Robotics stays hot for Day II of Granite City regional (VIDEO)

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!

Nelson earns Sub-Section speech title (VIDEO)

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, the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team is 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.

You can find it by clicking here: https://shorturl.at/HzzWY.

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.

Here's the live stream link! https://www.twitch.tv/firstinspires5. *UPDATES in a new blog post on Friday morning.

B-B-E schools two hours late on Wednesday (VIDEO)

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.