The Rock County Soil and Water Conservation District will be part of a first-ever Manure Demo Day Tuesday, Aug. 10, at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris.
The day will be broken into two sessions, a morning recertification and an afternoon free session for the public with demonstrations.
 
Afternoon session for demonstrations
The afternoon field session is free and open to the public, beginning at noon. Registration is not required for the afternoon session, but attendees must check in upon arrival.
In-field demonstrations will begin at 1:15 p.m. Exhibitors and vendors will be on site to answer questions and provide product information.
Current exhibitors include Artex Manufacturing, Balzer Inc., Bazooka Farmstar and Soil Warrior.
Vendors and exhibitors interested in joining should contact Brenda Postels, UMN Extension, at 320-203-6063 or post0060@umn.edu.
The field day is organized by the University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Minnesota Custom Applicators Association, Rock County SWCD and Stearns County SWCD.
Rock County SWCD/Land Management can be reached at 507-283-8862 or www.rockswcd.org.
 
Pre-register by Aug. 3 for morning training
The morning session will consist of recertification training for commercial animal waste technicians (CAWTs) and includes lunch.
In order to cover costs associated with the training, the fee for the morning session is $10.
Space is limited to the first 100 people for the CAWT session. Preregister by Aug. 3, by visiting https://z.umn.edu/MDD2021.
This is the only in-person CAWT recertification workshop of 2021.
The CAWT session will begin promptly at 8:30 a.m. and will include a program update, MPCA CAFO permit update, information on manure application timing, calibrating manure spreading equipment, tips for minimizing soil compaction and a safety walk-through.
Similar to past CAWT recertification training, attendance will be monitored by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, so participants should bring CAWT licenses.

It will be Southwest vs. Northeast in the quarterfinal round of the Minnesota American Legion Senior Division II State Tournament in Sacred Heart this weekend.
Luverne, champion of the Southwest sub-state division, will face Wadena, winner of the Northeast sub-state division, at 9:30 a.m. Friday.
The winner of that contest will face Minnewaska or Atwater Saturday at 5 p.m.
The loser moves to the consolation bracket and a game at 9 a.m. Saturday.
The championship game of the eight-team tournament is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
The Senior Division II state tournament also includes teams from Roseau, Holy Family (Chanhassen), LaCrescent and Sacred Heart/MACCRAY.
The Senior Division I state tournament, featuring the larger schools in the state, begins Thursday in the St. Cloud area.
According to the American Legion, Minnesota has over 370 Legion baseball teams with over 5,000 young people participating this year.
Minnesota has the largest Legion Baseball program in the country and set a new record for number of teams this season.

The Luverne Junior American Legion baseball team entered Sunday’s championship game of the Southwest Sub-State Tournament undefeated after besting Blue Earth, Lamberton, and St. James earlier in the tournament.
A win against St. James in the noon game at Redbird Field would send the team to the Minnesota Junior Legion Baseball State Tournament.
A Luverne loss would cause a second game between the same two teams with the winner advancing to the state tournament.
In the first game, Luverne came up just short, losing 3-2 in an extra inning contest.
St. James controlled much of the second game and won 6-1, earning a trip to the state tournament and ending Luverne’s season.
“We had a good season as a whole,” said Jared Pick, Luverne Junior Legion head coach.
“We won quite a few games and played real well in the playoffs, getting one game away from state. … The main thing is we got better as the season went along.”
 
Luverne 5, St. James 1
Luverne remained undefeated in the Junior Legion Southwest sub-state tournament by defeating St. James 5-1 Tuesday, July 20, at Redbird Field in Luverne.
St. James, considered the home team in the contest, scored first, plating its only run of the game in the bottom of the first inning.
Jacob Stroh started the game on the mound for Luverne and pitched well for the victors, giving up only one run and striking out eight batters in 5 1/3 innings of work.
Kaden Anderson came in to relieve Stroh for the last one 1 1/3 innings, giving up no runs.
Anderson led the offense for Luverne with three hits and two runs. Riley Sneller had two hits in the game and scored once.
Connor Connell and Stroh also plated runs for Luverne.
 
Box Score
Luverne                0 1 2 1 0 1 0        5
St. James             1 0 0 0 0 0 0        1
 
                                  AB  R  H 
Sneller                       4     1   2
Anderson                  4     2   3  
Serie                          1     0   1
Connell                     2     1   1
DeBoer                      2     0   0
Halverson                 1     0   0
Domagala                 3     0   0
Stroh                         3     1   1
Ossefoort                  3     0   0
Buss                          4     0   1
 
St. James 3, Luverne 2
Entering Sunday’s championship game at Redbird Field, Luverne and St. James had played twice during the season with each team winning once.
It took an extra eighth inning to determine the better team after neither team scored in the scheduled seven innings of the noon contest.
When St. James scored three runs in the top of the eighth, Luverne had to answer with at least that many to keep the game going and avoid a second game the same day.
Stroh opened the inning for Luverne by reaching base after he was hit by a pitch. The next two Luverne batters were out.
Stroh advanced to second after Sneller hit a single. A very timely double by Anderson then scored both Stroh and Sneller to bring the score to 3-2 with two outs.
Walks issued to Will Serie and Connell then loaded the bases. A pop-up foul by Zach DeBoer caught by St. James was the third and final out for Luverne, stranding three runners on base and ending the game.
Missed opportunities were the story of the game for Luverne.
“We took advantage of errors and walks to get a lot of guys on base, but we didn’t get the key hits or get the runs across the plate,” Pick said.
In fact, Luverne left 16 runners on base during the game.
Connell had a very solid pitching effort, giving up no runs and striking out eight batters during seven innings on the mound before he reached the 105-pitch count limit for the day.
Austin Ossefoort and Kai Buss both pitched for Luverne during the eighth inning with Buss getting the final three outs.
 
Box Score
St James               0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3       3
Luverne                0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2       2
 
                                  AB  R  H  BI
Sneller                       2     1   1   0
Anderson                  3     0   2   2
Serie                          1     0   0   0
Connell                     2     0   0   0
DeBoer                      3     0   1   0
Hein                           1     0   0   0
Domagala                 3     0   0   0
Stroh                         1     1   0   0
Ossefoort                  1     0   0   0
Kroski                       1     0   0   0
Halverson                 1     0   0   0
Buss                          3     0   0   0
 
St. James 6, Luverne 1
It was a true, winner-take-all championship game when Luverne and St. James met for the second game Sunday at Redbird Field.
The winner would be champion of the Junior Legion Southwest Sub-State region and advance to the state tournament in Montevideo.
The game remained scoreless until the third inning when Luverne scored its only run of the contest.
Buss hit a double and advanced to third base when a Sneller hit was caught by the second baseman.
Anderson was hit by a pitch to put Luverne runners on first and third bases.
Buss scored when a pitch to Serie got away from the catcher to put Luverne up 1-0.
St. James, playing as the home team, scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
When they scored one more in the sixth and held Luverne scoreless in the top of the seventh inning, St. James won the championship and earned a trip to the state tournament.
“They are a good team,” Pick said. “We played them four times this year and only won once.”
 
Box Score
Luverne               1 8 0 2 2 0 0       1
St James            0 0 1 0 1 0 x       6
 
                                  AB  R  H  BI
Sneller                       4     0   1   0
Anderson                  2     0   0   0
Serie                          3     0   0   0
Connell                     2     0   0   0
Hein                           3     0   0   0
Stroh                         3     0   1   0
DeBoer                      3     0   0   0
Sudenga                   2     0   0   0
Kroski                       1     0   1   0
Buss                          3     1   1   0

Two Luverne race car drivers earned checkered flags at Rapid Speedway in Rock Rapids, Iowa, Friday night.
Victories by Scott Overgaard and Eric Gaul highlighted the results of Rock County drivers at four area dirt tracks over the last two weekends.
 
Rapid Speedway
Gaul followed up a second-place finish July 16 by winning the Hobby Stocks A feature race Friday night.
Overgaard, who placed fourth in the Stock Cars feature July 16, also found his way to victory lane Friday.
Thomas Kracht, also of Luverne, placed third in the same race.  
Brandon Boeve, Beaver Creek, finished second in the Sportsman’s class Friday night in Rock Rapids.
 
Murray County  Speedway
Dylan Fitzpatrick, Magnolia, highlighted Rock County results at Murray County Speedway in Slayton Friday night.
Fitzpatrick placed fourth in the A feature race of the Hobby Stocks class.
 
Worthington  Speedway
Silas Top, Hardwick, led local competitors at Worthington Speedway July 17.
Top finished in second place of the Bomber class A feature race.
Fitzpatrick placed sixth in the Hobby Stocks class to pace local drivers in Worthington July 24.
Below are the full results for Rock County drivers from races July 16-17 and July 23-24.
 
Rapid Speedway – July 16
 
Sportsman’s A Feature
Brandon Boeve   Beaver Creek             5
Chase Overgaard    Luverne                10
 
USRA Hobby Stocks A Feature
Eric Gaul            Luverne                          2
Cadyn Wessels        Luverne                 21
 
USRA B Modifieds A Feature
Trevor Kracht         Luverne                 7
Ryan Walker     Luverne                          8
 
USRA Stock Cars A Feature
Colton Arends         Luverne                                   2
Scott Overgaard    Luverne                                      4
Thomas Kracht       Luverne                                     5
                          
                                               
Murray County Speedway – July 16
 
IMCA Modifieds A Feature                 
Jeremy Smith       Luverne                                       8
 
IMCA Hobby Stocks A Feature
Dylan Fitzpatrick   Magnolia                                  9
 
 
I-90 Speedway – July 17
 
Racesaver Sprint A Feature
Dalton Domagala   Luverne                                  18
 
USRA Hobby Stocks A Feature
Cadyn Wessels        Luverne                                   20
 
 
Worthington Speedway – July 17
 
USRA Hobby Stocks A FeatureDylan Fitzpatrick        Magnolia         14
 
Bombers A Feature
Silas Top             Hardwick  2
 
 
Rapid Speedway – July 23
 
Sportsman’s A Feature
Brandon Boeve           Beaver Creek     2
Chase Overgaard   Luverne                                      8
 
USRA Hobby Stocks A Feature
Eric Gaul             Luverne                          1
Cadyn Wessels         Luverne                                     9
 
USRA B Modifieds A Feature
Ryan Walker      Luverne                          5
Trevor Kracht          Luverne                                     6
 
USRA Stock Cars A Feature
Scott Overgaard     Luverne                                     1
Thomas Kracht        Luverne                                    5
Spenser Kalass        Luverne                                    9
Kevin Kremin          Kenneth                                  10
 
Murray County Speedway – July 23
 
IMCA Hobby Stocks A Feature
Dylan Fitzpatrick    Magnolia                                 4
 
Bombers A Feature
Silas Top              Hardwick   7
 
 
I-90 Speedway – July 24
 
USRA Hobby Stocks A Feature
Cadyn Wessels         Luverne                                  13
 
 
Worthington Speedway – July 24
 
USRA Hobby Stocks A FeatureDylan Fitzpatrick         Magnolia          6
 
Bombers A Feature
Silas Top              Hardwick     5

The Luverne Redbirds amateur baseball team finished the regular season with a 19-5 overall record, 18-2 conference record and the top seed from the Gopher League.
The Redbirds, along with the top-seeded Windom Pirates of the First Nite League, earned byes in the league playoff round.
Results of the best-of-three games league playoffs determined the six teams that will join Luverne and Windom in the Region 13C tournament.
The Milroy Irish, Hadley, Jackson, Lakefield, Pipestone and Adrian advanced from the league playoffs to qualify for the tournament, which begins Wednesday, July 28.
Luverne was voted the overall top seed for the Region 13C tournament and will face the Adrian A’s, the eighth-seeded team, in the best-of-three first round.
Game 1 is Wednesday, July 28 at 7:30 p.m. at Redbird Field in Luverne. Game 2 is in Adrian at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Game 3, if necessary, will be at Redbird Field Sunday at 2 p.m.
The Redbirds faced Adrian in the first-round last year as well, winning the series in two games in 2020.
“They’re a tough team with some real quality pitchers that can give any team a battle,” said Luverne player-manager Brooks Maurer.
“I know they’ll be fired up and ready to play us.”
 
2021 Region 13C
Final Standings and Seeds
 
Gopher League
1   Luverne Redbirds          18-2
2   Milroy Irish                      17-3
3   Hadley Buttermakers     14-6
4   Pipestone A’s                 11-9
5   Adrian A’s                       7-12
6   Ruthton Royals              7-13
7   Tracy Engineers             4-16
 
First Nite League  
1   Windom Pirates              19-2
2   Jackson Bulls                 14-7
3   Lakefield Horned Frogs 12-8
4   Fox Lake Foxes              10-10
5   Heron Lake Lakers         8-13
6   Mountain Lake Lakers   6-14
7   Worthington Cubs          5-15
 
 
2021 Region 13C
League Playoff Results
July 21-25
 
Jackson vs. Tracy     
Jackson 21, Tracy 0 (7 inn)
Jackson 18, Tracy 2 (7 inn)
 
Lakefield vs. Ruthton    
Lakefield 5, Ruthton 1
Ruthton 11, Lakefield 1
Lakefield 3, Ruthton 1
 
Fox Lake vs. Adrian  
Adrian 9, Fox Lake 2
Fox Lake 17, Adrian 7
Adrian 10, Fox Lake 2
 
Milroy Irish vs. Worthington
Milroy 9, Worthington 1
Milroy 6, Worthington 1
 
Hadley vs. Mountain Lake    
Hadley 14, Mountain Lake 4
Hadley 9, Mountain Lake 7
 
Pipestone vs. Heron Lake     
Pipestone 4, Heron Lake 0
Pipestone 3, Heron Lake 0
 
 
2021 Region 13C
Tournament Seeds
 
1   Luverne Redbirds
2   Windom Pirates
3   Milroy Irish
4   Hadley Buttermakers
5   Jackson Bulls
6   Lakefield Horned Frogs
7   Pipestone A’s
8   Adrian A’s
 
 
2021 Region 13C
Tournament Schedule
July 21-25
 
Luverne vs Adrian     
Wed, July 28 at 7:30pm in Luverne
Fri, July 30 at 7:30pm in Adrian
*Sun, Aug 1 at 2:00 in Luverne
 
Hadley vs Jackson    
Wed, July 28 at 7:30pm in Jackson
Sat, July 31 at 2:00pm in Hadley
*Sun, Aug 1 at 2:00 in Hadley
 
Milroy Irish vs. Lakefield
Wed, July 28 at 7:30pm at Irish Yard
Fri, July 30 at 7:30pm in Lakefield
*Sun, Aug 1 at 2:00 at Irish Yard
 
Windom vs. Pipestone  
Wed, July 28 at 7:30pm in Windom
Fri, July 30 at 7:30pm in Pipestone
*Sun, Aug 1 at 2:00 in Windom
 
*Game played if necessary

LHS players earn all-conference honors
Luverne High School baseball team award winners were honored during a postseason banquet July 8.
Seniors Ethan Beyer and Cade Wenninger both earned All-Conference, All-Section and Academic All-State awards.
Junior Casey Sehr was awarded All-Conference and All-Section awards.
Senior Bailey Cowell and freshman Connor Connell both earned All-Conference status.
Braydon Ripka was named All-Conference honorable mention during his junior season.
 
LBA Golf Scrambler set for Aug. 6
The Luverne Basketball Association will host its annual Golf Scrambler Friday, Aug. 6, at Luverne Country Club.
Registration for the four-person team event begins at 4:30 p.m. with a shotgun start at 5 p.m.
The cost of $30 per person includes nine holes of golf, golf cart and a meal. All proceeds benefit Luverne basketball programs.
Teams may register now at LCC or email luvernebasketball@gmail.com.

The Luverne 14U baseball team completed its season with a victory over the Luverne 13U team Monday night. They include (front, from left) Lucas Kelly, Marcus Vortherms, Trevor DeBates, Carter Sehr, Caden Kruger, (back) Coach Jake Haugen, Blaik Bork, Jesse Anning, Layke Miller, Landon Ahrendt and Alex Schlosser.

The Luverne 13U baseball team won the Minnesota Sports Federation Division 13A State Championship in Marshall Sunday. Pictured are (front, from left) Maddux Domagala, Tucker Holwell, Gavin Hoven, Blake Sauer, Jude Hoven, Rayden Boyenga, (back) Jaxon Lais, Connor Bose, Kasey Buss, Brody Goembel, Jaydon Johnson, Josh Hansen and Landyn Lais. Shane Sauer is the coach of the team. Luverne defeated Maple River 12-8, Woodbury 3-2 and Mound Westonka 5-3 during the championship round.

The Luverne 12U baseball team won the Minnesota Sports Federation Division 12A State Championship in Sartell Sunday. Pictured are (front, from left) Matthew Gangestad, Brody Kopp, Colton Haubrich, Aydon Kopp, Maddox Miller, (back) coach Jon Schomacker, Kelby Schomacker, Ben Hartquist, Josh Stroh, Coy Thone, Carter Como, Kayne Jurrens and coach Jeff Haubrich. In the championship bracket, the team defeated Upsala 13-1, Breckenridge 10-5, and Blaine 17-9.