Before the Adrian girls’ basketball team delivered Randy Strand his 300th victory Saturday, the AHS coach wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure.After bumping into Lisa Strand at the AHS-Southwest Christian basketball game in Edgerton Feb. 20, I could detect a certain amount of stress in the voice of the woman who will celebrate her 21st year of marriage with coach Strand this June.At that time, the Dragons were about to begin their fourth attempt to give the coach his 300th win after winning game 299 in Ellsworth Feb. 9. Complicating the situation was the fact that it was Parents’ Night at SWC, and the E-Gals fans had just given their head coach (Cal Hoekstra) a standing ovation after he received a plaque for winning his 300th game earlier in the season."Speaking of 300 wins, this could be the night," I said during my conversation with the coach’s wife.Then came Mrs. Strand’s unexpected reply: "I hope so. I’m tired of driving this damn cake around."At that point, I had it all figured out.Lisa Strand wasn’t experiencing the pressure of a three-game losing streak that came at the heels of a string in which the Dragons won six of seven games. This woman had a secret surprise in store for her husband when he did collect his 300th win, and her man wasn’t coming through with the victory that would set her free."Mary Ellen Kellen made the donated cake on Feb. 8, the day before we beat Ellsworth. We played Fulda two nights later, and I wanted to make sure I had it, just in case we won that game," Lisa explained.With the cake hidden in her Trailblazer for the Fulda game on Feb. 10 in Adrian, Mrs. Strand was at peace. The Dragons were unable to knock off the Raiders that night, but the cold spell the area was experiencing at the time served as a perfect place to hide a cake that could be presented to her husband on Feb. 14, when AHS hosted Luverne.When the Cardinals knocked off the Dragons by two points in Adrian on Valentine’s Day, Mrs. Strand thought the Dragons would be able to top Edgerton Public two nights later. The Dragons led at halftime, prompting her to pull the cake out of her car and stash it in the concession stand at AHS.Edgerton, however, rallied late to win the game, and Lisa became concerned."I didn’t want Randy to jump in my vehicle to go on a scouting trip and find the cake, so I gave it to my sister (Kellie Thier). Kellie had it in her freezer from Feb. 16-20, and she brought it with her to the SWC game."After the cake was hidden for five more days, it once again was transported to a parking lot of a different sports venue on Saturday. Finally, when the Dragons upset SCC in a game that could have gone either way, Lisa Strand was able to surprise her husband with a cake that had a shelf life of 17 days."They said the cake still tasted pretty good," Lisa said."The best thing about it was Randy didn’t think I knew how many wins he had. He always thinks I’m way out in left field most of the time."Coach Strand should never underestimate Lisa again, because this resourceful woman had two contingency plans in place just in case the Dragons didn’t beat SCC on Saturday.Her second plan was a stroke of genius.Prior to Saturday’s tilt, Lisa made a sticker that read "Congratulations on 300 wins, almost."Personally, I liked the first plan she shared with me after the Dragons fell to SWC in Edgerton Feb. 20."What will you do with that cake if they lose to SSC in Worthington on Saturday?" I asked."I’ll tell you what I’ll do," she replied, with a hint of anger in her eyes.Then, acting as if I were the coach, Mrs. Strand showed me what she had in mind.After watching Lisa go through the motions of picking up the baked item in her palm and hurling it toward my face, her intent was unmistakable."Here’s you’re damn cake," she said.

It is hard to believe, but it’s been a year since I started working at the Star Herald and Mary and I started a new chapter in our lives. In just the last year a tremendous amount of change has transpired in Luverne. John Call is the new city administrator, Gary Fisher is the new superintendent, and Donna Judson is the new middle/high school principal. We have the new Sioux Valley Medical Center complex, and along with that, the Highway 75 road project heading north out of town was completed. We have a new main street overlay and new lights to go with it. We have a new fire truck and soon a new addition to the fire station big enough to house it.We have had several new or expanded businesses in the past year. A few that come to mind include Glen’s Food and Gas Center, Family Dollar, DC Storage, Primary Residential Mortgage, Luverne Welding Shop and a new car wash on Highway 75. We should have had a new Dingmann Funeral Home by now, but that should happen soon. Several new owners have taken over or bought into existing businesses like Troy Tuma at the Howling Dog, Tammy Makram at the Coffey Haus, Mike and Dawn Vanden Top at Manitou Carpets, Jen Rolfs (partner) at The Furniture House, Terry and Chantel at Connell Car Care and Scott and Peggy Adams at Cragoe Realty. In addition, we’ve also seen several ambitious business owners expand, improve and/or relocate in the past year.For Mary and me, our first year in Luverne passed very quickly. We get asked a lot by old friends and new acquaintances how we like it here. The answer is always the same: we like it here very much.

Hills-Beaver Creek Dist. 6712-13-06 MinutesThe Hills-Beaver Creek School Board met for its semimonthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the library in Hills. Board members present were Leuthold, DeBoer, Harnack, Boeve, Esselink and Baker. Absent was Fransman. Superintendent Deragisch and Principal Holthaus were also in attendance. The meeting was called to order by Chairman Esselink. Visitors to the meeting were recognized by the chairman. The only visitor was Lexi Moore of The Crescent. Motion by Boeve, second by Baker, and carried to approve the agenda.Patriot Pride: Jessie Leenderts and John Sandbulte – local Triple A winnersCongratulations to Cyndi Ebert on her retirement. She will be truly missed by all. Elementary report was given by Mr. Holthaus. High School report was presented by Superintendent DeragischThe minutes of the last meeting were approved as sent out.Motion by Leuthold, second by Harnack and carried to approve the bills. Motion by DeBoer, second by Boeve, and carried to approve Policies #529, #530, and #532. Discussion was held on the State Fire Marshal improvements. An update was given on the All-School Reunion. The Microsoft Minnesota settlement in the amount of $23,662.10 for software and hardware has been approved.Dates to Remember:February 16 Parent-Teacher ConferencesFebruary 17-20 No School.February 27 School Board meeting 7:30 p.m.Agenda items for next meeting: Resolution to extend years of school board terms to change election from odd to even years.Meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m.Lloyd DeBoer, Clerk(3-2)

The Olympics are over and I do not know what to do with myself.I have concluded that there are three kinds of Olympic watchers.First, there are those with disdain for the games. The televised coverage interrupts their normal programming and Bob Costas’ voice makes their spine hurt.They do not understand why athletes of unknown sports are suddenly getting so much attention. Especially since we forget about them the minute the games end. Their attitude tends to be "What is the point?"They voice their opinions against the games at will and have no desire to see the good in Olympic competition, let alone take the time to understand the sport of curling.The second kind of Olympic viewers are far less opinionated. They are casual watchers. Although they would rather be watching their regular sitcoms or dramas, they don’t mind catching a glimpse of a gold medal match. Especially after the folks at the network have just finished a great 10-minute feature on why a struggling, disease-fighting, single mother of three should win the bobsled race.They like the drama created by the network and the tears of ceremony draw them in even deeper. Yet at 9 p.m. on Thursday when ER doesn’t come on, they get a bit irritated, turn the television off and find something better to do.The final Olympic watcher is a dedicated fan of the event, not just of one sport in particular, but of the whole thing.These fans begin their Olympic experience before the opening ceremonies even begin. They start at bookstores, purchasing magazines dedicated to the athletes of the games. They learn whom they want to cheer on; Mr. Costas’ little vignettes never sway their judgment.Following the opening ceremonies, these fans take on an Olympic dedication to the watching of the games that spans to the closing ceremonies.They watch without bias. It doesn’t matter what is on, whether it’s international favorite figure skating or the biathlon – they are watching and they are cheering.Their dedication bleeds into their regular, non-television-based lives as well. They show up to work with tales of the previous day’s events and are flabbergasted when co-workers are not up to speed on a fall, disqualification or victory.They focus not on medal counts, but Olympic moments. How many did they witness? At the next games when Dick Burton talks about a fall at the games of Torino, these viewers will remember — not because they saw the replay, or read about it in the newspaper, but because they were watching it happen.I fall into this third, more insane category of viewers. It started when I was a kid. My father once gave me a Sports Illustrated with pages and pages dedicated to the summer Olympics. The centerfold of the magazine had a giant chart to help readers keep track of the winners.That summer, I spent two weeks in front of Olympic coverage. I had never seen diving, pole vaulting or sand volleyball. The athletes and their stories enchanted me. I admired their "Olympic spirit" and found that I was full of it as well.Ever since then, when the Olympics are on, chances are I can be found at home watching.The year the summer games came to Atlanta was the year I was graduating from high school. Months in advance, I started getting two of my friends excited about taking a trip to see the Olympics. We went as far as spending about $200 to gain admission into the early competitions. (A hint for anyone planning to attend the Olympics: they are expensive. Tickets to the finals or popular events are given out by lottery to those who can afford the steep rates.)The tickets arrived that spring but I didn’t get to go. Finding lodging in the Atlanta became impossible. My Olympic dreams were crushed and I was stuck at home watching again.This year my Olympic watching experience was the best I have ever had. I used my satellite digital video capabilities to record hours of Olympic programming across three satellite channels.I would hit record on the channels I wanted my television to record and almost like magic, whether I was home or not, they would be recorded and waiting for me.I skipped 80 percent of what Bob Costas had to say, I watched very few commercials, I replayed the falls and triumphs I wanted to see, not what they made me see, and two-hour curling matches were reduced to a nice tidy hour.If there were a competition for best Olympic watcher, it is possible that I would be in the running for a medal. My dedication never wavered and my understanding for the games stayed steady. Until I find a way to compete at the games, I am going to continue to develop my viewing skills.Story ideas or comments can be e-mailed to Lexi Moore at lexim@star-herald.com or called in at 962-3561.

10 years ago (1996)"During their February meeting, the Hills City Council took steps to improve the current facility problem at the American Legion building. The Council hired Koch Hazzard Baltzer LTD to look at the building and offer an assessment."25 years ago (1981)"Kristie Leenderts, Hills, was champion in the senior division of the Rock County 4-H radio speaking contest and will be Rock County’s representative in the district contest to be on Saturday, Feb. 21, in Slayton. The title of her speech is ‘4-H Expanding Horizons.’"50 years ago (1956)"The first annual Hills FFA parents and sons banquet was held last Wednesday evening, Feb. 22, in the basement of Bethlehem Lutheran Church. The Columbia Circle of the Ladies Aid served a delicious ham dinner to the 165 guests present. This year’s Honorary Chapter Degrees were awarded to Mr. Ben Hoogeveen, Mr. Harold Wissink and Mr. Wendell Erickson for their efforts toward making the Hills FFA Chapter a success." 75 years ago (1931)"The basketball tournament for District 8 will be held March 13th and 14th in the Luverne Armory. There are fourteen teams participating as follows: Adrian, Beaver Creek, Bigelow, Edgerton, Fulda, Hills, Jasper, Lake Wilson, Luverne, Magnolia, Pipestone, Round Lake, Slayton and Worthington. There are a number of strong teams in the group and one of the best tournaments in years is forecast." 100 years ago (1906)"The Luverne hospital under the able management of Dr. A.E. Spaulding is getting to be quite popular down this way and a good many patients are availing themselves of the splendid advantages it affords them. This little notice may be a violation of the resolutions adopted by the Southwestern Minnesota Medical Association but then it is a duty we owe suffering humanity, that the hospital advantages may be made known."

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink. For those who live in Steen, you might have heard about the stink. The ponds are filling faster than they should, and I don’t need to tell you that it’s not good. So if you happen to meet a group of guys digging up your street, do not be alarmed, for they mean to do you no harm. Seek guidance for the great big man with the plan (Mel) and he will make you understand the problem must be fixed or we all will be in the mix.The Steen City Council would like to remind Steen residents that as soon as the frost comes out, crews will be working on laying tile to help fix the continuing water problem in Steen. If crews are on your street, you may seek to have them hook your sump pumps to the tile for easy drainage. See your councilmen for more details. In other news last week Jo and Joyce Aykens went to Orange City and had noon lunch with Susan and Jadeyn Veldkamp, Vince and Laurie Kurtz and little McKenzie. This past Thursday evening Melvin and JoAnn Paulsen of rural Steen met Johnny and Marilyn Hovland of Rapid City for dinner in Sioux Falls. The four of them work together all summer doing bus tours around the country.This past week there was another hymn-sing at the Tuff Home. Mildred Keunen played the piano. Also in attendance were Jo Aykens and Milton Bonnema of Steen.In hospital news Don Bonnema remains in the veterans hospital in Sioux Falls, S.D., after complications from lung surgery. Mike Bonnema of rural Steen and Ginger France of Sioux City, Iowa, have made several trips to visit him. Sister Beth Sakurai of Japan flew into Sioux Falls on Tuesday and is spending a week and a half in Steen while Don recovers.Pastor Dan Ramaker underwent same-day surgery in Sioux Valley Hospital on Tuesday to remove some kidney stones and is doing well.Celebrations have been in order in Steen this past week. Last Saturday, Feb. 25, Cindy McGowan celebrated her 29th birthday again and also Dylan Bosch of rural Steen turned 16 and received a pickup. Happy birthday to you both! Also celebrating this past week were Luke and Alisha (Roozenboom) Stubbe who announced they are expecting in September. And to top off this past week’s excitement, many Steen residents were able to see the H-BC girls’ basketball team play some nail-biting tournament games. Congratulations, girls, on a great year! In church news this past Sunday the SRC started its six-week venture of "Come Thirsty." The RCYF had an on-site to Rock Rapids where Brad Hindt shared his testimony with the group. This coming Friday, March 3, the SWM is hosting the Women’s World Day of Prayer. All women of the community are invited to participate at 1:30 p.m., and Ranee Hagen will be the featured speaker.In closing, a helpful hint to those who enjoy going to movies but are not sure about the content. Check out www.screenit.com or www.pluggedinonline.com for the full scoop on the stuff the trailers don’t tell you, stuff like sexual content, violence, and profanity. A great aid for parents wondering what their kids are watching.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!

A big thank you to all the kudos I received on the writing of my first column last week. Some were shocked at my seriousness when I am notorious for comic renditions of my daily adventures. I can be deep … but not this week.I got the heat bill at the daycare house in Sioux Falls the other day and thought it was a bit higher than normal, not just in price but in usage, so I figured it was time to check the filter in the furnace. I asked my helper to keep an eye on things, meaning the daycare, and headed down to the furnace room. The furnace filter sits in this horizontal slot between the cold air metal thing that I think is a duct (despite the fact that there is no duct tape on it) and the furnace itself. I pulled up this disgustingly dusty filter. When it stuck a little, I gave it a tug. The bottom piece of cardboard fell off and into the bottom of the cold air duct thingy. Well, my hand fit in the slot but it is 16 inches down to the bottom (if the filter is any gauge of the depth) and my arm is not 1 inch thick (again, in reference to the thickness of the filter) so I could not reach the elusive cardboard object. Lighting is not abundant in the furnace room, so I felt that the next brightest step would be to get a flashlight. Because I like to be prepared for the worst, I know right where a flashlight, a battery operated radio, candles and matches are at all times, so I hastened to grab my handy dandy flashlight. I got back down to the furnace and peeked in the slot just in time to realize that the next brightest step would have been to turn the furnace off instead of getting the flashlight because the furnace kicked on — sucking the cardboard into the fan and making a whistling slappety-slappety sound. I instantly thought I smelled smoke, but it was just my mind playing tricks on me. I stood there in a panic trying to clear my lungs of imaginary smoke and thinking of what to do next when it dawned on me that the front of the furnace comes off. I took off the top panel on the front only to discover that the fan is entombed in the bottom panel. Though it looked like a door (believe me, I tried everything to get it off), it would not budge. I decided the next best step would be to call my husband. Doug is a virtual encyclopedia of a man who has grown used to my mishaps over the years, and out of sheer resignation has become extremely tolerant and patient. He would know what to do. I came upstairs and dialed the phone. How annoying to get his voice mail on both lines, when I, my helper, nine of the sweetest kids you would ever want to meet and one very cool and expensive cat could turn to cinders at any moment. How hard is it to use a belt clip on a cell phone, for crying out loud!? That is another story.I decided the next step was to call a professional. I dialed the company that I have used in the past for furnace stuff in Sioux Falls. I gave my name, the details of the faulty filter failure, the faint smell of smoke (that I am sure now was a synapses overload in my brain) and described the fan whistling slappety noise to the all-knowing furnace guy, followed by the question, "What should I do?"The brilliant man replied with a hasty, "Turn it off."I became a bit flustered at my own stupidity but I played it cool and secretly hoped that he could hear the whistling and slappety-ing in the background. I mustered up my most matter-of-fact voice and said, "Well, of course." Like it would be obvious to anyone to do that first and that I would have already done the obvious. He came back with a chuckling, "You know, you should not buy those cheap filters."To which I sing-songed back, "Well, it’s a little late for that now, isn’t it? Can you please come and fix it?" He said, "OK." And I hung up. I then realized that I am not in Hills and my name is not enough for this guy to know where to come and fix my problem. The humiliation of having to call back was excruciating but this was a matter of life or ashes so I dialed him up with a casual, "Well, I guess you may need my address…"Thankfully a different guy with a knowing smirk came in about an hour, retrieved the offending cardboard, cleaned the burners, adjusted this and that and was on his merry way. I felt safe and warm and have learned not to buy cheap filters. The offending cardboard piece will hang on the bulletin board for a while as a reminder of this escapade. What’s done is done and I will close the gate behind me.Story ideas or comments can be e-mailed to Nancy at Nancy861@msn.com or please call me at 962-3411.

By John RittenhouseWhen a basketball team is reduced to the role of being a spoiler when it comes to conference competition, it might as well make an impact on the title chase.That’s exactly what the Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots accomplished Friday in Hills.Playing Murray County Central, a team that entered the game in a three-way tie for second place in the Red Rock Conference, the Patriots pulled off an upset by saddling the Rebels with a 60-51 setback.The win, H-BC’s second of the year and the first victory since Jan. 12, snapped what was a 10-game losing skid. More importantly, it proved the Patriots have what it takes to come from behind and beat a good team."It was a nice win for us," said Patriot coach Steve Wiertzema. "We’ve had so many close games like this one. It was nice to get one."The Patriots scored the game’s first three points and remained in front until MCC moved ahead 8-7 at the 12:09 mark of the first half. The Rebels proceeded to extend their lead to seven points (21-14) with 5:11 remaining in the half, but H-BC ended the stanza with a 10-5 spurt capped by Adam Finke’s field goal at 1:01 to trim MCC’s lead to two points (26-24) at the intermission.MCC led 30-26 early in the second half before H-BC reeled off 12 straight points with Jason Hup converting a three-point play at the 8:19 to give the hosts a 38-30 lead.The Rebels closed the gap to two points (40-38) 1:26 later, but the Patriots countered with a 12-2 spurt ending with Hup draining a pair of free throws with 1:52 remaining. The free throws gave the Patriots a 52-40 lead that wasn’t seriously challenged by MCC the rest of the night.Aaron Esselink turned in a 21-point, 13-rebound effort for H-BC. Hup netted 14 points. Cody Rozeboom led the Patriots with 14 rebounds. Tom Scholten and Finke chipped in five and four assists respectively.Box scoreVan Wyhe 0 0 5-9 5, Rozeboom 4 0 1-1 9, Finke 2 1 2-4 9, Scholten 1 0 0-0 2, DeBoer 0 0 0-0 0, Hup 4 0 6-8 14, Sandbulte 0 0 0-0 0, Esselink 6 0 9-10 21.Team statisticsH-BC: 18 of 46 field goals (39 percent), 23 of 32 free throws (72 percent), 39 rebounds, 21 turnovers.MCC: 19 of 61 field goals (31 percent), eight of 15 free throws (53 percent), 15 rebounds, eight turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek girls’ basketball team finished a 5-20 regular season in Slayton Monday.H-BC had hopes of knocking Murray County Central out of a share of first place in the Red Rock Conference, but an upset didn’t materialize as the home-standing Rebels walked away with a 69-55 win.The Patriots did knock down a season-high 12 three-point shots to hang with MCC most of the night.The Rebels, however, used their strong play in the paint to win by 14."We didn’t match up with them very well in the paint," said H-BC coach Jason Blosmo."They shot 50 percent for the night, and most of their points came from the inside. We just didn’t have any answers for them on the inside."MCC outscored the Patriots 40-31 in the game’s first half.The Patriots did trim the difference to six points with 9:00 remaining in the second half, but they couldn’t complete the comeback."When we were down by six in the second half, we became impatient and didn’t take care of the ball as well as we could have," Blosmo said.Kerri Fransman buried eight three-point shots to lead the Patriots in scoring with 18.Chelsi Fink and Stacy Bush contributed 11 and 10 points respectively to the cause.Bush finished with eight assists, six rebounds and four steals. Amanda Tilstra led H-BC with eight rebounds.H-BC drew the 10th seed for the South Section 3A Tournament. The Patriots play No. 7 Ellsworth at 7:30 tonight in Edgerton Public School in a preliminary-round game.Box scoreFransman 0 6 0-0 18, Bush 2 2 0-2 10, Tilstra 4 0 0-0 8, Fink 2 2 1-2 11, Helgeson 1 2 0-0 8, Roozenboom 0 0 0-2 0.Team statisticsH-BC: 21 of 64 field goals (33 percent), one of six free throws (17 percent), 31 rebounds, 14 turnovers.MCC: 32 of 62 field goals (50 percent), five of five free throws (100 percent), 40 rebounds, 16 turnovers.