REQUEST FOR BIDSLUVERNE PUBLIC SCHOOLSNotice is hereby given that bids will be received until 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 14, 2006, at the Office of the Superintendent, Luverne High School, Luverne, Minnesota, for the furnishing of the following products: A. Dairy ProductsDetailed specifications and information are available at the Office of the Superintendent of Schools. The School Board reserves the right to reject any and all quotes and bids and to waive any technicalities. Cary Radisewitz, Ed.D.Clerk(6-29, 7-6)

Public NoticeClose Proximity Property Owners and Local Officials of the Rock County Planning & Zoning CommissionNotice is hereby given that The Rock County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, July 10, 2006, at the Rock County Family Services Building located at 2 Roundwind Road in Luverne, MN at 8:00 p.m. to act on the following conditional use permit application:Conditional Use: Operation of an existing feedlot over 1,000 animal units. In accordance with Minnesota Rule 7020.2000, subp. 4, notice is hereby given that Christensen Family Farms has made application to the Rock County Feedlot Officer and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES) permit for an existing site with no new construction.MPCA rules and permit guidelines require new NPDES permit applications to reflect the physical capacity of the existing facilities and not the actual number of animals housed in the existing facilities.Property Owners: Christensen Family Farms, Inc. Legal description: SE 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of section 11, in Springwater Township, T103N, R46W, Rock County, Minnesota.Facility Name: Christensen Farms Site C-18The existing site consists of total confinement barns as follows:(1) 71’x410’x2’ building with 541 head of swine and 19 head capacity increase = 560 head of swine over 300 lbs.(1) 61’x377’x10’ deep pitted building with 1031 head of swine and 109 head capacity increase = 1140 head of swine over 300 lbs.(1) 61’x395’x10’ deep pitted building with 1078 head of swine and 222 head capacity increase = 1300 head of swine over 300 lbs. The existing facility houses 2650 swine over 300 lbs., including litters with the sow (1060 animal units). The physical capacity of the facility is 1200 animal units. The described property is zoned as A-2, General Agriculture. All persons interested may appear and be heard at said time and place or submit views in writing or by representative. Dated: June 29, 2006By Order of the Rock County Planning & Zoning CommissionEric Hartman, Zoning Administrator311 W Gabrielson RoadLuverne, MN 56156507-283-8862(6-29, 7-6)

Public NoticeClose Proximity Property Owners and Local Officials of the Rock County Planning & Zoning CommissionNotice is hereby given that The Rock County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, July 10, 2006, at the Rock County Family Services Building located at 2 Roundwind Road in Luverne, MN at 8:10 p.m. to act on the following conditional use permit application:Conditional Use: Operation of an existing feedlot over 1,000 animal units. In accordance with Minnesota Rule 7020.2000, subp. 4, notice is hereby given that Christensen Family Farms has made application to the Rock County Feedlot Officer and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES) permit for an existing site with no new construction.MPCA rules and permit guidelines require new NPDES permit applications to reflect the physical capacity of the existing facilities and not the actual number of animals housed in the existing facilities.Property Owners: Christensen Family Farms, Inc. Legal description: NW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of section 16, in Springwater Township, T103N, R46W, Rock County, Minnesota.Facility Name: Christensen Farms Site C-12The existing site consists of total confinement barns as follows:(1) 71’x410’ building with 541 head of swine and 19 head capacity increase = 560 head of swine over 300 lbs.(1) 78’x325’ building with 1031 head of swine and 109 head capacity increase = 1140 head of swine over 300 lbs.(1) 60’x335’ building with 1078 head of swine and 222 head capacity increase = 1300 head of swine over 300 lbs.The existing facility houses 2650 swine over 300 lbs. including litters with the sow (1060 animal units). The physical capacity of the facility is 1200 animal units. The site has (1) 100’ diameter x 8’ deep concrete manure storage and (1) 300’x800’x11’ liquid storage area. The described property is zoned as A-2, General Agriculture. All persons interested may appear and be heard at said time and place or submit views in writing or by representative. Dated: June 29, 2006By Order of the Rock County Planning & Zoning CommissionEric Hartman, Zoning Administrator311 W Gabrielson RoadLuverne, MN 56156507-283-8862(6-29, 7-6)

Public NoticeClose Proximity Property Owners and Local Officials of the Rock County Planning and Zoning Commission.Notice is hereby given that the Rock County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, July 10th, 2006, at the Rock County Family Services Building located at 2 Roundwind Road in Luverne, MN at 7:45 P.M. to act on the following conditional use permit application:Close Proximity Property Owners and Local Officials of the Rock County Planning and Zoning Commission. Conditional use: For the expansion of an existing feedlot over 1,000 animal units. Property Owner: Bacon Maker FarmsLegal Description: SW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of section 34 in Martin Township, T101N, R46N, Rock County, Minnesota.The existing feedlot consists of: three open lots, 190’x120’, 230’x150’, 190’x140’, that will have a totally contained vegetative treatment runoff system and house 950 head of finishing cattle. A 30’x240’ total confinement building with a poured concrete pit to house 800 head of finishing pigs, a 20’x40’ total confinement building and a 24’x44’ total confinement building with a 30’x16’ poured concrete pit to house 400 head of nursery pigs. Existing animal unit capacity is 1270. The proposed expansion consists of a 180’x300’ open lot with a totally contained vegetative treatment runoff system to house 300 head of finishing cattle. The total animal unit capacity of the site will be 1520. The described property is zoned as A-2, General Agriculture. All persons interested may appear and be heard at said time and place, or submit views in writing or by representative. Dated: June 29, 2006By Order of the Rock County Planning & Zoning CommissionEric Hartman, Zoning Administrator311 W Gabrielson RoadLuverne, MN 56156507-283-8862(6-29, 7-6)

By John RittenhouseThe slumping Luverne Redbirds dropped their fifth consecutive amateur baseball game Sunday.Hosting Gopher League rival Wilmont, the Redbirds yielded six third-inning runs and couldn’t recover the rest of the way in what turned into a 15-4 loss."It was an ugly game," said Redbird coach Barry Shelton.After Wilmont scored six times in the top of the third, Luverne countered with a two-run rally in the bottom of the inning to make it a 6-2 game.Terry Eernisse and Adam Kurtz ignited the uprising by slapping singles. Eernisse scored the first run when Tim Boen bounced out. Dustin Groen singled home Kurtz.The way the game played out, the four-run deficit after the third inning would be as close as the Redbirds would come to catching the Cardinals.Wilmont scored three runs in the fourth inning to lead 9-2 before Luverne plated single runs in the sixth and seventh innings to trail 9-4.Three-run rallies in the eighth and ninth innings gave Wilmont an 11-run victory.Kurtz was hit by a pitch and scored Luverne’s sixth-inning run when Rob Fodness singled.Tony Sandbulte walked and scored on an error in the seventh for the hosts.Kurtz tossed the first two and two-thirds innings for Luverne and was saddled with the loss after yielding five earned runs.Jared Pick, Zach Wysong, Eernisse and Fodness all pitched in relief.The 7-9 Redbirds attempt to snap their losing skid when they play two games Sunday.Luverne hosts Spencer at 2 p.m. before traveling to Pipestone for a 7:30 p.m. game.Box score AB R H BISandbulte 4 1 1 0Studer 5 0 2 0Wysong 4 0 1 0Eernisse 4 1 2 0Shelton 1 0 0 0Kurtz 3 2 1 0Boen 4 0 0 1Groen 4 0 2 1Fodness 4 0 1 1Pick 4 0 0 0

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne American Legion baseball team went 1-4 at the Brookings Tournament over the weekend.The Cardinals split games on Friday, beating Cokato after losing the opener to Pipestone.Coon Rapids bested Luverne on Saturday, while Mayville, N.D., and Brookings saddled the Cards with losses on Sunday.Luverne, 2-9 overall, finishes the regular season with a road game in Adrian Friday.Brookings 5, Luverne 0The host team handed Luverne its second shutout of the event during Sunday’s tournament finale.The Cards were limited to a pair of hits in the contest.Phil Paquette doubled in the top of the fourth inning and Ben Nath singled in the sixth.Brookings scored singled runs in the second and third innings before icing the win with a five-run fifth inning.Andrew DeBoer tossed the first four and two-thirds innings, taking the loss for Luverne. Nath pitched the final inning and one-third.Box score AB R H BIClark 3 0 0 0Boomgaarden 2 0 0 0Paquette 3 0 1 0Reisch 3 0 0 0DeBoer 3 0 0 0Nath 3 0 1 0Goembel 3 0 0 0Bruynes 3 0 0 0Richters 1 0 0 0Hoff 1 0 0 0Mayville 5, Luverne 1Mayville scored the game’s first five runs and coasted to a four-run win over the Cardinals during Sunday’s first game.The North Dakota team put together two-run rallies in the first and fourth innings and plated a single run in the top of the third to gain a 5-0 lead.Luverne’s lone run came in the bottom of the fourth.Tyler Reisch singled, advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by DeBoer and scored on an error.Paquette pitched the first three innings of the game and took the loss after surrendering three runs. Micah Boomgaarden threw four innings of two-run relief.Box score AB R H BIClark 3 0 1 0Boomgaarden 3 0 0 0Paquette 3 0 2 0Reisch 3 1 1 0DeBoer 3 0 0 0Nath 3 0 0 0Hoff 1 0 0 0Bruynes 2 0 0 0Goembel 3 0 0 0Richters 2 0 0 0CR 6, Luverne 0The Cardinals couldn’t produce a run during Saturday’s tournament game in Brookings.Coon Rapids limited Luverne to a pair of hits in the contest.CR, on the other hand, scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning, one in the fourth and three in the fifth to win handily.Jake Clark and DeBoer singled in the first and second innings respectively to account for Luverne’s hits.Caleb Bruynes worked all six innings on the mound and took the loss.Box score AB R H BIBoomgaarden 3 0 0 0Clark 3 0 1 0Paquette 3 0 0 0Reisch 3 0 0 0DeBoer 3 0 1 0Hoff 2 0 0 0Goembel 2 0 0 0Richters 2 0 0 0Bruynes 2 0 0 0Luverne 4, Cokato 2The Cardinals picked up their second win of the season during Friday’s second game in Brookings.With Nath tossing a complete game to keep Luverne close, the Cards overcame a 2-0 deficit to win by two runs.Cokato gained a two-run lead by plating single runs in the top half of the first and fifth innings.Luverne tied the game at two in the bottom of the fifth before producing the game-winning runs in the sixth.Derek Elbers walked and Seth Goembel singled before scoring the fifth-inning runs when Zach Olson slapped a two-run single to left field.Clark walked and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth when Reisch singled. Elbers singled home Reisch to cap the scoring.Nath limited Cokato to five hits and two runs during his seven-inning effort on the mound. He walked four batters and fanned three.Box score AB R H BIBoomgaarden 3 0 0 0Clark 2 1 0 0Paquette 3 0 0 0Reisch 3 1 1 1Nath 3 0 2 0Elbers 2 1 1 1Goembel 3 1 1 0Bruynes 3 0 1 0Richters 2 0 0 0Pipestone 4, Luverne 1The Cardinals opened the tournament by dropping a three-run decision to rival Pipestone Friday.The score was knotted at one after four innings of play, but Pipestone scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to settle the issue.Pipestone scored the game’s first run in the first inning before Luverne tied the contest with a counter in the bottom of the second.Reisch singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Nath and scored the tying run when Goembel singled.Clark went the distance on the hill. He surrendered seven hits and one walk during a three-strikeout performance.Box score AB R H BIBoomgaarden 4 0 1 0Clark 4 0 0 0Olson 3 0 0 0Reisch 3 1 1 0Nath 2 0 1 0Goembel 3 0 2 1Bruynes 1 0 0 0Paquette 1 0 0 0Richters 3 0 0 0Elbers 3 0 0 0

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne VFW baseball team picked up a pair of league wins by sweeping a double-header from Pipestone at Redbird Field Thursday.A late surge gave the Cardinals a 10-run win in the opener. Luverne edged the Arrows by two runs in the finale.The wins upped Luverne’s record to 14-6 and extended the team’s winning streak to six straight games.Luverne plays a double-header in Slayton tonight, competes at the New Ulm Tournament Friday through Sunday and plays a single game in Adrian Monday.Luverne 19, Pipestone 9A 10-run sixth inning gave the Cardinals a victory during the first game of Thursday’s set in Luverne.Pipestone rallied from a 9-3 deficit to tie the game at nine by scoring six runs in the top of the sixth inning, but Luverne put together a 10-run rally with two outs in the bottom half of the frame to end the game.With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Brent Dinger doubled and scored the go-ahead run when Derek Van Santen delivered a single.The remainder of the rally featured two-run doubles from Phil Paquette, Zach Olson and Dinger, and a two-run single by Jeremy Hoff.The teams battled to a draw at three early in the game, with both squads scoring two runs in the first inning and one in the second.Paquette and Dinger, two of three Cardinals to register four RBIs in the opener, plated Luverne’s first inning runs with a double and a fielder’s choice respectively.Hoff ignited a four-RBI effort with a run-scoring double in the second.Luverne proceeded to build a 6-3 cushion by scoring two runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings.Dinger singled home a run and Anthony Graphenteen chased home another with a ground out in the third, while Paquette doubled home a run and Olson singled home another in the fourth. One run scored on an error and Hoff charted an RBI with a ground out in the fifth.Olson picked up the win in relief of Paquette, who surrendered six runs in the first five innings. Olson yielded three runs in one inning of relief.Box score AB R H BIHoff 5 2 3 4Den Hoed 4 2 0 0Paquette 5 3 3 4Olson 5 2 2 3Dinger 5 2 3 4Clark 2 0 0 0D.Van Santen 2 2 2 1Ossefoort 1 2 1 0Skattum 2 2 2 0Connell 0 1 0 0Graphenteen 2 1 1 1Luverne 3, Pipestone 1Dinger pitched a complete game and drove in one run to lead the Cardinals to a two-run victory in Game 2.Dinger’s seven-inning effort featured 12 strikeouts. He walked seven batters and surrendered two hits.Playing as the visiting team, Luverne gained a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Zach Clark walked and scored on a double by Dinger.Olson walked and scored on a double by Paquette to make it a 2-0 game in the top of the fifth, but Pipestone plated a run in the bottom half of the frame to trail 2-1.Walks to Adam Ossefoort and Van Santen and a single by Tanner Skattum loaded the sacks for Luverne in the top of the sixth. Graphenteen drew a bases-loaded walk to force home Ossefoort with the final run of the contest.Box score AB R H BIClark 3 1 0 0Olson 3 1 0 0Paquette 4 0 2 1Dinger 4 0 2 1Ossefoort 1 1 0 0Connell 0 0 0 0Skattum 3 0 1 0D.Van Santen 2 0 0 0T.Van Santen 1 0 0 0Hemme 1 0 0 0Den Hoed 1 0 0 0Graphenteen 2 0 0 1

By John RittenhouseFeature titles fell into the laps of four area drivers during a busy Fourth of July weekend on regional tracks.Two drivers from the Star Herald coverage area picked up big purses for winning feature events during the Worthington Nationals staged at Nobles County Speedway Saturday and Sunday.One driver secured a feature win during Friday’s races at Rapid Speedway, and another raced to victory during Monday’s event at Murray County Speedway in Slayton.The Worthington Nationals attracted a number of local racing teams for a two-night competition.The event proved to be a good one for Luverne’s Josh Reisch and Ellsworth’s Chris Tiesler, who advanced through the qualifying rounds and posted victories on championship night Sunday.Reisch raced his way to victory in the A modified class. Tiesler took top honors in the hobby stock feature.Greg Roemen, another Ellsworth driver, experienced success at Rapid Speedway Friday.The sportsmen class competitor won the first heat race before drawing the checkered flag in the A feature.Luverne’s Mike Steensma posted a feature win in the A modified class during Monday’s races at Murray County Speedway.Roemen also won a heat race during Thursday’s action at Huset’s Speedway, while Luverne’s Greg Brandt won a hobby stock class heat race at the same venue on Sunday night.Mike Steensma won a heat race in A modified competition at Murray County Speedway in Slayton Friday. Kanaranzi’s Colter Deutsch won a street stock heat race in Slayton.Here is a look at the results turned in by area drivers at regional tracks over the weekend.Huset’s SpeedwayBrandon, S.D.Thursday’s resultsSportsmen: Roemen, Ellsworth, first in first heat and fourth in A feature; Andy Gabrielson, Luverne, sixth in first heat and fifth in A feature.Murray County SpeedwaySlaytonFriday’s resultsStreet stock: Deutsch, Kanaranzi, first in first heat.B modified: Joel Elbers, Luverne, third in A feature.A modified: Steensma, Luverne, first in first heat; Brett DeJager, Luverne, second in A feature.Rapid SpeedwayRock Rapids, IowaFriday’s resultsStreet stock: Anthony Mann, Luverne, third in first heat and third in A feature; Scott Overgaard, Luverne, fifth in first heat and sixth in A feature; Chad Overgaard, Luverne, sixth in first heat and eighth in A feature.Sportsmen: Roemen, Ellsworth, first in first heat and first in A feature; Gabrielson, Luverne, fourth in first heat and sixth in A feature.Hobby stock: Nick Van Belle, Luverne, fourth in first heat and sixth in A feature; Bill Kroon, Steen, second in second heat and ninth in A feature.Factory stock: Greg Vande Velde, Luverne, third in first heat and third in A feature; Spencer Kalass, Luverne, sixth in first heat and 10th in A feature.Lake County SpeedwayMadison, S.D.Saturday’s resultsStreet stock: Jesse Akkerman, Luverne, third in first heat and sixth in A feature; S.Overgaard, Luverne, fourth in second heat and fourth in A feature.Sportsmen: Pete Kracht, Steen, seventh in first heat and fifth in A feature.Hobby stock: Brandt, Luverne, fourth in second heat and fourth in A feature.Huset’s SpeedwayBrandon, S.D.Sunday’s resultsStreet stock: Akkerman, Luverne, second in second heat and sixth in A feature.Hobby stock: Brandt, Luverne, first in first heat and 10th in A feature; Tom Cauwels, Luverne, fourth in first heat and third in A feature.Nobles County SpeedwayWorthingtonSunday’s resultsSportsmen: Brent Hulstein, Hardwick, second in A feature.A modified: Reisch, Luverne, first in A feature; Steensma, Luverne, second in A feature; Elbers, Luverne, seventh in A feature; Josh Klay, Magnolia, 11th in A feature.B modified: Elbers, Luverne, fifth in A feature.Hobby stock: Tiesler, Ellsworth, first in A feature.Street Stock: Aaron Olson, Luverne High School graduate, second in A feature; Deutsch, Kanaranzi, third in A feature.Murray County SpeedwaySlaytonMonday’s resultsA modified: Steensma, Luverne, first in A feature.B modified: Elbers, Luverne, second in A feature.

By John RittenhouseWhen a person provides a service to the same community for a quarter of a century, it’s easy to lose track of the number of individuals who have benefited from your product.Wes Grieme is not your ordinary businessman, but he struggled to come up with an answer when asked how many individuals have passed through the doors of the Luverne Tae Kwon Do Club over the past 25 years."That’s a really good question," he said."I’m guessing we’ve had several thousand people come through our doors in one way or another over the last 25 years, but I don’t have an exact total. All I know for sure is we’ve had more than 100 black belts come from our group, and a number of them have reached the levels of second, third and fourth degree."The total number of students who have received martial arts instruction from Grieme isn’t important to this story. The length of time he has made Tae Kwon Do instruction available in this community is what’s notable.When the month of August rolls around, it will mark the 25th year Grieme has offered his service in Luverne."That wasn’t the original plan," Grieme insists. "It just worked out this way. We went through a few slow years, but once we got established, things have gone pretty well over here."Actually, Grieme didn’t plan on offering instruction in Luverne at all.When the DeKalb, Iowa, native was asked to move to town when he was a sales representative for Monsanto in 1981, Grieme was pleased to find out Tae Kwon Do was being offered through Luverne Community Education at that time.He got involved in the sport as a college student at Iowa State University and decided to participate in the workouts that were being instructed by Jack Hensel in Luverne at that time.Once Hensel saw Grieme’s determination and the work ethic during those workouts, the instructor offered an observation that shaped the next 25 years of Grieme’s life."I was used to working out pretty hard back then, and Jack said I should be the one teaching this class," Grieme recalled.He took the observation to heart and started instructing the LCE program in August of 1981 for two years before starting his own gig in 1983.He opened the Luverne Tae Kwon Do Club in the building that now houses FGL Commodities and moved it to the basement of its present location (113 1/2 East Main Street) three months later.Grieme switched jobs (he has worked as a technical sales specialist for Bayer Crop Science since 1983) the same year he opened his new club, but he didn’t give up on his commitment to instruction.It was in the 1980s when he groomed some black belts who would later become instructors. This allowed Grieme to open extensions of the Luverne Tae Kwon Do Club in Pipestone, Lismore, Redwood Falls. Garretson, S.D., and in Algona and West Bend, Iowa.Grieme offered hands-on instruction at the Lismore and Redwood Falls extensions of the club, while his former students provided instruction at the other clubs.The Luverne Tae Kwon Do Association (LTKD) now includes clubs in Sioux Falls, St. Paul, Algona and West Bend, as well as the Luverne club, which consists of 50-plus students this summer.Since starting his own family in 1996 (Sheri, his wife of 10 years; Parker, 9; Gabrielle, 5, Taryn, 11 months), Grieme has cut back on his involvement in the martial arts to his instruction in Luverne on Monday and Tuesday nights.As a sixth-degree black belt (he was Luverne’s first registered black belt in 1981), Grieme does oversee belt testing sessions at the clubs connected to the LTKDA at different times during the year. Other than those types of special events, he now spends most of his free nights at his family’s home (between Brandon and Valley Springs.)Grieme said he considers the Luverne Tae Kwon Do Club and its members to be an extension of his own family, and he doesn’t plan on severing his ties with his second family any time soon."Some people live a martial arts life, and it has become a big part of my life. It’s kind of like having two different families," he said."To be an instructor for another 25 years might be too big of an expectation, but I can’t say for certain that I won’t be one, either."