From parched to drenched
Harvest is in full swing for much of Rock County this week, marking the final stretch of what’s arguably been a challenging growing season.
Highway 75 project proceeds (almost) on schedule
Contractors have been given a five-day extension on completion deadlines due to September’s frequent rainy weather.
H-BC School Board Candidates share priorities
There are five candidates seeking election to four open seats on the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board.
The Loft after-school program helps kids find community
Starting at 3:20 p.m. on the dot, the quiet halls of First Presbyterian Church in Luverne start to fill with the noise of children.
Luverne preliminary levy set to rise 7.12%
Luverne City Council members are proposing a 7.12% levy increase for taxes payable in 2027.
Adrian reporter to contribute to Star Herald
The Rock County Star Herald is expanding its coverage area east toward Adrian, and Deb Kroon will be the face of those stories for the Star Herald news team.
News
- By Lori SorensonJanuary 24, 2023A good way to measure growth over time is to track the number of building permits issued for construction. Luverne building official Chad McClure compiled numbers for 2022 when he issued 160 permits valued at $29,450,362. Of those, four were for single-family home construction valued at $757,134 and comprised 2.6 percent of permit valuations last year. McClure points out that these valuations don…
- January 24, 2023Eugene Marshall of the Blue Mound Area Theatre Board (left) accepts a $500 check from Bill Stegemann of CenterPoint Energy recently at the Palace Theatre in Luverne. The gift was generated through CenterPoint Energy’s Give Grant program that allows current and retired employees to earn funds with their volunteer hours. (Submitted photo and information)
- By Mavis FodnessJanuary 17, 2023An international biogas company visited Rock County Tuesday and expressed interest in something local livestock producers have a lot of – manure. Nature Energy operates 13 biogas plants in Denmark and in three years plans to build 15 more in North America. Four Nature Energy representatives met with county commissioners Tuesday, explaining their business model and needs from a host community.…
- By Mavis FodnessJanuary 17, 2023Anyone wanting to enjoy the use of a sled in Hills or Beaver Creek won’t have to look far, thanks to the eighth-graders at Hills-Beaver Creek Secondary School. Two Little Free Sled libraries are now available for use in each community. Similar to a Little Free Library, where books are available to borrow and placed back when read, the Little Free Sled Library allows anyone to borrow a sled, use…
- By Lori SorensonJanuary 17, 2023Ten years ago Janine Papik and LaDonna Iveland noticed families were traveling to Sioux Falls for violin lessons. “We wondered if there would be a way for instructors to come to Luverne, rather than all these Luverne students traveling to other communities for lessons,” Papik said. That idea in October of 2012 led to Luverne Street Music, which today joins 11 instructors with more than 100…
- By Lori SorensonJanuary 17, 2023Luverne native Monti Ossenfort is the new general manager of the Arizona Cardinals, according to the NFL team’s announcement earlier this week. “It was critically important for us to find the right person to lead us as general manager and there is no doubt in my mind that we have that in Monti Ossenfort,” Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill said in a statement released Monday. “He possesses every…
- By Mavis FodnessJanuary 17, 2023Amanda Marie Locks is in trouble. “Goldie,” as she is known to her friends, is on trial for breaking and entering, and destruction of private property. Did she break into the Mr. F.D. Bare family home, consume porridge, break a chair and ruin a window screen in her haste to escape? Students in the Hills-Beaver Creek Secondary School production of “Goldilocks on Trial” will answer those questions…
- By Lori SorensonJanuary 17, 2023Two more lots in Luverne’s industrial park are on the market priced at $21,000 and $31,000, according to action at the January meeting of the Luverne Economic Development Authority. The lots are located near the intersection of Koehn Avenue and Dakota Road in the Mayes subdivision, named for the late Marty Mayes who farmed the 91 acres before they were annexed into the city in 2007. “We already…
- January 17, 2023Hills Mayor Keith Elbers (standing, far left) watches Vickie Busswitz and Cory Metzger recite the oaths of office prior to the Jan. 10 Hills City Council meeting. Busswitz was re-elected to a second term in November while Cory Metzger begins his first four-year term. Metzger was elected to the seat filled by Alan Leenderts, who served on the council for 16 years. Watching the reciting (seated)…
- By Lori SorensonJanuary 17, 2023Beaver Creek City Council members convened Wednesday night, Jan. 11, for their first meeting of the new year under new leadership. Jacob Conger and Heidi Freese were elected in November and were sworn in as new council members at the start of the meeting. They replace outgoing members Jeff Dysthe and Pat Bender who didn’t file for re-election. Council members thanked them for their leadership.…
- January 17, 2023All five Rock County commissioners were sworn into office Thursday morning, Jan. 5, at the Rock County Courthouse in Luverne. Due to redistricting, Gary Overgaard, Stan Williamson, Greg Burger, Jody Reisch and Sherri Thompson (above, being sworn in by District Judge Terry Vajgrt) refiled for office and received no challengers in the November general election. Thompson was elected board chairman…
- January 17, 2023The Minnesota State Veterans Home in Luverne has been recognized as one of America’s top nursing homes for 2022-2023, according to U.S. News and World Report magazine The magazine evaluated more than 15,000 nursing homes, and only 16 percent of U.S. skilled nursing facilities earned the “Best Nursing Home” designation this year. Scott Buchanan, administrator of Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne…
- By Mavis FodnessJanuary 17, 2023Emma Nibbelink of Luverne was fatally injured in a two-vehicle accident reported at 6:04 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 10, in Sioux County, Iowa. According to the Iowa State Patrol, Nibbelink was traveling south on U.S. Highway 75 near Hull, Iowa, in a 2008 Chevrolet Impala when her vehicle drifted onto the west shoulder that was covered in snow and ice. Officers determined Nibbelink overcorrected the…
- By Lori SorensonJanuary 10, 2023In his 40 years of maintaining Rock County rural roads, Rodney Lowe said he’s never seen this much snow. “In terms of the shear amount of snow on the roads, it’s the most we’ve had to move,” said Lowe, who is finally wrapping up his road clearing work this week. One for historical records Last week’s blizzard dropped 15 to 20 inches of moisture-laden snow on an already snow-covered landscape in…
- By Lori SorensonJanuary 10, 2023The Luverne Economic Development Authority is planning for the city’s newest residential development, the Lopau Addition. At Monday morning’s first EDA meeting of 2023, the board reviewed a feasibility report and concept layout of the new addition. The development, estimated to cost more than $2 million, will accommodate 24 residential lots. Nineteen lots will be designated for single-family…
- By Mavis FodnessJanuary 10, 2023When Tiffany Muellner isn’t talking about Blue Mounds State Park as part of her job as park naturalist, she’s busy visiting other parks. “It is almost kind of funny that when I am not at work at the park, I am visiting parks for vacation,” she said. Her life goal is to visit each Minnesota State Park and all of the national parks. She’ll enjoy each park visit for various reasons. “I literally can…
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