Community Blood Bank coming to area communitiesThe Community Blood Bank will be in the area over the next two weeks.Your first opportunity to give "the gift of life" will be at the Hills Beaver-Creek High School from 7:30 a.m. to noon Friday, March 31. On Tuesday, April 4, the Community Blood Bank will be in Luverne for a collection at the Sioux Valley Luverne Medical Center.Hours for their drive will be from noon to 6 p.m.Successful Red Cross blood drive …The American Red Cross hosted a blood drive at Grace Lutheran Church Monday from noon to 6 p.m.According to Virgene Bullis, donors surpassed the collection goal of 65 units. The total number of units collected was 76, including 59 whole blood units and 17 double red cell units.She said the American Red Cross staff was pleased that there were three first-time donors, and several donors received one-gallon-level pins Monday.Will Minnesota lose representation?As we get closer to the next U.S. census, it is becoming clearer that Minnesota is very likely to lose one of its eight congressional districts.According to one estimate quoted in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, we are 2,500 people short of keeping our eighth congressional seat.That would be less than one half of one percent of the state’s projected 2010 population of 5,339,872.The loss of a U.S. congressional seat would not only lessen our clout in Congress, it would also affect presidential races. A state’s electoral college votes are based on the number of representatives in Congress.The number of house seats is 435, and it’s reallocated every 10 years after the census is completed.As things are now, Florida, Texas and Arizona are on track to gain the seat that Minnesota and other northern states could be losing.Texas and Florida are projected to gain three seats, while Arizona will probably gain two.Some are predicting California may stay at its current count of 53, which would be the first time it hasn’t added to its congressional clout since 1850.One of Minnesota’s problems is the flight of the baby boomers.As they get older, (OK, me, too) the boomers want to go where it’s warmer in the winter. In some cases they may want to choose their southern residence as their new home for tax purposes.Minnesota has had eight seats in Congress since 1960, when it was reduced from nine, and after the 2000 census, it was the only Great Lakes state not to lose a seat.$25.6 million waiting to be collected could be yoursAre you one of 24,600 Minnesotans who didn’t file a federal income tax return in 2002?If you didn’t, you could have a piece of $25.6 million coming your way.However, to collect your share, you must file a 2002 return no later than April 17, 2006.According to the IRS, approximately half of those who would file a claim would receive more than $525.In some cases, individuals had taxes withheld from their wages or made payments against their taxes out of self-employed earnings but had too little income to require filing a tax return.Other taxpayers may also be eligible for the refundable Earned Income Tax Credit.Any money that has not been claimed by April 17 will become property of the U.S. Treasury.To those who don’t claim it, the rest of us taxpayers thank you for your contribution.Nationally, about $2 billion is awaiting about 1.7 million people who didn’t file a 2002 federal income tax return.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

Didn’t snow just take the jump right out of spring? Well, my enthusiasm is still holding on. If you are in the mood to push spring a little, cut some lilac branches, or apple or plum branches, set them in a vase of water in a sunny window, and watch them develop into lovely flowers. Cutting a few branches for forcing is OK, but you don’t want to be pruning lilacs, forsythia, weigelas, chokeberry, or bridal wreath spireas now … any wood you cut off now is blooming wood, so you want to wait until they have finished blooming to prune them. Generally that will be late May to mid June. As the days are getting longer, and the sun brighter, tulips and spring bulbs are starting to show up in areas where they are protected … rabbits are just as eager to find them as you are … nothing beats a fresh meal after scavenging all winter. Blood meal is effective as a repellant but has to be reapplied frequently. We have other repellants that work, too, as long as you beat the rabbits to the draw! Gardeners are getting the itch to start some of their favorite vegetable and flower seeds indoors. I suggest you wait until the first or second week of April … your plants will still get a head start without getting long and gangly. Our homes stay warm at night as well as during the day, so the plants just end up growing too fast, and later, the shock of getting planted outdoors is almost enough to do them in! So instead of getting out the potting soil, grab a pencil and a piece of paper and plan your garden now. If you have limited space, consider more compact varieties, or plan to "trellis" plants instead of doing a row. Pole beans are an excellent example, plus you don’t have to stay stooped over to pick them.Planning ahead gives you a chance to make sure you have space for what you really want to grow, and gives you a chance to get a shopping list of what you are looking to buy instead of impulse planting … which can be fun also, but often is disappointing later in the season.

Three and one-half years ago I traveled to the Twin Cities from northern North Dakota to watch the Minnesota Twins play. Besides watching the Twins win, I had the opportunity to reconnect with a friend from my seminary days and to stay overnight with a relative, my dad’s cousin. "Benjamin," had not sought ordained ministry, but had studied in order to be involved professionally in the church as a youth ministry leader. He had already long been a very gifted organist in a congregation, but he had at least as great a gift at positively connecting with teens. He had been loved by the church youth with whom he worked, and by their families.Benjamin is gay. He told me when it later came out that he was gay, that he had been released from his job as youth leader at the church he was serving. That had been nearly two decades before. In our conversation that night over a beer and popcorn in a little bar down the street from the seminary, Benjamin said with sadness, "I still would like to work in the church, but there isn’t a place for me there." While he remains faithful in attendance at a Lutheran church in Minneapolis, Benjamin expressed a desire for the opportunity to again share his gifts and serve the church. My dad’s cousin, "Sharon," is a woman nearing 80 years old. She has been alone now for 13 years since her roommate and friend, "Lorraine," died of cancer. In our conversation that night, she recalled her brother’s funeral more than 40 years before Lorraine died. It was a hunting accident. She told how Lorraine had gone with her to the funeral. They were already living together then. That is a long relationship.In more discreet times same-sex "partners" referred to each other as "roommates" or "friends." Sharon and Lorraine called each other that for more than 40 years, until death parted them. We all knew the truth, but no one spoke it. Sharon is a lover of literature, a good neighbor to her neighbors, and she loves the church and Jesus.Dr. Terrence Frethiem, a respected Old Testament professor at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, reflecting on the creation texts in scripture, said, "For the creation to be like it was when God created it would be a failure of the divine design. Ongoing change was part of the design."And when Jesus’ disciples came and said, "Hey, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop them, for he was not one of us." Jesus said, "No one who does a work in my name can soon speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us.""Ongoing change was part of the design." "Whoever is not against us is for us."And so, we continue to humbly discuss and debate this issue that faces the church, an issue that touches the lives of real human beings, members of our own congregations and families. In bold faith we take another close look at God’s Holy Word, a deeper look, to see if we have heard it rightly, or to discern if the living Word of God is speaking in a new way. The reality is that there are times when scripture does not so quickly and finally close a case as we might wish. In the season leading up to Easter, it is good to remember that Christ is alive … and might still be helping us to gain our sight.

Alert: The Plum Creek "Cook’n Book" cookbook is hot off the press. There are 446 pages of recipes for appetizers, soups, salads, main dishes, cookies, desserts, etc. Special dividers with helpful hints are included for each section. My name is in it, and many other names of librarians, library patrons, and Friends of the Library. There are close to 1,200 recipes in an attractive three-ring-binder for $15. Any profits we make on "Cook’n Book" will go toward new materials for Plum Creek Libraries. Stop by and purchase your copy today. I think they would make lovely gifts. Mark your calendar for National Library Week April 2-8. It’s a time to celebrate America’s libraries, and a good time to show your local librarians how much you appreciate the services they provide. We have new books this week, and every week. On the fiction shelf is "Prior Bad Acts" by Tami Hoag (a Minnesota author). It was a vicious crime. The Haas family murders left a scar on the community nothing can erase, but everyone agrees that convicting the killer, Karl Dahl, is a start. Only Judge Carey Moore seems to be standing in the way. Her ruling that Dahl’s prior criminal record is inadmissible raises a public outcry and puts the judge in grave danger.When an unknown assailant attacks Judge Moore in a parking garage, two of Minneapolis’ top cops are called upon to solve the crime and keep the judge from further harm. Detective Sam Kovac is as hard-boiled as they come, and his wisecracking partner, Nikki Liska, isn’t far behind. Neither one wants to be on this case, but when Karl Dahl escapes from custody, everything changes, and a seemingly straightforward case cartwheels out of control.The stakes go even higher when the judge is kidnapped from her own bed even as the police sit outside watching her house. Now Kovac and Liska must navigate through a maze of suspects that include the stepson of a murder victim, a husband with a secret life, and a rogue cop looking for revenge where the justice system failed. With no time to spare, the detectives are pulled down a strange dark trail of smoke and mirrors, where no one is who they seem and everyone is guilty of "Prior Bad Acts." Also new on the shelf this week is "Train From Marietta" by Dorothy Garlock. Katherine Tyler’s cross-country train trip is unexpectedly derailed when she is kidnapped by an unscrupulous band of outlaws. Her worried father calls out the Texas Rangers, but only a cowboy named T.C. Castle knows the bend of south Texas well enough to catch the ringleader who’s responsible. After freeing Katherine, T.C. spirits her away to his remote ranch, where he lives with his 5-year-old handicapped daughter, Emily. As their attraction blossoms and with the kidnappers closing in, T.C. and Katherine must risk love and limb to save the ranch — and a future Katherine never could have imagined.

New High School to be builtThe following appeared in the Rock County News on December 5, 1894:A HANDSOME EDIFICEWill be Luverne’s New High School — Plans of Architect Mclaughlin AcceptedA year hence Luverne will have added to her list of public buildings a high school that will be a source of pride as well as of educational profit.Architect W. D. McLaughlin, of Sioux City, spent Thursday and Friday of last week in the city. He came to look over the ground and to consult with the school board touching the plans for the new high school building. The main points are practically agreed on now, although some details are yet to be perfected.Luverne quartzite will be the stone used for the walls, to be trimmed with picked Jasper. The main entrance will be on the south, but there will also be entrances on the north and west. The eastern side of the building will be attractively finished, so it will make a good appearance. Height of building to cornice will be about 36 feet, topped by a hip roof, and there will be a tower or pediment 15 feet in height. The finished building will have a very attractive appearance, the massiveness of the material to be used being toned and softened by skillful architectural touches.The basement of the building will at first be used only for the heating apparatus and fuel supply. It will have finished stairways, however, and will be so built that a schoolroom could be easily arranged there if future growth should demand it.On the first floor will be a large assembly room, with seating capacity for 100. This room will be finely finished and altogether as light and healthful as it can be made.On the upper floor will be four classrooms with a seating capacity of 50 pupils to each.In addition to these there will be in the building two recitation rooms, chemical and physical laboratories, library, etc.The total cost of building, heating apparatus included, is expected to come within $20,000.Architect McLaughlin is one of the leaders of his profession in the west. He has drawn the plans for and erected many very fine and substantial buildings and private residences. The Fogg residence, near Luverne, was built from plans drawn by him while a resident of St. Paul. His high standing in his profession is evidenced by his appointment as supervising architect of the magnificent new public building now being erected in Sioux City. Our school board deserve great credit for securing the services of such a man. It always pays to get the best.Donations to the Rock County Historical Endowment Fund can be sent to the Rock County Historical Society, P.O. Box 741, Luverne, MN 56156.Mann welcomes correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

Hand-me-down recipients understand luxury of buying new blue jeansI bought Carson brand-new blue jeans last weekend, and the brief shopping trip turned out to be a landmark event in his young life.We found a couple of different styles and shades of blue "carpenter" jeans, as he calls them (the kind with deep pockets and a loop on the side to hold a hammer).His big brother, 10-year-old Jonathan, accompanied him (no girls allowed in the men’s dressing room) and offered expert advice.The look on Carson’s face when he emerged from the dressing room was priceless."Mom, these are the coolest jeans ever!" he said beaming and prancing around. "The kids at school are going to think they’re very cool."While he carried on with his dramatic effects, it occurred to me that Carson, now 4 1/2, had never worn brand-new blue jeans.With a big brother, older cousins and generous friends, he’s always had an ample supply of quality hand-me-down jeans.He’d had some like-new rummage sale finds from his grandmas, and he’s had brand new "church pants," as he calls khaki slacks, but never new blue jeans, and certainly never a pair he’d had any part in choosing.Even if he had needed new jeans prior to last week, most mothers know it’s quicker and easier to buy children’s clothes absent the children.But Carson’s rugged play eventually caught up with the worn-thin knees in his hand-me-down jeans and I was getting embarrassed by the bare knees that he insisted were "cool."So, we decided to make a field trip out of the shopping experience to find him jeans to cover his knees.I, of all people, should understand the significance of new clothes and being able to pick them out. Growing up in a family of five girls with older cousins to boot, I wore my share of hand-me-downs and haven’t forgotten the delicious chemical smell of new fabric and the luxury of being the first to break them in.Yes, Sunday was a big day for Carson, but it took some convincing from his mother and big brother that his friends at preschool were not going to think it’s "cool" if he kept the stickers and tags on his new jeans.

I never subscribed to the philosophy of Hinduism before, but I’m now a firm believer in good karma.How else can I describe what I witnessed in the final minutes of regulation play during Thursday’s Section 3A championship game between Ellsworth and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton.There had to be some guiding force that carried the Panthers from an 18-point deficit with 3:35 left to play into a three-point win over a team that won the last two state Class A titles.Why couldn’t it be good karma?I and many others were sharing the same thoughts during the course of the contest. It looked like the Panthers would meet a cruel fate most of the night.I thought the game was over when EHS fell behind 61-43 with less than four minutes remaining. And as I found out Sunday, so did EHS assistant coach Steve Kellen."I thought we might be able to make the final score respectable, but I did think 18 points was too many to overcome in that amount of time," he said.Then, as if there were a mysterious force hiding in the Southwest Minnesota State University gym that night, things started to fall in Ellsworth’s favor. And I mean the sky really opened up.EHS adopted the Hack-A-Shaq theory that many National Basketball Association teams used to implement against former Los Angeles Laker Shaquelle O’Neil, an overpowering center who struggles mightily at the charity stripe. The Panthers figured the only way to get back into the game was to send any R-T-R player with the ball to the free-throw line.The Knights made a lot of free throws in the final three minutes, more than enough to win most games, but not on this particular night. This was a cosmic type of night.While R-T-R was increasing its tally by one and two points at a time, the Ellsworth bunch were hitting three-point shots and converting three-point plays in bundles.When the smoke cleared from a torrid offensive display that featured EHS outscoring the Knights, the Panthers had outscored R-T-R 32-14 in a span of 215 seconds to force an overtime period.The magic continued for EHS in overtime, when it gained its first lead of the night 36:42 into the game before falling behind by three with 1:35 left.Then, after drawing within one point with two free throws, Ellsworth reserve Travis Chapa, who replaced Bryan Kramer late in the game when the senior fouled out, gained perfect rebounding position to corral a carom before scoring what proved to be the game-winning basket with 29 seconds left to play.It was a fitting end to a game filled with surprising twists and turns. It was a game EHS coach Markus Okeson still can’t believe his team won."It was unbelievable," he said.On second thought, there must have been more than good karma on the side of Ellsworth that night.After wracking my brain to come to grips with what it might have been, I finally figured it out.My revelation stems back to Feb. 7, after the Panthers defeated Hills-Beaver Creek in Ellsworth.After gathering the information I needed for my game story, I spotted Coach Okeson’s wife as I headed for the exit.Having met Mrs. Okeson in a social situation in late December, we exchanged pleasantries as our paths crossed once again."Hello, Mrs. Okeson," were the words that came out of my mouth.It was her reply that helped shed some light on why the Panthers were able to stage such an incredible comeback last Thursday.Mrs. Okeson, who has witnessed 28 of Ellsworth’s 30 games to date, stopped me in my tracks by simply stating her first name, which she preferred me to use when addressing her.What’s her name, you ask?Forgive the small difference in spellings (I sometimes read too much into situations), but what else could her name be."Destany," she said. "My name is Destany,"With good karma and Destany working in Ellsworth’s favor last Thursday, the R-T-R Knights didn’t have a chance.

We are South Dakota State nursing students working in collaboration with the Nobles-Rock Community Health Services. Our goal is to increase public awareness of the WIC program. The WIC program is a national program aimed at improving the nutritional status of women, infants and children, by providing the participants with vouchers for foods such as milk, cheese, eggs, dried beans, peanut butter, cereals, juices and canned tuna. The WIC program also provides its participants with nutrition education, counseling on nutrition, and support with breastfeeding, as well as referrals to health care.To qualify for WIC, a few simple eligibility requirements must be met. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, recently had a baby, or if you have infants birth to 1 year and children 1 year to 5 years, contact the Nobles-Rock Public Health Service office in Worthington at (507) 372-8256 for more information on the eligibly requirements and services offered.Tiffany GeidalTraci LentschCrystal PatzlaffTracy Ingebrigston

We are South Dakota State University nursing students working with the Safe Air for Everyone (S.A.F.E.) coalition in Rock County. We would like to take this opportunity to inform the public of the deadly effects of secondhand smoke. Many people know that secondhand smoke is harmful, but did you know that being in a smoky bar for only two hours is the same as smoking four cigarettes? It is amazing that a smoke-filled room can have up to six times as much air pollution as a busy highway. In addition, secondhand smoke is classified as a Group A carcinogen. This means that it is known to cause cancer in humans. (JELIowa.org)We want all people of Rock County to know that secondhand smoke is harming your health. If you work in a smoky place, such as a bar or restaurant, your health is being affected even more. Take a stand and make it known that you have the right to breathe clean air! Easy steps you can take include signing a S.A.F.E. support form or simply saying "Thank you" to smoke-free restaurants for providing you with a pleasant dining environment. For more information on secondhand smoke, keep your eye out for S.A.F.E. advertisements and community events or feel free to contact S.A.F.E. at (507)-283-5066. Lindsay Reiter Amanda Nenaber Brendan McQuon Krista Williams