I think my mother is trying to get even with me for all the trouble I caused her as a teenager. This past week she suffered a life-threatening crash that caused a great deal of trauma within in the Bremer family-unit. She was staying the night at her sister’s house in Ocheyedan. At approximately 3 a.m. she woke up and determined that a little excursion to the bathroom might be in order. Half asleep, she arose and headed toward the bedroom door. Suddenly and without warning … BAM! … she fell and hit her head on the corner of the dresser, tearing the skin on her forehead in three directions (and chipping the dresser.) Blood poured everywhere. She couldn’t move and simply wanted to lie there on floor. But the instinct for survival is strong so she slowly inched her way down the hall, struggling to get to the phone. She made it and hung desperately onto the edge of the desk, attempting to dial 911. Her mind couldn’t quite grasp the three-digit sequence. However, her mind did grasp the seven-digit number of Evelyn Claus, her best friend since 8th grade. Somehow she dialed and asked Evelyn to call 911. The ambulance screamed into the driveway and whisked her off to the Sibley Hospital, 10 miles away. Back in Luverne, the Bremer children slept peacefully while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads (and their mother nearly bled to death.) Having nothing better to do at 3 in the morning, Dr. Miedema and his trusty staff were ready to rumble when Mother arrived. They had a lovely visit, while the doctor put 47 stitches in jagged cuts of her forehead. At approximately 10 a.m. brother Gordy and I tentatively made our way to her room. There we viewed the disaster area that had once been our mother. Our jaws dropped open. She looked like Rocky Balboa in the 15th round with Apollo Creed (in Rocky 1). I wanted to cry, but maintained a stiff upper lip. Dr. Miedema arrived on the scene. He was filled with trepidation because Mother warned him about me. (OK, one time I threw a fit in the hospital when I didn’t think she was getting proper care.) Dr. Miedema explained the delicate intricacies of stitching a wound that is open to the skull. I cringed, but viewed his handiwork and had to admit that he did a lovely job. As the rest of the family trickled in, each person had the same expression of horrified disbelief. Now, a week later, she’s still a little purple around the edges, but basically back to being my mother again. I think this pretty much evens the score for my share of youthful terrors. I shudder when I think of what she might have planned for Dwight and Gordy … they were much worse than I. New at the library this week is "To The Nines," by Janet Evanovich. Stephanie Plum may not be the best bounty hunter in beautiful downtown Trenton, but she's pretty good at turning bad situations her way ... and she always gets her man. Her cousin Vinnie (who's also her boss) has just posted bail on Samuel Singh, an illegal immigrant. When the elusive Mr. Singh goes missing, Stephanie is on the case. When she interviews a McDonald's employee who knew him, he's shot as she stands there. Then rose-and-carnation bouquets with very sinister notes start appearing and a few more bodies turn up with bullet holes. What she uncovers is far more sinister than anyone imagines and leads to a group of killers who give new meaning to the word hunter.In a race against time that takes her from the Jersey Turnpike to the Vegas Strip, Stephanie Plum is on the chase of her life. This is nonstop action, high-stakes suspense, and sheer entertainment.

The following was printed in the Rock County Herald July 18, 1924:Rock County as it was 50 odd years agoBeing a paper on pioneer life as read by Rep. J.N. Jacobsen at Hills Old Settler’s Re-union"Permanent settlement began in the southwest corner of the county in 1867. A few years before that time, visiting trappers had operated in the county, visiting streams for the taking of pelts of the fur-bearing animals which were then to be found. We have data concerning the operations of only a few of these. Of those who later became residents of the county, one of the first white men who looked upon its soil was Robert Douglas, who passed through Rock County with the soldiers in pursuit of the Redskins, after the Indian uprising of the early ‘60s. He reported many elk and deer in the country and was responsible for naming Elk Slough in Magnolia Township. James A. Rice, later sheriff of Rock County, in company with G.M. Scott, trapped along Rock River and traded with the Indians in the fall of 1866 and spent more than a month within the county’s boundaries. During their stay on the river in 1866, deer and antelope, and one day they saw two buffalo which had come back before bidding adieu forever. The trappers liked the looks of the country, and Mr. Rice, in after years, told of his and his companions’ speculations as to the length of time before the country would be settled. "We knew it was as nice a country as ever laid outdoors," He said, "but we had no idea that it would be settled in 50 years."This article is a long one so it will be continued next week. 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.

Some family legends seem to last forever. After many years, my relatives are still chuckling about one young couple, who headed for their newly carpeted bedroom at the end of a long workday. The husband settled into bed first. Instead of joining him, his young bride, who later related the story, began picking up conspicuous pieces of white, fluffy stuff from the dark blue carpeting. Her search seemed to go on indefinitely as she bent down here and there, picking up the lint balls as if they were so many strawberries. Her impatient groom finally blurted out, "What’s the deal, are you giving up sex for lint?" It now appears the nameless, young woman (who may or may not have been my sister-in-law) chose the handpicking lint method over standard vacuuming for a good reason. She must have foreseen a recent vacuum cleaner study at the University of Nebraska. According to Time magazine, researchers at the school decided to figure out why so many women patients at their clinic complained of angina (heart disease-related chest pain) while vacuuming. In addition to finding that vacuuming is "indeed a taxing task" — a no-brainer for anyone who has ever vacuumed — the researchers recommend that women with heart disease use self-propelled upright cleaners. Their solution is easier said than done. It’s not human nature to trade in any household appliance before its time. As in any long lasting relationship based on unconditional loyalty, we fail to see the gradual changes brought about by time. Many homemakers use clothes washers without final spin cycles, clothes dryers that sound like cement mixers and toasters that char bread slices beyond recognition. To further complicate matters, a good number of appliance owners live with appliance revivalists, who religiously believe that all appliances have life after death. According to their beliefs, no appliance should be thrown out before its time. Another used electrical cord, an on-off switch from another broken-down appliance and limitless amounts of electrical tape are all they need to keep the faith. After years of tinkering done to their systems, some appliances barely resemble their original factory designs. They gradually evolve into mechanized mutants. Another problem with the University of Nebraska study is that many women don’t know if they have heart disease. They’re too busy vacuuming or operating other household appliances to make an appointment to find out. An alternate solution might be the one used when we planned to carpet the living room of a farmhouse. After scattering brown carpet samples on the dirt driveway, we came up with a perfect match. As a result, dirt tracked in from the outside couldn’t be seen and risking a heart attack while vacuuming became less of a threat. Actually, any solution would be better than being found on the living room floor in an unflattering pose with a vacuum cleaner handle still clenched in one hand and a dust rag in another. It would be much more satisfying to meet one’s end while biting into a large wedge of chocolate fudge, surrounded by dust bunnies. Before the dust settles on the Nebraska study, we might want to think twice before we do any more vacuuming.

I am writing to express my concern about the apparent lack of regard for citizens, budget concerns that the city council displayed at Tuesday night’s (July 22) council meeting. Many citizens attended the meeting. In fact, so many that some were standing out in the hallway. It should have been clear to the council that a majority was there to voice concerns over staff reductions in the Public Works Department and other budget cuts. It was difficult to determine when those in the audience had a change to address the council. The council did hand out an agenda, but it was not easy to ascertain where to voice concern over the budget. There was a resolution amending the 2003 budget, but no specifics on the budget were mentioned and approval of this amendment took less than thirty seconds. I believe most of those in attendance thought that discussion on the budget would take place when they came to the section on "Council Requests – General Discussion." Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Once the council finished reporting on the agreements between the city of Luverne and Sioux Valley Hospital, a motion was made to adjourn and the meeting ended abruptly. So abruptly that I didn’t even realize they had adjourned. I will acknowledge that we most likely weren’t allowed to speak because our requests would have come too late to be put on the agenda. This is due in part to the fact that the city council meetings must follow some order and set of rules. I think the city council needs to be mindful of that fact. That, along with the large public turnout for the meeting, should have prompted the council to find out what was on the minds of the citizens in attendance. Is the council that afraid of listening to concerns that we, the public, have on staff reduction and other budget cuts that they are proposing? I thought the council was elected to listen to our concerns. Apparently, I was wrong. Sadly, I suppose that the only way that they will listen is with my vote. Unfortunately, for some city employees, that is and will be too late.Troy ThoneLuverne, Minn.

To the Editor:A great Norwegian girl is looking for a host family for the coming school year. She is Inger S., age 17, very athletic; loves long jumping, was in Scouts. She is from southern Norway, Mandal, in Vest Agder, where her father is a doctor and her mother is a nurse. She has an older sister and younger brother. Contact phone 1-800-522-4678 and ask for McKenzie.Rosa Tofteland Johnson Luverne

To the Editor:A great Norwegian girl is looking for a host family for the coming school year. She is Inger S., age 17, very athletic; loves long jumping, was in Scouts. She is from southern Norway, Mandal, in Vest Agder, where her father is a doctor and her mother is a nurse. She has an older sister and younger brother. Contact phone 1-800-522-4678 and ask for McKenzie.Rosa Tofteland Johnson Luverne

The state’s largest small business advocacy group, National Federation of Independent Business, would like to thank Rep. Doug Magnus for his support of legislation to revise the Joint and Several Liability law. The revision of joint and several liability is one of the most critical tort reforms of all and his vote went a long way toward restoring fairness in our system. This revision will change the standard of fault from 16 percent to 51 percent or more for a party to be forced to pay all the damages in personal injury suits or other tort claims. In our view, it is extremely unfair to force someone who is as little as 16 percent at fault to pay an entire award, which in some cases may cause significant financial strain on these parties or even bankrupt them. Thanks to Rep. Magnus’s vote only those who are 51 percent or more at fault will now be forced to pay the whole award. We also appreciate the fact that he was willing to make the necessary procedural votes to get this bill to the governor’s desk. Thanks to his efforts we have taken a big step toward combating lawsuit abuse in our state and have addressed a great inequity in our system of jurisprudence.Mike HickeySt. PaulState Director

Over the past few weeks, there have been a lot of negative comments about certain law enforcement officials in our community. This letter is not by any stretch of the imagination saying that these complaints are not warranted or real. I don’t know the facts behind the stories. I will be the first to say that our civil rights must be protected. I have personally never had a problem with any of the law enforcement in our area. I have, however, been given assistance a time or two.The purpose of this letter is to say thank you. Thank you to all the peacekeepers in our community.These people, more often than not, have a thankless job. The pay isn’t that great and the hours are absolutely lousy. They never know what they will be facing when they pull a car over or respond to a domestic call. People, when under the influence of drugs or alcohol, do things they wouldn’t normally do. And these people can be dangerous. The families of the officers pray that the phone doesn’t ring from the time they leave for work until the time they come home. Nobody likes getting tickets. I know I don’t. But I have a family. And I am grateful that these people are out there protecting them. Again, to everyone who works in the field of law enforcement, thank you. Your efforts are noticed and appreciated.Tom HarmsLuverne

We would like to thank the city publicly for the beautiful park they have created where our family home used to stand. The play equipment and landscaping in the picnic area at Evergreen Park are outstanding. Al would be particularly pleased to see the many trees that were preserved as well as his old windmill turning silently in the breeze. Our families have been back to enjoy the park, to create wonderful new memories to add to the innumerable ones we have of Evergreen Farm. A special thank you to Darrell Huiskes for shepherding the project. It is a job well done. Thank you very much. Karen Christensen Kullnat Joel Christensen Marge Christensen