City Planning Commission hearing set for Aug. 16 
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, by the City Planning Commission that a public hearing will be held commencing at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 16, 2021. The purpose of the hearing is to rule and make recommendation to the Luverne City Council on the following:
1. Requested conditional use permit (CUP) application submitted by Cleveringa 
Construction, for construction of a twin home, located at 101 W Brown 
Street (20-1700-000), in D-Downtown Zoning District, City of Luverne, 
Minnesota.
All persons desiring to be heard on these matters should be present at the hearing or present written comments prior to the hearing to the Building and Zoning Official, PO Box 659, Luverne, MN 56156.  Anyone needing reasonable accommodations, or an interpreter should contact the City Clerk’s Office, 305 East Luverne Street, Luverne, MN. (507) 449-9898
By order of the Luverne City Planning Commission, Luverne, Minnesota, 
this 5th day of August, 2021.
Jessica Mead
City Clerk
(08-05)

City of Luverne seeks 
bids by Aug. 12 
ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDS
Sealed bids will be received by the City Clerk of Luverne, Minnesota, at the City Offices, 305 E Luverne St., P.O. Box 659, Luverne, MN 56156-0659, until 1:30 P.M, on August 12, 2021, for Furnishing Three-Phase Padmount Transformers for the City of Luverne. At said time and place, the bids shall be publicly opened and read aloud.
The equipment required as follows:
• One (1) New 8400 kVA 65°C padmount transformer, 
24.94 kV GRD Y/14.4 kV to 12.47 kV GRD Y/7.2 kV
• One (1) New 5600 kVA 65°C padmount transformer,
  24.94 kV GRD Y/14.4 kV to    2.4 kV Delta 
The above equipment shall be in accordance with the specifications and proposed form of contract now on file in the office of the City of Luverne, Minnesota, by this reference made a part hereof as though fully set out and incorporated herein.
Suppliers desiring a copy of the project documents for individual use may obtain them from the office of DGR Engineering, Rock Rapids, Iowa, telephone (712) 472-2531, fax (712) 472-2710, web site www.dgr.com, e-mail dgr@dgr.com, no deposit required.
Each bid shall be made on bid form furnished by the Engineer and shall be accompanied by bid security in the form of a certified check or bid bond, made payable to the City of Luverne, in the amount of ten percent (10%) of the bid, which security becomes the property of the City in the event the successful bidder fails to enter into a contract and post satisfactory performance and payment bonds.
Payment to the Supplier for the equipment will be made from cash on hand or such other funds that legally may be used or obtained for such purposes. Payment to the Supplier for new equipment shall be made on the basis of one-hundred percent (100%) upon the delivery of the equipment within thirty-one (31) days.
All materials shall be delivered per the dates set in the Specifications.
The City reserves the right to defer acceptance of any proposal for a period not to exceed thirty (30) days after the date proposals are received and no proposal may be withdrawn during this period. The City also reserves the right to reject any or all bids and enter into such contract as it shall deem to be in the best interest of the City.
Dated this 5th day of August, 2021.
CITY OF LUVERNE, MINNESOTA
            By /s/ Jessica Mead   City Clerk
(08-05)

Overall results weren’t what the team and fans had hoped for, but the experience at the state Legion baseball tournament was a good one for Luverne Post 123.
“It was fantastic to have a normal season and to have the state tournament experience,” said Luverne coach Codie Zeutenhorst.
“I believe we would have qualified for state last year if it had been held, so I’m really glad we were able to give most of the kids who were on last year’s team that opportunity this year.”
Luverne went 1-2 at this year’s Minnesota Division II Senior American Legion Baseball State Tournament July 30-31 in Sacred Heart.
Post 123 lost to Wadena 2-0 in the quarterfinal round Friday before defeating Glenwood-Lowry 7-0 Saturday morning.
Saturday afternoon, Luverne fell to La Crescent 9-6 in the consolation championship game.
Luverne ends its season 12-6.
“I actually loved every part of this season,” Zeutenhorst said.
“It was cut a little short at the start, and there were a few schedule changes, but overall it was great to get back and have some normalcy this summer. … The kids played well and we ended our season in the state tournament where we wanted to be.”
Luverne will host the 2022 Division II Senior Legion State Tournament next July. As hosts, the team will automatically qualify for the tournament.
“We’re really excited for that,” Zeutenhorst said.
“It will actually be the third state tournament in a row that we’ll be playing in.”
 
Wadena 2, Luverne 0
Luverne faced Wadena in the first round of the state tournament Friday at 9:30 a.m. at Community Field in Sacred Heart.
Post 123 suffered a 2-0 loss to Wadena, which forced Luverne into the tournament’s consolation bracket.
The game was a true pitchers’ duel with Luverne’s Cade Wenninger and Wadena’s Josh Dykhoff offering few hits and no runs during the first five innings of the seven-inning contest.
Wadena scored the only two runs of the game in the top of the sixth inning.
The first run scored as a result of timely hitting and effective base running by Wadena.
The second run, however, was a result of “mental lapses that led to a learning opportunity” for his players, according to Zeutenhorst.
“Sometimes people say to forget about your mistakes, but I told our kids we need to remember this one and learn from it. It hurt. You can’t make mistakes like that at the state tournament,” he said.
When Luverne was unable to score any runs in the top of the seventh inning, the game ended 2-0.
Wadena’s Dykhoff struck out 12 Luverne batters in the game and gave up only two hits.
Casey Sehr and Connor Overgaard had one hit each for Luverne.
Wenninger pitched six innings until he neared the pitch count of 105.
“Cade’s pitching was fantastic,” Zeutenhorst said.
He struck out five batters and gave up five hits and two runs, one of which was earned.
Colby Crabtree pitched the final inning for Luverne. He struck out three batters and issued two walks and no hits or runs.  
 
Box Score
Wadena                 0 0 0 0 0 2 0         2
Luverne                 0 0 0 0 0 0 0         0
 
                                  AB  R  H  BI
Cowell                       3     0   0   0
Wenninger                2     0   0   0
Beyer                        2     0   0   0
Crabtree                    3     0   0   0
Sehr                          3     0   1   0
Sneller                       2     0   0   0
Connell                     1     0   0   0
Overgaard                 3     0   1   0
Anderson                  2     0   0   0
Ripka                         2     0   0   0
 
Luverne 7, G-L 0
After losing a close game in the first round of the state tournament Friday, Luverne’s batters and pitchers combined solid performances to earn a 7-0 win over Glenwood-Lowry Saturday morning in the consolation bracket.
“Our seniors at the top of the lineup starting hitting balls,” Zeutenhorst said. “When the top of our lineup gets on base, good things happen.”
In fact, Luverne’s first four batters (Bailey Cowell, Wenninger, Ethan Beyer and Crabtree) were responsible for eight of the team’s nine hits, five of the seven runs, all seven RBIs and all three extra base hits in the victory.
“That’s really what you want from your seniors at the top of your lineup,” Zeutenhorst said. “They did a great job.”
Ethan Beyer led the offense for Luverne with four hits, including two doubles, one run and one RBI.
Crabtree hammered a three-run homerun in the sixth inning to solidify the Post 123 victory. He had four total RBIs in the game.
In addition to leading the Luverne offense, Beyer was the game’s winning pitcher. He struck out nine batters and gave up only three hits and no runs in six innings on the mound.
Crabtree came in to pitch the final inning, striking out two and giving up no hits, walks or runs.
 
Box Score
Glenwood                0 0 0 0 0 0 0       0
Luverne                   1 2 0 1 0 3 x       7
 
                                  AB  R  H  BI
Cowell                       4     1   2   0
Wenninger                3     2   1   2
Beyer                        4     1   4   1
Crabtree                    2     1   1   4
Sehr                          4     0   0   0
Connell                     4     0   0   0
Stroh                         1     1   1   0
Anderson                  3     0   0   0
Ripka                         2     0   0   0
Halverson                 0     1   0   0
 
La Crescent 9, Luverne 6
After shutting out Glenwood-Lowry 7-0 in Saturday’s first game, Luverne faced La Crescent in the consolation championship game Saturday afternoon in Sacred Heart.
La Crescent reached the consolation championship after losing 8-1 to host Sacred Heart-MACCRAY and then defeating Holy Family (Chanhassen) 9-7.
Luverne started the 2 p.m. game strong, bringing the energy of the morning shut-out win to the contest.
Luverne scored the first run of the game when Cowell scored off a sacrifice fly by Beyer in the bottom of the first inning.
A homerun by Connor Connell, RBI doubles by Cowell and Wenninger and an RBI single by Beyer all in the second inning led to a 5-1 Luverne lead after two frames.
La Crescent answered with three runs in the third and took the lead by scoring two more runs in the top of the fourth inning before a score by Wenninger in the bottom of the fourth tied the game 6-6.
Luverne was unable to score any more runs in the game while La Crescent added one run in the fifth and two in the seventh to finalize the 9-6 La Crescent victory.
Connell took the loss on the mound. He pitched three innings, giving up six runs (four earned), eight hits and three walks. He struck out two batters.
“Connell threw well, but the strike zone was really tight,” Zeutenhorst said.
“None of his curve balls were called strikes, which forced him to throw fast balls, and they hit those.”
La Crescent totaled sixteen hits in the game.
“That’s good hitting,” Zeutenhorst said. “Sixteen hits will win a lot of games.”
Sehr came in to pitch the final four innings, striking out seven batters and giving up three runs, eight hits and two walks.
 
Box Score
LaCrescent            0 1 3 2 1 0 2        9
Luverne                  1 4 0 1 0 0 0        6
AB                             R    H  BI
Cowell                       4     2   2   1
Wenninger                4     2   1   1
Beyer                        3     0   1   2
Crabtree                    3     0   1   1
Sehr                          4     0   0   0
Connell                     3     1   2   1
Stroh                         3     0   1   0
Halverson                 1     0   0   0
Anderson                  2     1   0   0
Ripka                         4     0   1   0

The 2021 Rock County Fair promised “something for everyone” during its July 28-31 run, and the weather offered variety of its own.
“Each day was different,” said Adam Kinsinger, Rock County Ag Society president.
“We had extreme heat, smoke, rain and sunshine. Thankfully, it didn’t slow people down.”
Kinsinger estimated more than 700 people filled the grandstands for the Thursday night, July 29, tractor pull with another 100 people watching from the infield.
Another 700 attended the Enduros Saturday night, July 31.
Temperatures began rising Wednesday, and by Thursday reached into the mid-90s.
Humidity levels were also high, keeping overnight temperature lows in the 70s.
The Minnesota Department of Health issued an air quality alert for nearly all of Minnesota for the first three days of the Rock County Fair.
In a press release, Health Department officials explained northerly winds behind a cold front brought smoke from wildfires in Canada into Minnesota.
The smoke reduced visibility in the area while the cold front dropped temperatures into the mid-80s Friday along with some rain for Rock County.
For much of this summer, the county has been under moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Friday’s rain postponed the Ag Society’s community night, when the grandstand’s infield filled with water from the day’s rain.
Rain amounts varied from just over a half inch to more than an inch of rain over a 24-hour period.
The community event, which featured a free meal, may be rescheduled for later this month or early September, Kinsinger said.
Sunshine returned on Saturday with temperatures almost 20 degrees cooler than Thursday (Saturday’s high was recorded at 69 degrees at the Luverne airport.)
The ideal fair weather brought people out to the fairgrounds for the last day of the fair.
“I think this year’s fair was a success,” Kinsinger said. “It was great to have everyone here again!”
In 2020 the pandemic canceled the free county fair events while 4-H conducted a virtual fair for general projects and a showcase for each livestock category that only 4-H’ers and their immediate families could attend.

After a summer of sporadic hours and frequent closures, Dollar General in Luverne will soon be back on track for regular business.
That’s according to new full-time store manager Adam Smith, who recently moved to Luverne from the Twin Cities to take the reins of the 15-year-old convenience retail business.
“I like the town and I’m looking forward to immersing in the community,” said Smith, who is also a Luverne Rotary Club member. “It’s exciting and it’s a challenge.”
The doors were locked Monday afternoon when he and store employees worked to reorganize aisles.
“We’re closed,” he told customers, offering them a cold bottled water or cherry cola. “But we’re open tonight from 6 to 9, and starting Friday we’ll be open 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.”
In the near future, Smith said the store will be back to Dollar General’s regular hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. “I want to meet people – that’s why I do this,” he said about the free beverages.
Smith, who hails from Rosemount, delivered mail for 22 years with the postal service in Rosemount and has 35 years of retail convenience store experience, including in management.
“I’m a people person – even though I’ve worked full-time jobs, I like retail and I’ve always worked retail part time on the side,” Smith said.
He said he can’t speak for management prior to his start in Luverne last week, but he admitted the Luverne store “was a mess,” especially compared to Dollar Generals in nearby communities of Pipestone, Rock Rapids, Garretson and others.
“I saw the condition of the Dollar General in Luverne, and it pained me that a store this centrally located couldn’t do better,” Smith said.
“I visited some of the other Dollar Generals. They said they get Luverne customers all the time.”
The sign on the door says Dollar General in Luverne is hiring, but for now Smith said he has a solid staff of eight people, including previous cashiers and employees. He added that they’re “always hiring.”
Smith said he wasn’t familiar with the company’s starting wages, but one worker said she started at $9.86 per hour two years ago and her wage was recently increased to $12.
A weekend worker at the Luverne store said he’s starting at $11 per hour.
Dollar General opened its 8,492-square-foot store on South Highway 75 in Luverne across from Casey’s General Store in March of 2006.

Rock County has seen an uptick in COVID activity over the last week, according to public health officials, and masks may again be recommended for indoor spaces.
The number of new COVID-19 confirmed cases in Rock County meets the CDC’s definition of “High Community Transmission” level for COVID.
To meet this definition, the number of COVID cases must be more than 100 per 100,000 people within the last seven days. 
Rock County has seen 12 new cases in the last seven days, and the 14-day case rate is 14 as of Aug. 3.
Because Rock County meets the “High Community Transmission” definition, the CDC recommends that people wear face coverings when they are in an indoor setting, Kloss said.
“However, the main message I would have for people is: It is never too late to get the COVID vaccine,” he said.
“The COVID vaccine is very effective at protecting you from getting COVID and is extremely effective at preventing serious illness and hospitalization if you are exposed to COVID after being vaccinated.”
There have not been local announcements of mask mandates; however, local leaders and health professionals are monitoring the situation.
Rock County is among six Minnesota counties currently in the high-risk category. There are about 40 Minnesota counties in the substantial risk category (50-99 cases per 100,000 people).  
“With the Delta strain circulating as it is, the number of counties in the high risk category will likely increase,” Kloss said. “This is why increasing the number of people who are vaccinated is important.”

The moment he jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge, Kevin Hines regretted the decision to end his life.
He miraculously survived that fall in September of 2000 and has since then dedicated his life to preventing suicide.
Hines will be in Luverne Wednesday, Sept. 1, as part of the Luv1LuvAll Brain Health initiative to raise awareness of suicide in order to save lives.
“He’s a very good storyteller,” said Luverne school social worker Stacy Schepel. “He makes a hard topic easy to listen to.”
Schepel is working with a local team of educators, counselors and health care providers to generate conversations about mental health and suicide.
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.
Schepel has heard him speak and is eager to bring him to Luverne.
“He shares his complete journey from start to finish,” she said. “He talks in detail about the decision he made to end his life, the moment he jumped and ends by emphasizing the importance of getting adequate sleep, healthy eating, self-care, therapy, and medication.”
Sanford Luverne integrated health therapist Angela Nolz said this practical message is helpful for anyone.
“I appreciate the practical parts of his message that include the impact of sleep hygiene, movement and routine on mental wellness,” said Nolz, also a Brain Health team member.
She added that improving mental health and preventing suicide also requires education.
She and Schepel are working with Luverne school counselor Amy Cook to reach young people early on to encourage them to seek help and to help others who are struggling.
“Using the analogy of a river, what can we do upstream for preventative work versus ‘We’re in a crisis; what do we do?’” Cook said.
“That’s where school comes in … to teach these interventions. We want to teach them things they don’t know they’ll need until they need it.”
While the CDC doesn’t track suicide at the local level, the Luv1LuvAll group generally understands that suicides in Luverne, Adrian and other nearby towns are becoming more frequent.
“Most everyone knows someone who died of suicide,” Nolz said. “And, because of the stigma, there are many we don’t know about. … There have been too many for these small communities. That’s too many for anywhere. The goal is zero.”
An alarming trend shows increasingly younger people are choosing to end their lives.
“Suicide and mental health doesn’t discriminate based on anything,” Schepel said. “So, we need to be brave and have a conversation, because the more we talk about it, the easier it will be to find solutions.”
Nolz agreed.
“A life saved is a life saved,” she said. “If we can save one life through a conversation, then goal met.”
While there are efforts afoot to implement suicide prevention curriculum in schools, Brain Health advocates say the Sept. 1 event will be a good start.
 
Sept. 1 event free and open to public at 7 p.m.
Hines will speak twice in Luverne on Sept. 1, with a session for school staff in the morning and an evening session for all ages
The community session will be at 7 p.m. in the school’s new performing arts center (the first event to be held in the new auditorium).
Children younger than 16 should attend with parents, and it shouldn’t be the first conversation about suicide in the family.
Juniors and seniors can attend without parents.
Bringing Hines to Luverne is part of a broader effort by the school and community to raise awareness of suicide in order to prevent it.
For example, the “Project 11” curriculum used in the Warroad School District is under consideration in Luverne and has local funding support.
“If you’re interested in being part of the movement, we need all people at the table,” Nolz said. “We want everyone from all areas of the community.”
People can message the Luv1LuvAll page if they’re interested in joining the conversation and strategic planning.
Sanford Health, Luverne Public School and Luv1LuvAll are sponsoring the Sept. 1 event with Hines.
 
‘Out of the Darkness’ walk coming Sept. 18
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.
Nolz said she hopes 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,” Nolz said. 
She said 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.

After a subdued pandemic event in 2020, Rock County Fair Board returned with the classic community event last week with four full days of family entertainment, 4-H shows and popular grandstand events. See page 8A for tractor pull pictures and results. See page 6A with a full 4-H wrap-up and photos and see page 1B for more Rock County fair information and feature photos.

Luverne High School graduate Tyler Reisch has been hired as Luverne School District’s new business manager, starting Aug. 30.
Reisch, currently the Pipestone County auditor-treasurer, was one of seven candidates interviewed for the position recently held by former business manager Marlene Mann, who retired July 31.
“The pool of candidates was very strong,” said Superintendent Craig Oftedahl.
Reisch’s salary will be $83,500.
He graduated from Luverne in 2007 and from North Dakota State University in Fargo in 2012. He began as Pipestone County auditor in 2013.
“I am looking forward to moving back to the community I was born and raised in and working in a school I attended,” he said.
Reisch’s parents, Terry Reisch and Janet Reisch, live in Luverne. His sister, Ashley Kurtz, is Rock County’s auditor-treasurer.
While administrators are charged by school board members to post open positions immediately and hire personnel in a timely manner, the board will take formal action on the administrator’s suggestion at the Aug. 26 school board meeting.