Friday Night Lights IV: B-B-E wins shootout at Browerville (VIDEOS* added)

A week after Browerville lost 14-8, they hosted Homecoming against our B-B-E Jaguars football team tonight at Jack Dressen Field. With something to prove, the Tigers played a strong first half and trailed 18-12 at halftime in a game where both teams entered the stadium with identical 2-1 records.

Final: B-B-E 41, Browerville 26. Penalties at inopportune times hampered the Tigers, who were soundly outplayed in the fourth quarter.

**This blog post is getting revamped with new game notes on Saturday morning and late morning. The area Week 4 scoreboard is also being reviewed and updated below.

Here's a video from B-B-E's 5th offensive series tonight:


The Jaguars started that fifth series of the game at the beginning of the third quarter on their own 40-yard line. The drive finished with Aiden Mueller's 19-yard touchdown carry with 8:45 left in the third quarter. Mueller ran in the two-point conversion that made it a 26-12 lead.

The teams traded touchdowns from that point forward.

Here's a video from the first half tonight:


More to come!

How the first half played out tonight
Browerville came out strong on the game's first series starting on their 35. After 6 plays, Browerville had 1st-and-10 at the B-B-E 28-yard line. On the next play, the running back lost the ball, and the fumble was recovered by Lance Radermacher with 7:56 left. The Jaguars, starting on their 27, then moved into Browerville territory. They stalled out on 4th-and-7 at the Browerville 41.

A 47-second long scoring drive then took place, and the Jaguars needed just 3 plays to score from their own 46. On the third play, Noah DeRoo caught a touchdown pass with 9:59 left. The PAT kick was wide left for a 6-6 tie.

The Jaguars held Browerville and forced a punt. With 8:15 left in the second quarter, the Jaguars started their third series of the game on their 46. On the fifth play, Kaden Kollman caught a touchdown pass with 6:57 left. The extra points conversion failed, so the Jaguars had a 12-6 lead.

Browerville then played out the first quarter. On the third play of the second quarter, Browerville scored on a 17-yard run. The two-point conversion carry was stopped short, and the Jaguars were in a 12-12 tie with 6:06 left. B-B-E then began their 4th series of the game on their own 42. Mueller finished off that drive with a 29-yard touchdown carry. With 4:04 left, the Jaguars led 18-12.

Browerville drove into B-B-E territory, but they ran out of time after having 1st-and-goal at B-B-E's 3-yard line with 14 seconds to go.

...AND! Here's how the first half ended tonight:


To conclude the second quarter, the Jaguars earned a quarterback sack with a huge loss of yards. In fact, the loss of yardage was so severe, the play ended deep in the backfield and out of the view of my videocamera. The Jaguars annihilated Browerville's front line. In reaction to that, Browerville's quarterback yanked his helmet from his head before play had stopped and began shouting in a fit of rage. No penalties were assessed.

Out of respect for the coaching staff of Browerville and not wanting the video to be clipped and used in a negative way against the Tigers and the player himself, I am not posting that part of the video. That moment began right as the above video clip stops. The quarterback made a mistake. Hopefully that won't happen again. The fact is the Tigers played incredibly hard from start to finish. The Jaguars had to put up their best effort of the season so far in order to come out with a win. This game sets them up well for the Week 5 road trip to Maple Lake.

This blog post will be updated again on Saturday morning.

And here's more second half notes from tonight's game:
As said above, B-B-E started the third quarter with possession and had a 60-yard scoring drive that used 6 plays. The drive also included a Browerville pass interference penalty that gave B-B-E first down at the Tigers' 13-yard line. Mueller finished it off with a quarterback carry while scoring from 19 yards out.

Browerville answered right away, and they got a boost by a huge kickoff return that gave them first down at their 40. They needed just 3 plays to go 60 yards. Browerville's No. 40 ran in a 50-yard touchdown with 7:12 on the third quarter clock. The two-point conversion failed.

Each team traded punts, and B-B-E then started their 7th possession of the game on Browerville's 38 with 3 minutes left. The Jaguars needed just 3 plays to cover the distance, and with 2:23 left, Mueller ran in a one-yard touchdown. Mauricio Hernandez-Valdiviezo's PAT kick sailed through the uprights to make it a 33-18 lead.

As the third quarter finished up, Browerville mounted a 70-yard scoring drive. They started the fourth quarter with 1st-and-15 (false start penalty to end Q3) at B-B-E's 39-yard line. The Tigers scored on a 41-yard touchdown catch in the endzone with 11:07 left. A successful two-point conversion made it a 33-26 game.

As it happened in the third quarter, both teams traded punts. B-B-E then started their 9th series of the game on their 30-yard line. On the first play of that series...this happened (Watch the video)

Here's exciting action in the fourth quarter:


Six plays after that big reception, the Jaguars scored on Lance Radermacher's 3-yard touchdown carry. Noah DeRoo caught the two-point conversion pass in the right flats to give the Jaguars a 41-26 lead with 3:21 left in the game.

In a classy move that I've seen many times from him, Coach Wayne "Ribsy" Petermeier provided word to the referees that he was subbing down to JV players to play out the game.

Some light game statistics:
B-B-E tallied a whopping season-high 377 yards of offense. They were outgained by a small margin, with Browerville gaining 388 yards. That goal-line stand in the final minute of the second quarter made a huge difference.

Aiden Mueller was 10-for-17 for 177 yards in passing with no interceptions. Mueller had 5 separate targets for his passes. The Jaguars had a powerful run game totaling 200 yards by four different ball carriers. Browerville racked up 304 rushing yards, and their quarterback had 84 passing yards.

Lance Radermacher had one fumble recovery.

NEXT: the Jaguars take their 3-1 record to Maple Lake as they continue the two-game road swing. They play at Irish Stadium on Friday, October 2. Maple Lake played at Benson tonight. I do not have a final score from that game. Last week, Maple Lake blasted Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 40-0 in Long Prairie.

UPDATE: the Benson Braves hammered Maple Lake in a 46-6 Homecoming win to even their record at 2-2. The Irish fall to 1-3. Benson led 32-0 at halftime, and their defense made it tough on the Irish with sophomore Bentley Ascheman earning three interceptions. Maple Lake scored in the third quarter on a 32-yard pass from Jaxson Diebold to George Riviere.

Mid-Northwest Gold District Week 4 scores on September 25:
Upsala/Swanville Area 42, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0
West Central Area 12, Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 8
Benson 46, Maple Lake 6

At Minnewaska Area tonight, the Melrose Area Dutchmen spoiled the Lakers' Homecoming with a wild 43-41 win. This improves the Dutchmen's record to 3-1 overall. The Lakers are 1-3. Melrose Area is the alma mater of B-B-E head coach Chris Moscho.

I want to also give a shout out to the Willmar Cardinals, who now have a 4-0 start to their season. The Cardinals won 28-7 at Blattner Stadium in Cold Spring tonight. Their community is suffering right now after a double homicide of two young men took place near Lakeland Broadcasting and the Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds last Monday night. Please continue praying for their community.

Area football Week 4 scores on September 25:
Elk River 39, Alexandria 14
Parkers Prairie 56, Menahga 18
Frazee 33, New York Mills 14 (NYM falls to 0-4)
Lac qui Parle Valley 38, MACCRAY 16
Paynesville 36, BOLD 0
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 26, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 6 (Fighting Saints falls to 0-4; the Falcons are 2-2)
Marshall 27, Hutchinson 13
Kimball Area 28, St. Cloud Cathedral 3
Border West 28, Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 6
Redwood Valley 47, Eden Valley-Watkins 12 (EV-W falls to 1-3 overall; last season, EV-W won at Redwood Falls by a 46-34 score)
Osakis 12, Holdingford 7
Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 28, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 18
Minneota 42, Lakeview 12
Litchfield 59, Montevideo 6
Royalton 14, Sauk Centre 6
Hancock 24, Ortonville 20
North Branch 12, Rock Ridge 6
Willmar 28, Rocori 7
Pierz 27, Albany 6
New London-Spicer 16, Dassel-Cokato 14
Renville County West 20, Buffalo Lake-Hector-Stewart 6
Rothsay 20, Underwood 0

Mainstreeters have edge in border battle

It was the Mainstreeters in four sets.

After a lackluster performance in the first two sets, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team found themselves in a position where they had to run the table to pick up a border battle win at Sauk Centre on Monday night.

Sauk Centre, a team loaded for bear with 8 seniors, won game one 25-15 and game two 25-13. In game three, the Jaguars had a much better start than they had in the first two sets and carried that momentum to a 25-22 win. They quickly fell into an 8-2 deficit in game four, and a late rally couldn't save them in a 25-18 loss.

Cool 9 percent hitting was a factor in the loss. Sauk Centre was tough to tip against, and attacks regularly needed to cut an angle through the blocks to find open spots in the corners. Junior outside Macey Roering led the Jaguars with a robust 15-kill performance on 12.8 percent hitting and a whopping 47 total attacks. The Jaguars managed 5 solo blocks, two each by seniors Kamie Fischer and Mya Worms.

No. 10-ranked (Coaches Association) B-B-E falls to 5-6 overall as they prepare for a home conference match with Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City on Thursday this week.

The Mainstreeters move to 12-2 overall and are currently the No. 3-ranked team in a tough Section 6AA. In the state polls, Sauk Centre stands at No. 7 in Class 2A. They don't have a particularly tall lineup for a Class 2A school, but a large array of 5'9" and 5'10" hitters were able to mount an effective block. In the back row, they were tough as nails with scrappy defense that's typical of Jim Klaphake-coached teams.

MARK your calendars! Lions Fish Fry!
The Belgrade Lions invites everyone to their upcoming fish fry night at The Spot in downtown Belgrade. They will be serving all-you-can eat fish from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. Meal prices: $12 for adults and for kids ages 10 and under it's $7. Serving: fish, baked beans, potato salad, bread. A Lions meat raffle also takes place starting at 5 p.m., and the Lions fall raffle drawing will take place at 9 p.m. at the same location that night. Proceeds from this event will go towards the Belgrade city park bathroom and shelter project. This event was advertised in the September 17 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper, and the ad will continue through these next two weeks leading up to the event.

On Tuesday night...
I have been severely distracted from getting the newspaper completed by news of a double-homicide at Rau Park in Willmar late last night. This is a location sitting between KWLM Radio (Lakeland Broadcasting) and the Kandiyohi County Fairgrounds. My mind is blown! For the 2022 county fair, I parked our minivan right at this park. This news is insane. A third victim has initially survived being shot. The news is still unfolding...

Area volleyball scores on September 21:
New London-Spicer 3, Annandale 2 (the Wildcats survive a stiff Wright County West challenge from a Cardinals team that entered the match 6-6 overall; they are 14-0 overall)
Royalton 3, Osakis 0
Kimball Area 3, Maranatha Christian 0
Holdingford 3, Swanville 0
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 3, Lake Park-Audubon 1
Pine River-Backus 3, Sebeka 2
Bertha-Hewitt 3, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 1
Hancock 3, Dawson-Boyd 0
Paynesville Area 3, Benson 2 (Bulldogs are 8-6 overall)
Underwood 3, Barnesville 1

Volleyball Jaguars at Southwest Minnesota Challenge (VIDEOS)

The B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team went 0-2 at the opening night of action at the Southwest Minnesota Challenge tournament in Marshall. In one of the matches, they split the first two sets. In the tiebreaker set, they held a 13-11 lead but lost 16-14. Other details are being sought out.

The Jaguars finished with a 1-4 record at Marshall. They lost by a 2-1 set margin to Class 4A Prior Lake in their first Friday match. In the last match last night, the Jaguars lost 2-0 to Sioux Falls Christian.

Today, the Jaguars faced Sioux Falls Roosevelt and earned a 2-1 win. They finished with 2-0 losses to No. 3-ranked Mayer Lutheran and Class 4A Eastview. Next: the Jaguars (3-5 overall) host Swanville in a non-conference match on Tuesday, September 15. The Bulldogs, 24-3 overall a year ago, are defending Prairie Conference champions and Section 5A runners-up.

How about the B-B-E football team!
And back to last night's thrilling win...the scoreboard for last night's games has been updated in the previous blog post. It includes the other 3 Mid-Northwest Gold District final scores.

Here's a video featuring the final plays of B-B-E's first scoring drive last night:


Also, a video from the second quarter of last night's football game was just posted to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website. That can be found by clicking here: BBEvsWCAfootball2026.

The Jaguars improved to 4-0 in the past four meetings with West Central Area.

Here's a postgame interview with Coach Moscho last night:


I'll repost that at a future date.

After studying the scores of the first two games with teams that the Jaguars face, I have a declaration: if the football team can draw 3 to 5 more players, consisting of players who quit the team this summer, I have full confidence that the Jaguars can have a 7-1 or 6-2 regular season. It is possible, but they have to have more depth. How can we make it happen? Playing with 22 players leads to having too many players going both ways. It's not the way you want to grind through a regular season of football. Think about it: the Jaguars have the talent this season to have another very special season!

Update: I learned that MSHSL rules suggest that if a player joined the team now, they would not be eligible for the postseason. That's a perfectly reasonable rule. I believe a kid can always join a team, but whether or not they can enjoy the spoils of that team's success is a different matter.

More to come later tonight. Tomorrow will be a busy day with the Bluegrass Festival at Terrace and the Fall Festival at Trinity Lutheran in Grove Lake. I hope you can make it to one or both of those events!

GAME NIGHT! Gridiron home opener (VIDEO)

The B-B-E Jaguars football team is facing their home opener tonight as they play West Central Area with a 5 p.m. kickoff. The Knights are in the hunt for their first win of the season after losing 28-14 last week at their home stadium against Lake Park-Audubon. WCA has a big, beefy front line that will challenge the Jaguars, according to head coach Chris Moscho.

Here's a video from Hudl with action in the final minutes of the second quarter last week Thursday:


The Jaguars played at New York Mills in the season opener 8 nights ago.

Game updates to follow here. A storm is supposed to hit Jaguar Country by 9 p.m. tonight.

**After quarter number one: WCA 8, B-B-E 0.

Halftime: B-B-E 14, WCA 14. The Jaguars overcame adversity and won the second quarter!

After 3 quarters: B-B-E 20, WCA 14.

To see the final score, hit refresh to read the Friday Night Lights II blog post.

After 8 p.m., rainfall blasted part of the area. Fortunately, by that point, the stadium was empty.

Elrosa Saints are heading to the State Final Four!

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team has made program history by advancing deeper in the state tournament than any previous team. The Saints won 3-2 tonight in a nailbiter against Glencoe in the state quarterfinals at Shakopee.

In relief on the mound, Ashton Dingmann threw just 2 pitches to record 2 outs and earn the save. It was an incredible finish that had right fielder Derek Wiener reaching high above his head for a pop fly grab and the third out!

Payton VanBeck started and earned the win in 8 1/3 innings with 13 strikeouts. While he pitched, Glencoe earned just 3 hits. They finish their season 23-7 overall.

NEXT! Please spread the word! The Elrosa Saints (26-8) play at 6:30 p.m. in New Prague tomorrow, Saturday, September 5 against Hanska. At stake is a berth in the Class C state championship game.

In the other state semifinal game tomorrow: Starbuck advanced to the state semifinals after winning 6-5 in 12 innings against Luxemburg. The Stars trailed 4-0 early before coming back to tie the game at 4-4 and then 5-5 to force extra innigs. Starbuck plays at 4 p.m. in New Prague tomorrow against Fairmont.

Fairmont bounced Richmond from the tournament in their quarterfinal game tonight in Chaska. I don't have that final score.

38th year of B-B-E schools is underway

Who knew we'd make it this far!? Back in the late 1980s, no one in the communities knew how far the B-B-E experiment would go. As it stands nearly 40 years later, it's looking like the existing school is primed for another generation of small-school, rural values-based education in central Minnesota in the area commonly referred to as Jaguar Country.

Today, September 1, classes resumed at both buildings for students in preschool through grade 12. This week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper will include the initial enrollment figures, which are not official.

Here's an important item posted at the newspaper website which was also found on page one in last week's August 27 issue: BeLikeJesse.

The Elrosa Saints baseball team has a new website: http://www.elrosasaints.com. Bookmark it!

TODAY in varsity sports action:
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' tennis team has a Prairie Conference match at Osakis at 4 p.m.

Just down the road, the B-B-E Jaguars volleyball team opens their season with a non-conference border battle at New London-Spicer. The varsity match should get underway at about 7 p.m.

In community news...here's an announcement for Sedan:
Come join the always-friendly Sedan Fire and Rescue for their always-exciting 40-gun raffle on Saturday, September 26 at Heidi's Bar in downtown Sedan. The social hour starts at 6 p.m., and the raffle gets underway at 7 p.m. Tickets are available from Sedan Fire Department members or at Heidi’s Bar. They hope to see you there!

Elrosa Saints advance to Elite 8 at State! (VIDEOS)

For the second time since 2023, the Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team is advancing to the Class C state tournament quarterfinals. Thanks to a 3-0 win last night in the Sweet 16 over Dumont, the Saints head to the Elite Eight, which will be held on Friday at 7:30 p.m. this week in Shakopee.

Here's a video featuring the final out recorded against Dumont last night:


Against Dumont, Ashton Dingmann earned the complete game win with the performance of his life. It was a sight to behold! The Elrosa defense was impenetrable all night. Dingmann and company held the high-powered Dumont offense to just 5 hits.

Here's a video from the top of the third inning against Dumont:


Now 25-8 overall, the Saints have broken the former program record for most single season wins, which was set back in 2017 in a 24-win season.

Also, the single season hit record, which was set by Elrosa's one-and-only Pat Illies, was broken in the Dumont win by Jackson Peter, B-B-E Class of 2020.

New Prague hosted the first two rounds of the state tournament for Elrosa's games. Now they move on to play at one of the best baseball parks in Minnesota, just down the road from Valleyfair. Joe Schleper Baseball Stadium, located in Tahpah Park in Shakopee, is named for former Belgrade high school coach Joe Schleper, who coached there in the 1950s.

In Shakopee last night, Richmond faced Cologne in their Sweet 16 game. After holding an early 2-1 lead, the Royals won 7-3 to punch through to the Elite 8.

In Jordan today, Starbuck defeated Urbank by a 5-1 score to also move on to the Elite 8. As of 3:30 p.m., the Atwater vs. Hanska game was still going.

**Update: Hanska trailed 2-0 early in the game, but they pulled ahead 5-3 in the fifth inning after being held scoreless through 4 innings. FINAL: Hanska 7, Atwater 3. The Chuckers will not join the other three Region 8C teams in the state quarterfinals.

Here's a video featuring the post-game celebrating in New Prague after the Saints defeated Pierz:


Coming this week in Jaguar Country:
The volleyball team opens their season on Tuesday at New London-Spicer, and the football team opens the season at New York Mills on Thursday night. The B-B-E/Paynesville cross country teams begin their season on Friday, September 4 at Maple Lake.

Elrosa Saints vs. Pierz Brewers at STATE (VIDEO)

The Elrosa Saints face Pierz at approximately 4 p.m. in New Prague, Minnesota later this afternoon in the Class C amateur state tournament. That game follows Atwater's state opener.

Here's a video from the state-qualifying game last weekend, when the Saints defeated Farming:


Game updates to follow.

**Update: after 2 innings, Elrosa has a 4-0 lead over Pierz. 

With 6 innings complete, Elrosa has an 8-0 lead.

The final score and more will be posted in a NEW blog post. Hit refresh!

B-B-E Community Calendar is updated (online) + Elrosa Saints clothing store is open!

In case you were wondering about what's coming up, a few events are always available to look at by clicking on the following link at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: https://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com/page/bonanza-valley-area-community-calendar-updated-frequently/102.html.

In the print edition of The Voice, one version of the community calendar is found each week on page two. This is thanks in large part to the sponsorship of the Bonanza Valley State Bank.

In Elrosa Saints news...
The Rambow, Inc. online clothing store for Elrosa state tournament merch will be open soon. An announcement will be posted hopefully today. Stay tuned! It will be a short turnaround to get the orders fulfilled by this weekend.

Here it is...click on the following link: https://programs.rambowinc.com/login.php?UserID=elrosa&ReturnURL=https://www.rambow.com. This online store closes tonight at midnight.

The Elrosa Saints take a 23-8 record into the Class C state tournament.

The passing of a centenarian...
Leona Schwinghammer, who has countless descendants who include past, current and future B-B-E students, passed away on Monday this week. You can read about her funeral announcement by clicking here: LeonaSchwinghammerFuneral.

Elrosa Saints earn No. 3 seed from regions for state tournament

The Elrosa Saints will open the Class C amateur state tournament next weekend. The Saints had a 3-2 record in the Region 8C tournament in Regal. After going 1-1 last weekend to fall into the elimination bracket, the Saints won back-to-back games in the tournament this weekend. This put them in the final seeding game of regions, which was played this afternoon. The Atwater Chuckers took an early 6-1 lead and came away with a 9-8 win.

The statistic of the game: Elrosa had 8 earned runs, while Atwater had 4 earned runs.

Region 8C state qualifiers plus state draftees:
1. Richmond (No. 1 seed; Ty Reller of New Munich and Cam Miller of Farming)
2. Atwater (Josiah Utsch of Roscoe and Ben Welle of Spring Hill)
3. Elrosa (Jared Cortez of Norway Lake-Sunburg and Caden Sand of New Munich)
4. Starbuck (Sam Etterman of New London-Spicer and Trent Wendlandt of Lake Henry)

On Saturday night, Richmond defeated Atwater 3-2 in the region championship game.

SPREAD THE WORD! Here's the state information you're looking for: the Elrosa Saints open the state tournament on Sunday, August 23 in New Prague. They play the Pierz Brewers at 4 p.m. Pierz is a state entrant from the Victory League.

Their game follows the 1:30 p.m. game in New Prague, which features Atwater taking on the Nimrod Gnats. Nimrod was the No. 2 seed from Region 4C.

Here's a video from the Saturday morning events at August Fest:


More to come.

Here's a video from the Pope County Fair...which was awhile ago now!


The Belgrade city council held their regular August meeting tonight. The agenda was posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: http://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com.

Belgrade's August Fest is underway (VIDEO)

The food and music was terrific tonight at the opening night of the Belgrade August Fest. The band Southern Crossroads played music at the Belgrade city park while a petting zoo was held and a meal and drinks were served out of the park shelter. Members of the Belgrade Fire Department and the Belgrade-Brooten Police Department hosted a Touch-a-Truck event at the same time.

The next big Belgrade August Fest event is on Friday with the Fire Department chicken BBQ supper plus the Kensington Bank ice cream social. These events take place from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Belgrade VFW. The band Kentucky Thunder will perform starting at 7 p.m. at the same location.

More coverage of the Belgrade August Fest and other events can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com.

It is crazy, but I am still uploading Bonanza Valley Days videos. I found a few on a chip that have not been uploaded over one month after that weekend.

Here's a video from Bonanza Valley Days on Saturday morning that weekend:


The Belgrade August Fest classic car, truck and tractor show is from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday morning on main street.

Tractor Pull at the Pope County Fair + Sunburg event on Tuesday!

The traditional event on Saturday of the Pope County Fair in Glenwood is the tractor and truck pull.

Here's Jack Anderson, B-B-E high school student, in the tractor pull on Saturday:


Jack Anderson was driving a John Deere 4440.

The Pope County Fair enjoyed its best turnout in at least 10 years. They have much to be proud of for the lineup of activities and the large crowds they had last week. You can see more coverage of the fair in this week's Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper.

In town team baseball news...
In the County Line League championship game last Friday in Paynesville, New London-Spicer defeated Starbuck 8-7 to advance as a No. 1 seed to Region 8C. Their opponent was to-be-determined, while Starbuck's opponent in their region opener will be Elrosa.

In Sunburg on Tuesday this week...August 4:
Read all about an event in Sunburg on Tuesday night by clicking here: SunburgFireAppreciationNight. This event runs from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4.

It's August: County Fair season! (VIDEO)

We're almost all the way through the first day of August 2026. Much to get caught up on! Two county fairs were in progress today, and they conclude on Sunday: the Pope and Stearns county fairs. Both of those county fairs have had a tremendous level of turnout this week. In fact, both may be the busiest fairs they've had since prior to the pandemic. This is great!

Here's a video featuring a view from the carnival rides at the Pope County Fair:


The video was taken on Saturday night. That's all I've got. I need a good night's rest to be up and at it for 9 a.m. church at West Lake Johanna Church in Gilchrist Township.

**In sports news, Elrosa will face Starbuck in the region opener on Saturday, August 8 at 3:30 p.m. in Regal. 

Let's gear up for Bonanza Valley Days

Before I get to Bonanza Valley Days, let's enjoy a stunning performance of the National Anthem last Thursday in Willmar. Unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind to start recording right away for the song. First, watch the video...

On Thursday, July 2 in Willmar:


The West Central Singers is the group who performed the song.

The Willmar Stingers baseball organization is a fantastic asset for this region. They do a fabulous job of creating a family-friendly atmosphere.

Bonanza Valley Days coverage is in both the newspaper and at the newspaper website: Http://www.bonanzavalleyvoice.com. The BVD 2026 Medallion Hunt began yesterday, but the official kick-off of BVD takes place Thursday night at 7 p.m. with a non-denominational Worship in the Park service (by the Pavilion).

I hope you can make it to Brooten at least once this weekend!

How about some Lee Greenwood! (VIDEO)

Staff of the Belgrade Co-op put on a thoroughly impressive American Flag display on Highway 71 in Belgrade over the Fourth of July weekend. You can see this by clicking here: https://youtube.com/shorts/d7AqdgnOdLo?si=v6rqIHuzEAwHI2kS. Thank you to Todd Trustheim for sending this video over to me on Saturday! I am finally getting it posted.

On Monday night...
At about 10:45 p.m., a torrential rainfall moved across the Bonanza Valley area. Almost an hour later, my rain gauge showed almost 1.5 inches of rain. Goodness!

Twice, I've gotten "July 12" wrong

For those keeping track...twice I've gotten "July 12" wrong in the Bonanza Valley Voice. In the June 18 issue, I had the date wrong for the Bonanza Valley Days Grand Parade! Yikes. It is on Sunday, July 12 at 1:30 p.m. It was corrected for the June 25 issue.

The Brooten Class of 1976 class reunion is on Sunday, July 12 starting at noon at the KaDe Shack in Brooten.

Now you've got the correct information.

They graduated: Class of 2026 officially begins "adulting"! (VIDEO)

Welcome, B-B-E Class of 2026, to the adult world! The Class of 2026 in Jaguar Country held its commencement ceremony last night in the high school gymnasium. Altogether, graduation lasted 1 hour and 6 minutes.

Here's video from the end of graduation and after it was completed:


Remember! Grove Lake will hold a Memorial Weekend event tomorrow, Sunday, starting at 1 p.m. at the Grove Lake Chapel. This is located about 3/4 of a mile south of the center of Grove Lake on Pope County Road 39.

During the day Sunday, when I'm not at church or at Grove Lake, I've got 56 garden vegetable plants to get in the ground. Uff Da. We have finally gotten proper spring gardening weather.   

In a new blog post, I'll get some Elrosa baseball updates posted.

This is graduation day for the 37th straight year in Jaguar Country

To watch the graduation ceremony for the 37th class of Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa high school, click on the link to move to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BBEschoolGraduation2026.

And! I have to acknowledge a mistake in the graduation section of this week's newspaper. The father of Kadynce Haider is not Todd Haider...it's Brad Haider. Todd is Brad's younger brother. It made for quite the text message thread between Todd, Brad and their mom, Kathy Haider! Brad is Kadynce's dad, and he is a 1998 graduate of B-B-E high school. He was a standout football player for Paul Beuning and a standout wrestler for Chuck Marks and his wrestlers. Todd Haider was a terrific wrestler and also a marvelous football and baseball player. In Todd's senior year, he was one of three seniors for the Jaguar baseball team in 2000 along with Travis Schoumaker and the late Adam Hanson.

The Brooten city council meeting agenda has been posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper's editor's blog: BrootenCouncilAgendaMay26.

On the winning track: fastpitch Jaguars win thriller over Benson (VIDEOS)

A clutch RBI-single by sophomore Lillian Thompson lifted the B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team to a 3-2 come-from-behind walk-off win against Benson today. The game marked the final home game of the season. B-B-E is 11-7 overall heading into tomorrow's regular season finale, which is a Central Minnesota Conference game at 4:30 p.m. (May 12) at Eden Valley-Watkins.

The Jaguars trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning. They scored once in the sixth and then twice in the bottom of the seventh for the win.

Here's video from the top of the 3rd inning today:


Kamie Fischer's sacrifice bunt helped set up Thompson's late game heroics. That bunt advanced Abby Lieser, who advanced on an error by Benson's second baseman while fielding a ground ball. McKinley Haider entered to pinch run for Lieser, and she scored the tying run on Lydia Primus's two-out RBI-single to centerfield. Thompson then slapped a base hit to the outfield to drive home Primus and end the game.

Here's a video featuring the end of the game:


Brielle Worms was fantastic in the circle with 10 strikeouts against 3 walks and 4 hits. The Jaguars had no errors in the field to 3 by the Braves. For her part, Benson's freshman Tess Nygaard was also strong in the circle with 5 strikeouts, 2 walks, 1 earned run and 6 total hits given up.

B-B-E and EV-W (13-8) are currently both tied for third place in the CMC with 7-6 records. The winner tomorrow locks up third place alone. Holdingford (10-3) has locked up second place, and Kimball Area won the title once again and remains undefeated (12-0) in the CMC.

The Jaguars currently sit in fifth place in the Section 4A standings. Within their reach is the No. 3 or No. 4 seeds, but that all hinges on beating EV-W tomorrow plus how Braham and Mayer Lutheran fare today and tomorrow.

It's time for the school board meeting.

On Tuesday this week:
The track and field teams travel to Maple Lake for the CMC championships starting at 3 p.m. The girls' golf team has a CMC meet at Paynesville, and the baseball team hosts A-C-GC in Elrosa for a 5 p.m. CMC game.

Two additional albums of sports photos have been added here: https://bonanzavalley.smugmug.com/B-B-E-Spring-Sports-2026.

Central MN Conference fastpitch scores on May 11:
Paynesville Area 2, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 0
Kimball Area 15, Royalton 0 (4 innings)

Central MN Conference fastpitch scores on May 8:
Holdingford 6, Maple Lake 3

Spring returns

Spring has returned after taking a three-day break in the Bonanza Valley area.

On Friday, the weather turned cold, and the cold stuck around across Saturday and Sunday. Things warmed up considerably today, and highs reached into the mid-60s for part of the afternoon.

The Belgrade city council met in regular session tonight. A meeting agenda summary can be found at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper editor's blog: https://lifeinbonanzavalley.blogspot.com/2026/04/belgrade-city-council-agenda-for-april.html.

Back to sports news...
The B-B-E Jaguars girls' golf team and the B-B-E Jaguars boys' golf team open the Central Minnesota Conference schedule with a joint meet at Atwater tomorrow. They begin at 4:15 p.m. at Island Pine Golf Club.

The B-B-E Jaguars track and field teams host an 8-team invitational at 4 p.m. Teams invited are Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City, Eden Valley-Watkins/Kimball, Holdingford, Paynesville Area, St. John`s Prep and West Central Area.

I am getting caught up on the A-C-GC track and field results, and I noticed that the Jaguar boys had a strong showing with a 7th-place finish out of 10 teams. They defeated the host A-C-GC Falcons, Paynesville and Willmar Community Christian. They were led by a first-place finish by senior Kameron Hiltner, who won the 100 open with a time of 12.39 seconds. Hiltner also earned a stack of points by placing third in the long jump (18'9"). Taylor Pieper, another B-B-E senior, placed fourth in the long jump (18'1.5").

Mason Douvier, a sophomore, took fourth place in the 1600 run (5:16.19).

The B-B-E Jaguars baseball team resumes CMC action with a game at Kingery Field in Atwater at 5 p.m. against the A-C-GC Falcons.

The B-B-E Jaguars fastpitch team resumes CMC action with a home game at 5 p.m. against Eden Valley-Watkins.