Milda Staeffler, 75, Gladbrook, Iowa, formerly of Rock County, died Monday, July 15, 2002, at Marshalltown Medical and Surgical Center in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Services were Friday, July 19, at Gladbrook United Methodist Church. The Rev. Dori Collogan officiated. Cremation will follow at a later date.

Milda Nath was born to Marcus and Emma (Schneekloth) Nath on Nov. 13, 1926, in Rock County. She received her education in Rock County. She later worked at a diner in Rock County.

She married Horton Staeffler on July 28, 1957, in Rock Rapids, Iowa. They lived in Luverne for three years and moved to Orange, Calif., where they lived for the next 34 years. She worked at an electronics factory and toy factory making slot cars and airplanes. In October 1994, they moved to Gladbrook.

Mrs. Staeffler was a member of Gladbrook United Methodist Church and the Women's Club. She enjoyed collecting hummingbirds and sunflowers, watching birds, crafts, cooking and was an avid bowler.

Survivors include her husband, Horton Staeffler, Gladbrook; three daughters and their spouses, Sharon Lee (Thomas) Burke, San Diego, Calif., Cynthia Lu (Larry) Blaine, Gladbrook, and Barbara Jean (Bill) Basabilbaso, Newport News, Va., six grandchildren, Garth Werner, Randy Lovin, Christopher Basabilbaso, Nicholas Basabilbaso, Duane Blaine and Laurel Blaine; one son-in-law, Phillip (Joyce) Werner and their children, Kristen, Joey and Susan; three brothers, Carl (Betty), Bill (June) and Orlen (Mary Jo) Nath, all of Luverne; one sister, Norma (Ben) Meyers, Luverne, and numerous nieces, nephews and a host of friends.

Mrs. Staeffler was preceded in death by her parents, one daughter, Laurel Ann Werner in 1978, and one brother, Harvey.

Goettsch-Perrin Funeral Home, Gladbrook, was in charge of arrangements.

Luverne's Jared Pick follows the flight of the ball after making contact at the plate during Saturday's VFW Southern Division Playoff game against Slayton in Pipestone. Pick had two hits during a 10-0 win that day, but Luverne's 14-18 season ended Sunday with a loss to Marshall Orange.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne VFW baseball team bowed out of the District 3 Southern Division Playoffs after dropping two games in a three-day span.

After beating Edgerton in the first round July 15, the Cardinals moved on to face Worthington Thursday in Worthington. The young Trojans sent Luverne to the loser's bracket with a 10-run win.

Luverne then beat Slayton by 10 runs in Pipestone Saturday before returning to the same venue to take on Marshall Orange Sunday. Marshall, which ended up placing second in the tournament, topped the Cardinals by three runs.

Luverne ends the season with a 14-18 record.

MO 10, Luverne 7
A seven-run offensive effort wasn't enough to keep LuverneÕs season alive in Pipestone Sunday.

The fourth-seeded Cardinals battled No. 3 Marshall to a draw at four over the first two innings of play, but Orange outscored Luverne 6-3 the rest of the way to win the elimination game.

Marshall scored six unanswered runs between the third and sixth innings to open a 10-4 cushion.

Luverne received RBI singles from Brad Herman and Taylor Graphenteen and a sacrifice fly from Zach Wysong during a three-run rally in the top of the seventh, but their season ended when Orange recorded the final out of the frame.

Both teams scored three runs in the first inning and one in the second.

A two-run double by Jordan Kopp and a run-scoring single by Rob Fodness gave the Cards a 3-0 cushion in the top of the first.

Wyatt Cote singled and scored on a single by Fodness to give the Cards their last lead of the season (4-3) in the second.

Wysong started the game on the mound and took the loss. Fodness pitched in relief.

Box score AB R H BI
Pick 3 2 1 0
Fodness 4 2 3 2
Wysong 3 1 1 1
Kopp 3 1 3 2
Boen 4 0 1 0
Herman 4 0 1 1
Graphenteen 4 0 1 1
Cote 4 1 1 0
Bruynes 3 0 0 0

Luverne 10, Slayton 0
A nine-run eruption in the bottom of the fifth inning led the Cardinals to a 10-run win over Slayton in Pipestone Saturday.

Luverne led 1-0 after plating a run in the bottom of the second inning. The score remained 1-0 until the fifth, when the Cards scored nine times to win by the 10-run rule.

Graphenteen, who fanned six batters and allowed three hits while tossing a five-inning shutout, came up with the biggest hit in the fifth when he singled home a pair of runs.

Wysong, Jared Pick and Kopp all singled home counters during the rally, which was fueled by a number of walks and errors provided by sixth-seeded Slayton.

Tim Boen doubled and scored Luverne's second-inning run after a Slayton error.

Box score AB R H BI
Pick 4 1 2 1
Fodness 3 1 1 0
Wysong 4 1 1 1
Kopp 4 1 2 1
Boen 2 2 1 0
Herman 1 1 0 0
Bruynes 2 1 0 0
Graphenteen 3 1 1 2
Cote 2 1 0 0

Worthington 13,
Luverne 3
The Cardinals slipped into the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament with a 10-run loss in Worthington Thursday.

No. 1 seeded Worthington scored at least one run in the first four innings of play and ended up winning the game by the 10-run rule after Luverne batted in the top of the fifth inning.

Worthington got off to a good start by plating five runs in the first inning and one in the second to gain a 6-0 cushion.

Luverne scored twice in the top of the third to trail by four, but Worthington answered with six runs in the bottom of the third and one in the fourth to open a 13-2 cushion.

Graphenteen walked, Jared Pick singled and Wysong belted a two-run double to account for Luverne's two runs in the third.

Dustin Richters reached base on an error and advanced to third when a ball hit by Wysong was booted by Worthington's right fielder in the top of the fifth. Kopp then singled home Richters to make it a 13-3 game, but the game ended after the Cards couldnÕt produce any more runs by inning's end.

Fodness started the game on the mound for Luverne and was saddled with the loss. J.T. Bruynes pitched in relief.

Box score AB R H BI
Pick 2 1 1 0
Richters 1 1 0 0
Fodness 2 0 1 0
Cote 1 0 0 0
Wysong 3 0 1 2
Kopp 2 0 1 1
Boen 3 0 1 0
Deragisch 3 0 0 0
Herman 2 0 0 0
Graphenteen 1 1 0 0
Bruynes 2 0 0 0

Luverne's Don Talbert received the opportunity to meet the late Ted Williams during a four-year teaching stint in Princeton. Talbert was a high school baseball coach at the time, and he shares a story of fanning the Splendid Splinter during a practice session.

By John Rittenhouse
When Ted Williams retired from professional baseball after the 1960 season, he had compiled 2,654 hits.

Had Williams not missed five full seasons (1943-45, and 1952-53) for military commitments during a career that started in Boston in 1939, he surely would have surpassed baseball's coveted 3,000-hit plateau.

When Williams succumbed to cardiac arrest July 5 in Inverness, Fla., the baseball world mourned the loss of man who wanted to be known as the greatest hitter who ever lived.

In the days after Williams' death, a lot of the attention was placed on his spectacular 1941 season. It was his third year in the Major Leagues, and it ended with Williams sporting a .406 batting average, which was the last time anyone batted over .400 for a full season.

When news of Williams' passing reached Luverne's Don Talbert, it stirred memories of days before the Splendid Splinter's playing days with the Boston Red Sox.

Before busting in on the baseball scene for the American League Team on the nation's East Coast, Williams played a few seasons with the Minneapolis Millers, a Triple A minor league team of that era.

Talbert taught high school shop and mathematics for the Princeton School District from 1936-1940, and his path crossed with Williams a number of times when Teddy Ballgame was courting one of Talbert's students at the time.

"I taught his first wife in my math class," Talbert recalls. "Her name was Doris Soule, and Williams always picked her up from our school when he was in town. I would guess I visited with Ted between 12 and 15 times after we first met."

A man named Jack Kallas owned Princeton's biggest restaurant at the time, and it was one of Kallas' sons who persuaded Williams to spend an off-day with the Millers in the community about 60 miles north of Minneapolis. Talbert was in the restaurant that day, and the Kallas boy introduced him to the future Hall of Famer.

Williams, who Talbert estimated to be around the age of 19 at the time, also met Soule that day. Both individuals shared a mutual attraction, and Williams graced Princeton with his presence many times after that.

Talbert remembers Williams being an avid sportsman who would go deer hunting with some of the friends he made in Princeton during the late fall.

After getting to know Talbert better, Williams persuaded the school's shop teacher to make a wooden case to lodge a .32 caliber pistol he had recently purchased.

"Every time Ted met a new person, he would let them know that he was the dominant, top man," Talbert said. "That's just the way he was. After that first meeting, he was as friendly as the next guy."

Talbert found out that Williams' friendly demeanor had its limits when it came to baseball.

The son of a man who once hit a home run that was measured longer than 500 feet, Talbert loved the game of baseball, and he knew the game well enough to be Princeton's varsity coach.

Talbert fancied himself as a solid pitcher, and he got to prove it to his Princeton players during a practice session.

"I was pitching batting practice, and Williams was there watching. After a while, he grabbed the bat out of one of the boy's hands and said he was going to show him how to hit the ball," Talbert said.

Talbert obliged the future legend, and tossed a couple pitches past the surprised batter. The situation angered Williams, and he cussed at the pitcher while asking him to deliver one more offering over the plate at the same time.

Not wanting to be shown up in front of his players, and equally angry for being sworn at in front of them, Talbert rose to the occasion and threw a pitch he remembers fondly to this day.

"I threw him a breaking ball, and he swung so hard I thought we might break his back. He missed it. Ted was never very friendly to me after that."

Considering the way Williams was trying to steal the show at the pitcher's expense that day, Talbert didn't seem to mind having a strained relationship with the batter from that day forward.

Although no one will ever know, Talbert may have earned some respect from Williams that day.

At the least, citizens of Luverne can see Talbert walking down the street and say, "There goes the man who struck out the greatest hitter who ever lived."

Movie: Austin Powers In Goldmember

Rating: PG-13

Now Playing

Carol's grade: C-

CAROL's Take:
In the press kit for "Austin Powers In Goldmember," Mike Myers is quoted as saying, "Broad comedy is as legitimate and valid a delivery system for expansive, spiritual ideas as any other art form." Well. He's right, of course. But, don't look for "expansive, spiritual ideas" in this infantile third installment of the successful movie franchise.

The first "Austin Powers" movie, "International Man Of Mystery" (1997), was made for $17 million, and grossed over $58 million domestically. Its brand-name has become so powerful that it's safe to guess that "Goldmember"
will gross more than that in its opening weekend.

This guaranteed blockbuster features the talents of Mike Myers as creator, co-writer, co-producer, and starring as Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Fat Bastard, and Goldmember. That list demonstrates why the movie can only flirt with the talents of Verne J. Troyer (as Mini Me), BeyoncÈ Knowles (as Foxxy Cleopatra), Michael Caine (as Austin's pop, Nigel), and completely squanders the rest of the cast.

"Goldmember" does treat audiences to a meaningless, but delightful host of cameo appearances sprinkled into the action. The opening sequence, in particular, is a laugh riot, littered with stunt casting and industry jokes that
make the audience feel like Hollywood insiders themselves.

That said, the humor at the core of  "Goldmember" is too juvenile to be called sophomoric. Long gone are the wry cultural observations made in earlier Powers movies that spoofed the '70s, and lampooned old James Bond movies.

The thrust of the jokesä uh, the butt of the jokesä mmm, the focus of all of the humor in this piece of entertainment is of the "boy" variety, homing in on various parts of the male anatomy below the waist. One can't help but wonder how this crude exposition managed a PG-13 rating.

"Austin Powers In Goldmember" is well-produced, and, within its own tiny genre, quite clever, too. It is going to be a huge hit - with its teen target audience, of course, but also with an older group that can brush off the shame of
very cheap laughs, and find some pleasure there.

By Lori Ehde
Luverne's Fred Manfred Jr. is living on borrowed time.

His 10-year-old transplanted kidney is failing, and he's back on the national waiting list for another donation, his third, if heÕs fortunate enough to get one.

To increase his odds, Manfred's doctors have encouraged him to seek help from living, non-related donors - a new trend in organ transplants.

"It's a hard thing to do - to ask for such a thing," Manfred said. "It's asking a lot."

As awkward as it may be to ask, it's an option that can't be overlooked for Manfred, who's had chronic kidney disease for more than 20 years.

Requesting donations from the community not only increases his odds for a match, it drastically increases the likelihood of a successful transplant.

For example, Manfred's first transplant in 1981 arrived on the surgical table two days after being harvested from a 40-year-old accident victim.

That kidney lasted only one month.

In 1992, Manfred's second kidney arrived, two hours after the donor, another accident victim, died. That kidney lasted almost 10 years.

In a live kidney donation, as opposed to one harvested from a cadaver, the kidney is transplanted directly from the donor to the patient.

"The time it spends out of the body is crucial" Manfred said.

Live donations
proven more successful
In the year 2000, five-year survival rates for living donors were 78.4 percent compared with 64.7 percent for cadaveric donors.

In 2001, the number of living donors increased by 13.4 percent on top of a 16.5 percent increase the previous year, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

By contrast, donations from dead people increased just 1.6 percent during that same time period.

In addition, transplant professionals across the country are working to implement anonymous donor protocols to further increase the pool of available kidneys.

WhatÕs making the process less daunting for would-be donors is that modern medicine has made it possible for people to donate kidneys with very little risk to their own health.

The procedure is now done laproscopically, making the surgery less invasive, allowing donors to get back on their feet in a matter of days, as opposed to several weeks.

Manfred joins about 260,000 people in the United States who are receiving dialysis for kidney failure.

Those on the waiting list for a transplant wait, on average three years, and many die before they get a chance at a transplant.

Waiting game
Manfred knows the waiting game all too well. He waited 11 years for his current kidney, and now that one's failing, too.

He started dialysis in April 2001, and spends four to five hours a day, three days a week in Sioux Falls connected to machines.

The process removes toxins from his system, something his kidney is no longer doing.

"Everything you eat becomes a toxin," Manfred explained, "because you have no way to clean anything out. Even the healthiest foods slowly become impurities."

Between dialysis days on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, he gains four to five pounds of body fluid. He limits his daily intake of fluid because two cups of fluid translates to one pound of body weight.

While dialysis cleans out the system, it's a taxing process both physically and emotionally, said Manfred, who has become familiar with the eight to 10 other dialysis patients in the unit with the same schedule.

"One of the emotional events of dialysis patients is to show up at your unit and see an empty chair," he said.

The majority of kidney patients die of heart failure, so they're encouraged to exercise for endurance. "That's why I ride my bike everywhere," he said.

Being on the national waiting list for an organ is stressful in itself.

"Often when the phone rings, I think maybe this is it," he said. "There is anxiety in waiting. Then, there's a lot of anxiety when you get that call, because you have to be able to drop what youÕre doing and go immediately."

That's part of the reason a living donor appeals so much to Manfred. "It takes so much of the anxiety out of it," he said. "You can find the better match, because you have all this time to test the donor."

For information about donating a kidney to Manfred, or to the South Dakota Renal Transplant Center, call 888-909-1112.

Also, visit the National Kidney Foundation Web site at www.kidney.org. Click on "Organ and Tissue Donors and Recipients," and then on "Living Donors."

Movie: Cinema Paradiso

Rating: R

Now Playing (In Italian with subtitles)

Carol's grade:   A-

Carol's Take:

Originally released in the U.S. in 1988, "Cinema Paradiso" was awarded the OscarÆ for best foreign
language film. The passage of time has not dimmed the beauty of this lyrical Italian picture.

The action surrounds Salvatore, a successful movie director who's about to return to his hometown,
after 30 years, for a funeral. (The character is played as a adult by Jacques Perrin, as a child by
Salvatore Cascio, and as a teen by Marco Leonardi).

It is in flashback that we meet the tiny boy. The papa he can' remember has gone missing in World
War II. He lives in poverty with his mother and sister in a small Sicilian village not yet invaded by 20th
Century trappings.

Toto, as the lad is called, loves movies. He spends every possible minute in the local movie house
where guests set up the chairs, and the local priest cuts out the kissing from every film that's shown.

Toto befriends Alfredo (the wonderful Phillipe Noiret) - the childless, middle-aged projectionist. A
deep bond develops between the two. The movie portrays the relationship between them as Toto
grows up, finds first love and eventually leaves for bigger and better things.
 
The first act of "Cinema Paradiso," when Toto is a small boy, is marvelous. So is young Cascio. Only
the hardest of hearts could remain untouched by the joyous and tragic events that unfold.

The second act, when Toto comes of age, is equally great, but different. The love that resides within
by these characters is brought to full strength with a dose of gravity.

This new director's cut restores about 50 minutes of original material, most of it in the third act. Things
move a little more slowly here, but no lag can dampen the exuberance, humor and joy and that make
up this great film.

Movie lovers need to see "Cinema Paradiso"  - because it's about movies and because it's about love.

The rapturous closing sequence, alone, is worth the price of admission ten times over.

By Lori Ehde
Two runaways from Pinnacle Programs Inc., Magnolia, are back in custody after fleeing the county in a stolen car.

The boys, ages 13 and 17, are from the Omaha, Neb., area and were completing treatment programs at the non-secure juvenile facility.

The boys reportedly left the facility in the early morning hours of Friday, July 12.

They attempted to steal Brad and Susan Skattum's car, which had been parked in their rural yard.

But after running the 1996 Dodge Intrepid into a well on the Skattum property, the boys abandoned the vehicle and headed toward Luverne.

Once there, they found Sue Kern's 1994 Ford Taurus parked in the driveway on Southwest Park Street with keys in the ignition.

When law enforcement in Jefferson, S.D., detained the boys on a moving violation, records showed the vehicle belonged to Kern, and the information was relayed to Rock County.

That was at 2:10 a.m. Monday, July 15. When local law enforcement called Kern to see if her vehicle had been stolen, she, at that time, thought it was still parked in the driveway.

One of the boys is in custody in Sioux City, Iowa, and one has been returned to Pinnacle Programs.

Felony charges are pending against both boys for the attempted theft of the Skattum car and for theft of Kern's car.

The Skattum vehicle sustained roughly $3,000 in damage, and costs were also incurred by damage to the well.

The Kern vehicle, which had minor damage, has since been returned, but Kern's checkbook and drivers' license are missing.

By Lori Ehde
The Luverne teen-ager charged with stabbing a girl in January was sentenced in Rock County District Court last week.

Sarah Elizabeth Smook pled guilty in April to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

She admitted stabbing a fellow student, Danielle Cook, after a dispute between two girls and their friends escalated to violence.

Cook has since recovered from the stab wound incurred by a seven-inch steak knife.

Smook was charged Jan. 4 with the felony crime and was expelled Jan. 9 for the remainder of the school year.

She attended classes at Minnesota West Community and Technical College through the Post Secondary Option at Luverne High School.

Smook, 17, appeared for sentencing in Luverne Monday, July 15, with her parents Dennis and Arlene Smook.

She was ordered to serve 30 days on electronic home monitoring and to abide by probation conditions until her 19th birthday.

She must also pay $540 in fines and $180.70 in restitution and write a letter of apology to Cook and to have no contact with her.

Further, she was ordered to abstain from drugs and alcohol and abide by counseling recommendations of the probation officer.

As a result of the crime, Luverne School District administration has vowed to keep closer tabs on harassing activity among student in order to defuse conflicts before they escalate to violence.

Smook was a juvenile when charged, but because her offense is a felony, the reports - including her identity - become public under Minnesota law.

By Lori Ehde
Dan Kern, former owner of the Hardwick Green Lantern Bar, was ordered to pay back the $7,676.80 he stole from the American Legion pull tabs and has to find another line of work.

Kern, "Cue Ball," was sentenced earlier this month for felony theft during a hearing in Rock County District Court.

Kern, 37, was found guilty this summer of skimming funds from the pull tab box operated by the Hardwick American Legion.

According to the sentence order filed by Judge David Christensen July 17, Kern is on probation for five years.

He'll make payments of $300 to repay the stolen funds, and will pay further restitution to the Hardwick American Legion of $175.20.

According to the sentence order, he'll pay a fine of $1,038 by completing community service work. One-half of that fine will go toward paying for gambling dependency treatment and aftercare.

During probation, he is banned from working in businesses relating to the use or sale of alcohol.

He was also ordered to abstain from drugs and alcohol and to stay away from bars and gambling establishments.

The Hardwick Green Lantern Bar is now under management of Kern's sister, Carrie Van Dyke, who also runs the adjacent Green Lantern Restaurant.

According to the complaint filed March 14 in Rock County District Court, local law enforcement executed a search warrant of the Green Lantern with the Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

The agents and local officers found on Dec. 3, 2001, gambling and bar proceeds co-mingled.

When questioned, Kern said the games had been played, but instead of depositing money into the Hardwick American Legion gambling account, he had used the money to repay personal debt.

Kern acknowledged involvement in personal gambling, and said he used proceeds from pull tab games to pay down personal debt resulting from gambling.

Effect on local
charitable gambling
As a broader result of Kern's pull tab theft, there will be less charitable money circulating in Rock County.

Because the Hardwick American Legion knew about KernÕs money problems and was allowing him time to pay back the pull tab deficit, the Minnesota Gambling Board suspended the Legion's gambling privileges.

That suspension is in effect for six months in the Kenneth Bar, and the Legion's gambling license is revoked for two years in the Hardwick Green Lantern Bar.

Pull tab receipts allowed the Hardwick American Legion to pay out more than $1,000 per month in local charitable donations.

Further, the Legion paid the two bars rent for operating the pull tab business, negotiation based on activity generated.

The Green Lantern received roughly $400 per month rent for the Legion pull tabs, but Kenneth received $800 per month.

During the six-month suspension imposed on American Legion, Kenneth will lose $4,800 in rent revenue, despite the fact that it had no part in the pull tab theft that prompted the penalty.

"It is our responsibility to see that games get played, and that money makes it to the bank within four days after they're played," said Gary Danger, compliance officer with the Minnesota Gambling Board.

"I think they (the American Legion members) were trying to give the bar owner the benefit of the doubt, but the Legion is held accountable to the board if they're not getting their money to the bank."

The LegionÕs charitable gambling license was suspended effective May 6.