By John RittenhouseZach Wysong and the Luverne American Legion baseball team experienced a tough weekend at the Brookings (S.D.) Wooden Bat Tournament.Luverne won the opening game of the event Friday before dropping four consecutive tilts as play continued through Sunday.The tournament was a rough one for Wysong, who had one hit in 12 official trips to the plate. He did drive in two runs and score twice. Wysong also was saddled with a pitching loss during the event.Wysong went hitless during a a pair games played Friday.The Luverne shortstop went 0-2 in a 3-0 win over Pipestone in the tournament opener Friday morning.Wysong was 0-3 during an 8-1 loss to Coon Rapids Friday afternoon.Wysong’s most productive game of the tournament came Saturday morning, when the Cardinals dropped a 16-9 decision to Mayville-Portland (N.D.).He was struck by pitches in the second and third innings, scoring runs both times.Wysong also picked up an RBI with a sacrifice fly when Luverne took a short-lived 9-7 lead in the third inning.The Luverne shortstop picked up one RBI without a hit during Sunday’s first game against Dassel-Cokato.Wysong chased home teammate Jared Pick with Luverne’s lone run in an 8-1 loss with a ground out in the fourth inning.Wysong picked up one of Luverne’s four hits during a 5-0 loss to Brookings Sunday night.Wysong slapped a single in the sixth inning to pick up his first hit of the tournament.He also pitched all six innings against Brookings, allowing five earned runs, six hits, six walks and registering seven strikeouts.Luverne, which had a game scheduled against Slayton on Tuesday cancelled, will take a 9-6 record into the regular season finale against Okabena at Redbird Field tonight.The Cards open the Sub-District Tournament in Slayton at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

By John RittenhouseThe Exchange Bank of Hills fast-pitch softball team went 3-1 during four games played since last week.Hills beat Steen 1-0 in a Border League tilt before going 2-1 and placing third at a tournament over the weekend.Dan Huisman twirled a perfect game to highlight Hills’ 1-0 victory over Steen.Huisman fanned eight batters in a contest that lasted 55 minutes. It was the second time Huisman tossed a shutout this season.Hills scored the winning run in the fifth inning when Greg Van Wyhe reached base with a hit before scoring on an infield single by Matt Metzger with two outs.The Town Team opened the Hills’ Fourth of July Tournament by defeating Rock Rapids, Iowa, 7-3.Huisman pitched a complete game to get the win. He surrendered seven hits.Tim Bosch snapped a tie at one with a three-run homer in the fourth inning. Pete Gehrke added a two-run homer and Rex Metzger added a solo blast to the effort.Lester (Iowa) upended Hills 5-1 in the tournament’s second round.Lester’s Myrlie belted a three-run homer to help his team score five runs in the game’s first two innings to take a lead it would never relinquish.Hills’ run came in the sixth inning, when Kurt Bly doubled before scoring on Rex Metzger’s RBI single.Lester eventually lost the championship game by a 10-2 count to the Sioux Falls Scarletts.Hills clinched third place in the tournament by defeating in-town rival Hills Indees 1-0 in the third-place game.Huisman pitched his third shutout of the season, blanking the Indees during a 10 strikeout, three-hit performance.Hills Town plated the only run of the game in the third inning. Tyson Metzger singled before scoring on Blake Wysong’s RBI triple.Harley Fransman pitched a strong game for the Indees, who received a two-hit effort from Rod Fransman.Hills Town has a 13-3 overall record and a 7-1 Border League mark for the season. Fans are welcome to attend league games (8 p.m. starting times) every Tuesday and Friday in HillsWho’s hot for Hills?Rex Metzger went 5-13 (.385) at the plate during the past four games. Matt Boeve, who has not made an error in the field this season, handled 25 chances without a mistake in the past four games. Huisman went 3-1 as a pitcher over the week, winning both games for Hills during the weekend tournament. He fanned 23 batters and allowed nine hits and three runs over 21 innings.Who’s not hot?Hoffman has taken the loss in two of Hills’ three losses this season. He allowed five runs in his last start. Pete Gehrke went 1-12 (.083) at the plate in the last four games.

By John RittenhouseThe 2004 version of the event will bring change to the 23rd annual Member-Guest Tournament, which will be played at the Luverne Country Club over the weekend.The Member-Guest Tournament, the first of four major tournaments staged at the LCC every golf season, will be played under a different schedule this year.Rather than playing under a Saturday-Sunday schedule as in the past, the 2004 M-G Quota Tournament begins on Friday and ends Saturday.Thirty-six, two-man teams will form the field for the Quota Tournament. The teams will open the tournament with an 18-hole round that begins with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m Friday.The Quota Tournament will conclude with a second 18-hole round that begins with a 10 a.m. shotgun start on Saturday.A M-G Tournament Championship Banquet has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday night.Along with the Quota Tournament, two other golfing events will be staged at the course this weekend.Shortly after Friday’s first round of play, spouses and friends of the M-G players are invited to attend a noon lunch, which will be followed by an abbreviated Women’s Scrambler.The Scrambler will be followed by The Derby, an annual M-G event, which is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. on Friday.The Derby is a nine-hole event that consists of 10 members and 10 guests who shot the lowest gross rounds during the first round of the Quota Tournament. The members are paired with guests (the member who shot the lowest gross round will play with the guest who shot the 10th lowest gross round, and so on) for a nine-hole event that features one team being eliminated at each hole.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne Redbirds came from behind to nip Windom 3-2 at Redbird Field Wednesday, June 30.Jeff Sehr pitched a strong game on the mound and James Fisher had a productive offensive night to help the Luverne amateurs lift their season record to 8-4.Sehr fanned 12 batters during an eight and two-thirds inning stint on the hill.Sehr yielded two unearned runs in the top half of the first inning, but he blanked the Pirates the rest of the night before giving way to Jon Jarchow, who recorded the final out of the ninth inning to earn a save.Fisher helped Sehr get the win by slapping two hits and scoring two runs.Fisher hit what proved to be the game-winning homer when he cleared the left-field fence to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning to snap a 2-2 deadlock.Luverne plated single runs in the second and fourth innings to knot the score.Joel Nath walked and scored in the second when Joey Pick delivered an RBI single to left field.Fisher doubled, advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Nath and scored to tie the game when Luke Iveland singled to center field.Luverne plays a noon game in Worthington Sunday.Box score AB R H BIBoen 4 0 2 0Sandbulte 4 0 1 0Sehr 2 0 0 0Weber 4 0 1 0Jarchow 4 0 1 0Fisher 3 2 2 1Nath 2 1 0 0Iveland 3 0 1 1Pick 3 0 1 1

By John RittenhouseA promising start was followed by a disappointing finish when the Luverne American Legion baseball competed in the Brookings (S.D.) Wooden Bat Tournament over the weekend.Luverne opened the event with a three-run win over Pipestone Friday, but consecutive setbacks to Coon Rapids, Mayville –Portland (N.D.), Dassel-Cokato and Brookings followed the win.The Cardinals ended the tournament with a 9-6 record.Luverne opens the Sub-District Tournament at 6:30 p.m. Friday in Slayton.Brookings 5, Luverne 0The Cardinals were unable to produce a run during Sunday’s tournament finale against Brookings.The host team limited Luverne to four hits during the contest.Luverne received consecutive singles from Jared Pick and Adam Reisch without scoring in the top of the fourth inning. Rob Fodness and Zach Wysong slapped singles in the fifth and sixth innings respectively.Wysong pitched all six innings and took the loss for Luverne.He yielded two runs in both the first and third innings, and one in the fifth. All of the runs were earned against Wysong, who fanned seven batters, walked six and gave up six hits.Box score AB R H BIPick 3 0 1 0Reisch 3 0 1 0Wysong 3 0 1 0Kurtz 3 0 0 0Remme 2 0 0 0Herman 3 0 0 0Boen 3 0 0 0Fodness 3 0 1 0Graphenteen 2 0 0 0D-C 8, Luverne 1Luverne opened play on Sunday by dropping a seven-run decision to Dassel-Cokato.D-C gained a 7-0 lead by scoring six runs in the second inning and one in the third and never lost control of the game.Luverne did plate a run in the top of the fourth inning, but D-C countered with a run in the bottom of the inning to cap the scoring.Luverne’s fourth-inning run was unearned. Pick reached base on an error before scoring on a ground out by Wysong.The Cardinals were limited to one hit in the contest. Reisch singled in the sixth inning.Rob Fodness tossed all six innings for Luverne. He recorded six strikeouts and allowed three earned runs.Box score AB R H BIPick 3 1 0 0Reisch 2 0 1 0Wysong 3 0 0 1Kurtz 3 0 0 0Herman 2 0 0 0Boen 2 0 0 0Petersen 1 0 0 0Fodness 3 0 0 0Goembel 3 0 0 0Graphenteen 1 0 0 0M-P 16, Luverne 9Luverne’s highest-scoring performance of the tournament wasn’t enough to produce a win during a game played Saturday morning.The Cardinals sported 3-0 and 9-7 leads in the first three innings of play, but Mayville-Portland scored nine runs (three in the fourth, three in the fifth and three in the seventh) in the final four innings to win by seven.Luverne opened the scoring by plating three runs in the bottom of the first.Pick walked and Wysong was hit by a pitch before both runners scored on Tim Boen’s two-run single. Brad Herman capped the three-run surge with an RBI single.M-P countered by scoring seven runs in the top of the second, but the Cardinals regained the lead at 9-7 by scoring three runs in the second and third frames.Taylor Graphenteen was hit by a pitch before Pick and Wysong drew walks to load the bases in the bottom of the second. Adam Kurtz plated Graphenteen with a sacrifice fly. Pick and Wysong scored on Mark Remme’s two-run single.Herman and Kelsey Petersen drew walks before scoring the first two runs in the third inning on an error. Pick, who drew a walk, scored on a sacrifice fly by Wysong to give the Cards a two-run cushion before the inning was complete.Herman pitched the first one and two-thirds innings without gaining a decision. Petersen received the loss after tossing one and one-third innings of relief. J.T. Bruynes worked the final four innings on the mound.Box score AB R H BIPick 2 3 1 0Reisch 4 0 0 0Wysong 1 2 0 1Kurtz 3 0 0 1Remme 3 1 2 2Boen 4 0 1 2Herman 3 1 1 1Fodness 1 0 0 0Petersen 1 1 0 0Bruynes 1 0 0 0Graphenteen 2 1 0 0CR 5, Luverne 1Five early runs scored by Coon Rapids proved to enough to clip the Cardinals during Friday’s second game.Luverne drew first blood in the contest by plating a run in the top half of the first inning.CR, however, scored twice in the bottom of the first before capping the scoring with three runs in the bottom of the second.Pick, who had one of Luverne’s three hits in the game, scored an unearned run in the first when the reached base on an error before racing home on a wild pitch.Pick, Reisch and Graphenteen slapped one hit each for the Cards.Pick tossed all six innings and took the loss. He allowed 10 hits, five earned runs and one walk during a two-strikeout effort.Box score AB R H BIPick 2 1 1 0Reisch 3 0 1 0Bruynes 0 0 0 0Wysong 3 0 0 0Kurtz 3 0 0 0Remme 3 0 0 0Boen 3 0 0 0Herman 3 0 0 0Fodness 3 0 0 0Graphenteen 2 0 1 0Luverne 3, Pipestone 0The Cardinals blanked rival Pipestone during Friday morning’s tournament opener.Luverne scored three runs in the home half of the first inning and pitcher Kurtz made them stand up by tossing a two-hit shutout.Kurtz walked one batter and fanned three in the game.Pick was hit by a pitch and Reisch drew a walk to stir things up for the Cards in the bottom of the first. Both runners scored on an error. Kurtz, who reached base on the error, scored the second run when Herman slapped an RBI single.Box score AB R H BIPick 2 1 0 0Reisch 2 1 0 0Wysong 2 0 0 0Kurtz 3 1 0 0Remme 2 0 0 0Boen 3 0 0 0Herman 3 0 2 1Fodness 3 0 0 0Graphenteen 1 0 0 0Box score AB R H BIPick 3 0 1 0Reisch 3 0 1 0Wysong 3 0 1 0Kurtz 3 0 0 0Remme 2 0 0 0Herman 3 0 0 0Boen 3 0 0 0Fodness 3 0 1 0Graphenteen 2 0 0 0

By John RittenhouseA rain-soaked Fourth of July weekend limited racing opportunities for drivers from the Star Herald coverage area.Events were cancelled at many tracks, but there was racing action at Murray County Speedway in Slayton and at Huset’s Speedway, near Brandon, S.D.Luverne’s Mike Steensma posted a feature victory in the modified class during Sunday’s races in Slayton.Steensma and Luverne’s Marlin Kracht also raced in a Modified Touring Series Special event in Slayton Friday. Steensma placed seventh and Kracht eighth in the feature event.Seven area drivers competed at Huset’s Speedway Sunday night.Luverne’s Jesse Akkerman raced in the street stock division, placing third in the second heat and fifth in the feature.Luverne’s Cory Schmuck, Robert Carlson and Tom Cauwels, Magnolia’s Josh Klay and Larry Kracht and Kanaranzi’s Colter Deutsch all raced in the hobby stock division at Huset’s.Klay placed second in the third heat and fourth in the feature, Kracht finished fourth in the third heat and third in the feature, Schmuck came in third in the first heat and fifth in the feature, Carlson was sixth in the first heat and 12th in the feature, Deutsch first in the second heat and 14th in the feature and Cauwels placed fifth in the third heat and 15th in the feature.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne VFW baseball team upped its record to 14-6 after winning two of three games since Wednesday, June 30.The Cardinals nipped Brandon Valley (S.D.) by one run at Redbird Field June 30 before posting a seven-run league win over Marshall Orange in Luverne Thursday. BV gained revenge on the Cards by beating them by six runs in Valley Springs, S.D., Tuesday.Luverne was scheduled to host Adrian Monday, but the game was rained out and rescheduled for last night (Wednesday, July 7).The Cards play in Slayton tonight, they host Pipestone for a twin bill Monday and play in Adrian Wednesday.BV 6, Luverne 0The Cardinals experienced a shortage of offense during Tuesday’s six-run loss to Brandon Valley in Valley Springs.The hosts limited Luverne batters to three singles without allowing a run in the game.BV, on the other hand, scored three runs in the second inning, one in the third and two in the sixth to win handily.Jake Clark led the game off with a single for Luverne. Craig Oeding and Micah Boomgaarden slapped back-to-back singles in the second inning.Boomgaarden pitched the first four innings and took the loss. Nate Boler tossed two innings of relief.Box score AB R H BIClark 3 0 1 0Lundgren 2 0 0 0Boelman 4 0 0 0Nath 3 0 0 0DeBoer 2 0 0 0Richters 1 0 0 0Oeding 2 0 1 0Boomgaarden 1 0 1 0Boler 1 0 0 0Deutsch 2 0 0 0Fitzer 1 0 0 0Finke 1 0 0 0Elbers 1 0 0 0Luverne 10, MO 3The Cardinals scored seven runs in the first inning and coasted to a seven-run victory when they hosted Marshall Orange Thursday.Clark slapped a three-run double to highlight the home half of the first inning, which ended with Luverne sporting a 10-3 advantage.The early run support proved to be all Luverne pitcher Caleb Bruynes needed to pick up a win.Bruynes tossed an 84-pitch complete game, limiting Orange to a pair of runs in the fourth inning and one in the sixth.Luverne catcher Ben Nath doubled home one run in the bottom of the fourth as the Cardinals countered Marshall’s challenge in the top half of the frame.Brian Deutsch contributed an RBI single to a two-run rally in the sixth that capped the scoring for Luverne.No individual box score was available from this game.Luverne 6, BV 5Andrew DeBoer’s RBI single in the bottom half of the seventh inning gave the Cardinals a one-run home win over Brandon Valley (S.D.) Wednesday, June 30.BV tied the game at five by scoring one run in the top of the seventh, but Luverne settled the issue when Marc Boelman doubled before scoring on DeBoer’s single in the bottom of the frame.After BV took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Luverne moved in front 2-1 in the bottom of the inning when Clark doubled and scored on an error and Boomgaarden chased home a run with a groundout.The score was tied at two when Boomgaarden delivered a two-run single in the third to give the Cards a 4-2 lead, but BV bounced back to tie the score at four in the fourth.Derek Elbers reached base on an error and scored to give the Cards a 5-4 edge in the fifth inning that was erased when BV plated a run in the seventh.Elbers picked up the pitching win by working one inning of relief. Boelman started the game on the mound, and Adam Finke pitched three innings of relief.Box score AB R H BIClark 4 1 1 0Elbers 3 2 0 0Boelman 1 1 1 0Oeding 0 0 0 0Bruynes 1 0 1 0Boler 2 2 2 0DeBoer 4 0 1 1Boomgaarden 3 0 1 3Finke 3 0 1 0Richters 3 0 1 0Deutsch 2 0 1 0

10 years ago (1994)"The end of an era passed with little fanfare Thursday night when District 670’s seven-member School Board met quietly for the last time. District 2184, comprised of the Luverne and Magnolia school districts, officially came into being July 1.Board chairwoman Barb Golla thanked Luverne School Board members Lowell Binford and Curt Laudon for their services. Their positions will be filled by Mike Hesch and Bob Kaczrowski when the 13-member joint board meets July 14."25 years ago (1979)"Short putts are not the only thing falling with consistency at the Luverne Country Club these days.A menacing case of Dutch elm disease has caused many trees to be cut down and hauled away in recent years, according to Bill Jarchow, groundskeeper.Jarchow said the trees were treated with a chemical to stop the spread of the disease, but to no avail."50 years ago (1954)"Dr. Donald M. Odland, Dell Rapids, will begin general practice of medicine here one week from today.The new physician and surgeon will have offices on the second floor of the Drug building on Main Street, formerly known as the Moreland building.He came to Luverne from Minneapolis where he has just completed advanced training in surgery. Dr. Odland is married and the father of two children."75 years ago (1929)"Shall the Independent school district of Luverne furnish free text books to the pupils of all grades?This question will be voted upon at the annual school meeting to be held on July 16th, and the answer given by the majority of the voters will settle the question.Decision to submit the matter to the voters of the district was reached at a regular meeting of the school board held Tuesday evening."100 years ago (1904)"One of the unfortunate attendant incidents of all celebrations is found in the number of cases of drunkenness. This is no more true of the Fourth than of any other celebration, but the Fourth always has its due share. This year, however, there were fewer incidents of the kind than usual and as is invariably the case, they were confined almost wholly to irresponsible non-residents."

DISTRICT COURTPROBATE DIVISIONFIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICTNOTICE AND ORDER OF HEARING ON PETITION FOR PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORSSTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF ROCKESTATE OFEDWARD H. BRANDS DECEDENTIt is Ordered and Notice is given that on August 9, 2004 at 9:00 (a.m.) a hearing will be held in this Court at Rock County Courthouse Luverne, Minnesota, for the formal probate of an instrument purporting to be the will of Decedent, dated February 25, 1999 and codicil (N/A) to the will dated N/A, and separate writing (N/A) under Minn. Stat. 524.2-513 ("Will"), and for the appointment of Edna E. Brands whose address is: 15477 1st Street, Chandler, MN 56122 as personal representative of the Estate of the Decedent in a SUPERVISED administration. Any objections to the petition must be filed with the Court prior to or raised at the hearing. If proper and if no objections are filed or raised, the personal representative will be appointed with full power to administer the Estate, including the power to collect all assets, pay all legal debt, claims, taxes and expenses, to sell real and personal property, and do all necessary acts for the Estate. Notice is also given that (subject to Minn. Stat. 524.3-801) all creditors having claims against the Estate are required to present the claims to the personal representative or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this Notice or the claims will be barred. /s/ TIMOTHY K. CONNELLTIMOTHY K. CONNELLJudge Date/s/ SANDRA L. VRTACNIKSANDRA L. VRTACNIKCourt Administrator DateAttorney For Personal RepresentativeBENJAMIN VANDER KOOI, JR.VANDER KOOI LAW OFFICES, P.A.127 E. MainP.O. Box 746Luverne, MN 56156-0746507-283-9546Attorney I.D. No. 112124(7-8, 7-15)