By Sara Strong
The Rock County Board of Commissioners voted to implement a gravel tax last week.

Commissioners set the tax after additional discussion at their regular meeting Tuesday, July 2.

The production tax starts Jan. 1, 2003, and will be 10 cents per cubic yard or 7 cents per ton.

State legislation in 2001 changed the previous aggregate tax to allow any county to implement it, after a public hearing.

The aggregate material tax is a production tax on the removal of aggregate material, imposed on importers and operators.

Gravel pit owners and users will have to weigh or measure what they extract and report it to the county auditor.

The reporting wonÕt be easy to enforce, so pit owners will pay it on an honor system.

Rock County townships support it, because they will get a portion of the tax to help pay for roads in their small budgets.

State law calls for the county to receive 60 percent of the tax revenue, the townships to receive 30 percent and the remaining 10 percent to go into a fund for reclaiming gravel pits when they are abandoned.

Townships and the county discussed the tax and agreed on a further split. Of the township portion of the tax, half would be divided among the 12 Rock County townships and the other half would go toward the townships with active gravel pits.

The gravel tax was first discussed as a way to recoup costs of wear on roads used by heavy gravel equipment. It also considers that gravel is a resource that, once gone from the county, can't be replaced.

Rock County Commissioners reasoned that the county should benefit from a resource that is steadily leaving county lines.

Other area counties may follow suit with their own gravel tax. Murray, Pipestone and Nobles counties have expressed an interest, but are waiting to see Rock County's gravel tax results first.

Currently, 22 counties have a gravel tax in Minnesota.

By Lori Ehde
Construction on Highway 75 between Interstate 90 and Edgerton will begin Monday, causing detours in the city of Luverne and north of Hardwick.

Luverne's detour will begin soon after the project starts for the "mill and overlay" work in town.

This includes stripping asphalt down to the concrete, hauling it to a bituminous mixing plant three miles east of Hardwick, and reapplying the asphalt overlay.

The work in town also includes some curb and gutter repair and replacing railroad tracks two blocks south of Main Street.

Work north of the stoplights will allow traffic to pass around crews, but Highway 75 will be closed from I-90 to Main Street for three to four weeks - cutting off the lifeblood to many businesses operating along that stretch.

Bad for business
"That's really going to kill us," said Joyce Sandbo, manager of Pizza Hut. "I know it's going to put our sales way down, and if business drops off, we'll have to cut back on employee hours, too, so it affects all of us."

Sandbo said she hopes the road reopens in time for bike rally traffic heading to Sturgis, S.D., during the first week in August.

Country Kitchen owner Raney Israelson said he's disappointed with the timing of the project.

"July and August are our biggest months. In the summer time we really rely on our interstate traffic, which is 75 percent of our business in the summer," Israelson said.

"It's really poor timing on the DOT's part. I strongly believe that project could have been started in April or October. Tourists aren't going to come off the interstate when they see the barricades up saying the road's closed."

LeRoy Lindbloom, manager of Farmers Union Co-op Oil, is bracing for the construction, but looks forward to the end result.

"It will affect us, but what are you going to do? The work needs to be done," he said. "I suppose our local people will find us, but the traveling people will stay out by the interstate."

When asked about the timing of the project, Minnesota Department of Transportation project supervisor Ken Janovsky said tourism season always runs concurrent with road construction projects.

"We can't work on it in the winter," he said. "That's Minnesota, though, isn't it? There's winter and there's road construction."

He said crews will do their best to accommodate businesses and get the work done quickly.

Luverne detour
Traffic entering Luverne from the south on Highway 75 will be directed to turn left (west) on Gabrielson Road (by Taco John's).

Gabrielson loops around the west edge of town through the industrial area and connects with West Main Street (County Road 4) near the ethanol plant.

Detoured traffic reconnects with Highway 75 from West Main Street at the stoplights.

The other closed portion of Highway 75 will be between Hardwick and Edgerton as crews repair culverts along that stretch.

Rural detour
Motorists will be detoured five miles east through Hardwick on County Road 7 to County Road 2. This will take them north to Edgerton where they will turn east on Highway 268, which reconnects with Highway 75 six miles west of Edgerton.

That portion of the road will be closed roughly six weeks, depending on weather and construction progress. It will start about the same time Luverne's work begins.

Duininck Brothers Inc., Prinsburg, was awarded the state contract with a bid of $2.6 million. Some of the materials used for the work will come from the new quartzite quarry mined from the Marcella Scott pastures near Hardwick.

Janovsky reminds motorists to drive with caution in the work zones. "Stay alert, don't tailgate and be patient," he said. "Remember, the work zone crews are working to improve your future ride."

The last major Highway 75 improvement in Luverne was nearly more than 10 years ago, and the rural portion north of Luverne hasnÕt been redone since 1985, according to Janovsky.

Gordon Dale Spronk
Pipestone veterinarian and businessman Gordon Dale Spronk was sentenced to one day imprisonment and three years supervised release for making a false statement to a federally-insured bank.

He was also ordered to pay a $100,000 fine and to complete 300 hours of community service.

During his guilty plea in November, Spronk admitted that he assisted others in making a false statement to the First National Bank of Garretson, S.D., to influence the bank into making a $400,000 loan purportedly to GVI.

The loan was actually being used to purchase a $1.1 million problem loan of a radio broadcasting station in Sioux Falls, S.D., in order to deceive federal regulators.

Under terms of his plea agreement. Spronk, 46, provided $250,000 to the City of Pipestone to purchase a new pumper fire truck and other firefighting equipment; $100,000 in funds to Rock County to purchase and install road signs throughout the County to improve response to 911 calls; $50,000 to Luverne Public School System for the purchase of computers, projectors, and repairs; $50,000 to the Pipestone-Jasper School District for its elementary schools' computer labs; and $25,000 each to the Rock County and Pipestone County SheriffÕs Departments.

John Burgers
John Burgers, a former Rock County official responsible for land management and feedlot inspections, was sentenced to five months in a Sioux Falls, S.D., halfway-house and five months of home detention with electronic monitoring. He was also sentenced to three years supervised release and to serve 300 hours of community service.

Burgers pled guilty in December 2001 to mail fraud involving a deprivation of honest services in relation to his solicitation and receipt of bribes from GVI in exchange for GVI receiving preferential treatment.

Burgers, 48, Hills, admitted that in March 1996, he learned that debris and waste were being dumped by GVI and advised company officials to take care of the problem before he notified state officials.

A short time later, Burgers was in financial trouble and needed money. It was then that Logan arranged for Burgers to meet with Morgan, who arranged for more than $100,000 in preferential loans to Burgers.

When Burgers was asked to repay one of the loans, he met with Morgan, who provided Burgers with more than $5,000 in cash from GVI to pay down the loan.

Ronald B. Willey
and Thomas B. Willey
Pipestone businessmen Ronald B. Willey and his son, Thomas B. Willey, were also sentenced for acting as nominees in a $1 million fraudulent loan.

Ronald Willey, age 56, was sentenced to three years probation with 90 days of home detention. Thomas Willey, age 28, was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine. Both defendants received reduced sentences based on their cooperation with the government's investigation.

The Willeys owned and operated various Pipestone area businesses including Pipestone Lumber Company, Astro Propane, and Pipestone Rental Properties.

During their guilty plea hearing in February, the Willeys admitted that they allowed a fictitious company, Willey Contract Nursery Services, to be created as a nominee to obtain loans from First National Bank of Pipestone for use by GVI and its principals.

Through this fictitious company, GVI and its principals were able to circumvent federal regulations concerning lending limits and insider loans to obtain a $1 million loan.

Ronald Willey also pled guilty to intentionally failing to file a 1999 federal income tax return. As part of their plea agreements Ronald and Thomas Willey agreed to pay all outstanding tax liabilities, including penalties and interest. At his sentencing Ronald Willey paid $49,440 toward his tax liabilities.

Global Ventures Inc.,
Global Ventures Inc., was placed on probation for two years and ordered to pay a $150,000 fine. GVI was also ordered to pay $100,000 in extraordinary restitution, $50,000 to Pipestone County and $50,000 to Rock County for environmental and regulatory matters.

A representative of GVI pled guilty on behalf of the company in January to mail fraud for engaging in a scheme to obtain preferential treatment from Burgers.

The case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hank Shea prosecuted the case. Shea thanked several unheralded Pipestone and Rock County citizens who timely provided helpful information about the defendants' conduct.

He also praised the dedicated, professional efforts of FBI Special Agent Michael Dudley, who spent more than two years working on the complex investigation.

By Lori Ehde
Former Rock County Land Management Director John Burgers was sentenced Monday for his role in soliciting and receiving bribes from the Pipestone hog operation, Global Ventures Inc.

Despite the seriousness of the felony-level crime, Burgers' illegal actions were minor in relation to the sophisticated bank fraud conspiracy that centered around Global Ventures.

His sentence of five months in a halfway house and five months home detention is also light, compared with those levied against the ring leaders of the scheme.

Burgers appeared in U.S. District Court Monday for sentencing along with Global Ventures representatives and six Pipestone community leaders and businessmen, all involved in wide-ranging fraudulent conduct.

Two-year probe
reveals $13 million
in illegal loans
The orchestrated fraud schemes added up to more than $13 million of illegal loans made by a former president and director at First National Bank, Pipestone.

They also involved bribes taken by former officials with the City of Pipestone and Rock County; a ghost company created to deceive federal bank regulators; and lies to an FBI agent investigating corruption and bribes in the Pipestone area.

"Public corruption is at the heart of all the crimes for which these defendants were sentenced. As such, all the people of Pipestone and Rock County were the victims of these defendants' illegal conduct," U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger said.

"We are very pleased that we were able to resolve this case in a manner that sends a strong message that public corruption will not be tolerated in Minnesota, and that ensures that the people of Pipestone and Rock County are partially and directly compensated for the damage done by their former community leaders."

The sentence orders for all involved parties were signed by Judge Michael Davis.

David S. Logan
David S. Logan, former Pipestone City Administrator and former CEO of Global Ventures I Inc., was sentenced to 71 months in prison and five years supervised release, which was the top of the sentencing guideline range. He was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine, a $250,000 personal money judgment in forfeiture, and $100,000 in restitution to Nelson Minnesota Farms.

Under terms of his plea agreement, Logan also was ordered to pay the following in extraordinary restitution: $160,000 to the Minnesota Board of Soil and Water Resources and Rock County for the purpose of conducting a Level 3 feedlot inventory in Rock County; $55,000 to Pipestone County to augment current and planned county expenditures for feedlot technical assistance, feedlot upgrade cost sharing, and soil erosion prevention; $20,000 to the Midwest Environmental Enforcement Association for two environmental enforcement training seminars; $10,000 to Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water System to augment current and planned system expenditures for ground water monitoring; and $5,000 to the Minnesota Office of Environmental Assistance for providing small grants for the implementation of environmental education programs.

Logan will surrender for service of his sentence on Aug. 9.

Logan, 54, from Pipestone, pled guilty in April to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States, one count of misapplication of bank funds, and one count of mail fraud by depriving others of the right to honest services.

Logan admitted that he and Michael Morgan, a former president and director of the First National Bank, Pipestone, conspired to violate banking regulations regarding lending limits and insider loans when Morgan caused a series of illegal loans to be made to companies controlled or created by Logan, including two in which Morgan also held an interest.

Logan also admitted to soliciting and obtaining a series of bribes and kickbacks, totaling more than $100,000, while he had served as the Pipestone City Administrator.

Michael Morgan,
Morgan was sentenced to 48 months in prison and three years of supervised release. He was also ordered to forfeit $250,000 to the United States, to pay $100,000 in restitution to Nelson Minnesota Farms, and perform 300 hours of community service. He will surrender for service of his sentence on Aug. 9, 2002.

Morgan, age 44, from Pipestone, pled guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of mail fraud, and one count of misapplying more than $13 million in federally insured bank funds. Morgan's sentence reflected a downward departure from his applicable sentencing guideline range based on his cooperation with the government's investigation.

Morgan, Logan, and others conspired to utilize the $13 million in bank funds for investing in hog production related businesses and concealing those investments from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in violation of banking regulations concerning lending limits and insider loans. Morgan also used the monies to conceal non-performing loans and receive monies for personal investment and payment of personal debt.

William A. Winter,
William A. Winter, a retired Pipestone construction company owner who provided money to Logan for the purpose of obtaining preferential treatment regarding city contracts, was sentenced to two years of probation, pay a $50,000 fine, and serve 300 hours of community service.

Under terms of his plea agreement, Winter also provided $125,000 to the City of Pipestone to purchase four emergency warning sirens, a van, equipment for the city's recreation center, and other necessary equipment and materials; and $50,000 to the Pipestone-Jasper School District to purchase six computer servers. He also agreed to provide construction-related services, without charge, to Habitat for Humanity in Pipestone and Rock Counties.

Winter, age 62, pled guilty in November 2001 to making a false statement to an FBI agent who was conducting an investigation into bribes in the Pipestone and Rock County area. Winter falsely told the agent that he had never given money to Logan, when in fact he had provided money, services and other things of value in order to obtain preferential treatment on bids for job contracts under the control of Logan.

Beaver Creek farmers Clair Crawford and Carl Gehrke examine a soybean plant for signs of aphid infestation Wednesday, July 3, during field day at the Luverne Public School agriculture plot. The field day was sponsored by Rock County Extension Services to help educate farmers on how to combat the soybean aphid, an insect native to Asia, that threatened soybean crops last year and is expected to infest more fields this year.

Photo by Jolene Farley

Kayla Kruger, Adrian, mans a produce stand on South Highway 75 Friday. She offered sweet corn, melons and tomatoes from Dorn Farms, Adrian, which ships produce from Missouri for local distribution. With the cool spring and late start for area gardens, locally-grown produce won't be ready for awhile. This year, area growers can sell their baked goods and produce at the Farmer’s Market starting July 18 in the parking lot south of Jubilee Foods. Hours are every Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. and all vendors are welcome. Call 669-6604 or 348-9805 with questions.

Photo by Lori Ehde

By John Rittenhouse
The Hills Thunder posted the amateur baseball seasonÕs second win while dropping two games during a five-day stretch late last week.

Hills lost a 6-0 game in Wilmont Wednesday, July 3. The Thunder then beat Butterfield 8-0 in Luverne Sunday before dropping a 5-0 decision to Windom at Redbird Field later in the day.

Hills was limited to a pair of hits while taking a six-run setback in Wilmont July 3.

The teams battled to a scoreless draw through the first four and one-half innings of play, but Wilmont broke through for two runs in the home half of the fifth inning and added four more in the sixth to win handily.

Matt Wingate tossed all six innings for the Thunder. He recorded six strikeouts and surrendered four hits.

Eric Harnack and Wade Jellema both singled to account for Hills' two hits in the game.

Chad Rauk tossed a seven-inning shutout to lift the Thunder to their second win of the season Sunday in Luverne.

Rauk blanked Butterfield for seven innings during an eight-run win. Rauk walked four batters and fanned seven during his complete game performance.

Hills scored one run early in the game before plating seven runs in the final three frames to lock up the win.

Jarud Lang singled and gave the Thunder a 1-0 edge in the top of the first when he scored on Scott Harnack's fielder's choice.

Wingate and Derek Sammons drew fifth-inning walks for Hills before Wingate scored on a sacrifice fly by Jellema.

Sammons scored on a wild pitch as the inning progressed, and Kurt Bly and Lang drew walks before scoring on a two-run double by Eric Harnack to cap a four-run rally.

Cade Lang reached base on an error and scored when Hills pulled off a double-steal in the sixth to make it a 6-0 game.

Bly walked and scored on a double by Jarud Lang in the seventh. Lang then capped the scoring after Scott Harnack chased him home with a single.

Hills couldn't keep the momentum going when it played Windom during Sunday's second game in Luverne.

After neither team could produce a run in the first three innings, Windom plated a single run in the top of the fourth before scoring twice in the fifth and seventh innings to win by five.

Wingate took the pitching loss for the Thunder. He allowed seven hits and five runs while registering six strikeouts in seven innings.

Sammons, Jarud and Cade Lang all went one-for-three at the plate.

Hills, 2-12 overall, wraps up the regular season by playing a noon game in Heron Lake Sunday before returning home to play Hadley at 4 p.m. the same day.

By John Rittenhouse
A Hills-Beaver Creek Elementary School student won a pair of titles at the Hershey's Minnesota State Track and Field Meet in Sartell Saturday, June 29.

Karic Wiertzema, who won the softball throw (144-6) and the 400-meter dash during the District Meet in Pipestone June 22, posted wins in Sartell during the same events.

Wiertzema, who competes in the 9-10 boys' division, tossed the softball 120-3 and ran 400 meters in 1:11.6 to win his state titles.

Wiertzema also was a member of a 400-meter relay team that won a district title and placed third at state with a time of 1:04.23.

Caleb Ellingson, Colton Bass and Cory Tilstra are the other members of the team.

Bass also qualified for the state meet in the 100-meter dash by finishing second at the district meet. Bass placed eighth at state.

Ellingson won the 100-meter dash at the district level, but he didn't compete in that event at state.

Cody Penning, Amanda Tilstra and Andrew Scholten also represented H-BC at the state meet.

Penning and Scholten compete in the 11-12 age group, while Tilstra is in the 13-14 division.

Penning placed second in the 400-meter dash at the district level and was sixth at state. Scholten was second in the district and 10th at state in the 800-meter run. Tilstra was second in the district and fourth at state in the 1,600-meter run.

Mya Mann, a member of the girlsÕ 13-14 division, placed second in the 800-meter run during the district meet. She did not attend the state event.

Others to compete at the district level include: Heather Hansel, Brooke Tilstra, Mary Buys, Nathan Fransman, Rayna Sandoval, Joel Van Batavia, Joel Buys, Preston VandenBosch, Blake Crawford and Amanda Connors.

Midwest Canine owner Dave Crawford, rural Beaver Creek, helps Grady, the Weimaraner, onto the bed in one of his business's new doggie suites.

By Jolene Farley
Pampered pets in Rock County have a new place to park their paws thanks to Midwest Canine, rural Beaver Creek.

Construction on a new dog boarding and training facility with room for 40 dogs and six "doggie" suites was completed the first week in July.

More than 100 people attended Midwest Canine's open house on June 28 and 29, according to owner Dave Crawford.

Crawford began his business in 1995 with a facility built for 11 dogs.

"It's (the expansion) been in the planning for about three years," said Crawford. "This last year has been so crazy it was a must."

The suites in the new facility offer discerning pets a private suite with a bed (complete with mattress), a television and a basket of doggie toys. Doggie massages may be offered in the future if clients request it.

Leaving the television on helps canines feel more at home while their masters are away, Crawford said, because many pet owners leave the television on during the day for lonely pets.

Crawford said it isn't long before canines make themselves at home, crawl up on the bed and gnaw on complementary rawhide chews.

"I would say out of five stars, they (the dogs) probably gave it five stars," he said about recent canine guests.

While attending the West Virginia Canine College, Crawford became aware that some dog kennels on the east coast offered pet suites as a boarding option.

Before construction at Midwest Canine, Crawford contacted facilities in the Twin Cities area that offered suites to see how popular they were. He was told suites usually fill up faster than regular boarding.

Midwest Canine has clients that travel long distances to make sure their pets are well cared for by Crawford.

Dogs in both the suites and the regular boarding area are exercised four times a day and allowed up to an hour in a play area.

"They know us," he said. "They know their dogs love it out here."

Dogs stay in the deluxe suites for $15 per day. Regular board is $10 per day.

In addition to boarding, Crawford trains dogs. Currently, he works with mostly large breed dogs but will train all breeds and sizes of dogs.

Owners can choose different levels of training for their pets.

Stay and train lessons, which cost $325, are month-long with the dog boarded at Midwest Canine.

Dogs are taught 26 commands including heel, sit, stay, go outside on command and "a lot of things people run into every day."

Private or group lessons for a few hours once or twice a week are also an option for dog owners.

Midwest Canine doesn't have set business hours but clients can call 673-2571 for more information or a drop off or pick up time for their pet.

Crawford hasn't ruled out further expansion for his business. "I have a feeling future expansion probably will be for more suites," said Crawford. "It seemed like it went really well."