Name and place of residence: Jody Hinrichs, Ellsworth

Family information: Wife, Merrily, and children, Jordan, 12, Amber, 10, and McKenna, 3.

Occupation: Cashier at Phillips 66, Luverne

Education: Ellsworth High School graduate in 1990.

Community activities and involvement: Member of the Ellsworth Optimist Club.

Qualifications for service:

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"Keeping the Ellsworth school system open. I'll do what's in the best interest of the staff and student body."

Name and place of residence: Rhonda Groen, Ellsworth

Family information: Husband, Ken, and children, Tara Austin, Jenna Groen and Marla Groen.

Occupation: Banking

Education: Ellsworth High School graduate in 1978 and Nettleton College in 1979.

Community activities and involvement: Member of Zion Presbyterian Church and member of the Optimist Club.

Qualifications for service: Lifelong resident of Ellsworth.

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

Name and place of residence: David Goedken, Adrian

Family information: Wife, Eileen, and five stepchildren, Josh, Tom, Nick, Tim and Heidi Nolte.

Occupation: Domeyer Implement and farming

Education: Ellsworth High School and Canby Vo-Tech

Community activities and involvement: Optimist Club member, co-chairman of "Pennies for Playground," and Knights of Columbus.

Qualifications for service:

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"The issues that are important to me are the disciplinary actions that are taken at school. Every student should be treated equally. [It's also important to me] to make sure all students would receive a good education, to make sure the school remains financially sound and to keep up the good sports program."

Name and place of residence: Lynn DeBerg, Ellsworth

Family information: Husband, Marlan, and children, Megan, 21, Devon, 17, and Weston, 13.

Occupation: Registered Nurse in Luverne Community Hospital; employed there since 1979.

Education: Ellsworth High School diploma in 1978, Southeast Area Vo-Tech practical nursing degree in 1979, and Presentation College, Aberdeen, S.D., associate degree in nursing in 1988.

Community activities and involvement: Choir director at Bethany Lutheran Church. Taught confirmation class for the last three years at Zion Presbyterian Church, Ellsworth, where she is the youth group leader. She and Marlan belong to the Ellsworth Optimist Club.

Qualifications for service:

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"My priorities would be a safe environment for all students. Second, I would like to see an emphasis on education after high school, and more counseling toward that goal. Third, I would try my best to have fair treatment of all students."

Name and place of residence: Pat Thier, Adrian

Family information: Wife, Patty, and children, Nikki, 17, Krissi, 15, Courtney, 13, and Tony 12.

Occupation: Employee of the Nobles County Public Works Department

Education: Adrian High School graduate and attended Alexandria Area Vo-tech.

Community activities and involvement: Fifteen-year member of the Adrian Volunteer Fire Department and a volunteer coach for many years at the elementary and middle school levels.

Qualifications for service: "I have graduated from Adrian High School and currently have four children attending this school district. I have lived all my life in this area."

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"I believe a school is the heart of the community. A quality education is the top priority. With the retirement of Superintendent LeRoy Domagala, the hiring a new superintendent will be very important, as this person will set the stage as to how the school will be run. I want to offer many opportunities to the students Ñ everything from marching band and show choir to sporting opportunities to math team and speech team. I look forward to the rapid completion of the new gym and all the opportunities it will bring to the community, as well as the students. I would like to see the school district run in a financially responsible way, with open and honest disclosure of the expenditures."

By Lori Ehde
A jury in Rock County District Court convicted Scott Wentler, 19, Luverne, of possession of stolen property and first-degree burglary.

Wentler stood trial Wednesday and Thursday, Oct. 30 and 31, for crimes committed last December at Harvey's Trading Post, Luverne.

He and 48-year-old Oliver Crawford, Luverne, were arrested Dec. 21 on South Highway 75 near Taco John's after stolen guns were found in the trunk of Crawford's car.

Rock County Deputy Evan Verbrugge stopped the vehicle, driven by Crawford, for speeding 42 mph in a 30-mph speed zone. It was 1:15 a.m.

When Crawford consented to a search of the car, 22 handguns and a weapon described as an "Uzi" were found in the trunk. The items were later found to have been stolen from Harvey's Trading Post.

According to store owner Kevin Kramer, the stolen items are estimated to be worth nearly $15,000. Included in that figure is the Uzi, a semi-automatic rifle, which costs $1,300 to $1,400 by itself.

The guns were reportedly registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, but, Assistant County Attorney Terry Vajgrt said in December, “Stolen guns are not typically sold to people who run registration checks. They’re sold to people who want stolen guns, and they’re used to commit crimes.”

Entry was gained through a broken storefront window, and little damage was done inside, except to locks on display cases.

Kramer's security system reportedly had not been turned on at the time of the break-in, and it was coincidence that the Crawford vehicle was pulled over for speeding.

A pre-sentence investigation has been ordered, and Wentler will be held at the Nobles County Jail, Worthington, until sentencing.

According to the Rock County Attorney's Office, Wentler will serve at least three years in prison for the burglary conviction, per minumum sentencing guidelines under Minnesota Law.

“I'm extremely satisfied with the the verdicts reached by the jury,” Vajgrt said.

Crawford's trial is set for Dec. 4 and 5. He is charged with possession of stolen property, but the County Attorney's Office is reviewing records of the Wentler trial to determine if an added charge of “aiding and abetting burglary” can also be brought against him.

The case stalled this summer when the attorneys for Crawford and Wentler challenged the legality of the search. They argued that Crawford never consented to a search of his vehicle.

This argument was dismissed when the court ruled the state provided enough evidence to show Crawford consented to the search.

“It seems likely that Crawford took a calculated risk that the search of the vehicle by Verbrugge would not extend to the trunk,” Vajgrt said.

By Lori Ehde
and Sara Strong
Rock County conservatives did their share in contributing to the Republican takeover of control in the Congress.

On local ballots, Republicans won in all but the state senate race, and even that one showed a narrow margin with Luverne's Alex Frick taking 49.78 percent of the votes compared with incumbent Jim Vickerman's 50.12 percent.

Partisan turnout aside, employees in the Rock County Auditor-Treasurer's Office were pleased with the 84 percent local participation.

“I think it's great to see the voter turnout,” said Lisa DeBoer. “It's great to see that people are interested in what’s going on in their community.

While the presidential election of 2000 brought 90 percent of registered voters to the polls, she said 84 percent is well above average.

That could be attributed to a number of things.

The sheriff and auditor-treasurer races haven't seen a contest for years, and the Luverne mayor candidates have gotten attention this year. School boards and county-wide competition in other city elections also increased voter turnout.

High voter turnout, in addition to hand-counting the supplemental ballots in the U.S. Senate race, made for a long night in the Auditor-Treasurer's Office.

“I went home at 5 a.m., took a hot shower, got the kids off to school, and came back to work on time,” DeBoer said.

Rock County Sheriff
Mike Winkels 2,663
Ron McClure 1,800

After 12 years at the helm, Rock County Sheriff Ron McClure will relinquish his duties to Sergeant Mike Winkels, who easily won the county’s sheriff election Tuesday.

“People wanted change,” Winkels said, when asked why he thought voters supported him. “People want to see change and they want to see results. They're definitely going to get that with the Policing Institute changes underway.”

Winkels said the campaign was a good way for the two candidates to mingle with the public. “I told Ron, the one good thing about this campaign is that you're out talking to people, and I'm out talking to people, and that’s what community policing is all about.”

McClure said he's not surprised so much that Winkels won, but that he won by such a wide margin. The final tally came in at 2,663-1800, with Winkels garnering 59 percent of the votes.

“I thought it would be close one way or another,” McClure said. “I guess people were just ready for a change. When you think of what's happened in the last year with the homicide and the drug activity … I think people felt we weren't doing anything about it. Part of it was change, and part of it was these things hanging out there.”

He said he hopes Winkels will support the efforts of community policing. “If he's smart he'll know this is what the people want and he won't undercut it,” McClure said.

McClure retains his duties as sheriff until the end of the year, and he said he won't remain with the department. He had no specific plans after that.

“I'm going to wait awhile before I decide if I'm going to do anything but retire,” he said. “I might enjoy this. I can do a lot of things I want to do, with a lot less stress.”

Luverne Mayor
Glen Gust 1,402
Keith Erickson 781

Mayor Glen Gust has served two years in office, and now has another two to look forward to.

“I had a good feeling [during the campaign],” he said. “I’ve just got some things to do so I wanted to stay in.”

Gust said the first two years went so fast, partly because he was learning so much about the city and running meetings. “I don’t have that learning curve now, so I’ll be able to do more.”

Gust will be leading a relatively new council, with two new members and two with just two years experience. New council members are Pat Baustian and Robert Kaczrowski.

Councilman Keith Erickson has served 12 years on the Luverne City Council and couldn't be reached for comment.

Auditor-Treasurer
Gloria Rolfs 2,394
Lisa Ahrendt-DeBoer 2,044

Long-time Rock County Auditor-Treasurer Margaret Cook announced she'll retire at the end of this year prompting a flurry of interested candidates for the job.

The September primaries resulted in current Auditor-Treasurer employees Gloria Rolfs and Lisa Ahrendt-DeBoer on the ballot.

They beat out Nic o'Lena Bosch, Candace Reese, Ona Reker and Johnna Bowron- Ahrendt for a run at the general election.

Rolfs earned the honor by a narrow margin Tuesday with 53.91 percent of the votes, compared with DeBoer's 46.03 percent.

Cook was elected treasurer in 1978 and took on the combined office of auditor and treasurer in the mid-1990s.
She’ll pass the baton to Rolfs in January.

The job includes overseeing many things including elections, vital records, passports, bond reports to the state, collecting taxes and settlements.

Other local races
Several Rock County rural communities saw races this year for mayor and/or council seats. Following are listings of who was elected in those races:

In Beaver Creek, Arlyn Gehrke and Burdell Willers will serve on the council.

In Hills, Keith Elbers and Linus Svoboda will take the council seats and Jim Jellema will serve another term as mayor.

In Steen, Robert Sandbulte and Brad Bosch will fill the seats. Melvin Van Batavia will be mayor.

In Kenneth, Walter Kopp returns as mayor and Keith Hoven and Delbert Nieuwboer will serve on the council.

In Magnolia, Fabian Deutsch will be mayor and Becky Kruger and Marvin Kroontje will serve on the council.

No information was available from Hardwick's elections.

On the county front, Richard Bakken, Jane Wildung, Robert “Bob” Jarchow and Ron Boyenga ran unopposed for Commissioner seats.

County Attorney Donald Klosterbuer and County Recorder Jere Ohme were re-elected in unopposed contests.

Statewide
Winning state candidates sometimes differed from Rock County's choices.

In Rock County, U.S. Senate Candidate Norm Coleman (R ) got 154 votes, and Walter Mondale (D) got 42. Actual winner was Coleman.

For U.S. Representative District 1, Rock County voted 2,509 for Gil Gutknecht (R ), 1,746 for Steve Andreasen (D), and 168 for Greg Mikkelson (G). Actual winner was Gutknecht.

State Senator District 22 in Rock County brought 2,258 votes for Jim Vickerman (D) and 2,243 for Alex Frick. Actual winner was Vickerman.

Rock County voters for State Representative District 22A gave Doug Magnus (R) 2,573 votes and Ted Winter (D) 1,930 votes. Statewide winner was Magnus.

In the Governor and Lieutenant Governor category Rock County voted 2,195 for Pawlenty/Molnau (R), 1,727 for Moe/Sabo (D), and 452 for Penny/Robertson (I).

Name and place of residence: Bruce Baartman, Luverne

Family information: Wife, Vicki, and children, Hannah, fourth grade, and Emilie, second grade, both in Luverne Schools.

Occupation: Director of Information and Technology at Midwest Provisions Inc., Sioux Falls, S.D.

Education: Bachelor's degree in business administration with an emphasis on accounting and marketing.

Community activities and involvement: Grace Lutheran Church Finance Ministry, Worship Team and choir, and Green Earth Players Ñ part in production to be performed Nov. 2.

Qualifications for service: Has experience within the school system as the first district technology coordinator from 1995 to 1997. With a prior position as Citibank vice president, he managed operations groups for two e-commerce offerings, managed vendor relations and negotiated contracts with each vendor, and determined strategic value of investments as well as return on investment. He also served as privacy and security officer for the e-commerce group.

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

Financial responsibility:

- Incorporating information provided by teachers and administrative staff and community input in the decision-making process.
- Gaining a clearer understanding of the financial standing of the school district.
- Insuring that board decisions are best serving the goals of the district and community.
Improved Communication
- Creating an environment that promotes open and honest communication between board members, administrators, faculty and staff.
- Improving communication with the community regarding decisions made as well as impact to students and staff.
- Welcoming community involvement in school board meetings, and making these meetings more interactive.
- Making sure the chain of command is clear; Board works for the district (taxpayers), Superintendent works for the board, business manager works for the Board and the Superintendent.
- Spending time on a regular basis at the school visiting classes and talking with students and staff.
- Exploring the use of focus groups with staff to gain a better understanding of issues and opinions.
Improved communication with staff and better financial reporting should lead to a better negotiation process with regard to teacher contracts.
Safety
- Soliciting input regarding student and staff safety issues on school grounds (parking lots, open campus policy, accessibility to intruders, etc.)
- Utilizing city and county resources in the fight against drugs in our schools.
We owe the best possible education to the children of our district, and to those who choose to open-enroll their children into our schools. We owe them our most thoughtful and informed decisions when it comes to their future and their opportunities.

Name and place of residence: Greg Aubert, Luverne

Family information: Wife, Patti, and children, Zane, a fourth-grader, and Wyatt, a second-grader.

Occupation: Plant manager of Gold'n Plump Poultry Further Processing facility, Luverne

Education: Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Pre-engineering courses were completed at U of M, Morris.

Community activities and involvement: Member of the Southwest Minnesota Workforce Council, served as a board member for Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce 1999-2001, coached youth soccer for four years, served on the curriculum committee for Luverne Schools, volunteer for Bookin' Buddies and is a member of St. Catherine Church, Luverne.

Qualifications for service: "I believe that the next few years are going to be very challenging. The State of Minnesota looks like it will be in a deficit situation. The economy looks to be uncertain in the near term. This will definitely put a strain on the amount of money that the state will be able to allocate to education.

"New innovative ideas will be needed if we want to keep the programs and services that we have in place. I believe that my four years of experience as a plant manager and 10 years in areas such as engineering, purchasing, distribution, transportation, etc., can be a benefit to the school district.
I have experience managing a budget, which is very similar in scope and complexity to the school district. I have experience managing overhead expenses and can give ideas to the administrators on how to reduce these expenses without losing quality or service. I hope that I can also add insight into the budgeting process."

If elected, what should voters expect you to accomplish during your term as school board member? In other words, if elected, what issues will be important to you?

"I would like to see a comprehensive drug education and prevention program at all ages, including parents. I would support class size equity throughout the school (i.e. the fifth-grade class size is substantially larger than the rest of the grade school). Equity in the budgeting process needs to be maintained for all grades. Maintenance of programs and services that are presently in place will be a priority.

"My goal would be to keep the school district financially sound while offering as many opportunities as possible for all students."