Crowds who came to hear Luverne native Rick Olson's band filled the Eagles Club to capacity Friday night and spilled out into the parking lot.
The Armory had the same pleasant problem Saturday night as crowds from the dance found extra space on the front lawn.
Parade spectators packed both sides of Main Street Saturday morning and trickled over into side streets to view the 76 entries.
New faces in city hall
In terms of most local impact and longest-term affects, the local elections undoubtedly stand out as a 2000 highlight.
With a record-breaking 90-percent voter turnout, Rock County voters cast their ballots in the historic presidential election that wouldn't be decided until mid-December.
Locally, decisions were made more swiftly, and with far-reaching implications.
Luverne's mayoral race drew the most attention, with challenger Glen Gust ousting incumbent Bill Weber by a count of 1,460 to 1,006.
Two other newcomers join the City Council. Challengers Dave Hauge and Tom Martius will take their places in council chambers next month.
Jubilee expansion
There's nothing like a local controversy to stir interest in public office.
When the city of Luverne approved tax increment financing for the Jubilee Foods expansion and relocation project, it drew sharp criticism from some local residents.
Some of the most vocal opposition came from Glen's Food Center owner Glen Gust (now mayor-elect Glen Gust).
The project falls well within the legal parameters of TIF requirements, but critics said TIF should be used to draw in new businesses, not benefit the ones already here.
The new $3-million store opened in August between Cedar and McKenzie streets.
Fledgling Field debate
Another issue that drew public involvement in city business was the zoning of Fledgling Field.
Cornerstone Construction purchased the land from the school district for $41,000 in an April auction. Cornerstone specializes in architectural services and construction management for designing and building funeral homes. Dingmann Funeral Home has said it will buy the constructed building, if developed.
Neighbors objected to a conditional use request to operate a business in a residential district saying they preferred to see the lot stay green.
Cornerstone has said that if the conditional use permit isn't granted, it will develop as many single or two-family dwellings as space allows.
Gravel controversy
Speaking of controversy, in another case of residents influencing public decision, Luverne Township residents organized an articulate vocal opposition to a gravel pit in their rural neighborhood.
The county Planning and Zoning Commission at first approved Henning Construction's request for a conditional use permit to mine gravel south of Luverne.
But after hearing about 30 residents' concerns about safety, noise, dust and decreased property values, the County Board denied the permit.
Commissioners later voted to hold action on all new permit requests for one year to allow time to study gravel issues.
Ethanol smell
The Luverne business community was thrilled by the economic benefit of Luverne's Agri-Energy ethanol plant which started operations in 1998.
Residents in the southwest part of town, however, have been less than thrilled by what they consider an offensive odor emitted by the plant's grain drying process.
Earlier this month, a new 175-foot-stack was erected that is 30 percent taller than the original and will disperse emissions a greater distance before odors fall on the city.
The plant will continue working with residents to measure the success of the new stack.
All day every day kindergarten
Following the theme of people's voices in public issues, the district's approval of all day every day kindergarten drew plenty of local involvement.
Proponents of the plan said the all day every day environment provides a more stable, consistent learning environment for children that tends to be less stressful.
Opponents worried that kindergarten-age children are too young for all day every day school and should be allowed to stay young and carefree that first year of school
A survey indicated 75 percent of local respondents were in favor of all day every day kindergarten.
School Board members approved the measure in May, and kindergarten students this fall attended classes all day every day.
Hospital sale
Though residents were less involved in this public decision, the sale of Luverne Community Hospital to Sioux Valley Hospitals and Health System generated a fair amount of concern.
Citing economic stability and increased access to better resources, the hospital board approved the sale following a Jan. 20 public meeting that drew about 30 interested community members.
The Luverne City Council later put its stamp of approval on the purchase agreement, which has reportedly carried through without incident.
Gold'n Plump two-time carbon dioxide leak
Gold'n Plump evacuated its Luverne plant in late December 1999 and mid July 2000 as a result of temporary worker illness.
The December worker illness was linked to a natural gas line outside the building that leaked gas into the plant production floor.
Six of the 189 shift workers were hospitalized.
The July illness was blamed on high CO2 levels. Chicken comes to the Luverne plant cleaned for processing and is packed in a form of solid CO2 used as a coolant. Evaporation of the solid and inadequate ventilation combined to poison the air.
That event affected 21 of the 140 on shift.
Andrew the king
He wasn't quite king of the world, but for a week in September, it's safe to say Luverne homecoming king Andrew Dooyema felt on top of the world.
When the Associated Press wire picked up the news of Andrew's homecoming reign, newspapers nationwide reprinted the touching story of a Down's syndrome boy whose dream came true.
When asked how it feels to know his name has been printed in major newspapers from coast to coast, he said slyly, "There's a lot of girls in all those states."
While it was newsworthy that a boy with Down's syndrome would be selected homecoming king, the bigger story was the compassion of his peers and the message of inspiration to others with disabilities.