Forrest: Nutcracker's multiplier effect leads to thriving community
To the Editor:
Studies show that if someone visits your community and stays for two or more hours, the average amount spent in the community is $200 including visiting an attraction, filling their vehicle with fuel, eating and shopping.
Presently, the Jolly Green Giant in Blue Earth brings in around 50,000 people per year. If Luverne could bring in a similar amount of people per year to see the World’s Largest Nutcracker, which is a likely scenario, and have even 5 percent of that number spend two or more hours in the community, that would be 2,500 people spending their time and money in the community. At the rate of $200 spent per visitor, Luverne could see $500,000 infused into the  economy each year.
There is, as always, more to the story than just the initial $500,000 infusion from the visitors. We can also consider the Local MultiplierEffect, which is an economic theory put forth by John Maynard Keynes. Thetheory states that money spent locally will recirculate a certain number oftimes, generating significantly more impact than the original investment.
A study in Luverne shows a local multiplier effect of seven, meaning that the$500,000 infused in the economy of Luverne by people visiting the World’sLargest Nutcracker would be recirculated and generate $3,500,000 for the local  economy per year.
The fact that this project will be created using private donations and willsit on private property is a huge bonus. The World’s Largest Nutcracker can be a perpetual money maker for Luverne at no cost to the taxpayers.
To me, numbers like this are extremely exciting for the community and cancontribute to Luverne not only surviving as a community, but thriving.
Russell Forrest,
Luverne
Green stresses the importance of print new format
To the Editor:
I recently sent a letter and a copy of last week’s Star Herald to the editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. I wanted to communicate my feelings about the importance of the print format in communicating the news.
The Star Herald is a prime example of a quality publication that continues to inform its readership.
Too many news rooms are reducing their staff due to economics, with the result that the readership is losing important eyes and ears in their towns’ areas of functioning/government/and shared community spirit.
Your newspaper is an important support to the Luverne motto, “Love the Life.”
Larry Green,
Luverne
Mundt: 'It's a privilege to own a vehicle'
To the Editor:
Your right to travel does not mean you have a right todrive or a right to a particular mode of travel. It is a privilege to own a vehicle.
Since God graced humans with legs, you could always give walking atry so your “rights” aren’t infringed upon.
Roads and highways are public infrastructure, and state governments are within their rights to require drivers to be properly licensed.
Is there an age limit to your “rights,” or are we going to waive that also?
How do you plan on maintaining roads?
It is your choice to travel by vehicle. If you can’t handle the responsibilities that come with that, WALK!
Ashley Mundt,
Luverne

Dispatch report
Feb. 24
•Complainant on 50th Avenue reported hazmat material.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported an assault.
•Complainant on Oak Drive reported a scam.
•Complainant on County Road 6 and 51st Street requested roadside assist.
•Complainant on Britz Drive reported a runaway.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported training.
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported training.
Feb. 25
•Complainant on N. Spring Street reported threats.
•An outage was reported.
Feb. 26
•Complainant on W. Bishop Street reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant on 251st Street and 70th Avenue, Jasper, reported a fire call.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported hazmat material.
Feb. 27
•Complainant reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant on County Road 5, Luverne, found property.
•Complainant on 121st Street, Beaver Creek, reported a scam.
•Complainant in Hardwick reported a miscellaneous public assist.
•Complainant west-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 6, Beaver Creek, requested assistance from another department.
•Complainant reported training.
March 1
•A warrant was issued.
•Complainant on S. Fourth Street, Beaver Creek, reported a road and drive laws issue.
•A weather issue was reported.
March 2
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported an open door.
•Complainant westbound on Interstate 90, mile marker 32, Adrian, requested road repairs.
•Complainant in Sioux Falls requested assistance from another department.
•Complainant on E. Maple Street reported a parking complaint.
•Complainant westbound on Interstate 90 on-ramp, near Magnolia, requested roadside assist.
March 3
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported a parking complaint.
•Complainant on Crawford and Blue Mound Avenue reported a parking issue.
•Complainant reported a scam.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue requested assistance from another department.
 
In addition, officers responded to 7 motor vehicle accidents, 2 vehicles in the ditch, 5 escorts, 8 ambulance runs,  4 paper services, 6 animal complaints, 1 fingerprint request, 10 burn permits, 2 background checks, 1 alarm, 7 purchase and carry permits, 52 traffic stops, 20 abandoned 911 calls, 2 tests, 1 welfare check and 1 follow-up.

The Rock County Sheriff’s Office was involved last weekend in a slow-speed pursuit that ended with a spin-out on I-90 near the South Dakota rest area.
According to Sheriff Evan Verbrugge, the incident began 12:18 a.m. Sunday when a deputy stopped a motorist in Luverne for no left brake light and failing to use a turn signal.
The driver, later identified as Zachary Dietz, 50, Luverne, reportedly refused to stop for the squad car lights and siren and instead left town on I-90 westbound.
The Minnesota State Patrol assisted with stop sticks, holding up westbound traffic in the process.
Dietz drove over the sticks and continued driving with a flat tire before stopping just west of the Beaver Creek exit.
According to the report, law enforcement approached Dietz, but he refused to exit the vehicle and drove off again. The vehicle was a gold Pontiac Grand Prix with South Dakota plates.
The next time he stopped, officers broke the driver’s window and noticed Dietz had a knife to his neck.
When he again drove off, a State Trooper used a maneuver to spin out the Pontiac, which came to stop at the South Dakota rest area on I-90.
With assistance from the South Dakota State Patrol, Dietz was arrested without further incident at 1:18 a.m.
Dietz at first wouldn’t identify himself and is now facing charges of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle, obstructing legal process, possession of marijuana in a motor vehicle and possession of drug paraphernalia.
He is being held in the Nobles County Jail until his court appearance.

LSS meals at Generations
 
Monday, March 13: Biscuits and sausage gravy, green beans, cinnamon apple slices, dessert.
Tuesday, March 14: Meatballs, baked potato with sour cream, stewed tomatoes, dinner roll, milk.
Wednesday, March 15: Orange chicken, rice pilaf, peas and carrots, peaches, bread.
Half-Price Day sponsored by ACE/Linda Wenzel.
Thursday, March 16: Sloppy Joe on a bun, salad, vegetarian baked beans, fruit, cookie.
Friday, March 17: Pork loin with gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, dinner roll, birthday cake.
LSS Dining offers well-balanced and affordable meals in a community atmosphere.
Call Pam Franken at 283-9846, extension 11 to reserve one day prior, to arrange to pick up a dinner or for home-delivered meals.
Gift certificates are available at the meal site or online at www.lssmn.org/nutrition.

Open house
An open house bridal shower for Alexis Knutson will be from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, March 11, at Take 16 Brewing Co. in Luverne.
 
Card shower
Kathy Heeren will celebrate her 80th birthday on Saturday, March 18. Greetings may be sent to her at 1000 N. Spring Street, Luverne, MN 56156.

10 years ago (2013)
•A pair of Luverne High School athletes wrapped up the 2012-13 season at the Minnesota State Class AA Individual Wrestling Tournament at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul over the weekend.
Senior Eli Dooyema and sophomore D.J. Reker earned the right to represent Luverne at the state tournament for the first time since 2009 when they placed second in their weight classes at the section tournament.
This is the first time LHS sent multiple wrestlers to compete at the state tournament since the 2002-03 season.
Unfortunately for the LHS entries, both Cardinals went 0-2 without placing at state.
 
25 years ago (1998)
•Luverne’s quest to reach the state hockey tournament came to an end when the Cardinals dropped a pair of games during the Junior Gold Maroon Regionals played in Waseca Friday through Sunday.
East St. Paul, the eventual champion, beat the Cards by two goals in the tournament opener Friday. Burnsville ended Luverne’s 20-9 season by handing the Cards a one-goal setback in double overtime Saturday.
 
50 years ago (1973)
•The school board of District 670, Luverne, decided Tuesday that the Hardwick school building will be abandoned as a teaching facility after Jan. 1, 1974, unless factors arise to change a situation that now exists. They have a year in which to weigh those factors.
Their action came as the result of orders issued last week by the state fire marshal’s office. …
Ten corrective measures were ordered to be made on the building within 90 days to make the two buildings, which make up the Hardwick school, safe. Through negotiations made over the week end, the board hopes to be able to use the newer portion of the Hardwick building for another year by making minimal alterations and improvements. Cost of these improvements was estimated at less than $2,000. The cost to make all the improvements, were the board to comply with the fire marshal’s orders, was estimated at from $40,000 to $50,000, it was brought out at Tuesday’s meeting.
 
75 years ago (1948)
•Greater difficulty in securing teachers for the rural schools of Rock county than has been experienced in the past can be expected in the future, Supt. V.M. Barrett said this week.
A new ruling, approved by the State Board of Education February 25, provides that for the school year 1948-49, no teacher who holds an elementary limited, first grade or second grade certificate shall be granted another renewal unless eight quarter hours of college credit in approved courses are earned.
It further provides that no teacher who has held two limited emergency permits valid in ungraded elementary schools shall be granted a third permit unless eight quarter hours of college credits are earned.
 
100 years ago (1923)
•Evidence anew that the old board of commissioners for Rock county of which W.A. Rowe, of this city, and O.I. Godfrey, of Beaver Creek, were members are justly entitled to the commendation of the taxpayers of this county for the sound and conservative manner in which the affairs of the county were conducted by them, was contained in Sunday’s St. Paul Pioneer Press.
This information was conveyed in an article by Jack Hammond, of the Pioneer Press staff, in which it is declared that Rock county’s tax rate of 29.62 mills is the lowest in the state; the levies in six counties are 100 mills or more, and that the average rate in the state is 54 mills.

The following article is part of the Diamond Club Member group that began in the January 7, 1943, issue of the Rock County Star Herald. Members of this group consist of persons of age 75 and older.
The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Aug. 26, 1943.
Claims made by friends that the United States was the ideal spot on the globe to live tempted Lars Larson, Hardwick, to leave his home at Aal Hallingdal, Norway, and come to this country. That their claims were not exaggerated in Mr. Larson’s mind was evidenced by the fact that he borrowed money to send for the remainder of the family the following year.
Mr. Larson was born January 12, 1863, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Knute Larson. His parents were farmers, living about 18 miles from the capital city of Oslo. Although he was only what is now a short driving distance from the capital, he never saw it until he embarked for the United States in 1882.
He attended school in Norway and stated that classes were held in the various homes of the community until later when a school building was built. The schoolmaster would room and board at his home where the classes were being conducted, and when the classes would be moved, he would move, too. Although children learned to read and write and do arithmetic, religion was one of the main subjects.
After he was confirmed, he began working away from home on farms. A day’s work was begun before sunrise and ended after sunset. Sometimes, when they went into the forests to get their wood for their winter fuel supply, they would start from home at about 2 a.m.
His arrival in this country was delayed by ice off the banks of Newfoundland. When the ship neared the shore, huge ice floes surrounded it, and for 11 days, it made little or no progress. What little headway was gained by the ship during the day was lost at night as the ice floated out to sea. Seals were thick in the vicinity he recalls, many of them sunning themselves on the ice close to the ship. The vessel finally docked at Quebec, and from there, he went by train to Claremont, Iowa, where he had friends.
He worked there seven years, and then at the late Rasmus Halvorson farm for about two years He bought some land in Battle Plain township, paying $12 per acre for 80 acres. Later he added another 80 acres for which he paid $30 per acre.
On June 24, 1897, he was married at the Blue Mound church to Barbara Julia Roen, and they farmed in Battle Plain township until 1914 when they moved to Luverne. After five years in town, they moved back to the farm, lived there one year, and then sold it and moved to Hardwick which has since been their home.
Many changes have taken place in farming methods, as well as in modes of living, says Mr. Larson. In the early days he would come to Luverne to do business because there was no such thing at that time as a village of Hardwick or Kenneth. Coming a distance of 10 or 12 miles with a team and wagon was not an everyday occurrence, Larson states, and when one did come to town, he did his business in a hurry and began the trip home.
He has walked behind various types of walking cultivators, plows, etc., and has helped bind grain on an old-fashioned harvester where two men had to tie the grain as fast as it was cut with a sickle.
During all his years of farming, he never had what could be termed a complete crop failure. Although there were some years when crops were small, there was always something that was raised for feed, even the year when there was a heavy frost late in June.
Mrs. Larson, who was born Nov. 28, 1869, in Mitchell county, Iowa, is credited by Mr. Larson as being the real pioneer of the family. She came to Rock county with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Arne Roen by ox team and covered wagon in 1871. Their covered wagon was their home until her father broke sod and built a sod house that summer on his homestead, just east of the Blue Mound church. Later they “went modern” and lived in a stone cellar.
They twisted slough hay for fuel and often saw prairie fires sweep over the ground, cutting huge black swaths as the flames roared forward with the wind. She also remembers the year of the grasshopper plague how the swarms covered the sun, and ate everything in sight.
(Larson's story continues next week.)

Membership grew sixfold in the Luverne High School Business Professionals of America (BPA) chapter this year.
As a result, 13 LHS students will compete in various categories at the state BPA convention in Minneapolis starting today, March 9.
“We had two students who have previously participated in BPA and have been excellent leaders and a great resource to our new members,” said first-year adviser Katie Kopp.
BPA prepares students for careers in business and information technology through participation in competitive events.
LHS’ students placed at the Region 8 contest in January to qualify for the state contest.
Members competing at the state convention after placing in regional competition are:
•Ella Lanoue, first, digital communications and design.
•Jadyn Hart, Mallory Von Tersch, Averill Sehr, Reese Louwagie, first, podcast production team.
•Reese Louwagie, second, fundamental accounting.
•Kylie Vander Lugt, second, entrepreneurship.
•Kaylee Vorhees, third, interview skills.
•Anja Jarchow, third, fundamental word processing; fourth, fundamental accounting.
•Jadyn Hart, fifth, health administration.
Competing in 11 different categories of open testing will be Augusta Papik, Jaydon Johnson, Connor Bose, Kasey Buss and Maddux Domagala.
State winners will represent Minnesota at the National BPA Conference April 26-30 in Anaheim, California.
Kopp said the BPA’s move back to in-person competitions increased interest in the organization.
The flex period during the school day also provides another avenue for student involvement.
“Meeting during the day allows the students to attend sports practice, work, or other activities after school,” she said.
“The flex period is where our chapter meets and I can help advise students with their events.”
In addition to the competitive events, the state convention also provides opportunities for growth through leadership development, education and community service.

Minnesota Department of Transportation crews attempt to fill potholes on North Highway 75 near the Dodge Street crossing Friday, March 3, in Luverne. Despite a fresh layer of asphalt last year, recent frost heaves and heavy traffic have again crumbled the highway surface in town. According to the state’s 10-year highway improvement plan, Highway 75 will be resurfaced in 2025 between Main Street and Veterans Drive with improved pedestrian crossings. The estimated investment in the 1.2-mile stretch is $4.1 million.