Bruce Milo Tofteland, 63, Luverne, died at his home on Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2022.
A funeral service was Monday, Oct. 24, at the Hartquist Funeral Home in Luverne. Burial was at Maplewood Cemetery.
Bruce Tofteland was born on Feb. 9, 1959, to Arthur and Lois (Koolman) Tofteland in Adrian. He was baptized at Zion Lutheran Church and later confirmed at Grace Lutheran Church. Bruce spent his childhood on the family farm in Kanaranzi Township. In 1968, at 9 years old, he suffered the tragic loss of his father. Bruce attended Luverne High School and graduated in 1978.
After graduation Bruce remained on the farm helping with chores and yard work. He kept busy tinkering with electronics (stereos, watches, etc.) and car motors and parts. He had a talent for fixing and a passion for collecting GTOs.
Bruce attended Stewart’s in Sioux Falls, graduating in 1984. He continued his career in Minneapolis as a hair stylist at JC Penney in Roseville. After 25 years he retired and enjoyed travel, especially to Mexico during the winter months. In 2009 Bruce discovered ballroom dancing and had many friends in the ballroom community. He also assisted with auctions, following in his mother’s footsteps.
In 2018 Bruce suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from a motor vehicle/pedestrian accident. He was no longer able to drive but still enjoyed coffee shops, local stores and restaurants in his neighborhood in  Minneapolis.
In August of 2022, Bruce moved back home, where he reconnected with friends and family. He enjoyed walks and exploring his expanded home town. His favorites were chicken at Pizza Ranch and mochas at Wildflower.
Bruce had a fun, goofy, loving personality. He was kind and humble.
Bruce is survived by his sister, Sonya (Randy) Miller; nieces Erika and Kelli Miller; and many cousins and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
Arrangements were provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, hartquistfuneral.com.
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Frances Marion “Fran” Slieter, 86, Jasper, died Monday, Oct. 17, 2022, at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
A funeral service was Friday, Oct. 21, at the Jasper Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jasper. Burial was in the Ihlen Cemetery in Ihlen.
Frances Reid was born to Alfred and Frances (Bates) Reid on June 12, 1936, at McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She was raised in Sioux Falls and graduated from Washington High School.
Frances married Verlyn Slieter on Oct. 28, 1955. In 1972 they purchased the Jasper Meat Market and moved their family to Jasper. In 1982 they sold the Meat Market and continued to live in Jasper until 1986, when they moved to Ihlen. In 2018 Frances moved back to Jasper. After selling the meat market, Frances worked at The GlassHouse in Ihlen until 1987. She then became secretary of the Jasper ELCA, a job she dearly loved. She retired in November 2015 after 28 years.
Frances was active in the Jasper ELCA Church, Ihlen Eden Seniors, various card clubs and the Jasper Lion’s Club.Frances was also a proud Blood Donor to the American Red Cross.
Frances loved attending grandchildren’s sporting events andtraveling to visit her children when they lived in different parts of the country and world. Frances was an avid fan of all Minnesota sports and was known to watch multiple sportsat one time.
She is survived by her children, Kathryn (Thomas) Baier, Judith (Paul) Bussell, Susan DeSchepper  (William) DeSchepper, and John (Dawn) Slieter; 11 grandchildren, Jeffrey Baier, Aric Baier, Stephen Bussell, Katie Bussell, Michael Bussell, Sean DeSchepper, Alec DeSchepper, EliDeSchepper, Grace DeSchepper, Jacob Slieter, Natalie Slieter; four great-grandchildren, Jeremy Baier, Ian Baier, Nelson Baier, and Charlotte Bussell; one sister, Helen Jensen; and a special friend, Virginia Hieberger.
Frances was preceded in death by her husband, Verlyn, in 2013; herparents; and her brother, Richard Reid.
Arrangements were provided by Hartquist Funeral Home in Jasper, hartquistfuneral.com.
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Ben Smidstra, 91, Luverne, died Friday, Oct. 14, 2022, at the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.
A funeral service was Wednesday, Oct. 19, at the American Reformed Church in Luverne. Burial followed at Riverview Cemetery in Rock Rapids, Iowa.
Ben Smidstra was born on Nov. 26, 1930, to Charles and Reika (Kracht) Smidstra in Edna, Iowa. He was raised on a farm outside of Rock Rapids and attended country school through the eighth grade. He then helped on the family farm.
In September 1954, at the age of 24, Ben enlisted in the United States Army, where he served in Japan, near Tokyo shortly after the Korean Conflict ended. After his tour was completed in August 1956, he returned to the family farm south of Luverne.
     Shortly after returning, Ben met the love of his life, Lylas, at a roller-skating rink in Rock Rapids. Ben and Lylas were married on Dec. 3, 1958. They bought the family farm once when Ben’s parents retired.
Ben loved horses and enjoyed using his work horses to complete most of the farming operations. He enjoyed all farm animals and always had a loyal farm dog and cats.
     In 1981, when his son Joel became paralyzed in a car accident, Ben and Lylas began caring for Joel.
Ben enjoyed the weekend and summer visits of his five grandchildren to the farm and many memories were made on that farm with them.
In the last 10 years, Ben cared for Lylas as her health declined. In February 2018, Lylas moved to the Minnesota Veterans Home and Ben visited her every day. In October 2019, after his own declining health, Ben also moved to the Veterans Home. Lylas passed away in October 2021.
Ben is survived by his son Charles Smidstra of Luverne; five grandchildren, Ben Smidstra of Luverne, Christina (Jose) Grijalva of Luverne, Bethany Smidstra (partner Brandon Englert) of Rock Rapids, Melissa (Fady) Smidstra of Michigan, Erin Jerke (Jordan) of Harrisburg, South Dakota; 15 great-grandchildren; brother-in-law Joe Jeffer of Luverne; sister-in-law Delores Jurrens of Ellsworth; and many nieces, nephews and other extended family.
Ben was preceded in death by his wife, Lylas Smidstra; a son, Joel Smidstra; his parents; parents-in-law Everett and Juel Jurrens; two brothers, Albert (Harriet) Smidstra and Bert (Albertha) Smidstra; four sisters, Jennie (Jack) Vande Weerd, Suzie (Hank) Kelderman, Jessie (Harvey) Wiersma, and Wilma Jean Jeffer; one brother-in-law, Donald Jurrens; and an infant sister-in-law.
Arrangements were provided by Jurrens Funeral Home of Rock Rapids, Iowa, www.jurrensfuneralhome.com.
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The LHS girls’ tennis doubles team of Sarah Stegenga and Katharine Kelm competed in the semifinals and finals rounds of the Section 3A Individual Tournament in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Stegenga and Kelm were awarded a forfeit in the semifinals when a Morris athlete was unable to play due to an injury. In the finals, Stegenga and Kelm were defeated by Elise Duncan and Gerta Multhauf of Benson 6-2, 6-1.
In the match for true second, Stegenga and Kelm were defeated in three sets by Clair Lowry and Kayla Jahn 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. With the loss, the LHS duo was eliminated from the Section tournament.
“Sarah and Katharine had a great season, and it was hard to see them lose a three-set match and not make it to the individual state tournament,” said LHS coach Jon Beers. “I was really happy to see them come back and win the second set after losing the first set 6-1. They played a great second set, but they got down in the third set and just weren’t able get the lead back.”
The LHS girls’ season continues Tuesday and Wednesday, Oct. 25 and 26, in Minneapolis when the team competes in their first-ever state tournament.

The H-BC Patriots, the No. 10 seed in 3A south subsection play, ended their season Monday night in Slayton with a 25-13, 25-6, 25-12 loss to No. 7 seed Murray County Central.
The Patriots, 1-19 during the season, and MCC, 8-14, had also met on Sept. 29, when MCC won in three sets.
MCC started the match Monday night with a 7-0 lead before Brynn Rauk tallied a couple of points off a push to an open spot followed by a tip to an open spot to make the score 10-2. Lanae Elbers’ set from the back row set up Layla Deelstra for a kill, 13-6. Deelstra and Elbers then joined up in the front row to score off a double block 14-7. Deelstra had a back row setup to Taylor Huisman for a kill 17-11. MCC finished the first set 25-13.
The second set was mainly all MCC. Huisman scored a point off a tip over two blockers. Elbers and Deelstra joined up again for a double block but MCC ran away with the set, 25-6.
Ellama Sammons scored a point off a tip in the third set after a strong start by MCC 7-3. A pass from Olivia Bork to Rauk to set up Elbers for a kill added a point for H-BC, 12-6. Deelstra passed to Rauk to set up Larrisa Steinhoff for a kill, 19-9. An ace serve by Bork was H-BC’s final point before the set ended 25-12. 
Senior Elly Klosterbuer had several saves in the back row and showed lots of hustle for H-BC. 
 
Team statistics:
Olivia Bork: 5 digs, 4/5 serving with 1 ace
Lanae Elbers: 9 digs, 4/4 serving, 2 kills, 2 blocks
Layla Deelstra: 2 kills, 4/6 serving, 2 blocks
Brynn Rauk: 3 kills, 4/5 serving, 1 block, 4 set assists

In the inaugural Red Rock Trophy football game between Hills-Beaver Creek and Edgerton Wednesday night, the Patriots came away with a 38-28 victory.
In a very physical game, the Patriots earned the No. 2 seed in the Section 3 9-man football playoffs, and H-BC was the first school to claim possession of the traveling Red Rock Trophy.
On the opening possession of the game, the Patriots were forced to punt the ball away.
Just five plays into the Dutchmen’s offensive possession, Patriot senior linebacker Brayden Metzger recovered an Edgerton fumble, the first of six Dutchmen turnovers in the game.
“We won the turnover battle which was the difference in the game,” said Patriots head coach Rex Metzger.
It only took five plays for the Patriots to cover 30 yards leading to their first score, a 5-yard burst by Beau Bakken with 6:16 left in the first quarter.
After exchanging punts, the Dutchmen scored on a nine-play drive, knotting the score at 6, with 11:54 left in the first half.
Following a Patriot punt, the Dutchmen put together another long drive, but it fizzled at the HBC 30-yard line.
The Patriots went on offense, but the Dutchmen’s defense held again, and the Patriots were not able to capitalize on that offensive opportunity.
Edgerton went on a 41-yard drive to score a touchdown and the 2-point conversion to take a 14-6 lead with only 36 seconds left in the half.
But the half was not over for the Patriots. Patriot kick returner Blake Leenderts was able to return the Dutchmen kickoff to the 47-yard line. From there the Patriot offense took over. A pass from Jamin Metzger to Sawyer Bosch netted 14 yards to the Edgerton 39-yard line. On the second play, another pass from Metzger to Bosch advanced the ball 16 yards to the Edgerton 23-yard line with only 20 seconds left in the half. On first and 10, Edgerton was flagged for a pass interference call which brought the ball to the 11-yard line with just 3 seconds left in the second quarter. With time for one play, Jamin Metzger moved to his right, threw back to the middle of the field and into the end zone to wide receiver Brock Harnack for a touchdown.
With the game clock showing 00:00, the Patriots were given one untimed down for the two-point conversion attempt. After two Patriot timeouts, Sawyer Bosch smashed into the end zone, tying the game at 14-14 at the half.
     The second half kickoff by the Patriots turned into another Edgerton turnover. Jamin Metzger’s hard tackle caused an Edgerton fumble on the kick return, and Mason Shaffner pounced on the loose ball for the Patriots.
Although H-BC did not score on that possession, the Patriots were able to keep the ball away from the dangerous Dutchmen’s offense.
The only score in the third quarter belonged to the home team Patriots. Running back Beau Bakken took the ball over the goal line from 12 yards out and put the Patriots up 20-14. Bakken’s successful 2-point conversion made the score 22-14 with 1:34 left in the third quarter.
     After cornerback Sawyer Bosch’s interception of an Edgerton pass, the Patriots marched down the field on a nine-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a Bakken 3-yard run. The Sawyer Bosch to Riley Tatge 2-point conversion pass put the Patriots up 30-14 with 8:42 left in the game.
Edgerton did not quit, and their next score took only one play of 65 yards and took 19 seconds off the clock. The Dutchmen narrowed the Patriots’ lead to only eight.
However, the Patriots answered with a 12-play drive covering 62 yards to extend the lead back to 16 for the Patriots. Beau Bakken scored his fourth touchdown of the game with 2:10 remaining. Edgerton added a late touchdown with only 2 seconds on the game clock to make the final score 38-28.
     Patriots coach Rex Metzger said, “Our guys stepped up in the second half and played physical on both sides of the ball.” He said he was proud of the effort the guys gave all night against a very good Edgerton team.
     The Patriots finish the regular season with a 6-2 record. They are scheduled to face seventh-seed Madelia Tuesday, Oct. 25, in Hills. Coverage of that game will be in next week’s edition of the Star Herald.
 
Team statistics:
HBC-146 rushing yards, 182 passing yards, 328 total yards, 21 first downs, four penalties for 35 yards, zero turnovers.
Edgerton-230 rushing yards, 99 passing yards, 329 total yards, 20 first downs, two penalties for 20 yards, six turnovers.
 
Individual statistics:
Rushing: Beau Bakken 21-78, Sawyer Bosch 15-65, Jamin Metzger 2-3, James VandenBosch 2-0.
Passing: Jamin Metzger 10-15 for 115 yards, one touchdown. Sawyer Bosch 3-5 for 67 yards.
Receiving: Sawyer Bosch 6-68, Luke Feurstenberg 2-45, Riley Tatge 3-38,
 Beau Bakken 1-20, Brock Harnack 1-11 for one touchdown.
Defense tackles: Beau Bakken 8, Sawyer Bosch 5.5, Brock Harnack 4.5, Brayden Metzger 4.5, 1 TFL, Riley Tatge 4.5, 1 TFL, Micah Bush 3, Cody Moser 3, Luke Fuerstenberg 3.

Luverne hosted Hills-Beaver Creek on Tuesday, Oct. 18, for a cross-county volleyball contest that resulted in a four-game win for the Cardinals with scores of 25-14, 25-22, 23-25 and 25-16.
Coach Sarah DeBeer was able to get everyone on the roster in to play during the night.
Carly Olson recorded 14 digs and completed 22 of 23 serves with one ace from the service line.
Christina Wagner assisted the Cards with two solo blocks, one block assist, 20 of 20 completed serves and three aces.
Elizabeth Wagner played a strong game at the net with six kills and one solo block.
Anja Jarchow led LHS with nine kills. Kamryn Van Batavia recorded 13 digs in the four games. Emma Beyer and Averill Sehr charted 19 and 14 set assists respectively. 
Despite losing in four sets, the H-BC players enjoyed one of their best games of the season.
“H-BC showed lots of hustle and better communication,” observed contributing sportswriter Joni Deelstra.
“They are seeing the court better and finding the open spots. One area that the Patriots have struggled with but improved on in this game was blocking.”
She said Lanae Elbers came up huge for H-BC in the third set win with three of her four blocks in the third set along with an ace serve, two kills, and a tip to an open spot to score.
With the help of H-BC setter Bailey Spykerboer, Layla Deelstra played a strong front row and led the team with nine kills.
H-BC’s libero, Grace Anderson, who seldom gets a chance to register a kill, was able to tally two kills for the night. 
Elly Klosterbuer was 17/17 serving with one ace and nine digs.
Grace Anderson went 6 of 7 serving with one ace and 13 digs.
Bailey Spykerboer had two kills, four digs, one block, and 22 set assists.
Lanae Elbers was 5/8 serving with one ace, five kills, four blocks and 16 digs.
Larissa Steinhoff had five kills and three blocks.
Brynn Rauk registered three kills and four set assists.
Layla Deelstra was 5/8 serving with one ace, nine kills and one block.
 
Senior night for Cardinals
The Oct. 18 contest in Luverne included Cardinals’ senior recognition at the final home game of the season.
Luverne’s roster features 12 seniors, including Anja Jarchow, Emma Beyer, Carly Olson, Kamryn Van Batavia, Christina Wagner, Averill Sehr, Elizabeth Wagner, Reese Louwagie, Mallory Von Tersch, Justice Arhendt, Josie Anderson, and Abby Anderson.
The Cardinals travel to Redwood Falls on Friday, Oct. 28, for the first round of playoffs.
Coach DeBeer said she and the team are looking forward to seeing Redwood again, and she said she feels the Cardinals will show up to the match looking like a different team than their last outing against Redwood.
“Our regular season started off strong and then hit a roadblock in the middle of the season,” she said.
“The Cardinals lost some games they really needed to win. We ended our season strong and continued to improve with every game.”
The Cardinals finished the regular season with a record of 15 wins and seven losses. 
 
HBC Star Herald sportswriter Joni Deelstra contributed to this story.

The Luverne Cardinal football team finished off their regular season on Wednesday night with a loss to the visiting Waseca Bluejays.
The Bluejays held a 27-0 lead at halftime and added one touchdown in the second half to complete a 35-0 victory over the Cardinals.
Waseca, who has not lost a section game all year, proved to be a tough test for the Cardinals.
“Waseca is one of the top-rated teams in the state and they definitely played that way to start the game,” said Luverne coach Todd Oye after the game.
Waseca started the scoring early after Luverne was not able to advance the ball on their opening possession. The Bluejays took over with excellent field position at the Luverne 34-yard line and quickly moved the ball downfield.
The Bluejays got in the end zone for their first score when Christian Rodriguez took a handoff and ran 3 yards for the touchdown. After a successful extra point kick, Waseca led 7-0 with 9:35 remaining in the first quarter.
After forcing the Cardinals to a three-and-out on offense, the Waseca offense picked up right where it left off when they got the ball. This time they needed just three plays to get back into the Cardinal end zone. Waseca quarterback Oliver O'Brien would finish off the drive with a 6-yard run for a touchdown. The Waseca extra point was good and they now held a 14-0 lead with 6:21 remaining in the quarter.
The Cardinals got their biggest play of the night in their next possession when Conner Connell completed a 34-yard pass to Gannon Ahrendt. The reception brought Luverne to the Waseca 25-yard line, but the Cardinals were not able to advance the ball any farther and Waseca took over possession.
The Waseca offense continued their stellar play, executing a 5-play, 70-yard scoring drive which was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown reception from Jacob Thompson. After another successful extra point kick, the Bluejays’ lead was now 21-0 with 2:33 left in the first quarter.
After another unsuccessful offensive possession for the Cardinals, Waseca was able to score on their fourth straight possession when O’Brien broke free for a 53-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Waseca missed the extra point kick, and their lead was now 27-0 with 10:47 remaining in the second quarter.
The Cardinals had their best opportunity to score late in the second quarter after getting the ball down to the Waseca 12-yard line, but they were unable to get into the end zone.
Neither team scored again in the half, and the score at halftime remained 27-0 in Waseca’s favor.
The Cardinal defense held the Bluejays scoreless in the third quarter.
Waseca scored their final touchdown early in the fourth quarter when O’Brien threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to running back Max Neaves. The Bluejays completed the 2-point conversion to raise the score to 35-0 with 10:21 remaining in the quarter, and that was also the final score.
Despite the loss, Coach Oye was pleased with how the team finished the game.
“I felt our team played better at the end of the first half and most of the second half of the game,” Oye said. “It was a tough physical game to end our regular season. Now it’s time to get ready for the playoffs.”
The Cardinals earned the number three seed in the Section 3AAA football playoffs and will take on the sixth-seeded New Ulm Eagles.
Luverne fell to New Ulm earlier this season but led most of the game before New Ulm rallied late to win.
“It’s nice to get a second opportunity to play New Ulm,” said Oye. “We lost a two-touchdown lead and gave them 28 points in the fourth quarter of our regular season game. They have a very good quarterback and running back that we will need to contain.”
The Cardinals will face New Ulm on Tuesday night in Luverne at 7 p.m.
 
Team statistics:
Luverne: 68 rushing yards, 72 passing yards, 140 total yards, 10 first downs, 4 penalties for 25 yards, 1 turnover.
Waseca: 234 rushing yards, 97 passing yards, 331 total yards, 17 first downs, 7 penalties for 70 yards, 1 turnover.
 
Individual statistics:
Rushing: Kaleb Hein 11-40, Elliot Domagala 12-30
Passing: Carter Sehr 4-16, 37 yards. Conner Connell 2-6, 35 yards.
Receiving: Conner Connell 3-43, Gannon Ahrendt 1-34
Defense: DJ Rock 5 tackles, Gavin DeBeer 5 tackles, Gannon Ahrendt 4.5 tackles, Elijah Woodley 4 tackles.

So, the 2022 pheasant opener was a few days back, and I had a very unusual one.
Worthington was selected for the location to host the 2022 Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener.  We were selected late and only had about 100 days to put the weekend event together.
It may seem like not a very big thing, but to have the governor out and about only three weeks before the election is a very big deal for everyone involved. This event was a partnership between the governor’s office, Explore Minnesota Tourism, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and my home chapter of Nobles County Pheasants Forever.
The devil is in the details on an event like this. We had a series of media tours all day on Friday, and there were over 30 different media organizations present to cover the event.
As the media tours were taking place, I attended a listening session with the commissioner of the DRN, Sarah Strommen. We talked about all kinds of public land issues and how to get more folks engaged in the outdoors.
The Friday schedule also included a land dedication on a project I have been very involved with for the past three years.  My chapter has logged over 1050 volunteer hours on this parcel.
At least 650 invasive cottonwood trees along with 400 others were removed and burned. Prescribed fire was completed on 250 acres, and 16,000 pounds of scrap iron and wire were recycled at the local recycle center. Two semi loads of tires were removed, and they were also recycled. In addition, 150 acres of poor grass habitat had been converted to native plants and forbs, and the place is starting to look really nice.
The governor and the lieutenant governor were on site for the dedication, and they both talked about the importance of public lands and conservation in general. The dedication also had 25 FFA students seeding four acres into a super cool pollinator planting.  I cannot wait to see what that will look like in three years when it is fully developed.
A community gathering happened Friday evening, and I was lucky enough to end up at the local watering hole and had a chance to visit with some of the most influential partners in the world of conservation. Relationships are the key to success in the conservation world, and I felt good about the outcome of my conversations.
As for the hunt portion of the weekend, we hosted and guided the governor and the lieutenant governor on private land for a few hours on opening day. For the very first time in the history of the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener, the governor shot his limit of birds within only a few hours. The weekend was a complete success.
As a passionate public lands advocate and the event chair, I was questioned by a few people whose political views were different from our current governor’s. All I ask of any Minnesotan is this question. Is the conservation and proper management of our lands, waters, forests and wildlife resources a red or blue issue?
It is certainly not. This event put a great focus on issues that are at the core of my life. Conservation, public lands, clean water and wildlife management are all on that list. Regardless of your political position, conservation takes everyone at the table. You simply cannot divide this critical issue down any political line no matter how hard you might want to. Any attempt to do so just widens the divide.
Spending a weekend with the governor, lieutenant governor, many conservation professionals, non-profits like Pheasants Forever and many of my friends in the DNR shines a light on our hunting heritage and the importance of wild places. There is no way to see this as anything other than a positive.
We will all get to make up our own minds here in about three weeks. All I can do is encourage you to keep wildlife resources on the front burner when you decide.
 
Scott Rall, Worthington, is a habitat conservationist, avid hunting and fishing enthusiast and is president of Nobles County Pheasants Forever. He can be reached at scottarall@gmail.com. or on Twitter @habitat champion.