OPEN MARKET BID OPENINGNOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that bids will be opened Friday, March 11, 2005, at 10:30 a.m. for the following: Approximately 24,000 lbs. of overhead aluminum conductor wire Submit your bid in a sealed envelope clearly marked "Aluminum Conductor Wire Bid" and deliver or mail to: City of Luverne 203 E. Main Street P O Box 659Luverne, MN 56156Successful bidder is responsible for loading and hauling wire. Payment shall be due upon acceptance of bid.(3-3, 3-10)

Summary of Ordinance No. 272, Third Series; relating to land use regulations "Chapter 11" of City CodeThe purpose of the code is to safeguard the health, property and public welfare by controlling the design, location, use or occupancy of all buildings and structures through the regulated and orderly development of land and land uses within the City. The scope this code shall apply to the construction, addition, alteration, moving, repair and use of any building, structure, parcel of land or sign within the City.Permits it is unlawful for any person to hereafter erect, alter, wreck, or move any building or structure, or portions thereof, without first securing a building and/or zoning permit.Fees a fee for service shall be charged as set by the City Council. Certificate of Occupancy shall be obtained before occupying or using any building or portion thereof if such building hereafter erected or structurally altered, or the occupancy/use of any building or portion thereof is altered or changed. Sale of Rental Property A certificate of occupancy shall be obtained when a residential rental property is sold and prior to the transaction closing. Owner Contractor occupancy deposit shall be assessed on all new residential construction not issued to a State licensed contractor (owner contractor). Zoning Districts have remained without significant changes to the requirements for sizes and setbacks, other than some renaming of the commercial districts. Downtown District is the most significant change with it encompassing the "old" B-2, B-1 and R-I districts. This zone reflects the unique mixture of uses in and around the Downtown. A variety of uses fit including, community-scale retail, professional services, public/civic uses, parks, offices, dining and entertainment, banking, lodging, and housing. All new buildings or substantially remodeled buildings shall require a conditional use. It must be shown that this use is compatible with the character and scale of the Downtown district. Dimensional, lot area and setback requirements shall be judged on an individual basis as part of the conditional use application. Flood Plain District, and Planned Unit Development, regulations remain the same.Off-Street Parking requirements remain substantially unchanged. Some modifications were made to adjust for larger vehicles and larger garage spaces. Signs the purpose of this chapter is to protect the safety and orderly development of the community through regulation of signs and sign structures. This chapter has been changed in its entirety to make sizing and shape requirements easier to understand, to include signage that was not addressed in the previous code and to clarify permitting requirements as it applies to signage. Zoning Map has been redrawn in its entirety and is available for review in City Hall. The map is drawn to be consistent with the present City Comprehensive Plan and to the planning for future development. Other sections of this code were not significantly changed as to content in the new edition other than for clarification purposes. (3-3)

BID OPENINGSealed Proposals will be received by the County Engineer of Rock County, Minnesota, at the Rock County Highway Building, 1120 North Blue Mound Avenue, Luverne, Minnesota until 1:00 P.M. on the 29th day of March, 2005, for Curb and Gutter, Grading, Surfacing and Storm Sewer Improvements, T.H. 75 and C.S.A.H. 37 (131st Street), Luverne, Minnesota, at which time the bids shall be publicly opened and read aloud.The approximate quantities of work on which proposals will be received is as follows: 18,230 Sq. Yds Remove Pavement 31,600 Cu. Yds. Common Excavation 10,200 Ton Class 5 Aggregate Base 17,410 Ton Class 3 Aggregate Base 6,040 Ton Type SP 12.5 Wearing Course Mixture 6,710 Ton Type SP 12.5 Non Wearing Course Mixture 8,348 Lin. Ft. Concrete Curb and Gutter 19,265 Sq. Ft. 4" Concrete Walk 2,888 Lin. Ft. Storm Sewer 27 Each Drainage StructuresAnd other miscellaneous items and related work.All bids shall be made on proposal forms furnished by the Engineer and shall be accompanied by bid security in the form of a certified check or bid bond, made payable to Rock County, Luverne, Minnesota, in the amount of five percent (5%) of the bid, which security becomes the property of the County in the event the successful bidder fails to enter into a contract and post satisfactory bond.The proposed contract is subject to minimum wage rates set forth by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry and incorporated into the Specifications.The County reserves the right to reject any or all proposals and to waive technicalities and irregularities.Project manual and drawings may be examined at the office of the County Engineer. Copies of said project manual may be secured from the Rock County Engineer’s Office, 1120 North Blue Mound Avenue, Luverne, Minnesota 56156, telephone 507-283-5010, FAX 507-283-5012, upon payment of thirty-five dollars ($35.00), none of which is refundable.ROCK COUNTY, MINNESOTABy Mark R. Sehr, P.E.County Engineer3-3,3-10,3-17

BID OPENINGNOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that bids will be opened Friday, March 11, 2005, at 11:00 a.m. for the following:One (1) 4-Wheel Drive w/2 Wheel Drive Option Utility Vehicle—2005 Model- 20 hp or greater diesel engine- Turf tires- Windscreen/windshield kit- Horn kit- Hydraulic lift- Bed liner- Back-up alarm- Hour meter- Complete light kit with turn signals, 4-way flashers, brake & tail lightsBid must be a "to boot" price taking a 2001 John Deere utility vehicle as trade-in. Vehicle may be inspected by appointment between 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, at the Public Works Shop, 202 N. Blue Mound Avenue, Luverne, MN. (507) 449-5043.Bids must be submitted in a sealed envelope clearly marked "Utility Vehicle Bid" and deliver or mail to: City of Luverne 203 E. Main StreetP O Box 659Luverne, MN 56156Payment shall be due upon acceptance of bid and delivery.(3-3, 3-10)

Tollefson Publishing hires new GMOver the course of the past couple of years, we have made a lot of changes in our office. Some longtime employees have left, and several new faces have replaced them.But next Monday, the biggest change of all will happen when Rick Peterson joins the Tollefson Publishing family as the new General Manager.Rick is currently the publisher of the Redwood Falls Gazette and serves as regional director for the Liberty Group, overseeing the operations of five other Liberty publications in southwest Minnesota.Along with being responsible for all the day-to-day operations for the Rock County Star Herald, Luverne Announcer, Hills Crescent, and Announcer Printing, Rick will also become my partner in the business.It’s a great opportunity for Rick, and I am thrilled to have someone with his background and abilities to work with.Rick’s first day will be next Monday and I can assure you that he is very excited about the new venture ahead of him.I know Rick is looking forward to getting to know the community and giving everyone a chance to get to know him.With that in mind, please look for a complete feature story on Rick in next week’s Rock County Star Herald.Palace to premiere ‘Wellstone!’The recently released documentary "Wellstone!" will have its southwest Minnesota premiere in Luverne at the Palace Theatre.The initial showing will be at 7 p.m. Friday, March 11. A reception at the Pizza Ranch will take place at the film’s conclusion.Subsequent showings will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 12, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13.The $5 admission fee will be donated to the Southwest Crisis Shelter, a cause that Sheila Wellstone had championed for many years prior to her death.The documentary had begun filming prior to the plane crash that took the lives of Senator Wellstone, his wife Sheila, their daughter, two campaign workers and two pilots.Make your reservation now for your state park visitThe ground may still be frozen, but it’s not too early to make reservations for your summer state park visits.For the first time campers will be able to make site-specific reservations for campsites in Minnesota State park campgrounds.For those making plans for Memorial weekend, reservations began on Feb 26.Campers can make reservations for campsites up to 90 days in advance of their arrival date.According to Steve Anderson, park operations coordinator for the DNR, the new site specific reservation option will likely prompt a lot of campers to make a reservation by phone or online as soon as the 90-day window allows.By going online or making a call to the reservation service, customers will be able to find out if their favorite campsite is among those that can be reserved in advance.For customers who don’t like planning that far ahead, or who prefer not making reservations, up to 30 percent of campsites in state parks will continue to be kept available on a first-come, first-served basis.Other improvement made to the system include shortening the lead time for making last-minute camping and lodging reservations.If you would like to make reservations online, go to www.stayatmnparks.com or call 1-866-857-2757.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com

For many people, the best part of waking up is coffee in their cup. That would be true for my parents, too … if they hadn’t been brewing under a curse that only Juan Valdez himself could have inflicted.Most of us think coffee can be great: the aroma and warmth draw us together for breaks during the day, and it helps us start our mornings on a collectively better (and livelier) note.Coffee can unite us. For my parents, however, their most recent coffee maker almost tore them apart.Mom woke up most mornings for the better part of two months scolding Dad under her breath and building resentment because there was water all over the counter top. She thought Dad poured water into the tank sloppily when he was preparing coffee the night before. Dad probably wondered why she spent her mornings towel-drying the counters.They finally figured out that the mechanism which carries water from the tank to the grounds was spraying water all over.Mom said, "If it was a shower head, I wouldn’t complain, but this was ridiculous."They returned it and Mom and Dad have had dry counter tops and pleasant mornings for about a week. … But they aren’t betting it will last. They’ve been through so many coffee makers that they’ve started asking people and taking notes on what make and model of coffee makers they use. Everyone they’ve asked reports they’ve happily used the same coffee pot for years — all different ones.They’ve had coffee makers that are so loud they couldn’t watch morning TV, coffee makers with timers that are difficult to program, coffee makers with faulty timers and coffee makers that took too long to brew. They’ve had Mr. Coffees, a Norelco, a Braun, a free one that came from ordering gourmet coffee, and a few Black and Deckers.They had one whose heating element went out and their coffee wasn’t really" cooking" through the grounds, so they kept adding scoops — hoping for better tasting coffee. Then there was the one whose carafe had to be so strategically placed for the drip to continue. It had a sensor that allowed for pulling the carafe away during the brewing process to pour a cup. By taking the carafe away, it would stop the drip. The problem was, Mom and Dad kept waking up to a counter, lower cupboards, and floor doused with coffee and chunks of grounds because they didn’t place the carafe "just so" and it sensed that there was no carafe in which to drip. So, the process backed up and overflowed the basket holding the grounds.For the past five years, whenever I go home to visit, it’s fun to check on their latest investment in what should be a simple appliance. The bedtime ritual usually involves a comic routine of both of them hovering over the coffee pot, carefully preparing for our upcoming morning’s brew.Maybe they sip and say "ah" with a little more enthusiasm than the rest of us because they have to work harder for their reward.

Happiness aboundeth in my heart. Martha Stewart is scheduled to be released from prison on Sunday, March 6. My heart is going "pitter-patter" with joy that the trauma is over. Poor Martha, I missed her so much. In honor of this significant occasion, we will prepare a display of Martha’s books at the library on Monday, March 7, (the day after). You will also have an opportunity to register for a chef’s apron that says "I Love Martha" with a red big heart on the front. One requirement: You must love Martha to register. If you don’t love Martha, please don’t register. That would be like lying to a librarian, and frankly, you don’t want to do that. It is common knowledge that lying is one of the seven deadly library sins. The punishment is swift and it is harsh. Happiness will abound in your heart, too, because the new Danielle Steele book, "Impossible," is on the shelf and ready to check out. Everything Sasha does is within the boundaries of tradition. Liam is sockless in December. Sasha is widowed, a woman who knows she was lucky enough to be married to the most wonderful man in the world and thankful for every moment they had. Liam is half in and half out of a marriage that his own impossibly impulsive behavior has helped tear apart. While Sasha has been methodically building her father’s Parisian art gallery into an intercontinental success story, Liam has been growing into one of the most original and striking young painters of his time. So while the two are utterly unalike and a nine-year age difference stares them in the face, the miracle of art brings them together. The question is, can Sasha guard her reputation while juggling a secret and somewhat scandalous relationship? And how can Liam put up with a woman who insists on having things her own way, in her own style, and at her own time?For Sasha it’s a matter of keeping Liam hidden from her grown children and well-heeled clientele. For Liam it’s about creating chaos out of order, bringing out the wild streak that Sasha barely knows she has. That is, until a family tragedy suddenly alters Liam’s life and forces a choice and a sacrifice that neither one of them could have expected. Also new on the shelf this week is "Missing Persons" by Stephen White. The stakes have just been raised for psychologist Alan Gregory. His friend and fellow therapist Hannah Grant has disappeared, mysteriously and suddenly. The police are baffled, leaving another apparent homicide unsolved in Boulder, Colo. Only Alan has the means to decipher Hannah’s clues, a quest that will take him to Las Vegas and lead him to question the integrity of those closest to him. The clock is ticking as Alan tracks one of Hannah’s most elusive patients; has she been kidnapped, or is she a runaway? The answers to both cases may be locked in the mind of a patient he has been treating for a schizophrenic personality disorder. In a maze of dilemmas that could cost him his career or his life, Alan takes a bold risk that will have readers racing to the stunning conclusion of "Missing Persons." Preschool Story Hour for 4- and 5-year-olds begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 15. Pre-registration is required and you may do so by stopping in or calling the library at 449-5040. Story hour will run seven weeks, through the end of April.

Damage of the storm continues:The following appeared in the Rock County Weekly News on July 25, 1884:RANDOM REPORTSThe full extent of the damage done throughout the county to buildings and crops can not be determined at this writing, but enough is known to give unpleasant assurance of the fact that the total amount of damage will be very large. Of the instances of damage done the following have thus far been reported:A granary on J.B. Shawver’s farm was unroofed, fences blown down and trees injured. Damage about $500.The Norwegian church in Mound township was moved twelve rods and left right side up in good condition. Windmills on Rock county farms and cupolas on barns blown down.E. Furguson’s barn and new house nearly demolished. Rev. E.H. Bronson’s barn blown down.Mr. Campbell’s new barn on McCarthy’s old place moved from its foundations. Barns and granaries on Mr. Snook’s farms all destroyed.Joseph Wright’s house and barn both demolished.M.D. Dimick’s large new barn badly damaged.Edwin Gillham, who was out of town during the storm, reports that nearly all the barns and many buildings northwest of Luverne are blown down. The grain along the entire track of the storm was laid flat, but reports this afternoon give reason to hope that the damage will not be so great as was feared at first. T.J. Bailey’s granary was blown down and his barn racked. Damage about $500.The Norwegian church in Martin township, in course of erection, was entirely demolished. Mr. Preston’s new residence near Luverne was badly damaged. Magnolia townshipBADLY DAMAGEDOur Magnolia correspondent, Illini, gives the following report under date of July 22:Our town was visited on Monday afternoon about half past three o’clock with one of the worst wind storms it has ever been our lot to witness. It blew down Mr. Wm. Kline’s machine shed and carried his tool house 50 feet through the air, turned it half-way around and let it down in good position. Word has just been brought that Mr. Welch’s barn is gone also Paul Veighlander’s. Mrs. J.J. Roger’s shingles were all taken off of her house. Wm. Travis’s chimney was carried away. It took lumber off Mr. Yale’s lumber piles and hurled it against the fence and broke it into kindling wood. Crops are down as flat as if rolled with a roller and a good deal of the grain is beyond all hope of ever raising again. Hay stacks are badly demolished and a great amount of hay is spoilt. A good many hay roofs are blown off. Word came this morning that the large warehouse at Drake station has been carried off its foundation and the old store building has been bent over so that Mr. M.J. Phinney who is living in it is afraid to remain in it longer. Mr. Chatfield’s barn is a total wreck. Mr. Darling’s large granary was taken up and moved about 8 feet from its foundation. Mr. Morton’s house is moved about two feet from its foundation. Next week will continue further damage in other townships. 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 welcome correspondence sent to mannmade@iw.net.

He’s the world’s fastest eater and, surprisingly enough, he’s not your brother-in-law. According to Nature Magazine, the star-nosed mole "can detect, identify and gulp down its small prey (usually insect larvae or earthworms) in an average of 227 milliseconds, less than a quarter of a second." This may all sound familiar to any cook who has ever prepared a holiday dinner, only to see it disappear in the blink of an eye. However, this world champion eater prefers to burrow in marshlands rather than socialize with humans.If you’re wondering how long a quarter of a second is, consider this comparison. USA Today reports that it takes 650 milliseconds for a car driver to brake after seeing a traffic light turn red. With reference to the ravenously hungry, star-nosed mole, 227 milliseconds is slightly less time than pop singer Britney Spears was married for the first time to her former high school sweetheart. In all fairness, the star-faced mole might eat fast simply out of frustration and loneliness. It can’t be easy to burrow most of the day and have a face that looks like it exploded. (The photo of the mole was unlike anything ever shown by on-line dating services.) On second thought, the mole’s face strongly resembles a popular taste treat, a deep-fried onion blossom.Because of our own heating habits, it’s easy to believe the story about the mole with the 22 little food-grabbing appendages ringing its nose. Reuters recently revealed that working parents aged 25 to 54 have only three hours a day to shop, do personal grooming and eat. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to chew and swallow.Americans spend so little time carefully chewing food or being seen doing it, that you might think "masticate" is a bad word. Fifty-dollar-a-plate wedding dinners and family holiday dinners, which have taken hours if not days to prepare, are gulped down faster than proverbial speeding bullets. "What a great-looking dinner!" and "My, that was good!" are often uttered in the same breath.The following guidelines might suggest if we’re eating too fast for our own good:Within a few seconds of finishing a meal, we can’t recall a single thing we’ve eaten. After scarfing down a meal that appeared to feature some sort of undercooked bird, we find out that the family’s pet canary is inexplicably missing from its cage. When the last dinner guest is taking his seat at the table, we’re already finishing off our desserts. Finally, although we have been told that chewing each mouthful of food 32 times is important for adequate digestion, we consider chewing to be an overrated waste of time. Instead of chewing, we shovel and gulp. Nature Magazine also noted that the star-nosed mole’s feeding pace "is so fast that they frequently make mistakes, skipping over edible food but later returning." Most of us can relate to that particular eating habit. In our world, it’s thought of as a meal do-over. The food items we overlook during the first feeding frenzy are stored in the refrigerator until the next mealtime. And we don’t refer to them as mistakes — they’re called leftovers.