By Mark HaugenThe Luverne offense exploded for its highest output of the season to rout Fairmont 10-2 Thursday in girls hockey and run its win streak to four. Luverne, 4-2, raced to a 5-0 lead before Fairmont netted its two and then the Cardinals finished them off with five more.Sadie Dietrich hammered in four goals for Luverne, while Natalie Domagala netted three goals and had four assists. "Defensively we’re finally starting to play a little better and working on our positions," Coach Dave Siebenahler said."We had kind of a letdown in the second period, but the girls really put it together for the third period and played a pretty good game."Seventh-grader Paige Olson, ninth-grader Natalie Morgan and seventh-grader Katie Dahl each scored goals as well."We got some scoring out of some of the younger girls, which is really good to build their confidence," he said. "Sadie and Natalie are playing pretty good together, passing the puck well. They see each other so well and really know how to find the net. They really work well together."Sarah Schneekloth stopped 28 shots in goal. "Sarah is doing great in net," Siebenahler said. "You can hardly beat that at all."Luverne has a rematch with Sioux Falls Blue on Thursday in the Blue Mound Ice Arena, where they lost 5-3 to Blue in the second game of the season."The girls want to get back and get that win against them," Siebenahler said."Hopefully if we get a lead against Sioux Falls we can keep it. We’ve improved since we played them last. Hopefully that will motivate the girls."The Cardinals then go back on the road Saturday at Benson/Morris and return home Tuesday to face Windom."We’ve still got a ways to go and a lot of things to work on, but the girls are working hard and trying to improve every game."ScoringLuverne 4 1 5 – 10Fairmont 0 2 0 – 2

Luverne’s Terry Hoffman was taken into custody Wednesday morning in connection with a number of thefts in and around the area.The Rock County and Minnehaha sheriff’s departments, Brandon and Sioux Falls police departments and Minnesota State Patrol are investigating the thefts.Three search warrants were executed, including one at his office/shop on Edgehill Street west of the South Highway 75 Casey’s.According to the Rock County Sheriff’s Department, some items were seized, including a four-wheeler, gooseneck trailer and backhoe, all of which were confirmed to have been stolen.Other properties in Hoffman’s possession are also being investigated, according to Sheriff Mike Winkels.Charges are pending, and Hoffman remained in custody as of press time Wednesday.

By Lori EhdeBryan Bose, Lake Wilson, is the newest member of the Rock County Sheriff’s Department.Deputy Bose graduated from Alexandria Technical College in May and started his new job in Luverne Monday.He and his wife, Mary Jo, and children, Bryanne, 5, and Dayne, 2, will move to Luverne after the holidays.Bose said he’s glad to have found work in Luverne, which brings him closer to his hometown, Lake Wilson.Meanwhile, he’ll make the daily commute to Luverne, as he starts work on the nightshift this week."I like it here," he said Monday. "I like the people."Bose lists hunting and fishing among his hobbies, which he enjoys between spending time with his family.Bose replaces Nick Schaffer, who left the department this summer.

By Sara QuamThe city of Luverne is still working with a Canadian company to locate in Luverne.Since the company has only a six-month rental agreement, however, the city is hesitant to go through the process to apply for Job Opportunity Building Zones benefits. The state allows JOBZ tax breaks to be used for rental properties, but it is up to the city of Luverne to apply for them. ESecure America is renting a downtown office space for a starting point but hasn’t committed to more than six months. The city would have to apply to swap land from the current designated JOB Zones to downtown.The county and school would also have to sign off on the application.Luverne Economic Development Director Mike Engesser said, "The county and school would look at this with scrutiny."The LEDA Tuesday voted to send eSecure a letter saying that it will apply for JOBZ benefits and land swapping after the company is in town for the first six months. Besides the two owners, eSecure will probably have one employee."The level of commitment is what concerns me," LEDA member Nate Golla said. He said he’d be in favor of using JOBZ if Esecure was renting under a longer lease agreement.City Administrator Greg LaFond said, "We’re reluctant to extend lots of benefits to someone who’s made a short-term commitment to Luverne."The company designs and manufactures vending machine interfaces and their accompanying software.The most common use for eSecure is vending machines and food services. People who work for a large factory or hospital with a cafeteria, for example, can use the cards to deduct meal charges from their paychecks.The card and systems can also track what people buy in order to keep adequate supply inventories. Some businesses use eSecure to prevent employee theft when using supplies. Other uses include controlling access to items, protecting items, dispensing items in convenient locations, generating reports and audits, alerting companies when minimum levels are reached to avoid low stocks and tracking purchases of users by demographics.Call centerJOBZ was an enticing possibility for a company that wanted to expand its call center with a new 500-employee facility. Luverne was a finalist, but the company ultimately decided that filling 500 positions in a town with Luverne’s population (including the surrounding area) wouldn’t be ideal.It is instead looking at larger cities, some out of the state of Minnesota.

By Sara QuamYou’d never know that the 32-year-old with clear skin, bright eyes and a pearly white smile has AIDS — but Nick Klein does."That’s why I’m willing to share my story," Klein said Tuesday. "AIDS is out there and it’s spreading and you don’t know who has it. I wouldn’t call myself an activist, but I don’t want people to have their heads buried in the sand."He participated in a panel on World AIDS Day last week at the University of Minnesota, Mankato."People think it’s in the big city or in California, but it’s here," Klein said.There are three HIV cases in Rock County and 11 in Nobles County according to the Rural AIDS Action Network. Those are the official statistics, which may be skewed if people move or report a different home address when being tested because of confidentiality concerns.Jennifer Weg, of Nobles- Rock Public Health said, "The numbers don’t show how big the situation is in southwest Minnesota. Part of that is because we don’t have local free testing available, so people do it in South Dakota or bigger cities in Minnesota."Also, it’s estimated that for every person who knows he or she has HIV, there is another person who doesn’t know.Klein is the grandson of Mary and the late Blackie Johnson, longtime residents of Hills. He went to elementary and middle school in the Hills-Beaver Creek district.Klein has been HIV positive for 11 years and has lived in Hills for seven years. Just last spring he got AIDS and started taking medication, which still makes him nauseous.Despite that, he said he feels good most of the time. He eats well, takes vitamins, and religiously takes his three prescription pills a day.He said the life expectancy of someone with AIDS isn’t what it used to be. "It’s a manageable disease if you don’t mess with your medications. … I plan on dying of old age," Klein said. "I’m way more optimistic about life now than I’ve been in the last 10 years."His viral load is almost undetectable and his immune system rating is increasing. He hopes to work full time again by the end of 2005."I’m still young and I want to grow in my life," Klein said. A walking billboardKlein thinks he contracted HIV when he was 19. He knows he got it from having unprotected sex.He found out he had HIV when he was 21. Then, dreams of becoming an English professor and marrying and having children faded. "I cried for four days," Klein said. "That first year, everything was flooded with thoughts of HIV."Instead of finishing college, he became a trucker, and he also made a living as a waiter and construction worker."I wish I could be a walking billboard for people to know what not to do," Klein said.He’s open about having HIV and AIDS, even when socializing or meeting new people."Sometimes people’s reaction is shock at my honesty," he said. Klein knows of some people with HIV who don’t tell others. "It’s just selfish and it makes me mad that some people don’t have a conscience. They sleep around because they figure they’ve already got it and don’t have anything to worry about."Klein said people with HIV still need to protect themselves even if for selfish reasons. There are different strains of the virus that they could contract, which are immune to some drugs. Different strains are harder on different people, too. Klein said his social life is pretty limited, but he enjoys going out. Observing people in the bar scene isn’t fun, though."You can’t tell me those people have been tested or that they’re being safe," Klein said. "People will lie, and you have to protect yourself. You can ask someone if they have HIV or have been tested and they will look you in the eyes and lie," Klein said."It’s all fine and dandy to think about it, but if you don’t do anything, what’s the point?"Klein compares his outlook on life to that of someone who survives cancer or a heart attack."It’s actually bettered my life because I cut all the crap out. It’s made me a better person and I can say I stop to smell the roses."

By Mark HaugenHills-Beaver Creek used two blowouts last week to raise its record to 2-1 on the season.The Patriots beat Edgerton 73-50 on the road Friday and returned home Monday night to topple Central Lyon 67-38.H-BC has a busy week coming up — at MCC on Thursday, hosting Ellsworth on Saturday, and hosting Sioux Valley-Round Lake-Brewster on Tuesday.H-BC 67, CL 38Coach Steve Wiertzema’s crew stumbled out of the blocks and trailed 12-9 after the first quarter and led 24-22 at half before getting into high gear and outscoring the Lyons 43-16 in the second half."We were settling too much for outside shots," Wiertzema said of the first half. "They sagged in a zone and we needed to penetrate. Once we did that things turned around for us."Kale Wiertzema tossed in 24 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and picked nine steals for H-BC. Tyler Bush netted 17 points and dished nine assists. Travis Broesder added nine points and Tom LeBoutillier seven points and 12 rebounds.The Patriot defense held the Lions’ 6-9 junior center Dustin Huisman to 10 points."We played pretty well defensively," Coach Wiertzema said. "It was nice to have a non-conference game and get a feel for it (playing against a big center), because our conference is loaded with them."H-BC Box ScoreDeBoer 0 0-0 0, Wysong 0 2 0-0 6, Bush 6 1 2-3 17, Wiertzema 12 0-0 24, Baker 1 0-2 2, Broesder 0 3 0-0 9, Hup 0 0-1 0, LeBoutillier 2 3-6 7, Martens 1 0-0 2. Totals22 6 5-12 67. Team Totals:Field goal shooting: H-BC 28-70 for 40 percent; CL 19-46 for 41.3 percent; 3-point shooting: H-BC 6-23 (Broesder 3-8, Wysong 2-8, Bush 1-3); CL 0-8. Rebounds: H-BC 43 (LeBoutillier 12, Wiertzema 11, Bush 9); CL 36. Blocks: H-BC 8 (Bush 3, Wiertzema 3). Steals: H-BC 19 (Wiertzema 9). Assists: H-BC 19 (Bush 9).H-BC 73, Edgerton 50The Patriots jumped to a 26-8 lead and cruised to a home victory Friday.Kale Wiertzema’s all-around effort included 16 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for H-BC. Tyler Bush wasn’t far behind with 15 points, 10 rebounds, seven steals and seven assists. Zach Wysong tossed in 13 points and Travis Broesder 10 as H-BC led 63-34 after three quarters."The pace was more our style. We have to play a quick pace because of our size, and we dictated it the whole game."Pipestone won the B-game 48-45 as the H-BC squad is 1-1 on the season.H-BC Box ScoreDeBoer 0 0-0 0, Wysong 2 3 0-0 13, Bush 4 1 4-6 15, Wiertzema 8 0-0 16, Baker 3 3-8 9, Haak 0 0-0 0, Broesder 2 2 0-0 10, Hup 2 0-0 4, LeBoutillier 3 0-0 6, Martens 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24 6 7-14 73. Team Totals:Field goal shooting: H-BC 30-64 for 46.9 percent, E 18-56 for 32.1 percent; 3-point shooting: H-BC 6-16 (Wysong 3-5, Broesder 2-4, Bush 1-1), E 2-14. Rebounds: H-BC 46 (Bush 10, Wiertzema 10, Broesder 7), E 26. Steals: H-BC 15 (Bush 7). Turnovers: H-BC 16, E 17. Assists: H-BC 21 (Bush 7, Wiertzema 7).

By Mark HaugenHills-Beaver Creek stayed above the .500 mark by splitting two games last week.The Patriots fell 50-44 on the road at Southwest Christian on Thursday and then bounced back with a big 50-38 victory over Adrian on Tuesday night.The Patriots play Friday night at Edgerton and Wednesday at Fulda.SWC 50, H-BC 44The Patriots managed only four points in the second quarter and seven in the third as they dropped a road game.Cassi Tilstra poured in 20 points for H-BC, including two 3-pointers. She also led the team with eight rebounds. Kelly Mulder made her presence known inside with seven rebounds and five blocks."I thought we played extremely hard, however, we didn’t shoot the ball well from the field or the foul line," Coach Goehle said.H-BC Box ScoreRozeboom 2 0-0 4, Fransman 1 1 0-0 5, A. Tilstra 0 0-0 0, Feucht 2 2-2 6, Fink 1 1 0-0 5, Helgeson 0 0-0 0, C. Tilstra 5 2 4-9 20, Roozenboom 0 2-2 2, Mulder 1 0-2 2. Total: 12 4 8-15 44.Team Totals:FG shooting: H-BC 16-51 for 31.4 percent, SWC 18-54 for 33.3 percent. 3-pointers: H-BC 4-16 (C. Tilstra 2-4), SWC 4-9. Rebounds: H-BC 35 (C. Tilstra 8, Mulder 7, Fransman 5), SC 36. Blocks: H-BC 5 (Mulder 5), SWC 1. Steals: H-BC 10 (Fransman 3, C. Tilstra 3). Turnovers: H-BC 19, SWC 15. Assists: H-BC 14 (Rozeboom 4, Fransman 4).H-BC 50, Adrian 38The Patriots rebounded from a 9-8 first-quarter deficit to winKelly Mulder led the way with 12 points and five blocked shots. Cassi Tilstra had 11 points and 11 rebounds."I thought our girls showed more patience on the offensive end," Goehle said. "That, coupled with the fact that on the defensive end we were aware of where their shooters were, helped us maintain control of the game."It is really early in the season, but I like the progress our girls are making individually and collectively."H-BC Box ScoreRozeboom 2 1-1 5, Fransman 0 1 1-2 4, Feucht 2 4-4 8, Fink 0 1 0-0 3, Helgeson 1 0-0 2, C. Tilstra 5 1-2 11, Roozenboom 1 3-4 5, Mulder 6 0-0 12. Team Totals:FG shooting: H-BC 19-38, A 16-39.

By Lexi MooreShelly Knobloch has been hosting exchange students for five years. Her experiences with the students led to her decision to begin placing students with host families in Iowa and Minnesota.She works with the Center for Cultural Interchange to place students within 150 miles of Hills.The Knobloch family has hosted students from Italy, Mexico, Germany, Belgium and most recently Ghana. Although their home sometimes feels like a revolving hotel, Knobloch says, "The family loves it. We have so much fun!"Both of her children enjoy having the students around and cherish having the opportunity to learn about other cultures.The Knobloch family hasn’t had an opportunity to visit any of the students they have hosted. But she says the relationships stay strong after the students head home. "We exchange pictures, cards and letters."Placing students with host familiesKnobloch has attended several educational seminars to help her improve her ability to place students with the perfect family. She also uses a website database to match family characteristics with those of the student.It is very easy for interested families to get involved with the program. The students have their own money for food and entertainment, so they’re not a financial burden on host families.The family is mainly there to provide emotional support while the students transition to American life.After an interested family contacts Knobloch, she asks them a series of questions, such as whether or not they have pets, smoke in the house or have other children.If the family has a nationality preference, the Center for Cultural Interchange will do its best to find a student from that country.Knobloch says that often a family background plays a big part in placements. "We really want a good fit. If it is a true fit, there are fewer problems."Host families commit to housing students for either five months or 10 months. Short-term summer placements are available, but interested families must commit to being involved in a variety of activities.Anyone interested in hosting a student can call Knobloch at 962-3772.

By Sara QuamYou’d never know that the 32-year-old with clear skin, bright eyes and a pearly white smile has AIDS — but Nick Klein does."That’s why I’m willing to share my story," Klein said Tuesday. "AIDS is out there and it’s spreading and you don’t know who has it. I wouldn’t call myself an activist, but I don’t want people to have their heads buried in the sand."He participated in a panel on World AIDS Day last week at the University of Minnesota, Mankato."People think it’s in the big city or in California, but it’s here," Klein said.There are three HIV cases in Rock County and 11 in Nobles County according to the Rural AIDS Action Network. Those are the official statistics, which may be skewed if people move or report a different home address when being tested because of confidentiality concerns.Jennifer Weg, of Nobles- Rock Public Health said, "The numbers don’t show how big the situation is in southwest Minnesota. Part of that is because we don’t have local free testing available, so people do it in South Dakota or bigger cities in Minnesota."Also, it’s estimated that for every person who knows he or she has HIV, there is another person who doesn’t know.Klein is the grandson of Mary and the late Blackie Johnson, longtime residents of Hills. He went to elementary and middle school in the Hills-Beaver Creek district.Klein has been HIV positive for 11 years and has lived in Hills for seven years. Just last spring he got AIDS and started taking medication, which still makes him nauseous.Despite that, he said he feels good most of the time. He eats well, takes vitamins, and religiously takes his three prescription pills a day.He said the life expectancy of someone with AIDS isn’t what it used to be. "It’s a manageable disease if you don’t mess with your medications. … I plan on dying of old age," Klein said. "I’m way more optimistic about life now than I’ve been in the last 10 years."His viral load is almost undetectable and his immune system rating is increasing. He hopes to work full time again by the end of 2005."I’m still young and I want to grow in my life," Klein said. A walking billboardKlein thinks he contracted HIV when he was 19. He knows he got it from having unprotected sex.He found out he had HIV when he was 21. Then, dreams of becoming an English professor and marrying and having children faded. "I cried for four days," Klein said. "That first year, everything was flooded with thoughts of HIV."Instead of finishing college, he became a trucker, and he also made a living as a waiter and construction worker."I wish I could be a walking billboard for people to know what not to do," Klein said.He’s open about having HIV and AIDS, even when socializing or meeting new people."Sometimes people’s reaction is shock at my honesty," he said. Klein knows of some people with HIV who don’t tell others. "It’s just selfish and it makes me mad that some people don’t have a conscience. They sleep around because they figure they’ve already got it and don’t have anything to worry about."Klein said people with HIV still need to protect themselves even if for selfish reasons. There are different strains of the virus that they could contract, which are immune to some drugs. Different strains are harder on different people, too. Klein said his social life is pretty limited, but he enjoys going out. Observing people in the bar scene isn’t fun, though."You can’t tell me those people have been tested or that they’re being safe," Klein said. "People will lie, and you have to protect yourself. You can ask someone if they have HIV or have been tested and they will look you in the eyes and lie," Klein said."It’s all fine and dandy to think about it, but if you don’t do anything, what’s the point?"Klein compares his outlook on life to that of someone who survives cancer or a heart attack."It’s actually bettered my life because I cut all the crap out. It’s made me a better person and I can say I stop to smell the roses."