By Lori Ehde
Luverne's historic Palace Theatre is now in private hands - but it's nothing the patrons will notice, according to new owner Jeremy Esser.

He and his wife, Rachel, have leased the Palace from the Blue Mound Area Theatre Board since June 1999.

They had also operated the Iowa Theatre in Sheldon where they live, but Esser said they're selling that one and will concentrate efforts in Luverne.

Buying the Palace was an attractive option for the couple, since they wanted to build equity for future theater opportunities.

"This will be cheaper for us, and having some property will help us out on the business side," he said.

"That way, if I'm ever interested in owning a theater somewhere else, that helps me out."

From the perspective of the Blue Mound Area Theater Board, the time had come to sell the Palace.

"We wanted to see it back in public hands rather than maintain it ourselves," said Mike Hesch, board president.

For nearly 25 years, the board has owned the Palace and has existed for the purpose of protecting the theater's interests.

But Hesch said it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage as a board. "It's virtually impossible to find people to serve on boards like that," he said.

Two years ago, Luverne native Tom Brakke offered to buy the Palace but said he wasn't contacted this time around to see if he was still interested.

"Personally, I'm not offended they didn't contact me, but I think other community groups may have had an interest as well to see that there's proper protection of the theater," Brakke said Tuesday.

"We had intended to put a fair amount of money into the structure, and I'm not sure the new owners will do that. Our primary interest was in protecting the Palace, so we proposed very strict covenants to do that."

Hesch said negotiations with Brakke fell through because the two parties couldn't agree on a price.

This time, Hesch said, "We agreed on a price."

The purchase agreement for $50,000 was signed with Esser on July 25.

Several stipulations were written into the contract to protect the Palace, and the board has the right of first refusal, if the Essers decide to sell it.

Hesch said the board will invest the money into CDs for the next few years, until it's clear the business is on firm financial footing.

Then, he said, the earnings will likely be invested in a local historic preservation fund.

"I think he'll do a good job," Hesch said about Esser. "He has a lot of experience with theaters, and he's done a very good job so far. I'm extremely optimistic things will go well for him."

Theater Board member Bonnie Jordahl said all board members were present when the decision was made to sell, and all supported the decision.

Further, she said the board has grown to trust Esser and his management style and his respect for the historic value of the theater.

"He has given his word that he won't do anything drastic. He appreciates the Palace Theatre as it stands," she said.

"We are behind him all the way, and should he ever want to not keep doing this, it comes right back to us, which is assuring."

Other Theater Board members are Grace Loose, LaJean Lammert, Bob Dorn and Verlyn Van Batavia.

Esser has been involved in the theater industry since he was 16 years old working at his hometown theater in Nebraska City, Neb.

Since then, he's worked his way up through management positions at 12 different theaters in the past 10 years.

In his years of experience, Esser said he's never seen a theater with the appeal that the Palace holds.

"It's a very, very nice theater. There's just no other theater like it," Esser said. "It's one-of-a-kind in the sense that it has an operable stage and dressing rooms, a balcony, the unique bathroom location and the art mural on the wall."

He said any plans for additional screens would be accomplished through neighboring property. "The main auditorium won't be touched," he said.

The Palace was built in 1915 by Herman Jochims, primarily for the presentation of stage plays by traveling theater troupes and for "moving pictures," then an up-and-coming form of entertainment.

Its history is one thing that makes the Palace so unique. The next-oldest theater he has worked in was built in 1945 and has since been modernized.

Esser now owns the Palace Theater building, the second-story apartment and the Palace Museum space.

The Blue Mound Area Theater Board still owns the contents of the museum, which include mementos of the vaudeville days, the days of silent movies and early sound movies. It occupies space that once served as a ballroom.

The Essers are planning to host an open house at the Palace during Tri-State Band Festival activities on Sept. 29.

By Sara Quam
Trying to balance adequate services against the bottom line was an issue for the Luverne City Council Tuesday as it discussed garbage options and fire protection.

Meeting as Committee of the Whole, the council didn't take formal action on either topic.

The garbage issue has surfaced for the city in light of the city allowing Ketterling Services to take on some of the city's customers. In losing those customers, the city has lost revenue and is looking at what it can do to make it up.

Taking its municipal solid waste to Lyon County, which has a lower per ton charge than Rock County, may be one option. The city has done this for three months now to save money. But without the city of Luverne supporting the Rock County Transfer Station, it may not be able to stay open at its current level. Luverne is the county's biggest customer at the landfill.

The Rock County Transfer Station gets collections from the city and then contracts with Ketterling to haul municipal solid waste (standard garbage) to Lyon County. Rock County can put only demolition material in its landfill.

Instead of using the Rock County landfill as a middle-man, Luverne Public Works Director Darrell Huiskes said the city could save $13,568 a year by bypassing the local stop.

If Rock County loses Luverne's landfill business, the transfer station would still remain open, but at a limited capacity, which concerned some council members.

Council member Keith Erickson said, "I'd like to see us work with the county on this."

Mayor Glen Gust said he was also in favor of finding a way to support the local landfill. "I think we need to think about the citizens of Luverne and about having a place to go with their stuff," he said.

City Administrator Matt Hylen said moving Luverne's compost and burning service to the landfill is an option to keep someone there with the city still paying for those wages. The current transfer station's hours aren't exactly consumer-friendly, he said, because it closes at 4 p.m. weekdays, where LuverneÕs service is open for a few hours weekday nights and Saturday mornings.

Huiskes said that having a local landfill is a valuable service that he'd like to keep for the citizens, but that saving money is the real issue. "I have a real hard time with the citizens of this city subsidizing the county."

Huiskes pointed out that LuverneÕs collection rates haven't changed, except to decrease, in five years. He would like to keep rates as low as possible.

The estimate that the city would save more than $13,000 includes calculations for per ton deposits, fuel, labor, maintenance and annual depreciation.

The major cost difference between the landfills is that Lyon County charges $45 per ton and Rock County charges $70 per ton. Also, the county pays out about $85,000 to haul municipal solid waste to Lyon County, which the city of Luverne might do on its own.

Councilman David Hauge said he doesnÕt understand why the city should have to figure out a way for the Rock County landfill to stay in business. He said the county's position when deciding on issues has always been to keep costs down and hasnÕt done the city of Luverne any favors.

Hauge said, "I don't think our job is to figure out their strategy. If it saves money, it's good for the taxpayers."

Councilman Jim Kirchhofer agreed. "I think they need to provide a competitive service."

Firefighter pension
For the second time, the council discussed but took no vote on the issue of increasing firefighter's pension to the requested $2,100 annual contribution.

Mayor Glen Gust and council member Tom Martius must abstain from voting because both serve on the volunteer fire department.

Council members seemed to agree that granting the full amount of the request would be too much for the budget this year, but that an increase from the current $1,700 was warranted.

Erickson suggested a dollar per hour raise from the current $6 on top of the pension increase. The firefighters get the hourly wage during weekly training exercises and when on duty at fires.

The council will vote on the fire pension and wage increases at a future council meeting.

By Lori Ehde
Teachers are often aware of students who are struggling, but they don't always have the resources to adequately help them.

Help is on the way, thanks to a new program approved by Luverne School Board members at their Thursday, Aug. 23, meeting.

Child Guide is designed to connect students with positive things in their communities.

"All these assets are in your communities, but the problem is children aren't connected to all these good things," said program presenter Marlyn Benson, of the Southwest-West Central Service Cooperative.

"We needed to find a way to connect children to all these good things. That's what Child Guide is all about. We don't provide the assets; we connect kids to programs and programs to kids."

In school districts that use Child Guide, teachers and staff are asked to keep their eyes open for students who may be struggling - either from problems at home or with their peers.

Child Guide doesn't do the work of a school psychologist or counselor but works on referrals from them.

Help is often as simple as a cheery greeting to a student in the morning or offering special praise for a minor accomplishment.

"We'll do the things you'd like to do but don't really have the time or energy to do," Benson said.

In many cases, students' self-confidence can benefit from involvement in 4-H or Scouts, but parents don't have the time or funds to enroll the child - or don't see the need.

In that case, a Child Guide representative might make a friendly contact with the parents about the advantages of involving the child in a certain activity.

If costs or transportation are an issue, Child Guide might connect the family with local sources of revenue or with volunteers to drive or carpool.

Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff embraced the idea. "It's a wonderful opportunity," she said.

"In my 17 years in education, it's always been a problem: You do good stuff for kids, but the kids who really need it aren't there."

Child Guide came about when the Legislature took aim at reducing juvenile corrections costs. It asked the Southwest-West Central Service Co-operative to design a program to help kids before they get into trouble.

The co-operative and Southwest Minnesota Foundation developed Child Guide as a result.

After piloting the program for six years in the Willmar School District, Kandiyohi County Family Services reported a noticeable decrease in juvenile-related caseloads.

In Rock County, Child Guide will be funded through the Southwest Minnesota Foundation, McVay Foundation, Rock County Collaborative and possibly Blandin Foundation.

No district funds will be spent on the project. Child Guide representatives will be employees of the Service Co-operative. All the district is asked to do is provide part-time desk space.

With the board's approval Thursday, Child Guide will be implemented in Luverne schools immeditately.

By Sara Quam
The Luverne City Council Tuesday introduced an ordinance that, if passed, will make it illegal to park on city streets between 1 and 6 a.m. from November to April.

The law change proposal was prompted by previous discussion about the city's problems in snow removal.

The city has to plow around parked vehicles after snowfall and then must make additional trips to cover area first missed.

Also, snow emergency notification has been limited since the city can no longer interrupt cable television to tell residents to move their cars.

Ticketing is difficult for law enforcement because a policy isn't clear enough on when to ticket cars on the streets.

The council introduced the ordinance to bring it up for discussion and to gather feedback.

One resident said after the meeting that sheÕs concerned about the ordinance because she doesn't have a driveway.

The council will likely take action on the ordinance in September.

FYI
The city used 22,000 feet of toilet paper to seal filled surface cracks at the airport and another 30,000 feet within the city. The paper may have been noticed by residents, and although it looks messy, it breaks down naturally in time.

Judge Timothy Connell swears in 33 new citizens from 13 different countries Wednesday morning in the first ceremony that anyone is aware of in Luverne. The new citizens live in southwest Minnesota. Below, Dawei Hong talks with Robert "Tim" Tangeman, Luverne, who attended the ceremony along with many other interested citizens and government officials. Hong is a native of China and has lived in the United States since 1989. He taught computer science at Southwest State University and is on his way to another job as a professor in New Jersey.

Those receiving citizenship were from Belarus, Canada, China, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Hungary, Laos, Mexico, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Raul Marquez spoke to the crowd in the Luverne Elementary School's commons area. Marquez is a native of Mexico who became a citizen in 1997 and works as an interpreter in the court system. He will move to Arkansas to become a director of interpreter certification there.

Marquez said, "I went through what you are going through today in 1997. I cannot explain or tell you enough what a privilege it was for me to become a citizen." He said it is "beautiful" to be able to fly to visit family and not worry about having the right papers so he can get back into the country. He emphasized that voting is a serious privilege and that jury duty is something to take seriously. "In Mexico I didn't truly believe in voting because of all the corruption. I hope you realize you are very important in this country. I don't want you to forget your old country, but this is your new country and this is a new flag you have to respect."

The VFW Post 2757 and auxiliary and American Legion Post 123 and auxiliary were on board for presentation of colors, to give each applicant an American flag and certificate and to serve lunch. Danielle Deragisch and Colby and Lorna Anderson added music to the ceremony.

Photos by Sara Quam

Brian Holck, Ruthton, sets fire to the strip of Blue Mounds prairie along County Road 8 north of Luverne Thursday, Aug. 23. The burn is one step in a long process of restoring that portion of the state park to its original native prairie. It was burned this spring and then sprayed with Roundup and 2, 4-D.

According to Parks Prairie Specialist David Breyfogle, that piece of the park had been planted with prairie grass seed nearly 20 years ago, but the seed came from Nebraska. Breyfogle said the grass was genetically different than native grasses on the Blue Mounds, so Minnesota's growing season prohibited reproduction. The grasses were often still flowering during the first frost.

After Thursday's burn, whatever grows this summer will be sprayed again. This fall, the ground will be tilled and planted with prairie grass seed harvested from the Blue Mounds State Park. Over the next few years, the new growth will be mowed until the prairie grasses are well established. "Probably three years from now it will start looking like a prairie again," Breyfogle said. An area north of the cliff line is in its second year of the same process.

Photo by Lori Ehde

BMX bikers were in Luverne Sunday for one of their last meets as Luverne is closing the tracks because of liability issues. Cody Scholten, Steen, and other bikers, outfitted in protective gear, take the dirt mounds during the meet.

Photo by Chantel Connell

BMX bikers were in Luverne Sunday for one of their last meets as Luverne is closing the tracks because of liability issues. Some of the participants were: (front from left) Matt Seivert, Shane Smith, (middle) Dave Brady, Ryan Schuur, Shane Klein, Dave Cody, Branden Pottebaum, Alex Jungers, Matt Wanderschied, Cody Scholten, Matt Anderson, (back row) Benjamin Jungers, Sawyer Smith, Taylor Vande Velde, Jesse Connell, Josh Connell, Cody Swanson, Matthew Sterrett, Cody Schneider and Dalton Klein.

Other bikers, outfitted in protective gear, take the dirt mounds during the meet.

Photo by Chantel Connell

By John Rittenhouse
A possible win slipped away from the Hills Thunder when the local amateur baseball team played a road game in Pipestone Wednesday, June 20.

The Thunder played their way to a 3-0 lead through three and one-half innings of play against the A's.

Pipestone, however, trimmed the difference to one run by the end of the sixth inning and pulled out a 6-4 victory by scoring three times in the home half of the eighth inning.

Hills scored two runs in the first inning and one in the third to take a 3-0 advantage.

Jarud Lang was hit by a pitch before advancing to third base on Chris Putnam's double during the first inning.

After Lang scored on a passed ball, Matt Carroll singled home Putnam to give the Thunder a 2-0 cushion.

Eric Harnack singled in the third inning and scored when Chad Rauk singled to make it a three-run difference.

Pipestone scored twice in the fourth to make it a 3-2 game, but Wade Jellema tripled for the Thunder and scored on Matt Funke's single in the sixth to give Hills a two-run advantage.

Pipestone answered with one run in the bottom of the sixth to climb within one run (4-3) of Hills before erupting for three counters in the eighth.

Rauk, who was three-for-four at the plate, pitched for Hills. He recorded six strikeouts while walking four batters in the game.