Meetings
Rock County People First will meet Monday, Sept. 13, in Luverne Pizza Ranch for a 5:30 p.m. meal and 6:30 p.m. meeting.
American Legion Auxiliary 123 will meet at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 8, in the Luverne Pizza Ranch. Call 507-283-1934 with questions.
 
Community Ed fall offerings
The Fall Community Education brochure — covering the months of September, October, November and December, will be available Sept. 5 on the school website at www.isd2184.net under the Community Education link.
 
Friends of Library book sale starts Sept.16
The Rock County Community Library will offer a fall book sale from Thursday, Sept. 16, through
Saturday, Sept. 18, in the library basement. Hours on Thursday are 10 a.m. to 7 :30 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and the Saturday bag sale is from 10 a.m. to 1 :30 p.m. A special time of 4 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday is open for Friends of the Library to shop. Anyone wanting to join Friends of the Library may do so at the door Wednesday evening and take advantage of early shopping. Books may be donated to the library any day the library is open. Not accepted are encyclopedias, textbooks, Reader’s Digest books and VHS or cassette tapes.
 
‘Out of the Darkness’ walk Sept. 18
Out of the Darkness suicide prevention walk will be at 7 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, on the Luverne High School track. Register at afsp.org/luverne. Money raised through the event will be used for community education and training about suicide prevention research.
 
Historical Society Sept. 20 event features story of Dick Wildung and Minnesota Gophers 
The Rock County Historical Society annual banquet and program will be Monday, Sept. 20, in Luverne. Social hour is at 5:30 and the meal is at 6 p.m. at Sterling’s.
The 7:15 program at the Palace Theatre features author and journalist Danny Spewak who shares the story of the 1941 Gopher National Championship football team. LHS grad and two-time All-American and Gopher great Dick Wildung is part of the program. Reserve banquet tickets by Sept. 17 at the Historcy Center, 507-283-2122, or email rcmuseum@gmail.com. The program at the Palace is free.
 
Explore Prairie Ally
Free guided tours at Prairie Ally Outdoor Center (308 N. Blue Mound Avenue in Luverne) are Thursdays at 6, 6:30, and 7 p.m. or by appointment. Volunteers are needed Tuesdays from 10 a.m. to noon and Thursdays at 5:30 through September. Contact: prairieallymn@gmail.com, 605-951-0227. Also, visit projectfoodforest.org/events.
 
Nominations sought for Rock County Hall of Fame
The Rock County Historical Society’s Hall of Fame Committee is seeking nominations for the 2022 induction of current and former residents. Nominees must have a significant identity with Rock County and have made an exceptional contribution to society, achieved exceptional success, and brought honor and prestige beyond the borders of Minnesota. Nominees should also exhibit quality in character and action as to be outstanding role models for the county’s citizens. Nominations are accepted now through Feb. 28, 2022. Forms are available at The History Center, Luverne Area Chamber or online at www.rockcountyhistorical.com or www.luvernechamber.com. An awards presentation is scheduled for July 17, 2022.
 
Take and Make bird treat kits
Stop by the Luverne Area Chamber at 213 East Luverne Street to pick up one or more Take and Make bird treat kits. Kits are free, but a $5 to $10 donation is welcome to benefit Project Food Forest in Rock County. (Or donate online at https://donorbox.org/support-pff)

“Let's have one last celebration before summer ends! What shall we do?"
“Great idea! Let's spend thousands of dollars in legal fees! Or … spending months in the hospital might be fun. Or how about dying in a car crash?"
If all of that sounds like a ridiculous way to spend Labor Day weekend, we agree. And yet that's what can happen if you don't find a sober ride, as a distressing number of people haven't this year.
To be exact, as of Aug. 23, 15,657 DWIs were reported throughout the state compared with 14,871 at the same time in 2020.
The consequences of drunk driving are all undesirable at best. You can lose your license for up to a year, and it'll cost you thousands of dollars and possible jail time. Your insurance rates could increase significantly.
Or, you could cause a crash and seriously injure or even kill yourself or someone else. All terrible ways to wrap up summer.
Yet on a five-year average, Labor Day has the third highest number of DWI arrests per hour compared with other major holidays (in case you're wondering, St. Patrick's Day and the Fourth of July are first and second, respectively).
So Minnesota law enforcement is acting accordingly. Troopers, deputies and officers are conducting extra patrols on the roads by stopping impaired drivers.
The campaign includes awareness and education, too, and runs through Sept. 6. It's coordinated by the Office of Traffic Safety with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
 
Post-pandemic DWI numbers trend upward
Over the long term, drinking and driving has dropped significantly. DWIs decreased 23 percent from 2011 to 2020, and the number of motorists dying in drunk driving-related crashes dropped 42 percent over that time period.
But post-pandemic, those numbers are starting to creep back up again, and that positive long-term change is beginning to slip away.
You can do your part to make sure we don't lose our momentum. Whether you arrange for a ride share, designate a sober driver, or stay the night at the party, the key is planning ahead while you can still think clearly.
And if you see an impaired person try to get behind the wheel, get them a safe ride home.
No matter whether you've been partying or not, buckle that seat belt. It's your best defense against an impaired driver.
And if you see impaired driving, call 911. Be prepared to tell the dispatcher what behavior you saw, along with your location and the license plate number.
Another Minnesota summer is drawing to a close, and you'll want to squeeze the last drops of fun out. Just make sure your celebrations don't include DWIs or catastrophic crashes.
There are better ways to spend your Labor Day weekend.

I’ve become a crotchety old lady.
I used to delight in the silly ways of happy creatures such as puppies.
Now they annoy me.
My sister recently added a furry bundle of joy to her life named Snoop.
I call him Snoop-id.
My relationship with Snoop-id went south the day he ate my sandal. Not just any sandal – my $80 orthopedic sandal. The sandal I need to support my falling arches, plantar fasciitis and lymphedema. (Good news. He only ate one.)
Our relationship continued to sour when Snoop-id ate a portion of a cleaning rag I had misplaced. Visions of hundreds of dollars in vet bills danced through my head as I chased Snoop-id through the kitchen, remnants of a cleaning rag dangling from his mouth.
Snoop-id is a Spaniel.
Spaniels like water. Snoop-id likes the water feature in my sister’s back yard. He especially likes the part where he jumps out of the water feature and shakes himself vigorously on visitors – crotchety visitors – like me.
Being a puppy, Snoop-id likes to play. Playing, of course, includes racing around like a fur missile looking for targets to destroy.
Targets like my knees.
Every time “the missile” rockets past, I bend my knees slightly and ponder the amount of physical therapy I would require to recover from knee cap replacement surgery.
I like clean windows.
Snoop-id creates dog-nose art on windows, especially just-cleaned windows.
We picked berries. Snoop-id spilled the berry bucket.
We went for a car ride. Snoop-id barked furiously against the closed windows, creating an echo chamber of pain for the car’s occupants.
Even though he is fearless when inside the car, outside the car Snoop-id is afraid of many things – such as tree stumps.
As I clench my teeth against this endless puppy aggravation, my sister throws her head back and laughs at the delightful antics of her furry little buddy.
“He’s an idiot,” I say.
“He’s the best!” she says.
And that’s how you can tell if an old lady is becoming crotchety or not.

‘Out of the Darkness’ walk coming Sept. 18
 
To the Editor:
The Luv1LuvAll team members with the Brain Health Initiative have teamed up with Luverne schools and Sanford Luverne to bring suicide survivor Kevin Hines to the community on Sept. 1.
He’ll be there at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 1, in the school’s new performing arts center. (It will be the first event to be held in the new auditorium.)
Hines, who was diagnosed at 17 with bipolar disorder, is now a brain health advocate and an award-winning filmmaker, best-selling author, international educator and speaker.
In addition to bringing Hines in to share his message, the Luv1LuvAll Brain Health group is organizing an “Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk” on Sept. 18 at the Luverne High School track.
Sponsored by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the purpose of the walks (in many communities nationwide) is to increase awareness in order to help save lives.
We hope to see local participation in the Sept. 18 walk in order to help the foundation raise money for prevention research and provide free community education and training.
I am especially excited about their goal of decreasing suicide by 20 percent by 2025. 
A life saved is a life saved. If we can save one life through a conversation, then goal met.”
The Luv1LuvAll Facebook page will share a link with registration information for the walk. Meanwhile, more information about Out of the Darkness walk can be found at afsp.org/luverne.
Meanwhile, if you’re hurting, ask for help. If you know of someone hurting, reach out.
Are you OK? Is something wrong? Can I help?
Hines says that these were the words he desperately wanted to hear in the moments before he catapulted himself over the rail of the Golden Gate Bridge.
We don’t have to be mental health professionals to be kind.
 
—     Angela Nolz,
Sanford Luverne integrated health therapist and Luv1LuvAll Brain Health team member

Thank you to Joe Schomacker for supporting police officers and public safety efforts during legislative session
To the Editor:
On behalf of our state’s police officers, corrections officers and dispatchers, we’re writing to publicly say thank you toRepresentative Joe Schomacker for his steadfast support of increased public safety efforts during the past legislative session in St. Paul.
With increasing crime, it’s especially important to stop all effortsto defund, demoralize or demonize public safety officials who keepcommunities safe by deterring lawbreaking and aiding victims of crime.
Rep. Schomacker is a tremendous advocate for our first responders andpublic safety officials and stood against attempts to defund and dismantle the police. He voted to promote public safety legislation such as pay raises for law enforcement officers and investments intraining programs.
Thank you for supporting public safety and law enforcement.
Brian Peters
St. Paul

Stone Hill Excavation of Sioux Falls tears down the former Hills Co-Op Creamery Association building on West Third Street in Hills on Aug. 25 and hauls away the structure. The two-story brick building was constructed in 1927 and local dairy producers supplied the milk to make butter. According to the Hills Centennial book, the creamery closed in 1961. The building and half-acre site had a variety of uses through the years. Kris Gagnon with Banking Barns of Hills purchased the building and property in 2016. Gagnon stored harvested and salvage lumber in the former creamery. The sandstone blocks from the creamery were saved for possible use in a new building at the site.

The following appeared in The Rock County Herald on May 10, 1935.
 
Roller Skating Rink To Be Opened Here
 
Amusement Company Erecting Portable Floor and Tent on East Main Street; Formal Opening Next Week
The roller skating rink which is being erected on the vacant lot on East Main street just west of the B. F. Olberding filling station, by the Mott & Leach Outdoor Amusement and Concession company, of Dexter, this state, will be opened to the public some time next week. During the summer months it will be under management and supervision of Clarence Peterson, of Forest City, Iowa.
Last week’s rains prevented the rink from opening as soon as had been expected. Heavy timbers are being laid as ground joists, and over these a maple flooring is to be laid. Dimensions of the floor will be 44x96 feet. The entire lay-out will be covered with a canvas canopy.
The rink will be operated in the afternoon and evening, with roller skating lessons for beginners being conducted in the afternoon from 2:30 to 4:30 o’clock.
 
         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.

Hills-Beaver Creek Public Schools will welcome seven new teachers and three new paraprofessionals when the 2021-22 school year begins Tuesday.
Lydia Hildebrandt will be in the sixth-grade classroom when the 2021-22 school year begins at H-BC Elementary in Beaver Creek on Tuesday.
The Mountain Lake native attended Bethany Lutheran College, graduating in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and 5-8 grade endorsement in social studies.
“I look forward most to teaching Minnesota history, as it is my dream subject to teach after taking the class myself as a sixth-grader,” she shared in the Patriot newsletter. “We even have the same book that I learned from.”
Hildebrandt comes to H-BC after teaching first grade for one year in Park Rapids and second grade last school year in Round Lake-Brewster.
Hildebrandt and her fiancé, Jason Scruggs, live in Luverne, where he works for the Luverne Post Office. The couple is planning an October wedding.
Erika Bierman will teach K-12 vocal music and comes to the H-BC district from Pipestone Area Schools, where she taught fifth- and sixth-grade band and general music. She also worked in Adrian and Round Lake-Brewster school district.
She said she is most looking forward in this school year to “getting to know students and staff and making some great music.”
Bierman grew up in Mankato and attended Concordia College in Moorhead, graduating in 2007 with a music education degree. She also has a K-12 English Language Learning teaching license.
She lives in Luverne with her husband, Reece, and their children Charlotte, a fourth-grader, and Claire, a kindergartner.
Kerri Baker (nee Fransman) returns to her home school district as the grades 9-12 math teacher. Baker graduated from H-BC in 2007.
“Meeting the students” is what Baker is looking forward to the most as she enters her ninth year of teaching. She previously taught in Luverne for seven years (where she also student taught) and one year each in Dell Rapids and Adrian.
She graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall with a degree in secondary education with a focus on mathematics.
Currently living in Beaver Creek, Baker is married to Robert, and the couple has three children, Maddox (second grade), Kaelyn (kindergarten) and Blakely, age 2.
Heather Erickson continues at H-BC secondary, this time teaching social studies and eighth-grade Family and Consumer Science.
She will also split her time as a paraprofessional.
Erickson previously worked as a paraprofessional, substitute teacher, after-school program coordinator and parent educator for the early childhood program.
“H-BC has been a welcoming, family environment for me over the years and provided my family with amazing support and love during and after my (late) son, Ethan’s, battle with Burkit’s Lymphoma,” she shared in the school’s newsletter. “I look forward to building new relationships and to pay forward the kindness and support shown to me back to others within our district.”
Erickson completed teaching education core classes at South Dakota State University in Brookings. She worked with the Rock County Farm Service Agency in Luverne and at Security Savings Bank in Luverne before returning to full-time substitute teaching last school year.
With her husband, Aaron, she has a son, Calvin, who is a freshman at SDSU and a daughter, Mya, an eighth-grader.
Max Wolgen begins his teaching career as the high school science teacher.
“I am mostly looking forward to building lasting and impressionable relationships with students,” he said. “I’m excited to make this a great year.”
Wolgen grew up in Sioux Center, Iowa, and graduated from Maurice-Orange City-Floyd Valley High School in 2017.
He attended Dordt University in Sioux Center, majoring in secondary education in biology and earth sciences.
Wolgen completed his student teaching in Sioux Center Middle School and Western Christian High School. He was a long-term substitute teacher at Unity Christian High School.
He and his wife, Jade, live in Sioux Center.
Graham Sudenga is the new Spanish teacher at H-BC Secondary.
He studied history and Spanish at the University of Minnesota from 2015 to 2019. His hometown is Sioux Falls.
“I am excited to join the community at Hills-Beaver Creek,” he shared in the district newsletter.
Danielle Kneip will teach second grade at H-BC Elementary. She previously taught at Adrian Elementary and was a substitute teacher in Luverne.
Kneip graduated from Luverne in 2015 and attended Southwest Minnesota State University. She received a degree in elementary education with a coaching certification.
“I am most looking forward to getting to know the community and students,” said Kneip, who makes her home in Luverne.
Joining the H-BC School District as paraprofessionals are Tedra Voss, Julie Shamatt and Nicole Morey.
Voss will also be the district’s coordinator for the new after-school enrichment program.

When Luverne Public Schools opens the doors for the 2021-22 school year, seven new teachers will be in the classrooms.
Some of the faces are familiar.
However, this time they’ll be in the front of the classroom instead of behind a student desk.
Cassie Uithoven (nee Pap) is an LHS graduate and will teach ninth-grade English language arts and grades 11/12 speech.
She received an elementary education degree from South Dakota State University in Brookings in 2010 and is currently working toward secondary education licensure.
“What I am looking forward to this year is living out the goal I had hoped to achieve ever since college graduation — teaching in the district where I graduated from,” she said. “I am looking forward to working with the students and offering them positive learning experiences.”
Uithoven comes back to the Luverne district with 11 years of teaching experience.
She spent one year as a substitute teacher in Luverne before teaching 10 years of kindergarten, one year in Hills-Beaver Creek and nine years in Brandon, South Dakota.
She and her husband, Aric, live in rural Magnolia with their three young children.
Christina Aukes (nee Casazza) returns to the Luverne district as a first-grade teacher. She graduated from LHS in 2016.
“I am looking forward to spending the year learning and growing with my first-graders,” she said.
Aukes attended Minnesota State University Mankato, earning a K-6 elementary education degree. Her student teaching was in first grade in Mankato.
Last school year she was the preschool and Title I teacher at Ellsworth Public School.
She is married to Jake Aukes, and the couple lives in Luverne.
Tara Sudenga is the new ninth- and tenth-grade math teacher. She will also coach junior varsity softball.
The Luverne native graduated from LHS in 2014 and worked as a substitute teacher in Luverne right before the coronavirus pandemic closed down school buildings in 2020.
Last school year she was a full-time substitute teacher in Adrian. Sudenga completed her student teaching in Worthington in 2019.
“I am looking forward to being a Cardinal again,” she said, as she makes her home in Luverne. “I went to school in Luverne years K-12, so I am excited to continue my school career in Luverne.”
Sudenga received an associate’s degree from Iowa Lakes Community College in Estherville and a bachelor’s degree from Southwest Minnesota State University, Marshall, graduating in 2019. She obtained a physical education/health degree with a minor in coaching.
She is currently working toward her math endorsement.
Last year’s full-time substitute teacher in Luverne was Stacey Thone, who returns to the district as the sixth-grade earth science teacher.
“I am looking forward to building a relationship with my students, creating a classroom environment where students are engaged, accepted and have fun learning,” she said.
The Excelsior, Minnesota, native attended Minnetonka High School before attending college at University of Northwestern in St. Paul. She received a double major in elementary education and Bible with a minor in pre-primary education.
Thone was a substitute teacher in Luverne and Beaver Creek from 2005-2007 before returning to substituting two years ago.
She spent 12 years as a stay-at-home mom to children Coulter (a ninth-grader), Coy (seventh), Marrs (fourth) and Calla (second). She and her husband, Tom, live in rural Luverne.
Amy Chapa (nee Bechler) grew up in Luverne, graduating from Ellsworth Public School. She will be the preschool teacher and Early Childhood Family Education educator.
She received a degree in early childhood education from Grand Canyon University. Chapa has also achieved a master’s degree in early childhood education (birth-third grade).
Chapa previously was a student teacher for preschoolers and second-graders as well as a substitute teacher, filling a long-term absence in sixth-grade math.
She lives in Luverne with her husband, Travis, and children Jaycee (a ninth-grader), Addy (fifth) and Kamdyn (third.)
“(I am looking forward to) getting to know the teachers, parents and students,” she said.
Madeline “Maddie” Jenkins comes to Luverne as the preschool through fifth-grade speech/language pathologist. She previously worked with Southwest West Central Service Cooperative, spending the past two school years working in the Pipestone Area School District.
The Winnebago, Minnesota, native graduated from Blue Earth Area High School in 2015 and attended Augustana University in Sioux Falls. She earned a degree in communication sciences and disorders in 2019.
Jenkins is currently in graduate school participating in an online program through Idaho State University for a master’s degree in speech/language pathology.
She and her dog, Remy, live in Luverne.
“I am looking forward to getting involved in the community more, meeting and working with new kiddos and meeting new people in town,” she said.
Eric Arnold joins the Luverne staff as the middle school computer applications and high school general business teacher.
He spent six years as a business technology teacher at Ozanam School in Kansas City, Missouri, and ten years at the Kansas City Christian School in Prairie Village, Kansas.
The Kansas City, Missouri, native graduated from Ruskin High School. He attended the University of Missouri-Columbia as well as Webster University. He majored in natural resources management and received a master’s degree in computer resources management.
“(I am really looking forward to) getting to know the students and staff at Luverne,” he said.
Arnold lives in Rock Rapids, Iowa, with his wife, Tracy. Their daughter, Emily, is a college freshman.

10 years ago (2011)
•A Rock County participant saw success at the Minnesota State Fair 4-H Beef Show last week.
The Champion Prospect Heifer calf was exhibited by Thomas Norman of Rock County.
The animals were shown on the first day of the fair Thursday, Aug. 25.
Selection of the overall winners was made during the 32nd Annual Beef Championship on Friday afternoon in the Minnesota State Fair Coliseum.
There were a total of 568 beef cattle shown at the 4-H Beef Show. There were 42 cow/calf pairs and 50 prospect calves exhibited in the Beef Cow/Calf Show.
 
25 years ago (1996)
•Luverne farmer Loren Forrest is planning to develop some of his property west of Luverne into eight residential lots for single-family homes.
Forrest approached the County Board Tuesday with a request to rezone the property from A1 to R2 in order to develop the property similar to a city neighborhood — with one home for every one-third acre. An A1 zone requires one acre of land per residential property.
The 40-acre piece of land is located less than one-half mile west of Highway 75 on County Road 5 south of the Forrest farm. It is just west of the Mike and Viola Uithoven property on the top of the hill.
 
50 years ago (1971)
•A crowd in excess of 1,200 persons viewed Blue Mound Tower Sunday afternoon during the open house festivities. …
Ken Getman, executive director, said 1,100 adults registered. There were a number of adults and children who did not register.
The visitors came from 62 towns and 11 different states, the guest register showed. States included in addition to Minnesota were Iowa, South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Colorado, Michigan, California, Georgia and Illinois.
 
75 years ago (1946)
•Ralph M. Brynelson, who was an instructor in the Glenwood Public schools last year, has been named superintendent of the Magnolia Consolidated  school at Magnolia will open on Monday, September 16, according to Mr. Brynelson.
My. Brynelson is formerly of Fergus Falls. A graduate of Concordia  college, Moorhead, he taught one year at Elbow Lake and two years at Glenwood. He has been taking post graduate work at the University of North Dakota. He is married, and his wife will also teach at Magnolia. They have no children.
 
100 years ago (1921)
•Definite action toward increasing the city’s water supply will be taken at the meeting of the council to be held Tuesday evening, when bids for the installation of a new well at the municipal plant will be considered.
The city has three wells at the old power house at the present time, but the volume of water they furnish has not for some time been considered ample in case of an emergency.
The new well will likely be located near the old ones, and will be about 25 feet in diameter and 25 feet deep. It will nearly double the water department’s present capacity.