Guilty plea entered in vehicular homicide case
Twenty-three-year-old Jayson Delfs, Hardwick, entered a guilty plea Monday morning in Rock County District Court to the charge of criminal vehicular homicide.
Murder case proceedings on hold
Legal proceedings for Luverne murder suspect Melvin Frazier are suspended following a Rule 20 motion that was granted in Rock County District Court Monday.
Administrator announces retirement
After 33 years on the job, Rock County Administrator Kyle Oldre officially submitted his notice of retirement during the Aug. 18 county board meeting.
Oldre’s final day of service will be Feb. 28, 2027.
Charter amendment measure advances
Luverne voters will be asked in the Nov. 3 general election if they support an amendment to change their city’s government charter.
Peterson wins election for county commissioner
Rick Peterson won the special election for Rock County’s District 3 and is set to join the county board of commissioners early next week.
PowerOn Midwest narrows routes
PowerOn Midwest has narrowed its preferred route for a proposed high-voltage transmission project, and one of its choices would cut through Rock County within one mile of the Blue Mounds State
News
- By Lori SorensonNovember 06, 2024The Star Herald went to press Tuesday afternoon as voters were still participating at the polls, but local election official Ashley Kurtz was keeping tabs on Election Day processes. “So far, all the polls have opened up with zero issues,” she said Tuesday morning. “All polling places, including the mail ballot precinct and the courthouse, have remained steady through the morning, and we expect…
- By Lori SorensonNovember 06, 2024The Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings is considering a complaint filed by Isaac DeBoer alleging Patrick Baustian violated Fair Campaign Practices law with his mayoral campaign. After a hearing by phone Monday afternoon, the administrative judge will determine if there is probable cause for the case to continue. If not, the case will be dismissed. DeBoer, a candidate for mayor, filed…
- By Mavis FodnessNovember 06, 2024At almost three months into the 2024-25 school year, Hills-Beaver Creek School District seeks to hire an additional elementary teacher due to growing student enrollment. Board members agreed to the half-time position at a salary of $28,500 at their Oct. 28 meeting. The part-time additional position is intended to assist in the first-grade classroom. As the school year started in early…
November 06, 2024Luverne area businesses and organizations hosted the community’s annual Trunk ’N Treat in the elementary school bus lot Thursday afternoon to celebrate Halloween. The event featured dozens of creatively decorated trunks and roughly 2,500 costumed trick-or-treaters. This is the 12th annual Trunk ’N Treat in Luverne and the third year it’s been at the school after nine years on Main Street.- By Kent Thiesse, Farm Management AnalystNovember 06, 2024Arriving at equitable land rental rates is always an ongoing challenge for farm operators and landlords alike, which will likely be an even bigger challenge for the 2025 growing season. Many times land rental rates for a coming crop year are based on the profitability in crop production in the previous year or two. In some cases this can present profitability challenges for farm operators, if…
By Mavis FodnessNovember 06, 2024Rock County 4-H conducted the 2024 awards and recognition night Saturday, Nov. 2, at Grand Events in Luverne. The evening’s theme was “4-H: Something to Crow About” and was attended by 125 members, leaders, parents and program sponsors. Federation officers installed for 2024-25 Local Extension educator Fraya Webster installed the newly elected Federation officers. The 2024-25 officers are…
November 06, 2024The Livewires 4-H Club is a 2024 Fair Project Club winner, a contest sponsored by Bomgaars. The contest was open to all 180 Bomgaars locations including Luverne. According to club adviser Jamie Tiesler, each member submitted a fair photo and nominated their club. Winners received $1,000. The Livewires are one of 12 4-H clubs to receive a cash prize. “We are excited to use this money for our club…- November 06, 2024ock Ranch in Hills, Minnesota, is receiving $5,000 in funding for the construction of a horse shelter through Sioux Valley Energy's Operation Round Up® program. The award comes as Sioux Valley Energy and its members celebrate October as National Cooperative Month by making an impact in their local communities. During the most recent quarterly meeting of the Sioux Valley Energy Customers'…
- By Lori SorensonOctober 30, 2024Two years ago at this time, election workers in the Rock County Courthouse were being harassed about ballot processes and accused of compromised election integrity. “It was bad,” said Ashley Kurtz about the last election cycle. “Our workers were frequently in tears.” Kurtz has been Rock County’s Auditor-Treasurer for 13 years and this will be her ninth time heading up a local general election…
- By Lori SorensonOctober 30, 2024The 2024 general election is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and voters who haven’t already cast ballots early will head to the polls to make election choices. Luverne voters will decide contests for mayor and two council seats. Isaac DeBoer is challenging incumbent mayor Pat Baustian. Incumbent Dan Nath and Josh Gangestad will be on the ballot for North Ward City Council. And Lori Hallstrom and Marlin Kracht…
- By Lori SorensonOctober 30, 2024Minnesota has ranked No. 1 for general election voter turnout across the country since 2008 according to the Minnesota Secretary of State. In the 2020 presidential election, Minnesota’s average voter turnout was 81.56 percent, compared to the country’s average of 76.8 percent. Among Minnesota counties, Rock County voters often lead the way with over 93 percent voter turnout in 2020, 2016 and…
By Mavis FodnessOctober 30, 2024Two Hills organizations worked together to provide Halloween activities Sunday afternoon for residents and children. Bethlehem Lutheran Church’s board of education organized its first Trunk or Treat along North Main Street featuring 19 separate treat stops along each side of the street. Each stop was decorated and manned by local individuals, organizations and/or businesses of Hills. Maleeka…- By Mavis FodnessOctober 30, 2024The Hills-Beaver Creek School District had a more favorable bid opening for the second construction phase. Bids were received at or below estimates to remodel the Hugo Goehle gymnasium in Hills and were accepted Monday night by the Hills-Beaver Creek School Board. The total was $2.8 million and included accepting three alternate bids. Accepted bids also included $448,000 to demolish the three-…
- By Mavis FodnessOctober 30, 2024At their meeting Monday night, Hills-Beaver Creek School Board members committed $100,000 toward a $500,000 project to build running lanes at the secondary school. Potential donors to the project indicated they would not move forward with fundraising efforts without financial support from the district. The district’s building and grounds committee and personnel committee recommended…
By Mavis FodnessOctober 30, 2024As part of its “Love the Business Coffee,” Luverne Area Chamber members visited the Rock River Apothecary located just off East Main Street in Luverne. Owner Jennifer Wipf is a licensed hemp-derived products retailer with 25 percent of her business focused on helping people sleep or manage their pain through hemp-derived products. She opened Rock River Apothecary in March 2023. “I don’t do any…
October 30, 2024Members and parent volunteers with the Luverne Girl Scouts volunteered with ATLAS of Rock County on Oct. 24 helping to set up for the annual One Warm Coat distribution last weekend. Pictured are (front, from left) Iris Yonzon, Kali Bolan, Payton Jackson, (back) Amanda Bernard, Avery Aning-Staeffler, Rayna Johnson, Aria Bernard, Rose Gainey, Addison Hastings and Everly Goodwater. The project…
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