By Sara StrongRock County and the city of Luverne still disagree on how to fund shared operations. They met in a liaison session Monday night to discuss a few joint issues: property assessments, law enforcement and the Pool and Fitness Center. Mayor Glen Gust said the city would approve the three-year contract for assessing services."That’s some good news to get off on the right foot, here," he said. Assessments determine property owners’ share of the tax levy. The city previously terminated its joint powers agreement for assessments through the county. The city agreed to pay the county’s proposed $37,128 to $40,158 through the next three years. The city received three proposals for assessing services. One withdrew, and the other offered a different approach but similar fees to that of the county.Law enforcement and dispatch Law enforcement is a big ticket item for both bodies. The proposed sheriff’s budget for next year is $669,000 for each. That’s an increase of 49.5 percent.Gust said he was "shocked at the percentages" of increase from this year’s numbers. The increase surprised the city in part because the county included the dispatch budget in its law enforcement budget. Previously, they were separate budgets and separate agreements. The city pulled out of the joint powers agreement for dispatching effective at the end of this year. To make up the lost revenue from the city, the county rolled the dispatch costs into the law enforcement costs.The county says it has to provide support services and staff to continue with its law enforcement contract with the city. Dispatching has to be a part of that, and the city has to pay for it.City Attorney Ben Vander Kooi said, "There’s a reason there were two contracts over the years. You’ve taken the two and collapsed them into one, that’s what you’ve done. ... You’re changing the scope and service of the contract and we don’t think that’s appropriate." County Attorney Don Klosterbuer said the existing contract for law enforcement, signed five years ago, has a paragraph that indicates dispatch is a part of law enforcement services. It says: "The County shall furnish and supply all supervision, equipment, communication facilities (pursuant to the agreement of the parties), dispatching services, necessary office space, supplies and personnel to administer and operate the law enforcement department and to render the service required under this agreement." Klosterbuer said in a letter after the meeting, "I do not understand how the city in good faith can allege that ‘dispatching services‚’ is not part of the scope of the Law Enforcement Contract. It appears to be a material provision thereof.’ City Administrator Greg LaFond said, in both history and practice, the contracts and budgets were separate and they should remain that way. County Administrator Kyle Oldre said Monday, "You want to keep the same level of service and pay less?"LaFond said, "Yes." Oldre said, "Any time the city wants to pay less for services, the county has to pay more." LaFond said he is sympathetic to budget restraints, but is obligated to try to save city taxpayers money. Klosterbuer said the county is fulfilling its obligation for services, and the sheriff’s budget reflects the cost of those services. Councilman David Hauge said the city shouldn’t be obligated to pay for prisoner room, board and medical care as part of its contract law costs. Those costs were always a county expense, even when the city had its own police department.The city and county will continue to discuss law enforcement issues. Later in the month the city will propose a new means of funding contract law after receiving more information from the city.Pool and Fitness Center The county previously terminated its share of the Rock County Pool and Fitness Center. Oldre said, "One of the few things we do as a county that isn’t a mandated service is the swimming pool, and we have to cut costs." The city and the county will each come up with proposals on how to split the assets of the facility, which both have funded since its construction.

By Sara StrongDan Statema will serve his last meeting as Luverne Economic Development Director next month. He is resigning from the position effective mid-July.He said, "I’ve enjoyed working with the supportive EDA board."During his nearly two years with the city, Statema is proud of gaining designation in the Job Opportunity Building Zones and his work securing Greater Minnesota Infrastructure and the Small Cities Grants.The city is about to receive a special award from the Economic Development Association of Minnesota for business attraction, which is a noteworthy testament to Statema.He also worked with Total Card Inc. to get them to Luverne. That deal utilized JOB Zones and filled the vacant Tri-State building while bringing the promise of hundreds of new jobs to town. Nate Golla, LEDA board member, said that while big deals get more attention, smaller, frequent interactions with many businesses made Statema an effective LEDA director."I think he’s been a tremendous asset to the community and the position," Golla said. "He has served the city and the EDA well and he will be missed." Statema said, "I’ve enjoyed meeting many residents of the city and serving the community. … It’s a wonderful city with a lot of potential."Golla said he hoped Statema would find a way to stay in Luverne, because he’s a good person to have in the community — whether he’s employed by the city or not.Statema has no immediate plans for employment.Future of the positionThe LEDA board has said it’s interested in changing the way it does business.It formed a subcommittee of Golla, Isaac DeBoer and Mike Engesser to explore a contract that would give the LEDA board more control over the director.The director is a city employee now, and doesn’t answer directly to the LEDA.DeBoer said, "As an EDA board, we feel we should be able to give direction to the director, keeping in mind the city’s goals, because what we do, obviously, has to be approved by the City Council."With the council having to approve most LEDA action, the subcommittee proposed that the director be more accountable to the LEDA directly. The LEDA would hire, fire, review and set the salary for the director under this proposal.City Administrator Greg LaFond said giving the LEDA more power may be a good idea, but using other city staff, time and resources may not fit with the concept. "I am concerned about the city’s fiduciary responsibility," LaFond said.The LEDA will take action on the position and how it’s handled at a future meeting.

By Sara Strong The city of Luverne Tuesday finalized a wage study that started last fall. City Administrator Greg LaFond said the comparable worth evaluation, required by law, eliminates gender inequities and creates a sound basis for future performance evaluations. He said, "This is about positions, not people." The administrator will use a new system of steps and grades during annual performance evaluations, which is simplified from the previous formula. "The comparable worth study is not intended to be a performance review or salary compensation review."LaFond said that future evaluations for salary increases and job reviews won’t involve automatic step increases without merit. The city updated employees‚ job descriptions and responsibilities and considered years of experience in the grading and ranking system for the comparable worth study. Councilman Pat Baustian said, "I think going into this we knew that with retirements and resignations that some positions were going to go up in responsibility." For example, the Public Works Director and Utility Coordinator are no longer with the city. That left supervisors with management duties, but not adjusted salaries. Ken Vos, who manages public works, will earn $25.80 an hour. Al Lais, who manages the water and wastewater department will also earn $25.80 an hour. Finance Director Barb Berghorst holds a high position with the city as a financial planner and information technology coordinator. She earned $30.63 per hour, and will now earn $32.04 per hour. The finance director’s position has had a cumulative salary increase of 1.46 percent from 2000 to 2004. The accountant position in City Hall has taken on more responsibilities since the fall. That position is occupied by Candy Reese, who will earn $21.68 per hour. That position hasn’t had a wage adjustment since 2000, when it was held at $18.73 per hour. During the time it was under a wage freeze, the accountant position actually lost about $4,000 in earnings after cost of living and increased employee share of health insurance are considered.The report was reviewed by Metropolitan Area Management Associates.

By Jolene FarleyHow to combat disease-carrying mosquitoes was a pesky subject at Tuesday’s Hills City Council meeting. The council has purchased a sprayer and instructed city maintenance man Wayne Ward to become licensed to spray pesticides. Ward informed the council that he would need a commercial license instead of a general license to spray in other communities, as was discussed at a previous meeting."For us to do that is a no-no because you got to have a commercial license to do it," he said. The city or Ward would also have to be bonded and would likely incur higher insurance costs, according to Ward.The council discussed renting the equipment out, with the renter purchasing the chemicals themselves. Later in the meeting, the council addressed the topic of used tires that aren’t properly disposed, because water collects in the tires and becomes ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes.Ward told the council that the city of Luverne is fining people for having old tires around their homes or businesses. Mayor Jim Jellema wondered how far the council should go in policing the spread of the mosquitoes."Are we going to go after swimming pools?" he said. Mosquitoes won’t nest in deep water but residents need to watch birdbaths where water is shallow and not moving, according to Ward. "I do think that those tires should be cleaned up," said council member Dana Dahlquist. "I think it makes good sense to get rid of something that causes problems with mosquitoes."Jellema asked, "To what extent are you going to go?"Dahlquist said, "It’s a good start, I would think." The issue was tabled until the next meeting. City Clerk Connie Wiertzema was instructed to contact the city of Luverne about its policy and penalties on used tires.The council also discussed the possibility of having a tire pickup day or adding tires to the list of items that can be disposed of on citywide cleanup day. In other business …oThe council will allow Alliance Communications to park equipment on city shop property from about June 14 to Sept. 6 while the company works in the area.Alliance Communications agrees to keep the property clean and rent a dumpster. They offered to pay rent from $200 to $250 per month. The council debated whether the road to the city shop would be damaged if the trucks or equipment were too heavy.After some reassurance that the road had several layers of seal coating, council members decided to ask $200 per month rent. oCity Auditor Matt Taubert updated the council on the 2003 audit report.The city’s finances are healthy, according to Taubert. The city was within about 3 percent of adhering to the budget the council set for 2003. "That’s very good, very good," Taubert said. oThe council discussed a proposal by the Beaver Creek Sportsmen’s Club to add two signs, one on the east side of Hills and one on the west side, directing people to the Hills Rez. Some campers are reportedly having a difficult time finding the recreation area.The group will pay for the signs if they aren’t too costly, according to Wiertzema. The club has contacted the Minnesota Department of Transportation for permission to place the signs along the highway.

By Jolene FarleyArea residents will celebrate Friendship Days in Hills and at the Beaver Creek Golf Course this weekend.Festivities begin 2 p.m. Friday at the Beaver Creek Golf Course for the four-person Best Ball Golf Tournament. Also Friday, the Country Cruisers Poker Run begins at 7 p.m. in the Jubilee parking lot in Brandon and ends in Hills. On Saturday, from 7 to 9 a.m., health screenings will be offered at the Hills American Legion Hall. The health fair offers blood pressure checks, diabetes screenings, several other booths and giveaways.Also that morning, the FFA Alumni will sponsor a pancake breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. at the Hills American Legion.The co-ed volleyball tournament starts at 9 a.m. in the Hills City Park. The Hills-Beaver Creek Girls’ Round Robin Softball Tournament also starts at 9 a.m. at the Hills softball diamond.At the Hills Rez from 9 a.m. to noon, the MinnAqua Program, sponsored by the Beaver Creek Sportsmen’s Club, teaches children and adults about lake and stream ecology while teaching them to fish. Courses include Enviroscape Watershed Model/Wonderful Watershed, Fishing Equipment and Techniques, Rods and Reels Used in Freshwater Fishing and Spin Cast Fishing. Booths featuring jewelry, woodworking and other items open at noon in the city park. Kid’s activities begin at noon in the park with a beanbag toss, inflatable games, racehorses, monster ball and jump tent sponsored by the Hills Community Club and the Hills Lions Club. The H-BC band is running the games until they close at 3 p.m.The Kid’s Tractor Pull, sponsored by Dave’s Repair, will begin at 12:30 p.m. in the park. At 1:30 p.m. in the park, the Tuff Memorial Kitchen Band performs. Mogan’s Heroes begins playing at 2 p.m. in the park. Bring your lawn chairs. Concession stands in the city park will be sponsored by the Hills Christian School and by the Hills-Beaver Creek Girl’s Softball Team at the Hills Softball Diamond. The Hills-Beaver Creek Baseball Association will serve an evening meal from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Hills American Legion. The Hills Lions Club will dish up homemade ice cream at 7 p.m. on Main Street while the Spotlight Dance Team and the H-BC Danceline perform. The Kiddie Parade and parade begins at 7:30 p.m. with prizes awarded to the winning entries. A dance for all ages begins after the parade and ends at midnight at the Hills American Legion. Justin VanMaanen and Nate Fick are the disc jockeys for the event.Hills Community Club raffle tickets with various prizes are available for purchase from Community Club members. Drawings will follow the parade, but participants don’t need to be present to win.

By Jolene FarleyMany people are fascinated by their past.Tracing their roots back as far as possible and establishing connections with ancestors helps to create a sense of what their lives were like and better defines who they are today. Cathy Lykes, Seattle, Wash., and her husband, John Daughters, have spent many hours and driven countless miles exploring Cathy’s roots. In a quest for more information and to "get a flavor" for the place her grandfather grew up, the couple visited Rock County last week. Lykes’ grandfather, John Steen, lived in the county until 1927. The city of Steen is named after Lykes’ great-grandfather John Peter Steen and his brother Ole Steen. The brothers donated the land for the city of Steen.During their visit, the couple poured over property records and newspapers and visited the Rock County Museum where Lykes donated a copy of her grandfather’s diary and some historical photos.Family treeThe Steen family settled in Wisconsin first, then later moved to Rock County to homestead, according to Lykes.When her ancestors arrived in America they changed their name to Steen as was common during that time period. Immigrants often took the name of the place they originated from as their last name.Last year, Lykes and Daughters vacationed in Norway where they located the original Steen farm.John Steen, youngest son of John Peter and Lena (Clemetsen) Steen, was born in 1890 in Steen and died in 1972. He was raised by his eldest brother, Peter Steen and his wife, after his parents passed away when he was seven years old.He moved to Washington in 1927, following three other brothers who moved to the state one by one. Lykes suspects her grandfather was looking for better work, with three daughters to support. His search paid off. He eventually became the Executive Administrator for Washington Physicians Service, developing pre-paid medical plans.He worked as a consultant helping set up medical plans for many states and Puerto Rico.The diaryLykes, who has a degree in history, is interested in everyone’s past, but after enrolling in a year-long genealogy class at the University of Washington, her interest turned to studying her own family tree. "When I took the class I wasn’t quite sure what I would focus on for my project," she said. Lykes was told by her aunt, Tralice (Steen) Lewis, that her grandfather, John Steen, had kept a diary while living in Steen as a teenager.Lewis kept the diary through the years. Lykes polled family members and finally located the document at a cousin’s house. The leather-bound diary begins in 1909 when Steen is 17 years old, and has daily entries until 1910 when he turned 19 years old."It makes him out to be kind of a remarkable person," Daughters said.Lykes’ grandfather thought his journal wasn’t important."He thought it was of no consequence," she said. He told her aunt there was nothing significant in it.Lykes and the Rock County Historical Society disagree. The diary is a reflection of everyday life just after the turn of the century. "It was so much fun to discover and read," Lykes said. "I truly found out what life was like at that time." When John Steen wrote the journal, he was an active member of the Steen community, courting the town schoolteacher, manager of the Steen baseball team and earning a living by picking up hauling jobs and working for the Farmers Elevator Company, according to Lykes.His first entry on Friday, Jan. 1, 1909, is a pledge to continue his journal for one year. "I, John A. Steen, do this day resolve to start and maintain this diary for the year of 1909," he wrote.He fulfilled his pledge. He continued to write through 1910. By the end of the journal, he was working in Oto, Iowa, and had met another school- teacher, Meroe Jack. They would eventually marry.Information searchFrom Washington, Lykes used the Internet and inter-library loaning of documents for her research. She speaks highly of the Rock County Historical Society and said society volunteer Cheryl Creeger was very helpful. If Creeger came across the Steen name anywhere she would send the information to Lykes.Eventually Lykes decided it would be beneficial to visit Steen and see what she could find locally."I’ve learned a lot just seeing the area that the journal mentions, seeing the names that he mentions," she said. "We look at it kind of as an intellectual pursuit," Lykes said. "It’s really more than genealogy, it’s more the social history that really grabs us." Interested Rock County citizens can now read John Steen’s diary at the Rock County Historical Society.

By John RittenhouseThe 2004 baseball season came to an end for Zach Wysong and the Luverne High School baseball team Wednesday, June 2, in Montevideo.The Luverne Cardinals met Yellow Medicine East in Montevideo for an elimination game of the Section 3AA Baseball Tournament that night.Luverne entered the event as the defending tournament champions, but the Cardinals bowed out of the field with a 7-3 loss to the Sting in the loser’s bracket.The Cardinals sported 1-0 and 2-1 leads during the early stages of the contest.YME, however, scored six consecutive runs between the second and fifth innings to open a 7-2 cushion.Luverne plated a run in the top of the seventh before the final outs of a 13-10 season were recorded.Wysong, a Hills-Beaver Creek High School junior, ended the campaign on a sour note.Wysong went hitless in three official plate appearances against YME.

By John RittenhouseFive members of the Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth/Edgerton boys’ track team extended their seasons during the Section 3A Track and Field Championships staged in Luverne Thursday.The Patriot boys earned the right to compete in three events during this weekend’s Minnesota State Class A Track and Field Championships that will be staged at the National Sports Center in Blaine based on their performances during the section event.The top two individual finishers in every event, the winning relay teams and any individual or relay team that meets the state qualifying standards that are in place for the section meet qualify for the state classic.H-BC-E-E’s five boys won a combined three section championships to earn their trips to Blaine.Junior Tyler Bush will be a busy athlete this weekend. Bush won an individual title and ran legs for a pair of section champion relay teams.Bush’s individual title came in the 800-meter run, an event he placed fifth in during last year’s state meet.Bush won the section championship for the second straight year with a time of 1:58.43 Thursday.The boys’ 3,200-meter relay team won a section championship for the third consecutive season.Todd Alberty, Kale Wiertzema, Derek Haak and Bush produced a time of 8:18.96 to win the race handily.The Patriots also took top honors in the 1,600-meter relay with an H-BC-E-E program record time of 3:31.58.Alberty, Wiertzema, Lee Jackson and Bush formed the team.The H-BC-E-E boys will compete at the state meet Friday and Saturday.Bush will run in the second heat of Friday’s preliminaries in the 800 at 5:22 p.m. The 800 finals will be at 2:27 p.m. Saturday. The 1,600-meter relay may have to make an appearance in the preliminaries at 6:38 p.m. The 1,600-meter relay finals are at 3:23 p.m. Saturday. The 3,200-meter relay is an all-finals event that will be staged at 9:58 a.m. Saturday.The Patriot boys placed eighth in the team competition at the section meet with 40.5 points.Tom LeBoutillier and Cody Scholten registered performances in the top eight without advancing to the state meet for the Patriot boys.LeBoutillier covered 19-5 1/2 to place fifth in the long jump and finished seventh in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 16.41.Scholten cleared 6-1 to place fourth in the high jump.The 2004 season came to an end for the H-BC-E-E girls, who scored 14 points to place 14th as a team in Luverne Thursday.The Patriots did place in the top eight in three events during the meet without qualifying for the state classic.H-BC-E-E’s best effort came during the 3,200-meter relay, when Mya Mann, Ashley and Jocelyn Bucher and Cassi Tilstra established a new H-BC school record with a time of 9:55.44.The Patriots placed third in the event, missing the state qualifying standard by 3.16 seconds.Tilstra shaved some time off her H-BC school record in the 800-meter run by placing fifth with a 2:23.9 performance.The girls’ 1,600-meter relay established a new H-BC-E-E program record by placing fifth with a time of 4:12.41.Mann, Ashley Bucher, Amanda and Cassi Tilstra formed the team.

Local government lobbying takes a 12.7 percent jumpLocal governments in Minnesota increased their lobbying dollars by more than 12 percent during 2003.According to Minnesota State Auditor Pat Anderson, local governments spent a total of $6,082,003 on lobbying activities in 2003.That adds up to a 12.7 percent increase in spending over the previous year.Sixty-one percent of reporting local governments directly employed or hired contract lobbyists in 2003.These local governments spent a total of $2.9 million on staff and contract lobbyists. This represents a 3.3 percent decrease from the amount spent in 2002.Eight of the local governments that directly employed or hired contract lobbyists reported over $100,000 in lobbying expenditures. These local governments accounted for 49.3 percent of all contract and staff lobbying in 2003.So the question is, how much taxpayer dollars should local governments spend to try to get more taxpayer dollars?I should probably point out that whatever lobbying dollars Luverne spent to convince the Minnesota legislature that Luverne is the right spot for the veterans home was certainly worthwhile.This could be your shot at the big leaguesIf you’re a big league wanabee, make your way to Dell Rapids next Monday.The Pittsburgh Pirates will be holding their annual tryout camp in Dell Rapids, on Monday, June 14.The camp will be under the direction of Hank Krause, scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates.Participants should be from age 15 to 18.All tryouts will be at the Dell Rapids City Park beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 2 p.m.Besides representatives from the Pirates organization, a number of scouts and college coaches will also be in attendance.Gutknecht’s staff to visit Luverne TuesdayRepresentatives from Congressman Gil Gutknecht’s office will be in Luverne on Tuesday afternoon, June 15.Cally Eckles, will visit Luverne Tuesday from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the basement of the Luverne Public Library.Eckles is based out of Gutknecht’s Fairmont office and serves as a field representative for southwest Minnesota.The purpose for her visit will be to assist constituents with casework and legislative matters.Brandenburg offers reward for Starfires photosPrior to being known for his photographic skills, Jim Brandenburg was known in high school for playing in a popular local band, Steve Ellis and the Starfires.So, it may seem odd that this world class photographer has no photos of his early days as a musician.He would like to rectify that.If anyone out there has old photos of the Starfires, Jim would like to talk.He may even work out a deal to trade one of his photos for one of yours.Steve Ellis and the Starfires were popular in the area in the early ‘60s. Jim left the band in 1964.If you would like to have more information, contact Jim through Heidi Brandenburg Ross at Ravenwood Studio, 11 E. Sheridan, Ely MN 55731 or call Heidi at (218) 365-5105.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com