Winter weather takes down numerous church services (VIDEO)

Worship services this morning at West Lake Johanna and Trinity Lutheran churches of Brooten were cancelled due to the wild, windy, snowy weather that's blowing across our area.

Let's go back to Christmas Eve! There will be more added here today.

Enjoy Tony and Marie Halls of Lake Johanna Township performing special music at South Lake Johanna Lutheran church last Wednesday:


Tony and Marie performed the song "Mary, Did You Know?", written by Mark Lowry in 1984 and first performed by Michael English in 1991 for a solo album.

To view the longer video of Christmas Eve worship, click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: SouthLakeJohannaChristmasEve.

We are fortunate in Jaguar Country that massive levels of snow haven't materialized. The road conditions are still quite dangerous.

The Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's SmugMug folders have been updated again. The local news/events folder for 2025 can be found at this link: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/2025-B-B-EBonanza-Valley-area-events.

Press conference held on Cyrus shooting (VIDEO)

The Pope County Sheriff's department held a joint press conference with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) this afternoon in Glenwood. You can read parts of the statements provided there by clicking over to the Bonanza Valley Voice website: https://bit.ly/414AH3b.

It is worth noting...
Small town police departments and sheriff's offices are not flush with staff to begin with, and when officers are pulled out of rotation either because they were killed, or they were involved in a shooting, it puts tremendous strain on the entire law enforcement system. Criminals don't say, "Well, gee, the police department is hurting now, they're short-handed, I suppose we can give them some slack for the time being."

Here's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension superintendent of investigations Scott Mueller speaking about increasing violence perpetrated against law enforcement:


Too many in the public take our law enforcement and even our EMT responders for granted. It's not just an automatic thing that these people magically appear when we are in distress. There's so much that goes into it that they are recruited, schooled, trained and then do the hard work of filling the shifts and providing the law enforcement response when things go badly.

At B-B-E schools and across Jaguar Country, we are fortunate to have men and women ready, able and willing to answer the call of duty whether it's part of the Belgrade-Brooten police department, area county sheriff's departments, ambulance crews and fire departments. They are all wonderful people. We cannot thank them enough.

Digging potatoes in Bangor Township...and music in Hayes Township (VIDEOS**)

This weekend only! The public is invited to the heart of Bangor Township, eastern Pope County, rural Brooten, where they can dig their own potatoes! This is courtesy of R.D. Offutt Company, who has been a long-time supporter of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. You can see a glimpse of this in the video below.

VIDEO from Saturday morning:


This event was publicized in the September 15 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. It pays to subscribe! I'm heading back out to this plot this afternoon to get more potatoes...after I eat dinner in Padua with the St. Donatus Catholic church parish!

If I totaled up all the townships I traverse across in any given week, we'd likely have a double-digit number on a regular basis. I was fortunate enough to drive down to Hayes Township, rural Sunburg, on Saturday, September 10 for the Monson Lake Opry music festival. I have not given much newspaper coverage to that event, and that's unfortunate. Below you can watch part of the final show, which featured Brad Danielson and Brian Danielson (Minnewaska Area high school Class of 1996 graduates) performing on stage.

VIDEO from September 10:


Time to get back to sports writing.

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.

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.

The Chippewa River

Or to be more specific...the "Little Chippewa" River...this river runs through Pope County just east of Sedan and then south in winding fashion towards Terrace. Once upon a time, along this river, Adolph Hauge and others farmed and raised their families. As the winter of 1966-1967 was winding down, the Yvo and Trudy Jenniges family settled down near the Chippewa River as well with their eight children at the time. Yvo was on his way to establishing a dream of a full-fledged cattle ranch. Four years later, they settled down on a 280-acre spread near Lake Linka in Gilchrist Township. The rest is very, very rich history.

While I never had the pleasure of meeting Adolph before he passed away in 1995, I know he was a special man, because he was married to a very special woman. Adolph's wife was known as Mrs. Hauge to me, my kindergarten teacher. Not only my kindergarten teacher, but a teacher to many others at Brooten elementary school. She taught there starting the day it opened in the fall of 1964 and provided 28 faithful years of dedicated service before retirement in 1992. Unfortunately, she and Adolph had just three years of her post-teaching retirement to enjoy before he died. I do know that their marriage of 35 years was a wonderful marriage. They are both deeply missed.

Today, stories including Adolph flowed to the surface as the children of Yvo Jenniges remembered his life and the parts of their lives they lived while growing up in eastern Pope County in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Adolph was a small dairy farmer, while Yvo was a well-known and well-loved cattle rancher who was deeply passionate about the rural way of life. They were very good friends over the years. 

I had the extreme good fortunate of attending Yvo's funeral today in Glenwood. Taking in his funeral was both incredibly sad but also an incredible blessing for me. 

It's hard to put into words proper descriptions of his amazing life. As one of his kids said to me last week, "Heaven is getting a good one."

Quite a legacy

"Quite a legacy" - that doesn't even come close.

I received the full obituary for Yvo Jenniges, age 94, of Belgrade and formerly Glenwood and rural Pope County. Yvo passed away on Sunday. He is deeply missed by his entire family. The upside: he is now re-united with the love of his life, Trudy, who passed away eight years ago this month (March 21, 2013).

At the time of his passing, Yvo had 39 great-grandchildren. Many of them are students today at B-B-E schools. (I'm gonna count them up...it's a lot!)

**Update: of the 39 great-grandchildren, no less than 17 are currently or will be students at B-B-E schools. That's absolutely amazing.

Yvo and Trudy farmed in Gilchrist Township from 1970 into the 2000s after farming for three years on a farm south of Sedan in Chippewa Falls Township. Their 59-year marriage was blessed with nine children. The eight oldest were all graduates of Brooten high school. The ninth child, Margery, was a member of the B-B-E Class of 1991. Their eldest child, Pauline Segaar, was instrumental in the tremendous growth of the Fine Arts programs at B-B-E high school in the 1990s and 2000s. Books could be written about her. If you knew Pauline, you knew one of the greatest women to ever live in our community. Bar none. Tragically, cancer took her from us in 2016 after she battled the wretched disease for 10 years.

I could also write volumes of stories on Trudy, who was a force of nature in her own right. Her contributions to the B-B-E area were endless, including time with the local theater and writing community. Fun fact: one of Trudy's poems is in the U.S. Library of Congress!

I have to get back to other work, but before that, I want to also give mention to another of Yvo and Trudy's children...the second-youngest, Benita, who graduated from BHS in 1985. Known in my life as "Mrs. Otterness"...she married Todd Otterness, whose dad, Allen, graduated from Brooten in 1954. Mrs. Otterness directed plays and taught English at B-B-E from 1990 through 1996. She was hired at Alexandria schools in 1996, where their three children attended school and eventually graduated in the 2000s. If you enjoy my writing, you can give a fair amount of thanks to Mrs. Otterness! (When I make a grammar or punctuation mistake, blame me!)  

I could write all day about the contributions of the Jenniges family to our B-B-E community. We are extremely blessed and fortunate that back in the late 1960s, Yvo and Trudy settled up here and made our area their permanent home.

God bless the memory of Yvo and Trudy!

We ate like kings!

Tonight a couple of our kids and I ate like kings at Rooney's Bar in Sedan. We attended the prize giveaway and winner announcements of the annual Pope County Predator Hunt.

A good time it was! I'll have more coverage of this in the next issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice. The organizers for the predator hunt were gracious hosts.

Have a good night.

Farm Bill technician position

Click on the graphic for best viewing.

The Pope Soil and Water Conservation District has an immediate opening for a fulltime Farmbill Technician position starting at $16-$18.00 per hour.  This position promotes and implements conservation provisions of the Federal Farm Bill, the Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM), and other related wildlife and clean water conservation programs.  Activities will include program promotion, contract coordination, conservation planning, conservation plan modification, site assessment, inspections, and reporting.  Provide technical assistance for wildlife habitat enhancement techniques to private landowners and public organizations.  Position will work with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Farm Service Agency (FSA), and the Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) to promote and implement the conservation programs.  A general qualification guideline for this position is a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources/Environmental Studies/Agricultural Business or a related field. Please send a cover letter, completed application form, and resume with 3 references to the address or email below by 4:00 p.m. on August 7, 2015.  Application, job description, and position announcement can be found online at www.popeswcd.org.

And here's a home for sale...price reduced!
Beautiful 4 BR, 4 BA newer home with attached 2+ garage and detached garage on 3.14 acres located outside of Belgrade. PRICE REDUCED $209,000. Red Oak Realty 320-250-9363.

Suspicious, strange character in Starbuck

Suspicious activity in Starbuck

Earlier in May the Starbuck Police Department received a call in regards to a suspicious male party knocking on a residents door claiming to be a Liberty Mutual Agent working on cases with children. The male asked the resident if he had any children and they stated, “No.” The male then stated, “Oh shoot, ok thanks,” and got in his car and left.

Liberty Mutual was contacted and asked if they had any employees in the Starbuck area working, or investigating children cases, which they stated, “No, and to contact the police because it’s not one of their agents.”

The descripition of the suspect is a, white male, 40-45 years old, about 5’10” and weighs between 200-230 lbs, short hair, closed cut beard, and wearing glasses. The male party was driving a newer silver utilitly vehicle.

Anyone with information regarding this suspect please contact the Starbuck Police Department at 320-239-2311 or if you come in contact with this party please dial 911 immediately.

Wow! There's a lot of sickos in our world! To the youth of our communities, I pray that you and your future families remain safe as you move into adulthood and try to make the world a better place.

Job opening + property for sale

FOR SALE: Need storage for your equipment or a large shop for your business?  Huge 200x50 pole shed built in the mid-1990’s, featuring a new roof and electrical as of 2012 on almost three acres near Sedan. Asking $94,900. Please call or text Amber Bohmer, Broker of Integrity Home Investments for more information or private showing at 320-267-1775 or amber.bohmer@tds.net.

A thank you

As some of you may recall, I've had a frequent follower / visitor to this website in the past few months dating back to last November. This admirer, Mr. Nemmers, has taken it upon himself to follow me "very closely" on the Internet and sing his praises of the work I do.

I have to give a huge shout-out and thank you to Mr. Nemmers, as he has helped my business in many, many ways. I've been riding a wave of truly unprecedented levels of success (130+ new subscribers, a 15 percent increase) since January and see only the sky as the limit of what I can do in the realm of journalism in our little corner of the world that we call the Bonanza Valley. While this is not what you would call a "money-making" venture - having a little cash left over at the end of the month after all the bills have been paid has been a nice treat as a small town business owner who puts in a lot of blood, sweat and tears grinding out my work seven days a week. I will put in as many hours as is necessary being the watch dog for taxpayers while also shedding the spotlight on the wonderful events and happenings of our B-B-E area.

I have to admit, when weeks pass without me showing up on his radar, I am sad. Then, lo and behold, he fires off more praise and showers the world with more adoration of my work.

So, Mr. Nemmers, thank you! As the saying goes, "you are really good for business!"

On another note: parents, please have regular conversations with your children about who they interact with and what they post on the Internet. This goes for adults too (young adults....college-age adults...) You seriously have no idea who you'll catch the attention of when you're interacting and commenting and conducting business on the Internet. Stay safe.

Central Square concert is Friday!

Click on the poster for best viewing.

Call in advance (320-634-0400) to save on your ticket price!!!

Let's get these criminals

Please spread the word and help teach a lesson to these criminals that crime does not pay!!!

To my Internet stalker

I am flattered that you can't stop talking about me. A word of advice: stay far, far away from my properties.

You need to study up!!!!! This is real!

https://www.revisor.leg.state.mn.us/statutes/?id=609.749

Darwin

This photo is from the Pope County Sheriff's Office, taken on Lake Minnewaska:

And in other news...I am in a mad dash to wrap up work in Sauk Centre for the last time ever. No time to blog until at least Monday night.

Glacial Ridge Health System Christmas toy drive

Members of the Glacial Ridge Ambulance staff with some of the toys collected.

Here's a message from Glacial Ridge Health System in Glenwood:

The Glacial Ridge Ambulance team thanks everyone who contributed to our Holiday Toy Drive! We are proud to be part of giving hundreds of area kids a merrier Christmas because of your generosity. The toys pictures are only a portion, about one-third, of what was collected! All financial donations are spent locally, everything stays local. Gifts are distributed through the Pope County Family Collaborative and the BBE School District. Thank you to Shopko, Screen Prints Plus and Fleet Supply for discounting purchases going toward the toy drive. Happy Holidays!

Slow down!

Pope County snowplows shown fueling up at Cenex in Glenwood this morning.

Way too many drivers out there today were thinking Superman was going to swoop down and save them from their irresponsible style (speed) of driving on the icy roads that were everywhere.

The snow plows were doing their best to help out. I saw some out on Highway 29 and Highway 55 last night and then county plows and city plows working this morning. Let them do their jobs! Your job is to slow down! Plan ahead. Think.

Calmer waters

I've had a follower on this website who has had issue with some of the things I've written. I actually removed every last single thing this person didn't like once it was brought to my attention in an act of appeasement and basically "waving the white flag". In a nutshell, I gave in. I am not proud of that, but it's what I did. And by waving the white flag, I also did not post a comment about you on a Facebook group which I am not an administrator of. Please know that was not me.

I think the situation has calmed down. I judged this person and felt personally threatened by their actions, especially when I was physically being looked for. I do not apologize for that overt act of judgement. I am close to many, many people who I have to think of first and foremost. I have to think about the many, many people who I interact with on a daily basis and consider their safety as well. In today's world, I will react swiftly if I feel my safety or the safety of those around me is in jeopardy. I've taken steps to protect myself and those who I love.

In all truthfulness, this person and I want the same things: we want government to be good. To behave. We just have very different tactics about how we try to make that happen. And that's okay in a free country like the one we live in.

Anyway, to this person. I admire your tenacity. You make me look downright timid. And that's okay. To the single event that has you upset about that happened in July 2013, please know that the proper government agencies have taken care of that situation. The proper legal punishments were handed out. You have to understand what jurisdiction would cover an agriculture-related chemical spill and then go from there.

Carry on, sir. And remember to be nice to those who don't deserve nice. I have to remind myself that every day.

lifeinpopecounty@gmail.com

Hunkering down

Looks like the wind will pick up some time on Sunday evening to the 20-25 mph range across central Minnesota. Roads in my area aren't the greatest after the light snowfall from Saturday. My hopes are up that Pope County plows will help me out on Monday morning!