Public NoticeClose Proximity Owners and Local Officials of the Rock County Planning & Zoning Commission.Notice is hereby given that the Rock County Planning & Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing on Monday, June 20th, 2005, at the Rock County Family Service Center located at 2 Roundwind Road in Luverne, MN at 7:30 p.m. to act on the following Conditional Use Permit application.Conditional Use: Expansion of an existing feedlot presently at 900 animal units to an expanded capacity of 1266.25 animal units.Legal Description: The SE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of section 17 in Kanaranzi Township, T101N, R44W, Rock County, Minnesota.Facility Owner and Operator: Todd Wessels The existing facility consists of an 41’ x 138’ total confinement barn with a 41’ x 138’ x 8’ poured concrete pit to house 700 head of finishing swine, a 40’ x 140’ total confinement barn with a 40’ x 140’ x 8’ poured concrete pit to house 1625 head of nursery pigs, a 51’ x 260’ total confinement barn with a 51’ x 260’ x 8’ poured concrete pit to house 1625 head of finishing swine. The expansion will be a 51’ x 260’ total confinement barn with a 51’ x 260’ x 8’ poured concrete pit to house 1625 head of finishing swine. Using .05 AU for nursery pigs and .3 AU for finishing swine the total AU will be 1266.25.The described property is zoned as A-2, General Agriculture. All persons interested may appear and be heard at said time and place, or submit views in writing or by representative. Date: June 9, 2005By Order of the Rock County Planning & Zoning CommissionEric Hartman, Zoning Administrator311 W Gabrielson RoadLuverne, MN 56156507-283-8862 Ext. #3(6-9, 6-16)

PROBATE COURTDISTRICT COURTPROBATE DIVISIONORDER AND NOTICE OF HEARING FOR FORMAL PROBATE OF WILL AND APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE IN SUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION AND NOTICE TO CREDITORSSTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF ROCKIn Re: Estate of Sigrid Severtson, DeceasedTO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND CREDITORS:It is Ordered and Notice is hereby given that on the 27th day of June, 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 October 21, 2002, and for the appointment of Arlyn Severtson whose address is 1209 N. Linden Street, Luverne, Minnesota 56156, as personal representative of the estate of the above named decedent in supervised administration, and that any objections thereto must be filed with the Court. That, if proper, and no objections are filed, said personal representative 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 representatives or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this notice or said claims will be barred.Dated: 6/6/05 /s/ Timothy K. ConnellTimothy K. ConnellDistrict Court Judge/s/ Daniel W. Vis /s/ Sandra L. VrtacnikDaniel W. Vis Sandra L. VrtacnikAttorney for Petitioner Court AdministratorEisma and Eisma130 East Main, Box 625Luverne, MN 56156(507) 283-4828I.D. #271238(6-9, 6-16)

PROBATE COURTDISTRICT COURTPROBATE DIVISIONORDER AND NOTICE OF HEARING ON PETITION FOR ADJUDICATION OF INTESTACY, DETERMINATION OF HEIRSHIP AND APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATOR IN SUPERVISED ADMINISTRATION AND NOTICE TO CREDITORSSTATE OF MINNESOTACOUNTY OF ROCKIn Re: Estate of Keith G. Pederson, DeceasedTO ALL INTERESTED PERSONS AND CREDITORS:It is Ordered and Notice is hereby given that on the 27th day of June, 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 adjudication of intestacy and determination of heirship and for the appointment of Tamara Wise whose address is 601 North McKenzie, Luverne, Minnesota 56156, as administrator of the estate of the above named decedent in supervised administration, and that any objections thereto must be filed with the Court. That, if proper, and no objections are filed, said administrator 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 administrator 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. Pursuant to Minnesota Statute Section 524.3-403 Subd. (a) notice is hereby given that the Petitioner, LaVonne Rolsma, has reason to believe that the original will of the decedent has been lost or destroyed. Petitioner also states that an authentic copy of said will has been presented to the Court for formal probate. Notice is further given that ALL CREDITORS having claims against said estate are required to present the same to said administrator or to the Court Administrator within four months after the date of this notice or said claims will be barred. Dated: June 6, 2005 /s/ Timothy K. ConnellTimothy K. ConnellDistrict Court Judge/s/ Daniel W. Vis /s/ Sandra L. VrtacnikDaniel W. Vis Sandra L. VrtacnikAttorney for Petitioner Court AdministratorEisma and Eisma130 East Main, Box 625Luverne, MN 56156(507) 283-4828I.D. #271238(6-9, 6-15)

STATE OF MINNESOTA IN DISTRICT COURTCOUNTY OF ROCK FIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICTSOUTHWEST MINNESOTA FARMERS COOP,f/k/a LUVERNE FARMERS ELEVATOR, INC.,f/k/a FARMERS CO-OPERATIVE ELEVATORCOMPANY OF LUVERNE Plaintiff,AND SUMMONSLeROY D. TWEET AND DONNA TWEET;COCHRANE FERTILIZER, INC; J.R. SIMPLOTCOMPANY; HAWKEYE LAND COMPANY; LAND O’LAKES, INC.; AND ALL OTHER PERSONS AND ENTITIESUNKNOWN AND THEIR UNKNOWN HEIRSCLAIMING ANY RIGHT, TITLE, ESTATE, FILE NO.INTEREST, OR LIEN IN THE REAL ESTATEDESCRIBED IN THE COMPLAINT HEREIN, Defendants.THE STATE OF MINNESOTA TO THE ABOVE-NAMED DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED AND REQUIRED to serve on Plaintiff’s attorney a Response to the complaint which is on file in the office of the Court Administrator of the above named Court within twenty (20) days after service of this Summon upon you, exclusive of the day of service. If you fail to do so, judgment by default will be taken against you for the relief demanded in the Complaint which involves, affects or brings in question real property situated in the County of Rock, State of Minnesota legally described as follows, to-wit: Kenneth PropertyAll that part of the former station grounds of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company in the Village of Kenneth, Minnesota, located in the North Half of the Southeast Quarter (N1/2 of SE1/4) of Section Two (2), Township One Hundred Three (103) North, of Range Forty-four (44) West, of the 5th P.M., Rock County, Minnesota, described as follows: Commencing at a point on the East line of Section 2, which is 175 feet South of the South line of First Street in the Village of Kenneth, as the point of beginning; thence westerly 350 feet along a line 175 feet South and parallel with the South line of First Street; thence Northerly along a line parallel with the East line of Section 2, to a point on the south line of First Street which is 350 feet West of the East line of Section 2; thence Easterly along the South line of First Street 350 feet to the East line of Section 2; thence Southerly along the East line of Section 2 to the point of beginning, and subject to highway easements.ANDAll that part of the former station grounds of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company in the City of Kenneth, located in the North Half of the Southeast Quarter (N1/2 of SE1/4) of Section Two (2), in Township One Hundred Three (103) North, of Range Forty-four (44) West, of the 5th P.M., described as follows:Commencing at a point on the East line of Section 2, which is 300 feet South of the South line of First Street in the City of Kenneth, as the point of beginning; thence Westerly 568 feet along a line 300 feet South and parallel with the South line of First Street; thence at right angles and Northerly 125 feet (to a point 175 feet south of the South line of First Street); thence Easterly along a line 175 feet South of and parallel with the South line of First Street to the Section line; thence Southerly along the Section line to the point of beginning, and subject to highway easements.Luverne PropertyA parcel of land located in the Northeast Quarter (NE1/4) of Section Eleven (11), Township One Hundred Two (102) North, Range Forty-five (45) West of the 5th P.M., located in the City of Luverne, Rock County, Minnesota, described as follows:Beginning at the intersection of the west line of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company’s Right-of-way, now abandoned, and the south line of Dodge Street; thence Easterly along the south line of Dodge Street a distance of 150 feet; thence Southerly at right angles a distance of 50 feet; thence Easterly at right angles a distance of 50 feet to a point on the east line of said right-of-way; thence Southerly along the east line of said right-of-way a distance of 250 feet; thence Westerly parallel to Dodge Street a distance of 200 feet to a point on the west line of said right-of-way; thence Northerly along the west line of said right-of-way a distance of 300 feet to the point of beginning, subject to easements, if any.EXCEPTING THEREFROM:The West twenty-five feet (25 ft.) of the above described property.The object of this proceeding is to Quiet Title to the real estate described above by excluding the Defendants from any interest in said real estate.Dated: June 6, 2005By: /s/ Benjamin Vander Kooi, Jr.Attorney for PlaintiffBENJAMIN VANDER KOOI, JR.VANDER KOOI LAW OFFICES, P.A.127 East Main, P.O. Box 746Luverne, Minnesota 56156(507) 283-9546Attorney I.D. No. 112124(6-9, 6-16, 6-23)

Highway 75 project moving as fast as weather allowsDue to utility relocations and continuous rainy weather, the Highway 75/133rd Street project hasn’t moved along as fast as Rock County Highway Engineer Mark Sehr had hoped.Despite the delays, Sehr is still anticipating mid- to late July completion for the US Highway 75 portion of the project.Construction activities have included the removal of the bituminous and concrete pavement.The dirt work currently underway includes removal of material on US Highway 75 to meet sight distance specifications and placement of material on 131st Street to meet the width required for a city street.Next is the compaction required to meet the minimum density need for roads.Storm sewers and box culverts are also being worked on.Upcoming work will include the placement of an aggregate base, curb and gutter, and the bituminous paving.When the road itself is in place, other parts of the project that will have to be completed will include erosion control, signing, pavement marking, sod or seed and sidewalk construction.When the Highway 75/133rd Street project is behind us, we will still have the Main Street and Blue Mound Avenue projects to look forward to.The projects are expected to be let on June 17 with an anticipated August to September construction period with completion by mid-September.Relay for Life sets $40,000 as its goalThe Relay for Life committee is in the final stages for its big annual event.The two-day event will begin on Friday, June 17, at the Luverne City Park with the RFL supper running from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.The opening ceremonies will begin with a survivors’ lap at 7:00 p.m., followed by all of the teams starting their walk circling the park.The teams continue their walk around the park until the conclusion of the event at 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning.During the evening various activities, food and fund-raisers are held until the conclusion of the event.The Rock County event is one of 3,500 RFL events held nationwide.Since 2001, the Rock County event has raised from $44,128 to $62,085.Historical Society plans weekend eventThe Rock County Historical Society is hosting a barn dance for your weekend pleasure.The dance will be from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, June 11th at the Century Barn on the Rock County Fairgrounds.Music will be provided by Delmar Danke. Refreshments will be served.The Historical Society has other activities planned for the summer. Some of them include:
August 18; An ice cream social featuring hand-cranked ice cream on the lawn of the Hinkly House from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
September 20; The annual dinner and raffle at the Blue Mound Banquet Center with Dr. Lloyd Peterson, Southwest Minnesota State University, once again informing and entertaining the group with history of the area.Chamber golf scrambler scheduled for FridayThe Chamber of Commerce reports 18 teams have signed up for its annual golf scrambler as of Monday and expects to surpass the 22 entered in last year’s tournament.The 5-year-old tournament, scheduled for Friday, June 10, was started to help raise additional money to promote Luverne and its businesses.If you would like to participate, contact Lorna or Dave at the Luverne Chamber of Commerce, 283-4061.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

"End of life decisions"The tough decisions related to dying are all related to the tough decisions of living. Where do we go for guidance and direction when faced with challenging issues? Who do we trust to speak the truth without bias? Who knows what the future holds? Who understands all the issues involved in my situation? The answer for all of these questions is the only true and triune God; The Creator, Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit. He speaks to us clearly through the Holy Scriptures about what we need to know about life and death.The Bible clearly reveals God to be high on life in all its forms and stages. He has created everything that is living and everything was created to live forever. Death only came into creation through the disobedience of Adam and Eve. God warned them, "You must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17). They did not heed the warning, and when they ate of that forbidden fruit, their eyes were opened and they became afraid and embarrassed. They hid from God and all of mankind has shared in this fear and embarrassment ever since.All mankind believes that they have the ability to be like God and make their own choices. The problem is that it is all a big fat lie and always leads to heartache and failure. People do not have the ability to discern good from evil on their own, so clearly they do not have the ability to do good on their own either. All mankind is sinful from their conception, and no good thing comes from them apart from the good that God works in and through them. We must accept this as true in order for God to work in us the faith that we need to live in God’s creation.God creates faith in the hearts of all who will believe in Jesus Christ as the one who lived, died, and rose again as Savior and Substitute. St. Paul reminds the Christian, "It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me." (Galatians 2:20). Christ was obedient to the will of His Father in heaven and committed no sin. If Christ lives in us as Christians, then we are obedient to the will of His Father in heaven and we have eternal life. This faith is the gift of God so that no man can boast of himself.As Christians face the issues of life in this sinful world, we look to God and His Word for the guidance and direction that we need to show Christ in our lives. This is not open to change or revision because we live in the 21st century. God’s Word is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It reveals the truth that God would have us to know, confess, and practice in our lives. This word can be summed up with two simple commandments from God. "Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, and mind, … and love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:37, 39). Life and death are in God’s hands. We are to respect life always as a gift from God that will last forever for the Christian. Death is simply a doorway that leads to eternal life. We do not hasten death nor fear it any more than we can speed up life. We take it as it comes and trust in the Lord to walk us through it. He has been through it. He knows all things and promises that nothing can separate us from Him. He promises that He will supply all that we need when it is needed. Life and death are faced with the confidence that God is always in charge working things out for the good of those who trust in Him. Live life with Jesus Christ for He has overcome death!

"Librarians just want to have fun" is a statement not to be taken lightly. It is truly a rare occasion when a librarian can cast off the burdens of reference transactions, literature selection, and computer maintenance to become her real fun-loving self. This extraordinary event is scheduled to occur on June 13. Librarians will be seen biking out to the State Park with 30 of their favorite library kids. Or, if you're lucky you might catch them in their bikinis frolicking in the pool with more library kids. (I made that up about the bikinis.) But if you come to the library this summer, you will find happy librarians, magic tricks, a puppet show, a dance party and much more. Pick up a schedule of events and find out "What’s Buzzin’ at the Library." Kids can sign up this week for the Summer Reading Club and earn tickets to buy prizes from the summer library store. It’s going to be a good time. While you’re at the library, check out some of the new summer fiction. "Heartbreak Hotel" by Jill Landis. A supportive wife and mother, Tracy Potter always played by the rules and maintained a perfect home. After her husband’s sudden death, she learns that everything she believed in was a lie. Forced to start over, Tracy puts everything into resurrecting the Heartbreak Hotel, an abandoned turn-of-the-century inn overlooking the Pacific Ocean. She’s determined to never again believe in anyone but herself—until the night a mysterious loner, Wade McAllister, checks in. The Heartbreak Hotel is a perfect place for Wade to hide from his notoriety as an author and the shocking events in his past. Drawn to Tracy and her struggle to succeed, he is quickly compelled to risk the anonymity on which his survival depends. By the time Tracy discovers the handsome stranger’s true identity, there’s more than ever at stake. She is not only forced to risk another broken heart and learn to trust again, but she must fight to make Wade believe in their love. "Appaloosa" by Robert Parker. When Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch arrive in Appaloosa, they find a small, dusty town suffering at the hands of renegade rancher Randall Bragg. Bragg and his crew assault the women, steal from the merchants, and shoot anyone who gets in the way. Cole and Hitch, itinerant lawmen, are used to cleaning up after opportunistic thieves. They are hired guns, but doggedly revere the law. Cole and Hitch back Bragg down with a minimum of bloodshed. Bragg is arrested, tried and sentenced to be hung. But Cole's weakness for the piano-playing beauty, Allie, makes possible his escape. Bragg’s hired hands bust him out, leading to a long chase through Indian territory and a shootout between Cole's men and Bragg's. When he eventually returns with a presidential pardon and a veneer of civility, Cole is trapped: if he kills Bragg, he'll have violated his own code, but if he doesn't, he'll lose Allie to his rival. Special Notice: Barb is celebrating a significant birthday on June 13. Be sure to congratulate her on turning 40. Wait a minute; she has a daughter who's 28 years old. Perhaps it’s not her 40th. Perhaps it’s the big 5-0!! Still, let’s pretend it’s her 40th and make her really happy on her special day.

The following appeared in the Rock County Herald on June 2, 1916:PRINCESS THEATRE CLOSES ITS DOORSSatisfactory Deal is Made Among Theatre Owners Whereby Princess Drops Out of FieldAn important change in the status of the motion picture theatre business took place the first of the week, when the Princess theatre, which has been conducted by Peter Rober & Son, was permanently closed Saturday night. This action was brought about in part through the efforts of Manager R.G. Willert, of the Grand theatre, and Manager Herman Jochims, of the New Palace theatre, by the payment of a reasonable cash bonus. Following this action, but entirely independent of it, Mr. Willert disposed of one-half interest in the Grand theatre to John Rober, who has been manager of the Princess theatre since it was opened. Since the New Palace theatre was opened last fall, Luverne has had three first-class motion picture theatres in operation, and competition has been extremely keen. With the management of each theatre constantly endeavoring to secure the strongest and latest attractions and features with little regard for cost, and the price of admission maintained with few exceptions at minimum rates of 5 and 10 cents, it is violating no confidences to here state that the game has been a losing one from a financial viewpoint for all three theatres. But with only two theatres in operation it is expected that it will be possible to maintain the same high character of service heretofore given, and both theatres will produce a legitimate margin of profit, although in order to accomplish this end it will be necessary to return to the old special feature rates of 10 and 15 cents for some of the more expensive features.In connection with the change in the management of the Grand, Messrs. Willert & Rober are making a number of additions to the equipment of their amusement place, including about eighty more seats, an extra motion picture machine and a new piano. In order to make room for the additional seats, the stage floor is being lowered to conform with the adjoining floor and the screen will be moved as far back as possible. This will give the theatre a seating capacity of about 360.The equipment of the Princess theatre that cannot be used to advantage in the Grand will be disposed of outside of Luverne. Peter Rober, the senior member of the outgoing firm, will retire from business, and will accordingly lease his building. It is understood that he has two or three opportunities to lease the building, but as he has not taken definite action in the matter it cannot be stated for what purpose it will be used.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.

Shortly after my 40th birthday, I stumbled upon one of life’s greatest truths. "Women’s lives are divided into two distinct parts," I wrote, "a time when they wish to look pregnant and a time when they don’t." Twenty-some years later, an even greater truth has surfaced. This time it’s clear that most adults’ lives are divided into two halves — the first half when we worry about how many miles our cars will get to a gallon of fuel, and the second when we worry about how long we can get by on a cup of coffee before needing a restroom. The answer to the post-age-50 bladder control crisis was recently revealed on a British gadget and gizmo Web site. According to a posted news article at the site, a UK company, started up by a distant relative of the inventor of the toilet, has created a new handheld GPS device for locating public restrooms throughout that country. The global-positioning i-Poo apparently displays the location of 43,000 or so public restrooms in the U.K. and will give its operator the fastest walking directions to the nearest one. At first the news sounded almost too good to be true. "If however there is no public toilet within 600 meters, "the article added, "the software will also direct you to an open restaurant, pub or if after closing hours, a darkened alley." A warning flag should have gone up at this point, but reading about the GPS system overwhelmed the rational part of my brain. Clearly, GPS systems are no longer limited to luxury vehicles or golf carts at posh country clubs. A hand-held global positioning system would also allow its user to quickly locate garage sales and spectacular sales events at favorite stores. With the help of additional technological devices, we might even become "carborgs" — cyborgs that are half human and half automotive accessories. Carborgs would definitely give new meaning to words such as "shifty" and "shiftless." For example, flip-down, overhead cosmetic mirrors such as those found on car visors could be permanently attached to our foreheads. No matter what age, a woman can never be too prepared for cosmetic breakdowns. Tiny windshield wipers could be attached to our bifocal glasses. They would be perfect for life’s blinding moments — unexpected rain storms, opening a dishwasher door while the contents are still steaming hot or sitting through the final, tear-choking scene of "Beaches," when Bette Midler belts out "The Wind Beneath My Wings." Much like the messages on the dashboards of our cars ("Service in 2,000 miles" or "Check oil"), flashing messages on our handheld i-Poos could signal, "Make appointment for annual physical" or "Refill prescriptions." Inflatable air bags could be suspended from our elastic waistbands and hang over our hips for accidental falls and spills. Falling down and not being able to get up would no longer be a problem. With air bags on our hips, we would bounce right back to our standing positions. Instead of carrying a simple Walkman when we walk for exercise, we could become portable entertainment centers, complete with tape players, CDs, radios and miniature TVs. With carborgs for parents, our children would rave, "You should see my mom. She’s a ‘42 Michigan with lots of miles and her chassis could use a little work, but she’s very reliable." As noted earlier, at least one warning flag should have been raised. A closer examination of the i-Poo story revealed it had been posted at midnight, April 1, 2005. What a disappointment.