Anna VanBatavia, 79, Luverne, died Thursday, March 10, 2022, at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. A funeral service was Tuesday, March 15, at the American Reformed Church in Luverne. Burial followed at Memory Gardens Cemetery in Luverne.
Anna was born on Nov. 4, 1942, to John and Henrietta (Smeins) Brommer. When Anna was an infant, her father was killed in a car accident. Anna was then adopted by Chris DeGroot, who married Henrietta and raised Anna as his own.  She spent her childhood in Luverne. Music became a very important part of her life, and she played tenor drum in band in high school. She also worked as a car hop at A&W Drive-in and cleaned the Rock County Bank.  She graduated from Luverne High School in 1960.
She immediately started working part time for the Rock County Bank as a teller and was employed by the bank until her retirement in 2007.
Anna married Virgil VanBatavia on Nov. 2, 1962. The couple later divorced but remained good friends. Anna took great pride in her work at the bank, where she worked nearly every position. She moved from part time to full time in 1971, working as a security loan officer, then a consumer loan officer, and eventually rose to the position of consumer mortgage lender vice president.
After retirement in 2007, Anna worked part time for Manitou Carpets and remained very active in the community.
Anna was a member of the American Reformed Church for many years, serving as first-grade Sunday school teacher for much of that time.  Her love of music brought her many opportunities to serve, from the Tri-State Band Committee from 1986-2013, then as People’s Choice Judge from 2014-2017, and as a Parade Marshall in 2009.  Anna was also an active member of the Luverne Chamber of Commerce and the Rock County Bankers Association. She participated in bowling league for many years and really enjoyed long rides in her convertible.
The most important thing to her was her family. She supported her grandchildren and great-grandchildren by going to all of their events and spending as much time with them as she could.  She was known for her quick wit, sense of humor, goofy pranks and laugh. Anna was never afraid to talk to people and had a special gift at bringing out the best in those around her. She loved dressing up as the good witch for Halloween and baking hundreds of cupcakes to deliver around town to the nursing homes, businesses, hospice cottage and more. Anna also loved animals, especially her cats, Toby and Muffy.
Anna is survived by her daughters, Tammy (Tom) Johnson of Hardwick and Debbie Pantekoek of Pipestone; seven grandchildren, Lyndsie (Brandon) Deragisch, Brandie (Justin) Hulstein, Kaila Hamann, Emilee (Nate) Haraldson, Nic (Melanie) Johnson, Torri (Austin) Raatz, and Jamie (Mason) Pantekoek; six great-grandchildren; and many friends.
Anna was preceded in death by her parents, Chris and Henrietta DeGroot; her biological father John Brommer; and her brother, Lloyd DeGroot.
Arrangements were provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, hartquistfuneral.com.
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Donald “Wino” Weinkauf, age 66, of Hardwick, Minnesota, died peacefully on Wednesday, March 9, 2022, at the Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Visitation will be held on Sunday, March 13, 2022, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Hartquist Funeral Home – Luverne Chapel.  A short memorial service will be held at 3:45 on Sunday, March 13, 2022, with burial to follow at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne. To view a complete life history and sign an online registry, please visit www.hartquistfuneral.com
Donald Eugene Weinkauf came into this world on Dec 17, 1955. He was born in Pipestone, Minnesota, to Ramona (Lear) and Duane Weinkauf. Don lived his childhood on the farm near Jasper, Minnesota, and graduated from Jasper High School in 1973, going on to Pipestone Vo-Tech where he studied meat cutting.
Don was united in marriage to Rebecca Christensen on August 17, 1974, and to this union were born three girls:  April (1975), Amber (1978) and Arrin (1984).
Don and Becky owned Don’s Meat Market in Hardwick until 1986. Don made the best beef jerky and people would travel from miles around to buy it. It was during these years that Don developed very deep friendships and gained the nickname Wino. He was passionate about fast-pitch softball and loved the night lights of the ball diamond. Wino spent many hours sharing this love with his girls by playing catch in the backyard.
Don went to work at Bayliner Marine in Pipestone to build boats, celebrating 25 years of employment with them. He again developed very close relationships with friends and co-workers that lasted the test of time.
He then moved into the role of the facilities manager of the Good Samaritan Society – Mary Jane Brown Home in Luverne. He retired from the home in July 2020. It was here where he really found his calling. He was very proud of his work, even being selected as Employee of the Year in 2014. He retired from Good Sam in July 2020.
Wino loved spending time with his girls and especially loved music. They enjoyed concerts and saw many of the greats: Heart, Paul McCartney, Bob Seger, Fleetwood Mac and The Stones. Don was fun-loving and down to earth; he could talk to anyone and always had a smile on his face. He would say, “Do what makes you smile.”
Don is fondly remembered by his daughters, April (Heath) Kooiman, Amber (Brian) Hoogestraat, and Arrin Weinkauf (Tony Buchholz); granddaughter Macy Kooiman; grandsons Elliot, Hudson and Cooper Hoogestraat; and bonus grandchildren Dane and Vail Buchholz. Wino is also lovingly remembered by so many friends that call him brother.
He is survived by his siblings Pam (Jim) Schloendorf of Pipestone, Deb (Doug) Sorenson of Madison, South Dakota, and Jerry (Shawn) Weinkauf of Woodstock, Minnesota, and sister-in-law Kristie (Dennis) Weinkauf of Jasper and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
Don is preceded in death by his parents, Duane and Ramona Weinkauf, his brothers Dennis Weinkauf and Brad Weinkauf, grandparents, nephew Justin Weinkauf, and brother-in-law Sam Comp.
Blessed be his memory.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Hardwick Community Fund.
https://luverne.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?funit_id=1396
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Iva Jean Elbers, 83, Luverne, died Tuesday, March 8, 2022, at the Sanford Luverne Hospice Cottage in Luverne.
A funeral service was Saturday, March 12, at the First Presbyterian Church in Luverne. Burial followed at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne.
Iva Jean Wessels was born to Fred and Jennie (Bergman) Wessels on Nov. 23, 1938, on a farm near Hardwick. The family later moved to a farm near Ash Creek, where Iva spent much of her childhood helping with chores, hanging out with her siblings, and playing in the barn or at the nearby Rock River. She graduated from Luverne High School in 1956 and married Edwin Elbers on Sept. 9, 1960, at State Line Presbyterian Church. They made their home initially in Sacramento, California, while Ed was in the Air Force. They returned to Rock County in 1962. They lived in the towns of Steen, Hills and Luverne during their marriage.
Iva was known for her kind nature, her ready smile, her artistic talents, and her love for crafting and decorating. She was also known for her sense of humor and had no problem laughing at herself, one of her most endearing traits. She battled for 35 years against the effects of rheumatoid arthritis and for many years with dementia, yet retained her sunny nature and could often be heard humming as she worked on household chores or on one of her latest craft projects. When she needed additional care, she moved to the Tuff Memorial Home in Hills.
She created a warm and caring home. She loved her family and the family reunions and holiday gatherings to the fullest.
She is survived by her husband, Edwin; three children and their spouses, Deb (Jim) Garvin, Jeff (Linda) Elbers, and Joel (Jill) Elbers; five grandchildren, Dan (Lauren) Garvin, Kaitlyn Garvin, Jenna Elbers, Joe Elbers, and Breanna Elbers; her siblings Norman Wessels, Enore Boelman, Lowell Wessels, Harold Wessels, Doug Wessels and David Wessels; her sisters-in law Gert Wessels, Theresa Wessels, Bev Wessels, Nelvina Kroese, Betty (Harold) Babbitt and Ruth Verbrugge; brothers-in-law Don Schouwenburg and Vern Verbrugge; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her father and mother-in-law, Ed and Verna Elbers; brothers Stan Wessels, Darrel Wessels and Dale Wessels; sisters Vernice Wessels and Phyllis Schouwenburg; sisters-in-law Joyce Wessels, Jolene Wessels, Sharon Wessels and Ginny Wessels; and brothers-in-law Edwin Boelman, Chuck Kroese and Wilmer Elbers.
Arrangements were provided by Hartquist Funeral Home of Luverne, hartquistfuneral.com. (0317 F)

Area students graduate from SDSU
Several area students graduated from South Dakota State University, Brookings, following the Summer and Fall 2021 semesters.
The following graduates are listed with honors, degree and hometown:
Dakota Steensma, Master of Science, graduate school, Hills; Colton Kunkel, Bachelor of Science, agriculture, food and environmental science, Kenneth; Hunter Harvey, Bachelor of Science, education and human science, Luverne; Jasmine Lingen, Bachelor of General Studies, arts, humanities and social sciences, Luverne; Danielle Watts-Boll, summa cum laude, Bachelor of Science, arts, humanities and social sciences, Luverne;  Tanner Wiese, Bachelor of Science, engineering, Luverne.

We are predicted to have a week of wonderful spring weather, and I am sure some of you really want to plant some seeds to get a head start for your vegetable garden. But I beg you to wait until early April. I don’t have a weather crystal ball, but I do have knowledge about starting seeds too early, resulting in spindly, weak plants you will have to “baby” to survive when you plant them in the garden.
Two problems emerge here, the first being too warm in our homes, and the second is not having enough direct sun unless you are using a grow light setup. Waiting another three weeks will be a good payoff later.
The spring chore you can and should be tackling is pruning your landscape. Many of our landscapes have Karl Forester ornamental grass, which is a cool-season grass, meaning that it starts growing early in the season. Cutting last year’s growth down to the ground now will result in a fresh new look for the plant for the coming growing season. Cutting back after it starts growing will not necessarily hurt the plant, but it will limit the height for the season, and if you don’t cut it back as far, you end up with a collar of dead leaves and stems around the bottom.
Cleaning off last year’s growth from all perennials can be done now. For German iris, if you had a problem with iris borers last season, be sure to remove ALL of last year’s leaves because the borer’s eggs overwinter in the leaves. By removing those leaves, you also remove the eggs.
During the growing season, tan spots on the iris leaves are evidence of borer damage. The larvae hatch and leave a spot where they enter the leaf. They feed inside of that leaf, moving down toward the rhizome, and their chomping results in a brown streak following their activity. As they feed in the rhizome, the bulb begins to rot and the telltale smell is not pleasant.
So even if you haven’t noticed this problem with your iris, doing a thorough cleanup is a good preventative investment.

Sanford Luverne named 2022 top critical access hospital
Sanford Luverne Medical Center has been named a 2022 Top 100 critical access hospital by the Chartis Center for Rural Health.
This is the sixth time in the past seven years that Luverne has made the top 100 list.
“I am incredibly proud of the team that we have at Sanford Luverne and the hard work and dedication they demonstrate every day to provide quality health care in our community,” said Tammy Loosbrock, senior director at Sanford Luverne.
“I am reminded every day how grateful we are to have a strong team of caregivers in Luverne, but having an organization like Chartis recognize their hard work as well is remarkable.”
The Chartis Center uses the Hospital Strength Index to determine the list, which assesses performance in eight areas including inpatient and outpatient market shares, quality, outcomes, patient perspective, cost, charge and financial efficiency.

Seven area students receive 4-H scholarships
Seven area high school seniors received 4-H scholarships as selected annually by the Rock County 4-H Executive Committee.
Recipients for 2022 include:
•Morgan Gonnerman, Luverne, member of the Willing Workers 4-H Club and daughter of Mike and Paula Gonnerman and Andy and Heather Hess.
•Danette Leenderts, Hills, Blue Ribbon 4-H Club, daughter of Dave and Dawn Leenderts.
•Donavon Leenderts, Hills, Blue Ribbon, son of Dave and Dawn Leenderts.
•Drew Leenderts, Hills, Blue Ribbon, son of Dave and Dawn Leenderts.
•Justin Mente, Magnolia, Magnolia Juniors 4-H Club, son of Dave and Stacy Mente.
•Samantha Moser, Beaver Creek, Blue Ribbon, daughter of Stuart and Karen Moser.
•Grace Sandbulte, Kenneth, Magnolia Juniors, daughter of Derek and Angie Sandbulte.
Scholarship sponsors include Sunshine Foods, Luverne, and the Marcel Reisch Memorial Scholarship Fund.

When out on my wildlife rides, I routinely stop at bridges to check water clarity and to see if northern pike can be seen getting ready to spawn.
Pike are about the first fish in our area to spawn and will often stage in the shallows under the ice when there is open water near shore. This happens even when the lake is still ice-covered.
This time of year, most of the water I see is usually pretty clear. Even if the water looks high quality, the tale of the microscope or a chemistry lab might very well tell a different story.
One of the No. 1 issues in the heavily row-cropped areas of southwest Minnesota is nitrates. This is a chemical that is very dangerous to children and expectant mothers.
Water treatment plants can treat this pollutant out of drinking water supplies, but it is very expensive to do so.
Another water quality issue is phosphorus, a chemical in fertilizers that is normally transported in eroded soils. When dirt is washing down a stream, it moves phosphorus with it. This chemical is the one credited for creating algae blooms in our lakes during late spring and into the summer.
Grass buffers and other undisturbed grasslands slow down this moving water and, in many cases, allow the soils suspended in the water to settle out on land before reaching a lake or stream.
Storm water or flood retention ponds also capture large rain events and hold that water for a predetermined amount of time. As the water is allowed to pause in these areas, much of the suspended solids that carry phosphorus are allowed to settle to the bottom of the temporary holding area.
It was a really big deal years ago when Gov. Mark Dayton created the buffer bill. This was a regulation that required landowners to leave a 16-foot strip of grass along drainage ditches and also required a 50-foot-wide buffer along natural streams, creeks, rivers and lakes.
In many cases this required setback had been in Minnesota law for decades but was never enforced. This regulation removed from production the acres that were right along water flows, some big and some small.
Some farm programs compensated producers for lost income from these buffer acres. Other buffers could be hayed or grazed. The buffer law is kind of old news today as it was implemented in 2015, and compliance is very high.
So, as we work to try to protect our water resources from all kinds of different threats — chemical pollution, erosion, manure and the like – I  often wonder just how much difference we are making with these efforts.
Almost all the public and private surface waters in southwest Minnesota are not fit to drink or swim in. In many cases they cannot support the normal aquatic life that would live in them. The EPA did this study, and you can easily find it with a Google search.
Even as we implement different processes to protect water, the quality of our water is still very, very bad.
Almost all the lakes in the southwest region carry multiple warnings not to let your dog or your children swim in them after the first of August.
Lake property owners and other recreational users deal with the smell of rotting algae for two months a year. It would seem to me that this would have everyone up in arms, and it is just not the case.
When did we get to the point where we just accepted unsafe, stinky water as OK? This is now just the way it is? When will cleaning up our lakes and rivers become a high enough priority to actually prompt action on a scale big enough to make a difference?  I have no idea. All I can say is that we should not accept undrinkable and unswimmable waters as the norm.
Conservation lands are very often acquired in some of the most sensitive water quality locations, like wellhead protection areas.
I will keep doing my part to champion clean water as a primary benefit to public conservation lands and do my very best to direct those who do this work to always make clean water an important part of any decision regarding their acquisition.
 
Scott Rall, Worthington, is a habitat conservationist, avid hunting and fishing enthusiast and is president of Nobles County Pheasants Forever. He can be reached at scottarall@gmail.com. or on Twitter @habitat champion.

The Luverne girls’ hockey team won the Section 3A Academic Award for being the team with highest average GPA in the section.
Individually, Luverne senior Cheyenne Schutz was academic all-state for having a GPA of 3.9 or higher.
In other conference honors, Coach Ellen Wenninger was the recipient of the Section 3A assistant coach of the year, voted by section coaches.
Kamryn VanBatavia was named to the Minnesota all-state team, which is recognized by the Minnesota Girls Hockey Coaches Association.
She and her teammates Reghan Bork and Payton Behr were selected for the Big South Girls’ Hockey All-Conference Team for their performances during the 2021-22 season.
Senior Cheyenne Schutz and junior Mallory Nelson were named to the honorable mention team.
New Ulm also had three players on the all-conference team, with two players from Marshall, Minnesota River and one player each from Fairmont, Windom and Worthington.