10 years ago (1994)"The Luverne and Magnolia school boards breathed a collective sigh of relief Thursday when voters in both districts overwhelmingly approved combining the two school districts.As of July 1, Independent Districts 670 and 669 will become District 2184. The name of the district hasn’t been determined yet."25 years ago (1979)"An improvement program for the Luverne and Beaver Creek telephone exchanges will enter the final stages within the next few weeks.The work started over a year ago and the target date for completion is Dec. 16.… The program, entitled two party alternative service improvement plan has as its main objective the elimination of all four party lines in the exchange."50 years ago (1954)"Rock County residents who are early birds next Wednesday will see one of the rarest spectacles of nature — a total eclipse of the sun.Rock County falls directly in the path of the first total eclipse of the sun to be visible in most parts of Minnesota since March 27, 1503 — 451 years ago.The shadow, 70 miles wide, will sweep across Minnesota for 75 seconds running from the southwest corner of the state through the Twin Cities and across upper Wisconsin and Michigan into Canada."75 years ago (1929)"A luxurious, heavily matted velvet carpet was laid in the foyer and aisles of the Palace Theatre the latter part of last week and adds greatly to the general attractiveness of the playhouse. It most effectively eliminates the disturbing sounds usually accompanying the arrival and departure of theatre attendants."100 years ago (1904)"Phil Kirkham sold the wool from eight sheep last week to T.E. Jones for $16.90. When this result is considered in connection with the fact that these eight sheep had twelve lambs, a good basis is given for computing the profits."

Greater love of chocolate hath no woman. Chocolate lovers the world over should admire one English woman’s enthusiasm for the tasty treat and her determination to buy her fair share. "A woman with an apparently insatiable sweet tooth stunned staff at a north London shop," recently reported Reuters news services, "when she bought more than 10,000 chocolate bars and had them loaded into her chauffeur-driven limousine." The total bill for the 10,656 Mars candy bars packed in 220 boxes — the store’s entire inventory — amounted to $3,828. (While we’re on the subject, this might be a good time to set the record straight. I have never been to north London, most of the Limousins in this part of the country are a breed of cattle, and my chocolate slush fund isn’t that healthy.) Yes, the woman should truly be admired. It’s not all that easy for an adult — an adult with a conscience — to buy a chocolate candy bar these days. With the anti-fat, anti-cholesterol factions being what they are, buying a candy bar at a grocery store or convenience shop requires a considerable sense of reckless courage. It has always been my suspicion that clerks in the stores tend to make value judgments about their customers. As shoppers’ junk food purchases are removed from shopping carts and parade over their conveyor belts in endless, mind-numbing formations, the clerks aren’t just thinking about prices. While they’re sliding packages of potato chips, cheese curls, and yes, even chocolate bars with their hands over the price scanners, they’re thinking, "Yeah, she needs this chocolate like she needs another hole in the head," or, "Whoa, girl! Have you seen your profile in a full-length mirror lately?" That’s why most of my fried, chocolate and other "it can’t be good for you" food purchases are usually made out of town, far away from the scrutiny of grocery store clerks and any doctors, nurses or health-conscious shoppers who might be standing in the checkout lane behind me. They are all among the critics who fail to realize that chocolate is a valuable, perfect food and it should be recognized as an important food group, not unlike vastly overrated meats, vegetables, grains and fruits. When you think about it, chocolate is actually a vegetable because it is derived from beans. In addition, if we consider that all matter on our planet is divided into three classifications — animals, vegetables and minerals — chocolate is definitely a vegetable. Chocolate is a versatile food and may be consumed in many forms, whether it be hot chocolate, chocolate chips for baking, or plain old candy bars. Chocolate is also a very portable form of nutrition. For example, it would be very cumbersome to strap a 28-pound roasted turkey or a 30-pound watermelon to your back for a weekend hike, but a week’s worth of candy bars can be easily slipped into a backpack. This spring, Finnish researchers gave us yet another reason to celebrate the wonders of chocolate. According to their studies, noted in New Scientist magazine, mothers who ate substantial amounts of chocolate during their pregnancies reported more smiling and laughter in their babies after they were born. In other words, show me a cranky baby and I’ll show you a mother who has very little but the respect of grocery store clerks in her hometown.

Last summer the loving husband and I added onto the house. We dug deep into the old savings account and decided to build a large toilet bowl for birds. In more sophisticated cultures it might be called a deck. So far, it’s worked out quite well and we’re glad we spent the money on it. At any given time you can look out the dining room window and see happy, happy birds running on the railing, hopping up and down the steps, always leaving a happy little deposit behind. Birds are not the only beasts-of-the-air that enjoy the new structure. The wasps have constructed three lovely nests on the railing, with hundreds of little wasplings ready to hatch. When I want to relax on the deck, I actually feel like an intruder in my own back yard. I know the birds are hiding in the grass, saying to each other, "Doesn’t she have anything better to do than sit on our toilet bowl? Why doesn’t she just go back to work? What a bum!" I know I’m not wanted in the garden either. The birds are dive-bombing me while I work. The bunnies are throwing themselves against the fence, trying to get in. The bugs are slowly eating me alive. I AM NOT THE MASTER OF MY UNIVERSE! Fitting into the harsh scheme of nature is difficult, but it can be done. Right now, I’m getting along very well with the bumblebees. We co-exist side by side in the flowerbed. They don’t sting me and I don’t spray them with Terminex. By the way, if you decide you want to build a toilet bowl for the birds, we have lots of books in the library to give you design ideas. Research tip: Look up "decks" not "toilet bowls." We also have lots of new fiction on the shelf for your reading pleasure, "Sleeping Beauty, by Philip Margolin. Author Miles Van Meter is on a book tour to promote his sensational bestseller "Sleeping Beauty," a true-crime account of an attack by a serial killer that left his twin sister, Casey, in a coma. Tonight the audience waits to hear Miles discuss recent developments in his sister's case. Six years earlier, life was much simpler for everyone involved, especially 17-year-old Ashley Spencer, a popular high school soccer star. Then one night an intruder entered Ashley's home and murdered her father and her best friend. Traumatized and suffering from a crippling sense of survivor guilt, Ashley is ready to give up on both soccer and life until help comes from an unexpected source; she is offered a scholarship to the Oregon Academy by school dean Casey Van Meter. The school quickly becomes a haven for both Ashley and her mother, Terri. As Ashley regains her sense of self through the school's soccer program, tragedy strikes again and Ashley has to run for her life, unaware that the key to her survival is in the one book she's afraid to read — "Sleeping Beauty." "Digital Fortress," by Dan Brown. When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant, beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage — not by guns or bombs — but by a code so complex that if released would cripple U.S. intelligence. Caught in an accelerating tempest of secrecy and lies, Fletcher battles to save the agency she believes in. Betrayed on all sides, she finds herself fighting not only for her country, but also for her life, and for the life of the man she loves.

Game in the early daysThe following was printed in the Rose History in 19111:"In the days before white men came, Rock County was the home of several species of big game, including bison, elk and deer, and many fur bearing animals. On hunting and trapping expeditions the aborigines visited the county from time immemorial, and later, when settlement had been extended to the frontier regions, white trappers were wont to visit the streams with their traps and were richly rewarded. The bison was among the first of the big game to depart after the arrival of settlers. The very first settlers occasionally saw stray members of this noble animal of the prairies and many evidences of his former presence in the shape of wallows and his bleaching bones scattered over the prairie. The elk also departed early, although a few were seen by the Rock County pioneers. So late as May 1879, one traversed a portion of the county, having been seen crossing the farms of Messrs. Ellithorp and Green and making for the Rock River valley to the southeast. Deer remained in the county for a long period, and during the period of deep snow in the winter of 1880-81 quite a number were driven from their retreats and were seen; a few were captured. Soon after the well remembered October blizzard the report of the presence of three or four of the animals on the Mounds brought forth a dozen mounted huntsmen from Luverne, who, with a pack of fleet-footed dogs, were soon on the trail. The game was located, and after a pursuit of several miles one was brought to bay and shot by Sheriff Edwin Gillham. The next February one was captured by a farmer in Vienna Township, the frightened animal having fled to the farmhouse to escape dogs which were in pursuit. Beaver and other fur bearing animals were taken along the streams for many years after the county was settled. During the early ‘70s quite a number of beaver were trapped by the settlers along Beaver Creek in the township of the same name. A pioneer settler of the precinct tells me that at the mouths of the many deep holes, which are a feature of the stream, these cunning animals would cut down the willows and build formidable dams within a few days if unmolested. The local press, in the fall of 1876, reported Rock River lined with implements of destruction for the taking of the valuable pelts.From the Herald, Oct. 21, 1876: ‘An ancient and respectable family of beaver that have dammed the river above Rolfe’s ranch and made extensive preparations for passing the winter in quiet comfort are soon to be called on to furnish material for warm caps, collars, etc., while their paddle shaped caudal appendages will be made to yield delicious soup for R. Douglass, who has had an eye to their movements for some weeks.’ Beaver were taken along this stream up into the ‘80s. In the spring of 1885 ‘Rattlesnake Dick,’ a well known trapper of the frontier, stopped in Luverne and reported that from the preceding November he had taken more than 70 beaver between the mouth of Rock River and Luverne. In 10 days he took 18 of the animals between the village and Darling’s ford."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.

PROBATE COURTDISTRICT COURT—COUNTY COURTPROBATE DIVISIONORDER AND NOTICE OF HEARING FOR FORMAL PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE IN SUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION AND NOTICE TO CREDITORSSTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF ROCKIn Re: Estate ofMabel Bakke aka Mable Bakke, DeceasedTO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND CREDITORS:It is Ordered and Notice is hereby given that on the 12th day of July, 2004, at 9:00 O’clock A.M., a hearing will be held in the above named Court at Rock County Courthouse, Luverne, Minnesota, for the formal probate of an instrument purporting to be the will of the above named deceased, dated, July 30, 1998, and for the appointment of Arlene Johnson, whose address is 2316 Fairway Circle, Pearland, Texas 77581, as personal representative of the estate of the above named decedent in supervised administration, and that any objections thereto must be filed with the Court. That, if proper, and no objections are filed, said personal representative will be appointed to administer the estate, to collect all assets, pay all legal debts, claims, taxes and expenses and sell real and personal property, and do all necessary acts for the estate. Upon completion of the administration, the representative shall file a final account for the allowance and shall distribute the estate to the persons thereto entitled as ordered by the Court, and close the estate. Notice is further given that ALL CREDITORS having claims against said estate are required to present the same to said personal representatives or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this notice or said claims will be barred. Dated: June 22, 2004 /s/ Timothy K. ConnellTimothy K. ConnellDistrict Court Judge/s/ Douglas E. Eisma /s/ Sandra L. VrtacnikDouglas E. Eisma Sandra L. VrtacnikAttorney for Petitioner Court AdministratorEisma and Eisma130 East Main, Box 625Luverne, MN 56156(507)283-4828I.D. #158343(6-24, 7-1)

Law Library 9:00 AMRock County Courthouse June 08, 2004Vice Chair Hoime called the meeting to order with Commissioners Bakken, Boyenga and Wildung present and Commissioner Jarchow absent. The County Board observed a moment of silence in observance in the passing of past President Ronald Reagan. Motion by Boyenga, seconded by Bakken, to approve the following consent agenda items, declared carried on a voice vote. 1. FSA Contract #12-1644-04 with Avera McKennan to provide mental health emergency holds and commitments to adults. Contract effective 5-01-04 to 12-31-04.2. Day Care Relicensing – Sandra Mulder3. Out of state travel authorization to attend canine training in Wisconsin4. Southwest Regional Solid Waste Commission CY 2005 due - $400.005. Resolution No. 19-04, a rural water split on parcel #11-0215-000 located in the SW 1/4 of 29-10-466. Resolution No. 20-04, a rural waste split on parcel #06-0076-000 located in the SE 1/4 of 13-102-45.Motion by Bakken, seconded by Boyenga, to approve the May 18, 2004 County Board minutes, declared carried. Land Management Office Director Eric Hartman and Assistant Director Doug Bos presented a discussion regarding recycling. The County Board directed that the Solid Waste Committee work with the Land Management Office on recycling options.Hartman and Bos also presented (2) conditional use permits for New Horizon Farms for a feedlot expansion; motion by Bakken, seconded by Boyenga, to authorize the conditional use permits with the approval from the County Attorney for state permit concerns, declared carried on a voice vote. Motion by Boyenga, seconded by Bakken, to authorize (2) conditional use permits for SeaWest Windpower located in NE 1/4 of Section 28 and the SE 1/4 of Section 9 of Mound Township, declared carried on a voice vote. Gloria Rolfs, Auditor/Treasurer, presented the claims and Per Diems of $280.00; motion by Wildung, seconded by Bakken, to approve the claims and per diems, declared carried on a voice vote. A complete listing of the claims is available by request at the Auditor/Treasurer’s office. General $ 28,929.38LEC .00Road & Bridge 57,015.36Welfare 83,325.26Landfill 9,427.32TOTAL $178,697.32Motion by Bakken, seconded by Wildung, to approve the fund balance report, declared carried on a voice vote.The Auditor/Treasurer reported that the 2004 appropriations of $43,950.00 would be paid as well; these items have previously been approved for payment in the budget process. Motion by Boyenga, seconded Wildung, to allow the Auditor/Treasurer to maintain the dollars as an agency account to FSA for the Rock County Collaborative, declared carried on a voice vote.Terri Ebert, Dispatch Supervisor, requested to contract with Elert & Associates for assistance in the 911 system upgrades and radio communications equipment associated with the Homeland Security grant award; motion by Wildung, seconded by Boyenga, to approve the service contract with Elert & Associates, declared carried on a voice vote.The County Board was informed that the Business After Hours meeting will be held on June 15th @ 5:30 PM – 7 PM at the Rock County Law Enforcement Center. Dave Smith, Director of the Chamber of Commerce stated that the US Highway 75 Scenic By-Way designation had been approved and funding had been received and that new signage would be posted along he highway throughout Rock County.Mr. Smith also stated that the Chamber and Sioux Valley Hospital are working on a Blue Trail marketing campaign in placing maps and mileage markers on the trail.The Chamber is also marketing a new theme for Luverne entitled "Minnesota’s Prairie Playground."Motion by Boyenga, seconded by Bakken, to adopt Resolution No. 18-04, a resolution to advance encumbrance of township bridge funds, declared carried on a voice vote. Motion by Wildung, seconded by Bakken, to authorize the Engineer to conduct project lettings for overlays and bridge construction, declared carried on a voice vote. The County Board was informed of a public meeting regarding the Excel Energy distribution lines on June 10th from 3:00PM – 8:00PM at the Rock County Community Library.The County Board was invited to participate in a tour of the Minwind Energy wind tower turbines in the southwest corner of the county on June 29th @ 7:00PM at the wind tower site.The County Board received distribution entitled "Creating a More Effective Board;" it was determined to discuss the items at the next meeting so Commissioner Jarchow could be present.The County Board was in receipt of the Rural Conservation Development project list for 2004; no action was taken.Rock County and Jackson County were informed that they had received a FEMA Planning Grant of $20,000 through the Regional Development Commission. The plan is necessary for any hazard mitigation project to be funded through FEMA.The County Board received a request to have one commissioner attend a meeting with Sioux Valley Hospital regarding the surround property around the hospital complex; after discussion, it was determined that Commissioner Boyenga would represent the county along with Administrator Oldre. The County Board was informed that Walter Kopp had resigned as the Municipalities Representative to the RCD for Rock County and that the SRDC was working in filling that vacancy.The County Board was in receipt of a draft of the Energy Task Force Joint Powers agreement for review and will be discussed at a future meeting.The County Board was informed that the SRDC Annual meeting will be July 8th, 3:00PM with dinner to follow at Key Largo Ballroom located on Lake Shetek. The County Board was also informed that the County/City sub-committee will be meeting June 15th in the basement of the Rock County Community Library. Commissioner Bakken informed the County Board that he had attended a Lewis & Clark meeting in Sioux Falls and had found that meeting to be very informational.Commissioner Hoime stated that he had attended an Extension meeting to discuss regional Extension meetings which will support getting together on a regional basis. With no further business to come before the board, the meeting was declared adjourned.Ken Hoime, Vice Chair to the BoardATTEST:Kyle J. Oldre, Clerk to the Board(6-24)

ORDINANCE NO. 265, THIRD SERIESAN ORDINANCE RELATING TO FIREWORKS, AMENDING CITY CODE SECTION 10.10, SUBDIVISION 5 BY ADDING PARAGRAPHS (5) A AND (5) B AND ADOPTING BY REFERENCE CITY CODE CHAPTER 10 AND SECTION 10.99 WHICH, AMONG OTHER THINGS, CONTAIN PENALTY PROVISIONSTHE CITY OF LUVERNE DOES HEREBY ORDAIN: SECTION 1. Section 10.10, Subd. 5, is hereby amended by adding Paragraph A and B to read as follows: A. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Chapter to the contrary, any retail seller who has obtained a permit from the City for the sale of fireworks as prescribed in Minnesota Statute 624.20 shall be allowed to display and sell the classes and types of fireworks permitted under the statutes. B. The City Clerk shall determine the form of the permit allowing the display and sale of fireworks by a retail seller operating within the municipal boundaries of the City. The fee for such permit shall be Three Hundred Fifty Dollars ($350.00) annually as provided for under Minnesota Statute 624.40. No retail seller may display or offer for sale any fireworks until such retail seller has obtained a permit from the City Clerk and paid the permit fee. SEC. 2. This ordinance shall take full force and effect seven (7) days after its publication. (6-24)

NOTICE OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALETHE RIGHT TO VERIFICATION OF THE DEBT AND IDENTIFICATION OF THE ORIGINAL CREDITOR WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY LAW IS NOT AFFECTED BY THIS ACTION. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN: That default has occurred in the conditions of the mortgage dated August 12, 1999, executed by Jared H. Petersen and Heather Petersen, husband and wife, as mortgagors, to Heritage Bank. N.A., as mortgagee, recorded in the office of the County Recorder of Rock County, on August 13, 1999 as Document No. 146170, which mortgage conveyed and mortgaged the following described property, situated in the County of Rock and State of Minnesota: The East 71.1 feet of Lot 2 in Block 14 in Barck, Adams and Howe’s Addition to the Village (now City) of Luverne, Rock County, Minnesota.That said mortgage was assigned, by written assignment, recorded in the office of the County Recorder of Rock County, Minnesota as follows:Assignor: Heritage Bank, N.A.Assignee: Minnesota Housing Finance Agency That the original principal amount secured by said mortgage was $49,450.00; that there has been compliance with any condition precedent to acceleration of the debt secured by said mortgage and foreclosure of said mortgage required by said mortgage, any note secured thereby, or any regulation or statute; that no action or proceeding has been instituted at law to recover the debt remaining secured by said mortgage, or any part thereof; that there is claimed to be due upon said mortgage and is due thereon at the date of this notice, the sum of $47,323.90.That by virtue of the power of sale contained in said mortgage, the said mortgage will be foreclosed by the sale of the above described premises with the hereditaments and appurtenances, which said sale will be made by the Sheriff of Rock County, Minnesota, at the west steps of the Law Enforcement Center in the City of Luverne, in said County on August 13, 2004, at 10:00 AM, at public auction to the highest bidder, to pay the amount then due on said mortgage, together with the costs of foreclosure, including attorneys’ fees as allowed by law, in accordance with the provisions of said mortgage. The time allowed by law for redemption by the mortgagors or the personal representatives or assigns of the mortgagors is 6 months from the date of said sale.THIS COMMUNICATION IS FROM A DEBT COLLECTOR ATTEMPTING TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION WILL BE USED FOR THIS PURPOSE.DATED: June 24, 2004Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, assignee of the MortgageMACKALL, CROUNSE & MOORE P.L.C.By: Timothy D. MoratzkaAtty. No. 75036Attorneys for Minnesota Housing Finance Agency1400 AT&T Tower901 Marquette Ave. S.Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402(6-24, 7-1, 7-8, 7-15, 7-22, 7-29)

I just read a recent Luverne Star Herald and in the editorial section was a letter on the subject of oil prices and I felt I needed to respond to this. The writer was trying to tie in the price of oil with other products and in turn, rationalize the price of gas. The products that were mentioned were shelf products like Snapple drinks, Lipton tea, Ocean Spray, Gatorade, etc., pertaining to their cost. Now, these are all products that are bought by impulse or choice. They’re products you can walk away from with a certain amount of discipline and it won’t affect your dollar one way or another. Now with the price of oil and continued threat of higher prices, this can affect your dollar if it continues to record levels. Oil prices are the beginnings and ends to inflation, it starts or tames inflation, it affects world governments to the lowest form of government, the family.The letter goes on to say how the price of gas in Europe is $4.35 a gallon and we should feel lucky we have half the price. Here is where we all need a break! European markets don’t compare here. Their form of transportation is more subtle, like perhaps bikes, motor bikes and other similar styles. It is this form of tradition that most Europeans are not outraged at the price of gas or the outrage is measurably minimized. Bottom line, rising oil prices hurts the dollar and is a tool for inflation. These are confiscatory rates and everyone is affected by it. To think otherwise you have to be heavily invested in oil futures. We don’t need to make excuses for the price of oil and we don’t need to encourage it by trying to classify it. John HonermannMagnolia