As a young boy, I made it my life’s mission to make my younger brother despise the day he was born.
It’s so crazy how God can make siblings with complete opposite personalities. My brother and I are the perfect example. I’ll talk to just about anybody; my brother only talks when it is necessary. I seldom ever put off what could be done “today.” My brother, however, always had his own agenda and time frame which was seldom “today”! I’m very particular with, well, just about everything; my brother was pretty much a slob. Since we shared a bedroom, his lack of attention to detail would drive me absolutely crazy.
My little farm toys were set up on my dresser like a store display. I had a very strict rule: “DON’T EVER TOUCH MY STUFF!” Of course, he did, forcing me to retaliate and beat the crap out of him. I was physically stronger, and after all, he broke the rule.
I can honestly say I was one of the worst older brothers on the planet. I would give him the small cars with the wheels that didn’t turn, convincing him they were special. At the time, I would’ve considered myself not only physically stronger but also smarter than him, mentally stronger.
I’m sure those of us who have siblings might be recalling a similar story. Maybe you were the stronger or maybe you were the weaker.
I never gave it much thought until I was an adult, reflecting on scripture where Paul talks about the strong and the weak. Now, I know Paul isn’t addressing a toy farm display or allowing your little brother into the cool car club. Paul is speaking about believers who are strong in faith and those who are weak.
Romans 14:1 “Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.”
Paul is saying it’s okay to hang out with those who may not be as mature as we are. And just because they don’t understand, don’t argue with them. Instead, accept them. Don’t run away judging them; embrace them so they too can become stronger in faith.
When I read this, I made a correlation between this verse and how I treated my brother.  God desires us to be filled with care and concern for others, especially for those of us who are stronger.
Paul gives this little gem of advice for us:
Romans 15:1-2 “We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We mut not just please ourselves. We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.”
         Instead of using our strength to make us feel superior, or to make ourselves feel better about our own weaknesses, let’s use that strength to treat them the way Christ had intended.
         In my 20s, I decided I would invest in my brother. I taught him how to work with his hands and become a skilled cabinetmaker. I shared with him all my tricks and my secrets. He now owns the largest and most successful cabinet shops in the area where we grew up.
I realized Paul was pointing out that the way to true happiness and fulfillment is to take your eyes off yourself and invest in someone weaker.
Let’s use our strengths to help the weak and those who are struggling. Give it a try. You won’t be disappointed!

Notice of ISD #2184
general election
 
NOTICE OF GENERAL ELECTION 
INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 2184 
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2022
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that a general election has been called and will be held in and for Independent School District No. 2184, Luverne Public Schools, State of Minnesota, on Tuesday, November 8, 2022, between 
the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., the following offices shall be filled:
 
Four (4) School Board Member, for one four-year term 
One (1) School Board Member, for one two-year term
 
The precincts and polling places for this general election are those polling places and precincts or parts of precincts located within the boundaries of the school district and which have been established by the cities or towns located in whole or in part within the school district.
Any eligible voter residing in the school district may vote at said election 
at the polling place designated above for the precinct in which he or she resides.
Qualified voters must be registered to vote in this election. Unregistered
voters may register to vote at the polling place on Election Day.
Tyler Reisch 
Luverne Public Schools 
Business Manager
(10-27, 11-03)

Jill Wolf of rural Adrian will be Luverne’s next city administrator, according to action at a special council meeting Tuesday night.
Wolf, who was director of Luverne’s economic development authority from 2004 to 2009, was one of four finalists considered for the job held by John Call who retires in December.
In her application letter to Luverne city officials, she spoke fondly of her time in Luverne working with Call and more recently having him as mentor for her role as Adrian city administrator since 2019.
“The city of Luverne is an exceptional community with superior infrastructure, excellent education opportunities, superior health care and amazing amenities,” Wolf said.
“I would love the opportunity to continue to enhance the opportunities in the community, allowing future generations to continue to ‘love the life.”’
Call formally announced his retirement at the May 24 city council meeting.
“The last 17 years in Luverne have been the highlight of my 35-year career in city management,” Call wrote in his resignation letter to the council.
“With a progressive mayor and council and highly competent department heads and employees, we have been able to move the city forward in many areas of economic development, housing and quality of life while at the same time delivering great city services on a daily basis.”
This summer the council decided against hiring an outside agency to recruit candidates and instead formed a recruitment committee that included Craig Oftedahl, Mike Cox, Ashley Kurtz, Tim Gust, Caroline Thorson, Pat Baustian and Connie Connell.
They worked on updated job description, position profile, salary range, and geographic scope for the recruitment of a new city administrator.
They asked current department heads what traits and qualities they’d like to see in the new city administrator, and they also surveyed city leaders about knowledge, skills, abilities and minimum training and experience they wanted in a new city administrator.
City clerk Jessica Mead also worked with the League of Minnesota Cities and other professional development colleagues to establish a recruitment plan.
Their efforts resulted in 30 applications that were narrowed to seven first-round interviews.
The four finalists, in addition to Wolf, included Rebecca Schrupp of Canby, Erik Hansen of Tracy and Lee Mattson of Waseca.
After a community “meet and greet” earlier this month, the search committee met Thursday, Oct. 13, to make a final recommendation — that the city hire Wolf as the next administrator.
The council met in special session Tuesday night to formally accept that recommendation and extend the offer to Wolf. She will start sometime in December and her salary is yet to be determined.
Mayor Pat Baustian said the entire council was in agreement about hiring Wolf.
“We were looking for an administrator who could make a seamless transition, who understood that we have no ‘issues to be fixed’ and someone who will keep Luverne on the path it has been on in terms of housing, day care and economic development,” Baustian said.
“Jill has worked here before and understands our priorities.”
He said the search committee also saw value in Wolf’s working knowledge of Missouri River Energy Services, the electrical utility that serves both Adrian and Luverne. Wolf is also on the communication advisory board for MRES.
“It’s one of our biggest enterprise utilities, and understanding that is very important,” Baustian said.
Wolf graduated cum laude from St. Cloud State University in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in community development and a minor in communication studies.
She and her husband, Chris, have four children in the Adrian School District ranging in age from fifth to 12th grade. Before they were in school, she worked part time writing grants for government entities and small businesses.
In 2017 she worked as program developer for the Minnesota River Area Agency on Aging before assuming the city administrator job in Adrian in 2019.
Call, 63, said he and his wife, Brenda, will continue living in Luverne, and he will work with the council to ensure a smooth transition as Wolf assumes her duties as the next city administrator.

Luverne’s Main Street has resembled a freeway of heavy truck traffic and numerous other vehicles this week as motorists are detoured away from Highway 75 construction. 
Among other things affected by the detour is the Luverne Chamber’s annual Trunk ‘n Treat Halloween event that typically packs the downtown blocks of Main Street with hundreds of costumed trick-or-treaters stopping at decorated vehicles on each side of the street.
This year, the event will move to the Luverne Public Schools parking lot. School staff are still determining which parking lot it will be in. The Trunk ‘n Treat event will be from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 31. No registration is required.

The “classroom” for nine students in Darrel Van Aartsen’s vocational education class arrived on East Dodge Street in Luverne last week.
The house, formerly the Real Estate Retrievers building, was moved from South Highway 75 to the residential neighborhood on Thursday, Oct. 12, where the high school students will remodel the structure back to a family dwelling.
Seniors Trenton Carson and Josh Evans are two of VanAartson’s students.
Both said they are interested in a vocational career, not in pursuing four-year degrees, after they graduate from high school this spring.
“I wanted some construction experience because I like working with people,” Carson said.
Since early September, the students have met a lot of people and learned about the different trades involved in moving a house to a new location.
The students worked with city of Luverne officials on the design of the four-bedroom home. They used a computer-aided design program and each designed a floor plan for the basement, main floor and upstairs.
They’ve met the workers who dug the new basement and the concrete workers who set up the forms for the concrete foundation.
The day after the house move, the students were calculating the yardage of fill material needed to level the yard before building the new oversized two-stall garage. They also staked out where the garage would be located.
They also watched house movers Berghorst & Sons Inc. from Hull, Iowa, lift the structure, drive the home halfway across town, and place the house on the new foundation.
Students then worked with the movers in the basement to install supports in the basement before the large metal beams used to move the house were removed.
In coming months, the students will construct the new detached garage while shadowing plumbers and electricians who will work in the house. They will also complete the demolition and rebuilding of walls for the home’s new layout.
Sale of the one-and-a-half-story home next year will support another construction project for the 2023-24 school year.

Rock County librarian Calla Jarvie is looking for local youth authors.
She is collecting original writings from youth ages 18 and younger. The collection will be available for checkout by library patrons.
“If my library put my book in the library, I would have died of happiness,” Jarvie said.
Pages of the submissions will be laminated and placed in a three-ring binder.
“Hopefully we fill many binders,” she said.
The inspiration for collecting young authors’ works comes from 9-year-old Noel Henrichs of Luverne.
Henrichs returned a library book recently. Tucked inside was a story she wrote, “Yoko, The Family Dog,”stapled together in a three-page book.
“She likes to be crazy,” Henrichs said of the main character, who is based off the family’s adopted dog. “She’s black and white with an ear that stands straight up.”
Jarvie found Henrichs’ book, and the idea for sharing local youth authors’ works was developed.
Henrichs already has an original book available at her school, Luverne Elementary School.
“I wrote a book in second grade and gave it to Mrs. (Tina) Petronek, and she put it in the library,” Henrichs said.
For the local library, youth authors can make multiple submissions. Henrichs is working on a second story involving Max, a dog the family took care of for another family.
Henrichs is the daughter of Cody and Nicole Henrichs, Luverne.
Submissions can be dropped off to the Rock County Library or emailed to Jarvie at calla.jarvie@co.rock.mn.us

Each of Luverne Elementary’s fifth-graders questioned local volunteer firefighters James Rahm and Joe Juhl Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 12.
Rahm and Juhl visited the students as part of National Fire Prevention Week. They also revealed which fifth-grader’s poster would be forwarded to the state competition.
Each year volunteers with the fire department make a connection with each grade level during the second week in October. The connection could be through class visits to the local fire station, the department’s evening open house, or classroom presentations like the one Rahm and Juhl completed.
Rahm reminded the students they’ve learned numerous fire prevention tips over the five years of department visits.
“There are things you can do as you get older, and, as a result, take on new roles,” said Rahm, who’s been a local fire department volunteer for 15 years.
Many of the 10- and 11-year-olds are now babysitters, and Rahm encouraged them to know the addresses in which they are watching younger kids. He also told them to be the ones who put the unattended matches or lighters out of reach, and to leave the house if the smoke alarm indicates a hazard and smoke is present.
Getting everyone out of the house is the firefighters’ job, not theirs, Rahm stressed.
A half hour spent answering the fifth-graders’ questions revealed a lot about firefighting including:
•How many firefighters are on the Luverne Fire Department? Minimally 31 and maximum is 27.
•How long is the department’s longest ladder? 103 feet.
•How heavy is the equipment? 50 pounds; with air tank it’s 75 pounds.
•How many people does it take to hold a firehose? A hose at 1 3/4-inch diameter takes one to two people. A hose at a 2 1/2-inch diameter takes two to three people due to the pressure the water is under.
•How long does training take? Initial training is 160 hours.
•Do you have a dog at the fire station? No. Dalmatians were commonly used before trucks to protect the horses as firefighters fought fires.
Three fifth-graders were recognized in the annual poster contest. First place and $50 went to Harper Renken, second place ($40) to Harper Phelps and third place ($30) to Isley Smith. The monetary rewards were provided by the department’s relief association members.