Guilty plea entered in vehicular homicide case
Twenty-three-year-old Jayson Delfs, Hardwick, entered a guilty plea Monday morning in Rock County District Court to the charge of criminal vehicular homicide.
Murder case proceedings on hold
Legal proceedings for Luverne murder suspect Melvin Frazier are suspended following a Rule 20 motion that was granted in Rock County District Court Monday.
Administrator announces retirement
After 33 years on the job, Rock County Administrator Kyle Oldre officially submitted his notice of retirement during the Aug. 18 county board meeting.
Oldre’s final day of service will be Feb. 28, 2027.
Charter amendment measure advances
Luverne voters will be asked in the Nov. 3 general election if they support an amendment to change their city’s government charter.
Peterson wins election for county commissioner
Rick Peterson won the special election for Rock County’s District 3 and is set to join the county board of commissioners early next week.
PowerOn Midwest narrows routes
PowerOn Midwest has narrowed its preferred route for a proposed high-voltage transmission project, and one of its choices would cut through Rock County within one mile of the Blue Mounds State
News
April 22, 2026Several of Luverne’s biggest community celebrations will be affected by the Highway 75 reconstruction and its Main Street detour this summer. “We intend to have all of our events, but they’re going to be a little different, only for this year,” said Jane Wildung Lanphere of the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce. “We’re trying to do the best we can with the cards we’re dealt.” Buffalo…
By Nicole RonchettiApril 22, 2026Three landowners with agricultural property inside of Hills city limits are requesting that their parcels — a total of approximately 91 acres — be designated as rural service districts. The designation, common in rural cities throughout the state, would allow the land to be taxed at a lower rate since it does not receive the benefits of city services. “It’s taxed at a much higher rate than…
By Lori SorensonApril 22, 2026Warm, dry conditions are allowing local crop producers to get a head start on planting for the 2026 growing season. In fact, many farmers are putting in soybeans ahead of corn this year, according to local producer Brian Bergman, who was planting corn west of Luverne Tuesday morning. “This is unbelievable,” he said of this year’s planting season. “A lot of guys have most of their beans in…
By Nicole RonchettiApril 22, 2026Hills resident Allen Saakyan presented a demonstration of what a new city website could look like during the city council meeting on April 14. The presentation brought council members on a tour of the potential website, which Saakyan said would be simple to transfer to city ownership. “I put together a little demo of what a beautiful, modern city website can be,” Saakyan said, showing the…
April 22, 2026Luverne city employees are in the throes of Luverne’s annual spring clean-up, which gives residents the opportunity to dispose of large or unwanted household items. According to Public Works Director John Stoffel, 17 workers have been making quick work of the project using one payloader, four trucks, four side-by-sides and one rear-loader garbage truck. They were scheduled to complete…
April 22, 2026
April 22, 2026All the body parts of Luverne’s giant nutcracker are now ready to be assembled on the nutcracker’s base — which currently holds the boots, legs and torso — at Those Blasted Things in Luverne. Once it’s fully constructed on its concrete base, the nutcracker will tower 73 feet in the air — the tallest in the world. According to co-organizer Katie Walgrave, the pieces will likely be assembled early…- By Minnesota Secretary of State's OfficeApril 22, 2026It’s fair to want our election system to be secure, we all do. The good news is that the data show it already is. According to the Heritage Foundation Election Fraud Map, from 1982– 2025 there were just three convictions for noncitizen voting in Minnesota. That’s about 0.0000057% of ballots cast. A separate study, Needles in Haystacks, by a University of St. Thomas researcher found three…
By Nicole RonchettiApril 22, 2026Hills City Council members heard a recommendation to establish a fire escrow account during their April 14 meeting. The account would provide financial protection for the city in the case of a property owner abandoning a damaged structure after a fire. “How we’ve seen this play out in other areas is there’s some kind of structure fire or building explosion, and the property owner takes the…
By Lori SorensonApril 22, 2026Saturday, April 25, is National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, a nationwide effort of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to properly dispose of medications. The Rock County Sheriff’s Office is encouraging community members to participate in the effort by bringing their unused medications to the Rock County Law Enforcement Center on Saturday. “We want to prevent drug misuse by keeping…
April 22, 2026American political reenactor Joe Wiegand was in Rock County Thursday, April 16, portraying President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt as part of the community’s America 250 celebration. Wiegand has been reenacting Roosevelt on stage for over 20 years throughout all 50 states, and he offered performances in Hills and Luverne last week. Wiegand brought Roosevelt to life in the Hills-Beaver Creek…
April 22, 2026Author Nina Willner has been honored with a Christopher Award for her “Boys in the Light” book that includes Luverne World War II hero Elmer Hovland. The Award celebrates authors, illustrators, writers, producers and directors, whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit” and reflect the Christopher motto, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” According…
April 22, 2026Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Luverne hosted Health Care Mini Camps on Monday and Thursday last week in conjunction with Sanford Luverne. The students toured Sanford Luverne Hospital and Minnesota West Learning Center and participated in hands-on health care scenarios while learning about classrooms and careers in health care. The programs featured in the camps included…
By Lori SorensonApril 15, 2026Jayson Delfs, Hardwick, appeared in Rock County District Court Monday on charges of third-degree murder and vehicular homicide related to last year’s fatal crash northwest of Beaver Creek. The hearing, conducted remotely before District Court Judge Kayla Johnson, lasted only a few minutes — long enough for Delfs to enter not-guilty pleas on all counts. He faces felony charges on three counts…
By Lori SorensonApril 15, 2026Highway 75 closed this week in Luverne between Main Street and Dodge Street for the highway reconstruction project set for April through October. The Main Street and Dodge Street intersection will remain open for the first phase of the work. Traffic will be detoured on Main Street and Blue Mound Avenue to 131st Street north of the hospital. Access to homes, businesses and the school will be…
April 15, 2026Jim Juhl (far left) of Myhre Studio photographs the Luverne High School Class of 2026 on Main Street Tuesday morning under the marquee of the Historic Palace Theatre. It’s tradition in Luverne High School to take a group photo of seniors ahead of graduation at landmark locations in the community. This year’s senior class has 94 students who are set to graduate at 2 p.m. ceremonies Sunday, May 24…
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