By John Rittenhouse

The Luverne VFW baseball team has been a busy team since taking the field May 28 to open the 2002 campaign.

The young Cardinals have played nine games in a 14-game span, compiling a 4-5 record.

Luverne posted its third consecutive win when it upended the Sioux Falls Blackbirds 6-3 at Redbird Field Tuesday.

Tim Boen tossed four strong innings to pick up the win. Mark Remme and Jared Pick produced two hits each.

Luverne hosted a VFW Tournament over the weekend, going 2-1 during the event.

The Cards took on New Ulm in the tourney opener Friday and came up on the short end of a 4-1 decision.

Zach Wysong took the pitching loss for Luverne. Jared Pick slapped an RBI double to account for the team’s lone run.

Luverne snapped a five-game losing skid by besting Fairmont 6-2 in Saturday’s first game.

Brent Bradley led the charge at the plate by slapping a pair of hits. Pick notched the pitching win.

The Cards then beat Tracy 8-2 later Saturday.

Adam Kurtz fanned 12 batters in seven innings to to pick up the win. Kurtz and Wysong had two hits at the plate. Brad Herman led the Cards with three hits, including a three-run double.

Luverne dropped its second league game of the season in Marshall Thursday.

Mark Remme punched three hits at the plate while Jordan Kopp, Pick and Rob Fodness added two safeties each. Luverne, however, came up on the short end of a 10-2 score. Tim Boen took the pitching loss.

The night before playing in Marshall, Luverne lost a double-header to the Sioux Falls Wildcats Wednesday, June 5.

The Wildcats overcame two-hit efforts by Bradley and Brandon Deragisch to take Game 1 by a 9-5 tally. Andy Stegemann was saddled with the pitching loss.

Sioux Falls completed the sweep with a 13-2 win in Game 2. Herman took the pitching loss, and a fourth-inning single by Deragisch proved to be Luverne's lone hit.

Luverne opened league play by hosting Worthington in a forgettable game Monday, June 3.

Worthington no-hit the Cardinals in a 1-0 loss. Pick was charged with the pitching loss.

The Cardinals opened the season by besting the Sioux Falls Blackbirds 14-4 in Luverne Thursday, May 28.

Pick, the winning pitcher, led the way at the plate with three hits.

By Lori Ehde

Jubilee Foods owner Tony Bosch has been indicted by a federal grand jury for tax evasion, and entered a not guilty plea May 29 in U.S. District Court, Sioux Falls.

According to the indictment filed May 21, charges stem from his 1996 federal tax return.

The document states Bosch, a former Luverne resident, "did willfully attempt to evade and defeat a large part of the income tax due and owing by him and his spouse to the United States of America ... by filing and causing to be filed ... a false and fraudulent joint U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040, on behalf of himself and his spouse."

Bosch reportedly stated their joint income for 1996 was $60,296 and that the amount of tax due was $27,791. The indictment alleges he filed this information while knowing their joint income was $386,244 and that he owed $119,056 in taxes.

Bosch indicated he may change his not guilty plea in the future to close the case. "After five and half years, this is finally coming to a head," he said. "We're just getting it over with and life will go on."

Bosch, 49, now lives in rural Corson, S.D. He owns Tony's Catering and the Jubilee Foods franchise, including the store in Brandon, S.D.

He sold the Luverne store last year to his son, Brent Bosch, and Larry Goebel, who own the store as a joint venture. Tony Bosch co-owns the Jubilee store in Rock Rapids, Iowa, with Goebel.

A trial date has not been set, but if found guilty of tax evasion, Bosch faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and or $250,000 in fines, plus restitution.

By Sara Strong

Ben Vander Kooi, representing the Blue Mound Area Theater Board, requested financial help for the future of the Palace Theatre and got it.

The Luverne City Council Tuesday approved funding $15,000 of structural assessment and operational analysis.

"It's significant dollars, but I would add that it's a significant building," Vander Kooi said.

The Council's contribution will pay for about half of the studies’ costs, which will also be covered by grants.
Essentially, the studies will analyze the structure and determine whether the theater can be a successful, financially sustainable operation.

"This is probably the most prominent building in Luverne and the worry is, what will happen to it?" Vander Kooi said.

Roof work and other structural issues have kept the building back from all of its potential, Vander Kooi said. "We want to use the building, but use it in a smart way and take care of the deferred maintenance."

Local theater group, Green Earth Players, has said it will use the Palace for two shows, in November and April. The organ and other stage opportunities will be open for community use when the Palace is re-opened.

Now BMAT is looking for an operator, but that is secondary to finding what the building needs structurally.

BMAT recently purchased the Palace after a year of unsuccessful private ownership.

By Sara Strong
Even though the Southwest Regional Development Commission would like to forget Prairie Expo ever happened, it's still the first thing people think of when talking "regional development."

And Prairie Expo is still the reason the SRDC made another pitch to its nine member counties for additional funding.
Rock County's Board of Commissioners Tuesday voted to accept a resolution allowing the SRDC to levy an overall additional $232,082 for eight years.

For Rock County's portion of that levy, its property owners will pay a combined additional $17,990 per year from 2003 to 2010.

The SRDC will use those extra levy dollars to cover $1.6 million in debt and keep the SRDC operating.

Rock County Commissioners Wendell Erickson, Ken Hoime and Jane Wildung voted in favor of supporting the extra levy resolution. Commissioners Bob Jarchow and Ron Boyenga voted against it.

Votes were split the same way in November when a levy advance of $18,000 to the SRDC was passed.

The other eight counties also approved the resolution with close votes.

Erickson said, "I don't look at this as Expo support, but RDC support."

He said the SRDC has been useful to the county in road and bridge projects and in giving the county a voice at the federal level through grant writing.

Hoime said small towns in his district have benefited from the SRDC’s services. He said he was undecided about his vote until he did more research on what the organization had accomplished locally.

Commissioners heard from SRDC Director Jay Trusty before they voted Tuesday.

Trusty said he is working to clean up the mess left by the Expo, but at the same time he's trying to look toward the organization's future.

Empty asset
The Prairie Expo tourism center has been unused since its closing last August.

Now a nine-member group working under the name Prairie Discovery Inc. is trying to find a suitable use for the building.

PDI's president is Steve Perkins, Luverne.

Not using the available space still costs the SRDC $39,000 in annual insurance payments and $750 a month in utilities.

Finding a suitable use for the Expo building may be more difficult than it first seemed.

The building, built with $5.5 million in state funds, has to serve at least a partial public purpose or the SRDC and its member counties might have to pay that debt back.

The State Department of Finance will determine ahead of time what uses will be permissible, so the SRDC won't be caught off guard and have to pay the debt.

By Sara Strong

The city of Luverne Tuesday voted to purchase property that is still technically owned by Mayor Glen Gust.

After much debate, council members voted in favor of purchasing 216 North Cedar Street for $27,000. Cragoe Realty has already signed a purchase agreement for the property, which is the blue house west of the fire hall.

Previously, Gust had wanted to sell the property directly, but found that state law prohibits elected officers from making a profit from their constituents. That's still the law even if the selling price is as low as it is.

Councilman David Hauge cast the only vote against the motion because of the appearance of impropriety, even though it is a legal sale.

"This is a nice little two=step to get around state law," he said.

Hauge was concerned that while the sale was legal, that the "spirit" of the law was being ignored.

Assistant City Attorney Jeff Haubrick said another option was to acquire the property through eminent domain, or condemnation, proceedings. In that case, a judge would determine the selling price of the property and the city would get ownership.

Councilman Tom Martius made the motion to go through with the property sale. He said the cost of eminent domain proceedings and the time involved in doing that made it simpler for the city to purchase the property from Cragoe Realty.

Gust stepped aside as mayor for the discussion and Keith Erickson chaired the meeting.

Gust said he didn't object to allowing a third party to be involved in the sale through eminent domain.

He said getting rid of the blue house helps the city complete what has been plans for more municipal parking.

As owner of Glen's Food Center, he has been sharing 39 spaces with the city for public parking on his lot since the 1993 expansion. As part of that 1993 agreement Gust has paid property taxes and has been responsible for maintenance and snow removal.

As part of the agreement to purchase Gust's property, the council also voted to return those 39 lots to the complete control of Gust once the municipal parking lot is finished. Hauge voted against that proposition also.

Gust said he doesn't mind having the spaces used by non-customers, as much as he would like the parking lot to be consistent and within his control. He said if he or his wife needed to sell the business, the lot would be a cohesive unit, not labeled for public parking like it is now.

The council agreed to continue to work on a sale agreement for the property at 203 East Lincoln Street, commonly referred to as the Krogmann house. If an agreeable sale price isn’t met, eminent domain proceedings may be sought in that case.

Second-hand smoke
Nobles-Rock Public Health Nurse Paula Anderson presented information to the Luverne City Council on second-hand smoke issues.

She was at the council for educational purposes and to ask that the city support what Public Health is doing to prevent smoking and to stop unintended exposure.

Most eating establishments have smoking sections, but don't have adequate ventilation to protect people, especially young children from exposure.

Second-hand smoke is designated in the same class of carcinogens as asbestos and is the third leading cause of preventable death in the country.

Anderson said getting people to believe the information is sometimes difficult. But, she said, "I don't think too many people would disagree that children being exposed to second-hand smoke is unhealthy. We're not asking people to quit smoking, just not to smoke in the home for the children."

Living with a smoker, a child inhales the equivalent of three cigarettes a day. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, respiratory illnesses, asthma and even slower cognitive development are increased by exposure to second-hand smoke.

Open windows in cars and homes doesn't clear the risk for exposure, Anderson said.

Information like that will be available at the Rock County Fair this summer, where the Public Health booth will include a large display on second-hand smoke.

Since her Christmas Day accident, Lynette Kemerling has missed doing home improvement projects at her home in Alexandria, but enjoys time outdoors at her parents’ farm, north of Luverne.

By Sara Strong

Hope and humor can get you through a lot. Just ask Lynette Kemerling.

When she crashed through the window of a minivan almost six months ago, Kemerling thought the last sensation she'd feel was that of her body skidding through the snow facedown.

"I must have known I was flying because I remember grabbing at things. I really lucked out. I thought I was going to die there," Kemerling said.

The Christmas Day rear-end accident left her paralyzed from the lower hips down, but she's still the same from there on up.

"I have good days and bad days. I’m no different from anyone else - I just can’t walk," Kemerling said.

Kemerling, who lived in Alexandria, has been staying with her parents, Harvey and Doris Kemerling, rural Luverne, since the accident.

Doris said, "She's just getting stronger every day, and has her ups and downs."

"Everything the community has done is greatly appreciated," Kemerling said. "Anyone in my condition couldn't do it alone. People visiting and helping how they can really helps me."
Her memory of the accident is almost complete. Kemerling remembers seeing her brother, Harland, look in the rear view mirror and flinch, noticing that Mark Lafrenz's car was about to hit. She also remembers Harland trying to get to her from the van.

Criminal vehicular injury charges are pending against Lafrenz.

The force of Kemerling's body, propelling backward after the hit, leveled the front passenger seat and one back seat before she went out the back side window.

If it all sounds like a grim tragedy, Kemerling doesn't think of it that way.

She considers herself lucky to be able to move her hips and upper body and keep her job at Alexandria Extrusion, which she will return to this summer.

As Continuous Improvement Coordinator at the company, Kemerling looked for ways to improve efficiency on the job. The position is waiting for her when she's ready so she's glad to work for the company she does.

At a recent visit back to the plant, which extrudes aluminum and manufactures various aluminum components, she was the guest of Gov. Jesse Ventura. He was at the plant for World Competitor Day and was taking the president of Alexandria Extrusion to China for meetings on exporting.

She almost upstaged the governor's visit. All of the 270 employees stopped for a hug from their visiting co-worker.

Counting blessings
While in Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls, Kemerling saw accident victims in worse condition, so she's grateful to have the chance to live independently.

"At first I thought I'd have to get a dog [to help me through the day], but I can just get my cat back now," Kemerling said.

Her home, on an acre of land at the edge of Alexandria, is being renovated to make the kitchen and bathroom handicap accessible.
"I'm hoping to get in by the end of July," Kemerling said.
To get ready for the move, she's doing physical therapy at home and at the hospital. "Those girls at the Luverne hospital really keep me in shape," she said.

Her upper body strength is increasing with all her hard work, but tasks are still difficult.

When she moved from the wheelchair to a couch one day, she soon realized it was easier to move down than up, and she and her family had a good laugh over her efforts.

Becoming mentally prepared for life in a wheelchair is also a part of Kemerling's recovery. That's why she's grateful her mother will stay with her for a while in Alexandria to smooth the transition. She’s also grateful that she can count on longtime family friend, Eddie Deutsch, for support.

Deutsch, Luverne, has been using a wheelchair for 42 years and was a role model for Kemerling as a child and young adult. Now she's still fond of the family friend and looks to him for advice.

Deutsch said, "She's a tough girl. I tell her that she's going to make the football team. She's the kind of person who says she can do something and you know she will."

Deutsch said he can tell her what he's gone through, even though she knows most of his story. There's more to being in a wheelchair than meets the eye, so he'll understand her situation better than other friends.

Independence is key to Kemerling and Deutsch. He said there's a fine line between independence and getting adequate help and support.

Kemerling said she's been getting that support so far - an almost overwhelming amount. Friends from high school and people she hasn't seen in years have wished her well. About 600 people were served at an April benefit supper in her name.

Financially, physically and mentally, Kemerling is preparing herself for what lies ahead.

Part of what she has to prepare for is saying lots of thank-yous. "Friends and family make such a difference," she said.

By Lori Ehde

Those who have experienced the lighting of 3,000 luminaries against the backdrop of a twilit summer sky say Relay for Life is a touching event to be part of.

For cancer survivors and their loved ones and for those who have lost loved ones to cancer, the luminaries, the overnight regimen and the morning sunrise all hold a deeper symbolic meaning.

Luverne’s second annual Relay for Life is Friday and Saturday, and it promises all the successes of last year's event with the hope of better weather.

Relay for Life is the trademark fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, the world's largest non-profit health organization committed to cancer research, education and service.

According to Luverne's Relay for Life co-chair Nancy Kaczrowski, local donors may not see the organization as a local cause, but she said everyone is affected by cancer.

"The money goes for cancer research and education," she said, "and indirectly, some of that money comes back to our local patients in the form of 1-800 number help lines and support groups."

Plus, if a cure for cancer is found, everyone benefits.
Last year, Luverne Relay for Life participants formed 41 teams and raised $49,000 - a phenomenal result for a first time event.

Those efforts earned Luverne organizers a special award from the Cancer Society, considering new communities are expected to form only 15 teams and raise $15,000.

"That was just icing on the cake," Kaczrowski said. "It shows the community was extremely supportive."

So far this year, 32 local teams have raised $30,000, and more fundraising will take place on the track throughout Friday night into the morning Saturday. The goal this year is to raise $50,000.

Teams of eight to 10 people will start walking Friday night and at least one member from each team continues circling the track until Saturday morning.

Team members not walking can rest or participate in all-night events and entertainment.

"You get a little tired, but it's a small price to pay if we can soon find a cure for cancer," said Luverne’s Vicki Baartman, who participated in last year's Relay for Life. "It’s also a lot of fun."

The fundraiser is set up as an overnight event to signify the journey cancer patients go through.

The first Relay for Life was started by Dr. Gordon Klatt, a colorectal surgeon from Tacoma, Wash., who in 1985 ran and walked around a university track for 24 hours raising $27,000 for the American Cancer Society.

People's daylight dims to night when their happy, healthy lives are affected by a cancer diagnosis. They enter darkness as treatment makes them sick and exhausted, both physically and emotionally. But, the sun starts to rise on their lives again when they realize the tumor is shrinking and their health and strength begins to return.

Kaczrowski said one of the most striking things she remembers about last year's Relay for Life in Luverne was the Survivor's Walk, in which local cancer survivors make their way once around the track to kick-off the relay. Balloons are released as they go.

"I couldn't believe how many they were, and so many of them I didn't even know had cancer," Kaczrowski said. "They were people who have been in my classes, they were my friends, people I played bridge with. I had no idea."

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday with a supper by Glen's Food Center, and it wraps up at 7 a.m. with a breakfast by Jubilee Foods following the sunrise service and closing ceremonies. The meals are open to the public.

Five teams entered the Hills Friendship days Volleyball Tournament last weekend with Amy Behr's team finishing first, Ross Metzger's team second and Greg Leendert's team third. The weekend featured all the traditional Friendship Days activities, including an auto show, kiddie tractor peda pull, entertainment and concessiones in the park and a Main Street Parade.

Emergency Medical Technician Craig Mouw works on mock victim as part of a bomb threat drill and disaster exercise Monday night at the Minnesota Veterans Home, Luverne. Rock County Emergency Management Director Kyle Oldre calls the surprise drill educational for all parties involved, which included the ambulance crew, local law enforcement, fire department, the Vets Home and Luverne High School peer helpers.

This is the first exercise of its kind in Luverne. The Vets Home staff knew a drill was going to take place, but not specifics. The Rock County Sheriff's Department knew details from the beginning for obvious safety and staffing reasons. Monday is the regular drill night for the fire department.

The drill started Monday at about 6:30 p.m. when a simulated bomb threat was called to the Vets Home. Law enforcement and Vets Home staff determined that they should evacuate the facility and simulated that by bringing all residents to commons areas. Peer helpers wore make-up and played bomb victims that the fire fighters had to find in the building. When they removed the "dead" or "wounded" from the facility, ambulance personnel assessed conditions and handled them appropriately. Part of the drill even included a fire fighter needing assistance in the building.

Photo by Sara Strong