DSU names honor students
Several area students were named to the Fall 2020 semester president’s academic honors list at Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. To be named, students must earn a 3.5 to 4.0 GPA.
Named to the president’s list are Melissa Fick and Zane Holmgren, Luverne; Jonathan Horn, Adrian; and Sidney Fick, Beaver Creek.
Rogers makes Iowa State dean’s list
Nicholas Rogers, Hardwick, was named to the Fall 2020 semester dean’s list at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa. To be eligible, students must earn a 3.5 GPA or greater on a 4.0 scale.
Nicholas is a sophomore majoring in genetics (AGLS).
 
Van Belle makes dean’s list at Ridgewater
Teresa Van Belle, Beaver Creek, was named to the dean’s list for the Fall 2020 Semester at Ridgewater College, Willmar,  Hutchinson campus. To make the list, students must earn at least a 3.5 GPA with 12 graded credits.
 
Area students graduate from SDSU Brookings
Several area students have graduated from South Dakota State University, Brookings, following the  Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 semesters.
Jenae Hamann, Luverne, graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in education and human sciences.
Shelbie Nath, Luverne, graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in arts, humanities and social sciences and an undergraduate certificate, also in SAHSS.
Jessica Oye, Luverne, graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Allie Skattum, Luverne, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
Maggie Kruse, Adrian graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing.

10 years ago (2011)
•Luverne’s Price is Right Night is shaping up to be the social event of the year.
The Blue Mound Banquet Center will host the popular game show Friday night, Feb. 7.
Social hour starts at 6:30 p.m. and the appetizer buffet opens at 7 p.m. for the event, sponsored by the Luverne Area Chamber.
At 8 p.m. the first contestants will be invited to “come on down” with Luverne’s Kyle Oldre serving as the game show announcer.
Ryan DeBates will play the role of celebrity game show host Drew Carey.
DeBates is a member of Luverne Area Chamber Board of Directors and is on the committee planning the Price is Right Night.
When the committee was brainstorming ideas for an annual Chamber social event, it was DeBates’ idea to build around “The Price is Right” game show.
He was naturally cast in the role of game show host, considering his knowledge of the game.
“I’ve been watching ‘The Price is Right’ for as long as I can remember,” said DeBates, who grew up in Jasper.
 
25 years ago (1996)
•Merlin Johnson, manager of the Blue Mounds State Park, is approaching retirement with both fear and anticipation.
“I’m scared to death of all the time I’ll have,” he said. “All my life I’ve put in 40-hour weeks, and at the end of the week I’ve known exactly what I’ve accomplished. Now there’s so many unknowns … You know what you had, but you don’t know what you’re getting into.”
He’s not scared enough to keep working, however. “I turned 62 in December and decided now’s the time,” he said. “We’ve been planning for years to take a trip to Australia. Now we can.”
Johnson has managed state parks in Minnesota for 25 years, the past 15 of which have been at Blue Mounds State Park. During his tenure at the Blue Mounds, the park has received national recognition for the quality of its prairies, scenic vistas and recreation opportunities.
Johnson mentioned the bison as one aspect of work he’ll miss the most, “They’re such an interesting animal,” Johnson said. “After 15 years of working with them, I’m still learning new things about them.”
 
50 years ago (1971)
•Blue Mound Tower is the name selected by the Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) for Luverne’s high-rise apartment for the elderly.
As Luverne’s tallest building, it “towers” seven stories above ground level, said Ray Frick, HRA chairman. From its top floors, the view extends for several miles in each direction. The Blue Mounds to the north of Luverne are clearly visible.
“We decided to name it Blue Mound Tower,” said Frick, “because the Blue Mounds are unique to our community. The Blue Mounds are symbolic of the whole county; they are historic; no other county can claim them.
 
75 years ago (1946)
•This week, for the first time in 52 years, Luverne had no Steinfeldt Blacksmith Shop.
William Steinfeldt, third generation owner of the half-century old business, announced that he had sold the building on Maple street and all equipment to C. H. Hatting of the Hatting Gravel Company. He did not disclose the consideration.
Mr. Hatting has removed the equipment to his present repair shop headquarters on South Kniss avenue. Although he is not sure when he will begin work, he plans to raze the present structure, and erect a modern two-story building on the lot, which has a 40 foot front, and extends back 150 feet.
Meanwhile, he has rented the building to John Nesguthe, who will conduct his garage and machine shop business there. Mr. Nesguthe will dispose of some of his present equipment at public auction on Friday, February 1.
 
100 years ago (1921)
•An average of $140 for the entire offering was secured at Skewes Brothers’ dispersion sale of shorthorn cattle held Tuesday afternoon, and on the following day an average of $85 was received at A. E. Brandenburg’s annual sale of Duroc Jersey brood sows. The first twenty-five hogs average $106.

The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots girls’ basketball team expected to have a special season in 2021 with a strong core of players returning. Those expectations are being met early, as the Patriot girls have opened the season with a perfect 3-0 start.
 
H-BC 78, Edgerton 47
The Patriots opened the season on Tuesday, Jan. 19, with a convincing 78-47 victory at home against Edgerton.
Junior guard Kenadie Fick scored 14 of the first 16 points for the Patriots. Fick scored 12 straight points for the Patriots to help them build a 16-8 lead.
At the half the Patriots led Edgerton 39-18. Fick finished the first half with 14 points and five steals. Taryn Rauk scored 11 points.
The Patriots outscored Edgerton 29-18 in the second half en route to a 78-47 victory to open the season.
Rauk finished the game with 25 points, eight rebounds and five steals.
Fick finished with 20 points, six steals, and five assists.
Layla Deelstra scored 11 points and recorded four steals.
 
H-BC 71, WWG 38
The Patriots picked up their second win of the season on Thursday, Jan. 21, with a 71-38 road victory over Westbrook-Walnut Grove.
The Patriots took a 33-21 lead into the locker room. In the second half the Patriots outscored the Chargers 38-17 to pick up the 71-38 victory.
Rauk finished the game with a team-leading 29 points and five steals.
Abby Knobloch scored 13 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out five assists, and blocked three shots.
Deelstra scored 11 points, grabbed five rebounds, and recorded three steals.
 
H-BC 57, SWC 53
It was a battle of Red Rock Conference powerhouses in Hills on Monday, Jan. 25, when the Southwest Minnesota Christian Eagles squared off against Hills-Beaver Creek.
The Eagles ended H-BC’s season the last four years in the section tournament. On Monday the Patriots exacted a little revenge with a tightly contested 57-53 victory.
The Eagles opened the scoring by knocking down a three-pointer to take a 3-0 lead. Rauk got the Patriots on the board with a layup to make it a 3-2 game.
SWC knocked down another three-pointer to open up a 6-2 lead.
With the Patriots trailing 8-4, Deelstra knocked down a three-pointer to make it an 8-7 game.
An Allie LaRock bucket at the 11:54 mark put the Patriots up for the first time at 9-8.
With the Patriots leading 20-19, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take a 25-21 lead.
The Eagles took a 29-25 lead into the locker room.
Rauk opened the scoring in the second half to make it a 29-27 ballgame.
Following Rauk’s basket, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take the largest lead of the game at 35-27.
With the Patriots trailing 35-29 H-BC senior Annie Bos helped turn the tide.
Bos recorded a steal and took it coast-to-coast to make it a 35-29 lead.
On the next possession, Bos recorded another steal and took it full court again to trim the lead to 35-33.
A Rauk three-point play trimmed the Eagles’ lead to 37-36.
A pair of Knobloch free throws gave H-BC their first lead in the second half at 41-40 with 6:19 left in the game.
A Rauk layup gave the Patriots a 45-44 lead with 4:50 left in the game. The Eagles quickly answered back to take a 46-45 lead.
With the Patriots trailing 48-47, Deelstra knocked down a corner three-pointer out of a timeout to put H-BC up 50-48 with 1:50 left in the game.
The Deelstra three-pointer proved to be the dagger, as the Patriots held on to win 57-53 to improve to 3-0.
Rauk finished the game with 16 points. Deelstra scored 10 points.
Knobloch finished the game with nine points and seven rebounds.
The Patriots will be back in action on Thursday, Feb. 4, when they host Mountain Lake Area.

Since opening the season with a 65-31 victory, the Luverne boys’ basketball team has rattled off three straight wins by a combined six points.
The 4-0 start to the season marks the first time since 2006-2007 that the Cardinals have opened the season with a 4-0 record.
 
LHS 57, Martin County West 56
After defeating the Worthington Trojans by one point on Monday, Jan. 18, the Cardinals picked up another one-point road win on Friday, Jan. 22, by defeating Martin County West 57-56.
The Cardinals outscored Martin County 34-31 in the first half. That three-point lead proved to be the difference as MCW outscored Luverne 25-23 in the second half.
“This Cardinals team has a lot of resilience,” Luverne head coach John Sichmeller said. “They’ve faced adversity in both the one-point victories, but have fought back to pick up the narrow road wins.”
He said his team’s tenacity on the court is translating to wins.
“I think the biggest thing is they aren’t quitting,” Sichmeller said,“We’ve been down eight or nine points in some games. They didn’t get their heads down. They just kept fighting. That’s what helped us win those games.”
A big reason for Luverne’s 4-0 start is the players’ effort on the defensive end of the court. Through four games the Cardinals are giving up just 43.25 points per game.
“It starts with our defense,” Sichmeller said. “We held Worthington to 49 points. I don’t think they’re a team that’s going to be held to under 50 points very often. This game was in the fifties. If we can keep it under 60 and closer to 50, we’re going to give ourselves a good chance to win a lot of games.”
Gannon Ahrendt led the LHS team with 16 points. Ahrendt also grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots
Ethan Beyer reached double figures with 13 points and also dished out three assists.
Bailey Cowell finished with six points, eight assists and six rebounds.
 
LHS 41, St. James 37
The Cardinals improved to 4-0 on Monday, Jan. 25, with another road victory, this time handing St. James a 41-37 home loss.
Luverne continued its strong defensive performance to start the season by holding St. James to 15 first-half points.
With St. James’ offense stymied, the Cardinals did just enough offensively to remain undefeated.
Ahrendt led the Cardinals with 22 points.
“He’s really grown in his confidence. Last year he was kind of just out there and learning. Now he’s starting to become our go-to player,” Sichmeller said.
“He’s confident doing that. That’s the biggest thing for him. Last year he kind of started off the year with ankle issues. He seems healthy right now. Hopefully that continues. Right now it’s just his confidence, though. He’s willing to take the big shots. Last year he might not have been willing to take those shots for us.”
Luverne will look to remain undefeated when they hit the road on Thursday, Jan. 28, to take on the Marshall Tigers.

The Luverne Cardinals girls’ hockey team opened the 2021 season by splitting a pair of games last week.
The ninth-ranked Cardinals opened the season at home with a 6-0 victory over Windom Area on Tuesday, Jan. 19. Luverne then dropped a home contest to Rochester Lourdes 4-2 on Saturday, Jan. 23.
 
LHS 6, Windom Area 0
It took the Cardinals 17 minutes to light the lamp during their season opener against the Eagles on Tuesday.
In the opening 17 minutes, the Cardinals and Eagles were deadlocked at 0-0. Then in the second period, Luverne had an offensive explosion, scoring four goals.
Kamryn Van Batavia, the team’s leading scorer the last three seasons, notched the team’s first goal of the season to put Luverne up 1-0. Shelby Kracht assisted on the goal.
Kracht scored the second goal of the game. Peyton Behr recorded the assist on the goal.
Behr then notched the team’s third goal of the game to put the Cardinals up 3-0. Van Batavia and Reghan Bork both assisted on the goal.
Bork scored the fourth goal of the period to put the Cardinals up 4-0. Van Batavia and Kracht both recorded an assist on the play.
Van Batavia opened the scoring in the third period to put the Cardinals up 5-0. It was the sophomore’s second goal of the game.
Bork wrapped up the scoring with a power-play goal to put the Cardinals up 6-0.
Van Batavia, who has been on the varsity squad since she was a seventh-grader, scored her 100th career goal in the game.
Cheyenne Schutz recorded 20 saves for the Cardinals.
 
Rochester Lourdes 4, LHS 2
On Saturday it was a battle of Top 10 teams inside Blue Mound Ice Arena when 10th-ranked Rochester Lourdes squared off against ninth-ranked Luverne.
With 2:03 left in the first quarter, Rochester Lourdes struck first with an even-strength goal to go up 1-0. 
With 12:05 left in the second period, Van Batavia scored a short-handed goal to tie the game at 1-1. Bork recorded the assist on the goal.
Rochester Lourdes scored the next three goals to build a 4-1 lead.
Van Batavia scored her second goal of the game in the closing moments to make it a 4-2 game. Senior Rylee Gee recorded the assist on the goal. 
Mallory Von Tersch recorded 19 saves.
The Cardinals will look to bounce back on Friday, Jan. 29, when they hit the road to take on Minnesota River.

After scoring just two points in their season opener against Windom Area, the Luverne Cardinals erupted for eight goals against Redwood Valley Friday at home.
Behind a strong offensive showing, the Cardinals picked up their first win of the season with an 8-5 victory over Redwood Valley.
“The team as a whole played much better hockey on Friday night,” Luverne head coach Phil Paquette said.
“We can’t allow ourselves to get comfortable in that, though. This group will need to work hard to keep improving throughout the season.”
Cade Wenninger opened the scoring for the Cardinals. The senior put one between the pipes at the 14:47 mark to put the Cardinals up 1-0.
Redwood Valley scored the next two goals to take a 2-1 lead.
With 6:59 left in the first period Carlton Oftedahl tied the game at 2-2. Brock Behrend and Wenninger both recorded an assist on the goal.
Redwood Valley opened the scoring in the second period to take a 3-2 lead.
Cooper Arends tied the game back up at 3-3 when he scored a goal at the 13:29 mark in the second period. Behrend recorded the assist on the play.
With 6:40 left in the second period, Behrend scored a power play goal to put Luverne up 4-3.
Oftedahl scored his second goal of the game to bring the Luverne lead to 5-3.
Redwood Valley notched another goal right before the end of the second period to cut Luverne’s lead to 5-4.
Luverne’s Jack Schlosser opened the third period with a goal to put the Cardinals up 6-4 with 15:30 remaining in the game. Zach Kruse recorded the assist.
Behrend scored his second goal of the game to put Luverne up 7-4. Oftedahl recorded the assist on Behrend’s goal.
A few moments after scoring his second goal of the game, Behrend recorded his third goal of the game to put Luverne up 8-4.
Behrend finished the game with three goals and two points. The sophomore now has nine points in two games for the Cardinals.
“Brock’s performance against Redwood Valley was outstanding,” Paquette said.
“He is a very skilled player that can make something happen at any moment. This season he has shown that he’ll go out and create his own opportunities rather than sit back and wait for them. It has been fun to watch his game evolve.”
The Cardinals will hit the road to take on Redwood Valley on Tuesday. They’ll then return home to play host to Minnesota River.

The Luverne Cardinals girls’ basketball team started the week off with a 56-41 loss at home to the Worthington Trojans on Tuesday, Jan. 19.
The Cardinals bounced back on Saturday, Jan. 23, when they picked up a 62-40 road victory over St. Clair.
 
Worthington 56, LHS 41
The Cardinals led by three points at halftime but were unable to hold onto that lead in the second half against the Trogans Tuesday.
Elise Ferrell and Averill Sehr both scored nine points to lead the Cardinals. Sehr also grabbed nine rebounds and dished out three assists.
Brooklynn Ver Steeg scored eight points. Christina Wagner scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
 
LHS 62, St. Clair 40
The two teams played a tightly contested first half before the Cardinals ran away from St. Clair on Saturday.
In the second half the Cardinals turned up the defensive pressure which led to some easy baskets.
“We had a close first half,” Luverne coach TJ Newgard said.
“They hit a bunch of three-pointers on us. They were a smaller team that tried to run and did a good job of penetrating and kicking out. We were able to press them and get some turnovers. We were able to turn those into some easy layups. That was the difference in the game.”
The Cardinals recorded 11 steals. With their length and quickness the Cardinals made each pass an adventure for St. Clair in the second half.
“I think our length and quickness kind of bothered them,” Newgard said.
“Elizabeth Wagner was at the top of our 3-2 zone. She was able to disrupt their offensive flow and get a lot of deflections that led to some steals.”
She led the Cardinals with 25 points and also grabbed seven rebounds, blocked two shots and recorded two steals.
“She was able to read where the offense was trying to get the ball,” Newgard said.
“With her length, she was able to disrupt some things. She’s the head of our press as well. It starts with her getting in passing lanes and making things difficult for them.”
Ver Steeg reached double figures with 11 points. The junior guard also recorded four steals.
Christina Wagner and Emma Beyer both chipped in nine points.
On Tuesday, Jan. 26, it will be a battle between a pair of 2-1 teams when the Cardinals host St. James.
Luverne will wrap up the week when it hosts Marshall on Friday, Jan. 29. As of press time, the Tigers are the sixth-ranked team in Class 3A.

The Luverne Cardinals opened the season Tuesday, Jan. 19, at home with a triangular against Redwood Valley and Fairmont-Martin County West.
The Cardinals lost to Redwood Valley 60-24 and then fell to FMCW 66-3.
Luverne got into the win column on Thursday, Jan. 21, with a 42-24 victory over Chester.
 
Redwood Valley
Riley Cowell defeated Lincoln Ourada by fall in the 120-pound division.
Braydon Ripka picked up a pinfall victory over Brayden Reynolds in the 152-pound division. The win for Ripka was his 60th career victory.
“Ripka’s 60th win was a fun way to kick off the season,” Luverne head coach Jordan Kopp said. “He has put in the work and time. I hope he feeds off that energy now.”
Hunter Baker followed Ripka's pinfall victory with a pinfall triumph of his own in the 160-pound division.
 
Fairmont-Martin County West
Cowell was the lone Cardinal to pick up a victory against Fairmont-Martin County West. The senior grappler improved to 2-0 on the young season with a win by decision (13-8).
 
Chester
Rayden Bodega picked up a pinfall victory for the Cardinals in the 113-pound division to even the match at 6-6.
Cowell improved to 3-0 with a pinfall victory to put the Cardinals up 12-6 in the match.
Chester won the next two matches to take an 18-12 lead.
The Cardinals then won the next three matches by pinfall to take a 30-18 lead.
Zach Bradley started the streak with a pinfall victory in the 145-pound division.
Ripka picked up his second victory of the season by pinfall in the 152-pound division.
Jaden Reisch scored a victory by pinfall in the 160-pound division.

The Luverne Cardinals gymnastics team opened the season on Thursday, Jan. 21, on the road against the Worthington Trojans. The Trojans bested the visiting Cardinals 140.400-120.475.
Luverne bounced back in their home opener on Monday, Jan. 25, by defeating Redwood Valley 125.350-122.350.
 
Worthington 140.400, LHS 120.475
Ella Reisdorfer tied for third in the uneven parallel bars with a score of 8.200 in Worthington on Thursday.
In the floor routine, Reisdorfer finished fourth with a score of 8.500. Reisdorfer placed fifth in the balance beam with a score of 8.200.
Tiana Lais finished fifth in the vault with a score of 8.850.
 
LHS 125.350, RV 122.350
In the team’s home opener on Monday, Jan. 25, Reisdorfer took home first place in the bars with a score of 8.425.
Amira Cowell came in second in the bars with a score of 8.000.
In the beam competition, it was Reisdorfer taking home first with a score of 8.850. Cowell finished third with a score of 8.150.
Reisdorfer finished second in the floor routine with a score of 8.475. Cowell finished third in the event with a score of 8.325.
The Cardinals will be back home for competition Monday, Feb. 1.