Among the more than three dozen children involved in the upcoming Green Earth Players production of “Elf the Musical Jr.,” are the five kids of Casey and Trisha (Schmidt) McKenzie.
Casey is a GEP veteran, having acted in several local productions. Trisha, however, is a newcomer to theater after marrying Casey in August 2021 during the production of “The Game’s Afoot.”
“I am super excited to see them enjoy theater,” Casey said. “Most kids shrink away from anything that puts them in front of people and speaking, but theater gives you a chance to overcome that feat — no matter what they end up doing in the future, this skill of speaking in front of a crowd will serve them well in life.”
Neither of Trisha’s children, Becca and Anthony Beaner, was involved in theater before meeting the McKenzies.
In the upcoming GEP musical, Becca, a seventh-grader at Luverne, portrays Santa’s helper.
“I am hoping my daughter will hopefully become more confident in herself,” Trisha said. “She will find friends who like fine arts and who she will be able to be herself around, in turn, helping her overcome some social anxiety.”
Her son, Anthony, a senior at Hills-Beaver Creek, leans toward set building and technology, two important behind-the-scene jobs in theater.
“He said he would never be able to be on stage; however, he loves behind-the scenes,” Trisha said. “He has helped with some minor set building in the past and is excited to learn the tech booth aspects.”
Casey’s three children experienced theater at a very young age.
The oldest, Britton, is also a senior at H-BC Secondary School.
“When I was 11 months old, my dad and mom had me play the baby in Shakespeare’s ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream,’” Britton said.
Years later, Britton acted with his dad in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” where Casey portrayed Wonka and Britton was an Oompa Loompa.
“He has encouraged me and supported me while I tried my hand at theater,” Britton said.
Joining Britton are siblings Xavier, a sophomore at Luverne High School, and Taedra, a fifth-grader at Luverne Elementary. They portray Santa and a manager, respectively, in the upcoming GEP production.
“Both are incredibly talented,” Britton said. “Xavier has experience and he does well in just about any show he is in. Taedra is a natural. She has a decent amount of experience with children’s shows.”
Their experience lends itself to assist director Shawn Kinsinger with next week’s GEP opening of Elf Jr., which has a cast of 42 children.
“All those kids look up to and actually copy us older kids,” Britton said. “Bringing energy to a scene encourages them to do the same — all of this and showing them the ropes is what older actors do.”
Even if they are his younger siblings.
“Once in a while I have to tell Taedra to pay attention,” Britton said.

The Luverne boys’ cross country team achieved the best state tournament finish in school history Saturday when they were awarded silver medals at the Minnesota State High School League Class A Cross Country Championships in Northfield.
Sophomore Owen Janiszeski earned a fifth-place medal when he finished in the Top 10.
Two Luverne girls’ team members qualified individually for Saturday’s championships, with junior Jenna DeBates achieving a fifth-place medal. Freshman Ella Schmuck finished 47th.
On Saturday an emotional coach Pete Janiszeski addressed his seven boys’ team runners after they achieved another first in school history – the first Luverne boys’ team to reach the awards podium.
“This was absolutely an amazing race,” he said. “We are the best team ever!”
Three points separated Luverne from the first-place gold medalists, Heritage Christian of Maple Grove (99 points) in the final standings.
Last year Luverne boys placed ninth as a team.
The Luverne boys’ team first made school history Oct. 27 when they won the Section 3A Championship, a first for a Luverne boys’ cross country team.
“You all ran faster today than you did at sections last week,” Janiszeski said. “We had three individuals in the Top 25 — we’ve never done that before.”
Luverne’s runners averaged under 17 minutes in the state’s 5,000-meter race that featured 160 runners.
Results included:
•Sophomore Owen Janiszeski, fifth, 16:09.09
•Junior Ryan Fick, 15th, 16:37.87
•Senior Camden Janiszeski, 25th, 16:42.60
•Sophomore Leif Ingebretsen, 77th, 17:27.65
•Sophomore Sage Viessman, 80th, 17:29.65
•Senior Carsen Tofteland, 95th, 17:45.10
•Sophomore Kaleb Hemme, 134th, 18:30.49
Winning the boys’ race in Class A was Brandon Kampsen of Sauk Center with a time of 15:49.44.
 
Team had to run ‘very, very best’ times
Coach Janiszeski reflected on team history at last Thursday’s pep fest.
“This is the 25th time out of the 26 years we’ve had at least one person competing at the state meet,” he said.
This year was the first group of boys to win a section championship in what has been a winning year.
“They’ve won the most meets that they’ve ever won. They’re probably the most talented and fastest group that we’ve had, and that testifies to all your hard work,” he said.
Janiszeski cautioned the boys’ optimism about Saturday’s state tournament.
“If things go well, we can probably be in the top five, and if we have great races and perform at our very, very best, we have a shot of making it to the podium, which is kind of the ‘shoot for the moon’ goal and they are definitely capable of that.”
Coach Janiszeski’s sons, Owen and Camden, are the lead runners for the boys’ team.
Last year Camden Janiszeski placed 15th, while younger brother, Owen, placed 15th.
Owen placed fifth at this year’s state meet.
“I didn’t have a perfect race, but I did what I could and helped my team as best as I could,” he said. “It was hard racing without him (Camden) at the front of me but it definitely motivated me to run the best that I could to help and elevate the team to the next level.”
Camden, a senior, was diagnosed with anemia shortly before the section championship, which left him struggling half way through the 5K races.
“I was thinking this was going to be the perfect season but things were out of my control so I am rolling with the punches,” Camden said. “So, at the end of the season it was all in God’s plan to just do everything I could to help the team … that was all that matters.”
Finishing 25th, Camden earned All-State honors with his brother, Owen, and teammate Ryan Fick.
“For him to earn All-State honors and run as fast as he did with his anemia was simply remarkable,” Pete Janiszeski said. “I can’t even express how proud I was of him, his performance and grit.”
 
Saturday was cold, drizzly day
Saturday’s weather was overcast with temperatures in the high 30s.
The Class A races began with the girls’ championship at noon, just as a drizzle began to fall.
The weather was a benefit, according to DeBates.
“I liked that it was cooler and had some moisture in the air because last week in practice it was really warm and very dry,” she said.
Her finishing time Saturday was faster than last year’s third-place individual finish in the state tournament.
DeBates finished Saturday’s 5,000 meters with a time of 18:54.34.
Jade Rypkema, a senior from Nevis, won the race with a time of 17:43.47.
Running without several teammates was a different feeling for DeBates, who participated in the state championships for the fifth-straight year. This is the first year she ran as an individual qualifier.
DeBates ran Saturday with just one teammate, Ella Schmuck.
Schmuck finished 47th out of 158 runners with a time of 20:27.75. Last year Schmuck finished 60th in the girls’ team third-place finish at state.
“I don’t think it hit either one of us until probably we were at the starting line and it was just the two of us and other people from the section,” DeBates said.
Schmuck also felt the difference. “It was kind of scary. I was nervous. I thought I did pretty good — there was a big pack that I got stuck in and had to follow along but they would push me, too,” she said.
However, Saturday was the Luverne boys’  team’s day.
“We did our best and had our best day,” said senior Carsen Tofteland. “It was really awesome to see how far our program has come in the past couple of years. It is a little bittersweet to come that close and not be on top — but it’s still awesome.”

Brian Remme finally exhaled Sunday night after the new generators carried Luverne’s power on their own during a planned outage.
“That was a big sigh of relief; I can tell you that,” said Remme, Luverne’s electric utility supervisor.
“Everything worked properly and the equipment did what it was supposed to do. That was a big moment.”
He and city engineers have been working for months to prepare for that moment.
Earlier this year the city installed two 50,000-pound generators, 3 megawatts each, to join the city’s existing 1960s 3-megawatt generator in the power plant.
The goal of the $11 million generator project is to have backup power for the city in the event it is cut off from transmission lines that carry power into the city.
“These disaster events are usually caused by ice storms, tornadoes, straight line winds or possibly some type of disaster within the electrical grid system,” City Administrator John Call explained.
“The generators need to be tested in a real time situation to make sure that they are ready when called upon in the case of a real disaster.”
That happened Sunday night.
“It all went very well,” Call reported Tuesday. “They worked with each other … the two new caterpillar generators, and the old gal (the 1965 Allis Chalmers generator) pulled her weight.”
Call said the load for the entire evening was about 6 MW, which was enough to do a test, but not to affect too many businesses and residents.
“It went exactly as the engineers said it would,” he said. “We dropped all the line power coming into town from our transmission lines, and for 40 seconds to about a minute and a half we were out of power from our overhead transmission lines.”
The generators sensed the outage and kicked in, taking a few seconds to get up and running and to balance the load.
“We shut off all of our outside power coming into town, and it simulated to our generators, ‘Hey, we have to kick in and provide power to town,’” Call said.
“We let them run for an hour, and at 8 p.m. we turned line power back on. For 15 minutes they ran parallel (the line power and backup generator power), and then the generators sensed that they weren’t needed anymore and began their five-minute cooldown.”
Representatives from Caterpillar were on site working with Missouri River Energy Services to make sure transition went smoothly. 
The recent $11 million investment in Luverne’s power plant included roughly $8 million for the two new Caterpillar generators and $3 million for power plant building improvements.
MRES has an agreement with Luverne to pay $25,000 per month — $9 million — over the next 30 years to have “dispatchable” power available for the grid if needed.
“So, in the end, we have emergency generation and it’s being paid for over time,” Call said. “It was a great project, and we’re proud of it.”
For Remme’s part, he too, is proud of the outcome.
“It’s a big win for the city,” he said. “We carried the entire town that night on our own, and we were out for under two minutes. That’s a pretty fast response.”

Pat Baustian this week defended a contribution he accepted for his campaign in the Minnesota District 21A House of Representatives race.
Baustian campaigned on the DFL ticket to challenge incumbent Joe Schomacker, R-Luverne, for the House seat.
Baustian is also mayor of Luverne and was on the hiring committee that recommended Jill Wolf as Luverne’s new city administrator.
He’s come under fire from people who questioned a $500 contribution from Jill Wolf and her husband, Chris, to Baustian’s campaign.
“I find it quite interesting that the mayor of Luverne accepted a campaign donation from a city administrator candidate during the hiring process. This candidate was chosen for the job. Our mayor was also on the committee that selected the candidates,” city council candidate Mert Kracht posted on Facebook on Nov. 2.
“Do you think this is right? Do you think things are getting a little too cozy at city hall? We have an election in six days. Make your voice heard.”
While there were several who commented in dismay, Mike Cox shared insight as a person on the hiring committee.
“I was one of six individuals on the selection committee that was assigned to search for a new city administrator,” he said, pointing out that it was a six-month, extensive process that started with 30 candidates that were narrowed to four finalists to be interviewed by the committee, department heads, council members and community members.
“The recommendation from the committee went to the City Council and they voted on the person. Mr. Baustian did not vote, since he only votes as a tie breaker. This process was fair,” Cox said.
“The comment about the city being a little too ‘cozy’ was totally out of line. I saw nothing but professionalism and hard work. Mr. Baustian showed nothing but fairness and leadership.”
Baustian, when contacted Monday, said only that the contribution was made on July 20, long before Wolf’s Aug. 11 application, and that nothing was illegal about accepting the gift.
He pointed out that it was a unanimous decision by the recruitment committee to recommend Wolf for the position and that it was a unanimous vote by the City Council to hire her as the next city administrator — a vote that he did not participate in.
Cox also made this point online.
“The campaign contribution was made before any application process began,” Cox said. “To assume there were some things done inappropriately is totally unfounded, misleading and wrong.”
The Star Herald went to press as Tuesday’s election was still underway. See www.star-herald.com for the latest, or follow results as they come in on www.sos.state.mn.us.

Meetings
Pink Ladies will meet at 1:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at Sanford Luverne for rice socks. Call Sharon, 507-227-3821, with questions.
Battle Plain Township Board will meet at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at Edgerton Ag conference room.
 
Coat distribution Nov. 10
Atlas Ministries One Warm Coat distribution is from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, only. The other distribution date is canceled until further notice. Call Destiny Ripka at 507-220-0030.
 
Veterans Day programs
Luverne Public Schools will host the Rock County Veterans Day program at 2 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in the performing arts center. Guest speaker is Henry George of the U.S. Army. The program is open to the public.
The Luverne Elementary  School Student Council is hosting a special Veterans Day Coffee & Treats Open House from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the elementary school commons. Attendees are encouraged to park in the bus lanes in front of the school
The community is invited to a Veterans Day program at 9 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at the Hills-Beaver Creek Secondary School in Hills. H-BC students and faculty will take part in the program honoring local veterans. Those attending are encouraged to wear red, white and blue.
The Adrian Veterans Day Program will be at 9:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 11, in the Adrian High School gym with participation by the Lismore and Adrian Legions.  A breakfast will be provided from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. for all Veterans and spouses.  
 
Blood drive Nov. 14
The Community Blood Bank will accept donations from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2:30 to 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, at Sanford Luverne Medical Center.
Community Blood Bank is a nonprofit, cooperative of Sanford Medical Center and Avera McKennan Hospital and is the sole blood provider to Sanford Luverne and Sioux Falls area hospitals. Call 605-331-3222.
 
Shoebox collection Nov. 14
Operation Christmas Child Shoebox collection week is Nov. 14-21. Boxes can be ordered online at samaritanpurse.org. Boxes may also be picked up at the American Reformed Church in Luverne (south door) and dropped back to the church.
Call Edna Buys, 507-227-7169 or Charla Sandbulte, 507-227-1722, for more information.
 
‘Living Well with Chronic Conditions’ starts Nov. 15
A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota will offer a six-week class, “Living Well with Chronic Conditions,” at 9 a.m. Tuesday mornings via Zoom from Nov. 15 through Dec. 20. Topics include diet, sleep, communicating with doctors and more. Pre-register by calling 507-283-5064.
 
Food distribution is Nov. 17
New Life Celebration Church’s third Thursday monthly food giveaway is at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 17, at the Atlas building at 101 W. Maple Street in Luverne.
Enter from Maple Street and stay along the west side of the building. Parking lot opens at 3 p.m. Do not block the Redeemed Remnants parking lot, intersection or alley entrance. Food will be loaded into vehicles, which exit via the alley going west. Call 507-283-8963 or 507-283-4366 with questions.
 
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.
 
Community Ed seeks instructors and class ideas
Luverne Community Education instructors and/or class ideas are needed by Nov. 15 for the months of January through April. Those with class ideas or requests, and those with details for a class to teach or update can email li.nath@isd2184.net or call 283-4724. The current brochure (and past brochures) can be viewed at www.isd2184.net under the Community Education tab.
Community Education thrives through the sharing of talents, interests, and information from all members of the community.
 
SHARE releases distribution date
Those wishing to receive groceries, clothing and toys from the Rock County SHARE program must apply by Wednesday, Nov. 23.
SHARE will distribute the gifts to Rock County residents in need from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Luverne National Guard Armory on South Freeman Avenue. 
Note: SHARE is NOT accepting donations of used items at this time. To support the program, mail financial gifts to SHARE, PO Box 792, Luverne, MN 56156.
For information, contact Amy at 507-227-6944 or Monica at 507-820-1100.
 
Mobile dental clinic Nov. 30
The mobile dental clinic will be in Luverne on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at the Rock County Health and Humans Services community room. This clinic provides dental care for adults and children ages 0-100+. Call 612-746-1530 to schedule an appointment. All forms of insurance are accepted. The clinic is organized by #Luv1LuvAll's Rock County Oral Health Task Force.
 
Community Ed
Community Education will offer the following classes in the next few weeks. Call 507-283-4724 to register.
Students (grades K-5) can learn to decorate holiday cookies like a professional at B'S Bakehouse on Dec. 10.  Register by Nov. 18. Fee is $30. 
Ages 2 – 5 years will enjoy activities in the preschool rooms when they attend Grandparent & Me with a grandparent or another favorite adult on Nov. 22. No fee, but registration is required.
Register by Nov. 30 for the outdoor portion of Snowmobile Safety to be held on December 10. Plan to do the online portion ($29.95 online) prior to coming for the outdoor portion. Outdoor portion cost is $10.
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. If your child is 4 and has not been screened, call to complete the screening before kindergarten.
 
Library Happenings
For more information about library happenings, call 507-449-5040 or email rockcountystaff@gmail.com.
Story Time with Bronwyn is Fridays from now through. Dec. 2. The event starts at 10 a.m.
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.
 
CoffeeBreak Bible Study meets Tuesdays
CoffeeBreak Bible Study meets each Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. at the Christian Reformed Church in Luverne. There will be StoryHour Bible stories and playtime for ages 3 to kindergarten, and a nursery is available. It’s free for all faiths and no prior Bible knowledge is necessary. Call Kristi Stroeh at 507-227-5102 or email atkristi.stroeh@hotmail.com
 
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.

As we wrap up the 2022 election, we’ve seen a divided electorate, increasing polarization and even threats of violence against poll workers, candidates and elected officials.
In a recent NBC news poll, voters cited threats to democracy as the top issue facing the country. While politicians and media figures who spread misinformation and use violent rhetoric are certainly to blame, they unfortunately find a ready audience because the electorate is primed to distrust the opposing political party and accept the misinformation.
American’s feelings of animosity toward members of the opposing political party have increased, and increased faster over time, than those of similar democracies.
Unfortunately, our current political system foments this polarization. Since candidates can win primaries and general elections with a bare plurality, they can win by focusing on their base voters and demonizing their opponents.
This encourages attack ads and misinformation and allows extreme candidates to win, even if the majority of voters would have preferred someone else.
We urgently need structural reforms to our current political system in order to change the incentives and ensure majority rule. Ranked Choice Voting is the reform that is viable, proven and can be adopted in the next legislative session.
Ranked Choice Voting – sometimes called Instant Runoff Voting – allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference: First choice, second choice, and so on. If a candidate receives a majority (50 percent plus one) of first-choice rankings in the first round, that candidate wins.
However, if no candidate earns a majority, then the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is defeated, and these ballots now count for those voters’ second choices. This process continues until one candidate reaches a majority and wins. 
By requiring candidates to win with a majority, candidates need to move beyond their base and build broad, cross-party coalitions of voter support.
Candidates have incentive to campaign positively based on issues rather than on personal attacks, and they behave differently when they benefit from second or third choice votes.
They are less likely to attack an opponent because they don’t want to alienate their opponent’s base voters and risk losing second choice votes. And when candidates are dependent upon a broader segment of the electorate, they tend to be more responsive once in office. They are rewarded for compromising to get things done rather than obstructing legislation supported by the opposing party.
Ranked Choice Voting mitigates the spoiler or vote splitting problem – which could affect critical races this year – by allowing independent candidates to run and voters to support them without fear that their vote might help the candidate they like the least.
This breaks down barriers and encourages political competition, which in turn helps foster broad coalition building among candidates.  
Ranked Choice Voting has demonstrated its power to foster more inclusive, diverse, and civil elections in five cities in Minnesota and more than 50 local jurisdictions across the country, from California to Utah to Minnesota to Maine, as well as the states of Maine and Alaska. 
Minnesota’s legislation to implement Ranked Choice Voting had over 60 cosponsors and was one of the most popular bills last session.
If Minnesotans elect a pro-Ranked Choice Voting majority to both houses and a pro-Ranked Choice Voting governor, we could become the first state to pass Ranked Choice Voting statewide through legislative action.
Regardless of election outcomes, FairVote Minnesota will keep working to build support for this promising democracy reform, regardless of party, so that we can have a more representative, responsive and resilient democracy.
 
FairVote Minnesota is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that educates voters and advances electoral reform.

So, my dad has a worm farm.
He’s currently runnin’ a few thousand head of red wigglers.
It’s not 80 acres or anything like that. It’s just a galvanized stock tank in the farmhouse basement sitting under the old canning counter. 
The purpose of the worms is to produce castings (worm poop) to amend the soil in my parents’ organic, raised-bed gardens.
Dad uses an Instant Pot to cook home-grown butternut squash especially for the worms. Mom presses the buttons on the Instant Pot and says, “He can run a combine, but he can’t run an Instant Pot."
Mom says cooking for the worms sort of defeats the purpose of using worms to compost kitchen scraps.
Dad pays no attention as he mashes the cooked squash and adds a little water. He says worms like cooked squash better than raw. He says they don’t like onions either. 
Mom says the worms are spoiled.
They might be. When I was a kid, I don’t recall any dietary accommodations regarding who preferred what. I think it went something like, “Just be thankful you have something to eat.”
Apparently, the red wigglers are held to a different standard. 
The moisture levels at the worm farm also require a bit of attention. One day last week Dad placed a fan to blow across the tank to lower the moisture content. He then decided the worms actually prefer their surroundings a little on the moist side and scrapped the fan idea. He added a few layers of newspaper instead. 
Dad says the worms like regular newspaper better than the shiny stuff. 
Mom says there is probably too high a ratio of “cast” to soil in the tank and maybe a little should be removed and be put in the garden.
Dad says the worms like it just the way it is.
Mom and Dad have been farming together for 62 years. I’m pretty sure their partnership isn’t going to be undone by a few thousand red wigglers.

Question: I was wondering what the state guidelines are regarding smoked or tinted headlights. Are they legal?
Answer: Minnesota law does not allow for this. It is illegal to equip or operate a motor vehicle with any equipment or material that covers a headlamp, tail lamp, or reflector.
I’d also like to remind drivers about when headlights and taillights need to be on. Minnesota law says that every vehicle on a roadway shall display lighted headlamps, lighted tail lamps, and illuminating devices from sunset to sunrise. The law also applies when it’s raining, snowing, sleeting, or hailing and at any time when visibility is impaired by weather or insufficient light at a distance of 500 feet ahead.
Many vehicles are equipped with basic automatic headlights. The headlights turn on when sensors on the dashboard detect a certain level of darkness or the level of ambient light. However, there are limitations to automatic headlights. Drivers might assume the sensors will activate all of the vehicle’s lights in reduced visibilities, but that is not always the case. Instead, drivers should use the conventional headlight switch to manually turn on their lights. 
A good rule to follow — if your wipers need to be on, your headlights, taillights and marker lights should be on as well. Also, make it a habit to check your lights often to ensure all of them are properly working.
Question: I have noticed cars that have a high-mounted center brake light that flashes about four times before becoming steadily lit (like other brake lights). I’m seeing car dealers are installing them on some cars. Are these flashing lights legal?
Answer: These types of devices and alterations to the brake lights are not legal according to state and federal law. An auto dealer would also be in violation if they installed that type of light on a motor vehicle.
Not only are flashing red lights illegal but so are modifications to the rear taillights and brake lights. I’ve come across several taillights and brake lights that have been covered or tinted. Altering or obscuring any portion of the lamp affects the intensity of light emitted. This could be an issue in a motor vehicle crash both criminally and civilly.
You can avoid a ticket — and a crash — if you simply buckle up, drive at safe speeds, pay attention and always drive sober.  Help us drive Minnesota toward zero deaths.
If you have any questions concerning traffic-related laws or issues in Minnesota, send your questions to Sgt. Troy Christianson – Minnesota State Patrol at 2900 48th Street NW, Rochester MN 55901-5848.  (Or reach him at, Troy.Christianson@state.mn.us)

Six blocks of Highway 75 in Luverne remain closed between Main Street and Dodge Street for a sewer lining project that started Oct. 17 and was expected to last one month. The infrastructure work includes sewer lining, spot repairs, installing new manholes and replacing water service lines beneath the highway by direction boring new service lines. Hulstein Excavation of Edgerton was awarded the contract in February after submitting the low bid of $567,000, including alternates. The city is using the federal funding in the American Rescue Plan to pay for the project.