An exciting business Open House is coming to Belgrade on March 28

This is one you'll want to mark your calendars for! Last spring (2025), the flower, plant, gift and rock shop called Earthy Elements opened at The Shed in Brooten. Ashley Zimmerle, owner of Earthy Elements, expanded her business last summer after she founded it in 2022. The next step in her business journey was a recent move to Main Street Belgrade. This took place while an expansion in another business is taking place at The Shed (located on Highway 55 East in Brooten)...on the weekend of Valentine's Day, Zimmerle moved her business to 303 Washburn Avenue, Belgrade, to The Boosters building on the north end of main street.

The next step Ashley's got in store is a business open house on Saturday, March 28 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at her new location. The Earthy Elements open house features flower, plant and prize giveaways. Easter lilies and bulb garden plants. FREE coffee samples. To-go bracelet make and take packes for $15 also available. You're invited to stop by and see the new space in the Booster's building.

Ashley is excited for upcoming special events and holidays including Easter (just on the horizon) and also B-B-E's prom (Saturday, May 2). Soon after prom is Mother's Day, and that's soon followed by the Memorial Day weekend. Ashley got off to a great start with Early Elements expanding in Brooten, and her business will continue growing on main street Belgrade. Today, I learned she'll be able to work hand-in-hand with Mary Solbreken and Rustic Designs Flower Farm of Burbank Township. That's another terrific small business we can be proud of right in our backyard!

The business website for Earthy Elements is http://www.earthyelementsmn.com. Mary's website for Rustic Designs Flower Farm is https://www.rusticdesignsflowerfarm.com.

In sports news...
I lost track of the late-winter college basketball games. The last I was plugged in to that, Abby Berge's MSU-Moorhead Dragons team was in a tight ball game in the NSIC playoffs. Berge is a 2023 B-B-E graduate and was a junior for the Dragons.

In the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference playoffs, the University of Minnesota-Morris Cougars lost on a buzzer-beater to Bethany Lutheran in the UMAC championship game. B-B-E's Kaden Pieper, also a 2023 graduate, was a junior on that squad. He ended up as the team's second-leading scorer for UMM, who should compete for a conference title again next year. They were regular season runners-up in the UMAC this year with an 8-4 record.

As for spring sports, I know of B-B-E's Gannon Walsh (Class of 2022) playing for the University of Minnesota-Crookston men's golf team. He's currently ranked 58th in the NCAA Division II Central Region. As a team, Walsh's Golden Eagles is ranked No. 11 in the Central Region. UM-Crookston's spring season begins next Monday and Tuesday at the NSIC Preview in Smithsville, Missouri.

Here's a video featuring tip-off and the opening minute of the playoff game at Underwood:


That was two weeks ago.