Rock County Sports
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorOctober 07, 2026Joey Lenz recorded a perfect 25 targets in his second round of fall trap shooting this past week. In Week 2 competition shooting, Lenz is the fourth Luverne shooter to attain this honor so far this season. This was his first perfect 25 on the team. He finished with a total of 45 targets shot, along with Lucas Madison, to lead the team in scoring. Logan Wrigg finished with a 44 and Carter…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorOctober 07, 2026Luverne sophomore Griffin Sailor sank a hole-in-one at the Luverne Country Club Sunday, Oct. 4. “My shot felt good and landed a little short of the green and rolled on,” Sailor said. “We couldn’t tell if it went in at first, but when we went up to the hole, we were excited to see that it was in the cup.” Sailor was with his father, Nick Wassenaar, on the par three, seventh hole in Luverne and…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorSeptember 02, 2026Rapid Speedway Rock Rapids, IA Aug. 28 results, Championship Night Sportsman #142 Eric Gaul, Luverne - placed 3rd in the A Feature, finished second in Heat 1. #17 Brandon Boeve, Beaver Creek – placed 9th in the A Feature, finished fifth in Heat 1 #23T Johnathan Tiesler, Hills – DNF in the A Feature, finished sixth in Heat 2. #21 Larry Kracht, Magnolia – DQ in the A Feature, finished…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 26, 2026The Luverne Redbirds were knocked out of the 2026 Minnesota Baseball Association State Tournament in the first round by the Dumont Saints. Dumont, the Section 3C champs, beat the Redbirds 3-1 in a close game Sunday, Aug. 23, in New Prague. The Saints scored two runs in the first three innings on a walk-in in the first and a single with a runner on third in the third inning. The Redbirds got on…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 26, 2026The new Luverne High School football field scoreboard is up, and it will be ready in time for the season’s first home football game according to school officials. “We got the board up and ready for power,” LHS Building and Grounds Director Cory Schmuck said on Monday. “We just need to connect it and get the system operating.” The new scoreboard will be tested and ready for the Sept. 12 home…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 26, 2026Rapid Speedway Rock Rapids, IA Aug. 21 results Sportsman #142 Eric Gaul, Luverne - placed 3rd in the A Feature, DNF in Heat 1. #21 Larry Kracht, Magnolia – placed 4th in the A Feature, finished first in Heat 1. #17 Brandon Boeve, Beaver Creek – placed 10th in the A Feature, finished sixth in Heat 2. Overall points leaders to date 7th - Brandon Boeve – 1046 9th - Eric Gaul – 874 12th -…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 19, 2026The Luverne Redbirds edged their way past Jackson beating the Bulls 2-1 to collect their ticket to the 2026 Minnesota Baseball Association Class C State Tournament. Jackson took Game 1 outscoring the Redbirds 5-3 Aug. 12 in Luverne. Luverne tied the series 1-1 beating the Bulls 5-4 Aug. 14 in Jackson. Tied 1-1 in the series, the Redbirds flew past the Bulls 12-2 at home Aug. 16 to punch their…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 19, 2026Steve Smedsrud, Pete Connell and Mary Jo Graphenteen were recently named 2026 Luverne Country Club Tournament champions. Smedsrud took top honors in the senior tournament Aug. 8 with an 18-hole score of 71. Greg Carroll came in second with a 76 followed by Adam Hansen and Darwin Elbers who tied for third with rounds of 77. Graphenteen won the women’s tournament Aug. 14 with an 18-hole score of…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 19, 2026Local racing results for Aug. 14-15 include the following information for drivers with ties to Rock County. Rapid Speedway - Rock Rapids, IA Aug. 14 Rain out Sportsman Overall points leaders to date 7th - Brandon Boeve – 974 9th - Eric Gaul – 783 12th - Larry Kracht – 486 13th - Johnathan Tiesler – 397 USRA Hobby Stock Overall points leaders to date 7th - Brock Harnack – 868…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 12, 2026Three Luverne youth baseball players got the chance of a lifetime to play at Cooperstown Dreams Park in Milford, N.Y., this summer. Tyson Uithoven, Nolan Weber and Kyler Krzmarzick were chosen to be part of the Southwest Minnesota Blaze 12u team this season. The Southwest Minnesota Blaze is a youth amateur baseball organization in the region featuring travel teams like their 12u and 16u squads…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 12, 2026The Luverne summer soccer program fills a scheduling gap in activities for kids from preschool through seventh grade toward the end of summer. That’s why many families sign up, according to Michele Raddle who coordinates the program. “By the middle to end of July, many summer activities have wrapped up, and August can feel like that quiet time before school starts,” she said. “Soccer gives…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 12, 2026Rapid Speedway Rock Rapids, IA Aug. 7 Results Sportsmans #142 Eric Gaul, Luverne – placed 1st in the A Feature, finished second in Heat 1. #21 Larry Kracht, Magnolia – placed 7th in the A Feature, DNF in Heat 2. #17 Brandon Boeve, Beaver Creek – placed 11th in the A Feature, finished fifth in Heat 1. Overall points leaders to date 7th - Brandon Boeve – 974 9th - Eric Gaul – 783 12th -…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 05, 2026The Redbirds recorded two grand slams and two solo home runs against Hadley over the past week to advance to the Region 10c Championship Tournament. Luverne took down the Hadley Buttermakers in the best of three games beating the Buttermakers 8-0 July 29 in Luverne and 13-1 Aug. 1 in Hadley. In Game 1 Blake Sauer hit a grand slam in the second inning giving Luverne a 4-0 lead. In Game 2 Carter…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorAugust 05, 2026The 2026 Rock County Fair showcased several grandstand events and entertainment over the past week. On Wednesday, July 29, the Good Ol’ Plowboys featured several local and regional participants in a lawn mower pull. These were not your everyday off-the-shelf models. Rather, they were machines designed to tear through the dirt and not care about grass. There were five classes of pullers from…- By MN DNRAugust 05, 2026Changes in how hunters buy licenses and validate and register harvests will be in place for all hunters in all seasons with the new electronic licensing system that the Minnesota DNR launched in June. There are three ways to buy a license (mobile app, online, or in-person from a license agent) and three ways to carry it (paper, PDF, or stored in the app). Customers can access the new system on…
By Greg Hoogeveen, sports editorJuly 29, 2026The Redbirds finished their regular season going 1-1 in exhibition play at home. The Redbirds fell 14-0 to Sioux City on July 24 and beat Milroy 11-1 on July 26 at Redbird Field. Luverne accumulated a 12-7 season record and went 9-4 in Region 10c action. Luverne, the No. 4 seed, was scheduled to take on Hadley, the No. 5 seed, in Game 1 of Region 10c semifinal playoffs at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday,…
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