'Waska on a roll again even with one loss

Who can stop the Lakers? Well actually one team can. I almost did a double-take as I checked the "Minnesota Scores" page for the 'Waska GBB team. Yes the Lakers are virtually pummeling nearly all their opponents. They were fourth in state last year and appear not to have missed a beat. But they are mortal! We can see that on Dec. 2 they were defeated by the BOLD Warriors. The score was 78-74 at 'Waska. 

The fans must have been stunned. These are not routine times for the BOLD district. There is a criminal investigation of school district finances. Fortunately there is some joy there too. So nice for the Christmas season I guess! 

'Waska has played four games total as I write this early Thursday a.m. 'Waska really turned on the jets when defeating LQPV, Montevideo and Litchfield. A big test for my MACA Tigers will come on Jan. 15 when they host Minnewaska. 

I suppose MACA fans do not appreciate me reminding of the game last year when the Lakers led the Tigers 58-4 at halftime! I wonder if our athletic director called the coach in for a little discussion after that game. I would hope he did. It needn't have a nasty tone, just a nice constructive discussion about what happened. 

'Waska will host our Tigers in a re-match for the final regular season game, Feb. 17. 

While BOLD has its own messy school district issues, 'Waska's problem is one of being unable to pass a referendum. I have had plenty to say about that. The State of Minnesota decided long ago "no more cornfield high schools." But the 'Waska school had been built by then. 

 

'Tis the season? 

We are rapidly approaching Christmas. I sense less enthusiasm than normal about the holiday. I'm sure some people would disagree with me. Our nation takes on a gloomy image as we continue to be led by Donald Trump. Trump would never have gained power were it not for the nation's "Christians." And Christmas of course revolves around Christianity. 

We don't even know the date of Christ's birth. Christmas began as a pagan holiday. I am starting to think that being a pagan or at least an agnostic isn't so bad. People like me do not have the blinders on from being so heavily influenced by Trump and his "evangelical" supporters. If this man symbolizes Christianity (which he apparently does), then I want nothing to do with it. 

I personally think Jesus Christ stands for virtuous things. I'd be happy walking hand-in-hand with Him. The problem is that MAGA has bastardized the Christian faith in America, perverted it. I can observe and share my views - that's all I can do. And why can't the Epstein files be released? Or, the full video of the boat sinking? 

I have always had issues with Christianity. As a child my family attended church where the pastor was a Nixon Republican. This was during the Vietnam war and its draft. You wouldn't be reading my thoughts today if I'd been killed in Vietnam. The lucky ones were killed instantly, not taken prisoner. The U.S. lost the war. Saigon fell in 1975. 

So many years of absolute hell and for what? Why couldn't we have just enjoyed life in America? Let our young men chase their dreams, start families, not get gunned down in war. 

My childhood church was First Lutheran in Morris. 

Shall I say "Merry Christmas" in this season of 2025? Why yes, I shall. "Merry Christmas."

 

Lakers 74, Litchfield 38

The Monday story had the home team fans cheering lustily at the 'Waska gym. There the Lakers pummeled the Dragons of Litchfield with an array of weapons that included 3-pointers. The Lakers rained 3-pointers as they made 10 of 18 in the first half alone. Their total harvest for the game was 13. 

The game was basically over at halftime, score of 55-17. 

'Waska had a "big three" in the scoring list. Leading the way was Kendall Danielson with 16 points. Berlynn Green put in 15 and Alia Randt 14. Lauryn Ankeny had her role with eight points. Allie Mrnak and Jayda Kolstoe each scored five. Carly Jergenson contributed three. These four Lakers each put in two: Olivia Danielson, Phemie Oeltjen, Aubrey Polzin and Nori Song. 

Kendall built her team-leading total by making 3's, four of them in all. Green and Randt each launched three 3-pointers. Mrnak, Kolstoe and Jergenson each made one. 

In rebounds the leaders were Ankeny with six and Polzin with four. In assists the pace was set by Olivia Danielson with six and Ankeny with four.  The always-aggressive Ankeny topped steals with eight. She also blocked two shots.

 

Lauryn Ankeny, whiz with steals

Lakers  86, Montevideo 33

The Lakers looked very comfortable at the home of the Thunder Hawks, Montevideo. It was a night for Lauryn Ankeny to shine in particular as she showed impact in several phases of play. I have written before that this Laker seems "all over the court." The MACA Tigers had better have a plan to try to contain her. Against Monte she had 22 points, seven steals, eight rebounds and two shot blocks. 

Three other Lakers joined Ankeny scoring in double figures: Alia Randt and Allie Mrnak each scored 12, Kendall Danielson with ten. The rest of the list: Olivia Danielson 8, Aubrey Polsin 7, Berlynn Green 4, Jayda Kolstoe 4, Haillie Schulz 3, Nori Song 2, Phemie Oeltjen 2. 

Mrnak connected three times from 3-point range. Kendall Danielson made two long-rangers while Polzin and Schulz each had one. Ankeny attacked the boards for eight rebounds. Randt dished out five assists. Ankeny was at it with steals again, recording seven, and Song had four. And Ankeny blocked two shots.

 

There is a whole strong school of thought that the story of the "virgin birth" of Christ was the result of a bad translation. Did you know that the "little drummer boy" is not in the Bible?

   

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

Reminders of UMM's heady early days

Pat Tanner

Two names from UMM's distant past are in the obituaries now. Seems extra sad when it happens in the Christmas holiday season. But indeed the certainty of death cannot be stopped. 

I knew the Tanner family especially well. They had children who graduated from Morris High in the '70s. Pat Tanner was the clerical person for Jack Imholte, "The Silver Fox." Secretary? Administrative assistant? The terminology ought not matter too much. 

I remember when Pat had a son on a high-climbing Tiger baseball team. Dr. Imholte reportedly got a little agitated by all the game commitments (distractions) that were piling up. Oh I'm sure it wasn't serious agitation. But we can understand the feeling about how high school sports just gets overwhelming sometimes. Lots of games and - ahem - high expectations placed on the media for bestowing proper attention. Now, why would that angle concern me so much? 

The happy parents fill their calendars with all of this. Congrats to them because such achievements are praiseworthy. Well, with maybe an asterisk attached. Maybe the excitement about high school sports starts to overwhelm other aspects of school life and the variety of talents that kids display. No need to radically change anything, just pause for a moment to realize that sports should be appreciated in its own limited context. 

Well, fat chance of that sinking in. 

Oh, the anecdote about Imholte and the Tanner boy has "The Silver Fox" saying to Pat, "well, next I suppose they'll make nationals!" Cute. 

The Tanner boy was younger than me but there was another Tanner in my MAHS class. That was Jeff. He really got established as a high school baseball coach at ACGC. I had the pleasure of photographing a smiling Jeff standing at the edge of the dugout at Chizek Field. Sometimes I'd go out of my way a little for old high school peers. "Hometown boy makes good." 

Jeff was on the 1973 high school basketball team that won the old "District 21" title. My generation grew up with "District 21." Our basketball nemesis was the Breckenridge Cowboys who I'm sure made all of us resent the color green. At my advanced age now I look back with regret about the intensity of regional sports rivalries. Way too much emotion, did not reflect the best in human nature. My exposure to this got even worse through my newspaper career.

 

Progress 

I am much more distant with my perspective today. But for what it's worth I sense we're more calm and civilized now. Let's examine factors. I can suggest the creation of the 4-class system for high school tournament sports. I realize that the premise in the movie "Hoosiers" was cute but in reality, the small schools had very rough going trying to climb in tournaments. Some natural resentment toward the big schools resulted. 

Did anyone outside of Austin MN root for that team against Edgerton? And I have always thought that was sad. The guys with Austin just wanted to play basketball, to try hard to win. They were the "heavies." Edgerton defied the odds and won. But really, how often did this type of thing actually happen? Maybe there's a defense to be made of "only in America." Ah, where the little guy "can do it." Technically true. 

Maybe it's a rallying cry from political conservatives who try to rationalize our economic system with its rich/poor dichotomy.  It's getting worse now, isn't it? 

"Anyone can make it." Pulls at your heartstrings. 

 

Fairness but more travel

With the schools carved into more enrollment-based divisions, it means that when the post-season gets going, odds are for the teams to have to travel more - sometimes significantly further - to get matched up against comparable-sized schools. This wiped away the petty rivalries of small towns vs. other nearby small towns. Obviously many schools consolidated. 

We're still charmed by "Hoosiers." But that's Hollywood. 

The onerous travel burden is sometimes faced early in the post-season schedule. An example was when the Morris football team had to go to Fairmont down by the Iowa border for the first game. Jerry Witt was our coach then. I was not required to make that trip. But I could have been. It would not have been cool for me to protest. 

Once Forum Communications bought the Morris newspaper, the management people sucked in their cheeks because "it was tight." The years of the Morrison ownership by contrast were relaxed. Well you can sense what I preferred. And it's not like the Forum was a business success here - it was the opposite. Today I don't think the braintrust with the Morris paper have cheeks sucked in. 

My family was good friends with neighbor Les Lindor who had been chairman of the Morris school board. He was over for coffee and a snack one day and he expressed concern about high school sports teams having to travel so far. This was during the regular season too. 

A football game at Thief River Falls? Something even more concerning IMHO: games in far-away places starting at 7 or 7:30 at night. Playoff football at Pillager? Too concerning from the standpoint of people having to drive home so late in the blackness of night, often feeling exhaustion from the game. 

 

A family affair 

Pat Tanner's husband Jim was a dedicated promoter of youth sports. I remember when the whole Tanner family came to the P.E. Annex on the UMM campus for an "open gym" in the mid-1960s. The Annex was located where the (newer) science building is now. The early UMM basketball team played its games there. 

There was no women's basketball in the earliest days. When did it get going? Well I know for the high school it was 1971-72. I once thought it was a year later than that, but then I remembered Leatrice Tomoson playing, wearing one of those red jumpsuit-style uniforms of the time. Leatrice graduated in 1972. She's one of those women about whom we'd think: Man if she was in high school today, what a prime candidate to play at a high collegiate level. 

Girls sports was so fledgling in the early '70s. And as it made strides competitively speaking, Morris High did not keep up. This really frustrated me. And if I started expressing concern about that, the very people who should have agreed with me turned their anger toward me. The idea, I guess, was that I was promoting this win-lose criterion which contradicted the higher purpose of "academics." 

Various people associated with UMM were notorious for thinking in such a way. Oh, they felt it essential that girls/women get equal resources. But to stress competitive success? They demurred on that. I know full well that winning is never guaranteed. But the challenge of trying to win is what undergirds these activities. I suppose people who are liberal politically have problems with that - it contradicts their egalitarian ethos. 

The latter sounds alien to today's culture. Conservatism has advanced so far, it is mutating in various ways.

 

It's better today 

The people associated with UMM today are to be blessed. From my perspective they no longer put on "effete" airs of being superior to everyone else, of claiming the right to lecture everyone else. OK they're humbled. UMM people have gotten humbled so far, they now have to fear serious cutbacks in the place. Maybe closure of the place? The new chancellor vows "no." When he has to assert this as such a strong statement, it makes you wonder. 

What matters is the attitude of the people at the Twin Cities campus. They always hold all the cards. My late father always understood that. He had a long background with the Twin Cities braintrust. 

 

Arden Granger

Rest in peace 

Pat Tanner RIP. Arden Granger RIP. Very important names from the heady early days of our campus. Never to be forgotten. 

Pat was on my list for my annual Christmas email greetings, greetings which for several years included original songs I wrote and had recorded. She was one of those recipients who'd always respond to that. My heart was warmed. Time passes and we all go through the same passages of life. The conclusion comes the same way for all of us. 

God has granted me some extra years of life. Maybe I should say "Dr. Sam" has granted me some extra years of life. Well, they can share on that. Thanks to both. 

I look out the picture window facing north at my residence and it looks like a Christmas card on this Saturday morning. It was through this window that I observed 2-3 coyotes recently. A nice illustration of how we're so remote compared to the Twin Cities campus of the U. 

Remember the sign at the old HHH Metrodome? "We like it here."

 

Addendum: Reflecting further on how the very small towns could sometimes beat the big ones in sports - very rarely - I'm reminded of John Candy in an old SCTV skit. He played a boxer, a heavy underdog for a fight. He said "I have to go out there and show all the little people that they have a chance." Then he went out there and got knocked out on the first punch.

 

Addendum #2: I remember Jim Tanner getting the P.A. announcer microphone for when UMM played in the Northern Sun football showcase at the Metrodome, Minneapolis. This was during the Jim Lind coaching regime. We beat our opponent convincingly. I say "Northern Sun" but maybe we were still the "Northern Intercollegiate Conference." The name became "Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference." 

You might suspect what I'll say next: that it's a crying shame the Cougars can't still be Northern Sun. Experts tell me "it can't happen." Well the Hickory Huskers weren't supposed to win it all either. UMM should not take its setbacks sitting down. Today the Cougars play many teams representing oddball schools. 

Jim Tanner took over the mic at the Metrodome and said "Welcome to the Metrodome, home of the UMM Cougars!" 

In later years I would cover the Chokio-Alberta football team at the Metrodome as it won championships. Today coach Neal Hofland comes to DeToy's Restaurant in the mornings. He loved having his C-A teams run the "toss sweep" play!

 

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

Cougars defeat Martin Luther of Wisconsin Synod

Interesting or ironic that a totally secular place like UMN-Morris has sports opponents that wear religion on their sleeve. It's interesting to just look up these opponents sometimes. Any UMM win is a pleasure to report. Although, I might want to attach an asterisk to when we beat "Trinity Bible." 

Well last Monday saw the Cougars take on another school with a religious purpose. And that was "Martin Luther." Let's emphasize first off that we won the game 88-81. The action was here at the Gremmels court. A fun night I'm sure for the Cougar faithful. The institution needs as much good news as it can get. 

I wonder if the new chancellor is already at work with some stuff. I do believe there is urgency. I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Oyate building. "Turtle Mountain Cafe" has a new name, doesn't it? 

I can't let a game against Martin Luther pass without checking to see just what the opposing school stands for. Minnesota is such a Lutheran place. 

One might assume that the Martin Luther school is a benign and virtuous place, virtuous just like all our Lutheran friends in the Upper Midwest. Are we talking about the mainstream of Lutheranism? Despite its struggles and its decline, the ELCA is still mainstream. But wait, this is not the synod represented by the "Martin Luther" school. There are fringe factions within Lutheranism. Darn Lutherans, we cannot be like the Catholics who are monolithic and can thus retain their strength. Look how Assumption Catholic Church represents the Morris area. 

 

Diffuse 

But Lutherans fan out in various ways. This would appear to be a problem for all churches trying to remain stable. We would appear to have exhibit 'A' in Morris with First Lutheran no longer able to offer a weekly Sunday service. Half of the time these people are now required to go to the Methodist church. 

Can the barriers within Lutheranism come down? There's the Missouri Synod in contrast to the ELCA. Oh my we have the "rebels" against the ELCA having concentrated out in the Good Shepherd church. Good Shepherd is north of Morris on the windswept countryside. Aren't these the people who once did the "WordAlone" thing? I'd see the notices for "WordAlone" when I was with the Morris newspaper. And I thought it was just a benign little religious gathering, well-intentioned toward all. Well I eventually learned it was not well-intentioned toward the ELCA. These people were fomenting the uprising. 

The CW seems to indicate that Good Shepherd is in financially great shape. Apparently lots of deep pockets people there. Then again, I have learned never to totally believe what I hear about the various churches' financial standing. 

 

Oh the gays 

The ELCA's generous stance for gay people about drove the WordAlone people out of their minds. Personally I don't like to see any church get involved with positions on "sexual preference." While I believe in the gentle approach toward gays, we must be wary of gay people's tendency to push outwardly hard for their interests. It's "gay activism." 

 

Out of school maybe? 

Getting back to the subject of the "Martin Luther" college, no, do not think this is ELCA at all. It is the Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran faith. Just a harmless little spinoff from the Lutheran faith? Well I don't know. The Wisconsin Synod sticks its neck out on something that I do not think is worth their trouble. In fact I feel it is highly contrary to their best interests. 

Michelle Bachmann

Churchgoing everywhere appears in retreat. So I'm bewildered that the Wisconsin Synod asserts their belief that the Pope is the antichrist. Remember the congressperson Michelle Bachmann of Minnesota? She had to leave her Wisconsin Synod church once she saw that this controversial aspect would be a millstone around her neck. So the Wisconsin Synod lost a congressperson. 

Our community of Morris does have a Wisconsin Synod church. I know the pastor is a talented person. Makes me wish he was inclined to be in the ELCA. The ELCA continues to have good intentions with everything. Maybe it can strike a balance: assert that gays have rights without caving to those who get real loud on the subject. I'm as turned off as anyone by the loud stuff. But I wouldn't depart from the ELCA for this reason. 

Well, I have actually departed. I departed recently because I did not like the abruptness of the announcement that we'd have to spend half of our time at the local Methodist/UCC church. And nothing against the Methodist/UCC church. At least I'm not aware of anything theologically that I would reject. But I had become discouraged by the steady stages of decline of the once-proud First Lutheran Church of Morris. 

I'm old enough that I remember when First Lutheran was a primary faith leader in Stevens County with two services on Sundays. Nobody called us "liberal" or "political." We weren't really Bible thumping conservatives or reactionaries either. Goldilocks? Well maybe. 

My problem with church when I was a kid was boredom. Today that's a non-factor. My metabolism has slowed down! I would have been happy to continue supporting FLC indefinitely. But the writing has been on the wall. Now it's over in terms of FLC having a weekly Sunday service at our own building - a pretty minimal thing to want or expect. 

Good Shepherd drained from the ELCA churches. We still have the fringe Lutheran churches of the Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Synod. For the UMM Cougars to play Martin Luther reminded me of the Wisconsin Synod. First of course I had to look up the background. That's the thing about UMM being in the UMAC: we play oddball schools that stand for various things. I brought this up in the interview I did with the UMM athletic director when we first switched to the UMAC. I asked if we might sense a schism: UMM's rigid secularism vs. God-knows-what may be coming at us with our new opponents. 

Goodbye Moorhead State. Hello Oak Hills Christian. No, Oak Hills Christian is not in the UMAC, but it shows up on the UMM men's basketball schedule. Oak Hills Christian? It's from way up north and it's known as the most anti-gay college in the U.S.! Coming here to play UMM at a bastion of gay support. Well yes, that's what UMM is, or has been. Maybe our new chancellor will see the need to tamp down a lot of that stuff. Tamp down the zealous political causes of all kinds. 

 

"People lovers" 

Many of us probably know that the Martin grocery store family of Morris - the "people lovers" - worship in the Wisconsin Synod. Did good ol' Willie even know that his church considered the Pope to be the antichrist? I personally doubt it. 

Willie's is "the people lovers" and it assuredly loves Catholics along with everyone else. A highlight of my summer was to get blessed by Fr. Alan Wielinski at the funeral for Shirley O'Keefe. I have always felt affection for the local Catholics. Man, I hadn't seen Father Alan since I left the Morris newspaper. Seeing him took me back in time. He's one of those people who only knew me in the newspaper context. I'd like to bless him too!

   

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

We take a pause from hoops for sudden storm

Certainly no basketball games to report on from Tuesday night. Man what a sudden onslaught of weather with Thanksgiving just around the corner. Is it really necessary for people to travel so much? Maybe it's best to just stay put. 

For most of my life, my family got together with my uncle and aunt in Glenwood, Howard and Vi Williams. Sometimes we got together at our house in Morris, sometimes in Glenwood. I am the only one left. I am happy and thankful to still be living in the family house in Morris. 

I am alone, so alone that I had to cancel my colonoscopy appointment at SCMC because I could not secure a ride home from anyone. A ride home is required. I was unable to arrange for anyone that would be 100 percent reliable, in other worlds to not have a conflict come up at the last minute. I feared being "stranded" at the clinic. What would I do? 

I asked the nurse if I might get a ride home with a sheriff's deputy. She listened with interest but did not endorse. Looks like they do not approve of any sort of public transportation. The whole experience sure seared into my head how really isolated I am now. Do not feel sorry for me. I am not actually depressed. But how could it not be a little discouraging? 

My uncle and aunt are in heaven now. My father passed in 2013 and Mom in 2018. My health seems quite stable. I could have walked to town on this blustery and cold Wednesday morning but one of my neighbors blew out my driveway. It was Dan Murphy. Sometimes Mike Cihak makes the generous gesture. Bless these people. I'm a little scared of snow removal equipment (except the shovel). 

I could walk to town and back on any day of the year. Even with a winter storm? As long as I can see the outline of my neighborhood from town, I can do it. I ran the Twin Cities Marathon three times in the 1980s. At present I am 70 years old. My last doctor visit revealed that I am "pre-diabetic" which is an improvement from before: good news. 

 

School pride 

My uncle and aunt Howard and Vi of Glenwood loved their local high school. When Glenwood High School ceased to be, we saw the creation of Minnewaska Area. I'm sure Howard had strong feelings for wanting to continue with a "Glenwood High School." But he sure supported the new school anyway. 

Would he have supported the recent referendum for 'Waska? That would be a separate question. I can't guarantee he would have. He would not have been alone, that's for sure. 

The referendum failed. I will state again that Minnewaska would appear to have rough-going generating real community-based support. That's because "Minnewaska" is not a community, it is a lake. The communities are Glenwood and Starbuck. The school is located in between. And I think the two towns are located a little too far apart to make a real "vote yes" consensus get formed. 

Heavens, for most of my life I have been aware of feelings of rivalry between Starbuck and Glenwood. School district residents must get in their cars and drive to the school anytime they want to go there. And it's not like the school is on the edge of a town where it would be no sweat for many people to visit. Someone who wants to attend every basketball game all season would burn through a fair amount of gas. And when roads are bad as they certainly are in this Thanksgiving week of 2025. A layer of ice to deal with. 

Once the 'Waska and Lac qui Parle Valley schools got built, the State of Minnesota put its foot down and said "no more cornfield high schools." Such schools were built purely as the result of local politics - appeasing communities. Starbuck would never stand for a school in Glenwood. Well sometimes in life you have to get real and adjust. The name "Lac qui Parle Valley" has a backstory with "Valley." It's purely local (petty) politics. I witnessed tons of that through my career with the Morris newspaper. Really looks quaint now. 

I saw the worst of the small school sports rivalries. It hardly revealed the best in human nature. Much of this was solved by further consolidation and the creation of the 4-class system for post-season sports. Today, teams are more likely to play post-season games against foes from further away. This greatly lessens the hostile rivalry feelings. People gossiping about parents from the other towns. Mercy! But it was not myth, it was real. So much less of that today. 

But look how poor Minnewaska struggles with trying to get referendums passed. Three failed ones now? 

 

Lauryn Ankeny scored the team-best 29 points in the 'Waska Lakers' hoops opener.

 

A team rolls along

Here's something that is not struggling: Minnewaska Area girls basketball. The Lakers took fourth in state last year. And they sure are rolling forward again. They in fact played Lac qui Parle in the opener. A matchup of the two old "cornfield high schools.!" Minnewaska sure dominated the game. They rolled over the Eagles 90-27. 

I remember that over the last couple years, Lauryn Ankeny was such a whiz getting steals. She appears to be a whiz with everything now! This Laker poured in 29 points. And hey, she was up to form in steals with 10. She must be aggressive all over the court. The Lakers led 61-12 at halftime! 

I'll be interested to see how the Lakers do against my MACA Tigers. Last year the Lakers led the Tigers 58-4 at halftime. As the late Keith Jackson would say, "whoa Nellie."

 

Jayda Kolstoe signs her national letter of intent to attend North Dakota State University. There she will continue with her throwing events in track and field. Jayda was state shot put champion in 2024 and was second in 2025. Plus she was fourth in the discus in 2025. Her throw coach at 'Waska is Jacey Schlosser.

 

Lakers 90, LQPV 27

Many Lakers joined Ankeny in the scoring column. So let's review: Berlynn Green 10, Kendall Danielson 9, Eliana Marthaler 9, Jayda Kolstoe 7, Norah Van Zee 7, Olivia Danielson 6, Nori Song 5, Phemie Oeltjen 3, Alia Randt 3, Allie Mrnak 2. 

Hey, quite the group putting in 3-pointers for the Lakers! So we see Marthaler leading the way with three long-range makes. Ankeny made two and these Lakers one each: K. Danielson, Kolstoe, Van Zee, Song and Randt. Kolstoe was the rebound leader with six. Kolstoe and Randt each had three assists. Ankeny's ten steals were followed by O. Danielson's 9. 

Green blocked two shots. 

A tremendous winter of excitement lies ahead for the Lakers. Hope the travel conditions stay decent for the fans as they drive "out of town" from either Starbuck or Glenwood. It may not be ideal but it's quite permanent. 

 

I came over to Glenwood Lutheran Church for Christmas Eve in the first year after Mom passed. It was the church of my grandparents Martin and Carrie Williams. Their eternal resting place is at Glenwood Lutheran Cemetery. The image below shows the master piece of rock for the Williamses. Martin and Carrie are buried on one side, Howard and Vi on the other. Martin and Carrie raised a family of five sons and dealt with the Great Depression. My dad was youngest of the five and he graduated from Glenwood High School in 1934. No wonder Dad was very tight with spending money! I inherited some of that sense.

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

Distress both nationally and with our Morris

DJT

We rise on this late fall morning and if we care about the news - which we surely should - we'll see images of the president with his red tie, white shirt and dark suit coat. Such a classy person. Makes me want to never don such attire again. He addresses female news reporters in such a rude, snippy way. This surely gets noticed and commented upon. 

But what comes of all the disturbing things we have learned about Donald Trump? I mean, his obvious longstanding closeness to Epstein and Maxwell? He now points fingers at Larry Summers. Why aren't enough fingers pointed back at DJT? No matter what happens, we awaken in the morning to new headlines that are driven by DJT. He's the reality that won't go away, dragging down our culture. 

 

Our new chancellor at UMN-Morris

From macro to micro 

And what's new here in our Morris MN? Where do we set the bar for determining our success? Well, we have a new head person at our University campus who stressed Monday night that there are no plans to close the school! No plans to shut down our U of M-Morris. So we should cheer for this, the simple statement that things aren't going completely to hell at our "jewel in the crown." 

Technically speaking it is good news. For him to say it, means there are suspicions out there that UMM's days could be numbered. How did we fall into a position where the state's top newspaper came down on us like a sledgehammer with an expose type of article? 

Was our decline unstoppable? Looks like the powers-that-be foresee better times. Well that's good. But can we trust new leadership after we've been through a period when our leadership was not so hot? The U finally got a president who isn't afraid to step on toes. If she notices a real concerning situation, she will bear down to try to overcome that. Well, why wouldn't she? The problem is that she'd have to rattle cages. 

An excellent source informed me that the previous head person at UMM was not enthused to go along with the president's recommendation for certain adjustments. Well, we're talking about cuts. We're probably talking about cuts of certain positions where people would be let go. 

 

A vote for empathy, but. . . 

A friend told me he could understand why the outgoing person would find it highly uncomfortable to do such things. 

The professional approach is reflected by Brad Pitt's language in "Moneyball" as he counsels Jonah Hill on how to cut players. No, do not squirm. What you do, according to Pitt as Billy Beane, is just "give 'em the facts." The facts are going to have to sink in anyway. "Get it over with." 

And I recall Pitt further saying "do you want to take a bullet to the head or one to the chest and bleed to death?" 

At the end of the day, the Morris chancellor would just be carrying out objectives from above. There is a strong sense that UMM has been suffering from  "administrative bloat." Maybe the problem has gotten worse here because of our sense of insulation from the real Twin Cities big shots. So the people here start getting too cozy with each other. "You scratch my back, I scratch yours." 

And they're all set with arguments, lest they be put on the defensive, about how essential they all are. They'd cry foul. But the time comes. 

The Star Tribune article had the premise that something had gone seriously wrong here. So the time comes to confront that. To "take our medicine." 

Three or four years ago I tried dropping off a check at the UMM Welcome Center and encountered incompetence. Finally I was "rescued" by Erin Christensen. And then she had to come to my rescue a second time when a receipt I had been promised did not arrive. Back then I was making annual contributions to both my family fund and the WCROC Horticulture Garden. But hey, does the Hort Garden even exist any more? Well, those people still want money. 

A couple years ago I entered the garden grounds and discovered that limited flower planting was still going on thanks to a volunteer. A volunteer! I'll name-drop: it was Bob Dalager. This is a far cry from when Steve Poppe ran the show. 

 

Take a look at music 

The UMM HFA (B.W. photo)

The tipping point for me in causing my discontent was to learn that UMM's music groups were being put forward most publicly as a combination of students and COMMUNITY. Community? Should U of M assets really be going toward supporting music groups that have become largely "community?" That's not the purpose. 

The concept of a community band is fine. But UMM music should be for serious music students whether they are music majors or just wanting to take part. It's for students. And so I flirted with having my family fund shifted to the Twin cities campus. I communicated with a person down there, very friendly or course. Once I learned that Erin wanted to talk to me about this, I backed off. 

So now I guess I'm optimistic, trying to hope for things to get better under the new leadership. I am encouraged by the new guy. He went to UMM and was in the concert choir. 

The UMM choir as it exists now is certainly "nice." But it is not what it once was. This is not the kind of choir program that Brad Miller would have been content directing. The new choir director makes the best of what she has. She has formulated a product that leaves everyone feeling happy. But I would prefer to see the ensembles composed of almost 100 percent students. It would seem to be the whole point of the program. 

I remember the old "University choir" directed by Melissa Hanson. 

 

Sports: descent into obscurity

Shall we talk about sports? Music and sports are of course high-profile programs for any college. They give a strong impression. To begin with, UMM is in a bottom-level conference for sports. We're in the UMAC. We play no-name opponents. This in contrast to when we were in the Northern Sun and played state universities. A state university is a known quantity. 

UMM football ended its season with a loss to Martin Luther. What the heck is "Martin Luther?" Well it's a religious name. The real Martin Luther happened to be one of the most notorious anti-Semites in world history. I'm uncomfortable to even see the name. Our season record was 3-7 and 3-4 in conference. 

Hey, the UMM men's basketball team defeated Trinity Bible! Trinity Bible? Do I have to get into discussing that school? What about "Oak Hills Christian?" 

I wrote for the Morris newspaper during the years when we had legitimate competition even through the non-conference part. Do all good things really have to come to an end? UMM has a terrific facility for indoor sports. It would befit a Northern Sun program. But look what we have to accept. And as for music and the humanities, look at the massive and albatross-seeming HFA. And what weird architecture behind it. But it's huge and could easily accommodate more educational activity. 

So what gives? Are people "at the top" with the U finally recognizing some shortcomings and issuing a call to action? I think Joan Gabel was clueless. Maybe she was too busy with "Securian." But this new Cunningham person seems totally on the ball. She aims to do what is necessary even if it gets uncomfortable. 

Our outgoing UMM chancellor did not want to deal with the discomfort. Well for the sake of survival we have to get resolved. For me to even write all this means I will take more brickbats. We are assured that UMM will "stay open." That meets the standard for "good news" in Morris. 

Y'all just keep voting Republican and see if things actually get better. (They won't.) Holy mackerel, look at our congressperson Michelle Fischbach.

 

Below: Poster gives heads-up for UMM music event! But, on same night as Parade of Lights (frown).

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

A UMN-Morris football win can lift campus morale

We're in that "overlap" time of year when we can follow both football and basketball. College basketball is well underway while football is still going strong. So the UMM women's basketball team has a home game tonight (Friday) at 7 p.m. It's good entertainment. 

Meanwhile yours truly can report on the football success of last Saturday. This was another game against the boys from Missouri, Fulton MO to be specific. Quite a long trip here for those boys. We're talking Westminster College. The big occasion of Senior Day for the Cougars. And we won 14-7. 

Westminster is the "Bluejays." I don't know what Westminster stands for, its purpose in the universe. I could research but I do not feel sufficiently motivated. Perhaps I have exhaustion from following the Epstein files story in the national news. Can you imagine the day when the "fever breaks" and we're just able to "move on" from Trump? 

Once the fixation ends, we'll all feel bewildered about what came over us. What came over our Christian faith, to allow it to be co-opted by this most flawed human being? Today is just another day as the fixation continues. It's hard to assume that the fever will ever break. The Democrats now have their "surrender caucus." What will happen to health care in America? 

Are we really going to take military action against Venezuela? Why? Drugs? Oh but it's not about drugs, it's about oil. And why are Americans choosing to buy drugs? 

 

Sean Keley-Chinanga

Cougars 14, Westminster 7 

But let's get back to football. Is Westminster a football program to be taken seriously? I don't know. I wish the days would return when we played the likes of Moorhead State. But my wishes go nowhere. The U of M is big and powerful. Don't tell me we could not get the resources here. People are fond of telling me I'm wrong in this community. And they often are not very civil about it. Even high-level professional people can use foul language. 

I just try to air opinions without respect for "the party line." The party line rules in Morris. 

UMM football has a 3-6 record now, 3-3 in the UMAC. 

We scored both our touchdowns in the first half. Bryson Drake scored our first TD on a 13-yard run. Logan Ahlers kicked the point-after. Then it was Drake scoring again on a 19-yard pass reception. Throwing the football was Hayden Charboneau. Ahlers' toe delivered.

Westminster's only score came in the second quarter. It came on a three-yard pass from Trey Thomas to Conner Coffey. 

Hayden Charboneau

Charboneau finished the game 8-for-16 in passing, 70 yards, one TD. Sean-Keley Chinanga carried the ball eleven times for 49 yards. Drake had our only rushing TD. The individual receiving totals were very balanced. Contributors here included Orion Knakmuhs, Derek Hoglin, Drake, Carter Watnaas and Oscar Weah Jr. 

Our leader in tackle points was Gregory Ohman. Chayce Meyer had an interception with a return of 22 yards. And Juan "JT" Garza had an interception with a big return of 58. 

 

Don't forget hoops 

Tonight's (Friday) women's basketball game is against St. Catherine. You can get a Snickers bar from concessions for $2! 

 

New guy here soon 

Michael Rodriguez

I wonder how this Rodriguez fellow is going to assess athletics. That's the incoming chancellor of course. Very unusual how he got the appointment. The decision was made straight-up from the top of U administration. It's as if the U president was not going to leave anything to chance. The new chancellor here would be "her guy" and would instantly respect all objectives dictated from the top. 

Word on the street is that Janet Schrunk Ericksen wasn't willing to go along with some specified things. Well she got a reminder of who is in charge. And Cunningham answers to the legislature. I'm not sure how the regents even figure in. Would the regents ever go along with any substantial cutbacks in the system? Don't they always just want to "go for it?" 

There's always "spinning" by certain individuals. So someone told me that teaching is Ericksen's "first love." The idea is to be happy about Ericksen being "home" with her first love or priority. I would have thought she'd be thrilled being chancellor of a college in the U of M system. 

Maybe Rodriguez feels the thrill. And he really ought to, even if he is called upon to engineer cutbacks. You see, the idea now is to keep UMM afloat. We can assume that any cuts are consistent with that. At the end of the day, Rodriguez ought to feel satisfied and inspired. That is, if it's "mission accomplished." 

Frankly there is some "doomsaying" out there. Perhaps the healthiest attitude was voiced by a friend of mine in an email to me:

 

I think the UMM situation will fall between the status quo and doomsday. The school won’t get the death penalty, but will have some programs, majors, and faculty cut. However, I’ve never been good at making predictions (or giving advice), so take it or leave it (to Beaver).

DPS

 

Another positive note was struck by friend Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley who has strong UMM ties. He responded to an email I sent him in which I expressed joy over Belgrade-Brooten-Elrosa volleyball taking third in state. Randy is the Bonanza Valley newspaper guy. So Randy answered my email:

 

Hello Brian, good to hear from you.

I still have hope for UMM. Maybe I'm naive (yeah, I probably am) but I do love that college and will always cherish the years I gave to Morris. I don't regret one second of my 4 years there.

 

And never is heard a discouraging word? Let's hope. I will conclude here by sharing an email I sent a few days ago to my fellow UMM advocate Warrenn Anderson. I go afield which I am wont to do.

 

Hello Warrenn well it certainly seems that a mood of angst has taken over in connection with UMM. Seems everyone is assuming now that something drastic is on the way. I wonder when we will get word of exactly what. I'm wondering if this Rodriguez fellow will just quietly move into his office without the usual ballyhoo or fanfare of a "new chancellor." The fact that the U actually had to "dismiss" Ericksen is concerning because it kind of stains the image of the place. I think many of us wonder why Ericksen couldn't have just continued but with a little more oversight from above. Remember when we were led to believe that the Crookston chancellor had executive authority here? Evidently there was nothing to that - it was in name only. And you wonder why I get cynical? 

I'm cynical after the whole Morris library mess too. For a while I wanted to be "positive" and go along with our city manager - she must know what she's doing, right? Now she leaves here in total ignominious defeat while Anne Barber stands tall versus everyone. And Barber put herself forward as a top organizer for "No Kings" here in Morris. Sticking her neck out politically. 

So Blaine Hill had to come back? Do we need to vote out the whole city council? Wow, the waste of money "investigating" the library. And what a negative distraction for all of us.

Back when I had my meeting with Schrunk-Ericksen, which I felt so privileged to have, I let her know how I wished our sports teams could still be competitive with the state universities. I have always been given detailed answers why we just cannot do that. My response to that is that we're part of the big and powerful U of M and the U could come up with the resources to get us in the Northern Sun again if it wanted to. Good grief, St. Cloud State is almost going out of existence. I continue to listen to talk programs on WDAY Radio-Fargo where they go over all the Northern Sun teams, and how great if we could hear references to "Morris." 

We have allowed athletics to go into retreat. We have allowed music to go into retreat. The music groups are billed as "community" now. So we look just like Crookston. All this shrinkage of what we do, so then it's no surprise we're suddenly in position to panic now. Les Lindor once said "it's easy to say let's cut this or let's cut that, but every time you cut something, you lose a constituency that can help you get funding."

Do you suppose there were people at UMM who were cutting corners and the central adm. got suspicious? So Rodriguez is here maybe to put everything under a magnifying glass?

I blogged about BBE volleyball this morning: third in state Class A.

Morgan Harstad is not going out for MACA girls basketball. She is six feet-one.

Is the U of M women's basketball team going to break our hearts again? Again they are starting out very impressive. The U looked super through early and mid-season last year but then faded just enough at the end so we didn't even make the NCAAs. I see they have some familiar names back.

I was fearing my dr. appointment of a couple days ago but it was better than I could have expected: I am no longer a diabetic, I am "pre-diabetic."

Did you know that Dr. Sam didn't want to do surgery for anyone whose primary care physician was Dr. Busian? Dr. Sam would refer people elsewhere.

- BW 

Whistling past the graveyard re. UMN-Morris

I do believe there is a misspelling in the poster announcing a UMM music event. I'm quite sure it's supposed to be "Camerata."

 

The fall of our discontent in Morris. No doubt there are dark clouds hanging over our university campus here. Not subtle. Perhaps a sense of panic among those who depend on the place for a living? I have anecdotal evidence to the effect of "yes." 

Maybe if something drastic is in store, it should have happened already so we could deal with it and move on. I wonder now how many students will be retained into the next semester. Last year I got word of a drop-off but it remained a rumor. 

I attended graduation and did not get the best vibes there. The institution brought back some instrumental music. Through the breadth of UMM's history we have come to expect the concert band or "symphonic winds" to perform. An ensemble performed last spring but how many of the performers were current UMM students? That's a big question to weigh in assessing all of UMM music now. 

It would seem the institution is not intended as a platform for "community" ensembles. A "ringer" here and there was always acceptable at least to me. Seems a line is crossed now, and quite unapologetically. Unapologetically? Well the band now has the "comm" syllable in its name: short for "community." There, that ends any mystery. "COMM" in all-caps.

"Symphonic winds" was well established at the time of the tribute concert for my father. It was a terrific performance that day. I had told the director that Dad would have "crowd pleasers" as the musical fare. That's what we got. Dad felt the homecoming concert should also present crowd-pleasing music rather than the esoteric type. 

You can't blame UMM people for tapping into the esoteric or "dissonant" stuff  because it's, well, sophisticated i.e. consistent with a high-level institution of higher learning. But Dad would say with a wink that the concert-goers sure appreciated the crowd-pleasing stuff too. 

Looks like UMN-Morris should have worked harder to please the public through the years. There is a strong sense that the place may be about to go off the cliff. Is it too late for remedial action? Well it would seem so. Should the central U administration have done a better job guiding us? I mean, to see we were presenting a product here that would win widespread approval? Be popular? I don't see how you can say we have been. 

Just consider the Star-Tribune article that was like a sledgehammer to humble our institution and its elite denizens of "academia." Let's retire the term "academia" along with the "GPA" initials for grade-point-average. I have never been comfortable with those things flapping from the flagpole, as it were. There was a time when they were marketable. Well times change. The digital revolution continues to transform so many things in profound ways. 

 

A heavy lift 

But, just how "practicable" would it be for UMM to "close?" We'd need a person in charge here who is an expert with such things. I would argue that it is an important specialty, one commanding respect. That Dietz fellow at St. Cloud State appears in position to do this. "Guide an institution to its orderly demise or suspension." 

And Dietz has made no bones about how SCSU will not return to its salad days. That train has left the station, maybe to some relief among people like me who wanted to wince over the school's frivolous image. Such was the misbehavior at SCSU Homecoming, those observances came to be called "riots." Why oh why did a generation or two of college kids think it so important to drink alcohol to excess? Was it really fun? Did it taste good? 

I went through the motions to a limited extent, even tried marijuana because there was a time when you just had to. But to profess that I didn't like it? Or to understand why my peers were taking the trouble to do it? You had to fear rough peer disapproval. I know, people will say "you shouldn't have worried about that." 

That is correct. 

Young people are impressionable and insecure. I knew at the time these were vices. Today my old peers would agree with me on the alcohol. But not completely on the marijuana or "pot." Pot makes inroads as a mainstream activity. When I was young we drifted toward nonconformity as a way of showing that we disapproved of societal norms like going along with the Vietnam war. 

Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. 

 

Wrecking ball 

Seems like about half of the  St. Cloud State campus is set for demolishing. This blows my mind. I am familiar with the buildings there. I'm sure all of them went up with a sense of pride and careful planning. And think of the expense! Is UMM headed in the same direction? 

And I think we can forget about getting state money to add the elevator to the "multi-ethnic building." And for the life of me, how can we even get away with having a multi-ethnic building in our current age with the Donald Trump element in charge, making such demands with earnestness. Wipe out "DEI." 

State Senator Torrey Westrom

And if UMM thinks it can get away with being a holdout on this? Will people in power "look the other way?" I sent an email to Torrey Westrom with this precise concern and he did not answer me. I even informed him that I was a UMM benefactor. Usually that gets attention and would call for a response. But I guess I was tossing up a hot potato. 

How would Westrom and Paul Anderson defend what UMN-Morris stands for when such ideas fly in the face of what the national Republican Party is demanding? "Wipe out wokeness" and "go back to coal energy." 

I might opine that this is all flat-Earth stuff. But what matters is that these people have the reins of power now. The Democratic Party just "caved" with trying to stand up to the Republicans. The Democrats got nothing out of it. 

The government reopening should lead to a release of the "Epstein files." But don't bet on it. Extremely powerful and wealthy men will find ways to obstruct, I sense. Lawyers work around the clock on stuff like this. 

If Trump breaks through and succeeds with a "selective editing" lawsuit against the media, it will finish off the media as we've known it. Society passively sits back, mostly cheering what the Trump people want to do. 

So many memories here

Westrom and Paul Anderson belong to that political party and I know of no pushback by them. They might have to go along with the closure of UMN-Morris. They would acknowledge that UMM is an "economic driver" for the region. That's all well and good or it should be, but the lawmakers must respect a higher power. They have no choice: bow down for Trump, Stephen Miller et al. You think they have any choice? They are MAGA. 

I'm waiting patiently for the worm to turn. But it never does. Trump wanted to dump sewage on the crowds of "No Kings" protesters - huge masses of people who Trump refused to show even a modicum of respect for. Well, he presented an image of the sewage thing. Politicians should always say they look to the people. But we are in a new and scary age - at least I can see that. 

Western Minnesota remains totally "red" for its inclinations. Just read a typical dispatch from our congressperson, Michelle Fischbach. Her tone is constant: Republicans led by Trump are heroic, Democrats are just terrible, stupid and whatever. 

 

Most dire scenario 

Will UMM become a casualty of what's going on? The ax would fall from the Twin Cities campus because of the U's fear that UMM's "wokeism" could bring down the whole place. And I'm not sure the central administration has ever been too excited paying attention to our little campus. It appears that Cunningham has made her decision. Now we wait.

    

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