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.

Two outstanding Luverne sophomore gymnasts competed at the state gymnastics individual tournament at the Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul Saturday, Feb. 25.
“I’m very proud of the girls’ performances at state. I thought they did a great job,” head coach Phoebe Flom said.  “It’s a lot of pressure to go up against the best of the best.”
Sophomore Ella Reisdorfer made her fourth appearance at the state tournament, and it was her second consecutive year competing in the all-around competition.
Sophomore Amira Cowell competed in her second state gymnastics tournament.
“Ella and Amira should both be very proud of their performance at state and of their season as a whole,” Flom said.
“I can’t believe it’s over; it seems to have flown by so fast. We had such a cohesive group of girls who just made the whole season a dream. … We accomplished all of our goals so I would say it was a success. I’m already looking forward to next year.”
Reisdorfer’s all-around score Saturday was 34.337 placing her 24th overall and beating her 2022 all-around score of 32.950.
In the vault she scored a 9.250, up from last year’s 8.900, and on the bars she scored a 7.975, up from last year’s 7.125.
Reisdorfer has competed in the bars event for the past four years. In 2021 she posted a bar score of 8.900 and in 2020 she scored a 7.875.
On the balance beam her 8.950 was a significant bump over her 7.775 beam score last year.
On the floor Reisdorfer tried a few new skills and scored an 8.125, down from last year’s 9.150.
“I know Ella was disappointed in her floor,” Flom said. “We had worked all week on adding some new skills so when it didn’t go as expected she was bummed. … We had good vaults and I thought the girls did great bar routines. The scoring was a little tight so that is hard to swallow.”
Cowell scored 9.050 on the vault, beating her 2020 performance of 8.975, and on the uneven parallel bars Saturday she scored 7.775.
Flom reflected on what she described as an exceptional season.
“The best part of the state experience is to be on the same team as the other girls in your section,” she said.
“The girls you usually compete against are now on the same team, and they support and cheer each other on.”

Rock County officials won’t schedule a required open house to finalize preliminary flood insurance rate maps until the maps are fully updated.
“There is no way that we, as a local unit of government, should sign off on this and hope in another 30 years they come back and look at it again,” said Rock County Administrator Kyle Oldre.
He and Rock County Land Management Office director Eric Hartman told Rock County commissioners at their Feb. 21 meeting that the meeting shouldn’t happen in April.
Local officials have requested the maps be updated with flood mitigation information, and they are waiting for a response.
The preliminary maps reviewed at the first open house in December are missing two flood mitigation projects built in Luverne in the 1990s.
Both projects slow the water flow through Poplar Creek on the west side of Luverne during heavy rain events.
Because of this, previously flood-prone neighborhoods — including 30 or 40 homes — should no longer be designated as “flood plains” in the updated maps.
The flood plain maps for Rock County were last updated in the 1980s.
Hartman relayed Rock County’s concerns to Jeff Weiss of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources who handles the FEMA map-updating process for Minnesota.
“I followed up with him and the two others on the correspondence stating that the locally elected officials preferred that we do not set the second meeting until we have the study done and we have more accurate mapping,” Hartman said.
Weiss indicated that a restudy of Poplar Creek has been submitted to FEMA.
“Since this is a new grant, we would start the work toward the end of 2023 or early 2024,” Weiss wrote.
The timeline would be near the summer of 2024, a deadline FEMA has imposed for counties to accept the preliminary maps.
Weiss also admitted that other flood plain areas around Luverne may also be incorrect.
“In addition to Poplar Creek, we are also proposing that we restudy the Rock River through Luverne at the same time because we found some issues that need to be addressed, particularly with the floodway for the draft maps.”
The December meeting wasn’t the first time that local officials told the DNR that the flood retention projects around Luverne needed to be included in the flood map updates.
The first meeting to redraw the flood maps in Rock County took place in 2018.
“And they continue to miss it and clean it up,” said Oldre.
Residents in counties where FEMA-proposed maps are not approved would not be eligible to purchase flood insurance through the National Flood Plain Insurance Program.

Luverne School Board members agreed on a split vote Monday night to deny a sports pairing request from the Hills-Beaver Creek School District.
H-BC had sent a letter to Luverne School District requesting to discuss pairing in seven activities.
“H-BC is interested in pairing in the following sports: wrestling, baseball, softball, gymnastics, cross country, tennis and hockey,” stated the Feb. 22 letter from H-BC Superintendent Todd Holthaus to Luverne Superintendent Craig Oftedahl.
Luverne School Board members denied the request at their Monday night meeting, which was rescheduled from Feb. 23, due to the blizzard.
After discussing the matter for about 20 minutes, the Luverne board voted 4-3 to deny the sports pairing request.
Tim Jarchow, Eric Hartman, Dave Wrigg and Ryan DeBates voted against any sports pairing discussions with H-BC.
Jarchow said the two school boards had discussed possible pairing agreements in the past.
“We agreed at that time to set a precedence that open enrollment is allowed for anyone who wants to play sports with Luverne to also benefit from the education options that we have,” Jarchow said.
Zach Nolz, Randy Sasker and Mike DeBates voted in favor of at least discussing some pairing options with the H-BC athletic committee.
Sasker asked about Luverne’s team rosters, which are all full except for wrestling and junior varsity hockey programs.
“The view looks pretty good now,” he said. “But if enrollment numbers go down, that changes the number of participants in those activities, too.”
Luverne’s district enrollment is not projected to decline in the near future.
“We can always entertain it at another point in time,” Ryan DeBates said.
Currently the H-BC athletic program offers football, volleyball, girls’ and boys’ basketball, girls’ and boys’ track and girls’ and boys’ golf.
Luverne and H-BC have had individual sports pairing agreements in the past where H-BC was billed for the program costs.

Luverne City Council members signed a new Reserved Capacity Agreement with Missouri River Energy Services that will more than pay for the recent $11 million upgrades to the city’s power plant.
MRES is an organization of 61 member municipalities in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa that own and operate their own electric distribution systems.
MRES is part of two of the nation’s regional transmission organizations, Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. and Southwest Power Pool, which collaborate with other grid partners.
MRES reserves local generation capacity with its municipal members to sell to other parts of the country in the event of weather emergencies.
A good example of this was the Polar Vortex in February of 2021 when Luverne ran its backup generator around the clock for several days to help provide electricity for areas of Texas that had been affected by a winter snow and ice storm.
Since then Luverne and MRES invested nearly $11 million in power plant improvements that included two additional generators to supplement the 1950s model already in use. The city currently has 9.7 megawatts of generation capacity.
The city bonded to pay for the project, and MRES would pay roughly 43 percent in reserved capacity payments over 10 years.
However, with the new reserved capacity agreement between MRES and its members, the new rates will essentially end up paying for the entire project and more.
“This is a huge benefit for the city of Luverne,” Mayor Pat Baustian said about the agreement that was approved during the council’s Feb. 14 meeting.
He said MRES has reconsidered its supplies of dispatchable power — especially after the 2021 Polar Vortex – and decided to increase rate payments to its members.
The new rates are $5 per kilowatt per month as well as an upfront $2 per KW per month for 10 years as an incentive to its members to install new generation.
For Luverne, the new rates mean that instead of MRES paying $4.3 million toward the $11 million generation investment, Luverne will receive $16.9 million over the 30-year agreement, through May 31, 2052.
Although electric costs will rise over that time period, Baustian said it will still more-than pay for Luverne’s power generation.
“It creates opportunities for our city and residents and business industries to have this dispatchable power,” Baustian said.
“What a great agreement. I can’t say enough about it.”
The Reserved Capacity Agreement (RCA) serves as an agreement between MRES and its members contracting local generation capacity.
In the contract, MRES provides a monthly payment for the availability of required generation capacity to supply back to the grid, if needed.
The agreement helps participating members have local backup generation to increase the reliability of their own operations, as well.

Meetings
American Legion Auxiliary #123 will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, at the Pizza Ranch in Luverne.
Parkinsons Support Group will meet at 2 p.m. Thursday, March 16, in Poplar Creek, Luverne. All are welcome. Call 507-935-8173 with questions.
 
World Day of Prayer March 3
Luverne’s First Presbyterian Church will host a World Day of Prayer at 1:30 p.m. Friday, March 3, under the theme, “I have heard about your faith,” based on Ephesians 1:15-19.
A time of fellowship will follow the service.
World Day of Prayer is an ecumenical movement of Christian women who gather the first Friday in March for informed prayer and prayerful action. See wdp-usa.org.
 
Nutrition for seniors March 2
 Nutrition Assistance Program for Seniors 60 and older, sponsored by A.C.E. of SW MN, will be from 2 to 3 p.m. Thursday, March 2, as a drive-through distribution in the parking lot off Maple Street at new ACE office on the east side of Generations Event Center.
  Pre-registration is required for those not already registered. Call Linda Wenzel at 507-283-5064.
 
Weather spotter training March 6
The Rock County Emergency Management office will host a weather spotter training at 6:30 p.m. Monday, March 6, in the Luverne school performing arts center. Call 507-283-5065 with questions.
 
Tree trimming and pruning help
Project Food Forest is offering to help with any and all tree trimming for trees less than 10 years old. The local organization will provide one-on-one guidance in the process, specifically tailored to individual trees. To schedule a service, email mickey@projectfoodforest.org or call 605-215-1051.
The service is available through March 31, weather permitting,
 
Community Ed updates due March 7
Community Education thrives through the sharing of talents, interests and information from all members of the community.
If you have a new class idea to offer or a request for a particular class, email me at li.nath@isd2184.net or call 283-4724.
The current brochure is on the school website at www.isd2184.net under Community Education. The new one will be available April 29.
 
Blood drive March 8 in Adrian
Sanford Health Adrian Clinic and Community Blood Bank will host a blood drive from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 3 to 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, at Adrian Ambulance Building.
Donors can schedule appointments at cbblifeblood.org, selecting “events” and Adrian Community or call 507-483-2668. Walk-ins are welcome, but appointments are encouraged. 
 
‘Crafty Canines’ at Blue Mounds March 11
Meet from 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 11, in the Picnic Shelter at the Blue Mounds State Park for a program on “Crafty Canines.”
Coyotes, foxes, and wolves are all members of the canine family, and the naturalist will share information about the tricks these clever critters use to survive and serve as a valuable link in the food chain. Program will conclude with some crafty projects to take home. All ages welcome. Call 507-283-6050 for details.
 
Help make Rock County ‘dementia friendly’
Dementia Friends Minnesota will offer a free event at 12:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 15, at Generations in Luverne to share information about dementia — how to recognize signs of dementia — in order to better interact with caregivers and people living with dementia.
To register contact Linda Wenzel at 507-238-5064
 
‘Amphibians and Reptiles’ at Blue Mounds March 25
Meet from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, March 25, in the Picnic Shelter at the Blue Mounds State Park for a program on “Amphibians and Reptiles.”
Learn which amphibians and reptiles you can find in the park and explore the life cycle of these animals to discover how they give clues about the health of an ecosystem.  Call 507-283-6050 for details.
 
Community Ed
Community Education will offer the following classes in the next few weeks. Call 507-283-4724 to register.
Join Master Gardeners on March 2 at Planning Your Garden to learn tips on how to plan your garden for your space. Fee is $5.
Students in grades K-2 with an adult are invited to Child-Adult Yoga for strengthening child-caregiver bonds starting on March 4 for four weeks. Fee is $40.
Children ages 0-5 with parent can attend Open Gym on March 10. Registration required, but there is no fee.
Turn a plain piece of pottery into a beautiful art piece at Amazing Raku sing glaze, heat, flames and cooling will on March 11. Fee is $5 plus the pottery chosen at the studio. 
Taking Defensive Driving Classes allows adults 55 years of age and older to save on insurance premiums. The Beginning 8-Hour Class is April 17 & 24 (four hours each evening). Refresher 4-Hour Classes are March 13 and April 3.
Project Food Forest can help you tap your maple tree and make maple syrup with Community Wide Maple Tapping starting in mid-March. Fee is $12.
 
Free tax preparation at library
AARP volunteers will offer free tax preparation for low-income individuals and seniors at the Rock County Library on Mondays starting Feb. 13 through April 15.
Call 507-449-5040 for appointments. Bring documents, including last year’s tax return and a form of identification to document social security number. Tax returns for 2021 will be prepared if requested.
 
Library Happenings
For more information about library happenings, call 507-449-5040 or email rockcountystaff@gmail.com.
Story Time with Bronwyn is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 10 a.m. Fridays now through April 28. Stories and make-and-take crafts are the same at either event.
Winter Book Club meets at different local restaurants during February and March.
The 50 State Challenge for adults and older teens is currently underway where patrons are encouraged to read a book set in one of each of the 50 states through Jan. 1, 2024.
The annual Plum Cleek Library System winter reading program, “Get Wrapped in Reading,” goes now until March 31.
Trivia Night is at 7 p.m. the first Thursday of every month at Take 16 in Luverne. Team registration begins at 6 p.m.
Reminiscence Kits are available featuring various topics such as gardening, pets, baking, sewing, farming and hunting. The kits are designed to use with a loved one experiencing memory loss, encouraging the loved one to open up about activities they once loved in the past.
 
Community Ed announcements
Community Education will offer the following classes in the next few weeks. Call 507-283-4724 to register.
ECFE Classes for children ages 0-5 years and parents offers information and support to parents and provides activities for parents and children to explore together through classes that meet once a week throughout the school year. 
New Residents: Census Information Needed for Preschool Children. Call 507-283-4724 with information for children ages 0 to kindergarten. The school district uses the information for planning purposes, mailing out information on school events, including the state-mandated Preschool Screening for all 3-year-old children.
 
Food Shelf evening hours
The Rock County Food Shelf is now open for an additional evening shift from 5 to 6 p.m. the first and third Thursdays of the month. Call Mary at 507-227-5548 or Katie at 507-227-3531.
 
A.C.E. respite care available, volunteers needed
A.C.E. of SW Minnesota (A.C.E.) offers respite care services in Rock County for those needing a break from caring for a loved one.
The respite program offers short-term (1-3 hours), temporary care for families and caregivers by providing a brief period of reprieve from the daily cares they provide to their loved one.
Volunteers provide non-professional supportive services to caregivers to give them time for themselves, relieve their stress and help them remain healthy.
Respite care volunteers are also needed. Trained A.C.E. volunteers provide respite care to family caregivers of adults age 60 and older who are suffering from long-term health conditions.
Contact Linda Wenzel at 507-283-5064 or ace.rock@co.rock.mn.us.

Luverne City Council members toured the lower level of the Palace Theatre on Tuesday, Feb. 21, to see recent improvements to dressing rooms and gathering spaces.
Palace director Shawn Kinsinger showed them the  “refreshed” areas where performers and musicians store costumes and gear and prepare to go on stage.
“It looks great,” he told the council during his recent council report. “It is really, really nice down there. The carpet is in, there’s nice lighting. It’s warm, it’s inviting.”
He was able to make some of the improvements with a pandemic relief “Shuttered Venue” grant.
Also, a grant from Luverne Area Community Foundation allowed the purchase of a stage monitor.
“It’s helpful, especially when we have shows with a lot of little kids,” Kinsinger said. “We have to have people down there with them, and they need to know when to send them on stage.”
The city of Luverne owns the Palace Theatre building and leases it to the Blue Mound Area Theater Board for operation.

While the final scores averaged above 200 points, the Hills-Beaver Creek Secondary School mock trial team was at a disadvantage in each of the four rounds they competed in this season.
The Patriots finished 0-4.
“After the competitions, the judges allow the students to ask questions, which is wonderful,” said adviser Megan Klumper.
“Most of the suggestions they give us for improvement have to do with topics that I don’t have the knowledge for. Since I don’t ‘live’ in the judicial world, I don’t know some of the expectations, and reading about them just isn’t enough.”
The H-BC team has been without an attorney coach since the 2019 season.
Klumper said only an actual attorney has the court knowledge to advise the students.
The school has put a request in for an attorney coach with the Minnesota State Bar Association, but no one has stepped forward. Klumper is hoping in the 2024 season she will receive attorney assistance.
“If anyone would like to help us, please give me a call,” she said.
H-BC competed in only one in-person mock trial this season.
“It was a little disappointing. It just seems so much more authentic when the students are in an actual courtroom,” Klumper said.
“My students improved greatly from beginning to end. I am proud of them.”
Weather, courtroom and judge availability forced most teams to conduct the mock trials via Zoom.
Members of the H-BC team included seniors Britton McKenzie, Tyrae Goodface, Lexi Drake, Leif Tollefson; juniors Kyler Hartz, Joy Taubert, Madison Gaugler, Tahliya Kruger; sophomores Emma Deelstra, Blake Leenderts, Isaiah Stefanyuk, Lexxus Wessels; freshmen Gavin Voss and Sarah Prohl.
 
2023 season record (0-4)
Round 1: Plaintiff vs. Murray County Central, 238-252
Round 2: Defense vs. Luverne, 223-238
Round 3: Plaintiff vs. Cotter, 199-222
Round 4: Defense vs. Battle Lake, 212-223

The 2023 Luverne High School mock trial team’s performance of this year’s malpractice case Monday was just for fun as the team celebrated Parents Night in the school media center.
The students wrapped up the season Feb. 17 with their only loss and missed the chance to attend this weekend’s state tournament.
The Luverne students took on Owatonna High School in the tournament-qualifying Round 5. The winner would represent the Greater Minnesota Southern Division at the state tournament.
The Luverne-Owatonna match was the only one where the presiding judge was called upon to break a 1-1 tie. The scoring judges deadlocked on a winner in the Jamie Morton v. Ardi Ramidus, M.D. case.
The presiding judge gave Owatonna the win.
“When you get to Round 5, we face really strong competition,” said adviser Jason Berghorst.
“It was obviously very close, and our kids did a fine job. Sometimes the other team’s arguments or performance just appeals to one judge more, and that’s what happened in Round 5. I was proud of our kids’ efforts in the final trial and throughout the season.”
The same tie-breaking heartbreak occurred last year, ending the 2022 winning season with one loss, removing the chance to attend the state tournament.
Weather, courtroom and judge availability allowed only one of the five mock trial rounds for Luverne to be in-person. Four, including the team’s one loss, were completed virtually.
“That was a real disappointment for the kids,” Berghorst said. “They were resilient and still competed at a high level and did their best, but really regret that only half of our team (the defense side) was able to compete in-person this season.”
The Luverne team consists of seniors Mallory Von Tersch, Ross Bergman, Parker Carbonneau, Jadyn Hart, Ella Lanoue; juniors Roselynn Hartshorn, Cassi Chesley, Hallie Bork; sophomores Xavier McKenzie, Adam Ask, Keaton Ahrendt, Eli McLendon, Makayla Oechsle; freshmen Tyler Hodge, Zander Carbonneau and Nicole Areualo.
Jeff Haubrich returned as the team’s attorney coach.
He said the LHS students assist one another to learn the rules of the courtroom and make the necessary adjustments as a team.
“All parents should be proud of the work their kids put in,” Haubrich said. “They are all very busy and yet they still find the time and energy to put into our mock trial team, one of the best around.”
 
Season wrap-up (4-1 record)
Round 1: Defense vs Lakeview, 239-220
Round 2: Plaintiff vs Hills-Beaver Creek, 238-223
Round 3: Defense vs Owatonna, 200-195
Round 4: Defense vs Northfield, 219-213
Round 5: Plaintiff vs Owatonna, 1-2 (judge’s decision)