10 years ago (1996)"Chris Swanson, Matt Ebert and Monica Bork were three of 1,000 Minnesota juniors who had the opportunity to learn about various forms of government at this summer’s Boys and Girls State Conventions."25 years ago (1981)"The week of July 4-11 is going to be an exciting time for four Rock County 4-H’ers as they attend the Citizenship Short Course in Washington, D.C. The delegates include Sheree Moeller and Peggy Cragoe from Hardwick, Darla Kracht from Beaver Creek, and Anna Erickson from Hills." 50 years ago (1956)"Fire of undetermined origin caused almost total damage to the building formerly known as Herman’s ‘66’ Service last Friday afternoon. The fire alarm was turned in at about three o’clock and firemen were kept busy until about 5:30 p.m. stopping the blaze.A 1954 Chevrolet school bus, belonging to District 79, was a total loss, as was the largest share of the building."75 years ago (1931)"Mr. and Mrs. K.H. Hoyme and Miss Maebel, and Miss Dorothy Skattum returned last Thursday from a two weeks trip to Olivia, Brooten, Minneapolis and at Lake Linka where they enjoyed an outing for three days." 100 years ago (1906)"Four car loads of stock have recently been shipped out of Bruce in addition to the record breaking shipment made a short time ago. The last shipment was made up as follows: H. Savold, two cars; H. Tuff, one car; and Edwin Peterson, one car."

Ron and Jan Solberg took their grandchildren, Jo and Brett Solberg, to Wheaton to see their great-grandmother, Hattie Walz, one day last week. On Saturday they returned the children to their home in Lansing, Kan. Last weekend Wendell and Kathryn Erickson attended the reunion of Wendell’s relatives in the Minneapolis area and spent time in the Hans and Susan home in Eagan. Glen and Lorraine Frederiks of Ripon, Calif., will spend the Fourth of July with relatives and friends in the area. Bob and Twila Kirsch will attend the Kraetsch cousins reunion on the Fourth with a breakfast at the Arlene Lee home in Luverne. Gene and Carol Scheerhorn, along with their son Randy and family of St. Cloud, enjoyed a few days over the Fourth of July, camping at a lake near Fergus Falls. Wendell and Kathryn Erickson joined many others from the Hills area who attended the 90th birthday party open house for Herman Goehle at Luverne Pizza Ranch on Tuesday, July 4. The home of Michael and Michelle Merritt at 128 S. Main, across (west) of Scheerhorn Blue Chip Binding, has been sold to Nathan and Carrie Bakker. They have three children, Abbie, Carson and Sydnie. His brother, Joah and Heather Bakker, who lived across from the park, have bought the home they vacated at 305 4th St.Jean and Dennis Smith of Pennsylvania and his mother, Mita Smith of Nebraska, returned to their homes on Friday, June 30, after spending several days in the home of Mary Carter. Mary is the mother of Jean Smith.Chuck and Rheta DeBoer met their son, Jeff, at Rock Valley, Iowa, Tuesday the 27th, and they had lunch together. Troy and Taylor, twins of Tim and Lisa Durst, turned three years old on July 3.

I was not born a volunteer; I evolved into one. I got divorced in the mid-1990s. My children and I developed this "poor us" attitude that a friend pointed out to me. I was startled with the realization of what was happening to us. My friend suggested we volunteer with the Special Olympics to give us food for thought. The kids, ages 14, 9 and 9, were put on a ‘unified’ basketball team where their skills were combined with those of some handicapped youth. They thoroughly enjoyed the experience and there were no more "poor me" phrases heard around our house. Sometimes a hard look in the face of someone whose life is different can wake you up to what blessings you have been given. My children were blessed with the experience and we all learned a valuable lesson. I have been volunteering for things ever since and have never been happier.America is a land of volunteers. Four out of every ten of us spend an average of 3.6 hours per week helping others. Charity work ranks second on a list of group activities that result in happiness. (Only dancing ranked higher, pay attention all you husbands out there!)If you are already a volunteer or would like to be one, you need to try to make your unpaid assistance hours fulfilling for both you and the charity. Examine your motives. Yes, it’s nice to do good but what else is driving you? Do you want to meet other singles? Spend more time outdoors? Be with children (or escape them)? How about a volunteer opportunity that you and your spouse could do together? Or are you trying to teach the spirit of giving to your own kids? Think about the gifts that God has given you. You can offer up the skills you use in your workday life as a doctor, lawyer, carpenter or accountant. You can use volunteering as a way to develop a new aptitude you’d like to put on your resume. Or you can look at it as a way to take a break from your daily life by doing something completely different. Be realistic. You may do more than the national average or you may do less. Both are fine but sincerity is a must. A lot of nonprofits rely on volunteers for at least some of their labor. There is a need for you. What they don’t need are people who make commitments they can’t fulfill.Find a good fit. Once you have an idea of what you want, call your church, your local charities, nursing homes, hospitals or your community theater directly. Get on the Web and check out sites like volunteermatch.org. The goal is to find something that adds to your happiness, not one that robs you of it. I’ve never met a single person looking for more stress.There is adventure to be had in volunteering. I met the love of my life while running sound for the production of "Monkey Business" at the Worthing Dinner Theatre. Oh, and I met Doug then, too. (Just kidding!) Accept a servant’s attitude; use the gifts you were by Grace given.Close the gate on the selfishness of your time and find there is more to living.Story ideas or comments can be e-mailed to Nancy at Nancy861@msn.com or please call me at 962-3411.

Flags flew high in Steen this week as residents prepared to celebrate the Fourth of July.I asked a young boy at summer REC last weekend what his favorite holiday was and he eagerly told me it was the Fourth of July!I guess when I sit back and think about it, the Fourth ranks up there pretty high with other holidays. Sure, you don’t get gifts per se, but it’s a nice little break in the midst of summer that gives most of us time to enjoy the little things in life.This past weekend a couple hundred people poured into Steen for the special Fourth of July celebration hosted by the Steen Reformed Church.The SRC choir led a special service titled "America, We Must Not Forget," followed by a time of fellowship with ice cream and lemonade, and then to top the night’s festivities, a fireworks display took place on the back lawn. It was a special evening and enjoyed by all.Many Steen residents were out of town for the Fourth, enjoying time with family and taking advantage of the days off work.Some attended the Fourth of July fast-pitch tournament in Hills. Steen played at 12:30, but I have not received any final scores on that yet. Friday night they played Carmel in Sioux Center. It was a nail biter but Steen pulled away with a victory 8-7.This past week Brian Dengler served as chaplain at Inspiration Hills. It was a great time and a lovely week. Julie Ortenblad from Willmar, Minn., stayed with Melody during the week to make sure she stayed on bedrest.On Tuesday Mildred Keunen and Jo Aykens traveled to Sioux Center to meet nieces Beth and Ginger who traveled up from Sioux City to have lunch with them at Casey’s Bakery and to do a little shopping.Beth Sakurai (Bonnema) is back in the Steen area for a few weeks. She is visiting family and friends. On Thursday Beth, Mildred, Bertha and Jo visited Minnie Bonnema at the Tuff Home. They also helped lead the Hymn Sing at the home.On Friday Beth and Mildred went to Chit Chat’s for lunch after having coffee with Arnold and Jane Bonnema, and then they went to visit Uncle Bill Bosch at the Mary Jane Brown Home. They played bingo and had a great time.Showers seemed to be a big thing this past weekend as friends and family threw Susan Fick a bridal shower at the Steen Reformed Church, and then on Saturday morning there was an open house bridal shower for Shanna Tilstra. Saturday, July 8, there will be an open house bridal shower for Stacy Elbers.On Saturday Mike Bonnema turned the big 50. His family helped him celebrate by taking him out to eat at the Royal Fork in Sioux Falls. They had a wonderful time.In Church news:The Steen Reformed Church would like to thank all those who came to the Fourth of July celebration and would like to invite everyone back for the Steen Block Party being held July 14 starting at 5 p.m. There will be a hog roast, games and entertainment for all.A reminder that Summer REC is held every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. All kids through eigth-grade are invited to join in on the fun! That’s all for this week. If you have any news you would like placed in the Steen news please contact Brian at 855-2232 or at knowgrowshow@hotmail.com. Blessings!

By Lori EhdeAfter a spring trial period of a single security camera, Luverne School District is installing a complete camera security system in its buildings and grounds."The No. 1 issue is security," said Superintendent Gary Fisher. "The No. 2 issue is to be a deterrent for students. … We don’t have many altercations, but if we do, this will help. Otherwise, it’s one kid’s word over another."Fisher said the cameras will also be a deterrent to theft and vandalism on school property, something that had become a problem midway through the last school year.Fisher said the trial camera installed near the superintendent’s office this spring helped to catch a student who was leaving black tire marks in the parking lot."The cameras put a stop to that," Fisher said.The district already uses cameras in its school buses to help with student discipline issues, but the new camera security system in the buildings and grounds serves a broader purpose, Fisher said."We’ll be able to monitor who’s coming and going," he said. "You hear about kids being taken by strangers, and this will be a precaution against situations like that."The camera system, purchased from Dakota Securities, Sioux Falls, cost $34,000. It was budgeted and paid for out of "Safe School Money," allocated by the state to be used for school-police liaisons or security improvement."The state allocates money for that line item," Fisher said.It includes recorders in the elementary building and in the middle school-high school building which are triggered to record motion by detectors on the cameras.There are seven cameras recording activity in and around entrances on the outside of the buildings, and there are four cameras inside the buildings.Fisher said security cameras are a trend in many area districts, with systems already in place in Pipestone and in Hills-Beaver Creek.

By Sara QuamLocal taxpayers will help Rock County Senior Citizens with some building expenses.Representatives of Rock County Senior Citizens Eileen Kopp and Alyce McClure asked Rock County Commissioners last week to find a way to give to the group.Kopp said, "The building is used by Rock County a lot. … We were wondering if you can do anything to help us."Commissioners voted to give a one-time donation of $1,500 and to revisit the amount it pays in rent during the budget process. The county pays $500 a month rent for Extension Service, 4-H, Retired Senior Volunteer Program and storage. The group has had an expensive couple of years: a new roof cost $18,000, termite treatment cost $3,800, and a refinished floor cost $1,493.The group is anticipating a major purchase of a furnace and air-conditioning system within the next few years. It has $73,000 in investments and savings.Senior Dining is a separate entity from Senior Citizens. The meal service earns Senior Citizens 8 cents per meal served, which amounted to $3,500 last year. Senior Citizens owns and has to insure all of the kitchen equipment used for dining and delivered meals. Rock County Rural Water and Lewis & ClarkIn other business, Tuesday, the board is also considering early payment of Lewis and Clark Rural Water Project.Rock County Rural Water’s share of the new pipeline project will be $533,000 if it pays by July 1.To pay now would save on inflationary increases.Sioux Falls is considering prepayment, and Madison, S.D., and Lincoln-Pipestone Rural Water have already committed to prepayment.

By Sara QuamLuverne is getting a new business that will occupy a building that’s been for sale since 2001.Express Ag co-owner Jim Thovson represented the business at a hearing before the Luverne Economic Development Authority and Luverne City Council Tuesday.The city is selling the former Exsito tomato-processing plant for $135,000. The business will have to put another $93,000 into the building to get it ready for operations.Express Ag is a wholesale repackaging and distribution business for crop production supplies that will be sold in the retail market.The products the company will handle include seed, chemicals and some equipment.Thovson said Tuesday, "This business is going to progress rapidly, I hope, and I do have the confidence that it will."Express Ag was granted Job Opportunity Building Zone tax breaks.Thovson, currently from Slayton, is a consultant and has experience in agriculture product sales.Thovson said the business will be successful because there isn’t one quite like it in the immediate area. The company is hiring its first full-time employee and expects another one by spring.According to the agreement for JOB Zones, the business must have three additional full-time employees by 2015, when the tax breaks end. Long-term plans have the company employing 10 to 12 people.The type of labor needed will be agricultural sales and personnel for delivery, repackaging and warehouse services.The timeline for the business includes office and warehouse modifications to be completed by Sept. 15 and operations starting in full by Oct. 1.

By Lori EhdeThe Twin Cities are seeing increasing demand for affordable, renewable fuel.Meanwhile, rural energy producers are looking for ways to get their product to the metro areas where its most needed.Both metro and rural leaders put their heads together last week to make that happen."This is real for us. We’re looking for a way to harness green energy out here — renewable energy and affordable energy," said Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin."We have huge demand for energy in the metro area … and my constituents in the cities want it to be affordable and they’re concerned about global warming."McLaughlin is chairman of the Metropolitan Energy Task Force, which represents eight counties in the Twin Cities metro area."It’s my job as an elected individual to figure out how to create the institutional ties and financing to make it happen," he said.He and other members of his task force got on a bus Thursday and Friday to tour wind farms and biodiesel and ethanol fuel production facilities in southwest Minnesota.Calling it the Southwest Minnesota Renewable Energy Tour, the bus made its way through southwest Minnesota, ending at the wind turbines in Beaver Creek and the ethanol plant in Luverne.This was the first opportunity for many metro commissioners to climb inside a wind turbine and talk to wind developers and others about the direct benefits of wind energy for Minnesota.McLaughlin said the state of Minnesota currently exports $4 billion every year in fuel costs for production of electricity and other energy. "We need that money to stay here," McLaughlin said. "If we continue with the old model, we’re going to continue shipping boatloads of money out of the state."The ultimate goal would be in-state ownership of energy sources and transmission lines."This would be a double whammy for us in terms of benefits," Said Pipestone County Commissioner Jack Keers. "It’s about creating the institutional structure and the financial structure … When the ownership stays in Minnesota, everybody wins."Keers is chairman of the Rural Minnesota Energy Board, which represents alternative energy leaders in 14 counties in southwest Minnesota.Both he and McLaughlin recognize the complexities of transmitting "green" energy from southwest Minnesota to the Twin Cities.The two groups are seeking legal and financial expertise from within the renewable fuels industry to make it happen."It’s complicated," McLaughlin said. "We think this would be the first rural-metro relationship of its kind." Rock County Commissioner Ken Hoime said he’s encouraged by the enthusiasm of metro leaders."This is a big step forward," he said. "It’s not every day you’re going to get Twin Cities commissioners down here in outstate Minnesota. They need us and we need them."Hoime has been a member of the Rural Minnesota Energy Board since it was formed nearly 10 years ago. He now serves as secretary of the board.He said the metro group has already committed $20,000 for research, and approval is pending for another $20,000 from the member counties of the rural board.In addition, the groups have received a $20,000 grant from the Department of Commerce."The seed money is there to get this thing going," Hoime said.

Sign up for the wiener dog racesLuverne Hot Dog Night is scheduled for Thursday, July 13th, this year and the popular wiener dog races will again be a part of it.For those lacking in canine knowledge, wiener dogs are really dachshunds.The races will begin at 7 p.m. on Luverne’s Main Street.Entry fee will be $5 per dog, with a two-dog-per-family limit.This will be the third annual wiener dog competition. Last year’s event attracted 54 top-dog wannabes.If you would like to enroll your wiener dog, you can sign up by calling the Luverne Chamber of Commerce at 283-4061 or e-mail them at luvernechamber@iw.net.Of course, the wiener dog races are just one part of the 44th annual Hot Dog Night.Papik Motors will again sponsor the hot dog eating contest, and the winner will be awarded a pre-owned vehicle from Papik’s, guaranteed to run.If you want to enter the contest, you can register at Papik Motors.Free hot dogs will be served beginning at 6 p.m.The rest of the Hot Dog Night schedule looks like this:
5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Live music by Coffey Haus Kids
6:00 p.m Begin serving hot dogs
6:00 Hot Dog eating contest
6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Mini train rides and Ferris wheel
6:15 - 6:45 p.m. Spotlight Dancers
6:30 - 7:15 p.m. Tae-Kwon-Do demonstrations
7:00 p.m. Wiener dog racesBMSP featured in Mpls/St. Paul Magazine"Going Native" is the headline of a six-page article in this month’s edition of Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine.The article, along with a dozen or so photos, promotes the park as a remnant of an ecosystem that spanned thousands of miles all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.In a subheading the magazine says, "Minnesota’s Blue Mounds offer a rare glimpse of our nearly extinct native prairie."Park manager Rick White told the magazine that variation, not uniformity, is what distinguishes the park."It’s a living, dynamic organism with thousands of parts," he told writer Stephanie Xenos."Every two weeks the prairie looks different. Sometimes it’s blue, sometimes it’s purple, sometimes it’s brown, sometimes it’s tan."The transitivity of the prairie is evident throughout spring and summer, but more so in early July when visitors encounter a once-a-year spectacle: the blooming of the prickly pear cactus."Just the fact that cactuses bloom in Minnesota is a big draw."The 1,500-acre park is a piece of only 2 percent of the state of Minnesota that is still prairie.Of those 1,500 acres 500 are used to contain the 100-plus bison.The section also had breakout boxes on "How to get there," "Where to stay," and "Where to eat."Chamber to publish city/county mapThe Luverne Chamber of Commerce is working on a new city/county map.The project, which will be produced locally, will be supported by local advertisers and distributed by local businesses and in newcomer packets.The Chamber plans to have 2,500 copies of the map available.Brittany Vogt, who is working on the project this summer for the Chamber, will be calling on Chamber members who may want to advertise.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com