By Lori EhdeWork on the new Sioux Valley Hospital and Clinic campus has taken major strides in the past month.Steven Nothdurft, site superintendent for general contractors Henry Carlson Co., Sioux Falls, said the project is moving along smoothly and will be done ahead of the previous early completion date.At groundbreaking, the work was estimated to last until late 2005. With a mild winter and very few glitches that date was moved to summer 2005. Now, Nothdurft said, contractors are looking at June 8 as the date to hand over the building."We’re doing really well," he said, attributing the good news to efficient coordination among various crews working on the project."It’s just gone so smoothly it’s unbelievable. Everything is just clicking."Nothdurft said the building is now watertight with the roof on and all the windows in except those in the front entry.The brick is done, the exterior plaster is now underway and metal panels are going on. "We’re washing the brick, and it really looks nice," he said. Drywall work in the basement has been started, the ramp to the loading dock is paved, and seeding around the holding pond will be done soon.The curb and gutter is installed on Sioux Valley Drive and on the extension of Christensen Drive, and water and electric service are available to the site.Motorists traveling north of Luverne on Highway 75 are seeing lights on in the building after dark.Nothdurft said the Aug. 3 storm didn’t set back the construction work, but he said it proved the building was solid."It was a good test," he said. "The structural engineer was out here the next day and said we passed the wind test."The $17.8 million complex going up north of the Veterans Addition, will have more than 93,000 square feet of space, more than doubling the space of the current landlocked hospital and clinic.

By Sara StrongWhile elected officials and high-ranking staff crunch law enforcement budget numbers, workers within the Sheriff’s Department are nervous about job stability.Sheriff Mike Winkels said the resignation of Deputy Nick Schaffer is troubling. "I think I will have two more leaving pretty quick here," Winkels said.At a meeting last week, the county highlighted its services and department costs in a public meeting, and gave Sheriff’s Department workers a sort of pat on the back for the job they do. Part of that meeting featured speakers on "community policing," and how that concept has changed the way the department does business.Community policing is a proactive, more open approach to law enforcement. Different from the old-fashioned reactive and military-like methods, community policing calls for increased cooperation and preventative measures to protect the public.The city of Luverne and Rock County split the $52,900 cost of community policing training. Training to implement community policing continued through May 2003, and the department recently received a positive evaluation from the community policing trainers.While city of Luverne leaders keep saying they appreciate the services, county leaders say cutting the city’s funding means existing services would change.County Attorney Don Klosterbuer said, "The only thing that’s been at issue is who pays what."Community policing trainer Bill Micklus said, "Neither department, if they split, would be able to provide the services to constituents that they are now."Dennis Cusick spoke on trends in law enforcement in general. He said, "Be proud of the model of law enforcement you have. It is unique and respected in the state. You created a model that became a model."He cautioned against terminating the current joint law contract."Once gone, it’s hard to get back," Cusick said.He said trends in crime solving make one, larger department more effective than two, smaller ones would be.Multicultural issues, high-tech investigations on crimes such as identity theft, and overall social problems require intensive work on the part of investigators and officers. They can’t just show up at the scene of a crime like some may think, Cusick said.Winkels said the department has embraced community policing and doesn’t want to see its philosophies have to change because of less manpower."We have a pride in what we do, and because of that, we do our jobs better," Winkels said.The Sheriff’s Office mission statement was recited. "To promote the quality of life in Rock County by providing police services with integrity and a spirit of excellence, in partnership with our communities."Winkels said, "I didn’t just sit down with a piece of paper to write that. Everybody took part in it, and it’s what we live and believe as an office."

By Sara StrongWednesday afternoon, the city of Luverne was expected to terminate its contract for law enforcement with Rock County.That decision comes after a week of numerous meetings on the topic, and after eight months of shuffling budgets and numbers back and forth between the government units.County Board Chair Bob Jarchow said, "It’s a sad day. The citizens lose as soon as they cancel that contract."Commissioners said faster response time and 24-hour coverage have been important improvements in the Sheriff’s Department since the Luverne Police Department and Rock County Sheriff’s Department merged in 1998.Commissioner Richard Bakken said, "People aren’t going to realize it until they need law enforcement and they aren’t around."The city’s latest proposal gave it more control over the department, while spending less money.County Attorney Don Klosterbuer said the elected sheriff and county board should continue to have budgetary authority.The county asks the city to contribute $669,366 to sheriff and dispatch budgets. The city has most recently offered $592,500 in direct payments. City Administrator Greg LaFond continues to calculate what city property taxpayers contribute to the county budget.County Administrator Kyle Oldre said, "The city taxpayers always paid county taxes, even when they had their own department."County Commissioner Jane Wildung said, "The city itself cannot claim ownership of taxes paid by individual property owners."Commissioner Richard Bakken said, "You’re just not going to get an agreement that we’ll all be satisfied with. It’s because of who we’re dealing with."The county has contracts for law enforcement with all cities in the county.Commissioner Ken Hoime said, "It’s pure havoc. My constituents say if the city doesn’t like the county agreement, let them have their own department."Some perspectiveAt a meeting last week, people involved in the original merger of the two departments spoke about the process back then.It consisted of more than five years of "vigorous debate" according to County Attorney Don Klosterbuer. And even before that, he said, the topic was the subject of many meetings and conversations.Bill Weber was Luverne mayor from 1993 to 2001. He said, "Joint law wasn’t just a decision we went into."He said the city saved $15,000 to $20,000 at the start of joint law. But, Weber said, "We went into this without the cost savings being first and foremost in our minds. We thought that if we spend the same and improved service, we had met our goal."Since then, the cost has increased for the county and the city. By 2008, it’s expected that through joint law, both will pay close to $1 million for all costs associated with the department.Many of those costs are out of the department’s hands: Prisoner room and board increases with more effective police work and arrests; the state has ordered the final six months of state prisoner time to be spent in the prisoner’s county of origin and prisoner medical expenses are an increasing costs.But still, fans of joint law say the cost is worth it. The city of Luverne gets 30 hours of scheduled coverage per day, counting shift overlaps in patrol time. Both the city and county have more officers available than before. The county entered joint law with five officers and the city had seven. Weber said, "It’s safe to say that in the beginning there were people on both sides who didn’t think it would work. There were some whose blood ran brown and some whose blood ran blue. … But now we have a group who serves the best interest of all residents."Consistent work through a department investigator and the K-9 unit are important factors in increased service, Weber said.Even though the city intends to terminate it Wednesday, the law enforcement contract is still in place for 16 months.(The Star Herald goes to press Wednesday afternoons, so the meeting isn’t covered in this week’s paper.)

By Sara StrongThe Luverne City Council Monday night went into executive session to give City Administrator Greg LaFond high performance marks for his annual review.With that, LaFond received a 3.5 percent raise and a step increase, making his annual earnings $83,345.60. The raise is retroactive to March 2. He was hired at $74,000 last September.The Council also decided to make a $1,850 annual payment to LaFond’s life insurance policy.Council members cited LaFond working many weekends and early and late hours as reasons for the raise.LaFond said of the performance review, "There are a lot of things going on in the city besides this law enforcement controversy. I think this council and city staff share a similar vision."Councilman David Hauge made the motion, and Councilman Pat Baustian seconded it.Hauge said, "He is always thorough in his research and timely in whatever we ask of him."LaFond and his personality have been blamed for the controversy over shared contracts between the city and county.He’s taken heat from the public in local coffee shop talks, in visits to his office and in letters to the editor in the Rock County Star Herald.LaFond said he is open to criticism and welcomes people questioning his work.He said he has simply done his job since coming to the city in the way he’s researched costs to city residents. "This effort was precipitated by the nearly $400,000 decrease in Local Government Aids received from the state of Minnesota," LaFond said in an Aug. 17 letter to the mayor and council.He said he stepped on some local political toes by asking questions and forming opinions early on.For example, he wrote that the county administrator and the former city administrator amended the property assessment agreement without approval of the governing bodies.LaFond also expressed concerns about special committee meetings not following the state’s open meeting law.Most of the problems with his style came about after the city wanted to reduce its funding of dispatch and law enforcement services."We questioned whether it was equitable to require city taxpayers to finance 60 percent of the operating expenses associated with the Sheriff’s Department and the dispatch center," LaFond wrote in the letter."We note that by state law, the Sheriff must provide 911 service and basic law enforcement services to all residents of the county regardless of where one lives."What those basic services would be, and that LaFond calculates county tax collections in city contributions to the budget is still a point of contention.LaFond, and the City Council, questioned whether the city should be charged for jail inmate room, board and medical costs because those are county obligations as well.The county has said LaFond is difficult to work with because he sends flurries of numbers and proposals, but LaFond said he was open to changing approaches. LaFond said in his letter, "All of the options were summarily rejected including an option that proposed binding arbitration by a panel of five experts."Hauge said, "We’re making some controversial decisions and he’s the point man. There’s plenty of blame to go around and he’s high profile so he gets it."

By Lori EhdeFourth-grade teacher Helen Laabs is trying something new this fall: retirement.While her former colleagues are busy getting their classrooms ready for students, Laabs isn’t among them. After nearly 20 years in Luverne Elementary School, Laabs retired this spring, but she said she’s leaving students and families in good hands."We have a good school district," she said. "We have an excellent faculty."In addition to missing her co-workers, Laabs said she’ll miss working with children."Generally, I had very good classes — some more challenging than others — and it was fun to see the students grasp new ideas and concepts," Laabs said. "That was the fun part of it — seeing the light bulb go on."What she won’t miss is correcting papers."It is not an 8 to 4 job," she said about teaching. "There were very few nights I would not come home without a bag of papers to work on."Her earliest teaching experience was in Granite Falls, where she taught kindergarten for three years after earning her degree in Mankato in 1962.When she married Darold, they moved to Rapid City, S.D., where she taught kindergarten another two years before moving to Sioux Falls.It was there that they started their family — Carrie, Julie and Bruce — and she stayed home when their children were young.They moved to Luverne in 1972, and in 1982, when Bruce was in first grade, she returned to her education career.She started working in Luverne School District as a part-time teacher’s aid and management aid until she renewed her teaching license.She worked part-time for a number of years in the elementary school, filling in where the district needed her. For example, she covered a fifth section of reading and math, worked with learning disabled children, helped in the library and taught half-time kindergarten."The experience was super," she said. "I taught third grade for one year, and then I went to fourth grade … Some kids I had three years in a row, and there were advantages to that. You could see what they had done and their progress."But Laabs said she appreciated settling into her 15-year stint as a fourth-grade teacher."I had been shuffling around for so many years, I finally felt like they were my students," she said.She said she’s enjoyed working with all ages of elementary students, but fourth grade presents unique learning challenges."It’s the year the kids make the most changes," Laabs said. "It’s the year you switch from group teaching to expecting more individual work from the students. If kids are going to have trouble, it’s usually in the fourth grade that we’ll see it."She said Luverne has a strong educational system, but she worries about state and federal paperwork taking its toll on quality in the classroom."It’s all good stuff, but not all children learn at the same rate," she said. "Our teachers are conscientious. They’re doing their best to see that kids go on."Laabs is officially retired, but it may be awhile before that reality sets in.She’s been busy in recent weeks helping her daughter, Carrie Bakken, set up her classroom in Brandon, S.D., where she teaches third grade.She also helps her daughter, Julie, at the Good Samaritan National Campus, Sioux Falls.Laabs agreed to help school nurse Deb Vander Kooi with vision checks this fall, and she’s volunteered to be a Bookin’ Buddy for the school reading and mentorship program."Plus, I’ve told a lot of the teachers up there if they need me to help with their ‘putzy’ work, I’m available. "… But," she said with smile, "I reserve the right to say no."Laabs said she’ll look back fondly on her career."I appreciated the opportunity to serve the district," she said. "I enjoyed my years as a teacher."

By Lori EhdeLorna Harms won’t have to get up early, lift bulk bags of flour or plan menus for 500 anymore.Harms, 32-year head cook for Luverne Elementary School, retired this spring and said she’s already enjoying some time to herself.That means "sleeping in" until 7:30 instead of getting up at dawn to make breakfast for students."I got up at 5 every day for 21 years," she said. "That I won’t miss."Harms started in the kitchen of the former Luverne Elementary School (now City Centre Apartments) two hours per day helping with serving and clean up.In 1983, she started working as a full-time cook when Rikka Visker retired.During the 21 years that followed, Harms quickly learned that teamwork and clockwork are essential to running a kitchen that feeds nearly 550 kids every day."That’s what you do when you work in the kitchen — you watch the clock," she said. "It’s constant clockwork. It all goes by time — time to get things started, time to put things in the oven, time to set up the lines."Harms said it couldn’t be done without the teamwork of the three cooks — herself, Mary Smook and Cathy Mulder."The girls down there are fantastic," she said. "They’re good to work with. Everyone knows what to do, and they just do it."Five additional women come in two hours every day to help with serving and clean up. They are Mary Wacker, Clara Larson, Ethel Ossenfoort, Shirley DeBates and Gert Kooiker.She said she’ll miss working with the women who have become like family members, but she won’t miss the hard, physical work."It’s a fast-paced job with a lot of heavy lifting," said Harms, who is 59 years old. She said moving to the new elementary school in 1998 was like learning a new job."I would say that was one of the biggest challenges of my career," she said. "Everything was different … the set-up was different. It was all computerized."But teamwork, there, too, played a big role."We worked out a whole new system, and all of us worked together — me, Mary and Cathy — and it all fell into place."She said favorite menu items among the students were Cardinal Baskets (burgers and fries) and Wednesday morning sweet rolls."We always bake our bread from scratch," Harms said. She calculated that Wednesday sweet rolls and lunch buns alone require roughly 100 pounds of flour.Harms said she enjoyed the children and enjoyed being recognized by them outside of her role in the school kitchen."They’ll see me downtown and look at me kinda funny," she said. "Then you can see the wheels turning and they’ll say, ‘You’re the Lunch Lady!’"Harms’ retirement means her husband, Larry, will have more help with his custodial work at Grace Lutheran Church.Typically, the couple plans major annual projects for the summer months when Harms isn’t working at school, but now, she’ll be able to help out year-round.They have three grown children, Shelley Nattress, Wayne Harms and Randy Harms.She said she’s already spending more time with her grandchildren, and she’ll make a point to make time for herself."Right now, I’m looking at a lawn chair," she said. "I’m ready to kick back."

10 years ago (1994)"Although the process will take longer than he would like, Maurice Crowley has reaffirmed his commitment to Magnolia and to the school district to transform the Magnolia school building into a juvenile detention center. In late July, Crowley, of Positive Direction Inc., Chamberlain, S.D., offered the district $100,000 for the building."25 years ago (1979)"City Council members agree that Luverne needs a new liquor store. The question of whether the project should involve remodeling or building is not as easy.The problem of inadequate storage space and general crowded conditions at the present store has been discussed for over a year.… The purchase of the former Hy-Vee store on South Highway 75 has been considered but tabled on the basis of the costs involved and the fact that the property includes more space than the city needs." 50 years ago (1954)"If you’ve never had to pay personal property taxes before, and now own a television set, you’ll be paying a tax in 1955.County Assessor Julius Matthiesen said that new TV sets purchased during the past year will increase taxes on household goods for many Rock Countians this year. Reason is that the first $400 valuation on household goods is tax exempt. After that, the assessed value, which is 25 percent of the full and true value, is taxable."75 years ago (1929)"Luverne is soon to have another general store, H.B. Creeger having completed arrangements to open such a business institution in the Kennedy building, the first door east of Treat’s drug store, which has been vacant since the Fleming Dry Goods company left Luverne. The new firm name will be Creeger & Company.A full line of dry goods, ladies’ ready-to-wear, men’s furnishings and ladies’ and men’s shoes will be handled, and a considerable part of the new stock has already arrived and is being marked and will soon be on display."100 years ago (1904)"H. Fitzer returned Friday morning from Chicago where he had taken a couple of carloads of stock to market. Mr. Fitzer found the market very dull owing to the packing house strike now on in that city, as everything in that line is now practically at a standstill. All of the yards are full of stock and as yet there is no prospect of any immediate betterment in stock conditions."

Notice of Public HearingPublic Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Luverne, Minnesota (the "City"), will meet on September 13, 2004, at 5:00 p.m., at the Municipal Building Council Chambers, 203 Main Street, in Luverne, Minnesota, for the purpose of conducting a public hearing on a proposal that the South Dakota Health and Educational Facilities Authority (the "Issuer") issue bonds in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $78,000,000 (the "Bonds") for Sioux Valley Hospital and Sioux Valley Regional Health Services, each a South Dakota non profit corporation, or any corporate affiliate thereof (collectively, the "Borrowers"). The Bonds will be issued in one or more series pursuant to Sections 1-16A-1 through 1-16A-92 of the South Dakota Codified Laws, as part of a plan of finance to provide the Borrowers with moneys for projects located in the States of South Dakota and Minnesota. Public approval by the State of South Dakota was obtained following a public notice and public hearing regarding the Bonds and the projects financed in the State of South Dakota. In Minnesota, proceeds of the Bonds in an amount not expected to exceed $14,000,000 will be used, together with certain other moneys, to pay or reimburse the Borrowers for the payment of the costs of acquiring, constructing, remodeling, renovating and equipping replacement facilities for Luverne Community Hospital, including an 82,000 square foot 28-bed hospital with expanded surgical and rehabilitation areas and updated medical and obstetrics space and an attached 17,000 square foot physician clinic, and the acquisition and installation of equipment therein, including necessary and attendant land acquisition, facilities, equipment, site work and utilities thereto (collectively, the "Project"). In addition, a portion of the proceeds of the Bonds will be applied to pay expenses incurred in connection with the issuance of the Bonds including, if deemed necessary, bond insurance premiums and/or liquidity or credit facility provider fees, a deposit to a debt service reserve fund and capitalized interest and related working capital. All of the improvements financed or refinanced by the Bonds in Minnesota are or will be initially owned, operated or managed by Sioux Valley Regional Health Services at: 1600 North Kniss Avenue, Luverne, Minnesota. The Bonds shall not be deemed to constitute a debt or liability of the City, the State of Minnesota, the State of South Dakota or of any political subdivision thereof other than the Issuer or a pledge of the faith and credit of the City, the State of Minnesota, the State of South Dakota or of any such political subdivision other than the Issuer, and neither the City, the State of Minnesota, the State of South Dakota nor any political subdivision thereof will be liable on the Bonds nor will the Bonds be payable out of any funds other than those pledged and assigned under the Loan Agreement between the Issuer and the Borrowers and the Master Trust Indenture among the Borrowers, certain affiliates of the Borrowers and The First National Bank in Sioux Falls, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as master trustee, as amended. The Bonds will not be issued by the City, nor will the City have any liability with respect to the Bonds. The public hearing is required by Section 147(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Written comments may be submitted to Greg La Fond, City Administrator of the City of Luverne, Minnesota at his office located at 203 Main Street, Luverne, Minnesota 56156, until September 13, 2004. Immediately following the public hearing, the City Council will meet to consider approval of the issuance of the Bonds. Notice dated: August 26, 2004BY ORDER OF THE CITY COUNCILGreg La Fond, City Administrator (8-26)

GEP announces auditions for ‘Nuncrackers’The Green Earth Players have set auditions for their next play, "Nuncrackers."Audition times are 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29 and 7 p.m. Monday, Aug. 30. The cast for the play includes five women, one man and four students, age 13 and older.The tryouts are in the Green Earth Players building, 1/2 block east of Ace Hardware.The latest in the "Nunsense" series is a Christmas musical.The play will run at the Palace Theatre from Nov. 12 to 14 and 19 to 21.For more information, call 283-2765.Eighth annual crop walk scheduledThe Rock County Crop Walk Committee has set the date for their eighth annual event.This year’s event will take place on Sunday, Sept. 26.Registration is from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Rock County Highway Department building, with the walk beginning at 2 p.m.All of the money raised from the event will go to hunger programs through an outreach arm of Church World Services.Although the money raised helps fund programs all over the world, 25 percent will stay in Rock County for hunger programs.Some facts about hunger and poverty:
1.2 billion people live in poverty with incomes of $1 per day.
Six million children under the age of five die each year as a result of hunger.
One child in five in the U.S. lives in poverty.Tips for going to the state fairThe Minnesota State Fair starts today, Aug. 26, and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 6.Along with a wide variety of food on a stick, always a big attraction, a lot of new and creative merchandise is for sale at the fair.But, what if your new purchase doesn’t turn out to be the miracle device you were led to believe once you arrive home?The Better Business Bureau has a few suggestions you may want to think about before your state fair purchase.Prior to making a purchase, get the company’s refund and exchange policy in writing.Obtain the company’s physical location and telephone number, in case you need to return or exchange an item after the fair.As with any purchase, it makes sense to comparison shop. Keep in mind, however, that the least expensive item may not always be the best value.Don’t be pressured to buy. After the demonstration or sales pitch, walk away from the sales person to give yourself some time to think about the purchase. It will help you clearly consider whether or not the item is necessary and a good deal.It’s important to note that the Federal Trade Commission’s cooling-off rule, which normally allows consumers three days to cancel a purchase, does not apply to the following purchases at the state fair: purchases under $25; insurance, securities or real estate; motor vehicles and arts and crafts.State fair has major financial windfall for metro areaIn 2004, the Minnesota State Fair and its year-around operations will have an economic impact of more than $150 million for the Twin Cities area.Of that $150 million, almost $44 million is in the form of household earnings to employees of local concessionaires and exhibitors, hotels, restaurants, retail shops and state fair staff.The fair generates 5,500 jobs in the metro area and generates more than $4.5 million in tax revenue for state and local governments.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com