Hills-Beaver Creek Little Patriots hosted a Mother-Son, Father-Daughter Prom Saturday night following H-BC’s Friday prom in the high school gym. Organizers said 72 couples participated in the first-time event. “It was a huge success — greater than we could have hoped for,  and the kids had so much fun,” said Leilani Kruger.

The Luverne High School softball team kept the ball rolling with another win on Friday, April 29, when they beat the Edgerton Dutchmen at home by a score of 11-4.
The Cardinals, 8-0 for the season, have a busy week coming up with a doubleheader at home versus Jackson County Central Tuesday, May 3, a doubleheader in St. James Thursday, May 5, and a single game in Ellsworth Friday, May 6. 
 
LHS 11, EHS 4
The Dutchmen started off strong against the Cardinals in Friday’s game, scoring three runs in the first inning and holding that lead until the third inning.
Edgerton got on the board with a single and a homerun in the first inning. Gracie Nath settled in on the mound and sat down the next 14 batters.
The Cardinals had two hits in the first two innings. Billi Connell singled in the first, and Tori Serie hit a double in the second inning, but neither hit plated a run.
In the third inning the Cardinals came out swinging with a single from Ella Reisdorfer, a double from Connell, a two-RBI double from Peyton Behr, and an RBI single from Carly Olson.
The Cardinals scored four runs to take the lead.
Luverne continued to add to the score in the fourth inning, plating seven runs.
LHS batted through the lineup with hits from Jacey Smith, Behr, Reghan Bork, Anika Boll, and another hit from Smith. The Cardinals led 11-3 after six innings.
Edgerton scored one run in the top of the seventh to close the gap 11-4. 
Gracie Nath took the win, pitching all seven innings. Nath allowed four runs on five hits. She walked two and struck out 12.
The Cardinals had a clean game with no errors in seven innings. Paris VanDyke took the loss for the Edgerton Dutchmen.
 
Box score        AB R     H    RBI 
B Connell         4     2     1     1 
P Behr              4     2     2     3 
C Olson            3     1     2     1 
R Bork              3     1     1     1
B Smidt            3     0     1     0 
A Boll               4     1     1     2  
T Serie              4     1     0     0 
J Smith             3     2     1     1 
E Reisdorfer    3     1     2     0

The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War conducted a ceremony Sunday afternoon in Maplewood Cemetery to honor the 110 Civil War veterans interred in Rock County. The ceremony included descendants of Civil War veterans, the Rock County Historical Society and local American Legion members. Participants gathered at the gravestone of Corporal James Blunt Dunn, the last Civil War veteran buried in Rock County, who died at age 93 in 1938. Gary Carlberg of the SUVCW chapter in Minneapolis, presided over the ceremony. He commended Wendel Buys at the Rock County History Center for helping with research, and he praised the combined American Legion honor guard for helping to mark the occasion with a fire salute and taps.

Marlene and Darlene (Brenda Winter and DJ Luethje) were in rare form Thursday night for the Generations Dessert Theater fundraiser at the Generations Events Center where a full house of people gathered to raise money for the organization’s capital building fund. Cakes and desserts were sold on the auction block (by Yvette VanDerBrink) for hundreds of dollars, and George Bonnema’s popular carrot cake went for $1,000.
 
By the end of the night volunteers counted $10,000 with ticket sales and the dessert auction, not counting donations.

Staff members at Luverne Aquatics and Fitness hosted a grand opening of the newly remodeled and expanded facility on North Blue Mound Avenue Monday.
Director Sam Honerman said she lost count of the visitors after 500. “It was awesome,” she said about the interest and attendance at Monday’s all-day event.
“I am fairly certain we went over 1,000 to 1,200. It never once slowed down, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. We gave non-stop tours, and the front counter help, sometimes five at a time, were signing up memberships and/or assisting with questions.”
The city of Luverne first started planning the project in 2016, carefully considering professional and community input and budgeting for the “quality of life” amenity to keep rates affordable for all residents to enjoy.
Luverne Mayor Pat Baustian congratulated all who were involved with process.
“We’ve had a great community that has graciously agreed to get this done,” he said at the ribbon-cutting.
“We’ve had a huge opportunity to capitalize on this moment. This renovation — 43 years ago it was built, and I hope we can last another 43 years. Thank you so much for being part of this today.”
Hoogendorn Construction broke ground on the $5 million project in April 2021. Improvements include an outdoor splash pad, new locker rooms, four family changing rooms, flat space rooms for group aerobic exercise, new office space and staff area, larger rooms for 24-hour weightlifting and aerobic exercise machines and a new mechanical and heat, ventilation and air-conditioning system.
 
24/7 fitness access
An updated spacious lobby connects to a 1,600-square-foot weight room with all new equipment, a cardio room with all new equipment and 1,500-square-foot multi-purpose cardio area, all accessible by 24/7 key cards.
The room has mirrored walls and large screen for video-aided classes, and six newly hired trainers will offer a range of classes. They include Tabata, Zumba, Bootcamp, Advanced Cycling, Silver Cycling, Cycling, Sculpt Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Power Sticks, Spinning and Seniors in Motion.
The open room can be utilized for its SMARTFIT System that offers more than 200 on-demand fitness classes that are all available 24/7.
 
Improved locker rooms and four family changing rooms
The new locker rooms (with 96 lockers with key code access) include several private showers and changing areas, handicap features, suit spinners (to dry out wet suits) and antimicrobial floor surfaces.
The women’s locker room is larger than the men’s with an extra vanity area with mirrors, a counter and seating. The facility now has four family changing rooms, which have long been in demand among members.
 
Splash pad
The outdoor splash pad will use reclaimed water that is sanitized and reused. There are a variety of water features for a variety of ages. For example, several rocks serve as “bubblers” for little ones who might be afraid to be splashed.
A new climate-controlled observation room is larger than the previous one and includes a play area for small children.
A party room, with an adjacent lounge area, can be rented just off the pool area, and a back lounge area offers a comfortable space (with a coffee kiosk) for adults waiting to pick up their children from swimming.

Rock County historian Betty Mann celebrated her 92nd birthday Sunday, May 1, with nearly 200 people at the Rock County History Center where an open house honored her recent accomplishments and lifetime contributions to the community. Mann recently stepped down from her role as president (she’s still a member) of the Rock County Historical Society after 27 years at the helm of the board.
 
Her colleagues and history volunteers surprised her with a plaque recognizing “her outstanding dedication in preserving Rock County History” and her “extensive leadership, generosity and achievements.” Mann said she was “overwhelmed” by the well-wishes and the thoughtful gesture of the plaque presentation.
 
Signs at Sunday’s open house offer partial lists of Betty Mann’s contributions to local history. Among them are her “Bits by Betty” column in the Star Herald, her research for the Ken Burns documentary series “The WAR,” her summary of Luverne’s history that’s used in local promotions and her talks on topics of area history (churches, businesses, health care, polio, organizations and others).

Luverne High School hosted “Prom Jubilee” Saturday night with 97 couples taking part in the Grand March. New this year was the use of the performing arts center as well as the traditional walk through the high school gymnasium. The Grand March returned to the gym for the first time in three years. Last year’s event took place outside, and the 2020 event was canceled due to the pandemic.
 
Hills-Beaver Creek High School moved to a larger space Friday night as the Grand March took place in the “new” high school rather than at the Hugo Goehle gym in the former high school. Thirty-eight couples participated in the annual event to a packed house of friends and family.

Beaver Creek farmer Peter Bakken has been appointed to the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board to work on environmental issues to advise state leaders on legislation and policy.
He’s among three new appointees to the eight-member board that includes the heads of nine state agencies and public board members from around the state.
Bakken will work with the commissioners of Administration, Agriculture, Commerce, Employment and Economic Development, Health, Natural Resources, Pollution Control and Transportation and the chair of the Board of Water and Soil Resources.
Bakken’s term on the board, which meets monthly in St. Paul, will expire in January of 2026.
By statute, the EQB:
•ensures compliance with state environmental policy.
•oversees the environmental review process.
•coordinates environmental agencies and programs.
•develops the state water plan and water policy reports.
•studies environmental issues.
•convenes environmental congresses and advises the governor and the Legislature.
Governor Tim Walz announced the new EQB appointees Friday along with dozens of appointees to 15 state boards, councils and authorities in areas ranging from juvenile justice and higher education to forestry, the arts and rural finance.
A complete list of appointments and vacancies can be found on the Secretary of State website, sos.org, under boards and commissions.

Premium Minnesota Pork is planning to build a $70 million processing facility and add nearly 100 more jobs in Luverne’s industrial park near its current hog harvest business along County Road 4 west of town.
The expansion would mark a significant investment for the company that already spent $30 million in 2019 to expand the 78,000-square-foot building to 145,000 square feet, counting an enclosed mono slope barn.
Following a 10,000-square-foot, $7 million cooler addition, the once shuttered IBP property is now an 4,000-hog-per-day operation that employs more than 450 workers.
 
Supporting businesses
In its current facility PMP processes pork into primal meat cuts, such as butts, loins and hams.
The new facility next will further process these cuts into case-ready products such as chops, ribs, ground pork and bacon under the Vande Rose Farms label.
PMP contracts with area farmers to raise its signature antibiotic-free pigs, so this final processing step takes the company’s pork “from birth to bacon,” according to president Dan Paquin.
“This completes our vertical integration,” he said Monday. “We’ve been working on this for a few years."
As part of the agreement on its original 17.5 acres in 2019, PIP acquired an option to buy an additional 28.75 acres (at $5,000 per acre) from the Luverne Economic Development Authority.
The new PMP facility will be built on 16 acres, and 13 acres were sold last year to Lineage Logistics for a 235,000-square-foot cold storage warehouse, currently under construction.
Lineage will be a public warehouse, but Paquin said he’s been partnering with the cold storage company which will have space dedicated to PMP products to be shipped.
The $50 million warehouse, to be completed next summer, will offer storage temperatures ranging from -20 to 45 degrees and its operation will require up to 75 employees.
 
Timeline and funding
Paquin said he had hoped to start construction on the new building this spring, but plans are now on hold for possible grant funding.
The USDA earlier this year made offered $25 million grants to qualifying companies “encourage competition and sustainable growth in the U.S. meat processing sector, and to help improve supply chain resiliency.”
Paquin said PMP’s shovel-ready project fits the grant qualifications; however, funds won’t be awarded until September, meaning construction will wait until fall.
“We would have liked to have started this spring, but that amount of money is too much to ignore,” Paquin said.
Meanwhile, PMP is seeking support from local government leaders in the grant application.
At their Tuesday morning meeting, Rock County commissioners approved a letter of support for PMP to pursue the grant.
Paquin said he’ll also approach Luverne City Council members for a similar letter of support for the grant at their next meeting May 10.
 
PMP’s expanding
economic impact
Rock County officials recently partnered with University of Minnesota Extension for an economic analysis to measure the PMP’s impact on the community as it grows.
According to the report, the facility’s construction will generate $91 million of economic activity in Rock County, accounting for $40.8 million in labor income for an estimated 200 construction workers, plus 140 workers off site at supporting businesses.
These impacts will dissipate when the project is finished, the report states.
The project will generate an estimated $6.7 million in federal taxes, $2.3 million in state taxes, and $0.8 million in local (including cities, counties, and school districts) for a total of $9.8 million in taxes.
Once new construction is complete, PMP’s additional 80 to 100 workers will generate more than $40 million in output for the facility, earning more than $6 million in labor income.
In total, the annual operations of the meat processing facility will generate roughly $55.6 million in economic activity for Rock County.