By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls’ golf team recovered from its first loss of the season April 22 by posting a pair of road victories since Thursday.Luverne topped Redwood Valley by 36 strokes in Redwood Falls Thursday before nipping Canton (S.D.) by five strokes in Canton Tuesday.The 8-1 Cardinals will play road matches in Pipestone today, Sanborn Friday and Jackson Tuesday. LHS also is entered in the Worthington Invitational Saturday.Luverne 187,Canton 192The Cardinals posted a road win against a good team when they prevailed by five strokes in Canton Tuesday.Gabe Van Dyk paved the way to victory by shooting a four-over-par 40 to emerge as the meet’s medalist.Kim Bennett, Nikki Van Dyk and Mindy Lysne contributed 46-, 49- and 52-stroke rounds to the winning team performance.Jessica Klein and Brittany Boeve shot 56- and 58-stroke tallies without influencing the scoring.Jennie Raasch carded a 41 to lead the hosts.Luverne’s Alyssa Klein shot a team-low 55 during the B matchLuverne 183, RWV 219The Cardinals bounced back from their first loss of the season by rolling to a 36-stroke victory in Redwood Falls Thursday.Gabe Van Dyk led the charge for the Cardinals by shooting a four-over-par 40. Van Dyk’s tally proved to be a meet-low performance.Bennett, Lysne and Boeve contributed 45-, 47- and 51-stroke efforts to the winning team tally.Jessica Klein and Nikki Van Dyk shot 53s without contributing to the win.Alecia Prins led RWV with a 43.

Luverne’s Trevor Maine completes a shot in No. 3 doubles play during Monday’s home tennis match against Brandon Valley.By John RittenhouseThe Luverne tennis team was put to a test of playing in four events in a six-day span.The 6-3 Cardinals posted a one-point win at Redwood Falls Thursday before going 2-1 at the St. James Tournament Saturday. Luverne dropped a one-point home match to Brandon (S.D.) Valley Monday before sweeping a seven-point home contest from Worthington Tuesday.Luverne will be busy again as it was scheduled to play at Sioux Falls O’Gorman yesterday, host Pipestone today, compete at the Benson Tournament Saturday and play in Blue Earth Tuesday.Luverne 7,Worthington 0The Cardinals swept the Trojans for the second time this season when the teams squared off in Luverne Tuesday.WHS, a young team consisting of players in the 10th grade or lower, proved to be no match for the more experienced Cardinals."We’re older and more experienced, and you could see that in all the matches," said LHS coach Greg Antoine.Cardinals’ Dusty Antoine, Patrick Bennett and David Nelson won their singles matches in straight sets. Antoine secured 6-0 and 6-1 wins over Jason Johnson at No. 1, Bennett notched 6-2 and 6-0 victories over Tim Miller at No. 2, and Nelson saddled John Shepherd with a pair of 6-0 setbacks at No. 4.Luverne’s Kyle Fletcher beat Kale Calvin 6-3 in the first set at No. 3 singles before Calvin secured a 6-4 win in the second set. The players settled the third set by playing a tie-breaker that Fletcher won by a 7-3 count.Luverne’s Steven Althoff and John Kreuch handed Derek Ahlberg and Quentin Dudley a pair of 6-1 losses at No. 2 doubles, and the No. 3 team of Trevor Maine and Weston Sawtelle posted 6-1 and 6-2 victories over Nick Walden and Jaime Kass.Worthington’s Nate Peterson and Jordan Willemssen posted a 6-3 win in the first set at No. 1 doubles against Chris Vickery and Derek Boeve. The Luverne team recovered to win the second and third sets by 7-5 and 6-2 tallies.BV 4, Luverne 3The Cardinals dropped their first home match of the season when they entertained Brandon (S.D.) Valley Monday.Luverne went 3-1 in singles, but the Lynx swept the doubles matches and posted one singles win to take the match."We came close," said Cardinal coach Antoine. "The kids who lost all played three-set matches. We had our chances."Luverne’s three singles wins came in straight sets. Dusty Antoine prevailed by 6-4 and 6-3 counts over Eric Rodenborn at No. 1, Fletcher secured 6-3 and 6-4 wins over Ian blue at No. 3, and Nelson notched 6-4 and 6-1 victories over Alex Van Hove at No. 4.BV’s Tom Engebretson secured a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 2 singles over Patrick Bennett.Luverne’s Althoff and Vickery opened their No. 1 doubles match with a 6-3 win over Josh Herr and Bryan Wehrkamp before dropping 7-5 and 6-2 decisions in sets two and three. BV’s Camden Nettestad and Brent Miller prevailed by a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 tally over Kreuch and Boeve at No. 2 doubles. Lynx’ Andrew Moe and Dustin Egger topped Maine and Daniel Amborn by a 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 tally at No. 3.St. James tourneyThe Cardinals went 2-1 during Saturday’s four-team tournament in St. James.The host team blanked LHS 7-0 in the opening round, but the Cards bounced back to post 4-3 wins over Cannon Falls and Yellow Medicine East to complete the event.Considering LHS was playing without the services of five juniors, a 2-1 outing was a good one."It was a really good day for our seventh-graders," said LHS coach Greg Antoine. "The young kids gained a lot of experience, and you could see it in their play between the first and third matches of the day."Luverne’s Antoine and Boeve went 2-1 at No. 1 and No. 4 singles at the event. Nelson and Sawtelle went 2-1 at No. 1 doubles.After losing a 0-5, 6-4 (5-10 in the tie-breaker) to SJ’s Luke Thompson in the first round, Antoine came back to beat CF’s Alec Winter (5-3 and 5-1) and YME’s Nathan Marland (5-0 and 5-1).Boeve dropped a pair of 5-2 sets to SJ’s Brandon Busman before besting CF’s Ian Olson (5-0 and 5-2) and YME’s Jeff Ford (5-2 and 6-4).Nelson and Sawtelle came up on the short end of 5-2 and 5-1 scores against SJ’s Tom Rakotz and Travis Brekken in the first round. The Luverne team then posted a 2-5, 5-3 (10-6 in the tie-breaker) win over CF’s Tom Kaye and David Lindahl before downing YME’s Aaron Smith and Kyle Henderson 0-5 and 5-3 (10-8 in the tie-breaker).Luverne’s Bennett and Chris Vickery went 1-2 at No. 2 and No. 3 singles. The No. 2 doubles team of Zach Sanderson and Matt Kreuch went 0-3, as did the No. 3 team of Jamison Tooley and Jamie Vickery.Luverne 4, RWV 3The Cardinals assured themselves at least a second-place finish in the Southwest Conference when they edged Redwood Valley by one point in Redwood Falls Thursday.Luverne, which was playing without five juniors who had to honor prior commitments, won all four singles matches to win the match and finish SWC play with a 2-1 record."Our singles players really came through for us," said Cardinal coach Greg Antoine. "Dusty (Antoine), Patrick (Bennett) and Chris (Vickey) played well and pretty much had their way with their opponents. Derek (Boeve) played well. His match was a little closer."Antoine saddled Drew Tribble with a pair of 6-2 setbacks at No. 1. Bennett and Boeve prevailed by 6-4 and 6-2 scores over Mike Alexander and Josh Okins at No. 2 and No. 4 respectively. Vickery secured 6-0 and 6-2 wins over Devan Blaine at No. 3.Luverne’s Sanderson and Matt Kreuch took Dan Stephens and Justin Thiel to three sets at No. 2 doubles before falling 7-5, 3-6, 1-6.RWV’s Reed Larson and Laron Schottenberger posted 6-1 and 6-0 wins over Nelson and Sawtelle at No. 1 doubles. RWV’s Jordan Maserek and Dave Sandvold posted 6-1 and 6-2 victories over Tooley and Jamie Vickery at No. 3.

Luverne junior Colby Anderson sends a chip toward the pin on the eighth green during Tuesday’s home golf match against Hull Western Christian. The effort helped Anderson par the hole during what ended as a 38-stroke round. Luverne won the match by 26 strokes.By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys’ golf team earned a split while playing a pair of matches since Thursday.The Cardinals lost a 10-stroke decision in Redwood Falls Thursday before returning home to beat Hull (Iowa) Western Christian by 26 strokes at the Luverne Country Club Tuesday.Luverne, 8-5 overall, plays road matches against Pipestone (today), Red Rock Central (Friday) and Jackson (Tuesday). The Cards also will compete at the Worthington Invitational Saturday.Luverne 161, HWC 187Balanced scoring led the Cardinals to a 26-stroke victory over HWC during Tuesday’s match in Luverne.Four shots separated Luverne’s four top players during the match, led by a medal-earning, two-over-par 38 turned in by Colby Anderson.Tony Smedsrud, David Nelson and Steven Berghorst pitched in 40-, 41- and 42-stroke rounds to the winning team tally.Kirk Oldre and Andy Haakenson shot 46- and 47-stroke rounds without influencing the scoring.Ethan Haveman led HWC with a 42.With Dan Park shooting a 47 to lead the way, Luverne prevailed 193-204 in the B match.RWV 165, Luverne 175The Cardinals slipped below the .500 mark (2-3) in Southwest Conference play after falling to host Redwood Valley by 10 strokes in Redwood Falls Thursday.Tim Madson set the stage for victory by carding a three-over-par 39 for the winners.Anderson led LHS with a six-over-par 42.Nelson, Smedsrud and Kirk Oldre turned in respective 43-, 44- and 46-stroke rounds to cap the team scoring for Luverne.Berghorst and Grant Oldre shot 49- and 53-stroke rounds without impacting the scoring.

By John RittenhouseA pair of track programs from the Star Herald coverage area tested their skills at the Worthington Invitational Thursday.The day proved to be a good one for Luverne, which repeated as team champions in the boys’ and girls’ divisions. Adrian placed fifth in a seven-team boys’ field, and the Dragon girls capped a seven-squad field.Luverne’s girls captured nine meet titles and finished second in seven events while winning the team title by 71 points over the host school.Danielle Cook played a role in three of the wins as she took top honors in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with respective 16.56 and 49.93 times, and ran a leg with the champion 800-meter relay team. Cook, Amanda Dooyema, Callen Bosshart and Jenni Christensen ran the 800 in 1:53.34.Luverne also won the 1,600- and 3,200-meter relays with 4:31.34 and 10:43.35 efforts. Christensen, Dooyema, Sadie Dietrich and Victoria Arends teamed up in the 1,600. Dietrich, Tera Boomgaarden, Arends and Lexi Heitkamp ran the 3,200.Dietrich (2:42.1 in the 800), Heitkamp (5:26.25 in the 1,600), Christensen (27.89 in the 200) and Marissa Stewart (100.9 in the discus) picked up individual meet titles.Stewart (31-5 1/4 in the shot put), Arends (1:05.3 in the 400), Boomgaarden (2:45.54 in the 800), Maggie Kuhlman (4-6 in the high jump), Kelsey Dooyema (13:31.1 in the 3,200) and Nicole Willers (28.65 in the 200) placed second individually for LHS.The 400-meter relay team of Bosshart, Cassie Pap, Erin Hoiland and Willers finished second in 55.64.A pair of fourth-place performances proved to be the highlight of the meet for the Adrian girls.Dragon Jolene Reisdorfer finished fourth in the 200-meter dash in 28.88, and ran a leg with Adrian’s fourth-place finishing 800-meter relay. Reisdorfer, Emily Thier, Amanda Lynn and Sarah Jensen ran the 800 in 2:00.06.The Luverne boys walked away with 11 meet titles and finished second in three events.Marcus Walgrave set a new meet record with the winning time of 15.12 in the 110-meter high hurdles. He also won the 100-meter dash in 11.4.Tyler Elbers (6-0 in the high jump and 23.74 in the 200) and Justin Van Wyhe (39-9 3/4 in the triple jump and 18-2 1/4 in the long jump) also won two individual events each for LHS.Scott Goebel claimed the 1600-meter run title in 5:06.76, Nick Otten took top honors in the 3,200-meter run in 10:58.52, and Tim Rust cleared 11-6 to win the pole vault.Luverne also won the 400- and 800-meter relays with 47.29 and 1:37.28 times. Elbers, Cody Gehrke, Chris Morgan and Andrew Hulstein ran the 800. Elbers, Rust, Van Wyhe and Hulstein teamed up in the 400.Rust finished second in the 100-meter dash in 11.89, and Ruston Aaker came in second during the 400-meter dash with a time of 55.05.Aaker, Jake Hendricks, Nick Otten and Kyle Bitterman placed second in the 3200-meter relay with a time of 9:07.65.The Adrian boys were led by a pair of second-place performances turned in by Casey Knips and Jared Brake.Knips, who finished third with a toss of 40-3 1/4 in the shot put, placed second in the discus with a toss of 121-5.Brake, who placed third in the 110-meter hurdles (16.75) and triple jump (36-11), finished second in the long jump with a distance of 18-1 1/4.Here is a look at the team standings and the rest of Luverne’s and Adrian’s top six finishers during the Worthington Invitational.Girls’ standings: Luverne 195, Worthington 121, Southwest United 70, Southwest Christian 67, Fulda 35, Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove 30, Adrian 13.Boys’ standings: Luverne 174, SWC 140.5; Fulda 98, Worthington 80.5; Adrian 51, RRC-W-WG eight, SWU one.Luverne girlsThird place: K.Dooyema, 1,600, 6:04.64; Hilary Hansen, 400, 1:07.56; Amanda Kannas, 3,200, 14:13.9; Arends, high jump, 4-4; Pap, long jump, 13-2.Fourth place: Bosshart, 100, 13.75; Kuhlman, long jump, 12-10 1/2.Fifth place: Willers, 100, 13.79; Kuhlman, 300 hurdles, 56.97; Pap, triple jump, 29-8; Bosshart, long jump, 12-7 3/4.Sixth place: Kuhlman, triple jump, 29-4; Jessica Willers, 100 hurdles, 19.9.Adrian girlsFifth place: Lynn, 400, 1:09.66.Sixth place: 400 relay (Thier, Monica Souksanvong, Jamie Koehne and Kristina Wagner), 59.19; McCall Heitkamp, 800, 2:54.4.Luverne boysThird place: Morgan, 300 hurdles, 45.7; Hulstein, high jump, 5-6; 1,600 relay (Aaker, Bitterman, Hendricks and Goebel), 3:56.11.Fourth place: Hulstein, 110 hurdles, 17.04; Hendricks, 400, 55.79; Goebel, 800, 2:15.42; Gehrke, 200, 24.88.Fifth place: Ryan Wynia, pole vault, 8-0.Sixth place: Ben Cornish, long jump, 15-11; Thomas Gluf, discus, 111-7; Morgan, shot, 37-10 1/2; Bitterman, 800, 2:17.4.Adrian boysThird place: Kyle Knips, 400, 55.7.Fourth place: 3,200 relay (Lee Stover, Paul Honermann, Brandon Bullerman and Justin Reisdorfer), 9:27.83.Fifth place: Stover, 800, 2:16.34; 800 relay (Billy Anderson, Josh Croat, Chad Janssen and K.Knips), 1:44.78.Sixth place: 400 relay (Janssen, Jordan Brake, Croat and Anderson), 52.99.

Adrian senior Joe Kruger drills a pitch for a grand-slam homer during Thursday’s Red Rock Conference baseball game against Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin in Adrian. Kruger drove in five runs in the contest, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Dragons from dropping a 9-8 decision in eight innings.By John RittenhouseThe Adrian baseball team went 2-1 while playing three games since last Thursday,Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin nipped the Dragons by one run in Adrian Thursday. Adrian responded to the setback by posting a seven-run win in Windom Monday before rolling to a 15-run victory over Southwest United in Heron Lake Tuesday.Adrian, 8-2 overall, hosts Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove today before playing in Luverne Tuesday.Adrian 15, SWU 0Tyler Wolf tossed a complete game shutout to carry the Dragons to a Red Rock Conference win over Southwest United in Heron Lake Tuesday.Wolf blanked the hosts in a game that was limited to five innings due to the 10-run rule. He allowed five hits and one walk while recording two strikeouts.The Dragons gave Wolf plenty of offensive support by scoring runs in four of the game’s five innings. AHS put together a five-run first inning and a seven-run fourth frame. The Dragons scored two runs in the second and one in the fifth.Joe Kruger was three-for-three at the plate with two doubles and four RBIs.Levi Bullerman and Pete Hohn both went three-for-four, and Wolf added two hits.Adrian 15, Windom 8The Dragons snapped a two-game losing skid when they prevailed by seven runs in Windom Monday.Adrian opened a 10-0 lead in three innings and never lost control of the game the rest of the way.Dusty Spieker led the Dragons in the slugfest by rapping three hits. Brandon Wolf, Levi Bullerman and Joe Kruger drove in a combined nine runs with two hits each. Brandon Schettler added two safeties.Adrian took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first with a sacrifice fly from Pete Hohn and a run-scoring fielder’s choice from Spieker, and the score was 4-0 when Bullerman doubled home a run. Dusty Henning received an RBI with a fielder’s choice in the second.A six-run third inning featuring a three-run homer by Wolf, a two-run single by Bullerman and an RBI single by Hohn made it a 10-0 game.Adrian scored single runs in the fourth (Henning recorded a sacrifice fly) and sixth innings (Brandon Diekmann singled home a run) before Kruger capped the AHS scoring with a two-run single in the seventh.David Hoffer, making his first varsity start as a pitcher, tossed four innings of three-run, six-hit ball to pick up the win. Brandon and Tyler Wolf pitched the final three frames.ML-B-O 9, Adrian 8The Wolverines took over first place in the RRC when they nipped the Dragons by one run in eight innings during Thursday’s tilt in Adrian.The battle of RRC unbeatens was settled in the eighth inning, when ML-B-O’s Mitchell Schroeder tripled home a run in the top of the eighth to make it 9-8. When Adrian was blanked in the bottom of the frame, the game was complete.Both teams sported leads during the course of the game.ML-B-O scored twice in the top of the first before the Dragons tied the tilt with an RBI single from Hohn and a fielder’s choice by Kruger that produced a run.The Wolverines moved in front 5-2 in the top of the third, but Kruger capped a five-RBI performance with a grand-slam homer in bottom of the third to give the Dragons their first lead at 6-5.The teams exchanged runs in the fourth inning (Adrian’s came after Bullerman produced a sacrifice fly), and ML-B-O moved in front 8-7 with a pair of runs in the top of the sixth.Kruger singled and scored on a fielder’s choice by Tyler Wolf in the bottom of the seventh, but the Wolverines settled the issue in the eighth.Wolf surrendered five hits and five runs in the first two innings as Adrian’s starting pitcher. Hohn took over in the third and was saddled with the loss after being touched for four runs and two hits in six innings. Hohn, who had two hits along with Kruger, fanned nine batters on the mound.

By Sara StrongThe difference between residential and institutional zones doesn’t seem like much until it comes to your back yard.Effective long-range planning makes towns coherent and prevents zoning surprises from knocking on the doors of neighborhoods or businesses.The city of Luverne is trying to plan for the future and adequately reflect the present. The Planning Commission Thursday, April 24, gathered feedback on city planning from interested residents. Anyone was able to attend, and about 15 did.The previous Comprehensive Plan was finalized in May 1994, but consisted of two years of community-wide efforts led by a firm paid $25,000 to do so. The Commission said it doesn’t feel sure if it can handle rewriting the document itself, but realizes funding a new draft might not fit into the budget.Planning Commission member Pat Baustian said, "Circumstances and times change, which is exactly why the Comprehensive Plan has to be looked at. … We’ve outgrown its usefulness."Baustian said the changes in Luverne are good news because the city hasn’t become stagnant. "Luckily, we have some things we need to look at because the community isn’t dying," he said.Planning Commission member Mike Jarchow said, that with the intense reaction zoning issues receive, the Commission will have to perform a huge balancing act. "Compromise is key," Jarchow said, "especially in a small town where people want to get along."That being said, he pointed out that some individual homeowners will have to accept change for the good of the community in general.Outside of zoningCommission member Bill Ketterling said he’d like the next Comprehensive Plan to address issues that may not be only about zoning — what’s to be done with the hospital and clinic area when the new campus north of town is finished, and how to keep Main Street occupied and busy.The city has grown to the west, north and south since the last Comprehensive Plan, and the meeting made clear that those areas should be addressed.Resident Eddie Deutsch attended the meeting and said that after 43 years of being confined to a wheelchair, he’d like to see more of Luverne handicap assessable. Many of the curbs and sidewalks have been improved, but Deutsch said it’s more difficult than it appears to be mobile.He said he can’t access many businesses, even though federal standards should be in place. Deutsch said he hasn’t reported any because he doesn’t want to cause trouble, but they’ve certainly caused him trouble."We have to make all remodeling handicap accessible," Deutsch said.A specific issue Deutsch has a problem with is Dingmann Funeral Home, which has tried to construct a business on the North Highway 75 green space, Fledgling Field. Deutsch said Dingmann’s current, historical building doesn’t allow him to attend visitations there. People have offered to carry him inside, but he’d rather wait until he can go in on his own.A new funeral home for Dingmann wasn’t allowed as a conditional use because of zoning issues and neighborhood residents’ complaints. Deutsch said, "Don’t let a business not improve property because of a few people squawking."Fledgling FieldEven though the meeting wasn’t about zoning in specific areas of the city, conversation turned to Fledgling Field.Tom Serie is planning to submit a request to rezone the former Fledgling Field as residential-institutional zone. It is currently a low-density residential zone, which allows for few conditional uses. Serie’s application to rezone the area, if passed, will allow a funeral home as a conditional use.He said, "It’s my opinion that the land is mixed use. I think it’s a correct argument that that area is zoned wrong." Pointing to neighboring land use that isn’t simply residential, Serie said the area has changed without rezoning keeping pace.Jim Harner said, "There are going to be spots of non-conforming use within a zone. Whenever you do a revision, there’s bound to be some that don’t fit, but you grandfather them in — you don’t tell them to move out."Harner, a neighbor to Fledgling Field, opposes the business of a funeral home in the residential neighborhood. He also worked on the last Comprehensive Plan and served on past zoning boards.Alex Frick said the notion of rezoning all of Highway 75 as business, which has been discussed, is unfounded.In the previous Comprehensive Plan, neighborhood preservation was a high priority. Frick said preserving the homes and quality of life on Highway 75, Kniss Avenue, is important to the city. Frick said the city should consider developing it into a park, because the area is without a pocket park which most areas of town have.Jim Kirchhofer said that he also sees the merit in preserving existing neighborhoods, outlined in the 1994 Comprehensive Plan. He said, "I hope you would retain that."

By Jolene FarleyIn the swing of planting, this year’s season seems to be on track for Rock County farmers so far. "I would say it’s going very good," Rock County Farm Service Director Roger Carlson said. "They’re in full swing."Carlson estimates 60-to-70-percent of the corn crop is planted. This year (as in the last few years) most farmers aren’t forced to detour around wet areas in the fields while planting, Carlson said. "I think planting conditions are excellent this year."Carlson cautioned that subsoil moisture is limited this growing season so most farmers welcomed the two-tenths inch of rain Tuesday evening, even if forced to quit fieldwork for awhile. "We certainly don’t have an abundance of sub-soil moisture," he said."It would certainly benefit all the crops that are planted and help for the future too," he said.Soil moisture content this year was 5.51 inches as of April 15, according to the Southwest Research and Outreach Center, Lamberton.This is in line with historic totals for the same date. "They’re saying we’re about normal for the year," Centrol Agronomic Consultant Mark Moeller said. Typically, crops are dependent on sub-soil moisture during the dryer late summer months. "Right now we’ve got enough to get the crop out of the ground but if it doesn’t rain, we don’t have an abundance in the soil," Moeller said.The last few seasons some farmers have gotten by on timely rains later in the season. Last summer dry conditions became critical.Rock County officials applied to the Department of Agriculture for a federal drought disaster declaration on Aug. 1. Soon after the disaster application, six inches of rain fell in the area.Rainfall in southwest Minnesota was three to six inches below normal until the storm."Overall, the county (crop) average wasn’t that bad but there were some areas that were affected." The northwest portion of the county suffered severe crop losses and Rock County received a disaster declaration.

By Lori EhdeAnother suspect among the five arrested around Thanksgiving last year was sentenced Monday in Rock County District Court.Gregory Lynn Wade, 40, was sentenced to more than five years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of second-degree controlled substance crime.His conviction stemmed from his role in the sale and delivery of 11.2 grams of meth, which was caught on videotape by undercover officers.Wade was one of four others arrested just before Thanksgiving when a two-month investigation involving the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension wrapped up.He was arrested Nov. 26 along with 18-year-old Gregory Stratton, 36-year-old Tony Tate, 48-year-old Oliver Crawford and 18-year-old Noi Chitmany. Dustin Kruger, 19, was arrested Nov. 28, for a lesser, but related drug charge.According to the order filed Monday in Rock County District Court, Wade was sentenced to serve 64 months in prison. Of that time, 42 and two-thirds months must be served in prison, and the remaining 21 and one-third months can be served on supervised release.According to the order, signed by Judge Timothy Connell, the time in prison may be extended to the entire sentence if Wade commits disciplinary offenses or supervised release violations.In addition to providing a DNA sample, Wade was also ordered to pay restitution of $990 and a total criminal assessment fee of $100, to be taken out of prison earnings, if any.He is currently in custody at the St. Cloud State Penitentiary.So far Wade is the third in the group to be sentenced.Chitmany, who was 17 when she was arrested, was sentenced April 7 through the "extended juvenile jurisdiction." If she completes her juvenile sentence and doesn’t violate any probation orders, she will have satisfied the conditions of her sentence. If she doesn’t, she will be treated as an adult and ordered to serve 48 months in prison.Stratton was sentenced April 15 to serve nearly five years in prison after he was convicted for second-degree controlled substance crime.Tate pleaded guilty on April 24 to second-degree controlled substance crime and is scheduled to appear June 2 for sentencing. He remains in custody of the Nobles County Jail. His bail was set at $35,000.Kruger, who was charged with aiding and abetting a controlled substance crime, (for driving Stratton to and from what he knew to be a drug deal) is scheduled to appear in Rock County District Court May 5 for a combined plea and sentence hearing.Crawford’s trial is set for July 30 and 31. He is already in prison serving time for his role in the Dec. 21, 2001, Harvey’s Trading Post burglary.

Rock County Sheriff Mike Winkels, pictured in the law enforcment center with Dispatch Supervisor Terri Ebert, said he's pleased so far with the outcome of community policing.By Sara StrongAt this time last year, city and county boards were debating the merits of hiring professionals to help local law enforcement convert to a community oriented style of policing.Now, Sheriff Mike Winkels says it was a good decision to make the move."The training is almost done, but community policing will be here forever," Winkels said.As a sheriff in his fifth month of office, Winkels said the department has undergone changes besides what is going on with community policing.A new investigator, an all-purpose dog, a retiring sergeant and two new deputies mean the department is transforming itself as it changes philosophically.Winkels said the changes happening along with community policing help keep enthusiasm high.The concept of community policing isn’t a new one, even though it’s fairly new to Rock County. Winkels said some aspects of the department were in sync with community policing before the training started.Community policing emphasizes a strong relationship between officers and the public and focuses on problem solving, rather than purely crime enforcement.Training Director with the Upper Midwest Community Policing Institute, Bill Micklus, said the new training is already taking shape. "People are already doing things and we’ve seen positive changes already," Micklus said.During the training sessions, Micklus said he hears success stories from officers.He describes implementing new ideas in a sheriff’s department as getting a wheel spinning. He adds momentum with each training, and soon the department has enough to continue on its own after the education piece is complete.Although Micklus won’t be spending much time in Rock County after the community policing training is complete, he said he’ll check in periodically and support the department."During our time there, we’ve found ourselves to feel like a part of the community and, within the sheriff’s department, like a part of them," Micklus said.Change of heartWinkels said the administrative changes he’ll make as sheriff won’t necessarily be as visible as the results."A year ago, drugs were a big issue; they still are a big issue. There are still thefts around town and [the thieves] are there to get money for drugs," Winkels said.Public information on drugs and home security are a part of what the department can do to proactively address these crime issues.The Rock County Sheriff’s Department is also working on a link for the county Web site, which will include an updated warrant list and educational materials that are difficult to get out to the public. Winkels said he looks forward to being able to change to what the public wants.He plans to host a Citizens Academy sometime in the fall that he hopes will draw interested people to work for the Sheriff’s Department as a sort of reserve unit. The reserves can help with prisoner transports to jail, parades, fairs or serve as bailiffs. The Citizens Academy will be an informational meeting that explains the logistics of law enforcement, including legal issues. Micklus said much of what can be done in the Sheriff’s Department to become more community-oriented in its policing is skills rather than actual duty changes."The good service up front will not only make people feel good about that contact, but cause them to call again and help again without you having to ask for it," Micklus said.He said the department will not only get the job of policing done, but do it in a fulfilling way that’s good for everyone.He understands the issue of a few officers covering an entire county. "You can’t get 15 people out of 10," he said. "But with the right support, we can have 10,000."Part of the changes that have to happen to make community policing real are already in place. The department drafted a mission statement, which gets goals on paper and makes all employees aware of them.Most important, Winkels said he wants his department to be a close-working unit. "I’m open to the guys and listening to what they think."The philosophy of community policingThe Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI wrote a report on community policing when it was first developed in the early 1980s.The report said in part, "police organizations that have been engaged in community policing and problem solving for at least three years are receiving an 85 percent increase in information and a 50 percent increase of intelligence information compared to traditional police practices."Implementing community policing means open communication with the public, frequent exchange among units within the agency and ongoing communication and networking with other public and non-profit agencies.It advocates less random patrol time and more committed use of officer time. The Upper Midwest Policing Institute said that patrolling doesn’t encourage citizen cooperation or make deputies approachable.Again, the philosophy is to problem solve rather than merely be visible and hope to catch crime as it happens during patrols.Community policing also allows officers to make decisions, take risks and then stand behind the decisions they make. Officers will have accountability to following up with crime victims and crime prevention.When involving the public in community policing, it can be as much as neighborhood watches or as little as more open communications.