By Sara StrongThe Luverne City Council Monday approved a preliminary tax levy of 3.71 percent more than the 2003 levy. The local tax levy will amount to $744,697 of the total governmental budget, which is about $3.8 million.The majority of the governmental budget comes from state aid and city enterprise funds, such as utilities and the liquor store.City Administrator Greg LaFond said, "I think it’s a very responsible budget, a very responsible tax levy."He explained that most property owners will see a decrease in taxes, except for those who made assessed property improvements, because the overall valuation increased by 8 percent.A higher valuation overall means less is needed from individuals who share in the total levy collection.The city will have a public hearing Dec. 14 regarding the 2005 budget and proposed tax levy. The preliminary levy is for 2004, collectible in 2005. The city can reduce the levy from the preliminary amount before it is finally certified in December.Although many property owners won’t pay more in city taxes, utility rate increases are figured into this budget.Residential sewer rates will increase 11 percent in 2006 through 2008. Commercial sewer rates will increase at the same rate.Refuse and recycling will increase 10 percent in 2006, and 5 percent in 2007 and 2008.Residential water rates will increase 3.8 percent in 2006 and 3.5 percent in 2007. Commercial water rates will increase 4 percent in 2006 and 3.5 percent in 2007. Electric rates are undergoing a study to help determine rates for 2006 through 2008.

By Lori EhdeRock County Sheriff’s Deputies are paying close attention to a federal drug investigation in neighboring Nobles County.On Friday, a Nobles County man and three Mexican Nationals were indicted by a federal grand jury for their alleged role in distributing methamphetamines in southwest Minnesota.Steven Mauch, 39, Adrian, and Jose Cervantes, 52, Jose Callejas, 22, and Julio Cardena Magana, 31, all from Mexico, face felony drug charges.They were charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1,500 grams of meth and aiding and abetting the possession with the intent to distribute 1,500 grams of meth.Rock County investigator Jeff Wieneke said he couldn’t comment specifically on how Friday’s arrest will affect Rock County Cases he’s working on, but he said, "Indirectly, it’s possible that it could," Wieneke said.The November 2002 arrest of several meth dealers in Luverne helped to thin the local meth market for a while, but Wieneke said it’s an ongoing battle."People who want it are still going to find it, and of course there are people who are willing to sell it," he said. "So we always have cases we’re working on."According to the criminal complaint filed Aug. 20 in U.S. District Court, Minneapolis, the arrests are the result of an undercover investigation by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.A BCA agent met with Callejas in August in the Wal-Mart parking lot, Worthington. Cervantes allegedly met them carrying a bag containing 2.5 pounds of heat sealed packages of meth. Magana later approached the two in the parking lot where officers arrested him as well.Later that same day, a search warrant executed on Cervantes’ Worthington apartment yielded a large package containing about 2 pounds of meth, according to the complaint.According to Worthington law enforcement, Mauch served as the "go-between" in helping to arrange the narcotics sales.If convicted, all four men face a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison on both counts of the indictment. The maximum penalty would be life in prison.

By John RittenhouseFormer Rock County residents Darrin Korthals and Anthony Mann locked up feature wins Friday at Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa.Korthals, a Hills-Beaver Creek High School graduate, won the first heat race and A feature in the late model street stock class.Mann, a former Luverne resident, placed second in the first heat and took the A feature in the sportsmen class.Korthals topped Luverne driver Scott Overgaard and Adrian’s Mark DeBoer and Brad Klaassen in the street stock feature.Overgaard placed second in the first heat and third in the feature. Klaassen finished first in the second heat and fourth in the feature. DeBoer placed second in the second heat and eighth in the feature.Ellsworth’s Greg Roemen raced against Mann, placing second in the second heat and 10th in the sportsmen feature.Kanaranzi’s Colter Deutsch, who locked up a track championship in the hobby stock class at Huset’s Speedway (Brandon, S.D.) Sunday, led area drivers in the hobby stock division at Rapid Speedway. Deutsch plaed third in the third heat and fourth in the feature.Luverne’s Robert Carlson (third in the first heat and 13th in the feature), Magnolia’s Larry Kracht (second in the second heat and 12th in the feature) and Magnolia’s Josh Klay (sixth in the third heat and 16th in the feature) also raced in the hobby stock class at Rapid Speedway.Deutsch won the third heat race and placed third in the feature while securing his track championship at Huset’s.Klay (second in the first heat and 14th in the A feature), Carlson (third in the second heat and 11th in the feature), Kracht (third in the third feat and fifth in the feature) and Luverne’s Cory Schmuck (sixth in the third heat and fourth in the B feature) competed against Deutsch in the hobby stock class.Luverne’s Jesse Akkerman raced in the street stock class at Huset’s, placing third in the first heat, third in the A feature and second in Nordstrom’s Dash for Cash Race.Luverne’s Andy Gebrielson had a solid night at Nobles County Speedway in Worthington Saturday. He won his heat race and placed second in the sportsmen feature.

By John RittenhouseThe Adrian football team got off to a good start in Red Rock Conference play by posting a 32-19 win over Ortonville Friday.Playing the Trojans in what was the home opener for AHS, the Dragons scored points in all four quarters of the game on the way to a 13-point win.Senior quarterback Levi Bullerman led the charge for Adrian, throwing one touchdown pass and running for a pair of scores to help the Dragons improve their season record to 2-0.Although the Dragons won the game by 13 points, the contest wasn’t settled until AHS scored 14 points in the final 9:41 of the game against a young, scrappy Ortonville squad."I think we might have been outplayed a little bit," said Adrian coach Randy Strand. "I think we blocked rather poorly in this game. We didn’t play extremely well at the line of scrimmage, and we won’t be able to get away with that this week."Adrian’s defense drew first blood in the game after the AHS offense had a drive stall inside Ortonville’s 10-yard line. Dragon defenders Tony Sauer and Chris Wieneke shared a sack on Trojan quarterback Alex DeWald for a safety moments later, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead at the 2:16 mark of the first quarter.The Dragons increased their lead to 10-0 with a three-play drive late in the second quarter.After Bullerman hit Cody Reverts with a 43-yard pass that pushed the ball deep in Ortonville territory, the AHS tailback scored on a four-yard run with 4:21 left to play in the first half. Bullerman connected with Brett Block for a successful conversion pass after the touchdown.Ortonville got back into the game with an 11-play, 86-yard drive that ended with DeWald tossing a 21-yard touchdown strike to Blayn Ronglien with 21 seconds left in the first half, making the score 10-6 at the intermission.The Dragons opened the second half with an impressive 10-play, 73-yard march. Bullerman threw a four-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive, and Anderson carried in the two-point conversion to make it an 18-6 game at the 7:57 mark of the third quarter.Adrian possessed the ball inside Ortonville territory moments later, but Trojan defender Cory Stattleman ended the threat by intercepting a pass and returning it 70 yards for a touchdown with 6:00 left in the third quarter.A successful extra point trimmed Adrian’s lead to five points at 18-13.Ortonville got the ball back with a successful on-side kick, and the Trojans moved the ball to the AHS five-yard line before the possession stalled on downs.Adrian then marched 95 yards in 11 plays with Bullerman leaping into the end zone from one-yard out at the 9:41 mark of the fourth quarter. Bullerman, who connected with Reverts for a 37-yard pass that kept the drive alive, carried in the conversion to give the hosts a 26-13 advantage.Ortonville lost its next possession on downs, setting up an eight-play, 45-yard drive that iced the win for AHS. Bullerman capped the march with a seven-yard run, making it a 32-13 game.The Trojans scored a late touchdown against Adrian’s second-string defense when DeWald threw a six-yard pass to Ronglien with 38 seconds left to play.Adrian hosts defending RRC champion Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Friday. The Knights will bring a 1-1 record into the game.Team statisticsAdrian: 237 rushing yards, 220 passing yards, 457 total yards, 19 first downs, nine penalties for 85 yards, two turnovers.Ortonville: 51 rushing yards, 125 passing yards, 17 total yards, nine first downs, seven penalties for 52 yards, one turnover.Individual statisticsRushing: Anderson 23-119, Bullerman 12-35, Sauer 11-77, Clint Metz 2-6.Passing: Bullerman 9-15 for 220 yards.Receiving: Block 4-68, Reverts 2-80, Brent Tjepkes 1-42, Metz 1-10.Defense: Sauer one safety and nine tackles, Metz eight tackles, Jory Haken 10 tackles and three sacks, Block one interception, Casey Knips eight tackles.

By John RittenhouseThirteen unanswered points in the final 4:51 of the game gave the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth football team its second win of the season Friday.Entertaining Westbrook-Walnut Grove for their 2004 home opener in Hills, the Patriots found themselves facing a 21-20 deficit when the visiting Chargers scored a touchdown and recorded a two-point conversion with 9:00 left to play.H-BC-E, however, recorded two touchdowns in a span of 2:36 late in the fourth quarter to pull out a 33-21 win."We came back nicely," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "The guys played really well in the fourth quarter."The fourth quarter started with H-BC-E producing some big plays on defense.After the Patriot offense had a drive stall on the W-WG four-yard line late in the third quarter, the defense stopped a W-WG run for a three-yard loss on the final play of the third period. The Chargers tried to run the ball again on the first play of the fourth period, but a fumble during the exchange between the quarterback and running back resulted in a fumble that was recovered by Patriot defender Brian Gacke for a touchdown.The pass for the ensuing two-point conversion failed, but H-BC-E sported a 20-13 lead after Gacke’s big play.The game’s momentum swung in W-WG’s favor during its next offensive possession, when the Chargers put together a drive that ended with Dominic Madson scoring on a one-yard run with 9:00 left to play. When Madson hit Jake Severson with a successful conversion pass after the touchdown, W-WG moved in front 21-20.H-BC-E answered the challenge with its next offensive possession.The Patriots mounted a drive that ended with Kerry Fink scoring on a four-yard scamper with 4:51 remaining in the fourth quarter. The run for a two-point conversion came up short of the end zone, leaving the hosts with a 26-21 cushion.H-BC-E’s defense forced W-WG to punt four plays into its next offensive possession, setting up a 50-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Travis Broesder to Cody Rozeboom with 2:15 left to play. Adam Finke booted the ensuing extra point to cap the scoring."We had a bunch of younger guys who usually don’t play much come in and make big contributions for us," Ellingson stated. "Kerry Fink came in and ran the ball well for us, and Adam Finke had a couple of nice kick returns and kicked an extra point. Cody Rozeboom caught two long passes and scored two touchdowns on offense, and he made an interception on defense. Those young kids came in and played well."H-BC-E needed its younger players when senior Zach Wysong was unable to play after breaking three bones in his foot early in the game.Wysong, who capped a four-play, 66-yard drive with a 55-yard touchdown run at the 10:09 mark of the first period, injured his foot on his way to the end zone. Ellingson said the injury will keep Wysong on the sidelines between four and six weeks.H-BC-E passed for a two-point conversion after Wysong’s touchdown, but the attempt fell incomplete.W-WG moved in front 7-6 before the first quarter was complete.The Chargers recovered a fumble on H-BC-E’s 14-yard line as the period progressed, and Madson scored three plays later on a three-yard run. Victor Vondracek added the extra point to give W-WG a one-point cushion.The Patriots regained the lead at 14-7 early in the second quarter.After a W-WG punt sailed out of bounds on the H-BC-E 28, Roozenboom scored on a 28-yard run on the first play of his team’s next possession. Broesder carried in the two-point conversion to make it a seven-point difference.W-WG trimmed H-BC-E’s lead to one point (14-13) with 58 seconds remaining in the first half when Theisen hit Severson for a seven-yard touchdown pass. A missed extra-point attempt kept the Patriots clinging to a one-point lead.Ellingson said H-BC-E’s defense, which created three turnovers and limited W-WG to 169 total yards, played a key role in the win."We really played well defensively. We dominated W-WG statistically. We gave them a short field a couple of times, and W-WG was able to take advantage of it. Other than that, we played well on defense," Ellingson concluded.The 2-0 Patriots will play a road game against 1-1 Edgerton Friday.Team statisticsH-BC-E: 249 rushing yards, 152 passing yards, 411 total yards, 20 first downs, 10 penalties for 78 yards, one turnover.W-WG: 127 rushing yards, 42 passing yards, 169 total yards, 19 first downs, eight penalties for 65 yards, three turnovers.Individual statisticsRushing: Wysong 3-62, Tom LeBoutillier 7-23, Broesder 13-63, Fink 10-28, Rozeboom 2-54, Jon Klaassen 4-19, Finke 2-10.Passing: Broesder 4-11 for 152 yards.Receiving: Rozeboom 2-102, LeBoutillier 1-44, Chris Nuffer 1-6.Defense: Cody Scholten 19 tackles, Gacke nine tackles and one fumble recovery, Klaassen nine tackles, Rozeboom four tackles and one interception, Fink three tackles and one interception.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne volleyball team put together a three-win week that included the Cardinals playing at three different events.The Cards opened Southwest Conference play by sweeping Redwood Valley in Redwood Falls Thursday.Luverne opened its home schedule by going 1-3-1 during the Luverne Early Bird Tournament Saturday, and winning a four-game match from Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster Monday.The 5-3-1 Cardinals play at the Montevideo Tournament Saturday before entertaining Lincoln HI Tuesday.Luverne 3, SV-RL-B 1The Cardinals were able to win three close games to defeat the visiting Raiders Monday.Extra play was needed to settle Games 1 and 2, which the Cardinals won by 26-24 and 27-25 scores.SV-RL-B battled back to notch a 25-11 win in Game 3, but the Cards settled the issue by securing a 25-22 victory in Game 4.Maggie Kuhlman and Traci Evans charted 13 and eight kills respectively for the winners.Ashley Heitkamp was 20 of 21 serving with 13 points and three aces during the game. She shared the team lead in blocks (two) with Cassie Pap. Brittney Williams, who charted 20 set assists, was 21 of 23 serving with 13 points and three aces. Chelsea Park added 18 set assists to the winning cause.Luverne tourneyThe Cardinals went 1-3-1 and placed sixth during their annual Early Bird Tournament Saturday.The hosts opened the event by beating Edgerton, but losses to Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, Jackson County Central and Blue Earth Area and a tie with Springfield followed the win."We had our ups and downs throughout the day," said Cardinal coach Lori Oechsle. "We played well at times, and then we would struggle. We just need to work on our passing and hitting in practice."The Cards got off to a good start by defeating Edgerton 25-15 and 25-11 to start the tournament.R-T-R (25-16, 25-21) and JCC (25-15 and 25-10) topped the Cardinals in the second and third rounds before Luverne completed pool play by splitting games with Springfield.Springfield nipped LHS 25-22 in Game 1, but the Cardinals coasted to a 25-12 win in the finale.Luverne ended up placing third in its five-team pool, earning the right to face BEA in a match for fifth and sixth place. BEA recorded 25-18 and 25-17 wins over the Cardinals in the final match.Kuhlman and Pap led the Cards with 30 and 18 kills during the tournament. Heitkamp recorded six blocks for LHS. Williams charted 34 set assists and served 10 aces during the event, while Park chipped in 10 ace serves and 25 set assists to the cause.Luverne 3, RWV 0The Cardinals opened Southwest Conference play by sweeping a three-game match against Redwood Valley in Redwood Falls Thursday.Playing well in all aspects of the game, Luverne posted tight 25-22 and 25-20 wins in Games 1 and 3. The Cards rolled to a 25-12 victory in Game 2."The girls played great," said LHS coach Oechsle. "Not one thing really stands out in my mind, because the girls did everything so well. We were passing, serving and hitting the ball well, and we were getting after every ball on defense."Luverne erased a 4-2 deficit on the way to a three-point win in the opener.Kuhlman, who led the Cards with eight kills and was 18 of 21 serving with 16 points and six aces, served three consecutive aces to ice a 13-point victory in the second game.Evans recorded three of her seven kills and Kuhlman served a four-point run late in Luverne’s five-point win in Game 3.Pap delivered six kills, two blocks and four ace tips, was 14 of 14 serving with eight points and two aces for the winners. Heitkamp had two blocks and was 14 of 14 serving with 10 points and two aces. Williams contributed 21 set assists to the winning cause.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls’ tennis team split a pair of matches since last Thursday.Luverne coasted to a seven-point home win over Brandon Valley Thursday, but the Cardinals slipped to 0-2 in Southwest Conference play when they lost by one point in Marshall Monday.The 4-3 Cards play in Worthington Monday before hosting Martin County West Tuesday.Marshall 4, Luverne 3A slow start by Luverne led to a one-point loss to the Tigers during Monday’s league match in Marshall.LHS fell behind early in most of the matches and had to rally to earn their three points."We were sluggish," said Cardinal coach Greg Antoine. "We got off the bus and fell behind early in every match, and it’s tough to come all the way back like that."Luverne wins came from Samantha Gacke and Nikki Van Dyk, and the No. 1 doubles team of Kaitlyn Deragisch and Andraya Gacke.Samantha Gacke topped Kayla Pruitt 2-0 in a tightly contested No. 1 singles battle. Gacke won 7-6 (7-5 in the tiebreaker) and 7-6 (8-6 in the tie breaker). Van Dyk prevailed in a 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 match against Megan Gannott at No. 4 singles. Deragisch and Andraya Gacke posted 7-6 (7-2 in the tiebreaker) and 6-2 wins over Amy Daniels and Nicole St. Aubin."Sam (Gacke) and Kayla (Pruitt) had a great match," Antoine said. "Sam is really on a roll. She has won her last six matches. Nikki (Van Dyk) played really well, too. She got really hot and had to play through some discomfort in the second set, but she came back to win the third set. Kaitlyn (Deragisch) and Andraya (Gacke) played with the spark and enthusiasm I’ve been looking for. They were fun to watch."Marshall’s Gracie Henderson topped Brittany Boeve by a pair of 6-4 scores at No. 2 singles. Rachell Kunde bested Alyssa Klein by 6-2 and 6-1 tallies at No. 3.Marshall’s Amanda Herrmann and Missi St. Aubin notched a pair of 6-3 wins over Jessica Klein and Heidi Sandbulte at No. 2 doubles. Courtney St. Aubin and Kiki Lecy saddled Lindsey Severtson and Robin Madtson with a pair of 6-2 losses at No. 3.Luverne 7, BV 0The Cardinals recorded their second consecutive victory when they disposed of the Lynx by seven points in Luverne Thursday.Although Luverne won five of the seven matches in straight sets, coach Antoine said the final score of the match was deceiving."The match was a lot closer than came out in the final score," he said. "We were working on being more aggressive, and I think our singles players were. Being more aggressive means getting to the net and forcing them to make great shots to get a point. When you do that, good things usually happen."Attacking the net paid off for singles players Samantha Gacke, Alyssa Klein, Van Dyk and Deragisch, who won their matches in straight sets. Gacke secured 6-3 and 6-4 wins over Arin Knudtson at No. 1, Klein saddled Jessica Ramse with a pair of 6-2 setbacks at No. 2, Van Dyk bested Ally Vander Weise by 6-4 and 6-0 scores at No. 3, and Deragisch notched a pair of 6-0 wins against Jillian Bright at No. 4.Luverne’s Severtson and Christina Lovett won in straight sets (6-1 and 6-2) over Katie Thompson and Jenna Weir at No. 3 doubles.Andraya Gacke and Sandbulte prevailed in a 6-3, 6-7 (3-7 in the tiebreaker), 6-2 match against Katie Bjorun and Megan Maassen at No. 1 doubles. Jessica Klein and Boeve upended Hope Hamer and Ashley Hamer at No. 2 in a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 match.

Alex Frick, one of Luverne’s candidates for mayor, stopped in the Star Herald office the other day, wanting to talk about law enforcement.The city has canceled its contract for law enforcement through the Rock County Sheriff’s Department. It also terminated the joint powers agreement for dispatch services. Luverne City Council members and the city administrator say they still want to negotiate with the county and avoid starting a city police department, but the political bitterness may make that a difficult process. Frick said that essentially, he thinks the city made a mistake; that it will see no cost savings; that it’s poor public relations, and that it impairs the Sheriff’s Department’s current ability to function."Although nobody can say for sure what the actual one-time and ongoing costs are to create and operate a local police department, I believe they will be substantial," Frick said. "No cost savings will be made by not cooperating with the county Sheriff’s Department. Furthermore, irreparable damage is being done by the current breakdown of good faith bargaining. City Council could cause havoc for the sheriff and his staff. This, in turn, creates monumental public relations headaches for Luverne businesses."Out of fairness, I decided to ask Andy Steensma, the other mayoral candidate, for his thoughts on law enforcement. His thoughts weren’t that different, actually.Steensma said, "I think the county and city should do everything they can to continue the agreement and try to work out their differences."Steensma said a major issue between the two is that they don’t even agree on budget numbers, and they can’t negotiate with different sets of figures. "My experience is as a problem solver, and right now the city and county are using different numbers. If you don’t have the same numbers to start with, you can’t reach an agreement. I don’t think the law enforcement program is broken — there just isn’t enough to get these groups together right now, and what I think would be enough is a mediator or some type of facilitator."It’s obviously important to vote on the mayor and council candidates you think can get the job done in the way you want. But it’s also important to tell your current mayor and council how you want law enforcement or other contracts and joint ventures to be handled.Don’t wait until election day, or until new people are in place to do that, because there’s still a council and mayor in place who have a few months of work left.

I have some excellent news! The Friends of the Library gave us $2,000 to buy new books this year. We had a few budget problems in 2004 and our Friends stepped up to the plate and helped us out. As you may know, the Friends try to raise money each year to help the library with special purchases and programs. Most of their income is derived from the membership drive in April and the Book Sale (this week.) The Book Sale runs from Thursday September 16th at 3:00 p.m. through Saturday at 1:00 p.m. during regular library hours. Our Friends members and library patrons have donated lots of excellent books. Be sure to stop in, buy some good used books, and support the Friends of the Library. While you‚re here purchasing used books, you might want to check out some new books. Sidney Sheldon has a new title out this week, Are You Afraid of the Dark? In Berlin, a woman vanishes from the city streets. In Paris, a man plunges from the Eiffel Tower. In Denver, a small plane crashes into the mountains. In Manhattan, a body washes ashore along the East River. At first these seem to be random incidents, but the police soon discover that all four of the victims are connected to Kingsley International Group (KIG), the largest think tank in the world. Kelly Harris and Diane Stevens -- young widows of two of the victims -- encounter each other in New York, where they have been asked to meet with Tanner Kingsley, the head of KIG. He assures them that he is using all available resources to find out who is behind the mysterious deaths of their husbands. But he may be too late. Someone is intent on murdering both women, and they suffer a harrowing series of near escapes. Who is trying to kill them and why? Forced together for protection, suspicious of each other and everyone around them, and trying to find answers for themselves, the two widows embark on a terrifying game of cat and mouse against the unknown forces out to destroy them. Also new on the fiction shelf is Blind Alley, by Iris Johansen. Eve Duncan's job is to put a face on the faceless victims of violent crimes. Her work not only comforts their survivors--but helps catch their killers. The victim is a Jane Doe found murdered, her face erased beyond recognition. But whoever killed her wasn't just trying to hide her identity. The plan was far more horrifying. As the face forms under Eve's skilled hands, she is about to get the shock of her life. The victim is someone she knows all too well. Someone who isn't dead.yet.Instantly Eve's peaceful life is shattered. The sanctuary of the lakeside cottage she shares with detective Joe Quinn and their adopted daughter Jane has been invaded by a killer who's sent the grimmest of threats: the face of his next victim. To stop him, Eve must put her own life in the balance and question everything and everyone she trusts. Not even Quinn can go where Eve must go this time.