Elsie I. Kluever, 88, Worthington, died Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2002, at Worthington Regional Hospital.
Services were Monday, Sept. 16, at St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Worthington. The Rev. Bob Schulze officiated. Burial was in Worthington Memorial Gardens Cemetery.

Elsie Hohensee was born to Otto and Marie (Fenske) Hohensee on July 5, 1914, in Bigelow Township. She was raised and attended school in Bigelow.

She married William H. Kluever on April 1, 1933, at St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Worthington. After their marriage the couple lived in Bigelow. In 1949, they moved to the farm west of Bigelow. She worked as a cook in the Bigelow School for more than 20 years. In 1959, they moved to the farm north of Bigelow. They retired in 1976. In 1996,they moved to Worthington.

Mrs. Kluever was a lifetime member of St. Matthews Lutheran Church in Worthington. She enjoyed spending time and decorating in her home.

Survivors include two sons and daughters-in-law, Douglas (Luetta) Kluever, Bigelow, and Darwin (Marie) Kluever, Garrison; one daughter and son-in-law, Karen (Robert) Meester, Worthington; 13 grandchildren, Renee, Janell, Kim, Tamera, Scott, LeAnn, Kristi, Dawn, Jackie, Mark, Carmen, Shane and Andrea; 17 great-grandchildren; one brother, Dale (Sharlene) Hohensee, rural Worthington; and two sisters, Emma Rockman, Sibley, Iowa, and Dorothy (Vernon) Petrich, Sanborn, Iowa.

Mrs. Kluever was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, William, in December 1996, one son, Robert, in September 1985, an infant granddaughter, Michelle, in 1964, four brothers, Paul, Carl, Ed and Walter Kluever, and five sisters, Clara Haack, Anna Johnson, Gertrude Butcher, Minnie Rockman and Ruth Woolridge.

Dingmann Funeral Home, Worthington, was in charge of arrangements.

Milo Schomacker, Hartford, SD, died Tuesday, Sept. 24.Visitation begins Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 1 p.m. at Miller Valley View Chapel. Services will be Friday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. at Zion Lutheran Church, rural Hartford. Burial will be Saturday, Sept. 28 at 10 a.m. at the Kenneth Lutheran Cemetery. Miller Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Myrl Ripley, 83, Jasper, died Wednesday, Sept. 18 at Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls. Services will be Saturday, Sept. 21 at 10:30 a.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne. Visitation will be Friday, Sept. 20 form 2 to 8 p.m. with the family present from 6 to 8 p.m. Burial with military honors will be at Maplewood Cemetery.

Hilda Carsrud, 81, Luverne, died Wednesday, setp. 18 at Redeemer Residence Nursing Home in Minneapolis. Visitation will be Sunday, Sept. 22 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Dingmann Funeral Home, Luverne. Services will be Monday, Sept. 23 at 10:30 a.m. at St. John Lutheran Church, Luverne, with Rev. Gary Klatt officiating. Burial will be in Maplewood Cemetery.

Margaret Evelyn Cooney, 93, Luverne, died Saturday, Aug. 31, 2002, at Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center in Luverne.

Memorial services were Wednesday, Sept. 4, at United Methodist Church in Luverne. The Rev. Bart Fletcher officiated. Burial was in Maplewood Cemetery, Luverne.

Margaret Moore was born to Clarence and Ada Moore on July 15, 1909, in LeMars, Iowa. She graduated from high school in LeMars. She graduated from Iowa State TeachersÕ College, Cedar Falls, Iowa, where she received a degree in elementary education. She taught kindergarten for five years at the Northern Iowa School for Special Need Children in Glenwood, Iowa.

She married John Cooney on June 29, 1935, and together they owned and operated a dry cleaning plant in Glenwood until 1938 when they moved to Luverne where Mr. Cooney, an avid hunter and fisherman, could enjoy more outdoor activities. She taught kindergarten in Luverne from 1954 to 1974.

Mrs. Cooney was a member of United Methodist Church in Luverne. She was a life member of the National Teachers Association, a 40-year member of the National Delta Kappa Gamma Society, and a 50-year member of Eastern Star. She served two years on the Luverne School Board, and was a member of Pink Ladies, the local hospital auxiliary.

Survivors include one son, Judd (Diane) Cooney, Pagosa Springs, Colo.; and one daughter, Cloyce (David) Smith, Luverne; three grandchildren, Lisa (Mike) Kraetsch, Pagosa Springs, Carrie (Chad) Overgaard, Luverne, and Mike Smith, Highland Park, Ill.; and four great-grandchildren, Zane, Cole and Magan Kraetsch and Nathan Overgaard.

Mrs. Cooney was preceded in death by her husband, one grandchild, Blaine Cooney, and one great-grandchild, Paige Augusta.

Memorials are preferred to Mary Jane Brown Good Samaritan Center, Luverne.

Dingmann Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

By John Rittenhouse
The Luverne tennis team continued its winning ways by posting a pair of road wins since last Thursday.

The Cardinals rolled to a five-point win in Springfield Thursday before toppling Worthington by three points in Worthington Monday.

Luverne, 8-3 overall, will take a five-game winning streak into today's home match against Pipestone Area. The Cards travel to Sleepy Eye and Marshall Friday and Monday respectively.

Luverne 5,
Worthington 2
The Cardinals got the better of the Trojans in what was a tightly contested battle in Worthington Monday.

Two of Luverne's five team points came from three-set victories. LHS also lost a three-set match in doubles.

"There were a lot of good, close matches," said Cardinal coach Greg Antoine. "Like they have most of the season, our first three singles players kind of cruised to wins. Samantha Gacke won in three sets at No. 4 singles in match that lasted nearly three hours. Our No. 2 and No. 3 doubles teams played 36- and 32-game matches (respectively)."

With Gacke topping Kassi Buysman by 6-3, 6-7 and 6-4 counts at No. 4, Luverne was able to sweep WHS in singles play.

Becky Antoine downed Lisa Jackson 6-4 and 6-3 at No. 1, Rachel Tofteland upended Lindsay Meier by 6-2 and 6-3 scores at No. 2, and Gabe Van Dyk secured 6-3 and 6-2 wins over Lindsey Radloff at No. 3.

Luverne's doubles win game from the No. 3 team of Andraya Gacke and Alyssa Klein, who prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 against Traci Nelson and Joann Loosbrock.

Worthington's Rachel Kohler and Shelby Morrow won a hard-fought 6-7, 7-6, 4-6 match from Lexi Jauert and Brittany Boeve at No. 2 doubles.

Trojans Nadine Wolf and Megan Ahlquist bested Jenny Braa and Nikki Van Dyk by 6-4 and 7-5 scores at No. 1 doubles.

Luverne 6,
Springfield 1
The Cardinal girls recorded their fourth consecutive victory by topping the Tigers by five points in Springfield Thursday.

After making some lineup changes that seemed to work out, and working some things in practice that should make the Cardinals better, LHS coach Antoine feels things continue to improve for the players and their performances.

"We switched Brittany Boeve from No. 4 singles to No. 2 doubles, and we moved Samantha Gacke into the No. 4 singles spot. It seemed to work out very well. Samantha won her first varsity singles match, and Brittany and Lexi Jauert played well as a team while winning at No. 2 doubles. The other nice thing is that you can see the players are putting some of the practice things into the games," he said.

Gacke, who recorded 6-3 and 6-1 wins in her match against Amy Wellner, played a role in Luverne's 4-0 sweep in singles competition.

Antoine notched a pair of 6-2 wins over Amy Moe at No. 1, Tofteland secured 6-4 and 6-2 wins over Rachel Roiger at No. 2, and Van Dyk was a 2-6, 6-0, 6-2 victor against Ali Tews at No. 3.

Jauert and Boeve won a three-set match (6-2, 4-6, 6-4) over Krista Hagert and Michelle Tomschin at No. 2 doubles, while Cardinals Braa and Nikki Van Dyk saddled Amanda Davidson and Mindy Lipetzki with a pair of 6-1 setbacks at No. 1.

Springfield's point came from the No. 3 doubles team of Emily Carruthers and Ann Roiger, who recorded 6-2 and 6-3 wins over Klein and Andraya Gacke.

By John Rittenhouse
Cross country teams from the Star Herald coverage area captured team championships at the Worthington Turkey Trot Sunday.

The Luverne girls emerged as the team champion of the varsity race by a slim, one-point margin. The Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth-Edgerton boys topped LHS by nine points to win a team trophy.

The Cardinal girls nipped Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 54-55 and five other complete teams to secure their championship.

Solid individual efforts by Sadie Dietrich (eighth in 16:18), Lexi Heitkamp (ninth in 16:22) and Victoria Arends (10th in 16:27) set the stage for Luverne's win.

Amanda Saum and Kelsey Dooyema finished 14th and 15th with respective 16:41 and 16:46 times to pad Luverne's team tally. Breanna Studer and Jessica Willers placed 40th and 43rd in 20:26 and 21:05 without influencing the scoring.

With Tyler Bush and Zach Hadler leading he way, H-BC-E-E's boys repeated as team champion of the meet. Bush placed second individually with a time of 16:59. Hadler was seventh in 17:54.

The Patriots topped Luverne 55-64 and five other complete teams.

Todd Alberty (11th in 18:23), Greg Van Batavia (14th in 18:30) and Kale Wiertzema (21st in 18:43) made contributions to H-BC-E-E's team success.

Luverne's Jake Studer, Nick Otten and Jesse Kuhlman placed eighth, ninth and 10th with respective 18:04, 18:10 and 18:21 times.

Ruston Aaker (18th in 18:41) and Dusty Antoine (19th in 18:42) padded Luverne's team tally. Trevor Maine placed 28th in 19:09 during his first varsity race without influencing the scoring.

Adrian had incomplete teams for both varsity races.

Krissi Thier finished 22nd in 17:23 for the AHS girls. Paul Honermann (20th in 18:41), Brandon Bullerman (25th in 19:00), Chad Janssen (29th in 19:25) and Kelly Seeman (47th in 20:57) raced for the Dragon boys.

Here is a look at the team standings and the other individual performances from SaturdayÕs meet.

Girls' standings: Luverne 54, T-M-B 55, Jackson County Central 69, Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster-Southwest Star Concept 107, Windom 112, Murray County Central 118, Worthington 149.

Boys' standings: H-BC-E-E 55, Luverne 64, Southwest Christian 100, JCC 113, Mountain Lake-Butterfield-Odin 121, Windom 136, Worthington 141.

Junior varsity girls
H-BC-E-E: Erika Fransen, seventh, 14:33; Rayne Sandoval, 15th, 15:37.

Junior varsity boys
Luverne: Travis Halfmann, fourth, 12:13; Brent DeGroot, 19th, 13:13; John May, 20th, 13:17; Michael Nelson, 30th, 13:34; David Nelson, 31st, 13:48.

H-BC-E-E: Derek Haak, first, 12:00; Devin DeBoer, 11th, 12:49; John Sandbulte, 13th, 12:55; Michael Bos, 21st, 13:32; Jared Drenth, 25th, 13:38; Justin Hinks, 39th, 16:38.
Adrian: Eldon Vaselaar, 40th, 16:59.

Junior high girls
Luverne: Justin Heintzman, seventh, 7:00; Amanda Kannas, 20th, 7:33.
H-BC-E-E: Mya Mann, second, 6:54; Amanda Tilstra, fourth, 6:59.
Adrian: Morgan Lynn, first, 6:49; McCall Heitkamp, seventh, 7:01; Erica Thier, 10th, 7:20; Megan Henning, 11th, 7:22; Kaitlin Leinen, 15th, 7:27.

Junior high boys
Luverne: Eric Kraetsch, first, 6:28.
Adrian: Ethan Wieneke, second, 6:33; Aaron Mormann, fourth, 6:38; Kyle Henning, 11th, 7:06; Collin Lynn, 12th, 7:06; Tony Thier, 13th, 7:08; Brett Springman, 14th, 7:12; Dustin Lonneman, 15th, 7:13; Tim Zaske, 19th, 7:29.
H-BC-E-E: Adam Finke, third, 6:36; Grant Hoogendoorn, seventh, 6:55.

Luverne defenders Joey Pick (80) and Cody Gehrke (55) wrap up Windom halfback Drew Zimmerman during Friday's Southwest Conference football game at Cardinal Field. Luverne rallied to force overtime before posting its first victory of the season, a 20-14 win over the Eagles.

By John Rittenhouse
A furious fourth-quarter rally led to an overtime victory for the Luverne football team at Cardinal Field Friday.

Trailing Windom 7-0 entering the final period of play, the Cardinals outscored the Eagles 14-7 in the fourth quarter to force overtime.

The overtime session lasted two plays as the Cardinal defense came up with an interception before the offense capped a 20-14 victory with a 10-yard touchdown run on the next play.

Luverne's rally ended a two-game losing streak to start the season, and gave Cardinal coach Todd Oye his first career victory.

"I'm just happy for the kids," Oye said. "They've been working really hard in a new offensive system. I think they found out how well it works when things start clicking."

After being blanked through the first three quarters of the game, the LHS offense started to click late in the game.

The Cardinals showed some explosiveness with a long touchdown run that trimmed Windom's lead to one point (7-6) early in fourth quarter. After the Eagles increased their lead to eight points as the period progressed, Luverne put together a 62-yard touchdown drive late in the quarter that was followed by an overtime-forcing, two-point conversion.

Neither team could get anything going offensively in a scoreless third quarter, but that changed in the final 12 minutes of play.

Luverne forced the Eagles to punt late in the third quarter, taking possession of the ball on its own 18-yard line with 31 seconds left in the stanza. Facing a third-and-nine situation to start the fourth quarter, some quick thinking by tailback Marcus Walgrave turned what was designed to be a trick play going to another player into an 81-yard touchdown run of his own.

Oye had instructed the Cardinals to run a reverse play to start the period. Walgrave received the handoff from quarterback Tony Smedsrud while running to his right, and he was supposed to hand it off to receiver Joey Pick, who was running toward the Cardinal backfield from the right end position.
Walgrave didnÕt like what he saw as the play developed and made an instant decision to run the ball himself. It proved to be the right decision as he dashed 81 yards for a score.

"It was supposed to be a reverse," Oye admitted. "Half our team, including myself, thought Joey Pick had the ball. Marcus said he saw WindomÕs defensive and cornerback coming in hard, so he pulled the ball back (instead of handing it off) because he thought the defenders would catch Joey from behind."

The celebration that followed the touchdown, which came at the 11:40 mark of the second quarter, was quickly doused when Windom blocked the ensuing extra-point attempt to maintain a 7-6 lead.

It appeared the Eagles would get the points back when they completed a long pass on the first play of their next offensive possession, but the second of three key defensive plays made by sophomore Brad Herman spoiled Windom's scoring threat.

Herman, who was making his first varsity start, ran down the Windom receiver who caught the ball. Herman stripped the ball from the receiverÕs arms as he made the tackle, and Pick recovered the fumble on the LHS 14.

Windom forced the Cardinals to punt four plays later, and the Eagle offense put together a 13-play, 43-yard touchdown drive that featured two successful fourth-down conversions. The drive ended with Nate Knutson scoring on a one-yard run with 2:40 left in regulation play. Nick Hohan's extra point made it a 14-6 difference.

The Luverne offense responded to the challenge by putting together its most impressive series of the season.

The Cards advanced the ball 62 yards in six plays, with senior Joel Evans capping the drive when he turned a trap play into a 32-yard touchdown run with 1:17 remaining. When Smedsrud delivered a strike to Canaan Petersen for a successful conversion pass, the score was knotted at 14.

Windom, which opted to run the remaining time off the clock to end regulation play, had the first possession to begin overtime. Windom decided to use a play (a halfback pass) that worked for a touchdown in the second quarter, but the decision proved to be costly as Herman picked off the pass in the end zone.

Walgrave, who ran the ball 18 times for 163 yards in the game, settled the issue when he scored from 10 yards out on the first play of LuverneÕs ensuing possession.

While some may have been surprised by the confidence the Luverne offense displayed late in the game, Oye was not.

"One thing we've been emphasizing since practice started in August has been running a hurry-up offense. When we got into a situation where we needed to use it Friday, we were comfortable in running the plays," he said.

LuverneÕs defense also played well against the Eagles.

WindomÕs first two offensive possessions of the game ended on downs on Luverne's 24- and 13-yard lines. The Eagles ended the scoreless deadlock with 14 seconds left in the second quarter, when an 87-yard drive ended with halfback Drew Zimmerman tossing a touchdown pass to Mitch Masters during a fourth-and-goal situation from the LHS two.

"Our defense did a good job," Oye said. "We would bend, but we didnÕt break. Windom had 250 yards worth of offense in the first half, but they only scored seven points. Our defense kept them out of the end zone."

Luverne's best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the second quarter, when Herman recovered a fumble by a Windom punt return player on the Eagle 39 with 9:33 left in the first half.

A 17-yard pass from Smedsrud to Ben Cornish advanced the ball to the 22, but the Cards lost the ball on downs when a fourth-and-five play came up short of a first down when Walgrave gained four yards on a run.

Luverne will play unbeaten Worthington in Worthington tomorrow. The 3-0 Trojans beat Windom 42-21 earlier in the season and are coming off a 33-0 pasting of St. Peter Friday.

"Worthington is undefeated, and theyÕve won all three of their games handily. They have a great tailback (Nick Raymo). It will be important to control him because he's been making a lot of big plays. They also have an aggressive, quick defense," Oye said.

Team statistics
Luverne: 250 rushing yards, 43 passing yards, 293 total yards, six first downs, four penalties, zero turnovers.
Windom: 234 rushing yards, 153 passing yards, 387 total yards, 14 first downs, seven penalties, two turnovers.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Walgrave 18-163, Evans 7-78, Jared Pick 1-1, Aaron Schmidt 1-5, Smedsrud 1-3, Tyler Elbers 1-0.
Passing: Smedsrud 5-10 for 43 yards.
Receiving: Cornish 3-30, Walgrave 1-10, Petersen 1-3.
Defense: Herman one interception and one fumble recovery.

County Commissioners meet Sept. 3
Rock County Courthouse 9:00 A.M.
Law Library Sept. 3, 2002
Chair Wildung called the meeting to order with all Commissioners present.

Motion by Erickson, seconded by Hoime, to approve the September 3, 2002 County Board agenda, declared carried on a voice vote.

Terrie Gulden, Heartland Express Transit Director, requested permission to purchase specialized mobile radio units for the buses. Motion by Hoime, seconded by Jarchow, to proceed with the radio purchase from the County Board's Contingency Fund and to replace that fund with grant dollars as they are received, declared carried on a voice vote.

The Transit Director also requested a ridership rate increase to be effective January 1, 2003. A current rate of $1.25 within the City of Luverne would increase to $1.50; the out of city limits rate would increase from $2.50 to $3.00, and a roll of 12 tokens would increase from $12.00 to $15.00. Motion by Jarchow, seconded by Erickson to approve the proposed rate increase effective January 1, 2003, declared carried on a voice vote.

Mark Sehr, Engineer, presented information regarding the Topeka Shiner and how it impacts construction projections in Rock County; no action was taken.

By order of the Chair, the Land Management Office Director and the Engineer will draft a letter to the US Fish & Wildlife expressing Rock County's concerns over the endangered species designation of the Topeka Shiner.

Motion by Jarchow, seconded by Boyenga, to go to bids on a landfill compactor, declared carried on a voice vote.

Motion by Hoime, seconded by Erickson, to approve the August 20, 2002 County Board minutes, declared carried on a voice vote.

Motion by Erickson, seconded by Jarchow, to approve the following consent agenda items, declared carried on a voice vote.

1. Resolution No. 37-02, a proclamation "A Day to Remember"

2. Resolution No. 36-02, authorization of background checks for pre-employment

The County Board held a joint meeting with the Nobles County Board via interactive television (ITV) regarding the proposed 2003 budget for Nobles/Rock Public Health. The meeting was for informational purposes only and no action was taken.

Margaret Cook, Auditor/Treasurer, presented the fund balances; motion by Boyenga, seconded by Erickson, to approve the fund balance report, declared carried on a voice vote.

Motion by Hoime, seconded by Jarchow, to approve the claims, declared carried on a unanimous vote. A complete listing of claims is available at the Auditor/TreasurerÕs office at no charge.

General $ 29,301.65
LEC 487.41
Road & Bridge 15,538.98
Judicial Ditch .00
Welfare 35,284.41
Landfill 2,927.98
TOTAL $ 83,540.43

The Auditor/Treasurer requested permission to cancel outstanding warrant #39251 for the amount of $95.00 payable to Renaissance Professional Development. Motion by Boyenga, seconded by Erickson, to cancel warrant #39251, declared carried on a voice vote.

Motion by Erickson, seconded by Hoime, to approve Resolution No. 39-02, a rural water split on parcel #02-0195-000 located in the E 1/2 of the NE 1/4 of 36-102-46, declared carried on a voice vote.

Motion by Boyenga, seconded Erickson, to approve Resolution No. 40-02, a rural water split on parcel #03-0137-000 located in the W 1/2 of the E 1/2 of the SW 1/4 of Section 18 in Clinton Township, declared carried on a voice vote.

The Auditor/Treasurer presented information regarding a web site to access county tax information. Set up and maintenance fees would be $100.00 per month; no action was taken.

Motion by Erickson, seconded by Jarchow to approve Resolution 38-02, a lease agreement with the State of Minnesota Department of Public Safety to furnish facilities for the testing & licensing, declared carried on a voice vote.

The County Board reviewed the levy limit that has been set by the state; motion by Jarchow, seconded Erickson, to set the following preliminary levy, declared carried on a 4-1 vote with Commissioner Boyenga voting nay.

General $1,886.625.00
Law Library 110,681.00
Road & Bridge 636,600.00
Welfare 937,680.00
Landfill 22,675.00
Total $3,594,271.00

The County Board discussed the RFP process pertaining the Rock County Pool & Fitness Center. The County Board directed that further discussion take place at the next City/County Liaison meeting on September 17th.

The County Board was informed of the various September 11th activities scheduled throughout the county.

The County Board reviewed the 2003 health insurance rates, which will reflect a 7.5% increase.

Commissioner Boyenga presented a developmental Achievement Center update; they are considering the construction of four-plex unit for residents. Currently they are in the preliminary planning stages and would like the County Board to discuss this item and possible consideration of support at a future date.

Commissioner Boyenga stated that the Lewis and Clark project is looking at modifying the contracts, which would require the local water supplies to assume the stateÕs share. Currently, the contract breakdown is 80% federal costs, 10% state's costs and 10% local cost; the proposed contract breakdown will be 80% federal and up to 20% local.

Commissioner Boyenga presented an update regarding Choteau des Prairies; currently they are still in the formation process and operation setup.

Commissioner Hoime presented an Ag Task Force update from the past meeting.

With no further business to come before the board, the meeting was declared adjourned.

Jane Wildung, Chairman of the Board
ATEST:
Kyle J. Oldre, Clerk to the Board
(9-19)