Luverne students earned the Section 3A speech championship trophy Saturday, the first team title for coach Gavin Folkestad in his 10 years of advising the speech team with Caroline Thorson.
Due to pandemic restrictions, Luverne earned the team title while competing alone at their own school.
“While it would have been nice for students to walk up to the stage to receive their awards and be recognized by all the competitors and coaches, they made up for it by loudly cheering for and celebrating with the finalists when their names were called,” Folkestad said. “At normal awards ceremonies, the kids have to show more restraint when cheering for their teammates.”
Folkestad said the announcement of the team title was overwhelming.
“Everyone went wild with excitement when they announced that Luverne was the section champion,” he said.
Folkestad began coaching the local team in 2011 and Thorson joined him six years ago.
“This is the first section championship in both mine and Gavin’s tenure,” she said. “Also, we believe this is the most students from Luverne that have qualified for state at one time.”
Seventeen Luverne students competed in Saturday’s section tournament with 13 entering the final round and adding to the team’s winning score.
Luverne joined 14 other schools competing with an overall total of 124 students in the section tournament. Students competed in three rounds with the top six students in each of the 13 speech categories competing in a final round. The top three finishers in each category move on to the state tournament.
The six LHS state tournament qualifiers — Chance Tunnissen, Parker Carbonneau, Zander Carbonneau, Luke Thorson, Josie Golla and Xavier Carbonneau — will compete at home Saturday.
Results from the sectional competition by category include:
•Discussion: Burke Johnson, fourth.
•Dynamic Duo: Brianna Kinsinger and Bethany Behr, fourth.
•Extemporaneous reading: Destiny Matthiesen, sixth.
•Extemporaneous speaking: Chance Tunnissen, first; Parker Carbonneau, second; Zander Carbonneau, third.
•Great speeches: Rylee Anderson, fourth.
•Humorous: Luke Thorson, third.
•Serious poetry: Mia Wenzel, fifth.
•Serious prose: Josie Golla, third.
•Storytelling: Xavier Carbonneau, second; Roselynn Hartshorn, fifth.

Progress continues on Luverne’s $5 million pool and fitness center improvement project.
Footings are poured on the northeast side of the building, and the former cardio equipment room has been removed and demolished.
Meanwhile, a temporary fitness center has been set up in the city’s trailhead building on Main Street and Blue Mound Avenue (formerly Casey’s).
Improvements to the facility included in the construction plans are:
•an outdoor splash pad on the south side of the pool.
•new locker rooms.
•four family changing rooms.
•flat space rooms for group aerobic exercise.
•new office space and staff area.
•larger rooms for both 24-hour weightlifting and aerobic exercise machines.
•new mechanical and heat, ventilation and air-conditioning for the facility.
Hoogendorn Construction from Canton, South Dakota, is the general contractor for the work.
According to the proposed project timeline, work will be completed by May of 2022.

Members of the Blue Mound Quilters Guild recently completed new wall hanging quilts for the Sanford Luverne Hospice Cottage. 
The women designed their own 40-by-40-inch quilts, selecting patterns and choosing colors and fabrics inspired by rooms they were assigned to make quilts for. 
Leola Sweeney, Jill Willers and Mary Crawford worked collaboratively on a quilt titled “Leaves.”
Debbie Scholten created a quilt called “Sparklers,” Verla Fick’s quilt is titled "Log Cabin,” and Arlene Bendix created a "Celebration Sampler” quilt.
Hospice volunteer coordinator Helen Saum said the final step in the process will involve framing the quilts to protect them and to present each quilt uniquely as a piece of artwork.
“When the quilts are completed, they will be hung in the patient rooms at The Cottage for patients, families and visitors to enjoy for years to come,” Saum said. 
She shared a quote from an unknown author about quilting.
"It's the art of stitching together little pieces of yourself — your heart, soul, talent, vision — using threads of love.”

The Luverne Cardinals softball team had no answer for the Pipestone Area Arrows on Thursday, April 15.
The Arrows, a perennial powerhouse, outscored the Cardinals 25-1 in two games on Thursday in Pipestone.
The Arrows won the first game 10-0 and then completed the sweep with a 15-1 victory over the Cardinals.
In the first game, the Arrows limited the Cardinals’ typically potent lineup to two hits. With the Luverne bats silenced, the Arrows cruised to a 10-0 victory.
The Arrows jumped on the Cardinals right out of the chute by scoring six runs in the first inning. Pipestone added two more runs in the third and fourth innings.
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Arrows limited the Cardinals to four hits.
The Arrows opened the game by scoring two runs in the top of the first.
Pipestone added one more in the top of the second to build a 3-0 lead.
In the third inning, Pipestone scored five runs to push their lead to 8-0.
The Arrows pushed across two more runs in the fourth inning to build a 10-0 lead.
Pipestone scored five more runs in the top of the fifth inning. The Cardinals got on the board with one run in the bottom half of the fifth inning.
Carly Olson drove in the lone run for the Cardinals.
Roz Oye went 1-2 at the plate with a double.
With the two losses, the Cardinals stand at 2-2. The Cardinals will play their first home games of the season on Thursday, April 22, when they welcome St. James to town.
At press time St. James owned a 5-0 record and won their last game over Redwood Valley 20-1.
 
Box Score PAS 10, LHS 0
Hits: Olson 1, Kracht 1
PAS 15, LHS 0
Hits: Connell 1; Robinson 1; Olson 1; Oye 1
Doubles: Oye

The Luverne Cardinals welcomed the track teams from Marshall, St. James and Blue Earth to Luverne on Friday, April 16. The home meet was the second meet of the season for the Cardinals and put together a strong performance.
Ashton Sandbulte took home first place in the 100 meters and 200 meters. Sandbulte clocked a time of 11 seconds, 53 milliseconds in the 100 meters. In the 200 meters, he finished with a time of 24.75.
Arekel McLaughlin finished second in the 200 meters with a time of 24.82.
In the 400 meters, Ethan Rahm took home third place with a time of 1:01.98.
Owen Janiszeski finished second in the 800 meters with a time of 2:16.38. Sam Emery finished fifth with a time of 2:29.13.
In the 1,600, Cole Janiszeski finished first with a time of 4:52.62.
In the 3,200, Sage Viessman finished third with a time of 11:51.69. Fellow Cardinal Ryan Fick finished fourth with a time of 12:25.93.
Luverne’s 4-by-200 relay team took home first place with a time of 1:38.49. The team consists of Sandbulte, McLaughlin, LaShad Smith and Eduardo Godines.
The Cardinals’ 4-by-400 relay team of Camden Janiszeski, Smith, McLaughlin and Sam Emery finished in second place with a time of 3:52.14.
The Luverne 4-by-800 relay team finished in first place. Camden Janiszeski, Owen Janiszeski, Sage Viessman and Ethan Curtiss are the runners that make up the team.
The Cardinals owned the shot put event, with four Luverne athletes finishing in the Top Six.
Jordan Friedrichsen took home first place with a throw of 44-03.00. Zach Ahrendt finished in second place with a toss of 44-00.75. Peter Baustian finished in third place with a heave of 40-08.75. Ethan Teunissen finished in sixth place with a throw of 37-08.50.
The Cardinals had four athletes finish in the Top Six in the discus as well.
Teunissen finished in second place with a throw of 112-03. Baustian finished in third place with a throw of 107-01. Ahrendt finished in fifth place by recording a throw of 98-04. Camron Kopp took home sixth place with a toss of 90-01.
In the pole vault, Eli Radtke finished in first place, Noah Mehlhaff in fourth and Tyler Rolfs in fifth.
Ethan Rahm took home fourth place in the triple jump with a leap of 34-00.50.
Gracie Zewiske took home first place in the 100 and 200 meters. The senior sprinter finished with a time of 13.37 in the 100 and 27.93 in the 200.
Sarah Stegenga finished third in the 100 with a time of 14.41. Isabella Oye finished fourth with a time of 14.48. Mia Wenzel rounded out the Top Five with a time of 14.61 to take home fifth place.
Christina Wagner finished in second place in the 200 with a time of 29.09.
Tiana Lais finished in first place in the 400 with a time of 1:04.65. Ella Schmuck took home fourth place with a time of 1:14.67.
In the 800, Tenley Nelson finished in first place with a time of 2:33.85. Kayla Bloomendaal finished in fourth place with a time of 2:58.78.
Nelson finished in first place in the 1,600 with a time of 5:38.33. Elizabeth Wagner finished fourth with a time of 6:02.83. Bloomendaal finished in fifth place with a time of 6:26.32.
Jenna DeBates clocked a time of 11:46.62 in the 3,200 to take home first place.
Elise Jarchow finished in second place in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 18.78.
Regan Feit finished in first place with a time of 48.23 in the 300-meter hurdles. Cassi Chesley finished fourth with a time of 59.58.
The Cardinals’ 4-by-100 team finished second with a time of 57.28. The team is made up of Oye, Stegenga, Abby Bolt and Brynn Boyenga.
The 4-by-400 relay team finished second with a time of 4:18.80. Nelson, Lais, Zewiske, and Elizabeth Wagner are the athletes that make up the team.
The Cardinals had two teams compete in the 4-by-800 relay. The second-place team consisted of Feit, Elizabeth Wagner, DeBates, and Grace Ingebretson. The third-place team consisted of Chesley, Maria Rops, Schmuck and Roselynn Hartshorn.
Jadyn Hart finished third in the shot put with a throw of 29-09.50.
Hart finished second in the discus with a throw of 81-06.
Elizabeth Wagner tied for first in the high jump by recording a jump of 4-10.00. Wenzel finished fourth with a jump of 4-04.00.
Jarchow finished in first place in the pole vault.
The Top Four in the long jump were all Cardinals.
Christina Wagner finished in first place with a jump of 14-10.00. Lais took home second with a jump of 14-04.75. Stegenga finished third with a jump of 13-11.75. Kendra Thorson finished fourth with a jump of 13-06.50.
Thorson finished third in the triple jump with a leap of 29-03.25.

Patrons to the Rock County Library can obtain more than just books and information at the Luverne location.
They can now pick up flower and vegetable seeds to take home in a unique partnership with the Prairie Ally Food Forest.
Library director Calla Jarvie said Rock County is the first library in the Plum Creek system to organize a seed library, from which anyone can select seeds for planting at home.
“It’s not a lending library,” she said. “It’s a seed-taking library.”
Earlier this year Jarvie noticed the former card catalog cabinets in the basement. The multiple drawers are the ideal size for seed packets.
The cabinet, now moved to the front doors of the library, contains hundreds of seed packets, organized and packaged by volunteers.
“Part of our partnership is we are bringing in our gardening know-how and make sure (the seed packets) have all the information for growing,” said Berty Stearns.
Stearns is an Americorps Community Gardens worker assigned to Prairie Ally in Luverne.
Stearns and fellow gardening enthusiast Erin Hamann work with Jarvie to develop the seed library and share their gardening know-how with the public. At Prairie Ally, Stearns will look to develop a seed garden to keep the seed library stocked.
Hamann worked with Jarvie in the library’s Take and Make Project: DIY gardening kit.
Hamann wrote the instructions, including the pictures, along with adding the seeds and plastic cups needed to grow a garden.
Patrons snapped up the garden kits within a week and Hamann made more.
“It’s been popular,” Jarvie said. “It shows there is definitely an interest.”
The Friends of the Library coordinated with the garden theme giving away books during National Library Week in early April in promotion of the seed library.
The seed library is free and patrons can select a wide variety of flower and/or vegetable seeds.
“What we really want to see is the drawers empty,” Jarvie said.
Seed donations can be coordinated with Prairie Ally organizers by calling 605-951-0227 or email at prairieallymn@gmail.com.

The new housing manager of The Oaks and Poplar Creek Estates, Elena Heronimus, introduced herself to each one of the assisted living residents and visited with each one over the past couple of months.
She asked about family, careers and hobbies, receiving heartfelt answers from each resident.
However, one new resident kept herself isolated in her room, seemed confused and often cried during Heronimus’ visits.
As a result, Heronimus brought her a dog earlier this year.
“When I presented the dog to this particular resident, her eyes lit up,” Heronimus recalled. “The dog brought life back to her.”
The Joy for All companion pet pup is not a live animal, but a voice-activated robotic pet designed to bring comfort to older adults.
The local SW MN Dementia Awareness Network provided Joy for All companion dogs and cats to area nursing homes and a robotic baby to the Minnesota Veterans Home in Luverne.
The cat became a useful tool at the Tuff Memorial Home in Hills.
Jocelyn Jacobi said one resident was agitated and angry about the pandemic restrictions to spend more time isolated from other residents.
Jacobi gave the resident a robotic cat, which brought instant comfort to the resident.
She said the robotic cat now sleeps in the corner of the resident’s room, providing a calming feeling and distracts the resident from his agitated feelings.
When awake, the cat purrs when its fur is stroked, its head moves when it hears a voice, and meows in reply. When asleep, its chest rises and falls as if breathing.
The same interaction is offered by the dog that Heronimus gave her resident.
Through their conversations, Heronimus learned that the resident gave up her four-legged companion when she moved into Poplar Creek Estates. The move combined with the loss of her companion led to depression.
Like the cat, the orange-and-white puppy with a blue bandana tied around its neck interacts when spoken to or petted, barks, wags its tail and moves its head. When touched or petted, a heartbeat can be felt. The pup also naps by closing its eyes, but does not walk.
“I didn’t know how much the mechanical dog resembled her own dog,” she said. “But it did.”
Since becoming a dog owner again, Heronimus said the resident regularly leaves her room, joins in social activities, developed a group of friends and is happier.
The resident told Heronimus, “It’s so cute. I promise to take good care of him.”
A.C.E. of Southwest Minnesota organizes the dementia awareness network.
A.C.E. of Rock County coordinator Linda Wenzel distributed the companion pets and baby through a grant received by the network.
The pets cost $110 to $130 for a cat or dog respectively. Babies cost $120.
Last year’s dementia walk yielded $1,200, which was used to purchase additional sensory gadgets such as fidget blankets or pillows.
The next dementia walk takes place in September.