Remember When Oct. 15, 2020

10 years ago (2010)
•The city of Luverne is proposing a $75 rebate for city residents who purchase low-volume toilets to replace old ones that use more water.
City Finance Director Barb Berghorst presented information to Luverne City Council members at a recent meeting.
“We are very interested in water conservation, as well as electrical conservation,” she said.
A low-volume toilet, in addition to other water conservation appliances (like dishwashers and washing machines) plays a major role in reducing household water use — roughly 6,000 gallons per year. …
Mayor Andy Steensma asked if the toilet replacement program will end up saving money for the city. Berghorst said that’s possible.
“It does cut down on sewer and water rates,” she said, but added that the toilet rebate program is driven more by the effort to simply conserve water.
 
25 years ago (1995)
•About 30 bidders showed up for the annual Blue Mounds State Park bison auction Wednesday afternoon.
Sale animals included nine 5-month-old calves, two 18-month-old bulls, two 30-month-old bulls, three mature cows, two 18-month-old heifers and two 30-month-old heifers.
All the bison were tested for disease and came with health certificates.
Though the park did not take in as much as it did last year in total sales, park officials are pleased with the $35,150 made on the animals. “It was a real good auction,” said Merlin Johnson.
The top female sold for $3,300, about $700 less than last year’s top seller.
The annual auction serves the purpose of culling the herd so it doesn’t outgrow prairie resources.
Proceeds from the bison auction go toward the herd and toward the Prairie Resource Management Program.
 
50 years ago (1970)
•Rock County’s first winter storm came earlier than usual this year, dumping inches of heavy, wet snow on Friday.
Except in places where it had drifted into larger piles, most of it was gone by Sunday, but the unusually heavy snow cover so early in the season was enough to cause a variety of problems.
Local garages and service stations with two-truck service had a busy day pulling cars out of ditches. It was easy to slide off the road, many drivers found. One such incident resulted in an injury. Orvil Viesman, Adrian, was treated for minor injuries after his pickup truck skidded and overturned near the Magnolia interchange on I-90, it was reported.
Three vehicles piled up on the Highway 75-Interstate 90 turnoff south of Luverne shortly before noon on Friday.
 
75 years ago (1945)
•Rock county sportsmen have been making preparations this week to go afield in numbers Saturday, October 20, when the annual pheasant season opens in Minnesota.
Officially, the season will begin at noon, and will continue for 23 half days. Shooting this year is permitted only from noon until sunset each evening.
While a shortage of shells will handicap many of the hunters during the entire season that has been allotted by the state conservation department, promise has been made by the Department of Commerce that shells will be available in quantities soon, but local dealers “pooh-pooh” the announcement with a “we’re from Missouri, you’ll have to show us” attitude.
The legal bag of birds will be three cocks, while the limit in possession will be six. The law allows all hunters to take 18 birds during the open season.
 
100 years ago (1920)
•The people of Beaver Creek village will next Tuesday vote on the question of issuing bonds for $13,000 with which to provide that municipality with modern electric light facilities.
For several years Beaver Creek was supplied with electric current from a privately owned plant, and more recently the village has operated its own plant, but this arrangement is considered inadequate and unsatisfactory by many.