Now in their second week, the students work at the shops from 1 to 3 p.m. every school day, gaining valuable experience and insight on possible careers.

"It gives me a head start to see what it's like in the shop," Brockberg said Monday. He's not sure he'll go into auto mechanics for a living, but this will help him decide.

"I'm leaving my options open," he said. "I've always liked to fix things and do stuff in the yard.
This just helps me expand my horizons."

So far, Dreckman said the arrangement with Brockberg is working out well. "We help him learn things in the business, and he's getting his hands dirty," Dreckman said.

At the same time, the businesses are finding ways the arrangement helps them, too. For example, one day when things were busy at Luverne Body Shop, Mary Aaker said De Kam washed up a car that was ready to be returned to a customer.

"It's an extra set of hands when he's here, too," she said.

The decision to take on an intern goes beyond the work that's getting done, the business owners say.

Aaker said when Luverne High School offered the auto body and auto mechanics programs, any student who wanted to see what those jobs were like had the chance to find out.

"Now they don't anymore," he said. "This way a few can have the opportunity to try it."

By Lori Ehde
When the budget axe fell this spring, Luverne High School lost its auto body and auto mechanics vocational programs.

The classes no longer exist, but with a little creativity and participation from local businesses, two senior students are still getting their hands greasy while padding their academic rŽsumŽs.

Jeremy De Kam, Luverne, is working an apprenticeship with Kevin Aaker at Luverne Body Shop, and Mark Brockberg, Hardwick, is working under Rich Dreckman at Align Tech and Tire.

High School Principal Gary Fisher said these two students were particularly at a loss when the program was cut, because they had met most of their other requirements for graduation.

Besides that, funding had also been cut for the School to Work program in business education.

"I said if they could find a business in the community to offer the opportunity for them to explore the work environment, then we'd see what we could do," Fisher said. "They did the legwork and talked to the businesses."

From there, insurance issues and parameters for grades were worked out.

"Grades will be based on the employers' view of the job they did and things like their work ethic," Fisher said.

He will review the students' work with the employers at the end of each quarter to determine their grades.

Luverne students Chris Anderson and David Weis (front) stock the vending machines with new soda and milk daily as part of their curriculum in vocational skills.

By Sara Quam
Students in Luverne finally "got milk."

This year vending machines are stocked with 2-percent, chocolate and strawberry milk, thanks to a local initiative to include more healthy beverages alongside sodas. Milk is joined by water and fruit juices in 10 of the 45 possible beverage slots.

The Rock County Wellness Committee and Mark Lundgren from the school had a lot to do with it.

Wellness Committee chairman Paula Anderson said, "It is important for parents to know that the school and the community are working to improve the health of our children."

Last year, state legislators voted down a resolution that would have banned pop sales during school hours. The legislation was backed by dental associations and health advocates but opposed by schools which use the revenue to supplement budgets.

Lundgren thought this was the perfect compromise.

"Coke was very generous to include a dairy product - competition to them - in the machines. We talked to them about the milk, and they don't have a milk product out yet."

Coke agreed to let Land O' Lakes provide the milk.

Lundgren said, "ItÕs an experiment right now, but it's going pretty well."

More products fit in the new Coke machines that are out this year, so there was room for milk and juice.

If either the larger machines or Coke's agreement had fallen through, milk probably wouldn't be available. The school would have had to buy a separate machine just for milk, and they are costly to maintain, so Lundgren doubts it would have worked.

Even though milk is available, Mello Yello is still the biggest seller by far. Diet Mello Yello, which is slightly better for teeth and contains fewer calories, isn't selling as well as the school had first thought.

Soda sales generated about $8,000 for Luverne schools last year, impacting the student activities budget. The funds went to the Student Council and were then funneled to other school groups. Yearbook costs, for example, are kept down thanks to money from the pop machines.

Andrea Drost's mom, Deb, drives an Early Childhood Family Education group to the pumpkin patch. Andrea is sitting on the steps of the trailer and helps children pick out pumpkins.

By Sara Quam
She's not quite a pumpkin fairy, but Andrea Drost, 15, helps keep Rock County stocked with the seasonal favorite.

The Luverne High School sophomore started growing pumpkins when her brother, Tim, was born. Her dad, Gary, wanted to give her something to keep busy with, and somehow, the pumpkins stuck.

Thirteen years after her first miniature pumpkin patch, Andrea now harvests two-thirds of an acre and is a major wholesaler of the produce locally.

Along with selling the pumpkins, she's turned them into an educational opportunity.

The patch itself, along with group tours and a Powerpoint presentation, are a Future Farmers of America project for Andrea. She has to document the success of her pumpkins in detailed costs and work analyses.

The work includes planting pumpkins with a corn planter and tilling between the rows twice a week. She also puts in time hoeing between individual plants to keep weeds out of the way.

Tours and pumpkin shoppers stop by the farm to get their harvests for the season. Early Childhood Family Education has had many group tours this fall, and Andrea leads them through a short educational presentation on how pumpkins grow from seeds to plants.

During one recent tour, Andrea included the children in the discussion on pumpkins. After showing them a picture of orange-colored blossoms, she asked, "And you know what they turn into?" The preschoolers all jumped in to shout "pumpkins."

Throughout her years raising the pumpkins, she has put aside profits for college savings. But thatÕs only after she donates 10 percent to her church.

"I keep 25 percent for fun, teen-age stuff," she said.

Even though Andrea has collected money from her crops, she is getting more out of it than that. "It's so fun to see the kids' reactions. Something so simple makes them so happy," she said. "I actually have more fun seeing the pumpkins grow and watching the kids have so much fun."

And she's learning about more than just yields. She said, "A lot of what I'm learning is that hard work, in the end, pays off. When it's 90 degrees in the summer and youÕre working in the field, you kind of wonder if it's worth it, but it is."

By Sara Quam
An area housing study dominated discussion at the Luverne Economic Development Authority meeting Tuesday.

Jason Haehn of Admark Resources, St. Cloud, presented the study's findings. He concluded that the city of Luverne could support an additional 30 units of houses to sell and another 80 to 84 units to rent over the next three to five years.

He summarized the rental portion of the study by saying Luverne needs to meet more needs for renters even though the vacancy rate on apartments is now 11 percent. The industry standard is 5 percent, and the vacancy rate in 2000 was 7 percent overall.

"There are units there, but they're not being used for some reason," Haehn said.

Luverne City Administrator said, "I don't think that number gives an accurate picture."

Hylen said that although 11 percent of the apartments are vacant, the vacancies are concentrated in the City Centre Apartments and Blue Mound Tower. Take those off the chart, he said, and the vacancy rate is closer to 2 percent.

Haehn said that the small square footage of Blue Mound Tower units might not appeal to families with children or even a couple in some cases. He suggested that other options like making two units into one or using the apartments for assisted or congregate living might help fill the space.

The City Centre Apartments' vacancy problems are different. They charge among the highest rental rates in the area. The units may also suffer because of a lack of marketing or because the building used to be a school and many renters will remember it as such.

Haehn further clarified the vacancy rate of 11 percent by saying that some apartments don't advertise and that some of those surveyed expected vacancies to fill shortly based on recent applications.

As far as home purchasing, the selling price of homes in Luverne has steadily increased from a median $28,500 in 1989-90 to $65,000 in 1999-00. The city currently has more than 80 open lots available.

This study will be used to develop a Community Development Plan that will detail actions to implement housing improvements, taking into consideration the population's age and income.

In other business the LEDA:
Looked at a draft of Moorhead's border city legislation. The LEDA is coming up with a draft of guidelines for businesses wanting to apply for border city incentives. The city can determine an ideal number of employees or a minimum dollar amount in order for businesses to complete the application process. It will recommend these policies to the council.

Discussed the possibility of advertising requests for proposals for the sale of the LEDA apartment units. The LEDA bought and developed the apartments with the intention of selling to a private party as long as it didn't come out at a loss. Tax laws are more favorable now than they were at the time the apartments were constructed in the early 1990s, so now might be the best time to sell, the LEDA decided.

The Mounds View and Evergreen Apartments on the north side of town are full and even have a waiting list.

Agreed to offer the Christensen house on Blue Mound Avenue for rent for the winter on a short-term lease until the LEDA decides whether to sell it in bid form. The house was part of an agreement when the city purchased land for the Evergreen addition. The LEDA obtained the house when the residents were ready to move out of it.

Investor Ben Davis lines up to drive off hole No. 1 ... or what will soon be hole No. 1 on the golf course planned east of Beaver Creek. Surveyors work in the background plotting a road through the development that will include an entertainment facility and 34 residential lots.

By Jolene Farley
An idea conceived one and one-half years ago is becoming a reality. A golf course near Beaver Creek will be open by next spring if things run according to plan, according to investors.

Construction work began Tuesday shortly after investors closed on an 86-acre parcel of land east of Beaver Creek purchased from Steve and Kathy Thurman.

Surveyors began plotting the road to a planned development of 34 lots available for home construction, a nine-hole golf course and an entertainment facility.

A limited liability corporation was created by investors Mike Blank, Rod Scholten, Ben Davis, Leonard Scholten and Dan Van Otterloo before beginning the project.

Financing wasnÕt the biggest hurdle for the project, Davis said. A development including several housing lots, a golf course and an entertainment facility needs extensive planning.

"No one has ever set something up like this in less than six months," he said.

Prairieland Development, a state entity formed to spur development in rural Minnesota, was instrumental in moving the project along.

"They worked with us on a business plan and discovering if there was a viable market (for the project)," said Davis. "They were instrumental in helping us."

Investors hope the road will be complete and the lots sectioned off and sold within the next two to three weeks.

Median price of the lots is $26,000 to $27,000, with higher end lots priced at $30,000 to $31,000. Least expensive lots are priced in the low 20s, according to Davis.

Some lots are already spoken for, even though the partners did not actively market them. Word of mouth is basically what sold them, Davis said.

Local contractors will be used for all construction, with the five partners acting as general contractors, according to Davis.

All construction companies involved met with the partners last week. "Everybody is in line and ready to roll," said Davis.

When asked how the partners came up with the idea of building a golf course, Van Otterloo said, "We love the sport and we spent so much time on different courses. We watched how they were developed, the tree placement and scenery."

This love of the game led to the idea that they themselves could build not only a golf course but a whole development.

Extra credit for the project becoming a reality should be given to Rod Scholten and Mike Blank, according to Davis. "They have really done a lot of the leg work," said Davis. "They are the golfers; we are the caddies."

Amenities in the entertainment facility, which may be open as soon as next spring, include a banquet hall seating about 300 people with a built-in stage area and a bar and restaurant seating 70 people.
The partners shy away from a sports bar atmosphere for the clubhouse. "It's going to be a community clubhouse. We want to make sure everyone is comfortable," Davis said.

David Rose looks out at the field of pumpkins at the Gary and Deb Drost farm before deciding which one he wants to take home. Story inside.

Photo by Sara Quam

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills-Beaver Creek girls came up on the short end of a five-game volleyball battle in Hills Tuesday.

Playing host to Edgerton in a Red Rock Conference match, it looked like the Patriots might recover from a slow start by rallying to win Games 3 and 4 and knotting the match at two wins each.

The Patriots, however, lost the momentum in the fifth game and came up on the short end of a 3-2 tally when the Flying Dutchmen took the game by a 15-6 margin.

The night was filled with ups and downs for the Patriots, who slipped to 4-3 in league play with the loss.

"We got off to a slow start in the first game before coming back to lose a close game," said Patriot coach Nicole Fey.

"Game 2 was tight the whole way, but they pulled it out in the end. We started out better in Games 3 and 4 and won them, but we lost it again in the fifth game."

The key to victory for Edgerton was that it came up big in the end to post 15-13 and 17-15 wins in the first two games.

H-BC bounced back to even the match at two games each with 15-10 and 15-9 wins in the third and fourth tilts. Edgerton won the war with its nine-point victory in Game 5.

Inconsistency and some blocking problems hampered the Patriots in the match.

"We have a really good volleyball team this year," Fey offered. "The problem is we're playing very inconsistently. Another thing that hurt us is that we were a step or two slow with our blocks in this match."

Erin Boeve didn't have any trouble finding holes in EdgertonÕs defense as she registered 36 kills during the match.

Brittney Olson hit the floor to produce 18 digs. Tonya Leenderts had 17 digs and 15 service points for the Patriots.

The 6-9 H-BC squad plays road matches against Westbrook-Walnut Grove and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton tonight and Monday before hosting Southwest Star Concept Tuesday.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek recovered from a slow start to produce a 3-1 volleyball victory over Ellsworth in Hills Monday.

After falling behind 10-0 and eventually falling 15-13 in Game 1, the Patriots regained their winning form to secure 15-6, 15-5 and 15-0 wins to take the non-conference match against the Panthers.

When the match was complete, Patriot coach Nicole Fey was proud of the way her players bounced back from adversity early in the contest.

"We really struggled receiving serves, and we couldn't get anything going early in the match. After falling behind 10-0, we came back and played very strong volleyball the rest of the night," she said.

The momentum H-BC gained by scoring 13 of the last 18 points in Game 1 carried over into the second game when the Patriots evened the match at one game each.

Ellsworth led 4-3 in the second game when the Patriots went on an 8-0 run featuring two kills, one block and one service point by Erin Boeve, three service points by LaDonna Sandstede and a kill by Jody Rentschler to take an 11-4 advantage.

The Panthers closed the gap to five points at 11-6, but a block and a kill by Boeve followed by a pair of service points from Rentschler capped a 15-6 H-BC win that knotted the match at one game each.

H-BC scored the first 11 points and coasted to a 15-5 win in the second game.

The opening run featured two kills by Jana Hup, two kills and a block by Boeve, five service points by Leenderts and a kill by Angie Sjaarda.

Ellsworth scored the next four points to trail 11-4 before H-BC settled the issue with a 4-1 surge consisting of an ace serve by Melissa Fagerness, a kill by Cassi Tilstra, a block by Boeve and a service point from Kelsey Hansel.

The Patriots dominated Game 4 without surrendering a point.

Tonya Leenderts served the first six points with Boeve adding a kill, a block and a tip, and Sandstede adding another tip. Hup served an ace and two more points, and Brittney Olson delivered an ace serve to make it 10-0. Sjaarda served three aces and Boeve came up with a kill and a block to end the game.

The Patriots nearly recovered from a 10-0 deficit to win Game 1.

H-BC used two kills, two blocks and one service point by Boeve, one kill, one service point and one ace serve by Hup and one service point by Leenderts to trim EllsworthÕs early lead to one point at 10-9.

After Boeve tied the game at 12 with a kill, Leenderts gave the Patriots their first lead (13-12) with a service point that was followed by a three-point EHS run that settled the issue.

Boeve led H-BC at the net with 26 kills and five blocks. Sandstede distributed 26 set assists, and Leenderts produced 22 service points and nine digs.