10 years ago (2012)
•The Christensen girls are on a mission to bring affordable, high quality, gently used, upscale clothing to Luverne’s Main Street.
Sisters Sue (Christensen) Hoffman and Amy (Christensen) Cowell are opening Sassy Seconds, a used-clothing store, Dec. 1 in the former Roberts Barber Shop at 119 East Main.
Hoffman owns and operates Great Planes Travel located next door, so she said adding another business made sense.
25 years ago (1997)
•What started out as helping his dad grow navy beans has turned into a business on the side for Hills resident Wendell Erickson.
Erickson said it all began during World War 11, Dec. 7, 1941. Erickson’s father, Raymond, farmed and raised navy beans on rented land in east central Minnesota.
But, during the invasion of Pearl Harbor, he lost his three employees to the service and had to look to his sons for help. Back then, Erickson said there was a big demand for navy beans, due to war rationing.
After those three years, Erickson said he quit growing beans because it was so time consuming and labor-intensive until the invention of the electric eye bean cleaner.
Erickson recently started growing navy beans again on land he owns in Grand Forks, N.D. He has found a renter there who is willing to raise navy beans on the 80 acres.
50 years ago (1972)
•In a major business transaction this week, Tony’s IGA Foodliner here was sold to Hy-Vee Stores, an Iowa based supermarket chain. Tony’s was owned by Anthony Sieperda, of Rock Rapids, who has owned the business here since buying National Council Oak, February 13, 1960.
Named as manager of the store by the new owners was a former Luverne young man, James Viland, son of Mr. and Mrs. Larry Viland. He began his duties here Monday. Daryel Buss, who has been manager of Tony’s IGA, will continue for a period as assistant manager, and will later be assigned to a management position with Hy-Vee, it was announced.
Hy-Vee is said to be the largest food store operation in the state of Iowa with 87 stores throughout the state.
75 years ago (1947)
•Luverne’s newest business, to be known as Mrs. Norgard’s Tot Shop, will be opened to the public Saturday.
Located in the Wildung building, just south of the Luverne Style Shop, the store will be operated by Mrs. A. C. Norgard. Mrs. Norgard announced this week that the store would deal exclusively in wearing apparel for infants, toddlers, and girls up to 12 years of age.
The public is invited to visit the store on opening day Saturday.
100 years ago (1922)
•The proposition of merging the Luverne cemetery with that of the Maplewood cemetery, reported as accepted at a meeting of the trustees of the Luverne association held Wednesday evening.
As outlined in these columns in previous issues, this provides for removing the bodies now interred in the old Luverne cemetery to Maplewood, and the eventual sale of the Luverne cemetery land, the funds and property of this association to go to the Maplewood association.
It was announced that the officers of the Maplewood association had arranged to set aside suitable lots for the re-interment of bodies now in the old cemetery, but it was decided to postpone the work of moving them until spring.
The unplatted portion of the Luverne cemetery, consisting of about 22½ acres of land, was leased to W. I. Ward for the ensuing year at the Wednesday evening meeting.
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