Applications are now open for United Community Action Partnership’s Energy Assistance Program.
Renters and homeowners are encouraged to apply for the Energy Assistance Program, which helps eligible applicants pay a portion of home energy and heating costs. Households with young children, people with disabilities, veterans or seniors are especially encouraged to apply.
The Energy Assistance Program serves households that earn less than 50 percent of the state’s median annual income (Example: $49,698 for a family of four). It helps low-income homeowners and renters with heating bills through grant money paid directly to their utility companies or heating fuel vendors.
Crisis funding is available for those who are approved for energy assistance and facing a disconnection. Additional crisis funding is also available to renters and homeowners with past due water and sewer bills through our Water Assistance Program.
Applications are accepted up to May 31, 2023. Funding is limited and administered on a first-come, first-served basis.
To get an application visit UCAP’s website at www.unitedcapmn.org or call 320-235-0850.
United Community Action Partnership‘s mission is to eliminate poverty by empowering individuals and strengthening communities.

Mental Illness Awareness Week is Oct. 3-8. It’s a time to raise awareness of mental illnesses, fight discrimination and provide support to people whose lives have been impacted.
This year it takes on significant importance because so many people are experiencing poor mental health due to the impact of the pandemic. Anxiety and depression have increased dramatically. We can see the angst in our community people with short tempers or who are easily frustrated.
Mental illnesses are common – one in five people are affected – so the time has come to talk openly about them so that people seek care early when it can be most effective. It’s also important to remember that it is a young person’s illness, with 50 percent emerging by age 14 and 75 percent by age 24.
Mental health, like health, is a continuum. There is good mental health, poor mental health and then mental illnesses.
While there are many things we can do to maintain good mental health, such as getting a good night’s sleep, staying connected to others, moving every day, and practicing mindfulness – it takes additional steps to address a mental illness.
The first step is identification. When we think about symptoms, we look at the length of time and intensity. People need to take the next step when they go on for several weeks and begin interfering with life. Symptoms include:
•Feeling sad. 
•Inability to concentrate.
•Excessive worrying.
•Changes in mood, stamina, sleeping patterns, eating habits.
•Not finding pleasure in activities.
•Withdrawing from friends and family. 
•Experiencing delusions, paranoia or hallucinations.
•Trouble coping with stress. 
•Overly emotional – bursting into tears, anger.
•Headaches, stomach aches, racing heart. 
The second step is to reach out to your primary care physician or a mental health professional. You can find a mental health professional through your health insurance network or Fasttrackermn.org.
Mental health centers around the state also provide sliding fee services.
The third step is to talk about it. Reach out to others if you need help with groceries, child care, or cleaning your home.
Having a mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of. As with any health care issue, we sometimes need help, and it's OK to ask for it. And if you know someone is struggling, reach in to them. Offer to help, take a walk with them, send get-well cards. 
The good news is that recovery is possible – people do get better. The bad news is that our mental health system has never been built and we have increased needs and decreased access.
NAMI Minnesota and others will continue to advocate at the Legislature to increase funds for our mental health system so that treatment can be accessed when and where it is needed. 
This week, take time to learn more about mental illnesses, mention the need for increased funding to people running for elected office, and reach out to someone you know that could use some support and help.
Remember that if someone is suicidal or nearing a mental health crisis, call 988, where a trained counselor will answer your call 24/7.

Debuting this week is the inaugural “Seen Through Horses,” a national awareness and fundraising campaign sponsored through Horses for Mental Health coalition.
Fifty charity partners throughout the U.S. are the recipients of funds raised this week.
Rock Ranch near Hills is one of them.
Rock Ranch operates an equine-assisted counseling program along with its beginner horsemanship classes.
It’s not easy to explain how the large animals help one’s mind, but they do.
In a small way I’ve seen how these big animals have opened communication between me and the children I help learn basic horsemanship skills.
I’ve watched them come into the barn that first week walking very hesitantly and talking very little. I’ve watched them become partners with the mounts, so much so that they leave with a bounce in their step and a smile on the face during the last week.
Once they’ve made the connection with their horse, most never stop talking about how much they love their equine partner.
So why are horses good for therapy?
The answer goes back to them being prey animals that are highly intuitive to nonverbal messages and intentions.
Due to this characteristic, horses may respond to the surface beliefs, attitudes and unresolved trauma, which may be impacting our relationships and mental health. This natural, unbiased feedback supports those working through issues in a safe and powerful way.
Because of their size and presence, horses also create a sense of awe, which increases one’s emotional safety and encourages humans to be more engaged in their treatment process.
Horses also don’t hold the biases that are common in humans.
This non-judgmental experience provides an opportunity for relationship-building that can rewrite past trauma stories and provide present-moment connections to humans.
Horses help me with my mental health every day as I do basic barn chores or saddle up for a ride.
They are appreciative in the twice-a-day feedings by giving me soft nickers or standing for a pat on the head or a rub on the neck before digging into their hay.
It’s quiet in the barn.
The world’s busyness seems to slow and one can breathe. Personal concerns become less of a focus during these times as positive thoughts begin to flow into one’s brain.
This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and World Mental Health Day.
As Lori Sorensen pointed out in “A suicide note from a grieving mother” in the Sept. 22 edition of the Star Herald, mental health treatment needs to become as accepted as treating diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
As a nonprofit, Rock Ranch offers that treatment to anyone, whether they can afford the cost of care or not. They can do this through donations from us.
Go to https://horsesformental health.org/campaign/ and choose the Minnesota Seen Thorough Horses designeeRock Ranch.
The Horses for Mental Health campaign is open through Monday.

In today’s Star Herald you will find my column among the Ag Mag pages.
I am not usually a columnist for our many special sections, but the topic of my column in the Ag Mag is about an ag job I had on a farm outside of Brewster when I was in high school. I tried to recap that experience in the words that I used back in the day nearly 50 years ago.
With harvest well underway, it’s time to really pay attention to the extra harvest-related traffic on the roads. Harvest equipment seems to get bigger every year, so give them room.
Take extra caution before passing, and if you’re coming up to an intersection when following a truck, trailer or combine, don’t pass until you’re through the intersection. You never really know if they may be making a left turn.
Take some time to read and enjoy the Ag Mag.

Lanphere is eager to see more renewable development
To the Editor:
Promoting and developing business opportunities in our community is a vital part of the mission of the Luverne Area Chamber and CVB. Strengthening the business climate in Luverne and Rock County will enhance and build our community’s future.
That’s why I was pleased to learn that the turbines for NextEra Energy Resources’ Walleye Wind project will be manufactured just on the other side of the South Dakota border in Brandon. It’s great to know that locally sourced materials like this will not only support our area’s economy and jobs, but that they will be supporting more local energy generation — especially as Minnesota continues to diversify its energy portfolio by supporting both traditional and new energy resources.
While there are many environmental benefits to wind development, there are also economic benefits for the area here in Rock County. Projects like these create new construction jobs for Minnesota’s families, as well as long-term maintenance jobs to operate the projects for decades. They also can bring millions of dollars in additional revenues for our roads, schools and services.
In fact, the Walleye Wind project alone is poised to generate an estimated $55.7 million in economic activity, directly benefiting local businesses.
One of the criticisms I keep hearing about wind energy is the waste that is created, which I don’t think is fair, since all forms of energy we use have some type of waste. However, while turbine blades may have been buried in the past once they reach the end of their life cycle, innovations have been developed to recycle the blades, making renewable energy even more sustainable and better for our communities and the environment. NextEra Energy Resources recycles their wind turbines in many different ways and oftentimes turns them into cement! They’ve already begun recycling the blades from the turbines that used to be on site in the Walleye Wind project area.
I’m pleased to see how our area is poised to see real economic growth locally while also remaining attractive to businesses who may have their own renewable standards and goals. As an advocate for local business interests, I am eager to see more renewable development in the area so that we can grow the local manufacturing industry, create good-paying local jobs, and maintain and grow the local economy.
Jane Wildung Lanphere,
Executive Director,
Luverne Area Chamber & CVB
Vos: 'What's wrong?'
To the Editor:
To Governor Walz and those in the Twin Cities controlling our state: a $9 billion surplus, but we have to cut back our services at the Luverne driver’s license exam station. What’s wrong?
Ken Vos,
Luverne

Next year during Homecoming, Luverne School District will induct the first class into the Luverne High School Hall of Fame.
The idea was introduced during the All-School Reunion in July, and a committee has been established to sift through nominations and recommend induction.
Nominees must have attended Luverne Public School for eight years or graduated from Luverne High School.
Nominees must have made notable contributions in their profession, personal endeavors and made significant contributions at a local, regional, state, national or international level.
Nomination forms should be returned to Luverne Public School by Jan. 31, 2023.
The forms are available on the school website and available at the District Office at the Luverne Public School.
The inductees will have their names engraved on a granite wall that will be part of the new Alumni Garden located near the canopy on the east side of the school complex. 
Warren Herreid II has generously donated funds to cover the Hall of Fame granite wall. The Luverne Education Legacy Fund will step in and handle the induction ceremony and the cost of the engraving.

Dispatch report
 
Sept. 23
•Assistance from another department was received.
•Complainant reported identity theft.
•Complainant on S. Church Avenue, Hills, reported a civil issue.
•Complainant on N. Fairview Drive reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant on 130th Avenue and 111th Street, Steen, reported a driving complaint.
Sept. 24
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported a parking complaint.
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported property was found.
•Complainant west-bound on Interstate 90, mile marker 6, Beaver Creek, reported a driving complaint.
•Assistance from another department was received.
•Complainant westbound on Interstate 90, mile marker 12, Luverne, reported a driving complaint.
Sept. 25
•Assistance from another department was received on E. Adams Avenue.
•Complainant on S. Church Avenue, Hills, reported a civil issue.
Sept. 26
•A warrant was issued on E. Brown Street.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported a scam.
Sept. 27
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported counterfeit money was received at location.
•Complainant on 3rd Street W. and Burr Avenue S., Jasper, reported a parking issue.
•A solicitor license was issued.
•Complainant in Rock County reported an outage.
•Complainant on 121st Street, Luverne, reported theft.
•Complainant on S. Cottage Grove reported a civil issue.
•Complainant on W. Mead Court reported a noise complaint.
Sept. 28
•Complainant on W. Dodge Street and N. East Park Street reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant near railroad tracks by Casey’s reported suspicious activity.
•Assistance from another department was received.
•Complainant at Redbird Field reported a driving complaint.
Sept. 29
•Complainant on W. Hatting Street reported a disorderly subject.
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported a driving complaint.
 
In addition, officers responded to 4 motor vehicle accidents, 2 deer accidents, 1 vehicle in ditch, 1 funeral escort, 12 ambulance runs, 5 paper services, 7 animal complaints, 5 fingerprint requests, 1 vehicle impound, 1 background check, 4 gas drive-offs, 5 alarms, 5 drug court tests, 3 purchase and carry permits, 6 traffic stops, 8 abandoned 911 calls, 1 test, 3 welfare checks and 1 OFP.

Dry harvest conditions in local fields have promted several fire calls in the past week for combines and equipment on fire and subsequent wildfires in fields.
In the photo at right, Luverne firefighters extinguish a smoking combine belonging to Mike Bos Thursday, Sept. 29, at 939 100th Ave. west of Luverne. The combine was unoccupied and the fire was put out quickly.
In the photo above, the Luverne Fire Department was dispatched to 1510 61st St. for a field fire that started in the combine on Tim Fick’s ground in Kanaranzi Township.
According to Luverne Fire Chief Dave Van Batavia, the Fick fire didn’t damage any crops because the wind pushed the flames away the soybeans that were remaining in the field.
Dry bean stalks and residue, along with dusty conditions, are increasing the likelihood of fire from a spark from an engine, overheated bearing, or contact with the exhaust manifold.

LSS meals at Generations
 
Monday, Oct. 10: Salisbury steak with gravy, baked potato with sour cream, glazed carrots, bread, dessert.
Tuesday, Oct. 11: Beef chili with beans, romaine salad, fruit, corn bread muffin, cookie.
Wednesday, Oct. 12: Macaroni and cheese, California Normandy vegetables, stewed tomatoes, dessert.
Thursday, Oct. 13: Meatballs, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, dinner roll, fresh fruit.
Friday, Oct. 14: Chicken a la king with brown rice, peas and carrots, fruit mix and dessert.
LSS Dining offers well-balanced and affordable meals in a community atmosphere.
Call Lynette Hoiland at 283-9846, extension 11 to reserve one day prior, to arrange to pick up a dinner or for home-delivered meals.
Gift certificates are available at the meal site or online at www.lssmn.org/nutrition.