10 years ago (1996)"Technology changes faster than most people dare or care to keep up with. But Rod Scholten wants to try and keep the town of Hills caught up with a fast-changing society. Scholten is working to start a technology-oriented business in half of the old Grand Labs building. He would like to do some computer programming and troubleshooting — among other things."25 years ago (1981)"It will be H-BC versus Luverne in the finals of the District 8 Boys Basketball Tournament this weekend in Worthington. The H-BC boys drew a bye in the first round, defeated Magnolia in the second round and then defeated Pipestone in the semi-finals to earn their final round berth."50 years ago (1956)"Hills students walked away with eight superior ratings last Tuesday evening enabling those eight people to compete in the district speech competition on March 16. The local superior ratings were won by the following: Nancy Nuffer, Robert Muns, Jean Scholten, Roger Timmerman, Richard James, Jack Anderson, Carol Nelson and Beth Bonnema."75 years ago (1931)"The Interstate Power Co. construction crew has been working in Hills for a week, setting new poles, stringing new wire and giving the high line a general overhauling. The new wire and transformers have been put in the west part of town and the crew has ‘topped off’ the long row of trees running east and west past A. Fikse’s place, and along the Ole Skyberg and August Nordby homes, and as a result Supt. Carl Matzke has been a very busy man." 100 years ago (1906)"The elections last Tuesday passed off very quietly, there being no opposition to either the village or township candidates, and all the caucus nominees were elected. The village elections were held in the office of Finke Bros. with only 48 votes being cast. A.M. Sayre, Otto Nelson and H.A. Twange acted as judges in the election."

Many, many thanks to Lexi Moore for her extremely interesting and educational article last week on her week at Girls State, the American Legion Auxiliary’s sponsored program for high school junior girls. She has done an excellent job of describing what goes on during that week toward the practical application of Americanism and good citizenship. Yes, sadly the Hills American Legion Auxiliary #399 has been unable to send a candidate the past nine years; this was due to declining membership, cessation of regular meetings and activities, lack of funds and girls willing to attend.However, our records show a Girls Stater every year beginning in 1951, which was only the 5th year of the program, and ending in 1996. Two girls were sent in 1964 and 1965, one from Hills High School and one from Beaver Creek High School, as there was no Auxiliary there. That’s a total of 48 girls who have experienced this opportunity, which is also a plus on their résumés. So, Lexi, we’re anticipating another Girls Stater this spring.Gertrude Steinberg, PresidentLois Nelson, TreasurerHills ALA #399

My life’s parade of rodents continued this weekend.As the snow began to fall Sunday morning, my husband and I decided it was the perfect chance to bring in a loveseat we had been storing in our garage.This loveseat, although a bit ugly, is extremely comfortable. I had been begging him to exchange our current television-watching couch with this loveseat for some time.The ugliness held us back until Saturday when I found a great deal on a gorgeous and super-soft slipcover.Hauling this comfortable loveseat from our garage to our second-story television room was not an easy task for the two of us to accomplish.This well-made piece of furniture is a hand-me-down from David’s father, who, when purchasing the couch, opted for quality. In couches, every extra dollar of quality equals at least 20 extra pounds of weight.My pythons are anything but strong. I helped by dragging my end of the couch up one stair at a time, forcing David to hold all of the weight at the bottom.When the couch finally arrived at the top of the stairs, we had to determine how to get it through the door. In perfect Moore fashion, we tried many options and did lots of discussing before finally removing the pedestal legs from the couch and the door from the hinges.Removing these items took all of five minutes and easily granted the couch entrance to the room.Hurray, job well done! We put the door back on, the feet screwed back in without problems, the slipcover fit and looked even better than we had hoped. Now we sat comfortably and watched our Sunday night television shows, so pleased with our efforts.Monday morning we woke up to a snow day. My appointments at the elementary school were canceled, David could not get to Sioux Falls to teach at his school – we figured we had the whole day to sit back and enjoy the couch.Not long into the first hour of enjoyment, I noticed that Figaro, my big fuzzy cat, was acting a bit strange. It seemed to me like he was hunting something in our television room. After watching him a bit longer, I knew he was hunting, I just couldn’t figure out what.Of course, it didn’t stay a mystery for long. Although the critter moved swiftly along my mopboard and my speeding cat rather blurred my vision – I knew it was a mouse.Yes, there was a mouse in my house.With four cats, I am not supposed to have mice on the inside of my house. Long ago, I had resigned myself to thinking the only mice I would ever see are the dead ones the cat leaves on the front porch for me.After watching a very entertaining game of cat and mouse that spanned both levels of the house and resulted in a kill, David and I investigated the couch.We quickly confirmed that we had transported a group of mice from our garage to the house. How many? There was no way of knowing.Let the games continue …A good two hours later, after the couch had been flipped over, lining removed and thoroughly vacuumed, I was on the phone with my mother when a second little critter shot under my feet and headed toward the stairs.Again, Figaro was on the job. Although, he successfully removed it from behind my printer, he didn’t seem to want to kill this one. He chased it through every room in the house, but once the mouse had hid in the organ, the cat gave up and went upstairs to sleep.During the day, we tried to get the other cats involved – no luck. One was too frightened by our excitement, the oldest just didn’t seem to care and the new baby couldn’t figure out what to do. It kept trying to play with its toys.So, by midday we were one for two. Not a good sign.Trying to lighten the mood, David was going to bait the mouse with salt and vinegar chips. He strategically placed one under the couch, trying to lure the remaining mice out.It worked, except the mice managed to carry the chip back into the couch. Throughout the day and into the evening we could hear the sounds of tiny teeth crunching away at our chips.Eventually, like the cat, I gave up, too. What the heck, I can handle living with mice. I have shared my home with worse creatures.Story ideas or comments can be e-mailed to Lexi Moore at lexim@star-herald.com or called in at 962-3561.

The worst storm of the season thus far occurred Sunday morning, March 12, when around 10:30 the snow began falling and continued to fall. The wet snow kept folks home and later in the afternoon the plows in our town came to push the snow off the streets. Weather bulletins were issued for more of the same, and by Monday morning we had more snow and strong winds with blowing snow. Consequently our schools were to start two hours late and later school was cancelled for the day.Word has been received in Hills of the death of a former resident of Hills. The young daughter of O. Paul and Helen Hauge of Decorah, Iowa, died at the early age of 35 in her home. She died March 9 and is survived by her husband, Brian Ormord, and four children. Bob and Twila Kirsch were among those who attended a birthday gathering for Vernon Kvale, 94, Friday, March 10, at the Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center in Luverne. Vernon expects to return to his home in a few weeks.Martha Lindrud turned 90 Monday, March 13. She celebrated in style. Her daughter, Carole Lonkey, came Friday from Brooklyn Center and returned home Sunday morning. On Saturday relatives gathered at the Royal Fork in Sioux Falls for dinner. Craig and Carla Nelson, Kelly and Courtney, came from Newman Grove, Neb., also Paul and Joyce Dohlman, Columbus, Neb., Marlys and Frank Bernard, Sioux Falls, and Richard and Lori Vestlie, and children.Thursday evening, March 9, Don and Edyth Briggs attended the U. S. Air Force Heartland America Band who played to a packed house at the Performing Arts Center in Brandon, S.D.

Until recently, the strangest sight that I had seen in the downtown area of Sioux Falls on my daily commute was an actual herd of Styrofoam peanuts being blown along 10th Street.These white S-shaped little bits stayed together in a nice little flock like teeny tiny sheep and blew west on 10th, actually turning into a driveway near the parking ramp by the Silver Diner. There I passed them and lost sight of them. Maybe there is a Styrofoam peanut stockyard or foam-stock auction that I am not aware even existed in this part of the country. I searched for them almost daily for a while but never came upon them again. Now I am on a quest of a different sort.My work-week travels take me through downtown where most are familiar with the police camera set up on 10th and Minnesota Avenue. More than a few people have had their photograph sent to them in the mail along with a hefty fine proclaiming their law-breaking status in black and white. I have personally witnessed the camera flash catch driving errors on many a morning on my way into town.I like the camera idea. It does not affect me in the least, and, as everything is a race for me, I have those downtown lights timed to the millisecond in my mind on how fast I need to go to make them all on green.I love the new descending numbers on the walk signals downtown, too. As the digits count down from seventeen to one at that junction, they let me know how my timing system is working, where I stand and how much faster I need to go to make the green or at least the yellow light. I looked up the statistics for that one light and found that the total citations listed for the year 2005 were 7717. July had the most with 1025 and January and February tied with the least at 427. Though I’m not sure what kind of cut the camera people get out of the whole thing, any way you slice it, that is a chunk of change at eighty-some bucks a pop. One morning the stars must have aligned just right and Jupiter must have been a little out of its orbit. I saw a sight to top the oddity of the Styrofoam peanut stampede. I actually saw a person stop at that camera light when it was green, on 4 and watch the walk light timer count down 3, 2, 1, yellow and red. I love to entertain myself by speculating what could be going through a person’s mind, if anything, at the split second when they do something out of the ordinary. That camera system surely is not there because people have been stopping too early. Perhaps a string of bad luck had this individual convinced that the light would skip from 3 to red with no warning. Maybe that small SUV’s (with not SD plates) engine stalled just at that exact instant in time in that very place without enough coasting power to make it through the intersection. Possibly this person saw the countdown and accidentally hit the brake instead of the accelerator, which I would never think of doing because my children might someday read this column.I wish that I could have seen if the driver was male or female. There is a never-ending debate in my family over which gender is the more careful driver. I personally had a 22-year streak going with no moving violations, but that ended with last week’s column.The way I figure, it must have been a male driver. There’s no particular reason that I would care to put in print to be placed in the archives of the Hills Crescent to be shoved under my nose forever, but male, definitely male.Maybe this driver spilled his coffee or dropped his cell phone, mispunched a button on his GPS or needed to change a CD at that particular moment in time. It’s hard telling … but fun to guess.So my mission of late has been to watch for that SUV to see who is driving … I’ll let you know.Is it you? Is it fate? I’ll keep on looking until I "close the gate."Story ideas or comments can be e-mailed to Nancy at Nancy861@msn.com or called in at

Spring is here at last — or that’s what we thought until Sunday morning when the snow began to form.Robins flying to and fro had no place to go. Little did the snow subside until the wind decided to die. But there is no reason to be forlorn, for the snow will melt after a good, warm spring morn.The snow on Sunday came as a late winter surprise. Many events were canceled and the residents of Steen hunkered down at home to wait out this last winter blast. Evening services were canceled at the Steen Reformed Church along with small group meetings.Henrietta Huenink was expecting guests to help celebrate her 83rd birthday, but due to the snow no one attended. Happy birthday, and we wish you many more. At least Al and Donna Bodewitz of Sioux Falls came and celebrated early on Saturday afternoon along with Kenny & Gwynn Bodewitz from Valley Springs.Also bearing the brunt of this brutal weather were the Sandbultes — Robert, Lorraine, Janet and John. They were on their way back from Iowa City where they spent the weekend celebrating birthdays as well. Daughter Stephanie’s little baby, Troy, turned a year older. They reported that from Blue Earth to Steen it got somewhat colder, and they traveled 40 to 45 mph to get home.Entertaining dinner guests on Monday, John and Jane Bosch had granddaughter LaDonna (Sandstede) and husband Nick Freiborg over from Clara City. They were home for the weekend at Terry and Glenda Sandstede’s. Last Saturday evening Brian and Melody Dengler had supper guests — parents Greg and Shar Dengler of Rock Rapids and Pastor Don Baker of Doon.On Friday of last week, Mildred Keunen and sister Jo Aykens brought niece Beth (Bonnema) Sakurai to the Sioux Falls airport. There they had lunch together before Beth boarded her plane for Minneapolis where she was to spend the weekend with family and then return to Japan on Monday. In hospital news: Milton Bonnema fell in his home last Tuesday and broke his leg. He was taken to the Sioux Valley Luverne Community Hospital and then transferred to Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls. Surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, but after a closer review of the X-rays by the doctor, it was found that the surgery was going to be more extensive than thought and it was moved back to Thursday. The surgery went well. Milton was taken out of the ICU on Saturday. He had a rough day on Sunday, but the family is hoping that he will be transferred to the Rock Rapids Health Centre sometime later this week, where he will undergo physical therapy. Milton does hope to return to his home after a few weeks’ stay at the Health Centre.Don Bonnema remains in the Veterans Hospital. He has shown considerable progress and hopes to return home on a trial basis this week. Henrietta Boeve underwent surgery on Monday at the Sioux Valley Hospital to have a defibrillator and pacemaker combination implanted. They left Sunday afternoon and stayed overnight in Sioux Falls to make sure they beat the weather. Ron Van Ruler underwent an angiogram on Wednesday at the Sioux Valley Hospital. In city news: The softball team is looking for a few more good players. (Well. maybe not that good of players. They did ask me and I’m the world’s worst player.) If you are interested in being on the team, please contact Dale Sandbulte.In church news, the Steen Reformed Church would like to remind everyone that Vacation Bible School is quickly approaching. Dates for this year’s VBS are June 12 to 16. The theme is FIESTA, "Where kids are fired up about Jesus."All children are invited to attend. Your child must be 4 years of age by Sept. 1, 2005, to participate. If you would like to register your child, please contact the church at 855-2336. Also, if you are sending your child to Inspiration Hills, please have your registration forms in by April 1. The church would like to encourage the community to check out the prayer line. If you wish to have someone pray for you or you just want to know who you can pray for, call the church at 855-2336 and choose extension #15 to hear and leave prayer concerns and praises.That is all for this week. If you have any news you would like placed in the Steen news, please contact Brian at 855-2232 or at knowgrowshow@hotmail.comBlessings!

10 years ago (1996)
After lengthy discussion Thursday, the Luverne School Board agreed by a seven to three vote to purchase 70 acres of land adjacent to the LHS football field from Loren Forrest for $360,000. The board also agreed to pay for a six-year option on an additional 50 acres for $100,000.
Luverne Senior High School Principal Gary Fisher asked the School Board last week to consider starting an alternative high school in Luvenre. Currently, 23 full-time and nine part-time students from Luverne are enrolled in Pipestone’s alternative school.
LRock County is combining its Soil and Water Conservation, planning and zoning and agriculture inspection offices into one Land Management Office. It is the first county in the state to combine offices for efficiency.25 years ago (1981)
Dan Meyer, Luverne, and Eugene Wolf, Adrian, are state wrestling champions.
Copper has become a hot item in Rock County. Thieves made off with two half rolls of copper tubing after cutting the lock on a Luverne city building and stole 110 pounds of buss bars from a city line department hut in another incident. Copper brings about 80 cents a pound on the salvage market.50 years ago (1956)
Mayor Warren E. Schoon announced this week that he would not be a candidate for re-election this year. Schoon said that business responsibilities kept him from devoting the time and effort to the office that he would like to give and that the office demanded.
Kenny’s Super Valu advertised four pounds of apples for 69 cents and nine cans of tomato soup for 99 cents. 75 years ago (1931)
Dogs in Rock County may be licensed after a recent House bill was passed.
Alfalfa and flax netted the highest profit for farmers in Rock County. Rock and Nobles County records show an average net return of $8.31 for alfalfa and $2.25 for flax. Corn, oats and barley failed to produce the same results because of small yields and low prices.
Weed eradication will be vigorously pushed in the county. The plan involves voluntary cooperation from landowners.100 years ago (1906)
Mr. and Mrs. A.D. LaDue went to Minneapolis Thursday night of last week to hear Sarah Bernhardt in "Camille" and "La Tosca" Friday and
Carloads of stock were shipped by Rock County farmers to Chicago the past week. Fred Ohlen sent one car of cattle and two of hogs; E.H. Hamann shipped one car of cattle and one car of hogs, and Herman Fitzer three cars of hogs.

By Lori EhdeJohn Rath worked in Luverne Public School administration for more than 30 years, but those who knew him describe him as anything but the "administrative" type."He had a good sense of humor," said District Finance Officer Marlene Mann. She recalled numerous practical jokes between Rath and other school personnel."He liked to have fun, and through the years, we did those sorts of things." Middle School Principal Jim Harner was often involved in these pranks, and agreed Rath will best be known for his ready sense of humor."He could always see the humorous side of any situation. I don’t care how tense it was," Harner said. "I think that’s why he was so well thought of. He always looked for the positive side."Harner said that’s what made him effective with young people."He was a master at dealing with kids," he said. "He never completely closed the door on anyone. He always gave them a chance to get done what they needed to do. … I think there are a lot of kids around who owe their high school diplomas to him."Harner and Rath worked together as principals from 1971 to 1991, and then teamed up again in 1991 after Harner retired to teach Community Education’s 55 Alive Drivers Refresher Class.Harner said humor did wonders for a class that could have been tedious."It’s not such a motivating topic," he said about drivers training. "But we tried to keep it light so it would be interesting."He and Rath shared the hours of the job, which amounted to roughly two days a week. "The class is set up to be taught by one person, but this way, if one of us wanted to take time off, we could do that."Harner and Rath taught their last drivers education class together last week."He was going to have his knee replaced Monday, so I was prepared to go it alone for a while," Harner said. "… He was a good guy. We had a lot of good times together."Rath’s obituary lists gardening as one of his favorite hobbies. Harner enjoyed that hobby with his friend as well."We — John and I and Jerry McGuire and Mike Cox — have a little plot out there by Loren Forrest," Harner said. "Our equipment is communal, and we’ve got all the garden produce you can imagine."Harner said Rath already had his seeds purchased for the coming planting season. "I suppose we’ll plant them and look after them."Rath was also an avid fisherman.He and Paul Rud, Sam Polzin, Darrel Siebert, Jerry McGuire, Rich Christianson, Don Matus and Tom Serie enjoyed annual fishing trips to Canada."We never got tired of John being around. In general he loved life and had a great sense of adventure," Rud said. "We shared so much time together. … I’ll miss that time together."The Raths and Ruds had been out for dinner together the night Rath died.At the end of the night, Rath reportedly decided to watch television before going to bed. His wife, Sally, woke around 4 a.m. and found the television still on and her husband still seated on the couch."He just slipped away," Rud said. "… I feel fortunate that he was a friend for 40 years."Rath was 72 years old.

By Lori EhdeOn Tuesday morning last week, 11-year-old Darrion Jones was surprised to learn school in Luverne was in session."But it’s Mardi Gras. It’s a holiday," he said to his mother, Kimberly Jones. "That’s back in New Orleans," she told her son. "Here, we don’t have Mardi Gras."It’s been three months since the hurricane-displaced Louisiana family made Luverne their new home.It’s a move they haven’t regretted. "We love it here," Kimberly said. "I’m happy, my kids are happy. We have been blessed."But on Tuesday — Fat Tuesday — she admitted being a bit homesick for the traditional Mardis Gras festivities."It’s like one big party … all day long," she said. "I’d dress up the kids in costumes, and we’d bring a big cooler and watch the parade go by. We used to take Hefty bags with us, because we’d come back with so much candy, beads and stuff they’d throw off the floats. "… I was homesick, Tuesday. I really was."National media covered Mardi Gras festivities in New Orleans, and many displaced families like the Joneses watched TV with mixed emotions."I have to wonder, what are we celebrating down there?" Kimberly said. "We lost everything." Seeing the images on TV no doubt prompted memories of life as it was before Aug. 29, 2005.On that day, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf coast, changing lives irreversibly.Wind and water destroyed much of the city of New Orleans and its suburbs, including Jones’ house and thousands of others.After spending three months in relief camps, shelters and FEMA trailers, the Jones family wound up thousands of miles north in Luverne.They arrived via "adoption proceedings" through Foundation for Hope, which was matching interested families with communities willing to sponsor them.For many, adoption wasn’t viable, because it often meant relocating across the country.For Kimberly, the timing was right, and the location was perfect."I had been looking to get out of Louisiana already. I think the Lord was giving me an opportunity to move," she said, adding that the crime rate had been climbing near her neighborhood. Plus, the pop star Prince is from Minneapolis."I’m a big Prince fan," Jones told the Star Herald in November. "I had all his albums — even the first one, ‘For You,’ and I lost them in the hurricane. They’re covered in mud and mold."She and her children, Darrion, 11, Jordan, 6, and India, 3, arrived in Luverne Nov. 30. They were welcomed into a three-bedroom home on Jackson Street (offered by First Baptist Church) generously furnished with locally donated household items.There was even a lighted Christmas tree standing ready to be decorated with donated ornaments in a box nearby.Foundation for Hope adoptions are intended to be temporary, with housing arrangements set up to provide three months worth of free rent.Kimberly knew from the start, however, that Luverne would one day be home."I can honestly say I have no regrets," she said about moving to Luverne. "I’ve always wanted to leave New Orleans, and I’m sorry to say it took a hurricane to do it."An EKG technician and medical assistant, she received two job offers from Sioux Falls hospitals, which she declined in order to accept an offer for a nurses’ aid position in Luverne.She’s back on the job search again, though, for a position using her medical assisting experience.The church is extending Kimberly’s free rent period another two months to accommodate that process."We are so grateful to the community for everything they’ve done for us," Kimberly said. "We are so blessed and are so glad to be here."