Jacob Boyenga, 101, Luverne, died Sunday, May 2, 2004, at his home. Services were Wednesday, May 5, at First Presbyterian Church in Beaver Creek. Burial was in Stateline Cemetery, near Ellsworth. Jacob Boyenga was born to Meinert and Reka (Schultz) Boyenga on Oct. 6, 1902, on a farm in Hardin County, near Ackley, Iowa, where he was raised. He moved with his parents to Minnesota when he was eight years old. They settled in Kanaranzi Township, near Ellsworth. He attended country school. Upon completion of his education, he farmed with his father. At the age of 21, he began farming on his own and farmed his entire life in Kanaranzi Township.He married Hazel (Braa) Schwartz on Jan. 6, 1969, at Stateline Church in rural Ellsworth. Following their marriage, they lived on the farm. After his retirement in 1974, they moved to Luverne. In November 1998, they sold their home and moved into the Damax Apartments in Luverne. Mr. Boyenga was a member of Stateline Church in rural Ellsworth and had been a member for more than 90 years. When the church closed in 2000, he became a member of First Presbyterian Church in Beaver Creek. He served on the Kanaranzi Township Board for many years and the Kanaranzi Elevator Board for 22 years. He loved to travel and had traveled throughout the United States during his bachelor years. He was an avid reader of history, geography and the Bible. Survivors include his wife, Hazel Boyenga, Luverne; eight nephews, Ronald (Anita) Boyenga, Maurice (Alice) Boyenga, Darrell (Gertrude) Boyenga, Paul (Diane) Boyenga, Dennis (Amy) Boyenga, all of Ellsworth, Mark Boyenga, Chandler, Ariz., David (Linda) Boyenga, Bloomington, and James Horn, Round Lake; one niece, Mary (Harlan) Beek, Paynesville; one sister-in-law, Beatrice Boyenga, Luverne; and many great-nieces and nephews. Mr. Boyenga was preceded in death by his parents, three brothers, Fred, Ernest and Calvin Boyenga, one sister, Bena Horn, and one infant sister, Anna Boyenga.Hartquist Funeral Home, Engebretson Chapel, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

10 years ago (1994)"Seven Hills-Beaver Creek fifth and sixth graders attended the Southwest Minnesota Regional Spelling Bee at Edgerton on Saturday. Eric Harnack finished third out of 56 contestants representing 11 area schools. The students advanced to the regional contest after winning the local competition. Advancing to the regional contest were Tom Bosch, Becky Mulder (alternate), Tony Nath, Eric Harnack, Chris Nelson and Brad Willers."25 years ago (1979)"Charlotte Roning, Donna Schellhouse and Bonnie Sundem joined a chartered bus load of bowlers from the area Saturday for a trip to Duluth. There they bowled in the State Bowling Tournament. Forty women from this area attended."50 years ago (1954)"A new Rock County Community Hospital at Luverne, 22 beds, will cost approximately $125,000. Slightly more than $50,000 is already available to the fund from county, city and hospital funds, so this leaves $75,000 needed to complete the project. An additional $12,700 has been contributed to the fund during this past week by a few individuals and firms. With slightly more than half the money in, the hospital is now assured." 75 years ago (1929)"As a result of funds appropriated to Minnesota through the Capper-Ketchum Bill, a year and a half ago, Rock County is fortunate in securing a full time Boys’ and Girls’ Club Leader for the months of June, July and August. The announcement was made through the Boys’ and Girls’ Club Department at University Farm the past week, stating that Muriel Hoyme, a daughter of H.T. Hoyme of Hills, and a former Rock County Club member, has been selected to fill this position for these three summer months." 100 years ago (1904)"The local insurance agents received notice last week to the effect that the rating on the row of buildings in which Skyberg’s store is located had been raised from $3.50 to $5 per hundred, being an increase of 30 percent. We have always maintained that the insurance rates in Hills are unfair and unjust, with this additional raise adding insult to injury and making insurance almost prohibitive."

Harriet Skattum and Ellie Sandager attended the Sioux Valley Alumni May Brunch at Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls Saturday. Vi VanWyhe visited her brother, Mervin Warner, and wife at Larchwood, Iowa, Monday afternoon.Don and Edyth Briggs left April 11 for an extended trip. They first visited Edyth’s niece in Fayetteville, Ark., for two days. They journeyed to Gatlinburg, Tenn., for a three-day Powers’ family reunion. They saw several shows in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., then traveled over the Great Smokey Mountains and on to Chattanooga, Tenn., to visit several Civil War Battlefields. Then on to Kentucky to see where Pres. Abe Lincoln was born and his boyhood home. They stopped in St. Louis on the way home to see part of the St. Louis’ Zoo and returned home April 27.Marvin and Carole Gies, Gregory, S.D., spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the home of Carole’s sister, Joanne Goehle. Ellie and Sheldon Sandager met Milton and Evelyn Anderson of Sioux Falls and Ben and Caroline Howe, Thurman, Iowa, for noon lunch Sunday in Sioux Falls. Madison Elbers, Valley Springs, S.D., spent from Friday until Sunday in the home of her grandparents, Wilmer and Betty Elbers. Her brother, Mitchell, spent Saturday evening in the Elbers home here. Rita Bode, our local postmaster, is a western area QWL/EI trainer for the U.S. Postal Service. Last week she spent time in Kansas City and this week she will spend Wednesday through Friday in Denver, Colo., training postal employees. Bob and Twila Kirsch attended an open house confirmation party Sunday afternoon for Eric Kraetsch in Kanaranzi. Cliff and Vi VanWyhe attended the spring concert at Dordt College, Sioux Center, Iowa, Friday evening. Their granddaughter, Ashley DeWit, is a member of the chorus. Luella Schlueter went to the Cities Friday to visit the John Hynes family and Bonnie and Brian Olson. Saturday she accompanied Bonnie and Brian to the Festival of Nations held at the Roy Wilkens Auditorium at the River Centre where Ellen, 5-year-old daughter of Laurie and John, performed in the dance line with a routine of the Romanian culture. That afternoon they attended the wedding of Luella’s great-nephew, Tom Gropel, son of Gregg and Jane Gropel, Luverne, and Leah Veldhuisen at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Mankato and the reception following. She returned home Sunday.Duane Wiese, Kanaranzi, and Don and Edyth Briggs attended the Parade of Music at the El Riad Center in Sioux Falls Friday evening.

If you haven’t been aware of the changing seasons, this week should be "Look Out Your Window Week." If you live in the country or take a drive in the country you will find the fields are no longer covered with dried cornstalks and other debris. The fields have been changed, it seems, like overnight, but I know it takes longer than that. The fields have been turned into a beautifully tilled farm. The farmers are all anxious to get into their fields and to get this year’s crop planted. If you live on a country road all you have to do is to look out the window and see that automobiles and other forms of transportation have been replaced with tractors, wagons, and many more pieces of machinery that I no longer recognize. However, as it’s planting season you had better watch where you are driving. The farmers are moving their machinery from farm to farm and all of us need to be careful.The Steen Senior Citizens had their May meeting at the Steen community building on Monday, May 3. Cards and games were played. Lunch was served by Bill and Bertha Bosch. Congratulations to Michelle and Tim Baker on the birth of a daughter, Karlee Daniele, on Wednesday, April 26, in Luverne Community Hospital. She joins one sister at home. A Bosch family 1 p.m. dinner was at the home of Dries and Laura May Bosch on Sunday in honor of the family birthdays. Those helping to celebrate were Tom and Amy Bosch, Emma and Isabel, Sioux Falls, Paul and Diane Bosch and Eric, Brandon, and Nathan Bosch, Sioux Falls. The family celebrated Tom and his daughter Emma’s birthday and Laura May’s birthday also. Last Monday morning Mildred Paulsen and Julie Schurr, Luverne, attended a meeting of the Southwest Regional Development Committee in regard to the medical supplement plan for the coming year at Luverne Pizza Ranch.Those from the Steen area who attended the Union Gospel Mission Prayer Breakfast Saturday morning were Malena Boeve, Karen Ramaker, Glenda Bonnema, JoAnn Paulsen, Joyce Aykens, Mildred Keunen, Jo Aykens, Cena Mae Tilstra and Millie Klarenbeek. It was at The Oaks in Sioux Falls. The speakers were Walter and Elizabeth Handford. The Girls’ League of Steen Reformed Church hosted a Mother/Daughter Banquet Wednesday, May 5, in Fellowship Hall.Sid Berghorst was admitted to Luverne Community Hospital on Sunday. He was transferred to Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls on Monday and was able to return to his home on Wednesday. Laura May Bosch hosted a birthday party Friday afternoon in her home. Those attending were Gert Hup, Hills, Anna Elbers, Betty Boeve and Darlene Bosch, all from Luverne, Henrietta Boeve, JoAnn Paulsen and Melba Boeve. Monday morning coffee guests in the Jo Aykens home were Gertie Ann Van Batavia, Mildred Keunen and Joyce Aykens of Worthington. Thursday noon Laura May Bosch and her sister, Kay Cox of Adrian, enjoyed noon lunch together at the Coffey Haus in Luverne. Sunday has been designated as "Mothers Day," a day when we have the opportunity to let our mothers know how much they mean and have meant to us all through the years. They are always ready and willing to listen to our problems. They were, and still are, ready and willing to share our good times as well as our bad times. So, this week I would like to share this article titled, "A Birthday Tribute to Mothers.""A lot of things in life are taken for granted. The food we eat, the homes we live in, the cars we drive. The greatest treasure we have are people. Of these, our greatest value is our loved ones. Through the years you have been, not only a Mother but also a friend … not overlooking the roles you have filled as a cook, nurse, housekeeper, and a lot of others that we cannot list for lack of space. All the goodness, compassion, learned in our lives, came from a home where these things were taught and practiced. The love that was given so freely, although at times, we didn’t know it, was still appreciated and cherished.It is only fitting that on this day — your special day, you are surrounded by those who wish to give you, what you have always given to us … LOVE!"Let us remember these words as we wish each and every one of our mothers all of our love and the best of everything for her in days to come.Happy Mothers Day!

Overloaded planes continue to be a weighty problem in Hawaii. "Hawaii residents love Krispy Kreme Doughnuts so much," reports Reuters, "that they often stock up at a new store in Maui before boarding inter-island flights back home, overloading airline luggage bins along the way." According to the news service, islanders carry as many as five or six boxes of doughnuts aboard planes at the Maui airport and the overhead bins are filled to overflowing. The latest threat to airline safety has even been given a name — commuter doughnuts. The very real possibility of having a cholesterol-caused air mishap in Hawaii is compounded by filling planes not only with doughnuts, but with overweight doughnut eaters as well. My first introduction to the dangerous combination of overloaded planes and island-hopping in Hawaii occurred many years ago, when my husband and I were vacationing there. At one point we were scheduled to fly from Oahu to Molokai to Maui. The brief stopover at the tiny airport on Molokai provided an opportunity to stretch our legs and take photos of a dense jungle on three sides of the airport’s main runway. One end of the runway didn’t have trees because it stopped just short of a precipitous cliff edge, high above the sounds of surf crashing on rocks below. We could see nothing but brilliant blue sky with fluffy white clouds at that end of the runway. We realized something unusual was happening when all of the checked-in luggage was removed from the plane’s cargo hold and each suitcase and bag was weighed on a large scale outside the airport terminal door. The luggage was then returned to the plane. As we lined up in the terminal with our fellow passengers and waited to reboard the plane, there was another indication this would not be a routine flight. After each carry-on bag was inspected and each boarding pass was thoroughly scrutinized, passengers were asked, "How much do you weigh?" The line ahead of us moved slowly as the numbers were called off — 145, 270, 165, 230. Numbers were automatically recited in what appeared to be a surreal version of Bingo or Lotto. An overweight woman directly in front of us responded with a straight face, "100." Oh yeah, I remember thinking, and Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis will team up again. Then came our turn. "How much do you weigh?" The dark, piercing eyes of the female employee were fixed on mine. "Why do you have to know?" I responded, rather defensively. Apparently, she had fielded similar questions from weight-conscious mainlanders before. "See that runway out there?" I glanced out the window and saw the huge expanse of blue at the end of the concrete." If we don’t figure out the total weight of the passengers and their luggage, your plane might not take off before it reaches the end of that runway. It’s as simple as that. So, how much do you weigh?" I gulped before giving her my answer. Recalling that the woman in front of me had claimed she only weighed 100 pounds, I tried to imagine how many other passengers might have shaved several pounds off their actual weights. The word "plummet" seemed to be foremost in my thoughts. Drastic times often call for drastic measures. "I weigh 600 pounds", I answered. It wasn’t the first nor last time I would lie about my weight.

By Lori EhdeJeff Hartquist is now officially in charge at Hartquist Funeral Home, Engebretson Chapel, Luverne.His father, Randy Hartquist, Pipestone, bought Engebretson Funeral Home from Vertin Company in January. The eventual plan was to have Jeff, a mortician in Minneapolis, move to Luverne to head up operations here.Those plans were fast-forwarded, however, when then director Dave Anderson left Luverne to pursue a professional opportunity in northern Minnesota.That absence starting Feb. 5 left Randy scrambling to fill the void in Luverne at a time when local obituary pages were filled top to bottom. "They were really accommodating," said Lois Nath, who works at the Engebretson Chapel. "You called and they were here. "He was devoted to serving those families."Jeff said those two months clearly illustrated the importance of area chapels being able to draw on each other’s staff.He said night and weekend hours can take their toll on funeral directors and their families, so clusters of funeral homes under the same ownership can provide a leadership pool to spread the work.In addition to Pipestone and Luverne, the Hartquist father-son team now own chapels in Jasper, Lake Benton and Tyler."The nice thing about the scheme of this is by owning the different chapels, it allows the directors to share locations and ultimately have some time off," Jeff said.While he didn’t plan to come to Luverne until later this year, Jeff started instead on April 4."I’m just excited about being here, and hopefully we can be an asset to the community," he said.Jeff graduated from Pipestone High School in 1997.He has a business degree from Concordia College, Moorhead, and studied mortuary science at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.He’s spent the past few years gaining experience with Washburn McReavy, which owns a dozen chapels in Minneapolis and handles about 2,700 funerals each year."I definitely had ample opportunity to get experience working with them," Jeff said.His wife, Sara, is finishing out the school year with Hugo Elementary in St. Paul, where she’s a school psychologist."She has fun telling people that we’ve been married only four months and we’re already separated," Jeff said.Sara plans to join Jeff in Luverne after June 11.He said people in the community have been pleasant, and he’s glad to be living in a city that takes pride in appearances."The houses are kept up, the streets are clean and the parks are nice," he said, describing Luverne as progressive. "It’s impressive for a small town."

By Lori EhdeLuverne High School graduate Jennnifer Iveland is playing a big role on the front lines of the war in Iraq.Sgt. Iveland is a mental health specialist in the Army Reserve’s 785th Medical Company out of Fort Snelling.Specifically, she’s working as a stress counselor for troops in combat zones of Baghdad."We give them the opportunity to talk about their experiences and we try to help them normalize their reactions," Iveland said in an e-mail interview with the Star Herald Tuesday.In the Civil War, it was "melancholia," World War II soldiers were "shell shocked," and Vietnam veterans suffered from "post-traumatic stress disorder."Today, it’s called "combat stress," and the U.S. military and mental health professionals have learned it’s best to deal with it in the field, as close as possible to the fighting.That’s where Iveland comes in.She and three others from her company spent a week earlier this month in Sadr City, a Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad where eight U.S. soldiers were killed and 52 were wounded.Iveland and her team arrived at the scene a few hours after the first casualties and began working with the group that lost four of 10 men."Seeing them suffer has been difficult," Iveland said. "Many have seen a lot of combat and been through traumatic experiences, and it can be hard to see them in such emotional pain."Iveland, who has been in Iraq since February, said working with the soldiers involved in the Sadr City ambush is the hardest thing she’s done yet."Many of the guys we talked to lost their leaders, fellow soldiers and best friends in that ambush," she said.She describes the most challenging part of her job as trying to get the word out to the different military units that Combat Stress Control resources are available."Many of the soldiers we have come in contact with did not even know that they could get help in dealing with the combat and occupational stress they were dealing with," Iveland said.From the most difficult experiences, Iveland is finding the deepest professional rewards."Seeing the changes in the soldiers from when we first meet them can be remarkable," she said. "Dealing with the soldiers who were involved with the ambush at Sadr City has been my most rewarding experience."When we left that group after spending a week at their camp, so many of them thanked us for being there, and several said they did not know how they could have made it through without us."When asked if her work is putting her in harm’s way, she said, "We are definitely in harm’s way. We are hit by mortars and rockets on a consistent basis. One rocket hit about 75 feet from our house and blew out all the front windows. Luckily no one was hurt."When she and her co-workers are not in their quarters, they carry M-16s, just in case."Any time we go out on convoys we have to be especially aware of our surroundings," she said. "We constantly scan for IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and suspicious activity."Iveland, daughter of Dan and Deb Iveland, Luverne, is a 1996 graduate of Luverne High School and has a psychology degree from Moorhead State University.While Deb speaks of her daughter’s work with pride and respect, she tries to downplay her deepest maternal worries about her daughter’s safety."It makes me so proud of Jenn being in it, but it’s a bad situation that makes her do it," Deb said.She said they communicate via e-mail once every three or four days, but if five or more days go by without word, the anxiety mounts.But they try not to let on how much they worry.Iveland told her parents how important it is to her that they’re supportive of her work there. She said a young 19-year-old in her unit shared with the group prior to departure that she was struggling with the upcoming leave, because every time she talked to her parents all they did was cry."So, I have to bite down on the insides of my cheeks to keep from crying, because I know she needs us to be strong," Deb said."With everything she’s dealing with over there, the last thing she needs to worry about is her family at home."So they pray. And the community prays.Deb said people in her church and around Luverne tell her all the time how much they’re thinking about Jenn and praying for her.She said she believes with every prayer spoken, God releases an angel."I told Jenn one time that she’s carrying a lot of weight on her shoulders," Deb said, "but it’s not just the weight of the world, it’s all those angels perched on her shoulders."She said "Pray For Our Troops" magnets are now available in Luverne at the Luverne Style Shop, Pizza Ranch and Korner Gas Stop.

By Jolene FarleyA projected $150,000 budget shortfall for next year at Hills-Beaver Creek schools was the main topic of a Monday School Board meeting.Superintendent Dave Deragisch and members of the finance committee met previously to determine possible areas to cut or increase revenues. They came up with $117,750 in tentative reductions or fee increases."We talked about some cuts that would adversely affect the students, and they’ve been tossed out and thrown away," Deragisch said.During his presentation Deragisch attributed the budget shortfall to:
No increase in state funding,
A $155,000 special education payment to Luverne,
More than $700,000 decrease in H-BC’s levy since 2002,
Unfunded mandates by federal and state governments.
Increased costs (payroll, insurance),
Increased heating bills,
Increased cost of fuel for buses,
Increased cost of property and workmen’s compensation insurance and
Increased requisitions the last two years.According to Deragisch, solutions to the budget problem include:
reducing costs,
eliminating duplicate spending (share resources),
making sure employees are aware of spending and
looking for alternate sources of funding for special projects.Essentially the district must either cut expenses or raise revenues, and the main ways to raise revenue is to increase enrollment or raise the operating referendum, according to Deragisch. Each new student brings approximately $5,500 in state aid to the district. "It’s really scary when I hear we have a family moving away, and there goes three kids," Deragisch said.The Hills-Beaver Creek district currently has an operating referendum of $229 per student. An operating referendum is levied to help pay for the daily operation of a school district. The average operating referendum in the area is $531 per student, according to Deragisch. The highest operating referendum in the state is $2,330 per student, with 87 percent of the districts levying.If the board agreed to all the cuts and fee increases, it would bring the district within $32,250 of a balanced budget for this year. "In reality this is a one-year fix, we can do it this year, next year it won’t be $117,000," said board member Ann Boeve.No decisions were made at Monday’s meeting. Deragisch asked the board to talk to district residents and be ready to vote on the budget at the Monday, May 10, meeting.Specific examples of possible ways to increase revenues are:
Decrease requisitions by $15,000 by delaying the purchase of new science textbooks,
Decrease office supplies use by $1,500.
Reduce the staff development budget by 67 percent or $8,400.
Reduce school board staff development (travel and education) by $2,000.
Reduce the computer budget by $5,000.
Reduce the substitute teacher budget by $1,000.
Raise lunch prices by 10 cents to add $4,500 in revenue.
Reduce the Learning Readiness budget by $3,000.
Raise driver’s education fees from $150 per student to $180 and increase revenues by $600.
Eliminate the high school early morning coverage. Deragisch or Dean of Students Steve Wiertzema will cover to save $1,500.
Reduce office personnel to save $15,000.
Reduce a teacher position to save $20,000.
Extend the computer contract for a savings of $___???___
Raise athletic fees from $20 to $30 per activity with a $100 maximum per family to increase revenues by $1,500.
Raise Community Education fees to increase revenues by $2,000.
Increase facility use fees by 25 percent to raise $1,500.
Attrition (retirements) will decrease expenses by $30,000.
Reducing bus use (including using smaller vehicles, possible coach drivers, charging more for Little Patriot and Learning Readiness busing) will reduce expenses by $3,000.

By Sara StrongLuverne residents will be able to review the new Comprehensive Plan and offer feedback at an upcoming public meeting.So far, consultants and a core group of citizens have worked on the plan with city staff. There were initial public meetings that involved detailed input from numerous participants. Public input has waned since the development of Fledgling Field into a new Dingmann Funeral Home stopped being an issue. (Dingmann will instead relocate to the current Medical Center location in 2005 after the new hospital and clinic campus is done.)Although most aspects of the plan are set, the important next step is actually following it. The last one wasn’t referenced much by city staff or elected and appointed officials.The Comprehensive Plan is a document that provides a guide for city leaders to use in zoning and development issues. It also helps them recognize needs of growth and economic development in the present and future. The Comprehensive Plan has an approximate useful life of 10 years. Key points of the plan include:
Making Freeman Avenue more of a thoroughfare through Luverne to downtown and the City Park. This would involve connecting Koehn and Hatting to Freeman.Transportation is important for ease of flow for local people and those passing through or stopping in Luverne.Consultant Rusty Fifield said, "Traffic volume is the key, not speed."He said many residential streets are used for arterial access roads, which isn’t ideal. Fifield said the city will have to plan a few select streets to be easier to travel, thus eliminating the "unintended residential cut-through paths." The busiest street is Highway 75, or Kniss Avenue. Main Street gets almost as much, though.Fifield said, "You really have a lot of traffic moving through downtown."That’s a good thing for retail, but the downtown traffic should be funneled to a few key streets, he said.
Maintaining parks. Fifield said, "The nice thing about talking about parks in Luverne is there isn’t much to say. You have a really nice park system here."He said the idea of a bison park near the interstate to draw people to town is a good idea to follow through on.
Plan for growth on the north and south of town. The edges of Luverne are tailored for highway business, commercial and industrial growth in the current plan.Near the new hospital and clinic campus, the city wants to control growth so retail and other businesses don’t relocate to the north of town and vacate the rest of the town.After a period of public review, the city will decide whether to approve the final Comprehensive Plan document. "There’s more to using the document than simply adopting it," Fifield said. "We’re not coming with the granite tablets off the mountain. We recognize that you may want to amend it."