By Sara Strong
If all goes as Sioux Valley plans, Luverne could have a new hospital and clinic by the end of 2006, at a total cost of $17.8 million.

Administration from Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System gave a formal presentation to the Luverne City Council Tuesday.

The Council will discuss the presentation — and what Sioux Valley is requesting — at later meetings.

As a part of the project, Sioux Valley requests that the city of Luverne purchase the existing hospital for $825,000. (The clinic is still being considered by the county for a possible purchase.) Sioux Valley also asks that Luverne grant it $1,657,000 and loan it $1 million.

Even though drawings and numbers are drafted, the project is still in its planning and development stages.

Sioux Valley has already announced it chose north of Luverne for the location. The property abuts the Veterans Addition to its south, Highway 75 on the west, Blue Mound Avenue on the east and the gravel township road on the north.

A combined clinic and hospital site is estimated to be 78,000 square feet, increased from the current 42,000.

Site preparation could start as early as September 2003.

The city of Luverne would have some sewer, water and electric work to do as well. Water pressure on the north edge of town is already an issue, so the city will have to account for that.

Actual construction could begin in the spring of 2004 and be complete late in 2006.

Why help a big system?
Greg Burger of the Rock County Economic Development Corporation, said people have questioned the need to help a health system as big as Sioux Valley, which presumably has deep pockets.

Burger said, "We ought to be more than willing to do that, in fact, we have to be willing to do our share."
Burger said that it’s important to remember that before Sioux Valley became a partner in Luverne’s health care system, the local hospital had no option of expanding services or space, and wasn’t turning a profit.

"Sioux Valley came up to the plate and effectively became a partner when it bought the hospital," Burger said.

Steve Perkins is chairman of the Hospital Board. He reminded the council of the Minnesota Veteran’s Home move to Luverne, when the city contributed more outright than it would for the new hospital and clinic project.

Perkins said, "What would happen if we didn’t? They’re still investing $13 million in the community — this kind of Christmas doesn’t come around very often."

Besides the initial investment of a new facility, Sioux Valley estimates hiring more employees, increasing payroll by $2 million.

Looking ahead
Jerry Carl, CEO of Luverne Community Hospital, said patients and physicians have noticed problems within the current facility for some time, mostly in lack of space and privacy.

The project would:

Include more space dedicated to outpatient services to reflect the trend in services.

Fix code issues such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

Make patient flow more efficient, keeping inpatient and outpatient services separate.

Improve patient confidentiality and privacy by increasing the number of private rooms and keeping outpatient traffic out of the inpatient areas. Rehab, for example, is spread over five locations in the current hospital.

Add a CT unit. Currently a mobile CAT scan comes to the hospital, limiting access for patients. Carl said, "We really need to have that for doctors, it’s an extremely important diagnostic tool."

More than double the number of clinic exam rooms and allow more space for specialists. The clinic space itself would increase by 7,000 square feet.

The ambulance station isn’t a part of the proposed move to the north of town. The space is adequate where it is and the crew favors the central location for good response times.

In the past, renovation was a serious consideration, but that would take an estimated five years and not add as much space or customer convenience as a new construction, Carl said.

A renovation of the current site would also limit future growth and could cause a loss of patients during renovation because of the inconvenience.

By Sara Strong
Netbriefings owner Gary Anderson told the Luverne Economic Development Authority that he wished he had better news Tuesday.

The Internet Webcasting company has been without employees in Luverne for a while and has reduced its Twin Cities office to six people, including Anderson.

He said, "Customer acquisition is way slower than I like it, so we need to get new customers and keep the ones we’ve got."

The report to the LEDA was necessary because the city loaned the company $250,000 in November 2001.

As a part of that loan agreement, the company should have had five employees by its first anniversary in Luverne.

As a Webcasting company, Netbriefings streams live audio and video for businesses wanting to have meetings in different locations. The company can also archive the meetings for companies that may have employees who need to catch up.

Sales and consulting services had a good month in January, so Anderson is hopeful the business will turn around for the better.

"2002 was a tough year," he said.

Anderson added that the overall economy is sluggish and that he believes the need for his company will grow.

LEDA director Dan Statema asked Anderson to estimate when jobs in Luverne might reopen. Anderson said his guess was later in 2003 by the earliest.

"We’re not doing as good as we should, but we’ll be here," Anderson said.

As a part of the loan agreement, the first two years of the loan were at 0 percent interest, with payments deferred. (At the time the LEDA reasoned that because the first two years of a company’s existence is so crucial, stopping interest accumulation and deferring payments would help ensure that the business stays in Luverne.)

The LEDA has the right to declare default on the loan agreement, and the balance of the loan would then become due and payable at an interest rate of 12 percent.

New building project
The LEDA Tuesday approved a $3,500 grant under the Residential Backfill Program. Marie Frakes and Sam Berghorst applied for the grant to prepare the lot at 122 West Warren St. for new construction of a triplex. It will be similar to one neighboring the property and will include a courtyard between them.

The LEDA budgets for one Backfill grant a year, which is paid in full only after the new construction takes place.

There was some discussion about waiting until state aid to the city is decided before spending more money. But because it was already in the budget, the LEDA voted unanimously to continue with the project.

LEDA member Nate Golla said, "It might be worth it to have some new construction going on."

Enterprise zone
LEDA President and Luverne Mayor Glen Gust reported that the Enterprise Zone legislation just made it out of a House Committee. It’s a step in the right direction, Gust said, but there’s still more phases to complete before the legislation passes.

By Lori Ehde
This will be a big weekend for Glen Gust and his Glen’s Food Center employees.

The store will close doors on its current Lincoln Street location at 6 p.m. Sunday and will reopen Monday morning in its new building two blocks south in the former Jubilee Foods building.

Although Tony Bosch built the new Jubilee store only 2 1/2 years ago, Gust invested a significant amount of remodeling into the building to suit his needs.

For example, the Jubilee deli didn’t have a bakery, since most of its baked goods were prepared off site and brought in.

So, the biggest project was remodeling the deli and adding a bakery to the location.

One other physical change will be a new entrance directly into the deli. Gust said the entrance will be convenient for the deli customers and it will free up parking space for grocery customers near the main entrance.

In addition, Gust removed the Jubilee checkout counters, which required customers to unload their own carts. Glen’s checkout counters, which are cashier unloaded, will replace them.

Other transitional issues include signage and repainting the store to the Affiliated Grocers colors, and restocking the store so items will be on the same shelves as they were in the former Glen’s location.

Along with expanding from roughly 20,000 to 30,000 square feet, Glen’s shoppers will also benefit from the larger parking lot at the new location.

"It’s been a lot of fun," said Gust, who’s been working 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days the past few weeks.
"The challenge for us was to get into the new facility as soon as we could, because we knew our existing facility and parking couldn’t handle it."

He said he looks forward to next week, when the move is complete.

"Everyone who works at the store has been real happy about taking care of our customers," Gust said.

"And we’re ready to get into that bigger store. It’s going to be great."

Lori Ehde
The wheels of justice are grinding slowly in the lawsuit brought by Glenn, Mabel, Loren and Mark Overgaard against Chad and Scott Overgaard, Overgaard Pork.

Among the most notable developments in the past week, plaintiffs have indicated they will dismiss County Commissioner Bob Jarchow as a defendant in the case.

"This came about because the attorneys for the plaintiffs realized there was no evidence against Mr. Jarchow," said attorney Scott Anderson, Minneapolis.

Anderson represented Jarchow through the Minnesota Counties Insurance Trust, of which Rock County is a member.

"They indicated they would voluntarily dismiss him upon our request," Anderson said.

He said the other defendants named in the case also moved to have the lawsuit thrown out of court.

In addition to Overgaard Pork, those defendants include former Rock County Feedlot Officer John Burgers, Rock County Board of Commissioners and Schwartz Farms, which owns the animals Overgaard Pork raises.

Background
The lawsuit, filed March 19, 2002, alleges that the defendants conspired to help Chad and Scott wrongfully obtain a hog feedlot permit to build a 3,200-head hog setup about a half mile from Glenn’s property in the fall of 2001.

Glenn protested the permit throughout its process in the county.

The suit claims the defendants didn’t act according to law when permits for a feedlot were granted.

And beyond that, according to the suit, they falsified records, acted with conflicts of interest, engaged in inappropriate conduct and aided in polluting the plaintiffs’ land, air and water.

The county’s response has been that it acted properly in the permitting process and that the lawsuit has been "brought for an improper purpose."

The plaintiffs are suing for monetary damages exceeding $50,000, which is standard in state cases.

New information
Attorneys for the defendants have argued there’s no legal or factual basis for the claims.

Plaintiffs indicated last week they would voluntarily dismiss:

The conspiracy claim against all the defendants was dismissed for lack of evidence.

The RICO claim was also dismissed. It was brought based on the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act, alleging there was some criminal activity afoot.

The MERA claim, brought based on the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act, was also voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiffs.

In letters sent last week, attorneys for all the defendants have moved for the court to enter judgment in their favor — to throw out the case.

The plaintiffs have also filed a motion for the courts to enter judgment in their favor.

Punitive damages
Meanwhile the four Overgaard plaintiffs have moved to amend their complaint to assert a punitive damage claim against their cousins, Chad and Scott Overgaard.

Such claims are typically meant to punish defendants beyond compensating plaintiffs in lawsuits.

Chad and Scott Overgaard’s attorney Larry Maloney, Minneapolis, has brought a counter motion, alleging that the motion to amend is brought in bad faith and without proper support, and is requesting an award for attorney’s fees for having to defend a frivolous motion.

Twists and turns such as these can add up to hefty legal costs on both sides, and sometimes the outcome is determined by which side runs out of money first.

To cover its legal expenses, the county submits claims to MCIT, Anderson said, but not all the defendants have that option.

"I feel really bad for Chad and Scott Overgaard. They’ve had to pay their own expenses all along," Anderson said.

"This isn’t necessarily my own opinion, but some people might believe that part of the purpose in bringing the lawsuit and all its amendments is to actually force young agricultural animal producers like Chad and Scott to go out of business."

Attorneys will exchange all paperwork and file documents in U.S. District Court, Minneapolis, in the next three to four weeks.

Judge Donovan Frank will likely hear arguments by mid May, but a judgment won’t likely be rendered for several months after that.

By Sara Strong
Rock County Rural Water is standing by its recommendation to pull out of the Lewis and Clark Rural Water Project.

Since its vote a month ago, federal funding of $7 million came through, but Rural Water still thinks its users will be fine on their own.

Lewis and Clark representative Red Arndt, who is also the Utilities Coordinator for the city of Luverne, spoke to the Board of Commissioners Tuesday. The Board wanted to hear Lewis and Clark’s perspective before dropping out of the project.

The Rural Water Board acts as an advising body to the county Board of Commissioners.

Lewis and Clark isn’t concerned about the 300,000 allotment Rock County Rural Water signed up to use because other users would likely vie for the chance to use its portion. What the system is concerned about is political effects of a member dropping off.

Commissioner Ron Boyenga also serves on the Rural Water Board. He said "We support the project totally," even though it doesn’t want to be a member anymore.

Rock County Attorney Don Klosterbuer is still looking into the details, whether Rural Water can sell its share of allocated water or whether it can even break the contract. The county will act on the matter after getting more information.

"This is really a system of the future," Arndt said. "It isn’t something we can just look at what we’re spending now. … I can’t put a dollar amount on what reliability is worth; I can’t answer that."

Lewis and Clark Rural Water System will provide an alternative, backup water supply from the Missouri River to 23 towns and water systems in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa.

In an area plagued with drought and shallow aquifers prone to contamination, many have seen Lewis and Clark as a salvation. Its environmental impacts are expected to be minimal on the Missouri River and its surrounding area. Arndt said the river would only lose a half inch of water a year as the result of Lewis and Clark, so there’s not much opposition.

Rural Water’s opposition comes mostly from the pocketbook, but also because it thought the project would be finished by now. Now it’s expected to be done by 2012 or 2014.

When it signed up, Rural Water was expected to pay $303,018; in 2001 it was estimated at $450,741.
Rural Water’s portion of the agreement for 2003 was $20,000 for 300,000 gallon allotment. The water would serve as a backup supply.

Rural Water signed up for Lewis and Clark in 1993, and since then, has almost doubled its number of wells and has the capacity to pump three times its average use.

Contamination of the shallow wells is always an issue in this area. Rural Water Manager Dan Cook said well field protection areas are helping to avoid nitrate contamination. Along with the increased number of wells, the wells are spread out, contained in different watershed areas.

Rural Water sees all of this as a sign it can handle itself. In fact, it is looking into selling some of its surplus water to Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water System.

By Lori Ehde
There will be a St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Luverne after all this year.

When First Farmer’s and Merchants Bank President Don Cashin retired two years ago, he also stepped down as long-time organizer of the local event.

The Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce put it together last year but announced it would not include the parade on its list of Chamber events this year.

Up until last weekend, it appeared the tradition would die in Luverne, until local Irishwoman (one-quarter anyway) Katie Connell Baustian stepped up to the plate.

Except for her years in college, Baustian said she doesn’t know of a Luverne St. Patty’s Day Parade that she didn’t attend — or participate in for that matter.

In 1985 she was crowned Queen of St. Patrick’s Day, an honor that doesn’t say that much about a person’s Irish heritage. "You just have to be little Irish," Baustian said Monday.

While the details are still coming together, she said parade grand marshals will be Bill and Mary Lou Mulligan, and St. Patrick’s Day Queen will be Tera Boomgaarden.

Junior royalty will be Makayla and Morgan Hohn, and Jacob, Luke and 8-week-old Ben Jarchow. Parents of the children are Craig and Patrice Hohn and Tim and Kayla Jarchow, all of Luverne.

Molly Golla and Cole Irish will be queen and king of the leprechauns.

Baustian said she’d call Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center and Minnesota Veterans Home to see if their residents of Irish heritage could serve as senior royalty in the parade.

As a newcomer to running the show, Baustian found out there’s more to running the parade than lining up entries.

She learned she needed to apply for a parade license and pay a $10 fee at City Hall.

She also learned that in order to paint the giant green shamrock on Main Street, she would have had to request permission at a council meeting, and it was too late to be included on Tuesday’s council agenda.

Other than that, Baustian said the parade will go on as usual, complete with the services of Cashin’s convertible and his official Irish flag.

The parade will start at 4 p.m. Monday, March 17, in the Sears-Furniture House lot on East Main Street.

Those interested in participating in the parade should meet there at 3:30 to get in line. Baustian can be reached at 283-4180 or at pbaustian@dtgnet.com.

The Jubilee Foods store is only 2 1/2 years old, but Glen Gust is remodeling the deli to add a bakery. Jubilee Foods prepared its baked goods off site. Gust is also bringing in his own checkout counters, which don't require customers to unload their own ca rts. Story inside.

Photo by Lori Ehde

Minneapolis actor-educators Sarah Rinner (left) and Adia Morris with CLIMB Theatre work with Luverne Middle School students Tuesday in the high school theatre to provide young people with substance abuse prevention information and drug refusal skills. CLIMB stands for Creative Learning Ideas for Mind and Body, and the group visited five southwest Minnesota schools this week with funding support from a Youth Risk Behavior Grant through Public Health. "They teach students that they have the right to a healthy life; that they can say ‘no,’" said Public Health Educator Paula Anderson, Luverne. "And, not only do they teach them how to say ‘no,’ they allow them to practice saying ‘no’ and voice their fears and concerns about saying ‘no.’" She said projects like this and many others will not be available if Gov. Pawlenty reallocates the entire Tobacco Endowment to other funds, as is in his proposal.

Photo by Lori Ehde

By Sara Strong
The Luverne Planning Commission jump-started this year by drafting a few changes for the code books.

Commission members had a final reading of their drafts Tuesday and will host a meeting April 1 to give residents the opportunity to discuss some of the proposed changes.

Junk vehicles and parking have been specific hassles for the city in the past. In its past few meetings, the Commission has tried to tailor parts of the code to keep the city attractive and safe while protecting property owners’ rights.

One proposed change bans all parking on front lawns, during all seasons. For parking in the back yard, the Commission said that three vehicles (which also includes trailers, snowmobiles, boats, campers and others) is the maximum allowed.

Junk vehicles
The Commission is using definitions outlined in state statutes.

An "abandoned vehicle" is one that has been parked: for more than 48 hours on any property owned or controlled by a unit of government, or for more than four hours where it is properly posted; or on private property without the consent of the person in control of the property.

Abandoned vehicles are also those that lack vital component parts and are inoperable such that it has no potential for further use. If that is the case, it must be kept in an enclosed garage or storage building.
Classics or pioneer cars will not be considered junk.

A "junk vehicle" is one that is extensively damaged; is apparently inoperable; does not have a valid, current registration plate and has an approximate fair market value equal only to the approximate value of the scrap in it.

Simply keeping current registration tabs on a junk vehicle’s license plate won’t prevent citations.

The Commission concluded Tuesday that vehicle repairs may be done in the open, but for no longer than 30 days. No tools or parts can be left outside, by the car, and must be stored in a structure when someone isn’t actively working on a vehicle.

Within those 30 days of allowable repair time, a cover specifically designed for cars can be used, but blue plastic tarps tied down with bricks, for example, are not allowed.

Covering the vehicles with a tarp, as had been done in the past to avoid zoning officials, will no longer be considered an effective means of containing junk vehicles or ones being repaired.

The 30-day repair clause doesn’t apply to people who are storing junk vehicles, claiming to be restoring them. Repairs can be done in the open only on licensed and operable vehicles.

Parking
The Planning Commission said in a draft that "parking … on unpaved areas destroys landscaping and the general aesthetics of a neighborhood. Toxic wastes can enter the water table if vehicles leak oil or other fluids. Far from being merely an annoyance, lawn parking affects neighborhood pride and signals the beginning of economic decline."

If the proposed changes go through, there will be no parking in front lawns, and there can be only three vehicles in the back yard.

The Commission doesn’t have specifics outlined yet, but in the future, it plans to include a requirement that back yard parking be on a paved or graveled surface. That means simply driving onto grass will not be acceptable.

The Commission said that junk vehicles and the damage they cause to property values, city pride and the environment are its main concern now.

Selling vehicles
Residents are also prohibited from displaying a vehicle for sale without a license from the state to operate as a car dealer. That really means that vacant lots can’t be used to display "For Sale By Owner" vehicles.

People can still sell their own cars, but the Planning Commission doesn’t want stray vehicles in random locations around town. People selling their own vehicles have commonly parked them in high visibility areas.

If the proposed changes go through, vehicles for sale by owner can be labeled as such and parked in driveways or on public streets. Car dealerships will typically sell vehicles for people on consignment as well.

All vehicles in dealership lots must be parked on paved areas.

Fences
The city doesn’t want to involve itself in disputes regarding fences at property lines. The Planning Commission proposes that the code make clear that property owners are responsible for getting their own property lines drawn by a surveyor.

The city asks that residents work with neighbors on fencing issues. Maintenance of both sides of the fence is the responsibility of the fence owner, including mowing and painting.

The city of Luverne won’t determine which side of the fence or in what manner the fence should be "finished" either. It only requires that the fence be of solid material and in compliance with height restrictions.

Room to breathe
The city passes a couple hundred variance requests a year for side setback requirements.

The Board of Appeals and Adjustments has yet to turn down a request to allow a 5-foot setback, so the Planning Commission wants to set the standard to 5 feet.

Now, it is supposed to be 10 percent of the lot frontage, but when the city was planned, people didn’t have double-car garages and it’s been a problem for home owners making additions.

Subdivisions of town, Evergreen for example, can create their own covenants and specify setbacks.