County hearing for 
Vanderburg request June 22
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING OF COUNTY OF ROCK FOR TAX ABATEMENT FOR
Trudy Vanderburg/Manley Tire
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, That the Rock County Board of Commissioners will conduct a public hearing on at 06:10 P.M. on June 22, 2021, at Herreid Board meeting room in the Annex of the Rock County Courthouse located at 204 E. Brown Street; Luverne, Minnesota, to consider the request from Trudy Vanderburg dba Manley Tire for the abatement of certain real property located in Beaver Creek Township and described as follows, to wit:
A 86’x60’x14” mechanic shop building extension located in the southwest 
corner of Lot lying north and east of Highway less .06 a CSAH #17 in Section 
36, Township 102 Range 47
For abatement of real estate taxes for a period of up to ten years pursuant to Minnesota Statutes §469.1813. That the estimated amount of the abatement, on annual basis, for the County of Rock is: 
$923.54/year
Total abatement at 100% for ten years: $9,236.00
All persons desiring to be heard should appear at the hearing or present written comments to be presented at the hearing by delivering the same to the Rock County Administrator at 204 E. Brown Street; Luverne, Minnesota.
Kyle J. Oldre,
Rock County Administrator
(06-17)

City of Luverne adopts
Ordinance No. 18
OFFICIAL SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE NO. 18, FOURTH SERIES
AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO ELECTRIC SERVICE REPEALING AND    REPLACING CITY CODE CHAPTER 55 IN ITS ENTIRETY
 
On June 8, 2021, the City of Luverne, Minnesota (“City”) adopted an Ordinance repealing and replacing City Code Chapter 55 in its entirety.  The Ordinance is intended to provide for and specify the means to attain the best possible electric service for the public by providing requirements for electric service with respect to technical standards and related matters.  
It is hereby determined that publication of this title and summary will clearly inform the public of the intent and effect of Ordinance No. 18, Fourth Series.  A copy of the entire Ordinance shall be posted at the Luverne City Offices.
It is hereby directed that only the above title and summary of Ordinance No. 18, Fourth Series be published, conforming to Minn. Stat. §331A.01, with the following:
 
NOTICE
Persons interested in reviewing a complete copy of the Ordinance may do so at the Luverne City Offices at 305 East Luverne Street, Luverne, MN 56156 during the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.
 
This ordinance takes full force and effect seven (7) days after its publication.
(06-17)

The Luverne Cardinals and Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots track teams competed at the Section 3A meet in Redwood Falls on Thursday, June 10.
The Luverne boys and girls both took home first place overall, with the girls finishing with 102 points and the boys ending up with 58.
“They have put together an awesome season as a team,” Luverne track coach Pete Janiszeski said. “It’s been very rewarding to watch.”
The Cardinals will send five relay teams to the state meet, and qualifying individuals are Gracie Zewiske (400 meters), Regan Feit (300-meter hurdles), Tenley Nelson (3,200), Jenna DeBates (3,200), Jocelyn Hart (shot put), Ashton Sandbulte (100), Eli Radtke (pole vault) and Camden Janiszeski (1,600) all qualified as individuals.
“It’s a tribute to the athletes and all of the hard work they have put in,” Janiszeski said.
“They take a lot of pride in their program and the tradition they and those before them have established.”
The H-BC track team had two relay teams and two individuals that qualified for the state meet.
“We had a great night,” H-BC track coach Rex Metzger said. “To see our two 4-by-100 relays advance to the state meet is a big accomplishment. It’s been a long time since we’ve had both a boys’ and a girls’ relay team advance. In the sprint relays, the handoffs are pretty key. I was pleased how they went and the kids ran fast.”
H-BC seniors Tyson Bork and Taryn Rauk both qualified for the state meet in the 200.
“Both advanced and they both set personal bests,” Metzger said. “To end the night with that was pretty awesome.”
 
Luverne
Sandbulte crossed the finish line first in the 100 with a time of 11 seconds and 17 milliseconds.
Zewiske finished first in the 400 with a time of 58.73.
Elizabeth Wagner placed third in the 800 with a time of 2:29.38. Cassi Chesley finished seventh with a time of 2:37.84.
Grace Ingebretson finished sixth in the 1,600 with a time of 5:50.69. Maria Rops placed 10th with a time of 6:02.32.
Camden Janiszeski took home first place in the 1,600 with a time of 4:33.33. Owen Janiszeski finished fourth with a time of 4:46.41.
Nelson placed second in the 3,200 with a time of 11:06.38. DeBates finished third with a time of 11:06.52.
Elise Jarchow finished 10th in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.29.
Feit finished first in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 46.51.
The 4-by-200 relay team of Sarah Stegenga, Isabella Oye, Christina Wagner and Zewiske placed first with a time of 1:48.35.
Luverne’s 4-by-200 relay team of Arekel McLaughlin, Radtke, LaShad Smith and Sandbulte placed first with a time of 1:32.79.
The 4-by-400 relay team of Feit, Tiana Lais, Nelson and Zewiske placed first with a time of 4:06.88.
The 4-by-400 relay team of McLaughlin, Camden Janiszeski, Smith and Sandbulte placed first with a time of 3:32.77.
The 4-by-800 relay team of Feit, Lais, DeBates and Nelson placed first with a time of 9:51.24.
Elizabeth Wagner placed fifth in the high jump with a leap of 4-10.00.
Jarchow finished fourth in the pole vault with a mark of 8-02.00.
Radtke tied for first in the pole vault with BOLD’s Austin Frank. Both athletes finished with a mark of 13-01.00 to qualify for the state meet.
Jadyn Hart placed third in the discus with a throw of 105-09.00. Jocelyn Hart finished fifth with a throw of 98-08-00.
Jocelyn Hart placed second in the shot put with a throw of 39-01.00. Jadyn Hart placed 1oth with a heave of 31-03.00.
Ethan Teunissen placed eighth in the discus with a toss of 112-07.00.
Zach Ahrendt placed fifth in the shot put with a throw of 45-05.00.
 
H-BC
Rauk placed first in the 200 with a time of 27.25.
Bork finished second in the 200 with a time of 23.17. Dewell Rauk placed fourth in the 200 with a time of 23.37.
Liam Raymon placed eighth in the 800 with a time of 2:08.62.
Kenadie Fick finished seventh in the 1,600 with a time of 5:53.63.
Brandon Taubert finished 10th in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 46.10.
The 4-by-100 relay team of Abigail Harris, Ashlee Kelderman, Layla Deelstra and Rauk placed second with a time of 51.74. The same four athletes placed first in the 4-by-200 relay event with a time of 1:51.09.
The 4-by-100 relay team of Rauk, Cole Baker, Gavin Wysong and Bork placed first and set a program record in the event with a time of 44.52.
Taryn Rauk placed ninth in the long jump with a leap of 15-00.00.
Baker finished third in the long jump with a leap of 20-04.75. Baker placed sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 41-01.75.
Raymon placed eighth in the triple jump with a recorded jump of 40-04.00.
Max Scholten placed 10th in the discus with a throw of 112-04.00.
Casey Kueter placed seventh in the shot put with a throw of 44-00.00.
The state meet takes place from June 17-19, at St. Michael-Albertville High School in St. Michael.

The soap box derby was a main attraction at the Hills Friendship Days Saturday afternoon. The event was moved from the former high school because of seal coating work on the street in that neighborhood. The derby took place at the former elevator, now Game Plan For Hope.

Former board member Harley Fransman rejoined the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board Monday night replacing Dan LaRock who resigned in April.
Fransman was appointed to the vacant position in May and after a 30-day comment period he was formally sworn into the position by School Board Chairman Arlyn Gehrke. Gehrke was vice chairman when then Board Chairman Fransman retired in 2018. Fransman served on the board for 13 years.
He said he was happy to serve on the board again, this time as a grandfather of two students in the H-BC district. Fransman is also happy that the district is on solid financial footings, a different position from when the district operated in statutory debt almost 10 years ago.
Fransman saw the H-BC district out of debt.
“That was the biggest feel-good moment,” he said.
In his first action as a board member, Fransman and the rest of the board unanimously accepted the hiring of replacement staff at Monday night’s meeting. The board also accepted another teacher resignation.
Superintendent Todd Holthaus said the candidate pool has been strong.
“We had some real good candidates,” he said. “Sadly, we only need one person per position.”
A few of the new hires, who begin the 2021-22 school year, are familiar with the district including:
•Steve Wiertzema was rehired as secondary business/accounting teacher and athletic director. Wiertzema retired from the same positions at the end of last school year.
(A story about Wiertzema’s retirement as long-time basketball coach appears in this issue.)
•Kale Wiertzema replaces his father, Steve Wiertzema, as head basketball coach.
•Tyler Johnson was rehired as the K-12 art teacher. Johnson had tenured his resignation at the end of the 2020-21 school year.
•Kerri Baker, secondary math teacher.
•Erika Bierman, K-12 vocal music teacher.
•Max Wolgen, secondary science teacher.
•Amy Comp, grades 5-12 band teacher. Comp previously taught K-12 vocal music.
The board also made advisory assignments to existing staff including:
•Dan Ellingson as knowledge bowl coach.
•Steph Bass and Caitlin Slaba as co-secondary student council advisers.
•Samantha McGaffee and Alison Ceynowa-Breuer as secondary advisory co-leaders.
At Monday’s meeting, the board also accepted the resignation from secondary social studies/Spanish teacher Teri Richards.

“Stand up if you ever had Mr. Dooyema as a teacher.”
Luverne art teacher Chris Nowatzki made this request during the district’s employee recognition program on the last day of school Friday, May 28. 
In response, over 30 of the teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, bus drivers, food service and other district staff gathered in the Cardinal gym stood up as the rest applauded. 
“This just shows the legacy that Mr. Dooyema leaves after 41 years,” Nowatzki told the group. 
Doug Dooyema started in Luverne in the fall of 1980, spending his first 12 years teaching fourth grade in the old elementary school building on Luverne Street. 
He then moved to teaching sixth-grade science at the middle school, a position he held for almost 30 years. 
Dooyema grew up near Kenneth and graduated from Edgerton Public High School before earning degrees from Minnesota West in Worthington and Minnesota State University in Mankato.
He taught one year in Salem, South Dakota, before returning closer to home to teach in Luverne. 
“I’m now just about on my third generation of students in the same family,” Dooyema said. 
“You make a lot of connections with the students and families when you teach in the same town for this many years, and I’ve really enjoyed that the most.”
He said he thought about being a veterinarian after high school, but quickly realized he didn’t want the hours required with that profession. 
 “I really kind of fell into teaching by default,” Dooyema said. “I knew I’d be able to keep farming some back then if I was a teacher. It was a great choice.”
It’s a life lesson he shares with his students.
“I always try to impress on the kids that school will take you somewhere,” Dooyema said. “No one can ever take your education away from you.”
Early in his career, Dooyema also coached multiple sports, including varsity assistant for baseball and middle school football and basketball before his own children began participating in sports. 
He’s also been involved with the teachers’ union since he started with district and has been a negotiator for the Luverne Education Association for 38 years. 
According to Dooyema, the end of his four decades career may not be immediately felt. 
“It probably won’t really hit me until this fall when I don’t go back to school,” he said, adding that he’ll spend more time with his wife, Pam, their nine children and six (the seventh is on its way) grandchildren. 
“That will keep me busy,” he added. 
Dooyema also plans to continue working with his backhoe construction business. 
“I like that, because I can kind of set my hours. It’s perfect.”

Work on Phase 3A of the Luverne Loop path is completed.
Phase 3A started at the trailhead building on East Main Street and Blue Mound Avenue and ended at the Rock River to the east of the wastewater treatment plant.
Luverne City Council members recently approved final payment of $206,000 to Henning Construction, the general contractor for the work.
The total project cost was just over $496,000, with $150,000 paid for by a state of Minnesota DNR local trails grant.
The city recently published a map drawn to scale of the entire Luverne Loop, including the portion that connects with the Blue Mounds State Park.
Map brochures are available in city offices, at the trailhead, chamber and other locations. They are also on the city’s website at cityofluverne.org.
The map marks locations for restrooms, water fountains, bike repairs, scenic overlooks, parking and the city’s bike loan and e-bike rentals.
Bicycles are available to use for free 24/7 at the GrandStay Hotel and Suites on South Highway 75. There are eight adult and four youth coaster bikes and two adult trikes available.
The e-bikes can be rented for $5 per hour from the trailhead on East Main Street. They are self-checked out through a smartphone app.
There are two small, two medium and two large electric bikes that provide pedal assistance along with self-powered pedaling.
The Luverne Loop will be finished next year, with the help of more state funding.
The work next year will continue the trail from the Rock River to the area behind the Econo Lodge hotel on South Highway 75.
This connects the already completed trail that loops around the west side of Luverne along the school campus and around the hospital on the north end.
The next planned construction will be a 10-foot-wide section of the trail on the west and north sides of Sanford Luverne.
In related Luverne Loop news, the city recently erected signage at the “trail head” corner that was once Casey’s on East Main Street.
The sign cost roughly $24,600 and city public works employees provided in-kind labor for the project.
The trailhead corner and Living Rock Church boulevard are in line for the city’s “Four Corners” aesthetic improvements.
They’ll be similar to those on West Main Street at Highway 75 and the already completed Take 16 corner on East Main Street.

The Beaver Creek splash pad opened this spring just ahead of a long heat wave of 90-degree temperatures.
Nearly every day children and families — many of them visiting from other communities — have enjoyed the water entertainment located between the elementary school and ball diamond.
A ribbon-cutting to celebrate the splash pad completion will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, June 24, with Luverne Area Chamber members, local businesses, donors and the community invited.

Luverne School Board members will reconsider hiring a school resource officer in a three-way agreement with the city of Luverne and Rock County.
They will also consider closing the lunch hour at the high school — meaning students would not be able to leave campus for lunch.
The topics were discussed at a board workshop Thursday night, June 10. Formal action may be on the agenda of the next regular board meeting June 24.
Luverne Mayor Pat Baustian and Rock County Sheriff Evan Verbrugge met with school officials earlier this month about hiring a full-time school resource officer.
Area schools, most recently Jackson County Central, have hired law enforcement officers to work in districts.
Details on what the officer would do in Luverne schools would be determined by the entities involved. School officials are open to having an officer assist with risky behaviors such as drug use and increasing truancy.
Middle school principal Jason Phelps said resources were stretched thin during the 2020-21 school year with attendance issues. He said there may be value in having a person visit students’ homes and connect with students at school.
“There were some things at the middle school level this year, and parents called and said, ‘Hey, what are we going to do about that?’ Part of the answer could be a resource officer,” Phelps said.
Board members previously considered hiring a resource officer in 2017. A middle school principal was hired instead.
The current proposal would have the city, county and school share the costs, estimated at $33,000 per entity.
The timeframe would potentially place an officer in the school district next year.
The decision to close the noon hour would force the ninth through 12th-grade students to either bring their own lunches or eat school lunch in the new commons area that will be open this fall.
Discussions among board members — Katie Baustian was not in attendance — included using a possible graduated approach to keeping students on campus, to leaving the open campus privilege available to seniors over the lunch hour.
Because potentially 200 to 300 more meals would need to be prepared by kitchen staff in the event of a closed noon hour, a decision needs to be made soon.
The June 24 school board meeting begins at 7 p.m., with community input available at 6:30 p.m. The public many contact the superintendent’s office, 507-283-8088, to address the board.