Ohhh Snap!! Governor Pawlenty is cut off at the knees on his "unallotment strategy"

Minnesota judge overrules Pawlenty on budget cuts

(Associated Press)

A Minnesota judge ruled Wednesday that Gov. Tim Pawlenty "crossed the line" when he cut billions from the state budget on his own, ordering his administration to restore money to a food program for the poor.

The ruling from Ramsey County District Judge Kathleen Gearin only deals directly with a small slice of $2.7 billion in cuts the Republican governor announced this summer. But her accompanying explanation criticizes his strategy to slice the budget without input from the Legislature. Pawlenty was using an executive authority known as unallotment.

Gearin wrote that Pawlenty "crossed the line between legitimate exercise of his authority to unallot and interference with the legislative power to make laws."

The judge added that the power is reserved for an unforeseen budget crisis and "is not meant to be used as a weapon by the executive branch to break a stalemate in budget negotiations with the legislature."

Pawlenty's administration was ordered to reinstate funding for the Minnesota Supplemental Aid Special Diet program going back to Nov. 1 and continue it until further court notice. Another hearing is scheduled for March 1.

The program supplies cash grants to elderly and disabled people on fixed incomes to help them with special dietary needs stemming from other health concerns. It was estimated to cost the state $5.3 million, according to court documents.

An attorney from Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance, which handled the case, had no immediate comment.

Pawlenty issued a one-paragraph statement after the ruling.

"We are disappointed in the judge's decision," Pawlenty said. "We are weighing all of our options including appeal, re-establishing unallotments under the current forecast, potential legislative action, and other options."

Minnesota faces a $1.2 billion budget deficit for the current two-year cycle and a much larger one down the road.

The case grew out of cuts Pawlenty made after he and the Democratic-controlled Legislature failed to agree on a budget.

An attorney for Pawlenty had argued that the state would have trouble paying its bills if the administration lost because others hit by cuts would see it as an invitation to file similar lawsuits.

Gearin said in her ruling that she wasn't swayed by the assistance program at the heart of the case, but the process by which Pawlenty cut it.

"The court's decision was based on the way he unalloted, not what he unalloted," Gearin wrote, stressing she would rather the courts stay out of budget and policy decisions.

Pawlenty's unallotment authority had survived a court challenge early in his first term. What differed in this case is that Pawlenty made the cuts at the start of a budget period instead of doing them as a reaction to an economic report showing a deficit and little time left to solve it.

Area basketball results on Monday night - Willmar clips NL-S in battle of unbeaten boys basketball teams

Willmar (7-0) made two free throws with 7 seconds left to edge New London-Spicer (8-1) 58-56 in the Bremer Bank Holiday tournament at Willmar.

Other area boys results:
Litchfield 62, Pierz 60 (Pioneers fall to 0-4)
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 69, LQPV 60 (CGB is 8-0)
Benson 76, Fond du Lac 57
Melrose 60, St.Cloud Cathedral 52 (a big win for the 4-2 Dutchmen)

Area girls basketball results:
Melrose 46, Sauk Rapids 34
Sauk Centre 82, Warren-Alvarado-Oslo 60 (Kali Peschel scores 37 points)
Upsala 69, Maple Lake 33
Rockford 48, Rochester Mayo 46 (a huge win for the 7-1 Rockets)
Holdingford 62, Lake Park-Audubon 54

More will follow later.

Scenes of Winter around B-B-E after the big Christmas storm of 2009 (click to enlarge)

B-B-E teachers union accepts a "soft" pay freeze for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011

I haven't gotten all the details yet, but I am proud to report that the B-B-E teachers union has taken what is essentially a pay freeze for their current 2-year teaching contract.

They are still able to increase their pay on the usual "Step and Lane" method, which ups their pay every year they stay at a district, as well as for continuing education credits.

By doing so, B-B-E becomes one of the few schools in the area who are taking a strong stance against increased spending.

A ray of light!

For comparison, the West Central Area school district inked a teacher settlement with a 1% raise in 2009-2010 and a 2.5% raise in 2010-2011. (Not good at all, considering they had to cut $680,000 out of the budget in 2009 just to stay out of statutory operating debt)

Winter's grip tightens around the area

(Below) Someone had a pretty rough Saturday night this past weekend! This Dodge Ram plowed itself into the ditch about 2 miles south of Brooten sometime on Saturday night.

Eye opening figure - 72 pre-school age children in the Osakis school district

Osakis school enrollment up
By Greta Petrich, Osakis Review

The Osakis School Board reviewed its annual census report at its regular meeting December 14.

The report looks at trends in enrollment from the first day of school. In 2009, Osakis Public School tallied 780 students September 8 – only 32 shy of its 1973 high of 812.

Osakis Superintendent Gregg Allen pointed out what may be an all-time high of 400 students in K-6.

The high school numbers dropped after bringing in a small 7th grade compared to a large graduating class last year.

A total of 234 students came into Osakis School District through open enrollment from the following areas: Minnewaska (78), Alexandria (67), Long Prairie (56), Sauk Centre (23), Eagle Valley (4), Parkers Prairie (2), Browerville (1), Minneapolis (1), Cedar Mountain (1) and Morris (1).

But some students also left Osakis to attend other schools. Sixty-one students who live in District 213 sought other options for their education, compared to 73 last year. Of these, 18 are home schooled and 11 attend Lakes Area Charter School. Other districts attended are: Alexandria (17), Sauk Centre (13) and Long Prairie (2).

The home school numbers only include ages 7-16 and do not include any Amish families living in the district.

Although Osakis loses some students, open enrollment for the 2009-10 school year gave Osakis an additional 173 students on the first day of school.

Allen commended the staff, teachers and administration for keeping kids in the district.

“Competition for students is tough,” he said. “School districts are doing interesting things to get kids to choose their schools. Our staff is doing a wonderful job keeping kids in our district.”

The report also showed 49 students enrolled at St. Agnes School in Osakis, most of whom will come to the Osakis High School in 7th grade.

The census showed that Osakis Public School’s total enrollment was up with 790 students signed up to attend Osakis Public School on the first day. That’s 25 more than last year and an increase of 58 students in the past two years.

Allen highlighted census data for 0- to 4-year-olds – an age group they watch closely. According to the report, there are 72 4-year-old children.

What isn’t on the report, Allen explained, is 4-year-olds outside the district.

“If we’re at 25 percent or more open enrollment, can you imagine what that kindergarten number could be?” he said.

He added that the parents of 4 year olds in the district will receive calls in January to determine if those children will attend school next year since some parents opt to wait an extra year for kindergarten.

Merry Christmas!!

Pequot Lakes teachers ratify new contract with a 1/4 of a percent increase on salaries

Note: Pequot Lakes is near Brainerd, Minnesota.

Pequot teachers, district reach contract settlement
By JODIE TWEED
Staff Writer - Brainerd Dispatch

PEQUOT LAKES - The Pequot Lakes School Board Monday approved and ratified its agreement with its teachers for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years.

Superintendent Rick Linnell said the teachers' union voted and ratified the settlement last week. The contract calls for a .25 percent wage increase for 2009-10 and a .25 percent wage increase for 2010-11.

In previous contracts, teachers had to pay no health insurance premiumsunder an individual health insurance plan. Now under the new agreement, the district pays 90 percent and the teacher pays 10 percent. As with the previous contract, teachers insured under the family plan receive $1,800 a year toward the cost of their health insurance premiums.

Linnell said the matrix for step increases for teachers also was changed. In the previous contract, teachers received small step increases and then a larger boost at two different years for up to 25 years of service. Instead, the new contract spreads those step increases out throughout the course of a teacher's years of service at different incremental amounts.

Linnell said the total cost increase to the district for the wages and benefits settlement, including FICA and TRA increases, is about a total 3.76 percent over the course of two years. The district, like all Minnesota districts, has until Jan. 15 to ratify its teachers' contracts or face a loss of state appropriations. Linnell estimated the district would have lost about $45,000 as a penalty for not reaching a contract agreement.

"It was a difficult negotiations because of the economic status of the state and school district, but it wasn't difficult because of our negotiators," Linnell explained. "I have to give credit to our teaching staff. I know they weren't happy, they would have liked to get more.

But it's kind of amicable when both sides feel they didn't do a great job at it. It was a decent settlement for both teachers and the district in this economy. We're glad to have it done. Both sides are glad to have it done."

The Brainerd School District has yet to reach a contract settlement with its teachers' union, Education Minnesota Brainerd. The school board personnel committee met in closed session for three hours Monday to discuss negotiations strategies and planned to meet again with union negotiators Tuesday. The Brainerd district could lose about $200,000 in state appropriations if it does not reach a settlement by the Jan. 15 deadline.

Link for a weather update at Weather.com

http://www.weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/56334?phenomena=WS&significance=W&areaid=MNZ048&office=KMPX&etn=0008

http://www.weather.com/weather/alerts/localalerts/56334?phenomena=WS&significance=W&areaid=MNZ048&office=KMPX&etn=0008

Click on the link to read the National Weather Service update, posted at 11:50am on Wednesday morning.

Jaguars Wrestling drops a squeaker to Holdingford

The Jaguars Wrestling team fell to 1-5 overall in dual meet action going into the Christmas break after a tough 41-35 loss to Central Minnesota Conference rival Holdingford (1-1 CMC, 3-3) on Tuesday night.

The Jaguars had built a 35-26 lead through the 171 division, capped off by Travis Winter's 10-2 major decision, but the Huskers won the final three matches to steal the win.

Winter improved to 13-0 overall.

The Jaguars' next action is on Friday, January 8 at home with the Jaguar Invitational.

**A photo gallery has been started with photos from Santa Days in Belgrade last Friday night. The link is: saukherald.mycapture.com Then click on "News Photos 2009"

More will follow later today.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Uuf Da! This one sounds like a beast - Major winter storm coming to our area on Wednesday afternoon

Early reports suggest that a storm bringing 20 to 30 mph winds and 8 to 12 inches of snow will hit west central Minnesota beginning mid-afternoon on Wednesday.

**The National Weather Service issued the following information on Tuesday night:

A winter storm warning for central and southern Minnesota and portions of west central Wisconsin starting Wednesday night.

A significant storm system is expected to impact the upper midwest starting as early as Wednesday night and lasting into Saturday. Due to the strength of this system and the prolonged period for which the snowfall is expected, there will be major impacts for travelers.

Although there remains some minor timing issues and the exact storm track is not entirely clear, the large nature of this system and its expected high energy and moisture content will lead to a broad area of heavy snow with some sleet and freezing rain across the Upper Midwest. This storm system is so complex that it will bring several bouts of precipitation with this event.

The first bout is expected to develop Wednesday afternoon and spread northward across the upper midwest. This wave has abundant warm air associated with it so there may be a mixture of sleet and freezing rain as far north as South Central Minnesota and parts of West Central Wisconsin.

The second wave is expected to impact the area Thursday afternoon through early Friday morning with wind speeds increasing from the North.

The final wave will likely be the wrap around moisture which will occur Friday afternoon as the storm system begins to depart the region. The precise timing of each wave of significant precipitation is still uncertain.

Lighter precipitation will likely occur during any lulls. As the storm approaches, snowfall amounts will be further refined. Total accumulations will likely exceed a foot over parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Some good advice: Keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency!

Area prep results on Monday night

**The Jaguars wrestling team hosts Holdingford (2-3) in a Central Minnesota Conference dual meet on Tuesday night, December 22. The Jaguars are 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the CMC dual standings.

Monday night boys basketball results:
Minneota 69, YME 28
Ortonville 69, LQPV 67 OT

Games involving Sub-Section 6A-South boys basketball teams:
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 52, Lidgerwood (N.D.) 43
Hankinson (N.D.) 76, Underwood 39

Monday night girls basketball results:
MACCRAY 56, KMS 51
CMCS 67, Dawson-Boyd 55
Lakeview 47, RCW 38
Morris 52, Wheaton 50
Kimball 54, Paynesville 45 (Cubs are 5-2, best start since 2002-2003)
Watertown-Mayer 64, A-C-GC 60 (Falcons were 5-0 coming into the game before getting cooled off by the 5-1 Royals)

Games involving Sub-Section 6A-South girls basketball teams:
Battle Lake 46, Henning 32
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 52, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 50
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 60, Wilmot (S.D.) 35
Parkers Prairie 79, Browerville 29

More scenes from Belgrade's Santa Days

click to enlarge

Santa Claus visits Belgrade on Friday night! (Video clip posted below)

The Wold family provided horse-drawn wagon rides around Belgrade.




The father of this family, David Bendickson of Belgrade, is proudly serving our country in Iraq.

**The Jaguars girls basketball team played very solid in a 53-39 loss to CMC favorite Howard Lake-Waverly-Winted tonight. The game was held in Howard Lake. The Jaguars trailed by a slim 24-22 margin at the break. Both teams hit 17 shots from the floor, but the Lakers' won the free throw battle by going 14-of-25 compared to the Jaguars' five-of-eight tally at the charity stripe.

Central Minnesota Conference girls basketball results:
Rockford 59, Maple Lake 49 (Rockford is 2-0 in the CMC)
Kimball 62, Holdingford 60
Pierz 47, Eden Valley-Watkins 44 (Eagles' first loss in the CMC since losing to the Jaguars in last year's regular season finale on February 27, and only their second in the league since December 22, 2006; they are 2-4 overall)

Area girls basketball results
Albany 70, Milaca 42
MACCRAY 58, Lakeview 49
West Central Area 56, Barnesville 45
Worthington 63, Montevideo 40
Yellow Medicine East 52, Renville County West 29

Girls basketball results with Sub-Section 6A-South teams:
Brandon-Evansville 55, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 49
Parkers Prairie 65, Underwood 24 (Panthers are hands down the team to beat in 6A-South)
Ashby 69, Rothsay 44
Battle Lake 55, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 50
Bertha-Hewitt 75, Henning 42

Area boys basketball results:
Minnewaska Area 67, BOLD 65 (this game went down to the wire)
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 68, Wahpeton 48
West Central Area 80, Barnesville 75
Foley 70, Sauk Centre 59
Lac qui Parle Valley 78, Yellow Medicine East 55
Melrose 81, Mora 70
New London-Spicer 63, St.Cloud Cathedral 55 (Crusaders give Wildcats a battle)
St.John's Prep 50, Holdingford 43
Upsala 80, Kimball 51
Royalton 60, Ogilvie 48
Paynesville 79, A-C-GC 53
Rush City 69, Maple Lake 58
Norwood Young America 44, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 36
Becker 50, Pierz 48

This Jaguars sports update and B-B-E Christmas video brought to you by:

Jaguars Wrestling falls to Kimball and Browerville/Eagle Valley in home triangular

The Jaguars Wrestling team lost 49-19 to Kimball Area in a dual meet that also counts in the Central Minnesota Conference standings. They lost 40-25 in the second dual of the night, losing to Browerville/Eagle Valley, defending Park Region Conference champion.

Travis Winter (11-0) is still undefeated! He won by a pin in 5:24 against Kimball and then a tight 2-1 decision against the Broncos.

In the other dual of the triangular, Kimball Area defeated B/EV 50-24.

Up next for the Jaguars Wrestling team: a home dual meet against Central Minnesota Conference rival Holdingford next Tuesday, Dec. 22. The Huskers are 2-3 in duals, including a 46-20 loss to A-C-GC. It should be a very competitive match for the Jaguars.

Other area wrestling results: Paynesville Area 34, Eden Valley-Watkins 33 - Pierz 54, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 24.

Area boys basketball results
Canby 73, Dawson-Boyd 64
Lincoln HI 55, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 42
Holdingford 54, Royalton 35
Maple Lake 64, Onamia 27
St.Cloud Cathedral 83, Sauk Centre 52
Sartell 68, Melrose Area 62

Area girls Basketball results:
Sauk Centre 74, Foley 32
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 47, Melrose 35
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 55, Paynesville 22
Benson 52, Minnewaska 51
BOLD 55, Montevideo 50
Cedar Mountain/Comfrey 56, Buffalo Lake-Hector 5
Central Minnesota Christian 61, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 57
Dawson-Boyd 77, Renville County West 48
Lac qui Parle Valley 59, Morris/Chokio-Alberta 51
New London-Spicer 44, St. Cloud Cathedral 23
West Central Area 45, Hancock 43
Upsala 68, Swanville 20
Eagle Valley 38, Royalton 34

**Tonight, the Jaguars Girls basketball team travels to Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted to take on the preseason Central Minnesota Conference favorite Lakers in the league opener. HL-W-W is 3-2 overall and 1-0 in the CMC, having beat Pierz (1-3, 0-1 CMC) 66-54 in their CMC opener on Tuesday night. That game was held in Pierz.

More will follow later.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Jaguars Wrestling drops two at home triangular - other area scores posted below

Results from the home triangular on Tuesday night:
EV-Watkins 39, B-B-E 18
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 49, B-B-E 18
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 35, Eden Valley-Watkins 23

Senior Travis Winter continued his undefeated streak to start the season by earning a 6-3 decision against EV-W and a 44-second fall against A-C-GC. He wrestles at the 160-pound division.

Area wrestling results on Tuesday night:
Renville County West 46, Glencoe-SL 20
Marshall 63, Renville County West 15
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 70, Ortonville 3
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 50, Tracy-MB 16
New London-Spicer 35, Milaca 23
Minneota 73, MACCRAY 0
BOLD 48, Montevideo 12
BOLD 40, Benson 23
Benson 49, Montevideo 22

Area boys basketball results on Tuesday night:
Zimmerman 74, Maple Lake 57
Willmar 91, Fergus Falls 77
Marshall 64, Redwood Valley 44
MACCRAY 77, Central Minnesota Christian 57
Lac qui Parle Valley 67, BOLD 57
Paynesville 60, Yellow Medicine East 55
Buffalo Lake-Hector 52, New Ulm Cathedral 45
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 93, Renville County West 70
Morris/Chokio-Alberta 54, Montevideo 44
Dawson-Boyd 91, Lakeview 48
Minnewaska 76, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 47
Albany 62, Foley 45
Melrose 51, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 40
Osakis 63, Swanville 59
Upsala 68, Eagle Valley 47
West Central Area 56, Frazee 18

Area girls basketball results on Tuesday night:
BOLD 53, Renville County West 48
Litchfield 42, Mound-Westonka 39
New London-Spicer 52, Paynesville 22
Albany 62, Mora 45
Milbank 47, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 46
Sauk Centre 72, Osakis 29
St. Cloud Cathedral 56, Sauk Rapids-Rice 33
West Central Area 69, Frazee 64
Zimmerman 32, Maple Lake 28

Central Minnesota Conference girls basketball results:
Eden Valley-Watkins 50, Kimball Area 40
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 66, Pierz 54
Rockford 66, Holdingford 59

Area girls basketball results with Sub-Section 6A-South teams:
Hancock 46, Ortonville 28
Brandon-Evansville 51, Melrose 38
Eagle Valley 48, Henning 42
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 51, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 45

Area boys basketball results with Sub-Section 6A-South teams:
Hancock 86, Rothsay 37
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 60, Brandon-Evansville 40
Henning 65, Verndale 41
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 62, Ortonville 58
Underwood 55, Battle Lake 46

This Jaguars sports update is brought to you by:

Jaguars Boys Basketball leads early at Howard Lake 11-7, loses 77-64

A scene from the Minnewaska vs. B-B-E girls basketball game.


With 3 1/2 minutes gone in the game, the Jaguars boys basketball is leading Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 11-7. The game is being held at Howard Lake and is being aired on 106.5 FM out of the Norway Lake/Sunburg area.

The Jaguars trail 48-33 at halftime at Howard Lake. (ouch)

**At Minnewaska, the Jaguars girls basketball team trails the host Lakers 16-8 halfways through the first half.

**Update from Howard Lake at 8:36pm - the Jaguars are putting on a strong comeback effort, and with 2:27 left in the second half, they trail the host Lakers 67-59. HL-W-W has gone into a "stall" type offense. It'll be an interesting finish!

At halftime at Minnewaska, the Jaguars girls basketball team trails 30-22. They closed out the first half on a 10-2 run to get back into the game. The downside to the first half was their 4-of-14 performance at the free throw line.

**The Jaguars girls basketball team is trailing the Lakers 64-47 with under 2:00 left in the game.

The boys lost at Howard Lake 77-64. They now have a long break until January 5. Their overall record is 3-2.

The girls lost 68-47 to the host Minnewaska Area Lakers, while falling to 0-4 on the season. They open the Central Minnesota Conference season on Friday at Howard Lake.

More will follow in the morning.

This week's action for the Jaguars Varsity programs - The Train will cover Tuesday's boys basketball game at Howard Lake, Smooth Magic has girls game

Tuesday: Jaguars girls basketball (0-3) at Minnewaska Area (1-3 West Central South Conference, 1-3 overall) **This game will be aired on 107.1FM "Smooth Magic 107" of Glenwood, with Dave McClurg providing the sports broadcast.

Jaguars boys basketball (3-1) at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted. The Lakers are 0-2 coming into this week's action. **This game will be aired on 106.5FM "The Train" of Norway Lake/Sunburg, with Bill Dean and Don Leukam providing the play-by-play.

Jaguars wrestling triangular at home, including Eden Valley-Watkins and Atwater-
Cosmos-Grove City.

Thursday: Jaguars wrestling triangular at home, including Kimball Area and Browerville-Eagle Valley.

Friday: Jaguars girls basketball at Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (2-2 overall). The Lakers open their CMC schedule this Tuesday night against Pierz.

More will follow later tonight. 15-below zero will be the overnight low! Uuf Da that's cold.

Jaguars Wrestling earns two gold medals at Maple Grove Tournament

Seniors Brent Goodenbour and Travis Winter both won first place in their respective divisions of the Maple Grove Crimson Classic Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

As a team, the Jaguars placed fifth overall (113.5 points) in the 13-team event, with Cole Tensen and Ross Rath each taking second place. Central Minnesota Conference rival Rockford finished sixth with 111.5 points.

Team scoring at Maple Grove:
1 Maple Grove 192.0
2 Annandale/Maple Lake 154.5
3 Roseville 122.5
4 River Valley 121.5
5 B-B-E 113.5
6 Rockford 111.5
7 Park Center 93.0
8 Mahtomedi 91.5
9 Woodbury 90.0
10 Irondale 78.0
11 Mora 49.0
12 Rogers 46.0
13 Turtle Lake/Clayton 42.5
14 Maple Grove Invite JV 41.0

The Jaguars wrestling team has a busy week coming up, with two home triangulars on tap for Tuesday and Thursday nights. Both Tri's begin at 5:00pm.

More will follow later.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

This is an eye-opener

Minnesota State Economist Tom Stinson said. "We have the total wages in the country in 2009 declining by 4.5 percent. That is pretty impressive."

In Minnesota, total wages are down 5.5 percent.

I say, if you go into 2010 with no raise, no increase in pay whatsoever, you're lucky! And you should be thankful, and you definitely shouldn't gripe about not getting a raise.

Not only that, but because wages in the private sector are down, tax revenue to the state is down also - so therefore if your paycheck is tied to state funding, your paycheck definitely better not go up in 2010!

Plenty of...

Plenty of ice houses and 4-wheelers - and even a car on a lake by Alexandria - out on area lakes this Saturday afternoon this weekend. I guess it's nature's way of "thinning the herd"!

Saturday Prep results

Boys basketball results:
New London-Spicer 72, Sebeka 70 (Sebeka is one of the top teams in Section 5A) the Wildcats won the game on Erik Tengwall's three-pointer at the final buzzer - the Wildcats had trailed 70-67 with :08 on the clock

Girls basketball results:
Rockford 54, Mayer Lutheran 50 F
Sauk Centre 75, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 45

NL-S Triangular:
The Wildcats hammered Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 51-13, then beat Litchfield 63-4. A-C-GC topped Litchfield 59-3 in the other match.

Jaguars Wrestling gets dual meet season off to a great start, pummels Renville County West 52-21

Travis Winter earned a pin in 4:24 to cap a 52-0 run by the Jaguars to open the match at RCW.

The Jaguars (1-0) won the first 10 matches, while earning six pins and one forfeit along the way. They led 52-0 after Travis Winter's pin at 160.

The match was hosted by Renville County West, at their facilty in Sacred Heart. RCW is a member of the Camden Conference, as well as Section 3A for playoffs.

Ross Rath, Matt Schmitz, Daniel Rooney, Patrick Rooney, Adam Gregory, and Travis Winter all earned pins for the Jaguars, who travel to the Maple Grove Crimson Classic tournament on Saturday (Dec 12).

Area wrestling results:
Paynesville Area 45, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 17

**In a huge match up between two of the top teams in the Little Eight Conference and Sub-Section 6A-South, the Parkers Prairie Panthers pounded the visiting Brandon-Evansville Chargers 75-37 on Friday night. The Panthers (2-0) are ranked #4 in the Class A state polls, with the Chargers (3-1) sitting at #7 coming into the game.

Read a small story on the game at Craigolsonsports.com at the following address= http://craigolsonsports.com/newsarticle.php?yid=0910&nid=34567

Area boys basketball results:
Annandale 77, Maple Lake 61
Benson 82, BOLD 63
Buffalo Lake-Hector 69, Wabasso 61
New London-Spicer 83, Milaca 39
Litchfield 67, Eden Valley-Watkins 44
MACCRAY 81, Dawson-Boyd 60
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 58, Lakeview 56
Jordan 62, Rockford 51
Mayer Lutheran 74, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 36
Paynesville Area 63, Sauk Centre 51

Games involving Sub-Section 6A-South boys basketball teams:
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 61, Campbell-Tintah/Fairmount 41
Eagle Valley 57, Henning 52
Sisseton 56, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 51


Area girls basketball results:
Upsala 65, Osakis 55
Sauk Centre 74, Albany 49
Pierz 60, Zimmerman 45
Dassel-Cokato 68, Maple Lake 30
Willmar 62, Sauk Rapids 37
Delano 57, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 52
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 47, Minnewaska 35
Benson 64, Lac qui Parle Valley 39
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 67, Paynesville 46
Yellow Medicine East 42, BOLD 37
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 59, Lincoln HI 44
MACCRAY 69, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 38
Minneota 67, Renville County West 35
Canby 64, Dawson-Boyd 51
Litchfield 46, Eden Valley-Watkins 43
Buffalo Lake-Hector 84, Wvabasso 48
New London-Spicer 76, Milaca 16
Royalton 44, Swanville 36

Games involving Sub-Section 6A-South girls basketball teams:
Hancock 57, Montevideo 43
Ashby 44, Battle Lake 35
Henning 36, Verndale 33
Parkers Prairie 75, Brandon-Evansville 37
Underwood 53, Rothsay 34

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Santa Claus is coming to Brooten on Saturday!

This year's Santa Day in Brooten is set for this Saturday, December 12. The activities will be held at John O's Fine Dining and is sponsored by the Brooten Commercial Club and the B-B-E Boy Scouts.

This year's Old Fashioned Christmas of 2009 will start with a free one-hour long movie at 12:00 Noon, "Nester the Long-Earred Donkey."

Please remember to bring an item or a cash donation for the B-B-E Food Shelf.

After the movie, children can meet and greet Santa Claus from 1pm to 2pm.

The Brooten Bucks Christmas Drawing will take place at 2pm at John O's.

Jaguars Boys Basketball hammers Hancock 84-57, Girls Basketball tagged with third straight loss

The Jaguars boys basketball team improved to 3-1 overall with a sound thrashing of the visiting Hancock Owls (0-2). Eleven players hit the scoring column for the Blue and Silver.

The Jaguars boys basketball JV team defeated Hancock 64-36 in the earlier game.

Meanwhile, at the high school, the Jaguars girls basketball team fell to 0-3 overall with a 49-39 loss to visiting Ortonville (2-1). The Trojans were 4-19 last season.

It marks the first time since 2001-2002 that the girls basketball has opened 0-3.

Area boys basketball results:
Albany 65, Sauk Centre 49
Central Minnesota Christian 60, Renville County West 47
Minnewaska Area 70, Lac qui Parle Valley 48
Montevideo 73, Yellow Medicine East 29
Morris/Chokio-Alberta 98, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 46
Lake Park-Audubon 76, West Central Area 71

Boys basketball results involving Sub-Section 6A-South teams:
Ashby 58, Brandon-Evansville 41
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 55, Underwood 35
Osakis 49, Battle Lake 43
Parkers Prairie 65, Rothsay 35

Boys basketball results involving Central Minnesota Conference teams:
Big Lake 67, Pierz 63 OT
Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 46, Kimball Area 43
Albany 55, Holdingford 46

Area girls basketball results:
Buffalo Lake-Hector 52, Central Minnesota Christian 31
Melrose Area 49 9, Paynesville Area 34
West Central Area 75, Lake Park-Audubon 62

Games involving Sub-Section 6A-South teams:
Campbell-Tintah/Fairmount 54, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 51
Lidgerwood 55, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 45 OT

Area wrestling results:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 38, Paynesville 27

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Tonight's Jaguars boys basketball game vs. Hancock will be on Glenwood's Smooth Magic 107

Smooth Magic 107FM of Glenwood will be airing tonight's game between the Jaguars and the Hancock Owls boys basketball team. Pre-game begins at about 7:15pm.

You can tune in by dialing up Smooth Magic on the internet, the website link is: http://www.kmgk1071.com/

With a strong internet connection and Windows Media Player, you'll be able to listen anywhere in the world to the Jaguars via Smooth Magic's coverage.

The game will begin at about 7:55 due to a problem with getting an officiating crew on site.

While it is a non-conference game, a win by the Jaguars over Hancock would be another good step towards playoff success in their new sub-section. For the first time since 2004-2005, the Jaguars will compete in the Class A playoffs. They are now members of Sub-Section 6A-South, along with Hancock.

Actually... the game began at about 8:15.

After four minutes gone in the game, the Jaguars led 12-4.

With 3:00 left in the game, the Jaguars had built an 82-49 lead, with both teams having numerous reserves on the floor by that point.

The Jaguars ultimately won 84-57, in a game that they led buzzer to buzzer.

Hancock's interior defense was simply porous, and all night long the Jaguars were getting shots and dribble drives close to the basket.

More will follow on Friday morning.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

B-B-E Food Shelf Giving Tree seeking donations

The B-B-E Food Shelf has tags available for those wishing to donate a gift to a local child coming into the food shelf. The cards are available at the Bonanza Valley Bank, and both local branches of North American State Bank.

Please follow the card instructions and return the gift back to the bank with the original card attached by the due date.

Thanks to everyone participating!

Jaguars Boys Basketball wins thriller against Melrose 56-55

Junior forward Kevin Kuefler led the Jaguars with 24 points against Melrose.

The Jaguars boys basketball team won a thriller on Tuesday night, defeating visiting Melrose Area 56-55 in non-conference action. The hosts trailed 29-26 at halftime.

The Dutchmen, who were playing in their season opener, have seven seniors on the roster and are one of the top teams in the West Central North Conference.

With the big win over one of their neighboring rivals, the Jaguars improve to 2-1 overall heading into Thursday night's non-conference game at home against Hancock.

The Hancock Owls, who are now a sub-section rival for the Jaguars, fell 80-66 to Dawson-Boyd in their season opener on Tuesday night.

Quite a few noteworthy boys basketball "border battles" took place on Tuesday night around Central Minnesota. Talk about exciting atmospheres in these gyms when neighboring rivals meet up on the hardcourt. A state-ranked MACCRAY team whooped a depleted Yellow Medicine East squad 82-36 in Granite Falls. Little Falls won at home against Pierz. Redwood Valley won a shootout over BOLD in Redwood Falls. Holdingford drubbed visiting Royalton. All of the games I just mentioned were non-conference.

Now imagine the implications of a B-B-E vs. Melrose game that's a conference game? How cool would that be, having a home-and-away series with Melrose every year?

Boys basketball games involving Sub-Section 6A-South teams:
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 65, Underwood 30
Eagle Valley 61, Brandon-Evansville 56
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 68, Rothsay 37

Boys basketball games involving Central Minnesota Conference teams:
Delano 92, Rockford 43
Holdingford 58, Royalton 39
Little Falls 56, Pierz 42
Zimmerman 56, Eden Valley-Watkins 50

Area boys basketball results:
MACCRAY 82, Yellow Medicine East 36
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 81, Benson 46
New London-Spicer 99, Paynesville Area 52 (WHEW!)
Redwood Valley 78, BOLD 69
West Central Area 80, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 62
Osakis 56, Sauk Centre 54

Games involving Central Minnesota Conference girls basketball teams:
Dassel-Cokato 63, Kimball Area 56
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 65, Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 30
Monticello 68, Maple Lake 39
Rockford 60, Zimmerman 45

Area girls basketball results:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 50, Benson 45
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 60, Renville County West 38
Lac qui Parle Valley 42, BOLD 40
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 63, Milaca 23
MACCRAY 59, Central MN Christian 49
Melrose 49, St. Cloud Cathedral 47
Montevideo 73, Minnewaska Area 66 OT
New London-Spicer 78, Foley 20
Osakis 55, Royalton 39
Yellow Medicine East 46, Paynesville Area 44
Browerville 71, Swanville 35

Games involving Sub-Section 6A-South girls basketball teams:
Brandon-Evansville 53, Ashby 43
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 50, Lidgerwood ND 42
Milnor (ND) 51, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 34

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

This week's action for the Jaguars Varsity programs

Tuesday: Jaguars boys basketball hosts Melrose Area.

Thursday: Jaguars girls basketball hosts Ortonville at the high school. Jaguars boys basketball hosts Hancock. Both are non-conference games, but the boys game will have playoff implications as the Owls are members of Sub-Section 6A-South with the Jaguars.

Friday: Jaguars wrestling travels to Sacred Heart to face the Renville County West Jaguars in a non-conference dual meet.

Saturday: Jaguars wrestling travels to the Maple Grove Crimson Classic with a 9:30am start.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

A very good comment on the Albert Lea (MN) newspaper website, about a story on teacher contract negotiations

A link to the story is here:
http://www.albertleatribune.com/news/2009/nov/11/teachers-contract-still-unresolved/

I simply can't believe the teachers. Period!!!! Who do they think they are???? We are coming out of a deep recession. Our economy is shaky at best. Plants, businesses, shops are closing. Peoples jobs are being downsized or eliminated. Retirements, 401K's, 403B's have all taken a hit. People are losing their homes, possessions. The wise person understands that to have a job is a blessing and now is not the time to whine for more salary, more benefits, more retirement. Just who do they think pays their salary? Do these people actually believe they are not replaceable?

There are hundreds of teachers lined up to take each and every job here. One out of work teacher applied for a position in our area as did another 800 teachers. Further, ALMINN, thanks for doing some actual research. '75 you, are barking up the wrong tree. You say you have "3 degrees" - well buddy this ain't 1975 no mo, and everybody and their brother has degrees up the yum yum tree.

My education is in the medical field. Ya, lots of math and science. And ya, not everybody graduated because it was actually tough. Lastly, for those out there that play the "emotional" card, you know, "its for the kids".....well let me respond. If it was really for the kids, every teacher would think about the burdens so many of their students come to school with each day. Unemployed parents, parents homes being foreclosed upon, parents pensions downsized or eliminated, money problems this recession has fostered. Angry households, negative circumstances, sad kids. And you, the teachers want more. Want those with decreased or lost incomes to pay for your bigger salaries, huge benefits and pensions that no one else can even come close to. How do you expect these people pay more taxes? How can the teachers even look those students in the eye and not feel guilt. Not feel that you are using those kids?

Results from the Jaguars Wrestling Invitational - Blue & Silver take fifth place ahead of Holdingford, Willmar, & WCA

Senior Cole Tensen took third place in a tough 145-pound bracket for the Jaguars.

The Jaguars wrestling team had a great showing on Friday night at their season-opening invitational.

Team results:
1. New London-Spicer 208.5
2. Eden Valley-Watkins 177
3. Yellow Medicine East 165
4. Browerville-Eagle Valley 104
5. (B-B-E) 99
6. Holdingford 81.5
7. Willmar 79
8. West Central Area 64

Travis Winter won gold in the 160 pound division to lead the Jaguars, while five other Jaguars all earned a Final Four placing.

Final Four results will be published in Tuesday's Sauk Centre Herald.

Up next for the Jaguars wrestling team: a Friday night (Dec. 11) trip to Sacred Heart for a dual meet against Renville County West.

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Area basketball results from Saturday - Jaguars Boys are nipped by Glenwood City

Lauren Anderson and Julie Hieserich, shown in action at Benson, led the Jaguars at the FibroMinn Invitational.

The Jaguars boys basketball team was nipped in a 48-46 loss in the championship of the Tip-Off Classic at K-M-S on Saturday night. They narrowly missed starting the season 2-0, a feat that hasn't been done since December 2004.

The Jaguars girls basketball team fell 63-57 to Estherville, Iowa at the FibroMinn Invitational at Benson on Saturday night.

Breakdown Girls Tip Off Classic Extravaganza result:
Sauk Centre 62, Maranatha Christian 50

Area boys basketball results on Saturday:
New London-Spicer 64, ROCORI 60
Kimball 67, ECHO charter 15
Bertha-Hewitt 62, Royalton 53

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

Jaguars Boys Basketball wins season opener with a 70-53 thrashing of A-C-GC

The Jaguars boys basketball team avenged one of their few regular season losses last year with a convincing 70-53 beating of Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. The game was the opening matchup of the Fourth Annual Tip-Off Classic, held at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg high school.

Junior standout forward Kevin Kuefler led the offensive charge for the Jaguars, netting 13 of his 20 points in the second half. After leading 33-30 at halftime, the Jaguars outscored the Falcons 37-23 in the second half to run away with the game.

UP NEXT for the Jaguars boys: Glenwood City (Wisconsin) at 3:00pm today (Sat) at the K-M-S High School in the championship of the Tip-Off Classic. The Jaguars have never won this event in its three years, so it's a huge chance for this year's team to gain some extra early-season momentum.

The Jaguars girls basketball team fell to MACCRAY 49-42, just a few miles to the west of K-M-S, in the FibroMinn girls basketball invitational at Benson High School.

UP NEXT for the Jaguars girls: Estherville (Iowa) at 6pm tonight (Sat) in the championship of the FibroMinn Invitational, held at Benson High School.

Area boys basketball results:
Holdingford 50, Swanville 46
Maple Lake 66, Norwood-Young America 53
Sibley East 70, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 46
West Central Area 77, Ulen-Hitterdal 60
Upsala 80, Verndale 48
New London-Spicer 78, Litchfield 67
Staples-Motley 63, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 47
Albany 73, Minnewaska 48
Willmar 69, Hastings 65
MACCRAY 67, Canby 49
Glenwood City 69, K-M-S 45
Morris Area/Chokio-ALberta 57, Osakis 26

Area girls basketball results:
West Central Area 72, Ulen-Hitterdal 34
Mayer Lutheran 65, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 63 OT
New London-Spicer 57, Albany 44
Melrose 41, Milaca 34
BOLD 44, Paynesville Area 33
Kimball 36, Royalton 28 (Cubs are 2-0)
Maple Lake 56, Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 47 (Irish are 2-0)
Little Falls 47, Pierz 46 (Pioneers fall to 0-2)
YME 65, Minnewaska 50
LQPV 48, Montevideo 45
Benson 67, Estherville 56
Litchfield 63, St. Agnes 35
Worthington 70, Redwood Valley 46
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 58, Lakeview 53 (K-M-S is 2-0)

Scores involving Section 6A boys teams:
Ashby 70, New York Mills 59
Battle Lake 58, Frazee 44
Henning 48, Underwood 47
West Central Area 77, Ulen-Hitterdal 60
Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 54, Brandon-Evansville 28

Scores involving Section 6A girls teams:
Barnesville 51, Breckenridge 42
Hawley 59, Lake Park-Audubon 33
Ortonville 57, Lincoln HI 24
Underwood 36, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 34
West Central Area 72, Ulen-Hitterdal 34

This Jaguars sports update brought to you by:

The Christmas season is here!

Area teams found on Top 10 Boys Basketball presesason rankings

MACCRAY, New London-Spicer, Willmar and Morris/Chokio-Alberta will make their boys basketball season debuts in the Top 10 polls of the A, AA, and AAA classes.

MACCRAY is the top-ranked team in Class A in the preseason ranking by Minnesota Basketball News.

NLS is #2 in Class AA, Morris/CA is #7 in AA and Willmar is #6 in AAA.

Christmas sights around B-B-E

NL-S throttles Eden Valley-Watkins in girls basketball opener

The Wildcats opened up a 28-10 lead with under 10 minutes left in the second half.

The final score was 42-15. (Ouch!)

With the win, NL-S head coach Mike Dreier picked up his 700th career victory in his 32nd year at the helm of the Wildcat program. Dreier is the winningest girls basketball coach in state history. His closest competitor is current Rochester Lourdes coach Myron Glass, who has a 631-91 record. Dreier also has guided teams to the state tournament 14 times, winning state titles in 1997 and 2002 and finishing as runner-up five other times (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2001).

Last year's state tournament run ended a playoff drought where the Wildcats did not get out of their sub-section since 2005. That year, they fell to Rockford in the Section 5AA finals, then went 1-1 in the playoffs the next two seasons. In 2008, they lost to eventual state champion Albany 42-37 in the Sub-Section 6AA-East finals, then had a strong playoff run last season that ended in the Class AA Final Four.

With four starters back from last year’s team that went 31-2 and placed third in the Class AA state tournament, NL-S led 20-7 at halftime tonight and outscored Eden Valley-Watkins 22-8 in the second half.

Area girls basketball scores on Tuesday night:
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 38, Montevideo 37
Benson 65, Yellow Medicine East 52
Brandon-Evansville 50, Osakis 15
Canby 61, MACCRAY 57
Cedar Mountain/Comfrey 60, Redwood Valley 40
Central MN Christian 53, Lincoln HI 30
Hancock 43, Battle Lake 33
Hawley 61, West Central Area 49
Holdingford 48, Royalton 31
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 55, Watertown-Mayer 36
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 54, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 43
Kimball Area 52, Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 40
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 61, Albany 57 (LP-GE's first win over Albany in a long time)
Maple Lake 52, St. John's Prep 32
Marshall 61, Renville County West 23
Melrose 48, Foley 34
Minneota 73, Dawson-Boyd 57
Minnewaska Area 58, Lac qui Parle Valley 52
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 51, BOLD 38
Rockford 58, Delano 55
Sauk Centre 60, Paynesville Area 22 (Ouch!)
Wadena-Deer Creek 58, Pierz 49

Tonight, Tuesday night, tune in to 106.5FM "The Train" to listen to NL-S vs. Eden Valley-Watkins girls basketball

It is the season opener for both teams, a rivalry that dates back to the 1970s between two area girls basketball powers. They have met in the season opener since at least the mid-1990s, from my recollection.

Bill Dean and Don Leukam will provide the radio coverage, with pre-game beginning at about 7:15pm.

In another season opener, Sauk Centre is at Paynesville tonight in a West Central inter-conference clash. Beginning two seasons ago, Paynesville was switched to the South half of the WCC, with Sauk Centre remaining in the North half.