Hardwick celebrates annual Jubilee Days
Hardwick residents and visitors celebrated the town’s annual Jubilee Days Saturday and Sunday.
Rock County among 21 included in presidential disaster declaration
Rock County is among 21 counties included in a major disaster declaration approved Friday by President Biden.
Local Soil Health experts brainstorm for options as farmers consider next steps for flooded fields
As the realities of flood damage to crops come into focus, area producers are considering options for soil that was supposed to grow corn and soybeans.
Carson's Cause Truck Meet and Classic Car Cruise attracts over 120 and raises $27,000 Saturday
The second annual Carson’s Cause Car and Truck Meet at the Verne-Drive-In attracted more than 120 vehicles and raised $27,000 for local efforts to improve brain he
Disaster declared in Rock County
Preliminary estimates are over $2 million in public infrastructure damage as a result of the June 21-22 flood event.
Some areas receive 12+ inches of rain
Multiple rounds of torrential rain in Rock County and the tri-state area created significant flooding over the past week, wreaking havoc on properties and public infrastructure.
News
- By Lori SorensonAugust 29, 2017Chief Fire Control Technician Carl Schoneman will retire from the Navy on Aug. 31 after 20 years and six deployments at sea. His message to young adults back home? “Rock County may seem like the center of the universe, but it’s a big world out there,” he said. “Keep an open mind. You never know where life is going to take you. … Sometimes you have to put your toe in the water; you might get swept…
- By Lori SorensonAugust 29, 2017After several hours of investigating a possible kidnapping, the Rock County Sheriff’s Office deemed there was no criminal activity at a local hotel on Aug. 18. According to the dispatch records, deputies were requested at the Super 8 Motel on South Highway 75 to help locate a kidnapping suspect. Sheriff Evan Verbrugge said hotel staff reported seeing a 20-year-old male leaving with a 14-year-old…
- By Lori SorensonAugust 29, 2017No one was injured Monday, Aug. 21, when a train collided with a pickup on the tracks near Beaver Creek. According to information from the Rock County Sheriff’s Office, officials were notified at 6:30 p.m. of a train vs. pickup crash at 30th Avenue and 61st Street. Upon arrival, members of the sheriff’s office located a 2001 Chevrolet pickup approximately 100 yards east of the road where the…
- August 29, 2017Do you enjoy learning about the natural world? If so, consider becoming a Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer. Blue Mounds State Park, Luverne, will host a Minnesota Master Naturalist volunteer training beginning Sept. 11. Master Naturalist volunteers complete a 40-hour hands-on class with expert instructors and fellow learners. Topics to be studied include natural history, environmental…
- By Mavis FodnessAugust 29, 2017Rebecca Austin will represent Rock County at the upcoming Minnesota State 4-H Dog Show at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds in Falcon Heights. Austin earned grand champion honors at the Southwest Minnesota Regional Dog Show Aug. 7 at the Nobles County Fairgrounds in Worthington. She won each of her intermediate division classes. The winning classes included beginner agility and obedience, jumpers I…
- By Mavis FodnessAugust 22, 2017A joint venture inviting the public to view the total solar eclipse in Rock County went soggy Monday when thunderstorms rolled into the area and obscured any view of the rare occurrence. Luverne Area Chamber, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Brandenburg Prairie Foundation organized the solar eclipse viewing at Touch the Sky Prairie, located northwest of Luverne. Hosts were initially…
- By LoriAugust 22, 2017To prevent erosion and boost soil health, many Rock County corn and soybean farmers are planting cover crops between growing seasons. The added bonus is higher yields and lower input costs, according to Luverne farmer Tom Fick. “It’s something anybody can do,” he said. “You just need to figure out what your goals are. … Do you want it for extra livestock feed? Do you want the extra nitrogen? Do…
- By Mavis FodnessAugust 22, 2017When Luverne’s founding father Philo Hawes decided to relocate his family home to the banks of the Rock River more than 150 years ago, he was following a well-worn path created by the area’s Native Americans. Francis “Bud” Johnston and his wife, Rona, of Flandreau, South Dakota, brought a little of Luverne’s early history to life Saturday when the couple hosted an afternoon rock-carving workshop…
- By Mavis FodnessAugust 22, 2017Hardwick’s Jessie Wenzel is not your typical senior citizen. The soon-to-be 87-year-old lives on her own, sews four-square quilts despite suffering from central vision loss and, until earlier this week, lived on the same Denver Township farm for all but six months of her life. Born in Luverne, Wenzel never called any other place home, choosing to live and raise her own family on the farm…
- By Mavis FodnessAugust 22, 2017Luverne elementary and middle/high school staff was tested Monday and Tuesday in a series of mock intruder trainings at the American Reformed Church in Luverne. More than 200 school employees participated in ALICE training, a set of proactive strategies that increase chances of survival during an active shooter event. Each participant received a passing grade. “Act or react — there’s no right or…
- August 22, 2017Harold Tilstra demonstrated “Sounds of Strings” at the Hinkly House Thursday night, Aug. 17, playing several different stringed instruments and offering detailed information and history behind each one. Pictured here, Shirley Harrison and Tilstra play a duet, “Amazing Grace,” on the dulcimer. “To my knowledge, it’s the only true American instrument,” Tilstra said about the instrument, which…
- By Lori SorensonAugust 22, 2017Thorstad Companies of Dell Rapids, South Dakota, submitted the low bid of $747,569 for Phase II of the Luverne Loop bike trail work that will begin later this summer. Thorstad was selected Friday during a bid letting in the Rock County Highway Department, which is overseeing the project. They were the lowest out of four bids for the federally funded project. County commissioners approved Thorstad…
- By Lori SorensonAugust 22, 2017Luverne City Council members approved $282,000 in budget amendments for several unplanned 2017 expenses. The amendments were prompted by the acquisition of land for development and by an increased contribution to the Chamber for additional costs associated with 150th Celebration activities. The city purchased parcels at 202 W. Maple for $36,000, 204 N. Freeman for $25,000, 838 W. Main for $133,…
- By Lori SorensonAugust 22, 2017The Minnesota Department of Agriculture is updating its rules for nitrogen application, and nearly half of Rock County’s farmers could be affected. A draft rule has been released, and the public comment period closes Aug. 25. The rule, designed to reduce nitrates in groundwater, has two parts. Part 1 is directed at farm ground in “vulnerable groundwater areas,” defined as areas where nitrates…
- August 22, 2017Interstate 90 from Luverne to Magnolia will be open to four lanes midweek next week (around Aug. 23) and the westbound ramp at Magnolia will open as the concrete repair and shoulder paving is completed. Motorists need to continue to be aware of workers in the area as the project also includes upgrading the lighting system with LED lights at Highway 75 in Luverne and adding a new LED lighting…
- By Mavis FodnessAugust 22, 2017Hard-to-fill teaching positions at Luverne Public Schools may receive a salary boost under a proposed hiring strategy. Luverne Superintendent Craig Oftedahl explained that it’s difficult to fill some positions in the district due to lack of candidates. School board members Katie Baustian, Eric Hartman, Colleen Deutsch, Tim Jarchow and Jody Bosch met with Oftedahl in a Thursday evening, Aug. 10,…
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