The Luverne Economic Development Authority approved a request by Stephen Aning for a $3,000 residential demolition grant to demolish an old house at 211 South East Park Street.
Aning reports the house has a failing roof that has allowed interior water damage, and ceilings and floors are falling down.
The structure is substandard and irreparable, and the LEDA approved grant funds for its demolition.
The action comes on the heels of action at the last EDA meeting when the board approved three other demolition grant requests, in these cases for accessory structures that qualified for $1,500 grants.
Jim Rockman is demolishing an old barn at 308 N. Blue Mound Avenue.
Rockman reports the old barn is dilapidated and substandard and the cost of repairing it far outweighs the value of the existing structure. It is also becoming a safety hazard.
Michael Walgrave is demolishing a shed at 714 West Warren Street.
Walgrave reports the structure is dilapidated and substandard with a leaky roof, no foundation, a rotting floor and evidence of termites.
Vonda Klarenbeek is demolishing an accessory structure at 204 North McKenzie.
Klarenbeek reports the structure has a leaky roof, is blighted and beyond repair and is becoming a safety hazard.
 
Honor Barber Shop gets sign grant
In other action at the Monday, Oct. 11, meeting, the LEDA approved funds for a new business sign for Honor Barber Shop LLC at 118 North Freeman Avenue.
Eric Oye submitted an application for a façade improvement exterior signage project for his barber shop that occupies the main floor commercial space in the apartment building.
Oye’s sign is estimated to cost $1,055, and Honor Barber Shop will receive a $370 grant to cover a portion of the costs.
Cory Tilstra and Dave Hup own the building that is being improved with help from the LEDA façade improvement program.
The scope of work includes replacing all doors and windows, improving the façade with batten board and shakes, and an awning with lighting.
The $63,000 project qualified for a $21,000 grant and a loan in the amount of $21,000 at a rate of 2 percent interest for seven years.

A number of people I know have become “preppers.”
According to Oxford, a prepper is “a person who believes a catastrophic disaster or emergency is likely to occur in the future and makes active preparations for it, typically, by stockpiling food, ammunition, and other supplies.”
Some of the people I know would take issue with the phrase “a disaster is likely to occur” and replace it with the phrase “a disaster is in progress.”
I had coffee a few weeks ago with a school cook and a hospital cook from two different states. Both said it’s become difficult to fulfill menu offerings because “the stuff just doesn’t come in.” Orders that used to be shy one item are now shy by six.
A manufacturing plant manager said her company can’t get the metals it needs to manufacture the nuts and bolts it produces. 
A guy wanting to stripe a parking lot said there is a shortage of parking lot striping paint. 
A pharmacist friend who makes custom medicines said her products are ruined when the delivery service, which is short of truck drivers, simply does not show up to pick up the order. “They don’t even call to say they can’t do it,” she said. (She used other words, too, but this is a family newspaper.)
A friend who works in a nursing home said, “We posted a job for a CNA (certified nurse assistant) for three weeks. No one applied.”
This is the world the preppers are getting ready for. Not the world where you can’t get parking lot striping paint, but the world where you can’t get employees or bread. 
The day preppers are prepping for is the day “the stuff hits the fan.” The day that you and I find the grocery store shelves empty is the day they survey their hidden stash of canned goods and high-protein dried goods.
It seems like madness that anyone thinks that way in the United States of America in 2021. But the last time I was at Costco, I noticed only one half-filled pallet of toilet paper packages remained on display. So of course I bought one. 
It can’t hurt to be prepared.
 

If you have a school-aged child, you may be aware that school meals are free for all students this school year regardless of household income, due to a federally funded U.S. Department of Agriculture program.
This ensures Minnesota kids get the nutrition they need to thrive in another pandemic school year, but it may also mean that fewer families are filling out the Application for Educational Benefits (AEB).
This may hurt districts and families.
Sometimes referred to as the free-and-reduced-price meals application, the AEB is a household form for families enrolled in any Minnesota school district.
In a non-pandemic year, this program covers the cost of school meals for qualifying families – but in any year (including this one), this application provides much more than just free meals.
The application generates funding for districts, schools, students and families – including personal benefits like free bus cards, discounted internet services, and discounted fees associated with athletics, standardized tests and college applications, and much more.
I lead Second Harvest Heartland’s Child Hunger team (www.2harvest.org), and we want to help make all residents aware of the application’s benefits for both families and schools.
When families fill out the AEB form and qualify, not only do they receive direct personal benefits outlined above, but it also helps fund important districtwide and schoolwide technology resources, student support services, field trips and more.
When everyone fills out the AEB, schools are better equipped to provide all students with the high-quality education they deserve.
If households do not qualify for any benefits, there is no penalty or risk in applying – and you can reapply at any point in the school year if income changes for any reason.
Eligibility is good for one school year, which is why it’s important to fill it out every year, to ensure that both your family and your school district are receiving the maximum benefits.
Contact your local school district today and ask about the AEB/free and reduced meal form.
The deadline to fill out, complete and return the 2021-22 AEB application is Friday, Oct. 15.
If everyone fills out the AEB this year, coupled with statewide free school meals, Minnesota kids are on track to being as well-fed and educated as possible.

Brown: '... there must be common ground between each of us ...'
To the Editor:
Like many, I have observed with sadness the division in our nation. We also observe this division within our community.
Much has changed since COVID-19 came into our world, but that’s only part of it.  Some of the things that divide us now haven’t changed in the past two years, but have since been used as leverage to create a chasm between ourselves and our neighbors in our own community.
Who is leveraging our differences of opinion in this endless tug of war? What is the motive for this division? While I certainly hold my own opinions andplan on keeping them, I can also recognize that there must be common ground between each of us on some level, in some way. In other words, where there appears to be a bold line of demarcation, I wonder if there’s a little fuzz in the line somewhere? I wonder if the chasm isn’t as wide as we believe?
I’ve become aware of certain “purity tests” on each side – where you have to check all the boxes to be on “our side” of a line. Is your side demanding a purity test? Are more criteria added regularly? Is your opinion nuanced, but you don’t want your friends finding out, or you might not pass the purity test?
For instance, are you pro-vaccine but anti vaccine mandate? Are you pro-vaccine but anti-mask?
I have heard a local person state that anti-maskers are anti-vaxxers. Is this really true? Is it possible to have a nuanced view? Is the pro-vaccine anti-masker welcome in any circle or are they outcast to all? Is the pro-mask anti-vaccine person welcome in any circle or are they outcast to all?
Are we aligning our thoughts so specifically to a purity test that we’ve stopped thinking for ourselves? I ask you to consider if you are conforming to a purity test, or if you are consciously or unconsciously demanding the same of others.
Are we looking at our community member convinced that they must be evil because they sit with the “other side,” even when we’ve known these people for years? Surely there’s nuance. Surely we are still a community.
Additionally, in the discussions I’ve heard, there are many absolutes, and no limiting principles on either side. There is no end game, just continued argument and requirement, devoid of grace.
Honestly, I think the difficulty in discussing issues hails back many decades where it has been considered impolite to discuss politics and religion in public, at family gatherings, or otherwise in polite company.
Maybe we should bring our beliefs to the light. Maybe we should discuss the uncomfortable respectfully in order to know how to. Maybe the time is now.
Mary Brown
Luverne
Prekkers: 'Hagedorn is a climate science denier'
To the Editor:
Jim Hagedorn is a climate science denier.
Ninety-seven percent of climate scientists agree that man-made climate change is real, dangerous, and increasing at a rate far exceeding the earth's natural climate cycles.
Despite the exhaustive evidence, Minnesota’s District 1 Rep. Jim Hagedorn claims he doesn't believe in man-made climate change at all.
At a town hall in Austin, Minnesota, Hagedorn stated, “I don’t believe [in climate change] and I’m not going to risk our U.S. economy and way of life over it.” According to Hagedorn, if climate change was hypothetically real, his solution would be to simply “move people around,” a remarkably ignorant thought, considering climate migration is already affecting millions around the world.
During his first term as representative, Hagedorn voted “No” on 47 of the 50 bills focused on environmental protection and combating climate change. Along with the encouragement to expand fossil fuels, Hagedorn opposes any limits on carbon emissions, and to date has received $34,000 in Fossil Fuel Corporate PAC money. It’s clear our congressman is failing to protect the very agricultural communities he boldly claims to represent.
Our community and its farmers have already suffered the effects of global warming: severe droughts, excessive floods, worsening storms and decreasing air quality. In 2019 alone, record flooding prevented the planting of over 20 million acres of farmland across the U.S., Minnesota among the worst affected.
I urge our congressman to endorse the pro-environmental bills that will shift our country toward 100-percent renewable energy and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible. Minnesotans want clean air, clean water and a safer planet for future generations, and we deserve a representative who will work hard to ensure it, not ignore it.
Hagedorn must be the change or we will change without him.
Andrew Prekker,
Evan Prekker,
Luverne
Thone: A message to our governor
To the Editor:
Like Adolph Hitler and the Gestapo, we’d like to thank you for doinggod’s work and exiling us for not licking the government and big businesses Jackboots.
On behalf of Rosa Parks, the Japanese internment camps, enslaved Americans,the Holocaust and the newly exiled freedom loving Americans I’d like to say to you Governor that its time to get a different job.
Signed every American that loves the constitution and Freedom from atyrannical government.
Terry Thone,
Luverne

Dispatch report
Oct. 1
•Complainant on corner of Main and S. West Park Street reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant on S. Donaldson Street reported possible missing person.
•Complainant reported harassing communication.
•Complainant on Edgehill Street reported dumped trash at location.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported subject will not delete picture of her driver’s license.
•Complainant on W. Lincoln Street requested assistance with intoxicated individual.
Oct. 2
•Complainant eastbound on Interstate 90, mile marker 1, Valley Springs, South Dakota, reported a drunk driver.
•Complainant on County Highway 4 reported a civil issue.
•Complainant on Highway County 4 requested deputy response for a terminated employee.
•Complainant on 70th Avenue and 41st Street, Hills, reported multiple teenagers hiding in his bean field.
•Complainant on State Street and Lincoln Street, Magnolia, reported hazardous parking.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported a stolen vehicle en route to listed location.
•Complainant on E. 6th Avenue, Beaver Creek, reported safety concern.
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported theft at location.
•Extra patrol was requested on 2nd Street, Kanaranzi.
Oct. 3
•Complainant on N. Cedar Street reported a theft.
•Complainant on 111th Street and 90th Avenue, Luverne, reported a female pedestrian.
•Complainant in Cherry County, Nebraska, reported a located stolen vehicle.
•Complainant on 90th Avenue and 111th Street, Luverne, reported concern for a pedestrian.
•Complainant requested information on a civil matter.
•Complainant westbound on 90th Avenue and 111th Street, Luverne, reported concern for a pedestrian.
•Complainant on S. Anna Avenue, Hills, reported harassing communication.
•Complainant westbound on Interstate 90, mile marker 12, Luverne, reported a driving complaint.
•Complainant on County Highway 4, Beaver Creek, reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant on 111th Street, Luverne, reported trespassing.
Oct. 4
•Complainant on 121st Street, Luverne, reported a lost knife.
•Complainant on Park Avenue, Kenneth, reported theft at location.
•Complainant wants to speak to a deputy.
•Complainant on 71st Street and County Road 6, Beaver Creek, reported suspicious behavior.
•Complainant requested to speak to a deputy about an eviction and a theft.
•Complainant on 141st Street, Luverne, reported a break-in.
•Complainant on 81st Street and 50th Avenue, Beaver Creek, reported there is a person lying on the shoulder of the road at location.
•Vehicle fire reported at location on County Road 4, Magnolia.
•Complainant reported camera outage.
Oct. 5
•Complainant in Hills reported drones and screaming.
•Complainant on County Road 5, west of Luverne, reported a tripod on the roadway.
•Complainant on 71st Street, west of 20th Avenue, Beaver Creek, reported a female lying in the roadway.
•Complainant in Luverne reported a solicitor license.
•Complainant on S. Steen Street, Steen, reported landlord/tenant issues.
•Complainant on N. McKenzie Street reported scam/identity theft.
•Complainant on W. Lincoln Street reported an intoxicated party.
•Complainant reported a found cell phone.
•Assistance from another county in Flandreau.
•Complainant on W. Bishop reported an abandoned vehicle.
•Complainant on S. Steen Street, Steen, reported two people hiding in his yard.
•Complainant on S. Steen Street, Steen, requested extra patrol due to people hiding in his yard.
•Complainant reported possible Covid exposure.
Oct. 6
•Complainant on County Road 4 and 74th Avenue, Beaver Creek, reported cardboard debris in the roadway.
•Complainant on 140th Avenue, Hardwick, reported phone problems.
•School reported Alice training drill.
•Complainant on Highway 75 and 171st Street, Hardwick, reported a corn field fire.
•Complainant on County Highway 4, Luverne, reported trespassing.
Oct. 7
•Complainant reported a found license plate.
•Complainant reported a possible Covid exposure.
•Complainant on E. Main Street reported vandalism.
•Complainant on Interstate 90 and Highway 75, Luverne, reported they are driving to the ER.
•Complainant on Oak Drive reported a fire drill at location.
•Complainant on S. Ross Street, Hardwick, reported that he has some issues with retrieving personal property.
•Complainant on 140th Avenue, Steen, reported suspicious activity.
•Complainant on N. Kniss Avenue reported found child.
•An outage was reported.
•Complainant on Highway 270, east of Hills, reported a pedestrian at location.
•Deputies executed a search warrant.
•A driving complaint was reported eastbound on County Road 4, Beaver Creek.
Oct. 8
•Pedestrian was reported at location on Highway 75, south of Hardwick.
•Complainant on Dakota Street, Beaver Creek, reported trespassing.
In addition, officers responded to 4 motor vehicle accidents, 1 deer accident, 2 vehicles in the ditch, 1 escort, 15 ambulance runs, 1 parking violation, 2 paper services, 11 animal complaints, 2 fingerprint requests, 5 burn permits, 1 vehicle impound, 1 gas drive-off, 3 alarms, 1 drug court test, 10 purchase and carry permits, 7 traffic stops, 7 abandoned 911 calls, 2 tests, 4 welfare checks, 4 OFPs and 2 follow-ups.

Open houses
There will be an open house baby shower for Ashley Dohlmann from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at the Pizza Ranch in Luverne.
 
There will be an open house bridal shower for Ryleigh Beers, bride-to-be of Max Dowdy, from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, at Wildflowers Coffee Boutique in Luverne.
 
Card Shower
Richard and Clarice Herman celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary on Friday, Oct. 8. Greetings may be sent to them at 1303 Northview Drive, Luverne, MN 56156.
 
Births
Twin babies, Ella and Leo, were born to Andrew and Sara Murtha, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on July 6, 2021. Both babies weighed six pounds, eight ounces, and measured 21 inches in length.
Ella and Leo join siblings Graham, Nora and Brenna.  Maternal grandparents are Bonnie Vorderbruggen of Luverne and the late Gerald Vorderbruggen, and paternal grandparents are Bonnie and Larry Murtha, Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

LSS meals at Generations
Monday, Oct. 18: Salisbury steak with gravy, mashed potatoes, carrots, dinner roll, dessert.
Tuesday, Oct. 19: Baked chicken, au gratin potatoes, broccoli florets, bread, dessert.
Half-Price Day sponsored by Security Savings Bank.
Wednesday, Oct. 20: Lasagna, California Normandy, peaches, breadstick, dessert.
 Thursday, Oct. 21: Turkey stuffing casserole, mixed vegetables, sliced apples, bread, dessert.
Friday, Oct. 22: Beef chili with beans, romaine salad with dressing, corn muffin, blushing pears.
LSS Dining offers well-balanced and affordable meals in a community atmosphere.
Call Lynette Hoiland at 283-9846 to arrange to pick up a dinner or for home-delivered meals.
Gift certificates are available at the meal site or online at www.lssmn.org/nutrition.

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on Oct. 5, 1923.
 
Luverne Firemen are Hosts to 300 Visitors
 
Semi-Annual Convention of Southwestern Minnesota Association Held Here Wednesday
State Fire Marshall Gives Main Address
 
Business of Convention Occupies the Day—Banquet and Entertaining in the Evening
Luverne entertained approximately three hundred visiting firemen Wednesday at the fourth semi-annual district convention of the Southwestern Minnesota Firemen’s association, and it was regarded as one of the most successful conventions, both from the educational and the social standpoint, in the history of the association.
Practically all of the departments who are members of the association sent delegations to the meeting, and in addition to this, there were representatives from many towns not included in this district, among them being Rock Rapids and Spirit Lake, Ia., Dell Rapids, Canton, Valley Springs, and Garretson, S.D.
As early as nine o’clock in the morning the visitors began to arrive, and by 9:30 a large crowd had assembled to hear the concert rendered on Main street by the Luverne concert band. The meeting was opened with an invocation by Rev. J. T. Brown and after this Mayor R. B. Hinkly delivered the address or welcome to all visitors. The response was made by Wm. L. King, chief of the Jackson department.
Following the roll call of officers and departments, an address was delivered by Burton L. Kingsley, state fire marshal, who spoke of the duties of citizens toward fire prevention, and advocated the standardization of fire apparatus. His address was followed by a talk by Hon. H. J. Farmer, of Pipestone, state representative, whose speech was of a humorous nature.
At 11:00 a.m. a demonstration was put on by the large pumping truck of the Luverne department, in the street near the Armory, and after this the official photograph of the convention was taken.
The session was resumed again at 1:30 p.m., at which time the business of the meeting was transacted. Since this was the semi-annual convention, the old officers of the association will retain their offices until the next meeting which will be held in May. The place of holding the next convention is to be decided by the executive committee.
Several topics of interest to all firemen were next taken up and discussed, the first of these being the question, “What Is the Best and Least Expensive Apparatus for Small Towns Having No Waterworks?” A delegate from Jasper and C. J. Martin, of the Luverne department, read papers on the subject. Mr. Martin’s paper showed that the small town without waterworks needs a pumping fire truck, more than does the larger town that has waterworks. This is true for the reason that the fire trucks of the small town without waterworks has so much more depending upon it, as it must to some extent take the place of a waterworks system, and must have a sufficiently large motor and pumping capacity to draft water from cisterns and other sources of supply and deliver it in sufficient pressure and volume to be effective.
The mayor of the city of Slayton and Dick Collins, of Windom, read papers on the question, “Are Cities and Towns Keeping in Pace for Fire Protection in Proportion to Other Improvements?” Substance of their talks was that in nearly every case the city or town is willing to provide new and better equipment for the fire department, provided the department asks for it.
The upkeep of club rooms for the use of firemen, interesting initiations put on annually by the different departments, and a series of questions and discussions put on from time to time, were advocated by J. J. Kies, of Worthington, and Fred Pfaender, of New Ulm, as the best plans to create enthusiasm in volunteer fire departments.
This article will continue in next week’s Bits by Betty.
      Donations to the Rock County Historical Society can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, 312 E. Main Street, Luverne, MN 56156.
Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

10 years ago (2011)
•Visitors will find it easier to navigate Touch the Sky Prairie following the unveiling of three directory kiosks Tuesday.
Dignitaries and school children gathered to see the covering removed from a three-sided, wood-framed kiosk containing maps, brochures and photographs intended to guide visitors across the federally managed 1,000 acre-tract of tall grass prairie in central Rock County.
The Brandenburg Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service helped finance the $6,000 signage project.
Refuge manager Alice Hanley explained that Touch the Sky Prairie is “the crown jewel” of the Northern Tall Grass Natural Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is made up of 5,200 acres of land in Minnesota and Iowa consisting of separate tracts ranging in size from 21 to 1,122 acres.
 
25 years ago (1996)
•The old Orey’s Café building, most recently occupied by Dug Out Plus, is now only a remnant of its old self.
W&N Construction, Luverne, has been chipping away at the structure for more than a week in an effort to completely demolish and remove it. A vacant lot now exists where the old building once stood. Stairs that once led to an apartment above now led to open skies.
Minnwest Bank has purchased the lot and intends to construct a new office building there, which will have an updated front to match its neighboring offices, also undergoing renovation.
When the office building is completed, Minnwest will trade it with Pat Forester for his State Farm office, which is adjacent to the bank. Foerster will occupy the new space, and Minnwest will set up its insurance and investments in the State Farm office space.
 
50 years ago (1971)
•Luverne police are investigating the theft of three billfolds with money in them, taken Saturday between 12:15 and 1 p.m. at Nelson’s Shopping Center.
Police Chief Chester Bendt said that two of the billfolds were taken from the office at the Ben Franklin department store, and one from a coat room in the main store. The one taken from the coat room had been removed from a purse. The purse was found later.
 
75 years ago (1946)
•Miss Audre Schlapkohl, Luverne high school senior, was crowned homecoming queen of 1946 at ceremonies held in the high school auditorium here Thursday evening. Placing the crown on her head, and handing her the scepter was Jack Butler, who was elected “king” of the homecoming by is football team mates.
 
100 years ago (1921)
•Ray Olson, who for the last three years has conducted the Luverne Steam laundry, on Saturday sold the business to C. J. Duggan, formerly manager of the Cort theatre. Possession was given Monday.
The new owner plans to continue the business along the same general policy as that followed by the retiring owner, and will endeavor to improve the service which the institution may offer patrons, wherever possible. For the present Mr. Olson will assist him in getting thoroughly acquainted with the business.