Remember When

10 years ago (2015) •A Luverne native was able to rub elbows recently with the legendary rock n’ roll band, The Rolling Stones. Katrina (Vander Kooi) Wallmeyer, a 2000 graduate of Luverne High School, is director of development and communications for the choral music programming organization VocalEssence. Wallmeyer has worked for VocalEssence, Minneapolis, for almost seven years. Last month…

10 years ago (2015) •For three weeks in March, employees at CHS Eastern Farmers conducted their annual Harvest for Hunger food and funds drive. On Thursday, May 28, employees at the Luverne and Magnolia CHS locations donated $12,649.32 to the Rock County Food Shelf. “Large donations are wonderful,” said Food Shelf director Mary Gehrke. Since the holiday season, she said supplies have been…

10 years ago (2015) •More than 1,000 gallons of paint and other solvents were properly disposed of Thursday, May 27, during the county’s annual household hazardous waste collection. More than 100 households took advantage of the free disposal that is also offered the first and third Thursdays of each month. The annual and monthly collections are organized by the land management office to keep…

10 years ago (2015) •Local fans of the popular television series “House Hunters” will recognize the featured Realtor in a segment recently filmed in Sioux Falls. Ashley (Gacke) Bartholomaus is a realtor with the Tony Ratchford Group of Keller Williams Realty in Sioux Falls. She sent House Hunters producers an audition tape of herself describing her experience working with a young couple, Damon…

10 years ago (2015) •Rock County Relay for Life’s “Kiss the Pig” fundraising effort is shaping up to be a battle of the Ryans at competing local banks. Ryan Wynia at First Farmers and Merchants Bank and Ryan DeBates at Exchange State Bank are accepting donations for the American Cancer Society for Rock County’s June 12 Relay for Life event. The Ryan who brings in the most money will have the…

10 years ago (2015) •Kenneth, Minnesota, is a small rural town with an official population of 67. To outsiders, the dot on the map doesn’t mean much, but to those who live there and make their regular acquaintances at the Kenneth Community Center, it’s the best place on earth. Just ask the Rust brothers; they’ll attest that Kenneth people are “salt of the earth.” Bud, Keith and Don Rust…

10 years ago (2015) •Last week Minnesota farmers tied a 30-year record for the most soybean acres planted in a single week. That follows the pace set by corn planting the previous week when corn producers had the second-highest acres planted in 30 years, according to the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service. For Kenneth farmer Danny Roskamp, last week meant a personal milestone in…

10 years ago (2015) •The properties on the east end of Barck Avenue are under demolition this week as the city of Luverne paves the way for new housing in that block. The city of Luverne and Cleveringa Construction have entered into a development agreement for the construction of two triplexes and one twin home on East Barck Avenue. … “We’ll have an open canvas there for new development,” City…

10 years ago (2015) •Thanks to a local woman, a New York dad is able to raise twin sons as his own, a life event he didn’t even think was possible until only a few years ago. Michael Melcher compares life before his children’s births to that of the main character in “The Wizard of Oz” movie. … On March 5, identical twins Mateo and Nicolas Melcher were born at Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls…

  10 years ago (2015) •It was a record-breaking night for volunteers and fundraising coordinators at Sanford Luverne Hospice Saturday, April 11. The Blue Mound Banquet Center in Luverne accommodated a packed house of 400 people for the Annual Hospice Charity Dinner and Auction fundraiser, which featured a New Orleans and Mardi Gras theme. According to Sanford Luverne Hospice volunteer…

10 years ago (2015) •Students from Hills-Beaver Creek and Luverne are nearing the completion of a yearlong leadership and development training program developed by Sioux Valley Energy. In total, 32 sophomore and junior students took part in the first-ever EmPOWER Youth Leadership program. Students participating in the program include Thea Richards form Hills-Beaver Creek and Ryleigh Beers,…

10 years ago (2015) •Betty Mann will be 85 years old on May 1. This is also her 20th year as president of the Rock County Historical Society. So her friend Esther Spease Frakes came up with the perfect way to celebrate Betty’s birthday and the landmark year with the Historical Society. “We can give Betty the best gift for her 85th birthday on May 1 by making a donation in her honor to the…

10 years ago (2015) •A familiar structure in the city of Hardwick was removed recently, having outgrown its usefulness in today’s modern agricultural practices. For 123 years the wooden grain elevator stood at the west end of Main Street, one of several structures built during the municipality’s inaugural year of 1892. “When we bought the place in 2005, it was already too small,” said current…

10 years ago (2015) •A man who dedicated more than 30 years of service to Luverne High School athletics will be honored for his efforts in St. Cloud March 25. Elmer Menage, a longtime coach and athletic director at LHS, will be inducted into the Minnesota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association Hall of Fame that evening. … Menage wore many hats after he arrived in Luverne in 1967…

10 years ago (2015) •The Luverne Economic Development Authority took action Monday to approve a commercial demolition grant request from the Sterrett family. The LEDA agreed to give $5,000 toward the demolition of a house and outbuildings on the acreage just east of Luverne City Park along River Road. It once belonged to Rita Sterrett’s parents, Melvin and Annie Rees, and now the Sterrett…

10 years ago (2015) •An eighth-grader will represent Luverne at the state Geography Bee slated for March 27 in St. Cloud. Shane Berning was crowned winner of the local contest earlier this year. He is the son of Eric and Janel Berning of Hardwick. According to geography instructor April Wallace, the local bee consisted of three rounds of paper tests. The first round involved a sixth-through-…