By Lori EhdeCorn is standing tall, soybeans are growing lush in their rows and, all in all, crops in Rock County are shaping up nicely, according to local agronomist Chris Hein."It seems to be so far so good," he said Tuesday. "Everything looks great."Area producers weren’t so confident this spring. They entered planting season under near-drought conditions, and then waited out a long, cold spring. Early sprouts, lacking warmth and sunshine, emerged a sickly, yellow color.But when the hazy summer heat finally set in, it didn’t take crops long to catch up.Hein, who works at SWMN Farmer’s Co-op Elevator, said there are some parts of the county that suffer from too much or not enough moisture, but generally speaking, he’s not hearing many complaints."As a whole, things look good," he said. "Anytime you can catch the kinds of timely rains like we’ve had in July ... that keeps us rolling in the right direction."Despite the slow, cool start, Hein said crops are now ahead of average in terms of growing degree unit days."Corn is actually progressing faster than we’d see in a normal year," he said.Some concerns lingering on the horizon may be soybean aphids and soybean rust."Don’t count aphids out yet," Hein said about the tiny insects that suck sap out of the plants. "Right now they’re not threatening, but we have some time yet to see on that."He said aphids were a big problem two years ago, but aggressive spraying in 2003 seems to have curbed the insect population.Soybean rust is plaguing fields in the southeast which were introduced to the fungus last year by Hurricane Ivan."It’s a fungus that can kill a field quickly if it’s infected," Hein said.The fungus is spread by air, so Hein said it’s unlikely the problem will spread to the upper Midwest."The majority of our weather patterns don’t come from that part of the country," he said. "Soybean rust this year is going to be a non-event for us."Hein said the outlook for local yields looks gook."For this point in the growing season, things look to be very promising," he said.

By Sara QuamThe city of Luverne is on its way to a more historic look downtown with the addition of stone light poles this summer.The poles are topped with antique-like globes and are shorter than the current lights.Planning ahead for aesthetics, the Luverne City Council is opting to remove other signage that may clutter the look of downtown.Main Street will no longer have special occasion banners. It will still have Christmas decorations, however. But Tri-State Band Festival or Welcome banners that hang from light poles will no longer be downtown. Highway 75 streetlights will carry those.Instead of free-standing signs, such as "no U-turn," for example, signs will be installed on the surface of the aggregate poles. The fewer the poles, the better, the Council decided at the request of Chamber Director Dave Smith.The city will no longer have "2-hour parking" signs either. Sheriff Mike Winkels said that hasn’t been enforced since the 1980s anyway.There will be other parking signs that warn people not to park overnight for snow removal and street sweeping purposes.In other Luverne business Tuesday, the City Council:oGot an update on Pool and Fitness Center activities. For the first time in the history of the facility, there are more than 1,000 members.oGranted a request for temporary on-sale beer license to the Rock County Agricultural Society (the County Fair Board) for Aug. 4 through Aug. 6.oGranted the Rock County Agricultural Society requests for help during the fair. The city will provide "no parking" signs on Freeman Avenue; allow the use of an additional 12 handicap and 12 "no parking" signs; spray the fairgrounds for mosquitoes prior to the fair and at least once during the fair as needed; use of city-owned portable bleachers for additional seating for the Aug. 5 concert; use of about 200 feet of orange plastic fencing, and access to a fire hydrant for water for the racetrack for all three nights of the fair.oGranted permission to the Minnesota Veterans Home to fire a cannon during a family picnic Aug. 19. A group of Civil War enthusiasts from Fulda regularly do this demonstration in the area.

By Sara QuamThe Palace Theatre this weekend hosts two productions that showcase the talents of two Luverne graduates.Friday the movie "Detective Fiction" will play at 7 p.m. Greg Winter, class of 1971, was director of photography for the movie, which was featured at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Saturday, at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Jim Brandenburg’s photography will be a part of a live music video featuring images of the prairie. Brandenburg, class of 1963, will narrate segments of the movie while musician Michael Monroe performs original music on guitar and flute.The images and video by Brandenburg have never been seen before this show.The Saturday performance will be followed by an artist’s reception at the Brandenburg Gallery, Luverne.The Sunday performance is followed by a presentation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Touch the Sky Prairie National Wildlife Refuge.Chamber Director Dave Smith said, "The presentation will talk about the Touch the Sky project and have some educational elements about prairies. It is open to the public and anyone can go to that presentation."Performances will benefit the Brandenburg Prairie Foundation, which was created to promote, preserve and expand the native prairie in southwest Minnesota.Advance tickets may be purchased at the Luverne Area Chamber of Commerce, 283-4061.WinterGreg Winter helped bring "Detective Fiction" from the theater to motion picture as director of photography.The film was chosen to be shown during the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, which is an honor in itself.The Sundance Institute was established in 1981 by famous actor Robert Redford. The Sundance Film Festival for independent movies is each January in Utah.Winter said, "Basically, the director of photography helps the director by bringing his vision to the screen." Winter is also a director and does commercial filming as well."Detective Fiction" was described in a Sundance publication: "‘Detective Fiction’ is a cleverly constructed portrait of a couple who seem to have lost their bearings and are estranged, inhabiting the same home but existing apart. Jack is now sober but disenchanted and starved for love and adventure, while Jennifer (Mo Collins of FOX’s Mad TV) just wants to feel something and tries to reinvent herself by going back to college."… Jack seeks an outlet for his repressed passion by writing a novel with a gumshoe alter ego. … ‘Detective Fiction’ shines in its crisp, realistic dialogue and emotionally vibrant and realistic characters… ‘Detective Fiction’ is a funny, sensitive and mature expression of life’s trials and afflictions."Brandenburg/MonroeLocal people may not recognize the amount of national and international acclaim photographer Jim Brandenburg has earned.As a Luverne native, he traveled the world as a photographer with National Geographic Magazine for more than 25 years. His photographs have won a multitude of national and international awards including twice being named Magazine Photographer of the Year by the National Press Photographer's Association and Kodak Wildlife Photographer of the Year by the Natural History Museum-London and BBC Wildlife Magazine. Brandenburg received the World Achievement Award from the United Nations Environmental Programme in Sweden. He has published many bestsellers including "Chased by the Light," "Looking for the Summer," "Brother Wolf" and "White Wolf." Brandenburg’s work can always be seen at his gallery in downtown Luverne.The musician joining Brandenburg on the Palace stage is Michael Monroe. He blends vocals, guitar, bamboo and glass flutes, combining musical styles of acoustic folk, and jazzy reggae. His instrumental music is heard across the nation on PBS and in Canada in the award winning documentary, "Chased By The Light: A Photographic Journey," which is about Brandenburg. The two also collaborated in their acclaimed Guthrie Theater "In Concert With Nature" production. In 2004, Monroe received a regional Emmy.

By Lori EhdeThe new Sioux Valley Luverne Medical Center officially opens doors for business Friday, but road construction surrounding the facility is still in progress.According to Rock County Highway Engineer Mark Sehr, work is progressing — weather permitting."We’re still anticipating being done sometime in the first half of August," Sehr said about Highway 75. "It keeps raining, but rain doesn’t hurt us that bad right now, because there’s gravel on Highway 75."He said curb and gutter work should start Friday, and paving will begin after that. Ideally, all stages of the project would progress simultaneously on both Highway 75 and 131st Street, but workers are now concentrating efforts on Highway 75 to more quickly provide that access to the Medical Center.Early this week 131st Street was too wet to work on due to rain over the weekend and on Monday, but with favorable weather, gravel surfacing is scheduled to begin today.If weather cooperates, Sehr said it appears both 131st Street and Highway 75 could end up being finished at the same time.According to code, the hospital needed two points of access in order to be open. Until the access to 131st Street is ready on the north, the temporary points of access will be from Veterans Drive on the west and from Christensen Drive on the east.Signage will be placed on Blue Mound Avenue and Christensen Drive to guide medical center users to the facility.The project started on May 11 and was due for completion during the second week of July, but since May 11, there have been 18 working days lost to wet conditions – about three calendar weeks.Because of construction delays around the hospital, scheduled work on Main Street and Blue Mound Avenue has been postponed from Aug. 1 to the week of Sept. 6.That project involves a mill and overlay of Main Street from Highway 75 east to the Rock River Bridge near the city park, and of Blue Mound Avenue from Main Street north to Veterans Drive.That work is expected to take about two weeks, which means it will be completed before the Tri-State Band Festival Sept. 24."Main Street will remain open during construction," Sehr said. "There may be traffic delays due to the construction, but it won’t be closed."He said flaggers will control traffic during construction operations on Blue Mound Avenue and Main Street. "It will take one day to mill off the bituminous surface, one day to place the first lift of bituminous base course and one day to place the final lift of bituminous wearing course," he said in a July 21 letter to Chamber members about the project."It may be necessary to restrict traffic on Main Street and side streets during construction operations."Curb and gutter replacement on those streets will start in about a week. "There will be restricted parking in those areas during the removal and replacement of the curb and gutter," Sehr said in the letter.Road work backgroundThe new medical center prompted work on the two roads for two reasons:oA north entrance was necessary on the back side of the hospital, so the former township gravel road, 131st Street, will serve that purpose. It is being transformed into a wide, paved, 10-ton road complete with curb, gutter and sidewalks.oHighway 75 is under construction because a turn lane needed to be added for the hospital entrance on the south and west and for the 131st Street intersection. Also, the hill at that intersection needed to be graded down for safer stopping sight distance.

10 years ago (1995)
Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Spindler and son, Klass, Brazil, arrived Sunday night for a couple days’ visit in the Charlie and Dawn Sandager home. They are the parents of Cristiano Spindler, the Sandagers’ exchange student. The family will be vacationing for two weeks in Canada and various parts of the U.S.25 years ago (1980)
More than 100 Rock County 19 and 20-year-olds have signed up for a possible draft. The registration is mandatory, under the penalty of a $10,000 fine.
Walter Johnson will be the new city administrator in Luverne.
The city of Luverne will not challenge the Census Bureau figures that show a 2.3 percent decline in population.50 years ago (1955)
An elementary rural school building will be placed on a foundation just north of the Luverne elementary school for use this fall by one of the lower grades.
Al McIntosh wrote his "Personal Chaff" column about the hot weather and scenes from downtown: "Luverne’s brigade of wall ‘proper uppers,’ who stand by the Rock County Bank, were nowhere to be seen today. They fled to some shady street spot to sit on a curb. … Whether it’s the heat or the hooch one Luverne character should refrain from telling people that he’s an undercover man for the FBI. … T.M. Jacobsen plods past, the perspiration dripping down his rugged Norwegian face. … ‘Slim’ Fowler wearies along, not making it faster than a mile an hour because of the heat. … Doc Haggard drives up. Since the doctors took him off cigars he is smoking those sissy cigarettes. … Doc Keitel hustles along back to his office, a lot faster than he’ll be doing 20 years from today. … A dull day, a miserably hot day, but still — name a nicer place in all the world in which to be than Luverne."75 years ago (1930)
Plans are well underway for Rock County’s 22nd annual fair on Aug. 27 through Aug. 30.
Traffic laws will be better enforced, with two state patrolmen working in the county.100 years ago (1905)
Sixteen miles of cement sidewalks, costing in the aggregate $43,574, tells in a nut shell what Luverne has done in the way of permanent sidewalk improvements during the last five years — largely within the last three years. That no other town in the state the size of Luverne, and probably no town even twice its size, can make an equal showing in the matter of cement sidewalks. The people of Luverne have many reasons to be proud of their hometown, many reasons for thinking it the most beautiful little city in the Northwest, and one of the things that justifies their pride is the extent and completeness of the system of cement sidewalks and cement crossings.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARINGConditional Use PermitPursuant to the Rock County Zoning Ordinance, Notice is hereby given by the Rock County Planning Commission that a public hearing will be held at the Rock County Family Service Center Community Room located at 2 Roundwind Road in Luverne, MN at 7:40 p.m. on Monday, August 8, 2005. The purpose of the hearing is to rule on the application for a Conditional Use Permit submitted by SeaWest, Inc. for meteorological tower in the SW 1/4 of section 15, Denver Township, T104N, R45W, Rock County, Minnesota.Zoning AdministratorEric Hartman(7-28, 8-4)

Pursuant to the Rock County Zoning Ordinance, Notice is hereby given by the Rock County Planning Commission – Board of Adjustments that a public hearing will be held at the Rock County Ag Service Center located at 311 W Gabrielson Road in Luverne, MN at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, August 8th, 2005. The purpose of the hearing is to rule on the application for a variance submitted by Kraig & Pat Rust to build a machine shed that would be encroach upon the 65’ setback from centerline of the Township Road located in the SW 1/4 of section 24 in Vienna Township, T103N, R44W, Rock County, MN.Rock County Zoning AdministratorEric Hartman(7-28, 8-4)

PROBATE COURTDISTRICT COURT—COUNTY COURTPROBATE DIVISIONORDER AND NOTICE OF HEARING FOR FORMAL PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE IN SUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION AND NOTICE TO CREDITORS ANCILLARY PROCEEDINGSTATE OF MINNSOTACOUNTY OF ROCKIn Re: Estate ofWarren Allen Piatt a/k/a Warren A. Piatt. DeceasedTO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND CREDITORS:It is Ordered and Notice is hereby given that on the 22nd day of August, 2005, at 3:30 O’clock P.M., a hearing will be held in the above named Court at Rock County Courthouse, Luverne, Minnesota, for the formal probate of an instrument purporting to be the will of the above named deceased, dated March 30, 1990, and for the appointment of Keith A. Piatt whose address is PO Box 97, Dexter, Iowa 50070, as personal representative of the estate of the above named decedent in a supervised administration, and that any objections thereto must be filed with the Court. That, if proper, and no objections are filed, said personal representatives will be appointed to administer the estate, to collect all assets, pay all legal debts, claims, taxes and expenses, and sell real and personal property, and do all necessary acts for the estate. Upon completion of the administration, the representative shall file a final account for the allowance and shall distribute the estate to the persons thereto entitled as ordered by the Court, and close the estate. Notice is further given that ALL CREDITORS having claims against said estate are required to present the same to said personal representative or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this notice or said claims will be barred.Dated: July 26, 2005 /s/Timothy K. ConnellDistrict Court Judge /s/ /s/ Damon T. Eisma Sandra L. VrtacnikAttorney for Petitioner Court AdministratorEisma and Eisma130 East Main, Box 625Luverne, MN 56156(507)283-4828I.D. #249269(7-28, 8-4)

Pursuant to the Rock County Zoning Ordinance, Notice is hereby given by the Rock County Planning Commission – Board of Adjustments that a public hearing will be held at the Rock County Ag Service Center located at 311 W Gabrielson Road in Luverne, MN at 7:35 p.m. on Monday, August 8th, 2005. The purpose of the hearing is to rule on the application for a variance submitted by Jack Boomgaarden to build a grain bin that would be encroach upon the 65’ setback from centerline of the Township Road located in the NW 1/4 of section 36 in Vienna Township, T103N, R44W, Rock County, MN.Rock County Zoning AdministratorEric Hartman(7-28, 8-4)