Farm Outlook 2003: The business side of farming
By Jim Muchlinski
Marshall Independent
MARSHALL -- Global economics and worldwide farm production affect southwestern Minnesota every day.
Speakers at the recent 2003 Farm Outlook at Southwest State University looked at these and other aspects of the farming industry when telling farmers what to expect this year for livestock sales, crop marketing and farm profits. A point made throughout the day is to map out goals in a way that is suitable for the 21st century marketplace.

Hurdles remain, but regional health plan likely to start March 1
By Larry P. Magrath
Marshall Independent
Staff Writer
The long-sought-after more-affordable health plan for the small business owner in southwest Minnesota is expected to become reality March 1.
The health plan will be offered through the nine-county Prairie Health Purchasing Alliance that incorporated last year and is seeking final approval on its not-for-profit designation. The alliance grew out of efforts by the Southwest Regional Development Commission to address economic development issues in its nine-county region, said Benjamin Vander Kooi, Jr., a Luverne attorney representing the alliance.

Boeing, Boeing, Gone
Large jet plane alarms local lawmen
By Juan Montoya
Worthington Daily Globe
WORTHINGTON - Minnesota State Patrol officers, Nobles County Sheriff Department deputies and Worthington Police Department officers reported seeing it.
At about 4:25 p.m. Dec. 2 some officers along U.S. Interstate 90 reported a "large commercial airliner" flying dangerously close to the ground.
"It was lower than you would normally see a major airplane," said a police officer over the police radio.

Couple warn of eminent domain proceedings
Reinhardts say landowners must examine Xcel application
By Juan Montoya
Worthington Daily Globe
WORTHINGTON - Five years ago, Xcel Energy was trying to build a transmission line in Polk County, Wis., through the pristine St. Croix Valley.
John Reinhardt said company officials came to his home and told him they would build the Chisago transmission line through his land, cut standing timber and stack up the trees like cordwood.
What's more, they told him there was little he could do about it, he claimed.

Christmas Trees: The slowest crop
By Joshua Dixon
Redwood Gazette
Back around 1981, Ron Iverson approached his friend Jeff Huseby with a scheme.
"Could you grow some trees for me?," Iverson asked.
A Belview native, Iverson had moved to Inver Grove Heights and started a landscaping business, and he needed someone reliable to supply him with trees. He figured his childhood friend, Jeff, might do it on a few of his 11 acres of farmland just north of Belview.

Safety in numbers
By Rae Kruger
Independent Staff Writer
If having extra law officers on board from Thursday until Dec. 1 isn't enough incentive for drivers to wear their seat belts, maybe they should consider the numbers.
"For every person who dies in a car crash, 50 percent would have lived if they were wearing their seat belt," said Jean Ryan of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Ryan was a participant in a news conference Tuesday morning at the Minnesota Department of Transportation District Office in Marshall.

Vet Clinic will assist in CWD testing
By Mark Fode
Pipestone County Star
The Pipestone Veterinary Clinic is one of 98 clinics -- involving 150 veterinarians -- that has agreed to collect brain stem samples for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing from deer taken during this fall's firearms season.
The season starts midway through next month. Dr. Larry Goelz of the Pipestone Veterinary Clinic, who heads the local team involved in the testing, says hunters who want to be assured the deer they have taken is not afflicted with Chronic Wasting Disease can pay $50 to have the brain removed and tested at the University of Minnesota's laboratories.

Transition into the cold
By Bob Cashel
Worthington Daily Globe
Get those winter coats out of mothballs and into the front of the closet -- November is a month of great temperature transitions.
Never mind that those fearless forecasters for "The Old Farmer's Almanac" predict November temperatures will be slightly warmer than usual in this region.

Pork check-off ruled unconstitutional: Some farmers celebrate, others moan
By Franny White
Worthington Daily Globe
Wilmont farmers Jim Joens and Richard Smith are seeing light at the end of the tunnel four years after they joined the fight to end mandatory participation in the national pork check-off program.
In response to a lawsuit filed by Joens, Smith and a handful of other plaintiffs, including the Minnesota-based Campaign for Family Farms, a U.S. District Court judge in Michigan ruled the national program unconstitutional.

Prevent telemarketing
Worthington Daily Globe
Minnesotans who want to register their telephone numbers under the state's new "Do Not Call" list are keeping that line very busy.
The Department of Commerce said that on the first half-day of operation, nearly 80,000 persons had registered their telephones to prevent unwanted telemarketers from bothering them.

MnSCU completes three-year plan
By Paul A. Riemerman
Staff Writer
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system has come up with a new three-year strategic plan after months of work and gathering comments and concerns from community and business people, legislators, students, faculty, staff, administrators and citizens.
Citizen input came from a 33-member Citizens Advisory Committee co-chaired by state business leaders Vance Opperman and Glen Taylor.

Minnesota will start sign-up for 'Do Not Call' list
By Tom Cherveny
Staff Writer
BENSON ‹ It took thousands of unsolicited phone calls to make it happen, an irony not lost on the legislator who got his way because of them.
On Nov. 1, phone customers can begin placing their names and phone numbers on Minnesota's "Do Not Call" list. It will keep most telemarketers from calling those who sign up, according to Rep. Matt Entenza, DFL of St. Paul, the chief author of the legislation.

After half a century, convenient access to health care a reality in Boyd
By Tom Cherveny
Staff Writer
BOYD -- Dwight Eisenhower was living in the White House the last time you could schedule a medical appointment in Boyd.
George W. Bush might not know it, but these days you don't even have to make an appointment in the small, Lac qui Parle County community.
"We have lots of walk-ins," said Bev Westfield, who greets most of the visitors to the Boyd Community Health Center by their first names.

Change in 2002 Farm Bill formula helps soybean growers
By Franny White
Worthington Daily Globe
Farmers who rotate their crops from only corn to only soybeans annually can now sign up for a higher soybean base acreage under the 2002 Farm Bill program, according to the Farm Service Agency (FSA).
An update to the farm bill formula early this month allows soybean and other eligible oilseed farmers to have additional oilseed bases under three of the program's five options, according to Nobles County FSA program technician Laura Ailts.

Fighting depression with kindness
By Franny White
Daily Globe
WORTHINGTON - Pete Feigal was just 15 when his parents put him in a mental institution for depression.
Inside the Mayo Clinic-affiliated institution, he saw people treated with electric shock therapy, straight jackets and other "instruments of torture, " he said.
"This place took the fun out of dysfunctional,"Feigal said with a smile.
Instead of listening and trying to relate to patients with compassion, the institution's doctors essentially punished patients for "not giving into the therapeutic community."

SSU community weighs in on graphic flap
By Karin Elton
Marshall Independent Staff Writer
Flag artwork that recently sparked controversy is back on the wall at Southwest State University.
The artwork, located near the post office on the first floor of the Bellows Academic Center, depicts Biblical verses about homosexuality and drawings on a picture of an American flag, which have stirred up emotions and thoughts about what constitutes free speech and what is hate speech.

Cleanup efforts open way for 'good old days'
By John G. White
Editor
Clara City Herald
Outdoorsmen old enough to remember the prairie before drainage and the fencerow-to-fencerow mentality of modern-day farming speak lovingly of "the good old days."
Nowadays they find a smidgen of those days of yore in South Dakota.
If Tom Kalahar, manager of the Renville County SWCD in Olivia, can be believed, "those good old days are back. And, they're going to just keep getting better."

Nobles, Jackson consider soybean plant groundwork
By Franny White
Worthington Daily Globe
WORTHINGTON - Nobles and Jackson counties will form a joint powers public nonprofit corporation to approve plans for paying infrastructure improvements needed for the planned soybean processing plant near Brewster.
The two counties' Board of Commissioners approved the measure unanimously Tuesday.
Minnesota Soybean Processors hope to begin construction on a 100,000-bushel-a-day soybean processing plant near Brewster this fall.

Farm economy promotes corporate farming

Workforce Center helps recipients find, keep jobs
By Linda Vanderwerf
Staff Writer
West Central Tribune
WILLMAR - A client needs a ride into Willmar to go to work, maybe she can catch a ride on a school bus.
Someone needs clothes for a job interview, there's a whole room full of good quality used clothing available.
The Minnesota Workforce Center in Willmar found many ways like this to help welfare recipients find and hold jobs in the past five years.

A family finds a new life in Willmar
By Linda Vanderwerf
Staff Writer
West Central Tribune
They'd left California to get away from the crowded schools, violence and gangs of Los Angeles.
"People are just nicer compared to California," he said. "I was looking at the bigger picture for the kids."
But that doesn't mean it was easy when the Moncadas arrived here. He had no job and no driver's license. His wife, Maria, wasn't a citizen.

Vera used MFIP to start over
By Linda Vanderwerf
Staff Writer
West Central Tribune
WILLMAR - Elizabeth Vera's brothers and sister already lived in Willmar, so it seemed like a logical place to move when she needed to start over nearly a year ago.
Vera moved to Willmar from Texas with her two sons in August. She participated in the Minnesota Family Investment Program, a welfare reform program, for a few months before she started working at the Willmar Kmart in November.

CDC facts on West Nile Virus
• West Nile virus can infect humans, birds, mosquitoes, horses and other animals, according to data from the Center for Disease Control.
• The virus is common in Africa, Eastern Europe, West Asia and the Middle East. The U.S. strain, first documented in 1999, is most closely related genetically to strains in the Middle East.

West Nile's local presence swells, vet says
By Karin Elton
Marshall Independent
Staff Writer
MARSHALL -- Veterinarians and staff at Marshall Animal Clinic did some bird watching recently.
A black crow exhibited odd behavior in the parking lot, probably symptomatic of West Nile virus.

West Nile virus symptoms
• Mild infections of the West Nile virus cause flu-like symptoms, including fever, headache, body aches, possibly a skin rash on the trunk of the body and swollen lymph glands. These cases typically last a few days.

West Nile found in Kandiyohi County
By Michelle Kubitz
Staff Writer
West Central Tribune
WILLMAR - Tests confirm that one bird in Kandiyohi County has been infected with the mosquito-borne West Nile virus, the Minnesota Health Department said Monday.
The bird is one of 17 birds and seven horses in Minnesota that have tested positive for the virus.

Fading memories remembered
By Don Beman
Canby News
Distant thunder rolled in the west where dark clouds gathered. Overhead, blue sky could be seen through the wispy white fleece that darkened westward into a summer storm. Trees provided a backdrop on the ground where a green, freshly cut carpeting surrounded the headstones in Bethel cemetery on the edge of Porter, Minn.
This is the final resting place for Dorothy Ellingson Christianson and her parents and many of her family and friends. The dates go back half a century and they bring back memories for those who visit from time to time.

Marshall High School, drug use on rise and spreading
By Rae Kruger and Karin Elton
Independent Staff Writers
MARSHALL -- A marijuana joint or a hit of methamphetamine might have replaced a can of beer in the hands of high school students.
Alcohol use has declined among high-school age students, according to authorities who work at Marshall High School and in the region in drug treatment and law enforcement. However, the use of marijuana and other drugs such as methamphetamine is on the rise.

Drug abuse among youth: The signs and effects
Students who use drugs pay the price in myriad of ways
By Karin Elton
Independent Staff Writer
MARSHALL -- Marshall High School staff and teachers are alert to signs that a student might be using drugs.
"Students who are sleeping with their head on the table, not turning in assignments and being disrespectful are showing signs of possible drug use," said Cynthia Celander, the high school assistant principal.

Most adolescent criminal behavior likely linked to drug abuse
By Rae Kruger
Independent Staff Writer
MARSHALL -- The public may view it at face value -- a burglary is a burglary.
But to the Marshall Police Department and the Lyon County Sheriff's Department, a burglary is likely linked to drugs.

Students dispute drug-use statistics
By Karin Elton
Independent Staff Writer
MARSHALL -- Students at Marshall High School want the community to know that they believe the majority of Marshall High students are not drug users.
The students, all seniors from Deb Ahmann's advanced placement English and frp, Gary Grabau;s advanced placement government classes, voiced their concern Thursday morning over the impression people might get by reading the Independent;s series of stories about drug use by high-school aged students.

She's a survivor
By Karin Elton
Independent Staff Writer
MARSHALL -- For someone so young, she has seen the seamier side of life and has come through the hard times a better person.
Now she wants to help kids stay away from the drug scene.
"This town is flooded. Marshall has a huge (drug) problem," said the 16-year-old Marshall High School junior who spoke on the condition of anonymity. For purposes of this story, she is called Heather.

Family important in fight against drug use
By Rae Kruger and Karin Elton
Independent Staff Writers
MARSHALL -- How a parent responds to a telephone call from Marshall Police School Liaison Officer Jim Marshall regarding suspected drug use by their teenager is crucial to their child's future.
Although users must decide to quit, law enforcement, social workers, chemical dependency counselors and school officials agree that parents can be the next most important cog in successfully treating and rehabilitating a high school-aged drug user.

Society's role in drug prevention
By Karin Elton and Rae Kruger Independent Staff Writers
MARSHALL -- While parents have an influential role in drug use and prevention, there are roles for the school and community, officials said.
Marshall Schools have a responsibility to be both proactive and reactive to drug use, officials said.

A problem or not? Depends on your definition of 'drug use'
By Karin Elton and Rae Kruger
Independent Staff Writers
MARSHALL -- How great the drug problem at Marshall High School could become seems to depend on perceptions of what drugs are and what constitutes use.
• From the perspective of the majority of students in the advanced placement English and government classes for seniors, drug use at Marshall High School is not nearly as big of a problem as law enforcement and chemical dependency counselors think it is.

County attorney: Meth use leads to other crimes
By Juan Montoya
Worthington Daily Globe
Over time, Murray County Attorney Paul Malone began to notice an insidious coincidence in cases he was prosecuting from the communities in his county.
In most burglaries, suspects were freely admitting that they were breaking into area homes to support their drug habit. And more often than not, that drug was methamphetamine, or "crank" for short.

Counties approve SRDC special levy authority
By Mike Nowatzki
Worhington Daily Globe
WORTHINGTON - The Southwest Regional Development Commission was rescued from potential nonexistence Tuesday as its member counties approved special taxing authority to repay debt from the failed Prairie Expo project.
Eight of the nine member counties passed the resolution June 4. Jackson County passed it unanimously the previous week.

Focused on the farm bill
By Jim Muchlinski
Staff Writer
Marshall Independent
MARSHALL -- Farm bill goals for 2002 have changed from legislation to implementation.
Regional office directors for Minnesota Sens. Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton conducted a farm bill information meeting Wednesday in Marshall. Participants discussed provisions of the new farm bill approved this spring by Congress and how the federal Farm Service Agency will adjust federal farm programs to address the new terms.

Counterfeit bills seized in Willmar

Minnesota River water quality improves: But waterway far from clean enough

Research indicates bank erosion creates sediment

River becomes a destination: Birding trail winds through area

Expansion in ethanol

Make it a 2-percent blend

War of 1862's impact still felt

Wind turbine tax issue is caught in controversy

Lac qui Parle Valley helping pioneer future of wind power

Economic constraints still a reality for farmers

Lincoln County imposes wind power moratorium

Dayton takes in local farmers' input

Database lists farm subsidies

Classes slated to resume Jan. 28, but construction and repairs could stretch out more than two years

Financially, Danahar says university will try to 'minimize the negative,' especially for students

Smoke-free days aired at meeting

Survey by Marshall Tobacco Coalition reveals that majority of community would favor a smoke-free ordinance

United Farmers Co-op now constructing prefabricated homes

A bushel basket each week Grower, consumer come together at The Easy Bean

Rural residents have similar experiences in Midwest U.S., Austria

Woodstock area farmer harvests wind power

Spending money in Marshall

Wary predator offers winter sport to hunters