By John Rittenhouse
The Adrian boys’ basketball team received its first defeat since Dec. 7 when they lost a 66-45 game in Fulda Friday.

Cold shooting from the floor (23 percent) plagued the Dragons in game in which they were outscored every quarter.

"We couldn’t hit anything," said Dragon coach Rozell, referring to Adrian’s shooting woes. "Fulda played a good game, and we were flat. We couldn’t get anything going, and we couldn’t stop them."

The Raiders raced to an 11-point lead (18-7) in the first quarter before settling for a 12-point (34-22) halftime advantage. Fulda outscored the Dragons 19-11 in the third quarter to open a 53-33 lead before winning by 21 in the end.

Pete Hohn led Adrian, which had a nine-game winning streak snapped, with 12 points and eight rebounds in the contest.

Box score
Hohn 3 1 3-4 12, Wolf 0 0 3-4 3, Henning 3 0 3-5 9, Klingenberg 0 1 0-0 3, Spieker 0 0 1-2 1, Block 0 0 1-2 1, Lynn 1 0 1-2 3, Knips 1 0 3-4 5, Brake 4 0 0-1 8.

Team statistics
Adrian: 14 of 61 field goals (23 percent), 15 of 24 free throws (63 percent), 36 rebounds, 20 turnovers.
Fulda: 25 of 62 field goals (40 percent), 11 of 15 free throws (73 percent), 38 rebounds, 22 turnovers.

By Sara Strong
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will make Luverne one of his out-state stops on a tour talking about "Tax Free Zone" legislation.

He’ll be in Luverne from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Blue Mound Banquet and Meeting Center.

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

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

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.

The initiative shouldn’t be confused with existing border city legislation, which allows sales tax breaks for qualifying new business construction. Border city legislation is in place in Luverne and other Minnesota communities, like Breckenridge and East Grand Forks.

Tax-free zones can apply to any economically distressed rural area, regardless of proximity to a border. But border communities are particularly vulnerable to losing businesses across the border.

By Lori Ehde
In the search for a new hospital and clinic location, residents on the north edge of Luverne have been approached about the possibility of a medical campus in their back yards.

Sioux Valley and Luverne Community Hospital mailed about 60 letters to residents owning property within 350 feet of the proposed site.

They were encouraged to attend a meeting Tuesday night in the Veterans Home to hear about the proposed building to voice any questions or concerns about how it might affect them.

Land under consideration abuts residential neighborhoods to its south, Highway 75 on the west, Blue Mound Avenue on the east and the gravel township road on the north.

There are 63 acres of farm land available, but discussions are only preliminary about how much, if any land, is suitable for a hospital and clinic.

Current architect plans call for the hospital and clinic buildings to occupy roughly 20 acres. Additional ground would be necessary for parking, and negotiations could include ground for future expansion, possibly medical services buildings.

Hospital officials called residents to the meeting to test the waters of neighborhood response to the proposed plan.

At the meeting, architects reviewed topography and building plans to date, and Sioux Valley executives and Luverne Community Hospital Administrator Gerald Carl were on hand to answer questions.

"We’re trying to head off any controversy that may arise," Carl said prior to the meeting.

"We’re using them as a sounding board. If we don’t get any negative feedback from them, then we’ll take that as a green light for us to do some more planning."

More than 30 residents attended Tuesday’s meeting, and concerns varied from noise and privacy barriers to watershed and traffic flow.

According to Carl, the tone of the meeting was positive and residents seemed generally receptive to the idea of a hospital in their neighborhood.

To date, plans call for a $17.5 million project, but details hinge on financing.

Hospital officials have been planning for a new facility for the past year due to space shortages in the current facilities, which are also becoming outdated for current needs.

When remodeling was ruled out, the search began for a new hospital location. Properties both north and south of the city were immediately identified, and both sites remain possible options.

The City of Luverne and, to a lesser extent, Rock County are negotiating with Sioux Valley on the possible purchase of the current hospital and clinic.

Details of the new hospital campus, if it happens at all, depend on the outcome of that arrangement.

By Sara Strong
The Rock County Board of Commissioners learned Tuesday that a strong percentage of local feedlots are environmentally safe.

Of the Rock County feedlots inspected so far, nearly 75 percent have no environmental concerns.

Commissioner Richard Bakken said he thought the Level III inventory process has been fair so far. Level III is the most in-depth of inspections conducted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Bakken said he was pleased that the Board of Water and Soil Resources was completing the inspections on behalf of the MPCA, which has had public relations problems with local producers.

As part of a plea agreement in U.S. District Court, Global Ventures owner David Logan paid $160,000 to cover the inspections. About $130,000 went to BWSR for actually conducting inspections. Global Ventures, Pipestone, was involved in fraud and bribery crimes that were connected to former Rock County Land Management Director.

To remove suspicion of inappropriate handling of Rock County’s feedlot program, all livestock facilities are going through the Level III inventory.

Personnel costs to the county have been $19,263.97 as of the first week of January. This includes site visits, data entry, technical assistance, administration, updating and reviewing files, scheduling and communication and training.

Including other expenses, the county’s responsibility in the Level III costs comes to $23,348.37 so far.
Data entry has been the most time consuming and costly part of the project for the county, but that was first forecast in original estimates.

Rock County has 618 registered feedlots and as of the first week in January, 118 were visited.

Of the sites visited, 88 have no environmental concerns; 25 have runoff concerns; four were unpermitted basins, and three were abandoned sites.

Some of the feedlots were permitted under a different set of rules than ones that are in place now, so producers weren’t purposefully operating outside of regulations in most cases.

The sites that require changes will have a grace period to implement them, because the exact changes aren’t clearly defined.

The MPCA is in the middle of the long process of rewriting some feedlot rules, so the county won’t start the clock on those deadlines until the new rules are finalized.

Land Management Director Eric Hartman said, "We’re just going to have to wait. … There’s more questions than answers at this time."

While waiting for the rules, the LMO isn’t sure how much time and money it’ll end up spending on updating and reviewing files and technical assistance after the rules are finalized.

Producers may have to come up with engineering fees on their own if the inspections mean changes on their feedlots. Funding options for producers are limited mostly to special low-interest loans to cover site upgrades.

The county had applied for an engineering salary grant that would cover an intern’s work under a licensed engineer. That grant may not cover enough costs for the county, so the board will revisit the topic at a future meeting.

Ethanol concerns
Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s proposed cuts to ethanol last week got lots of attention, including some from Rock County people who traveled to the capital to voice objections.

The Rock County Board of Commissioners Tuesday discussed whether it, they as board members, should sign a resolution against the cuts.

Commissioner Jane Wildung said she agreed in principal with protesting the ethanol cuts, but wondered if the county should take a stand on this particular cut in a time when so many will suffer because of the state deficit.

Health insurance increases, Family Services cuts and various tax increases will likely meet with opposition from county residents, and the county won’t be able to draft resolutions protesting all of them.

Commissioners said there’s hope that, because of all the attention the proposed ethanol cuts are getting, the subsidies will continue to some extent.

Pawlenty’s budget proposal called for the elimination of $26.8 million to ethanol plants, the biggest line item cut. That would have meant a loss of three-quarters of what the state was set to pay out in subsidies.

Bakken said, "It’s not right to go from making a profit to not, with the stroke of a pen. … This business is significant to the county."

Because Bakken and Commissioner Ken Hoime are investors in Luverne’s Agri-Energy Ethanol Plant, the board is researching conflict of interest guidelines before it brings a resolution to the table for a vote.

By Sara Strong
The city of Luverne is anticipating a proposal to cut 40 percent of its Local Government Aid from the state.
LGA makes up $568,000 — or almost 60 percent — of the city’s general fund.

"That’s a lot of money, let’s not pretend that it’s not," City Administrator Matt Hylen said. "It’s a tremendous amount of money to the city."

Realizing that most small cities, various state agencies and numerous programs will lose funding this year, the Luverne City Council is still working to save some of those anticipated city cuts.

Hylen said that Luverne could be in a worse situation. Thanks to good financial planning, the city has some options to get by in the short term.

Mayor Glen Gust said LGA is an area that lobbying could be worth the effort. "It’s nice to be making contacts with legislators and they’re probably going to be overwhelmed, but a letter from the council might be good. We can tell them that we’ve already done our budget and were counting on that aid."

Councilman David Hauge said he’s sure Luverne isn’t the only funding recipient taking that approach. "Everyone’s pressuring the government to cut spending, but ‘not my spending.’"

Gust also suggested the city put off some capital improvements, or look into grants for one-time purchases or for services such as law enforcement.

Wastewater issues
The city of Luverne is in the middle of a statewide disagreement with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.

Luverne’s wastewater treatment plant was upgraded to an A class, from a B. The new designation means that it’s a more sophisticated system and requires operators with higher certifications.

Manager Al Lais is in the process of testing for a Class A license, which one employee is required to have.

In addition to the Class A issues, Luverne also has to come up with a phosphorous management plan and meet more state regulations, enforced by the MPCA.

All cities renewing permits have to make the plan. (Phosphorous comes primarily from detergents and soaps.)

A phosphorous management plan means the city has to outline how it will test for phosphorous, and if it finds too much, it will have to find the source and develop a plan to reduce it.

The plan and its implementation comes with a cost. The city of Worthington, for example, spends $200 to $300 a day just on chemicals to neutralize phosphorous in wastewater.

The MPCA has said that the phosphorous limit is three parts per million. Luverne’s is at four parts per million and hasn’t seen negative effects on plants or animals in the river.

A group of cities is considering a lawsuit asking the MPCA to better define its rules and explain the reasons for them. For instance, the MPCA is asked to show the true effects of four phosphorous parts per million in the Rock River.

City Utility Coordinator Red Arndt said, "We want to make the MPCA tell us why, make them accountable for their actions and rules. … We should be held accountable for our water, but we should know why we have to do what we need to do."

Arndt said the city’s working relationship with MPCA has been positive in the past and he wants to keep contact with its representatives.

What’s called the Total Maximum Daily Load Rule has been labeled "defective" by attorneys representing the group of Minnesota cities: It says the rules are vague in language; overbroad, including all water bodies in the state regardless of size or function; arbitrary and capricious, giving the MPCA discretion to use informal guidance materials and "professional judgment" to determine when and how rules apply; and beyond the MPCA’s regulatory authority, allowing the MPCA to regulate conditions not caused by pollutants.

Once the TMDL rules are adopted, cities who are cited for not complying with them can’t contest citations based on the rules. In the eyes of the law, the time to change the TMDL rules is before they are finalized, not after a citation.

The city of Luverne pays a few thousand dollars a year for these legal services.

By Sara Strong
In this time of budget crunches, Luverne is hopeful that $7 million in federal funding will keep the Lewis and Clark Rural Water System project afloat another year.

Luverne Utilities Coordinator Red Arndt serves on the Lewis and Clark Executive Committee and presented an update to the Luverne City Council Tuesday.

"We’re moving along, I think," Arndt said. "This is a real unique project. We’ve gotten things done that have never been done before: There are three states, six senators, three governors, 22 towns, and in Washington, D.C., the House and Senate."

For fiscal year 2003 city contributions to the system will be $36,702 if the federal amount of $7 million comes through. The state is slated to contribute $107,659, which members of the system have to make up if it doesn’t.

Even though the project is still above water, it’ll probably be behind schedule, reaching Luverne in about 2014, a few years later than first estimated.

Arndt said, "The water probably isn’t for any of us, but for our kids, because it’ll be here for 50 to 100 years."

Swimming upstream
Even though Lewis and Clark Rural Water System is without a director, it’s managing to continue through the Executive Committee.

Former Lewis and Clark director Pamela Bonrud resigned to become director of the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission.

Arndt reviewed the need for another water source with the council. He said, "We have shallow wells. Our deepest is 58 feet and our shallowest is 30-something, so we’re vulnerable to pollution and drought."

With IBP closing, the city of Luverne doesn’t have as great a demand as it once did, even considering water use by Gold’n Plump and Agri-Energy.

Luverne is signed up for 750,000 gallons per day from Lewis and Clark, which would give the city about three fourths of a day’s supply. The many overworked wells the city now uses could be shut off or used less.

Starting in 2004, Lewis and Clark will start getting easements on the 408 miles of land along the Missouri River it needs to run the system. Pipeline will then be laid and a treatment plant built, so Sioux Falls can get on line.

Sioux Falls will use about 40 percent of the system’s supply, and when it starts, Lewis and Clark can start generating user revenue.

Lewis and Clark is looking into creating policies on what to do with excess water once the system is completed. Members who’ve purchased a gallon allotment may be able to sell their unused excess through Lewis and Clark to other cities who need it.

Lewis and Clark was formed in the early ‘90s and isn’t allowing new memberships for the water supply.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek High School athletes posted a combined 2-6 record during the Cardinal Wrestling Tournament in Luverne Saturday.

Dusty Seachris and Kerry Fink wrestled for the Luverne-H-BC-Ellsworth squad during the event.
Seachris went 2-2 at 135 and 140 pounds for the Cardinals. Fink was 0-4 at 125.

Seachris opened the tournament by drawing a forfeit from Sioux Falls Lincoln before being pinned by Wabasso’s Chad Altermatt and Montevideo’s Leighton Reuss at 3:04 and 2:53 respectively.

Seachris bounced back in his final match to hand Worthington’s Alex Solem a 22-8 major decision setback.

Saturday was rough for Fink, who was pinned by Lincoln’s Mike Wratz (3:16) and Wabasso’s Derek Geutter (1:08) to start the tournament.

Fink wrestled better while dropping 7-5 and 4-3 decisions to Montevideo’s Tallen Wald and Worthington’s Brandon Rall respectively.

L-H-BC-E went 1-3 and placed sixth as a team during the tournament.

The Cardinals beat Lincoln 38-36 in the opener before dropping respective matches to Wabasso (63-14), Montevideo (40-34) and Worthington (39-36).

L-H-BC-E, 2-12 for the season, wrestles in Tracy tonight and in Adrian Tuesday.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth wrestling team broke into the win column during what was a busy three-event week for the Cardinals.

L-H-BC-E’s initial win came during the Deuel, S.D., Tournament, where the Cardinals went 1-3 on Saturday.

The Cardinals dropped Southwest Conference matches on the road against Worthington Thursday and Marshall Tuesday.

The 1-8 Cardinals host their own tournament Saturday.

Marshall 44,
L-H-BC-E 36
The Cards made a bid to break into the win column in SWC competition before falling by eight points to the Tigers in Marshall Thursday.

L-H-BC-E led 18-16 after Cody Jagow pinned Matt Schirmacher in 49 seconds during the heavyweight match, but the Tigers scored 28 points in the next six weight classes to put the match out of reach.

Marshall’s run consisted of pins from Jason Jeremiason (1:53 over Mike Fletcher at 103), Sam Oglesby (32 seconds over Mike Van Wyhe at 112) and Nate Boerboom (4:19 over Anthony Boyenga at 125), and a forfeit to Dallas Mahoney at 119. Tiger Steve Sik posted a 10-2 major decision win over Kerry Fink at 130 to cap the run.

L-H-BC-E ended the match by getting pins from Ruston Aaker (2:23 over Logan Derynck at 135) and Dusty Seachris (4:12 over Fred Dalle at 145), and having Justin Mann draw a forfeit at 140 to make it an eight-point difference in the end.

Canaan Petersen gave the Cards a 6-0 lead by pinning Brian Van Meveren in 3:23 at 152, but the Tigers received forfeits at 160 and 171 to take a 12-6 advantage.

Cardinal Jose Saravia tied the match at 12 by pinning John Nordin in 3:07 at 189, but Tiger Colby Bruns saddled Joel Evans with a 14-5 major decision setback to give the Tigers a 16-12 lead that was erased by Jagow’s pin.

Match wrap-up
152 (L) Petersen pins Van Meveren.
160 (M) Bruns by forfeit.
171 (M) Lutmer by forfeit.
189 (L) Saravia pins Nordin.
215 (M) Bruns m.d. Evans.
275 (L) Jagow pins Schirmacher.
103 (M) Jeremiason pins Fletcher.
112 (M) Oglesby pins Van Wyhe.
119 (M) Mohoney by forfeit.
125 (M) Boerboom pins Boyenga.
130 (M) Sik m.d. Fink.
135 (L) Aaker pins Derynck.
140 (L) Mann by forfeit.
145 (L) Seachris pins Dalle.

Deuel tourney
The Cardinals recorded their first win of the season during Saturday’s tournament in Deuel, S.D.

After losing their first three matches of the event, L-H-BC-E finished the day by beating Milbank’s junior varsity team 54-30 in the finale.

Losses to Clark (42-39), Flandreau Public (52-27) and Deuel (51-24) preceeded the victory.

Senior Canaan Petersen went a perfect 4-0 at the event for L-H-BC-E, posting wins at 152 and 160.

Along with receiving forfeits against Flandreau and Deuel, Petersen pinned Clark’s Jordan Hallberg and Milbanks’s Brandon Schmitt in 3:33 and 3:36 respectively.

Cardinal heavyweight Cody Jagow went 3-1 with two pins and one forfeit, and Kerry Fink went 3-1 at 130 and 135 with two pins and one decision victory.

Anthony Boyenga recorded a pair of pins while going 2-1 at 125.

Mike Fletcher was 2-2 (one pin and one forfeit) at 103, Joel Evans was 2-2 (two pins) at 189 and 215, Ruston Aaker was 2-2 (two pins) at 135 and 140, Dusty Seachris was 2-2 (one pin and one decision win) at 140 and 145, Justin Mann was 2-2 (one pin and one decision win) at 145 and 152, and Jeff Cronberg was 2-2 (two forfeits) at 189 and 215.

Matt Goembel was 1-3 at 160 and 171, and Aric Uithoven went 0-2 at 125 and 130.

Match wrap-ups
Clark 42, L-H-BC-E 39
112 (C) Raymer by forfeit.
119 (C) Helkenn by forfeit.
125 (L) Boyenga pins McGraw.
130 (L) Fink pins Lynch.
135 (C) Wookey by forfeit.
140 (L) Aaker pins Silkman.
145 (L) Seachris dec. Klatt.
152 (L) Mann pins Peckham.
160 (L) Petersen pins Hallberg.
171 (C) Merkel pins Goembel.
189 (C) Foster pins Cronberg.
215 (C) Jenkins pins Evans.
275 (C) Crabtree pins Jagow.
103 (L) Fletcher pins Evans.

Flandreau 52, L-H-BC-E 27
112 (F) Deutscher by forfeit.
119 (F) Sutton by forfeit.
125 (F) Reed pins Uithoven.
130 (L) Fink dec. Rydell.
135 (F) Christensen m.d. Aaker.
140 (F) Quick pins Seachris.
145 (L) Mann by forfeit.
152 (L) Petersen by forfeit.
160 (F) Severtson pins Goembel.
171 (F) Lacey by forfeit.
189 (L) Evans pins Kills-A-Hundred.
215 (F) Giegling pins Cronberg.
275 (L) Jagow pins Kneebone.
103 (F) Lueck pins Fletcher.

Deuel 51, L-H-BC-E 24
112 (D) Bolden by forfeit.
119 (D) Morrell by forfeit.
125 (D) Olson pins Boyenga.
130 (D) Hanson m.d. Fink.
135 (D) Lorenzen pins Aaker.
140 (D) Tekrony pins Seachris.
145 (D) Ashbaugh pins Mann.
152 (L) Petersen by forfeit.
171 (L) Goembel by forfeit.
189 (D) Nelson pins Evans.
215 (L) Cronberg by forfeit.
275 (L) Jagow pins Milton.
103 (D) Salanoa t..f. Fletcher.

L-H-BC-E 54, Milbank 30
112 (M) McKernan by forfeit.
119 (M) Fuller by forfeit.
125 (L) Boyenga pins Nowick.
130 (M) Crist pins Uithoven.
135 (L) Fink pins Foster.
140 (L) Aaker pins Taylor.
145 (L) Seachris pins Nowick.
152 (M) Haag pins Mann.
160 (L) Petersen pins Schmitt.
171 (M) Van Lith pins Goembel.
189 (L) Cronberg by forfeit.
215 (L) Evans pins Schwandt.
275 (L) Jagow by forfeit.
103 (L) Fletcher by forfeit.

Worthington 52,
L-H-BC-E 24
The Cardinals dropped their second conference match of the season when they fell by 28 points in Worthington Thursday.

L-H-BC-E, which gave away 24 points in forfeits during the match, dug a hole that was too deep to climb out of early in the match. Worthington scored team points in eight of the first nine weight classes to gain a commanding 40-6 lead it would never relinquish.

Worthington’s surge consisted of forfeits from Thai Hua at 119, Brad Sowles at 140 and Matt Cowdin at 160, pins from Cody Schmidt (1:29 over Anthony Boyenga at 125) and Nate Steffl (1:09 over Matt Goembel at 171), a 15-5 major decision win from Jared Langseth (15-5 over Kerry Fink at 130), and decision wins from Brandon Rall (9-7 over Ruston Aaker at 135) and Jeff Campbell (6-3 over Canaan Petersen at 152).

L-H-BC-E’s lone win during the first nine matches came from Dusty Seachris, who pinned Pat Cummings in 4:57 at 145.

After Steffl pinned Goembel at 171, the Cards scored 18 straight points with pins from Jose Saravia (2:14 over Mike Heidelberger) and Joel Evans (1:02 over Carl Zishka at 215) and Cody Jagow drawing a forfeit at heavyweight to make it a 40-24 match.

Worthington used a forfeit at 103 to Nathan Wajer and Dusty Poppema’s 1:00 pin of Mike Van Wyhe to win by 28 points in the end.

Match wrap-up
119 (W) Hua by forfeit.
125 (W) Schmidt pins Boyenga.
130 (W) Langseth m.d. Fink.
135 (W) Rall dec. Aaker.
140 (W) Sowels by forfeit.
145 (L) Seachris pins Cummings.
152 (W) Campbell dec. Petersen.
160 (W) Cowdin by forfeit.
171 (W) Steffl pins Goembel.
189 (L) Saravia pins Heidelberger.
215 (L) Evans pins Zishka.
275 (L) Jagow by forfeit.
103 (W) Wajer by forfeit.
112 (W) Poppema pins Van Wyhe.

In recognition of the work paraprofessionals do in the Hills-Beaver Creek school system, all paraprofessionals were awarded certificates of recognition and publicly thanked at the Lift-Off rally during Paraprofessional Week Monday, Jan. 13, through Friday, Jan 17. They were also given small gifts, and a potluck meal was served in their honor. "They are a very important part of our staff, and without them, our students would not be as successful as they are," wrote Elementary Administrator Jil Vaughn in an e-mail to the Crescent. "They wear many hats and graciously fulfill many tasks." The paraprofessionals at Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary are Lois Leenderts (left), Heather Erickson, Barb Bos, Haley Tollefson, Wanda Hoyme, Mavis Schmidt, Amy Spykerboer and Jodi Ackerman.

Photo by Jolene Farley