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. 

Community celebration coming to Sunburg next week

Sunburg will be hosting its version of National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4. The Sunburg Fire Department and Rescue squad invites the public to come to town and help them celebrate National Night Out along with the great fundraising support they've received for their need to purchase a new fire truck.

This community appreciation gathering will be held Tuesday, August 4th from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Sunburg Fire Hall for donors and community members to check out the truck and visit with First Responders - both Fire fighters and EMS.

Switching to sports...

Here's action from the 10th inning on Sunday against New Munich:


The game was played at Greenwald, where the Saints won 6-5 in 10 innings.

I heard that Lake Henry has qualified for the play-in round of the Region 8C tournament. They will face the No. 3 team out of the County Line League.

In other news...
TWO local county fairs kicked off today: the Pope County Fair in Glenwood and the Stearns County Fair in Sauk Centre.

Elrosa Saints win playoff title (VIDEOS)

The Elrosa Saints amateur baseball team won the Stearns County League North playoff title with a 6-5, 10-inning win over New Munich this afternoon in Greenwald. A base hit by Derek Wiener in the bottom of the 10th inning scored Luke Dingmann from second base for the walk-off win.

A three-run home run by Blaine Fischer in the bottom of the 8th inning tied the game at 5-5. In the first inning, New Munich took a 5-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Jackson Peter hit a two-run home run to cut the deficit to 5-2.

Here's a video featuring action in the bottom of the 8th inning:


The game continued past the 9th inning thanks to some great plays made by Elrosa's defense in the top of the 9th inning.

Here's a video from the top of the 9th inning:


Next: the Saints open the Region 8C tournament on Saturday, August 8 at 3:30 p.m. in Regal, host of the 2026 region tournament. They will face the No. 2 seed from the County Line League.

In the second SCL-North game played today in Greenwald, Spring Hill defeated Greenwald 8-2 to keep their season alive. They earned a spot in the region tournament.

More to come. I haven't gotten a full grasp on who's still alive in the County Line League playoffs. The last I checked, teams still alive in the CLL playoffs are Atwater, Regal and Paynesville.

Plenty of baseball to catch up on

I'll start in the Stearns County League South with amateur baseball news...in the division playoffs on Saturday, Farming defeated Lake Henry 11-5 to earn a spot at the Region 8C tournament.

In the SCL-North, New Munich won a high-scoring contest 18-12 against Spring Hill in their division opener. New Munich earns the right to face Elrosa in a region seeding game for the SCL-North playoff banner. New Munich and Elrosa have a first pitch set for 12 p.m. in Greenwald today.

Later today in Greenwald, Spring Hill will face the Cubs in an elimination game.

In youth baseball news...
At the state tournament in Barnesville on Saturday, the B-B-E Jaguars 16-U Babe Ruth team took a very, very tough loss by a 7-6 score in regulation innings against neighboring Paynesville. The Jaguars scored 2 runs in the top of the seventh, but they ran out of outs before at least extending it to the bottom of the frame. They had a spectacular finish to their season with a fourth-place finish at state. How incredible is that!

In Greenwald...New Munich has a 5-2 lead through 7 innings over Elrosa.

*Update: the Saints tied the game 5-5 in the 8th inning.

Final: Elrosa 6, New Munich 5 in 10 innings.

Playing for 3rd place

The B-B-E Jaguars 16-U Babe Ruth team is playing in the third-place game today at the state tournament. In the semifinals yesterday, they lost 6-0 to Prairie Rivers. Today's opponent will be Paynesville. 

At Elrosa today, the Saints beat Greenwald 17-1 to earn a spot at the region tournament. Next: Elrosa plays at Greenwald tomorrow (Sunday) at noon. I don't know who they play yet.

16-U baseball wins state opener

For the second straight year, the B-B-E Jaguars 16-U baseball team won their first game of the Babe Ruth state tournament. Playing in Barnesville on Thursday afternoon, the Jaguars defeated Menahga 6-0. The state quarterfinal win moves them to a 3 p.m. game back in Barnesville on Friday afternoon. Their opponent in the state semifinals will be Prairie Rivers Baseball Association. The PRBA team is made up of players from West Central Area, Ashby and Brandon-Evansville high schools.

It's a busy week (Updates*)

Bonanza Valley Days may be behind us, but the schedule does not lighten up whatsoever.

The Belgrade city council meeting agenda for tonight's meeting can be found here at the Bonanza Valley Voice newspaper editor's blog: https://shorturl.at/Pg9rC.

DON'T FORGET! THis Saturday...
On Saturday, July 25, the Bonanza Valley Royal Strutters will host Jakes Day, a youth firearm and hunting/outdoors safety day, at the Belgrade Sportsmen's Club from 9:30 a.m. to noon (roughly) when lunch will be served and prizes given away. "Jakes" stands for Juniors Acquiring Knowledge, Ethics and Sportsmanship. How cool is that! This is for all area children ages 3 to 17. Registration opens at 9 a.m. The event is also held thanks to support by the National Wild Turkey Federation.

And a note from Sunburg Free Lutheran church: Sunday, July 26, 10:30 a.m. regular worship service followed by the following: (1) Missionary Andrew Olson from “They Need The Bible” will be sharing; (2) there will be a brief congregational meeting at the end of the service; and (3) Fellowship Dinner following the July 26 service. All are welcome!

Here's more Babe Ruth state tournament information:
For the state tournament this week, the B-B-E Babe Ruth 16-U baseball team travels to Reed Field in Barnesville for games played Thursday through Saturday, July 23-25. For the opener on Thursday, B-B-E, runner-up out of District 1, plays District 5 champion Menahga at 12:30 p.m.

In girls' fastpitch news...
The B-B-E 17-U fastpitch team, sponsored by the Brooten American Legion Post 288, heads west to the West Central Division playoffs on Wednesday, July 22 at Minnewaska Area high school. They play at 4:30 p.m. in a semifinal game. If they win, they play in the state-qualifying championship game that night at 6 p.m. I hope to attend...but first, I have to get this week's newspaper successfully off to press.