News commentary By Lori EhdeToday is New Year’s Eve, a day for reflection on the previous year and how lessons learned will affect what transpires in the year to come.For Luverne and Rock County, some key events — whether in the form of public decisions or political developments — in 2003 will no doubt carry ramifications into 2004.Upheaval at City HallWith the resignations and retirements of several public officials, and with a new council and administrator at the helm, Luverne city politics easily makes the Star Herald’s Top 10 list of stories in 2003.Problems from 2002 — particularly in the Public Utilities Department — spilled over into this year.For example, lineman Mike Gangestad was fired in the wake of city electrical accidents and subsequent OSHA fines and civil lawsuits. But in February this year, after filing a union grievance, he was reinstated after a finding of wrongful termination.The following month, in March, Administrator Matt Hylen resigned and Public Utilities Director Red Arndt retired.July saw the retirement of Public Works Director Darrell Huiskes.New guy, new rulesLuverne’s new City Administrator Greg Lafond started in September.His approach to leadership soon became clear: leave no stones unturned in an effort to fine-tune city operations.In a tight budget year, this is prudent leadership for all public officials, but in the quest to improve city processes, some long-standing city-county agreements are not only under scrutiny but are coming undone.Change can be good, and the optimists are hoping the final outcome of recent city decisions will indeed benefit taxpaying residents as a whole.Meanwhile, 2004 is off to a rocky start in the area of city-county diplomatic relations.However, the city blames the driving factor behind city directives on a tight budget … another major story of 2003.Trickle-down money problemsGov. Tim Pawlenty paid a high-profile visit to Luverne in January, partly to endorse JOBZ legislation.While Luverne ended up with JOBZ designation, per the announcement this month, the governor’s visit in January was less newsworthy than the bigger message he came to deliver: that the state was broke and that budget shortfalls in St. Paul would indeed be felt at the local level.He wasn’t kidding.In Rock County, that meant elected officials in school, city and county governments were left scrambling to come up with money that would otherwise have come from state coffers.The Star Herald pages are peppered throughout 2003 with almost weekly stories of job cuts, lost programs and services, and painful belt-tightening across the board.New hospital campus offers economic hopeAmong one budget crisis story after another, the Star Herald in 2003 was also able to report some economic good news.The new Sioux Valley Hospital and Clinic broke ground on Sept. 2 in a former soybean field north of the Veterans Addition along North Highway 75.With each development of the $17.8 million complex, it was hard to miss the point that this major project stands as a promising sign for Luverne’s future economic success.The 93,000 square-foot campus is targeted for completion in early summer 2005.Another recent positive development in the Sioux Valley Hospital story is that the current hospital-clinic campus already has a new occupant lined up.Dingmann Funeral Home announced last week it will occupy the current Luverne Medical Center and likely demolish the current hospital building for parking space.Speaking of occupying large spaces …One less grocery store, another hardware storeA major news story in 2003 was the announcement by Jubilee Foods that it was leaving town. Jubilee owners sold their large, newly-built grocery store downtown to Glen Gust of Glen’s Food Center.For the first time in nearly a century, Luverne became a one-grocery store town.Gust moved into his new quarters in the former Jubilee store in March, but his old building on East Lincoln didn’t stay vacant for long.In October, Ace Hardware moved in, finding the Glen’s building a perfect fit and location.Incidentally, a hardware store also occupies the old Jubilee Foods building near the library downtown. Luverne True Value-Country Store moved in last year.Wind energyAnother economic bright spot — renewable fuels — made major strides in 2003 as wind turbines continued sprouting up in Rock County. With four turbines already churning smoothly southeast of Beaver Creek in 2002, Minwind groups announced this year that seven more turbines will be constructed 2 1/2 miles north of Beaver Creek on more than two sections of land.A 20-year agreement with Xcel to transmit power generated from the turbines guarantees a place for wind energy as a viable local economic development tool in Rock County.Daddy’s still goneDozens of local families have grown accustomed to living without sons, brothers, husbands and fathers deployed with National Guard this summer.On Aug. 13, the local 125th Field Artillery departed for a six-month deployment in England.There are 93 affected members in the local unit that includes Luverne and Pipestone. Of those, 55 serve duty at the National Guard Training and Community Center in Luverne.Twenty-three of those live in Rock County and 21 live in Nobles County.The local troops are serving as security officers in England.High-profile tragedyWhile the guardsmen are expected to return home this spring, the Randy Scott family in Hardwick experienced a permanent tragic loss this summer.Scott, 55, was killed Aug. 16 when his Harley-Davidson motorcycle collided with a Cadillac driven by Congressman Bill Janklow, who sped through a stop sign at a rural intersection in Moody County, S.D.Janklow’s subsequent manslaughter trial and conviction attracted regional and national attention to the case, making it difficult for Scott’s family and friends to grieve in private.A memorial ride Oct. 4 attracted more than 700 motorcylists who rumbled through Rock County and South Dakota communities in Scott’s memory.Beaver Creek Golf Course opensDespite poor spring weather — more specifically, a lack of sunshine and moisture — the new Beaver Creek Golf Course got off to a rocky start this year.After an expected summer 2002 opening, the course finally opened June 6 this year.The course was developed with Driver’s Restaurant and 32 adjacent housing lots, several of which are already spoken for.Overgaard lawsuitA public family feud over a disputed feedlot came to a close this summer when the Overgaard lawsuit was settled.Glenn, Mabel, Loren and Mark Overgaard had sued Chad and Scott over their hog confinement operation just after it was built. The plaintiffs also protested throughout the process.Besides Chad and Scott, the suit involved Overgaard Pork, former Rock County Feedlot Officer John Burgers, Rock County Board of Commissioners and Schwartz Farms, which owns the animals Overgaard Pork raises.The federal portion of the lawsuit was dismissed in August against Chad and Scott Overgaard.Claims against County Commissioner Bob Jarchow had been filed, but were dismissed in March. The charges against the county were dismissed in federal court in July.
