Black ice

Spread the word! Black ice on Highway 55. Probably other roads too.

It's gonna be a rough night out there.

The day that was our Sunday started out pretty peaceful across the Bonanza Valley. Mild temperatures and no wind.

*Below, video from the end of worship at West Lake Johanna Lutheran church this morning:


Be safe out there!

Another round

Looks like another round of snow is coming our way! Snowmageddon II? It's predicted to begin around 19:00 tonight.

Time will tell!

Willmar Classic

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated MACCRAY this afternoon in Willmar by a 65-49 score. They led 61-43 with 1:20 left and traded baskets with the Wolverines in the closing minutes. B-B-E led by as many as 10 points in the first half before going into the break ahead 26-25. They quickly asserted themselves in the opening minutes of the second half and finished strong.

For the game, the Jaguars shot 42 percent from the floor and nailed 16 of 18 free throws.

MACCRAY falls to 4-7 overall; they're in a tailspin of sorts, and on Friday they lost 86-61 to an undefeated (9-0) BOLD team.

**Here's video from the second half today:

Up next: the Jaguars (4-2) travel to Hancock to face the undefeated Owls (6-0) on Thursday, January 3. Head coach Cory Bedel of Hancock was at Willmar getting a scouting report. It will be a great match up!

That is all for the evening. Time to take another stretch of hours off! It appears that another snow storm is coming our way for Sunday/Monday. Yikes.

Area boys' basketball scores on December 29:
Cedar Mountain/Comfrey 79, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 64
St. Peter 61, Eden Valley-Watkins 60
Pelican Rapids 74, West Central Area 57
Lac qui Parle Valley 78, Southwest Christian 75
New London-Spicer 85, Willmar 76 (Brandon Adelman has 42 points for the Wildcats!)
BOLD 86, Central MN Christian 45
Hermantown 81, Minnewaska Area 70
Dawson-Boyd 77, Murray County Central 68
Rocori 74, Blake 67
Osakis 61, Paynesville Area 43
Little Falls 56, Upsala 44
Minneota 78, Springfield 75 (battle of the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in Class 1A)
St. Cloud Cathedral 68, Melrose Area 67
Hawley 71, Sauk Centre 63

Area boys' basketball scores on December 28:
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 74, Windom 47
BOLD 86, MACCRAY 61
Eden Valley-Watkins 58, Proctor 54
New London-Spicer 70, Central MN Christian 54
Willmar 77, Southwest Christian 70
West Central Area 80, Underwood 42
Braham 64, East Central 50
Melrose Area 61, Concordia Academy 38
Albany 67, Holdingford 53

##ConquerEveryDay

Marquee win

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team just knocked off No. 5-ranked Goodhue! They won by a 46-44 final score. The Wildcats are the real deal! As a team, the Jaguars shot a red-hot 55 percent from the floor and nailed five of eight three-point shots. They needed every single field goal, plus 11 of 18 free throws made, to overcome Goodhue's attack. Five Jaguars scored eight or more points with Jenna Dingmann leading the way (11 points, eight rebounds).

The Wildcats fall to 10-2 overall while seeing a nine-game winning streak end.

This is a huge win for our Jaguars! They take a 5-2 record into January. Next will be Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted (5-6, 2-0) on January 3 in a home contest. B-B-E is seeking their first conference win in three tries.

At Rogers, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team is holding in first place with the finals yet to come in a 19-team invitational! Numerous Jaguars will be going for first place in their respective brackets.

More to come after 6 p.m.

Update!! The Jaguars repeated as champions at the Rogers "Holiday Matness" tournament. They amassed 180 team points to defeat host Rogers, who had 159 points. In third place was a very good Becker team with 144 points. Osseo was fourth (139 points), and Elk River took fifth (115 points).

Canon Swanson (126), Tyler Bents (145) and Dylan Kampsen (152) all took first place. Many other Jaguars also took fifth place or better.

Next: the wrestlers gear up for a stacked Jaguar Invitational at the B-B-E high school on Friday, January 4. The January 3 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice will have a light preview of the top teams coming to town.

More to follow on Saturday morning. Stay warm and stay safe out there tonight!!

Game cancellation

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team's game scheduled tonight with LQPV in Willmar has been nixed.

The game against MACCRAY scheduled for tomorrow is still on and likely will take place. The roads are improving! Slowly!

Tip-off tomorrow at Willmar's Big Red Gym is scheduled for 3:45 p.m. (1:45 p.m. JV).

##ConquerEveryDay

Circulation

Here's circulation (subscribers and newsstand sales) for a host of area newspapers...something I'm working on for publication in an upcoming Bonanza Valley Voice.

Currently the Voice has a circulation of 1,600. Paid subscribers total 1,542 alone. I made "bold" the town newspapers who are nearby and similar in size to the Voice or smaller.

Albany 1,655
Appleton 1,445
Belgrade 750
Benson 1,447
Canby 1,507
Clara City 1,065
Dawson 1,538
Eden Valley 746
Elbow Lake/Hoffman/Herman 2,113
Foley 1,617
Glenwood 2,976
Granite Falls/Clarkfield 1,543
Kerkhoven 1,089
Kimball 1,088
Litchfield 2,520
Madison 1,676
Long Prairie 1,680
Maple Lake 1,176
Melrose 1,815
Minneota 1,283
Montevideo 2,954
Morris-Hancock  2,186
Osakis 745
Parkers Prairie 1,249
Ortonville 2,370
Paynesville 1,738
Redwood Falls 2,153
Renville/Olivia 1,632
Sauk Centre 2,216
Springfield 1,508
Staples 1,697
Starbuck 970
Tracy 1,503
Wabasso 519
Willmar Tribune 10,059
Wheaton 1,389
Dassel-Cokato 1,913
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 1,689
Delano 1,856
Hutchinson 4,189

• You could say right now we're chasing Paynesville, Melrose, Albany and even Sauk Centre. Our current goal is to become bigger than those nearby, neighboring newspapers!

Snow...and a win!

It appears we've gotten at least 10 inches of snow today across the Bonanza Valley.

It also looks like we'll only get another inch or so of snow tonight. However, the wind is blowing like mad (25mph or so) while the temperature is dropping towards 13 degrees by 7 a.m. tomorrow.

At Goodhue tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team defeated Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 54-21 to advance to the championship game. They shot 32 percent from the floor and made seven three-pointers; the halftime score was 28-13.

The Jaguars (4-2) now take on powerhouse Goodhue (10-1) on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The Wildcats are the No. 1-ranked team in Class 1A on the latest QRF scale. In the last Minnesota Basketball News state rankings released on Wednesday, Goodhue is ranked No. 5.

• Here's video from the B-B-E band's Christmas caroling on December 20 at the elementary school: https://bit.ly/2LCeun8.

##ConquerEveryDay

Happy moves on

Happy has left us.

"Happy" is the nick name for Donald Beyl, a member of the Brooten Class of 1942. Beyl passed away on Saturday. He was a three-sport Buccaneer athlete in his tenure at BHS in football, basketball and track.

"Happy" was featured in a Seniors View article in the Bonanza Valley Voice on June 24, 2015. It was written by Leandra Dalen, daughter of Pastor John Dalen and Lynne Dalen. Lynne Dalen is the head girls' golf coach at B-B-E.

From the article:

After growing up in Brooten, Beyl served in the navy in World War II on the ship U.S.S Brown. During his three years, seven months and eight days (Beyl recalls this number to a tee) in the service he traveled to a myriad of islands including the Gilbert Islands, Marshall Islands, New Guinea, Marcus Island, Guam, Manila, and the Philippines. After his military service, he worked countless part-time jobs in places like packing plants, mowing lawns, and worked with the post office for around 30 years. Beyl’s wife of 58 years, Jessie, grew up near Long Prairie. They raised two boys, James and Donald Charles, who live in Florida and Minnesota, respectively.

Donald Beyl funeral information:
Funeral services will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, January 3, 2019 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten with Pastor Stephen Bovendam officiating. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the church. Interment will be in the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery, Camp Ripley, Minnesota. Arrangements are with the Hoplin-Hitchcock Funeral Home in Brooten. 

Rest in peace, Donnie! He is now reunited with his wife Jessie, who passed away in October 2007.

• On another note, good luck on Thursday to the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team. They take on Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity in their first game of the Goodhue tournament at 5 p.m. LP/HT is 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the Minnesota Christian Athletic Association Conference.
• Also, a head's up on a couple upcoming New Year's Eve events, I don't have all the details in front of me...but Brink's Club 104 in Sunburg and the Belgrade V.F.W. are both having music entertainment on New Year's Eve next Monday night. I'll post more later.

Christmas

The oncoming Christmas and celebration of the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, has made news delivery a little jagged in the past few days.

I hope you are able to take in one or more local church services around the Bonanza Valley...or wherever you may be today and tomorrow. For local church service times, refer to pages 3 and 4 in the December 20 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

*Added Tuesday night, video of the Christmas Cantata Choir singing at Trinity Lutheran in Brooten on Sunday:


Merry Christmas to everyone out there across the Bonanza Valley area and beyond!

(VIDEO) Home dance comp - more video

This is the video clip featuring the B-B-E/Paynesville dance team's varsity jazz squad. They performed at the home dance comp on Thursday night.


And good morning, Bonanza Valley area! Where will you be attending church this morning? We're headed to Trinity Lutheran in Brooten. They're hosting a Christmas Cantata at 10 a.m. This was posted in the printed Bonanza Valley Voice in recent issues and on the website's calendar: Singers of Trinity Lutheran and West Lake Johanna Lutheran churches of Brooten will present a cantata Christmas Presence: a Gathering of Hope, Peace and Love on Sunday, December 23 at Trinity Lutheran church during the joint worship service that morning of Trinity and West Lake Johanna churches. The service begins at 10 a.m. The public is invited to enjoy this!

*Here's video from worship service this morning at Trinity Lutheran church in Brooten:

(HD VIDEO) Pep Band at state

Here's a video I found while wiping old photos and videos from the fall sports season...noticed this wasn't uploaded and posted. So here it is. The B-B-E Pep Band at state! The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team is in their pre-match drills before they beat New Life Academy of Woodbury on November 8.


You'll see more band photos in next week's issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice...members of the senior high band went around Brooten and Belgrade and the elementary school performing Christmas carols on Thursday morning this week.

On a different subject, here's the link to a video of the lighted Christmas parade in Brooten on December 8. The Santa Day activities in downtown Brooten, sponsored by the Brooten Commercial Club, brought terrific support and interest from the public. https://bit.ly/2RaIaNs

(HD VIDEO) Home dance comp!

*Below is Paige Benson, sophomore on the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouttes dance team, singing the National Anthem tonight prior to the home dance comp:


Here's video from the performance tonight of the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes JV jazz squad. They were No. 2 in the lineup of the JV jazz teams at our home dance comp.


It's a packed house! This is great! The Bonanza Valley Voice will be posting more updates later in the evening.

**Update: the Pirouettes JV squads earned both runner-up trophies!!

Area boys' basketball scores on December 21:
Upsala 81, Bertha-Hewitt 38 (five Cardinals land in double figures)
BOLD 112, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 82 (ACGC's Dawson Miller had 44 points, but BOLD remains undefeated)
Maple Lake 55, Pierz 41 (Central MN Conference game)
Paynesville Area 97, Yellow Medicine East 86 OT (Bulldogs went 28-35 at the free throw line; sophomore Corbin Froelich had 35 points on 11-18 shooting)

Melrose Area 76, Benson 55

Lester Prairie/Holy Trinity 61, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 59
Minneota 69, Canby 43
Eden Valley-Watkins 74, Foley 66
Ortonville 60, Brandon-Evansville 51
Browerville 54, Verndale 39

Minnewaska Area 49, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 37
Sauk Centre 66, Montevideo 53
Dawson-Boyd 84, MACCRAY 64 (after starting the year 4-0, MACCRAY has lost five straight)

Area girls' basketball scores on December 21:
Upsala 48, Bertha-Hewitt 41
Paynesville Area 36, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 33
MACCRAY 46, Dawson-Boyd 37
Sauk Centre 59, New London-Spicer 42

Parkers Prairie 55, New York Mills 31

West Central Area 86, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 62
Lac qui Parle Valley 62, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 37
BOLD 76, Springfield 58
Hancock 57, Ortonville 45
Central MN Christian 60, Renville County West 36

Redwood Valley 56, Benson 50
Swanville 57, Braham 50
Kimball Area 51, Maple Lake 43 (CMC game)
Foley 45, Pierz 33

##ConquerEveryDay

Wrestlers 2-1 at Quad

On Tuesday night at Holdingford, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team won two duals and lost one on criteria to improve their record to 4-1 overall. In a dual that will count in the Central Minnesota Conference standings, the Jaguars beat Holdingford 45-24. They also throttled Albany by a 54-21 score.

Against Litchfield, the Jaguars and Dragons tied on the scoreboard 36-36, but Litchfield got eight individual wins compared to six for the Jaguars.

B-B-E's next action is at the Rogers Holiday tournament on December 28. From memory, I believe it involves 19 teams.

*Don't forget! Thursday night this week! The home dance comp starting at 6 p.m., hosted by our B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team.

**Below, video from part of Big Grove Lutheran church's Sunday School Christmas program...back on December 9:


Area wrestling scoreboard from December 18:Osakis 48, BOLD 28
Paynesville 47, BOLD 22
Paynesville 36, Quad County 36
Paynesville 45, Osakis 34
Osakis 45, Quad County 36
BOLD 39, Quad County 32
LP-GE/Browerville 54, Aitkin 15
LP-GE/Browerville 48, Little Falls 15

##ConquerEveryDay

Prayers for Holdingford

Now that the December 20 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice is out the door and in newsstands, I can do some catching up on other matters. I wrote a little about the accident involving the wife of Holdingford's head boys' basketball coach. Unfortunately, she and her unborn child both died from the accident between her Subaru Forester and a semi tractor early Monday morning.

I'm not even sure where you go from that. God help me if I ever had to live through such horror.

Prior to last night's B-B-E vs. Upsala boys' basketball game, Coach Langer (the announcer) asked that everyone stand for a moment of silence to honor the life of Casey R. Myers (1988-2018) and the life of the Myers' unborn child Simon.

Here's their obituary found online: http://wjon.com/casey-r-myers-30-holdingford-and-infant-son-simon-c-myers.

That's all for now.

Area wrestling scoreboard from December 18:Osakis 48, BOLD 28
Paynesville 47, BOLD 22
Paynesville 36, Quad County 36
Paynesville 45, Osakis 34
Osakis 45, Quad County 36
BOLD 39, Quad County 32

Halftime against Upsala

At halftime tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is in a 32-32 tie with sub-section rival Upsala. The game is being broadcast on 106.5 FM The Train.

Final score: Upsala 76, B-B-E 75. The Cardinals improve to 2-3 overall, while the Jaguars fall to 3-2.

*Below, video from the closing seconds of the first half tonight:


Area boys' basketball scores on December 18:
Hancock 57, West Central Area 56 (Owls trailed 36-31 at halftime; they remain undefeated)
BOLD 66, Melrose Area 44
Annandale 62, Kimball Area 48
Pierz 80, Braham 58
Lac qui Parle Valley 82, MACCRAY 41
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 71, Minnewaska Area 67 (Lakers fall to 5-1 with their first loss)

Area girls' basketball scores on December 18:

Eden Valley-Watkins 70, Kimball Area 29 (CMC game)

Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 52, New London-Spicer 42

Litchfield 72, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 50
Parkers Prairie 70, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 35
Rockford 70, Maple Lake 42
MACCRAY 48, Hancock 31
Royalton 70, Upsala 44
Swanville 67, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 44
Lac qui Parle Valley 72, Ortonville 44

Minnewaska

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is hosting Minnewaska Area tonight in a non-conference border battle. In the last minute, the Jaguars have a 39-32 lead.

Final score: B-B-E 42, Minnewaska Area 35. The home team shot an ice cold 28 percent from the floor and made just one three-point shot out of 18 attempts beyond the arc.

The Jaguars climb above .500 to 3-2 overall heading into the Christmas break. Their next contest is on December 27 in Goodhue.

Minnewaska Area saw their four-game winning streak end; they are now 5-2 overall.

Video and area scoreboard coming later.

*Below, video from the final minute tonight in ultra-high definition format (you will need a modern-era browser and high-speed Internet to watch this in UHD):


Area girls' basketball scores on December 17:
Melrose Area 40, Paynesville Area 33
Brandon-Evansville 37, Hancock 36

##ConquerEveryDay

Advent service

You are invited!

You are invited to participate in Trinity Lutheran (Brooten) Church’s final Midweek Advent Service at Noon on Wednesday, December  19. The title of this year’s worship is “Praying with the Saints in Advent”. We are focusing on the commemorations that fall during the month of December. Commemorations “illuminate various aspects of the church’s life and mission through the lives of women and men who have followed Christ in succeeding generations.”

Trinity Lutheran of Brooten is located south of Bonanza Valley Lumber, at 141 Pleasant Avenue South.

Also, a reminder of a notice that was on page one in the December 13 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice: the Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa high school concert  (December 3) will air on KMGK (107.1 FM Glenwood) on Tuesday, December 18 at 1:30 p.m.!

Christmas!

I haven't uploaded any video from Saturday yet...I'll get that done today and swap out a clip or two with this one that was added earlier this morning:


Are you in the Christmas spirit yet?

*Here's video from Grace Lutheran Church in Belgrade last Wednesday night.


Time to get back to building the 18 or 20-page Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper for this week. I don't know how many pages it will end up being...but you'll find out on Wednesday or Thursday!

Tremendous success

The B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team had tremendous success over the weekend at two comps, one at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City and the other in Melrose. Their JV and varsity squads had multiple second- and third-place finishes. The ACGC comp had six teams, while the Melrose comp had 16 teams.

Don't forget! Their home comp is next Thursday, December 20 at 6 p.m. at the elementary school. It includes a total of nine teams.

More to follow. It's Sunday - time for church! Where are you worshiping today?

*Added Sunday night...here's video of last Saturday's lighted Christmas parade in Brooten: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/12/13/news/video-lighted-christmas-parade-in-brooten/765.html.

##ConquerEveryDay

(UHD VIDEO) ...and wrestling updates

Just saw this: Canon Swanson won his semifinal match at the Big Bear tournament today at Cass Lake-Bena high school. The score was by an 8-2 decision. Swanson faces senior Jake Andres of Pierz for the 126-pound championship.

At 145 pounds, Tyler Bents won his semifinal match by an 18-3 tech. fall (4:37)!

At 132 pounds, Tyler Jensen lost his semifinal match by a 7-2 decision; but in consolations, he won a 3-1 decision to advance to the third-place match (yet to be wrestled).

At 106 pounds in his consolation bracket, Walker Bents won a 15-2 major decision, a 7-3 decision and then a 5-2 decision to get into the third-place match. Walker then won that match by injury default.

At 120 pounds, Blaine Fischer went 1-1 in the consolation bracket, but he will wrestle for seventh place tonight.

All in all, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team has had a terrific showing in the Northland! They currently sit in a tie for sixth place with 103 points out of 39 teams in the tournament. Minnewaska Area is holding at fourth place with 122 points. LP-GE/Browerville is in eighth place with 99.5 points.

**Update: the Jaguars had two champions! Canon Swanson and Tyler Bents both won their brackets. Very impressive!!!

*Below is ultra-high definition video from the tail end of last night's boys' basketball game:


Today is a super incredibly busy day across the Bonanza Valley area! I hope you can keep up to everything that's going on! A few events were highlighted on page one of the December 13 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. As always, everything is outlined all throughout the newspaper. Fourteen pages this week!

Time to head to the Redhead Creamery!

And who else is headed to Goat Ridge Brewing Co. tonight? (Refer to pages 1 and 4 in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice).

##ConquerEveryDay

Wrestlers at Big Bear

Here's what I've gathered so far from the Big Bear wrestling tournament (39 teams) at Cass Lake-Bena high school. It's a two-day affair that started this morning! B-B-E is in this tournament for the third straight year. In the team standings, the Jaguars are in 14th place with 57.5 points. Detroit Lakes is in first place with 124 points. LPGE/Browerville is in seventh place with 72.5 points. Minnewaska Area is the surprise of the field, holding 84 points for fourth place.

106: Walker Bents won his first two matches before losing a 5-2 decision in the quarterfinals; he can still battle back to take third place.

113: Ryan Jensen lost his first match by a 9-2 decision to a sophomore from Frazee; he went 1-1 in the consolation bracket, but I am not sure of his status from that point.

120: Blaine Fischer won his first two matches before losing a hearbreaker in the quarterfinals in a 6-4 decision in overtime to fellow freshmen Cody Wienen of Thief River Falls; in the consolation bracket, he back still battle back for third place.

126: Canon Swanson has gone 3-0 so far today; he landed a spot in the semifinals by beating freshmen Landon Gode of Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Browerville by a 6-2 decision in the quarterfinals. Swanson faces sophomore Brody Ullyott of Detroit Lakes in the semifinals.

138: Taiton Lindner lost his first match by a 7-2 decision; he won his first consolation match by a 9-2 decision but then lost a 12-0 major decision to finish 1-2.

145: Tyler Bents has a 3-0 mark under his belt so far and is the third B-B-E Jaguar to land a spot in the semifinals; he won a 13-4 major decision, a win by fall (0:54) and a 12-6 decision.

For the remaining weights, I haven't studied all the results but learned that no other Jaguar is still in contention.

In total, five Jaguars will battle tomorrow: Blaine Fischer and Walker Bents in the consolation bracket; and Tyler Bents, Canon Swanson and Tyler Jensen are still in the championship bracket as stated above.

Time to head to the home boys' basketball game!

*Basketball update: the boys beat K-M-S, while the girls lost 46-36 at No. 4-ranked and undefeated Eden Valley-Watkins.

At Eden Valley, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team trailed 29-14 at halftime but played a superb second half against the Central Minnesota Conference-leading Eagles (5-0, 3-0. B-B-E (2-2, 0-2) was held to 32 percent field goal shooting for the game. The Jaguars were also limited to just eight free throw attempts in the game (of which they made three).

On the home court, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team led 40-23 at halftime over the 3-0 K-M-S Fighting Saints. They led 24-5 with 10:22 to go! Final score: B-B-E 66, K-M-S 45. The Jaguars had very balanced scoring with five guys at nine or more points. They were led by Ashton Dingmann's 17 points and Dylan Meyer's 16 points. The key difference in the game was field goal shooting: 43 percent for B-B-E and just 29 percent for K-M-S. *Fun fact: the 3-1 start for the boys is the best mark to open the season in three years. In 2015-16, the Jaguars started 5-1 on their way to a 16-13, Sub-Section 6A-South runner-up finish.

On the horizon for the basketball teams: the boys' basketball hosts Upsala (1-3) in a big sub-section match up on Tuesday. Prior to that, the girls' basketball team hosts Minnewaska Area (5-1) in a border battle on Monday. That Monday game will be in both radio stations, as was stated in the Bonanza Valley Voice on page 11 this week.

I haven't gotten any reports on the B-B-E/Paynesville dance team yet. The Pirouttes were at A-C-GC tonight for a six-team comp.

Central Minnesota Conference boys' basketball scores on Dec. 14:
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 74, Paynesville 57

Central Minnesota Conference girls' basketball scores on Dec. 14:
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 59, Holdingford 58
Pierz 64, Paynesville Area 22

Area boys' basketball scores on December 14:
St. Cloud Apollo 55, Willmar 51
Royalton 67, Swanville 45
Hancock 73, MACCRAY 50
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 75, St. John's Prep 70
St. Cloud Cathedral 56, Annandale 55
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 63, Sauk Centre 43
Osakis 70, Upsala 41
Benson 75, A-C-GC 71
Holy Family Catholic 67, Maple Lake 55
West Central Area 65, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 30
Ortonville 68, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 34

Area girls' basketball scores on December 14:
Melrose Area 50, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 46
New London-Spicer 71, Litchfield 56
Parkers Prairie 82, Battle Lake 41
Lakeview 47, Canby 43
West Central Area 73, Breckenridge 70
Central MN Christian 52, Dawson-Boyd 46
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 62, Renville County West 45
Sauk Centre 81, MA/CA 51

##ConquerEveryDay   

(VIDEO) Undefeated

Although it's rare, every now and then I can throw some attention towards junior high sports. Here's a video of the end of yesterday's 8th grade girls' basketball game against Eden Valley-Watkins. It's a rematch of last Saturday's junior high Central Minnesota Conference tournament finals. Both games were won by B-B-E, with last night's game going our way by a 33-21 score.

A B-B-E parent mentioned that three of EV-W's eighth graders are playing "up" on either JV or varsity. So B-B-E's eighth grade team was't facing the full force of EV-W's program at this level. Regardless, it's a great accomplishment to win their CMC title and also go undefeated so far this season...and certainly worth of some future newspaper ink! I believe they wrap up the regular season next week.

*Here's the clip:


Today, all four B-B-E varsity teams are in action: dance, boys' and girls' basketball and wrestling. Read more on all four in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice!

*Today! Remember! Bank Christmas open houses in Belgrade (Kensington Bank, formerly North American State Bank) and Brooten (Bonanza Valley State Bank)! Busy busy busy!

##ConquerEveryDay

Huge road win! And basketball round up

...and perhaps some wrestling too, if I can get a good look at wrestling scores for the week.

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team picked up a terrific road win tonight at Holdingford to open the Central Minnesota Conference schedule. After holding a slim 24-22 lead at halftime, the Jaguars had a dominant second-half performance on their way to a 59-47 win. The Jaguars shot 62 percent from the floor in the second half after shooting at a 40-percent clip in the first half. The win avenges a tough 52-50 loss on Holdingford's court to close out the regular season last March. The Huskers won that game on a three-pointer cashed with just five seconds left.

Holdingford falls to 1-4 overall.

B-B-E (2-1) has a very short turnaround when they host Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg tomorrow night in a rivalry border battle. At stake will be simple bragging rights, but they're important too!

K-M-S was 2-0 heading into their road game at Prinsburg tonight in Camden North Conference action.

Area boys' basketball scores on December 13:
Albany 64, Melrose Area 54 (a huge border battle win for Albany)
Litchfield 72, Paynesville Area 56
Battle Lake 60, Underwood 20
Ashby 53, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 33
Foley 67, Pierz 47
New London-Spicer 60, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 52
Dawson-Boyd 77, Lac qui Parle Valley 56
Canby 54, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 51
Minnewaska Area 75, Montevideo 63

Area girls' basketball scores on December 13:
Litchfield 88, Paynesville Area 37
New London-Spicer 81, Benson 39
Watertown-Mayer 78, Maple Lake 34
Foley 51, Kimball Area 47
BOLD 55, Montevideo 43
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 63, Browerville 53
Henning 64, Sebeka 51
Verndale 57, Pillager 39
Royalton 71, Osakis 43
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 53, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 29
Swanville 47, Upsala 25

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on Dec 11:
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 64, Paynesville Area 53
Pierz 51, Maple Lake 45

Area girls' basketball scores on December 11:
Annandale 62, Kimball Area 29
Parkers Prairie 67, West Central Area 58
Underwood 49, Henning 47 OT
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 61, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 20
BOLD 71, Benson 41
Upsala 49, Verndale 42
Menahga 62, Pine River-Backus 57
Hancock 58, Dawson-Boyd 31
Sauk Centre 58, Montevideo 39
Minnewaska Area 67, Melrose Area 47
Springfield 58, New Ulm Cathedral 44

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on Dec. 11:
Eden Valley-Watkins 70, Kimball Area 46

Area boys' basketball scores on December 11:
Minnewaska Area 63, New London-Spicer 61 OT
Staples-Motley 50, Swanville 43
Pequot Lakes 75, Pierz 64, Ashby 60, Battle Lake 38
Brandon-Evansville 56, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 51
Annandale 69, Maple Lake 42
Hancock 70, Underwood 42
Paynesville Area 99, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 95 OT (WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Renville County West 65, Dawson-Boyd 57
Sauk Centre 77, Holdingford 62
Osakis 67, Browerville 41
Royalton 70, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 60
Isle 58, East Central 54
Upsala 64, St. John's Prep 57

Christmas open house(s)

Our local banks are busy this week! Kensington Bank, formerly North American State Bank, has their Christmas open house today in Elrosa. Tomorrow they'll have the same in Belgrade. (Their large color ads were printed on the back pages of my December 6 and December 13 issues.)

So you can thank Kensington Bank for getting color ink in these two important issues! (And Central Minnesota Seeds in the Dec. 6 issue, and Hopeful Hills Ranch in the Dec. 13 issue)

I hope to see some of you today in Elrosa. I'll be at Kensington Bank shortly after 12:30 p.m.

Also tomorrow, Bonanza Valley State Bank in Brooten has their Christmas open house. Their large advertisement was on page 7 in the December 6 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice and on page 7 as well this week.

And! Tomorrow and Saturday! Don't miss out on Hopeful Hills Ranch's Christmas open house over the next couple of days. Their large, color ad appeared on the back page of today's issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. For your convenience, we have posted a web article with details on their open house. Randy and Jane Fauskee, who own and operate Hopeful Hills Ranch, are very loyal and reliable supporters of the Bonanza Valley Voice as well as the Brooten business community in general. (Randy also owns and operates Fauskee Oil, Inc. in Brooten.) Anyway, here's the link to find that article at the Bonanza Valley Voice website: https://bit.ly/2zWQNRK.

The website for Hopeful Hills Ranch is: https://www.hopefulhillsranchalpacas.com.

##ConquerEveryDay

Basketball updates

At halftime in their Central Minnesota Conference opener, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is trailing 25-22 to Holdingford. Final score: Holdingford 60, B-B-E 52.

At their home game tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team lost 65-45 to Ortonville to fall to 1-1 overall. They travel to Holdingford this Thursday for the Central Minnesota Conference opener. Tonight at Sauk Centre, the Huskers lost 77-62 to fall to 1-3 overall. They beat Upsala on the road last Saturday.

*Below, a clip from late in the second half of the Ortonville game tonight:


Freshmen Ashton Dingmann led the Jaguars with a career-high 25 points.

(VIDEO) Worship service - December 3

*Here's the reading of the lessons, the Gospel and the sermon by Pastor Steve Bovendam at Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten on December 3:


More to come!

Sharing a first time...I'll probably re-post this later this coming week. Here's a short iMovie video and light coverage of the Santa Claus visit to Elrosa this weekend (click the link): https://bit.ly/2C1a5Xy.

I'll share this link again, and this was also printed on page 7 in last week's Voice...here's a story on the upcoming Hopeful Hills Ranch open house in Lake Johanna Township: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/12/06/business/hopeful-hills-ranch-open-house-is-december-14-andamp-15/763.html.

**ConquerEveryDay

SUBMITTED WITHOUT COMMENT

You can bet your bottom dollar that I have a great deal to say about this principal in next week's issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice:


I'll say one thing: I am thankful that I can say "Merry Christmas" to anyone I encounter in my town and not start an argument.

Another tournament win: this is a big one!

The B-B-E Jaguars wresting team had what the sports world calls a "statement" win today! They came out on top at the Grant County Invitational. They edged runner-up Ottertail Central by eight points, 213 to 205 points. In summary, the Jaguars had seven finalists, five individual champions and 12 placewinners.

This is a tremendous day for the wrestling team! I want to get a few area wrestling and basketball scores posted from the past couple of days. The weekend has been very hectic with Santa Claus visiting both Elrosa and Brooten, and much of my office/administrative work has taken a beating.

Wrestling notes from the area:
Minnewaska Area had a strong showing at the 11-team Big Lake Invitational on Saturday. The Lakers took third place behind champion Sartell-St. Stephen and runner-up Big Lake.

After day one of the Paul Bunyan Invitational, Pierz sits in fourth place out of 13 teams; they trail Brainerd, Frazee and Foley.

Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg took third place (135.5 points) out of six teams in Willmar on Friday. Willmar was champions (243 points), while St. Cloud Tech took second (141.5 points).

Area boys' basketball scores on Friday, Dec. 7:Litchfield 62, Eden Valley-Watkins 53
Annandale 48, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 46
BOLD 79, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 61
Pierz 61, Little Falls 56 (this is Pierz's first win over Little Falls in 10 years)
Kimball Area 41, Dassel-Cokato 32
St. Cloud Cathedral 87, Maple Lake 58
Paynesville Area 71, Benson 56
MACCRAY 81, Central Minnesota Christian 61
Hancock 91, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 65
Lac qui Parle Valley 96, Renville County West 68
Melrose Area 70, Montevideo 64
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 60, Dawson-Boyd 56
Minneota 82, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 45
Ortonville 73, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 33

Area girls' basketball scores on December 7 and 8:Minnewaska Area 49, Lakeview 40
Holdingford 68, Upsala 42
Foley 71, Holdingford 48
Willmar 61, Sartell-St. Stephen 23
K-M-S 59, Central MN Christian 50
Osakis 49, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 43
Minnewaska Area 64, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 49
Upsala 72, Browerville 52
Pierz 58, Little Falls 19
Royalton 67, Swanville 58

##ConquerEveryDay

Wrestling triangular, basketball opener

The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team blasted host Paynesville Area to kick off the dual campaign of the 2018-19 season.

Final: B-B-E 49, Paynesville 27. Both teams won by pin, from 145 to 285. Eight pins in a row, with each team getting four each.

They will face Kimball Area later tonight on the mats in Paynesville.

**Here's video from the 138-pound match. B-B-E's Taiton Lindner had a performance for the ages against state-ranked Shawn Rue. Rue hit the mat in this match looking for a pin and six team points; he settled for a 4-0 decision and just three team points.


*Update: the Jaguars won 52-30 in their second dual of the night! It was an exciting way to finish the triangular! Kimball Area is in Section 4A, but it's still huge in terms of Central Minnesota Conference standings.

B-B-E heads to Barrett tomorrow (West Central Area high school) for the 14-team Grant County Invitational (9:30 a.m.). More will be posted later tonight, including light video highlights.

At Swanville tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team dismantled the host Bulldogs in their season opener by a 67-30 score after leading 37-10 at halftime. It was a magnificent way to break in three new starters and a totally revamped lineup on the heels of graduating eight seniors. Five players scored eight or more points, with Evan Wiener leading the way with 15 points on terrific six-of-10 field goal shooting, three assists and eight rebounds.

Swanville falls to 0-3; they were led by senior guard Austin Lemke's 14 points. The Bulldogs shot just 28 percent on field goals (11-of-39) and had 20 turnovers compared to 54-percent field goal shooting for B-B-E and just 11 turnovers. Next: the Jaguars host Ortonville on Tuesday, December 11 in the home opener.

**Don't forget: as announced in recent Bonanza Valley Voice issues, the B-B-E/Paynesville Pirouettes dance team will host their home comp on Thursday, December 20. Action begins at 6 p.m. at the B-B-E elementary school. Come out and show your support!

##ConquerEveryDay

(HD VIDEO) Home opener basketball action

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team had one of their most successful home openers in program history. Their margin of victory may be the best they've ever had in a home opener.

**Below is video from the second half as Coach Anderson continued subbing down.


I still haven't seen a Holdingford vs. Eden Valley-Watkins girls' basketball score from this past Tuesday night. That's just unbelievable. Two days and nothing posted at Minnesota-Scores.net, Twitter or the MSHSL websites. I'll check with my sources at neighboring newspapers.

This was a very interesting letter to the editor I uncovered tonight from 2012. I'm re-posting it below. The direct link is here, although the Albert Lea newspaper website threw up some very annoying advertisements and auto-play videos. (Not a fan)
https://www.albertleatribune.com/2012/07/does-usc-want-to-be-mcleod-west

Do you want irony? Boat loads of irony: farmers in the now-defunct McLeod West school district paid higher taxes after McLeod West school district was killed than if the levies had passed and the school stayed in operation.

Let that sink in for a minute.

Below is the text of the letter:

Does USC want to be McLeod West?

July 31, 2012

I want to share a real-life story about a school district much like United South Central — the former McLeod West district. I grew up in Stewart, a small farming community much like those in the current USC district. We had two grocery stores, meat market, bank, two restaurants and three gas stations. It was a nice little town. But not unlike most towns of its size it lost residents to larger towns and soon some of the shops closed and enrollment at the school declined. It was forced to pair with another school — our bitter longtime rival Brownton. The town of Brownton is a bit larger than Stewart, but both towns faced the same reality, declining populations.

The first years of this new marriage were rocky to say the least, fights between students, bitter feelings and tough growing pains. The new district McLeod West took years to form, but things worked and it turned into a nice school.

However, the towns shared the same problems, aging buildings, losing students to open enrollment and overall declining populations. Each school had done regular maintenance to the buildings, but their age was showing. Brownton’s building was built in the ’20s and still had asbestos in most of its areas. I could sit upstairs in my English class and shove pencils through the floor and hit people below. Stewart’s building, although a bit newer, was built in the ’30s and ’40s was in better shape but had its problems, too.

Both buildings needed major handicap-accessible upgrades, fire-code upgrades and overall structural upgrades. The fight started. Each town wanted the new building built on “their side.” Fights started over where it should be built, how it should be built and when it should be built. Bond issue after bond issue failed. Each side wanted the school in their town; they wanted it cheaper, or they wanted to remodel. Nothing worked. The “no” committees got bigger and bigger, with farmers from out of the district funneling money into the vote no campaigns. This went on for a few years.

The budget got worse for McLeod West. Enrollment went down. It was no longer one district; it was back to being Brownton versus Stewart. The state was stepping in, looking at both buildings. It was getting to the point of condemning the Brownton building. They made some upgrades to both buildings. Finally, the budget got so bad they were forced to close one building to save money. They closed the Stewart building. This infuriated the Stewart population.

The district tried one last time to build a new building. It failed miserably. The state stepped in, the Brownton building was no longer safe. The district disbanded and closed.

Turn to current day. Students in the northern part of the old district go to Hutchinson. The residents now added to the Hutchinson district have very little say in what happens. They just pay what they are now forced to pay.

The people in the eastern part of the old district were absorbed into the Glencoe-Silver Lake district. Same story as Hutchinson. You now do what the larger district wants; your vote means little.

To the south the kids were absorbed into the Gibbon Fairfax Winthrop district. This district has the same problems as McLeod West did, old buildings and big debt.

The western part of the district, the city of Stewart, was absorbed into the Buffalo Lake- Hector district. BLH actually changed its name to BLHS, Buffalo Lake, Hector, Stewart district. The only part of the leftover district that has got to keep its name on a school. However the same problems remain, old buildings and debt.

However, no matter what part of the old McLeod West district you live in, they still share one thing. Paying off the debt of a school district that is no longer there. My folks still live in Stewart. They are paying off McLeod West debt, paying taxes for the new Buffalo Lake, Hector District. As well as all the other county taxes. They pay one of the highest tax rates in McLeod County. Stewart has no stores, one bar and one gas station. The old school building is now a charity for feeding children, and they have planted soybeans on the old football field. There is not much left, no school and not too many business left. Think about what your no vote really means. You may save your taxes from going up now, but hang on, and wait to see what happens if USC goes away! Keep the district here, keep your towns alive. Vote yes Aug. 14.

Todd Husfeldt, Wells

##ConquerEveryDay

Home opener

In their home opener, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team has a 21-3 lead in the opening minutes over visiting Osakis. They led 14-0 in the game's first three minutes.

Halftime: B-B-E 39, Osakis 16.

Final: B-B-E 75, Osakis 31. Next is another home game one week from tonight against Holdingford.

That's all for tonight. Time to finish this week's newspaper before deadline!

Christmas concert was fabulous

Tonight's Christmas concert at the B-B-E high school was fabulous! Top to bottom, the bands and choirs were a real joy to listen to. The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper is currently devoting a great amount of resources to getting as many concert photos as we can into this week's newspaper. Some video will be posted here later tonight.

**Below is video featuring one song by the junior high choir and one by the junior high band:

Thank you to all the band and choir parents and the great support you give to B-B-E's Fine Arts programs. We could not do it without you!

*Tuesday update: remember that the home girls' basketball game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

##ConquerEveryDay

Concert tonight! and Monday notes

Don't forget! Coming tonight is the B-B-E high school Christmas Concert at 7 p.m. at the main gymnasium. Read more about it on page one of last week's Bonanza Valley Voice.

Also! This Saturday is the Brooten Commercial Club's Santa Day. Read more about that in this week's Voice and online at this link: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/11/29/news/santa-claus-is-coming-to-brooten/756.html.

Also, another announcement that didn't get in last week's Voice: the home girls' basketball opener that's tomorrow night (Tuesday) against Osakis will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

##ConquerEveryDay

Open House in Brooten

A real estate open house is being held today in Brooten, hosted by Integrity Home Investments. You can read about it on page 9 of this week's Bonanza Valley Voice. It is also shown here at the Bonanza Valley Voice website: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/story/2018/11/22/business/real-estate-open-house-in-brooten/750.html.


*Also, here's an advance press release on the 2018 Belgrade Santa Day:
https://bit.ly/2BMKthn. The web article features video and more!

Other updates on other local events will follow here after church. Thank you for your interest in what's going on across the Bonanza Valley area!

Where are you attending church today?

• Another item the Bonanza Valley Voice has been and will continue working on is rolling out Kensington Bank for our coverage area. Kensington Bank, formerly known as North American State Bank, has an open house coming up in both Elrosa (December 13) and Belgrade (December 14)...look for their large, color ad on the back page of the next two issues of the newspaper.

Area girls' basketball scores on Nov. 30 & Dec. 1:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 67, MACCRAY 34 (Benson tournament finals)
Alexandria 59, DeLaSalle 49
Stewartville 71, Sauk Centre 67 OT
MACCRAY 61, Ogilvie 57
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 47, Ashby 11
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 55, Dawson-Boyd 42
Pierz 47, Braham 43
Minneota 61, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 25
Lakeview 61, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 57
Norwood-Young America 62, Maple Lake 26
MA/CA 60, Benson 43

Area boys' basketball scores on Nov. 30 & Dec. 1:
MACCRAY 72, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 54
BOLD 74, Yellow Medicine East 38
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 81, Central MN Christian 75
Royalton 55, Holdingford 41
Litchfield 68, Maple Lake 52
Hancock 61, Parkers Prairie 59
Lac qui Parle Valley 68, West Central Area 60
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 64, Ortonville 57
Dawson-Boyd 80, Montevideo 39
Browerville 67, Bertha-Hewitt 50
Minnewaska Area 58, Redwood Valley 49

https://www.kensington.bank