Two hours late*

B-B-E schools will begin two hours late tomorrow...Thursday, February 13. It's just before sunset tonight, it has gotten really nasty out there! Be safe.

It was neat to see two B-B-E Class of 2018 members show strong production for Ridgewater College basketball teams tonight. I just saw terrific game reports penned by sports editor Tom Elliot at the West Central Tribune website on the women's and men's games at Anoka-Ramsey college in Coon Rapids. The Ridgewater Warriors faced Anoka-Ramsey in conference play.

The Ridgewater women's basketball team lost 91-38 to a Rams squad that improved to 18-5 this season. B-B-E's Morgan Gronli scored 11 points off the bench. The Ridgewater men's team defeated the Rams 92-75 to improve to 14-7 on the season. B-B-E's Parker Schwinghammer scored 10 points, and his four fellow starters were also in double figures.

Ridgewater's basketball teams travel to Austin this Saturday to face Riverland.

Going back to her B-B-E years, Gronli played four years of varsity girls' basketball. In three of those four seasons, the Jaguars competed in the Section 5A finals. In all four seasons, the Jaguars played in the sub-section championship game. Across those four seasons, the Jaguars won a total of 84 games.

Gronli and Schwinghammer were both three-sport athletes at B-B-E. "Great kids from great families."

Other fun facts: Morgan Gronli's aunt, Mary Solbreken, is owner of Rustic Designs Flower Farm of rural Belgrade. Mary has advertising running in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper to promote her business for Valentine's Day. Her advertisement is on page seven in this week's newspaper issue.

Mary's brother, Mark, who is Morgan's dad, was a 1997 graduate of B-B-E and a classmate of my sister.

Anyway - here's a big shout out to Mary Solbreken and Rustic Designs Flower Farm! I hope she sees a nice uptick in business on Friday. Her business website is https://www.rusticdesignsflowerfarm.com, Mary reported to me that she has special Valentine's week hours today, tomorrow and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Rustic Designs Flower Farm is a really incredible business that's located just two miles south of Gausdal Lutheran church on County Road 9.

Hats off to Mary and her family for building up this true, rural gem!