Spring is a season of optimism, and there are plenty of optimistic coaches in the Star Herald coverage area.While area teams prepared for spring debuts in the last two weeks, I had the privilege of visiting with the coaches through phone interviews and trips to training camps for photos and stories (see the special Spring Sports Section in this week’s paper).It can be an overwhelming task at times, but the enthusiasm the coaches have for their sports, and the courtesies they extend to me during the process of putting the special section together, makes the project well worth the effort.The way I see it, sports fans from Adrian have a number of reasons to be excited this spring.It will be fun to see if Kevin Nowotny’s baseball team, a squad that advanced to its second state tournament in the last three years with a starting infield that consisted of three freshmen and one eighth-grader in 2004, can contend for another section title this year.The Adrian track program has a number of talented athletes on the roster. With the likes of senior thrower Casey Knips and distance runner Morgan Lynn, an outstanding eighth-grader, the track season could extend to the middle of June for AHS.Although participation in Adrian’s girls golf program slipped to eight members this spring, coach Chris Rozell feels good about the prospects in 2005. Four all-conference performers are returning to a team that won the Red Rock Conference championship last spring.The big news in Adrian this spring is the addition of a new softball program. Adrian and Ellsworth have teamed up to form the Adrian Area softball program. With 52 girls joining the new program, it appears the interest is there to make the program a success in years to come.Ellsworth and Hills-Beaver Creek share track (Edgerton is in the track mix, too) and golf programs, and both programs have talented rosters.The H-BC-E-E boys return three of four members of a 3,200-meter relay team that placed ninth at the state track meet last season. Senior Cody Scholten has a good chance to qualify for state in the high jump. With the return of senior Cassi Tilstra, who has qualified for state in the past, the H-BC-E-E girls will be a team not to be taken lightly.When the Beaver Creek Golf Course opened a couple of years ago, it was a blessing for the H-BC-E golf program. Now that the Patriots have a place of their own to practice and play on a consistent basis, their quality of play, as a 10-7 record in 2004 indicates, has improved.The coaches in Luverne are optimistic about the prospects of successful seasons, too.Steve Semmens, LHS softball coach, said LHS will field its best defensive team ever in 2005, and baseball coach Mike Wenninger thinks his 11 seniors will help the Cardinals bounce back from a disappointing 13-10 season in 2004.The Luverne’s girls golf team has been one of the area’s model programs for more than a decade. With five of six members of last year’s sub-section team returning to the fold, coach Chris Nowatzki thinks the Cardinals can make another run at the title in late May.Nowatzki has some holes to fill on the boys’ side of the golf program this year, but three experienced players will form the nucleus of what should be a competitive team in 2005.This will be a rebuilding year for the LHS tennis team, which advanced to the section championship match during an 18-5 2004 campaign. Luverne, however, does have two-time state qualifier Dusty Antoine and two other proven singles players back on the court this spring. With two experienced doubles players and a solid class of freshmen to draw from, the potential is there to field a competitive team late in the season.Craig Nelson looks for good seasons from his LHS track teams, too.Jake Hendricks, a state-qualifier from 2004, leads the LHS boys. Lexi Heitkamp, Victoria Arends and Kelsey Dooyema return as members of a 3,200-meter relay team that advanced to state the hard way in 2004 by qualifying in section competition last season.If things work out as planned, Nelson feels both of his squads can contend for section true team and sub-section titles in 2005.Now that the preliminary work is over, it’s time to let the games begin.We encourage you to read about your favorite spring sports teams in our special section, and we thank all of the advertisers who make it possible to put out such a publication.

Do you own a century farm?The Minnesota State Fair’s Century Farm program is again going to honor Minnesota families who have owned their farms for at least 100 years.Qualifications for the century farm designation include:
The farm must be at least 100 years old according to authentic land records.
The farm must have been in continuous family ownership for at least 100 years. (Continuous residency on the farm is not required).
The farm must be at least 50 acres.Since 1976, a total of 8,135 farms have been designated Century Farms.Those receiving the Century Farm designation receive a certificate signed by the president of the State Fair, the president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation and Gov. Tim Pawlenty.The family also receives an outdoor sign signifying the Century Farm recognition.For more information, contact your local Farm Bureau office or the Minnesota State Fair at 1265 N. Snelling Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108.Symphony and Chamber Orchestra to perform at high schoolBlue Mound Area Theatre, operator of the Palace Theatre, is sponsoring a concert by the South Dakota Symphony Chamber Orchestra and the Augustana Chamber Choir.The Chamber Orchestra, a group of 18 to 25 musicians, consists of members of the Dakota String Quartet and Dakota Wind Quintet as well as other members of the orchestra.The Augustana Chamber Choir is under the direction of Luverne native (LHS Class of ’71) Dr. James Johnson. The program will include Mozart’s "Divertimento, K.136" and "Concerto for Violin No. 5 in A Major" with soloist Magdalena Modzelewska.The concert will be performed in the Luverne High School Theatre at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 17. Tickets for the event may be purchased from Luverne High School music students, at the Luverne Chamber of Commerce or at the Carnegie Cultural Center.Proceeds from the performance will benefit the Palace Theatre and the Luverne High School music programs.Changes at the blood bankIf you are a regular at the blood bank, you will notice some changes next time you donate.In the past, the first thing you had to do after you walked through the door was to grab a clipboard and start filling out a lengthy series of questions.The blood bank will still require some information from you, but now someone will sit down with you and take your information orally, and in private, of course.All blood banks must adopt the new process.According to the American Red Cross, the new procedure has several benefits, including:
The questions are simpler and easier to understand.
More accurate answers increase the likelihood that ineligible donors will be deferred earlier in the process.
More accurate answers will reduce the likelihood that eligible donors will be unnecessarily deferred, and that will help increase collections.
Over time, the donation process will become speedier.Two blood banks service Rock County, the American Red Cross, which collects at Grace Lutheran Church, and the Community Blood Bank, a joint venture of Sioux Valley and McKennan Avera hospitals, which collects at Luverne Community Hospital.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

Can I sue dairy farmers for my 10 pounds? Not if the ‘cheeseburger bill’ passesA bill is making its way through the state legislature that would protect restaurants and food manufacturers from lawsuits alleging their products caused obesity or weight-related conditions.The attempt to prevent such frivolous lawsuits has been appropriately labeled the "Cheeseburger Bill."While it’s unclear whether any such lawsuits have been successful in Minnesota courtrooms, the obesity allegations are getting louder.… And even the fast-food restaurants are responding with healthier menu choices.Rep. Doug Magnus, who is co-authoring the bill, warns that "only one successful obesity lawsuit would trigger a chain reaction starting on the farm or field where a food is produced and ending in the pocketbook of Minnesotans who dine out."While the McDonald’s and Burger Kings of the world don’t necessarily need protection, the bill aims to protect average restaurants and food makers. Any legal damage awards would take a bite out of small profit margins, forcing owners to pass the costs down to consumers.On one hand, the legislation itself is somewhat frivolous. I’d like to believe Minnesotans have more common sense than to sue a restaurant for making them fat.I gained 10 pounds over the winter partly from too much creamer in my coffee and too much butter on my toast. Does this mean I can sue Coffee-mate and Land O’ Lakes? What about dairy farmers? It’s no fun to admit I’ve overindulged, so it’s easier to blame the ones producing the rich, obesity-causing stuff. The common sense response is to cut back on creamer and butter and put a few more miles on my running shoes.Unfortunately, we’re seeing a lot less common sense today and a lot more attorneys when it comes to personal accountability.It’s too bad our legislators even need to work on "Cheeseburger Bills," but it’s even worse that our courtrooms are seeing these types of legal cases.Cheeseburgers are like ice cream and chocolate bars. They’re little indulgences to enjoy in small doses. If you develop a steady diet of them you can expect to get fat. Don’t blame the restaurants or food makers.The bill has made its way through House committees and will soon be debated on the House floor.

Each year, in April, we hold a special event at the library. I’m going to give you some fill-in-the-blank hints to help you determine the event in question. Becky, the best _____since 8th grade. I get by with a little help from my ______. A _____in need is a _____ indeed. You guessed it. It’s time join the Friends of the Rock County Library. You can support your library with a (tax-deductible) membership donation to the Friends. Last year the Friends rescued us from our book budget woes with a $2,000 contribution to purchase new books. It’s your membership dues that make this possible. If you are a member already, it’s time to renew. If you would like to join for the first time, stop in the library for a membership form. And please be assured, librarians hold their Friends in very high esteem. We just received a massive shipment of books, and a lot of your favorite authors have their new spring titles out. "No Place Like Home," by Mary Higgins Clark. At the age of 10, Liza Barton had shot her mother, trying desperately to protect her from her estranged stepfather, Ted Cartwright. Despite his claim that the shooting was a deliberate act, the Juvenile Court ruled the death an accident. Many people, however, agreed with Cartwright, and compared her to the infamous murderess Lizzie Borden, pointing even to the similarity of their names. To erase Liza's past, her adoptive parents change her name to Celia. At age 28, a successful interior designer in Manhattan, she marries widower, Laurence Foster, and they have a son. Before their marriage, she reveals her true identity. Two years later, on his deathbed, he makes her swear never to tell anyone so that their son, Jack, will not carry the stigma of her past. Two years later, Celia is happily remarried. Then, her new husband surprises her with a gift — the house in Mendham, N.J., where she killed her mother. On the day they move in, they find the words "Little Lizzie's Place Beware" painted on the lawn, and a skull and crossbones carved into the door. More and more, there are signs that someone knows Celia's true identity. When Georgette Grove, the real estate agent who sold the house to Alex, is brutally murdered and Celia is the first on the crime scene, she becomes a suspect. As Celia fights to prove her innocence, she is not aware that she and her son, Jack, are now the targets of a killer. Also new on the fiction shelf is Fern Michaels’ "Pretty Woman." Rosie Gardener and Vickie Winters were best friends. Partners in a successful mail-order company, both women lived comfortably in lush Savannah, Ga. Rosie, overweight and unable to see her own worth, fell under the spell of Kent Bliss, a two-timing cad, and she was his meal ticket. The night before Rosie's wedding, Vickie tried to warn her about Kent's true nature. Now, on her third wedding anniversary, Rosie realizes Vickie was right. Fed up with his mistreatment, she vows to change her life — starting by kicking him out that night. The next day, she begins a diet and exercise regime. But more life-changing news awaits: Rosie has the single winning ticket in the Wonderball lottery — and she's won $302 million. With Kent lurking in the shadows to claim a share of her money, Rosie needs her friends more than ever. As she loses weight and works out under the eye of sexy personal trainer Jack Silver, a new Rosie emerges. This pretty woman is making a fresh start, and no one's greed or bitterness — or even her own occasional self-doubts — will stop her from jumping into life and love with a passion she didn't know she possessed.

NEED OF HITCHING POSTS ENDEDThe following appeared in the Rock County Herald on April 25, 1924:COUNCIL DECIDES TO FORGET NEED OF HITCHING POSTSProtest Made and Prospects of Others on Locations Causes Storing of Special Posts. Up to Tuesday noon prospects of the city council taking immediate steps to provide adequate hitching places for farmers’ teams, were exceedingly bright. And, then the project completely reversed itself. For several months members of the council had been hearing much about the urgent need of hitching posts being erected at different points about the city, so that farmers could find a place to tie their teams when compelled to come to town by this mode of travel. Recognizing that the need was real, because there is not a place in the city where several or more teams can be put up, the council has admitted the void, but for the sake of cleanliness and expense in caring for such hitching places, decided that they should be located on paved streets. Preparations for meeting the need had progressed to such extent by Tuesday forenoon, that the council had fourteen heavy steel posts with convenient steel rings for tying to, ready for erection. Tentative plans provided for six of these posts being installed at the curb line on the south side of Lincoln street, fifty or sixty feet around the corner on the north from the Paulsen pool hall. The other posts were to be installed in another part of the business section, and more steel posts were to be provided in a few days. All were to be firmly and neatly set in concrete. But Street Commissioner P.J. Connell had barely started installing the posts on the Lincoln street site, when F.C.C. Smith, whose residence is directly across the street on the north from the proposed site, raised objections to having the hitching place located there, and informed members of the council that if necessary he would get out an injunction to stop the erection of the posts. The city dads immediately held a consultation and decided that if Mr. Smith considered the proposed hitching place an unsanitary nuisance, work would stop at once, and this was what was done. Then the after-thought followed that having heeded Mr. Smith’s protest, they could not logically go to other locations and attempt to erect hitching posts, for while it was their expectation to see that the hitching places were kept as clean as possible, there would still be grounds for some objection from nearby residents, and that the moment an objection was raised they must, if they wished to be consistent, grant it the same recognition as had been given Mr. Smith’s protest. In view of this situation, and the fact that the idea of providing hitching places was not originally proposed by the council, that body decided to place the hitching posts back in storage and so far as the members of the council are concerned the matter is now a dead issue. Donations to the Rock County Historical Endowment Fund can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, P.O. Box 741, Luverne, MN 56156.Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

It’s easy to relate to one of the many convicted criminals in California. Under the state’s "three strikes" law, Santos Reyes has been sentenced to 26 years in prison for lying on his driver’s license application. Unlike many of us, he didn’t falsify his weight — he tried to use his cousin’s name instead of his own. Weights tend to be a murky area on driver’s licenses. It’s no coincidence that when reports go out over the television about criminals-at-large their descriptions usually are "six-foot-one, 180 pounds." How is it that hardened criminals, unable to make wise choices throughout their lives, should all have ideal weights? Could they possibly be lying? Except for age and height, all other facts on driver’s licenses can be matters of fiction and creativity. Age and height are the only statistics that can’t be easily altered with colored contact lenses, hair dye or slenderizing vertical stripes in a person’s wardrobe. The weight listed on my original driving learner’s permit in 1957 was 130 pounds and it hasn’t changed. Although many years have gone by since then, my weight has miraculously stayed the same through childbirths, countless holiday dinners and my own per capita consumption of 3.5 cheesecakes. Changing the weight listed on a driver’s license to what it should be is a low priority on my list of things to do. Arguably, the world has already seen too many changes. One of the criteria for hiring people in the driver’s license bureaus appears to be the ability to keep a straight face when told blatant lies about body weights. Actually, the driver’s license employees seem considerably less concerned with true body weights than the airlines people. Even though 61 percent of Americans are overweight and 26 percent are classified as obese, airplane seats are getting narrower. Southwest Airline’s coach seats, for example, measure 17 1/4 inches wide, according to USA Today. Most airlines are requiring people over 300 pounds to purchase two seats. The obvious question is how they will determine how much each of us weighs. Are they going to check our driver’s licenses, are they going to take our word for it, or are they going to use scales? A worst case scenario would have us trying to unsuccessfully wedge into a seat, only having to be pried out with a crowbar and escorted off the plane. Perhaps the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) people will do the weighing. After all, they already have us stripping down to the bare essentials in front of complete strangers. They already have us at their mercy. "Hey, Pete! Got one here that needs weighing! He’s a big one!" Another shout. "OK. Send him on through." A respectful, yet fearful, hush descends upon the other passengers waiting in line." Step on the scale, sir." "Is he too heavy?" "Lessee. Yup. This is definitely a two-seater! Would you believe 310 pounds?" If the current seat-narrowing trend continues on the airlines, the only people able to fly in our country will be passengers with eating disorders or a few unfortunates, who are unable to gain weight because of their high metabolic rates. The good news about the airlines’ 300-pound limit is that several of them will be offering second seats at children’s prices or with double frequent flyer miles. Of course, those perks might only be available after they’ve gone through the embarrassing business of prying us from our seats with crowbars.

WANTED: All former band members to form an alumni marching band for the upcoming all-school reunion parade.REWARD: The joy of marching once again down Luverne’s Main Street to the roar of an appreciative crowd.EXCUSES WHY I CAN’T:1. I don’t have an instrument.2. I forgot how to play.3. I can’t read music.4. I don’t have time to practice.None of these excuses kept you from being in band when you were in high school, and they shouldn’t now!Come back and renew old friendships and see how the directors Tom Haugen and Dale Nelson have kept their youthful appearances despite being a combined 217 years of age.Tom believes that he will have the largest number of former students in attendance because of their dedication to the band program.Dale knows that he will have the larger number of former students because he will be offering a greater incentive — free donuts.We look forward to seeing you this summer. Tom Haugen, Dale Nelson, Alumni Band Directors

I am writing this letter to share my feelings about a person who has had a tremendous impact on my life. I could say my parents, family, friends and even my teachers and I would be correct in saying that they have all influenced my life greatly, but this person truly has been the key figure in who I have become today.I, like most people, have suffered many fears, anxieties and feelings of self pity and depression. Four years ago at a very low point in my life this person sat down with me and suggested medical help.I took this message to heart and sought help through prescribed medication. At that point my mind and body were healed but I knew that there was still something missing. Three weeks ago that final piece of the puzzle was given to me through a thoughtless action on my part. My life has changed so greatly that it is impossible to describe the feeling of peace I have come to know. Four years ago my body was healed, three weeks ago my spirit was healed. The person’s name who has helped so much is Gary Fisher, and the only way I could come close to thanking him would be to do it publicly. Thank you, Gary, for the part you have played in bringing me to this place in my life, and I know that my family REALLY wants to thank you as well.Dale Nelson,Luverne

I wish I were a cop in the city of Luverne for one day. I’d park my unmarked patrol car on a side street like Spring St. and just sit and wait. In no time I’d have more tickets going out than the court could process in a week. My wife and I are in our 70’s and most of the time we are scared to death trying to cross the street, Main St., because who pays any attention to the crosswalks anymore? Last Thursday, I was half way across Main St. in my powered wheelchair. I waited until the street was free of auto traffic clear up to Loopy’s. I was just entering the westbound lane when out of the blue three young adults came flying down the street on motor scooters. Two went behind me and one fool cut around me in front. They knew they had scared me because I almost lost control of my chair. They passed on yelping and yelling their heads off. Real funny. I’d say eight out of 10 teenagers won’t stop for people in the crosswalks. At least on our part of town. Those that do are in a hurry most of the time and creep the cars forward. The people who always stop are the middle age people.A lot of seniors won’t stop either. As an example I was going to mail a letter the other day and I use the mail collection box in the driveway at the post office. I was almost to the box when an old lady got on my tail and kept blowing her horn. She revved up her Caddy and nearly hit my chair in her hurry to push me out of her way. I got upset and pulled my chair out of the way only to have her roll down her window and yell at me. Use the box in the lobby she yells at me. Ever try using that lift in the lobby? Half the time it won’t go up or come down. I believe it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Someone will have to get killed first. Yeah, I wish I was a cop for one day in Luverne.Then there are the farmers. They come through town with large tractors pulling two wagons full of grain. Traveling up Main St. wide open going to the elevator. Eighty thousand pounds of grain and machinery on the road, and all they have to stop that rig is two small brakes. They couldn’t stop if they had to. If they jammed on the binders, they’d upset the wagons and there would be grain all over the street. A semi tractor and trailer has 10 brakes to stop the same amount of weight. Is it going to take a death to stop the madness?Joe SimonsenLuverne