By John RittenhouseThe Luverne gymnastics team remained perfect for the season after posting a 124.85-119.75 win over Redwood Valley in Redwood Falls Friday.Luverne athletes won three individual titles and the all-around championship as the Cardinals upped their record to 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Southwest Conference.Callen Bosshart and Amanda Dooyema combined efforts to secure four event championships against RWV.Dooyema, who was second on the floor with an 8.05, won the bars and beam titles with respective 8.2 and 7.6 tallies.Bosshart, who placed second on the bars (7.75) tied for third place with RWV’s Becky Corbett (8.0) on the floor, won the all-around and vault crowns with 32.15 and 9.2 efforts.Luverne’s Brittany Mulder also had a big night. Mulder placed second all-around (30.5), tied for second place with RWV’s Lacey Henning on the beam (7.4) and placed third on the vault (8.6).RWV’s Brittany Hagert won the floor with an 8.5.Luverne will compete at Worthington Jan. 6.Individual scoresVault: C.Bosshart 9.2, Mulder 8.6, Brittany Boeve 8.5, Morgan Bosshart 8.45, Victoria Arends 8.25.Bars: Dooyema 8.2, C.Bosshart 7.75, Mulder 7.3, M.Bosshart 7.15, Arends 6.3.Beam: Dooyema 7.6, Mulder 7.4, C.Bosshart 7.2, Courtney Fodness 6.95, Boeve 6.85.Floor: Dooyema 8.05, C.Bosshart 8.0, Arends 7.3, Mulder 7.2, M.Bosshart 7.0.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls’ hockey team recorded its third consecutive victory when it bested Morris-Benton 6-4 at the Blue Mound Ice Arena Saturday.The Cardinals received a five-point performance from Natalie Domagala and a three-point effort from Sadie Dietrich while upping their season record to 3-2.The game was tight until the hosts reeled off four straight goals in the second and third periods to open a commanding lead.The teams battled to a draw at two in the first period, but the Cards scored three consecutive goals in a span of 7:13 of the second period to assume control of the game.Domagala netted her second goal of the contest at the 7:22 mark of the second period after being set up by Natalie Morgan to break the deadlock.Morgan scored a power-play goal at 5:45 after being assisted by Domagala and Jenny Braa. Dietrich scored her second goal of the game with nine seconds left in the period to make it a 5-2 difference. Domagala and Taylor Nelson received assists for Dietrich’s goal.Domagala completed a hat trick after being set up by Nelson at the 14:19 mark of the third period to make it a 6-2 game before Brittany Sharstrom and Dani Staples found the net for M-B in the final eight minutes of the game.Staples gave M-B a 1-0 lead with a goal at the 7:40 mark of the first period, but Domagala tied the game at one with Dietrich receiving an assist for the goal at 3:53.Josie Thode scored for M-B with 1:02 left in the opening period before Dietrich tied the game at two with four seconds left after being set up by Domagala.Luverne outshot M-B 30-20 in the game. Sarah Schneekloth made 20 saves for the winners.The Cardinals will play at Sertoma Shootout in Kasson Dec. 29-31.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys’ basketball team recorded back-to-back home wins to wrap up the pre-Christmas portion of the season schedule.The Cardinals beat Edgerton by 10 points Thursday before rolling to a 19-point win over Murray County Central Monday.Luverne, 2-3 overall, hosts Westbrook-Walnut Grove at 6:15 Monday in the elementary school gym.Luverne 68, MCC 49The Cardinals canned 55 percent of their field goals while downing the Rebels in Luverne Monday.LHS made 24 of 44 shots from the field and that led the Cards to their second consecutive victory.The teams battled to a draw at four early in the first quarter before Luverne went on a 6-0 surge capped by a field goal from Brandon Deragisch to open a 10-4 lead.Luverne led by seven (15-8) when Nick Heronimus hit a three-point shot at the 2:18 mark of the opening period, but MCC ended the quarter with a 6-1 run to trail 16-14 at period’s end.Luverne scored the first five points of the second quarter and led by eight (24-16) when Heronimus recorded a three-point play at the 6:01 mark of the stanza.MCC, however, reeled off the next eight points to trail 26-24 before Luverne ended the first half with a 15-0 run capped by Dusty Antoine’s field goal with four seconds remaining to take a 41-24 halftime advantage.Luverne led by as many as 19 points in the third quarter before MCC rallied to trim the difference to 11 points at 47-36. The Cards increased their lead to 13 points (51-38) by the end of the quarter.MCC climbed to within 11 points of Luverne two times in the early stages of the fourth quarter, but the Cards outscored the Rebels 17-11 in the stanza to win by 19.Brad Herman netted 14 points to lead the winners. Deragisch scored 10 points, grabbed seven rebounds and charted four assists. Heronimus added 10 points and six rebounds to the cause. Jared Pick chipped in four assists.Box scorePick 2 0 3-7 7, Tofteland 3 0 1-2 7, Graphenteen 0 0 0-0 0, Herman 6 0 2-4 14, Deragisch 2 0 6-7 10, Hendricks 0 0 0-0 0, Antoine 1 1 0-0 5, Stegemann 3 0 0-0 6, Willers 0 0 0-0 0, S.Boelman 0 0 0-2 0, Heronimus 2 1 3-6 10, Lange 2 0 3-4 7.Team statisticsLuverne: 24 of 44 field goals (55 percent), 18 of 32 free throws (56 percent), 29 rebounds, 24 turnovers.MCC: 17 of 42 field goals (40 percent), 15 of 21 free throws (71 percent), 20 rebounds, 15 turnovers.Luverne 57,Edgerton 47The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season when they notched a 10-point home win over the Flying Dutchmen Thursday.Aggressive play throughout the game, especially in the second half, helped the Cardinals snap a three-game losing streak."I thought we played with more intensity than we had in our previous games," said Cardinal coach Tom Rops. "Our defense caused a lot of problems for them. We still have to get better and improve in our future performances."Luverne sported 18-16 and 34-32 leads at the first two quarter breaks before putting the game away by outscoring Edgerton 23-15 in the second half.Pick, who scored 10 of his team-high 13 points in the second half, netted seven points when the Cards outscored EHS 13-8 in the third period to open a 47-40 lead. The hosts outscored the Flying Dutchmen 10-7 in the fourth quarter to prevail by 10.Heronimus scored 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds for Luverne. Herman scored 11 points. Deragisch charted six assists.Box scorePick 5 0 3-5 13, Herman 5 0 1-2 11, Stegemann 0 1 0-0 3, S.Boelman 1 0 2-3 4, Heronimus 4 1 0-0 11, Lange 3 0 0-0 6, Tofteland 0 1 0-3 3, Deragisch 0 1 3-5 6.Team satisticsLuverne: 22 of 62 field goals (35 percent), nine of 18 free throws (50 percent), 30 rebounds, eight turnovers.Edgerton: 17 of 47 field goals (36 percent), 10 of 22 free throws (45 percent), 34 rebounds, 17 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team evened its record at 3-3 with a thrilling victory over Edgerton Friday in Hills.The Patriots let a 13-point lead slip away during the second half only to put together a 7-0 run late in the game to pull out a 51-46 win.H-BC, which led 36-23 when Erin Boeve hit a free throw in the third quarter, fell behind 38-36 when Edgerton scored the final 11 points of the third quarter and the first four points of the fourth quarter.Three-point plays by Cassi Tilstra and Boeve gave the Patriots a 42-38 advantage, but the Flying Dutchmen countered with an 8-2 surge to sport a 44-42 advantage with three minutes remaining in the game.Boeve, who scored 29 points in the contest, put the Patriots in front to stay (47-46) when she converted a three-point play with 2:21 remaining that ignited H-BC’s late 7-0 run. Boeve added another field goal to the run, while Tilstra and Kerri Fransman chipped in one free throw each.Boeve scored the first four points of the game and Tilstra gave the Patriots a 9-4 lead at the 4:13 mark of the first quarter before EHS rallied to tie the game at 11.Boeve drained a pair of field goals in the final 1:24 of the period to give the Patriots a 15-11 lead at quarter’s end.Boeve scored the first four points of the second quarter to make it a 19-11 game, and the Patriots led by nine (26-17) when Stacy Bush dropped a three-point shot late in the second quarter.Edgerton, however, scored the last two points of the first half to trail 26-19 at the intermission.Along with leading all players in scoring, Boeve collected 16 rebounds, blocked four shots and charted three steals along with Tilstra, Brittney Rozeboom and Melinda Sandstede for H-BC. Tilstra added 10 points and four assists to the winning cause.Box scoreRozeboom 2 0 0-1 4, Fransman 0 0 1-2 1, Bush 0 1 2-4 5, Sandstede 0 0 0-0 0, Tilstra 2 0 6-9 10, Hoyme 0 0 0-0 0, Boeve 12 0 5-11 29, Olson 0 0 0-0 0, Mulder 1 0 0-0 2.Team statisticsH-BC: 18 of 47 field goals (38 percent), 14 of 27 free throws (52 percent), 43 rebounds, 10 turnovers.Edgerton: 16 of 35 field goals (46 percent), 14 of 22 free throws (64 percent), 39 rebounds, 15 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team let a potential Red Rock Conference win slip away when it took on Southwest Christian in Hills Monday.The Patriots controlled play in first half while opening a 13-point lead, but the E-Gals rallied to pull out a 52-50 win in overtime.After doubling SWC’s scoring output (26-13) in the first half, the Patriots lost their defensive intensity during second half that was controlled by the E-Gals."This was a very disappointing loss," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "We played really great defense in the first half, and then we forgot what got us there. We played poor defense and started throwing the ball around in the second half."H-BC, which limited SWC to three field goals in the first half, led 12-3 after eight minutes of play before increasing the difference to 13 points at the intermission.SWC went on an 18-6 run in the third quarter to trim the difference to one point (32-31) before tying the game at 44 late in regulation play.H-BC, which missed a potential game-winning shot at the end of the fourth quarter, never led in the overtime period while missing another last-second opportunity.Cassi Tilstra scored 15 points and Erin Boeve added 14 points for the Patriots.H-BC, 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the RRC, plays at the Albert Lea Tournament Friday and Saturday.Box scoreRozeboom 2 0 0-0 4, Bush 0 0 0-0 0, Sandstede 2 0 0-0 4, Tilstra 5 0 5-7 15, Boeve 3 0 8-8 14, Olson 3 0 1-1 7, Mulder 3 0 0-0 6.Team statisticsH-BC: 18 of 40 field goals (45 percent), 14 of 20 free throws (70 percent), 22 rebounds, 26 turnovers.SWC: 16 of 32 field goals (50 percent), 11 of 14 free throws (79 percent), 27 rebounds, 13

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek boys’ basketball team regained its winning form in Edgerton Monday.Four days after losing its first game of the year to Fulda Thursday, H-BC turned things around in Edgerton by recording a 54-40 victory over the Flying Dutchmen.The Patriots, however, had to fight hard to get the win.H-BC players had to overcome cold shooting from the floor (28 percent) by playing outstanding defense in the second and third quarters, when they limited the hosts to 11 points."We were a little frustrated offensively, but we didn’t give it up defensively," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "We held them to four points in the second quarter and seven in the third quarter. That gave us a comfortable lead, and we just battled it out from there."H-BC, which was nine of 39 (23 percent) from the field in the first half, found itself trailing 15-9 after eight minutes of play before outscoring Edgerton 13-4 in the second quarter to gain a 22-19 halftime lead.The Patriots padded their lead to 12 points (38-26) by outscoring the Flying Dutchmen 38-26 in the third quarter before winning the game by 14 points in the end.Kale Wiertzma, who led H-BC with 10 rebounds and seven assists, scored all 12 of his points in the second half. Tyler Bush, who had eight rebounds and five steals, netted 11 of his 18 points in the second half.Trey Van Wyhe added 14 points to the winning effort. Travis Broesder chipped in three steals.The 5-1 Patriots will compete at the Albert Lea Tournament Friday and Saturday.Box scoreBush 5 0 8-10 18, Wysong 1 0 1-2 3, Broesder 2 0 0-0 4, Wiertzema 2 0 8-13 12, Van Wyhe 6 0 2-3 14, Spykerboer 0 0 0-0 0, LeBoutillier 1 0 1-4 3.Team statisticsH-BC: 17 of 60 field goals (28 percent), 20 of 32 free throws (63 percent), 33 rebounds, 12 turnovers.Edgerton: 16 of 47 field goals (34 percent), four of eight free throws (50 percent), 22 rebounds, 23 turnovers.

By Brenda WinterThere is a gentle way about Fran Stenberg. He seems tired but not resigned. His gray handle-bar mustache and buckhorn belt buckle might be more expected at the rodeo finals, or Sturgis maybe.But here he is leading a small group of Hills Christian School kids through the Union Gospel Mission. He calmly puts his hand on the shoulders of the wiggly kid who can’t stand in line, wait his turn or listen very long. He asks the kids who they think started the Mission 104 years ago and laughs when they answer, "You?""Nope," he laughs, "It was a drunk. A drunk who got in a fight and killed a man outside of a bar and went to jail for seven years. After he got out of jail he gave his life to Christ and wanted to open a place for people to go when they get out of jail." The children stand in awe, secretly wondering if maybe Fran ever killed anybody … probably not.This man has been the director of the Mission for 27 years, longer than anyone else. He’s seen the typical stay at the Mission extend from a night or two 20 years ago, to months at a time now. He’s seen the beds grow in number from 16 – 10 for men, six for women and children – to 86 beds today and often a dozen or more people sleep on the floor.People used to need a bed and a meal as they passed through town. Now they need drug and alcohol counseling, job training, parenting training and basic homekeeping skills. But Stenberg doesn’t approach the problems with despair, or with undue optimism. He says, "All you do is something and let the Lord do the rest."Stenberg said. "We’ve gone from offering basic services to rehabilitative services. They have more problems now and more serious problems. That’s the big change. What we do is more of a discipleship nature. We’re in their face teaching them to live a Christ-like life. We want to focus on mind, body and soul."Stenberg said the Mission offers a discipleship program that lasts a minimum of six months and can take a year or more to finish. The program requires that people try. "You can stay here five days and do nothing as long as you behave. That’s Level 1. Level 2 is for people who want to stay longer. They have to help out, look for work and we ask them to read a book. Level 3 is the Shepherd’s program. If there is nothing going on in your life and you’re not trying, the Shepherd’s program requires more of you. You can’t sleep all day."Stenberg leads the group of school children from one level of the building to another.The women’s dorm is a row of beds about 200 feet long. The men’s dorm is dark and has two rows of bunk beds. A sick man sleeps as does another man who works at night. A few women browse in the thrift shop. Older model computers are lined up in the learning center. The school children peer into a room-sized refrigerator. The lobby is warm and welcoming with angels and garland decorating the window. A Christmas cactus blooms in the north window. Not a bad place — to a visitor passing through.This all takes money. About $700,000 last year. Eighty percent of the money comes from individual donations and 20 percent comes from churches. The Mission served 65,000 meals, provided 24,000 night’s lodging and employs 15 full-time and seven part-time people.Stenberg gives the statistics to the group as he has to hundreds, maybe thousands, of other groups. The Mission needs money, it always needs money. There are needy people. There will always be needy people.He tells the kids, "Maybe that’s why you’re here today. Maybe because of this tour, when you grow up you’ll be involved in a rescue mission." He laughs, "You can have my job. I’ll wait for you."

DISTRICT COURTPROBATE DIVISIONFIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICTNOTICE AND ORDER OF HEARING ON PETITION FOR PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE AND NOTICE TO CREDITORSSTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF ROCKESTATE OFRobert E. Latham, a/k/a Robert Latham DECEDENTIt is Ordered and Notice is given that on January 12, 2004 at 9:00 (a.m.) a hearing will be held in this Court at the Rock County Courthouse, 204 East Brown, Luverne, Minnesota, for the formal probate of an instrument purporting to be the will of Decedent, dated July 3, 2002 and codicil (N/A) to the will dated N/A, and separate writing (N/A) under Minn. Stat. 524.2-513 ("Will"), and for the appointment of Lisa Latham whose address is: 1121 S. Bridgeport, Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57106 as personal representative of the Estate of the Decedent in a SUPERVISED administration. Any objections to the petition must be filed with the Court prior to or raised at the hearing. If proper and if no objections are filed or raised, the personal representative will be appointed with full power to administer the Estate, including the power to collect all assets, pay all legal debts, claims, taxes and expenses, to sell real and personal property, and do all necessary acts for the Estate. Notice is also given that (subject to Minn. Stat. 524.3-801) all creditors having claims against the Estate are required to present the claims to the personal representative or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this Notice or the claims will be barred. /s/ Timothy K. Connell 12/22/03Timothy K. Connell Judge Date/s/ Sandra L. Vrtacnik 12/22/03Sandra L. Vrtacnik Court Administrator DateAttorney For Personal RepresentativeDonald R. KlosterbuerSkewes, Klosterbuer & Vajgrt, L.L.P.120 N. McKenzieBox 538Luverne, MN 56156-0538Telephone 507 283-9111Attorney License #56674(12-24, 12-31)

PUBLICATION NOTICENotice is hereby given that application has been made to the Comptroller of the Currency, Western District, 1225 17th Street, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80202, for consent to merge First National Bank of Luverne, Luverne, Minnesota, into First National Bank and Trust, Pipestone, Minnesota. It is contemplated that the proposed merger will occur immediately after First National Bank in Luverne has completed a transaction pursuant to which it will sell substantially all its assets to, and its deposit liabilities will be assumed by, Minnwest Bank Luverne of Luverne, Minnesota. As a result of that transaction, it is expected that the current main office and branches of First National Bank of Luverne will continue to operate as branches of Minnwest Bank Luverne. Following the merger the current main office of First National Bank and Trust will remain the main office of First National Bank and Trust. This notice is published pursuant to 12 USC 1828(c) and 12 CFR 5. This notice will appear three times at approximately two-week intervals over a 30-day period beginning December 24, 2003 and ending January 22, 2004. Any person desiring to comment on this application may do so by submitting written comments within thirty days of the date of the first publication of this notice to: Licensing Manager, 1225 17th Street, Suite 300, Denver, Colorado 80202. The public file is available for inspection in that office during regular business hours. Written requests for a copy of the public file on the application should be sent to the Licensing Manager. December 24, 2003First National Bank of Luverne, Luverne, MinnesotaFirst National Bank and Trust, Pipestone, Minnesota(12-24, 1-8, 1-22)