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