Fall has definitely arrived and I welcome it with open arms, even as I am putting on my jacket! After enduring the hot, humid weather that we had so much of this summer, the cool, crisp air of fall punches my energy button and it is time as my energy level is very low when it gets so hot and humid. I think fall is my favorite time of the year. Our entire landscape changes completely. The sky is a beautiful shade of azure blue and the leaves on the trees are changing from green to yellow, gold and scarlet making a picture perfect landscape.There are a few things that I will not miss from summer, however. Among them are the flies and the insects, including the Asian beetles that have been haunting us for several days. Those things are but a memory for this year and Mother Nature has her new attire on and it makes a beautiful world for all of us to see and to enjoy. Fall is a beautiful time of the year, but it never lasts long enough for me. So, take the time now to take a tour of the countryside and enjoy the beauty that surrounds us for such a short time, as we all know that Old Man Winter is restlessly awaiting his turn to change our landscape. Now is the time to get those last minute chores done out-of-doors. Steen Senior Citizens met on Monday afternoon at the Steen community building. Jennie Schouwenburg was the hostess. Margaret and Orville Harberts, George, Iowa, were Friday evening visitors in the Henrietta Huenink home. Bertha Bosch, Mildred Keunen and Jo Aykens visited Ann Wynia at the Rock Rapids Care Centre in Rock Rapids Friday afternoon. Dries Bosch underwent same day surgery at Sioux Falls Surgical Center on Wednesday. Have you driven down the main street of Steen lately? It is definitely getting a face lift! Keith Elbers has purchased the building that was once a barber shop and later, a grocery store, which is across the street from the Post Office. The building has new shingles and new siding and who knows what else? It is a great improvement for our town. Thanks Keith!Patriot Partners will hold their Fall Carnival from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, in Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary gym. There will be carnival games, a silent auction and much more. See you there. The Bosch family reunion was Saturday evening at Luverne Pizza Ranch.Gregg and Anita Bosch, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, came Thursday, Oct. 2, to visit his parents, Dries and Laura May Bosch, and her parents, Art and Henrietta Boeve. They attended Erin’s volleyball game that evening as did her parents, Ann and Glen Boeve, and other family members. Gregg and Anita returned home on Sunday. A Psalm and hymn sing at Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center in Luverne was on Wednesday. Those that attended from Steen were Bill and Bertha Bosch, Mildred Keunen and Jo Aykens. On Thursday, Oct. 9, the kindergarten class from Hills-Beaver Creek Schools will have a field trip to the Pumpkin Patch. The junior high volleyball tournament for the Hills-Beaver Creek Schools will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 11, in the Beaver Creek gym. Tickets are $1 each.Dries Bosch entered Luverne Community Hospital on Friday and was able to return to his home on Monday. Our economy has been a predominant topic for discussion for a long time. As I think back to the dirty ‘30s when our economy was very poor, I can’t help but think that even then when we had less money, we could purchase much more with what we had than we can today. With these thoughts on my mind I found some interesting thoughts that you might enjoy. Titled, Comments made in the year 1957.o"I’ll tell you one thing, if this keeps going this way we’re going to be unable to buy a week’s groceries for $20."o"Have you seen the new cars coming out next year? It won’t be long before $5,000 will only buy a used car."o"If cigarettes keep going up in price, I’m going to quit. A quarter a pack is ridiculous!"o"Did you hear the Post Office is thinking about charging a dime just to mail a letter?"o"If they raise the minimum wage to $1 nobody will be able to hire outside help at the store."o"When I first started driving, who would have thought gas would some day cost 29¢ a gallon. Guess we would be better off leaving the car in the garage."o"Kids today are impossible. Those ducktail haircuts make it impossible to stay grounded. Next thing you know, boys will be wearing their hair as long as the girls." o"Did you see where some baseball player just signed a contract for $75,000 a year just to play ball? It wouldn’t surprise me if some day they will make more than the president."o"I never thought I’d see the day all kitchen appliances would be electric. They are even making electric typewriters now."o "It’s too bad things are so tough nowadays. I see where a few married women are having to work to make ends meet." These are a few thoughts from 1957. I can remember in the 1930s when gasoline was 19¢ a gallon! Some women who cleaned houses received a $1 a week. I could even share more, but enough is enough of any good thing. Hope you enjoyed the comparison and how some things became a reality and are here to stay.

Barbie dolls are a threat to morality, according to the religious police of Saudi Arabia. The Associated Press reported recently that Saudi Arabia’s Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice contends, "the revealing clothes of the toy are offensive to Islam." The committee also has serious issues with Barbie’s figure, a common criticism in our own country ever since the fashion doll was introduced by Mattel Inc. in 1959. Reading about the proposed, nationwide ban on Barbie dolls reminded me of a column I wrote several years ago in defense of Barbie as an educational toy. Perhaps her critics should be reminded of the valuable lessons she teaches people of all ages: Appearance is everything. Life is little more than getting dressed up and then changing clothes again. There are bad haircuts. Whether you’re a doll and your hair has been butchered by an eight-year-old wielding blunt scissors and fingernail clippers or an adult beautician with a bad attitude, the top of your head may land up looking like a well-worn scrub brush. If your legs or arms are bent the wrong way enough times, they will eventually fall off. (This is why many people refuse to sign up for aerobic exercise classes.) Even if they are reattached, the arms and legs will never work the same. It’s impossible to apply lipstick to one-fourth inch lips with a full-sized tube. It’s difficult to find shoes that fit. If you find such a pair, they won’t last long. They will either be vacuumed up or you will lose them. If you meet a boy, such as Barbie’s boyfriend Ken, whose hair looks like plastic, it probably is. When your younger brother rips off your Barbie’s head, it’s no sign he will grow up to be a criminal psychopath. If he suspends Barbie from a second story window and threatens to drop her, there’s a slight chance he won’t spend most of his adult life in correctional facilities. It’s impossible to pull a tight sleeve up your arm if your fingers are permanently outstretched. No matter how nice they look when you buy them, button-up blouses leave gaps in the most embarrassing places. If you buy a pink, plastic convertible, the wheels will fall off within two weeks. It’s difficult to sit in a car if your knees don’t bend. It’s important to have big feet. If your measurements in inches are 4-2-3 and you have half-inch feet, you will continually fall on your face. Names are important. A girl named Skipper will never be taken seriously. It’s almost a certainty she will never be named to the U.S. Supreme Court. If someone draws on your skin with indelible ink, you’re marked for life. All brides are beautiful. When you’re covered with crayon and ink marks and your hair sticks out in all directions, a wedding dress will work wonders. Finally, Barbie dolls teach us a very important, philosophical lesson. Even if someone grabs you by the ankles, dips you headfirst in a toilet bowl and pretends it’s a swimming pool, always come up smiling. That’s good advice for anyone experiencing a particularly bad day — keep on smiling.

10 years ago (1993)"The Hills City Council voted unanimously to appoint George Langford to fill the remainder of Greg Spath’s term which will expire after 1994."25 years ago (1978)"Six local residents have announced their candidacy for two Hills City Council positions whose member terms expire Dec. 31.Pat Demuth, Everett Fikse, Tony Bosch, Greg Spath, Julian Helgeson and incumbent Bob Hellerud filed their candidacy with City Clerk Delmar Larson before the Oct. 10 filing."50 years ago (1953)"The long awaited job of putting up new street lights has become a reality now, as Interstate Power Company’s crew arrived here Monday with all the equipment necessary to make the installation. The brackets which hold the light had just arrived, despite the fact Interstate had ordered them along in February or March of this year."75 years ago (1928)"Quite a number drove to Sioux Falls last Sunday afternoon to watch the World Series on the Argus Leader scoreboard. They were Mr. and Mrs. E.H. Rudloff, Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Athas and family, and Elmer and Martin Ehde."100 years ago (1903)"On Monday, State Superintendent Olson apportioned $815,000 among the school districts of Minnesota, the apportionment being about $2 for each pupil who has fulfilled the requirements by attending 40 days."

Susie Kelderman, 78, Hills, formerly of Luverne, died Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003, at Tuff Memorial Home in Hills. Services were Friday, Oct. 3, at American Reformed Church in Luverne. The Rev. Dave Sikkema officiated. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery, Luverne. Susie Smidstra was born to Charles and Reka (Kracht) Smidstra on Dec. 5, 1924, at Edna, Iowa. She was raised in the Rock Rapids area and attended rural country school. After her education, she stayed on the family farm to work and help her mother with her younger siblings.She married Henry Kelderman on Aug. 15, 1946, at her parent’s farm. The couple moved to Doon, Iowa, until 1952. They moved to Canton, S.D., and farmed for the next two years. They moved to Hardwick in 1954, and in 1956, moved to a farm northeast of Luverne. Mr. Kelderman was diagnosed with Bright’s kidney disease in 1961. He died in October of 1962 at the age of 39. She did cleaning for area homes and businesses and worked for Luverne Trucking. She moved to Tuff Memorial Home at Hills in 2000 after a series of massive strokes. Mrs. Kelderman enjoyed writing poetry, gardening, reading and watching old westerns on TV.Survivors include four children, Shirley (Jerry) Johnson, Henry "Butch" (Gloria) Kelderman, all of Hills, Roger (Colleen) Kelderman, Omaha, Neb., and Dave Kelderman, Moose Lake; 10 grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; two brothers, Albert Smidstra, Rock Rapids, and Ben (Lilace) Smidstra, Luverne; one sister, Wilma (Joe) Jeffers, Luverne; one sister-in-law, Albertha Smidstra, Rock Rapids; and many nieces and nephews. Mrs. Kelderman was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Henry, one brother, Bert Smidstra, two sisters, Jennie Vander Weerd and Jessie Wiersma, and a granddaughter’s fiancé, Allan Lawrence. Roste Funeral Home, Hills, was in charge of arrangements.

Marie Hensch, 100, Hills, formerly of Luverne, died Thursday, Oct. 2, 2003, at Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center in Luverne. She was the mother of Ardith Tofteland, Luverne.Services were Monday, Oct. 6, at St. John Lutheran Church rural Boyden, Iowa. The Rev. Michelle Rowell officiated. Burial was in St. John Lutheran Cemetery. Marie Metta Hundt was born to Peter Herman and Anna (Winter) Hundt on July 16 1903, at Wheeler Township in rural Lyon County, Iowa. She attended school at Wheeler No. 9 through the eighth grade. She continued her education at St. John Parochial School for two years and then attended Wartburg Normal College in Waverly, Iowa, graduating in 1925. She began teaching at Wheeler No. 9 in rural Lyon County. She taught there for 10 years from 1925-1935, teaching all eight grades. For the next five years, she taught fifth through eighth grades at St. John Lutheran School. She married Walter Hensch on June 9, 1940, at St. John Lutheran Church in Boyden. For the next two years they farmed near Hartley, Iowa. They then farmed in the Boyden and Hull area until their retirement. While on the farm, she milked cows by hand, gardened, baked, preserved food and raised large flocks of geese and ducks. They moved to Rock Rapids, Iowa, in 1984. Mr. Hensch died in 1988. She continued to live in Rock Rapids until moving to The Oaks in Luverne in 1998. In 2001, she moved to Tuff Village in Hills and lived there until September 2003 when she moved to Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center in Luverne. She attended three two-month-long summer German language school sessions which prepared her for translating early records of area churches. In her retirement years, she translated records of several area churches. Mrs. Hensch was a lifelong member of St. John Lutheran Church in Boyden where she had served as Sunday School superintendent and was active in the Dorcas Society. Survivors include her two daughters, Ardith (Walter) Tofteland, Luverne, and Ruth (Duane) Auckland, Des Moines, Wash.; two grandchildren, David Tofteland and Anne Tofteland and her husband, Daniel Holtey, all of Edina; and one-great-grandchild, Bjorn Holtey. Mrs. Hensch was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Walter, and infant daughter, Margaret, a brother, Henry Hundt, and a sister, Elsie Kruse.Roste Funeral Home in Rock Rapids, was in charge of arrangements.

‘Seabiscuit’ shows at the Palace this weekendOne of the year’s most popular movies will be showing at the Palace Theatre this weekend.Based on a true story from the 1930s, The Internet movie database describes "Seabiscuit" this way:"A half-blind ex-prizefighter (Toby Maguire) and mustang breaker (Chris Cooper) team up with a millionaire (Jeff Bridges) and his rough-hewn, undersized horse, Seabiscuit.The men bring Seabiscuit to incredible heights, helping him earn Horse of the Year honors in 1938."Every person I have talked to that has seen this movie raves about it.You don’t have to be a racehorse person to totally enjoy it.October 3, 4, 5"SEABISCUIT" at the Palace 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday 2 p.m Sunday matineeIf you’re going to have a heart attack, where should it be?Well, not in Mississippi. According to the sixth annual Health Grades Hospital Quality in America Study.The study showed that the quality of cardio care varied greatly from one part of the country to another.After ranking nearly 5,000 hospitals, on 26 common procedures and conditions, the study found the quality of care was significantly improved in northern and sparsely populated states.Although Minnesota came in a respectable 12th on the ranking, our neighboring South Dakota was 10th and the 1st place state in the nation was awarded to North Dakota.According to Samantha Collier, Health Grades vice president of medical affairs, the report shows that a person has a 55 percent increased chance of dying if he or she had a balloon angioplasty or other similar heart procedure done in Texas, rather than New York.For balloon and angioplasties, New York was the best performing state and Alaska was the worst.For more information on the survey, go to www.healthgrades.com.Do we have any famous trees in Rock County?It may seem like an odd concept, but the American Forest and Xcel Energy Corp. is sponsoring a Registrar of Famous and Historic Trees.According to a recent press release from Xcel Energy, a famous or historic tree is "A tree that elicits honking from passing motorists, a tree whose seedling came to the U.S. in a matchbox direct from Norway, or a tree named after a Civil War battle horse."Those are some examples of trees along with many others that have been added to the list of trees on the National Registrar of Famous and Historic trees.The list will be published in 2004.The group hopes to have between 50 and 100 nominees from Minnesota by the end of the process later this year.To qualify for inclusion on the list, the tree must have some of the following criteria:
It figures in local legend, lore or common perception.
The tree is located at or near the home of a person who played a role in national development or was recognized for writing, invention, life’s work or other significant contributions to the state and/or nation.
It is located at or near the site of a historical event that affected the lives or the citizens of the day, regionally or nationally.
It was planted by an individual or group of regional or national significance.
It has been depicted in sketches, journals, photographs or writings related to a historical event.Annie’s Mailbox gets response from LuverneRecently the new editors of Annie’s Mail Box, formerly the Ann Landers Column, took a survey about cheating spouses.In Tuesday’s column published in the Argus Leader, the two new editors wrote "Writing to us apparently was quite therapeutic, and it’s obvious you want to be heard. We learned a great deal from you, and we appreciate the education. Here’s more:"Of the 16 responses listed, one was from Luverne, Minn. The Luverne respondent wrote: "My ex-husband had several affairs. I am now married to a wonderful man, and I’ve told him that if I had been Mrs. Bobbitt, I’d have dropped that thing in the garbage disposal on my way out the door."Whoever our local writer is, she still seems to be holding some hostility inside.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

Look for whole storybehind test data forNo Child Left BehindThe intent of George W’s No Child Left Behind Act (other than to appear education-friendly) is good: to ensure all children have access to quality education.But the testing process to make sure districts are making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for the Report Card may jeopardize all the law’s best intentions.Districts earning five stars on the Report Card are recognized in national press releases and qualify for additional funding.Those who don’t make the grade are also published and threatened with funding cuts and worse if they fail to meet AYP.Scores are presented to the public with little explanation about their implications.In the first round of testing, many local schools met AYP with five-star ratings. Luverne School District, however, met AYP with a humble three stars, raising eyebrows among locals who read the report.Without diminishing the achievements of our neighboring five-star districts, what those schools don’t have that Luverne does have is a large and growing special needs student population.Success story behind the failing gradeWhile many schools sat have offered the bare minimum to meet state and federal special education mandates, Luverne, rose to the challenge and now has a superior curriculum to rival most schools in the state.With this reputation — largely due to referrals from South Dakota children’s hospitals — special needs students are open-enrolling to Luverne, and families with special needs children are moving here to benefit from the curriculum.As Luverne’s overall student population is declining, its numbers of special needs students are increasing. At last count, 12 to 13 percent of the Luverne’s students have special education needs.Why is all this important to note? Because it’s the success story behind Luverne’s lowly three-star label.The No Child Left Behind Act requires districts to test at least 95 percent of its students. Luverne did that and lost a couple stars as a direct result of including special needs students in the test.Here’s where the legislation could use a little fine tuning.To penalize districts like Luverne’s for building a strong special needs curriculum defeats the intent of the law. The star rating system becomes a useless tool for measuring quality education.As the next Report Card is published, I’d offer a gentle reminder that reporting such data without interpretation makes it a dangerous yardstick for measuring and comparing quality education among districts.In the rush to Leave No Child Left Behind, I would hope that we don’t lose sight of each district’s individual efforts to provide quality education to its all children — despite what the Report Card might be saying.Show me the moneyIf George W. is really interested in leaving no child behind, I’d suggest he find a way to fund some of the federal special education mandates that local districts have been shouldering for nearly30 years.When Congress passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act in 1975, it promised to fund 40 percent of those mandates. It currently funds about 14 percent.If Luverne received that promised 40 percent, the district would have roughly $234,000 more in revenues each year.Just think what that kind of funding could do to ensure No Child Is Left Behind.

By Jolene FarleyWhen Brenda and Jayme Plimpton, Hills, attended this year’s Miss America Pageant they were rooting for Miss Nevada. Miss Nevada, Christina O’Neil, is Brenda’s niece. The competition was broadcast live Saturday, Sept. 20. Brenda and Jayme left for Atlantic City, New Jersey, on Wednesday, Sept. 17, and returned Sunday, Sept. 21.Christina, Carson City, entered the Miss Nevada pageant hoping to win scholarships to further her education. Her dream is to teach music at the university level. "That’s why she went into the competition, because it’s a scholarship competition," Brenda said.After hearing Christina had captured the Miss Nevada title, Brenda and Jayme immediately decided to attend the Miss America pageant. The duo became two of ten family members and friends Christina invited that were able to attend the pageant."It was just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Jayme and I to do that alone," she said. Plimpton said when she was younger she admired the poise and intellect of the contestants. "People think of it as just a beauty pageant," she said. "But this (the pageant) is much, much more."Brenda and Jayme’s family passes allowed them to attend a Parent’s Breakfast on Thursday and to tour the backstage area of the pageant. They attended special events, rehearsals and the preliminary judging of the 51 women.Brenda said because of strict restrictions on contestants about whom they could talk to, they didn’t see the contestants offstage much. Brenda speculated the rules were due to safety precautions and a rigorous schedule. Friday was a parade on the Boardwalk. All the Miss America contestants in the parade wore shoes decorated to represent their states. Brenda said the tradition is to yell, "Show me your shoes," as the contestants go by.She also said they saw KELO television weatherman Shawn Cable several times during their trip. Cable and the South Dakota Survivor contestant, Mitchell, were in the parade. Saturday, before the final pageant, Brenda and Jayme attended a formal dance gala for parents and guests. Preparing for competitionAfter winning her title, Christina was sent to Utah by the Miss Nevada Organization to polish her image. She worked with a voice coach to streamline her opera performance for the talent portion of the contest. "They had to make her style a little more viewer friendly," Brenda said. "She dealt with trainers to sculpt her body… She spent weeks working with teams of people on the question-and-answer segment."It is ironic that Christina’s singing talent was discovered much earlier in her life during voice and speech lessons she took to improve her language skills. She was born with a cleft pallet and endured many surgeries to correct the problem, according to Brenda. Her vocal talent blossomed and she began singing opera, and later, became a music teacher. Christina’s platform issue for the pageant was ending teen dating violence, a cause that evolved from her work as a teacher in Carson City. "When I researched how students in this situation could get help, I was shocked to find a lack of information," Christina said in an earlier interview. "I decided to make a difference by providing these young people with information about dating violence."Although Christina didn’t win the pageant, Brenda described it as an amazing opportunity. "Truly, truly there are no losers because each contestant comes away with grand scholarship funds," Brenda said. Christina will have the opportunity to promote her platform and other causes in Nevada throughout her reign as Miss Nevada. Stormy weatherOne harrowing part of the trip was the onset of Hurricane Isabelle in Atlantic City, which closed down Thursday night because of the weather.Brenda and Jayme watched the Atlantic Ocean rise and "get pretty wicked" from their hotel on the ocean."It (the hurricane) threatened to cancel the parade," she said. Best part of the tripJayme said one of the highlights of the trip was watching American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken’s live performance. She also enjoyed visiting the ocean.Brenda liked seeing how the pageant was produced. "Being a part of the rehearsals was amazing," she said. "… How they do the cameras, just to watch the whole setup behind the scenes."

By Lori EhdeA misunderstanding about Sioux Valley’s negotiations with its primary care physicians is threatening the fund-raising campaign for Luverne’s new hospital and clinic campus.Particularly, residents are concerned about the rumor that local doctors are being asked to take a 40 percent salary reduction in order for the new facility to be built.Several physicians Tuesday clarified that the rumor is confusing two completely separate issues.Sioux Valley is negotiating a new contract with primary care physicians in all its system clinics and hospitals.But those negotiations have nothing to do with Luverne’s new hospital and clinic currently under construction.Dr. Richard Morgan agreed to speak on the record from his own perspective."To say that they’re taking money out of my pocket to build the new hospital simply isn’t true," he said Tuesday night.He said he’d also heard the rumor and that he was disappointed by its potential effect on fund-raising efforts for the new hospital."I think that’d be a disaster," he said about people withdrawing their support due to the rumor."I feel so bad that this is out in the public. It’s totally inappropriate that we air our dirty laundry this way."He explained that Sioux Valley is still honoring all doctors contracts currently in effect."I think it’s important for people to understand we are negotiating with Sioux Valley," Morgan said, "and all the primary care doctors in the system are involved — not just Luverne’s doctors."He said physician’s salaries are subject to decreased Medicare reimbursements and increased health care costs."It was a huge pay cut that hit us this last quarter, and for some younger doctors who maybe aren’t as rooted … some may look elsewhere to practice," Morgan said. "I’ve devoted a lot of my life to this town, and I’d sure hate to see this get all mixed up. …We’re certainly hoping we can work this out so we can continue to provide the type of medical service we have for years. I’m pretty optimistic we can."