Law enforcement response in Belgrade (VIDEO)

It has been all hands on deck in Belgrade, as an alleged shooting took place on School Street on the far eastern edge of town. A video posted at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website has more: BelgradePoliceResponse.

Here's another video recorded at about 12:45 p.m. today:


This video (above) was recorded near the Crow River Township Hall.

Jaguars are conference champions! Yes, that just happened! (VIDEOS)

With the chips down, trailing 46-34 with over 11 minutes in the game, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team turned the tide and chipped away at the double-digit deficit. Nearly 8 minutes later, an underhanded layup shot by Kacey Fischer under the basket tied it at 53-53. From that point on, it was a barn burner and a one-possession game down to the final buzzer. Final score: B-B-E 60, Kimball 57!

With the win, the Jaguars claimed sole possession of the Central Minnesota Conference title. It's their first title since the COVID season in 2020-2021. It's also just the second girls' basketball conference title in school history. The former school districts of Brooten and Belgrade each won multiple girls' basketball conference titles between 1973-74 and the 1987-88 seasons. (Something I hope to spell out completely in next week's newspaper.)

This was a thoroughly exciting night where the C-squad prevailed 25-24, and the JV team defeated their Kimball counterparts by a wide margin.

Next: the Jaguars (18-8) take it to the next part of the season when they host a Sub-Section 5A-East quarterfinal game next Thursday in Belgrade. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. Please spread the word!

Here's a video from the first half of tonight's game:


Kimball Area led 34-31 at halftime after the Jaguars previously led 22-9. The video above features action taking place soon after B-B-E built the 22-9 lead.

This video begins with about 4:45 to go before halftime:


The Cubs tied the game at 26-26 on two bonus free throws with 3:40 left. Teagan Dingmann answered for B-B-E with a three-pointer 20 seconds later.

How the first half played out tonight:
For the second straight night against a conference opponent, the Jaguars got off to a good start. Kacey Fischer got two free throws one minute after tip-off. Kimball junior guard Hope Kuechle cashed a three-pointer to gain their first lead of the night. It was short-lived, as 90 seconds later, Teagan Dingmann drained two free throws for the second lead change of the night. Thirty seconds after that, she scored on a floater in the lane. On the next possession, Kimball junior forward Mazie Jurek scored her first basket of the game.

The Jaguars took control and dominated for the next 4 minutes of the game. Back-to-back three-pointers by Tiffany Dingmann and Kacey Fischer made it 12-5 with 13:40 left, and Kimball head coach Jeremy Kuechle called his first timeout. B-B-E kept the pressure up, and back-to-back cleanup shots in the paint by Kacey Fischer extended the lead to 18-7. Jurek scored a minute later, but Reese Kampsen hit a three with 10:15 left for a 22-9 score.

With 9:35 on the clock, Jurek cashed a three-pointer as momentum shifted to the Cubs. Just over a minute later, Kuechle's layup cut it to 22-14. Jurek later scored back-to-back paint shots to cut it to 23-18. On the next possession, Teagan Dingmann scored her second three of the game. Across the last 6 minutes of the first half, however, the Cubs outscored the Jaguars 16-5.

Halftime: Kimball 34, B-B-E 31. After being out-hustled in the opening minutes of the game, the Cubs took heed from timeout talks from Coach Kuechle to match B-B-E's physical presence. The Cubs got to loose balls quicker and were winning the battle on the boards as the first half closed out.

How the second half played out...
While it was her first basket of the night, it was a big one when Kimball junior guard Claire Maus hit a three-pointer in the opening seconds of the second half. It fueled a 12-4 run for the Cubs. Kimball senior forward Brooklyn Molitor earned a three-point play that gave Kimball a 46-34 lead with 11:15 to go.

Macey Roering's three-pointer with 10:50 to go marked the beginning of B-B-E's epic comeback. With 8:24 left, Coach Kristina Anderson called a full timeout. On the ensuing inbounds play, Teagan Dingmann scored on a deep three-point shot that made it a 46-42 deficit while capping an 8-0 run.

With 6:35 left, Kacey Fischer scored on the right block for a 50-46 deficit. A shot by Reese Kampsen and then a three-pointer by Roering made it a 51-51 tie game with 4:30 left.

In the closing minute, trailed 56-55, Teagan Dingmann got free deep in the left corner and connected for her fourth three-pointer of the game with 29 seconds left with the assist credited to Roering. Kimball junior guard Claire Rasset launched a three-pointer with 7 seconds to go, but it glanced off the rim. Kacey Fischer snared the biggest defensive rebound of the game, and she was promptly fouled. She salted the lead by going 2-for-2 on bonus free throws with 4.1 seconds left for the game's final score.

Here's a video featuring the last 38 seconds of the game:


More to come here after 11 p.m. Also, hats off to the 4th and 5th grade students who peformed the National Anthem prior to tip-off tonight. Over this weekend, I hope to get the video of their performance online.

Area girls' basketball scores on February 20:
Pequot Lakes 72, Royalton 47
Mayer Lutheran 85, Cass Lake-Bena 42
Milaca 70, Holdingford 50
Brandon-Evansville 67, Swanville 53
Sauk Centre 43, Melrose Area 28

GAME NIGHT! Conference title up for grabs (VIDEO, updates)

These games are rare in a sports reporter's career.

Tonight, in a winner-take-all Central Minnesota Conference game, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team is hosting Kimball Area to conclude the regular season. The winners takes first place and gets a trophy for permanent display in their trophy case, and the loser gets mention of second place but no hardware to speak of. It's a huge game for the Jaguars, who have lost 3 straight games and need to right the ship before heading into playoffs.

The Cubs are 18-5 overall. Both teams are currently tied for first place in the CMC with identical 11-2 records.

Here's action featuring the final minute of the first half last night:


Game updates will follow here.

HALFTIME: Kimball 34, B-B-E 31. The 22-9 lead that the Jaguars held with 10:15 to go is a distant memory. The Cubs have come alive in a big way and regained the lead on Hope Kuechle's shot in the lane with about 40 seconds to go. That made it 32-31 Cubs. Kuechle then hit a shot off the glass on a drive from the right wing to make it a 3-point spread heading into the locker room.

Hit refresh to see the final score and more in a NEW blog post after 9 p.m.

Two conference losses (VIDEO)

This was a rough night for our basketball teams.

In a Central Minnesota Conference game on the home court, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team suffered a 74-63 loss to a hot-shooting Holdingford team as they fell into a tie for first place with Kimball Area. Cold 33 percent field goal shooting hampered the cause as the Huskers rained three-pointers on the Jaguars to earn a split in the conference series.

The Jaguars got off to a great start in the game's opening minutes with an early 10-2 lead.

Early inside baskets by Mya Worms (17:43) and then Teagan Dingmann...plus a three by Kacey Fischer got the Jaguars out to a 7-0 lead with one minute played. Another field goal by Kacey Fischer made it a 10-2 lead. Across the next 1 1/2 minutes, however, the Huskers narrowed it to a 10-8 score. They later gained the lead on a three-pointer to go ahead 17-15.

Here's the tip-off and first 2 minutes of the game:


The Huskers led 36-29 at halftime.

Senior Riley Breth was nearly unstoppable as the senior 5'11" forward poured in 27 points with 8 rebounds and 4 steals for the Huskers. Kacey Fischer also had a monster game with 26 points to lead the Jaguars. She knocked down both of her three-point attempts and made 8 of 16 two-point shots for 55 percent field goal shooting.

Holdingford clinched fourth place alone with an 8-6 record. B-B-E falls to 11-2, and this loss sets up a rare winner-take-all game in Belgrade tomorrow. The Kimball Area Cubs will provide the competition, you can bet the house that they'll come in fired up. Spread the word! Let's get a rowdy, loud hometown crowd ready to cheer on the Jaguars to a win.

Overall, B-B-E is 17-8 and has a lock on the No. 2 seed in Sub-Section 5A-East. The rankings will be finalized on Saturday. The playoffs will open at home on Thursday, February 26 at 7 p.m. in Belgrade.

In boys' basketball action...
The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team lost a tough one by a 63-61 score at Royalton tonight. The Jaguars trailed 41-32 at halftime. They are now 7-6 in the CMC and still in third place. However, they have to defeat Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City next week in order to stay in third place. The Royals are 10-14 overall and 6-6 in the CMC.

Next: the boy's basketball team hosts Benson next Monday. The Jaguars have climbed to No. 10 in the latest QRF rankings in Section 6A.

In the Central Minnesota Conference, Paynesville Area remained in first place alone after surviving a scare from sixth-place Kimball Area. The Bulldogs won tonight in Kimball 82-80.

Central MN Conference boys' basketball scores on Feb. 19:
Maple Lake 96, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 83
Paynesville Area 82, Kimball Area 80
Holdingford 65, Eden Valley-Watkins 49

Area girls' basketball scores on February 19:
Melrose Area 65, Kimball Area 61
Benson 68, Mille Lacs 47
Yellow Medicine East 68, Lac qui Parle Valley 56
Wabasso 48, Renville County West 42
Milaca 67, Albany 32
Sauk Centre 64, Royalton 59
Lester Prairie 62, Maple Lake 42
Brandon-Evansville 62, Upsala 53
Osakis 46, Swanville 42 (Swanville still wins the Prairie Conference title alone with a 9-1 record; the Silverstreaks took second at 8-2)
Braham 72, Barnum 43
Pine River-Backus 65, Cass Lake-Bena 45
Becker 58, Alexxandria 46
West Central Area 71, Hancock 64
Border West 67, Ortonville 14
Parkers Prairie 74, Henning 68

Area boys' basketball scores on February 19:
Albany 81, Pierz 71
Central-Norwood Young America 74, New London-Spicer 66
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 51, Sauk Centre 45
Melrose Area 52, Litchfield 51
Minnewaska 63, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 48
Benson 96, Browerville 61
Underwood 49, Border West 41
Montevideo 70, Dawson-Boyd 62

Winter weather blows up the middle of the week...and basketball tonight!

We've had a crazy turn of events! Good grief! Let's hope this isn't a sign of things to come for basketball playoffs. A rain/ice/snowstorm gripped the Bonanza Valley area and beyond on Wednesday. The main result was that school at B-B-E started 2 hours late today. Beyond that, Wednesday evening events and athletic practices were cancelled after school was dismissed at 1 p.m. on Wednesday.

Rural travel was treacherous on Wednesday night, and moving around in town on foot was also tricky as temperatures dropped below 32 degrees by mid-afternoon. The Ash Wednesday worship at West Lake Johanna Lutheran church was cancelled, and instead, the Trinity/WLJ Parish will hold Ash Wednesday worship tonight at 7 p.m. at Trinity in Brooten. I had planned on Ash Wednesday at WLJ, but as it appears, I'll miss worship at Trinity due to a home basketball game. I'd skip the basketball game, but it is senior night. Because newspaper publishing duties, I missed the boy' basketball team's senior/parents night held before Tuesday's basketball game in Brooten. Fortunately, I got a nice picture of the five seniors after their game. That's what you'll see in the newspaper this week.

Ash Wednesday worship was held at St. Francis de Sales Catholic church at 7 p.m. last night. I wish I could have made it - but honestly, I was out of gas! I lost all desire to leave home last night as the weather bit down.

In basketball action...
Tonight is senior night for the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team, as they will honor four seniors: student athletes Kacey Fischer and Tiffany Dingmann plus student managers Kenna Lieser and Josie Buckentine. The Jaguars host Holdingford in another big Central Minnesota Conference game. The Jaguars have yet to grab at least a share the Central Minnesota Conference title...that could happen tonight.

Meanwhile, at Royalton, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team is in a key CMC game with the Royals. I have to somehow keep tabs on that game via their online stream.

AT HALFTIME: the boys trailed by 9 points at halftime in Royalton. For the girls, they trail 36-29 at the break.

Final at Royalton: Royals 63, Jaguars 61.

A win and a loss - once again (VIDEO)

On a night with two home contests on the hardwood, results were one and one for local fans.

In a key Central Minnesota Conference game in Brooten, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team defeated Maple Lake 75-71 to stay in the hunt for third place. It was a great night where the Jaguars overcame an early 8-4 deficit to hold a 44-31 halftime lead.

Next: now winners of four straight, the Jaguars have a tough assignment with a road trip to Royalton on Thursday this week. B-B-E (12-10) is currently 7-5 in the CMC and in third place alone. The Royals played at Sauk Centre tonight in a Section 6AA game.

Maple Lake falls to 8-15 overall and 2-10 in the CMC.

In girls' basketball action...
In a second straight non-conference game against a Camden Conference juggernaut in Belgrade, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team fell 75-60 to MACCRAY. The Jaguars now have two remaining games on the season: Thursday against Holdingford and Friday against Kimball. Both games are on the home floor to close out a four-game homestand before playoffs.

Here's a short video featuring action leading up to halftime against MACCRAY:


On Monday this week, the Eden Valley-Watkins boys' basketball team lost 73-55 in a border battle at Paynesville. This knocks the Eagles out of a tie for third place in the CMC; they're now 8-14 overall and 6-6 in the CMC. In another noteworthy neighborhood boys' basketball game last night, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg invaded neighboring Benson and came home with a 78-62 win. This was just the third loss of the season for Benson, who is 19-3 overall and travels to Brooten to face our Jaguars next Monday.

**LATE Tuesday update: in a CMC girls' basketball game at Kimball tonight, the Royalton Royals lost 55-54 to finish the conference loop with an 11-3 record.

In other news...
I've only had a few minutes here and there this winter to try catching up with the B-B-E Resistance Robotics team. Two of their veteran team members, Coby Schoumaker and Owen Miller, provided comments last Friday at the Sno-Daze pep fest about the current robotics season. You can click over to the official F.I.R.S.T. robotics website to learn more about their 2026 competition: https://www.firstinspires.org/programs/frc/game-and-season.

B-B-E speech hosts Jagtastic Invitational (VIDEO, hoops updates)O)

The Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa speech team hosted their second annual Jagtastic Invitational on Saturday at the high school with awards hosted inside Olson Auditorium. Full results are published in this week's newspaper.

High placewinners for B-B-E included juniors Marlie Schlangen and Surabhi Velez, who were both double entries. Velez placed 3rd in discussion and 4th in extemporaneous speaking - domestic issue. Schlangen placed 3rd in extemporaneous reading with poetry and 4th in poetry.

Here's a video featuring Velez during awards while Discussion results announced:


The speech team features 12 on the roster during a period of time where it is becoming more and more difficult for schools (not just B-B-E) to convince students to show they can show commitment and perseverance. It's a battle most people cannot imagine. For me, it is extremely frustrating. For the men and women who hold roles as Activities Directors and coaches, the battles they endure to get students on board with extra-curricular programming often later become the struggles that business owners have getting workers who can show commitment to this thing known as a "job"!

On a significantly brighter note, it's wonderful when I hear coaches and teachers speak about the high character displayed by B-B-E students. This week, readers of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper can read about this regarding Owen Roering. He is featured in the February 19 issue's Jaguar Spotlight.

UPDATES:
At halftime against MACCRAY, the girls' basketball team is trailing 39-26.

A win and a loss (VIDEOS, Updates)

The B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team earned a thrilling 80-74 double overtime win at Kimball tonight! The score at the end of regulation was 62-62. With about 3 minutes to go, the Jaguars led 62-55.

After the first overtime period, the score was tied 66-66.  

In the last minute of double overtime, Austin Berge went 4-for-4 on double bonus free throws to help seal the win. After B-B-E built a 74-69 lead, the Cubs cut it to 74-72 with a three-point play. Lance Radermacher then made a huge shot in the paint to push it back to a two-possession game.

The Jaguars made 10 out of 35 three-point shots. Austin Berge led the Jaguars with a career-high 25 points with 5 made three-pointers. Taylor Pieper added 22 points.

Here's a video of the video stream...featuring action in the final minute of regulation play at Kimball:


The boys' basketball team improves to 11-10 overall and 6-5 in the Central Minnesota Conference with their 3rd straight win. The Cubs fall to 5-17 overall and 3-8 in the CMC. Kimball had just snapped a 6-game losing streak last night when they beat visiting Eden Valley-Watkins in a border battle by an 86-62 score.

Royalton had a big game with first-place Paynesville tonight. No word yet on that outcome. The Royals are another CMC team that is gunning for third place.

In the girls' basketball game...
Down by a wide 39-11 margin at halftime, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team played a much better second half and cut a 28-point deficit down to 16 points early in the second half. In the first 90 seconds of the second half, Tiffany Dingmann cashed two three-pointers to cut the score to 41-20.

The No. 6-ranked Bluejays won 67-42 while ending B-B-E's winning streak at 3 games. A season-low 10 percent mark on field goals in the first half spelled doom for the Jaguars, who fall to 17-6 overall. They look for a big rebound with 3 additional home games next week. Next: a non-conference game is on the docket for next Tuesday, February 17 against MACCRAY (17-7).

Against CMC-Prinsburg, the Jaguars were led by their two seniors: 14 points from Kacey Fischer and 12 points from Tiffany Dingmann. For the game, the Jaguars were 5-of-20 on three-pointers while going 14-for-65 (21 percent) overall on field goals.

Here's a video recorded in the second half tonight:


CMC-Prinsburg improves to 21-2 overall; they entered tonight's game with an offensive average of 74.2 points per contest. Their defensive average is 43 points per game.

I need another break! It's time to take a load off and relax at the bar at Lucky Shots in Brooten!

Saturday morning update...
Eden Valley-Watkins beat A-C-GC 66-64 to remain in a tie for third place with our boys' basketball team in the CMC. Both squads are 6-5 in the standings. Paynesville Area remains in first place alone after they beat Royalton 57-43 on Friday night.

**Here's a video from Friday's Pep Fest...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website:
SnoDazePepFest2026

Here's a video featuring the end of the JV game tonight against CMC-Prinsburg:


In wrestling news...
In the Section 5A quarterfinals on Thursday, the B-B-E Jaguars wrestling team lost 65-10 to see their season come to a close with a record of 2-18. Canby was then thrashed by Paynesville 42-20 in the semifinals on Saturday. Paynesville was then hammered by Minneota 47-17 in the Section 5A championship to advance to state. To get to the section finals, Minneota beat BOLD 63-6 in the quarterfinals before beating Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 46-17 in the semifinals.

In college basketball news...
I just learned terrific news about two Class of 2023 graduates...Abby Berge's team at Minnesota State University-Moorhead won 76-69 in overtime last night against the University of Mary. She had 18 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Dragons with one of her four three-pointers coming early in the overtime period. In a game held tonight at Dickinson State University, Tiyana Schwinghammer's Valley City State University Vikings team earned a 78-64 Frontier Conference win. Schwinghammer had a double double of 10 points and 12 rebounds. Her Vikings team is currently in the capitol city of North Dakota, Bismark, where they play tomorrow in another big conference game with tip-off at 5 p.m.

Central Minnesota Conference boys' basketball scores on February 13:
Paynesville 57, Royalton 43
Eden Valley-Watkins 66, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 64


Area boys' basketball scores on February 13:
Upsala 77, Osakis 76 (overtime at Osakis in the Prairie Conference)
Montevideo 71, Sauk Centre 53
New London-Spicer 63, Litchfield 57
Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 79, Kindred (N.D.) 66
Ortonville 58, MACCRAY 54
Hancock 94, Ashby 59
Hillcrest Lutheran Academy 69, Border West 50
Brandon-Evansville 66, Battle Lake 50
Underwood 65, Parkers Prairie 53
Central MN Christian 68, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 59 (the Bluejays are 22-1 overall)
Minneota 72, Lakeview 65

Area girls' basketball scores on February 13:
BOLD 74, West Central Area 52
Maple Lake 45, Mille Lacs 21
Pequot Lakes 65, Albany 46
Paynesville Area 63, Browerville 25
New London-Spicer 82, New London-Spicer 40
Sauk Centre 70, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 46
St. Cloud Cathedral 58, Kimball Area 56
Holdingford 68, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City 53 (a Central MN Conference make up game)
Braham 59, Hinckley-Finlayson 14
Mayer Lutheran 58, Minneota 36
MACCRAY 90, Montevideo 34

Valentine's Day is almost here (basketball updates)

To see more on Valentine's Day, click here: ValentinesDayHours.

The girls' basketball team is hosting Central Minnesota Christian of Prinsburg in a non-conference game tonight. The Bluejays are 20-2 overall (last I checked) and also were ranked No. 6 in the latest Class 1A Minnesota Basketball News state rankings.

Evening updates...
The JV Jaguars won the girls' basketball game by a 55-46 score. With 3:30 to go, the Bluejays had cut a large deficit down to 49-46.

In the varsity game, the Bluejays hold a 39-11 halftime lead.

At Kimball, the boys' basketball team is ahead 48-40 with 12:45 left.

Varsity basketball teams sweep conference opponents (VIDEO)

Both teams won tonight in varsity conference action. In Paynesville, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team maintained their position on top of the Central Minnesota Conference with a 58-31 win over the Bulldogs. The Jaguars shot an abysmal 19 percent on field goals in the first half while holding a 21-14 lead at the break.

Next for the girls' basketball team is a home game against Central Minnesota Christian (20-2) of Prinsburg this Friday. They host a second straight Camden North Conference team with MACCRAY (15-7) coming to Belgrade next Tuesday, February 17.

In boys' basketball action...
On the home court, the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team played a terrific second half against Eden Valley-Watkins while claiming a 75-60 win. This squares their record in the CMC at 5-5, and overall, they improve to 10-10. Next for the boys' basketball team is a big road game at Kimball Area on Friday, February 13.

Against EV-W, senior Owen Roering powered the offense with 24 points on a school-record eight three-point shots. He had 6 made threes by halftime. Also having a career night was freshman Hudson Reed, who had 21 points. Of Reed's scoring total, 15 points came in the second half. At halftime, B-B-E led 36-25.

Here's a video recorded in the second half tonight:


The Eagles fall to 7-12 overall and 5-4 in the CMC. The winter weather has wreaked havoc on their schedule as well; they have yet to play neighboring Kimball in the CMC series.

GAME NIGHT! Home cooking

We have home cooking tonight with the B-B-E Jaguars boys' basketball team hosting Eden Valley-Watkins. The Jaguars are trying to avenge a loss in the conference opener in early January. At stake is a shot for third place in the Central Minnesota Conference. A loss would make a third-place finish highly unlikely.

At halftime in Paynesville, the B-B-E Jaguars girls' basketball team struggled through a ragged first half but holds a 21-14 lead at the break.

In the boys game...

The Jaguars are ahead 36-25 at halftime over Eden Valley-Watkins. *More to come in a NEW blog post.

B-B-E's Sno-Daze begins tomorrow morning *(UPDATED)

Sno-Daze is being held at B-B-E schools this week for the 36th time in school history. The senior royalty candidates were featured on page 5 in the February 5 issue of the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper. You can read more at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website by clicking here: BBESnoDazeWeek.

In the attached video in that web article, you can watch footage from Sno-Daze coronation in February 2015.

And now it's late Tuesday morning...
The 36th B-B-E Sno-Daze King and Queen are seniors Aiden Radermacher and Annie Schmidt. Video is uploading.

Here you can see the coronation crowning take place...click over to the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper website: BBESnoDazeCoronation.


**The girls' basketball team is at Paynesville on Tuesday night. The varsity team tips off at 5:30 p.m.