Rock County Sports

Ten youth hunters and their mentors participated in the Minnesota DNR’s special youth deer hunt Nov. 18 and 19 in the Blue Mounds State Park.  According to park manager Chris Ingebretsen, three does were harvested over the two-day period. “The warm weather slowed things down, unfortunately,” he said.   “Youth and mentors reported seeing a lot of deer, but opportunities to shoot were fairly…

The Hills-Beaver Creek Patriots football team fell to the Kingsland Knights 26-14 in state quarterfinals Thursday, Nov. 9. The Patriots and Knights met in Albert Lea, playing on Jim Gustafson Field, home of the Albert Lea Tigers. Both teams came into the game with an 11-0 record for the year in 9-player football. H-BC took the opening kickoff going four-and-out, having to punt to the Knights…

Twelve Cardinals earn Big South All-Conference athletic honors Four girls’ tennis players from Luverne High School were named to the 2023-24 Big South Conference All-Conference Team. Senior Sarah Stegenga was named to the Big South Conference All-Conference Team, and senior Roselynn Hartshorn and juniors Augusta Papik and Caitlin Kindt were named to the Big South Conference All-Conference…

I totally live in the land of dogs. I had more than a few Heinz 57 pets growing up but did not land my first bonafide retriever until 1996 when I was 35. I was sitting at an AKC hunt test with many of the judges and participants when I asked the question, “Why would anyone need more than one dog?” I figured you could only hunt one at a time, and if the dog was good at its job, there was no need…

Blue Mounds State Park will be closed to all visitors starting at sunset on Nov. 17 through sunrise on Nov. 20 for a special deer hunt. The purpose for the hunt is to prevent overpopulation of deer and to protect resources. Special hunts will take place at other Minnesota state parks and recreation areas this fall, and access to the parks will vary. Park visitors are advised to check the alerts…

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is waiving entrance fees to all 75 state parks and recreation areas on Friday, Nov. 24 – the day after Thanksgiving. This “Free Park Day” is one of four days each year when the DNR waives the requirement for a vehicle permit at state parks and recreation areas. The goal of Free Park Days is to encourage Minnesotans to get outdoors and enjoy the…

Three Luverne Taekwondo students competed in the 39th Annual Midwest Taekwondo Championships in Tea, South Dakota, Saturday, Oct. 21. They were among 125 competitors from South Dakota, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa at the event. Green belt Julian Dillard placed second in both poomse (a pattern of pre-arranged Taekwondo moves, consisting of a combination of stances, blocks, strikes…

Ten youth hunters participated in the second annual Dan Kindt Memorial Youth Hunt Saturday on private conservation ground in western and eastern Rock County. The youth were chosen to participate in the event at the Rock County Pheasants Forever Banquet on Oct. 5 from a pool of young people ages 12 to 17 who completed gun safety training. Pheasants Forever members released birds the morning of the…

Luverne’s David Duffy hosted an “ultra” trail running event Saturday, Oct. 14, that challenged athletes to complete 100 miles in one day. The event, Duff Dog Backyard Ultra in the Blue Mounds State Park, attracted 12 hardy competitors. This was Duffy’s third year hosting the event in which competitors consecutively run the distance of 6,706 meters (4.167 miles) in less than one hour. “This…

What is 66 years old and gets passed back and forth between two towns? The Battle Axe. The traveling trophy is awarded to the winning football team between rivals Luverne and Pipestone. This year’s game marks the 66th annual Battle Axe game between the Cardinals and Arrows, and Luverne is not looking to give it up without a fight. If you bleed red or green, you know how much each team wants…

With our new website design, the Star-Herald will be posting local sports galleries and events on a regular basis. Galleries can be found on our site under the Community tab or at this link https://www.star-herald.com/gallery2 This is part of our subscription site and will only preview a single photos in a gallery without a subscription. If you would like to subscribe you can here: https://www…

This is the final installment of a public land acquisition process. We have covered a lot in the last three columns, and this will get us to the end zone. Last week we left off at the appraisal review process.  I have never had an appraisal review that ended up changing the value of a parcel, although the purchase agreement signed earlier does openly state that the PA is subject to an appraisal…

Hunters can participate in an early antlerless-only deer season from Thursday, Oct. 19, through Sunday, Oct. 22. The season increases opportunities for hunters in deer permit areas where deer populations are above population goals or where there is an increased risk of chronic wasting disease. Permit areas open during the hunt are 214, 215, 218, 219, 221, 222, 223, 225, 227, 229, 236, 277, 341,…

Minnesota’s youth deer season will take place statewide Thursday, Oct. 19, through Sunday, Oct. 22. The season coincides with statewide teacher workshops, so many Minnesota students don’t have school during the youth season. To participate, youth must be 10-17 years old and have a deer license. Participant numbers are not limited, and there is no special permit, so parents should purchase or…

On Saturday, Sept. 23, Eric Sandbulte got his first hole-in-one at the Luverne Country Club on hole No. 3. Sandbulte drained the shot during the 3rd Annual Weez & Franky Scrambler, played in memory of Andy Wessels and Matt Franken. To top off the hole-in-one,  hole No. 3 was sponsored by Buffalo Ridge Insurance with a hole-in-one prize of $5,000. “We (Buffalo Ridge) sponsor about seven or…

Minnesota’s regular waterfowl season opens a half hour before sunrise on Saturday, Sept. 23, with the same regulations as last year. Minnesota has three waterfowl hunting zones — north, central and south — that share the Sept. 23 season opener but have varying end dates. The central and south zones also have a mid-season closure Oct. 2-6. Hunters are advised that water levels might be low due…