Preparation: Christmas concert is tonight at the high school (VIDEO)

It's been weeks in the making for the school staff and students, and tonight's the big night! The B-B-E high school will host their grades 6-12 Christmas music concert. It starts at 7 p.m. at Olson Auditorium.

THE LIVESTREAM LINK: https://www.youtube.com/live/gYrqC2B7Vo4.

Here's a video featuring tremendous talent shown by the K-3 students on December 3:


The elementary Christmas concert was called "Arctic Animal Antics" and was directed by Choir director Kathryn Freeman.

It's been a very busy Saturday (VIDEOS)

This is another busy weekend around the Bonanza Valley. The Belgrade Commercial Club and the Sedan Community Group both hosted Santa Day events. The youth Jaguars wrestlers traveled to New London-Spicer for their first competition of the 2025-2026 season. Also, the Highway 55 youth basketball teams both got their season going at Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg, both boys and girls in grades 4-6.

A handful of area churches have Sunday School Christmas programs tomorrow. Hopefully you're able to watch one of them, or perhaps you got to see one last weekend.

Exciting news! The B-B-E 7th grade Class of 2030 Jaguars girls' basketball team earned third place in the Central Minnesota Conference tournament today. They defeated Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City in the quarterfinals, lost to Maple Lake in the semis and then defeated Paynesville Area in the third-place game. Their roster features 9 players, and they were coached by Class of 1996 graduate Trish Thieschafer. The win over A-C-GC was in sudden-death overtime, and the game-winning basket was a free throw by Addison Reese.

Here's a video that's a week old, from the Hoops For Hope Saturday against Brandon-Evansville:


After that tough two-point loss, the Jaguars have two wins on back-to-back nights. On offense, the Jaguars are averaging 68.6 points per game.

Here's a video from the first half of Thursday night's BOLD game:


The Jaguars trailed 20-18 at the start of that video to the Warriors. A three-pointer right around the 9-minute mark by sophomore Makenna Roelike put the Jaguars up 21-20.

Scheduling update: the girls' basketball team travels to Melrose on Friday, December 19 for a makeup game. They play at Kimball Area on Thursday, December 18.

Also tomorrow, Hopeful Hills Ranch has their final day of their Christmas sale and open house. Read more on that here: HopefulHillsRanchChristmas.

At open gym tonight, they are approaching a turnout of 60! That's wonderful! The first open gym night, which was held on November 22, had a turnout that passed 60. Tonight's open gym at the high school is sponsored by Rustic Designs Flower Farm of Burbank Township.

Reminder about the new restaurant open in Belgrade...
At the former Saucedos Restaurant location, Mexico Querido is now open on main street in Belgrade. Their business phone number is 320-633-0002. Their hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Monday through Saturday. They are open on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. I hope to get more coverage posted here online: MexicoQueridoRestaurant.

At the Grant County Invitational on Saturday, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team placed 10th out of 12 teams. The top finisher was Noah Jensen, who took 2nd at 114 pounds.

Girls' and Boys' basketball Jaguars get double-digit wins (VIDEOS, UPDATES*)

This blog post is being updated early Saturday morning and then another time later in the day. Two additional videos were added on Saturday morning.

In Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team improved to 4-1 overall with a 67-46 win over the Falcons. After clinging to a one-point halftime lead, the Jaguars exploded for 43 second-half points. A total of 7 players scored at least 7 points. The team was led by Kacey Fischer's 20 points; she was limited by rough A-C-GC play and tough foul calls in the first half and scored just 2 points in the first 18 minutes.

Excellent 19-of-25 free throw shooting was a key factor in the win. They're now 2-0 in the Central Minnesota Conference.

A-C-GC falls to 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the CMC. They have 7 seniors on the team, but the best one did not play (5'11" forward Ruby Klinger).

Next: the girls' basketball team travels to Kimball Area next Thursday for another CMC game.

Central MN Conference girls' basketball scores on December 12:
Royalton 77, Eden Valley-Watkins 34 (Royals pick up first win after an 0-3 start against tough Section 6AA rivals)
Holdingford 63, Maple Lake 34
Kimball Area 58, Paynesville Area 52

In boys' basketball action...
At home, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated Upsala 52-42 after they led 28-17 at halftime.

The Cardinals chipped away at the double-digit halftime deficit to trail 35-32 with 9 minutes to go. Taylor Pieper's three-point play with 7:42 left started a 13-2 run that put the Jaguars in control. Austin Radermacher's fastbreak shot with 35 seconds left helped seal the win with the game's final points scored.

The Cardinals fell to 2-2 overall. They shot just 23 percent on field goals and were 4-of-10 at the free throw line.

Here's a video from the middle of the second half tonight against Upsala:


Upsala brought a strong fullcourt press in the waning minutes of the game, but they shot poorly.

It's worth noting that their parents and fans rallied behind the team after their school bus was unable to start in Upsala. Supporters rallied with car pools to drive the players to Brooten. A school bus was sent eventually and was able to drive the players back home.

Here's a video during the last 2 minutes of the game:


Next: the boys' basketball team travels to Paynesville Area next Thursday for the CMC opener.

In the home wrestling triangular...
The B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team suffered a heartbreaking 36-35 loss to Kimball Area in the second of two duals tonight in Belgrade. In the first dual, Paynesville Area defeated the Jaguars by a 57-11 score. The wrestlers have no time to rest as they travel west to Barrett for the West Central Area duals tomorrow.

The Jaguars trailed 18-11 through 133 pounds, but Dylan Koob's win by fall cut that to 18-17.

Here's Dylan Koob winning at 139 pounds against Kimball:


In the 127-pound match, B-B-E's Elizabeth Rademacher earned her 50th career win. She won by fall over Teagan VanNurden. In the other dual, Paynesville Area defeated Kimball Area 60-18.

I'll expand out additional wrestling coverage on Monday with another video clip, which will feature Rademacher's win.

In local business news...this is exciting!
Here's a quick shout out to the new Mexican restaurant in Belgrade! They opened today to the public for the first time in the former Saucedos location on main street. I encourage you to go down and meet their staff! They are open tomorrow, Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Sunday, they are open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. I'll get more coverage of their restaurant at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website this weekend.

On Saturday afternoon this weekend...
On Saturday, December 13, the Sedan Community Group is excited to host Santa Day from 1 to 3 p.m. at Heidi's Bar. Children are invited to come take a picture with Santa Claus. Other activities include hayrides, and hot cocoa and cookies will be served. Kids can also receive a small toy, while supplies last. Heidi's Bar is located at 203 Marsh Street in downtown Sedan.

This blog post is a wrap.   

Area boys' basketball scores on December 12:
Renville County West 70, Maple Lake 65
Border West 67, Tri-State 42
Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 94, Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons 74
Foley 63, Kimball Area 44
Henning 72, Pillager 55

Area girls' basketball scores on December 12:
Minnewaska Area 56, Sauk Centre 44 (the Lakers and Mainstreeters were in a 23-23 tie at halftime in Sauk Centre)
New London-Spicer 95, Rockford 41
MACCRAY 67, Ortonville 21
BOLD 114, Montevideo 21 (BOLD led 72-13 at halftime in Bird Island)
Renville County West 71, Yellow Medicine East 62
Upsala 70, Benson 47
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 83, Brandon-Evansville 39
Parkers Prairie 65, Battle Lake 41

Wrestling is home, boys' basketball is home (RADIO, UPDATES)

On a frigid, sub-zero evening, we have home cooking for two varsity teams.

At the high school, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team is trailing Paynesville Area 45-11 after the 189-pound match is complete. The Jaguars are hosting a Central Minnesota Conference triangular that also includes Kimball Area.

In girls' basketball action...
The Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City Falcons are hosting the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team in a CMC game. The varsity game started at 5:30 p.m. That game is being broadcast on Smooth Magic 107 FM of Glenwood. Through 7 minutes, the Falcons are on a 10-0 run and hold an 11-4 lead in the first half.

The website for Smooth Magic 107 is https://www.kmgk1071.com.

With 9 minutes to go, the Falcons are ahead 16-10.

Halftime: with Kacey Fischer and Mya Worms playing through early foul trouble, the Jaguars hold a 24-23 lead at the break. Halftime started at 6:12 p.m. Kamie Fischer is leading the Jaguars with 7 points and 3 rebounds.

Final: B-B-E girls' basketball 67, A-C-GC 46. The Jaguars are 4-1 overall.

Also at home tonight, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is hosting Upsala in non-conference action. The JV boys defeated the Cardinals by single digits. In the varsity game, the Jaguars led 28-17 at halftime.

MORE to come in a NEW blog post at about 9 p.m.!

Jaguars win shootout in overtime vs. BOLD (VIDEOS, UPDATED*)

The game was up for grabs until the last 2 seconds were on the clock in overtime. Once 40 minutes of cutthroat, run-and-gun basketball was complete, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team had an 87-81 win to their credit over the BOLD Warriors.

At halftime, the Jaguars held a 48-37 lead. Through regulation play, the score was tied 78-78. BOLD's Erika Martinson, 5'6" sophomore guard, swished a three-pointer at the top of the key with 5 seconds left in the second half to force overtime. With 3:48 left in the second half, Martinson drained a corner three-pointer that lifted BOLD on top 70-68. That field goal was her first of the game, and she finished with 11 points.

The game had a slow start, and the Jaguars led 5-3 two minutes into the first half.

With 14:26 left, Teagan Dingmann's three-pointer put the Jaguars ahead 10-5. The Warriors gained a 12-10 lead, but Reese Kampsen scored with 13 minutes left to tie the score. BOLD led 18-14 and then 20-16 with 10 minutes to go.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Macey Roering made it a 30-25 lead for B-B-E, and they expanded that to a 43-30 advantage with Kacey Fischer's fastbreak bucket at the 1:55 mark.

I've got some extensive notes to work through.

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


It was a WILD second half...
The Jaguars looked good in the first minute out of the locker room. Tiffany Dingmann's three-pointer extended their lead to 51-37 with 17:25 left. BOLD's Martinson responded with a three-pointer with 16:09 left, and the Warriors were on an 11-0 run that took 2 1/2 minutes of game time. With 13:02 left, Macey Roering knocked down an off-balance 12-foot shot to for a 53-48 lead.

Back-to-back shots from Mya Worms and Reese Kampsen made it 57-50 with 11:10 left. Just 2 minutes later, BOLD's leading scorer, sophomore Lilly Henriksen, cashed two bonus free throws to cut B-B-E's lead to 59-56. Roering's layup with 8:34 left gave the Jaguars a two-possession lead, and shots in the paint from Kamie Fischer and Worms pushed the lead to 67-58 with 7:15 left. The Jaguars went into a cold spell, while the Warriors used a 12-1 run to gain a 70-68 lead after Martinson's first field goal of the game with 3:48 left.

Martinson drained her second three-pointer of regulation with 66 seconds left which put BOLD ahead 75-74. Tiffany Dingmann's fastbreak shot on a terrific assist from Teagan Dingmann made for another lead change before the Warriors tied it at 78-78 to lead to overtime.

Here's action from the second half of regulation:


And! Here's a lengthy video featuring the last 2 minutes of the second half.

Second half action, as regulation play ends:


In overtime, Mya Worms scored in the paint with 3 minutes to go for an 81-78 lead. The Warriors got 2 double bonus free throws with 1:59 left, and they tied the game with one free throw with 1:44 to go. Kacey Fischer made a field goal with 1:35 left, and Worms scored a cleanup shot in the paint for an 84-81 lead.

B-B-E had strong 42 percent field goal shooting for the game. Two Jaguars had double doubles: Kacey Fischer (25 points, 14 rebounds) and Macey Roering (19 points, 10 rebounds). Reese Kampsen had 7 points off the bench.

BOLD, who was 4-1 coming into the game, is a contender in Section 2A. Sophomore guard Lilly Henriksen led all scorers with 33 points.

There's no time to rest, as the Jaguars have a big Central Minnesota Conference game coming tomorrow night at Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City. **NOTE: the tip-off of the varsity girls' basketball game in Grove City is at 5:30 p.m. The JV game will follow that at about 7 p.m. The Falcons are 2-3 overall and 0-1 in the CMC; in their latest game, which was on Monday in Grove City, the Falcons lost 44-34 to Kimball Area.

In girls' hockey news...
In girls' hockey action tonight, the No. 19-ranked River Lakes Stars lost 3-0 to the St. Cloud Crush in Paynesville. The Stars are now 5-4-1 overall and 2-1-1 in the Central Lakes Conference. They travel to Fergus Falls next Tuesday for a big CLC game against the first-place Otters. Fergus Falls and Alexandria are tied for first in the CLC with 3-0 records.

According to the latest statistics I see at the Star Tribune hockey hub, B-B-E sophomore Lillian Thompson has played goalie for River Lakes in all 10 games. She's logged 518 minutes and faced 302 shots on goal. She's recorded 272 saves for a 90.1 percent save rate.

Have you checked out the forecast? Even tomorrow looks crazy! Once the sun rises on Friday, the temperature will slowly drop to below zero. We have a brutally cold weekend coming our way. I was delayed in blogging tonight after spending about a half hour shoveling snow away from our parking areas on the street and by our sidewalk.

A quick shout out to Jane Fauskee and her Hopeful Hills Ranch business in Gilchrist Township! She has a big Christmas Sale and open house this weekend at her ranch. Her business website is: https://www.hopefulhillsranchalpacas.com/farm-and-herd.

Area girls' basketball scores on December 11:
Osakis 51, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 18
Milaca 75, Upsala 51
Hutchinson 47, Annandale 32
Pierz 67, Upsala 58
Breckenridge 81, Border West 32
Pine River-Backus 85, Blackduck 47
Nicollet 67, Renville County West 47
Benson 64, Dawson-Boyd 53
Brainerd 63, Willmar 59
Alexandria 55, Fergus Falls 46
Underwood 65, Parkers Prairie 34
Sartell-St. Stephen 72, St. Cloud Crush 19
Breckenridge 81, Border West 32
Hancock 57, Canby 50
Lac qui Parle Valley 54, Wabasso 51
Central MN Christian 86, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 74

Area boys' basketball scores on December 11:
Sauk Centre 66, BOLD 34
Barnesville 74, Minnewaska Area 54
Albany 67, Annandale 55
New London-Spicer 73, Redwood Valley 72
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 68, Montevideo 66
Rothsay 98, Parkers Prairie 67
Holdingford 73, Little Falls 36
Willmar 58, Sauk Rapids-Rice 54
Browerville 81, St. John's Prep 44
Hancock 61, Border West 60
Osakis 60, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 35
West Central Area 54, Melrose Area 53
Ashby 64, Brandon-Evansville 44
St. Cloud Cathedral 91, Royalton 56
K-M-S 69, MACCRAY 43
Central MN Christian 74, LQPV 27
Dawson-Boyd 89, Ortonville 51

GAME NIGHT! against the Warriors (UPDATES)

The preliminary games are in the book for tonight's home action against the BOLD Warriors. The B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is looking to get past their tough two-point loss to Brandon-Evansville on Saturday. Their home game on Tuesday was snowed out. In tonight's C-squad game, the Jaguars won a nailbiter by a 37-35 score. That B-B-E squad is now 2-0. In the JV game, the Warriors won 46-40. The Jaguars trailed 38-31 with just over 7 minutes left, and they cut that to 42-40 with under a minute to go.

The varsity game's tip-off should be at about 7:20 p.m.

HALFTIME: B-B-E 48, BOLD 37. Kacey Fischer has 15 points to lead a balanced attack in the first half, while Macey Roering has 12 points. The Warriors have two heavy scorers with 19 (No. 2) and 14 points.

In the second half...the Jaguars went up 51-37 after Tiffany Dingmann's three-pointer, but the Warriors scored 11 unanswered points for a 51-48 score. With 13:02 left, Macey Roering scored to break the drought and make it a 53-48 lead.

Emf of regulator: it's tied 78-all. The final score will be posted in a new blog post.

It's cold outside (VIDEOS)

We're in the single digits tonight as the temperatures head towards zero. An Alberta Clipper has added around 5 inches of snow in the past 36 hours while ushering in bitter cold.

The mood was bright at the Women's Expo on Saturday...even as The Grinch made his appearance!


Brooten was buzzing with activity all day and into the evening on Saturday. It was a wonderful time.

A short web article has been posted online at the Bonanza Valley Voice website providing a review of Santa Day in Brooten. Click here to see that: BrootenSantaDay2025. Attached to the web article is a video from Brooten's lighted Christmas parade.

And now it's Thursday...
If you didn't know already, traveling on rural roads is tricky. Multiple stretches of Highway 55 around Brooten and Belgrade are coated with stubborn and dangerous ice patches. Please travel lightly!

Tonight: the girls' basketball team hosts BOLD in a non-conference game. The C-squad game starts at 4:30 p.m.

Also at the Bonanza Valley Voice website, a wrestling article was posted. An attached video features action from the 215-pound match against BOLD on December 2. Here's a link to see that: BBEwrestlingDecember2.

Christmas caroling on Main Street...and the weather! (VIDEO, UPDATES*)

B-B-E schools dismissed classes and let students out at 11:15 a.m. today. Two separate bands of snowfall wreaked havoc across the area, the latter hitting us between 3 and 5 p.m. No evening activities are taking place.

Here's a Christmas caroling video from last Friday at the Belgrade Bakery:


The B-B-E 6th grade Class of 2032 students had a shopping excursion last Friday afternoon. The gifts, purchased by donated funds, are being gathered for local families in need. Additional coverage is coming in the Bonanza Valley Voice.

Time to get back to the newspaper.

Tuesday night updates:
B-B-E schools has announced that school will start 2 hours late on Wednesday, December 10.

The River Lakes Stars girls' hockey team earned a 3-1 win on Saturday in Cloquet against the co-op team of Cloquet/Esko/Carlton. The Stars are 5-3 overall (2-0 Central Lakes College) and host the St. Cloud Crush (5-2) on Thursday this week in Paynesville at 7 p.m.

Tonight's boys' basketball game that was supposed to be at Long Prairie has been rescheduled to January 26.

Tuesday activities could be scratched out by the weather (VIDEO)

It's too early to know for sure, but it's looking dicey on whether or not varsity activities will take place on Tuesday night. The forecast looks rough! Sleet/rain/snow is supposed to hit our area in the afternoon before temperatures plunge below the 32-degree mark. The forecast calls for 3 to 5 inches of sleet and snow with 20-30 mph winds coming in the evening.

Here's the first video I recorded during the Brooten Santa Day event on Saturday:


In local business news...
Be sure to get these events on your calendar...customers of our community banks of Bonanza Valley State Bank and Kensington Bank are invited to their Christmas open house events. Read more by clicking here: BankChristmasEvents.