Rose Theresa Heitmann Radermacher, 90, died Wednesday, June 5, 2002, at the Parkview Manor Nursing Home, Ellsworth.
Funeral services were at St. Catherine Catholic Church, Saturday, June 8.

Rose married Frank Radermacher Aug. 27, 1945, in Lake Wilson. They lived in Lake Wilson until May of 1956 when they moved to Hardwick, and lived there for 36 years. From Hardwick, they moved to the Blue Mound Towers, Luverne. In October 1992, they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. They moved to Parkview Manor, Ellsworth, in April 1996.

Heitmann held a variety of jobs that included housekeeper, waitress and working for Campbell Soup Co., Worthington. However, her main job was taking care of her family. She was a member of St. Catherine Catholic Church, Luverne. She loved to sew and can fruits and vegetables from their large garden. In her later years, she enjoyed crocheting towels and making floral arrangements. While in Lake Wilson, she provided fresh flowers and linens for the church alter.

Rose is survived by her four children, Helen (Sandy) Kunkel, Cottage Grove, Peg (Loren) Bavin, Amery, WI; Francis "Fritz" (Adeline) Radermacher, Anoka: and Karen Radermacher, Mankato: five grandchildren; two stepgrandchildren; one great grandchild; two sisters, Louise DeBates, Sioux Falls, SD; and Hilda Mitchell, Blunt, SD; and numerous nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Frank, infant son, Edmund; son-in-law, Robert Kunkel; six infant brothers & three sisters, Cecelia Stratmann, Minnie Murphy, & Leona DeBates.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements

Kermit Levane Paulsen, 70, died Friday, June 7, 2002 at Overlake Hospital Medical Center in Bellevue, WA.

Funeral services were Monday, June 10 at Newport Covenant Church in Bellevue, WA.

Kermit was born September 23, 1931 in Steen, to Vyron and Sadie Paulsen. He attended school in Steen and Hills. He entered the U. S. Air Force in 1951. He received a degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota in 1958. He worked for General Services Administration for the United States Government and retired in 1995.

Survivors include his wife Dee Paulsen, Bellevue, children Karl Paulsen, Graham, WA, Keith Paulsen, Bellevue, WA, brothers Ken Paulsen, Dysart, IA, Russ Paulsen, Wausau, WI, sisters, Jean Stradinger, Sonora, CA, Marly Tesch, Waukesha, WI, three grandchildren, and numerous other family members and friends.

The family suggests remembrances to Cascades Camp and Conference Center, 22825 Peissner Rd SE, Yelm, WA 98597. Friends are invited to share memories and sign the family's online guest book at www.flintofts.com

Linda K. (Molitor) Hurd, age 53 of Sioux Falls, SD formerly of Luverne passed away on Sunday, June 9 at her home.

Services were Wednesday, June 12, at the First Presbyterian Church of Luverne. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery.

Linda was born on January 22, 1949 to Leonard and Grace (Price) Molitor in Glenco, MN. As a young girl she moved with her family to Luverne. Linda graduated from Luverne High School in 1967. She continued her education at Nettleton Jr. College in Sioux Falls. After graduating college she began work at Lewis Corporate Office in Sioux Falls as an administrative secretary. It was there Linda made her home for thirty years.

Linda was united in marriage to Rob Hurd in June of 1976 in Luverne. This union was blessed with 2 children: Kelly and Jamie. Linda was a devoted mother and was very involved in her daughter's school and church activities. She always gave of herself to help others and loved spending time with her family.

Linda will be lovingly remembered by her daughters: Kelly (Neil) Peterson, Jamie Hurd and her fiancé, Billy Flinn all of Sioux Falls, SD; sister, Judy (Bud) Heronimus of Blue Springs, MO; nieces, nephews, other family and friends.
Linda was preceded in death by her parents, Leonard and Grace Molitor.

Engebretson Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

Lyle G. Schei, 74, Wanda, formerly of Magnolia, died Thursday, May 23, 2002, at Springfield Medical Center Hospital in Springfield.

Services were Monday, May 27, at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Redwood Falls. The Revs. Scott Grorud and Joy Eckstedt officiated. Burial was in Wanda City Cemetery, Wanda.

Lyle Schei was born to Albert and Nellie (Olson) Schei on July 29, 1927, in Lismore Twp., Nobles County. He attended country school near Adrian. He worked on the family farm, leaving home at an early age to work at various other farms as a young man.

He married Mary Ann Krenzien on April 13 1947, at Zion Lutheran Church in Adrian. Following their marriage the couple farmed near Kanaranzi for seven years, moving back to Adrian, and later to Magnolia where he began his career as a chef for Magnolia Steak House. He cooked there until 1966 when they moved to Redwood Falls where he became chef at the original Valley Supper Club and also to design the new kitchen. He continued his work there until a fire destroyed the Club in 1972. He worked at Blossom Town until the rebuilding process was completed and he returned to the Valley Supper Club. He later became chef at DonovanÕs in Redwood Falls. He and his wife purchased Wanda Country Steak and Drink and opened their own business on April 13, 1984. By 1986 his reputation for cooking became so widespread he and his wife started Wanda Catering which continues to operate today.
He was a member of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Redwood Falls. He was active in the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association and the Redwood Area Retail Liquor Association. He coached Junior League Fast Pitch softball, sponsored the Wanda Girls' fast-pitch team for many years and was a very active member of the Wanda Centennial Committee. He enjoyed bird watching, gardening, making lefse, creative recipe writing and his dogs. During the Comfrey tornado clean-up they donated meals to the workers and community residents.

Survivors include his wife, Mary Ann Schei, Wanda; three sons, Rick (Jan) Schei, Redwood Falls, Gordon (Christine) Schei, Albuquerque, N.M., and Scot (Melanie) Schei, Wanda; three daughters, Deb. (Roy) Kramer, Redwood Falls, Sheryl (George) Steinfurth, San Ramon, Calif., and Wendy (Mark) Siebenahler, Luverne; 22 grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; sisters and brothers-in-law, Virginia Schei, Luverne, Don Marr, Blanche Schei, both of Magnolia, Ivadell Primrose, Fredericksburg, Iowa, and Annabelle Frakes, Luverne.

Mr. Schei was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Clifford and Alfred, and two sisters, Evelyn Honermann and Eileen Marr.

Sturm Funeral Home, Springfield, was in charge of arrangements.

Eight Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth athletes represented their schools at the Minnesota State Class A Track and Field Championships in Blaine Friday and Saturday. Front row, left to right, are: alternates Tyson Metzger and Kale Wiertzema, Lee Jackson and Greg Van Batavia. Back: Tyler Bush, Erin Boeve and Greg Van Batavia.

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth boys' track team made a big impact at the Minnesota State Class A Track and Field Championships at the National Sports Center in Blaine Friday and Saturday.

Six Patriot boys competed in a total of five events during the state classic.

H-BC-E picked up top-nine performances in all of the events to score 26 points, which was good for a tie for seventh place with Concordia Academy in the team competition.

"We had a great meet and a great time," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "We tied for seventh place in the state, which is just awesome. To say you're the seventh-best team with more than 300 teams in your class is pretty awesome. These kids have a lot to be proud of."

Plainview ended up winning the team title with 65 points. St. Croix Lutheran (36), Warroad (33), Maple River (30), Luverne (29) and Staples-Motley (29) round out the top-six.

It takes dedication and sacrifice on the part of the athletes to experience success as a team in any sport, and nobody displayed more selflessness than Patriot senior Brad Haak.
As the defending state champion in the 800-meter run, it would have been easy for Haak to place emphasis on that event in 2002. He did not.

"Brad didn't win the 800 again, but that wasn't his main objective," Goehle explained. "When we talked about what he wanted to do before the sub-section meet, he said that we wanted to get a relay team to state and get a medal. In the end, his main objective was accomplished."

With Haak joining forces with sophomore Lee Jackson and freshmen Tyler Bush and Greg Van Batavia, H-BC-E fielded a 3,200-meter relay that placed fourth Saturday.

The Patriots produced a time of 8:17.3 in the finals, which was 12.12 seconds off the pace (8:05.18) set by the championship team from Warroad.

Haak ran a 1:56.3 split during the relay, and that effort took a lot out of the senior, who earned the right to compete in the finals of the 400-meter dash and the 800 later in the day.

The Section 3A champion in the 400 and 800, Haak ran respective times of 50.97 and 1:58.07 in Friday’s preliminaries to reach the finals in both events.
Haak ran a 51.97 in Saturdays 400-meter finals, which was good for ninth place. Milaca's Craig Kotsmith won the race in 48.54.

Haak then made his appearance in the 800 finals in the afternoon, placing third with time of 1:58.51. Plainview’s Pat Lehmann won the state title in 1:56.44.

Since the top nine performers in state competition make the All-State Team, Haak's name graced the list in the 400, 800 and the 3,200-meter relay.

Haak will continue his track career at Sioux Falls College next year.

"He should have an outstanding college career," Goehle said. "I think he’s just scratched the surface of how good he will end up being."

Bush and junior Chris Reid turned in all-state performances in Blaine over the weekend, too.

Like Haak, Bush qualified for the state meet in the 800.
He ran a 2:00.25 in Friday's preliminaries to qualify for Saturday's finals, when he placed eighth with a time of 2:03.12.

Reid earned medals by placing in the top-six in two events.
After qualifying for the 100-meter dash finals with a time of 11.44 on Friday, Reid had to concentrate on two events at the same time Saturday.

The long jump preliminaries, an event Reid earned the right to compete in, were going on at the same time as the 100-meter finals. He came up with a jump good enough to qualify for the finals in the long jump, and raced his way to a fifth-place finish with a time of 11:38 in the 100. Cannon Falls’ Jared Chambers won the 100 in 11.32.

After a short rest, Reid came up with a distance of 20-7 1/2 during one of his three jumps in the long jump finals. That effort ended up being good for sixth place. Warroad’s Beau Sabouathone won the long jump crown with a distance of 21-4 3/4.

Sophomore Erin Boeve represented the Patriot girls' program in Blaine Friday.

Boeve produced a distance of 15-7 1/4 during the long jump preliminaries, but she needed to beat 15-10 1/2 to reach Saturday's finals.

Boeve ended up with 12th place with her effort.

Dilwort-Glyndon-Felton's Alicia Mindermann won the state championship with her jump of 17-4 1/4.

By John Rittenhouse

The Luverne VFW baseball team has been a busy team since taking the field May 28 to open the 2002 campaign.

The young Cardinals have played nine games in a 14-game span, compiling a 4-5 record.

Luverne posted its third consecutive win when it upended the Sioux Falls Blackbirds 6-3 at Redbird Field Tuesday.

Tim Boen tossed four strong innings to pick up the win. Mark Remme and Jared Pick produced two hits each.

Luverne hosted a VFW Tournament over the weekend, going 2-1 during the event.

The Cards took on New Ulm in the tourney opener Friday and came up on the short end of a 4-1 decision.

Zach Wysong took the pitching loss for Luverne. Jared Pick slapped an RBI double to account for the team’s lone run.

Luverne snapped a five-game losing skid by besting Fairmont 6-2 in Saturday’s first game.

Brent Bradley led the charge at the plate by slapping a pair of hits. Pick notched the pitching win.

The Cards then beat Tracy 8-2 later Saturday.

Adam Kurtz fanned 12 batters in seven innings to to pick up the win. Kurtz and Wysong had two hits at the plate. Brad Herman led the Cards with three hits, including a three-run double.

Luverne dropped its second league game of the season in Marshall Thursday.

Mark Remme punched three hits at the plate while Jordan Kopp, Pick and Rob Fodness added two safeties each. Luverne, however, came up on the short end of a 10-2 score. Tim Boen took the pitching loss.

The night before playing in Marshall, Luverne lost a double-header to the Sioux Falls Wildcats Wednesday, June 5.

The Wildcats overcame two-hit efforts by Bradley and Brandon Deragisch to take Game 1 by a 9-5 tally. Andy Stegemann was saddled with the pitching loss.

Sioux Falls completed the sweep with a 13-2 win in Game 2. Herman took the pitching loss, and a fourth-inning single by Deragisch proved to be Luverne's lone hit.

Luverne opened league play by hosting Worthington in a forgettable game Monday, June 3.

Worthington no-hit the Cardinals in a 1-0 loss. Pick was charged with the pitching loss.

The Cardinals opened the season by besting the Sioux Falls Blackbirds 14-4 in Luverne Thursday, May 28.

Pick, the winning pitcher, led the way at the plate with three hits.

By Lori Ehde

Jubilee Foods owner Tony Bosch has been indicted by a federal grand jury for tax evasion, and entered a not guilty plea May 29 in U.S. District Court, Sioux Falls.

According to the indictment filed May 21, charges stem from his 1996 federal tax return.

The document states Bosch, a former Luverne resident, "did willfully attempt to evade and defeat a large part of the income tax due and owing by him and his spouse to the United States of America ... by filing and causing to be filed ... a false and fraudulent joint U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040, on behalf of himself and his spouse."

Bosch reportedly stated their joint income for 1996 was $60,296 and that the amount of tax due was $27,791. The indictment alleges he filed this information while knowing their joint income was $386,244 and that he owed $119,056 in taxes.

Bosch indicated he may change his not guilty plea in the future to close the case. "After five and half years, this is finally coming to a head," he said. "We're just getting it over with and life will go on."

Bosch, 49, now lives in rural Corson, S.D. He owns Tony's Catering and the Jubilee Foods franchise, including the store in Brandon, S.D.

He sold the Luverne store last year to his son, Brent Bosch, and Larry Goebel, who own the store as a joint venture. Tony Bosch co-owns the Jubilee store in Rock Rapids, Iowa, with Goebel.

A trial date has not been set, but if found guilty of tax evasion, Bosch faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and or $250,000 in fines, plus restitution.

By Sara Strong

Ben Vander Kooi, representing the Blue Mound Area Theater Board, requested financial help for the future of the Palace Theatre and got it.

The Luverne City Council Tuesday approved funding $15,000 of structural assessment and operational analysis.

"It's significant dollars, but I would add that it's a significant building," Vander Kooi said.

The Council's contribution will pay for about half of the studies’ costs, which will also be covered by grants.
Essentially, the studies will analyze the structure and determine whether the theater can be a successful, financially sustainable operation.

"This is probably the most prominent building in Luverne and the worry is, what will happen to it?" Vander Kooi said.

Roof work and other structural issues have kept the building back from all of its potential, Vander Kooi said. "We want to use the building, but use it in a smart way and take care of the deferred maintenance."

Local theater group, Green Earth Players, has said it will use the Palace for two shows, in November and April. The organ and other stage opportunities will be open for community use when the Palace is re-opened.

Now BMAT is looking for an operator, but that is secondary to finding what the building needs structurally.

BMAT recently purchased the Palace after a year of unsuccessful private ownership.

By Sara Strong
Even though the Southwest Regional Development Commission would like to forget Prairie Expo ever happened, it's still the first thing people think of when talking "regional development."

And Prairie Expo is still the reason the SRDC made another pitch to its nine member counties for additional funding.
Rock County's Board of Commissioners Tuesday voted to accept a resolution allowing the SRDC to levy an overall additional $232,082 for eight years.

For Rock County's portion of that levy, its property owners will pay a combined additional $17,990 per year from 2003 to 2010.

The SRDC will use those extra levy dollars to cover $1.6 million in debt and keep the SRDC operating.

Rock County Commissioners Wendell Erickson, Ken Hoime and Jane Wildung voted in favor of supporting the extra levy resolution. Commissioners Bob Jarchow and Ron Boyenga voted against it.

Votes were split the same way in November when a levy advance of $18,000 to the SRDC was passed.

The other eight counties also approved the resolution with close votes.

Erickson said, "I don't look at this as Expo support, but RDC support."

He said the SRDC has been useful to the county in road and bridge projects and in giving the county a voice at the federal level through grant writing.

Hoime said small towns in his district have benefited from the SRDC’s services. He said he was undecided about his vote until he did more research on what the organization had accomplished locally.

Commissioners heard from SRDC Director Jay Trusty before they voted Tuesday.

Trusty said he is working to clean up the mess left by the Expo, but at the same time he's trying to look toward the organization's future.

Empty asset
The Prairie Expo tourism center has been unused since its closing last August.

Now a nine-member group working under the name Prairie Discovery Inc. is trying to find a suitable use for the building.

PDI's president is Steve Perkins, Luverne.

Not using the available space still costs the SRDC $39,000 in annual insurance payments and $750 a month in utilities.

Finding a suitable use for the Expo building may be more difficult than it first seemed.

The building, built with $5.5 million in state funds, has to serve at least a partial public purpose or the SRDC and its member counties might have to pay that debt back.

The State Department of Finance will determine ahead of time what uses will be permissible, so the SRDC won't be caught off guard and have to pay the debt.