By Lori EhdeThe Luverne School District budget outlook is more dismal than anticipated, according to information presented at Thursday’s School Board meeting.With $375,000 shortfall projected by next year, Luverne School Board members have their work cut out for them in coming budget discussions.District Financial Officer Marlene Mann has been revising the $8 million budget over the past several weeks, and warned board members that they have difficult decisions on the horizon."No matter what you touch, it will affect people and their lives and what they love to do," Mann said.She pointed to several factors causing financial problems for the district.oEnrollment decreased by 25 students since Christmas. That represents a loss of more than $100,000 in per pupil aid from the state.oTo balance its own budget, the state is withholding and metering 20 percent of promised aid. oMeanwhile the Legislature budgeted no new money for education in the past two years, and is projecting less money in 2004-05.oThe second year of teacher labor contracts negotiated last fall have increases in salaries and benefits representing roughly $180,000.oTypical expenditures, such as heating, lighting, cooling, transportation, water, snow removal, etc., continue to increase.For example, when fuel prices increase 40 to 50 cents per gallon, that adds up for the Luverne district, which puts 250,000 to 300,000 miles on its vehicles.oFederal laws, such as No Child Left Behind, and more stringent state standards are increasing costs for new curriculum, new tests, instructional materials and staff development.All totaled, a $375,000 shortfall presents a bleak budget picture for Luverne, Mann said."We need to balance the budget in order to project a budget for 2005-06," she said."It’s not a very good outlook."Superintendent Vince Schafer said the board had several options — none of them popular — for addressing the district’s $375,000 anticipated shortfall.oReduce class sections (which would increase the number of students per class), program offerings and services in grades k-12.oReduce administration district-wide, which means performing the same work with fewer people.oReduce activities, including the number of events, which decreases costs of mileage and etc.oGo to the voters this fall with the questions of increasing the operating levy, which is currently at $400 per pupil."We’d all like to keep everything the same," Schafer said, "but I think we’ve got some real work cut out for us."Board member Cary Radisewitz suggested educating the community early on in the process."I think it’s important as a board that we involve everyone — the whole community – on this," Radisewitz said."We need a planned approach to this thing, or we’re going to have a mob mentality when you start cutting programs."Schaefer said he hoped that effective communication would garner public support."This community has had a school of quality for many years," he said. "And we’d like to maintain a school of quality for years to come."Board member Steve Tofteland suggested putting another referendum to voters for approval. "If this is all really important to the community — if they really feel strongly about it — let them support it with their vote," Tofteland said.Mann said that even if voters did approve a referendum on the fall ballot, the revenue won’t be available until the following year, so the board still needs to go through the process of making cuts.In other business:oThe board heard a presentation from business teacher Diana Erickson on the Business Education Department in the district.She presented the information using voice recognition software, which typed her words in a document on an overhead projector as she spoke them.Under Erickson’s direction, students learn word processing, computer science, computer applications (including PowerPoint), personal finance, and general business.In addition, students have opportunity to participate in an internship program with local businesses.oThe board heard an update on the Hills-Beaver Creek special education bill of $55,865 owed to the Luverne District.H-BC had requested an audit of the bill, specifically to see if the statements accurately reflect services rendered.An audit conducted by the Southwest South-central Service Cooperative revealed that H-BC actually owes $225 more than the original statement reflected.oThe district received a certificate from the Minnesota Department of Employee Relations that it’s in compliance with pay equity requirements.oChris Nowatzki was named head boys and girls golf coach at $3,906 and John Oksness was hired as assistant boys and girls golf coach at $2,580.oIsaac Schmidt was approved as volunteer baseball coach.

By Lori EhdeTarzan, the Rock County patrol dog, hit on a major supply of methamphetamines last week during a check of an abandoned vehicle.Two pounds of meth with a street value of more than $10,000 were found Wednesday, March 24, on a gravel road in Kanaranzi Township.It was the second major drug seizure in Rock County in less than a week. It follows the arrest of Erick Flores, Bigelow, in Luverne on March 19 when he delivered 2 1/2 pounds of meth to an undercover BCA officer.According to Tarzan’s handler, Deputy Ken Baker, both the March 19 and March 24 cases are connected to a Washington suspect, 24-year-old Sergio Fuentes, Mesa, Wash.A license check on a 1987 Ford van with two flat tires traced the vehicle to Fuentes, whom Baker knew to be a supplier and a brother to Flores .Knowing the van belonged to Fuentes, Baker decided to initiate a K9 narcotics sniff of the exterior."Tarzan alerted to the presence of narcotic odors at the seam of the rear doors as well as at the lower seam of the passenger-side cargo doors," Baker said. "That gave us probable cause to conduct an interior narcotics sniff."He said it didn’t take long for Tarzan to detect narcotic odors."He immediately went to the third row rear seat of the van and tried to crawl up under the seat," Baker said.When he opened the back doors of the van, he said Tarzan picked up a piece of green cellophane.Recognizing the plastics as a common form of narcotics packaging, Baker kenneled Tarzan to search the seat by hand.When he looked up under the seat cushion, Baker said he could see two packages inside the seat cushion, between the foam and the springs."It was in a place where we wouldn’t have found it without Tarzan," Baker said. "You had to be in just the right place looking up under the seats to see it."One was wrapped in green cellophane, and the other was wrapped in green cellophane with an additional layer of duct tape around it.Considering local law enforcement typically arrests local users with quarter ounces of meth, a 2-pound seizure is significant."It was a tremendous find," Baker said. "There’s two pounds of meth that would have never been discovered without help from a dog."He said Tarzan was rewarded with some play time, since finding drugs is associated with finding a toy during canine training."When he’s looking for drugs, he’s acting like he’s looking for his toy," Baker said. Baker also recognized the importance of citizen involvement in this case, in addition to cooperation from Rock County and surrounding law enforcement.A rural Rock County resident had stopped at the Sheriff’s Department for a burn permit on March 24 when he also mentioned the van near his place."It’s ironic how it worked out, because he was embarrassed about even mentioning something so minor, but I told him something small like this can sometimes yield big things."According to the County Attorney’s Office, Fuentes is in custody of federal officials awaiting trial in U.S. District Court, Minneapolis. The March 24 meth seizure will be added to the March 19 felony drug possession charges."It’s just great work by Ken," said Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt. "That’s just a ton of meth to us — even to the BCA and the Feds."The driver of the van remains unknown, and Baker said they’re still looking for information on that person, even though it’s likely he or she wasn’t aware the drugs were in the vehicle."Obviously we’d like to know where they were going with the van and what they were doing in that area," Baker said."If nothing else, there are 2 pounds of meth that won’t make it to the street."

By Sara StrongRock County Auditor Treasurer Gloria Rolfs finished sending out property tax statements last week.All Rock County residents should have them by now, and will be able to see the division of where their property tax dollars are going. Rolfs said it’s too difficult and varied by specific property to generalize how the statements break down.But Luverne residents examining their statements may be a little alarmed to see their city tax portion increase by as much as 30 percent or more in some cases.Their overall bill will probably be just a slight increase, but Luverne’s line item within that total tax will appear large.The city’s budget didn’t increase by as much as its property taxes did. The city just levied more than usual to make up for what it lost in state funding.The city’s local collection was $718,031 in 2003, up from $534,000 the previous year.The city had no increases in its levies for the two previous years, however. The increase was mostly due to state funding cuts, with the actual city budget remaining almost constant. Total governmental budget for the city is about $3.5 million.The city is actually collecting from the taxpayers about what it did in 2000, which was $725,268.During the budget-setting season the city cut personnel and some services, but residents came out to say they didn’t want city operations to change much.Since 2003, management salaries are down $170,000 because of staff cuts and reorganization, for example. The city also started new fees for street lights and fire hydrants to all properties.Still, the city levied the maximum allowable by the state.That’s just what the county did as well.On the county side of the property taxes, it levied $3,485,876, the maximum allowed by the state. Even so, it is nearly $13,000 less than last year’s levy, $3,498,433.The county operates on a $10 million budget. That reflects the maximum allowable local levy of $2,686,427.The rest of the budget is state and federal funding for things such as Family Services or Rock County Highway Department, which just passes through the county.On the Luverne school line item, taxpayers may notice a decrease in their payment. Luverne schools levied $1.49 million. Again, that was the maximum levy amount allowed by the state, but it represents a decrease of $63,306 from the previous year’s levy.Other cities and townships will mean different payment breakdowns for all property taxpayers, but the forms explain the collections.

By Sara StrongThe city of Luverne is close to reaching a deal with a Sioux Falls company to expand in the former Tri-State Insurance building — creating as many as 150 to 200 new jobs.City Councilman David Hauge said Tuesday, "This is just what we need."Total Card Inc. is considering purchasing the building for $500,000.Tuesday the Luverne Economic Development Authority and the Luverne City Council met in emergency meetings to approve a purchase offer, which means negotiations will still continue.LEDA Director Dan Statema said, "There are a lot of ‘i’s to dot and ‘t’s to cross as of yet, but this is the first step."Next month there will be a public hearing on the property sale, and the council, EDA and staff will look closer at TCI’s financials in the meantime.Closing on the sale could be as soon as April 13, and the business could open in July."There are things we need to do to satisfy our due diligence," City Administrator Greg LaFond said.He said getting personal guarantees from major company players is something the city should request.TCI is a credit card company that includes sales, processing, collections and marketing in its scope of work.Statema said the information is so far just an overview of what’s to come. "There will be significantly more documentation and language coming," he said.The city will also have to get approval for the building to become a part of the Job Opportunity Building Zone, which will require swapping of land on the south and west of Luverne. JOB Zones allow for certain tax breaks for new or expanding businesses in certain geographic areas of Minnesota.LaFond said, "This indicates that JOB Zones can work. … I’m very happy for the city today."City staff felt the recent advertising campaign drawing attention to Luverne helped this deal get started.LaFond said the city council’s policies on economic development allowed staff to recruit this sort of potential business.The Tri-State building has been vacant since January 2003 when the company relocated. At that time, there were 109 employees at that location.Agreement so farNegotiations with TCI started only last week, so things are moving quickly for the city.More specifics will be worked out before the sale is approved at a public meeting, with council approval.On paper, the purchase price is actually $700,000. It was most recently appraised at closer to $1 million.The city would finance a mortgage of $500,000 for 20 years at 4.5 percent interest. The remaining $200,000 would be a loan at no interest, which would be forgivable if the company retains 150 employees in loan years three through 10.There is no word yet on wages employees would earn.Other parts of the proposal include:oThe city will provide a loan of $150,000 for roof and other repairs. (The city is looking into ways it can protect this investment if it has to buy the building back before the end of the agreement.)oThe state of Minnesota will provide a $500,000 telecommunications grant for the purchase and installation of communication systems in the facility.oThe city of Luverne will provide a $250,000 loan at 4 percent for the purchase of furniture and equipment to be installed at the office. oThe city of Luverne will provide a training grant of $24,000. In addition, the city will provide training reimbursement of $100 per employee for up to 200 employees who remain at TCI for 90 days.oThe city is providing electric service to the business at a discounted rate for up to three years.oThe city will provide additional employee incentives through reduced residential lot prices, relocation grants and reduced membership fees at the Pool and Fitness Center.oThe city of Luverne commits to working with TCI, to establish a child care facility in the immediate area of the business for employees of TCI and others in the area.

Nathan McAmis hits the high notes that got him the prize money at Sharkee’s karaoke contest. By Sara StrongAbove the din of local gossip and alcohol-induced laughter, a heartfelt love song gets notice.Nathan McAmis’s version of the Journey hit, "Faithfully," cut through the smoke-filled barroom and earned him $300 in the Sharkee’s karaoke contest last Thursday.The night brought six finalists to the stage, after qualifying through a couple months of competition.McAmis said, "I figured to win, I should do something challenging."He chose the song because it has some difficult high notes, which he thought might win him points with judges.McAmis first signed up for the competition at the urging of some friends, but the idea of prize money was also tempting."It’s a fluke I’m even here," he said. "One of my students’ older brothers made me go up, and I’ve been here ever since."He’s like most who do karaoke — just for fun and because they like to sing and entertain.As someone who earned his way through college in a band, McAmis isn’t shy about being on stage, and was happy with the cash prize. … But that doesn’t mean he’s about to scrap his Ellsworth music teacher job to become a karaoke hustler."I secretly dislike karaoke," he said. "Yet it’s fun to sing different songs and different types of music. It’s kind of like a little test of imitation."Thursday’s judge, Sue Bruynes, said performances were judged on mainly three things: difficulty of the selection, how well the participant performed the selection, and stage presence. "I liked the fact that they all sang different types of music and it was a hard decision to choose who I thought was best," Bruynes said.She ultimately decided on McAmis because of the difficulty of his song, and the vocal strength it took to perform it."They were all great, though, and should be commended for getting up there and showing their stuff," she said.Second-place winner was Jim Berdahl, who took home $200, and third place winner was Mike Kinsinger who got $100.Other finalists were Steph Knips, April Gangestad and Dana Smeins.Berdahl performed "Rapper’s Delight," because it’s a challenge, he said. But he likes other types of music and performing, too. "I just enjoy singing," he said.It’s like singing with the radioGene Elrod from Dakota Entertainment provided DJ services for the night.He said, "Sharkee’s is a great place to do this. … You guys have a lot of awesome singers."Unfortunately, not everyone can be "awesome." Bartender Jesse Johnson works Thursdays, the standard karaoke night at Sharkee’s. He said he’s heard as many bad songs as good.Johnson said during a particularly painful rendition of a popular rock song, "This guy just doesn’t seem to get it. He sings about 10 songs a night."Patrons around the bar shake their heads or roll their eyes during the bad songs, but almost everybody gets a round of applause.If the karaoke participants aren’t particularly talented, Elrod does a little more singing of his own. He also sings more when people are shy about stepping up to the mike."The equivalent of karaoke is singing in your car," he said. "That’s kind of how I got started."Dakota Entertainment, Sioux Falls, does about seven shows a night, so its DJs have seen almost everything.Elrod’s list of least-favorites include: Meatloaf’s "Paradise by the Dashboard Light," Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock’s "Picture," and The B-52’s "Love Shack."One of the absolute worst Elrod remembers was someone singing "Welcome to the Jungle." As if it wasn’t difficult enough to match Guns ‘N Roses’ front man Axel Rose, the stage presence of the singer was more than Elrod could tolerate."His running around and jumping on tables put the nail in the coffin. … But I don’t critique singers because I was there."He said Rock County’s karaoke crowd has gotten better over time."People have developed their talent. It’s not that they were horrible before, but they worked on it," he said.Karaoke contests draw out the good and bad singers, but they definitely draw a crowd. Most weeks, at least one of the area bars has a karaoke night.

By Jolene FarleyRobert Hanson, a 1964 graduate of Hills High School, is conducting the South Dakota Symphony Chamber Orchestra in concerts around the area. He is the son of Jean Hanson and the late Roy Hanson. Jean now lives in Sioux Falls, S.D.Hanson has a 30-year career as the music director of the Elgin Symphony Orchestra in Elgin, Ill. This is his third time as a guest conductor in the area. He conducted the South Dakota Symphony last year and before that the Sioux Empire Youth Symphony.In late April, he will be inducted into the Fox Valley Arts Hall of Fame. He is a former music professor at Elgin Community College. He founded the Elgin Area Youth Orchestra, the Elgin Community College Conservatory and the Institute for the Performing Arts.After graduating from Hills, Hanson attended Augustana College for two years while playing in the Municipal Band and playing music in church in Hills.He attended the University of Minnesota and later joined the army.He taught public school near Chicago for three years before he went back to college and earned a doctorate in music from Northwestern University.Remember when …Hanson said being the guest conductor of the South Dakota Symphony Chamber Orchestra is special to him."I get to come home and stay with my mom, see my relatives and see old friends," Hanson said. His mother, Jean, now lives in Sioux Falls.Hanson drove through Hills on his way to Sioux Falls this time. "I just took a jaunt, went through the old neighborhood. It’s very nostalgic."Hanson’s grandfather used to own the Hills Crescent so many of his childhood memories are centered on this publication. As a youth, he worked in the office handsetting type, working with the press and other jobs."So many of my memories are very family orientated," he said. "The church was very important, a very important part of my musical upbringing."He remembers Hills band instructor Earl Colgon as a positive influence on his musical education. Colgon pulled the band together with "amazing results," according to Hanson.Hanson said he is grateful for growing up in a small town. "Everything was so safe, we had the run of the town, our parents never worried," he said.Musical backgroundBoth of Hanson’s parents played musical instruments and there may have been some professional musicians further back in the family tree, according to Hanson. Hanson’s interest in music started when he was very young. He began taking piano lessons from a minister’s wife. "I think I started when I was four or five," he said. "I never really considered anything else as a career." "Music was just something I always did … When the favorite thing you do is your work, you’re incredibly lucky," he said."The whole town of Hills was so incredibly supportive of any talent that came through the town. It was a very nurturing environment to grow up in." "You felt encouraged to go on, dream and reach your goals."Writing musicHanson has written music since he was a child. In addition to his job as music director, he composes music on commission and is paid for his passion.Sometimes it is easy to write music, sometimes it isn’t, according to Hanson."Usually you just need a kernel of three or four notes to get yourself going," he said. He was recently commissioned to put a 94-year-old poet’s work to music."The words were very musical to me … so the notes just sort of flowed out," he said. "Very few composer’s compositions are divinely formulated from heaven. Writing a piece of music is work. … You don’t know if your music is going to last, you do the best that you can, you write for the specific occasion."Hanson and the orchestra will perform at 7 p.m. Friday, April 2, at the Washington Pavilion, Sioux Falls,Hanson and his wife, Linda, have three daughters and three grandchildren. They live in Highland Park, Ill.

By Jolene FarleyWith housing, manufacturing and retail developments sprouting up ever closer to the city limits, Hills officials are trying to determine the direction of future growth for the city.The council has been exploring purchasing property on the northern edge of town for that purpose but it appears the property, owned by __??__ Kentfield, cannot be sold. "Our interest is to purchase it, to use for future expansion of the city," council member Dana Dahlquist said. Mike Sandager, who farms the ground in question, has been acting as a liaison between the council and the owner of the property. Sandager has a two-year contract to farm the acres.The land is already city tax based. The current city boundaries were drawn with the intention of city growth, according to the council.Sandager informed the council that the property was in a lifetime estate with the current owner legally unable to sell the property.Kentfield is a resident in a long-term care facility. Sandager has communicated via E-mail with her heirs, two children and an in-law. The heirs don’t want to see agricultural land developed, according to Sandager. They watched land gobbled up in their home state of Connecticut and don’t want to see it happen here."We’d like to have the property," Councilman Dana Dahlquist said. "But we’re not going to shove it down somebody’s throat to get our way. If they’re not willing, it will probably end right there."Since the purchase of the Kentfield property looks unlikely and the issue was tabled, the council will explore other options."We’re looking at trying to find some ground and it got tabled so we’re looking for some other options," council member Keith Elbers said.

By Jolene FarleyFans didn’t know what to expect from a benefit basketball game featuring the Keloland Almost Stars versus a Hills-Beaver Creek team at the high school gym Monday.The game ended with a tied score of 171, but the scores were not attained by traditional basketball scoring rules. Fun and bending the rules was the name of the game for the evening."They just do this to have fun and raise money for whatever organization," Linda Bosch said.Bosch and other junior parents from the After Prom committee invited the KELO Almost Stars to Hills. The evening raised more than $1,200 for the After Prom group.Some of the antics during the evening included a purse planted in the stands next to Hills Mayor Jim Jellema and his wife, Marilyn. The crowd found the items in Jim’s purse a little racy — a pair of boxer shorts with a heart pattern and a negligee top.Later in the evening, a recording was played over the sound system about Almost Star player Scott Mundt. The recording was meant to mimic the "thoughts" in someone’s head about how "dreamy" Mundt is. The referee made Erin Boeve stand up, and he tried to attribute those "thoughts" to Boeve. Throughout the evening, fans were grabbed from the audience to shoot free throws and participate in the game.The Almost Stars distributed KELO cups and basketballs and signed autographs for fans.The Spotlight Dancers performed at halftime, along with the Hills-Beaver Creek Danceline. Announcer for the event was Dan LaRock, Hills.

By John RittenhouseThree members of the Ellsworth High School boys’ basketball team received postseason honors from the Camden Conference last week.Ellsworth, which placed second in the conference with a 10-4 record, drew three of the league’s 13 All-CC Team selections.Along with making the all-conference team, senior Curt Schilling was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and Free-Throw champion (86-100) for the 2003-04 campaign.Senior guard Adam Sieff and senior forward Todd Alberty also made the All-CC Team.League champion Canby picked up four All-CC selections in Jeremy Blackwelder, Andy Nefstead, Kevin Peterson and Joe Miller.Russell-Tyler-Ruthton matched Ellsworth with three selections. Brett Newton, Brooks Newton and Kyle Minett made the team for the Knights.Lakeview’s Tyler Jeseritz, Dawson-Boyd’s Tim Cariveau and Lincoln HI’s Brock Citterman round out the roster.Ellsworth seniors Tom Janssen and Lee Farrell are honorable mention selections to the All-CC team.Final standings: Canby 13-1, Ellsworth 10-4, R-T-R 9-5, D-B 9-5, LH 8-6, Lakeview 3-11, Minneota 3-11, Lake Benton 1-13.