10 years ago (1995)"A bond election for the Hills-Beaver Creek school district’s $5.5 million building proposal will not take place in December as board members had initially hoped. …An apparent miscommunication in the amount of time it may take to hear from the state in their Review and Comment, combined with at least a week of extra meetings with architects and building committee members has pushed the process well into 1996." 25 years ago (1980)"The Hills-Beaver Creek girls came off their heartbreaking loss in the season opener to pick up victories over Edgerton and Round Lake this week and get their winning season underway.Against Edgerton, Jan Huber paced the offense with 19 points while Joni Schouwenburg and Sue Schneekloth paced the defense with 11 and 10 rebounds respectively."50 years ago (1955)"At a special meeting last Thursday night, the Village Council, with all members present, saw the preliminary report on the sewage and disposal system and heard a report on financing. "It was also approved unanimously by the council to proceed with the request of a petition signed by the majority of businessmen in Hills in having the survey taken and allowing the people of Hills to vote on the question of whether or not a sewage system should be constructed."75 years ago (1930)"Mr. and Mrs. A.A. Anderson and daughter, Elaine, of Luverne, were over to attend the Bethlehem L.A.S. supper and bazaar last Saturday evening. Mr. Anderson informed a Crescent reporter that Luverne now has a dandy golf course in the Armory at that place, and invites all his friends in Hills to come over and try their luck."100 years ago (1905)"The unsettled weather which set in a week ago, turned into a genuine snowstorm Tuesday afternoon, during which about six inches of snow fell, which has been mostly piled up in drifts by the high wind. If the snow should remain, it will cause considerable damage to corn that still remains in the field."

Col.Ret. James B. Fleming, 77, Edina, formerly of Hills, died Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005. He graduated from Hills High School, Hills. He attended Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., and received his Master’s from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. He was a Retired Colonel from the National Guard and U.S. Army, having served for more than 34 years. He lived in Atlanta, Ga., Washington, D.C., and Charleston, S.C. He was a teacher and administrator in the Edina Schools for more than 20 years. Col. Fleming was an avid bridge player, classical music lover, storyteller and Civil War aficionado. He wrote many articles for the Hills Crescent over the years. He loved his country and family with all of his heart. Survivors include one son, Scott (Joann) Fleming; one daughter, Kim Fleming; two grandchildren, all from Edina, one brother, Paul Fleming, Edina; and one sister, Karen Anderson, Edina. Memorials are preferred to the Edina High School Band Program, 6754 Valley View Road, Edina, MN 55439.

10 years ago (1995)
The Hills-Beaver Creek school district is considering a $5.5 million bond election to reconstruct and renovate the district’s school buildings.
Lowell Binford is a member of a state property tax reform task force. According to Binford’s research, the 1994 breakdown for local funding (30 percent of the total) of the school district was: 50 percent from farms, 19 percent from businesses, 31 percent from taxes on homes.
The Luverne School Board is discussing a new prospective elementary school site. The group toured a site by Blue Mound Avenue that would require an extension of Veterans Drive.
Engineers found fault with the $16 million Luverne sewer project. A citizen advisory committee hired different engineers, who said the project could be done at a cost of from $3.5 million to $5 million.
Magnolia is planning to pair with Luverne after a referendum there was turned down by voters.oMyrna Nortan, an elementary music teacher, was named Luverne Teacher of the Year.50 years ago (1955)
A six-month old deer is the companion pet of three Van’t Hul children on their farm just west of Beaver Creek. Gerben, Bernard and Sharyl Beth Van’t Hul have had the deer since the tip of his left rear leg was severed by a mower and Mr. Burt Van’t Hul took the fawn to a veterinarian to have the foot repaired and treated. The fawn was bottle-fed by the family. It now roams the fields during the day and comes into the barn to sleep each night with a collie dog and three cats.
A bath house and a sand beach will be put in at the lower lake of the Mound Springs State Park this summer.75 years ago (1930)
A proposal to provide a plat book of Maplewood and other cemeteries of this county, showing the exact location of the graves of each Civil, Spanish-American and World War veteran, was proposed and approved by Dell-Hogan post at the regular meeting.
A petition has been filed with the common council requesting that that body investigate the feasibility of piping spring water from the flowing wells on the Mounds to Luverne for drinking purposes.
F.C. Nuffer’s hardware store at Hills was burglarized at an early hour Wednesday morning and a considerable quantity of hardware merchandise was carried away. This included a number of shotguns, a quantity of shells and a considerable assortment of cutlery and other articles, the total value of which is in excess of $250. It is understood that Sheriff H.R. Ohs secured some clear fingerprints. 100 years ago (1905)
P.N. Gillham has been awarded the contract for building a new steel bridge for the village of Hardwick near the corporation limits northeast of that place. It will have a 30-foot span.
No more noteworthy event in the history of Beaver Creek has, nor probably ever will occur, than that of Saturday evening when the beautiful new school building, erected the past season at a cost of $10,000, was formally dedicated.

By Lori EhdeLuverne School Board members heard a favorable report from district auditor Jim Gelbman at their Thursday, Nov. 10, meeting.Luverne School District operates on an $11.6 million budget, and he said the school’s actual budget remarkably came within only a few percentage points of budget projections. "That’s very close," said Gelbman, representing Conway, Deuth and Schmiesing, PLLP, "especially considering there are so many things you don’t know about until the very end."A sharp rise in fuel costs for transportation and heat, for example, hurt many districts, Gelbman said, and special education reimbursements aren’t computed until the end of the budget year.In a Star Herald interview Tuesday, Gelbman answered questions about Luverne School District’s financial wellbeing.He said the Luverne district has established itself as a conservative spender compared with spending habits of other districts in the state and particularly those its same size."Luverne compares very favorably," he said. "We’re in the ballpark or are spending less. You’re spending appropriately. You’re not out of whack in any area."He said this should be comforting news to district residents who have just voted in favor of an operating referendum."There are a lot of referendums out there, and in many areas, they’ve waited too long," Gelbman said. "The referendums are there to keep them out of deficit spending, rather than to keep programs running. It’s like plugging holes."He said that’s not the case in Luverne.While its board and administration have faced difficult budget cuts in the past several years along with other districts, he said Luverne is fiscally strong.He said 10 years ago districts across the state went through a rash of consolidations. Now districts, especially the little ones, are leaning on referendums to get by, and it’s only a matter of time before more consolidation is necessary.Referendums are postponing that process, unless the state legislature changes its education funding formula."Every district in the state of Minnesota is buying time," Gelbman said. "As time goes by, with the way costs are increasing and revenues are growing at a small rate and enrollment is declining … there was at one time talk of only one school per county, and that time is coming sooner than we think."In the end, the strongest districts will survive."You’re looking at establishing Luverne as a surviving district," he said. "If I’m a parent shopping for a place to live, I’m going to choose a school that will best prepare my kids for the future. By keeping your programs in place, that’s where people will send their kids. You want to be the one to offer the best programs you can, compared to your neighbors."He said the referendum will give Luverne leverage in that battle to survive. "It allows us to keep programs in tact that much longer, without having to make significant cuts," he said."Luverne is set up for long-term survival."

By Lori EhdeLuverne native Arvin Olson was the guest speaker at Friday’s Veterans Day banquet in Hardwick."All over the nation today, Americans are gathering together to remember and pay tribute to our veterans," he said in the Hardwick American Legion Hall."Today is a chance to thank those who have selflessly answered the call to duty and to remember those who have served. Any morning we wake up on free land, it’s because of men and women like these."Olson, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, is a 1974 Luverne High School graduate and the son of Betty Olson, Luverne, and the late Alvin Olson.In his address, he recognized the importance of family support."They may not carry a rucksack on their backs, but they have carried the weight of worrying about their soldier, probably the most cumbersome burden anyone can bear," Olson said."They carry that burden until their soldier returns. … Tragically, some never do."Olson said Veterans Day is a time to thank and honor Americans who have served in the military, especially during times of war."They are ordinary people who have been placed in extraordinary circumstances," he said. "Soldiers and veterans are people who know the true meaning of courage."Olson has more than 30 years of military service and currently is assistant deputy chief of staff of the 88th Regional Readiness Command, U.S. Army Reserve, at Fort Snelling. He has been awarded the Bronze Star, Meritorious Service, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the National Defense Medal with Bronze Star, Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with hourglass and "M" device, Army Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Components Training Ribbon with numeral 9 and the Army Air Assault Badge.Olson and his wife, Carole, have five children and live in New Prague.

By Sara QuamThe near final step in getting a new business to Luverne was approved by the Luverne City Council Monday night. Mark Otter will open Luverne Welding and Machine after the state gives the final approval of the business subsidy agreement and use of Job Opportunity Building Zone tax breaks.Otter owns and operates a similar business in Pipestone.The Luverne School District and Rock County have already given their approval to the project. The deal also involved a JOBZ land swap from the former IBP ponds to a plot in the industrial park. The agreement also involves a $89,000 loan from the city.The JOBZ benefits will be in effect until Dec. 31, 2015.Some of the benefits of being in a JOB Zone are exemption from individual income taxes; exemption from state sales and use tax and any local sales and use taxes on qualifying purchases; exemption from the state sales tax on certain motor vehicles and local sales tax on motor vehicles, and exemption from some property taxes.Conditions to the business subsidy and tax breaks include: oThe business has to create two new full-time equivalent jobs by Dec. 31, 2006.oThe business has to provide each employee compensation, including benefits not mandated by law, that are equal to at least 110 percent of the federal poverty rate for a family of four.oThe business has to repay all JOBZ related tax benefits if it does not meet the goals identified in the agreement.oThe business must provide an annual business subsidy report.Otter said at the public hearing Monday that he looked forward to operating a successful business and would have an open house once the business got started.

By Sara QuamRock County businesses aren’t keeping as many local shoppers as they would like, but a few are doing that and then some. Automotive retailers, for example, have a combined 15,000 to 20,000 people buying from them.University of Minnesota Extension Educator David Nelson completed the retail trade analysis and presented the findings Monday. He said, "That means that four times the population of Luverne are buying automobiles in Luverne. So, you all have four-car garages, right?"Based on standard spending expectations, Luverne’s auto businesses should have sold about $10 million in 2003. But auto businesses did 270 percent better than that with a total of $37.7 million in sales.Nelson said, "I’ve not seen this before, not 270 percent more than expected."The automotive category includes items such as motorcycles, snowmobiles and new parts and accessories.Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce Director Dave Smith pointed out that there are as many used car dealers as there are beauticians in Luverne.Nelson used state sales tax data from 1996 to the latest figures from 2003 for his analysis.If three or fewer businesses file under a sales tax category, the state doesn’t release the data in order to protect the privacy of those businesses.So there was no data available on apparel or electronics, for example, because not enough businesses file under that category.Overall, the city of Luverne gets 450 more shoppers than the number of people who live in Luverne. Even so, people from Luverne are leaving town for food, general merchandise and gasoline.People spent more than expected in Luverne on building materials, automobiles, eating and drinking, hotels, repair and maintenance service and amusement and recreation. Shoppers in Luverne spent $6.11 million on building materials in 2003; $37.71 million on automobiles; $6.05 million on eating and drinking; $1.97 million on hotels; $3.45 million on repair and maintenance service, and $0.86 million on amusement and recreation.Food, which includes five businesses, had an increase of 40 percent between 1998 and 2000. So, sales may have increased in certain years, but that doesn’t mean retailers are meeting their full potential.Rock County overall sold less than expected in several categories.Food (groceries) sold 17 percent less than expected; building materials sold 33 percent less than expected; general merchandise sold 43 percent less than expected; furniture stores sold 71 percent less than expected and eating and drinking establishments sold 20 percent less than expected.Essentially, Nelson said, "Half of the population is leaving the county to shop elsewhere."Taking study to heartChamber Director Smith said, "There just isn’t the community loyalty that there used to be."People work outside of their community, maybe for better wages, Nelson said. As they are gone so much, they probably also shop away from home.Some retailers at the meeting said they feel the pull from Sioux Falls, but hope their service and unique offerings keep shoppers with them."Now we need to develop a plan to enhance the areas that have the potential to attract more consumers and to capture the markets that are already shopping here," said Luverne Economic Development Director Jill Wolf .The LEDA sponsored the $650 study."From this study, you’ll be able to make informed, strategic decisions using this factual information," Nelson said.Often, retail businesses want to relocate to Luverne or start here with the help of public funds. With this information, the city will be able to better gauge what type of business the community needs.The Extension study was for retail. It didn’t include manufacturing or industrial businesses that make wholesale sales. It also didn’t include medical care, lawyers, accountants, dentists or similar services. If people are interested, Wolf has a video copy and printed information from the Extension presentation available to the public.

By Lori EhdeTwo rural Hills men appeared Monday in Rock County District Court on controlled substance charges after authorities found a meth lab in their home Saturday.Authorities arrested 50-year-old Donald Frederick Wilson and 45-year-old Darwin Gene Otten after searching their home in the early morning hours of Saturday, Nov. 12.According to information from the Rock County Sheriff’s Department, the High Risk Entry Team was used to force entry to the home, which is located in Section 17 of Martin Township."We had knowledge of a 9 millimeter handgun on the property," Rock County Investigator Jeff Wieneke said. He said that’s why the entry team was used to execute the search warrant, and that’s why they did so at night. "Darkness provides more protection for the entry team," Wieneke said.In addition to recovering the handgun, a long list of items used to manufacture meth were also seized, mostly in a shop and corn crib on the premises.The list includes, for example, starter fluid, paint stripper, acetone, pseudoephedrine, glass jars, rubber gloves, coffee filters, lithium batteries, drain opener, anhydrous ammonia tanks, a hot grill, a bong and miscellaneous containers with colored, layered mixtures.Ten officers serve on the Southern Minnesota, Northern Iowa High Risk Entry Team. Nine additional officers assisted with the arrest, including highway patrol officers.Wieneke said only a small amount of meth was actually recovered at Wilson’s place, but he said that’s becoming typical."When people cook around here, they usually don’t produce more than 6 or 8 grams of finished product," he said.He said new laws have made it more difficult for meth cookers to get large enough quantities of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in meth production.But he added that meth users locally are increasingly buying from dealers who get their product from Mexico.On Monday, Wilson was charged with first degree controlled substance crime for manufacturing meth and fifth-degree controlled substance crime for possessing meth.Otten was charged with two first-degree controlled substance crimes — one for attempted manufacture of meth and one for conspiracy to produce meth (for possessing the precursors to produce meth). He was also charged with fifth-degree controlled substance crime for possessing methAs of Tuesday, they were still in custody at the Prairie Justice Center, Worthington. Wilson is being held on a $20,000 bond and Otten has a bond of $5,000.Ordinance requires owners to clean upThe two men were living on a rented acreage owned by Charlie Sandager, Hills.Dawn Sandager said she’s not surprised about the meth lab, and had in fact been in contact with law enforcement about suspicious activity there."We’d see traffic in and out of there — for three to five minutes at a time," she said. "We’ve had suspicions about what was going on."She described Wilson as a nice man who has rented the property since the early 1990s, but this was the fourth search warrant executed on the property since 2000. Three were for controlled substance crimes and one for stolen property.Saturday’s search was the first to produce an active meth lab, and the Sandagers, as owners, are responsible for the costs of cleaning up the toxic waste, according to a new county meth ordinance.Nobles Rock Public Health Sanitarian Jason Kloss said clean-up costs can range from $5,000 to $10,000 depending on the size of house, extent of contamination and length of time meth was manufactured there.Kloss will assess the site on Thursday to advise the Sandagers on the clean-up process."All I know is we’re responsible," Dawn Sandager said Tuesday. The meth products and ingredients were removed after the arrest, but a sampling on Thursday will determine the extent of further cleanup necessary.The Sandagers may need to hire an environmental cleanup company to conduct testing on the property.If enough volatile chemicals and meth residue are found, then they’ll have to proceed with ripping out all absorbent surfaces (furniture, carpet, etc., washing the walls with a chemical-soap mixture and repainting the interior. A meth lab was seized on a rental acreage near Hardwick earlier this year, and that home was recently burned because the owners determined the house wasn’t worth the cost of restoring it.

ORDINANCE NO. 279, THIRD SERIESAN ORDINANCE RELATING TO GENERAL AMDINISTRATION AND BUILDING REGULATIONS, AMENDING CITY CODE CHAPTER 2, SEC. 2.58, AND CHAPTER 4, SEC. 4.07 THROUGH 4.08, AND ADOPTING BY REFERENCE CITY CODE CHAPTER 2 AND SECTION 2.99 AND CITY CODE CHAPTER 4 AND SECTION 4.99, WHICH AMONG OTHER THINGS, CONTAIN PENALTY PROVISIONSTHE CITY OF LUVERNE DOES HEREBY ORDAIN: SECTION 1. That Chapter 2, Sec. 2.58, of the Luverne City Code is hereby amended in its entirety to read as follows: SEC. 2.58. BOARDS OF CODE APPEALS. Subd. 1. City Code Issues. A. Establishment and Composition. A Board of Code Appeals is hereby established. The Board shall be composed of members of the Council.B. Powers and Duties. The powers and Duties of the Board shall be to handle all appeals as to matters concerning City Code and housing maintenance as governed by Minnesota Law, Rule, or Regulation; and the City Code.Subd. 2. Minnesota State Building Code IssuesA. General: In order to hear and decide appeals of orders, decisions, or determinations made by the building official relative to the application and interpretation of the state building codes, the appellant may appeal to the State Appeals Board in the State of Minnesota Building Codes & Standards Division.B. Scope: Appeals shall be made and handled as set forth in Minnesota Rule 1300.0230 as contained in the Minnesota State Building Code, as adopted by the City of Luverne, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes Sections 471.465 to 471.469, ad 16B.67.SECTION 2. That sections 4.07 & 4.08 of Chapter 4 of the Luverne City Code are hereby repealed. SEC. 4.07 REPEALED SEC. 4.08 REPEALED. SECTION 3. This ordinance shall take force and effect seven (7) days after its publication. (11-17)