Volleyball season opener (VIDEOS)

The 2022 season got underway for the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team last night on the home court. The Jaguars faced Osakis in a non-conference match in front of a very fired-up home crowd and large, loud, proud "blacked out" student section. It was awesome!

Here's video from the end of the first set:


*Here's a video featuring a large portion of game two last night:


The Jaguars host No. 8-ranked MACCRAY tomorrow night in Jaguar Pride Night. Students in grades K-12 get in free! So anyone grade 12 and younger pay no admission.

I've got more Elrosa Saints baseball coverage included in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. That issue hit newsstands this afternoon. A short web article is posted at the newspaper's website. It includes a video clip from the middle of the game in Dundas. Click here to see that (short link): https://bit.ly/3TAqato.

Starting off with a bang (VIDEO ADDED)

In their season opener tonight on the home floor, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team defeated Osakis in three games by scores of 25-13, 25-19, 25-12. The JV team also won, but I did not hear a C-squad outcome. Match videos are uploading.

**Added Wednesday night: here's video featuring part of the starter introductions and then the opening serve and first few minutes of the first set:


Next: the No. 10-ranked Jaguars (1-0) host No. 8-ranked MACCRAY in a non-conference match on Thursday this week. The Wolverines are tough as nails after going 20-8 last season and winning the Camden North Conference title. It will be great test for the Jaguars to see how they stack up early in the season. Die-hard fans will recall last year's second match of the season, during which the Jaguars won in Clara City in five sets.

Volleyball season opener!

The No. 10-ranked B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team opens the highly-anticipated 2022 season with a home match tonight. They host Osakis in a non-conference match. I have not been able to catch up on how you can watch a live stream online. That's far down on my priority list today.

I will report updates later tonight.

Game one final score: B-B-E 25, Osakis 13.

Game two final score: B-B-E 25, Osakis 19. The Silverstreaks had stayed within one point later in the game, but the Jaguars closed out strong for the set win. **More to come in a new blog post.

School resumes at B-B-E

Jaguar Country has resumed classes at our school buildings as of today. I hope we are all taking steps to make sure that our school climate is free of bullying this year. I'm paying close attention to that.

State amateur baseball tournament (VIDEOS)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team faced New Ulm in the second round of the Class C state tournament yesterday. The start of the game in Dundas was delayed by over two hours due to a steady rainfall in the latter part of the morning at Memorial Park.

New Ulm, one of the top teams in Class C, defeated Elrosa 12-2 in eight innings to advance to the Sweet 16 round of state.

Below is a video featuring the playing of the National Anthem in Dundas:


About halfway into the National Anthem, an eagle can be seen flying over the park. It was quite a moment! Additional videos are being uploaded this afternoon and will be added here.

*Here's a video featuring the starter introductions in Dundas:


*Here's video from the top of the third inning starting with top-of-the-order batter Kevin Kuefler at the plate:


More to come. The garden is now calling!

GAME DAY AT STATE! (VIDEO)

The game is today! The Elrosa Saints take on the New Ulm Brewers in the Round of 32 of the Class C amateur state baseball tournament.

First pitch from Dundas is at 11 a.m. You can watch the game LIVE at Bucky's Bar today if you can't attend in person.

More to come with game updates...
**Update: we will have about a 1 hour rain delay to the start of the game. I arrived in Dundas shortly before 11:00 a.m. and we had light rainfall here. According to the radar, the rain should clear up at noon or shortly thereafter. Stay tuned. 

12:02 p.m. and it's still raining but it appears to be dissipating. I expect the players to take the field shortly.

*Here's a glimpse of the grounds crew working while the team's managers visited with the umpires prior to the game:


UPDATE: this game will start shortly after 1:00 p.m.! The sun is shining in Dundas, it's getting warm and we are going to have a great game on a hot summer day.

UPDATE: first pitch was at 1:13 p.m. 

Update: after 2 innings, the Brewers have a 3-0 lead.

Update at 2 p.m...the Saints trail 3-1. Kevin Kuefler scored in the top of the third inning.

Update: after four and a half innings, the Brewers hold a 3-2 lead. It is 2:28 p.m. now.

Update: through six innings of the game, the Brewers are ahead 8-2.

Final: New Ulm 12, Elrosa 2 in 8 innings. A video was added to this blog post on Sunday, and more will be posted in a new blog post on Sunday.

Norway Lake history (VIDEO)

Here's a video from the reader's forum at the Norway Lake Lutheran Historical Association old log church program held this past Sunday. Pay close attention to what was read here!

Reader's forum video:


More to come. I am heading to football practice! Then after a trip to the lake, it's a trip over to the Jaguar Open at the Prairie View Community Golf Course in Brooten.

Sedan Daze rocked the house! (VIDEO)

Sedan Daze 2022 is now firmly in our rear view mirrors, but it was one to certainly remember. Dang, that was fun! I'm still working through all my photos and video from that day and night. If you missed it, you missed a heck of a good time.

Here's a video from the street dance:


The band Wasted Time was performing that night. In the beginning of this video clip, the Sedan Fire and Rescue squad thanked Steve Buchholz for his years of service. Buchholz is a 1990 B-B-E graduate (just like Wasted Time lead singer Greg Terhaar)...his wife is Stacy (Murdock), and their children are Allison, Bailey and Eli. All three were Jaguar student-athletes at B-B-E.

That's all I've got for now. Time to get back to work.

In other news - Princess Kay of the Milky Way

This is great news to share!

The daughter of a 1986 Brooten high school graduate was crowned the 69th Princess Kay of the Milky Way yesterday on the eve of the Minnesota State Fair.

Rachel Rynda, daughter of Francis and Theresa Rynda of Montgomery, is the 2022-2023 Princess Kay of the Milky Way. The Rynda family are dairy farmers in Le Sueur County, and Rachel will be a sophomore this fall at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Theresa (Schmitz) Rynda was a 1986 Brooten high school graduate. Her father is Martin Schmitz of Brooten, and her mother was the late Esther Schmitz. Esther passed away on January 28, 2011. Martin and Esther's 57-year long marriage was blessed with 13 children, five of whom passed away in infancy.

Martin and Esther's grandson Joe Feldman was killed in an automobile accident on April 22, 2021 in Douglas County. He was a 2020 B-B-E graduate and a member of the 2019-2020 B-B-E wrestling team that won the Central Minnesota Conference title for the first time. (They're on a roll now with three straight CMC titles).

We'll see what else I dig up on this story.

Catching up with Jaguar tennis

It has been a heavy lift to get my sports department up and running. We'll see how the next week goes!

Last Thursday in their season opener, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team earned a decisive 6-1 victory against Long Prairie-Grey Eagle/Upsala-Swanville Area. The match was part of a triangular hosted at LP-GE high school. The Jaguars also faced Staples-Motley, and the Cardinals won that match by a 6-1 score.

More to come.

Today (Tuesday) the Jaguars hosted Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg and lost by a 6-1 score. B-B-E's No. 1 doubles players, Tiyana Schwinghammer and Presley Detloff, improved to 4-0 on the season with a straight set win by scores of 7-6 (6-4), 6-3. They are next in action at Melrose for a triangular on Thursday this week; also included is Parkers Prairie.

Wasted Time at the Sedan Daze street dance (VIDEO)

What a treat that was!

The Terrace/Sedan-area band Wasted Time performed a near-four hour live concert in downtown Sedan last night. It was magnificent!

Here's Wasted Time performing the song Kryptonite in the final hour of the street dance:


More to come much later tonight. I have to get out to the old log church in the Norway Lake community ASAP! The Norway Lake Lutheran Historical Association summer program is today, and that has been heavily publicized in recent issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. This afternoon/evening is the Big Grove/Crow River/Grace Lutheran ice cream social and outdoor worship event at Games Lake park! Much to do. I'm sure I'll see some of you there.

State opener win! and Sedan Daze (VIDEO)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won 3-1 in their state tournament opener! They led 1-0 early againtst Montgomery on their way to advancing to the Round of 32 in the Class C state tournament. The Mallards and Saints had one error each, and the Mallards out-hit the Saints by a 7-to-6 margin. Elrosa's Ashton Dingmann had the game's only extra-base hit, as Dingmann hit a two-out double in the top of the second inning. Payton VanBeck pitched all nine innings with one earned run, two walks and six strikeouts. Two Montgomery pitchers combined to strike out 10 Elrosa batters, and starter Johnny Krocak gave up two earned runs in seven innings to take the loss. Elrosa's defense worked to strand 11 Montgomery base runners, while Elrosa had six stranded in the game.

I haven't confirmed all the information for the next round, but I know the Saints will play on Saturday, August 27 at 11 a.m. More informatio to come. I have to get back to Sedan for about the fifth time today! They are having an amazing Sedan Daze celebration!

**Confirmed: the Saints play in Dundas at 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 27 against the Region 2C champion New Ulm Brewers. Spread the word!

Here's a video from the Sedan Daze tug-of-war competition that was held in the hay field due east of Heidi's Bar this evening:


If you were unable to attend Sedan Daze, that is very, very unfortunate!! They pulled off an incredible day. It was amazing from start to finish.

Class C state amateur baseball tournament

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team opens the Class C state tournament tomorrow (Saturday) with a 1:30 p.m. game in Faribault. They will take on the Montgomery Mallards, who are the No. 2 seed out of Region 3C.

Here's a video from last Sunday's game against Watkins:


More info on state to come. Remember! As stated in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, the state tournament game will be played on a live broadcast at Bucky's Bar in Elrosa. This will be sponsored by Bucky's Bar, Elrosa Lumber and Hardware and Paul Gruber Baling.

Sedan Daze is almost here!

The community of Sedan is excited to host the upcoming Sedan Daze celebration on Saturday, August 20. It is almost here!

To read more about what is all happening that day, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://bit.ly/3CfeBBq. This has also been covered in recent issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

And! Here's a throwback from five years ago...click on the following link to watch Wasted Time performing in Sedan on August 18, 2017: https://bit.ly/3AxcQyb. One of the lead singers of Wasted Time is Greg Terhaar, a member of the very first graduating class of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa (Class of 1990). Terhaar was a member of the very first two B-B-E track and field teams, competing in the spring of 1989 and 1990.

Tomorrow (Friday) the B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team competes in a match at Morris Area high school. Action starts at 10 a.m. as they face Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta/West Central Area.


THANK YOU to the Bonanza Valley State Bank for sponsoring this blog post!

Tennis season opener is tomorrow

The B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team opens their season tomorrow at Long Prairie-Grey Eagle high school. The Jaguars will compete in a triangular with LP-GE/Upsala-Swanville Area and also Staples-Motley. As of Monday this week, turnout was 14 for the Jaguars, which is down from 17 a year ago.

Football selling salt!

 SALT FOR SALE! Delivery included!

The B-B-E Jaguars football team is selling salt once again. Delivery is free! To place an order, contact any football player or email Chris Moscho at cmoscho@bbejaguars.org or call him at school 320-254-8211 ext 1148 and leave a message. We are selling Morton Softener Salt. Blue crystal price is $8.00, Yellow Pellets are $8.50 and Green Rust Buster is $9.50. Delivery dates will be August 29th and Sept 13th.

Come to Elrosa tonight!

A great night of education and fun is coming in Elrosa tonight. Bring your family to see our emergency/law enforcement officers on a personal level with Public Safety Night in Elrosa. The details were on page one of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper last week. This event runs from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Catholic church. You can click over to the newspaper website and read about it here: https://bit.ly/3Ao0t7v.

Update: they had a terrific turnout in Elrosa! Way to go!  

More good news: the turnout for opening day of preseason practice for the B-B-E Jaguars football team is 44 49 student-athletes. This is great! Especially considering that they graduated 11 seniors from last year's state tournament team.

State seeding game (UPDATED)

Elrosa and Watkins are playing now at Meire Grove in a state seeding game. Watkins won 8-5 against Richmomd in the first game today.

Richmond will be the No. 4 seed to state from Region 15C.

Update: through 4 innings, the Clippers are ahead 6-0 over the Saints.

Final score: Watkins 10, Elrosa 0.

Elrosa opens the state tournament on Saturday, August 20 in Faribault with a 1:30 p.m. game against the Montgomery Mallards. Spread the word!

Region baseball championship (VIDEOS!)

Not much time to blog this morning as we prepare for the Belgrade August Fest activities, but here's a video of the National Anthem from last night in Elrosa.

VIDEO:


**Another video added on Saturday afternoon before the Belgrade August Fest parade...


It was a beautiful night for baseball!

Please come to Belgrade today! The parade is at 4 p.m.  


Update: at Meire Grove today, Richmond defeated New Munich in a 10-inning thriller by a 3-2 score to advance to the state tournament. That's all I've got right now. Heading back to the street dance in Belgrade! It has been an incredible day of fun at the Belgrade August Fest!! REMEMBER: Elrosa plays tomorrow (Sunday) at 1:30 p.m. in Meire Grove in a seeding game. If they win, they will be the No. 2 seed to the Class C state tournament out of Region 15C.

Region baseball championship

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is hosting the Region 15C championship game tonight. Both KASM 1150 AM and Smooth Magic 107 FM are carrying the play-by-play.

St. Martin is the opponent, and the winner will be the No. 1 seed from the region to the state tournament in Dundas.

Update: in the third inning, the Martins have a 3-0 lead.

Update: in the ninth inning, the Martins are ahead 5-0. *Saint Martin won the game, but I don't have a confirmation of the final score. I had to leave and get back to Belgrade before the game was complete.

Elrosa plays again on Sunday, August 14 at 1:30 p.m. in Meire Grove. More to come in a new blog post.

A terrific night in Belgrade! (VIDEO)

What a turnout tonight in Belgrade!

The band Custom Made performed while the Belgrade Co-op and Queen Bees of Paynesville served a wonderful pulled pork sandwich meal at the city park shelter. The playground and shelter and outdoor seating area was filled with people. Goat Ridge Brewing of New London was also on hand serving craft beer. The 2022 Belgrade August Fest celebration is officially underway!

Video from the concert is uploading.

*Here's video from songs performed near the end of the concert tonight:


More to come. I've got updating to do at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website.

In sports news...
A web article on the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team has been posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. You can read it by clicking here: https://bit.ly/3AiqOEe. The web article includes a video from the Richmond game in which B-B-E Class of 2017 graduate Derek Wiener clubbed the game-winning RBI on Sunday.

Please spread the word! Public Safety night in Elrosa is Monday, August 15

Public Safety in the Park night is Monday, August 15 in Elrosa

Everyone invited to this family-friendly event for all ages!

The public from across the Bonanza Valley area and beyond are invited to the Public Safety in the Park night on Monday, August 15 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Ss. Peter and Paul Catholic church in Elrosa (302 State Street, Elrosa, 56325) Come and meet your local law enforcement, firefighters and EMS responders! Everyone is invited! This is a family-friendly event for all ages with FREE popcorn and drinks! Local agencies who will be present include the Belgrade-Brooten police department, Stearns County Sheriff, MN State Patrol, Elrosa fire department, Sauk Centre ambulance plus K9 officer Jax with handler Deputy Adam Johnson.

You can copy and paste the following link for easier sharing on email and social media = https://bit.ly/3A8p3Ju.

Saints earn region finals bid (VIDEO)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team has a shot at winning the Region 15C title after they won two games in the opening weekend of the tournament. On Saturday in a Battle for the Keg with Spring Hill, the Saints won 4-1. They beat Richmond 4-3 on Sunday to earn a trip to the state tournament. Sitting in a 3-3 tie going into the bottom of the seventh inning, Derek Wiener's RBI-single punched home Jackson Peter from third base for the go-ahead and game-winning run.

This is Elrosa's first trip to the big show since 2018 and 10th overall in program history.

Next: Elrosa has a great opportunity ahead to claim the Region 15C title as they are set to host St. Martin on Friday this week at Saints Field. The Martins earned the bid to the region finals with a 3-1 win on Saturday night (last night) over Luxemburg. First pitch for this Friday night is set for 7:30 p.m. Spread the word!! This is great timing to fit in a trip to Elrosa from the Belgrade August Fest celebration.

*Here's a video featuring the end of the game on Saturday against Spring Hill! Exciting win!


In an elimination game of the tournament on Sunday, the New Munich Silverstreaks stunned the Lake Henry Lakers with an epic 12-11 come-from-behind win. The Lakers led 11-5 late in the game after initially building a 9-1 lead. New Munich plated six runs in the ninth inning to earn the win and keep their season alive.

In the other elimination game of Sunday, Watkins ended Spring Hill's season with a 3-1 win to also advance to the second weekend of regions.

More coverage to follow both online and in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

Region 15C baseball (VIDEOS, UPDATES)

The Elrosa Saints won 4-1 against Spring Hill to open the Region 15C baseball tournament on Saturday in Meire Grove. They play at 11 a.m. today back in Meire Grove.

Here's video from the bottom of the fifth inning yesterday:


*Here's a video added on Sunday afternoon from action in the top of the fifth inning against Spring Hill:


Updates to follow here throughout today.

*In the Friday night game last night in Elrosa, St. Martin defeated Luxemborg by a 3-1 score to punch their ticket to the state tournament.

In the second game of the day today in Meire Grove, Watkins eliminated Spring Hill from the tournament with an 11-3 win.

**Early afternoon update: through five innings against Richmond, the Elrosa Saints are sitting in a 3-3 tie. Great game!!!  

Final score: Elrosa 4, Richmond 3!! They are STATE-BOUND! Elrosa plays next on Friday, August 12 back home at Saints Field against St. Martin. This game will determine the Region 15C champion, while the loser will have to battle back through the seeding games to earn the No. 2 seed to state.

*In the final game of the day, Lake Henry holds a 9-1 lead in the sixth inning over New Munich in an elimination game. **UPDATE: in the seventh inning, Lake Henry has an 11-5 lead.

More updates in a new blog post.

Region 15C baseball updates

We have rain delay changes at the Region 15C baseball tournament in Meire Grove today.

Shortly after 2 p.m., the first game (the 11 a.m. game) was still going in the ninth inning. The second game, which is the "1 o'clock game" is likely to get going at about 3 p.m.

The Elrosa vs. Spring Hill game will likely start at about 5 p.m. today in Meire Grove. More updates to come. I am going to make a swing over to the Pope County Fair before heading back into Stearns County!

On Friday night, the Richmond Royals won 7-2 against Watkins in the first game of the region tournament. That game was played in Elrosa.

*Update: the Elrosa game started shortly after 5 p.m. against Spring Hill. Starting for Elrosa is Payton VanBeck, while Anthony Revermann is Spring Hill's starting pitcher.

In the first game played today, St. Martin defeated New Munich. All games are being broadcast on KASM 1150 AM radio and at "mykasm-dot-com" online.

Final score: Elrosa 4, Spring Hill 1. The Saints play at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow back in Meire Grove.

Pope County Fair is underway! (VIDEO)

The Pope County Fair in Glenwood is off and running this week through Sunday afternoon. The full schedule of events was published in the July 28 and August 4 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. You can read more about the county fair by clicking on the following short link to re-direct to the newspaper's website: https://bit.ly/3vBmRr9.

Heres a video featuring sights and sounds of the Pope County Fair on August 7, 2021:


More to come. I've still got video from last week's Stearns County Fair to upload.

Austin Young Memorial 3-on-3 tournament

The Austin Young Memorial 3-on-3 basketball tournament will be held on Saturday, August 13 during the Belgrade August Fest. It will take place at the B-B-E high school for kids who are entering 5th through 12th grade this fall. Check-in begins at 7 a.m., and the tournament starts at 8 a.m. High school basketball rules will apply. NOTE: Registration costs $45 for teams who are pre-registered by August 8. Registration on site the morning of is $60 per team.

Awards go to the top three finishers in each age division. Brackets will be created and posted the day of the tournament based on age and gender of competitors. All proceeds will be donated to the B-B-E schools activities department. Concessions will be available.

To register, text or call David at 651-263-4291 to get a copy of the paperwork emailed to you so you can return it with payment. Forms can be e-mailed and mailed back. Mailing address: 38765 Co. Rd. 19, Belgrade. Email: dkaiserbmg@yahoo.com.

One of many wonderful upcoming events

So this is rather great! I just learned this morning that the Big Grove/Crow River/Grace Lutheran parish will resume their summer ice cream social event after a three-year hiatus. I dug into my archives and found this on the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website...a short web article after the last time they held this on August 5, 2018 (short link): https://bit.ly/3zujDHa.

The video embedded in that article lasts 52 minutes and features the outdoor worship held that night at the Shores of St. Andrew Bible Camp.

Fast forward to 2022...here's the announcement. Spread the word! This is one of numerous wonderful upcoming events in the Bonanza Valley area.

BG/CR/G Lutheran parish ice cream social and outdoor worship is August 21

The Big Grove/Crow River/Grace Lutheran parish will hold an ice cream social with outdoor worship on Sunday, August 21 at scenic Games Lake park in rural New London. The event runs from 4 to 8 p.m. and begins with recreation at the beach (games and swimming). An ice cream social will take place at 5 o’clock with burgers, hot dogs, beans, pie and ice cream; then from 6 to 7 p.m. is the worship service featuring music by the Cedar Creek Bluegrass Band. This is a Thrivent Financial fundraising event for the BG/CR/G Parish with free-will offering.

More catching up: BVD photos

 It took weeks to get caught up with uploading Bonanza Valley Days photos, and I think I'm 95 percent of the way to the finish line on that project. Here's the master (short) link to view all non-sports related photo galleries at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://bit.ly/3Qe2RTG.

The non-sports related Bonanza Valley Days photos that are uploaded total 1,095!!!

The basketball and baseball photo albums in the Summer 2022 sports folder has 101 pictures in it. That's a grand total of 1,196 pictures taken across those four days of BVD! And I think there's a few more pictures to get to from Saturday and Sunday.