By Lori EhdeAfter 35 years with the Farm Service Agency, Roger Carlson, Luverne, still doesn’t think a retirement party is all that necessary.As far as he’s concerned, work has been a privilege, and he’s pretty sure the office will manage fine without him after he leaves at the end of the month."I feel I’ve tried to be fair and treat everyone equally," said Carlson, executive director of the Rock County FSA. "But I don’t expect a pat on the back for doing my job."The agency helps interested producers participate in programs offered through the federal government.For Carlson, it’s a job he’s enjoyed and a duty he’s taken seriously."I’m a federal employee. I’ll help any farmer as much as I can, but I’m not going break any rules," Carlson said. "I have an obligation to uphold … I’m a taxpayer, too."After completing his math degree at Augustana College, Carlson started with the Farm Service Agency on Dec. 1, 1969 as an office and field assistant.That was in the Murray County office in Slayton, not far from Chandler, where he grew up.His early work involved monitoring bin sites at different towns where the government stored grain. Later, his job was to sell that grain and close the sites when the program was discontinued.In 1975, he completed training to be an FSA manager, and in 1975, he was promoted to a management position in Park Rapids.Only 2 1/2 years later, he accepted the director’s position in Rock County, where he started in January 1978."It was beautiful country up there, but they’re into irrigation, potatoes, pintos and forestry," Carlson said. "It was all new to me, but I still had to be knowledgeable in those programs."While he enjoyed the learning experience and living in a county with 152 lakes, he said he was glad to be back in southwest Minnesota."Coming back to Rock County was like coming home to beans, hay and oats," he said. "I was more comfortable here. … I know we made the right choice by coming here."Twenty-six years later, Carlson said he’s had no regrets."I’ve enjoyed associating with all the good people here," he said. "I was born and raised on a farm, so I’ve enjoyed working with farmers."He mentioned winning the Federal Administrator’s Award in 1992 for service in agriculture as a highlight of his career. "To me, it meant a lot," he said. "That was the highest award they give in the agency."Carlson, now 58, was eligible to retire three years ago, but he said he wasn’t ready. "I was having too much fun," he said. "I really enjoyed my work."Plus, he could see big changes coming with the new Farm Bill and wanted to be here to facilitate that. "I figured, what’s one more challenge?" he said.Today, though, he’s ready. "The office is going to run fine without me," he said. "The girls can handle everything until they get my replacement."Harold Ver Steeg, vice chair of the FSA Rock County Committee, agreed with that statement."I think the county’s going to miss him, but through his leadership example, he’s left a really well-trained staff in the office," Ver Steeg said."Personally speaking, I’ll miss his professionalism and that he was always well-prepared."Because of a federal hiring freeze, the committee won’t start interviewing candidates for Carlson’s replacement until directed by Washington, D.C., officials to do so.Carlson’s open house retirement party will begin at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, in Howling Dog Saloon.

By Lori EhdeLab results on stool samples tested by the state confirm more than 30 local people got sick from eating at Subway in Luverne last month.According to information from the Minnesota Department of Health Tuesday, the illnesses were clearly caused by a virus in food consumed at Subway.More than 20 people in the claims department of Continental Western Group Tri-State Region, Luverne, got sick the next day after eating Subway food during a lunch meeting on Jan. 23.Many had to cancel weekend plans and some missed work the following Monday.Including the CWG people and Subway employees, at least 34 people who ate at Subway that day reported similar symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea and cramps.The owner of Luverne’s Subway, Jim Dreyden, Sioux Falls, said the people didn’t get sick from eating at Subway — that they could have come down with the virus that was going around.But Bonnie Frederickson, director of Nobles Rock Public Health said there was good reason to investigate these illnesses."It appears a bunch of people all got ill at the same time, and that’s why the investigation is linking it to a food-borne exposure of some kind," Frederickson was quoted as saying in the Feb. 5 Star Herald.Tests showed the illnesses weren’t caused by food poisoning, which is a toxin. Rather, health department officials categorize the outbreak as a food-borne illness.Tests show Subway patrons and employees got sick from a "norovirus," a highly communicable virus commonly transmitted by the hands of an infected food preparer.The same norovirus recently drew national attention for ruining a Carnival cruise for 300 people on Valentine’s Day.In Luverne’s case, the investigation found that a Subway worker had been sick with the virus two days prior to the outbreak, and another food worker reported a household member had similar symptoms.Three additional Subway food workers reported becoming ill between Jan. 25 and Jan. 28.According to the Health Department report, Subway employees were following procedure by washing their hands and wearing gloves while assembling sandwiches. However, they didn’t use gloves while preparing vegetables used to make the sandwiches.According to Nobles-Rock Public Health Sanitarian Jason Kloss, Subway Manager Shawn Beyers and his employees were cooperative in the investigation and eager to implement his recommendations."Since they’re ultra-sensitive to safety measures now, I would go so far as to say Subway is the safest place to eat in town," Kloss said."Subway isn’t alone in this type of risk. Every restaurant is at risk of having an ill person come to work. It just so happens for them, this incident arose."That’s little comfort, however, for Luverne’s Subway, which reports sales are down roughly 50 percent since the outbreak.Frederickson said her office handles an average of two such food-borne illness cases each year. "The big difference with this one," she said, " is that usually we get only two or three complaints. But in this case with the amount of people of who did get sick … most food-borne illnesses don’t have this notoriety."For more information on food-borne illnesses and current statistics, see www.health.state.mn.usClick on the main category, "diseases and conditions," and then on "food-borne illnesses."

By Sara StrongThe Rock County Board of Commissioners responded to the city of Luverne’s most recent contract proposals Tuesday.The two governments have disagreed for months on costs for shared contracts: Pool and Fitness Center, law enforcement, dispatch, and property assessing."In my mind," Commissioner Jane Wildung said, "we have a huge philosophical difference, and we aren’t going to come to terms with proposals until we come to an understanding of the philosophies."The County Board told the city that it wants to wait to discuss more proposals until the spring, when it will have a budget to work off of. Without talking about service cuts, the board said it didn’t want to start negotiating new prices for services.Wildung said, "It’s not as if the county is making a profit and transferring money to other departments."Commission Chair Bob Jarchow said, "We’ve got other things to do, to be honest with you."Instead of responding to the eight or so proposals from the city, Jarchow said, he’d rather deal with one contract at a time, and include service expectations. "We can’t get beyond the numbers so far," Jarchow said.First on that list of immediate contracts to negotiate is the assessing contract.The city has terminated its assessing contract with the county. It also requested proposals from assessing firms and individuals to make a contract offer to the city. The county is considering making an offer.New ethanol method Loren and Russell Forrest, rural Luverne, just got back from a 4,500-mile drive through 16 states to research a new method of ethanol production.Loren Forrest has spent three years researching a way to make ethanol without using corn kernels, instead using stover and silage (called biomass).He’s closer to getting final plans on a production plant he hopes to locate in Luverne."I’m not here asking for money from the county," he said to Rock County Commissioners Tuesday. He’s interested in the county helping him find grants and political support for the new catalytic conversion method. Now, ethanol is made through fermentation.Forrest said the product would be the same, but how it could be made is the difference."If this catches on, it’ll be fast," Forrest said.Commissioner Richard Bakken said he wished different grasses could be used.Bakken said, "If you can find a profitable market for grass, you can take marginal ground and plant anything, so long as it’s biomass."Forrest said that would be ideal, but for now, silage is a good start because he knows it will work.Forrest said that he’s also in favor of avoiding corn kernels for ethanol production because livestock feed prices wouldn’t increase as ethanol plants increase."I appreciate anything you can do to show support," Forrest said to the board.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls’ basketball team was unable to snap what now stands as a six-game losing streak after playing two Southwest Conference opponents on the road.Worthington toppled the Cardinals by 30 points Friday in Worthington. Luverne fell by 23 points in Windom Tuesday.Luverne, 4-17 overall, hosts Jackson County Central Friday before ending the regular season in Adrian Monday.Windom 71, Luverne 48The Cardinals remained in striking distance of the SWC opponent for three quarters before falling off the pace in the final eight minutes of play Tuesday in Windom.Luverne sported slim leads in the first five minutes of the first quarter before falling behind by five points (18-13) at period’s end.Windom led by seven (31-24) at the intermission and sported a 46-36 lead late in the third quarter when an Eagle stole an in-bounds pass and sank a three-point shot at the buzzer to make it 49-36. The late shot seemed to spark the hosts in the fourth quarter as they outscored LHS 22-12 to win by 23."We played well enough to hang around," said LHS coach Jason Phelps. "When they hit a three-point at the end of the third quarter, it really seemed to get us down."Maggie Kuhlman led the Cards with 16 points and three steals. Danielle Loosbrock swept 11 rebounds off the boards. Mindy Nieuwboer scored 11 points for LHS.Box scoreWilliams 0 0 0-0 0, Heitkamp 0 0 0-0 0, Boomgaarden 4 0 0-0 8, Nieuwboer 4 0 3-4 11, Snyder 1 0 0-0 2, Kuhlman 3 3 1-2 16, Stewart 0 0 0-0 0, Gacke 2 0 1-2 5, Loosbrock 3 0 0-0 6.Team statisticsLuverne: 20 of 53 field goals (38 percent), five of eight free throws (63 percent), 25 rebounds, 12 turnovers.Windom: 27 of 57 field goals (47 percent), 11 of 15 free throws (73 percent), 31 rebounds, eight turnovers.Worthington 63,Luverne 33A strong defensive performance by the home-standing Trojans set the stage for a 30-point victory over the Cardinals Friday in Worthington.Worthington’s pressure defense forced the Cardinals to cough the ball up 30 times in the first three quarters and 37 times in the game. The turnovers led to some easy baskets for the hosts in what ended as a convincing victory."You have to give Worthington credit because it has great athletes," said Cardinal coach Phelps. "I thought we could handle the ball against their pressure, but we were making what I consider to be early-season mistakes."The Trojans led 18-8 after eight minutes of play before going on a 22-5 run in the second quarter to open a 40-13 halftime advantage. Worthington outscored LHS 12-5 in the third quarter to take a 52-17 lead into the final eight minutes of play, when Luverne used a 16-11 scoring advantage to trim the final margin of Worthington’s victory to 30 points.Kuhlman led the Cards with seven points and four steals. Samantha Gacke pulled down eight rebounds for LHS.Box scoreWilliams 0 0 1-4 1, Heitkamp 0 0 0-0 0, Boomgaarden 1 0 0-0 2, Nieuwboer 2 0 0-0 4, Snyder 2 0 2-6 6, Peterson 0 0 0-0 0, Kuhlman 2 1 0-0 7, Stewart 2 0 0-0 4, Gacke 1 0 1-2 3, Evans 1 0 0-0 2, Loosbrock 1 0 2-2 4, VanDeBerg 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsLuverne: 13 of 45 field goals (29 percent), six of 14 free throws (43 percent), 25 rebounds, 37 turnovers.Worthington: 24 of 51 field goals (47 percent), 12 of 23 free throws (52 percent), 35 rebounds, 15 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys ended a three-game basketball slide by nipping Madison, S.D., 66-65 in Luverne Tuesday.The Cardinals fell behind by seven points in the first half only to rally and take a six-point lead in the fourth quarter.Madison bounced back to trail by one point in the game’s final minute, and it had a chance to win the game when Luverne missed a free throw with six seconds left in the game.The guests, however, missed a four-foot shot at the buzzer and lost the game by one point."Our kids needed a win like this and they found a way to get one," said Cardinal coach Tom Rops. "We hung in there and had a really good third quarter. I thought our kids that came off the bench came in and made some contributions for us."Madison led 17-11 after eight minutes of play and sported a 31-24 lead at the intermission.Luverne trimmed the difference to one point (50-49) by outscoring Madison 25-19 in the third period before using a 17-15 scoring edge in the fourth quarter to pull out the win.Brandon Deragisch led the Cards with 17 points, while Nick Heronimus chipped in 16 points and six assists. Jared Pick netted 11 points and led LHS with seven rebounds. John Tofteland charted four steals.The 9-11 Cards play in Jackson tonight before hosting Marshall Saturday.Box scorePick 3 0 5-8 11, Tofteland 1 1 0-2 5, Herman 3 0 0-0 6, Deragisch 2 4 1-2 17, S.Boelman 1 0 0-0 2, Heronimus 3 1 7-10 16, Lange 2 0 2-3 6, Stegemann 0 1 0-0 3.Team statisticsLuverne: 20 of 44 field goals (45 percent), 15 of 25 free throws (60 percent), 28 rebounds, nine turnovers.Madison: 26 of 41 field goals (63 percent), 11 of 15 free throws (73 percent), 20 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseA pair of convincing wins over the weekend gave the Ellsworth boys’ basketball team a seven-game winning streak.The Panthers coasted to a 46-point win over Lincoln HI in Ivanhoe Friday before posting a 22-point victory at Flandreau (S.D.) Indian School Saturday.Ellsworth, 18-6 overall, plays Edgerton Public in Edgerton Friday.Ellsworth 87, FIS 65Playing their second game in less than 24 hours didn’t seem to bother the Panthers when they traveled to Flandreau, S.D., Saturday.EHS outscored the Warriors in all four quarters of the game on the way to a 22-point victory.Ellsworth sported modest 22-16 and 45-35 leads at the first two quarter breaks before outscoring FIS 42-30 in the second half to win comfortably.The Panthers outscored the Warriors 22-16 in the third quarter to lead 67-51 before using a 20-14 scoring cushion in the fourth quarter to prevail by 20."We switched from a man-to-man defense to a 2-3 zone in the second half and it really got us moving," said Panther coach Ken Kvaale. "It was a pretty ragged game, but our guys held up pretty well for playing their second game in 18 hours."Curt Schilling, who passed for eight assists, led the Panthers with 29 points and 20 rebounds. Todd Alberty scored 21 points and collected 14 rebounds. Adam Sieff netted 14 points and distributed 10 assists. Tom Janssen scored 10 points and charted six assists, while Cody Schilling led the Panthers with three assists.Box scoreCr.Schilling 11 0 7-9 29, Janssen 2 1 3-4 10, Co.Schilling 2 0 1-2 5, Sieff 2 2 4-8 14, Alberty 8 0 5-9 21, Farrell 3 0 2-4 8.Team statisticsEllsworth: 57 percent field goals (totals were unavailable), 22 of 36 free throws (61 percent), 52 rebounds, 14 turnovers.Ellsworth 102, LH 56Curt Schilling passed another milestone and the Panthers surpassed the century mark in scoring during Friday’s 46-point win in Ivanhoe.Schilling, who needed two rebounds to reach 1,000 for his career, passed the mark when he nabbed 12 boards in the game. Schilling also pumped in 33 points to lead the Panthers to a win over a team that beat EHS in Ellsworth Jan. 20."We handled the ball pretty well against their press and made them pay for using it," said EHS coach Kvaale. "This was a game in which we started well and finished strong."The Panthers led 26-16 after eight minutes of play before outscoring LH 28-10 in the second period to open a 28-point (54-26) halftime lead. The difference was 35 points (76-41) after the third quarter and 46 points at game’s end.Lee Farrell scored 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for EHS. Alberty scored 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and Sieff added 20 points. Janssen chipped in 10 assists and seven steals to the winning effort.Box scoreCr.Scilling 11 0 11-12 33, Janssen 2 1 0-0 7, Co.Schilling 1 0 0-0 2, Sieff 1 4 6-8 20, Alberty 7 0 8-8 22, Herman 2 0 0-0 4, Klaassen 0 0 1-2 1, Farrell 3 0 7-7 13.Team statisticsEllsworth: 32 of 52 field goals (62 percent), 33 of 37 free throws (89 percent) 43 rebounds, nine turnovers.

Luverne junior wing Sadie Dietrich pokes at a puck that is smothered by LeSueur-Henderson-St. Peter goalie Brianna Thomas during the third period of Saturday’s Section 1A Girls’ Hockey Tournament quarterfinal game in Luverne. Dietrich scored a goal during a season-ending, 5-2 loss to the Bulldogs.By John RittenhouseLuverne was eliminated from the Section 1A Girls’ Hockey Tournament during a thrilling game played at the Blue Mound Ice Arena Saturday.The fourth-seeded Cardinals took on No. 5 LeSueur-Henderson-St. Peter in a contest that was up for grabs the entire night.The Bulldogs were clinging to a 3-2 lead late in the third period when they scored a pair of goals 13 seconds apart in the final minute to secure a 5-2 victory.With the win, L-H-SP advanced to Tuesday’s semifinals, where they played No. 1 New Prague at Gustavus-Adolphus College in St. Peter.Luverne’s 17-3-1 season comes to an end.The teams battled to a scoreless draw through the first 16 minutes of the first period before L-H-SP’s Casey Hanson skated past Luverne’s defensemen and netted a break-away goal with 55 seconds remaining in the stanza.Luverne battled back to knot the score at one when Natalie Domagala skated around the back of L-H-SP’s net before stuffing the puck into the net for an unassisted tally at the 14:58 mark of the second period.L-H-SP, however, netted a pair of goals before the second period was complete to gain a 3-1 advantage.Hanson received credit for a power-play goal at 11:54 when her slap shot deflected off the stick of a Luverne defender into the net. Hanson then set up Abby Aunderman’s goal with 2:36 left in period to make it a two-goal difference.Luverne got back into the game when Domagala set up a counter by Sadie Dietrich at the 11:11 mark of the third period.The Cards had some chances to tie the game as the third period progressed, but L-H-SP goalie Brianna Thomas, who made 35 saves in 37 attempts, didn’t let it happen.Bulldog Lyndsie Seaver iced the game by scoring a goal with 47 seconds left to play before adding an empty-net goal 13 seconds later.Luverne outshot the Bulldogs 37-26 in the game. Seventh-grader Sarah Schneekloth played well in net for LHS, stopping 21 of 25 shots she faced.

By John RittenhouseThe Adrian boys’ basketball team posted a pair of wins and a Dragon player reached a milestone during a successful two-game stretch.Adrian’s Kyle Knips notched his 1,000th career point during a 20-point home win over Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster Saturday. The Dragons topped Fulda by six points in Adrian Tuesday.The 14-4 Dragons play in Hills Friday and take on Southwest Christian in Edgerton Tuesday.Adrian 61, Fulda 55The Dragons rallied from a halftime deficit to best the Raiders by six points in Adrian Tuesday.Fulda sported 13-10 and 30-28 advantages at the first two quarter breaks, but the Dragons bounced back to outscore the Raiders 33-25 in the second half to sweep their annual series with the Raiders.A change of defensive tactics helped AHS outscore Fulda 17-7 in the third quarter to take a 45-37 lead. Fulda trimmed the difference to three points with 2:37 remaining before Adrian pulled away to win by six."The big thing was we outscored them 17-7 in the third quarter," said Dragon coach Chris Rozell. "We switched things up a little bit defensively, and we went on a run of our own."Kyle Knips poured in 33 points and grabbed six rebounds for the winners. Brandon Wolf contributed 11 assists and four steals to the cause. Casey Knips added six rebounds.Box scoreWolf 1 2 0-2 8, Block 3 0 0-0 6, Weidert 0 0 0-1 0, K.Knips 14 0 5-6 33, Brake 3 0 1-1 7, C.Knips 2 0 3-8 7.Team statisticsAdrian: 25 of 42 field goals (60 percent), nine of 16 free throws (56 percent), 22 rebounds, 13 turnovers.Fulda: 20 of 54 field goals (37 percent), five of five free throws (100 percent), 25 rebounds, 17 turnovers.Adrian 76, SV-RL-B 56AHS senior Kyle Knips scored his 1,000th career point to highlight Adrian’s 20-point home win over the Raiders Saturday.Knips needed 19 points to reach the 1,000-point mark heading into the game and got it when he scored from close range at the 3:27 mark of the third quarter.Knips, who scored six points as a freshman before becoming a starter for the Dragons as a sophomore, finished the game with a team-high 19 points.The Dragons had control of the game before Knips drained his milestone-reaching field goal.Adrian raced to a 29-9 lead in the first quarter and took a 21-point advantage (43-22) at the intermission after outscoring the Raiders 14-13 in the second period. The Dragons led by 23 points (61-38) at the end of three quarters of play before settling for a 20-point victory in the end."We came out and played well right away," said AHS coach Rozell. "We controlled the glass, and our posts dominated the game."Casey Knips scored 14 points and led the Dragons with eight rebounds in the game. Brett Block netted 16 points. Wolf passed for 10 assists and charted six steals.Box scoreWolf 1 2 0-1 8, Klaassen 2 0 1-2 5, Block 8 0 0-0 16, Engelkes 2 0 1-1 5, K.Knips 9 0 1-3 19, Brake 3 0 1-3 7, Stover 1 0 0-0 2, C.Knips 6 0 2-3 14.Team statisticsAdrian: 34 of 63 field goals (54 percent), six of 13 free throws (46 percent), 32 rebounds, seven turnovers.SV-RL-B: 18 of 44 field goals (41 percent), 16 of 20 free throws (80 percent), 23 rebounds, 15 turnovers.

Hills-Beaver Creek junior guard Cassi Tilstra puts up a jump shot in front of Adrian’s Kylie Heronimus (12) and Maria Gengler (40) during Monday’s girls’ basketball game in Hills. H-BC ended Adrian’s chances to gain a share of the Red Rock Conference title by besting the Dragons 48-41.By John RittenhouseHills-Beaver Creek ended any chances of Adrian repeating as the Red Rock Conference girls’ basketball champions by defeating the Dragons 48-41 in Hills Monday.Adrian, which needed to beat H-BC to remain one game back of Fulda in the RRC standings, was outscored 12-5 in the game’s final 3:09 by an H-BC team trying to gain momentum for postseason play.Adrian slips to 12-2 in league play, while Fulda, 15-0, clinches the RRC title.Monday’s game in Hills was tight from start to finish.Neither team led by more than one point in the first seven minutes of play, but H-BC scored four straight points with Stacy Bush draining a field goal with 58 seconds left in the first period to give H-BC a 9-6 cushion.Adrian’s Maria Gengler, who led all players with 15 points, converted a three-point play to tie the game at nine before Dragon Andrea Lonneman sank a field goal with 11 seconds left to give AHS an 11-9 edge at period’s end.H-BC moved in front 15-13 at the 4:58 mark of the second period when a 4-0 spurt ended with Cassi Tilstra connecting for a field goal. Adrian scored the final four points of the first half and led 17-15 when Sarah Kruger hit a shot with 50 seconds remaining in the second stanza.Kylie Heronimus gave Adrian its biggest lead of the game (20-17) when she drained a three-point shot at 5:57 of the third quarter, but H-BC countered with a 7-0 run capped by a field goal from Tilstra at 3:10 to give the Patriots a 24-20 cushion.Adrian answered with a six-point surge that ended with Gengler scoring from close range with 59 seconds left in the third quarter to give the Dragons a 26-24 edge. H-BC, however, outscored AHS 5-2 the rest of the period and led 29-28 when Bush hit a three-point shot with 43 seconds remaining in the stanza.H-BC extended its lead to three points twice in the early stages of the fourth quarter, but Adrian regained the lead at 34-33 with 3:51 remaining when Gengler converted a field goal.The score was tied at 36 when Kerri Fransman gave the Patriots the lead (39-36) with a three-point shot with 3:09 left to play. Adrian climbed to within two points (39-37) moments later, but H-BC outscored the Dragons 9-4 the rest of the way to prevail by seven.Erin Boeve, who led H-BC with 13 points, netted 10 counters in the decisive fourth quarter. Tilstra and Fransman scored 12 and 10 points for the winners.Gengler is the lone Dragon to reach double figures in scoring. Lonneman collected 11 rebounds.Box scoreAdrianHenning 1 0 0-0 2, Heronimus 3 1 0-0 9, Banck 0 0 0-0 0, Kruger 4 0 0-2 8, Cox 0 0 1-2 1, Lonneman 3 0 0-0 6, Gengler 6 0 3-5 15, Loosbrock 0 0 0-0 0H-BCRozeboom 0 0 0-4 0, Fransman 2 2 0-0 10, Bush 1 1 0-0 5, Sandstede 0 0 0-0 0, Tilstra 5 0 2-5 12, Boeve 5 0 3-5 13, Olson 2 0 2-3 6, Mulder 1 0 0-0 2.