The Cardinals edged Sioux Falls Roosevelt by one point and topped Brandon Valley (S.D.) by five points during home matches played Thursday and Tuesday respectively. LHS posted a five-point conference win in Worthington Monday.

Luverne will put its three-match winning streak on the line during home matches against Pipestone-Jasper and Marshall today and Monday respectively.

Luverne 6, BV 1

LHS went 3-0 in doubles play and took two of three singles matches during Tuesday's five-point home win over the Lynx.

All three Cardinal doubles teams dropped the first sets of their matches before rallying to win the next two sets.

Allana and Ashley Gacke were 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 winners over Katy Bly and Mandy Bonander at No. 1, Gabe Van Dyk and Patricia Willers prevailed 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 against Marine Graham and Crystal Selchert at No. 2, and Sarah Lange and Jenny Braa notched a 3-6, 6-3 and 6-1 win over Crystal Meyer and Kelly Bariak at No. 3.

Amanda Aning, Becky Antoine and Rachel Tofteland posted straight set wins at No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 singles respectively.

Aning topped Abby Erickson by 6-0 and 6-3 scores, Antoine was a 6-0, 6-1 victor over Jessi Wehrkamp, and Tofteland bested Kelly Larson by 7-6 and 6-3 tallies.

BV's Hillary Green handed Lexi Jauert a pair of 6-1 setbacks in No. 4 singles.

Luverne 6, Worthington 1

The Cardinal girls collected their first conference win of the season when they disposed of the Trojans by five points in Worthington Monday.

Luverne swept all three doubles matches and went 3-1 in singles during its winning performance.

After falling 6-4 in the first set against Nadine Wolf and Lindsey Radloff, Luverne's No. 1 doubles team of Allana and Ashley Gacke rebounded to post 7-5 and 6-0 in sets two and three to take their match.

Cardinals Gabe Van Dyk and Patricia Willers nailed down 6-1 and 6-2 wins against Lindsay Stewart and Liz Anderson at No. 2 doubles, and the No. 3 team of Jenny Braa and Sarah Lange won by 6-1 and 6-2 counts against Sarah Liapis and Traci Nelson.

Luverne's Amanda Aning posted a pair of 6-2 wins against Jessica Elsing at No. 1 singles, Becky Antoine was a 6-2, 6-0 victor over Abby Wiltrout at No. 2 and Rachel Tofteland was a 7-6, 6-3 winner against Lisa Jackson at No. 3.

Trojan Lindsay Meier handed Lexi Jauert 6-3 and 6-4 setbacks at No. 4 singles.

Luverne 4, Roosevelt 3

The Cardinals surpassed the .500 mark for the season with a one-point home win over Sioux Falls Roosevelt.

The teams split four singles contests during the match. Luverne went 2-1 in doubles to record the win.

Luverne's doubles victories came from the No. 2 and No. 3 teams.

Gabe Van Dyk and Patricia Willers secured 6-3 and 6-1 wins against Sara Austad and Brynn Minnaert at No. 2. Jenny Braa and Sarah Lange nailed down 6-1 and 6-2 victories over Chelsey Krull and Gina Pulford at No. 3.

Roosevelt's Marin Nordstrom and Carrie Pudenz saddled Allana and Ashley Gacke with a pair of 6-2 setbacks at No. 1 doubles.

Rachel Tofteland and Chelsea Cronin posted Luverne's singles wins at the No. 3 and No. 4 slots.

Tofteland topped Adriaana Hembree by 6-2 and 6-1 counts at No. 3. Cronin was a 7-6, 6-2 victor over Ashley Miller at No. 4.

Roosevelt's Melissa Schager recorded a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 win against Amanda Aning at No. 1 singles. Kerri Burkard topped Becky Antoine 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 2.

The Luverne tennis team put together its longest winning streak of the season by winning three straight matches since last Thursday.

An inexperienced Luverne High School football team did some growing up during Friday's Southwest Conference clash in Worthington.

By Sara Quam

A Monday train accident near Manley in Rock County resulted in no serious injuries.

Nathaniel Van Gorkom, Larchwood, Iowa, parked his 1979 Datson on a railroad crossing about one half mile east of County Road 17.

Burlington Northern operator William Whear, Dakota Dunes, S.D., saw the vehicle and attempted to stop.

The train struck the car at 12:10 a.m. with Van Gorkom inside and pushed it 13,098 feet down the tracks.

Van Gorkom was released from Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls, Tuesday.

By Sara Quam

The newest member of the Hills Crescent and Star Herald staff brings a little experience and a lot of heart to the publications.

Jolene Farley, an Adrian resident, worked for two years at the Nobles County Review. Writing was something she always liked, but actually becoming a reporter was a little unpredicted.

Farley started out at the Review as a graphic designer, but her position blossomed to include most of the reporting and some bookkeeping.

Here, her duties will be split between graphics work and being the primary reporter for the Hills Crescent. Farley will also help with Star Herald duties.

A Centerville, S.D., native, she started college at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion as a mass communications major but then decided to switch to business.

"In my mind, business had more uses, but I actually enjoy communications more," Farley said. "I like the people."

Just short of her business degree, she and her husband owned a small trucking business in Alcester, S.D., until his death in 1996 of cancer.

Making the transition from Adrian to Rock County papers shouldn't be difficult for Farley, who isn't easily bored. "I prefer the human interest stories, but I like politics, too. - You get to stay curious, it's interesting and you meet lots of characters," she said.

"I saw this as an opportunity to refine my reporting skills and learn the technology - and more about the business, really," she said.

Living in Adrian while covering Rock County won't hinder Farley's work.

"I already worked one Saturday in Hills with Old Fashioned Saturday Night. - I encourage people to call me at any time with story or photo ideas or concerns," Farley said. "I'll just try to get to know everyone."

Besides working, Farley keeps busy with various volunteer activities. She is in charge of her Diocesan newsletter, serves on the Adrian Hospital Board, is the vice president of St. Adrian's women's group, is a cantor in church and is secretary of Adrian's Women of Today. This was her last week of being a Girl Scout leader, and she is a former religion teacher as well.

Farley will continue to live in Adrian with her three children, Jessica, 17, Danielle, 15, and Malia, 10.

More than 3,000 students make up the 23 bands that will participate in the 50th Annual Tri-State Band Festival on Saturday, Sept. 30, in Luverne. 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 parade will begin on Main Street in Luverne at 10 a.m., followed by the field competition at 12:45 p.m. at the Luverne High School athletic field. Entrance to all field events will require the purchase of a $3 Tri-State Band Festival button, which will be available at the gate as well as on Main Street prior to the parade.

Because this is the 50th anniversary of the festival there will be special events to note this historic occasion. Parade marshals for this year's event will be 18 of the past parade marshals who will return to Luverne to be part of the festivities. The guest band for this year's event will be the 1st Marine Division Marching Band from Camp Pendleton, Calif. It will perform at both the parade and field events. In addition, the marching band from Southwest State University in Marshall will participate.

Bands participating include from Minnesota: Adrian, Lourdes (Rochester), Luverne, Murray County Central, New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva, Pipestone-Jasper, Tracy, Waseca, Worthington; Iowa: Crestwood, George-Little Rock, Sibley-Ocheyedan, Sioux Center, South O'Brien, West Lyon; South Dakota: Brandon Valley, Brookings, Garretson, Lennox, Lincoln (Sioux Falls), Parkston and Washington (Sioux Falls).

For more information contact the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce at 283-4061.

The Estenson Co. is merging its income tax and accounting business with a new firm, and the insurance portion of Estenson will relocate to East Main Street.

David Gangestad and Mike Reker have jointly owned Estenson Co. and its building on West Main Street since 1982.

If the agreement is signed, Estenson Co. will sell its accounting and tax business to Meulebroeck, Taubert and Co., Pipestone, and Gangestad will buy Reker's remaining interest in Estenson Co., which consists of the insurance portion of the business.

Reker will stay on as an employee of the new firm, as will current Estenson employees Phyllis Vos and Krista Kroon.

"Essentially what we're doing is merging the payroll, income tax and accounting business with this firm from Pipestone," Gangestad said Monday. "The clients we've had will still be dealing with Mike in the same office."

Reker and Gangestad will still own the Estenson building and will lease it to Meulebroeck, Taubert and Co. whose name will appear on the office front.

Meanwhile, Gangestad will move the insurance portion of Estenson Co. to the former Sears Catalog store on East Main Street. He's negotiating with Eugene Cragoe on purchasing the one-story block building on the north side of the street.

Gangestad will take with him Estenson employees Tim Knoll and Lisa Diekmann.

The business will no longer do payroll, accounting and income taxes, but it will continue servicing Estenson clients in personal and commercial insurance, life and health insurance and fixed annuities.

The Estenson Co. has operated under its current arrangement and location since 1982 when it merged with Reker's CPA firm.

Prior to that, Estenson Co. operated out of the Edward D. Jones building since Gangestad and Tom Serie bought the business from Wally Estenson in 1975.

The opportunity with Meulebroeck, Taubert and Co. came at a good time for both Gangestad and Reker, who look forward to simplifying their professional careers.

Gangestad's wife, Randa, plans to retire from teaching at Luverne Elementary School in two years. "When that happens, I want to be able to travel in the winter, and right now, I can't get away during tax season," he said.

Reker said he's looking forward to just working on tax returns and dealing with his clients without dividing his attentions on administrative concerns.

"In today's regulatory climate of the tax and accounting agencies, it's just a hassle for a single firm to maintain all the administration that goes with that," Reker said.

"I think the future is going to be these multi-location firms."

The opportunity to merge with Estenson came at a good time for Meulebroeck, Taubert and Co., which was looking to expand.

The business already has offices in Russell and Tyler, in addition to Pipestone, and with client growth to the south, a fourth office in Luverne seemed logical, according to Matt Taubert.

"We have three current employees who will become partners in the firm next year, so this will also help to facilitate that growth in our business," Taubert said.
Initially, the first new face to join the Luverne location will be Dave Friedrichsen, a Rock Rapids, Iowa, native who's been with the Pipestone firm since 1989.

Taubert said the office will need to hire a full-time receptionist once the new arrangement is effective - likely around Nov. 1.

By Lori Ehde

One of Luverne's longtime accounting and insurance businesses will see major changes following a verbal agreement reached last week.

By Sara Quam

The Rock County Developmental Achievement Center could finish an expansion this fall, as the county awarded it a no-interest loan Tuesday.

The Rock County Board of Commissioners agreed to help finance the expansion project with a loan of up to half the project expenses, but not to exceed $120,000. The debt will be repaid in eight years.

Commissioner Ron Boyenga, who is also a member of the DAC board, said he expects the county will loan closer to $80,000.

DAC Director Dorothy Cronin said with expansion comes improved services to the clients, and the county in general benefits. She would like to eventually expand what the DAC does with its in-house work programs to include larger assembly contracts.

"The more expediently we get this done, the more competitive we can be," Cronin said.

"I consider it economic development," Bob Jarchow, chairman of the board, said.

Commissioner Ken Hoime said, "It's a good mission for the county."

The expansion is something the DAC has needed for some time.

Code violations include: handicapped accessibility inside and out of the building, sanitary violations (including mop sinks and washer and dryer in main areas), inadequate conference room, no special medication room (medication is currently in a locked kitchen cabinet), no second legal exit and a bathroom that's too small.

The DAC had previously intended to ask for a one-time grant of $15,000, but Cronin reasoned that the county will get its money back with the loan and the DAC can get a faster start on the project, while saving money it would have paid in interest.

New meeting times

The board switched its October meeting days to Oct. 10 and Oct. 24. They will begin at the regular meeting time of 9 a.m.