By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne-Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth wrestling team spent Saturday competing in the Montevideo tournament.

L-H-BC-E filled eight weight classes for varsity competition at the event, and the Cardinals compiled 78 points to place seventh in a nine-team field.

L-H-BC-E topped MACCRAY (67 points) and Dawson-Boyd (51) in the team standings.

Pine Island won the team championship with 187.5 points. Windom-Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin was second with 180 points and was followed by Canby (178.5), Willmar (120), West Central Area (106) and Montevideo (93).

A pair of Luverne High School seniors placed second individually to highlight the team’s appearance at the event.

Joel Evans and Cody Jagow went 2-1 to place second at 215 and heavyweight respectively.

Evans earned a berth in the championship match by pinning Willmar’s Chad Emery in 56 seconds before sticking WCA’s Tom Lohse in 4:41.

Canby’s Dan Full denied Evans a title by pinning the Cardinal at 3:02 in the championship match.

Jagow opened the tournament with a 6-3 decision win over WCA’s Morgan Taylor before earning a berth in the finals by pinning Willmar’s Ryan Rieckman (no time available).

PI’s Bryan Breidall took the title at 275 by pinning Jagow in 1:41.

Cardinal Canaan Petersen placed third at 152 pounds with a 3-1 record.

Petersen pinned Montevideo’s Will Fultz in 3:58 before being pinned in overtime by PI’s Dana Schroeder.

Petersen bounced back to notch a 10-1 major decision win over MACCRAY’s Rob Grussing before pinning Willmar’s Lance Hauser in 3:40 during the third-place match.

Ruston Aaker placed fourth at 135 with a 1-2 record, Dusty Seachris was fifth at 140 with a 2-2 mark and Aric Uithoven was sixth at 130 with a 0-3 record.

Anthony Boyenga and Justin Mann went 0-2 at 125 and 145 without placing.

L-H-BC-E wrestles in Worthington Jan. 9.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls’ hockey team went 1-2 and placed sixth out of seven teams at the Fairmont Tournament late last week.

The Cardinals dropped a one-goal decision to the host team in the tournament opener Thursday before securing a six-goal victory over Northfield Friday. Luverne wrapped up the event by losing a five-goal game to St. Peter-Le Sueur-Henderson Saturday.

Luverne, 6-5 overall, hosts Waseca Saturday before traveling to Marshall Tuesday.

SP-L-H 7, Luverne 2
SP-L-H scored the game’s first seven goals and coasted to a five-goal win during the Fairmont Tournament finale Saturday.

Cassie Hansen recorded a hat trick and Alissa Koenig added a pair of goals to lead a SP-L-H squad that outshot Luverne 38-12 to victory.

Hansen netted a pair of power-play goals and Koenig added another as SP-L-H opened a 3-0 lead in the first period.

Koenig and Lindsey Seaven scored in the second period to make it 5-0, and Stacy Gross and Hansen netted the first two goals of the third period to cap the scoring for SP-L-H.

Natalie Domagala scored unassisted goals with 4:30 and 30 seconds remaining to keep the Cardinals from being blanked.

Alyssa Wieneke made 31 saves for the Cards.

Luverne 11,
Northfield 5
Outstanding offensive performances from Domagala, Jenny Braa and Stephanie Morgan proved to be the highlight of Luverne’s six-goal victory over Northfield Friday.

The LHS trio combined efforts to record a total of 17 points in the lopsided contest.

Domagala had eight points (five goals and three assists, Braa five (three goals and two assists) and Morgan added four (two goals and two assists).

A five-goal run by the Cards in a wild first period set the stage for a 6-2 advantage for LHS at stanza’s end.

Domagala (an assist going to Braa) and Northfield’s M.Robinson exchanged goals to start the game before the Cards gained control with their five-goal run.

Morgan netted her goals to give LHS a 3-1 lead it would never relinquish. Domagala and Braa received assists for Morgan’s go-ahead tally. Domagala picked up an assist for her second goal.

Braa netted an unassisted goal to make it 4-1 before Domagala scored twice with Morgan receiving assists for both tallies to give LHS a 6-1 cushion.

Robinson scored for Northfield at the end of the first period and early in the second stanza to make it a 6-3 game before Sadie Dietrich and Braa countered with goals for Luverne to give the Cards an 8-3 advantage.

Dietrich’s goal was unassisted. Maggie Vanden Hoek received an assist for Braa’s power-play goal.

Northfield’s R.Veland scored a power-play goal late in the second period and teammate L.Peterson opened the scoring in the third period to trim Luverne’s advantage to three goals at 8-5.

Luverne responded with a goal from Braa that was set up by Domagala before Domagala capped the scoring with a pair of unassisted tallies to give the Cards a six-goal victory.

Luverne had a 51-19 advantage in shots on goal. Wieneke made 14 saves in the net.

Fairmont 5, Luverne 4
The Cardinals opened the tournament by dropping a one-goal decision to the host team Thursday.

Luverne sported 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the game’s first period, but Fairmont’s J.Kilpatrick scored four goals for Fairmont to set the stage for victory.

The Cards led 1-0 when Domagala scored after being set up by Dietrich with 9:19 remaining in the first period before Kilpatrick knotted the score with an unassisted effort at 5:44.

Domagala answered with an unassisted goal 39 seconds later to give the Cards a 2-1 edge, but Kilpatrick tied the game with an unassisted goal at 2:50 mark of the opening period before giving Fairmont a 3-2 edge with a short-handed effort with 26 seconds left.

Kilpatrick scored an unassisted goal in the second period before teammate N.Feyder found the net at the 14:36 mark of the third period to give the hosts a 5-2 advantage.

Dietrich scored an unassisted power-play goal with 4:22 left to play and Braa added an unassisted goal with 1:22 remaining to make it a one-goal difference in the end.

Luverne outshot Fairmont 34-24 in the game. Wieneke made 19 saves.

Luverne junior post Josh Lange goes through his pre-shot routine at the charity stripe during Friday’s Cardinal Holiday Classic game against Lakeview in Luverne. Lange scored 15 points to lead the Cardinals to their first victory of the season against the Lakers. The Cards fell to Canby in the championship game Saturday. Photo by Lori Ehde.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne boys’ basketball team split games to place second during the annual Cardinal Holiday Classic staged Friday and Saturday.

The Cardinals opened the tournament by beating Lakeview by 12 points Friday before falling by 12 points to Canby in Saturday’s championship game.

Luverne, 1-6 overall, hosts Redwood Valley Friday and Windom Tuesday.

Canby 49, Luverne 37
The Cardinals made a bid to win the tournament championship before succumbing to a late surge by the Lancers Saturday.

Trailing 29-23 entering the fourth quarter of play, Luverne gained a one-point advantage when Andy Stegemann drained a three-point shot with four minutes remaining in the game.

Canby, however, met the challenge by outscoring the Cards by 13 points the rest of the way to win by 12.

"They were able to wear us down with their athleticism," said Cardinal coach Tom Rops. "They were a big team, and they got some buckets inside late in the game. We had to foul them in the end, and they made five of six free throws."

Luverne was able to stay with the Lancers most of the game before Canby pulled away late in the fourth quarter.

The Cards played their way to an 8-7 edge in the first quarter before Canby countered with a 14-7 scoring advantage in the second quarter to gain a 21-15 halftime lead.

The Lancers maintained their six-point lead (29-23) in the third quarter before outscoring LHS 20-14 in the final eight minutes of play.

Josh Lange led a Luverne team that remained in the game by playing good defense with 13 points.

"We played a zone defense, and we played it very well. We just didn’t get enough of our shots to drop to get a win," Rops said.

Box score
Studer 2 0 0-0 4, Pick 1 1 2-4 8, Kuhlman 1 2 1-2 9, Lange 6 0 1-3 13, Stegemann 0 1 0-0 3.

Team statistics
Luverne: 17 of 60 field goals (28 percent), four of nine free throws (44 percent), 19 rebounds, 11 turnovers.
Canby: 19 of 46 field goals (41 percent), five of eight free throws (63 percent), 28 rebounds, 12 turnovers.

Luverne 59,
Lakeview 47
The Cardinals posted their first win of the season when they disposed of the Lakers by 12 points during the tournament’s first round Friday.

After battling Lakeview to a draw at seven in the first quarter, Luverne outscored the Lakers in each of the final three periods while snapping a five-game losing streak to open the campaign.

"We hung in there with them very well," Rops said. "We rebounded really well in this game, and we finally started getting some offensive rebounds."

Luverne moved in front to stay by outscoring the Lakers 15-9 to take a 22-16 lead at the intermission.

With Jake Studer and Jesse Kuhlman leading the way, Luverne was able to pad its lead in the second half.

Studer scored all 11 of his points in the final two periods. Kuhlman scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter.

Luverne led by nine points (38-29) after outscoring Lakeview 16-13 in the third period.

The Lakers did climb to within five points of the Cards with 2:30 remaining in the fourth quarter, but LHS met the challenge by outscoring Lakeview by seven points the rest of the way.

"We kept our composure when things were not going well in the fourth quarter and hung on to win the game. A lot of kids contributed to this win with eight guys scoring in the game," Rops added.

Lange led the charge for LHS by scoring 15 points and collecting six rebounds. Kuhlman had two steals.

Box score
Studer 1 2 3-4 11, Kuhlman 1 1 4-4 9, Schmidt 1 0 3-3 5, DeGroot 1 0 0-0 2, Boelman 4 0 0-0 8, Lange 7 0 1-2 15, Pick 0 1 3-4 6, Stegemann 0 1 0-0 3.

Team statistics
Luverne: 20 of 49 field goals (41 percent), 14 of 17 free throws (82 percent), 30 rebounds, 14 turnovers.
Lakeview: 17 of 43 field goals (40 percent), eight of 14 free throws (57 percent), 18 rebounds, 15 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
Ellsworth’s perfect start to the boys’ basketball season came to an end with a loss to Mitchell Christian in the championship game of the Mitchell (S.D.) Holiday Tournament Saturday.

After posting 16- and 31-point wins over Woonsocket and White Lake Thursday and Friday respectively, the Panthers came up four points short in the title tilt against Mitchell Christian.

The loss snapped a nine-game winning streak the Panthers put together to start the season, but EHS coach Ken Kvaale didn’t seem bothered by losing a game.

"Hopefully, it will serve as a good lesson for the kids, and we can build it into something positive," he said.

The 9-1 Panthers host Russell-Tyler-Ruthton tonight and Edgerton Tuesday. Ellsworth plays in Hills Friday.

MC 71, Ellsworth 67
The Panthers came up on the short end of a score for the first time this season when Mitchell Christian nipped them by four points in Saturday’s championship game.

MC opened an eight-point halftime lead and maintained it at the end of the third quarter.

The Panthers made a bid to catch MC when Dylan Kvaale drained a three point shot to make it a 69-67 game with 20 seconds remaining, but MC scored the final two points while knocking the Panthers from the unbeaten ranks.

"We had a little trouble defensively in this game," said coach Kvaale. "Our field goal percentage was good, but we were not getting the defensive stops we needed. MC deserves some of the credit for that. They had a nice inside-outside game."

MC led 24-21 after eight minutes of play before outscoring EHS 19-14 in the second quarter to sport a 43-35 halftime lead.

The score was 56-48 at the end of the third quarter before the Panthers closed the gap to four points with a 19-15 scoring edge in the fourth quarter.

Dylan Kvaale, who scored eight points in the fourth quarter, netted 21 counters in the game. Curt Schilling had a triple-double with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists.

Both Kvaale and Schilling were named to the all-tournament team.

Box score
Schilling 8 0 5-6 21, Jenniges 2 0 1-1 5, Janssen 0 1 0-0 3, Kvaale 4 3 4-4 21, Sieff 1 1 0-0 5, Deutsch 2 0 2-2 6, Brommer 0 2 0-0 6.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 50 percent field goals (totals were not available), 12 of 13 free throws (92 percent), 33 rebounds, 12 turnovers.

Ellsworth 69, WL 38
The Panthers earned a berth in Saturday’s championship game by destroying White Lake by 31 points in Friday’s semifinals.

Ellsworth controlled play from the beginning of the game to the end by outscoring WL in every quarter.
"We played a pretty good game," said coach Kvaale. "Our defense was good, and we shot the ball well."

The Panthers led 15-9 after eight minutes of play before increasing the difference to 13 points (30-17) with a 15-8 scoring cushion in the second quarter.

A 13-6 scoring advantage in the third quarter gave the Panthers a 20-point lead (43-23) heading into the final stanza when they went on a 26-15 scoring spree to win the game by 31 points.

Ellsworth made 15 of 22 field goals (68 percent) in the second half. Blake Brommer scored 10 of his team-high 19 points in the second half. Schilling added eight of his 16 points.

Schilling led EHS with 14 rebounds. Kvaale and Schilling passed for nine and eight assists respectively. Brommer and Travis Jenniges charged three steals each.

Box score
Schilling 7 0 2-2 16, Jenniges 2 0 0-0 4, Janssen 0 1 0-0 3, Kvaale 4 0 0-1 8, Sieff 2 1 1-2 8, Deutsch 4 0 1-2 9, Brommer 2 4 3-3 19, Farrell 0 0 2-2 2.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 27 of 49 field goals (55 percent), nine of 12 free throws (75 percent), 33 rebounds, 15 turnovers.

Ellsworth 84,
Woonsocket 68
The Panthers opened the tournament by securing a 16-point win over Woonsocket Thursday.

After the teams battled to a draw at 18 in the first quarter, EHS started to assert itself and went on to outscore Woonsocket in all three of the remaining periods.

The Panthers outscored Woonsocket 27-20 in the second period to gain a 45-38 halftime lead.

EHS increased its lead to 11 points (62-51) with a 17-13 scoring edge in the third quarter before outscoring Woonsocket 22-17 in the fourth quarter to prevail by 16.

"Woonsocket probably was the third best team in the tournament," said coach Kvaale. "Our defense was the key in this game. We hit our first two shots of the third quarter, our defense was working, and the rest of game was history."

Brant Deutsch had a double-double for EHS with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Deutsch also distributed seven assists.

Schilling scored 20 points, pulled down eight rebounds and passed for eight assists. Brommer had 11 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals, while Jenniges added 13 points and four recoveries.

Dylan Kvaale scored 11 of his 14 points to help the Panthers put the game away in the second half.

Box score
Schilling 6 1 5-8 20, Jenniges 6 0 1-2 13, Janssen 1 1 0-0 5, Kvaale 3 2 2-2 14, Sieff 0 0 1-2 1, Deutsch 7 1 3-5 20, Brommer 1 3 0-0 11.

Team statistics
Ellsworth: 31 of 59 field goals (53 percent), 12 of 21 free throws (57 percent), 37 rebounds, 12 turnovers.

Members of the Luverne High School girls’ basketball team gather around head coach Jason Phelps during a break in the action in Friday’s Cardinal Holiday Classic game against Canby. Luverne defeated the Lancers and came back the next night to defeat Westbrook-Walnut Grove to win the tournament title for the first time in the event’s five-year history. Photo by Lori Ehde.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne girls’ basketball team won its own holiday tournament title for the first time in the event’s five-year history by winning back-to-back games Friday and Saturday.

The Cardinals snapped a six-game losing streak to start the season by rolling to a 27-point victory over Sleepy Eye in Friday’s opener.

Luverne followed its first win by stunning Westbrook-Walnut Grove by six points in Saturday’s championship game.

The wins give the Cards a 2-6 record heading into the 2003 portion of their schedule. Luverne hosts Redwood Valley Friday before traveling to Windom Tuesday.

Luverne 50, W-WG 44
The Cardinals shocked basketball fans throughout Southwest Minnesota when they topped the Chargers by six points in Saturday’s championship game of the Cardinal Holiday Classic.

W-WG entered the game with a perfect 8-0 record, but Luverne rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter by outscoring the Chargers 20-4 in the final eight minutes of play to prevail by six.

"We did a good job of pressuring their guards in the fourth quarter," said Cardinal coach Jason Phelps, a graduate of W-WG High School.

"Our defensive pressure and our rebounding were the keys in this game."

Luverne’s play under pressure in the fourth quarter was another key.

The Cardinals faced a 40-30 deficit heading into the final stanza, but an 11-0 run featuring points from five different players gave the Cards an unlikely 41-40 edge.

W-WG regained the lead as the period progressed, but Cardinal guard Maggie Kuhlman gave LHS the lead for good when she converted a field goal with 50 seconds remaining. Kuhlman and Krista Wynia drained two free throws each in the final minute to put the game out of reach.

Luverne got off to a good start by outscoring the Chargers 12-7 in the first quarter, but W-WG countered with a 20-5 scoring advantage in the second period to gain a 27-17 halftime lead.

Both teams scored 13 points in the third quarter before the Cards clinched their first holiday tournament title with their fourth-quarter rally.

Kuhlman, who scored a season-high 22 points for the winners, led LHS with five steals and four assists.

Danielle Loosbrock pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds for the Cards. Tera Boomgaarden and Serena Franken added four and three steals respectively to Luverne’s most impressive effort of the season.

"I thought we played very well defensively," Phelps said. "We made some of the same mistakes we have been making all year on offense, but we had our best defensive and rebounding game of the season by far this year."

Box score
Williams 1 0 0-0 2, Kuhlman 4 4 2-3 22, Boomgaarden 2 0 0-0 4, Tofteland 0 0 4-8 4, Klosterbuer 0 0 0-0 0, Franken 3 0 0-0 6, Stewart 0 0 0-0 0, Wynia 3 0 2-2 8, Looosbrock 2 0 0-0 4.

Team statistics
Luverne: 19 of 49 field goals (39 percent), nine of 13 free throws (69 percent), 30 rebounds, 24 turnovers.
W-WG: Field goals unavailable, 11 of 29 free throws (38 percent), 20 rebounds, 20 turnovers.

Luverne 61, SE 34
The Cardinals broke into the win column for the first time this season when they strolled to a 27-point victory over Sleepy Eye in Friday’s tournament opener.

Luverne displayed a physical style of play that had been missing in the six-game losing streak to start the season, and Phelps said that was the key to victory.

"We were more physical in this game than we had been all year. Our aggressiveness helped us get to the free-throw line. We shot 23 free throws in the game, which was the most free throws we’ve shot in one game this season."

The Cards stumbled out of gate as SE scored the game’s first eight points, but LHS regrouped to outscore the visitors 17-4 the rest of the first quarter to sport a 17-12 lead at period’s end.

With Kuhlman leading the way by scoring seven of her team-high 13 points in the second quarter,
Luverne expanded its lead to 14 points by halftime (34-20) after outscoring SE 17-8 in the stanza.

Any thoughts of a second-half rally by SE were erased when the Cardinals scored the first nine points of the third period to open a 43-20 advantage.

SE did trim the difference to 19 points (47-28) by the end of the third quarter, but the Cards outscored SE 14-6 in the final period to prevail by 27 points.

"One of the big differences was we made eight of nine free throws in the second half. They went to the line nine times in the game and didn’t make one," Phelps added.

Rachel Tofteland came up big for LHS in the second half by scoring eight of her 12 points in the third and fourth quarters.

Loosbrock snared 10 rebounds for the winners. Franken registered four steals.

Box score
Williams 2 1 0-0 7, Kuhlman 2 2 3-5 13, Boomgaarden 3 0 0-0 6, Tofteland 4 0 4-5 12, Klosterbuer 0 0 0-1 0, Franken 2 0 0-0 4, Stewart 1 1 4-6 9, Wynia 3 0 0-2 6, Loosbrock 2 0 0-4 4.

Team statistics
Luverne: 22 of 70 field goals (31 percent), 11 of 23 free throws (48 percent), 42 rebounds, 20 turnovers.
SE: Field goals were unavailable, zero of nine free throws (zero percent), 27 rebounds, 25 turnovers.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne boys’ hockey team fell from the unbeaten ranks while competing at the New Prague Tournament late last week.

Luverne went 1-2 at the four-team, round-robin event. The Cardinals placed third overall with their 1-1 mark.

The Cardinals opened the tournament by losing a one-goal decision to St. Peter-Le Sueur-Henderson Thursday before falling by seven counters to the host team Friday. Luverne avoided a winless tournament experience by nipping Worthington by one goal Saturday.

Luverne will take a 7-2-1 record into the 2003 portion of its schedule. The Cardinals host Waseca Saturday before playing in Marshall Tuesday.

Luverne 6,
Worthington 5
Tony Smedsrud’s fourth goal of the game gave the Cardinals their lone victory during the New Prague Tournament Saturday.

The score was tied at four entering the third period before the Cards moved in front 5-4 with a goal by Thomas Gluf. Andy Hess received an assist for the tally.

Worthington tied the game at five as the period progressed, but Smedsrud settled the issue with 13 seconds remaining when he scored after being set up by Gregg Fuerstenberg.

The teams scored two goals each in the first and second period.

The Trojans led 2-0 in the first period before Smedsrud netted an unassisted goal and Hess found the net with assists going to Gluf and Dan Park to knot the score at two.

Eric Lammert set up Smedsrud’s second goal of the game that gave LHS a 3-2 edge in the third period, but Worthington scored the next two goals to gain a 4-3 lead.

Smedsrud tied the game at four before the second period was complete.

Brad Van Santen stopped 20 of 25 shots in goal for the Cards. Luverne had 31 shots on goal in the game.

NP 8. Luverne 1
A solid New Prague squad controlled play while recording a seven-goal win over the Cardinals Friday.

The hosts scored twice in the game’s first period to gain an early lead before scoring three goals in the second and third stanzas to win handily.

Luverne’s lone goal of the game came in the second period, when Tyler Elbers found the net after being set up by Hess and Park.

Cody Gehrke made 29 saves in 37 attempts as Luverne’s goalie.

The Cardinals had 16 shots on goal in the game.

SP-L-H 2, Luverne 1
The Cardinals received their first setback of the season when they took on St. Peter-Le Sueur-Henderson in Thursday’s opening round.

SP-L-H opened a 2-0 lead by netting goals in the first and second period before withstanding a late challenge by Luverne to win by one.

Luverne, which was limited to 15 shots on goal in the game, did record a counter in the third period.

Hess netted an unassisted goal to cap the scoring.

Pat Bennett made his first varsity start as a goalie for LHS. Bennett stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced in the game.

By Lori Ehde
Sometimes the best way to start a new year is to reflect on the previous 12 months.
Last year in Rock County won’t be remembered for press-stopping news events, but the 2002 editions of the Star Herald clearly identify several ongoing issues that combine to make it a standout year in local history.

Growing meth problem
The growing meth problem tops the list of Rock County’s most important stories of 2002.

The pages of the Star Herald last year were peppered with stories of meth lab seizures and meth possession and use arrests, and finally the Thanksgiving week arrest of several meth dealers.

It’s at the top of the list because of its far-reaching effects on not only the addicts but on their families, schools, community and law enforcement.

Frustrated and fearful for their children’s lives, a group of parents and concerned community members started meeting to offer each other support, to educate the public and to improve communication with law enforcement and schools.

Parents: The Anti-Drug and Violence Task Force formed in September and continues to play an active role in combating and preventing meth use.

Community policing
In light of Rock County’s growing meth problem, 2002 presented the perfect timing for a new approach to law enforcement.

Community Policing emphasizes problem solving and partnerships with the community — its public and private organizations and its residents.

An assessment of the Rock County Sheriff’s Department by the Upper Midwest Policing Institute identified strengths and weaknesses in the department that its members are already working to address.

Election 2002 eventful
Just in time for new community policing ideals, the Sheriff’s Department has a new leader following the 2002 elections.

After 12 years at the helm, Rock County Sheriff Ron McClure will relinquish his duties to Sergeant Mike Winkels, who easily won the county’s sheriff election, 2,663-1,800.

Winkels said the campaign was a good way for the two candidates to mingle with the public. "I told Ron, the one good thing about this campaign is that you’re out talking to people, and I’m out talking to people, and that’s what community policing is all about."

Another local race that received a lot of attention was the auditor-treasurer’s race.

Margaret Cook, who’s worked in the Auditor-Treasurer’s Office since 1978, announced she’d retire at the end of the year prompting a flurry of interested candidates for the job.

The September primaries resulted in current Auditor-Treasurer employees Gloria Rolfs and Lisa Ahrendt-DeBoer on the ballot.

They beat out Nic o’Lena Bosch, Candace Reese, Ona Reker and Johnna Bowron- Ahrendt for a run at the general election.

Rolfs earned the honor by a narrow margin in November with 53.91 percent of the votes, compared with DeBoer’s 46.03 percent.

Hospital plans to build
Increasingly finding that its current facilities aren’t adequate to deliver modern medical services, Luverne Community Hospital and Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System spent much of 2002 looking for solutions.

An architect’s study showed it would be more cost-effective to build new than to remodel, so hospital administration announced in early November its plans to build a new facility somewhere else in Luverne.

Those plans, however, are contingent on finding a suitable buyer for the current hospital and medical center structures.

The county, with its potential need for new law enforcement space, seemed an obvious buyer, but just last month, the County Board announced it would not buy the hospital buildings.

That decision was based on a recommendation by its architects, that remodeling the structures to make them suitable for county use would be too costly for it to be a viable project.

The hospital continues to seek a suitable occupant for its current facilities so the new building project can move forward.

Tri-State to stay
Another exciting announcement was that Tri-State Insurance, a company that’s been in Luverne for nearly 100 years, is staying in Luverne after all.

Now known as Continental Western Group Tri-State Region, it was about to move to Sioux Falls following reorganization of its parent company, W.R. Berkley Corp., Greenwich, Conn.

The city of Luverne had been unsuccessful in its efforts to keep Continental Western Group in Luverne, but when Berkley Corporation announced last fall that Berkley Information Services would also leave Luverne, efforts resumed to keep those jobs in town.

Berkley signed a deal with Luverne Economic Development Authority in which Berkley signed another 10-year lease on the BTS building and LEDA contributed $750,000 to add 8,500 square feet to the existing BTS structure.

CWG employees, about 100 of them, will move into the BTS building later this month, vacating the $1 million Tri-State Building, which was given to LEDA as part of the agreement with Berkley.

LEDA is now working to recruit a suitable business for the Tri-State building.

By Sara Strong
The Palace Theatre is about to resurface as a local entertainment hotspot.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 10 through Jan. 12, will bring a movie to the historic theater.

"We really want to look at our audience and get movies that will fit a wide range of interest — families and older people," said Tammy Makram, director of the Council for Arts and Humanities in Rock County.

The upcoming movie hasn’t been chosen yet, but will come through Universal Studios because of licensing agreements.

Soon, the options will open for the Palace and more studios will show movies there.

"We want people to see films they wouldn’t have been able to see in Sioux Falls," Makram said.

Independent movies, well-reviewed or award-winning movies are a goal for Makram to get in the Palace. Classics, such as Alfred Hitchock productions, are also a priority.

Makram will work as part of a committee, including Ben Vander Kooi, who’s taken on the Palace as a sort of pet community project.

"We hope people look to the Palace as a place for events, plays, performances or talent shows," Vander Kooi had previously said about the theater.

The Blue Mound Area Theater Board has owned the Palace Theatre for less than a year, and said its goal was to keep it open for public enjoyment.

The movies (other than the first one) will be shown the first weekend of the month. Vander Kooi said he hopes the first weekend routine becomes habit for people wanting to see movies.

The Palace’s marquee, newspaper ads, radio spots and the Carnegie Cultural Center and the Carnegie Web site will announce the upcoming movies.

An important part of the new movie nights, Makram said, is that the community feels it has a say in what’s shown.

"We appreciate community input too. Let us know what movies that we should try to get in the Palace," Makram said.

A good way to reach the movie committee is through Makram at the Carnegie Cultural Center at 283-8294 or through e-mail at infor@rockartsrock.com.

Up next at the Palace
The Green Earth Players have set a date for their 25th anniversary Variety Show Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 8 and 9.

Prudence Johnson, a jazz singer who takes stage with a single pianist, will perform at 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 23.

"We are very fortunate to get her because she’s going national and is working with a big management company," Makram said,

Tickets can be purchased through the box office at the Carnegie Cultural Center during regular hours 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays.

New Minnesota license plate available for those ‘proud to be a veteran’

Minnesota veterans now have the opportunity to purchase a special license plate and simultaneously donate to the World War II Veterans’ Memorial Fund.

Minnesota’s Driver and Vehicle Services Division and the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs have announced that the new veteran’s license plates are now available.

The plates feature a prominent United States flag and the legend, "Proud to Be a Veteran."

The license plates may be displayed on cars, vans, pickup trucks and recreational vehicles.

A special plate application is available at all deputy registrar locations or on DVS’s Web site www.mndriveinfo.org.

To be eligible to purchase the plates, one must have participated in active military service in a branch of the United States armed forces and received an honorable discharge.

Unlike the situation with other veteran plates, there is no restriction regarding dates of service. (Previous Minnesota "Vet" license plates were specific to individual conflicts, except for the Ex-POW and Congressional Medal of Honor plates.)

Purchase of the new Veteran plates requires a one-time, $30 contribution to the World War II Veterans Memorial Fund, a $10 plate fee and a $7 filing fee. Applicants are asked to provide a certified copy of their separation papers (DD214 or equivalent) at the time of application.

The Minnesota World War II Veterans Memorial is currently in the planning stages; it will be built and placed on the Minnesota Capitol grounds near the already completed Korean and Vietnam Memorials.

Those two memorials varied in with the Korean Memorial costing approximately $600,000, and the Vietnam Memorial costing approximately $900,000. The World War II memorial is anticipated to cost approximately one million dollars.

The Memorial Fund is currently about halfway to its goal. Contributions to the memorial fund are being accepted from veterans and general public at this time.

More information on the memorial is available at the Minnesota Veterans Affairs Web site at www.mdva.state.mn.us

Rock County Veterans Service Officer Ron Hansen can be reached at 283-5061.