board member Dave Paquette said, referring to Dykstra’s good reputation in aviation circles.

Any single or multi-engine flight classes would be advertised as they become available. They would probably cost students about $20 an hour.

One thing that sets Dykstra’s classes apart from some flight courses is that he prefers to teach basic flight procedures, including map use. He said global positioning systems can sometimes fail and cause pilots to make mistakes.

"I like to teach with the real world in mind," Dykstra said.

Runway expansion
Airport layout plans are at the state waiting for approval. The Federal Aviation Administration and the local Planning and Zoning board also have to approve of the layout before it can be carried out.

If it goes through, the project would cost $2 million, with 10 percent of the project’s cost coming from the city of Luverne,

The runway would be 25 feet wider and 1,700 feet longer than the present one.

The board will also address the closing of the township road just to the south of the airport, running east and west.

The township road’s closing is mandated by the state because of proximity to the current runway, which the airport has been cited for in the past. The township and city also face liability hazards with the road there.

If the runway is extended, the township road could no longer exist, even if people supported putting up with state citations for it being there.

By closing the township road, other roads would get increased traffic and the Airport Board is looking into how those roads can be handled to make dust control or capacity manageable.

By Sara Strong
The Rock County Pool and Fitness Center came out of 2002 with almost $2,800 more than expected.

That may not sound like much, but the facility hasn’t been ahead at the end of the year for as long as manager Carol Wessels can remember.

A slight increase in revenue and spending less than anticipated made the year-end report a positive one.
Wessels gave the report to the Pool Commission at its Tuesday meeting.

Subsidies from the county and city of Luverne have increased in recent years, prompting previous discussions to sell the facility. But after investing in new equipment, adding a women’s only weight room and cutting classes, the facility could see better times in 2003.

The city of Luverne and Rock County have said they will continue to subsidize recreation to keep it available to all people at a reasonable cost.

In 2002, the facility lost 50 fitness memberships and saw a decline in exercise class participation. Open swim was also down, especially during the summer months with outdoor water parks available in the area.

Even with the decline in memberships, revenues increased in the end. Wessels said, "We feel really good about that."

Senior swim, group rentals and physical therapy are some areas where the facility saw more attendance in 2002. All things considered, attendance was 77,501 for the year. (Each time people use the pool or fitness center, they are counted toward this total.) The previous year’s overall attendance was slightly more than 2002 totals.

Wessels addressed recent complaints about cutting some water classes. She said an average of two to five people attending classes meant that the Pool and Fitness Center lost more than $100 per class. The two classes cut were deep water and circuit training.

The Pool Commission has allocated more money for advertising during this year. The pool may offer special classes and ask for advance sign-up and payments to ensure that classes don’t run at a major loss in the future.

Wessels also said the new weight equipment and women’s room were capital expenditures, which aren’t considered when looking at classes and staff time that run at a loss.

Since the second week in January, 30 to 40 new fitness memberships were sold. Because the special one-month-free offer got such a positive response, the facility is extending the offer of one month free with the purchase of a yearly membership. The offer continues until Feb. 7.

New members Linda Bakken and Bob Kaczrowski joined the Commission Tuesday. Paul Alink was elected chairman and Laurie Ketterling vice chair at the meeting.

For women only
The new Exclusively Women room has gotten the fitness portion of the facility much positive feedback.

Advertising the hours that weight trainers are available has also been popular, especially for women new to lifting weights. Trainers have even had lines of people waiting to be initiated on to the machines, Wessels said.

At Tuesday’s meeting, the Pool Commission approved the purchase of a new crunch machine for the women’s room. The machine will cost $900 and will be identical to the new crunch machine in the co-ed room. It allows users to add weights to the piece and work different muscles harder than the standard situp.

Many women have said they would use it in the women’s room, but not the other. The Commission questioned the practicality of two identical pieces of equipment in neighboring rooms, but ultimately voted to purchase it.

Tera Boomgarden (lower left) and Krista Wynia serve up a balloon animal for Janae Kopp (pictured with Sonja Brady) during the Music Boosters 23rd Annual Winter Carnival Saturday in the Luverne High School gymnasium. The event, which features a cake walk, Bingo, games, booths and raffle drawing, typically brings in $9,000 to $12,000 for Luverne’s music programs. This year, organizers say the event was especially well-attended because it’s a trip year for band members.

Joanna Westphal admires her aim in a festive booth that required miniature bowling balls to land in one of several openings at the bottom of a ramp.

Photos by Lori Ehde

A semitrailer rolled on Interstate 90 early Wednesday morning. The Highway Patrol hadn’t compiled reports as of press time, but the rollover occurred at about 5 a.m. in the east-bound lane, just off the Rock River bridge east of Luverne. The semi reportedly was transporting ethanol from Luverne’s Agri-Energy plant at the time of the accident.

Also Wednesday morning in Beaver Creek, several Beaver Creek residents were without power after a semi tractor and trailer rolled down a hill, sideswiping a fire hydrant, knocking over four mailboxes and snapping an electrical pole. The damage was discovered around 8:30 a.m. when Beaver Creek city employee Lloyd DeBoer began plowing the streets. A tow truck pulled the rig back onto the road.

Photo by Gloria Vink

Helen E. Chapin, 84, Luverne, formerly of Hardwick, died Sunday, Jan. 26, 2003, at Luverne Community Hospital.

Services were Wednesday, Jan. 29, at First Baptist Church in Luverne. The Rev. Rick Cornish officiated. Burial was in Luverne Memorial Gardens, rural Luverne.

Helen Moe was born to Carl J. and Petra (Peterson) Moe, Hardwick, on March 24, 1918, in the home where she was raised and continued to live until moving to Luverne Centennial Apartments in 1991. She graduated from Pipestone High School.

She married Hubert Chapin on Aug. 20, 1939, in Our Savior’s Lutheran parsonage.

Mrs. Chapin was a member of First Baptist Church in Luverne for more than 60 years. She enjoyed handcrafts, sewing, knitting and cooking and canning the produce from her husband’s big garden.

Survivors include four sons, Daniel Chapin, Fremont, Neb., David (Mary) Chapin, Kings Mountain, N.C., Dean (Sally) Chapin, Minneapolis, and Paul (Shelley) Chapin, Worthington; four daughters, Carole (Robert) Swanson, Maple Grove, Diana (James) Ouverson, Luverne, Joyce (Kevin) Bottorff, Rolla, Mo., and Janice (Bill) Jaworski, Bloomington; 25 grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Chapin was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Hubert, on Jan. 3, 2003, three sons, Ralph, Glenn and Carl Sr., two grandsons, Mark Chapin and Michael Swanson, one great-grandson, Alex Chapin and one brother, Ed.

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

Luverne senior forward Aaron Schmidt (22) reaches for one of his five rebounds during Tuesday’s boys’ basketball game against Pipestone in Luverne. The Cardinals made a bid to upset the Arrows before falling 61-51 at game’s end.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne boys’ basketball team was unable to knock off a pair of Southwest Conference foes at home this week.

The Cardinals turned in a strong performance while falling to league unbeaten Pipestone Area by 10 points Tuesday. Marshall clobbered the Cards by 35 points Friday.

Luverne, 2-11 overall, plays in Worthington Friday and in Lennox, S.D., Tuesday.

Pipestone 61,
Luverne 51
The Cardinals made a bid to knock the Arrows out of the unbeaten ranks in SWC play Tuesday before dropping a 10-point decision in Luverne.

Luverne sported leads at the first two quarter breaks and led by as many as six points in the third quarter, but the Arrows outscored LHS 37-25 in the second half to steal a victory.

Trailing 5-2 early, Luverne put together a 9-0 run with a pair of three-point shots from Joey Pick and another from Andy Stegemann to take an 11-5 lead with 30 seconds left in the first period before settling for an 11-7 cushion at period’s end.

Josh Lange converted a three-point play at the 5:56 mark of the second quarter to give the Cards a 17-9 lead, and the difference was 17-9 when Pipestone mounted an 11-2 run to take a 22-21 lead with 1:58 left in the first half.

Luverne regained the lead at 24-22 when Stegemann buried a three with 39 seconds left in the quarter, and Aaron Schmidt converted a field goal with nine seconds left to give the Cards a 26-24 halftime edge.

Luverne scored the first four points of the third quarter and led 32-26 when the Arrows put together an 8-0 run to move in front 34-32.

The Cards tied the score at 34 and 36, but Pipestone outscored LHS 10-4 in the final three minutes of the period to take a 46-40 advantage into the fourth quarter.

After falling behind by nine points early, Luverne’s Jesse Kuhlman drained a three to make it a 51-45 game with 5:01 remaining. That proved to be as close as the Cards would come to catching Pipestone as the Arrows outscored LHS 10-6 the rest of the way to win by 10.

Pick and Stegemann led LHS with 11 and 10 points respectively. Schmidt collected five rebounds. Kuhlman came up with three steals.

Box score
Studer 1 0 0-0 2, Pick 0 3 2-2 11, Kuhlman 3 1 0-0 9, Schmidt 2 0 2-2 6, Stegemann 2 2 0-0 10, Boelman 3 0 0-0 6, Lange 3 0 1-2 7, Herman 0 0 0-0 0.

Team statistics
Luverne: 20 of 42 field goals (48 percent), five of six free throws (83 percent), 14 rebounds, 17 turnovers.
Pipestone: 21 of 43 field goals (49 percent), 15 of 20 free throws (75 percent), 21 rebounds, 14 turnovers.

Marshall 73,
Luverne 38
A sluggish offensive performance by the Cardinals led to a 35-point defeat when they entertained the Tigers for a SWC tilt Friday.

Luverne made 23 percent of its field goals in the game, opening the door for victory to a Marshall squad that outscored the Cards in every quarter.

"They are a much faster team than we are," said Cardinal coach Tom Rops. "We didn’t shoot the ball well, and they ran the floor on us. It wasn’t much of a game."

The Tigers raced to an 18-point lead (24-6) in the first quarter and increased the difference to 25 points (39-14) by halftime. Marshall increased its lead by two points (53-26) in the third quarter before outscoring LHS 20-12 in the fourth quarter to win by 35.

Kuhlman scored eight points for Luverne. Schmidt had three rebounds.

Box score
Studer 1 0 2-2 4, Kuhlman 1 2 0-0 8, Deragisch 2 0 0-1 4, Stegemann 1 0 0-0 2, DeGroot 1 0 4-4 6. Hulstein 1 0 0-0 2, Boelman 2 0 0-0 4, Lange 1 0 0-0 2, Schmidt 0 0 0-0 0, Pick 0 1 0-2 3, Goembel 0 1 0-0 3.

Team statistics
Luverne: 14 of 61 field goals (23 percent), six of nine free throws (67 percent), 22 rebounds, 12 turnovers.
Marshall: 27 of 51 field goals (23 percent), 13 of 18 free throws (72 percent), 38 rebounds, 14 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Ellsworth boys’ basketball team knocked off two more opponents to extend its current winning streak to six straight games.

The Panthers edged Lincoln HI by three points in Ivanhoe Thursday before upending Lakeview by 34 points in Ellsworth Tuesday.

Ellsworth, 15-1 overall and 7-0 in the Camden Conference, plays in Canby Friday and in Remsen, Iowa, Saturday before hosting Dawson-Boyd Tuesday.

Ellsworth 89,
Lakeview 55
The Panthers gained some revenge from the 2001-02 season when they rolled to a 34-point home victory over the Lakers Tuesday.

"This was a nice win for us," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "We wanted some revenge because Lakeview was the team that gave us our only conference loss last season."

EHS made sure the Lakers would not upset the Panthers on their home floor by outscoring them in every period.

The Panthers turned a 22-15 lead after eight minutes of play into a 17-point (46-29) halftime cushion by outscoring the Lakers 24-14 in the second period. Ellsworth extended the margin to 26 points (69-43) in the third quarter before prevailing by 34 at game’s end.

Curt Schilling (29 points and 11 rebounds) and Blake Brommer (16 points and 10 rebounds) had double-doubles for the winners. Brommer and Schilling distributed eight and seven assists respectively. Brant Deutsch scored 19 points and snatched eight rebounds, while Dylan Kvaale added 11 points, six rebounds and five steals to the winning cause.

Box score
Schilling 10 0 9-11 29, Deutsch 8 0 3-5 19, Brommer 1 2 8-8 16, Kvaale 4 1 0-1 11, Sieff 3 0 1-1 7, Janssen 2 0 0-1 4, Jenniges 0 1 0-0 3.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 55 percent field goals (no totals were available), 21 of 27 free throws (78 percent), 44 rebounds, eight turnovers.

Ellsworth 73, LH 70
The Panthers survived a late scare from the Rebels to post their fifth consecutive win Thursday in Ivanhoe.

Turnovers plagued the Panthers as the 63-55 lead they took into the fourth quarter evaporated with an 8-0 run by the Rebels, but EHS regrouped to outscore LH 10-7 the rest of the way and pull out a three-point win.

"We were fortunate to come out of there with a win," said Panther coach Kvaale. "Not protecting the ball was the big thing. We had 18 turnovers in the game, and it seemed like all of our starters had at least one in the last six minutes of the game."

Ellsworth led 23-21 after eight minutes of play before increasing the difference to seven points (44-37) by halftime. The Panthers led by as many as 10 in the third quarter before settling for an eight-point cushion at period’s end.

Dylan Kvaale had a big game for EHS by scoring 22 points, grabbing seven rebounds, passing for six assists, blocking four shots and producing three steals.

Schilling had 25 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. Travis Jenniges chipped in 12 points and seven assists. Brommer and Deutsch charted nine and seven rebounds respectively.

Box score
Schilling 7 1 8-10 25, Jenniges 1 3 1-2 12, Janssen 0 1 0-0 3, Kvaale 5 3 3-3 22, Deutsch 3 0 0-2 6, Brommer 1 1 0-0 5.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 51 percent field goals (totals were unavailable), 12 of 17 free throws (71 percent), 40 rebounds, 18 turnovers.

By Lori Ehde
In a time of projected state economic shortfalls, rural Minnesota needs to be especially vigilant in protecting its development interests.

Another tool may be available to outstate cities to attract business growth and to protect economic development already underway.

House Majority Leader Erik Paulsen and Rep. Doug Magnus recently circulated southwest Minnesota communities to talk about "Tax Free Zone" legislation.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty and House legislators are proposing the initiative to stimulate development and create jobs in economically distressed areas of greater Minnesota.

"Tax-free zones are the tools our border communities in southwestern Minnesota need to attract and retain job providers," Paulsen said.

"Tax-free zones will give our southwestern Minnesota communities the competitive edge they need when competing for new business and jobs."

Modeled after similar programs adopted in Michigan and Pennsylvania, the legislation would allow up to 10 tax-free zones with a maximum size of 5,000 acres (roughly 7.8 square miles) each to be established in greater Minnesota.

Two years after Pennsylvania designated 12 tax-free zones in February of 1999, the move was attributed to creating 5,700 jobs and retaining another 3,100.

Businesses operating within the zones would not pay property taxes or state income taxes.

"The state’s conventional development strategy can use a jump-start in southwestern Minnesota," Magnus said.

"To revitalize our part of the state, we need to be bold and think outside of the box. Tax-free zones have helped create thousands of new jobs in Michigan and Pennsylvania, and they can do the same for southwestern Minnesota."

It’s too early to tell what the legislation could specifically mean for Luverne, but Economic Development Authority Director Dan Statema said the discussion itself is encouraging.

"I can see there being some pretty stiff competition among regions for this tax-free designation," Statema said.

"But the most exciting thing about this is the governor and Legislature are recognizing the need for economic development incentives in greater Minnesota."

The initiative shouldn’t be confused with existing border city legislation, which allows tax breaks for qualifying new business construction.

Tax-free zones can apply to any economically distressed rural area, regardless of proximity to a border. It’s just that border communities are particularly vulnerable to losing business and labor resources to neighboring states.

"Every day another one of our kids leave southwestern Minnesota for a job in Sioux Falls or the Twin Cities," Magnus said.

"For years we’ve been looking for a tool that will allow more of our kids to find a job where they grew up. That tool could be tax-free zones."

Paulsen said tax-free zones for greater Minnesota will be a major initiative of Gov. Pawlenty and the state House in the 2003 legislative session, which began last week.

Magnus represents the newly redistricted House District 22A, which includes Rock, Pipestone, Murray and three-quarters of Nobles County.

Rock County used to be represented in the House by Richard Mulder, Ivanhoe, when it was part of the former District 21B. Mulder did not seek re-election last fall, and voters chose Republican Magnus over DFL incumbent Ted Winter for the job.

Measures of need
Areas qualify for tax-free zone designation based on the following measures of need:
Percentage of population below the poverty rate
High unemployment
Deteriorated or underutilized property
Low median family income
Population decline
Sudden or severe job loss.
Presence of adequate infrastructure for development.

Measures of
likelihood for success
Areas qualify for tax-free zone designation based on the following measures of likelihood of success:
Quality of the development plan
Local public and private commitments to develop the zone
Other available resources
Relationship to other development plans
Plans to ease regulatory burden on business
Proposals to link job creation and training