(VIDEO) Gospel and sermon

Here's the Gospel reading, children's sermon and sermon from Trinity Lutheran church in Brooten last Sunday:


If you didn't already know, Easter Sunday is Sunday, April 21.

Busy Saturday coming!

A busy day is taking place tomorrow! Quite the day! There's a consignment auction in Sunburg, a customer appreciation open house/party at the Ka-De Shack in Brooten, plus a chili cook-off contest by the B-B-E Area Jaycees at the Belgrade V.F.W.

And! Last but not least, the local band Wasted Time will play at Rooney's Bar from 8 p.m. to midnight in Sedan.

Read more in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice.

In the March 7 issue, now quite old news, the Goat Ridge Brewing Co.'s March entertainment schedule was published. I'll post a recap of that tonight.

• I've got a column that I'm putting together based on thoughts I've had after reading this archived article at the West Central Tribune (short link) https://bit.ly/2YzurRc.

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, in a former life of mine, I was well-acquainted with the business community of Granite Falls and Montevideo. I remember visiting with an insurance agent from Montevideo who knew the whole story behind the crash and fire that killed Mackenzie Overlander, who was a senior at Dawson-Boyd high school at the time of her death. The story was truly horrific. I was haunted by what I learned.

Stories like that stop you cold in your tracks and cut you to pieces!

Moving on to sections

Nine members of the B-B-E speech team earned trips to the Section 5A meet after they took sixth place or better in the sub-section meet today.

Ethan Fischer earned a sub-section title, while Jeffrey Cihlar and Aynsley Preble each earned runner-up finishes in their categories.

Beyond the nine who earned sixth place or better, six B-B-E speech team members will attend the section meet as alternates after they placed seventh or eighth in their categories at subsections.

It's taken the entire winter to get to this point, but I'm finally caught up on getting winter sports photo albums completed at the Bonanza Valley Voice online gallery. Here's the direct link to check that out:
https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/BBE-Jaguar-winter-sports-18-19.

Outdoor track and field, speech!

The first outdoor track and field meet of the season is set for Thursday, April 4 at Minnewaska Area high school. The B-B-E Jaguars boys' and girls' track and field teams held their picture day on Wednesday under very mild conditions (temps hovered around 60 degrees) at our high school sports complex.

Also, track and field team captains were voted on by the team this week. Look for a photo of those five student-athletes in the April 4 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice.

And...can't forget to give a quick shout-out to the B-B-E speech team as they head to subsections on Thursday! The sub-section meet will be held at Annandale. B-B-E's speech team students got a huge chunk of front-page ink in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice. Check that out!

Lastly, I was asked and am happy to help out with a favor for the Sauk Centre Chamber of Commerce. They are holding a Designer Bag Bingo event on Saturday, April 13 at ElmerZ Convention Center in Sauk Centre. You can read all the details at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website by clicking here (short link) https://bit.ly/2WtqknH.

Huge, specacular news in Jaguar Country

This is really terrific news. The best! I was thrilled to find out tonight that Coach Dave Montbriand, now retired, has been selected to join the Minnesota Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this coming fall.

...here's a trip down memory lane. And what incredible memories they are!

Coach Montbriand shown with his team's Section 5A championship trophy at the former Jefferson High School in Alexandria on March 7, 2014. 

Coach Montbriand coached numerous sports with the Brooten Buccaneers and then the B-B-E Jaguars from 1985 until his retirement in 2018. Off the top of my head, those sports were football, girls' and boys' basketball as well as baseball. He was a head coach in baseball between 1991 to 1996 (baseball) and from 1990 to 2005 and 2008 to 2014 (boys' basketball).

Look for more coverage on this in a future issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

(VIDEO) St. Patrick's Day parade, choir concert

Better late than never...here's video of the St. Patrick's Day parade, hosted by the Padua Pub and many fine citizens from throughout the Padua area! Click on the link to view video from the parade at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://bit.ly/2Or9Iud (short link).

And click on the following short link to direct yourself to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website's web article that features video from the March 18 winter choir concert: https://bit.ly/2UaL0DE

The kids did a fantastic job! Their director, Diana Gertken, and their families should all be proud.

Jaycees Chili Cook-Off

The B-B-E Area Jaycees is excited about their upcoming 10th annual Chili Cook-Off contest. The fundraising event, dedicated to the B-B-E Area Food Shelf, will be on Saturday, March 30 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Belgrade V.F.W.

Read more about it here at the Bonanza Valley Voice website, including registration information! Get your team signed up! https://bit.ly/2VZBel4. This has been advertised in last week's Voice and will be in this week's Voice on page four.

And on another note...I came across this article while reading a New York Times column on another topic. However, this really stood out, and I find it important enough to share.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/technology/personaltech/facebook-deleted.html.

Deleting Facebook is something we should all do. It would be a very positive, collective step forward for our society.

Try it! You won't regret it.

Fish fry

I enjoyed the Knights of Columbus fish fry tonight at the KaDe Shack...went twice actually! First alone and then with family. The food was outstanding!

It's been a quiet week in the news and sports departments...trying to get caught up on a great amount of work that I've fallen behind on.

Lost in the shuffle was reporting on the Central Minnesota Conference speech meet, which B-B-E high school hosted on Tuesday night. I'll get on that this weekend, and also in next week's issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

(VIDEO) Senior high choir sings

Here's video of the senior high choir singing at Monday night's winter choir concert.


Photos from the concert were published in this week's issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

At the Class 2A state tournament tonight, I see that No. 4-seeded Melrose Area lost to No. 5-seeded Lake City by a 60-44 score. The Dutchmen, now 26-5 overall, take on St. Peter in the consolation semifinals tomorrow at 6 p.m. at Concordia-St. Paul University.

(VIDEO) Boys' basketball sub-section finals

Here's a Bonanza Valley Voice iMovie production featuring video clips from the final four minutes of the Sub-Section 5A-South championship game between the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team and the Hinckley-Finlayson Jaguars.

Needless to say, action was tense down the stretch!


It will rate as one of the more exciting playoff wins I've seen in 25+ years of watching B-B-E Jaguar basketball.

While I've got your attention here...this is a preview of what will be published in the upcoming Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. I am asking for help promoting this event! The B-B-E Area Jaycees does countless wonderful activities throughout Jaguar Country. Let's show our support by sharing this link! https://bit.ly/2VZBel4 (short link to copy/paste).

THANK YOU to our business sponsors of this video coverage! Bonanza Valley State Bank as well as Glacial Ridge Health System.

Step IV: section final contest

Here's where the final score and post-game notes will be posted later tonight.

**Final: 18th-ranked Cromwell-Wright 65, B-B-E 52.

The Jaguars gather one last time on the court after they received their runner-up trophy and medals.

After falling behind by a steep 51-34 margin with a little over seven minutes to go, the Jaguars found some spark and cut it down to 55-43 on a beautiful floater in the lane by Will VanBeck with 4:14 left.

Later the Jaguars cut it down to a 57-50 deficit heading into the final minute of play.

The Cardinals improve to 25-3 and head to state. Their star guard, No. 4 junior Micah Pocernich, who averages 19 points a game, tallied 37 points tonight to power his team to the big dance. He was dynamite. He buried seven three-pointers on 10 attempts beyond the arc. All you can do is tip your hat.

The next-highest scorer for the Cardinals was No. 32 Cameron Cahoon, a senior forward who had 12 points on five two-pointers and two free throws.

The Jaguars left it all on the court. I felt both teams gave it everything they had. It was a terrific ball game. Both fan sections were large, loud and proud. A fabulous atmosphere that had a state tournament berth on the line.

The Jaguars finish their best season since 2013-2014. It's been a hell of a ride!! They went 17-13 overall and 8-6 in the Central Minnesota Conference.

**Below is about a 10-minute long video that features second-half action tonight starting with about eight minutes left in the game. At that point, Cromwell-Wright led 49-34.


I see Henning won 60-58 to beat Parkers Prairie in Section 6A at UM-Morris. What magnificent game that had to be!!! Parkers Prairie led 26-21 at halftime, and the Panthers had a 10-point lead with just four minutes remaining. Crazy! Henning was on fire down the stretch.

That's all until closer to midnight. I am signing off to enjoy a late supper in Brainerd and then head home.

The winter sports season in Jaguar Country had its curtain call tonight. Yes, it was disappointing to lose, but we could not be prouder of the effort our Jaguars gave this season!!!

Note: in the previous blog post that had first-half updates, I've added video from tonight's game.

I see at the girls' basketball state tournament that Menahga lost 47-43 to Goodhue in one of the two Class 1A semifinal games today. What a game that had to be!

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 15:
No. 8 Henning 60, Parkers Prairie 58
Redwood Valley 74, St. James Area 49
Springfield 92, Minnesota Valley Lutheran 85
Perham 55, Barnesville 39
Ada-Borup/Norman County West 66, Cass Lake-Bena 56
Westbrook-Walnut Grove 80, Dawson-Boyd 72 (W-WG heads to state for the first time since 1994)
Melrose 52, Albany 51 (HOLY COW!!!!!!!! Can you imagine that game?) Congrats to Coach Duscha and his crew! They take a 26-4 record into the state tournament; they trailed by 11 points at halftime in this epic border battle!!!


And thank you again to our local business sponsors for helping provide the necessary resources to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports department!

Good night all...and remember to ##ConquerEveryDay. Our days are all special. Make the most of it.

Game updates from Crosby!

Section final game updates will follow in this blog post after 19:00 tonight.

With 2:21 left the Cardinals have a 30-19 lead.

After the Jaguars cut the deficit to 30-23 in the final minute, with Ashton Dingmann muscling in a shot on the left block with 45 seconds on the clock. Crowell-Wright's Marcus Pocernich was left open on the left wing, and the senior guard buried a very timely three-pointer with 22 seconds left.
B-B-E was unable to get a clean look in the closing seconds. Cromwell-Wright got a deflection on a pass near the top of the lane with about four seconds remaining to bust up the final play the Jaguars tried to run.

Halftime: No. 18-ranked Cromwell-Wright 33, B-B-E 23.

**Below, video from the last minute of the first half tonight in Crosby:



**Update: going into the last 100 seconds, the Jaguars trail 57-50. It's been a roller-coaster ride. The Jaguars have been fighting with everything they've got.


*Here's video from the end of the sub-section finals! The last 38 seconds of the game...


And THANK YOU to our local business sponsors! The Bonanza Valley Voice couldn't do this without you!

(VIDEO) Sub-section finals

For a limited time you can watch the final four minutes of the Hinckley-Finlayson win on Wednesday night...video below courtesy of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports department:

At one point you could hear me saying to the trainer on the B-B-E bench, "Do you have any valium?"

B-B-E entered the final minute nursing a 57-56 lead. Abe Peter went 1-of-2 at the free throw line with 38 seconds left. Then with 29 seconds left, Ashton Dingmann grabbed a steal in the far back court and was immediately fouled. He made his first of a double bonus trip to the line, but the second one rimmed off with the score at 59-56. Hinckley-Finlayson launched three three-point attempts in the final nine seconds, but they all were misses. Ashton Dingmann grabbed a defensive rebound on the last shot right as the buzzer sounded.

B-B-E advances!!!!

State girls' basketball

At the state girls' basketball tournament today, No. 3-seeded Menahga improved to 30-1 overall while making it to the Final Four with a 65-54 win over BOLD in the quarterfinals.

Menahga now gets No. 2-seeded Goodhue in Friday's semifinal game.

On another topic...
Do you have your car pool planned yet for the trip to Crosby on Friday night? I'm working on mine!  Let's pack our side of the gym!

Elrosa Saints clothing store

The Elrosa Saints have a clothing store now open with Rambow. Click on this link (short link) to get all the details at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://bit.ly/2XUz5ch.

Game site: section finals (and fan bus!)

Still nothing at MSHSL.org.....I am gonna make some calls and get an answer!

And the answer is!

Crosby-Ironton high school. This is just past Brainerd...about 110 miles if memory serves me correct from our B-B-E high school.

Tip-off at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 15 for the right to compete in the state tournament!

DIRECTIONS: it appears that travelers to C-I high school will want to turn left on "Wallace Avenue" in the block across from the Crosby Dairy Queen. Wallace Avenue then turns into Poplar Street, on which the C-I high school is located (711 Poplar Street, Crosby, MN 56441). Getting on the right path through/around Brainerd is an important part of this trip. Once in Crosby, you wind into town past a few curves, and the C-I high school is on the left (north) - can't miss it!

*Update: and my memory was pretty good, this is 109.7 miles from our high school to the C-I high school. This was the site picked for the 2014 section title game before I raised issues with the unnecessary driving for both teams and the section administrators moved it to Alexandria (B-B-E vs. Browerville that year).

I was hoping for Brainerd as the site, but what I want everyone to understand is that a great deal of work goes into finding/selecting sites for these big playoff games. (Insert side bar: I just learned that Cromwell-Wright played one of their playoff games in Brainerd, in the sub-section semifinals against Browerville...so if Brainerd was picked it would have given a small advantage to the Cardinals in this upcoming section final game.)

Or to say it in just a few words: throwing out "I'd like Brainerd" is just giving an uninformed opinion.

 The factors to consider on deciding where to hold these championship games are endless: gym capacity, parking, availability of volunteer workers, security workers, concession workers, is the gym needed for other reasons such as athletic practices, etc? The Region 6A administrators put a lot on the line by stating "TBD" for site locations and then work behind the scenes to have options in mind once the section tournaments begin. Then when the chips are down, and you are down to the two teams who have to play, they have to quickly get agreements in place with school administration at those sites (in this case, C-I school officials)...I have to say we should be thankful that the tradition is in place where "TBD" is stated well ahead of time instead of picking an arbitrary site in these vast, expansive playoff sections up to a year in advance. (That was past practice years ago, which is how we got C-I as a site for the Section 5A finals in 2014 prior to the last-minute change to Alexandria.)

Here's extended coverage at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website...it recycles what has been posted on this blog and also shows a video of the Jaguars during the awards ceremony last night: (short link) https://bit.ly/2XWR7KS.

***Update early afternoon: you can sign up for a coach fan bus via this website link (short link) https://bit.ly/2XX4jzu. Or you can sign up in person at either school building's office in Brooten or Belgrade. The cost is $20. The bus will depart from B-B-E elementary at 3:45 p.m. and then from B-B-E high school (back lot) at 4 p.m. sharp! This is a tremendous option for fans to take advantage of!

And THANK YOU to Fauskee Oil of Brooten for their loyal and steady support of the Bonanza Valley Voice's sports department as we work hard to cover B-B-E sports teams in the playoffs. We are extremely grateful for your advertising!

##ConquerEveryDay

Boys' basketball Step III: heading to a bigger 'SHIP!

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is heading to the Section 5A finals for the first time since 2014! They defeated defending champion Hinckley-Finlayson 59-56 tonight in the subsection finals at Foley.

B-B-E took a 57-51 lead over Hinckley-Finlayson on two bonus free throws by Will VanBeck with 2:28 remaining. The Jaguars from Pine County then stormed back and closed it to 57-56 on a three-point play with 1:15 on the clock. Needless to say, the last 75 seconds of the game were nerve-wracking!

**Below, action from the first half...I mis-identified a B-B-E shooter as Abe Peter, when in fact it was Jackson Peter (his brother) who knocked down a three-pointer near the 11-minute mark. At that point, the Jaguars held a 17-13 lead.


B-B-E takes a 17-12 record up against Cromwell-Wright (24-3) for a trip to the state tournament. The top-seeded and defending champion C-W Cardinals defeated No. 3-seeded Nevis 69-51 for the Sub-Section 5A-North title tonight. They've now won 14 games in a row. Nevis finishes the year 18-11.

Last year, Hinckley-Finlayson pummeled Cromwell-Wright 72-40 in the Section 5A championship.

Also, congratulations to the Albany Huskies girls' basketball team! They took down the No. 2-seeded team in the Class 2A state tournament tonight, defeating Holy Family Catholic 60-49 to advance to the semifinals. This is Albany's first state appearance since 2008 when they won it all. That year, they beat our B-B-E Jaguars in the sub-section semifinals.

**Click here to learn the site of Friday night's game: https://bbejaguars.blogspot.com/2019/03/game-site.html.

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 13:
Albany 56, St. Cloud Cathedral 52 (the No. 2-seeded Huskies hold the Crusaders 20 points below their scoring average)
Melrose Area 70, Spectrum 54 (this sets up a real treat for the Section 6AA finals: a border battle between Albany and Melrose on Friday "just down the road" for the two schools at St. John's University)
Henning 82, Mahnomen/Waubun 52 (Henning thrashes the defending Section 6A champion)
Parkers Prairie 72, Ortonville 56
North Woods 61, Deer River 46
Minneapolis North 53, Litchfield 49
Lakeview Christian 71, Cook County 63
Randolph 70, Rushford-Peterson 53
Breck 75, Maranatha Christian 65

Halftime in Foley

At halftime, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has a slim 28-26 lead over top-seeded Hinckley-Finlayson. The Jaguars had a clean three-point shot rim off with two seconds to go.

The final score is posted in a new blog post.

The No. 1-seeded Hinckley-Finlayson Jaguars cut it down to a 57-56 deficit in the final minute.

The winner of this game gets Cromwell-Wright in the Section 5A finals...this Friday night at 7 o'clock. I don't have a site yet.

CW won their subsection championship game 69-51 against Nevis tonight.

THANK YOU to Coop's Corner of Belgrade for their loyal support of B-B-E Jaguars playoff coverage by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports department!

Game time is adjusted

The Sub-Section 5A-South boys' basketball championship game in Foley now has a 6 p.m. tip-off. At that time, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team will take on top-seeded Hinckley-Finlayson for a section finals berth.

Boys' basketball, Step II: Jaguars rattle Cardinals

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team earned their 16th win of the season tonight. They beat Upsala 65-51 in the sub-section semifinals. The game was close down the stretch, with Upsala as close as six points in the final two minutes.

Upsala finishes a strong season on the basketball court with a 15-13 overall record.

Next: the Sub-Section 5A-South finals on Wednesday this week, at Foley. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. against top-seeded Hinckley-Finlayson (21-7). *Game time is now 6 p.m. in Foley!

The H-F Jaguars throttled Braham 77-55 in the initial semifinal game tonight at Foley. In the north half of Section 5A, state-ranked Cromwell-Wright survived a scare from Browerville and advances with a 47-42 win. Pine River-Backus, the No. 2 seed, suffered an upset loss to Nevis by a 54-52 loss.

That's all for updates until after 10 p.m. tonight.

*Technical issues with this blog prevented me from posting advertising logos. I want to once again take a moment to thank Glacial Ridge Health System of Glenwood for their sports sponsorship of the Bonanza Valley Voice! Another loyal and proud supporter is Coop's Corner of Belgrade. They are Belgrade's only locally-owned convenience store. We are very thankful for the support of Coop's Corner at the Bonanza Valley Voice!

Let's all hope that this playoff run continues past Wednesday!! The game will be HUGE! I hope to see many of you there. The Voice will make the trip to Foley.

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 11:
Albany 56, Eden Valley-Watkins 52 (Albany is the No. 2 seed in Section 6AA)
Henning 54, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 52 (No. 1 seed survives a scare from the No. 4 seed in Sub-Section 6A-North)
Parkers Prairie 61, West Central Area 41
Westbrook-Walnut Grove 74, Southwest MN Christian 73 (a mild upset in Sub-Section 3A-South between teams that split during the regular season; W-WG is the No. 3 seed and now head to the section finals to face upstart Dawson-Boyd, a No. 5 seed out of the north half of Section 3A)
Cromwell-Wright 47, Browerville 42
Melrose Area 68, Foley 64

Redwood Valley 86, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 74

Mahnomen/Waubun 59, Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal 49 OT

Esko 83, Pierz 60
Dawson-Boyd 68, Lac qui Parle Valley 59
Ortonville 58, Hancock 39
Nevis 54, Pine River-Backus 52
Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 59, Osakis 55

Semifinals

In the first half with 4:22 left, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team has a 21-13 lead over Upsala.

Hinckley-Finlayson won by 21 points over Braham after trailing at halftime in the other semifinal game tonight at Foley.

Halftime: Jaguars 23, Cardinals 19. Upsala came on strong down the stretch.

**Update: with a minute to go, the Jaguars have a 60-51 lead over Upsala! The final score and post-game updates will follow in a new blog post.

Technical issues with this blog prevented me from posting advertising logos. I want to take a moment to thank Glacial Ridge Health System of Glenwood for their sports sponsorship of the Bonanza Valley Voice! I really hope this playoff run continues past Wednesday!!

Game day

To recap: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team plays at Foley high school tonight in the Sub-Section 5A-South semifinals. Tip-off will be at approximately 7:45 p.m. Their opponent will be No. 3-seeded Upsala. Both teams have identical 15-12 overall records.

The Upsala Cardinals handed the Jaguars their second loss of the season on December 18 by a 76-75 score. They have won five games in a row, including their playoff opener. They won that game by a 69-47 score over No. 6-seeded St. John's Prep.

Tonight's playoff game will be aired on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood and 106.5 FM the Train of Norway Lake/Sunburg. Pre-game and game coverage will start at approximately 7:30 p.m., so you will want to dial in before that time if you don't want to miss any of the action from wherever you can listen!

*Just learned this morning...the Elrosa Commercial Club breakfast is postponed to this coming Sunday, March 17. Other details are unchanged.

Also! Speaking of Elrosa...the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team's Rambow Clothing Store is now open. They are taking orders through March 21.  Go to http://www.rambow.com and then enter the store code "ELROSA" where it asks. Call toll-free 1-800-472-6269 to get their customer service if you have questions.

*Click here to see extended coverage of the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team's performance at regionals. They just wrapped up their three-day Lake Superior Regional on Saturday afternoon. It was a record-setting year for their team! (short link) https://bit.ly/2Hd9Dto.

An assault on our values

Secular society has struck again.

In another tawdry, poorly-written hit piece, an Australian writer just published a column about the Little House on the Prairie book series that goes on my list of one more example of God-less people assaulting anything that is rooted in old-fashioned values of family or a Christian faith.

To adhere to basic journalist standards, I'll add the source of what I'm talking about:

https://www.mamamia.com.au/little-house-on-the-prairie-brutal-true-story.

There's never been a question that the books were "based on a true story" and were not 100 percent factual. Yet this is written in a way that further strengthens my belief that the day is coming when a full-on movement will take place to remove these books from public schools.

Lately I am seeing more frequent "journalist" assaults on the LHOP books like this one. This one is very tawdry. It's very poorly written as well. The use of "brutal" in the headline is absolutely unforgiveable. It leads one to think the book characters committed murder.

They just can't stand anything that may possibly portray old-fashioned values. 

It's absolutely an assault in my opinion. They want to assault anything Christian, anything family-based. This will only ramp up as we move forward into the abyss of a society sorely lacking the values and teachings of Christian faith.

*Just added late Sunday morning...another video clip from the Swanville win on Tuesday at Little Falls high school...action from the second half as the Jaguars were nursing a 59-42 lead.

Have a safe and enjoyable Sunday! Lots of digging out to do around Jaguar Country.

Snow

So it snowed across Jaguar Country today! In case you haven't heard.

It has made a total mess, and I mean TOTAL mess out of the news and sports departments at the Bonanza Valley Voice. For weeks I've been looking forward to being involved in the soup and sandwich supper that will be held on Wednesday night, March 13 prior to Lenten services at West Lake Johanna Lutheran church. That enthusiasm was not dampened one bit by having to miss Ash Wednesday service last week by shifting my full attention and efforts at covering robotics in Duluth...but now I've had a douse of cold water thrown on my outlook for the week.

Enter this snow storm, which shifted the boys' basketball playoffs. Now next week I'll simply have to go "day by day" with my scheduling. Right now we will root and cheer and hope for the very best for our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team on Monday night when they face Upsala in the sub-section semifinals. That game will have a 7:45 p.m. tip-off at Foley high school.

Robotics, robotics, robotics!!

They are in 19th place!

The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team climbed to 19th place out of 63 teams after their final match was completed at 9:30 this morning.

**Below, a glimpse just minutes after the robot returned to the B-B-E team pit. Team members are attacking it with another round of repairs and modifications.


And! For the first time in school history, Team Resistance has been included in the playoffs as an alternate. They are currently No. 3 on the alternate list. This is an incredible achievement for the youngest team B-B-E has ever fielded.

The playoffs began at about 11:30 a.m. Now the team waits while being ready to jump into action the moment they're called up.

Also, the team earned a prestigious award that will given to them during the awards ceremony that takes place later this afternoon to conclude the Lake Superior regional.

For the upcoming robotics season, a major recruiting effort will take place at B-B-E high school. Parents, grandparents, etc. need to strongly encourage their son/daughter to become involved in the team. There's no reason that the B-B-E Resistance Robotics can't have 30 kids involved in this activity!

Robotics update from Duluth

The last item on my Friday night agenda...to post this! This is terrific news!

The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team won their last two matches of Friday's competition round. Their overall record is 4-3-1, and they've climbed to 25th place out of 63 teams. This is really phenomenal considering that this is by far the youngest, greenest robotics team that B-B-E has sent to Duluth since the team was founded in 2012.

I hope things go well in the morning. They are having a fantastic showing at the Lake Superior Regional.

**Update, urgent - please spread this message on Saturday morning!!!... the boys' basketball game against Upsala will NOT take place on Saturday. It will now be held on Monday, March 11 at 7:45 p.m. at Foley high school. Please spread the word!!!

More to come in the morning.

• Here's a copy/paste of winter weather information from the National Weather Service:

A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect north of a line from 
St. James to Faribault to Eau Claire, and a Winter Weather 
Advisory continues for the rest of southern Minnesota today into 
early Sunday. 

Snow will move into western and southern Minnesota on Saturday 
morning, reach eastern Minnesota around midday, and spread across 
western Wisconsin during the afternoon and evening. Some rain, 
sleet, or freezing rain will mix with the snow at times today 
south of a line from Redwood Falls to the Twin Cities and Eau 
Claire. Snow rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour are expected from 
west central into central Minnesota through early evening before 
easing tonight. The snow is expected to end by early morning 
Sunday. Snowfall totals of 6 to 12 inches are likely in the 
warning area, with the highest amounts over west central 
Minnesota. Snow totals of 2 to 4 inches along with light ice 
accumulations are expected in the advisory area across southern 
Minnesota where a longer duration of a wintry mix is possible. 
Strong northwest winds will develop tonight and Sunday morning 
with gusts of 40 mph possible across southern and western 
Minnesota. This will lead to areas of blowing and drifting snow, 
but widespread blizzard conditions are not currently expected. 
The Winter Storm Warning continues through Sunday morning across 
western and portions of southern Minnesota due to the potential 
for blowing snow. 
 
...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM CST THIS 
MORNING TO 1 PM CDT SUNDAY... 
 
* WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 12 
inches expected. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph. 
 
* WHERE...Portions of central and west central Minnesota. 
 
* WHEN...From 9 AM CST this morning to 1 PM CDT Sunday. 
 
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult. Patchy 
blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.

##ConquerEveryDay

Section finals, Step IV: Jaguars fall short of state

The first half of tonight's Section 5A championship in Fergus Falls has played out decidedly against the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team.

At halftime, Menahga holds a 20-11 lead. They have been playing stifling defense all night.

Second half:
With 4:16 left, Menahga is ahead 39-33. They keep nailing timely threes. The Jaguars have been battling and giving it their all.

With 51 seconds left, a free throw by Jenna Dingman made the score 42-39, Braves ahead. Menahga missed the front end of bonus free throw opportunities on two occasions in the final minute, once with 36 seconds left and later with 19 seconds to go. The Jaguars were unable to capitalize either time.

Final: Menahga 46, B-B-E 39. The Braves advance to state for the second straight season; they hold a 29-1 overall record. The Jaguars finish 24-6 overall, marking the most wins in any season in program history.

These are very difficult losses to swallow. And I have seen many of them in section final games across the years across different B-B-E teams. The first time was in March 1995. That month, at Halenbeck Hall in St. Cloud, our girls' basketball team lost 33-28 to New London-Spicer to finish 20-7 oveall.

I want to state very clearly how very proud I am of our Jaguars and how hard they compete and how they win with class and lose with class. At the end of the day that is what really matters.

I have to also add that I could not have been more impressed with Menahga's performance. They have been playing through a great deal of adversity, and they rose to the occasion tonight. They knew it was going to be war before they even arrived in Fergus Falls. They knew they had to put 110 percent on the court if they were to have a chance at winning. It was an incredibly close game. It was back-and-forth. It came down to the wire. Foul shooting determined the final separation in the closing seconds.

I wish Menahga well in the state tournament.

I told Coach Anderson after the game that "It will happen, you just have to keep trying." She had a great demeanor about her, and that impressed me considering how hard she wanted this team to win. It's a tough loss to swallow indeed.

I am anxious to see if Eden Valley-Watkins won tonight. I don't have time to look so I'll check that out in the morning. I did dream about both them and B-B-E getting to state together.

That's it for my second pit stop...time to hit the road again. I have many hours of driving left to do tonight. I hope all of you get home safely.

Have a good weekend...and ##ConquerEveryDay

**Just after 1 a.m. and thanks in large part to Dr. Pepper and Sirius XM Radio, I made it to my destination with flying colors. I was actually enjoying my drive so much that I felt a small disappointment upon arriving in the parking lot. Along the way I have managed to write about four different newspaper columns in my head...I doubt any of what floated through my head will ever be seen in newsprint.

The first thing I did after parking is check my email. Sure enough, there were the game stats from Fergus Falls. The Jaguars shot a solid 40 percent from two-point range. The Achilles Heel tonight was at the three-point line: 0-for-9. This was not the night to shoot none of nine on the arc. But that's how it goes sometimes. I would imagine that on Tuesday night, Sauk Centre shot poorly from the arc in their loss to Albany. Plus, I just glanced and saw that Albany crushed Pine City 60-29 tonight in their section final, which makes one think that had Sauk Centre defeated Albany - they'd have probably beaten Pine City as well and continued their string of state berths going. (It was four in a row coming into this season; they last fell in section play back in 2014 when New London-Spicer edged them 84-81 in overtime in the Section 6AA title game.)

Another tough score to see: Redwood Valley ended the season of Eden Valley-Watkins tonight by a 62-58 score in the Section 3AA finals. The No. 3-ranked Eagles finish the season 27-1. Redwood Valley, meanwhile, is unranked but takes a 19-8 record into next week's state tournament.

**Below, take in some video from the final minute of the first half against Swanville on Tuesday at Little Falls high school:



Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 8:
Ada-Borup/Norman County West 66, Parkers Prairie 34 (AB/NCE beat Parkers Prairie by a narrower score of 54-49 on February 9 on the same floor as where they played tonight - Concordia-Moorhead)
Holy Family Catholic 47, Annandale 32
BOLD 63, St. Clair 41
Roseau 73, Crookston 58
Minneota 65, Southwest MN Christian 47
Albany 60, Pine City 29

Thank you again to our business sponsors for helping pay for the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports coverage.

Youth wrestling

This message is from our B-B-E youth wrestling coaches, about the home tournament on Saturday at the high school.

"The times for our youth tourney have changed due to the forecasted weather. We're moving it up an hour. Weigh-ins 07:30-09:00. Wrestling to start at 09:30."

Robotics, Day II: let the games begin!!

The Lakes Superior regional competition is underway in Duluth!

Action has been fast and furious for the B-B-E Resistance Robotics, as the team has competed in two matches so far this morning. They tied the first one by a 12-12 score and won the second one 31-26.

Overall Team Resistance sits in 34th place out of 64 teams.

*By 11:35 they should be in their third match of the competition.

Click on this link to see live updates (searching now for it) ....stay tuned.
HERE'S the link: https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2019/MNDU/qualifications.

*Update through three of B-B-E's matches, and overall 25 of 95 matches complete, Team Resistance is in 37th place out of 63 teams.

In Match No. 3, Team Resistance's alliance lost 66-41. They're now 1-1-1 overall. Their robot had a
full range of motion for the first time of the day. Their arm was not operable, however.

**Below, a glimpse of the pit and team booth after the third match was complete:


Round IV: we're up at 13:55!

*Update: Team Resistance Robotics lost their fourth match of the day to turn their record to 1-1-2. Their alliance lost by a close margin, 49 to 38. One other team in the alliance was from Bemidji, while the other was from Cass Lake-Bena high school. They've fallen to 47th place out of 63 teams.

Their fifth match took place shortly after Match No. 4...and their sixth match of the day is schedule for 4:49 p.m. You can find their direct team robotics page at https://frc-events.firstinspires.org/2019/team/4238.

**Update: with six matches complete, Team Resistance has climbed to 40th place out of 63 teams. And they have one more to go tonight closer to 18:00.

Time to shift attention to the basketball game in Fergus Falls!

Boys' basketball team Step I: clearing the carbon out

If the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team was a car or truck engine, you could say tonight they "cleared the carbon" out of the cylinder heads...in the Sub-Section 5A-South quarterfinals, the Jaguars throttled No. 7-seeded Onamia by a 70-44 score. B-B-E led 41-28 at halftime.

Onamia finishes 9-17 overall.

Now 15-12 overall, the Jaguars advance to the semifinal round for the second year in a row. They play on Saturday, March 9 at Foley high school. The time may have been changed since I last heard...the Jaguars will play Upsala. **Tip-off will be at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday.

In their quarterfinal game, No. 3-seeded Upsala defeated No. 6-seeded St. John's Prep 69-47.

Spread the word! Of course, Saturday's schedule is weather-permitting...we'll see what comes our way with the predicted snow storm. They are setting it up to beat the storm.

Update: the boys' basketball game against Upsala will NOT take place on Saturday. It will now be held on Monday, March 11 at 7:45 p.m. at Foley high school. Please spread the word!!!

*If the games are indeed moved, the semifinals will take place on Monday next week. The sub-section finals would be on Wednesday night.

*Below you can take in action from the last minute of the first half of the boys' basketball game against Eden Valley-Watkins last Saturday. The game concluded the regular season and was also designated as Parents/Senior Night.


*Below, take in some of the celebrating on Tuesday night at Little Falls. Here you can see the captains of the Jaguars receive the sub-section championship trophy.



Section 5A boys' basketball scores on March 7:
Upsala 69, St. John's Prep 47
Braham 60, Isle 41
Hinckley-Finlayson 59, East Central 25
Nevis 75, Menahga 57
Pine River-Backus 69, Verndale 41
Browerville 65, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 56

Area boys' basketball playoff scores on March 7:
Southwest MN Christian 72, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 67
New Ulm Cathedral 73, BOLD 70 (Overtime! NUC is the No. 4 seed, while BOLD was the No. 1 seed and was ranked No. 1 in Class 1A on the QRF)
Dawson-Boyd (No. 5 seed) 82, Minneota (No. 1 seed) 73 (another huge upset)
Redwood Valley 67, New London-Spicer 58 (Redwood Valley is the No. 4 seed in Sub-Section 3AA-North; NL-S was the No. 1 seed who I felt was a slight favorite to win the whole section)
Henning 85, Frazee 48
Ortonville 74, Battle Lake 44
Parkers Prairie 80, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 61
West Central Area 51, Ashby 48
Hancock 66, Brandon/Evansville 60
Rockford 61, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 40
St. Cloud Cathedral 55, Kimball Area 41
Albany 57, Rush City 22
Pine City 84, Sauk Centre 75
Eden Valley-Watkins 49, Maple Lake 26
Melrose Area 79, Holdingford 40
Foley 62, Royalton 51
Osakis 72, Wadena-Deer Creek 45
Barnesville 58, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 49
Springfield 86, Mountain Lake Area/Comfrey 64
Lac qui Parle Valley 64, Renville County West 55
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 55, Minnewaska Area 50

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 7:
Fergus Falls 43, Alexandria 42 (Fergus Falls reversed 14- and eight-point regular season losses with an exciting state-qualifying win at SCSU)
Marshall 53, Waseca 44 (Marshall is the No. 3 seed in Section 2AAA; Waseca was the No. 1 seed)
Becker 56, Willmar 36
Goodhue 42, Lyle/Austin Pacelli 33 (Goodhue wins Section 1A and advances to state after a one-year hiatus; they won it all in 2017)

Choir, basketball

Lots of changes here...the B-B-E high school mid-winter choir concert has been moved week from March 11 to Monday, March 18.  That day (18th) is also a school day for B-B-E.

Also, the boys' basketball playoff finals has been moved from Tuesday, March 12 to Monday, March 11. This precipitated the move of the choir concert. I haven't confirmed, but I believe the change in the basketball playoffs is due to the rural Township meetings and elections taking place next Tuesday.

**For tonight's boys' basketball game at home, The Train 106.5 FM will carry the game starting around 7:30...tip-off is at 7 p.m.!

Updates from the home playoff game will follow around 8 p.m., although I expect the game to be just about done by then.

...and after 8 o'clock, I can't get the stream to work. It just keeps buffering. I've sent out texts to see if I can get a score from the playoff game at the elementary school.

*Basketball updates will follow in a new blog post!

Three-day run at regionals

The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team begins their three-day run at the Lake Superior regional tournament today. The team is in Duluth and has been working to this event since last fall. The theme is "Deep Space."

Further updates will follow today.

**Here is the web link to the B-B-E team's official F.I.R.S.T Robotics competition webpage. This will allow you to follow progress over the two-day competition.
https://www.firstinspires.org/team-event-search/event?id=37428.

Today is a "practice" day. Besides re-assembly of the robot, team members are currently fixing programming code errors that many other teams have also encountered.

*Below, a short video clip featuring the B-B-E Robotics team's safety chair (Amber Stephani) being interviewed by tournament officials...and a glimpse of team members re-assembling the robot.



*Mid-afternoon update: all programming errors are fixed! The team started out their day with no fewer than 156 programming errors in the main computer! Yikes! But by 1 o'clock in the afternoon, they were all resolved. These errors stemmed from a regular software update sent out by the robotics competition. I haven't heard if the errors are still plaguing other robotics teams or not.

Also, the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's community calendar has been updated again. Dates for events in early April have now been added, and March events have also been updated. Check it out at https://bit.ly/2EvexOA.

And thank you again to the local business sponsors who help to pay for the news and sports coverage of the Bonanza Valley Voice! Without them, you would not be able to quickly stay up-to-date on local events and happenings through our printed newspaper and our online presence.

Step III: Jaguars win, advance to next 'Ship!

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team powered their way past a physical, hard-nosed, senior-dominated Swanville Bulldogs team tonight to claim their third straight Sub-Section 5A-South championship.

The Jaguars built on a 10-point halftime lead and came away with a 66-52 win at Little Falls. They shot 50 percent on two-point shots for the game and made 30 percent of their three-point attempts.

Now 24-5 overall, they head to the Section 5A finals to play defending champion Menahga. The Braves defeated No. 2-seeded Pine River-Backus 58-57 in their sub-section title game tonight at Park Rapids Area high school.

The Section 5A championship is on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. The possible sites are Wadena-Deer Creek high school, Alexandria Area high school or Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school.

*Below, a Bonanza Valley Voice sports department's video of Coach Anderson talking about tonight's win.


*Update: I just learned from the Section 5A coordinator that the site of Friday's game will not be decided until tomorrow morning. So that's that! We will wait until then to find out. I expect to know something by 9 a.m. The moment I find out, I will get it posted here and thrown out on Twitter.

**Late Tuesday night update: I just learned that it's Fergus Falls! Fergus Falls high school will be the site of the section finals on Friday this week. Tip-off between B-B-E and Menahga will be at 7 p.m. It's the same site and same teams as a year ago!

*Another update: I finally looked to see who won last night's play-in round game of the Section 5A boys' basketball playoffs. Onamia beat Ogilvie 74-35 to advance to the sub-section quarterfinals. Onamia will head to our house on Thursday, March 7 for a 7 p.m. game against our B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team.

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 6:
Albany 47, Sauk Centre 41
No. 6-ranked Ada-Borup/Norman County West 49, No. 4-ranked Pelican Rapids 46
Roseau 84, Breckenridge 71
Redwood Valley 41, Pipestone Area 38
BOLD 65, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's 61
Eden Valley-Watkins 53, Litchfield 34
Pine City 53, Royalton 43


Also, thank you to our local business sponsors to help pay for the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's sports coverage of our B-B-E Jaguars!!! You are all awesome!

##ConquerEveryDay

First half at Little Falls

With 4:23 left, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is ahead of Swanville 27-20.

Halftime: B-B-E 36, Swanville 26.

*Update: with 13:44 left, the Jaguars are ahead 44-33.

The final score and other game notes, etc. will be added in a new blog post!

Boys' basketball playoffs set to begin

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is having their best season on the courts since winning 15 games in 2015-16. That year they made it all the way to the sub-section finals before losing to Battle Lake.

On Saturday, Sub-Section 5A-South playoff seedings were released.

Next for the Jaguars (14-12) is the Sub-Section 5A-South quarterfinals this week Thursday (March 7) at 7 p.m. on the home court. They take on either No. 7-seeded Onamia (8-16) or No. 10-seeded Ogilvie (0-22). Those teams played on Monday night this week in the play-in round of sub-sections. If B-B-E wins on Thursday, they advance to the semifinals to take on either No. 3 Upsala or No. 6 St. John's Prep. Those teams meet Thursday at Upsala in the quarterfinals.

The Sub-Section 5A-South semifinals will be on Saturday, March 9 at 7:45 p.m. at Foley high school. The sub-section finals will be on Tuesday, March 11 at 7 p.m. back at Foley. Defending sub-section champion Hinckley-Finlayson (19-7) is the No. 1 seed and ranked No. 19 in the latest Class 1A state rankings by Minnesota Basketball News.

In Sub-Section 5A-North, 18th-ranked (MN Basketball News) Cromwell-Wright (21-3) is seeded first. Pine River-Backus (22-4) is seeded second.

**In girls' basketball news...
The B-B-E Jaguars will take on No. 2-seeded Swanville for the sub-section championship on Tuesday night (March 5) at Little Falls high school. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. The game will be carried on 106.5 FM the Train as well as Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood.

The Bulldogs (21-3) defeated No. 3-seeded East Central by a 48-43 score in their semifinal game on Tuesday. Swanville was co-champions of the Prairie Conference with Royalton after both finished the league with 9-1 records.

March Madness is underway!!!

Church

Church service at South Lake Johanna Lutheran church of rural Brooten was postponed to Sunday, March 10. They normally have one service with Holy Communion on the first Sunday of each month.

Not much else to report right now. It's a busy day of getting the next week's paper done while we navigate another "deep freeze" across central Minnesota! Further updates to the Bonanza Valley Voice website are also forthcoming.

*Here's the Scripture reading, the Gospel reading and the sermon at Trinity Lutheran church of Brooten this morning.

If you need to quickly get caught up on what's happening around the Bonanza Valley area, always refer to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's community calendar that is located on page two. Other local events are generally always advertised and listed on pages two or three of each week's paper. Also! If you want to take a quick look at the community calendar on your phone or on a computer, bookmark the following webpage and refer to that each week or multiple times a week as a handy reference: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/page/bonanza-valley-community-calendar/102.html.

Short link: https://bit.ly/2EvexOA. Remember to support our local businesses who advertise in the newspaper and on our website! They keep the newspaper going week to week. Without them, there would be no Bonanza Valley Voice or its B-B-E Jaguars / Elrosa Saints baseball sports department.

I hope you're enjoying your day with family today.

Step II: grinding out a win

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is heading to the 'ship!! They are sub-section finals bound for the SIXTH year in a row!

They earned the sub-section finals berth with a 48-37 win over Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg tonight. The Jaguars trailed 22-20 earlier in the first half after going into halftime down 20-15.

Next: the Sub-Section 5A-South championship game is Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. against either Swanville or East Central. The game will be played back at Little Falls high school.

In the 126-pound championship match tonight at the state tournament, Canon Swanson lost a 5-2 decision to junior Brett Willaby of Windom-Mountain Lake. Swanson finishes the year 45-1 overall with his second state runner-up medal of his career.

I just learned that Benson boys' basketball head coach Roger Lindahl coached his final high school game of his long and decorated career. Coach Lindahl's Braves lost 50-37 to Minnewaska Area in the opening round of the Sub-Section 3AA-North playoffs last night. He is a former Belgrade Redmen student-athlete who played football under the tutelage of Coaches Weimerskirch and Evenson.

Section 5A girls' basketball playoff scores on March 2:
Menahga 60, Sebeka 42
Pine River-Backus 56, Walker-Hackensack-Akeley 40
Swanville 48, East Central 43

Area girls' basketball playoff scores on March 2:
Royalton 56, Rush City 50 OT (Royalton was seeded No. 7 out of 16 teams; Rush City was seeded No. 2)
Marshall 59, Mankato West 45
Pelican Rapids 58, Henning 52
Ada-Borup/Norman County West 56, Park Christian 44
Parkers Prairie 43, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 29
Sauk Centre 54, Holdingford 36
Underwood 57, West Central Area 52
Albany 49, Foley 30
Waseca 69, Hutchinson 48
Alexandria 45, Sartell-St. Stephen 26
Crookston 63, Park Rapids Area 48

Area boys' basketball scores on March 2 (some playoffs):Minneota 74, Lakeview 32
Dawson-Boyd 75, Central MN Christian 58
Southwest MN Christian 77, Ellsworth 40
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 72, Hills-Beaver Creek 44
Osakis 91, Swanville 39
Holdingford 66, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 54 (CMC game)
Lac qui Parle Valley 72, MACCRAY 64
Renville County West 59, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 51
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 90, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 65
New London-Spicer 74, Montevideo 35
Redwood Valley 80, Paynesville Area 63