By Lori Ehde
The 51st Annual Tri-State Band Festival will be staged in Luverne this weekend, and a group of local volunteers is set on painting the event red, white and blue.

In light of the Sept. 20 terrorist attack on America, Luverne VFW Commander Randy Jensen thought it would be a good idea to give the American flag a lead role this weekend.

The Luverne American Legion and the VFW in Luverne and Hardwick have arranged for more than 2,000 miniature flags to be distributed to parade watchers Saturday.

He envisions both sides of Main Street to be a blur of waving stars and stripes. "It's a super great way to show our patriotism," he said.

Most companies that make the traditional miniature cloth American flags were out of stock because of the national move to fly Old Glory in the face of terrorism.

So Jensen had Tollefson Publishing print the flags, and he ordered the sticks separately.

Then he called on residents of the Mary Jane Brown and Minnesota Veterans nursing homes to assemble the flags. They along with workers at the Rock County Developmental Achievement Center and boys at Pinnacle Programs Inc., Magnolia, had the job done by Tuesday.

Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and Pinnacle boys will distribute the flags to crowds on Main Street starting at 9:30 a.m.

Representatives from the three veterans groups and their auxiliaries and local National Guardsmen will march in mass colors to lead off the 10 a.m. parade.

More than 2,500 students make up the 22 bands that will participate in Saturday's Tri-State Band Festival.

The bands come from Minnesota, South Dakota, and Iowa and will join thousands of people visiting Luverne to take part in the longest running festival of its kind in the Midwest.

The 10 a.m. parade will be followed by the field competition at 1 p.m. at the Luverne High School athletic field.

Entrance to all field events will require the purchase of a Tri-State Band Festival button, which will be available at the gate as well as on Main Street prior to the parade.

American Red Cross volunteers will accept donations for the Relief Fund for America at the gate to field competition.

The guest band for this year's event is the University of South Dakota Marching Band from Vermillion, S.D. They will perform at both the parade and field events.

Firefighters quickly contained flames Tuesday from a fire east of Magnolia, just across the Nobles County line. The building was a loss for Mary Carter and Dave Darger, who live on the property. The storage garage was near the home and another building but didn't affect them, although plastic containers nearby melted. Magnolia, Adrian and Luverne fire departments responded.

Another fire last weekend claimed the property of rural Magnolia residents. The Alan Kramer home was reported on fire at 1:28 a.m. Sunday, and the fire departments called it a loss by 2:35 a.m. Fire departments from Magnolia, Luverne, Hardwick and Kenneth worked on the house that was fully engulfed in flames when they arrived on the scene.

Photo by Sara Quam

The prairie restoration project northwest of Luverne was officially christened "Touch the Sky Prairie" at a dedication celebration Saturday night. "It was one of the most memorable and meaningful events of my life," said nature photographer Jim Brandenburg, a Luverne native. The first of the prairie seed was planted and the well-attended ceremony included a grass dance, a bonfire and guitar music and singing by Luverne native Bill Keitel. A group of Dakota medicine men passed pipes to everyone in the crowd, a gesture that is strictly unheard of in the Indian nation, according to Chamber Director Dave Smith. "It was really neat they felt that strongly about the prairie project that they would allow non-Indians to participate," said Smith.

The project is the first of its kind in the nation, as the result of cooperation between the Brandenburg Prairie Foundation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The 300- to 400-acre tract in Mound Township will return to its original tall grass prairie. The piece of land is one that Brandenburg said he had his eye on for a while because of the rocks rubbed smooth by roaming bison and because the land has never been tilled.

Photo by Cloyce Smith

Carmen Winge, 56, Marshall, formerly of Luverne, died Saturday, Sept. 1, 2001, at Weiner Memorial Medical Center in Marshall.

Services were Wednesday, Sept. 5, at Christ United Presbyterian Church in Marshall. Burial was in Marshall Cemetery.

Carmen Rochelle Johnson was born to Marlis and Bernadene (Mienders) Johnson on May 20, 1945. She was baptized and confirmed at First Presbyterian Church in Rushmore. She graduated from Adrian High School in 1963 and then went on to Mankato School of Beauty Culture, Mankato, and graduated in 1964.

She married Lyman A. Winge on Nov. 20, 1965. After seven years in Luverne and the Pipestone areas, they moved to Marshall. She worked as a hairdresser at the Twins Beauty Shop for more than 27 years. She retired in 2001 because of health reasons.

Mrs. Winge was a member of Christ United Presbyterian Church in Marshall.

Survivors include her husband, Lyman, Marshall; two sons and one daughter-in-law, Trent and Nicole Winge, Columbia, S.C., and Dane Winge, Marshall; four grandchildren, Jasmyne, Baltimore, Md., Loren and KaLee, Columbia, and Logan, Marshall; her mother, Bernadene Johnson, Rushmore; four siblings, Janice (Hans) Remmers, Dundee, Gordon (Bonnie) Johnson, West Bend, Wis., Randale (Carol) Johnson, Rushmore, and Marcia (Ronald) Mauch, Adrian; and many other relatives and friends.

Mrs. Winge was preceded in death by her grandparents, her father, and one brother.

Hamilton-Birk Funeral Home, Marshall, was in charge of arrangements.

Donald Kuhlman, 72, Hardwick, died Thursday, Sept. 20 at his home. Services will be Monday, Sept. 24 at 10:30 a.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church, Jasper, with REv. Peter Sestak officiating. Burial will be in Luverne Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be Sunday, Sept. 23 from 4 to 8 p.m.at Foster-Hartquist Funeral Chapel, Jasper.

Lucille Smith, 86, Luverne, formerly of Hills, died Tuesday, Sept. 18 at Mary Jane Brown Home. Services will be Saturday, Sept. 22 at 10 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church, Beaver Creek. Burial will be at Maplewood Cemetery. Visitation will be Friday, Sept. 21 form 2 to 8 p.m. with the family present form 6 to 8 p.m. at Engebretson Funeral Home, Luverne.

By John Rittenhouse
Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth's football team continued to pick up steam during an early-season run that continued Friday night.

Facing winless Lake Benton in a Southwest Ridge Conference game played in Ellsworth, the Patriots scored 37 unanswered points through three quarters and went on to beat the Bobcats by a lopsided 43-8 margin.

Quarterback David Top threw a pair of touchdown passes to receiver Brad Haak, and running back Chris Reid ran for 193 yards and two touchdowns to lead the H-BC-E offense.

The Patriot defense recorded a safety in the game while blanking LB through three quarters. When the game was complete, the Bobcats were limited to a total of 148 yards.

All things considered, it was a great homecoming performance for the Ellsworth faithful and H-BC backers.

"We played pretty well," said Patriot coach Dan Ellingson. "We played real well defensively. The key was our defensive linemen controlling the line of scrimmage. That freed up our linebackers to come up and make some tackles. We did some nice things on offense, too. Our linemen did a good job of coming off the ball hard, which allowed our backs to run four or five yards before being touched."

With the Patriots executing well on both sides of the ball, the stage was set for a third consecutive victory to start the season. H-BC-E is 2-0 in the SRC, leaving it involved in a four-way deadlock for first place.

The Patriots wasted little time in taking control of the game Friday in Ellsworth. H-BC-E received the opening kick and put together a long scoring drive that featured the conversion of two fourth-down situations into first downs.

Top hit Haak for a 12-yard touchdown pass to cap the drive, and Tyler Bush added his first of three straight extra points to make it a 7-0 game.

The H-BC-E offense was unable to score over the rest of the first quarter, but the Patriot defense did add two points to the cause.

After a punt by H-BC-E pinned the Bobcats down on their own one-yard line, Haak penetrated the LB line to tackle a running back in the end zone for a safety on the first play from scrimmage.

Reid, who averaged more than 11 yards per run with 17 carries in game, put the game out of LB's reach by halftime.

The Patriot junior scored on runs of 71 and 18 yards during the second quarter. Bush added extra points after each touchdown run to make it a 23-0 difference at the intermission.

H-BC-E continued its 37-0 run by scoring 14 points in the third quarter.

After forcing the Bobcats to punt to start the second half, H-BC-E's offense put together a drive that ended with Top connecting with Haak for a six-yard score. When a pass for a two-point conversion fell incomplete, the Patriots were left sporting a 29-0 advantage.

The Patriots made it a 37-0 game with their third possession of the third quarter.

EHS student Chris Tiesler gave his hometown fans something to get excited about when he scored on a 21-yard touchdown run before hauling in a successful conversion pass from Bush.

The teams exchanged touchdowns in the final 12 minutes of play.

Jason Schwong ran for a two-yard touchdown and Tony Miller carried in a two-point conversion when LB ended H-BC-E's scoring run early in the fourth quarter.

Lee Jackson capped the scoring when he found the end zone at the end of a 35-yard run for the Patriots.

H-BC-E will be gunning for its fourth straight victory when it plays 0-3 Edgerton in Edgerton tomorrow.

"Edgerton runs a lot of the same things it did last year," Ellingson said. "They like to use an unbalanced line and pull out some trick plays on offense. We have to be ready for some non-conventional things when we're on defense. Offensively, we have to win at the line of scrimmage."

Team statistics
H-BC-E: 344 rushing yards, 33 passing yards, 377 total yards, four penalties for 25 yards, 14 first downs, three turnovers.

LB: 116 rushing yards, 32 passing yards, 148 total yards, two penalties for 27 yards, eight first downs, two turnovers.

Individual statistics
Rushing: Reid 17-193, Jackson 4-45, Jordan Scott 4-33, Kevin Van Batavia 11-40, Tiesler 3-29, Jesse Leuthold 2-8.

Passing: Top 4-13 for 30 yards, Bush 1-1 for three yards.

Receiving: Haak 3-27, Tiesler 2-6.

Defense: Schilling 10 tackles and one interception; Darin DeBoer nine tackles, Van Batavia two tackles and two sacks, Brant Deutsch three tackles and one sack, Matt Buck two tackles and one fumble recovery.

By Lori Ehde
In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack on East Coast, communities nationwide have responded in their own ways with acts of patriotism.

In Rock County, as in all parts of the country, generous individuals have been eager to help with relief efforts.

Boxes are set up at banks and investment offices community-wide to accept donations to be sent to the East Coast. Checks are made payable to the Red Cross Relief Fund for America.

According to Stephanie Moran, director of the Southwest Minnesota Chapter of the Red Cross, this isn't something these businesses were asked to do.

"They're just doing it on their own, so we can't say all banks are doing it," she said.

Moran said 100 percent of donated funds are sent directly to the East Coast for meal and clothing vouchers and to fund emergency shelters. At this time, she said no items are being accepted.

"They are so bombarded with donated items, they have too many to go through now," she said. "They mainly need money to continue their relief efforts."

She said she's not sure how long the local depositories will be available, possibly a few weeks, but she said residents can also send checks directly to the local office.

That address is: American Red Cross, 321 11th St., Worthington, MN 56156.

She advised people to give only through their local institutions or directly to the office to avoid giving to scam artists.

Football fans attending Adrian's homecoming game will also have an opportunity to drop money in a box at the gates. The game starts at 7 p.m.

Moment of silence
Local churches joined others across the nation Friday at noon in a national moment of prayer. Residents were encouraged to pray for comfort for the families of those who died and for recovery and healing for those injured.

They were also encouraged to pray for wisdom for national leaders, economic recovery and stability, for good to overcome evil, peace to replace fear and for love to overcome hate.

At the American Reformed Church, worshippers read aloud the words from Psalm 46.

"God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear," part of the passage reads.

"The nations are in uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."

Red, white and blue
As a mark of respect for those killed on Sept. 11, President George W. Bush ordered flags at all public buildings be flown at half-staff until sunset Saturday, Sept. 22.

In addition, the national commander of the American Legion urges all Americans to fly the U.S. flag at half-staff.

"As in times past, the presence of Old Glory at half-staff will remind all that we are citizens of a great nation in mourning," said Richard Santos on the American Legion Web site.

"Those citizens who died are members of the American family. All America grieves that loss."

In a demonstration of solidarity, residents and businesses nationwide are proclaiming their support for national efforts.

For example, "Pray for the nation," is the message typed into the lighted sign at Country Kitchen on South Highway 75.

"I guess we just thought it would be the appropriate thing to do," Raney Israelson said.

What do we tell the children?
In Luverne Elementary School, counselor Marie Atkinson Smeins canceled all her regular classes Tuesday and spent time in each classroom talking to students about the terrorist attack.

"I talked to the children about how sometimes people don't get along with each other and this sometimes causes violence," Atkinson-Smeins said.

She went on to encourage students to talk about it with their parents and teachers, and she assured them everything was being done to keep everyone in the rest of the country safe.

Elementary Principal Melody Tenhoff said she felt Tuesday's events robbed a piece of childhood from the children.

"Tuesday's events can be described in words that all children can understand: evil, hatred and violence," Tenhoff said.

"Students can help by living their life with honesty, respect and kindness."

For adults struggling with individual response to the attacks, the Red Cross issued the following tips for those feeling overwhelmed by emotions:

Avoid viewing repeated media coverage of the event.

Talk it out, ask for help and listen to other people.

Be especially kind to others, and do something that could help others, like make an appointment to give blood.

Spend time with your family and return to your usual routine.

Find a peaceful, quiet place to reflect and gain perspective.

By Sara Quam
State workers put off a strike until Oct. 1, pending the end of contract negotiations with the state.

Talks were postponed beyond the original Monday deadline because both parties felt that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks warranted more attention.

Although a strike won't happen until Oct. 1, negotiations will continue starting Sept. 27.

Gov. Jesse Ventura had ordered National Guard members to train for work in state-run nursing homes and similar facilities in case of a strike. Meanwhile some Guard members are also on hold in case they are needed nationally for military reasons.

Temporary workers would be hired for other positions left by strikers.

The points of contention between the two sides are insurance costs and wages. The local American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees president David Meyer said the insurance proposal hits workers the hardest.

State health insurance premiums have increased 20 percent in each of the last two years, and the state anticipates about 10 percent next year.

The state proposed a new plan to control costs. It would reduce employee premiums but require workers to share the costs of services. Now it requires employees to make only co-payments for some services and doesn't impose a deductible.

Under the proposal, employees would take on more of the costs through higher co-payments and deductibles for those who use the services.

A co-payment is an amount the employee pays for each service provided. A deductible is the amount the employee pays before insurance will pay for services. Co-insurance is the percentage the employee pays after the deductible is paid.

More employee co-payments that charge those using medical services is what the state is pushing for in exchange for low premiums.

As for wages, the state and unions are far apart on that, too. The state has offered increases of 2.5 percent for two years while AFSCME wants 6.5-percent annual pay raises.

The most recent, large state employee strike lasted 22 days in 1981.