Complete with wimpy Christmas tree and grand piano, the ethanol plant's float represented the Peanuts Christmas story.

By Lori Ehde
A light snow dusted the area Friday night, providing the perfect spruce-up for Luverne's fifth-annual Winterfest celebration.

Saturday dawned bright and sunny, and calm winds and mild temperatures contributed to well-attended events all weekend long.

"Everyone had a great turnout," said Chamber of Commerce assistant Lorna Bryan. "From the Parade of Homes to the craft show to the Emily concert."

She estimated this year's parade likely drew more crowds than any other Winterfest parade, and she said no one complained of cold feet.

Winterfest Committee Chairperson April Gangestad said the parade route was "packed," not only on Main Street, but all the way around by the hospital and Blue Mound Towers as well.

By Jolene Farley
The Southwest Area Agency on Aging hosted a meeting in Luverne Thursday, Nov. 29, to seek advice on ways to better serve seniors in Rock County and southwest Minnesota.

Seniors, their families and service providers were invited to offer suggestions on ways to fill gaps in service.

Though sparsely attended, organizers say the meeting accomplished its purpose.

"I think it went well," said Robin Weiss, Program Development Specialist with the Southwest Area Agency on Aging, "We identified many issues."

The most important issue is information and education, according to Weiss. Enhancing the volunteer network in Rock County is also a priority, as well as caregiver training and in-home respite, which provides caregivers a break from caring for an elderly or disabled loved one.

A 2001 legislative mandate designed to rebalance the long-term care system in Minnesota requires each county to submit a plan to improve services for seniors in their area by the end of 2001.

Rock County submitted a County Gaps Analysis on Oct. 15 to the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The service development plan, detailing how to fill gaps identified by the Analysis, is due on Dec. 31, 2001.

The reports shape policies and will be used to help state officials target $10 million in grants to improve services in the state, according to information from the Southwest Area Agency on Aging.

The Agency is under contract with Rock County and eight other southwest Minnesota counties to complete the required reports.

The objective is to help more seniors remain in their homes and to ease the return home for seniors now temporarily living in the nursing home.

"I would stress they (seniors) need to be informed," Weiss said. "Seniors tend not to call the Senior Linkage Line early enough." Weiss stresses there are options available. Seniors do not have to wait until they are in a "crisis mode" before they call.

"They come to us in a state of panic. For example, they wait until someone breaks a hip rather than hire home health care." The goal is to avoid situations like that, Weiss said.

Mary Jane Brown Administrator Linda Studer said she thought overall the meeting went well.

"I think they have a good plan for starting. There are so many things to be done, but they cannot all be done at once because of time commitments," she said.

"The plan will need to be completed over a period of time with things prioritized," Studer said.

She agrees educating seniors about services available is a definite priority in Rock County.

Rock County seniors can call the Senior Linkage Line (statewide) at 1-800-333-2433 for information regarding resources in Rock County or information about senior concerns or issues.

Unfortunately, many of the solutions outlined at the meeting cannot be implemented without adequate funding by the state, Weiss said.

Staffing is another pertinent issue to address before any programs are established.

By Lori Ehde
Pipestone veterinarian Gordon Spronk pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to making a false statement to a federally-insured bank, and in his plea agreement he has committed to providing $500,000 to local schools and government bodies.

During his Nov. 30 guilty plea hearing, Spronk admitted he assisted others in making a false statement to First National Bank in Garretson, S.D., to influence the bank into making a $400,000 loan purportedly to Global Ventures Inc.

Global Ventures, a Pipestone hog operation, served as a nominee to conceal the fact that the loan was actually being used to purchase a $1.1-million problem loan of Kirkwood Broadcasting station in Sioux Falls, S.D., in order to deceive federal bank regulators.

Specific charges
According to charges filed Nov. 26 in U.S. District Court, on or about April 16, 1997, Spronk "knowingly aided and abetted Michael Morgan and David Logan" in making the false statements.

At that time, Spronk, Morgan and Logan each owned nearly a one-third interest in Global Ventures.

Morgan and his family also owned First National Bank in Garretson and First National Bank and Trust in Pipestone.

According to court documents, Spronk admits that on or about April 16, at the request of Morgan, he joined Morgan and others in Morgan's office where Morgan explained he needed a favor from Spronk that involved making a loan to a radio station in Sioux Falls in the name of Global Ventures.

Spronk "understood from the outset that even though the loan would be in the name of Global Ventures Inc., that the loan would not be for the benefit of GVI and the GVI would not be incurring any additional debt or financial exposure from the loan."

Spronk further admits that when he executed the note, he knew GVI was merely a figurehead for the loan, which he believed was being made by First National Bank and Trust, Pipestone.

He told investigators, however, that Morgan and others never told him how the money would be used in connection with the radio station, and he denies knowing the loan was being made to deceive federal regulators.

Terms of the
plea agreement
Under the terms of Friday's plea agreement, Spronk has agreed to provide $250,000 to the city of Pipestone to purchase a new pumper truck and other firefighting equipment; $100,000 in funds to Rock County to purchase and install road signs throughout the county to improve the ability of fire, police and emergency technicians to respond to 911 calls; $50,000 to the Luverne Public School system for the purchase of computers, projectors and repairs; $50,000 to the Pipestone-Jasper School District for its elementary schools' computer labs; and $25,000 each to the Rock County and Pipestone County sheriff's departments.

He also agreed to pay at least a $100,000 fine.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hank Shea is prosecuting the case. When asked about the unique terms of the plea agreement, he said, "Justice can sometimes be served in more than one way."

He said the terms of the agreement would be appropriate, based on the crime. "Punishment is sometimes part of the justice system; so is making amends for one's wrongful conduct," he said Tuesday.

"Gordon Spronk, through his plea, admitted to wrongdoing that was organized by others. He and others profited from that illegal conduct, so the plea agreement provides a way for him to pay back society for his involvement which should benefit the residents of Rock County and Pipestone County."

Spronk's actual sentence will be determined by Judge Michael Davis based on federal sentencing guidelines. The maximum potential penalty is 30 years in prison and/or a $1 million fine.

Based on his agreement to fully comply with all provisions of the plea agreement, the United States will recommend the court sentence him to less than six months in prison.

Ongoing investigation
Spronk joins a growing list of local defendants to appear in United States District Court.

Rock County feedlot officer John Burgers, Hills, was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday, Sept. 20, on charges that he accepted money from the Pipestone hog operation Global Ventures Inc. to overlook mismanagement of potentially hazardous waste.

Global Ventures was also charged at that time with two counts of offering a bribe to an agent of an organization receiving federal funds.

On Nov. 1, retired Pipestone construction company owner William A. Winter pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to lying to a federal agent.

He admitted in court that he gave money to a former Pipestone City Administrator for the purpose of receiving preferential treatment on city contracts. He also admitted to intentionally lying about it to an FBI agent who was investigating alleged bribes in Pipestone and Rock counties.

The cases all stem from an FBI investigation of financial arrangements and the hog industry in the Pipestone area for several years.

Anyone with information concerning the possible solicitation or receipt of bribes or kickbacks in Rock or Pipestone counties can call FBI Special Agent Michael Dudley, (507) 387-2460.

"If any of this information strikes a responsive chord in anyone's memory, we encourage them to call," Shea said.

After the publishing of the number following Burgers' indictment, Shea said, "A number of people stepped forward with information that was helpful in the ongoing investigation," he said. "It's been a substantial assistance."

By Sara Quam
The Luverne Planning Commission voted Tuesday to recommend that the City Council rezone Fledgling Field from R-1 to R-2.

Commission members Dave Haugom, Bill Ketterling and Bob Dorn voted in favor of the change and Jim Kirchhofer voted against it.

The rezoning request came to the commission from Cornerstone Construction, St. Cloud, which purchased the land in April 2000.

Rezoning opens the door for Cornerstone to apply for a conditional use permit for a funeral home, to be used by Dingmann Funeral Home. R-2 zones allow funeral homes as conditional uses, but R-1's don't.

Even though the zone change was approved by the Planning Commission, the City Council has to first approve it by two-thirds majority and then approve a conditional use request specifically for a funeral home.

The change would involve two lots that are now zoned R-1, or low-density residential. The term R-2 refers to a multi-family zone.

Although the previous year's arguments for and against a funeral home were rehashed, the testimony also involved new points.

Dan Dingmann of Dingmann Funeral Home testified on behalf of Cornerstone Construction. He said, "[The land] sits on a major highway."

Dingmann employee Kurt Haugen said, "This is not a peaceful little neighborhood. It's a major highway."

City Council member David Hauge spoke. "We certainly don't want to make a decision based on popularity that can bring about legal ramifications," he said.

Legal issues the city could face were explained by Attorney Ben Vander Kooi. Courts can overrule it because it is considered spot zoning.

Although a funeral home development may not seem like a big issue to some in the city of Luverne, spot zoning is a big issue in the state. In the past, the courts have considered zoning changes to be all right if they expand or contract a particular zone.

In other words, having contiguous zones is the ideal. Putting an R-2 zone in the middle of an R-1 doesn't fit that standard.

Commission discussion
Commission member Haugom said, "Let's just decide on Luverne and if there are higher influences out there, then what can we do about it?"

Kirchhofer said he opposes the change because it doesn't fit into what previous councils and citizen groups have worked on for long-term plans. He said that for zones to change, it must be for a public necessity and general welfare.

Kirchhofer also said, "Residential areas need to be held in very, very high regard."

Dorn said he favored the zone change and would eventually favor a permit for a funeral home because of their history of good neighborliness in Luverne.

"I feel that a funeral home in that area would be a good thing," Dorn said. "If [the residents] can shut out the noise of trucks and semis driving by on the highway, maybe they can shut out the fact that a funeral home is there."

Kirchhofer said that when rezoning is considered, the primary uses of the zone should be the focus of debate. Here, he pointed out, a funeral home is only a conditional use, not a primary use. "Those conditions have to be deliberated over when itÕs applied for."

Haugom said he understands that funeral homes are a business in the sense that they are for profit. However, he said he doesn't see that they are like a service business that has high traffic.

Haugom said that the highway clouds the lines of a residential district in his way of looking at the zone.

Public testimony
The public hearing opened with testimony from citizens.

Eddie Deutsch said, "What I would like to see is to make the change and see what goes from there."

Deutsch can get around only by wheelchair and is frustrated by the current inaccessibility of the historic Dingmann location on West Main Street.

Craig Hohn, a pharmacist at Lewis Family Drug, said the city shouldn't make it difficult for businesses to construct on reasonable sites. Lewis went through a difficult time in site selection because it wanted a downtown location.

Tom Serie said he would prefer to see a funeral home if he had a choice. "I'm not thrilled about having multi-family housing there."

He compared a funeral home's amount of use to churches and day-care centers, which he said are businesses allowed in residential areas.

Jim Harner opposes the rezoning or a conditional use permit.

"We can safely assume that the intention is to build a funeral home eventually," Harner said.

He pointed out that if Cornerstone wanted to develop the lots into residences, R-1 zones allow for duplexes as well as single family dwellings.

Harner cautioned the commission against setting a precedent it wouldn't want to follow up on. "In the future, how would the Planning Commission deal with specific plots of land?"

Janine Papik said that if the Planning Commission rezones the plots of land for a specific use, any lot or land in any residential district is open for applications for rezoning.

"I still have a problem with purchasing land and trying to change it later," Papik said.

Roseanne Olson testified as a property owner near the field. "I'm definitely opposed to the R-2 zoning. I do not want to see a funeral home there; I've lived by one before."

The City Council meets Dec. 11 and 18 and may take up the issue at one of those meetings.

At the last Fledgling Field vote, for example, the council followed recommendations by the commission with slight modifications. Whether it follows the recommendation of the commission this time around is totally up to the council members.

By Lori Ehde
A Luverne man was sentenced in Rock County District Court last week after a jury found him guilty of maliciously punishing a child.

Twenty-year-old Michael Lee Reverts has begun serving a 120-day jail sentence in Worthington for spanking his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter to the point of injury.

Reverts told police he spanked the child when he became angry and admitted that at times he lost control.

When asked how many times he had spanked the child, Reverts told law enforcement, "I'd say between four, five, six times. I'm getting better, because, before, I was... spanking her almost every day, but now ...because my fiancŽe has been giving me a real hard time about it ... I'm slowly working my way out of it."

According to the complaint filed earlier this year, the abuse came to the attention of law enforcement when the girl's biological father noticed bruising during an arranged visitation.

He took the girl to a hospital, where physicians noted, "Her skin reveals a multitude of bruises of various ages ... primarily over the back and buttocks."

The physician's report, as quoted in the complaint, suggested an ongoing pattern of abuse.

"She has deep bruises over the buttocks that appear to be three to four days old, with abrasions over the surface," the report stated.

"The abrasions appear newer, approximately two days old. She has a relatively new bruise on the upper left thigh, just below the groin."

The child was removed from her mother's home in Luverne, where Reverts also resided, and was placed in protective custody at the time of the arrest and now is living with grandparents.

Reverts was found guilty of malicious punishment of a child and domestic assault in an Oct. 25 and 26 jury trial.

Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt expressed satisfaction with the jury's verdict, but he stressed a need to address child abuse and neglect more proactively.

"Abused and neglected children suffer emotional as well as physical damage," he said.

He said such children are more likely to have chronic health problems, low self-esteem and an inability to form healthy attachments to other people.

Reverts appeared before Judge Timothy Connell Thursday, Nov. 29, for sentencing.

A 12-month jail sentence was stayed on the following conditions:

that he serve 120 days in jail,
pay $1,538 in fines and $500 in restitution, continue participating in an aftercare program,
pay the domestic abuse assessment fee of $125,
attend Alcoholics Anonymous/Narcotics Anonymous weekly,
abstain from alcohol or other mood-altering substances,
complete the domestic abuse counseling program,
have no contact with the victim,
accept supervision of a probation agent for five years and
have no violation of laws of misdemeanor level or greater during probation period.

"Parenting can be a tremendous challenge, but nothing excuses violence directed at children," Vajgrt said. "We are fortunate to have many resources locally which provide excellent support for families with young children."

These resources include Rock County Family Services, Early Childhood Family Education, Nobles-Rock Public Health and the University of Minnesota Extension Service.

City workers and members of the Rock County Sheriff's Department were at the accident scene Monday just after the ambulance left with injured Phillip Kramer. Law enforcement officers took pictures of the scene and city workers checked equipment.

By Sara Quam
A Monday morning electrical accident in Luverne left a man in the hospital and parts of town without power.

Just before 10 a.m. Phillip Kramer, 21, of Fulda Electric came into contact with high voltage at the west substation in Luverne.

He was injured and transferred by air ambulance to Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls. Kramer is now in the Regions Burn Center, St. Paul, where his condition was fair Wednesday.

At the time, Kramer and two co-workers were doing work on the city of Luverne's electrical upgrading project that involves computerized data-gathering equipment.

Parts of town experienced a power surge at the time of the accident. South Luverne, though, was out of power for an hour and a half.

According to City Attorney Don Klosterbuer, the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating Monday’s incident and the city of Luverne is doing its own investigation.

Another electrical accident on city property Oct. 20 ended in death for an out-of-town cable worker. OSHA is investigating it and hasn’t issued any citations.

A report on those findings will be issued in the next couple of weeks.

City Utilities Director Red Arndt was unavailable for comment Monday through Wednesday.

Pam Christensen's first-grade class is the featured Luverne Elementary School Class of the Week. Pictured are (front row, from left) Wyatt Aubert, Ethan Johnson, Austin Maxwell, Jacob Guy, (middle row) Joshua Friedrichsen, Thomas Graff, Jordan Stegenga, Matthew Overgaard, Megan Petersen, Nicole Hoff, (standing) Mrs. Christensen, Elijah Dooyema, Derek Van Wettering, Brenton Richters, Kaitlin Wohnoutka, Presley Akkerman and Mrs. Sharon Lais. Missing from the picture is Alexandra Schmitgen.

Mrs. Christensen's first-graders are busy writing Christmas stories and are excited about making reindeer ornaments. They are learning about our world by studying neighborhoods, communities, the United States, and earth. In math they are finding combinations of numbers up to about 15, reading, writing and sequencing numbers to 100, and counting quantities up to 40. "These first-graders continue to improve in reading and writing through daily practice," Christensen said.

Lexy and Adam Kindt portray Mary and Joseph for Hardwick's Zion Lutheran Church float.

Photo by Sara Quam

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth's first appearance at the Red Rock Conference Cross County Meet proved to be a rewarding experience for the Patriots.

H-BC-E won three boys' team titles and five varsity runners made the All-RRC Team based on their performances during the meet.

"Any way you look at it, it was a great day for our kids," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "Both our boys and girls ran well. They were really excited (about their performances), and they should be."

The top 10 individuals in varsity competition make the All-RRC team, and Brittney Rozeboom made it for the Patriot girls. Rozeboom placed 10th in 17:35 as H-BC-E's lone entry in the race.

Four Patriot boys made the All-RRC squad for an H-BC-E team that ran away with the team championship with 27 points.

Adrian (62 points), Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin (64) and Southwest Star Concept-Sioux Valley Round Lake-Brewster (73) capped the field.

Brad Haak, Tyler Bush, Greg Van Batavia and Kale Wiertzema ran their way onto the All-RRC roster. Haak was first in 17:07, Bush fifth in 18:13, Van Batavia sixth in 18:31 and Wiertzema eighth in 18:47.

Nathan Fick placed 13th in 19:05 to round out the team scoring for H-BC-E.

Matt Buck and Lee Walraven placed 15th and 19th in 19:30 and 19:53 without contributing to the team effort.

Top 10 performances by Nathan Mahone, Derek Haak, Paul Jess and Jared Drenth lifted the H-BC-E boys to a team title (15 points overall) in the junior varsity race.

Mahone and Haak placed first and second with 15:45 and 15:55 times, while Jess and Drenth placed fifth and seventh in 17:25 and 18:00.

Justin Hinks capped the team scoring by placing 11th in 21:09.

The Patriots won the boys' junior high team crown with 29 counters.

Devin DeBoer, Kerry Fink, John Sandbulte and Adam Finke led the way by placing second in 6:36, fourth in 6:41, sixth in 6:45 and ninth in 6:59 respectively.

Grant Hoogendoorn placed 14th in 7:17 to pad H-BC-E's team tally.

Blake Crawford finished 20th in 9:03 without influencing the scoring.

H-BC-E's Stacy Bush placed seventh in the girls' junior high race in 8:11, while Becky Broesder was second in the girlsÕ junior varsity event with a time of 16:08.

H-BC-E will field complete varsity teams for the Section 3A Championships set for Thursday, Oct. 25, in Tracy. The girls' race begins at 4:30 p.m., with the boys' race to follow.