extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Saturday, March 28, 2026
Earthy Elements, LLC, open house in Belgrade
This post is "late to the party" but I wanted to get it out the door even if it's at the last minute.
Business Open House TODAY in Belgrade!
The flower, plant, gift and rock shop called Earthy Elements opened at The Shed in Brooten. Ashley Zimmerle, owner of Earthy Elements, expanded her business last summer after she founded it in 2022. The next step in her business journey was a recent move to Main Street Belgrade. This took place while an expansion in another business is taking place at The Shed (located on Highway 55 East in Brooten)...on the weekend of Valentine's Day, Zimmerle moved her business to 303 Washburn Avenue, Belgrade, to The Boosters building on the north end of main street.
The next step Ashley's got in store is a business open house on Saturday, March 28 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at her new location. The Earthy Elements open house features flower, plant and prize giveaways. Easter lilies and bulb garden plants. FREE coffee samples. To-go bracelet make and take packes for $15 also available. You're invited to stop by and see the new space in the Booster's building.
Speech team concludes regular season; subsections is next
The B-B-E speech team recently completed the regular season with an invitational at Melrose on Saturday, March 21.
Here's Hailey Henderson receiving the Heart and Soul award that afternoon:
Henderson, who is active in the Pope County 4-H organization, is an 8th grader at B-B-E. She competes in the Original Oratory category. At the Central Minnesota Conference meet, held on March 17 at Maple Lake high school, Henderson earned third place.
Some additional speech coverage was posted today at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BBEspeechatMelrose.
Coming tonight!
The B-B-E Knights of Columbus will host their third and final fish fry of the Lenten season. They serve at the KaDe Shack in Brooten from 5 to 8 p.m with their cash raffle drawing to follow.
Spring sports are underway...track competes indoors
At the St. John's University fieldhouse in Collegeville on Thursday, the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teamscompeted in the indoor Central Minnesota Conference meet. This is traditionally held in the latter part of March for CMC schools. The lone result I have is from the girls' high jump, where Laken Anderson took second place.
The sports section of this week's newspaper includes one picture from the boys' basketball team banquet that was held last Monday. The picture includes the All-Central Minnesota Conference players on the team. They are Taylor Pieper, Lance Radermacher, Owen Radermacher and Hudson Reed. Additional coverage from the banquet will appear in the March 26 issue.
Here's the playing of the National Anthem and the starter introductions before the playoff game a little past two weeks ago in Underwood:
More to come.
The B-B-E speech team competed at the Melrose Invitational on Saturday. That consumed about 3 hours of my afternoon/evening. The team is preparing for the Sub-Section 5A-West meet, which is on April 10 at New London-Spicer high school.
The Brooten city council meeting agenda for their upcoming Monday meeting has been posted: BrootenCouncilAgenda.
An exciting business Open House is coming to Belgrade on March 28
This is one you'll want to mark your calendars for! Last spring (2025), the flower, plant, gift and rock shop called Earthy Elements opened at The Shed in Brooten. Ashley Zimmerle, owner of Earthy Elements, expanded her business last summer after she founded it in 2022. The next step in her business journey was a recent move to Main Street Belgrade. This took place while an expansion in another business is taking place at The Shed (located on Highway 55 East in Brooten)...on the weekend of Valentine's Day, Zimmerle moved her business to 303 Washburn Avenue, Belgrade, to The Boosters building on the north end of main street.
The next step Ashley's got in store is a business open house on Saturday, March 28 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at her new location. The Earthy Elements open house features flower, plant and prize giveaways. Easter lilies and bulb garden plants. FREE coffee samples. To-go bracelet make and take packes for $15 also available. You're invited to stop by and see the new space in the Booster's building.
Ashley is excited for upcoming special events and holidays including Easter (just on the horizon) and also B-B-E's prom (Saturday, May 2). Soon after prom is Mother's Day, and that's soon followed by the Memorial Day weekend. Ashley got off to a great start with Early Elements expanding in Brooten, and her business will continue growing on main street Belgrade. Today, I learned she'll be able to work hand-in-hand with Mary Solbreken and Rustic Designs Flower Farm of Burbank Township. That's another terrific small business we can be proud of right in our backyard!
In sports news...
I lost track of the late-winter college basketball games. The last I was plugged in to that, Abby Berge's MSU-Moorhead Dragons team was in a tight ball game in the NSIC playoffs. Berge is a 2023 B-B-E graduate and was a junior for the Dragons.
In the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference playoffs, the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars lost on a buzzer-beater to Bethany Lutheran in the UMAC championship game. B-B-E's Kaden Pieper, also a 2023 graduate, was a junior on that squad. He ended up as the team's second-leading scorer for UMM, who should compete for a conference title again next year. They were regular season runners-up in the UMAC this year with an 8-4 record.
As for spring sports, I know of B-B-E's Gannon Walsh (Class of 2022) playing for the University of Minnesota-Crookston men's golf team. He's currently ranked 58th in the NCAA Division II Central Region. As a team, Walsh's Golden Eagles is ranked No. 11 in the Central Region. UM-Crookston's spring season begins next Monday and Tuesday at the NSIC Preview in Smithsville, Missouri.
Here's a video featuring tip-off and the opening minute of the playoff game at Underwood:
Sunshine is gaining strength, but it's still cold out! and CHICK DAYS in Regal is underway
The full sunshine feels incredible today, even as the temperatures hover in the upper single digits across the Bonanza Valley area.
The Belgrade city council meets tonight, and their meeting agenda can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.
It's time to advertise CHICK DAYS in Regal!
Jerry Fischbach, the kind-hearted, down-to-earth Regal Elevator owner, is promoting Chick Days for the 2026 season. Regal Elevator is now offering discounts on all chicks and chick feed. Supply your own eggs! Call for livestock feed AND pet feed at Regal Elevator; phone number 320-243-4220. Website: http://www.regalelevator.com.
Mid-Week Lenten worship in Brooten (VIDEO) + Padua news
While you're stuck at home today during the blizzard, you don't have + to miss church worship. At the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website, a video was just posted from Trinity Lutheran in Brooten from Wednesday, March 11. Worship that night was the second-to-last Mid-Week Lenten worship for the Trinity and West Lake Johanna Lutheran parish.
Snowfall totals across the past 15 hours or so, at least for the town of Brooten, appears to have been only about 6 inches. The large snow system tracked farther south than was predicted, which is good for those weary of winter.
News out of Padua regarding Saint Patrick's Day weekend activities:
The St. Patrick's Day parade in Padua for today has been cancelled due to the weather and the tough road conditions. The Padua Pub is still open for those who are able to travel, but of course, your own discretion is advised. Tread lightly out there! Here's additional information...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice website to read more: PaduaStPatricksNews.
I spoke with Dave Rooney by telephone right around the time the parade was scheduled to be held today. Dave was thrilled to report that the Padua Pub had a "packed house" on Saturday evening for their St. Patrick's Day festivities. The Rooneys want to thank everyone for their support, and they look forward to seeing you on Tuesday for the final hurrah of St. Patrick's Day in Padua.
Currently, the forecast is calling for 5 to 10 inches of snow coming our way on Saturday and Saturday night. Please share this information: the Brooten Ambulance pancake feed is being moved to Sunday, March 22 with all other information being the same. This weekend, on Sunday, we'll all likely be digging out from the snow. We'll see how it shakes out!
The pancake feed will run from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 22 at Bucky's Pickles, which is the former Brooten American Legion building on Central Avenue in Brooten. Here's the same information with a Brooten Ambulance statement posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BrootenAmbulanceFeed.
Tonight! the B-B-E Knights of Columbus will host their Fish Fry fundraiser night at the KaDe Shack in Brooten. They serve from 5 to 8 p.m. Additional details: KofCFishFryMarch13.
I'd also like to encourage you to visit the Padua Pub on Saturday this weekend. It looks like they should be able to have a nice run of things on Saturday for their Saint Patrick's Day celebration. The Sunday activities in Padua might not fare as well. It's the reality of the situation. By all means - please help the Rooney family hit their food and green beer supply by patronizing them on Saturday! The food and green beer will be served starting at 3 p.m.
**Update: early Friday night, The forecast is saying we could get 10 to 18 inches of snow across the next 48 hours. Wow.
