The Luverne girls’ hockey team played two tough opponents in the opening rounds of the state hockey tournament. 
The Cardinals faced off against Orono in the quarterfinals at the Xcel Energy Center Feb. 22, losing 6-0 to a seasoned Spartan team.
For their consolation semifinal game, Luverne faced a familiar Mankato East team at TRIA Rink in St. Paul Feb. 23, falling 5-3 to the Cougars.
The Luverne girls finished the year 23-8 in regular and post-season play.
The Cardinals were the Section 3A Champs this year with a 14-0 Big South Conference record.
 
Class A Quarterfinal
Orono 6, LHS 0
The Luverne girls’ hockey team took on the 24-3-4 Orono Spartans in the Class A Quarterfinal hockey game Wednesday, Feb. 22, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, losing 6-0 to a tough team.
“Orono is a very good team,” LHS head coach Tony Sandbulte said. “Their team depth was very impressive and ultimately the difference in the game.”
Luverne entered the game 23-6 with a young team consisting of three seniors, one junior, two sophomores, five freshmen, six eighth-graders and one seventh-grader.
Orono senior goalie Celia Dahl faced only 13 shots from the Cardinals in the game. 
Luverne’s attempted goals came from eighth-grader Tenley Behr with three, freshman Ella Apel with one, senior Mallory Nelson with one, sophomore Payton Behr with two, seventh-grader Ellie Van Batavia with one, senior Kamryn Van Batavia with three, eighth-grader Macy Edstrom with one and eighth-grader Rylee Kurtz with one shot.
Luverne’s goalie, senior Mallory Von Tersch, defended 39 shots in the game, letting six pucks slip through for goals.
Scoring for Orono in the first period were Mae Grandy at 5:43, Macy Rasmussen at 7:07 and Zoe Lopez at 11:12
In the second period Maddy Kimbrel scored at 5:21 and Zoe Lopez got her second goal at 10:09.
In the third period Maddy Kimbral added Orono’s last goal at 12:40.
The Spartan win sent them to a Class A Semifinal game against Proctor/Hermantown Friday, Feb. 24 in the Xcel Energy Center.
Luverne’s loss sent them to a consolation semifinal game against Mankato East at the TRIA rink Thursday, Feb. 23.
 
Class A Consolation Semifinal
Mankato East 5, LHS 3
In the Cardinals’ second hockey game of the tournament, they faced a familiar opponent, Mankato East, Feb. 23, at the TRIA Rink in St. Paul.
Having played the Cougars twice this year already, losing close games 3-4 Dec. 10 and 1-2 Dec. 28, Luverne was aware of changes they may need to make to win.
Unfortunately, plans and execution do not always come together.
 Luverne lost to Mankato East 5-3 and ended the Cardinals’ state hockey experience this year.
“Mankato East had our number this year. I felt we played really well; however, we didn’t get the bounce or calls in this one,” Sandbulte said. 
“They scored a couple of early power-play goals that gave them leverage the rest of the way.”
The Cougars started the game strong with Luverne on their heels after building a 3-0 lead in the first period.
In the second period senior Kamryn Van Batavia scored a power play goal for Luverne at 12:15 unassisted.
After two periods Luverne was on the board but still trailed Mankato East 3-1.
In the third period the Cougars scored at 4:43 to go ahead 4-1. 
Not to be outdone, Kamryn Van Batavia scored her second goal at 7:02 on another power play to cut the lead in half, 4-2.
Eighth-grader Isabella Steensma scored at 15:46 in the third period assisted by fellow eighth-grader Macie Edstrom, bringing Luverne one goal closer to tying the game at 4-3.
At 16:38 in the third period, on a power play, Mankato East slipped in one more goal to ice the contest and dash any hopes the Cardinals had of going into overtime.
““Overall, I’m very proud of our hockey team and the season they had,” Sandbulte said. “It was another fun and memorable season.”
The Cougars had 14 total shots on goal in the game. Senior Mallory Von Tersch had three get past her in the first period, two on power plays.
After that Von Tersch hunkered down and was able to stop several break-aways by a quick Mankato East team.
Luverne was able to get 41 shots on the Cougar goalie in the game, with only three getting past her pads.

The H-BC girls’ basketball team traveled to take on Tracy-Milroy-Balaton in subsection play Saturday, Feb. 25, losing 53-39 to the Panthers.
Though their season has ended, head coach Dylan Gehrke had praise for his team. 
“Our girls left it all out there, and I could not be prouder of them,” Gehrke said. “This was a great learning experience for our girls and myself as a coach.  I am hoping that this drives their motivation during the offseason to come back better than ever next year.”
H-BC will be without seniors Olivia Bork or Taylor Huisman next year but will gain five new leaders from their juniors.
“TMB’s offensive, rebounds, second chance points, and our turnovers really hurt us,” Gehrke said.
“We also ran into some heavy foul trouble in the first half and early in the second half.”
The Patriots led 18-17 in the first half with about five minutes left in the half when TMB went on a 12-5 run and closed the half leading by eight.
 TMB extended their lead to double digits in the second half, but the Patriots cut TMB’s lead to 10 with 10 minutes to play. 
“We had a little momentum going our way, but couldn’t trim the lead down anymore for the rest of the game,” said Gehrke.
Eighth-grader Olivia Deelstra led the Patriots in scoring with 15 points. She also grabbed seven rebounds, had two assists, three steals and one blocked shot.
Juniors Lanae Elbers and Layla Deelstra added nine points each.
Elbers helped with seven rebounds, one assist and two blocked shots. Deelstra grabbed nine rebounds, had two assists and three steals in the game.
Sophomore Emma Deelstra and freshman Abbie Harris each contributed two points. Deelstra also had three rebounds, and Harris grabbed three rebounds, had two assists and one steal for the Patriots.
Juniors Larissa Steinhoff and Claire Knobloch both added one free throw each, and junior Brynn Rauk added two rebounds and one assist.

The No. 1-seeded Luverne High School girls’ basketball team hosted the No. 8 seed Minnesota Valley Lutheran Saturday, Feb. 25, in the second round of the Section 3A tournament.
The Cardinals handily beat the Chargers 87-19 to move on to a scheduled quarterfinal game against St. James Tuesday, Feb. 28, to be played in Windom at 6 p.m.
“We came out firing on all cylinders and really took control of the game early on,” said head coach TJ Newgard.  “We never allowed them to get comfortable on the offensive end.
“We knew going in that we had some mismatches and we did a very nice job of exploiting them.” 
At the half, LHS led the Chargers 46-8 and was able to sub in their entire bench in the second half for valuable playoff experience.
“Kira John played like we all know she can and that is something we need to see every night we step on the court from here on out,” Newgard said. 
John, a junior, posted a team-leading double-double in the game. She had 21 points and 10 rebounds with one assist and three steals.
“Christina Wagner did a great job attacking and looking to score more,” Newgard said.
Wagner, a senior, posted 14 points with six rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Senior Elizabeth Wagner netted 12 points, two rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot.
Serie, a junior, made eight points, three rebounds, one assist and one steal
“Tori was excellent while filling in for Elizabeth in the starting lineup,” Newgard said.
Senior Lauren Hansen and junior Sarah Stegenga added six points each.
Hansen also had one assist and one steal, and Stegenga grabbed five rebounds and one steal.
Seniors Emma Beyer, Averill Sehr and junior Kiesli Smith added four points each to the win.
Beyer also had three assists, Sehr had two rebounds, four assists and one steal, while Smith grabbed four rebounds, one assist and one steal.
Senior Jocelyn Hart and junior Josie Voorhees added three points each.
Hart had five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Voorhees had one rebound and two assists.
Junior Dennie Sandbulte added two points and two rebounds in the game.
 “We are happy with the way we played, but as soon as the game ended, our focus moved to Saint James,” Newgard said.
“We know they present some challenges for us so we are going to need to be at our best.”

The Luverne boys’ hockey team won two big section games to advance their postseason play.
The Cardinals beat Windom 5-2 at home Feb. 24 and Mankato East/Loyola 6-2 in St. Peter Feb. 27.
LHS was scheduled to play against New Ulm Wednesday, March 1, at the Lund Center in St. Peter for the Section 3A Championship.
 
LHS 5, Windom 2
The LHS boys’ hockey team faced off against Windom Feb. 24 at home for the Section 3A Quarterfinals game and beat the Eagles 5-2.
“Great team effort, start to finish. Everyone worked hard and did their job,” said head coach Phil Paquette.
“That is the kind of steady effort and solid mentality we’ll need to continue to win in the playoffs.”
The Cardinals and Eagles played all three periods with only one penalty going to the Cardinals for slashing.
Luverne tested the Eagles goalie, putting 53 shots on goal in the game.
Windom had 15 shots on junior Tyler Arends. Arends stopped all but two in the game.
The first period went to Windom, scoring one goal at 13:24 at even strength.
Luverne answered with two goals of their own in the second period.
Senior Brady Bork scored for Luverne at 6:29 in the second assisted by sophomore Blaik Bork.
Senior Brock Behrend got the second goal at 16:24 assisted by juniors Tucker Dammann and Henry Hartquist.
LHS was up 2-1 after two periods of play.
In the third period Behrend got his second goal at 8:09 assisted by sophomore Layke Miller.
Junior Elliot Domagala made the score 4-1 at 10:40 assisted by Brady Bork.
Junior Owen Sudenga made Luverne’s final goal at 13:14 in the third assisted by Hartquist.
Windom was able to sneak in one more goal at 16:09 in the third period to make the final score Luverne 5, Windom 2.
 
LHS 6, Mankato East/Loyola 2
The Luverne boys’ hockey team defeated Mankato East/Loyola 6-2 Monday, Feb. 27, in the Section 3A semifinal game at St. Peter.
Luverne put 20 shots on the Mankato goalie, beating him six times. Mankato tested LHS junior goalie Tyler Arends with 27 shots and only two sliding by his pads.
In the first period Blaik Bork scored first on a power play at 16:40 assisted by Behrend.
Behrend followed up with a score at 16:55 assisted by Kroski and Elliot Domagala, giving LHS a 2-0 lead after one period.
Mankato tied it up 2-2 in the second period with two goals of their own.
In the third period the Cardinals opened up scoring four times to advance to the Section 3A finals.
Behrend got his second goal at 0:39 into the third period assisted by Sudenga.
Elliot Domagala scored at 7:54 assisted by Sudenga.
Blaik Bork made his second goal of the game at 8:08 assisted by Kroski and Behrend.
Behrend got his third goal, hat track, on an empty netter at 14:30 assisted by Sudenga.

Luverne High School sent nine wrestlers to Jackson Saturday, Feb. 25, to wrestle in the individual sectional tournament.
Of those, five placed and two advanced to state competition. 
“We had five placers out of nine wrestlers with two going to state,” head coach Jordan Kopp said.
Senior DJ Rock qualified for state at 160 pounds, taking first place.
Junior Sam Rock qualified for state at 170 pounds, taking second place.
They will advance to the state wrestling meet at the Xcel Energy Center March 1-4 in St. Paul.
Sophomore Masyn Akkerman took third place at 285 pounds.
Eighth-grader Brody Kopp took sixth place at 113 pounds.
Eighth-Grader Matthew Gangestad took sixth place at 120 pounds.
“Saturday was a tough tournament, but our guys wrestled well, and we had a couple wrestlers that fell just short of placing,” head coach Jordan Kopp said.
“State qualifier DJ Rock pinning his way through the section tournament is quite an accomplishment, and Sam Rock had one loss in the finals to a highly ranked wrestler.”
Match breakdown by wrestler are as follows:
 
Brody Kopp, 113 pounds: Sixth Place
Champ. Round 1 – Brody Kopp (Luverne) received a bye
Quarterfinals - Travis Weiss (Adrian Area) over Brody Kopp (Luverne) (Fall 3:00)
Cons. Round 2 - Brody Kopp (Luverne) received a bye
Cons. Round 3 - Brody Kopp (Luverne) over Marshal Willhite (Red Rock Central) (Fall 3:29)
Cons. Semis - Brayden Gilb (Fulda-Murray Cty Central) over Brody Kopp (Luverne) (MD 13-0)
5th Place Match - Troy Gillette (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton-Westbrook-Walnut-Grove) over Brody Kopp (Luverne) (Fall 1:28)
 
Matthew Gangestad, 120 pounds: Sixth Place 
Champ. Round 1 - Matthew Gangestad (Luverne) received a bye
Quarterfinals - David Schuh (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton-Westbrook-Walnut-Grove) over Matthew Gangestad (Luverne) (Dec 7-2)
Cons. Round 2 - Matthew Gangestad (Luverne) over Jonah Skarupa (Red Rock Central) (Fall 4:15)
Cons. Round 3 - Matthew Gangestad (Luverne) over Kaden Landsman (Fulda-Murray Cty Central) (Fall 1:28)
Cons. Semis - Ashton Weidemann (Wabasso) over Matthew Gangestad (Luverne) (Dec 11-4)
5th Place Match - Charger Erlandson (Adrian Area) over Matthew Gangestad (Luverne) (Fall 3:25)
 
Leif Ingebretsen, 126 pounds: Eighth Place 
Champ. Round 1 - Leif Ingebretsen (Luverne) received a bye
Quarterfinals - Devin Carter (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton-Westbrook-Walnut-Grove) over Leif Ingebretsen (Luverne) (Fall 1:15)
Cons. Round 2 - Leif Ingebretsen (Luverne) received a bye
Cons. Round 3 - Caleb Wolf (Adrian Area) over Leif Ingebretsen (Luverne) (Fall 4:49)
7th Place Match - Haden Mulvihill (Pipestone Area) vs. Leif Ingebretsen (Luverne)
 
Hudson Hough, 132 pounds: DNP
Champ. Round 1 - Hudson Burnett (Pipestone Area) over Hudson Hough (Luverne) (TF 18-1 4:32)
Cons. Round 1 - Hudson Hough (Luverne) received a bye
Cons. Round 2 - Andrew Pankonin (Red Rock Central) over Hudson Hough (Luverne) (Dec 6-4)
 
Cameron McCrary, 138 pounds: Eighth Place 
Champ. Round 1 - Cameron McCrary (Luverne) received a bye
Quarterfinals - Thomas Freking (Jackson County Central) over Cameron McCrary (Luverne) (Fall 0:57)
Cons. Round 2 - Cameron McCrary (Luverne) received a bye
Cons. Round 3 - Aiden Lorenzen (Fulda-Murray Cty Central) over Cameron McCrary (Luverne) (MD 17-5)
7th Place Match - Carlos Ulloa-Castillo (Adrian Area) vs. Cameron McCrary (Luverne)
 
DJ Rock, 160 pounds: First Place – State Qualifier 
Champ. Round 1 - DJ Rock (Luverne) over Ashton Squires (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton-Westbrook-Walnut-Grove) (Fall 1:32)
Quarterfinals - DJ Rock (Luverne) over Lucas Thooft (Pipestone Area) (Fall 1:46)
Semifinals - DJ Rock (Luverne) over Breyer Hieronimus (Adrian Area) (Fall 3:32)
1st Place Match - DJ Rock (Luverne) over Trey Rossow (Jackson County Central) (Fall 1:27)
 
Sam Rock, 170 pounds: Second Place – State Qualifier 
Champ. Round 1 - Sam Rock (Luverne) received a bye
Quarterfinals - Sam Rock (Luverne) over Bode Bruns (Pipestone Area) (Fall 1:44)
Semifinals - Sam Rock (Luverne) over Micah Bullerman (Adrian Area) (Fall 3:00)
1st Place Match - Dylan Withers (Jackson County Central) over Sam Rock (Luverne) (Dec 6-0)
2nd Place Match - Sam Rock (Luverne) over Gage Struchen (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton-Westbrook-Walnut-Grove) (MD 16-2)
 
Jacob Madison, 182 pounds: Eighth Place 
Champ. Round 1 - Chase Irlbeck (Wabasso) over Jacob Madison (Luverne) (Fall 0:23)
Cons. Round 1 - Jacob Madison (Luverne) received a bye
Cons. Round 2 - Jacob Madison (Luverne) over Damian Honeman (Springfield) (Fall 3:14)
Cons. Round 3 - Austin Cowan (Red Rock Central) over Jacob Madison (Luverne) (Fall 2:52)
7th Place Match - Carson Klein (Fulda-Murray Cty Central) vs. Jacob Madison (Luverne)
 
Masyn Akkerman, 285 pounds: Third Place 
Champ. Round 1 - Masyn Akkerman (Luverne) received a bye
Quarterfinals - Masyn Akkerman (Luverne) over Rylan Klein (Fulda-Murray Cty Central) (Fall 5:03)
Semifinals - Cameron Wieneke (Adrian Area) over Masyn Akkerman (Luverne) (Fall 5:06)
Cons. Semis - Masyn Akkerman (Luverne) over Richer Yang (Tracy-Milroy-Balaton-Westbrook-Walnut-Grove) (Fall 3:59)
2nd Place Match - Cameron Scholten (Jackson County Central) over Masyn Akkerman (Luverne) (Fall 1:12)
3rd Place Match - Masyn Akkerman (Luverne) over Willie Curry (Saint James Area) (Dec 3-1)

The Feb. 21-23 blizzard dropped another foot of snow in Rock County and the tri-state area, adding to the heavy snow cover already on the ground this winter.
The National Weather Service, which accurately forecast the event days ahead, called it a “significant winter storm,” with waves of moderate to heavy snow impacting areas especially near and north of Interstate 90.
Meanwhile, wind gusts up to 45 mph and sub-zero temperatures produced dangerous conditions and significant drifting — which completely blocked many roads and major highways.
I-90, state highways 23 and 75 and other roadways in the entire southwestern quarter of the state were closed for most of Wednesday and Thursday.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation issued “no travel” advisories and penalty warnings for motorists who didn’t comply and needed rescuing.
According to Rock County Emergency Management Director Kyle Oldre, no one needed rescuing, but a team was ready, just in case.
“There was considerable preparation leading up to the event,” Oldre said.
“The National Guard had soldiers staged in Luverne for both rescue and shelter purposes, and the state and weather service had daily briefings to ensure everyone was on the same page.” 
Local schools pivoted to e-learning during those days and started late on Friday. Before last week’s storm, districts were already planning to make up lost classroom time before the school year ends in May.
Many businesses announced closures in order to keep employees safe and to discourage customers from traveling.
When the wind finally quieted and snow stopped flying late Thursday and into Friday morning, it became abundantly clear why travel wasn’t advised.
Social media posts showed 4-foot-deep drifts blocking driveways and curling up against garage doors and shop entrances.
MnDOT tweeted photographs Friday morning of a monster drift stretching across two lanes of I-90 near Adrian.
While the sun was shining and winds were calm Friday morning, it took snow removal crews days to make roads passable.
And once they were opened, winds picked up again Saturday, drifting snow back in where it had just been cleared.
Many county and township road crews had just caught up from the last heavy snowfall that built up steep snowbanks in ditches and road shoulders.
After working to push those snowbanks farther off the roads, this last storm put them back to Square 1.
 
Staying ahead of snow
In Beaver Creek Township, Stan Steensma is the road maintenance supervisor and operates the snowplow after blizzards.
This winter he’s getting help from seasonal township hire Matt Sorenson, who’s running the township’s recently purchased used snowblower on a leased John Deere tractor from C&B.
The two work in tandem to stay ahead of blowing and drifting. Steensma plows a swath down the roads, and Sorenson follows up with the snowblower to widen the path and open intersections.
“It’s done wonders for the roads,” said Beaver Creek Township Clerk JoEllen Benson.
She said the township board had considered buying extra snow removal equipment in previous years, but wondered if it would be a good investment.
“Well, look at this year,” Benson said.  “I know our township residents are very happy with it.”
She said the township board used some federal pandemic relief funds to cover the extra snow removal expenses.
“That was a very good use of ARPA money,” Benson said, referring to the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Rock County Highway Engineer Mark Sehr said his department is getting by with existing staff, but he said this winter is getting expensive.
“I would say that at this time, we have easily spent double of what we averaged over the last five years,” he said.
In addition to overtime and equipment maintenance and repair, he said inflation is affecting his budget with diesel fuel, salt, sand and replacing carbide steel cutting edges (heavy plates that protect the snowplow from road friction).  
“Everything has escalated in price,” Sehr said.
He said it’s been a long and more severe winter than most people have become accustomed to over the last five to 10 years.
“For anyone working in the snow removal business, many hours have been put in and we appreciate our employees’ efforts,” Sehr said.  
“Our residents, schools and businesses have felt the effect of the exceptional snowfall amounts and the frequency of ‘high wind’ events. We appreciate everyone's patience and understanding while these events occur.”

Luverne Public Works Supervisor John Stoffel is leaning on old friends this winter to stay ahead of city snow removal
Retirees Butch Hatting and Fred Boll have tallied dozens of “stand by” hours for the city, filling in for staff who are sick, vacationing or following their kids’ hockey games.
Dubbed the “Super Senior Division,” Hatting and Boll have their Class A driver’s licenses and can handle most of Luverne’s street equipment — including snowplows and dump trucks.
“These two have saved us many times this winter,” Stoffel said Friday. “Either one of them can do anything I need them to do.”
Hatting and Boll joke that they’re more “tired” than retired lately, especially after helping with last week’s blizzard cleanup.
But they clearly enjoy their status on the Public Works staff.
“I don’t know about you,” Hatting said. “But I don’t go to coffee shops, and this way I stay in touch with what’s going on a little bit socially.”
Boll is in his fourth year working part time with the city. He previously was a buyer for 37 years with M-M until Bomgaars bought the business. He will be 70 this year.
Hatting worked for the city from 1991 until his retirement in 2018. Prior to 1991 he worked with Shorty Siebenahler in construction. He’ll be 79 in June.
When asked how they might rather be spending retirement, the two seniors said they usually prefer working over watching TV or relaxing at home.
 “They grew up workers, and they can’t shut it off,” Stoffel said. “We’re lucky to have them.”
Hatting joked, “I’ve been married 57 years, but that’s only because I’ve been out of the house often enough.”
While they like to be called on for city work, Boll and Hatting said they also like having the option to say, “no” if they want to.
“I have grandkids, and there are great-grandkids we watch once in a while,” Hatting said. “We help them with day care if they need it.”
Stoffel said, “Our main competition for getting them to come to work is their grandkids.”
Boll and Hatting work for the city part time year-round, but they’re especially needed in the winter months when the summer part-timers are at school or other obligations.
That’s why the “Super Senior Division” is so essential to Luverne Public Works, Stoffel said.
“Both of these guys have made themselves available to me,” he said. “For us to have a full crew wouldn’t happen without them.”

When the Rock County Community Library was one of 22 libraries across the U.S. chosen for a library fellowship in 2021, director Calla Jarvie didn’t know where the experience would lead.
With the fellowship now complete, library patrons have access to a video library targeted at its youngest patrons — anyone in third grade or younger.
“The video library is to show kids that reading is cool at any age and in any career,” Jarvie said. “Reading also makes you a celebrity no matter who you are.”
So far, 15 local “celebrities” have read aloud from their favorite children’s book or from a selection Jarvie chose.
The first three of the 15 celebrity videos feature a 10th-grade confirmation class activity.
“The sophomores did some readings as part of their service project for St. Catherine’s,” Jarvie said. “We had a wonderful mix of stories that way.”
Other celebrity readers came from both Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek school districts, a veterinarian, a hair stylist, the Luverne mayor and the county sheriff.
The video recordings stem from the fellowship’s focus on increasing grade-level reading up to third grade.
Each library selected for the fellowship through Berea College and Save the Children came up with project(s) that would help increase third-grade scores to proficient levels.
The local project focused on accessibility.
“Rock County only has one library, and that might be difficult to reach families who don’t live in Luverne — like during last week’s blizzard,” Jarvie said. “The videos are accessible no matter where you are.”
The recordings can be downloaded or viewed from the Rock County Community Library’s YouTube.com page or from the library’s Facebook page.
“Being read to at an early age helps children develop language awareness and recognition of story elements,” Jarvie said.
“Studies have shown from birth to third grade, children are learning to read. After that point, they are reading to learn.”
More celebrity readers are being sought.
“The video library is a living project, so as long as we have willing readers, we will make videos,” Jarvie said.
Contact Jarvie at the Rock County Community Library, 507-449-5040, or calla.jarvie@co.rock.mn.us