By Sara StrongJeremy Allen Wallenberg, Ellsworth, was involved in an unusual accident early Sunday morning.He was driving north on Cedar Street in Luverne, when he veered east, off the street and into the home of Lois Fikse at 828 North Cedar. The accident was reported at 12:43 a.m. Sunday.Wallenberg was the only driver and was transferred to Sioux Valley Hospital in Sioux Falls, where is still a patient. His condition is stable and he is expected to make a full recovery. He broke his left hip and ankle and has a rod in his leg.Rock County Sheriff Mike Winkels said charges for DWI are possible, upon test results that aren’t finished.Fikse was sleeping in a different part of the house at the time of the accident and said it sounded like "an explosion."The car’s impact damaged the corner of the house’s foundation. Fikse said the basement bathroom has to be redone, and there are visible cracks on the wall. The dollar amount attached to the damage hasn’t been estimated yet.

Cheryl Creeger, Rock County Historical Society volunteer, files through one of the cabinets that holds obituaries of people with Rock County ties. By Sara StrongResearching family history has become an increasingly popular hobby in the last decade. Along with that, comes an increasing number of queries to the Rock County Historical Society.People want to know where their great-grandfather was buried; what church their uncle attended; the name of their grandma’s sister.Cheryl Creeger takes on much of the work of researching for budding genealogists who can’t get to the museum, or other local sources.She is one of a few volunteers at the Historical Museum who helps record names, dates and facts from the county. When people call for specific information, she’s the one who will find what other volunteers have helped to catalogue."I just like to do this," Creeger said. "And everybody should volunteer for something, right?"Of course, Creeger doesn’t work alone. Just Tuesday afternoon, regular Historical Society volunteers Lee Alexander, Eileen Kopp and Betty Mann were busy cataloguing historical tidbits to fit into categories such as school, church, township and sports.That’s a big undertaking, but worth it, especially when people are researching their roots."The newspaper is our biggest resource," Creeger said.She likes the process of investigating, peeking through files and trying to verify facts. Volunteers have been cataloging obituaries for years, and still haven’t caught up to the volumes of paper stored in the museum.Obituaries are so helpful because of the birth and death dates, the family members listed and the interesting facts about people that the Rock County Star Herald includes in its obits. They often list professional and church involvements as well as special personal hobbies.The first volunteers who saved obituaries didn’t consistently put dates of publication on the files, but Creeger is usually able to find the correct date and verify it with old issues of the paper."It’s amazing the amount of what we have done, and we haven’t even gone through some of it," Creeger said.Some parts of recording history can be tedious. Early newspapers listed small death notices and large obituaries — sometimes on the front page, sometimes in the "weekly visitor" columns that listed social happenings in the county. That means Historical Society volunteers have to read entire papers to find the obituaries, which are more clearly labeled in modern papers.But Creeger doesn’t mind that part of her job much. She’s liked history since she was a child, remembering that she loved looking at her grandmother’s photo album years before most children were interested in that.Her personal family ties to Rock County are strong. Her great-grandfather, Ole Hansen, was an early settler. Creeger’s husband, Randy, first had family come to the county in the 1920s.Although the system at the Historical Society is cumbersome, the volunteers do what they can in the time they can afford — Tuesday Creeger was paging through the 1934 newspapers and writing in a spiral notebook names of people and dates of the obit publication. The information can later be put into a computer program, organized by date and alphabetized names.The local newspaper isn’t the only valuable resource for Creeger. If people were born or died in the county, the courthouse has reference material on them, and sometimes a trip to a cemetery can provide information that wasn’t recorded elsewhere.In fact, just this weekend, while Creeger was observing Memorial Day, a familiar name caught her eye on a tombstone. Someone had asked for information, and Creeger had been unsuccessful in finding it until she got a date off the tombstone."Being lucky helps a lot," Creeger said. "Lots of little accidents happen that help."In the cases where Creeger can’t help people immediately, she keeps their names and contact information available and lets them know when she finds something.Besides being personally interested in history, Creeger said the volunteer work is fulfilling in other ways. She said, "Most people who get information are ecstatic and that’s what I really like." Even though the Historical Society has become a source for genealogical research, the museum is also there for regular viewing of local historical displays. Annually, it sees about 350 to 400 visitors. The museum opens next week for the summer from 2 to 4 p.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

By John RittenhouseThe Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth-Edgerton teams had a good day at the Sub-Section 10 Track and Field championships in Slayton Thursday.Along with placing third in five-team fields, 23 Patriots qualified for the Section 3A meet by placing fourth or better in individual and relay events.Thirteen H-BC-E-E girls and 10 boys will compete at today’s section event in Montevideo. Meet time is 2 p.m."We had a great day," said Patriot coach Tom Goehle. "The kids performed exceptionally well. We were able to get everything we were hoping to get at this meet."The Patriot girls will send one sub-section champion to Montevideo. Cassi Tilstra shaved some time off her school record while winning the 800-meter run in 2:25.89.Tilstra also ran legs with H-BC-E-E’s 800- and 1,600-meter relay teams, which will advance to Montevideo after placing third.Tilstra, Mya Mann, Amber Poppen and Erin Boeve bettered the H-BC-E-E record with a 1:52.35 effort in the 800. Cassi Tilstra, Jocelyn Bucher, Mann and Amanda Tilstra ran the 1,600 in 4:23.63.Boeve and Poppen made bids to win sub-section crowns before settling for second-place performances during individual competition.Boeve was second in the long jump (16-1 1/4) and the 100-meter dash (13.32). Poppen, who covered 15-0 1/2 to place third in the long jump, cleared 4-10 to finish second in the high jump.H-BC-E-E’s 3,200-meter relay team consisting of Amanda Tilstra, Rachel Kvaale, Ashley and Jocelyn Bucher placed second in 10:39.31.Mann, Amanda Tilstra and Erika Fransen earned trips to Montevideo as individuals.Mann placed third in the 800 (2:35.5), Tilstra was third in the 1,600-meter run (6:13.71) and Fransen placed fourth in the 3,200-meter run (13:39.34).The 400-meter relay team of Chelsea Fink, Rosie Lewis, Amanda Connors and Kelly Mulder qualified for the section field by placing fourth with a time of 56.64.H-BC-E-E’s boys won six sub-section championships in Slayton.Chris Reid, who won the 100- and 200-meter dashes in 11.27 and 23.99, set a new H-BC record with the winning distance of 21-9 3/4 in the long jump. The old standard of 21-8 3/4 belonged to Steve Esselink since 1999.Reid also ran a leg with H-BC-E-E’s champion 1,600-meter relay, which turned in a time of 3:34.54. Todd Alberty, Kale Wiertzema and Tyler Bush are other members of the team.Bush and Cody Scholten also secured sub-section titles. Bush won the 800-meter run in 2:00.08. Scholten cleared 6-0 to win the high jump.H-BC-E-E’s 3,200-meter relay team of Alberty, Wiertzema, Bush and Lee Jackson placed second with a time of 8:22.92, and the 800-meter team Zach Boyum, Curt Schilling, Dylan Kvaale and Brad Van Dyke placed fourth in 1:42.18.Alberty, Schilling and Jackson locked up individual berths in the section meet, too. Alberty was third in the 400-meter dash (54.49) and fourth in the triple jump (39-9 1/2). Schilling extended his H-BC-E-E school record to 45-0 while placing fourth in the shot put. Jackson ran 800 meters in 2:10.14 to place fourth.Here is a look at the rest of H-BC-E-E’s Top-Six finishers and the team standings from the sub-section meet.Girls’ standings: Luverne 210, Pipestone 158, H-BC-E-E 84, Murray County Central 54, Southwest Christian 33.Boys’ standings: Luverne 150, SWC 129, H-BC-E-E 101, MCC 87, Pipestone 82.H-BC-E-E girlsFifth place: J.Bucher, 300 hurdles, 57.22; Kvaale, 1600, 6:19.12.H-BC-E-E boysFifth place: Scholten, 100, 12.25; John Sandbulte, 1,600, 5:26.99; Wiertzema, 400, 56.18; 400 relay (Boyum, Schilling, Scholten and Van Dyke), 47.43.Sixth place: Sandbulte, triple jump, 36-10; Devin DeBoer, 110 hurdles, 20.59; DeBoer, 1,600, 5:31.42; Sandbulte, 300 hurdles, 49.47.

By John RittenhouseEleven members of the Adrian High School track program extended their seasons during the Sub-Section 9 Track and Field Championships in Windom Thursday.Ten AHS boys and one girl earned berths in the Section 3A meet by finishing fourth or better during the sub-section event.The 11 Dragons will compete at the section meet at 2 p.m. today in Montevideo.Along with having 10 athletes qualify for the section meet, the Dragon boys turned in a strong performance as a team. AHS scored 116 points, finishing third in a seven-team field.Two Dragons captured sub-section championships in Windom.Jared Brake, who placed third to qualify for the section event with a time of 16.21 in the 110-meter hurdles, won the long and triple jumps with respective 19-5 1/2 and 38-10 distances.Kyle Knips won the 400-meter dash title in 53.69.Knips also ran with Adrian’s section-qualifying 800- and 1,600-meter relays, which placed second and fourth with respective 1:39.87 and 3:44.73 times. Anton Klingenberg, Chad Janssen and Billy Anderson joined Knips in the 800. Janssen, Pete Jensen and Lee Stover teamed up with Knips in the 1,600.The 400-meter relay team of Klingenberg, Janssen, Brake and Anderson earned a trip to Montevideo by placing fourth in 48.64.Anderson, Klingenberg and Jensen earned individual berths in the section field as well.Anderson finished third in the 200-meter dash in 25.21, Jensen placed third in the 400-meter dash in 57.11 and Klingenberg placed fourth in the 100-meter dash in 12.68.David Brake, Casey Knips and Jordan Brake also represent AHS at the section event.David Brake cleared 5-6 to place third in the high jump, and he covered 36-4 to finish third in the triple jump. Jordan Brake placed fourth in the 400 with a time of 59.62. Casey Knips finished second in the discus with a toss of 133-4.Sarah Jensen is the lone AHS girl to qualify for section competition. Jensen placed fourth in the 300-meter hurdles with a time of 53.56.Here is a look at the rest of Adrian’s top six finishers and the team standings from the sub-section meet.Boys’ standings: Fulda 170, Jackson County Central 123.5, Adrian 116, Windom 109.5, Westbrook-Walnut Grove-Red Rock Central 100, Wabasso 58, Southwest United 12.Girls’ standings: JCC 182, Windom 149.5, W-WG-RRC 119, Fulda 76.5, SWU 72, Wabasso 69, Adrian 21.Adrian boysFifth place: Stover, 800, 2:14.81.Sixth place: Justin Reisdorfer, 1,600, 5:22.86; Brandon Bullerman, 3,200, 11:44.65.Adrian girlsFifth place: 1,600-meter relay (Jolene Reisdorfer, Emily Thier, Amanda Lynn and Jensen), 4:27.61.Sixth place: Lynn, triple jump, 30-8; Reisdorfer, 400, 1:05.63; McCall Heitkamp, 1,600, 6:09.54.

Luverne thrower Marissa Stewart earned two berths in the Section 3A Track and Field Championships by placing second in the discus and third in the shot put during the sub-section meet in Slayton Thursday.By John RittenhouseThe Luverne girls regained the championship trophy of the Sub-Section 10 Track and Field meet with an overpowering performance in Slayton Thursday.Luverne, which had a run of five straight titles snapped at the 2002 version of the meet, easily outscored the four other teams in the field in Slayton.The Cardinals compiled 210 team points, besting second place Pipestone (158) by 52 counters. Hills-Beaver Creek-Ellsworth-Edgerton (84), Murray County Central (54) and Southwest Christian (33) round out the field.Luverne also gained solid representation for the Section 3A Championships that will be staged at 2 p.m. today in Montevideo.Individuals and relay teams that place fourth or better at the sub-section event advance to the section meet. Luverne will send 18 girls to Montevideo.Cardinal athletes won six event titles during the sub-section meet.Serena Franken, Brittany Mulder, Lexi Heitkamp and Kelsey Dooyema won individual events.Heitkamp posted a pair of individual wins, taking top honors in the 400-meter dash and 3,200-meter runs with respective 1:04.08 and 12:30.1 times. Dooyema, who placed third in the 3,200 in 13:31.68 won the 1,600-meter run in 5:47.18. After placing fourth with a toss of 32-2 in the shot put, Franken whipped the discus 112-3 to win the event. Mulder cleared 7-6 to win the pole vault.Luverne also fielded the winning 3,200-meter relay team. Tera Boomgaarden, Sadie Dietrich, Victoria Arends and Heitkamp won the race in 10:13.26.Boomgaarden and Arends earned berths in the section meet as individuals, too. Boomgaarden finished second in the 1,600 in 5:58.55. Arends placed second in the 800-meter run in 2:28.24.Luverne placed second in the 400-, 800 and 1,600-meter relays with respective 55.24, 1:51.63 and 4:17.81 times.Callen Bosshart, Cassie Pap, Erin Hoiland and Nicole Willers ran the 400. Bosshart, Amanda Dooyema, Danielle Cook and Jenni Christensen formed the 800-meter team. Christensen, Amanda Dooyema, Dietrich and Arends teamed up in the 1,600.Cook, Lexi Petersen, Maggie Kuhlman and Marissa Stewart placed second in individual events for LHS.Petersen cleared 6-0 in the pole vault. Cook was second in the 100- and 300-meter hurdles with respective 16.46 and 48.04 times. Stewart, who placed third with a toss of 33-7 3/4 in the shot put, whipped the discus 107-1 to place second. Kuhlman, who placed third in the 300 hurdles (53.56) and fourth in the 100 hurdles (18.4), finished second with a distance of 31-8 1/4 in the triple jump.Kuhlman also earned a berth in the section meet in the high jump. Kuhlman and Heitkamp both cleared 4-10 to tie for fourth place. Kuhlman won a jump-off against her teammate.Other individual qualifiers for the section meet include Bosshart (third in the 100-meter dash in 13.52), Nicole Willers (fourth in the 100 in 13.75), Christensen (third in the 200-meter dash in 27.6), Hilary Hansen (third in the 400 in 1:06.18), Hoiland (fourth in the long jump with a distance of 15-0 1/4) and Pap (fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 31-3 1/2).Here is a look at the rest of Luverne’s Top-Six finishers from the sub-section meet.Fifth place: N.Willers, 200, 28.42; Dietrich, 800, 2:37.71; Hoiland, 100, 13..84.Sixth place: Amanda Kannas, 3,200, 15:07.42; Jessica Willers, 300 hurdles, 57.4.

By John RittenhouseThree Luverne High School players qualified for the Minnesota State Class A Golf Championships during the Section 3A meet played at the Marshall Country Club Friday.Junior Colby Anderson and seniors Gabe Van Dyk and Kim Bennett all qualified for the state attraction individually.Players who shoot the five lowest scores in section competition advance to state.Anderson won a playoff to finish fourth on the boys’ side. Bennett and Van Dyk tied for fourth place on the girls side to lock up the fourth and fifth qualifying positions.Anderson, who qualified for the section meet for the third consecutive year, will make his first appearance at the state class.Anderson shot a seven-over-par 78 to lead an LHS boys team that placed third at the section meet after winning its first sub-section title since 1999 the week before.Luverne tallied 336 strokes in team competition, finishing behind champion Redwood Valley (314) and runner up Benson (320). The Cardinals beat Yellow Medicine East (348) to finish the team season with a 22-23 record.Steve Berghorst, Tony Smedsrud and Jesson Vogt added 84-, 85- and 89-stroke rounds to Luverne’s team tally. Andy Haakenson and Austin Hoiland turned in 91- and 96-stroke cards without influencing the scoring.After registering his 78, Anderson had more work to do in order to lock up a trip to the state meet.Involved in a three-way playoff for the fourth and fifth qualifying positions for the state tournament, Anderson earned the fourth spot by recording a par on the first playoff hole. The other players involved in the playoff shot a bogey and double-bogey respectively.Bennett and Van Dyk didn’t have to compete in a playoff to earn their trips to state.Both Cardinals recorded 13-over-par 84s to share fourth place in the individual standings at tournament’s end.Van Dyk and Bennett were key members of Luverne’s state champion team in 2001 and the squad that placed third at state last season.The Class A Championships will be played at the Izaty’s Golf and Yacht Club in Onamia next Wednesday and Thursday.The girls’ competition will be played at the Sanctuary course starting at 8:30 a.m. each day. The boys’ competition will be staged on the Black Brook course at 8:35 a.m. each day.

By John RittenhouseA Luverne High School doubles team earned a berth in the Minnesota State Class A Individual Tennis Tournament during the Section 3A event played in Redwood Falls Thursday and Tuesday.Dusty Antoine and Patrick Bennett, singles players for LHS most of the season, went 3-1 to place second in doubles during the section tournament.Antoine, a sophomore, and Bennett, a junior, entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed and finished in the second spot.With the top two doubles teams earning trips to the state event, the Cardinal twosome will compete at the Class A Tournament in Burnsville Thursday, June 5. The Luverne team will play the Section 5A champions at 10 a.m. at the Northwest Athletic Club in Burnsville.Bennett and Antoine posted a pair of straight set wins to open the section tournament Thursday.The Cardinals handed Worthington’s Jason Johnson and Nate Peterson, seeded 15th, a pair of 6-0 setbacks. The Luverne team then disposed of seventh-seeded Reed Larson and Laron Schottenbauer, of Redwood Valley, by 6-1 scores.Bennett and Antoine squared off against Pipestone’s Casey Carmody and Paul Williamson in Tuesday’s semifinals. Luverne topped the sixth-seeded Pipestone squad by 6-2 scores.Pipestone’s Pat Wieme and Scott Vander Poel, the No. 1 seed, ended the Luverne team’s run by posting 6-0 and 6-1 wins over the Cardinals in the finals.The 2003 season came to an end for two Luverne singles players and another doubles team during Thursday’s play in Redwood Falls.Montevideo’s Matt Flaherty, the No. 4 seed in singles, recorded 6-1 and 6-0 wins over No. 13 Derek Boeve.MACCRAY’s Kyle Boyke saddled Chris Vickery with 6-4 and 6-1 setbacks during a match between the No. 6 and No. 11 seeds respectively.Yellow Medicine East’s Nathan Morland and Andrew Hewitt, the No. 5 seed in doubles, won a three-set match (6-2, 4-6, 6-1) from Steven Althoff and John Kreuch, the 12th-seeded team.

Luverne pitcher Jared Pick (21) looks for the ball after being involved in a close play at home plate during Saturday’s Section 3AA Tournament game against Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove in Luverne. The Cardinals beat the Falcons and Jackson County Central to open the double-elimination event.By John RittenhouseClutch hits in later stages of the games gave the Luverne Cardinals a pair of wins to open the Section 3AA Baseball Tournament Saturday in Luverne.The Cardinals battled back from a 2-1 deficit to nip Red Rock Central-Westbrook-Walnut Grove 3-2 in nine innings during the opener. Luverne trailed 3-2 after four and one-half innings of play against Jackson County Central before pulling out a 4-3 win in the nightcap.Luverne, which has won four straight games, took a 13-9 record into a winner’s bracket game against Lac qui Parle Valley in Granite Falls Wednesday. Play resumes Saturday at a site to be determined.Luverne 4, JCC 3Jake Studer’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning capped Luverne’s second tournament comeback at Redbird Field Saturday.Luverne trailed 3-2 after JCC plated a pair of runs in the top of the third inning before adding a single run in the fifth.The Cards answered the challenge by knotting the score in the bottom of the fifth before Studer chased home the game-winning run in the sixth.Studer singled to ignite Luverne’s rally in the fifth. Walks to Adam Kurtz and Mark Remme loaded the bases for Aaron Schmidt, who knotted the game at three with a RBI single.Zach Wysong was hit by a pitch and Joey Pick walked to start the sixth inning, but a sacrifice bunt attempt failed when Wysong was forced out at third base. Studer, however, came up big with a one-out single that chased home Pick with the game-winning run.Jesse Kuhlman, who pitched a complete game for LHS, doubled home a run before Wysong slapped a run-scoring single to give the Cards a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second.Kuhlman limited JCC to five hits and two earned runs in the game. He walked five batters and fanned six.Box score AB R H BIPick 2 1 0 0Uilk 4 0 0 0Studer 3 1 2 1Kurtz 2 0 0 0Remme 2 1 0 0Schmidt 2 1 2 1Reisch 3 0 0 0Kuhlman 3 0 1 1Wysong 2 0 1 1Luverne 3,RRC-W-WG 2Luverne nearly fell victim to a scrappy RRC-W-WG team during Saturday’s opener.The Falcons, who were winless for the season entering the game, stunned the Cards by taking a 2-1 lead by scoring a pair of runs in the top of the third inning.The upset bid remained in tact until Luverne battled back to knot the score at two in the bottom of the sixth before winning the game with a run-scoring single by Adam Reisch in the bottom of the ninth.Luverne pulled even with the Falcons in the bottom of the sixth. Remme was hit by a pitch, Schmidt singled and Wysong walked to load the bases. Pick then forced home the tying run when he drew a walk.The score remained tied at two until the ninth, when Luverne loaded the bases with a walk to Kurtz and Remme and Schmidt being struck by pitches. Reisch then settled the issue when he lined a single between RRC-W-WG’s left and center fielders.Luverne took a 1-0 lead when Pick doubled and scored on a single from Studer in the bottom of the first.Kurtz tossed three innings of shutout relief to pick up the win. He fanned three batters without allowing one walk or one hit. Jared Pick pitched the first six innings for the Cards, surrendering eight hits and one walk. He recorded seven strikeouts.Box score AB R H BIPick 3 1 2 1Uilk 4 0 1 0Studer 4 0 2 1Kurtz 4 1 2 0Remme 1 1 0 0Schmidt 4 0 2 0Reisch 5 0 1 1Kuhlman 4 0 2 0Wysong 2 0 0 0

By John RittenhouseThe Hills Thunder fell from the unbeaten ranks in amateur baseball play when it dropped a pair of games in a five-day span.Hills lost an 11-run decision in Wilmont Wednesday, May 21, before losing a 10-run home game to Fairmont Sunday.Hills, 1-2 overall, hosts Heron Lake Sunday.Fairmont 12, Hills 2A nine-run surge late in the game by Fairmont turned a close game into a 10-run difference Sunday in Hills.Fairmont led 3-2 after six innings of play before putting the game away by scoring two runs in the seventh inning, one in the eighth and six in the ninth.The teams battled to a scoreless draw through three innings before Fairmont took a 3-0 cushion by scoring once in the third inning and twice in the fourth.Hills countered with a two-run bottom-of-the-sixth to trim the difference to one at 3-2.Eric Harnack walked and Scott Harnack doubled before both runners scored on a double by Cade Lang for Hills.Chad Rauk pitched one-run ball for four innings and took the loss. He registered eight strikeouts while allowing three hits and three walks.David Top was touched for nine runs in four innings of relief. Ten walks hurt Top, who surrendered four hits. Eric Harnack tossed a scoreless ninth inning.Box score AB R H BIJ.Lang 0 0 0 0E.Harnack 2 1 0 0S.Harnack 4 1 3 0Sammons 4 0 0 0Top 2 0 0 0Funke 4 0 1 0Van Maannen 4 0 0 0Jellema 1 0 0 0C.Lang 3 0 1 2Rauk 1 0 0 0Carrol 3 0 1 0C.Harnack 0 0 0 0Forshey 1 0 0 0Wilmont 11, Hills 0The Thunder couldn’t put anything together offensively during an 11-run loss in Wilmont May 21.Jarud Lang and Derek Sammons collected one hit each to account for Hills’ two safeties in the contest.Top surrendered 11 runs, nine walks and six hits in a 4 2/3-inning stint as the starting pitcher. Top, who took the loss, recorded five strikeouts.Jarud Lang pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. He fanned four batters and allowed two hits.Box score AB R H BIJ.Lang 3 0 1 0E.Harnack 2 0 0 0S.Harnack 3 0 0 0Sammons 3 0 1 0Top 3 0 0 0Funke 2 0 0 0Van Maanen 3 0 0 0Jellema 2 0 0 0C.Lang 0 0 0 0