ADVERTISEMENT FOR BIDSSealed proposals will be received by the City Council of Luverne, Rock County, Minnesota at the Luverne City Hall, 203 E. Main, P.O. Box 659, Luverne, Minnesota 56156-0659 on Tuesday, the 15th of June, 2004 at 10:00 A.M. for the 2004 Seal Coat Improvements, Luverne, Minnesota, at which time the proposals shall be publicly opened and read aloud. The approximate quantities of work on which proposals will be received are as follows: 36,300 Gal. Bituminous material for seal coat 1,815 Tons Seal coat aggregateand other related items of construction.All bids shall be made on proposal forms 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, Minnesota, 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 contact and post satisfactory bond. Work shall be completed on or before September 10, 2004.The City reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive technicalities and irregularities. The City also reserves the right to increase, decrease or delete items of work to comply with budget limitations. The City is an Equal Opportunity Employer.Project manual and drawings may be examined at the office of the Engineer or at the Luverne City Hall. Copies of said project manual and drawings may be secured from DeWild Grant Reckert and Associates Company, 1302 South Union Street, Rock Rapids, Iowa 51246, telephone 712-472-2531, FAX 712-472-2710, upon payment of ten dollars ($10.00), none of which is refundable. Published upon order of the City Council of Luverne, Minnesota.CITY OF LUVERNE, MINNESOTABy /s/ Glen W. GustMayor(6-3)

10 years ago (1994)"Southwest Minnesota’s search for water came one step closer to reality Tuesday when the Minnesota Department of Trade and Economic Development awarded $50,000 to get the Lewis and Clark Rural Water project off the ground.The Lewis and Clark Rural Water System, if all goes as planned, would supplement existing water supplies to communities and rural water systems in southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota. The system, as it’s proposed, would serve 178,690 people."25 years ago (1979)"A new county-city law enforcement building with facilities for county and district court matters is the recommendation of the County Law Enforcement Study Committee.A report of the committee’s activities, together with recommendations signed by committee members, will be submitted to the county board of commissioners and city council of Luverne for consideration at their June meetings."50 years ago (1954)"An auction sale and rummage sale next Wednesday will be the closing events to raise funds for the community hospital drive. To date about $90,000 has been received in pledges and from all sources. The goal of $125,000 is still $35,000 short.… ‘We are urging everyone to bring what they can to these events,’ George Golla, general chairman said."75 years ago (1929)"Fully four inches of water fell in two rainstorms that passed over Rock County Monday night and Tuesday afternoon and evening. As a result, growing crops and vegetation of all kinds received the one impetus for rapid growth that had been missing since warm weather was ushered in."100 years ago (1904)"Jacobson & Colby have been operating their sawmill in the east part of town this week, and have sawed a large pile of lumber from the cottonwood trees grown along the west side of the street running toward the Mounds beside the railroad. The entire plant, excepting the engine, was constructed by Neils Jacobson, and even the saw is a home product."The mill does excellent work and its operations have been watched this week with great interest. Mr. Jacobson has sawed twenty thousand feet of lumber on his farm this year from trees of twenty-seven years’ growth, and during the season thus far they have sawed eighty thousand feet, all from timber grown in Rock County."

About this time, five years ago, I left my Moorhead apartment at 9:30 a.m. I drove south on Highway 75 four hours until I reached Luverne for a job interview at the Rock County Star Herald. I came here on a whim that I’d never regret for what was my second "real" job interview. In honor of that fateful journey, I’m recognizing my fifth anniversary here.I knew a little about the paper before I came here: I knew it had a decent Web site (which was a pretty new thing then); I knew it had solid writers and photographers on staff; I knew the paper took home a few state newspaper association awards almost every year; I knew the computer at my work station was a teal Macintosh and looked really high tech. I didn’t know anything about Rock County and hadn’t even heard of Luverne until I came here for the interview. But I moved into an apartment on East Dodge Street with a view of the Rock River, and named my column "room with a view."Now, I’m a homeowner and have gotten pretty familiar with the town and its people whose stories I’ve been able to tell for five years. Some of my favorite stories, columns and photos might not be that memorable to everyone, but they were each important to me.My very first story was a teacher retirement piece. The next week, I was proud of a big spread on mosquitoes: what cities do to control them, how the mosquitoes reproduce, how to repel them. I’ve filled in the years since those first stories with lots of time sitting through meetings and chatting with local residents. I decided that it’s just plain fun to talk to people and write their stories. It’s also satisfying in a sick, boring way to write about budgets or sewer plant upgrades.I bet if I’m here in five more years, I’ll write another column about how I still don’t regret my rash decision to set up house in Rock County. I don’t even mind that I’ve been yelled at a few times by people unhappy about what I’ve written; that I’ve received about a dozen nasty letters, or that I’ve been a sounding board for bitter taxpayers. Don’t feel too sorry for me, though, because I’ve also received thank-you notes and kind e-mails.Maybe I should end by giving my appreciation back to you for watching me learn and write and mess up — all in permanent ink. So, thanks for reading what I’ve seen from my "room with a view."

A journey of faithA journey of faith is not always an easy-to-follow road map. Instead, a journey of faith is often a one-at-a-time kind of experience. When God called Abram to leave his country, his people, and his father’s household and go, Abram was given no road map. He was given no set of directions. He didn’t even know his destination. God just said to him "Get up and go to the land that I will show you."Abram was expected to go where God led him. He was to go one-step-at-a-time; one-day-at-a-time. He was to go forth solely in faith! There was no guarantee that the journey would be easy. He had his share of troubles and dangers and many broken and postponed dreams. Yet he journeyed in faith putting his trust in God.We, too, need to look upon our lives as a journey and we, too, need to take-one-step-at-a-time; one-day-at-a-time. We never know what is before us. We merely need to go in faith.All of our lives will have dark valleys, such as valleys of despair and depression. There will also be difficult, narrow, and steep trails. God does not promise us an easy journey nor does he give to us a road map that will detour us around these valleys. But he does promise us that he will go with us and will walk with us through them. In Psalm 23:4 we read:"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff they comfort me."So we walk through the journey of life in faith, trusting that God will go with us to help, strengthen, and comfort us. God brings these dark valleys into our lives in order that we may grow closer to Him, to trust Him more, and to grow in our own personal character and integrity.

This time of year, I get the same kind of restlessness as kids do. I catch my eyes wandering outside and dreaming of lying in the grass with a book. Believe it or not, I didn’t always have this longing for summer. I really didn’t want to get out of school. (All the kids say "What?") I grew up in Hardwick and summer vacation often meant not being able to see my friends for three months. We didn’t have chat rooms, cell phones or video conferencing. We had summer recreation, the bookmobile, softball games and our bikes. More or less it was very boring. On occasion I might run into pals as rivals in a softball game or the occasional trip to Pamida and end the summer lull with a bang by spending a week at the fair. It enhanced the excitement of going back to school because I could finally see those faces I missed all summer long.I no longer feel that way. I love summer. This is the time when I get to hang out with kids just about every day and do all sorts of things: hiking, painting, swimming, giggling, singing, watching movies, dancing, biking and reading. I love summer now because of the Summer Reading Program. It’s a free program that allows kids to have lots to do in the summer and keeps them reading. The program is for kids in first through sixth grade. The theme is "Track it down at your library" and I can’t imagine a better way to spend the summer. If you know a child and don’t want to risk them being bored this summer stop by the library June 7 through June 12 and register for the summer reading program. Come track it down at the library, you’ll never be bored again.

The following was printed in the Rose History in 1911:"The only paper ever established in the town of Hills is the Hills Crescent, which began life on Aug. 17, 1893, and which has ever since been published. F.M. Bailey and Orrie Haislet were the founders. Hills had for some time wanted a newspaper and finally inducements were offered Mr. Bailey to launch the enterprise. Mr. Bailey has told of the founding of the Crescent in the issue of that paper of Aug. 20, 1903:Mr. Bailey had at that time $95 in cash, which he at once put into a first payment on type and material, but he hadn’t enough to buy a press. It so happened that S.S. Haislet, of the Adrian Guardian, was friendly to the long gander-shanks and agreed to furnish the press if Bailey would take on his son Orrie along as a partner in the enterprise. The press was an old Ramage. It had been used by Ben Franklin, and later the Decorah Posten was printed on it when Mr. Amundson had no more money than Mr. Bailey. It was the oldest press in use in the United States, printed one page at a time, and was used for the Crescent for nearly three years. Saturday the outfit reached Hills and Mr. Bailey started on his wheel early and rode to Hills. That afternoon he rented a building, made up a dummy of the paper and hustled eight or 10 columns of ads…. Sunday Orrie Haislet arrived by team from Adrian with the press. Monday they carried the outfit from the depot…. The new firm of Bailey & Haislet couldn’t raise the $5 freight due on the outfit, but Frank Jordan came to the rescue and paid in advance for five papers for a year, and Thursday the first issue of the Hills Crescent came out. Six weeks after the founding, the junior member of the firm sold his interest to B.F. Heastand for $5, and a few months later Mr. Bailey became sole proprietor. For two months in 1895 Mr. Bailey issued a daily Crescent, and from Sept. 19, 1895, until March 4, 1896, when he sold out, the Crescent was a semi-weekly. On this date the plant was purchased by a company of Hills businessmen, of which J.R. Wright was president, and H.E. Wyum, secretary. James W. Simmons was employed to conduct the paper. On April 15, 1896, the outfit was purchased by A.C. Finke and James W. Simmons, who conducted the paper under the firm name of Finke & Simmons until the next July. Mr. Simmons then sold to his partner, and Mr. Finke conducted the paper alone until Aug. 11. On that date Olaf Nash bought a half interest, and for more than 14 years the Crescent was published by Finke & Nash. During the greater part of the time under this regime Mr. Nash had charge of the paper. He conducted it in an able manner, made many improvements, and built it up to its present high standing. Messrs. Finke & Nash sold the Crescent Sept. 1, 1910, to A.A. Hanson, formerly of Decorah, Iowa, who has maintained its former high standing." Donations to the Rock County Historical Endowment Fund can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, P.O. Box 741, Luverne, MN 56156. Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain," noted Benjamin Franklin, "except death and taxes." If his words are still true, funeral expenses shouldn’t catch us off guard. That seems to be the problem in Germany. Soaring funeral prices there, according to the London Evening Standard, have created a demand for cost-saving services for the dearly departed. One extraordinary plan involves sending loved ones’ bodies to Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic for disposal. (In the funeral business, it’s referred to as "corpse tourism.") The advantages of opting for such a practice are quite obvious. For starters, survivors would only have to chip in for the cost of one-way plane or train tickets. Choosing between a window seat or an aisle seat would no longer be a major decision. There would be no postcards from exotic, faraway places to make us envious — "Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here." For once and for all, we would finally get rid of the old expression, "All dressed up and no place to go." The Czech Republic or Slovakia may not represent everyone’s idea of a dream vacation, but at least they’re places. Best of all, we won’t be forced to sit down and watch the obligatory vacation videos and photographs when people return home. They won’t be back. Corpse tourism might be a perfect, upbeat solution for an industry that tends to be thought of as dreary and somewhat depressing. Funerals could become bon voyage parties with festive atmospheres. Paper streamers, confetti and noisemakers would be the rule, rather than the exception. Instead of having to open dreaded phone calls to distant relatives with, "I have terrible news," your message would be, "Great-aunt Maude is going on a long journey and we’re having a farewell party for her on Thursday!" Eventually, there will be vacation specials for the one-way travelers. Most popular will be the no-frills packages without meals, side-trips or, in fact, any amenities at all along the way. Advertising pitches for airlines and travel agencies will reflect their new clientele. "Our Road Less Traveled Vacations are wonderful for your dearly departed. Choose one of our many remote, out-of-the-way destinations –— Nove Mesto and Vahom in Slovakia or Rikytnice and Jizerou in the Czech Republic. Be one of the first to call and receive a copy of Robert Frost’s poem, ‘The Road Not Taken,’ and a very helpful pamphlet, "How to Pronounce Foreign Names", as tokens of our appreciation and, of course, sympathy." Eventually, corpse tourism, a perfect example of "out of sight, out of mind," will attract its share of status seekers. After all, how long did it take for simple trips to see the largest ball of twine in Nebraska to be replaced by more colorful vacations in Hawaii or the Caribbean? For status seekers, everything in life (and perhaps after life) is a competition. "You sent your great-uncle to Poland? How nice for you. We were going to do that, but then we finally chose a beautiful island in the South Pacific. The tropical ambience is so much nicer, wouldn’t you agree?" Prices will soar again.

It’s with great frustration that I write to you today. Like all other Minnesota citizens, I expect the legislators to take their time in St. Paul seriously, and not play down the needs of the people for political gain. The 2004 Legislative Session was an inexcusable disappointment for all citizens. Questions arise in the minds of voters when stagnation like this occurs: Why wasn’t anything done? Who prevented things from getting done? Why would the people who represent us stop progress? And what can we do to show the legislators that we are frustrated? The answers to these questions are clear-cut and hard to accept. It is without any doubt in my mind that the lack of progress made in this state is placed solely at the feet of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party and their marginal majority in the Minnesota Senate. May 16, the deadline lawmakers had to meet in order to pass legislation in the State of Minnesota, came and went, with very serious issues unresolved, including balancing the budget. How is it that the Legislature was able to cut the deficit in Minnesota by three billion dollars last year, but can’t cover a deficit of less than one twentieth the size? The answer is compromise. Neither party (Republican or Democrat) was willing to compromise their views on the budget, or any other issue. It is interesting to note that to pass a law, the House and Senate need to pass the bill, and then the Governor needs to sign the bill to make it law. The Governor is a Republican, the House is overwhelmingly Republican, and the Democrats hold a three-person majority in the 67 member Senate. So the reason for the lack of production is either because the Republican Party is weak-willed, or the DFL-Senate stonewalled any means of progress in the state. Well, I’ll put all my eggs in one basket when I say the DFL put Minnesotans aside and tried to prove their party strength in the three and one-half month session. In a party-line vote, the Minnesota Senate silenced the voices of Minnesotans by failing a bill that would put the issue of gay marriage on the ballot in November. I guess the DFL leaders in the state feel that we are incapable of deciding the issue of gay marriage. It is my hope that they cited their own elections as the reason why the people of Minnesota cannot be trusted with voting. In a party-line vote, the Minnesota Senate halted the progress of cleaning up the re-established Department of Education by failing to confirm the former Commissioner of Education, Cheri Pierson Yecke. After the realized failures of the Profiles of Learning and the Department of Children, Family, and Learning, there was an immense desire among many lawmakers to repeal to profiles and promote an agenda of change. Today, we are a state which repealed its education policy, and because of special interest groups, has no leadership for the future of education in Minnesota. The list goes on. We are left to wonder what rational explanation can be given to the political games played by the DFL? Senate Majority Leader Dean Johnson (DFL-Willmar) seemed to sum it up pretty well, in my perspective, when two weeks ago he was quoted as saying, "Democrats aren’t up for election this year." There you have it. The Senators who are not up for election this year did not care about the people of Minnesota. Politics as usual if you ask me, dirty politics as usual. What can we do about it? First, I would suggest showing our appreciation of a responsible House of Representatives by sending back incumbent members. We also need to keep an eye on members of the Senate to make sure they are putting the interests of Minnesota before the interest of partisan politics. Maybe if we start keeping a closer watch on members, they would realize that the citizens of Minnesota are real people, and not pawns in whatever game they play. If they realize this, maybe they will take their session deadline seriously, and not spend the last few weeks of session having drinks with lobbyists. Joe Schomacker Luverne

Southern Hills Condominium Association, are accepting sealed bids until 6:00 P.M., Tuesday, June 8, 2004 for:Maintenance Work for Outside Building and Groundsfor Southern Hills Condominium Duties include: snow removal from driveways & sidewalks, mow & bag grass and leaves as needed, fertilize lawn in spring & fall, thatch lawn in spring, remove tree limbs & trash from lawns, clean landscaping, trim bushes & trees, clean gutters, clean outside dryer & sewer vents. Bids must be securely sealed, and clearly marked on the outside of the envelope as follows: "Bid for Condo Maintenance", deliver to Hills City Office, 301 South Main, P.O. Box 172, Hills, MN 56138. Bidding limited to residents of Hills only.Bids will be opened publicly at the Hills City Office at approximately 7:00 P.M., Tuesday, June 8, 2004. The Southern Hills Condominium Association reserves the right to reject any and all bids, and to accept any bids deemed most advantageous to the Association. Connie Wiertzema, SecretarySouthern Hills Condominium Assoc(5-20, 5-27, 6-3)