H-BC School Board 
meets April 26
Hills-Beaver Creek Dist. 671
Minutes
April 26, 2021
The Hills-Beaver Creek School Board met for its semi-monthly meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the H-BC Secondary School Media Center/via Zoom Mtg for Guest 
attendees – based on MN Statute 13D.021.
Board members present were Bosch, Gehrke, Harnack, Knobloch, Rauk, 
and Rozeboom. Superintendent Holthaus, Principal Kellenberger, and Business
Manager Rozeboom were also in attendance.
Motion by Knobloch, second by Harnack, and carried to approve the agenda.
Proposed Addition to the agenda:
-Patriot Pride Items
Visitors to the meeting were Mavis Fodness of the Star Herald and Dalton Bass.
PATRIOT PRIDE:
-SWWC Creative Writing Contest—3rd and 4th Grade Fiction, 1st Place:
Brekyn Klarenbeek, 2nd Place: Ryker Gehrke, Third Place: Penni Moore
5th Grade Nonfiction—2nd Place: Brystol Teune—7th and 8th Grade Non-
fiction: 1st Place: Mazzi Moore
-Elementary Vocal Music Concerts: Thanks to Mrs. Comp and all the Students
-Completion of the MCA Reading and Math Tests...Thanks to Mr. Kellenberger
and all staff! Science yet to come.
-Earth Day Clean-Up in both Beaver Creek and Hills
-Numerous Superior Scores from Band/Choir Students for Solo/Ensemble
Contest
-Taryn Rauk competes in All-State All-Star Game this past weekend
BOARD COMMITTEE MEETING REPORTS: Building Grounds - 4/26
Motion by Bosch, second by Rozeboom, and carried to approve Consent Agenda:
-Minutes—04/12/2021
-Bills and Student Activity Accounts
-2021-2022 SW/WC Service Cooperative/Blue Cross Blue Shield
as the District’s Health and Hospital Insurance Provider
-Adding 1 FTE Elementary Teacher for the 2021-2022 School Year
-School District cooperating with other SW MN School Districts and MSHSL
Fee settlement.
Motion by Harnack, second by Knobloch, and carried to approve Resolution 
appointing Harley Fransman to fill open school board position until special election 
held November 2021.
Motion by Bosch, second by Rauk, and carried to approve Resolution to allow transfer of funds for ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) to the School Readiness Fund.
Motion by Harnack, second by Knobloch, and carried to approve Resolution to allow transfer of funds for Community Education to the School Readiness Fund.
DISTRICT NON-ACTION ITEMS:
•Secondary Principal Report
•Superintendent/Elementary Principal Report
•Legislative Update
AGENDA ITEMS FOR THE NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETING
DATES TO REMEMBER:
-Regular Board Meeting, May 10, 2021
-Regular Board Meeting, May 24, 2021
Meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Tamara Rauk, Clerk

City of Luverne seeks 
bids by June 10 
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 2:00 P.M., on June 10, 2021, for Furnishing Diesel Generating Equipment for the City of Luverne. At said time and place, the bids shall be publicly opened and read aloud.
The general nature of the work on which proposals will be received consists of the furnishing of two new 2,500 – 3,100 kW, 12.47 kV, 3-phase, 60 Hz diesel engine generator sets with controls and accessories; miscellaneous related equipment; and 
testing, commissioning, and start-up services.
The above work 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 ninety percent (90%) upon the delivery and placement of the equipment; ten percent (10%) within thirty-one (31) days after final completion, testing, start-up, Owner’s acceptance, and 
delivery of final documentation.
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 11th day of May, 2021.
CITY OF LUVERNE, MINNESOTA
By /s/ Jessica Mead
City Clerk
(05-20)

City of Luverne adopts
Ordinance No. 17
ORDINANCE NO. 17, FOURTH SERIES
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING LUVERNE CITY CODE CHAPTER 111: ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES, AMENDING SECTION 111.01 DEFINITIONS, AND AMENDING SECTION 111.060 LIQUOR LICENSE REQUIRED
 
THE CITY OF LUVERNE ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. That City Code Chapter 111, Alcoholic Beverages, amending section 111.01 definitions, is hereby amended to read as follows:
§ 111.001 DEFINITIONS.
CONVENTION CENTER.  A building or set of buildings designed to have a guest capacity of at least one hundred (100) persons designed exclusively for organized events such as banquets, receptions, or other large-scale social events.
RESTAURANT. As defined in M.S. § 340A.101, Subd. 25., as it may be amended from time to time.
SEC. 2.  That City Code Chapter 111.060, Liquor License Required, is hereby amended to read as follows:
§ 111.060 LIQUOR LICENSE REQUIRED.
(F) An on-sale intoxicating liquor license, on-sale wine license, or an on-sale malt liquor license may be issued to a convention center located within the city pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 340A.404, subdivision 1(c), as it may be amended from time to time. A license issued under this paragraph authorizes sales on all days of the week to persons attending events at the convention center subject to the hours of sale provisions of this Code.
SEC. 3.  This ordinance takes full force and effect seven (7) days after its publication.
(05-20)

Saturday’s bike rodeo at the Blue Mound Ice Arena in Luverne brought remembrances of Keith Aanenson and the safety focus he emphasized to the Luverne Optimist Club-sponsored event.
Aanenson, a former peace officer and chief of the Luverne City Police Department, began the bike rodeo through the Optimist Club more than 30 years ago.
Aanenson would instruct bike safety to third-graders at Luverne and Hills-Beaver Creek elementary schools.
Aanenson, 78, died unexpectedly in January. He was one of the founders of the Optimist Club more than 40 years ago.
To continue Aanenson’s legacy, his daughter, Carrie Van Santen of Luverne, joined the club and is helping to keep the bike rodeo and other Optimist activities going in memory of her father.
“He has big shoes and I have tiny feet,” she said.
This spring Van Santen also fielded phone calls for the club’s annual sandbox fill, another project close to her father’s heart. Due to the small number of requests, the fill was postponed until next year.
However, Saturday’s bike rodeo was well attended with almost two dozen children bringing their bikes to the ice arena parking lot.
The Luverne Rotary Club partnered with Aanenson to distribute bike helmets and continued the practice this spring after a slight pause.
“The distribution that was scheduled for May 2020 was canceled due to COVID and distance learning, so we offered helmets to both third- and fourth-graders this year,” said Rotary member Karen Willers.
“Also, because of COVID and due to the loss of Keith Aanenson, our longtime bike safety instructor for Luverne and H-BC, we left the education piece of the project up to individual schools.”
Rotary members distributed more than 100 bike helmets to students in Luverne, Hills-Beaver Creek, Adrian and Edgerton.
The students were invited to bring their bikes to Saturday’s bike rodeo to receive an inspection by Ken Petersen of Ken’s Bike Shop, Luverne, and ride an obstacle course.
Van Santen is the newest member of the Optimist Club, but many volunteers help with the bike rodeo.
“There are a lot of people that are willing to help,” she said.
They’ll also be on deck to help with this summer’s fishing derby, another activity Aanenson enjoyed helping with.

The game of baseball is one of America’s favorite pastimes. For Mike Wenninger and his two sons, Skyler and Cade, baseball is a way of life.
“We learned a lot of life lessons. We made friends. What life teaches you, we’ve learned through baseball,” Skyler Wenninger said.
“How you handle success, how you handle failure – all  those things we’ve learned through baseball. … We learned from our parents and school as well, but obviously baseball is what we’ve known our life and what we’ve gone through. The game has taught us many life skills.”
Mike Wenninger has been around the block as longtime baseball coach for the Luverne Cardinals. He’s watched both of his sons grow up in the Luverne baseball program.
“My dad started me in baseball,” Cade Wenninger said. “I had my first glove by the time I could walk.”
He said baseball has been a part of his family as long as he can remember.
“A lot of vacations have been baseball oriented —either to see my brother play or to visit cool stadiums,” Cade said. “I’ve had a lot of moments with my dad when I was practicing in the cage or throwing to him.”
On Tuesday, May 11, Mike experienced a first during his coaching tenure when it was father and son versus son for the Cardinals game in Worthington to take on the Trojans.
Mike Wenninger and Cade Wenninger squared off against Worthington and the Trojan coach Skyler Wenninger.
“Coaching is always something I’ve looked forward to, maybe not against my dad,” Skyler said.
“I was always hoping to coach with him, but I think this is the next best thing to coach against him. Just to see him smiling at me and being proud of me. I’ve looked up to him my whole life. Being able to compete against that guy — it’s a lot of fun.”
Facing off against his older brother’s team, Cade picked up one hit and drew a pair of walks.
When the two teams squared off again on Monday, May 16, Cade’s lone hit in the game was a double.
Skyler said he felt conflicted when his younger brother came to the plate against his team.
“It stinks when he comes up to bat,” Skyler Wenninger said. “Do I want him to get out? Yes. But maybe in the back of my mind I wouldn’t be too mad if he hit a double. It’s just a different feeling. You want them to do well, but you still want to win the game.”
Skyler’s path to become a baseball coach started from a young age. Some of his earliest memories revolve around the game of baseball.
“As early as I can remember things, I remember playing baseball,” Skyler said. “I remember hitting off a tee. As soon as I could walk I was probably swinging the bat.”
Following his prep baseball career, Skyler played college baseball at South Dakota State University.
During summers, Skyler is a member of the Luverne Redbirds amateur baseball team.
His first year as coach was expected to be the spring of 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the Minnesota State High School League spring sports season was canceled.
As Skyler guides his way through his first year as head coach, there’s one person that’s consistently been in his corner.
“I’ll call him and ask him a lot of questions,” Skyler said. “He’ll guide me along the way. He always tells me to do what I believe in and follow my gut. My biggest help was at the start of the year. I asked him what he focuses on at the beginning of the year. He gave me a couple of things they really focus on and that was part of our practice plan.”
The conversations that Skyler and his father have about coaching remind him of the conversations they used to share at the dinner table following one of his games as a player.
“We talked about things that we could do to get better,” Skyler said. “It was always me asking questions to my dad. If I was playing and I did poorly, that’s not something we wanted to talk about at the dinner table.”
With Luverne and Worthington both residing in the Big South Conference, Skyler and Mike will be seeing a lot more of one another.
Cade won’t be part of Chapter 3 next season.
The Luverne senior will likely have to wait a few years before he could possibly become the third member of the Wenninger family to get hired to be a baseball coach.
There is no doubt that he has passion for the game of baseball.
“I like the lessons you can learn from baseball,” Cade said.
“For example, learning how to trust your teammates. Also, the individual aspect that provides to the whole group. When you pitch you get to control the game, but you also need your teammates there to help you.”

Shelley and Jason Wicks, Luverne, have been working on home improvement projects at their house on Estey and Brown for several years.
When Jason deployed for military service last August, Shelley and their five children have been trying to continue with painting and repair work.
Then a friend of theirs put in a call to the U.S. Military Vets Motorcycle Club, which is comprised of veterans who actively seek ways to help deployed service people and their families.
Saturday morning, several biker club members rumbled up the street and parked in front of the Wicks’ home.
They were joined by fellow club members who brought tools, lumber and other supplies.
In addition to finishing the exterior paint work the Wicks had started, club members replaced a rotting front deck with a new front patio platform.
The U.S. Military Vets Motorcycle Club members, all of them military veterans, donated their labor and roughly $250 worth of materials to help support their fellow military family, which is what the club does.
Shelley Wicks said she’s grateful for the help.
“We started painting two summers ago, and last summer Jason had a bunch of pre-deployment stuff, so we just never got it done,” she said.
“Now, we’re getting it done for him, and it’s gone farther than we thought.”

More than 60 long-distance runners from all over the tri-state region pounded the trails of the Blue Mounds State Park Saturday during a multi-distance cross-country race.
The “Pound the Mound” event was originally for spring of 2020 but was postponed to May 15, 2021, due to the pandemic.
Runners competed in 10-mile, 20-mile and 30-mile distances, and signups were limited to 25 runners per race, due to pandemic distancing restrictions.
“We hope to grow that number in the future,” organizer Heather Namminga said. “I think all things considered, we were able to put on a great event in the park Saturday.”  
She said her Sioux Falls running group chose the Blue Mounds State Park for its geographic challenges and opportunity for some distance.
“Blue Mounds is a wonderful place to hold an event like this,” Namminga said.
“The course is a 10-mile loop. There are not many places in this area that have that many continuous miles of trail so it really lends itself well to a trail race.”
According to positive feedback from participating runners, she said the park was a good choice.
“Many of them said the course was beautiful and they were surprised by how challenging it was,” she said. “The trails have a lot of gradual inclines and also some really technical areas along the Burr Oak Trail.”
While many welcomed the mild spring weather Saturday, the runners were caught off guard by the heat.
“Saturday’s sunshine with temps in the 70s added to the challenge of completing the course, but every runner who started was able to complete the course,” Namminga said.
The first-place finisher in the 30-miler was 36-year-old Jon Zuk of Hayfield, Minnesota, with a time of 4 hours, 48 minutes and 12 seconds.
The first female runner to finish 30 miles was 42-year-old Andie Bennett, Sioux Falls, 5:28:36.
In the 20-miler 39-year-old Wyatt Urlacher, Brandon, won with a time of 3:30:52.
The female 20-mile winner was 44-year-old Glenda Bittner, Sioux Falls, in 3:50:51
Overall winner of the 10-miler was 43-year-old Kari Brown of Garfield, Minnesota, with a time of 1:25:20.
The male 10-mile winner, 37-year-old Justin Perreault of Farwell, Minnesota, came in behind Brown with a time of 1:30:41.
“We had people from all over the area — runners from Minnesota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, and even Colorado — come to Luverne to run the race,” Namminga said.
“Many families stayed and camped at the park for the event and some had hotel rooms in town. It is a great way to bring people from all over into the community for a fun weekend.”
Park Manager Chris Ingebretsen said the campground was busy that weekend. “An event like this is a nice way to get people into the Blue Mounds,” he said.
More than a dozen volunteers helped at two aid stations and at the start and finish line area, and they helped organizing parking in the morning.
The Luverne Area Chamber, Friends of Blue Mounds State Park, Take 16 Brewery, Bluestem Catering, the Park and Trails Council of Minnesota, race course planner and marker Kyle Raverty, Blue Mounds State Park staff and others helped with Pound the Mound.
Namminga said race proceeds were donated to Friends of Blue Mounds State Park, and she hopes to donate more next year.
“We are planning to make it an annual spring race in Blue Mounds State Park,” she said.
Full race results are found on ultrasignup.com and information about next year’s Pound the Mound will be posted on the group’s Facebook page, Pound the Mound @bluemounds Hiking Trail.

The monetary value of time donated by volunteers in Rock County exceeds $5 million.
Topping the 2020 list in hours were the Grace Quilters, whose 20 volunteers logged 3,821 hours.
The group formally meets Thursday mornings in the church Fellowship Hall. However, several volunteers sew at home or come to the church along Highway 75 in Luverne outside the regular meeting time.
“We are doing something for someone else and not ourselves,” said volunteer Mary Green.
Mary Akkerman is the group’s self-proclaimed “purchasing agent,” who procures fabric, batting and thread for the group that makes an average of 200 quilts a year.
The 60-by-80-inch handmade creations are donated. On Oct. 1 every year the quilts are draped over the church pews and blessed before being packaged and sent to Lutheran World Relief, who distributes the mission quilts.
To meet their annual goal, the group finishes six quilts a week.
Each volunteer specializes in one or more of the 10 steps necessary to finish one quilt.
That specialty could be matching fabric colors or tying knots, Akkerman said.  Not every member enjoys or is able to sew.
During the pandemic, the women wore masks and spread out their work areas, a practice still in place as they were vaccinated.
A.C.E. (Advocate Connect Educate) of Rock County coordinates the local volunteer program, and not all of its groups were able to meet as often as normal.
 
Volunteer hours are down; volunteering up in Rock County
Volunteer numbers were down last year in each of the seven A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota member counties except one — Rock County.
Michelle Baumhoefner, the agency’s executive director, presented the 2020 annual report at the May 4 County Board meeting.
She credits local coordinator Linda Wenzel for the increase in volunteers and her enthusiastic promotion of aging services within Rock County.
“She has just turned this program around and has done a phenomenal job,” Baumhoefner said.
You have a very valuable program that is unique to the area serving southwest Minnesota. If we weren’t available to residents, you would see a great deal of loss within your communities.”
A.C.E. hired Wenzel in July 2019.
“My main goal for 2020 was to engage younger volunteers,” Wenzel said.
“I always felt like volunteerism is a step toward gaining different experiences. My sales pitch: ‘It looks good on your college application and it looks good on your resume.’”
Rock County had 494 volunteers in 2020, up from 457 in 2019. Volunteers helped at 60 locations or stations within the county.
However, despite the increase in the number of volunteers, the hours logged decreased from 46,345 in 2019 to 33,810 last year.
The highest number in the past five years was in 2016, when volunteering reached 59,014 hours.
 
Education encourages more volunteer hours
Wenzel strives to increase volunteer hours in 2021. “My main job is educating the public,” Wenzel added.
The previous RSVP program was limited to people age 55 and older logging hours. A.C.E. volunteers can be of any age, and an insurance trust provides coverage for all who are registered.
There are 2,205 volunteers within the seven counties. In 2020 they collectively logged 193,659 hours, down from 270,761 in 2019 and the high of 278,501 in 2016.
Following Grace Quilters’ 3,821 hours in 2020 was ATLAS-Redeemed Remnants with 2,554 hours logged by 41 volunteers.

Hills City Council members unanimously voted May 11 to vacate a portion of West 5th Street.
No one from the public provided input or attended the Tuesday night public hearing, which was open for 50 minutes before the vote took place.
Council members Vickie Busswitz, Stacen Burgers and Alan Leenderts agreed to vacate the estimated half block of the platted, but not developed, section of West 5th Street.
The city retains ownership of the alley that runs north and south between South 2nd Street West and South Church Avenue, as public infrastructure is located in the area.
A portion of the vacated street will become the home to a new storage facility built by Hills Storage Center.
Owners Kelly Leuthold and Ross Metzger, a Hills council member, plan to build a 40-by-187-foot storage facility south of the West Fifth Street.
When setback requirements from a utility pole for the 14-foot-tall building meant moving the structure to the north, they discovered the property belonged to the city and was originally intended as a street.
Mayor Keith Elbers said no street was ever constructed to connect West 5th Street, which would curve north along the railroad tracks and South 2nd Street West.
In an April 26 special meeting, council members discussed several options with Metzger and Leuthold. They agreed vacating the street was the best option.
All legal costs associated with the vacation will be paid by Metzger and Leuthold. The city would occur none of the expense.
Metzger did not attend the May 11 public hearing and did not vote.