I would first like to say there are always two sides to every story. With that said, I would like to bring to discussion the subject of what is right and wrong when you live in a small community. In the last few years, Luverne has made strides to become a growing and prosperous community. As you look around you will see new businesses coming to town all of which will help the community in their own ways. And I’m sure it is safe to say that the most lucrative project / business investment has been the construction of the Sioux Valley Luverne Medical Center. With 10’s of millions of dollars going into the project, thousands of dollars were donated from local families and businesses alike. That is what is great about a city like Luverne; with all the differences each individual has, it seems like every time someone is in need they can rely on someone or something within the town to help them out. The Sioux Valley Luverne Medical Center is not excluded in this statement. They have benefited greatly from the generosity of each citizen and business that donated toward the cause of helping the community to stay healthy. So what is the issue here, one may ask? The issue is: How is the town of Luverne going to continue to be prosperous when generosity is paid back by individuals going out of town to do their business when it is quite obvious there are businesses in town that offer the same services? My point is that the recipient of each of your donations — Sioux Valley Luverne Medical Center — went out of town to buy most of their products, such as furniture and thousands of dollars in televisions and numerous other products. Let’s put it this way, your donation went to our hospital and clinic (who claimed this was a local project and as much business as possible will stay in Luverne), which then went out on a shopping spree that benefited the businesses in town very little. They went to Sioux Falls businesses, for instance Karl’s Home Audio and Appliance, who did not contribute to the project AT ALL. And for what, products that they could have bought here in Luverne.The natural reaction you may have is maybe the prices were higher here in Luverne. That would be a good question. However, that is NOT the case. I know the Furniture House as well as the local Sears store has Price Matching options in the case of product you see elsewhere is cheaper. To top it off, neither of these two businesses were even asked to bid on these products. Basically, that means each individual purchase would have been significantly cheaper than what our local medical provider actually spent on their purchases. So the question beckons, is Luverne’s prosperity going to represent each one of us losing our grip on what is right and wrong?Mike Miller, Rural Rushmore