With the Minnesota budget standstill now finally resolved, it would be good if the citizens took a good look at what brought on this situation and what we should learn from it. Not until they were forced to do so did the Minnesota State Senate attempt to come up with a budget, and that budget came only with the intention to include exceedingly high tax increases.In other words, the Minnesota State Senate leadership still cannot seem to abandon the age old and failed government policy of tax and spend.When the shutdown started, a retired judge recommended to a sitting judge which services were necessary and needed continuation. Are not all state services supposed to be necessary, though?While a judge's determination doesn’t necessarily reflect the real world, perhaps now is a good time to evaluate all of our state's services. Within a $30 billion budget, there could very well be enough to fund what is truly important and actually get a budget done on time. It is obvious though, that the State Senate will not be able to do this until there is a change of personnel and leadership.While the election for the State Senate is still 16 months away, we need to keep the recent shutdown in mind and make those necessary changes in the State Senate on Election Day of 2006.Joe SchomackerLuverne

The counties of Rock Nobles, Pipestone, Murray, Jackson and Cottonwood comprise two house districts in the Minnesota House of Representatives. We should be thankful that they are occupied by people like Doug Magnus and Rod Hamilton.These two individuals helped the House enormously in getting their budget passed by early April. The Minnesota Senate delayed and delayed trying to get a huge tax increase by the citizens of this state. Unfortunately, all the Senate accomplished was a state shutdown which produced a budget that cut more than 80 million dollars out of education which was included in the original House budget. It is obvious that the State Senate needs people of the character and leadership shown by Reps. Magnus and Hamilton. Be sure to thank them for representing us well. Susan LassHardwick

By John RittenhouseThe 24th annual Minnesota Border-to-Border Triathlon made its annual return to the streets of Luverne early this week.The event, which usually is scheduled to begin on the first Tuesday in August, started one week earlier this summer.With threatening skies and rain predicted to fall, the annual parade was abbreviated as many of the teams opted out of the opening event on Monday afternoon.Temperatures in the 50s with winds blowing in from the North greeted the contestants on race day Tuesday morning, which also featured a change.With road construction still underway on Highway 75, the race didn’t begin at its usual starting point in front of City Hall. The race began on Blue Mound Avenue, near Casey’s, where the competitors headed north before making a brief jog to the west, where the contingents reached Highway 75 and headed north again.Sixteen teams formed the 2005 field, with no local athletes entering the event.The field consisted of eight four-person teams, two three-person teams and six two-person squads.The race began Tuesday with a bike race to St. Cloud and continued on Wednesday (July 27) with a bike race from St. Cloud to Eveleth.Competing teams will run 50 miles from Eveleth to Cook today. A 50-mile canoe race on the Vermillion River to Cook serves as the final obstacle of the event on Friday.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne Redbirds remain alive in the fight for a berth in the region tournament after going 2-1 in the first three rounds of the Gopher League Playoffs.Luverne posted an eight-run win over Worthington during the tournament opener Wednesday, July 20, in Luverne.After losing a five-run decision to Hadley in Windom Friday, the Redbirds posted a 10-run home win over Heron Lake in an elimination game in Luverne Sunday.The 12-12 Redbirds played an elimination game against Pipestone Wednesday night (July 7). A Luverne win would set up another elimination game at a site yet to be determined on Friday.Luverne 12, HL 2A four-RBI effort from Mike Miller and a strong pitching performance by Jared Pick carried the Redbirds to a 10-run win over Heron Lake during Sunday’s elimination game in Luverne.Pick tossed seven innings of nine-strikeout, two-run ball to get the win. Miller delivered a pair of two-run singles during the contest, including one during a seven-run rally in the fourth inning.The teams battled to a scoreless draw until the bottom of the fourth. Tony Sandbulte doubled home two runs, Jesse Kuhlman and Rob Fodness slapped run-scoring singles, James Fisher recorded a sacrifice fly and Miller added his two-run single to give the hosts a 7-0 cushion.Miller singled home two more runs and Zach Wysong added an RBI single to give the Redbirds a 10-0 lead in the fifth inning.HL scored twice in the top of the seventh, but Wysong chased home a run with a single in the bottom of the seventh before Fisher reached base on an error and scored on an error to end the game in the bottom of the eighth.Pick gave way to Wysong, who pitched a scoreless eighth inning.Box score AB R H BIM.Boen 6 2 1 0Sandbulte 3 2 2 2Kurtz 2 0 0 0Wysong 4 1 2 2Miller 4 1 3 4Fodness 4 1 2 1Kreun 1 0 0 0Jo.Pick 4 0 0 0Fisher 3 1 0 0Reisch 2 1 1 0Kuhlman 3 2 1 1Jr.Pick 3 1 1 0Wenninger 0 0 0 0Hadley 11, Luverne 6Hadley sent the Redbirds to the loser’s bracket of the tournament by handing them a five-run setback Friday in Windom.The Buttermakers scored seven runs in the first three innings of the game and never lost control of the contest.Luverne trimmed the difference to five runs (7-2) when Sandbulte and Wysong came up with run-scoring singles in the top of the fourth, but Hadley answered with four runs in the bottom of the inning to lead 11-2.Two-run sixth and ninth innings by Luverne ended the scoring in the game.Mike Wenninger doubled home a run and Fisher added an RBI single in the sixth. Miller singled home a pair of runs in the ninth.Adam Kurtz surrendered seven runs in the first two and two-thirds innings, taking the loss for Luverne. Kuhlman, Kyle Kreun, Wysong and Fisher pitched in relief.Box score AB R H BIM.Boen 4 2 1 0Sandbulte 5 2 1 1Miller 5 0 2 2Wenninger 4 1 2 1Reisch 1 0 0 0Wysong 5 0 1 1Jo.Pick 4 0 1 0Fisher 4 0 1 1Kurtz 1 0 0 0T.Boen 3 0 0 0Fodness 4 1 2 0Luverne 10, Worthington 2The Redbirds passed their first test of the playoffs by defeating the Cubs in Luverne Wednesday, July 20.Joey Pick and Jake Studer drove in a combined five runs for a Luverne team that outscored Worthington 9-1 after the first inning.Worthington led 1-0 after scoring a run in the top of the first, but Luverne’s Mike Boen singled and scored on a ground out by Miller in the bottom half of the frame to knot the score at one.Pick singled home the go-ahead run in the second inning and drew a bases-loaded walk during a two-run fourth frame that ended with Luverne leading 4-1. Boen contributed a sacrifice fly to the cause in the fourth.Worthington scored once in the top of the sixth to make it 4-2 before Luverne countered with one run in the bottom of the sixth, two in the seventh and three in the eighth to prevail by eight.Studer reached base on an error and scored on an error in the sixth, and delivered a two-run single to account for Luverne’s seventh inning runs.Pick received an RBI for a ground out, and Sandulte doubled home a run before scoring the final counter of the game on a passed ball in the eighth.Kreun pitched seven innings of two-run ball to pick up the win. Fodness tossed two innings of scoreless relief.Box score AB R H BIM.Boen 5 2 2 1Sandbulte 4 1 1 1Miller 5 1 1 0Wenninger 4 1 2 0Wysong 4 0 0 0Studer 4 3 2 2Fisher 3 1 1 0Kurtz 1 0 0 0Shelton 2 0 2 0Fodness 2 1 1 0Jo.Pick 2 0 1 3

By John RittenhouseA lower seed posted three consecutive victories to win the Luverne Community Education Minor League Baseball Tournament title Tuesday night.Hanson Silo, the third-seeded team entering the tournament, disposed of Tri-State Insurance, Dairy Queen and Jubilee Foods during its run to the championship.Actually, Hanson Silo could easily have been the second-seeded team. Both Dairy Queen and Hanson Silo had identical regular season records, with each team winning one game in head-to-head competition.A flip of a coin was used to settle the seeding, with Hanson Silo coming up on the losing end of the situation.Hanson Silo proved it was one of the league’s elite teams with its play during the tournament.The eventual champions disposed of sixth-seeded Tri-State Insurance during Thursday’s opening round and advanced to the title tilt with a 28-15 victory over Dairy Queen at Joe Roberts Fields on Tuesday.Waiting for Hanson Silo in the championship game, which was played at the Riverside Diamonds, was Jubilee Foods.Jubilee Foods, the regular season champion and the tournament’s No. 1 seed, drew a bye for the opening round.Jubilee Foods nipped Minnwest Bank 19-18 in the semifinals, giving it a shot at winning both the regular season and tournament titles.Hanson Silo, however, was not to be denied.The champions outscored Jubilee Foods 5-3 in each of the first two innings of the title game to gain a 10-6 lead.The difference remained at four runs (17-13) when both teams plated seven counters in the third inning.When Hanson Silo scored five times in the top of the fourth inning before blanking Jubilee Foods in the bottom of the fourth, the team celebrated a 22-13 victory.

By John RittenhouseThe Luverne Cardinal baseball team captured its second consecutive championship of the South Third District VFW Tournament by posting a pair of wins late last week.The Cardinals rolled to a 10-run win over Slayton during Thursday’s opener at Redbird Field.Luverne met Pipestone in Saturday’s championship game in Worthington.Playing the game without six regulars due to scheduling conflicts, the Cardinals rallied from a 4-0 deficit to pull out a 6-5 victory."We didn’t have a lot of our guys there, but it worked out good for us," said Luverne coach Mike Wenninger."With nine players, we didn’t have any substitutes. It worked out pretty good."The 27-6 Cardinals will compete at the Third District VFW Baseball Tournament in Worthington Saturday and Sunday.Luverne 6, Pipestone 5A clutch rally and a stunning play at the plate gave the Cardinals their second straight Southern Division title in Worthington Saturday.After falling behind 4-0 when Pipestone scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning and one in the third, Luverne moved in front 6-4 by scoring six times in the fourth and fifth frames.The score remained the same until the bottom of the seventh, when the first two Pipestone batters reached base safely.Luverne pitcher Caleb Bruynes nearly escaped the jam by fanning the next two batters he faced, but Pipestone’s clean-up hitter lifted a fly ball that found the outfield grass between Luverne’s second baseman and right fielder. Luverne second baseman Chris Fitzer retrieved the ball from short right field, but the Pipestone runner on second base scored his team’s fifth run by that time.When the runner who was on first base prior to the hit tried to tie the game, Fitzer threw a perfect strike (on the fly) to catcher Zach Olson, who applied the game-ending tag at home plate."The hit landed in a triangle between our second baseman, centerfielder and right fielder, allowing the first run to score" Wenninger explained. "Chris picked up the ball in short right field and threw a perfect strike to home, nailing the second guy trying to score. It was a quick play, but the guy definitely was out."Although it was a great defensive play that clinched the victory for Luverne, it took some timely hitting by the Cardinals to place themselves in a position to win the game.Luverne moved in front to stay (5-4) when it exploded for five runs in the top of the fourth inning.Jake Clark drew a walk and scored the first run when Olson doubled. Following a walk to Fitzer, Tyler Reisch singled home a run to make it 4-2. Back-to-back walks drawn by Jeremy Hoff and Bruynes accounted for the third run of the frame, and Chris Den Hoed capped the rally with a two-run single.The Cards scored their sixth run of the game in the fifth inning. Clark walked, advanced to third on a double by Olson. A sacrifice fly by Fitzer plated Clark with what proved to be the game-winning run.Bruynes worked all seven innings of the hill to get the win. He fanned seven batters during a six-hit, one-walk effort.Box score AB R H BIClark 1 2 0 0Olson 4 1 2 1Fitzer 2 1 0 1Reisch 3 1 2 1Hoff 2 1 0 0Bruynes 2 0 0 1Den Hoed 3 0 1 2Arndt 3 0 0 0Skattum 3 0 0 0Luverne 11, Slayton 1The Cardinals opened the tournament Thursday by posting a five-inning win over Slayton at Redbird Field.Reisch and Hoff drove in a combined five runs and Micah Boomgaarden tossed a complete game during a 10-run victory.After Slayton gained a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Reisch ripped a two-run double in the bottom of the first before scoring on an error to give the Cards a 3-1 lead they would never relinquish.Luverne proceeded to score at least one run in the next four innings to win the game by the 10-run rule.Boomgaarden, who pitched five innings to get the win, helped his own cause by singling and scoring on a sacrifice fly by Reisch in the second. Derek Elbers reached base on an error and scored on an error in the same inning, expanding Luverne’s lead to four runs at 5-1.Clark drew a bases-loaded walk in the third inning and Hoff slapped a run-scoring single in the fourth to make it a 7-1 game.Olson and Hoff delivered run-scoring singles to highlight a four-run fifth inning, which ended the game due to the 10-run rule.Boomgaarden fanned five batters and walked two during the contest.Box score AB R H BIClark 2 2 1 1Elbers 3 3 0 0Reisch 2 2 2 3DeBoer 3 0 0 0Skattum 1 0 0 0Olson 3 2 0 1Hoff 4 0 2 2Bruynes 1 0 1 0Arndt 3 0 0 0Boomgaarden 2 2 0 0

By John RittenhouseLuverne’s Colby Anderson led a two-person team to the overall championship of the Britz Open Golf Tournament played at the Luverne Country Club.Anderson, a standout golfer during his playing days with the Luverne High School team, joined forces with a former rival to win the all-around title during Saturday’s event.Anderson, who played with Augsburg College’s men’s program during the fall and spring seasons this past year, teamed up with Pipestone’s Ben Morgan to shoot a gross 64 and run away with the overall championship.The Britz Open is a unique 18-hole tournament, which requires two-player teams to play nine holes under scrambler rules and the final nine under an alternate-shot format.Anderson and Morgan carded a 33 during the first round and a 31 during alternate shot play to win the overall title by five strokes.Gary Golla and Don Klosterbuer, champions of the tournament’s Senior Men’s Division, placed second overall with a 69.Corey Stratton and Craig Martinson, who placed second to Anderson and Morgan in the Men’s Division, shot a 70 to place third overall.With Anderson and Morgan leading the way, 11 teams played in the Men’s Division. Mike and Andy Haakenson placed third in the division with a 72.Golla and Klosterbuer emerged as the champions of what proved to be a very competitive Senior Men’s Division. The 69 turned in by the division winners proved to be two strokes better than the 71 carded by Arvin Schaap and Fred Vander Kolk, and three strokes better than the 72 recorded by George McDonald and Mark Loosbrock.Paula Lammert and Lisa Dinger combined efforts to shoot a 77 and take top honors in the Women’s Division.Emily Crabtree and Mary Jo Graphenteen placed second with an 80, while Nancy Frakes and Myrna Van Voorst finished third with an 89.Dan Serie and Melissa Sterrett shot a 72 to win the Mixed Division.Chris Nowatzki and Sue Schneekloth carded a 75 to place second in the division. Karen Fey and Cody Hemme placed third with an 80.Alyssa Klein and Skyler Hoiland turned in a 75 to win the Junior Division.Matthew Sterrett and Phil Pickett placed second with an 85, and Britton Stratton and Zane Aubert placed third with a 95.A total of 36 teams competed in the event, which is hosted by 1979 U.S. Women’s Open and Luverne native Jerilyn Britz.

Last fall when I moved into my home in Hills, I had missed the apple season. The trees no longer were bearing fruit; the ground had stopped playing host to dozens of rotting cores – the process had ended.However, when my husband first saw the house in July, the apple trees were full and the image stuck with him. This year as July rolled in and began to pass, he started wondering about the apples. Why were his apple trees bare?I told him that it was not time for apples yet, but he assured me there were other trees in town that had tiny green apples hanging from their branches and that at this time last year the trees were full.At first I dismissed his complaints. It really didn’t matter that I didn’t have apples. I have lived with apple trees before and hate having to mow over the rotting apples that have fallen to the ground.However, his persistence continued to the point that I realized he might have decided to buy this house based on the sheer volume of apples it promised.Last fall he purchased a pie pan (we have never baked a pie) so that he could bake apple pies this summer. He talked about having an apple stand on the corner, had asked around about making apple sauce and even spent some amount of time worrying about the neighbors stealing all of the apples.Therefore, last week I decided to look into the problem so he could rest easy knowing he hadn’t killed the trees.My first resource was to ask the ladies at the Luverne Announcer office. Unfortunately, they offered little help. They just suggested the trees might be taking a year off. My boss, Rick Peterson, said he was having the same issue with his apple tree in Luverne – it had produced two lonely apples.Next stop, Deb DenHerder at the Rock County Extension Office.The Extension Service offered by the University of Minnesota is a handy little tool that is often overlooked by county residents. To learn more about the services offered, please read this week’s "Web site of the Week."DenHerder, the Extension Office manager, took down my questions, asked me several more and said that she would look into the situation and get back to me.Several days passed and I started thinking this Extension Office thing was a waste of taxpayer money, but on Monday a package arrived from her office.A nice hand-written note accompanied several pages of tree information.She diagnosed the problem with the crab apple tree as fire blight and referred me on to local nurseries for the McIntosh tree.Fire blight is caused by a bacterium that affects more than 130 plant species in the rose family. In Minnesota, fire blight is most often seen on apple, crab apple, pear, mountain ash and cotoneaster trees.The bacterium leaves the infected flowers shriveled and brown or black in color. As the infection progresses, leaves on the same branch turn dark brown or black (as if burned by fire). The leaves hang downward before falling to the ground.If the tree had fruit, it would become mummified and cling to the tree for several months.I had been watching these symptoms for months on my crab apple tree and am pretty sure DenHerder correctly identified the problem.The bacteria can get into the tree during warm, humid weather, especially following a spring or summer hailstorm. This was in line with our recent weather patterns.Now I will begin the search for properly ridding our tree of fire blight.I wonder if I can get a giant bottle of pink amoxicillin. That kills bacteria, doesn’t it?As for the other apple tree, the verdict is still out. It is not displaying the signs of fire blight, yet there isn’t any fruit. It has been suggested that it only blooms every other year or that the blossoms froze during a late winter storm.Whatever the reason, I hope the apples are back next year. Otherwise, what is the use of having a pie pan?Story ideas or comments can be emailed to Lexi Moore at lexim@star-herald.com or called in at 962-3561.

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)"Betty Rauk will retire from Rauk’s Grocery on Aug. 23 after 33 years of service.She has been affiliated with the store since 1947. The store was founded by her father in 1909. Her son, Ron, will continue to operate the store."50 years ago (1955)"The Spitzer Well Drilling Co. of Tracy won the bid for drilling the new well for Hills. Drilling will get underway within the next few weeks, according to plans. Spitzer’s bid was set at $4,055, to drill to a depth of 2,240 feet, plus setting a sand screen. He was the lowest bidder on the job. At present the company has a rig working at Edgerton, where they are drilling a well down into rock." 75 years ago (1930)"The Luverne fire truck was called to the Ben Slieter farm home Monday afternoon to assist with the fire in a new stack of straw near the barn. The straw stack burned to the ground and it is believed to have started from a lighted cigarette. With the help of the fire truck and threshing crew they saved the barn." 100 years ago (1905)"Lars Kolsrud has got the record beat for Martin township corn so far this year. He brought in five stalks Tuesday which measured 9 feet 2 inches. Each stalk has two large ears silked out. Lars says he has about thirty acres of the same quality on the school section north of his home. Talk about corn country. Martin township is surely ‘It.’ "