By Lori EhdeCharges are pending against several local young people in a case of alleged deer poaching.The investigation is still underway, so names and the number of individuals involved have not yet been released. The incident reportedly occurred about two weeks ago in the vicinity of the Blue Mounds State Park and allegedly involved hunting deer at night (shining), which is illegal.DNR Conservation Officer Jim Robinson, Slayton, is working on the case with the Rock County Attorney’s Office.Reports are expected to be completed within a week or two, and at that time, more information will be released.Criminal counts ranging from misdemeanor to gross misdemeanor may be charged against the individuals.With game violations, the state can also seek civil restitution for the animals taken.

By Lori EhdeFreshly fallen snow glittered and twinkled on Luverne’s Main Street Saturday night as a perfect backdrop for the 2005 Winterfest lighted parade.There were 22 float entries in the ninth annual event participating under the theme of "Fairytale Christmas."Total Card Inc. wowed the crowds with its Polar Express float, which took first place in the large business class of the parade.Other winners include: oLuverne Public Schools entry, "Frosty’s Christmas," in the civic/families class, oAmerican Reformed Church’s "Happily Ever After" in the churches category andoM-M Distributing float, "Hansel and Gretel," in the small business category.The fresh blanket of snow also made the neighborhood lighted lanes especially festive this year. Homes on Memorial Circle in the Veterans Addition took first place for their theme, "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

By John RittenhouseTurning in better performances didn’t result in victories for the Luverne girls’ hockey team this week.Luverne outshot Watertown, S.D., and Fairmont during games played since last weekend. Watertown, however, topped the Cardinals by five goals in Luverne Saturday and LHS fell by five goals in Fairmont Tuesday.The 0-6 Cards host Benson (4:30 p.m.) Friday and Waseca (1 p.m.) Saturday.Fairmont 8, Luverne 3A late charge by the Cardinals came up short during Tuesday’s five-goal loss in Fairmont.After falling behind 5-0, Luverne netted three goals in a span of 4:04 of the third period to trail 5-3 with less than seven minutes left to play.Fairmont responded to the challenge by receiving two goals from Ashley Olson and one from Nicole Hardt in the final 3:10 of the game to ice the contest.Olson, who led Fairmont with six goals, netted four counters and Clare Wellman added another to give the hosts a 5-0 lead.Luverne received third-period goals from Natalie Morgan, Katie Dahl and Chessa Ossefoort.Morgan netted an unassisted counter with 11:40 remaining in the game, while Dahl and Ossefoort recorded power-play tallies at 8:52 and 7:36 respectively. Morgan and Paige Olson set up Dahl’s counter. Liz Solma and Ramona Taubert received assists for Ossefoort’s goal.Luverne outshot Fairmont 44-26 in the game.Watertown 7, Luverne 3The Cardinals turned in their best performance of the season during a four-goal loss to Watertown in Luverne Saturday.Luverne outshot the Lakers 29-25 in the game and battled the visitors to a tie at two in the first period, but Watertown outscored the Cards 5-1 the rest of the way to win by four goals.Mikki Fitzer, who scored two of Luverne’s three goals, opened the scoring 1:38 into the game after being set up by Solma.Watertown received goals 1:28 apart from Kelsey Muhl and Amanda Bullene to take a 2-1 lead as the first period progressed, but Luverne’s Morgan netted an unassisted counter with 9:56 remaining in the stanza to knot the score at two.Bullene, who scored four goals for the Lakers, found the net twice in the second period and Naomi Gripentrog added another tally as Watertown gained a 5-2 cushion.Natalie Willers and Olson set up a power-play goal by Fitzer to make it a 5-3 game at the 12:21 mark of the third period, but Watertown received goals from Lauren Beadnell and Bullene in the final seven minutes to win by four.Alison Brands stopped 18 shots in net for LHS.

By John RittenhouseThe Adrian Dragon wrestling team went 3-1 during a pair of outings to open the 2005-06 season.The Dragons went 3-0 to win the Fulda-Murray County Central Tournament in Fulda Saturday. Adrian lost a one-point match in Emmetsburg, Iowa, Tuesday.Adrian wrestles in a quadrangular in Harrisburg, S.D., tonight before competing at the Jackson County Central Tournament Saturday. The Dragons host Sioux Falls Washington Tuesday.Emmetsburg 31, Adrian 30The Dragons received their first setback of the season when they traveled to Emmetsburg, Iowa, Tuesday.Emmetsburg, Iowa’s first-ranked Class AA team, opened a 16-0 lead early and fought off a late challenge by AHS to win by one point.Adrian never did recover from dropping the first six matches and falling behind by 16 points.The Dragons received pins from Matt Gades (2:47 over Bryan Sundall at 135), Brandon Bullerman (1:53 over Ryan Joynt at 145) and Tyler Wagner (41 seconds over Adam Leuer at 215), but it wasn’t enough to catch the hosts."We were right there," said AHS coach Gregg Nelson. "We lost three close matches early. I thought we wrestled pretty well."AHS also received a forfeit from heavyweight Cody Reverts and decision wins from Clint Metz (10-9 over Ryan Paulman at 171) and Nate Engelkes (7-2 over Josh Fog at 189) during the match.Match wrap-up103 (E) Reedy 11-7 Bk.Bullerman.112 (E) Thompson 10-2 Tiesler.119 (E) Brandonburg7-5 Loosbrock.125 (E) Schmeling8-6 C.Bulelrman.130 (E) Stillman 7-2 Thier.135 (A) Gades pins Sundall.140 (E) Malm t.f Mulder.145 (A) Bd.Bullerman pins Joynt.152 (A) Janssen 17-4 Reker.160 (E) Kerber pins Klooster.171 (A) Metz 10-9 Paulman.189 (A) Engelkes 7-2 Fog.215 (A) Wagner pins Leuer.275 (A) Reverts by forfeit.F-MCC tourneyThe Dragons won three straight matches to take top honors as a team during Saturday’s tournament in Fulda.Adrian, a team that will not be at full strength until January, didn’t perform like that way during the season-opener. The Dragons bested F-MCC (34-32), Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove (71-0) and Harrisburg, S.D. (36-28) to capture the team championship."I’m happy we won," said AHS coach Gregg Nelson. "We were able to get some of our younger kids some experience and get a couple of wins at the same time."Four Dragons sported perfect 3-0 records at tournament’s end.Engelkes posted three wins on the mat at 189 and 215 pounds. After securing a 4-0 decision win over F-MCC’s Will Steinmetz, Engelkes recorded pins against RRC-W-WG’s Michael Koch (1:00) and Harrisburg’s Shane Oaks (5:13).Tony Thier received one forfeit at 130 as well as notching a 9-0 major decision win over F-MCC’s Ben Clarke and pinning Harrisburg’s Shane Cawthorne in 45 seconds.Brandon Bullerman drew one forfeit at 145. He pinned F-MCC’s Andy Henning in 1:08 and secured a 16-9 decision win over Harrisburg’s Brandon Harris.Zach Reker, who received two forfeits at 152, pinned F-MCC’s Dan Clausen in 1:33.Adrian’s Brock Bullerman went 2-1 at 103, Luke Tiesler 1-2 at 112 and 119, Stephen Loosbrock 1-2 at 112 and 119, Camron Bullerman 2-1 at 125, Gades 2-1 at 135, Andy Heitkamp 2-1 at 140, Clint Metz 1-2 at 160, Shea Klooster 2-1 at 171, Wagner 1-2 at 189 and 215, and Will Lutmer 1-0 at heavyweight.Match wrap-upsAdrian 34, F-MCC 31103 (F) Nolt pins. Bk.Bullerman.112 (F) Reinsma dec. Tiesler.119 (F) Witzel m.d. Loosbrock.125 (F) Giese pins C.Bullerman.130 (A) Thier m.d. Clarke.135 (A) Gades dec. Beech.140 (A) Heitkamp pins Hotovec.145 (A) Bd.Bullermanpins Henning.152 (A) Reker pins Clausen.160 (F) Kramer dec. Metz.171 (A) Klooster pins Christians.189 (F) Henning m.d. Wagner.215 (A) Engelkes dec. Steinmetz.275 (F) Witzel by forfeit.Adrian 71, RRC-W-WG 0103 (A) Bk.Bullerman pins Vollmer.112 (A) Tiesler by forfeit.119 (A) Loosbrock by forfeit.125) A) C.Bullerman by forfeit.130 (A) Thier by forfeit.135 (A) Gades m.d. Mattison.140 (A) Heitkamp by forfeit.145 (A) Bd.Bullerman by forfeit.152 (A) Reker by forfeit.160 (A) Metz m.d. Sell.171 (A) Klooster by forfeit.189 (A) Wagner dec. Pfarr.215 (A) Engelkes pins Koch.275 (A-F) double forfeit.Adrian 36, Harrisburg 28103 (A) Bk.Bullermanby injury default.112 (H) Ballard dec. Loosbrock.119 (H) McNamara pins Tiesler.125 (A) C.Bullerman pins Long.130 (A) Thier pins Cawthorne.135 (H) Fink m.d. Gades.140 (H) Fink dec. Heitkamp.145 (A) Bd.Bullerman dec. Harris.152 (A) Reker by forfeit.160 (H) Ballard dec. Metz.171 (H) Ballard pins Klooster.189 (A) Engelkes pins Oaks.215 (H) Barber dec. Wagner.275 (A) Lutmer dec. Alek.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne boys opened the 2005-06 basketball season by registering a 59-49 come-from-behind victory over Southwest Christian Thursday at home.After falling behind 10-2 early and facing an 18-9 deficit at the 8:49 mark of the first half, things looked gloomy for the defending Section 3AA champs.The Cards, however, battled back to outscore SWC 50-31 the rest of the night to prevail by 10 points."The kids were working hard in the first half, we just weren’t getting the results," said LHS coach Rops."At halftime we decided that we had to slow things down offensively because we were over-penetrating. Instead of driving with the ball, we let our screens work to get open shots."Luverne’s comeback actually started in the first half, when it whittled SWC’s nine-point lead to one (26-25) with a field goal from Tim Miller at the 2:58 mark. Senior Jake Hendricks gave the Cards a 28-26 halftime lead when he hit an off-balance three-point shot at the buzzer.SWC tied the game at 28 early in the second half, but the Cards countered with a 23-5 run capped by a field goal from Derek Boeve with 5:27 remaining to give the hosts their biggest lead of the game at 51-34. SWC couldn’t recover from the run, falling by 10 points in the end."We played a lot better defense in the second half," Rops said. "We created some turnovers and scored some easy points off them."Boeve, who netted 11 points in the second half, led the winners with 18 counters. He also charted two assists, as did Nick Heronimus. Marc Boelman added 10 points to the cause.Box scoreBruynes 0 0 0-0 0, Ward 1 0 0-0 2, Haakenson 0 0 2-2 2, Boomgaarden 0 0 0-0 0, Boelman 5 0 0-1 10, Miller 2 1 0-0 7, Hendricks 0 2 3-4 7, Uphoff 0 0 0-0 0, Sawtelle 0 0 0-0 0, Stegemann 0 0 0-0 0, Boeve 6 0 6-9 18, Heronimus 2 0 0-1 4, Clark 2 1 0-0 7.Team statisticsLuverne: 23 of 54 field goals (43 percent), 11 of 17 free throws (65 percent).SWC: 18 of 45 field goals (40 percent), 10 of 17 free throws (59 percent).

By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth boys’ basketball team posted a pair of road wins against South Section 3A teams.The Panthers opened the campaign by besting Edgerton Public by 13 points in Edgerton Thursday before rolling to a 22-point victory over Southwest Star Concept in Okabena Monday.Ellsworth, 3-0 overall, opens the home portion of its 2005-06 schedule Tuesday against Tracy-Milroy-Balaton.Ellsworth 63, SSC 41An outstanding second half by the Panthers set the stage for a 22-point win over the Quasars in Okabena Monday.After the teams battled to a draw at 25 in the first half, EHS switched defensive tactics in the second half to outscore SSC 38-16."We switched from man-to-man defense to a full-court press in the second half. We created some turnovers and made some easy baskets," said Panther coach Markus Okeson.The change in tactics proved beneficial instantly as EHS opened the second half with a 19-2 run that settled the issue.Cody Schilling, who led the Panthers with seven rebounds and six assists, netted 15 of his 21 points in the second half. Aaron Van Der Stoep pumped in 13 of his team-high 25 points in the final 18 minutes. Bryan Kramer added five steals to the winning effort.Box scoreDeBerg 3 0 0-1 6, Kramer 2 0 0-0 4, Schilling 8 0 5-8 21, Van Der Stoep 3 6 0-0 24, Herman 2 0 0-0 4, Chapa 1 0 0-0 2, Jansma 0 0 2-2 2.Team statisticsEllsworth: 25 of 49 field goals (51 percent), seven of 11 free throws (64 percent), 33 rebounds, 24 turnovers.Ellsworth 70, Edgerton 57In a game between two teams expected to contend for the South Section 3A boys’ basketball title, the Ellsworth Panthers gained early-season bragging rights by posting a 13-point win over the Flying Dutchmen Thursday in Edgerton.After falling behind 17-6 early, the Panthers switched defensive tactics to help take a 38-32 halftime lead. Ellsworth proceeded to outscore Edgerton 32-25 in the second half to win handily."We were down 17-6 early, then we went to a press and fell into a zone," said EHS coach Okeson."Our full-court pressure was the difference. We forced turnovers and scored some easy points with our press."Schilling, who pulled down eight rebounds and passed for five assists, scored 16 points in the first half and finished the game with 26 counters. Kramer and Van Der Stoep added 15 and 14 points respectively to the winning cause. Ben Herman led the Panthers with 11 rebounds and Nick Deutsch charted a team-high seven steals.Box scoreDeBerg 1 0 1-1 3, Deutsch 0 2 0-1 6, Kramer 5 0 5-6 15, Schilling 8 1 5-6 26, Van Der Stoep 2 2 2-4 14, Herman 2 0 0-0 4, Klaassen 1 0 0-0 2.Team statisticsEllsworth: 42 percent field goal shooting, 13 of 19 free throws (68 percent), 47 rebounds, 10 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne wrestling team opened the 2005-06 campaign by competing in a pair of events.The Cardinals wrestled at an individual tournament in Flandreau, S.D., Saturday before posting a 17-point win over Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove in their home opener Tuesday.Luverne, 1-0 overall, hosts Worthington tonight before competing at the Jackson County Central Tournament Saturday.Luverne 45, RRC-W-WG 28The Cardinals gave first-year head coach Craig Schneider his initial win during Tuesday’s home match against the Falcons.In a match that featured forfeits at eight different weight classes, Luverne came out on the winning end of a 17-point decision.Luverne received 36 points worth of forfeits from Eric Kor, Dayton Kern, Andrew Fodness, Phillip Altman, Anthony Boyenga and Ben Nath.The Cards went 2-5 in matches settled on the mat.Luverne’s Kelsey Petersen pinned Brandon Casey in 5:10 at 152, and Derek Petersen notched an 8-2 victory over Jordan Vollmer at 103.RRC-W-WG received pins from Charlie Hubert (1:51 over Codie Swanson at 140), Jake Sell (1:41 over Rustyn Crosby at 160), Joe Pharr (39 seconds over Chris Klay at 189) and Mike Koch (3:24 over Sam Dooyema at 215). Falcon Gavin Mattison secured a 12-2 major decision victory over Brad Donth at 135.Match wrap-up103 (L) D.Petersen dec. Vollmer.112 (L) Kor by forfeit.119 (L) Kern by forfeit.125 (L) Fodness by forfeit.130 (L) Altman by forfeit.135 (R) Mattison m.d. Donth.140 (R) Hubert pins Swanson.145 (L) Boyenga by forfeit.152 (L) K.Petersen pins Casey.160 (R) Sell pins Crosby.171 (L) Nath by forfeit.189 (R) Pharr pins Klay.215 (R) Koch pins Dooyema.275 (L-R) double forfeit.Flandreau tourneyThe Cardinals opened the 2005-06 campaign by competing at an individual tournament in Flandreau.Two LHS wrestlers placed during the event, which was deemed a success by Cardinal head coach Craig Schneider."For it being our first tournament, I think we wrestled well," he said. "I was pleased with the effort from our kids, and we looked to be well conditioned. There’s always room for improvement, but I think we wrestled fairly well."Senior Kelsey Petersen led the Cards by going 3-1 and placing third at 152 pounds.Petersen pinned Deuel’s Lance Hinsvark in 2:50 before being edged 9-8 by Flandreau’s Adam Scottfield. Petersen regrouped to pin Garretson’s Adam Gibson and Sioux Valley’s Cody Knopp in 1:45 and 1:57 respectively.Donth went 2-2 and placed fourth at 135.Donth stuck Elk Point-Jefferson’s Kyle Bumm in 3:55 during the opening round before losing by fall in 47 seconds to Flandreau’s Brent Lueck. Donth pinned Garretson’s Shane Dicky in 3:45, but he was pinned by Pipestone’s Adam Bullerman (4:43) in the third-place match.Derek Petersen (0-2 at 103), Fodness (1-2 at 119), Altman (0-2 at 130), Swanson (1-2 at 140), Boyenga (1-2 at 145), Crosby (0-2 at 160), Nath (0-2 at 171), Nathan Meyer (1-2 at 189), Klay (1-2 at 189) and Dooyema (0-2 at 215) also wrestled for the Cards.

By Lori EhdeCongressman Gil Gutknecht was in Luverne last week on press tour to introduce new federal clean air legislation.The bill would amend the Clean Air Act to require all gasoline sold in the United States to contain 10 percent renewable fuel by the year 2010.Gutknecht introduced the "10 by 10 Act," as it’s called, on Nov. 17, and since then has been pressing for bipartisan support."Back in 1974 we said we were going to be more energy independent," Gutknecht told the Star Herald Dec. 1."How are we doing today? We’re more dependent on foreign oil today than we were in 1974."He said the time for a national renewable fuels policy is long overdue."I’ve always said a goal is a dream with a deadline," Gutknecht said. "If you don’t have a deadline, your chances of achieving it are almost zero. … My goal is energy independence for America."By creating a national mandate for renewable fuel, Gutknecht said the idea is that the 10 by 10 Act would spur investment and growth in American sources of energy.Much of the fuel would come in the form of ethanol, a clean-burning product made from corn and other domestically-raised crops."Minnesota has been doing it for years – has it been 10 years? And the cars are running fine, and it’s clean-burning fuel," Gutknecht said.With fuel prices on the rise, Gutknecht said his timing is right to introduce the legislation."Right now it costs about one dollar to produce a gallon of ethanol at $2.25 per bushel of corn," he said. "At $60 per barrel, it costs about $1.65 to produce a gallon of gasoline."But he said the oil industry won’t be willing to just give up 10 percent of its market share. "That’s why we need the federal mandate," he said. "It won’t be easy, but what really sells this is:"No. 1: Every day we’re sending a billion dollars to other countries to buy oil, and many are not particularly friendly to us. If we could keep 30 percent of that money here, just think about what that would do for our economy."No. 2: It’s better for the environment and it’s cheaper to produce. So why aren’t we doing it?"Seventeen members have joined with Gutknecht to introduce the bill.Gutknecht is chairman of the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Department of Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry, vice chairman of the House Science Committee and a member of the House Government Reform Committee.More information about the 10 by 10 Act can be found on www.gil.house.gov.

By Sara QuamAlthough the feedlot inspections are done, some livestock producers still have corrections to make in their operations to bring them up to code.Doug Bos from the Rock County Land Management Office gave township officials an update on that process Friday.Township officials met in their annual Township Association meeting to discuss items of joint interest.There were 109 producers who needed corrections after the inspections. Of those, 27 appealed the corrections and 22 were approved.Fourteen of the corrections needed were considered "major," with the average cost of those being $30,000 to $80,000. Many of those took part in a special cost share program.Of the 109 that needed improvements, 55 still need to complete them, but most of those have plans in place.The county visited 655 sites in the inspection process, which was to ensure environmental rule compliance of all livestock operations in the county. That was a two-year process.This year was the biggest ever in feedlot construction in the county, with 22 new and expanded feedlot projects completed.In other business last week, Rock County township officials:
Voted to advertise weed control and ditch mowing public notices as a group, rather than pay individually.The Township Association will now advertise on behalf of the townships.
Heard from Representative Doug Magnus, who gave the group a legislative recap from last session. The state now has a budget surplus, after negative predictions last year. He said he anticipates more education and nursing home funding in the coming years.Magnus said, "I have nearly 1,000 people in my district employed by nursing homes. …"There’ll be a lot of talk about where we’ll spend the money, but we’ve got to be a little careful."The next session starts in March.
Heard an update on planning and zoning issues from Land Management Director Eric Hartman. He said the office is watching for an update of the individual septic system code from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.Also, Hartman said the county is working on using a "waiver of setback" variance application process. This would be used instead of a variance hearing when there is an expansion of an existing building. The waiver process would require less cost in advertising and in hosting hearings. Hartman also reminded the group that the city of Luverne has subdivision control rights two miles outside the city limits.