extended sports coverage for the B-B-E community brought to you by the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper in Brooten, MN. (Address: P.O. Box 250, Brooten) http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. ALL VIEWS posted are strictly and without exception the opinions of the newspaper owner and no one else; they're written in first hand format. Please submit feedback in writing to the address posted above. **This is Minnesota's oldest varsity high school sports blog. We hope to keep it going into the future!
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Baccalaureate worship was wonderful (VIDEO)
My count may be off by 1 or 2 students, but the turnout was tremendous tonight for the B-B-E Class of 2025 senior Baccalaureate worship service. The annual Ecumenical event was held at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church in Belgrade. Attending clergy were Father Mark Botzet and Pastor Lisa Meshke.
Here's the video of the full worship service tonight:
By my count, 37 of the graduates attended worship.
The video begins as the worship started with the St. Francis de Sales church choir performing in the balcony. Bonita Radermacher is playing the guitar and leading the singers.
At about the 13:30 mark in the video, Father Mark reads the Holy Gospel, and his Homily follows that.
In the fifth Central Minnesota Conference meet of the season, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team competed at the Little Falls course today with Royalton as the host school. The Jaguars came away with a huge win by 3 strokes, as they defeated second-place Paynesville by a 167 to 170 margin. Also, Walker Winter and Hudson Reed are both in the Top 8 of the current CMC standings.
Next: the boys' golf team has an 18-hole invitational at Sauk Centre's Greystone Golf Club.
In home fastpitch action today...
With the weather stopping a home game on Monday to take place, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team hosted a doubleheader today featuring two teams coming to town.
In the first game, the Jaguars faced Long Prairie-Grey Eagle in a non-conference game. The Jaguars put up some big innings on their way to an 11-1 win in five innings. LP-GE, who competes in Section 6A, fell to 2-6 overall.
Against LP-GE, the Jaguars had just 4 hits but took advantage of 8 walks against just 2 strikeouts.
Here's a video featuring the postgame huddle after the LP-GE win:
In game two, the Jaguars faced Paynesville Area in a CMC border battle that started just before 6 p.m. The Bulldogs won 13-1 as they kept pace with undefeated (9-0) Kimball Area in the CMC standings.
Paynesville, who is a half game behind Kimball, out-hit the Jaguars by a 12 to 5 margin. Two Bulldogs pitchers combined for 8 strikeouts with just 2 walks.
The Jaguars sit at 7-3 overall with their best record through 10 games since the 2008 season. In 2008, they went 11-5 in the regular season before the Section 5A playoffs. Next: the Jaguars travel to River's Edge Softball Park in Waite Park on Thursday to face Holdingford (3-6, 2-4) in a CMC doubleheader. The first game is set for 4 p.m.
Central MN Conference fastpitch scores on April 29:
Kimball Area 10, Holdingford 0
Kimball Area 14, Holdingford 0
Area fastpitch scores on April 29:
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 26, Benson 0
Minneota/Canby 11, Renville County West 0
Lac qui Parle Valley 18, Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 6
Maple Lake 12, Upsala 2 (5 innings)
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 5, Wheaton/Herman-Norcross 2
Minnewaska Area 12, West Central Area 10
BOLD 14, Montevideo 3
Eden Valley-Watkins 12, Osakis 2 (6 innings)
Dawson-Boyd 2, Ortonville 0
Swanville 14, Royalton 7
Melrose Area 8, Sauk Centre 2
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 18, Lakeview 8
BOLD 5, Montevideo 2
West Central Area 9, Minnewaska Area 7
The sun is shining as sports gets back in the groove
It won't get "warm" today, but we are going to enjoy the strong sunshine for the day of activities ahead. The fastpitch team is hosting a doubleheader, and the boys' golf team is at the Little Falls invitational.
At Prairie View Community Golf Course...
The Prairie View Community Golf Course in Brooten is offering a May special starting on Thursday this week. It's quite the special deal! On Mondays through Fridays, they are offering 18 holes of golf with a cart for $35 after tax. This excludes Memorial Day and League nights. For reservations, please call 320-346-2677. Come out and support your local golf course! It is a major asset for Jaguar Country.
Update: the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf teamemerged as 3 stroke champions of a Central Minnesota Conference meet held at Little Falls today. They shot a 167 to defeat second-place Paynesville Area's score of 170. In third place was Royalton with a 175. B-B-E's Walker Winter led the team with a 40.
Thanks to multiple outstanding pitching performances both yesterday and today, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team has a 2-0 record, and it's not even May yet! On Saturday in an exhibition game in Elrosa, the Saints defeated Starbuck 7-0.
Today, in the Stearns County League opener, the Saints defeated the host Lake Henry Lakers 3-0. Will VanBeck started today and pitched 5 innings while surrendering just 1 hit and 2 walks to go with 8 strikeouts. Ethan Vogt then pitched 3 innings (2 hits, no walks, 6 strikeouts), and Wyatt Steffensen earned the save as closer (1 hit, no walks, 1 strikeout).
Torii Johnson started against the Stars and pitched 4 innings with no walks, 2 hits and 5 strikeouts. Luke Dingmann relieved Johnson and got the win in 4 innings (3 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks). Peyton Winter was closer with no hits, no walks and 3 strikeouts.
Here's a video from Lake Henry today:
Next: the Saints host Greenwald in an SCL-North division border battle next Sunday, May 4 at 1:30 p.m.
The Brooten city council meets in regular session tomorrow night, Monday, at 7 p.m. The meeting agenda can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/ulxXf.
Monday afternoon update:
The weather forecast forced the cancellation/postponement of JV golf and varsity/JV fastpitch action today. As it turned out, the forecast did not pan out, and sunny skies with breezy 75 degree temperatures was what we had outdoors in the evening. Also, in Brooten, I recorded about 1.5" of rain in my rain guage.
Also! The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team has risen to the top of the Sub-Section 3A-North standings on the QRF. They are No. 28 out of all Class 1A teams, and Lac qui Parle Valley sits at No. 29. The Jaguars hold a 6-2 record, while the Eagles are 5-2.
Scheduling note for the fastpitch team: this week Tuesday, the Jaguars will host a doubleheader. They face Long Prairie-Grey Eagle at 4 p.m., and the second game features the Jaguars taking on Paynesville Area at approximately 6 p.m. More to follow after the Brooten city council meeting.
Fastpitch team cooled off by Bulldogs, golf competes at home and Osakis (VIDEOS)
In a well-played non-conference game today, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team saw their 6-game winning streak end at the hands of Swanville. The visiting Bulldogs, who are receiving votes in the latest Class 1A coaches' state rankings, won 4-1 to improve to 10-0 overall.
The Bulldogs led 3-0 after 2 innings before the Jaguars scored in the bottom of the third. Swanville scored one additional run in the fifth inning.
Here's video from the bottom of the third inning today:
In the video, Kacey Fischer hit a sacrifice fly-RBI to put her team on the scoreboard.
Here's a video from the top of the 5th inning:
The Jaguars got back in the dugout with a 5-3 put out fielded by Taylor Shelton.
Next: the Jaguars (6-2 overall) host Paynesville Area in a border battle on Monday at 4:45 p.m. Paynesville Area is 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the Central Minnesota Conference, which puts them in a virtual tie for first place with undefeated Kimball Area (9-0, 6-0).
Here's a golf update:
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team and two members of the B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team competed in two Central Minnesota Conference meets today. Full results are still being compiled. In the morning, the boys' golfers hosted a meet at Prairie View Golf Course in Brooten. At that same time, the girls' golfers competed at Osakis. For the afternoon meets, the boys and girls switched sites. In girls' golf results, Kragen Wiener shot a 62 at Osakis and a 59 at Prairie View. Olive Olson fired a 58 at Osakis and then a 56 on the home course. They will join fellow golf team members Reese Kampsen and Teagan Dingmann for a JV golf meet at Osakis on Monday, April 28.
And a fix for what I posted on Thursday...the baseball team does not travel to Atwater on Monday. Their next action is in St. Cloud at Dick Putz Field on Thursday, May 1 against Holdingford. They play two CMC games, and the first game starts at noon. B-B-E's next home baseball action is on Monday, May 5 with a CMC game against Paynesville Area.
In other news...
In another installment of Easter weekend church coverage, the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website features a video from Crow River Lutheran church on Good Friday (April 18)...you can find that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/4ZDJq.
The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website's community calendar has been updated. You can find that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/R8o9R.
In high school FFA news, approximately 26 members of B-B-E's FFA chapter travels to the state FFA convention on Sunday through Tuesday. They leave the high school at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday, and the convention runs on Monday and Tuesday. I'll catch up with Mr. Rodgers next week and get FFA news published in the May 1 and May 8 issues of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
Here's my first amateur baseball news of 2025:
To start their season, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team will host an exhibition game with Starbuck on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Gumby Bauer Stadium. They will have a terrific day for a baseball game in Elrosa! Sunny, not much wind and great temps in the 60s. Elrosa's Stearns County League opener is set for Sunday, April 27 at 1:30 p.m. at Lake Henry. After that game, Greenwald visits for an SCL border battle in Elrosa on Sunday, May 4 at 1:30 p.m.
Saturday night update: the Elrosa Saints defeated Starbuck 7-0 for a successful start to the 2025 campaign.
Area fastpitch scores on April 25:
BOLD 4, Lac qui Parle Valley 3
New London-Spicer 13, Litchfield 9
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 8, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 5
Kimball Area 19, Watertown-Mayer 2
Minnewaska Area 4, Yellow Medicine East 1
Melrose Area 10, Paynesville Area 2
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 10, Montevideo 0 (6 innings)
MA/CA 14, Montevideo 2 (5 innings)
NL-S 9, Litchfield 3
Milaca 3, Albany 1
Area baseball scores on April 25:
Brandon-Evansville 19, Rothsay 2 (5 innings)
Parkers Prairie 10, Pillager 0
New York Mill 12, Sebeka 0 Brandon-Evansville 10, Rothsay 0 (5 innings)
Litchfield 18, New London-Spicer 9
NL-S 8, Litchfield 7
Montevideo 11, Minnewaska 1
Montevideo 9, Minnewaska 7
Minneota 4, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 3
Yellow Medicine East 9, Lac qui Parle Valley 2
Benson 3, Ortonville 2
Fastpitch dominant in series sweep at Royalton; baseball suffers heartbreaking loss (VIDEO)
First, the great news!
In a Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader at Royalton, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team totaled 17 hits in each game while recording a series sweep over the Royals. After winning game one 13-2 in five innings, the Jaguars finished the evening with a 9-2 win.
Overall, the Jaguars had 34 hits compared to 10 by the Royals. Mya Worms pitched all 12 innings as her season record has improved to 5-1.
In the five-inning win, the Jaguars scored 6 runs in both the 4th and 5th innings to end the game early. Royalton falls to 1-7 overall and 1-6 in the CMC.
The B-B-E fastpitch team is now 6-1 overall (5-1 CMC). This marks their best overall start to the season in 37 years! Yes! That is correct. They want to keep it going, too, and next is a tall task with undefeated Swanville coming to town tomorrow (Friday) with first pitch at 4:45 p.m. The Bulldogs were 8-0 coming into today's Prairie Conference game against Osakis. Update: Swanville, ranked No. 4 in the most recent QRF rankings, is now 9-0 overall after they beat visiting Osakis 10-2 tonight. In the Prairie Conference, Swanville improves to 5-0. Osakis is 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the Prairie.
Switching to baseball reporting...
At Elrosa in CMC action for the home opener, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated Royalton 9-3 in game one before taking a tough 4-3 loss in walk-off fashion in game two. They will put a chip on their shoulder now and put the tough loss behind them this weekend. Next:the Jaguars (4-3, 4-2) travel to Kingery Field in Atwater next Monday, April 28 to face the Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons. Update: that game in Atwater has been postponed to May 15. The Jaguars have a week off now until they head east to Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud next Thursday, May 1. They play two games, and the first game is set for noon. The opponent will be Holdingford.
In game one, Luke Illies pitched all 7 innings and held the Royals to 4 hits to go with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks. Illies helped his own cause by batting 2-for-3 (one single, one triple) with one walk, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored.
In game two, neither team scored through the first 5 innings. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Royals punched in 2 runs to take the lead. With their backs to the wall, the Jaguars rallied and scored 3 runs in the top of the 7th inning. The other shoe fell, however, with the Royals scoring twice in the bottom of the 7th inning to claim the win. They won the game on an RBI-single to bring a runner home from third base.
Here's action from tonight's second game in Elrosa:
The video is from the top of the 3rd inning, and it begins with Tate Deters batting.
The Royals are 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the CMC.
Coming tomorrow...a high amount of golf action!
Tomorrow morning, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team hosts the second CMC meet of their season. They open play at Prairie View Golf Course in Brooten at 9 a.m. Also, B-B-E's two varsity girls' golfers are in action beginning with a trip north to Osakis for a CMC meet at 9 a.m. More on that to follow later.
Also exciting! Tomorrow, B-B-E's 5th grade Math Masters team travels to Alexandria. They compete mostly in the morning for a competition that should be wrapped up by about 1 p.m.
Central MN Conference fastpitch scores on April 24:
Kimball Area 15, Eden Valley-Watkins 1
Kimball Area 13, EV-W 1 (5 innings)
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 6, Holdingford 3
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 8, Holdingford 5
Central MN Conference baseball scores on April 24:
Holdingford 12, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Eden Valley-Watkins 12, Kimball Area 11
Holdingford 10, A-C-GC 0
Area fastpitch scores on April 24:
Browerville 4, Mille Lacs 1
Upsala 6, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 5 (8 innings)
Pequot Lakes 7, Sauk Centre 1
Tracy-Milroy-Balaton 2, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 1
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 12, Benson 0
Area baseball scores on April 24:
Melrose Area 3, BOLD 2
Benson 3, West Central Area 2
Upsala/Swanville Area 9, Parkers Prairie 2
Dawson-Boyd 15, Border West 6
Benson 10, WCA 0
Melrose Area 6, BOLD 1
Getting the next news and sports cycle going (VIDEOS*)
Every Thursday, the jet turbine engine also known as the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper begins spinning itself back up to full speed. This takes place the day after Wednesdays, during which this turbine engine winds itself down to a full stop for rest. For today, the two big items on the agenda includes a track and field meet in Sauk Centre as well as a home baseball doubleheader in Elrosa. The forecast calls for rain later this afternoon, but hopefully it does not amount to much. It would be great if it rained after the sporting events are completed, but - of course - we can't control the weather, right?
A light amount of Easter coverage was published in the April 24 issue of the newspaper. The rest of it will have to wait until the May 1 issue. A video clip from Sunburg Free Lutheran church from Easter worship was posted at the newspaper's website. You can find it by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/Zr4go.
It became quite a day this afternoon...
And just like that! The news cycle took an interesting turn this afternoon when I saw about 8 police squad vehicles staging in western Brooten. By late afternoon, they descended on the rental home at 320 Prairie Avenue. I did not have time to camp out and watch, but I will have more information to post on this at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website tomorrow.
Here's a video from one of the 100 dash heats on Tuesday this week:
Here's a video with Taylor Nelson running in the 1600 on Tuesday:
It's late on Thursday afternoon now, and I miss the sunshine! We had terrific sunshine on Tuesday. Today, we have fully cloudy weather. Boo!!!
Updates to follow here later this evening.
And here's the first update of the evening...
At Elrosa for the home opener, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated Royalton 9-3. This is game one of a Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader. The second game should begin at about 6 p.m. In the first game, B-B-E had an early 5-1 lead after two innings that held up.
**The fastpitch team went 2-0 in Morrison County tonight! Exciting!
This blog post has concluded. More to follow in a new blog post.
Fastpitch stays in the win column, baseball takes a tough loss (VIDEOS*)
Thanks to a fourth inning rally, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team continued its winning ways by defeating ACGC 8-2 this evening on the home diamond. The win improves their record in the Central Minnesota Conference to 2-1, and they are 4-1 overall. Next: a key doubleheader at Royalton on Thursday.
B-B-E piled up 14 hits against A-C-GC's Kendra Miller. Mya Worms pitched the win and went the distance while holding the Falcons to 6 hits. B-B-E's four-game winning streak is their longest such streak since the 2009 season, when they won 6 games in the middle of their schedule.
A-C-GC fell to 1-5 overall and 0-4 in the CMC.
Here's a video featuring the Jaguars in action in the 4th inning today:
Also tonight! We had golf athletes in action at Pine Island Golf Course in Atwater, and the track and field teams hosted a 12-team meet at the high school athletic complex. I'll get to reporting on that later, and most likely in the morning.
At Eden Valley-Watkins tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team fell behind 2-0 after the first inning and couldn't get over the hump. The Eagles cooled off the Jaguars by a 6-4 score. The loss sends the Jaguars into a tie for first place with Paynesville Area; both teams are 3-1 in the CMC.
While both teams had 6 hits each, the Jaguars left 6 runners stranded. The Jaguars scored 2 runs in both the 5th and 7th innings. Next: the Jaguars host Royalton at 4 p.m. on Thursday this week in Elrosa for a CMC doubleheader. The Royals lost 3-2 tonight at Kimball Area to fall to 3-4 overall and 1-3 in the CMC.
Here's a video featuring one of the girls' 100 open heats today in Belgrade:
Out of 34 runners, Laken Anderson placed 21st with a time of 15.28 seconds. On the boys' side, Kameron Hiltner won the 100 open race with a time of 11.82 seconds. In the 1600 run, Taylor Nelson placed first with an outstanding finish as he edged out St. John's Prep's Connor McMahon. Nelson's time was 4:50.15, while McMahon's time was 4:51.80. The track and field teams are in action on Thursday this week at Sauk Centre (3:30 p.m.).
Additional track and field coverage will be published in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
Central MN Conference fastpitch scores on April 22:
Royalton 17, Holdingford 7 (Royals earn their first win of the season)
Paynesville Area 6, Eden Valley-Watkins 4
Central MN Conference baseball scores on April 22:
Paynesville Area 3, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Kimball Area 3, Royalton 2
Area fastpitch scores on Tuesday, April 22:
Sauk Centre 13, Benson 3 (5 innings)
West Central Area 7, Montevideo 6
Annandale 12, Maple Lake 3
Swanville 10, Upsala 5 (Bulldogs improve to 6-0 overall)
Osakis 11, Browerville 8
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 5, Hancock 3
Willmar 7, Sauk Rapids-Rice 3
Kimball Area 7, Albany 0
Sauk Centre 19, Benson 4
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 5, BOLD 0
Area baseball scores on Monday, April 21:
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 10, Minneota 3
New London-Spicer 4, Glencoe-Silver Lake 2 (11 innings!)
Ottertail Central 10, Browerville 0
Brandon-Evansville 4, Mahnomen/Waubun 3
Marshall 6, Hutchinson 0
Foley 6, Eden Valley-Watkins 2
St. Cloud Cathedral 8, Osakis 1
In two outstanding performances at Irish Stadium today, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team defeated Maple Lake in two shutouts by scores of 7-0 and then 10-0 (5 innings) to improve to 3-1 overall and 3-0 in the Central Minnesota Conference.
Luke Illies started and pitched 5 innings in game one, and Brett DeRoo closed and gave up no runs, no walks to go with three strikeouts. Illies gave up just 2 hits to go with 4 walks and 5 strikeouts across 74 pitches. At the plate in game one, the Jaguars totaled 9 hits while Ethan Mueller led the attack by going 3-for-4 with one triple, a two RBI home run and 5 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Jack Lundberg went 2-for-4, and Tyler Myers, Lance Radermacher, Tate Deters and Noah DeRoo also had one hit apiece.
The Jaguars broke a scoreless tie with one run scored in the top of the fourth. They pushed across 3 more runs in both the fifth and seventh innings.
In game two, eighth grader Jace Mueller got his first career varsity start and pitched 4 1/3 innings with 4 hits, 3 strikeouts and 2 walks. DeRoo was closer to finish out the bottom of the fifth inning to seal the five-inning win. Next: the Jaguars travel to Eden Valley-Watkins tomorrow (Tuesday) to continue CMC action. I do not have a game site at this point for the varsity game. The Eagles are currently 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the CMC.
The audio is tough on this video, as the wind caused problems for me at the JV diamond when I stopped at baseball practice a week and a half ago. Coach Klaphake was speaking to the varsity and JV players about the phrase "What you allow, you promote" and what that means for a sports team's coaches and players.
Here's the video:
After tomorrow's game against EV-W, the Jaguars have a big doubleheader this Thursday, April 24 for the home opener against Royalton. First pitch at Saints Field in Elrosa is set for 4 p.m. that day.
Coming tomorrow...Tuesday...home action for the fastpitch and the track and field teams! It will be an incredibly busy evening. The track and field meet at the high school athletic complex features 11 visiting teams.
It's high time to get out in the garden! Full sunshine this afternoon and a high temperature of 63 degrees. Tomorrow's forecast calls for more sunshine and a high of 65 degrees.
This blog post will be updated later this evening after sunset!
The opening game is nearing completion at Maple Lake as this blog post is being created today. The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team is battling for a 2-0 day with a Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader at Irish Stadium. The first game started at 11 a.m. (Updates at the end of this blog post)
This and that...and that...
The Belgrade city council meets tonight in regular session. You can get more details by clicking over to my editor's blog at this short link: https://shorturl.at/VqImT.
A rural Sunburg property has been listed with Barbara Lent, our local Century 21 realtor. It's worth at least checking out online! The ad for this property will be on page 10 in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, and it's also posted at the newspaper's website: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/classifieds/category/real-estate.
And coverage continues into this week for B-B-E's April 15 high school spring concert. Another video from the concert was added to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website: https://shorturl.at/nJnxJ. By clicking on that short link, you can watch the senior high choir perform their final song of that portion of the concert.
And back to sports...
At Maple Lake today, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball teamdefeated the Irish 7-0 in the opening game of their doubleheader. More to follow in a new blog post.
Two fun Easter events took place today in Elrosa and Brooten.
Here's what the scene looked like at the Elrosa Catholic church basement this morning:
What time or times are you going to Easter Sunday worship tomorrow? I've got 7 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. worships on my schedule. Possibly more!
Let's fast forward to Sunday...
Multiple churches held Easter morning worship services on Sunday. Off the top of my head, a few of those churches held worship services at either 6:30 a.m. or 7 a.m. that were dubbed "Sunrise" services. Trinity Lutheran Church in Brooten held worship at 7 a.m.
Here's a large portion of worship at Trinity on Sunday:
The video begins around the time that Pastor Jeanne was providing her announcements for the church. It continues until shortly after Holy Communion was provided to worshipers.
Often on Easter Sunday, I try to swing out to East Norway Lake Lutheran Church for their sunrise worship service. With my family being involved with serving breakfast at Trinity Lutheran in Brooten this morning, it kept me from making the 20-minute trek into Arctander Township.
Additional Easter Sunday worship coverage will be published in the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's April 24 issue.
Smilin' D Arena in Colfax Township hosted a ranch rodeo event tonight. A short video clip from the event was posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website, which you can find by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/Tglhi.
As luck would have it, the timing worked out to cover both that event at the arena as well as part of Good Friday worship at Crow River Lutheran Church. "As the crow flies" the two locations are just a couple miles apart.
Here's a short video recorded after the sorting competition was completed:
More to come. Additional video is uploading.
And for some actual church! Good Friday worship services were held at numerous area churches tonight. At the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website is a video from worship at Crow River Lutheran tonight. Click on the following link to see that: https://shorturl.at/QreXI.
In their third road game in four contests to start the season, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team picked up an 11-1 win against MACCRAY tonight to improve to 3-1 overall. Playing at MACCRAY's field in Raymond, the Jaguars improved to 3-1 heading into a home Central Minnesota Conference game with Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City next Tuesday.
A six-run sixth inning broke open what was a close game. Through five innings, the Jaguars held a 3-0 lead, and the game was scoreless through three. Strong baserunning was a big key to the win, with the Jaguars led by Bree Radermacher's 4 stolen bases. The Jaguars had 10 total in the game.
For the second game in a row with Mya Worms starting, the sophomore issued no walks in a complete-game win. She fired 7 strikeouts across a total of 76 pitches. Earning 2 hits each were Lydia Primus, Mya Worms, Taylor Shelton, Lillian Thompson, Ava Lieser, Bree Radermacher and Kamie Fischer. The Jaguars racked up 7 extra-base hits, with the following players all hitting doubles: Lydia Primus (two doubles), Mya Worms (two doubles), Taylor Shelton, Lillian Thompson and Kamie Fischer.
MACCRAY fell to 1-5 overall.
Here's a video from the home game last Friday against Benson:
In that video, freshman Lydia Primus is shown pitching in the bottom of the third inning against the Braves.
The Jaguars have scored 39 runs across their last three games...all have been wins!
Shifting gears to track and field coverage...
The B-B-E boys' track and field team had a terrific showing at the A-C-GC Invitational today. They piled up 75 team points and placed fourth out of 7 teams.
Junior Kameron Hiltner broke his own career record in the 100 open, a time that was also the new school record, as he won that event today in Grove City with a time of 11.17 seconds. His former best time in the 100 open was 11.24 seconds, a time he earned in Morris one week ago. Prior to the Morris Invitational, B-B-E's 100 open boys' record had stood since the 2019 season: 11.34 seconds by Class of 2019 graduate Blake Goodall.
Senior distance runner Taylor Nelson won the 1600 (4:54.68) and 3200 (10.39.70).
Also, the boys' 4x400 relay squad took first place with a time of 3:58.66.
Getting back to spring concert coverage...a video from the final song performed that night has been posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. You can see that by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/eUsul.
And in a major goof, and it is ironic what I did...I mistakenly mixed up former Brooten Review newspaper publisher Con Folin with one of his sons, Clint Folin. This occurred while writing about the Folin family in this week's newspaper. For the record: Con Folin did not live to be 120 years old. He passed away in his early 90s back in 1986. Clint Folin, who was a Brooten high school graduate in 1941, died in 2013. Also noteworthy! Con Folin served on the Brooten school board. He was deeply dedicated to the Brooten community while publishing the local newspaper.
Central Minnesota Conference fastpitch scores on April 17:
Kimball Area 12, Maple Lake 0
Area fastpitch scores on April 17:
Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 5, Osakis 4
New London-Spicer 9, Minnewaska Area 2
Swanville 12, Browerville 2 (5 innings)
West Central Area 17, Upsala 4
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 6, Marshall 0
The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team travels south to Raymond, where they face the MACCRAY Wolverines in a game of Sub-Section 3A-North teams.
In another road trip, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team has a big night ahead with a Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader at Maple Lake. First pitch for game one is at 4 p.m. at Irish Stadium. The baseball team's trip to Maple Lake has been postponed until Monday. Game one is at 11 a.m., and game two should follow at about 1 p.m. at Irish Stadium. The team will have to contend with road construction on Highway 55, which is set to begin next Monday east of Kimball.
In action at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City high school's athletic facilities in Grove City today, the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams compete in an invitational beginning at 3:30 p.m. Teams included with the Jaguars and host Falcons are BOLD/Buffalo-Lake-Hector-Stewart, Community Christian School of Willmar, Paynesville Area and Royalton. Teams included with the Jaguars and host Falcons are BOLD/Buffalo-Lake-Hector-Stewart, Community Christian School of Willmar, Paynesville Area and Royalton.
Also tonight! This is Maundy Thursday, and area churches will be holding worship services tonight during what is called Holy Week on the Christian calendar.
Scores from tonight's games will be posted in a new blog post.
Late on Tuesday night, a video was added to this blog post from the concert.
The B-B-E grades 6-12 choirs and bands will perform their spring concert tonight starting at 7 p.m. at Olson Auditorium. I'm currently looking for the live player web link for online streaming of the concert.
AND! Here's the link that you can share. I will try utilzing the "embed code" and post it to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. That link will also be posted here.
AND! Here's a link that you can click on to view a live video player during the concert: https://shorturl.at/OB0ge. This is posted at the newspaper's website. Please spread the word if you know of anyone who is unable to attend in person!
And in sports news...
Baseball practice, like all spring sports, has been conducted indoors and outdoors this spring. Last Friday, they had light pitching practice indoors and then outdoors as a team. While I was attending a track and field meeting after school on Friday, it was terrific to see senior Hayden Sobiech at pitching practice with Coach Klaphake. Fellow senior Ethan Mueller was catching for him in the gym.
Here's Hayden Sobiech practicing in the gym last Friday:
The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team makes up their doubleheader at Maple Lake on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Irish Stadium. It is great that they can pull this off this week, because starting next Monday...wait for it! Starting next Monday, Highway 55 gets blown up (figuratively speaking) with road construction and one-way traffic east of Kimball.
Let's revisit tonight's concert!
The spring concert held tonight at Olson Auditorium featured superb performances by the choirs and bands. The students and teachers should be proud of what they accomplished! I've got a mountain of material to work with across two newspaper issues.
Here's a short video recorded early in the concert...
In this video, the middle school choir ("Day 2 choir") is performing the song Flooding Rains by Harley Mead. Time to get back to the newspaper.
Wow! Goodness! There won't be any outdoor gardening today.
Also, I just got word that the home fastpitch doubleheader with Maple Lake has been postponed. Coach Funk said it has been pushed out to May 15! Good grief!
Also, don't forget...the B-B-E school board meets in regular session tonight at 7 p.m. at the high school library.
The Brooten city council also meets tonight...you can see the details at my editor's blog: https://shorturl.at/VuY7T. It is always good to be an informed citizen!
In the Section 5A meet held at Annandale high school today, four members of the B-B-E speech team competed for spots in the state speech meet: Eliana Funes, Hailey Henderson, Kora Martinez and Tia Nelson. Nelson was the highest finisher for B-B-E, and the senior placed fourth in Great Speeches. Funes, a 7th grader, earned 8th place in Dramatic Interpretation.
While area diamonds continue waiting to become "game ready" across central Minnesota, some are good to go, and that's where teams are flocking to. Just down the road at Eden Valley, the No. 7-ranked B-B-E Jaguars baseball team faced defending Section 6A champion and No. 2-ranked Parkers Prairie in a non-conference game this afternoon. The Panthers racked up 12 hits off of four separate B-B-E pitchers on their way to a 16-3 win. This improves their record to 2-0; they beat Wadena-Deer Creek in a Park Region Conference game in their opener on Thursday in Wadena.
Now 1-1 overall, the Jaguars prepare for a road trip for a Central Minnesota Conference doubleheader at Maple Lake on Monday (4 p.m.) at Irish Stadium.
Let's reflect some more on robotics!
And here's a break from current events as I circle back to robotics coverage...
Here's a short video clip recorded two Fridays ago at the River's Edge Convention Center in St. Cloud:
In that shaky, rough video, B-B-E's Coby DenHartog and Owen Miller were at their driver's station as B-B-E's alliance was introduced prior to one of their 7 qualification matches they participated in that day.
Here's a video from a Friday afternoon win that day (April 4):
That win was the first of three straight that the B-B-E team's alliances earned to close out the day on Friday.
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team completed one of their best-ever showings at a region competition last weekend. Out of 48 teams in St. Cloud, they finished in 21st place. The robotics team, which was founded in 2012, had its best finish in program history at the 2019 region competition held in Duluth. That winter, the team finished in 19th place.
On Sunday! In Belgrade...
The St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church will hold their annual spring sausage and pancake supper tomorrow (Sunday). They are serving from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Parish Center on Martin Avenue in Belgrade.
Who else out there has gotten some garden planted? We have peas, spinach and zucchini planted outdoors. Indoors in pots, we have more peas, sweet corn, watermelon and zucchini planted. We've reached into the upper 60s on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend with moderate to "good" sunshine. The next week has a variety of weather plus a few freezing nights. Spring is trying to fully settle in, but it's not quite there yet.
This blog was updated slightly on Saturday morning.
Today, on their home diamond, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team hosts Benson at 5 p.m. For this game, Benson is the "home" team, as it was scheduled as a game to be played in Benson. However, Benson officials deemed their field "not ready" - so it became a game in Brooten!
And the result is in!
The 52-minute-long game resulted in a 20-1 win in four innings for the Jaguars! After B-B-E posted a 2-0 lead in the first inning, they broke the game wide open with 13 runs scored in the top of the second. It is the first 13-spot in one inning by any B-B-E fastpitch team. They were held off the scoreboard in the third inning but then set themselves up for the blowout win by scoring 5 times in the top of the fourth. Altogether, B-B-E piled up 21 hits, while Benson had 2.
Benson, who is a fellow Sub-Section 3A-North team with B-B-E, was playing their second game of the season. Just like our squad, they have just 2 seniors on the roster. In their season opener yesterday (April 10) in Dawson, the Braves won 7-6 against Dawson-Boyd in spite of being out-hit 17-10.
The Jaguars are now 2-1 (1-1 Central Minnesota Conference) going into Monday's home doubleheader with Maple Lake (4 p.m.) in Brooten.
Here's a video featuring the final out being recorded in the lopsided win:
Freshman Lydia Primus spun a two-hitter with 2 strikeouts while issuing no walks in the complete-game win. Her team's defense was solid with no errors while she faced 14 batters for the game.
At the plate, Primus went 4-for-4 with one stolen base. Kenna Lieser hit 3 doubles with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. Also earning 3 hits were Mya Worms (2 RBI), Kacey Fischer (2 RBI) and Taylor Shelton (2 doubles, 4 RBI).
Benson's pitching battery included senior Mya McGeary (IP-1 2/3) and junior Ava Williams (IP-2 1/3).
**Here's a video featuring action in the top of the 4th inning with the Jaguars batting:
I'll do a little more digging, but I think we have to go back to the 1990s to see when a Jaguar fastpitch team scored 20 runs!
On the schedule for tomorrow (Saturday) on the road...
The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team has a big Section 6A contest tomorrow when they travel east to Eden Valley to face Parkers Prairie. First pitch is at 1 p.m. at Hawks Field, their amateur baseball park. The JV team faces Parkers Prairie, and they also play at 1 p.m. at a different field in Eden Valley.
In college basketball news...
Two Northland Community and Technical College women's basketball players have been chosen as All-Americans by the NJCAA Division III Women's Basketball Committee. Northland sophomore guard Tiyana Schwinghammer was named to the NJCAA Division III All-American First Team, while sophomore point guard Josie Iverson was named to the Second Team. Schwinghammer, a B-B-E graduate in 2023, averaged 15.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game during the 2024-2025 season, and Iverson averaged 12.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game during their respective sophomore seasons. This is Schwinghammer's second All-American award. She was named to the Second Team as a forward following the 2023-24 season. Schwinghammer is the first Pioneer to earn First Team All-American honors since Carly Mekash earned that honor following the 2019-20 season. She is the eighth Northland player to be named to the NJCAA Division III All-American First Team in program history and she joins ShaRon Miller as the only other two-time All-American in NCTC program history.
Area fastpitch scores on April 11:
St. Cloud Cathedral 19, Paynesville Area 9 (6 innings; the Crusaders are 3-0 so far after going 24-3 and finishing in third place at the 2024 Class 2A state tournament)
New Ulm Cathedral 8 BOLD 0
Yellow Medicine East 9, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 5
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 16, Minnewaska Area 6 (5 innings; the Falcons scored 14 runs in the top of the 4th)
Eden Valley-Watkins 18, Litchfield 8 (6 innings)
Norwood-Young America 9, Maple Lake 6
Sauk Centre 6, Osakis 0
Pierz 3, Holdingford 2
Kimball Area 6, Dassel-Cokato 2
Wabasso 14, Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 4 (5 innings)
Area baseball scores on April 11:
Minnewaska Area 4, BOLD 0
Minnewaska Area 9, BOLD 1
Russell-Tyler-Ruthton 11, Lac qui Parle Valley 9
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 11, Hancock 3
Area fastpitch scores on April 10:
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 10, New London-Spicer 3
Minnewaska Area 12, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 5
MACCRAY 9, Ashby 7
Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley 12, Lac qui Parle Valley 4
Area baseball scores on April 10:
New London-Spicer 12, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 2
Montevideo 8, Benson 1
Montevideo 11, Benson 1 (5 innings)
Eden Valley-Watkins 6, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 2 (a Central MN Conference game at Eden Valley)
Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 17, Central MN Christian-Prinsburg 2 (5 innings)
K-M-S 6, CMC-Prinsburg 4
Lac qui Parle Valley 12, Renville County West 1
A night of winning! Jaguars sizzle tonight (VIDEOS*)
We had a terrific night filled with wins for our spring varsity teams! I can't type much, as my hands are still cold from the track and field meet in Morris. Bear with me. I'll get video added to this blog post later tonight.
At Eden Valley-Watkins for their second road game of the young season, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team recorded their first win of the season. The final score was 8-3 as they moved to 1-1 in the Central Minnesota Conference. They look to move above .500 with a home game tomorrow against Benson in Brooten. Sophomore Mya Worms got the pitching win, and freshman Lydia Primus had a hot stick by going 4-for-5 with 2 doubles, two RBI and 2 runs scored. Kacey Fischer was 3-for-4 with 2 doubles, one RBI and 2 runs scored.
Overall, B-B-E piled up 16 hits compared to 10 for the Eagles. Worms fired 6 strikeouts and issued no walks with 2 earned runs. It was a huge win for the team, as EV-W was the second-best team in the CMC last year (10-4) behind Kimball Area (14-0).
Next: the Jaguars host Benson at 5 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) in a non-conference border battle.
At Paynesville for their season opener today, the B-B-E Jaguars baseball team earned a remarkable win by defeating the three-time defending Central Minnesota Conference champion Bulldogs by a 5-3 score. Luke Illies started and got the win in five innings on the mound, and Brett DeRoo closed with the final two frames. DeRoo led the offense by going 3-for-4, and Illies hit a two-RBI home run while scoring twice.
B-B-E stacked up 4 runs in the top of the 6th inning to break what was a 1-1 tie after five. Next: the baseball team plays Parkers Prairie in Eden Valley this Saturday, although I don't have all the details on that yet.
...and in track and field news from Morris!
For the B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams, senior Taylor Nelson had an incredible night by earning titles in both the 1600 and 3200-meter runs. He shattered his career record in the 3200 by about 20 seconds with an unofficial time of 10:31. Nelson, who also runs in the fall with the paired B-B-E/Paynesville cross country team, has signed with the University of Jamestown College men's cross country team.
Here's a video clip from the boys' 200 race tonight in Morris:
Mason Douvier is featured crossing the finish line in the video. His unofficial time was 25.43 seconds.
Here's senior Taylor Nelson in a post-meet interview tonight:
Taylor Nelson is one of five seniors on this year's track and field teams. The other seniors are Dominic Ramos, Coby DenHartog, Vanessa Snyder and Bree Thieschafer.
Next: the track and field teams have a one-week break before traveling to Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City next Thursday, April 17.
Just in case you were unable to make it to church this past Sunday...or if you did go to church but would like to hear another reading of Bible verses and a pastor's sermon, I've got your back!
From West Lake Johanna Lutheran church in Gilchrist Township this past Sunday:
I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring for sports. Today, we had incredible weather with full sunshine (most of the day) and a high of about 65 degrees. I finally dug dirt in our family garden! My soil thermometer is getting regular readings between 50 and 52 degrees at a depth of about 5 inches. This is great! The gardening season will soon be in full swing.
As it stands, the track and field teams have an invitational at Morris (hosted at the University of Minnesota-Morris track and field complex) at 4 p.m. Also, the baseball team is set to open their season at Paynesville Area high school. For the fastpitch team, they've got a road trip to Eden Valley. The forecast calls for 50 degrees as a high, a slight 15 mph wind plus heavy cloud cover. All told, a cool spring day is in store.
Facing Paynesville Area on the road today, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team was able to connect frequently with the ball, but Maddie McNabb finished with a no-hitter as her Bulldogs team won the season opener 6-0.
Here's a video featuring the final out recorded in the bottom of the 6th inning tonight:
The Jaguars look to get their first win on Thursday this week against Eden Valley-Watkins. The game is set to be played at Eden Valley. Our home field is not quite ready yet with quite a bit of snow yet to melt off of the outfield.
It's looking like the first outdoor varsity competition of the spring season will take place on Tuesday this week. As it stands, the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team opens their schedule with a road game at Paynesville. I'll know more about this as Tuesday arrives! I still have a small hangover from the weather that smacked me over the head last week. Between the ice on Sunday (March 30) and then the two-day snowfall in the middle of last week, it kicked my butt! I do not like snow in April! The moisture we received is valuable and needed, yes, but snow in April just keeps me out of the garden.
In other news...I've been swamped! By the weekend, or more specifically, by Friday and Saturday. They were grueling days with both region robotics and subsection speech. I did a rough tally of my photos and I got past 350 for just those two events. Yikes! Then I took about at least 60 more photos to review and pick from at the Catholic United Financial Aid breakfast in Elrosa on Sunday.
I found this fascinating...
Did you know? In the Brooten Review newspaper, going back 100 years this week, the April 9 issue that year published a fascinating story about how a Carver County (near Victoria, MN) immigrant farmer from Germany established North America's first winter-hardy variety of alfalfa. I doubt I can re-print the entire article this week. It is rather long. Perhaps another week this month!
Afternoon update:
Looks like all systems go for the fastpitch team's opener today. As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, we have full sunshine with a cool 44 degree temperature. There's a slight south/southeast breeze. Brr!! We'll see how it goes at Paynesville, where first pitch is set for 4:45 p.m.
Robotics stays hot for Day II of Granite City regional (VIDEOS**)
To start the second day of the Granite City Regional, the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team was part of another winning Red Alliance as they improved to 5-3 in qualification matches in St. Cloud. The final score was 134-80.
Here's a video clip from the team's pit after they earned the win to start Saturday's action:
B-B-E's second qualification match of Saturday is set to begin at about 10:45 a.m. ****Update: in the second match for B-B-E on Saturday, their Blue Alliance fell 106-89 in an excellent match. They were paired with teams from Hopkins and St. Francis. Now in 18th place, their final qualification match is set to start at about 11:25 a.m.
Click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's website for more Saturday updates from St. Cloud: https://shorturl.at/TdNAC. As of noon, B-B-E's team is in the running for a playoff spot!
On Saturday night, a video was added to that web article at The Voice website. Final results from the region playoffs was also added.
Here's that video which was also added at the newspaper's website:
The B-B-E Speech team hosted the Sub-Section 5A-West meet tonight at the high school. A total of 9 team members competed for spots in the upcoming Section 5A meet. Four members of B-B-E's team earned individual spots at the Section 5A meet by placing in 6th place or better.
B-B-E senior Tia Nelson won the subsection title in Great Speeches. In Drama, Eliana Funes earned third place. In Prose, Kora Martinez earned fourth place. In Poetry, Marlie Schlangen earned fourth place.
Here's a video featuring the post-meet group photo at Olson Auditorium:
The Section 5A meet is at Annandale high school on Saturday, April 12.
Tomorrow! It's a big, BIG day for the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team, as they are set for Day II of the Granite City Regional in St. Cloud. Their first qualification match is set for around 9:30 a.m.
Remember! Here's the livestream link that you can use to watch the action remotely if you cannot attend and cheer in person: https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires5.
GAME DAY! For Robotics and Speech - and big sports news
A big day is in store for fans in Jaguar Country, with two playoff-style events taking place at home and on the road.
During the day, theB-B-E Resistance Robotics teamis competing in 7 qualification matches at the Granite City Regional in St. Cloud.
For action at home, which fans are invited to, the B-B-E speech team hosts the Sub-Section 5A-West meet at the high school. The first rounds begin at 4:15 p.m.
Updates from St. Cloud...
In the first qualification match, B-B-E's Red Alliance lost a heartbreaker by a 70-66 score. It was a grueling loss. Their alliance held a 60-44 lead at the conclusion of the action, but the ranking points tipped the scales in favor of the Blue Alliance. A very tough loss to start the region tournament! Ouch.
In B-B-E's second qualification match at 10:33 a.m., their Blue Alliance won 128-54. This puts B-B-E's region record in St. Cloud at 1-1. Their alliance led 20-9 after the autonomous period, and when the clock ran to zeroes, the score was 102-50. This match's Blue Alliance included B-B-E, New London-Spicer and Detroit Lakes.
B-B-E's third match of the day is tentatively set to begin at 11:18 a.m.
FRIDAY night update from St. Cloud!
The B-B-E Resistance Robotics team had a remarkable afternoon to finish out the first day of competition at the Granite City Regional in St. Cloud. After suffering two very close losses and sitting with a 1-3 record earlier this afternoon, they picked up three straight alliance wins and have climbed from 34th place out of 48 teams up to 17th! Outstanding!
Robotics UPDATE ON FRIDAY morning...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website with this link: https://shorturl.at/ooaVT...and there you can follow more updates on the team's progress today in St. Cloud. For the newspaper's sports department, we have "wheels up" at noon to head to River's Edge and take in the last 4 matches of the day in person. It's going to be a fund day!
**Friday afternoon: B-B-E's fifth match was terrific as they earned a 103-46 win. More to come.
In breaking sports news...playoff maps are set to change in Minnesota...
There's more to digest over the weekend, but I can share this right away...the B-B-E Jaguars football team has a revamped playoff map starting next fall. With new MSHSL classifications released this week, our football team has been placed in a new Section 5A for the postseason. The 2025 season will be their first as members of Section 5A since the fall of 2008.
Section 5A football teams for the fall of 2025 and 2026:
1. Benson
2. Long Prairie/Grey Eagle
3. Upsala/Swanville Area
4. Ashby/Brandon-Evansville
5. B-B-E
6. West Central Area
7. Browerville
For the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team, they remain in Section 6A for the playoffs. In basketball, the sections remain largely unchanged for our teams. I don't see any new additions for either of our winter basketball teams. The boys' squad remains in Section 6A, and the girls' team continues their quest for state tournaments in Section 5A. For the wrestling team, it's the same story: no major changes in Section 5A.
More from 'Fueling for Performance, Fueling for Life' at BBE's Olson Auditorium
The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website features another web article posted with video from the "Fueling for Performance, Fueling for Life" presentation at Olson Auditorium on March 24.
I've also reposted the jigsaw puzzle information at The Voice website: https://shorturl.at/Fcb0o. Earlier this week, they only had one confirmed team signed up. We need more! They would love to have 3 or 4 teams competing on Saturday.
Coming on Friday and Saturday...robotics is back in action!
This was just released tonight by F.I.R.S.T. Robotics. The Granite City Robotics Regional begins on Friday morning at the River's Edge Convention Center, and the times for qualification matches have been set. For the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team, their first qualification match in St. Cloud is set for 9:31 a.m., and a livestream via Twitch will be active. B-B-E's team will be in the Red Alliance in that first match, with their other alliance teams coming from Devils Lake, ND and from Hutchinson.
Today, B-B-E's robotics team participated in three practice matches in St. Cloud. Altogether, the Granite City Regional includes 48 teams. The official Granite City Regional website is https://frcnorthland.org/granite-city.
Here's the tentative schedule for B-B-E's team on Friday: Match 1:at 09:31 (Red Alliance) Match 2: at 10:34 (Blue Alliance) Match 3: at 11:18 (Blue Alliance) Match 4: at 1:41 p.m. (Blue Alliance) Match 5: at 3:16 p.m. (Red Alliance) Match 6: at 4:18 p.m. (Red Alliance) Match 7: at 5:32 p.m. (Red Alliance)
On Friday, I'll get a more detailed web article posted at the newspaper's website that will also include information about Saturday's robotics action, which is set to feature 3 qualification matches.
Due to the impending snowstorm that this area is currently experiencing, B-B-E schools are set to open 2 hours late on Wednesday, April 2. No fooling around out there! As of 9 p.m. tonight (Tuesday), we have 32 degrees and snow falling in Brooten.
Let's go back about a week...here's more from the health speaker's presentation at Olson Auditorium on March 24.
Creating a proper diet for student athletes:
Part II for the story on Danielle Rancourt's presentation will be published in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.
Some things are just too outlandish to believe! Here's a nugget I found in the Brooten Review newspaper archives while researching Brooten high school football history. This was published in the November 9, 1939 issue of The Review.
"Not all drivers are blind: many just act that way"
Re-printed from the Grand Rapids newspaper
It is estimated that a third of the automobiles upon the highways are unsafe for many causes. Sometimes the trouble results from defective tires or brakes, but many times the difficulty is with the driver. A citizen of Grand Rapids tells the case where a car was being driven by a man, upon whose lap sat his child, about 12 years old. The man was blind or virtually so. He worked the clutch, brakes and throttle. The child steered the car, and right into an accident.
Wednesday afternoon update: B-B-E schools is closing at 2 p.m. today. The snow is becoming relentless! This was after I saw "1 to 3 inches" in the forecast earlier today.
At the Belgrade Library this Saturday afternoon...
A puzzle tournament is taking place! Gather a group of friends to form a team and get signed up! (You need to select a team name, too.) Each team receives the same puzzle, and the goal is to put the puzzle together in the shortest amount of time. This is coming on Saturday, April 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Belgrade Library. Six team limit, and participants can be from ages 12 to adult. Register your team by calling the library at 320-254-8842.
