Remember When

10 years ago (2014) •City leaders have a vision for a historic Main Street and are committed to making that vision a reality, despite the new a formal historic district in Luverne cannot be listed on the National Register of Historic Places. According to the State Historic Preservation Office, the proposed historic district was punctured by very large gaps between the blocks of historic…

10 years ago (2014) •“Take 16” is the official name of Luverne’s craft brewery opening soon on East Main Street. The business name was unveiled just as truckloads of brewing equipment were delivered to the former Connell Car Care and Sturdevant’s buildings Tuesday and Wednesday. According to Luverne Brew Partners president Kirk Bloemendaal, Take 16 is named partly for Old Highway 16, now known…

10 years ago (2014) •The propane shortage that threatened grain drying last fall is now affecting heating bills for area residents and livestock producers. As January temperatures continue to fall below zero, propane costs continue to rise — more than doubling over the last two months. “Right now supply and price are both big issues in our trade area, but for our business, price is a. larger…

10 years ago (2014) •A nasty baby pig disease called porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PED) is sweeping swine herds across the nation including Rock County. Rock Veterinary Clinic veterinarian Jason Johnson said the virus has a 100-percent death rate in baby pigs less than 10 days of age. Herds affected by it may lose four to five weeks of production. In older pigs, the virus acts more like a…

10 years ago (2014) •David Van Batavia said one of the most fulfilling aspects of being a firefighter is the rush of jumping onto the trucks when responding to a call. But jumping onto the trucks is the one thing he will not be doing in his new role as Luverne’s fire chief. After former chief Dan Nath retired from firefighting Jan. 1, Van Batavia was elected to the new position. Van Batavia…

10 years ago (2014) •Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton announced Friday morning that all public schools in the state would be closed Monday, due to dangerously cold weather in the forecast. The National Weather Service predicted that most of the state would experience the coldest temperatures in a decade Monday, with lows of minus 30 degrees and wind chills, predicted to reach as low as 50 degrees…

10 years ago (2014) •The Rock County Board of Commissioners approved a five-year $450,000 contract for recycling services with Ketterling Services Inc. of Luverne at the Jan. 9 regular board meeting. County Administrator Kyle Oldre told commissioners they would notice the amount is considerably more than what the county has paid for recycling services in the past. The new contract will cost $…

10 years ago (2013) •Land Management Office Engineering Technician Arlyn Gehrke told County Commissioners at their Dec. 16 meeting how the Pictometry service they purchased is being used in the county. Pictometry is the name of a patented aerial image capture process that produces imagery showing the fronts and sides of buildings and locations on the ground. In 2012 the county, the city of…

10 years ago (2013) •Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne hosted its first community live Nativity event on Dec. 22. The Nativity included live sheep, a donkey, a calf, and nearly 20 actors. … Hundreds of community members braved single-digit temperatures to share in the Christmas experience. Two complete casts allowed the actors to take turns, and audience members were kept warm with fire pits and…

10 years ago (2013) •Luverne Street Music faculty and students are leasing space in the former Brown Church on Main and Estey streets for large group ensembles. Choral and instrumental notes will again resonate in the former Baptist church sanctuary, which hasn’t heard group music since its congregation moved out more than 10 years ago. School organizers said they’re looking forward to the…

10 years ago (2013) •Country Discount Market will be open for customers this weekend during Santa Day in Hardwick. The store is open in the space that once housed a grocery business in Hardwick more than 10 years ago. “We’re looking forward to offering name-brand groceries for less,” said storeowner Terri Murphy, who is running the business with her two daughters, Erin and Deena. “We’re just…

10 years ago (2013) •The Luverne School Board voted at its Nov. 26 meeting to move forward with plans to implement all-day kindergarten, free of charge to families, beginning in the fall of 2014. During the 2013 legislative session the Minnesota State Legislature approved $134 million to fund all-day kindergarten in the state. Luverne offers a half-day of kindergarten at no cost to families…

10 years ago (2013) •When Carol Wieneke began her nursing career at the Luverne Medical Center 50 years ago, the clinic operated with only two other people, Dr. Donald Odland and Harriet Skattum. Sanford Health Systems honored Wieneke on Wednesday, Nov. 20, with a celebration of her half century of employment. “Sanford, our community and our patients are better having known her,” said Laurie…

10 years ago (2013) •A Luverne native is working in Congress through the Wounded Warrior Program, which creates employment opportunities for veterans in the House of Representatives. David Wenzel, a 2003 Luverne High School graduate, is working in Congressman Tim Walz’s office in a veterans’ constituent position in Mankato. Wenzel, son of Nancy and Kent Davis, Luverne, joined the National…

10 years ago (2013) •A Luverne trolley will soon be in operation as one more way to promote the community and its business interests. “Molley the Trolley,” as it’s been affectionately called, once served as Grace Lutheran Church’s youth club bus. Larry Lanphere and Gary Papik bought it in September and had it “wrapped” to look like a trolley. Interior improvements to the 15-passenger trolley…

10 years ago (2013) •Terrie Gulden told audience members in Luverne High School gym what it was like when he landed in Vietnam. … Gulden said one of his duties in Vietnam was writing letters to the families of soldiers killed in action. “When a Marine death was reported, one of our responsibilities was to write a letter home to their loved ones. Every day I read their names, I saw how old they…