The Seventh Annual Get Hooked Ice Fishing Derby Saturday drew 155 registered youth and 150 adults from 53 different zip codes to The Lake in Luverne where anglers snagged nearly 135 pounds of fish in the tournament. Josh DePyper caught the largest fish among adults, Ivan Petersen caught the largest fish (a 52-ounce bass) among the youth, and Tyson Uithoven caught the largest game fish.

A special election Aug. 9 will determine who will fill out the remaining term of Congressman Jim Hagedorn, who died Feb. 17 of kidney cancer.
Rock County is part of Minnesota’s First Congressional District, which extends across southern Minnesota from Rock County to Houston County.
Secretary of State Steve Simon issued a press release Friday.
“I want to offer my condolences to the family and friends of Congressman Hagedorn. He served the people of his district with admirable passion. May his memory be a blessing,” the release stated.
“His passing created a vacancy in the office of U.S. Representative for the First Congressional District, which by law will be filled by special election.”
The governor’s office announced Tuesday the start of the two-week filing period begins March 1 and will close March 15. Filing take place with the Secretary of State office.
A special primary for the Dist. 1 Congressional seat will be May 24. Early voting begins April 8.
The special election on Aug. 9 coincides with the statewide primary election. Absentee voting will begin June 24.
The winner of the special election will serve Hagedorn’s remaining term, set to expire in January 2023.
Winner of the November general election will serve a two-year term beginning in January 2023.
Hagedorn was first elected to the U.S. representative seat in 2018. He revealed a year later his diagnosis of advanced kidney cancer.
He was re-elected to the two-year seat in 2020, with 64 percent of Rock County voters supporting Hagedorn.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar also released a statement Friday.
“I’m saddened to hear about the passing of Rep. Hagedorn. He was a fighter for his constituents and a friend to so many including me,” she stated.
“Through his battle against cancer, he showed a level of determination that should inspire us all. My condolence to (spouse) Jennifer (Carnahan) and all his family.”
Hagedorn grew up in rural Truman and made his home in Blue Earth.

Visiting children’s book author Julia Cook connected with Luverne elementary students Wednesday, Feb. 16, in the performing arts center.
With her two chihuahuas named Tommi and Kirby, she offered once-you’re-out-of-high-school advice.
“You don’t have to like to write but if you know how to do it right, you’ll go a long way,” she said.
“Writing is the hardest thing to teach and writing is the hardest thing to learn.”
Cook said learning to write is like making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The two slices of bread the beginning and end of the story, and the flavor layers in the middle can be as thick as the writer desires.
“You have the bread, the beginning, then the middle, middle, middle, middle and bread for the end,” she said.
Cook said she begins writing by identifying “where, when, who, how, what and why” with descriptions of smells, tastes, sounds, feel and feelings.
With that information, she begins making the sandwich.
Cook has authored 137 children’s books since 2006.
The Fremont, Nebraska-based author is a former math teacher and became an elementary school counselor who often used children’s books to enhance her classroom lessons.
With the kindergarten and first-grade students she used her dogs to demonstrate how strangers use the animals to lure children away from their families.
The simple “stranger danger” message prompts a better understanding of often hard to explain social-emotional topics.
Student mental health has been a focus at Luverne Elementary since the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020, said elementary principal Stacy Gillette, and books are becoming tools in the classroom.
“A story is a great way to introduce some of these topics and sometimes difficult issues to talk with children about,” Gillette said.
Each elementary teacher received Cook’s “A Flicker of Hope” book.
“This book reminds children that dark clouds can be temporary and asking for help is always OK,” said elementary school counselor Marie Atkinson-Smeins.
“We all have times when we need to borrow a little hope from someone else. When your clouds get too dark and too heavy to push away, reach out and ask ‘Can I borrow some light?’ Everybody needs somebody, sometimes, to help find their way.”
Cook’s visit was supported by the school’s PPIE (Parents, Partners in Education).

A special fundraiser last week allowed elementary-aged students to feel like princesses.
Participants at the Feb. 15 Pretty Princess Gala event came dressed in gowns and received tiaras to wear at the event and take home with them.
They made magic wands, had their fingernails painted and hair styled by Luverne High School students in the local Family, Career and Community Leaders chapter.
Adviser Carmen Thompson said 42 preschool- through third-grade students joined one of two sessions ranging from 45 minutes to one hour.
FCCLA raised about $400 with the Princess Gala.
“They were excited with how the event went and want to do it again next year,” Thompson said.
The FCCLA members organized the first-time event and worked with Luverne Community Education to handle Pretty Princess Gala’s registration.
The FCCLA members also wore dresses as they helped the little princesses decorate sugar cookies, play princess bingo, and drink tea (apple juice) from china cups.
Each participant had an opportunity to be photographed in Rapunzel’s castle tower.
 
What is FCCLA?
FCCLA is a student leadership organization that focuses on youth, peer education and family.
The group empowers high school students to be active leaders in their families, schools and communities by addressing personal, family, work and societal issues.
Contact c.thompson@isd2184.net for more information.

The Luverne girls’ hockey team met rival New Ulm Tuesday night for the Section 3A Championship in New Ulm where the Cardinals emerged with a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
Coach Tony Sandbulte reflected on a successful season capped by section championship.
“Hard to put into words; It’s truly been a dream season,” he said. “The girls set goals and worked hard to achieve those goals together. Winning a section championship over New Ulm only made it that more special.”
Three periods in regulation were not enough to settle the contest. It would take two extra periods before Luverne scored in the second overtime to win a trip back to the Xcel Energy Center for the third consecutive year.
The game opened with back-and-forth play, both teams controlling their nerves shift by shift in the first period.
At 4:18 into the title tilt New Ulm struck first. After a flury of saves by Luverne senior goalie Cheyenne Schutz, New Ulm’s Maddi O’ Connor got a rebound goal past a sprawling Schutz.
After one period in New Ulm, it was the Eagles holding the 1-0 lead.
Shots on goal were 14-9 in favor of the Eagles. Schutz was huge for the Cardinals making 13 saves in the period.
Luverne would get on the board 56 seconds in the period when a Payton Behr breakout pass found Reghan Bork who passed to Kamryn Van Batavia who deked around a New Ulm defender for a wrister over New Ulm’s goalie Ava Brennan.
This tied the score at one.
Play went back-and-forth between the teams with both goalies making big saves to keep their teams tied at one.
At the 11:20 mark of Period 2, Van Batavia fired a shot that was blocked by a New Ulm defender.
The puck ended up in Van Batavia’s hands again, and she fired a wrister past Brennan to give the Cardinals a huge 2-1 lead heading into the third period.
Shots on goal for the period were 14-10 in favor of the Eagles. Schutz had 14 saves keeping the Eagles off the scoreboard in the period.
In the third period New Ulm’s O’Connor responded with a wrister on Schutz, and line mate Evie Sellner crashed the net for a rebound goal to knot things back up at two goals each just 56 seconds into Period 3.
The Cardinals and Eagles battled the rest of the period, trying to slip goals past either Schutz or Brennan, but the third period horn sounded with score still tied, and the teams headed to overtime in the section championship.
Shots on goal for Period 3 were heavily in favor of the Eagles 20-5. Schutz was incredible for the Cardinals making 19 saves in the period.
The first 8-minute overtime session saw both teams having chances, and again New Ulm and Luverne rose to the occasion keeping each other from scoring the sudden death overtime decision.
Luverne was called for a late first overtime penalty that put New Ulm on the power play as time ran out in the first overtime session.
After a Zamboni break and a much-needed rest for both teams, the second overtime session got underway with the Luverne penalty carrying over from where play left off.
New Ulm had multiple opportunities on the power play, but Schutz made huge save after save, sprawling her limbs multiple times to keep the Eagles off the board.
The Cardinals killed off the penalty and it was back to 5-on-5.
With just 11:43 left in the second overtime, Luverne went on a power play after a New Ulm defender collided with Payton Behr who lost her stick. The New Ulm defender then shot Behr’s stick out of the way, causing the penalty and giving the Cardinals the huge power play.
The opening power play faceoff was in the Eagles’ defensive zone. Cardinal Bork won the faceoff back to Van Batavia who slid a pass to Behr for a one-timer that barely missed.
The Cardinals controlled the zone on the power play, not letting New Ulm get the puck to send it down the rink for an icing.
The next faceoff ended up being the defining moment in the Luverne girls’ hockey season.
Bork would take the puck out of the corner and pass to Macie Edstrom, who slid it over to Payton Behr for a hard wrister on net where Van Batavia, Bork and Mallory Von Tersch were all battling.
Bork would pound it in past a sprawling Brennan and the game was over.
The Cardinals were headed back to the Xcel Energy Center for the State Tournament. 
Final shots on goal were 51-30 in favor of the Eagles. Luverne senior goalie Schutz capped off her best game of her stellar career with 49 saves.
Coach Sandbulte remarked about the importance of championship titles in small hockey association where younger players look up to varsity girls.
“I've chatted with some girls from our first team making the tournament in 2016,” Sandbulte said. “And I told them, ‘See what you started?’ Success builds success.” 
He said the Cardinal girls built their successful momentum one game at a time. “We never gave three consecutive championships a thought ‘til it was done,” he said.
The State tournament bracket came out Sunday.
The Minnesota State Hockey Tournament seeds the Top 5 that are voted on by the board and the remaining three tournament teams get random draws to figure opening round matchups.
For the first time in school history, in both girls or boys’ hockey, Luverne was seeded at a state hockey tournament, earning the No. 5 spot.
The Cardinals will play No. 4 seed South St. Paul at 8 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 23.

Luverne junior Gannon Ahrendt reached the 1,000 points club during the Cardinals' home 79-71 victory over Hills-Beaver Creek Feb. 17. 
Ahrendt becomes just the second boys' basketball player in Luverne High School history to reach the milestone. 
Brett Heronimus was the first in 2013. Heronimus holds the school record with 1,248 total points. Ahrendt, as a junior, has 1,017 as of Feb. 21. 
"It is very impressive to reach 1,000 points anytime, but as a junior it is even more impressive," said LHS head coach John Sichmeller. 
"Gannon would probably already be the school's all-time leading scorer if we wouldn't have had a shortened season last year and had he not broken his leg this year."
Ahrendt, who began seeing varsity time during his eighth grade season, recognizes the significance of the milestone. 
"This means a lot to me as there has been only one other 1,000 point scorer in Luverne history," Ahrendt said. 
"My basketball career has been successful. I've had a few injuries and setbacks, but I've been able to overcome them.”

The Luverne boys came away with a victory over Hills-Beaver Creek in the second matchup between these two teams Thursday night in Luverne.
The Cardinals claimed a 48-32 victory in a low scoring matchup the first time around in a game in which each team was missing one of their top scorers. Gannon Ahrendt from Luverne and Oliver Deelstra from H-BC were both out with injuries.
The scoring notably picked up in the second matchup as Luverne got out to an early lead and went into the break with a 43-32 advantage.
The Patriots battled back in the second half, outscoring the Cardinals 29-26 after halftime.
The game stayed within single digits for most of the game, and the Patriots cut it to 71-66 with just under 3 minutes remaining.
That’s the closest it would get before Luverne pulled away for a 79-71 victory.
Ahrendt was the leading scorer in the game with 31 points. Connor Overgaard (14 points and 9 rebounds) and Casey Sehr (12 points) were also contributors for the Cardinals
Cole Baker led the way for the Pates with 19 points while Ty Bundesen had 15 points and 9 rebounds. Deelstra added 14 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. 
HBC Boxscore:
Baker 4 2 5-7 19, Deelstra 2 2 4-6 14, Raymon 3 1 0-0 9, Harnack 0 0 0-0 0, Page 0 0 0-0 0, Leenderts 1 2 0-0 8, Bundesen 2 3 2-4 15, Durst 3 0 0-1 6, Scholten 0 0 0-0 0, Harris 0 0 0-0 0
 
Luverne Boxscore:
Cole-Kraty 3 0 0-0 6, Schoeneman 1 2 2-2 9, Sehr 6 0 0-0 12, Radtke 1 0 0-0 2, DeBeer 1 1 0-0 5, Ahrendt 11 3 0-1 31, Overgaard 6 0 2-2 14
 
Team Statistics
HBC: 25 of 56 (45 percent), 11 for 18 Free Throws (61 percent), 33 Rebounds, 18 Turnovers
 
Luv: 35 of 67 (52 percent), 3 for 5 Free Throws (60 percent), 28 Rebounds, 9 Turnovers

Sioux Falls news anchor Angela Kennecke is turning heartbreak into action by telling the story of her daughter, Emily, who died at age 21 from fentanyl-laced heroin in 2018.
Kennecke started the non-profit, Emily's Hope, to help people struggling with addiction get help. She's bringing her message to Luverne Monday night, Feb. 28. 
The local Luv1LuvAll Brain Health group and local sponsors arranged for the event, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Performing Arts Center of Luverne Public Schools.
Kennecke calls attention to addiction as a disease of the brain, and she sheds light on the toll the opioid epidemic is taking on families and communities. 
Despite her personal loss, she said Emily’s story is worth telling in order to increase awareness, promote prevention and end stigma.
“I have to psych myself up to tell Emily's story again and again because it takes me right back to the moment I lost her and the intense pain,” Kennecke said Monday.
“I continue to tell her story because it is truly a way for me to turn heartbreak into action. I know that people have sought help after hearing Emily's story. I also know it enables people who are struggling to feel less alone. Plus, if just one kid stays away from drugs after hearing Emily's story, it is worth it to me.”
She said a student in Michigan approached her after a speaking engagement to say she attempted suicide a year earlier.
“After hearing my talk, she truly understood the pain her mother would have experienced by losing her and she told me she never wanted to hurt her mom in that way,” Kennecke said.
“There are direct and indirect benefits from me sharing Emily's story. My daughter's death was senseless, and I am trying to make sense of it by sharing it with others in hopes that it makes a difference.”
She said she has spoken to dozens of audiences across the region and the nation, including 5,000 high school students at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles for the Drug Enforcement Administration's Opioid Awareness Youth Summit.
“Even then, you can tell that kids are affected by Emily's story,” Kennecke said. “They can relate to her, and they don't think death is really possible for someone like Emily. I know Emily's life and how she died are making a huge difference and saving lives.”
She said an important message she hopes to convey Monday night is that deadly fentanyl is in all of the illegal drug supply. 
“So, any use — even experimental use, is playing Russian roulette,” Kennecke said. “The minuscule amount of fentanyl that it takes to kill someone is terrifying.”
Also, she said the age of a person who first uses a mind-altering substance is important to consider.
“The younger you are when first trying something like weed or alcohol, the greater your risk of addiction,” she said.
Meanwhile, she said her charity, Emily’s Hope, is starting to have an impact.
“We've helped more than 150 people go through treatment, and we are now helping fund partial treatment scholarships for adolescents who suffer from substance use disorder,” Kennecke said.
“Emily's Hope is also developing a prevention education curriculum for the elementary school level to help kids understand what happens to their brains on substances.”
While her message is geared for young people, she said she hopes to reach the community at large.
“Monday night's program is for everyone, because all of our lives are touched by addiction in some way, whether it be a family member, friend or co-worker,” Kennecke said.
“The audience will gain a better understanding of substance use disorder through Emily's story and what we can all do to try to end this overdose epidemic.”
Livestream locations for Kennecke’s talk will be at the Worthington Memorial Auditorium and the Minnesota West Pipestone Campus.
Questions can be directed to 507.227.1978 or 612.220.2904.
Luv1LuvAll and the Southwest Minnesota Opportunity Council organizing the event through the Health Resources and Services Administration's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program.

The Rock County Fair is more than five months away, but local fair board members are working now to make sure they can pay for all the fair offerings this summer.
Letters went out this week seeking support for the 2022 lineup of fairground attractions.
“Because of the increased costs of entertainment, we are asking for your help to continue to offer items for free or at a minimal cost,” the letter states. “With your sponsorship dollars, we will be able to continually improve the fair.”
According to Fair Board vice president Lee Sells, there’s money set aside for projects, repairs and structures on the grounds, but the budget relies on sponsorship dollars to support the “extras” on the fairgrounds.
“Every dollar helps to make the fair what it is,” Sells said. “We’re able to bring in new things each year because of the support the community gives us.”
For example, the Wednesday night grandstand event is a free meal and Dairyland Donkey Ball, with “celebrity” donkey races beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Local teams of businesses, government offices, organizations or private groups are encouraged to sign up for the “race,” which consists of staying on the donkey as long as possible as it travels a portion of the dirt track.
“It’s a hoot,” Sells said. “It’s really fun to watch.”
Returning grandstand favorites are the GSP Tractor Pull on Thursday night, July 28, a County Fair Rib Cook-off and free band, “Undercover,” are Friday night, and the Enduros close out the grandstand lineup Saturday night.
Free events (thanks to sponsorships) on the fairgrounds this year include the return of pirate impersonator Jack Sparrow, 5R Alpacas, the Wizard of Oz show, a Green Earth Players skit, the Ag Adventure Barn, a glassblower, Kent's Family Circus, Great Lakes Log Show and more.
Live musicians include the Barn Flies Band, Prairie Home Rebellion Band, Mogen’s Heroes and others.
All these attractions cost money, and sponsors and donors play an important role in funding them, Sells said.
“We are very grateful for the support we’ve received from the community,” he said.
The four-day event also relies on an army of volunteers.
“We have a huge board that puts in a lot of time in the off season,” he said. “There are over 30 board members who work to make sure the fair is what it is.”
According to Fair Board treasurer Bob Remme, there will be something for all ages this year and he hopes fairgoers attend all four days July 27-30.
“Each year the board tries to find and bring in different items to make the Rock County Fair a great family tradition,” Remme said.
“Besides the carnival rides and great fair food, there will be so many other items to truly see or take part in.”
Remme said it’s hard work to raise money and organize the fair each year, but it’s always worth it in the end.
“To see the grounds packed and people walking around, laughing, smiling and having a good time on a beautiful summer night with family and friends is so rewarding,” he said.  
Sponsors at the $250, $500, $750 and $1,000 levels will get special recognition at the fair and in the announcer.
Sells and Remme can be reached at 507-220-1725 and 507-220-0177, respectively.
Direct donations to support local fair efforts can be mailed to the Rock County Ag Society at PO Box 623, Luverne, MN 56156. Donation forms are available at the Luverne Area Community Foundation office.
For updates on this year’s event, follow the “Rock County Fair” on Facebook.