Three event champs for MACA in sub-section

Following high school sports can be a little challenging this time of year. Graduations have been held. We just had the three-day Memorial Day weekend. Media people like everyone else get time off for the holidays. I would argue that we don't have to depend so much on the paid media people anymore. Anyone can be a self-starter in this thing we call the media now. 

We could not have dreamt of all this when I was a kid. Any parent who thinks the reporting could be a little better or a little more timely, don't just complain to the old media in the standard way. There are so many doors that can be opened. Open them. 

I do commend our Morris radio station website for how it keeps up with so much of Tiger sports. Much more of a go-to place than the newspaper. The newspaper has the means but is not showing the initiative IMHO. 

The Section 3A sub-section track and field meet was held recently. Naturally an exciting affair, held in Benson. They still go by the "Braves" nickname in Benson, strange. States have been outlawing this sort of thing. Anyway, our MACA girls team had three event champions. Hailey Werk achieved two of these as she excelled in the 800 meters and 3200 meters. Lydia Fynboh sprinted to first in the 100 meters. Fans could also cheer Heika Hall taking second in the 300m hurdles. 

Our boys team produced two runner-up finishes. Blake Bruns was runner-up in the 400 meters. The 4x200m relay unit of Grayson Gibson, Kendall Waldbeser, Noah Malek and Derek Waldbeser achieved second.

Baseball: Huebner in command

Our MACA Tigers of the baseball diamond turned things around against Minnewaska Area. This was done with a shining performance by Drew Huebner on the pitching mound. My he was overpowering to the tune of 17 strikeouts! This was in a 2-0 win over Minnewaska at Paynesville. Huebner nearly pitched the whole way. He gave way to Drew Storck at the end. 

Just recently the Tigers had been swept by 'Waska. In the win we got our two runs in the first and seventh innings. Huebner got offensive support from Ozzy Jerome with his two hits and an RBI, and Andrew Marty who drove in a run. 

The Tigers overcame the solid pitching of Laker PJ Johnson, who worked the whole way. One of the runs he allowed was unearned. He fanned three.

Paynesville 6, Tigers 3

The fifth inning told the story as the Bulldogs of Paynesville rallied to overtake the Tigers. We were on the short end of the 6-3 final at Paynesville. The Bulldogs surged to score four runs in the fifth. 

Drew Storck had a rather rough outing as MACA pitcher. His stint covered 5.1 innings. He did strike out five batters. Offensively Ozzy Jerome drove in a pair of runs. 

Paynesville's pitching was handled the whole way by Grayson Fuchs who fanned nine batters. He also rapped two hits when at bat. Josiah Utsch drove in two of the Bulldog runs. 

The orange and black came out of this game with a 12-10 record.

Arlene Fellows

Arlene Fellows RIP

Was surprised and saddened this morning to hear of Arlene Fellows' passing. She was in my church but I did not know her real well. I certainly knew her husband Don, long-time counselor at Morris High School. I'll say "Morris High School" and not "Morris Area." Maybe we should go back to just being "Morris High School." What are the chances of that? 

The yearbook was dedicated to Don in the year before I graduated. That was 1972, with my own graduation following in 1973. I never flunked! 

Don and Arlene's son Jon was in the MHS Class of 1972. A good baseball player. Went on to teach in Ortonville. There were other children in the family that I did not know quite as well. The name "Nile" comes to mind. They are or were all salt of the earth people. 

I shared with a friend this morning that Don Fellows was an asset to the school just with his personality. He was so good for everyone's self-esteem. The same could not be said about some other faculty members. Don was a member of a faculty "clique" that I did not always approve of. I got along with this clique, very well actually, but I did not think they always set the best example. Cliques by themselves can be a drag, don't you know. Dave Holman was in the clique. We lost Dave not long ago. I will say he was a character. Russ Anderson was in the clique and he too has left us for the next life. 

Don's choice of friends did not diminish his totally exemplary presence at MHS, the way he lifted virtually everyone up. Toward the end there was a new principal with whom he clashed, legend has it. Hainlen? He wasn't here long. 

Don must have gotten some of his inspiration from Arlene. Arlene Fellows, RIP
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

"Groundhog Day" with Trump commanding attention

We can't get over him

It is 5 a.m. on Saturday and what is the lead news article? Well guess what? There's a thumbnail photo of you-know-who next to a link that references rape. This is on a prime news site. The photo shows Donald Trump wearing one of his red caps with his theme on it. 

We're into about the eighth year of an obsession and preoccupation with this person. I awake again to check the news and there he is again. Just like in "Groundhog Day," the man and his deviant nature are put forward as if we must take him seriously. Logic demanded long ago that he be marginalized, even if our legal system could not actually "nail" him with convictions. 

The prospect of convictions hovers out there continuously. A whole cottage industry in the media dishes out all the mountains of developments. The molasses-like nature of our legal system, at least with white-collar, is laid so painfully bare. When a common Joe is suspected of something minor by the police, the action is oh so swift. Swift, unpleasant and not courteous. If you get a "ticket" the consequences are unyielding and fixed in stone, pretty much. 

Trump is the epitome of the white collar wrongdoers, a pathological soul who shows us daily what a team of suitcoat-wearing attorneys can accomplish at this level. We should not be surprised. The wealthy and connected have their advantages. We've always known this, but it is now hung out to dry so badly. 

I would suggest it's ditto with T. Denny Sanford of South Dakota. So Jason Ravnsborg decided there were no prosecutable offenses. Didn't Mr. Ravnsborg end up with his own dirty laundry? He's no longer the AG. Maybe Ravnsborg thought he could win some favors by declining to prosecute. Didn't Ravnsborg say he thought he "hit a deer?" Technically it was the dispatcher who planted the thought that Ravnsborg hit a deer. And then the media ran with that. So eager to give the benefit of the doubt to a high-standing person. It's the nature of our society. 

I have a friend who got a seat belt ticket when she was just "crawling" from one parking lot to another downtown. Probably humiliated by a police car with flashing lights too. Such is the lot of the common people. Get a traffic ticket that you might as well pay if you can figure out how to pay it. At least we no longer have such a thing as the "Morris Police Department." We should all feel relieved. 

White collar crime? Adjudicated in such a vastly different way on behalf of the wealthy and powerful. Attorneys who slice and dice with the English language, obfuscate, obstruct and appeal. Ad nauseam. 

So this morning we are supposed to pay attention to this slithering piece of excrement named Donald Trump. Am I going to be subjected to this for the rest of my life? Waking up in the morning to read of things like civil judgments where Trump is found responsible for a sexual assault. His suitcoat-wearing attorneys are at it again. This is the epitome. We soak it in like we're still supposed to take this defendant seriously. We are unable to move on. The media realizes it has a gold mine with it. Is that the problem? But it has been seven or eight years now. He was a celebrity even before that. 

Here's the big top headline I woke up to this morning: "Trump fights to keep the word 'rape' in E. Jean Carroll's remaining defamation case." What joy on this Memorial Day weekend 2023, to re-visit this sordid matter. 

Let's be clear: E. Jean Carroll won her case, even if the jury could not be certain actual "rape" happened. The whole case persists because of new stuff Trump said in the "CNN Town Hall," that platform for Kaitlin Collins to elevate herself. That's what it was really all about. Americans could have chosen not to watch it. Of course we consume media most often to avoid boredom, right? The case is titillating. 

The media argues the case is newsworthy because Trump was president of the U.S. So why the hell did we elect him? It would not have happened without the evangelical Christians. The finger is pointed squarely there. People like me are now struggling with how to reconcile this with our inner personal desire to remain Christians. It is very difficult for yours truly. I go to church because I think there's still hope. But it is getting more difficult. 

If only this man named Trump could get swept from the public stage. Instead his legal machinations over totally disgusting and sordid affairs are "in our face" daily, literally daily. 

What hath God wrought? Well I don't know. It is getting harder to love God and Jesus. Jesus never needed a team of suitcoat-wearing attorneys, did he.

  

Addendum: I imagine all the local Apostolics would vote for Trump again. Good Shepherd Church members too. Good Shepherd people fled their ELCA churches because of a "liberal" trend in the ELCA. The people I cite here would have what kind of take on Trump? Well you know, the man is "sinful" and God created us with sin. One politician said "there has only been one perfect human being," to deflect comments on wrongdoing. My response is that we ought not celebrate sin or want to bathe in it. Then again, I suppose all men would like to have sex with a favorite porn star, just like Trump.

  

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Softball Tigers at 19-2 look to next level

Looks like this could have been scripted: a win in five innings for the MACA softball Tigers. We were the No. 1 seed, Montevideo No. 8. Very rare to see a No. 8 seed seriously challenge No. 1 or to beat them. But it can happen. Paynesville did it to our MACA boys basketball team one year in Morris. 

But the expected scenario played out on the softball diamond on Tuesday. Vying at Holmberg Field, MACA very predictably dismantled the Thunder Hawks of Montevideo. So the score was 10-0 in five innings. 

Cate Kehoe, who was sidelined from athletics due to injury for much of the academic year, brought cheers with a three-run "dinger." In the pitching circle: Nora Boyle. Boyle pitched all five as the Tigers debuted in the post-season. She set down nine T-Hawk batters on strikes. Her hits allowed: a mere two. 

Kehoe's big round-tripper stood out in the Tigers' knockout punch rally of the second inning: seven runs coming in. The boxscore shows Kortney Sanasack with two RBIs. Fielding miscues hurt the T-Hawk cause. These led to seven of our runs being unearned. 

Were the fans at Holmberg Field satisfied with their viewing angles for the game? Did the fans remember to bring their own chairs? Only the middle portion of the bleachers behind home plate afford a view of the whole field. From the sides of the field, it's a mediocre experience.

 

Tigers 7, Litchfield 3

On to Game 2 of the day. That's how the sub-section is structured. Stamina and depth needed. Well, the Tigers had no problem. They rallied for four runs in the fifth inning in the process of turning back those green Dragons of Litchfield. So the score was 7-3 as MACA climbed again. 

Now it was Haley Kill showcased in pitching. Her work spanned 6.1 innings. She struck out five. Nora Boyle pitched for the last two outs. Kill had an offensive role too. She drove in two runs with a double, helping the lead get up to 7-0. The RBI column also included Boyle, Kehoe and Sanasack. 

The Tuesday success pushed the orange and black won-lost mark up to 19-2. Action will continue away from home. I assume that accommodations for fans will be better in Marshall. Such a long trip - too bad for the MACA fans. But it happens often in section-level action for MACA teams. Can we ever see a shift north? 

The Tigers will next play Jackson County Central. We're into that phase where historically, as if by magic incantation, the Tigers can get mowed down by teams from southern Minnesota. Can the Tigers break the hex this year? 

Game-time is 11 a.m. Saturday in Marshall. I have always thought it strange that softball teams play through the hallowed weekend of Memorial Day. But that's the tradition.

 

Baseball: doubleheader setback

I almost feel happy about this: 'Waska takes a twin bill at the expense of our Tigers. Minnewaska has had extremely tough sledding in boys athletics this academic year. It got so bad I wrote a special post about it. In the spring, some relief has come for Laker country. So the Lakers swept our Tigers in a Tuesday baseball doubleheader at 'Waska. Scores were 5-1 and 4-2. 

The field at 'Waska has the "Marthaler" name. There the 'Waska fans cheered PJ Johnson pitching solidly for six innings in Game 1, the 5-1 success for the Lakers. Johnson was backed by Dylan Alexander who had two hits and an RBI. 

The Tigers' Trevor Buss rapped two hits. Our Drew Storck looked good in his three innings of pitching: no runs scored vs. him. He fanned five. 

Moving on to the second game, we see Noah Jensen hitting a home run for the victorious Lakers, 4-2 score. On the mound for the victor was Austin Panitzke: a complete game job. 

Things are going so well for 'Waska in baseball, they have a share of the WCC title. 

The losing pitcher was Alex Asmus with a six-inning appearance. Our offense was highlighted by Owen Anderson with two hits and two RBIs. We're still over .500. We came out of the day at 11-9 so optimism should be high for the post-season. I especially root for Drew Storck, son of my old newspaper co-worker Heather.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

Charlie Hanson excels with golf clubs, trumpet!

Charlie Hanson makes quite an impression with his golf clubs. Golf may be a fairly low-profile sport in the springtime. No cheering crowds like for baseball and softball. Golf's "Happy Gilmore," the fictional comedic character, didn't understand why fans couldn't cheer robustly. Remember the scene in the movie where he tried whipping up fan support as he got set to tee off? 

Fans certainly would have wanted to cheer our Charlie Hanson on Tuesday. He performed right here at Pomme de Terre Golf Course. Brett Miller reports that "MACA sophomore Charlie Hanson defended his crown and became a three-time West Central Conference champion on Tuesday." 

This is a cumulative sort of title with several meets weighed. I'm not well-versed on the structure of prep golf. Miller's second paragraph reports how Hanson shot a 37 Tuesday, "tying for third with West Central Area's Mitch Dewey and three shots back of Minnewaska's Riley Larson and Zach Guggisberg." 

But the headlining aspect is that Hanson wears the crown again in conference. He is the three-time West Central Conference kingpin. So he's quite the master with his bag of clubs, has an exciting lifetime ahead of him in this lifetime sport. 

On Monday I had the pleasure of seeing and hearing Hanson as a master of something other than golf clubs. Monday was the night of the big spring band concert. This is the one that has the ice cream social preceding it. Honored soloists and ensembles entertained the public at the school cafeteria area. Ice cream was served with a free will offering suggested for scholarships. Always a very pleasant and exciting evening of music. 

Hanson was featured during the hour of the social, as he showed his talent on trumpet. I would not have recognized him were it not for his grandfather Chuck Spohr alerting me. I sat close to Chuck who is a long-time friend of mine. Quite the dedicated person for education too, was once on school board. I have enjoyed quoting something he said once - wisdom - and I believe this was spoken informally to someone: "If you give us the money, we'll just spend it." 

It is important to be a very vigilant steward with the public's money. Many people have fancy ideas on how to spend it. A private business is forced to be vigilant: private sector pressure (inherent). Government can get caught up in largesse sometimes, and Chuck might wave his finger at such things. Conservatives can get carried away too sometimes, but I think Chuck would have the ideal perspective: just make sure everything is in the kids' interests. Easier said than done sometimes. 

Hanson was a trumpet player with "Jazz I" which opened the Monday concert at the concert hall. Wow! The first number was "A Salute to Benny Goodman" and what a crowd-pleaser that was! The drummer was boffo but actually all the musicians were good. The audience responded in the manner that "Happy Gilmore" would appreciate. 

"Birdland" wrapped up Jazz I, then it was on to concert band and wind ensemble. Directing it all was the brilliant Wanda Dagen. "1812 Overture" was among the concert band's offerings. The wind ensemble gave us "Symphonic Dances from 'Fiddler on the Roof' " among other fine selections. It all ended with the crowd-pleasing "Viva Las Vegas." Remember Elvis Presley? I remember going to the Morris Theater to see Elvis Presley movies in the 1960s. 

The Tuesday home golf meet had the Minnewaska boys taking first as a team with a 151. MACA was third at 165. Hanson may have been shy of first on this day but his performance over a skein of conference meets made him champ along with conference MVP. Hanson's teammate Mason Erickson was all-conference too. MACA took third in conference for the season as a whole. Minnewaska and West Central Area were the top-performing teams. 

The MACA girls team  was No. 5 in the Tuesday meet, led by Alice Mahoney with a 55, good for 17th. Right behind her were fellow Tigers Yavonne VanHorn and Gabby Schneider. The medalist was BOLD's Kenna Henriksen - she shot a 36. Minnewaska had the top girls team with a score of 170. 

 

Track and field

We're heading into the home stretch for spring sports of 2023. So this week featured the West Central Conference championships in track and field. Event site was Montevideo where four of our orange and black earned all-conference. An additional five earned honorable mention. 

Let's single out the champions. Here we see Lydia Fynboh shining in the 100m with her No. 1 showing. Hailey Werk was No. 1 in both the 800m and 1600m. Maddie Fehr was second in discus, and Grayson Gibson earned runner-up in pole vault. 

Moving on to the honorable mentions (third place), we see Mitch Moser heaving the shot put. Also in third, the 4x100m girls relay unit: Fynboh, Mya Schmidgall, Isabelle Motz and Ruby Swenson. Congrats all.

 

Baseball

The MACA diamond nine of baseball manhandled the Knights of West Central Area here in Morris. I'm afraid there was no suspense with scores of 12-0 and 14-0. Nice position to be in. 

The 12-0 success had Drew Storck in prime pitching form over 4.2 innings. He set down ten batters on strikes. Kyle Fehr was a boxscore standout with his four RBIs. So was Riley Asmus whose boxscore line was three-for-three with a pair of ribbies. Riley crossed home plate four times. Andrew Marty rapped a couple hits, drove in two runs and scored two. We sprayed hits around with our total of 14. 

Both games of the doubleheader were limited to five innings. Our sweep of the Knights was completed with a 14-0 score. Johnny Kleindl wielded a potent stick with his three-run homer blast. He was a perfect two-for-two in the game and drove in four. Andrew Marty had a triple as part of his two-for-two. Andrew drove in two runs and scored two. Riley Asmus came across home plate three times. Ethan Koehler added two RBIs to the mix. Our hit total was 12 in the rout. The RBI column showed eight Tigers with contributions.

 

Softball: more dominance

Oh my, more one-sided success for our softball Tigers. I have cited this as an actual problem: not being challenged enough to really be tested. But in the short term, winning decisively is a nice little plum! As opposed to being on the other end! 

It was Montevideo that was on the other end vs. our Tigers. So the Tigers took care of business 12-0 and 14-1. Nice little consolation there for Montevideo: one run scored. 

Haley Kill showed her pitching chops in the first game: a five-inning no-hit job. She overpowered Monte to the tune of eight strikeouts. Backing her was Kenzie Anderson with a perfect three-for-three line, two RBIs. Also: Mackenzie Konz with a triple and three RBIs. Also: Ryla Koehler and Lauren Hottovy each with two hits, an RBI and a run scored. Let's not overlook Brianna Marty: two hits and two runs. 

Nora Boyle was handed the ball for the pitching work in Game 2. She was proficient with seven strikeouts and just two hits allowed over five innings. Game 2 offense: Brianna Marty socked two hits, drove in two and scored three. Lauren Hottovy's bat delivered two hits and she drove in a run while scoring three. Kortney Sanasack crossed home plate three times. Cate Kehoe's bat was good for two hits. 

MACA has the stellar won-lost mark of 13-2. A prelude to the state tournament? It's not so easy to get there, as fans have learned through the years.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

So much for getting a souvenir program

(photo by your blog host)

Fan mail from some flounder: Was so happy early this a.m. to see that my Bonanza Valley friend Randy Olson had been to my blogs to learn about UMM graduation 2023. Happy in the sense that it's nice to renew a friendship, and to see I have a trace of relevance as a journalist still. Not so happy when it comes to sharing the details about our UMM graduation. 

Maybe Randy considers me to have been rather like a mentor. He used to stop in and visit when I had my Sun Tribune office. Randy is quite attuned and interested about UMM. People so programmed would legitimately have concerns about the institution these days. So if we sound "negative" you might consider it like "tough love" (like what TV's "Judge Mathis" metes out). 

Here are the sage words from Mr. Olson, early on this day after UMM graduation 2023. His email was titled "Are you absolutely kidding me?"

 

No paper programs at UMM's commencement?

I am sitting here slack jawed and dumbfounded. What on earth?

I can see steering people to their smartphones, but you still need to offer a few paper programs. A token amount at least. Good gravy.

I can't wrap my head around so many things these days.

  

All things UMM

This morning I shot off an email to my fellow UMM advocate Warrenn Anderson. I think he understands my odd trait of writing emails that have real length, multiple paragraphs. The choir director at UMM has told me my emails are like "letters." Well it comes naturally for yours truly, an old-fashioned long-form journalist. 

I share further about UMM matters in my email to Mr. Anderson. I saw the Andersons Friday night at Don's Cafe. Between my meal there and the Saturday brunch buffet at UMM, I wouldn't really have to eat for the next couple days.

 

Well Warrenn, big weekend for UMM commencement. I wonder how many people even care about the image that was projected or how all the details were handled. I have to be careful because a lot of people seem apathetic about everything. "Who cares?" Maybe that will be the reaction when UMM closes its doors.

I went to the brunch at the dining hall yesterday. The poster for graduation did not say anything about a charge for the event. I thought it would be a continental breakfast type of thing and would be free for everyone who took the trouble to be present for commencement. I then asked if there was a senior price. No. So I paid $12 and did so happily because there's no point in not being happy. The attendant smiled back at me, so fine and dandy. The food was in fact good and I enjoyed being there. Doug Reed recognized me and so that surprised me. Talked to Bryan Herrmann too. I remember being so proud that I could remember putting two n's at the end of his last name, but then I realized that I had only used one "r". This explains why I can't work for the Morris paper any more.

So I returned to campus for the graduation. I wanted a paper program to take home as a souvenir because I lay these on my late mother's bed - a ritual. It was interrupted for covid.

I got thrown a curve: no paper programs this year. I was told I could use my "smartphone." I'm not into that.

And then, no band to play "Pomp and Circumstance." It was a recording. Sheesh, Hancock High has a nice band play for graduation. Nice to see there are some classy institutions still around.

Are we supposed to accept this new norm?

I know the excuse I'm likely to hear: not enough of the music kids are around. Are "around." What the heck does that mean, because in past eras of UMM history, there most certainly was a robust band and chorus to perform. They would even perform feature numbers during the program. I remember when the band did "Volga Boatman" and I thought that was an odd choice for graduation. I would have been happy hearing an "odd choice" this year. Good grief, now we have nothing. I left early yesterday but I did not see risers set up for a chorus to perform. Remember all the years Ken Hodgson directed this?

Were you there the year Al Franken spoke? He was forced to resign from the Senate because of improper touch or whatever. Now Trump has actually been nailed in a courtroom for sexual assault, and he does a town hall where the audience laughs about it and applauds him continually. I don't get it.

Maybe we'll remember the Franken appearance here as the peak of the University of Minnesota-Morris.

You told me the interim U of M president will not be eligible for the permanent position. But wouldn't this dampen his incentive to do a slam-bang job? If you know you can't get the job ongoing? What incentive does he have now, other than a short-term nice paycheck? Bureaucratic "rules," sigh. Leave it to the U.

I still think it's strange that the U administration allowed the Crookston person to be officially "executive chancellor at the University of Minnesota-Morris." That threw me for a while. It made me think she might have some deep agenda affecting Morris that had to be engineered from the outside. Can you really blame me for thinking that? An anonymous person put a comment with one of my blog posts that my perception was totally overblown and that her appointment meant really zero for here. Well then why was she given the title? 

Easy to love this place

Maybe you smile and just think the U can do strange things. 

This new U interim president looks like the kind of guy who has his heart in Minnesota, given his background. We just had a president who came here because she just sent her resume here, apparently. Came here from South Carolina of the Deep South states. And then she looked for outside work (Securian). And then she left because she kept sending her resume around. I will never again attend a reception for some puffed-up U administrator who comes to Morris. Besides, I don't have a permit to park at UMM. I'm getting too old to ride bike a lot. I'll have you know I rode bike to campus for the brunch yesterday. Boomer generation members do not readily acknowledge the advancement of age.

Oh, the "softball complex" still looks to be a disaster. Only one small section of aluminum bleachers directly behind home plate at Holmberg Field is decent for viewing. Everyone else gets shafted. People sit out by the outfield fence because they lack alternatives, and nearly everyone must carry their own chair to the place. Sitting outside of third base sucks. 

Fans who come here for sub-section should be advised in advance to bring their own chairs. We paid for this "improvement?" Affects our property taxes I'm sure, and when the proposed county jail was on the drawing board, people got up in arms bigly. Seems there's "crickets" with the softball complex. The place is muddy too. Parking is still an issue. The new field where the old UMM field was, did not even have to be constructed. Nothing but waste. Keep an eye on that, because I think the players will complain they're looking into the sun too much when they're batting, especially as we get toward mid-summer for late afternoon and early evening games. I'd be surprised if this does not happen. Is it possible that no one thought of this? And I did?

 

The underbelly?

A different friend has shared some "dark" quotes about UMM in an email from a few days ago. This individual I'm sure would prefer his name not be here. But these are honest thoughts directly from the heart. It is most constructive to read thoughts like these, not the syrupy "happy talk" one gleans from the Morris newspaper all the time. "See no evil" or whatever. Anything not to offend people. 

Here's what my friend shared a couple days ago. What if he is right?

 

As far as Janet (Schrunk Ericksen) and a “strategy for lifting enrollment”, there is a “steering committee” (some faculty and admin.) at UMM engaged in studying that matter. But methinks it’s a lost cause, as essentially every 4-year college in Minnesota is suffering from declining enrollment. That’s why I’m not concerned about a “DFL politician” being the interim president of the U. The whole U system has become irrelevant. People are discovering that community colleges and tech schools are emerging as being far more practical for HS graduates looking for professional training than a lot of 4-year institutions, especially those that consider themselves engaged in the “liberal arts.” 

 

Craig Peterson

Craig Peterson out at Breckenridge

The image at right is from Wahpeton Daily News.

I am advised that our former notorious MAHS principal Craig Peterson has been removed from the Breckenridge school administration. I never met him. Perhaps he is an outstanding school administrator. But I always felt that based on the known facts about his behavior on the night when you-know-what happened, he should have been terminated. Nothing personal, just based on the facts. 

I suspected that our school board had an attorney who was scared of his own shadow. Scared of a lawsuit of course. I would have recommended just plunging forward anyway, have the principal try to explain away his behavior that night. I would have been safely in bed, and I'm not paid to set an example for the kids. Would anyone acknowledge that my brainpan can be effective sometimes? Here's a current news update about Mr. Peterson from Valley News Live (4/28/23):

 

Tensions ran high early Friday morning in a Minnesota school board meeting.

Despite hundreds of pleas to board members, the Breckenridge District will be cutting its own leadership. Nearly 200 students, and some staff, walked out of the school Friday in support of a principal who is now without a job.

“Many students, staff and citizens of the community think the security and integrity of the school will be compromised if there is no full-time, authoritative principal,” said a Breckenridge High School junior.

In a 6-0 vote, board members moved to let High School Principal Craig Peterson go and put the current elementary school principal in charge of the entire district, K-12.

“We deserve to know what your plan is for the next year, three years, five years, 10 years,” said one Breckenridge teacher. “We need to know this.”

More than 100 parents, staff and students voiced concerns. They called for a full-time school resource officer, and they questioned how one person could oversee more than 600 students and how this will impact already burnt out teachers.

“Does cutting a full-time principal save that much money if you then have to hire a full-time dean and possibly a resource officer?” asked one community member.

The answer to that, school leaders say, is yes. The district is not getting enough funding from the state and with COVID funding going away, they need to make hard cuts.

“We’ve known that we need to make some cuts,” said a board member. “We know that in order to make an administrative change, we’ve got strict timelines we need to adhere to.”

Peterson took the job in 2017 and between the two principals, he’s the least tenured.

“This isn’t a personal, ‘Let’s get Mr. Peterson,’” said a school board member.

Bottom line, school leaders say their backs are against a wall and an administrative position must go. Last year, the district saw a more than $170,000 deficit.

School leaders are proposing moving the superintendent’s office back into the high school for more supervision. Peterson’s cut will save the district $50,000.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minneosta - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA softball: too many wins too easy?

Tuesday doubleheader

A while back I wrote about the chronic lack of competitiveness in Minnewaska Area boys athletics this school year. Not only losing often but losing badly, unfortunately for the student-athletes there. I haven't really checked on spring sports. But it was a down day Tuesday for the female gender on the softball diamond. 

The Lakers squared-off against our Tigers in a doubleheader here. It sure was not an interesting day of competition. The Tigers swept away the Lakers with scores of 15-0 and 17-0. 

An MAHS faculty member has told me that MACA softball is prone to suffering in the post-season due to a lack of really being tested in the regular season. For one thing, our conference is weak, this person told me. Not sure why that has to be. We in particular run into a buzz saw with the teams from southern Minnesota in the post-season. I sure don't see why that has to be. This has gone on for a great many years. 

The Tigers will enter the post-season with a super W/L mark, getting fans to think "state," but in so many seasons it just doesn't happen. The scores from Tuesday at the softball complex illustrate again how the Tigers breeze through so many games - satisfying in the short term, yes. But also a little boring? Has to be. 

I wonder how the fans did in finding reasonable comfort and a good viewing position Tuesday. Holmberg Field is set up in such a challenging way for fans. I'm a little embarrassed as I think about how the visiting team fans try to cope with it. Not a good selling point for Morris, that's for sure. I'm guessing that it's hair-pulling for some. Too late now for a re-design. Our baseball program has the asset of grandstand seating. The softball girls should have the same asset IMHO. 

The Tigers pounded out 13 hits in the 15-0 win over the Lakers. The game was restricted to four innings. Kortney Sanasack knocked the cover off the ball with a triple and four RBIs, Brett Miller reports. Sanasack also scored three runs. Brianna Marty and Kaylin Steen each picked up three RBIs. Marty crossed home plate four times. Amaya Raths drove in two runs. Lauren Hottovy made noise with the stick: three hits, four runs scored. 

In the pitching circle it was Nora Boyle excelling with a mere one hit allowed in four innings. She struck out seven and walked none. 

Bring on game 2! It was really just a carbon copy of the first game in terms of MACA dominance. So it was a 17-0 outcome in five innings this time. Great to see Cate Kehoe donning the uniform in this school year in which she spent much time sidelined with injury. Cate connected for a home run in the 17-0 win! 

Haley Kill tripled in a run. Kenzie Anderson picked up two ribbies. Brianna Marty was right in the zone and this Tiger drove in five runs. Kill pitched with polish as she allowed just one hit in her five shutout innings. She fanned six. 

My, the orange and black has a conference win streak of 46! Brett Miller reports that the Lakers are 1-9. Can Minnewaska Area break out of its funk for next year? Might morale start to dim? That would be unfortunate. I remember in last fall's football game here, I was concerned that the 'Waska quarterback had to leave the field with a possible concussion.

The Tigers came out of Tuesday with 11-1 W/L numbers. Can we parlay this into extended post-season success? I guess that's the big question.

 

Tigers 14, Sauk Centre 0

Wow, a 14-0 thumping of Sauk Centre! That's what the MACA softball Tigers achieved at the Sauk Centre diamond. The game was another showcase for pitcher Haley Kill. The Willmar newspaper spells it "Hailey" but I most often see it as "Haley." We have a track and field athlete named "Hailey Werk." 

The softball action had Haley Kill tossing a one-hitter in the 14-0 rout of the Streeters. The Streeters were frustrated at bat. Of the 15 total batters that Kill faced, ten were retired via strikeout. Kill walked no one. 

With 14 runs scored, MACA generated no shortage of offensive highlights. Our 13-hit attack had Brianna Marty posting a three-for-four line. Tigers with two hits were Lauren Hottovy, Kortney Sanasack and MacKenzie Anderson. Tigers with one hit were Amaya Raths, Kill, Nora Boyle and Kaylin Steen. 

Sauk Centre's Lanna Walter had a hit in her two at-bats. The losing pitcher was Hailey Hokanson. Four of the runs she allowed were unearned. She fanned three batters, walked six. 

MACA came out of the starting gate strong with six runs in the first inning, and we proceeded to score in each of the five innings. Coach Mary Holmberg had to be pleased with the errorless brand of ball we played. Sauk Centre committed three errors. 

The orange and black came out of the day with a sterling 9-1 record.

 

Baseball: Tigers 9, Sauk Centre 2

The Tigers of the baseball world began their week with this nifty 9-2 triumph at the Sauk Centre diamond. Obviously our pitching was reliable. And it was backed partly by Andrew Marty who had three hits in four at-bats. He drove in four runs. His double in the fourth plated two runs. His single in the fifth brought in two more. 

So the Tigers assumed command in the middle innings. Ashdon Hacker drove in a pair of runs. Riley Asmus and Trevor Buss each contributed two hits. And in the pitching phase, fans saw Drew Huebner twirl four shutout innings. He fanned nine Streeters and allowed just one hit. The ball was handed to Jackson Hallman for the last two innings. The Tigers are over .500 at 5-3.

Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com

MACA softball takes command vs. NL-Spicer, Melrose

What could be better in fast-pitch softball than to have a polished pitcher who is a freshman? MACA softball is so blessed. The overall talent on the roster looks awfully solid again this year.  Coach Mary Holmberg's Tigers dominated the New London-Spicer Wildcats on Friday, score of 10-0. And freshman pitcher Haley Kill certainly carried the workload in the pitching circle. Freshman righty Kill pitched a one-hitter, fanning six Wildcat batters along the way. She walked just one in her five innings. Her shutout was her second this season. Addi Nelson got the only hit off her: a single in the fifth.

 

Note: I am going with "Haley" as the correct spelling for softball Tiger Haley Kill, and "Hailey" as correct for the MACA track and field athlete Hailey Werk. Though I've seen some inconsistencies in other media, I am going with these spellings at present. Anyone is free to correct me. - BW

 

MACA pushed its record up to 8-1. Fans have had to wait quite a bit for the 2023 spring to hit its stride. Weather has been largely uncooperative. Are we in the groove for steady action now? We'll see. 

The Tigers gained a 2-0 lead over NL-Spicer in the first inning. Then came five runs in the third. Three insurance runs got tacked on in the fourth, all while Kill showed mastery in pitching. 

Five different Tigers each had one hit. It's great to be typing Cate Kehoe's name again. She has been sidelined with injury for much of the school year. Her bat resonated with a hit in the Friday success. She was one-for-three. Amaya Raths had a hit in her only at-bat. MacKenzie Anderson put up one-for-two numbers. Kill had a hit in her three at-bats, as did Nora Boyle. 

Addi Nelson took the pitching loss for NL-Spicer. Emily Ruter also pitched in the losing cause for them. This was a non-conference game for the Tigers.

Tigers vs. Melrose

The MACA train kept going down the tracks in the doubleheader against Melrose. In all, our bats made noise to the tune of 24 hits on the day. Action was at the home field. MACA softball shone with a sweep of the Dutchmen. Scores were 9-3 and 8-3. 

In the game 1 triumph, Brianna Marty rapped two hits and drove in three runs. She crossed home plate twice. Our offense rolled forward with run-scoring in each of the first four innings. Haley Kill's bat produced two hits. The pitching department had Nora Boyle going the whole way. She gave up two earned runs. 

On to the game 2 success: And here it was Kenzie Anderson performing like a superstar with four hits in four at-bats. She drove in three runs in the 8-3 MACA win. Brianna Marty was sharp with her three-for-four boxscore line with all three of her hits for extra bases: two doubles and a triple. She drove in a run. Fans could applaud Amaya Raths who contributed two hits to the cause. 

Haley Kill came to the fore in the pitching department. She worked the whole way. 

Melrose is doing decent and had a record above .500 coming out of the day.

Track and field at NL-Spicer

Our team placings did not look real impressive from the track meet hosted by New London-Spicer. But the orange and black had individuals who made impact. On a team basis, the MACA boys were eighth and the girls ninth. Never mind. Let's look at how various individuals impressed. 

Starting with the boys: Blake Bruns was second in the 400 meters. Mitch Moser was third in the shot put. Grayson Gibson was No. 4 in the pole vault and fifth in the 300m hurdles. Noah Malek got over the bar to place third in the pole vault. The 4x200m relay unit of Bruns, Malek, Matt Gomer and Derek Waldbeser was No. 5. 

For the MACA girls, Hailey Werk was runner-up in the 3200m. Lydia Fynboh was No. 4 in the 100 meters.

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com