"Touch the Sky" gets SW Foundation grant
The Southwest Minnesota Foundation announced on Monday it was awarding a $50,000 grant to the Brandenburg Prairie Foundation for it's "Touch the Sky" prairie preservation project.

In Monday's press release the foundation said the foundation's mission is to "educate, promote, preserve and expand native prairie in southwest Minnesota."

The "Touch the Sky" project is also an educational, tourism and environmental initiative, with a goal to draw people to southwest Minnesota to experience native prairie, according to the release.

The money from the SWMF will be used to purchase an additional parcel of land that will be developed as a trailhead for visitors.

There are plans by the Brandenburg foundation to build shelters on the site for parking and picnicking.

There is also a long-term goal of possibly building a Prairie Learning Center at the trailhead site.

In it's partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service the Brandenburg Foundation has secured 690 acres for the "Touch the Sky" project, which is located northwest of Luverne.

The future will also include a tie to the Southwest Regional Trails Plan for area biking and walking trails, the Highway 75 "King of Trails" project and other area tourist sites such as the Pipestone National Monument and Split Rock Creek State Park and the Blue Mound State Park.

Could you be eligible for an additional property tax refund?
Due to recent property tax legislation, more homeowners will be eligible and refund amounts may be larger.

Income limits for the refund have been raised from $71,700 to $80,180, and the maximum refund amount has been increased from $510 to $1,500.

The expanded refund was part of a property tax bill, aimed at reducing property taxes by $2.3 billion over four years.

Overall, property tax rates are expected to drop, on average, 16 percent.

If you think you might qualify for an additional refund, you will need to file form M1PR, which is available at libraries and government offices, or by calling the Minnesota Department of Revenue at 651-296-3781.

How's your nitrate levels
Do you get your drinking water from a private well? If so, you could have your water tested for nitrates for free.

On August 2, during the fair, at no cost, you can get your water tested at the fairgrounds commerce building from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), Rock County Land Management and the Minnesota Department of Health sponsor the event.

The project is a part of a series of water-testing clinics being offered throughout 2002. Only water from private wells will be tested.

Nitrates are the most common contaminants in MinnesotaÕs groundwater and a significant number of the state's wells have high nitrates.

Nitrates are a major problem if consumed by infants because they can cause suffocation due to a condition known as 'blue baby' syndrome.

According to Gene Hugoson, MDA Commissioner, studies indicate that between 5 percent and 25 percent of the private wells in greater Minnesota have nitrate levels above the federal drinking water standard.

If you want to participate you must:
Bring at least one-half cup of water in either a Whirl-Pak plastic bag or a Ziploc-type bag.

Allow the water to run five to ten minutes before filling the bag.

If you have water treatment equipment, or a water softener, take one sample before and one sample after the treatment.

Water samples should be taken no more than 24 hours before the testing, and they must be refrigerated. Samples should be cool when they arrive at the clinic.

To ensure accuracy, homeowners should mark the bags with their name, phone number and a well identification number if more than one well is sampled.

Samples are tested on the spot, and the process usually takes about five minutes.

Publisher Roger Tollefson can be contacted by e-mail at
tolly@star-herald.com

Eldon H. Ehlers, 66, Luverne, died Friday, July 19, 2002, at the family farm west of Luverne.
Services were Tuesday, July 23, at American Reformed Church in Luverne. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery, Luverne.

Eldon Ehlers was born to Henry and Elsie (Kopp) Ehlers on Oct. 20, 1935, in Luverne. He grew up on the family farm and received his elementary education at country school #10. He graduated from Luverne High School in 1953.

He married Betty Poppens on June 29, 1962, in Aplington, Iowa. He worked for his parents on the family farm until they retired, and he took over the operation. He retired from farming in 1999 and moved to Luverne. He was a part-time employee of Greenview at Beaver Creek Rest Area.

Mr. Ehlers was a former member of First Presbyterian Church in Luverne and was a current member of American Reformed Church in Luverne. He was a member of Luverne Lions Club, a Luverne Township board member, an elevator board member and a Sunday School treasurer. He enjoyed doing word puzzles and reading, but his favorite thing to do was spending time on the farm.

Survivors include his wife, Betty Ehlers, Luverne; two sons, Randy (Donna) Ehlers, Mark (Lisa) Ehlers, all of Luverne; three daughters, Barbara (Heath) Austin, Rock Rapids, Iowa, Lori (Fritz) Stubbe, Castle Rock, Colo., and Anna Marie Ehlers, Luverne; five grandchildren, Elizabeth, Steven and Jonathon Ehlers, Zachary and Tyler Stubbe.

Mr. Ehlers was preceded in death by his parents and an infant sister.

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

Elaine Beukema
Elaine Sue Beukema, 35, Palm Harbor, Fla., formerly of the Edgerton area, died Tuesday, July 16, 2002, in Palm Harbor.

Services were Monday, July 22, at American Reformed Church in Luverne. The Rev. David Sikkema officiated. Burial was in Hillside Cemetery, Edgerton.

Elaine Beukema was born to John and Harriet (Koster) Beukema on Feb. 13, 1967, in Luverne. She was raised and attended public school in Edgerton, graduating as class salutatorian in 1985. She attended Nettleton Business College in Sioux Falls, S.D., where she received a degree in business administration in 1986.

After graduation she worked for several financial institutions in Sioux Falls, such as Checkrite, Citibank, Sears and Western Bank. She then enrolled in the Denver Academy of Court Reporting, graduating in August 1997 with high honors. She worked as a court reporter for several firms, but most recently with Robert Dempster & Associates in Clearwater, Fla., where she had worked since December 1999. She was a Notary Public in Colorado, South Carolina and Florida.

Ms. Beukema was a member of The National Court Reporters Association. She was particularly fond of her three cats. She was an avid Star Trek fan and enjoyed doing counted cross-stitch and reading.

Survivors include two brothers, Myron (Jackie) Beukema, Edgerton, and Bruce (Lois) Beukema, Hayfield; one sister, Kathy (Verlyn) De Kam Luverne; 11 nieces and nephews; and four great-nieces and great-nephews.

Ms. Beukema was preceded in death by her parents.

Hartquist Funeral Chapel was in charge of arrangements.

Gregory Snyders, 41, Savage, died Friday, July 26 at his home. Visitation will be Monday, July 29 form 5 to 8 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home. Services will be Tuesday, July 30 at 1:30 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church, Luverne, with Rev. Dell Sanderson officiating. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery.

Theodore Hamann, 84, Luverne, died Thursday, July 25 at Mary Jane Brown Home. Services will be Sunday, July 28 at 2 p.m. at St. John Lutheran Church, Luverne, with Rev. Gary Klatt officiating. Burial will be in Luverne Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be Saturday, July 27 from 2 to 8 p.m. with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home.

Milda Staeffler, 75, Gladbrook, Iowa, formerly of Rock County, died Monday, July 15, 2002, at Marshalltown Medical and Surgical Center in Marshalltown, Iowa.

Services were Friday, July 19, at Gladbrook United Methodist Church. The Rev. Dori Collogan officiated. Cremation will follow at a later date.

Milda Nath was born to Marcus and Emma (Schneekloth) Nath on Nov. 13, 1926, in Rock County. She received her education in Rock County. She later worked at a diner in Rock County.

She married Horton Staeffler on July 28, 1957, in Rock Rapids, Iowa. They lived in Luverne for three years and moved to Orange, Calif., where they lived for the next 34 years. She worked at an electronics factory and toy factory making slot cars and airplanes. In October 1994, they moved to Gladbrook.

Mrs. Staeffler was a member of Gladbrook United Methodist Church and the Women's Club. She enjoyed collecting hummingbirds and sunflowers, watching birds, crafts, cooking and was an avid bowler.

Survivors include her husband, Horton Staeffler, Gladbrook; three daughters and their spouses, Sharon Lee (Thomas) Burke, San Diego, Calif., Cynthia Lu (Larry) Blaine, Gladbrook, and Barbara Jean (Bill) Basabilbaso, Newport News, Va., six grandchildren, Garth Werner, Randy Lovin, Christopher Basabilbaso, Nicholas Basabilbaso, Duane Blaine and Laurel Blaine; one son-in-law, Phillip (Joyce) Werner and their children, Kristen, Joey and Susan; three brothers, Carl (Betty), Bill (June) and Orlen (Mary Jo) Nath, all of Luverne; one sister, Norma (Ben) Meyers, Luverne, and numerous nieces, nephews and a host of friends.

Mrs. Staeffler was preceded in death by her parents, one daughter, Laurel Ann Werner in 1978, and one brother, Harvey.

Goettsch-Perrin Funeral Home, Gladbrook, was in charge of arrangements.

Luverne's Jared Pick follows the flight of the ball after making contact at the plate during Saturday's VFW Southern Division Playoff game against Slayton in Pipestone. Pick had two hits during a 10-0 win that day, but Luverne's 14-18 season ended Sunday with a loss to Marshall Orange.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne VFW baseball team bowed out of the District 3 Southern Division Playoffs after dropping two games in a three-day span.

After beating Edgerton in the first round July 15, the Cardinals moved on to face Worthington Thursday in Worthington. The young Trojans sent Luverne to the loser's bracket with a 10-run win.

Luverne then beat Slayton by 10 runs in Pipestone Saturday before returning to the same venue to take on Marshall Orange Sunday. Marshall, which ended up placing second in the tournament, topped the Cardinals by three runs.

Luverne ends the season with a 14-18 record.

MO 10, Luverne 7
A seven-run offensive effort wasn't enough to keep LuverneÕs season alive in Pipestone Sunday.

The fourth-seeded Cardinals battled No. 3 Marshall to a draw at four over the first two innings of play, but Orange outscored Luverne 6-3 the rest of the way to win the elimination game.

Marshall scored six unanswered runs between the third and sixth innings to open a 10-4 cushion.

Luverne received RBI singles from Brad Herman and Taylor Graphenteen and a sacrifice fly from Zach Wysong during a three-run rally in the top of the seventh, but their season ended when Orange recorded the final out of the frame.

Both teams scored three runs in the first inning and one in the second.

A two-run double by Jordan Kopp and a run-scoring single by Rob Fodness gave the Cards a 3-0 cushion in the top of the first.

Wyatt Cote singled and scored on a single by Fodness to give the Cards their last lead of the season (4-3) in the second.

Wysong started the game on the mound and took the loss. Fodness pitched in relief.

Box score AB R H BI
Pick 3 2 1 0
Fodness 4 2 3 2
Wysong 3 1 1 1
Kopp 3 1 3 2
Boen 4 0 1 0
Herman 4 0 1 1
Graphenteen 4 0 1 1
Cote 4 1 1 0
Bruynes 3 0 0 0

Luverne 10, Slayton 0
A nine-run eruption in the bottom of the fifth inning led the Cardinals to a 10-run win over Slayton in Pipestone Saturday.

Luverne led 1-0 after plating a run in the bottom of the second inning. The score remained 1-0 until the fifth, when the Cards scored nine times to win by the 10-run rule.

Graphenteen, who fanned six batters and allowed three hits while tossing a five-inning shutout, came up with the biggest hit in the fifth when he singled home a pair of runs.

Wysong, Jared Pick and Kopp all singled home counters during the rally, which was fueled by a number of walks and errors provided by sixth-seeded Slayton.

Tim Boen doubled and scored Luverne's second-inning run after a Slayton error.

Box score AB R H BI
Pick 4 1 2 1
Fodness 3 1 1 0
Wysong 4 1 1 1
Kopp 4 1 2 1
Boen 2 2 1 0
Herman 1 1 0 0
Bruynes 2 1 0 0
Graphenteen 3 1 1 2
Cote 2 1 0 0

Worthington 13,
Luverne 3
The Cardinals slipped into the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament with a 10-run loss in Worthington Thursday.

No. 1 seeded Worthington scored at least one run in the first four innings of play and ended up winning the game by the 10-run rule after Luverne batted in the top of the fifth inning.

Worthington got off to a good start by plating five runs in the first inning and one in the second to gain a 6-0 cushion.

Luverne scored twice in the top of the third to trail by four, but Worthington answered with six runs in the bottom of the third and one in the fourth to open a 13-2 cushion.

Graphenteen walked, Jared Pick singled and Wysong belted a two-run double to account for Luverne's two runs in the third.

Dustin Richters reached base on an error and advanced to third when a ball hit by Wysong was booted by Worthington's right fielder in the top of the fifth. Kopp then singled home Richters to make it a 13-3 game, but the game ended after the Cards couldnÕt produce any more runs by inning's end.

Fodness started the game on the mound for Luverne and was saddled with the loss. J.T. Bruynes pitched in relief.

Box score AB R H BI
Pick 2 1 1 0
Richters 1 1 0 0
Fodness 2 0 1 0
Cote 1 0 0 0
Wysong 3 0 1 2
Kopp 2 0 1 1
Boen 3 0 1 0
Deragisch 3 0 0 0
Herman 2 0 0 0
Graphenteen 1 1 0 0
Bruynes 2 0 0 0

Luverne's Don Talbert received the opportunity to meet the late Ted Williams during a four-year teaching stint in Princeton. Talbert was a high school baseball coach at the time, and he shares a story of fanning the Splendid Splinter during a practice session.

By John Rittenhouse
When Ted Williams retired from professional baseball after the 1960 season, he had compiled 2,654 hits.

Had Williams not missed five full seasons (1943-45, and 1952-53) for military commitments during a career that started in Boston in 1939, he surely would have surpassed baseball's coveted 3,000-hit plateau.

When Williams succumbed to cardiac arrest July 5 in Inverness, Fla., the baseball world mourned the loss of man who wanted to be known as the greatest hitter who ever lived.

In the days after Williams' death, a lot of the attention was placed on his spectacular 1941 season. It was his third year in the Major Leagues, and it ended with Williams sporting a .406 batting average, which was the last time anyone batted over .400 for a full season.

When news of Williams' passing reached Luverne's Don Talbert, it stirred memories of days before the Splendid Splinter's playing days with the Boston Red Sox.

Before busting in on the baseball scene for the American League Team on the nation's East Coast, Williams played a few seasons with the Minneapolis Millers, a Triple A minor league team of that era.

Talbert taught high school shop and mathematics for the Princeton School District from 1936-1940, and his path crossed with Williams a number of times when Teddy Ballgame was courting one of Talbert's students at the time.

"I taught his first wife in my math class," Talbert recalls. "Her name was Doris Soule, and Williams always picked her up from our school when he was in town. I would guess I visited with Ted between 12 and 15 times after we first met."

A man named Jack Kallas owned Princeton's biggest restaurant at the time, and it was one of Kallas' sons who persuaded Williams to spend an off-day with the Millers in the community about 60 miles north of Minneapolis. Talbert was in the restaurant that day, and the Kallas boy introduced him to the future Hall of Famer.

Williams, who Talbert estimated to be around the age of 19 at the time, also met Soule that day. Both individuals shared a mutual attraction, and Williams graced Princeton with his presence many times after that.

Talbert remembers Williams being an avid sportsman who would go deer hunting with some of the friends he made in Princeton during the late fall.

After getting to know Talbert better, Williams persuaded the school's shop teacher to make a wooden case to lodge a .32 caliber pistol he had recently purchased.

"Every time Ted met a new person, he would let them know that he was the dominant, top man," Talbert said. "That's just the way he was. After that first meeting, he was as friendly as the next guy."

Talbert found out that Williams' friendly demeanor had its limits when it came to baseball.

The son of a man who once hit a home run that was measured longer than 500 feet, Talbert loved the game of baseball, and he knew the game well enough to be Princeton's varsity coach.

Talbert fancied himself as a solid pitcher, and he got to prove it to his Princeton players during a practice session.

"I was pitching batting practice, and Williams was there watching. After a while, he grabbed the bat out of one of the boy's hands and said he was going to show him how to hit the ball," Talbert said.

Talbert obliged the future legend, and tossed a couple pitches past the surprised batter. The situation angered Williams, and he cussed at the pitcher while asking him to deliver one more offering over the plate at the same time.

Not wanting to be shown up in front of his players, and equally angry for being sworn at in front of them, Talbert rose to the occasion and threw a pitch he remembers fondly to this day.

"I threw him a breaking ball, and he swung so hard I thought we might break his back. He missed it. Ted was never very friendly to me after that."

Considering the way Williams was trying to steal the show at the pitcher's expense that day, Talbert didn't seem to mind having a strained relationship with the batter from that day forward.

Although no one will ever know, Talbert may have earned some respect from Williams that day.

At the least, citizens of Luverne can see Talbert walking down the street and say, "There goes the man who struck out the greatest hitter who ever lived."

Movie: Austin Powers In Goldmember

Rating: PG-13

Now Playing

Carol's grade: C-

CAROL's Take:
In the press kit for "Austin Powers In Goldmember," Mike Myers is quoted as saying, "Broad comedy is as legitimate and valid a delivery system for expansive, spiritual ideas as any other art form." Well. He's right, of course. But, don't look for "expansive, spiritual ideas" in this infantile third installment of the successful movie franchise.

The first "Austin Powers" movie, "International Man Of Mystery" (1997), was made for $17 million, and grossed over $58 million domestically. Its brand-name has become so powerful that it's safe to guess that "Goldmember"
will gross more than that in its opening weekend.

This guaranteed blockbuster features the talents of Mike Myers as creator, co-writer, co-producer, and starring as Austin Powers, Dr. Evil, Fat Bastard, and Goldmember. That list demonstrates why the movie can only flirt with the talents of Verne J. Troyer (as Mini Me), BeyoncÈ Knowles (as Foxxy Cleopatra), Michael Caine (as Austin's pop, Nigel), and completely squanders the rest of the cast.

"Goldmember" does treat audiences to a meaningless, but delightful host of cameo appearances sprinkled into the action. The opening sequence, in particular, is a laugh riot, littered with stunt casting and industry jokes that
make the audience feel like Hollywood insiders themselves.

That said, the humor at the core of  "Goldmember" is too juvenile to be called sophomoric. Long gone are the wry cultural observations made in earlier Powers movies that spoofed the '70s, and lampooned old James Bond movies.

The thrust of the jokesä uh, the butt of the jokesä mmm, the focus of all of the humor in this piece of entertainment is of the "boy" variety, homing in on various parts of the male anatomy below the waist. One can't help but wonder how this crude exposition managed a PG-13 rating.

"Austin Powers In Goldmember" is well-produced, and, within its own tiny genre, quite clever, too. It is going to be a huge hit - with its teen target audience, of course, but also with an older group that can brush off the shame of
very cheap laughs, and find some pleasure there.