Luverne celebrates St. Patrick’s Day
Dozens of people joined Monday’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Luverne on Main Street where crowds also wore green to enjoy the festive parade entries.
Church gets downtown storefront
The Blue Mounds Baptist Church will lease space in the former Dragonfly building on East Main Street starting April 1.
Hills man seeks local support for cannabis business
Hills cabinet shop owner Dennis Hartman and his son, Tim Hartman, want to operate a cannabis retail business in southwestern Rock County.
Wind tax revenue exceeds $1 million in Rock County for 2025
For the second year in a row, wind energy production taxes will exceed $1 million in Rock County.
The five wind production farms will pay $1.062 million in 2025, about a $1,000 less than last year.
Courthouse remodel continues
Remodeling at the Rock County Courthouse moved into new phases as work on previous floors has come to a standstill.
News
- By Mavis Fodness, reporterMarch 05, 2025The Luverne American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (AIPAC) delivered a “vote of nonconcurrence” to Luverne School Board members at their Feb. 27 meeting. Nonconcurrence, by definition, means “refusal or failure to concur.” With its vote, the group asserts that the Luverne School Board does not ensure American Indian students are receiving culturally relevant and equitable education…
- By Lori SorensonMarch 05, 2025The former Vinnie’s property on South Highway 75 in Luverne will soon be demolished. The property owner, Peter Dikun, applied for a $5,000 commercial demolition grant through the Luverne Economic Development Authority, which approved the request at its Feb. 10 meeting. In the grant request, Dikun Properties LLC reports that the property at 704 S. Kniss is substandard and dilapidated. Dikun…
By Mavis Fodness, reporterMarch 05, 2025Thirty girls in preschool through second grade attended the FCCLA’s fourth-annual “Princess Gala” Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 25, in the Luverne Elementary commons. All the girls, dressed as their favorite princesses, were pampered by Luverne High School members of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. The high school girls, who also dressed up for the occasion, painted nails, applied…- By Lori SorensonMarch 05, 2025Luverne City Council members took action at their Feb. 25 meeting related to the 2026 Highway 75 road construction in Luverne. The State of Minnesota, through its Department of Transportation (MnDOT), wants to purchase portions of city property at the intersection of Highway 75 and Main on the south side of Main Street. The construction project will make the turning lanes wider at the…
- By Lori SorensonMarch 05, 2025Federal budget cuts through the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are hitting home, especially in Rock County agriculture offices. “It’s been chaos,” said Doug Bos, assistant director of the Rock County Land Management. “We were ramped up for a big conservation program rollout and now we’re scrambling to know what to do from here.” He said he and his colleagues were in the…
By Lori SorensonFebruary 26, 2025Nearly 200 participants and dozens of volunteers at the annual Get Hooked Fishing Derby in Luverne enjoyed stellar weather Saturday with sunshine and highs in the 30s. It was a particularly welcome reprieve from a long streak of subzero temperatures in the days leading up to the ice fishing tournament. Also, decent ice conditions allowed the event to proceed after two previous years of unfit…
By Lori SorensonFebruary 26, 2025At their Feb. 18 meeting, City Council members continued working on an ordinance to regulate cannabis dispensaries in Luverne. The council didn’t take official action at the meeting, which was more of a work session to address the required parameters of a cannabis ordinance. For example, among other things, they need to decide how many private retail license registrations will be allowed, how…
By Mavis FodnessFebruary 26, 2025Heavy equipment arrived at the former Hills-Beaver Creek High School Feb. 20 to demolish the more than 100-year-old building. H-BC School Board members heard an update on Monday night, Feb. 24, by School Board member Ethan Rozeboom who serves on the buildings-grounds committee. He said contractors are currently working to remove asbestos. “We’re hoping they would be able to do it this week, if…
By Lori SorensonFebruary 26, 2025It’s been just over a year since Steve and Jacinda Walker started their business, SouthWest Excavating in Luverne. The couple broke off from the family business, W&N construction, in January 2024 to specialize in dirt moving services and excavation. Steve grew up working with his parents, Tom and Twila Walker, and their partners Bryce Niessink and Janice Fick, in W&N Construction. He…- By Mavis FodnessFebruary 26, 2025Final plans are almost set for the construction of a new 500,000-gallon water tower on the west side of the Rock County Rural Water System (RCRW). A public informational hearing occurred Feb. 18 in the Rock County Library to answer questions and concerns about the $2.7 million project. No one from the public attended the hearing, but representatives from Rural Water, the Rock County Board of…
- February 26, 2025The Minnesota Department of Transportation will end winter load increases in the metro, south, and southeast frost zones at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Feb. 28. Seasonal load limit zones and restricted routes can be found on the MnDOT load limits map. Start and end dates and other load limit information are shown atmndot.gov/loadlimits. Overweight permits for more than 80,000 pound gross vehicle weight…
By Mavis FodnessFebruary 26, 2025Rock County Commissioners approved the five-year highway plan presented by county engineer Mark Sehr Feb. 18. The plan calls for nine highway and bridge projects to be completed this year, estimated to cost about $5.2 million, including the department’s annual road maintenance costs. “We used last year’s pricing, and we turned out pretty close,” Sehr said. On average, the highway department…
February 26, 2025The Parents Partners in Education (PPIE) sponsored a Family Reading Night Monday in the Luverne Elementary commons. All pre-school through fifth-grade students and their parents were invited for 90 minutes of everything books and reading as part of the school’s “I Love to Read Month” activities. Participants rotated through several activities that included completing a story walk, building a…
By Lori SorensonFebruary 26, 2025The Blue Mound Ice Arena received a donation this week from participants in the “FIT25: Becker’s Love Health and Fitness Challenge” in memory of the late Craig Becker. Each year Tashia Klosterbuer organizes a fitness and weight loss challenge to raise money for a local cause. This year participants supported the Luverne Hockey Association in memory of Becker, who died Dec. 13, 2024. He was a…- By Mavis FodnessFebruary 26, 2025A strong showing by the Luverne High School speech team at the Montevideo Thunder Hawk Speech Invitational was displayed Saturday. Twelve teams competed at the event with Luverne placing fourth with 34 points. Russell-Tyler Ruthton won the event with 73 points. Eleven LHS students were recognized with medals or ribbons. Results include: • Xavier McKenzie, second, great speeches. • Tyler…
By Mavis FodnessFebruary 19, 2025A fundraiser to supply Hills-Beaver Creek sixth-grader Sophie Gehrke with a new Slinky every day for 12 months ended Feb. 13 with a supply that will last the 12-year-old for almost 18 months. The H-BC Student Council organized the Slinky donation event, offering attendees a free bag of popcorn for each Slinky brought to the girls’ basketball game. The council’s goal was to collect 365 Slinkys…
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