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
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 24, 2019Luverne Schools Superintendent Craig Oftedahl received passing grades during his annual evaluation by School Board members. Each of the seven board members rated Oftedahl on four performance and two professional development goals set last year. Each goal was rated as 1 for unsatisfactory, 2 for satisfactory, 3 for excellent or 4 four distinguished. The four professional goals and the board…
- September 24, 2019Signup is ongoing for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program to assist farmers who continue to suffer from damages because of unjustified trade retaliation from foreign nations. Through MFP, USDA will provide up to $14.5 billion in direct payments to impacted producers, part of a broader trade relief package announced in late July. The sign-up…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 24, 2019Hills-Beaver Creek School Board members took action at their Monday meeting to set the district’s preliminary levy at $1.462 million for taxes payable in 2020. It amounts to an increase of 3.61 percent over the current levy, but by statute, the board can revise the levy downward (not up) between now and the end of 2019. “With the sale of the bonds — refunding of the bonds — this will be adjusted…
- September 24, 2019Workers lifted the foot bridge in place over Mound Creek at the Blue Mounds State Park north of Luverne Sept. 10 in preparation for the next day's rain showers. On Sept. 12, more than five inches of rain placed the creek out of its banks. The bridge is part of a major renovation of what used to be the Lower Mound Lake and dam at the state park.
- By Glenda McGaffeeSeptember 24, 2019Lisa Boehlke saw the special effect music has on Alzheimer’s patients after her dad, Jim Roning, died of Alzheimer’s in 2012. Now, she wants to bring that experience to her hometown of Hills with an Alzheimer’s music program at the Tuff Memorial Home. “Those of you who knew him know what an amazing person he was,” Boehlke said about her father. “He enjoyed music, but he enjoyed visiting people at…
- By Lori Sorenson, editorSeptember 19, 2019Uithoven Addition lots are shaping up on the city’s west side with curbs being poured Tuesday morning. The future twin home subdivision is on the west edge of town on the south side of Dodge Street. Three cul-de-sacs will provide 15 lots for twin homes to provide a total of 30 residences. Henning Construction submitted the low bid at $851,744.15 for 1,200 linear feet of sanitary sewer line, 2,000…
- By Lori Sorenson, editorSeptember 17, 2019Bomgaars is under contract to purchase the former Shopko building for expansion south of I-90. “We’re too small for what the community needs,” said Luverne store manager Darrel Nielsen. “We need a bigger building to serve our customers better.” In Luverne, the move will more than double the space for Bomgaars, which operates out of 22,000 square feet in its current West Hatting Street location.…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 17, 2019Ellsworth City Council will conduct a special meeting Sept. 23 to consider bids for a new city hall and maintenance building. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Eight interested construction companies submitted bids by the Sept. 5 deadline, and council members met in special session to open bids the same day. The large number of competing bids surprised architect Jeff Nelson with Falls Architecture…
- By Lori Sorenson, editorSeptember 17, 2019Henning Construction, Adrian, purchased two lots in Luverne’s industrial park to accommodate its local construction projects. “It was available, and it seemed like it would suit us,” Brent Henning said. “Right now we park a lot of equipment at our gravel pit … It just seemed like a good idea.” The Luverne Economic Development Authority conducted a public hearing last month for the sale of the…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 17, 2019Commissioners received 2020 budget requests from the various county departments, and if the requests would be granted, the county levy would increase by 7.11 percent. Requests over $10,000 include an additional $100,000 to the highway department for road and bridge repairs, $82,000 to human services, $26,000 to the library in support of a full-time position, and $185,000 requested by the sheriff…
- By Jason Berghorst, reporterSeptember 17, 2019The 2019 Tri-State Band Festival, scheduled for Sept. 28, will be the largest festival in years. Twenty-nine bands from three states are scheduled to participate in the 69thannual marching band competition. “We will have a great festival,” said Jane Wildung-Lanphere, executive director of the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the Tri-State festival each year. “This is the most bands…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 17, 2019Six Rock County 4-H’ers competed at the 2019 Minnesota State 4-H Horse Show Sept. 13-16 at the state fairgrounds in St. Paul in both individual and group events. Attending the four-day event were Ayden Bonnett, Lizzie Chapa, Kennedy Safar, Joni Vander Beek, Kallie Chapa and Gavin Johnson. As a group, Rock County achieved the ideal herdsmanship standards and was placed in a drawing for an…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 17, 2019Monday was a memorable first day of school for staff and students at Luverne Middle-High School. Some were challenged to find the correct classroom. Others were happy to have one. The school building is currently undergoing a $23 million renovation and won’t be finished until 2021. For the next year construction workers, students and educators will co-exist as the project progresses through the…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 17, 2019A change in the recycling market means more expense to taxpayers if they dispose of plastic bags in recycling bins. On Oct. 1 the county’s recycler, Millennium Recycling, will charge up to an additional $75 per ton if plastic bags are found among the other single-stream recyclable materials. Typically, recyclers place recyclable materials inside a plastic bag and toss the bag and the materials in…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 17, 2019A change in the recycling market means more expense to taxpayers if they dispose of plastic bags in recycling bins. On Oct. 1 the county’s recycler, Millennium Recycling, will charge up to an additional $75 per ton if plastic bags are found among the other single-stream recyclable materials. Typically, recyclers place recyclable materials inside a plastic bag and toss the bag and the materials in…
- By Mavis FodnessSeptember 17, 2019More than 30 architects, county officials, community leaders and military personnel spent four days in Luverne last week discussing the new Minnesota National Guard Readiness Center. The group wrapped up the predesign meetings Thursday morning, Sept. 12, with a finished concept. “Overall it went well,” said Paul Kempton, project manager with the Minnesota Department of Military Affairs. “We had…
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