By Sara Strong
Luverne's Mike Reker was sworn in as the newest member of the Luverne Planning Commission Tuesday. He replaces David Haugom who filled in during a three-month gap in terms when Mike Rofshus resigned.
Haugom decided not to renew his term after the three months because of business and family commitments. Pressures from the Fledgling Field issue have added to the difficulty in keeping the chairs filled.
Reker is employed by Meulebroek, Taubert and Co. in Luverne, and he and his wife, Rosie, have three grown children.
At Tuesday' meeting, the Commission voted to continue with proceedings to change a portion of an R-1 zone near downtown to R-I. The Commission will host a public hearing to get comments and then make a recommendation to the council, which will make the final rezoning decision.
The R-1, or residential zone, contains the Catholic Church and different apartment complexes and facilities that would better fit in an R-I, or residential-institutional zone, by definition.
Commission Chair Jim Kirchhofer said, "There is already quite a bit of multi-family dwellings there already - and a church."
The proposed changes would make zone lines cleaner, the Commission decided, and also follows what's been shown as natural changes in that area of town.