By Sara Strong
Subsidized housing isn't new to Rock County, but giving tenants a choice on their location could be.

Current income-based housing is site specific, such as the Blue Mound Towers and Rock Manor apartments, in which qualifying tenants pay 30 percent of their income toward rent and the rest is subsidized.

Members of the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Worthington asked the Rock County Board of Commissioners Tuesday to grant it the authority to administer a Section 8 housing program in Rock County.

Section 8 allows qualifying renters to use vouchers and choose their location, provided the rental home or complex is a qualifying Section 8 participant.

To qualify, certain inspections and building codes must be met.

The Luverne Housing and Redevelopment Authority will also consider this request.

Section 8 has been looked on favorably by some landlords and apartment managers because they can be guaranteed at least a majority of the rent due to the subsidy, whereas negligent tenants or vacancies are less consistent.

In the past, Luverne's current income-based rental units opposed Rock County opening Section 8 because they feared losing tenants to other apartment complexes if tenants were given a choice.

The Rock County Board tabled action until its next meeting because one commissioner, Bob Jarchow, wasn't at the meeting.

April Bruhn helps her son, Lane, pick out just one duck on the midway at the Rock County Fair in Luverne this past weekend.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Jonathan Kruger (left), Dominic Fletcher and Jimmy Fletcher prepare for a fling on the Scrambler Friday on the fair midway.

By Lori Ehde
Cool, comfortable weather stole the show Thursday and Friday during the 2002 version of Rock County's Fair.

"It was great," said Fair Board secretary Isaac DeBoer. "Our advance ticket sales for the midway were the best we've had in five years. Overall we had good attendance, and a lot of that probably had to do with the weather."

There's no way to measure attendance on the midway or in the barns, but the 4-H food stand reported exceptional sales this year.

DeBoer didnÕt speak as favorably of Saturday's weather, which was hot and sticky during the day, and then rained out the Enduro Race after only a few laps.

He said it was disappointing for the drivers and fans, but the rain was good for local drought-plagued soil, and he said the event is rescheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday with free admission.

About 560 showed up for the Enduro Race Saturday, and about 400 attended the Kory and the Fireflies performance Friday night.

DeBoer said the real treat of the grandstand events this year was Thursday night's Rock County Amateur Talent Contest.

The event drew 25 acts involving 100 different people and attracted 575 to the stands.

"That went very, very well," DeBoer said. "Jane Wildung was very good to help the Fair Board get that organized."

Results of that competition, as well as results from 4-H competition, Open Class competition, the new Outstanding Senior Citizens and more on other pages of this week's Star Herald.

Bethany Ann Feit, 12, rural Rushmore, died Wednesday, July 31, 2002, as a result of an automobile accident.

A memorial mass was Saturday, Aug. 3, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Wilmont. The Rev. Gerald Kosse officiated. Burial of the cremains was at Calvary Cemetery in Wilmont.

Bethany Feit was born to David and Crystal (Kruger) Feit on Jan. 12, 1990, in Worthington. She attended Adrian School and had completed the sixth grade.

Bethany was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Wilmont where she was a mass server. She played in the band for two years and had just been chosen as a cheerleader for girls' basketball. She was an excellent gardener. She enjoyed camping, swimming, reading, shopping and her cat, Tiger.

Survivors include her parents, David and Chris Feit, rural Rushmore, one brother, Justin Feit, rural Rushmore; maternal grandparents, Jack and Shirley Kruger, Reading; paternal grandmother, Evelyn Feit, Luverne; and many uncles, aunts, cousins and friends.

Bethany was preceded in death by her grandfather, Eugene Feit, and an uncle, Steve Feit.

Dingmann Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Wilmont, was in charge of arrangements.

By John Rittenhouse
Like most weekends, Luverne's Anthony Mann raced his sportsman class car at Rapid Speedway, Rock Rapids, Iowa, Friday night.

This time, however, was different.

Two days after losing his older brother, Nick, to a welding accident at Cor-Tech Manufacturing, Anthony Mann entered the driver's seat in car No. 20 with a heavy heart.

Nick Mann had worked as a member of Anthony's pit crew in the past, and the car had words and symbols recognizing Nick as being his brother's No. 1 fan.

Before the night was through, Anthony raced as well as he could in an emotional situation. He has posted feature wins in the past, and probably will again in the future, but his fourth-place performance in Friday's feature event will be one race Anthony will never forget.

Mann was joined by a number of other area drivers at Rapid Speedway Friday.

Luverne High School graduate Scott Overgaard also competed in the sportsman class, placing second in the feature.

Magnolia's Josh Klay posted a win in a heat race of the hobby stock class before driving his way to a third-place finish in the feature event.

Kanaranzi's Colter Deutsch also mixed it up in the hobby stock class, placing fourth in the feature race.

Hills-Beaver Creek High School graduate Darren Korthals and Adrian's Mark DeBoer placed second and third respectively in the late model street stock feature.

Nick Jay Mann, 26, Luverne, died on Wednesday, July 31, 2002, in Luverne, as a result of an accident.

Services were Sunday, Aug. 4, at First Presbyterian Church in Luverne Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery, Luverne.

Nick Mann was born to Richard and JoLeah (Twito) Mann on Aug. 23, 1975, in Luverne. He was raised in Luverne and attended Luverne Schools graduating in 1994. Following his education he worked at Mel's Alignment, Luverne, and Lundstra Farms of Sioux Falls, S.D.

He married Angi Van Klei on Oct. 9, 1999, at First Presbyterian Church in Luverne. Following their marriage they moved to an acreage northwest of Luverne. He began working at Cor-Tech Manufacturing in 2000 where he was currently employed as a welder.

Survivors include his wife, Angi Mann and their two dogs, Keeli and Kasey, Luverne; his parents, Richard and JoLeah (Twito) Mann, Luverne, one brother, Anthony Mann and Candace Kopp, Luverne; maternal grandmother, Charlotte Twito, and paternal grandmother, Betty Mann, both of Luverne; parents-in-law, Leroy and Sue Van Klei, Adrian; sister-in-law, Amy and Dusty Ely, Eagle Lake; grandparents-in-law, Ernie and Nart Van Klei, Adrian, and Ann Fritz, Lismore.

Mr. Mann was preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Kenny Twito; paternal grandfather, Verlyn Mann, grandfather-in-law, Wilfrid Fritz, and his aunt, Deb (Mann) Barnes.

Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Shirley Ann Mundahl, 75, Luverne, died Sunday, July 28, 2002, at Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center in Luverne.

Services were Wednesday, July 31, at St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne. The Rev. Gary Klatt officiated. Burial was at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.

Shirley Ahrendt was born to Louis and Cora (Nelson) Ahrendt on Nov. 17, 1926, in Luverne. She graduated from Luverne High School in 1944. She worked at J.C. Penney in Luverne periodically for a number of years. Later she owned and operated a children's clothing store, The Children's Circus. She recently worked at Luverne Style Shop.

Mrs. Mundahl was a member of St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne, where she taught Sunday School and was active in the WomenÕs Circle and Stevens Ministry.

Survivors include her husband, Keith Mundahl, Luverne; two sons and daughters-in-law, Larry (Linda) Stoterau, Orange, Calif., and Dennis (Nancy) Stoterau, Redwood Falls; one stepson, Mitchell Mundahl, Pismo Beach, Calif.; eight grandchildren, Andy (Katie), Ben, Sarah, Nick, Samuel and Joseph Stoterau, and Erik and Evan Mundahl; two brothers and sisters-in-law, Norma (Jean) Ahrendt, Hackensack, and Ron (Lois) Ahrendt, Sioux Falls, S.D.; and a sister-in-law, Evelyn Ahrendt, Spirit Lake, Iowa.

Mrs. Mundahl was preceded in death by her parents, one daughter, Janice Stoterau, in 1961, and two brothers, Wayne and Gordon Ahrendt.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Beaver Creek farmer Jim Willers assesses the damage to his cornfield south of Beaver Creek Tuesday. Willers said rain in the next week or two could still help his crops.

By Jolene Farley
Rock County officials will meet today to assess crop damage caused by a lack of rain in the region.

The purpose of the meeting is to decide whether an application for disaster declaration is necessary, according to Roger Carlson, director of Rock County's Farm Service Agency.

"There is certainly some crop loss in the county," Carlson said. "The question is how much, and whether we are eligible for a disaster declaration."

A disaster declaration is typically issued if there is 30 to 35 percent crop loss in the county.

"It looks like it is about as bad in this county as any year of drought I've seen here," Carlson said.

Rainfall in Rock County has been below normal for the last five months, according to Carlson. Rainfall totals are reported from five locations in Rock County to the Soil and Water Conservation Agency. The numbers are averaged together for monthly totals.

This year, Rock County received 1.37 inches of rain in March, 2.32 inches in April, 1.8 inches in May and 1.8 inches in June this year.

In a normal year, Rock County would receive 1.95 inches of rain in March, 2.58 inches in April, 3.12 inches in May and 3.9 inches in June.

Totals for July haven't been reported yet, but the normal rainfall for the month is 3.66 inches. Carlson knows rainfall in the county for July was below normal.

"I'd be surprised if we had 2 inches (of rain) in July," he said. "I think it's going to be between one and two inches."

If rain falls in the next week or so, it will benefit the soybeans, but July is a more crucial month than August for corn, so corn yield may already be severely affected.

Beaver Creek farmer Jim Willers said it might take a week or two to determine how his crops will fare in Rock County, but the outlook isn't good.

"They are slowly deteriorating a little every day," he said. "The northern part of Rock County is drier than the southern part. The lighter soils are already burned."

About 250 acres Willers farms in Pipestone County received about an inch of rain from Sunday's storm. However, some corn on those acres was already too far gone before the storm, according to Willers.

Rain could save 180 acres of soybeans he has planted in northern Rock County.

Carlson, Rock County Emergency Coordinator Kyle Oldre, Natural Resources and Conservation Services representative Dave Rose and a representative from the Rock County Extension office will attend today's meeting.

They will present their findings to the Rock County Commissioners during their regular County Board meeting Tuesday.

By Lori Ehde
The Nobles County Sheriff's Department is investigating a rural Lismore accident that took the lives of two young people Wednesday afternoon.

Emergency crews responded to a 911 call at 3:42 p.m. on 190th Street about three-quarters of a mile west of Durfee Avenue.

There were five juvenile girls in the van, which had rolled.

Three were taken to Luverne Community Hospital, and two were pronounced dead at the scene.

One was airlifted to Sioux Falls.

One of the victims was Christine Taylor, 15, of Tim and Deb Taylor, Adrian. Dingmann Funeral Home is handling arrangements.