Midwest Wireless proposes to construct a 195-foot tall self-support communications tower with an adjacent equipment shelter in the Interstate 90 (north side of road) and County Road 6 (west side of road) area of Right-of-way east of Beaver Creek, MN 56116, in Rock County. If you are concerned about the effect this tower may have on Historic Properties, please write to: Mel Stafford, Trileaf Corp., 616 Billy Sunday Road, Suite 100, Ames, IA, 50010, 515-233-4282. Please include the Tower Location and the location of the historic resource that you believe might be affected.(7-20. 7-27, 8-3)

Midwest Wireless proposes to construct a 195-foot tall self-support communications tower with an adjacent equipment shelter in the Interstate 90 (north side of road) and County Road 6 (west side of road) area of Right-of-way east of Beaver Creek, MN 56116, in Rock County. If you are concerned about the effect this tower may have on Historic Properties, please write to: Mel Stafford, Trileaf Corp., 616 Billy Sunday Road, Suite 100, Ames, IA, 50010, 515-233-4282. Please include the Tower Location and the location of the historic resource that you believe might be affected.(7-20. 7-27, 8-3)

10 years ago (1996)
Plans to expand Luverne’s airport runway were put to rest by a vote of a joint airport zoning board.oEugene Cragoe decided not to seek another term on the Luverne School Board. After 16 years, he decided he’d had enough, but he has fond memories of those years and plans to stay involved in the district.
John and Rosa Johnson, Luverne, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.25 years ago (1981)
The nine-digit ZIP code may finally be headed for the dead-letter bin. It has been delayed in a House-Senate conference committee until at least 1983.50 years ago (1956)
The first case of polio for the year was reported here in 7-year-old Wendy Anderson.
The Luverne school estimates that per pupil cost is $300.
Construction is moving forward on building projects in Luverne: the municipal hospital, a new motel on U.S. 75 North, new telephone company building, new Assemblies of God Church and new Fitzer office building.75 years ago (1931)
Sixteen people got their citizenship rights: Adolph Zeising, Rudolph Lohman, Fritz Meyer, Herman Muller, Julius Nath, Dietrich Brunken, Alfred Wiese, Jacobus Biesterbos, Herman Van Engelenhoven, Albert Samuels, Albert Groot Wassink, Mary Groot Wassink, Margaret Van Dyk, Mrs. Bertha Jensen, Ludvig Konsmo and Ole Kvaas.
Approximately 10,000 gallons of crude oil were used per mile to resurface part of Trunk Highway No. 6 to the Pipestone County line.100 years ago (1906)
The material for remodeling the high school building has been received and work on the improvements is now being pushed as rapidly as possible so as to have the building complete at the opening of the school year.
The fact that there are now four prisoners in the county jail serving sentences for drunkenness sharply calls attention to the city’s need of a stone pile and an ordinance compelling this class of lawbreakers to break rock during the term of their sentence. All of these men are of the hobo element and the hobo season has just begun.

By Lori EhdeNorma Remme is living her professional dream, and the experience is sweetened by the fact that she’s living it with her family members.Norma, her husband Dennis, their son Scott and his wife, Lisa, are co-owners of Luverne’s newest business, Remmedez (pronounced "remedies").They purchased the former Harvey’s Gun Shop on the corner of Main Street and Highway 75 in August last year from Glen Gust.The building now houses three entities of the Remme business: a hair salon and a gift shop, which fall under the Remmedez name, and office space for Remme Construction.The whole business is owned as a four-way partnership between Dennis, Norma, Scott and Lisa Remme.Lisa, who has her manager’s license in cosmetology, heads up the salon portion of the business, and her sister-in-law, Susie (Remme) Bork, who also has a manager’s license, rents booth space for styling in the salon as an independent contractor.Lisa said business ownership is something most salon professionals strive for. "Nobody likes to work for someone else," said Lisa, who worked four years in Sioux Valley Hospital, Sioux Falls, as a health unit coordinator prior to attending Stewart’s School of Hair Styling, Sioux Falls.Linda Uithoven is employed as a part-time nail technician in the Remmedez shop. All three women have previous salon experience in Luverne.Both Lisa and Norma share duties in the Remmedez retail area, although Norma described this portion of the business as her dream come true."I love to decorate and now I can do it here," said Norma, who has incorporated many of her personal decorating ideas into the shop interior itself."A lot of the decorating and design ideas were Susie’s — especially in the salon, and I find myself consulting with her, too, on merchandise ideas for the gift shop."The shelves stock giftware items and home accessories, such as Wall Talk, candles and handmade décor items. There is a special place for little people, featuring items such as dolls and wooden puzzles.In addition, the store stocks jewelry and lotions.Norma said she finds most of her inventory on the Internet and said keeping the store stocked has been a learning process. "I like to find different and unique stuff, but a lot of it takes six to eight weeks for delivery," Norma said. "So, I’ve ordered Christmas merchandise already."Norma will also spend a good share of her time in the Remme Construction office, which occupies the north portion of the building."We’re doing the same thing we’ve always done, but now it’s in an office instead of at our house, Scott’s or in the pickup," Norma said. "So it was time to have an office." Dennis said the office in town has been good for business. "For Norma doing books, and for people stopping in, it’s easier," Dennis said. "It’s one place to go to do your bid meetings and to meet with clients."Remme Construction deals primarily in agriculture cement work. For example, they’re busy with monoslope cattle barns, bunkers and dairy setups.Dennis worked construction from 1969 to 1976, when he started farming, and he kept doing construction work on the side during his farming years from 1976 to 1992.Both he and Scott have been working construction for Dunham Companies and Limoges Construction Inc., Sioux Falls, for the past several years.As far as Scott is concerned, he’s doing the same work, but he said he enjoys doing it on his own schedule — one of the perks of business ownership.Norma seemed to speak for the group when she said the business venture has so far been a good thing."I’ve always wanted to do something like this. … It’s a nice change for me," said Norma, who previously worked 16 years with Rock County Family Services in child support services. "When Susie was going to cosmetology school we started thinking about it, and then when Scott started seeing Lisa (also a cosmetologist), that really sweetened the pot. … Now we are all in our own business."They all agreed business ownership has been somewhat stressful, but they said the experience so far is positive."We seem to be doing more work now than ever," Norma said. "But it’s just where I want to be and what I like to do."The 4-by-8-foot Remmedez sign will be erected at the corner in the next couple of weeks.

By Sara QuamThe warm weather typically brings a slight increase in crime, according to Sheriff Mike Winkels, and that holds true in the last quarterly report for activity in the city of Luverne. Winkels shares activity reports with the city of Luverne as a part of the contract agreement for law enforcement services.Liquor violations and vandalism are generating slightly more attention from the Rock County Law Enforcement Department, mostly because high schools and colleges are on summer break.Vagrancy is slightly more than last quarter, again because of the weather. Traffic violations show higher numbers this quarter because of a state-wide "Click It or Ticket" campaign.Winkels said there were even more warnings issues than tickets during that effort.Some highlights from this quarter include:
34 seatbelt citations (There were two last quarter and 58 in all of 2005.)
23 speeding citations (There were nine last quarter and 29 in all of 2005.)
Five DWIs (There were seven last quarter and 24 in all of 2005.)
18 under-21 consumption arrests (There were none last quarter and 18 in all of 2005.)
14 disorderly conduct complaints (There were five last quarter and 29 in all of 2005.)
62 dog and animal complaints (There were 26 last quarter and 183 in all of 2005.)
20 family or child abuse complaint calls (There were nine last quarter and 47 in all of 2005)
27 investigations of vandalism (There were 14 last quarter and 67 in all of 2005.)
12 incidents of vagrancy (There were five last quarter and 30 in all of 2005.)

By Lori EhdeThe heat wave lifted this week just in time for the 2006 Rock County Fair, which officially starts today.Highlights at the fairgrounds today include the Rock Nobles Cattlemen’s beef feed at 5:30 p.m. and the Rock County Amateur Talent Contest in the grandstand at 7 p.m.According to one of the talent show organizers Jane Wildung, a strong showing of entries — more than 20 — had signed up by the July 28 deadline.Highlights on Friday’s fair schedule include free water nitrate testing by the Rock County Land Management Office starting at 2 p.m. and the Senior Citizens Day program — featuring Rock County’s Outstanding Senior Citizens and entertainment by Country Grass — also at 2 p.m.The Rock County Pork Producers will start their pork feed at 5:30 p.m. and the Ranch Rodeo will begin in the grand stand at 6 p.m. (see story in the Star Herald sports pages).The grandstand finale Saturday night features the Bio Fuels Enduro Race starting at 7 p.m. (see writeup in the Star Herald sports pages).Thursday, Friday and Saturday features daily livestock shows, with the parade of champions at 6 p.m., exhibits in the commercial buildings and the Floral Hall and Mad Jax on the Midway from 6 p.m. to midnight Thursday, and from 1 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

By Lori EhdeRock County and several area counties received much needed rain this week, but the big question is, "Did the moisture come in time to help drought-stricken crops?"According to SWMN Farmers Co-op crop consultant Shawn Vis, corn was starting to suffer under the stress of the recent heat wave."We’ve had corn pollinating under extreme heat," Vis said. "When that happens — even under normal rainfall — 90- to 100-degree heat when corn is shedding pollen is not ideal."He said the weather is changing just in time."These rains, and especially the 10-degree drop in temperature, will really help to relieve stress on the corn," Vis said, "especially since it’s in blister stage and starting to set an ear."Recent rainfall totals in Rock County vary widely depending where the reports come from.The northern part of the county, such as the Kenneth and Hardwick areas, received an inch to 1 1/2 inches last week Monday. That same day, Luverne had only a few tenths, and south of Luverne, in the Kanaranzi and Ash Creek areas, reports were only trace levels.As of Tuesday afternoon, those areas were still quite dry and some fields there were starting to show wear. "It’s pretty bone dry there," Vis said Tuesday.Wednesday morning totals in Luverne at 1.19 inches, and in Hills 1.85 inches. But north of Beaver Creek, farmers were reporting nearly 5 1/2 inches of rain."That’ll pretty much make those guys for the year," Vis said.As varied as Rock County’s rainfall has been, so is its soil quality from one area to the next.The Steen and Hills areas haven’t received much rain (only six tenths Tuesday morning compared with nearly an inch by Hardwick) but the soil there is richer, and crops are still in good condition."We have to remember we had an abnormally wet spring," he said. "And our soil can hold moisture fairly well, so there’s still some moisture down there."Vis said the hot, dry spell hit at a bad time for corn development, but he still predicts a relatively decent yield this fall."It won’t be a record setter like last year, but it will still be good," he said.As far as soybeans are concerned, Vis said they should be relatively unaffected by the heat wave."It’s still early to tell, but the story will be told in August. We make soybeans in August," he said. "So I have a lot of optimism for soybeans. Even after a drought you can get some really nice beans in August."He said the story with soybeans this year is again the destructive soybean aphid. "It’s a big problem, but we know how to manage it," Vis said. He said this week and next, most soybean producers will spray their fields with pesticides, either by ground application or by air with crop dusting planes."It’s not just a Rock County problem," Vis said. "It’s a regional problem."

Preparing the next Guard care packagesThe next care packages for National Guard troops will be prepared on Saturday, Aug. 12.The packages will be assembled at the Luverne National Guard facility.According to Gina Newman from the Family Readiness Group, enough items were remaining from the previous month so that they didn’t have to ask for contributions for the July packages.The Family Readiness Group assembles 25 packages each month, enough for a third of the local area deployed National Guard soldiers.The goal is for each soldier to get a care package every third month.If you would like to donate, you can either give money or items from their requested list.The list includes:black ink pens, Pringles, Lays Stax, beef jerky, pizza crust mix, hard candy and gum, small bags of sunflower seeds, granola bars, freezer pops, Purell hand sanitizer in travel size bottles, Gold Bond powder, Baby Wipes, facial wash wipes, lip balm with sun screen, reading material, puzzle books, Ziploc bags in various sizes.Personal items are also appreciated, items such as personal letters from community members, pictures that your kids make or other things that might remind them of their community.Donated items can be dropped of anytime at the armory in either Luverne or Pipestone.In addition to the items for our soldiers, the Civil Affairs team is collecting school supplies for the Iraqi children.Requested items include backpacks, shoes, pencils colored pencils (but no crayons, because they melt) wire-bound notebooks, rulers, erasers and soccer balls.If you have any questions, you can contact Gina Newman at ginanewman@myclearwave.net.State Rep hopeful to visit LuverneMike McCarvel, the DFL nominee for District 22A, will be in Luverne at noon this Saturday in the city park.McCarvel, a resident of rural Brewster, is focusing on the revitalizing of education and working for affordable healthcare and insurance as his campaign themes.McCarvel has been involved in education for some time. He has served on the Brewster School Board for the past ten years and is also a member of the Minnesota State School Board Association.On the health front, McCarvel will strive for more affordable health insurance and healthcare, by working toward containing costs.McCarvel received a degree from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. in Animal Science and a B.A. in Agricultural Business Administration.He has been farming in the Brewster area since 1980.Currently, McCarvel serves as chairman of the Nobles County Corn and Soybean Growers Association.McCarvel and his wife, Bev, own and operate Curves for Women in several locations. The couple have three children.McCarvel will be taking on our current state representative, Doug Magnus. The Republican incumbent was first elected in 2002 and will be running for his third term in the house.Last call for Community EdThe 2006 fall schedule for Community Education is being compiled, and if you want to be a part of it, your time is running out.Anyone who wishes to take Community Ed classes between September and December needs to contact the Community Ed office by Monday, Aug. 7.For more information, call 283-4724.While you’re at it, they are also looking for some suggestions on which classes you would like to see offered in the near future.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

Sacrifice of the KingdomGreat treasure demands great sacrifice, according to a pair of parables recorded in Matt. 13:44-46.In the first of these, Jesus says: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then, in his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."Put yourself in that situation for a minute. You’re walking across a field — perhaps taking a shortcut home; perhaps just enjoying the sights and sounds of the season. Seeing something out of place, you stoop, brush away some dirt — and your eyes shine with the glint of gold! Ancient, buried treasure! But there’s a problem: you don’t own that field. We can understand the man’s solution. He sells everything to raise the money to purchase the field, understanding that the treasure this land conceals is worth far more than the sacrifice demanded by the purchase. That, said Jesus, is the Kingdom of Heaven. It demands everything — all that we have, all that we know, all that we love. For the sake of serving our Savior, we might be required to forsake father and mother, or perhaps to go without a husband or wife. It might demand that we turn our backs on lucrative job offers, live in modest houses, or settle in neighborhoods that make us less than comfortable. But for those who respond with a no-holds-barred faith, the reward is unimaginable. The God who made heaven and earth is the One who promises your reward — and His blessing is without limit! Then comes this second parable. Jesus says: "Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it." Pretty similar idea, isn’t it? The kingdom demands our all, but it promises an unimaginable treasure. Wrong. Read the parable again. The Kingdom of heaven is like — a pearl? No! The Kingdom of heaven is like the merchant. Jesus — the Master of the surprise ending — has turned the tables. The Kingdom of heaven itself is seeking treasure — and you are that treasure! You are the pearl! And having found that pearl of great price — having found those whom the Father chose from the start (Eph. 1:4) — the Kingdom of heaven went and sold everything in order to obtain it. In its desire for that great treasure, it was willing to sacrifice even the beloved Son (John 3:16; 1 John 4:10). In the person of the Son, it was willing to sell its claim to heaven’s glory (Php. 2:6-8). It sold everything — in order to redeem the members of the Kingdom of heaven. How much did God love His people? Enough to consider them a priceless pearl, worth the ultimate sacrifice. Now He asks us: how much does the Kingdom of heaven mean to you?