WBB: Cougars done in by flurry of three-pointers

Good morning on this Sunday that is out of the movie "Fargo," n'est-ce pas? I mean, the bleakness of it all. I was challenged driving downtown early this morning as everything just seemed bright white. Another morning when Caribou Coffee failed to open on time. To the rescue comes Kelvin Tschetter of the Willie's crew. He had coffee available gratis at his meat department. 

Caribou at Willie's has quite the history with ups and downs. Whenever I think it is stabilized, something comes up! Considering the shortage of restaurants that cater to the middle class people in Morris - that is, if the middle class even exists anymore - Caribou would seem to be a real asset. Remember the days of the Del Monico at the site that later became Thrifty White? 

Well anyway, commenting on the weather would seem to be an apt way to start out my missive on this day which begins February. It's when the toll of winter weather seems to start weighing on us more. We can attend basketball games as perhaps the best therapy. And we are blessed in Morris to have UMN-Morris in addition to the prepsters. 

 

"Raining threes"

You've heard the expression "raining threes" in basketball? Well that's exactly what we saw Wednesday night at our P.E. Center. Unfortunately it was our opponent that was putting on the exhibition. The display helped the opponent to a 71-63 win over our Cougars. 

Several fans of Bethany Lutheran College sat in front of me and they were gleeful as they exchanged high 5's after their team's long-rangers! I had to feel happy for them, those Lutherans. It is Sunday morning but I will not be attending my family church of First Lutheran. Too discouraged about all the stuff going on. 

My, how First Lutheran of Morris has been floundering! We knew we had problems, we knew there was lethargy, but it was hard to imagine we would capitulate. We capitulated by "partnering" with another church in Morris. Oh my, a partnering with a non-Lutheran church! At least it's not a right wing blinders-wearing church. We do have several of those in and around Morris, places that fight for Donald Trump no matter what. 

Even First Lutheran Church had at least one family that was Trump-disposed: that is the Hecks, Bob and Nadine. Their "Trump" signs across the street were clearly visible for children playing at East Side Park. I had to step aside. BTW First Lutheran is paired with Federated Church which is primarily Methodist in case you're keeping score. 

When a church can no longer have Sunday morning services at its own building, it is dead. We can someday read the history of First Lutheran which was once so important and mainstream. And then the voodoo Christians started taking over like the refugees from the ELCA churches. These people coalesced out north of Morris. What a windswept godforsaken place. Do you wanna bet that no one out there has voted for a Democrat in ages? They probably even voted for the guy who said the "bad guys won World War II." That was the U.S. Senate nominee of the Republicans.

What did Good Shepherd spend on a new steeple? And what did that accomplish?

 

Can't beat the 3's

The UMM women's basketball team hosted Bethany Lutheran Wednesday. The Bethany women succeeded time and again from 3-point range. I had to feel entertained even though it was the opposition. Twelve times the refs raised their arms to signal "success" on a Bethany long-ranger. The Vikings shot 40 percent in this category. They came out of the game at 5-0 in league. 

Kaylee Hunter

The Cougars were left at 4-2 in league play. I am getting more impressed with the caliber of play in the UMAC. Bethany made twelve 3-pointers in 30 attempts. Kaylee Hunter was a leader at five of eight. Morgan Hulke made three of nine. Hunter was top scorer for her team with 19 points. 

The Cougars were buoyed once again by the play of Maddy Grove who scored 24 points. She was 11 of 20 in field goals. My favorite player Gianna Klarenbeek was second-high with 15. Gianna made two of her four 3-point shot tries. She isn't tall but she has a real nice touch in outside shooting. UMM made 27 of 60 shots. 

Shelby Mortenson topped our rebounding with eight. Grace Perry had five of our 15 assists. Mortenson had our only two blocked shots. Three Cougars each had two steals: Grove, Klarenbeek and Brooke Ver Steeg. 

On this bleak Sunday morning when I had to shovel in the driveway first, I communicated with my Bonanza Valley newspaper friend Randy Olson. I often do. I respond to two recent emails he sent me. Below is the perspective I shared with him in this time of weather travail and basketball excitement. I share UMM basketball thoughts along with (of course) some other things. I titled the email "Hello Randy on Sunday." Here it is:

 

Hello Randy, thanks for your two recent emails. These are the times that try men's souls, just crappy weather for one reason or another. Winter arrived so rapidly this year. Late fall was actually unseasonably warm. Then winter arrived with a wallop and has remained. Last night there was more new snow than I was expecting. I used the shovel to get out of my driveway. Our neighborhood is semi-rural. I'm one of those people living in a house too big for him. The Star Trib had an article on such folks recently. Moving would be too much of a hassle.

After 20 years of being away from the paper I finally started attending UMM sports events as a fan, just volleyball and basketball, mainly women's basketball. It's a little odd because if you park in the lot next to the P.E. Center, your inclination is to use the south entrance but there is no ticket counter there. It's on the opposite end. The doors are open. If you go in on the south, there is nothing keeping you from watching the whole game while standing along the concourse, which is not a bad way to watch. So far, I do buy a ticket. But then I wonder, if I walk past the admission table to go to concessions or use the restroom, I have to walk past the counter again to my seat. So do they memorize everyone who has bought a ticket? I think next time I'll ask them about this. I am considering just watching from the concourse. I pay $5 whereas the non-seniors pay $10 which I think is an awful lot.

I have revised my views of the UMAC in that I think the caliber of play is quite acceptable. If I were to attend an NSIC game, I wonder if I would really notice a superior level of play. I probably would. I can accept the UMAC at present. But the "cult" nature of some of the opponents still bothers me. The Wisconsin Synod school where everyone believes that the Pope is the antichrist! It's not like playing Moorhead State.

In about a year all colleges are coming up against the "demographic cliff." I gather this is pretty serious. I really wonder about UMM's future. I could tell them one of their main problems: get the students to just shut up about politics, or to keep their political views private or expressed through channels not connected to UMM. I have been saying this for several years, not sure anyone listens. The problems have come from both the "woke world" and the extreme political right. The right has probably been crazier.

I have been blogging more frequently lately because of being forced indoors so much by the weather. I blog a lot about basketball which is always fun and I'm veering away from politics and the national news because of a sense of futility. Like with commenting about ICE and Minneapolis - my views would just be stating the obvious and I can't change the minds of the MAGA people anyway. It's low-hanging fruit to comment on all the things involving Donald Trump. It is overwhelming. My voice would be futile.

The Morris boys basketball coaches are sometimes posting game stats on "Maxpreps." Sometimes but not always, but when they do I can provide a pretty comprehensive post about the game. Meanwhile I don't bother checking the newspaper website. I'd like to be privy to the phone complaints that the Morris paper must get. I wonder how they respond. I wonder if people get upset and stop financially supporting the paper. The website just sits there with so much potential. I have suggested that their sportswriter just "riff" about what's going on with MACA sports once or twice a week, then click to publish to the website. That would be fun for everyone. And holy cow, why does the newspaper even bother with UMM sports? UMM's website is state of the art all the way around. We could not have dreamt of this kind of service back in the Perry Ford days. And then UMM went through growing pains with its website, as I'm sure all colleges did. For a while Brian Curtis was expected to do everything. That had to give way. 

Sports is really the "front porch" of the institution. And I remember when I was young, so many people in "academics" would pooh-pooh sports, make people feel guilty for getting excited about it. Today the "academics" have really shut up. These people are gone from UMM, the pretentious types. Everyone employed there just breathes a sigh of relief that the place can stay open.

In the old days, the UMM faculty would have risen up to protest Oak Hills Christian even coming here to play basketball, just like they protested the Carthage College "Redmen" coming here. That football game was at risk for cancellation. Today we wouldn't hear a peep.

Again, thanks for your emails.

- BW

GBB: Lakers clobber Monte, get humbled by Sauk

Minnewaska handled Monte on Thursday before being humbled on the following day against Sauk Centre. The score was 78-28 as the 'Waska girls built their 50-point margin of success over the T-Hawks. They were quite in command at halftime, up 42-19. Fans at the 'Waska gym enjoyed. 

The West Central Trib reports "Glenwood" but in fact it is in between Glenwood and Starbuck. Do Glenwood and Starbuck have the same sense of rivalry as was typical through much of my life? I turned age 71 on Wednesday. Maybe a lot of the old small town parochialism has faded. How nice if that's true. I have some memories that make me cringe - people approaching high school sports as if it's some kind of war. 

I think the four-class system for basketball has helped a lot. Your top rivals now are not necessarily so close by. Very soon into the tournament you'll be playing teams from a considerable distance away. You might not know a single person from those towns. No long-time grudges built up. 

Minnewaska really turned on the jets in second half play to outscore the out-manned T-Hawks 36-9. Monte can hope for better days ahead. 

The WC Trib lists the 'Waska scorers from top total on down . I like that. So, we see the list headed by Berlynn Green who put in 18 points. The always top-notch Lauryn Ankeny had a total of 16. Kendall Danielson and Alia Randt each supplied 11. Here are the other totals: Olivia Danielson 6, Aubrey Stark 5, Carly Jergenson 3, Nori Song 3, Jyda Kolstoe 3 and Phemie Oeltjen 2. 

Kendall Danielson and Randt supplied the main thrill in 3-pointers, each with three. Stark, Jergenson and Kolstoe each made one. Jergenson and Song co-led in rebounds, each with four. Ankeny with her four assists was tops. She was also tops in steals with six and blocked shots with four.

 

Sauk Centre 59, 'Waska 46

Alas, things did not go so well for the Lakers on Friday. We saw a setback at the hands of Sauk Centre, the "Streeters." Action was again at the 'Waska gym. The margin was 13 points as 'Waska could not work their usual magic on this night. They had just one player in double figures and this was Lauryn Ankeny with her 11 points. 

Allie Mrnak and Berlynn Green each scored nine. Nori Song contributed eight followed by Alia Randt and Kendall Danielson with seven and two respectively. Mrnak and Randt each made a '3'. Randt topped rebounds with six. Green, Randt and the Danielson girls - Kendall and Olivia - each had an assist. Four Lakers each stole the ball three times: Ankeny, Green, Randt and Kendall Danielson. Ankeny and Mrnak each blocked a shot. 

The Lakers concluded the week with a 15-4 record.

 

Boys: Montevideo 78, Minnewaska 68

It was a headlining night for Marc Gruber of the Lakers but it wasn't enough. Gruber was on fire to score 28 points. Tristan O'Neil made an impression with his play as he scored 20. Lots of talent there but the Lakers were outdone by a sharply-executing Monte T-Hawk squad. Monte established its edge by halftime with a 45-27 score. 

Drew Bleick scored ten points for 'Waska. Other Lakers putting in points were Caleb Kath 8, Luke Danielson 4 and Connor Erickson 3. (The individual totals as reported by the WC Trib do not add up to the team total, sorry.)

Gruber entertained the fans with four 3-pointers. Danielson, Erickson and Kath each made one long-ranger. 

O'Neil had the team-best eight rebounds. He was tops in assists too with four. He co-led with Erickson in steals as each performed three. Danielson blocked three shots. 

 

A T-Hawk to watch 

Monte's big star was Griffin Epema with 31 points. Caleb Koenen complemented that performance with 19. Epema was on fire from long range with five 3's. Action was on Thursday at Montevideo. 

The Lakers have a 10-6 record.

 

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

We may be cold but we're not Omaha

I had no reason to feel down Friday due to the cold. I attended a social gathering of UMM-oriented people in the morning at Common Cup, right on Morris' main street. And I'm delighted to share the photo you see here of yours truly with the new chancellor of UMN-Morris, Michael Rodriguez. Very nice coffee cake and two types of coffee, really hitting the spot. Kind of a "pep rally" for UMN-Morris. That would be apt to say. Oh, Dr. Rodriguez is at left in photo, your blog host at right. Looking at the photo makes me think maybe I should stop cutting my own hair. I began that during covid, just like I stopped seeing the dentist. Recently I had a tooth pulled. The photo is by Sue Dieter of the UMM staff.

 

Sid Hartman used to warn us that we in Minnesota could become a "cold Omaha." It was a scare tactic to try to make sure our state made the proper commitment to support big league sports. Too bad we could not have hung on to the Minneapolis Lakers. By now they'd be "Minnesota" instead of "Minneapolis" to be sure. But it's sad that the "Lakers" moniker could not have stuck with Minnesota. 

We once had a men's pro basketball team called the "Muskies." I loved that name too. And then there were the "Pipers." Teams flamed out here until we finally got the Timberwolves under Bill Musselman in 1989. I attended the first regular season home opener of the Wolves. We played Chicago with Michael Jordan at the height of his powers. 

So Minnesota never fell into the depths of being a "cold Omaha." Right now it is cold quite literally in our western Minnesota home of Morris. We are a "cold Morris." Maybe we'd rather be here than in the Twin Cities with all the unrest there due to ICE. 

Maybe the fundamental cause of the distress is that Minnesota is a "blue state." The Feds in charge now answer to the other side. In normal times we would assume that our leaders in government would want the best for all of us. I mean, to put partisan aims aside and just govern to try to make life better. But our current times are quite to the contrary of that ideal. 

All I can do is comment. Otherwise "Mongo just pawn in game of life." 

Has our congressperson ever disagreed with anything that our presidential administration has said and done? Any one little thing? I'm not aware of any. 

Collin Peterson

How different are our current times? So different that we can look back on years and years of having Democrat Collin Peterson represent us. His election opponents usually came off seeming off the beaten path, maybe a little dim-witted or eccentric. Yes ol' Collin called himself a "Blue Dog" which meant he was on the right-leaning edge of his party. In the end that was not good enough for him to pass muster here. 

I remember the years when Peterson seemed rather popular. A mainstream type of guy, engaging. 

In his final campaign he was thrown on the defensive. The "red" groundswell from within this district became like a tsunami. Poor Collin was attacked by having a photo of himself shown in campaign ads. The problem with the photo? He was standing next to Nancy Pelosi. The ad narrator pronounced Pelosi's name in a demeaning way. Nancy Pelosi! Oh the disgust. 

The tsunami has overwhelmed us. So now we get dispatches from our new congressperson that have a cheerleading tone all the way for the presidential administration. Has the administration been so great for farmers? Are you a fan of the tariffs? And you should be aware that tariffs are a regressive tax? Know what that means? It hits the rank-in-file Americans hard. But you don't want to listen to reason, do you.

 

"Cold Omaha"

Well, what's so bad about Omaha, Nebraska? Sid Hartman came up with the barb when Omaha sort of represented the "backwater" cities across America, whereas the really big cities were the "cool" cities. And heaven help the "small towns" where reportedly the young people were so eager to leave. I can illustrate from the movie "First Blood" where the colonel character described the small community as "Jerkwater USA." Such a putdown is at the very least dated but mostly offensive. 

Small towns just like the big cities have Internet. Small towns are a haven for feeling safe and secure, relatively speaking. And the big cities, once considered cool, refined and culturally stimulating, my they have fallen on hard times. Crime-ridden and dirty? Well to an extent they are. 

 

(B.W. photo)

Guarding UMM's future 

We needn't make any apologies living in Morris MN. We can feel relieved. And we still have our U of M-Morris although perhaps we should knock on wood some. Watch our backs some? And by next year colleges everywhere will have to deal with the "demographic cliff." My friend Michael Lackey says college employees everywhere know all about the "demographic cliff." Maybe it's the strongest headwind for our UMM and many other colleges. An irresistible force maybe? 

And so UMM has undergone a sudden and drastic administrative change. We're changing horses in midstream? A change at the chancellor's position in mid-school year? What does it all mean? That some immediate actions are needed to stanch some bleeding? 

We know all about the bleeding because of the work of the Star Tribune newspaper. A huge headline that included the word "nosedive." A part of me almost wanted to laugh. Ah, a joy felt in the pursuit of truth. No need to watch anyone's back, just call a spade a spade. So UMM has experienced an "enrollment nosedive." And here we are trying to sell ourselves out in the barren reaches of western Minnesota, the MAGA world of our congressional representative Michelle Fischbach. Her orange god hovers over us. 

And I assume UMM competes with the U of M operation in Rochester - is it a true "campus" there? I know it was the brainchild of Governor Tim Pawlenty. Perhaps a political plum in his eyes? Winning favor in that part of the state? Some sort of U of M operation is in Rochester and it has a tremendous advantage over our Morris. That is because Rochester is foreseen as heading into economic boom times - no overstatement. We're looking at the expansion of the Mayo Clinic. A couple decades of burgeoning growth lies ahead there, at least. 

And UMN-Morris, what about the prospects for our Morris and western Minnesota? Where the coyotes howl at night? Collin Peterson wasn't good enough for us. He simply smiled for a photo next to Nancy Pelosi and poof! His career is ended. I don't see anything so terrible about Nancy Pelosi. 

Wait until the president gets in full command of the Federal Reserve - it's coming - and forces interest rates down against the better judgment of economists. Just wait, catastrophe lies ahead. But yours truly would just be described as a "Trump hater." Or, with "TDS," "Trump Derangement Syndrome," which I prefer spelling out as "Trump Devotion Syndrome." 

I am in quite the minority. I cannot compete with God and Jesus. The Trump supporters proclaim that they are with God and Jesus in all this. Which leaves me destined for hell I guess.

 

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

Lakers streak past Silverstreaks in second half

The Lakers trailed by two points at halftime but surged the rest of the way to achieve yet another win. The game was played at Osakis, home of the "Silverstreaks." Darn, whenever I write about Osakis I have to confirm if "Silverstreaks" is one word or two. It's like "Thunderhawks" for Montevideo. Looks like "Silverstreaks" is one word. I really think it's a neat nickname. 

But it was the Lakers of Minnewaska winning the Tuesday GBB game at Osakis. The final margin was ten, 59-49. So Minnewaska outscored the Silverstreaks 30-18 in an impressive second half. 

Once again, Lauryn Ankeny had a prime role in the success. She put in 17 points. Kendall Danielson also impressed with her 13 points. Here's the rest of the list: Berlynn Green 8, Nori Song 7, Allie Mrnak 5, Olivia Danielson 5 and Alia Randt 4. 

Kendall Danielson led in 3-pointers with her three. Ankeny sank two of these while these teammates each had one: Song, Mrnak and Olivia Danielson. 

Randt topped rebounds with nine while Olivia Danielson had five. Ankeny, Song and Randt each had two assists. Green was the steal leader with eight while Ankeny had three. Green and Aubrey Polzin each blocked a shot. 'Waska upped its season record to 14-2.

 

Boys: Lakers 64, Sauk Centre 53

The home gym was the site for this Laker success on Tuesday. The Laker boys fared much like the girls team, in this case winning by 11. Marc Gruber played like a marquee player with his 24 points. The final score was 64-53 as Minnewaska bested the Streeters of Sauk Centre. 

Like the girls, the 'Waska boys depended on a very strong second half. So the Lakers, who trailed 33-27 at the half, turned on the jets for second half play to achieve a 37-20 scoring advantage. Wow! 

Luke Danielson accounted for 15 of the Lakers' points. Tristan O'Neil put in ten. Other Lakers scoring: Cavin Thorfinnson 5, Caleb Kath 4, Drew Bleick 4 and Connor Erickson 2. 

Gruber got fuel for his team-leading point total with four 3-pointers. O'Neil, Thorfinnson and Danielson each had one '3'. Danielson set the pace in rebounds with nine. And he also topped assists with three. He and Erickson co-led in steals, each with two. Danielson swatted aside two shots. 

The 'Waska boys sport a fine record just like the girls: 8-4.

 

MACA girls: dominating win

The MACA girls game of Tuesday night would normally get the headline for this blog post. I am after all a Morris-oriented person. I live next door to a top MACA player. I am delighted to see the team win as they did on Tuesday. I cannot make this story No. 1 for today's blog post because I lack game data for MACA. You guessed it, I'm relying on the West Central Tribune website. 

So true to form, the opponent gets detailed attention and Morris gets shafted. What a bunch of pissy ants at the West Central Trtibune. The paper is owned by Forum Communications. How much do you wanna bet the Forum holds a grudge against Morris because they had a bad experience owning the Morris newspaper? I'd put my money on that. I hope local fans are hassling them. They give us the score for Tuesday's game, 69-28. 

So it was a romp by my neighbor Addie Cihak and her Tiger teammates over the T-Hawks. A romp. And the WC Trib's article starts out by giving the top Montevideo point scorer. Well congrats to Megan Koosmann who scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Her teammate Jill Magnuson put in 11 points and had seven boards. This is the prime news as reported by the Willmar paper. And it's for the team that got outscored by 41 points!  How about a nice middle finger peace sign for the WC Trib? On and on it goes, it never changes. There was a time when the WC Trib did report on Morris. Something happened. 

Would you believe only three players scored for the T-Hawks? Koosmann and Magnuson were joined by Brooklyn Shourds who scored two points. Koosmann made the only 3-pointer. Magnuson and Koosmann had seven and six rebounds respectively. Magnuson, Koosmann and Brianna Johnson each had one assist. Johnson had two steals. Magnuson and Koosmann each blocked a shot. 

I suppose the MACA coach prepares info and "sends it to the newspaper," the Morris or Stevens County paper. Well fine, and then we have to wait a week to see it in the paper which we have to BUY. People operate on old habits so much. The newspaper is not the default way for things to be reported anymore. We are deep into the Internet age. 

Of course the Morris newspaper has a website. If you have visited there, you know it's futile for finding timely Tiger sports info. If you don't like this state of affairs, say something to the appropriate parties. I imagine they have gotten complaints about the website.

 

Comic relief: A Viking in a bathtub is pursued by ICE officers in Minneapolis! 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwillhy73@yahoo.com 

Five shot blocks by Ankeny in Minnewaska triumph

Lauryn Ankeny supplied lots of fuel in the Minnewaska Area GBB win over Albany on Friday. The Lakers made the trip up I-94 to face the Huskies. And Ankeny was primed to lead the Lakers. This she did with a point output of 20, plus she had ten rebounds, five blocked shots and four steals. She and her Laker mates got the upper hand en route to this 60-44 victory. 'Waska had the halftime advantage 22-14. 

Kendall Danielson was the other double figures point scorer with 12. Allie Mrnak and Berlynn Green showed punch, each with a total of nine. Alia Randt put in five points, Nori Song three and Olivia Danielson 2. 

Sharpshooting from long range was an ingredient in the Lakers' superior sheen of play. Here we see Kendall Danielson and Mrnak each connecting three times from 3-point land. Ankeny had two makes from that distance, Green had one. 

Ankeny with her ten boards was followed in that category by Randt 7, Olivia Danielson 6, Kendall Danielson 5 and Green 5. Ankeny, Green and Song each had two assists. In steals it was Ankeny shining with her four, followed by Green with three. And Ankeny complemented all her other numbers with five blocked shots! Mrnak and Olivia Danielson each blocked one shot. 

All in all quite a display by the Lakers who are now 12-2. they are 4-0 in section, 4-1 in conference, 8-1 as the visitor and 3-1 at home. They won their only neutral court game.

 

Boys: Lakers 72, Eden Valley-Watkins 41

The scoring load was spread around nicely for Minnewaska Area in the boys hoops win on Thursday, 72-41. The list of point scorers had eleven Lakers in this triumph over EV-Watkins at 'Waska. Coach Zach Traphagen was excited about how his team ran the floor. 'Waska was in command halfway through, up 39-20. 

The share-the-wealth plan in scoring was led by Luke Danielson and Caleb Kath each with 12 points. Marc Gruber and Oliver Vanderhagen each came through with ten. Here's the rest: Tristan O'Neil 6, Cavin Thorfinnson 6, Riley Week 6, Marshall Gruber 3, Drew Bleick 3, Connor Erickson 3 and Alan Svec 1. 

Marc Gruber connected twice from 3-point land. Four of his mates connected once: Thorfinnson, Danielson, Marshall Gruber and Kath. 

The rebound leaders were Vanderhagen 9, Kath 7, and Thorfinnson 6. Thorfinnson with his seven assists was team-high. Erickson supplied four assists. Danielson and Bleick each had two steals. O'Neil had a shot block. 

The Lakers upped their record to 7-4. They are 3-2 in league. They have a three-game win streak going.

 

College men: U of Northwestern 88, Cougars 79

So the Cougars actually traveled to the Twin Cities on Saturday? With weather all day appearing rather foreboding? Holy cow I walked into Morris for breakfast in the morning. Yes it was a challenge but I really have heavy-duty outerwear. I had these items in the days when I drove the Morris newspaper van. And I really needed them once. This was when I got stranded in Starbuck. Highway to the west closed! 

So I stayed in the motel and then walked to the Water's Edge for my evening meal. The place was open and there was a small cluster of people present. We must have looked like a scene out of the movie "Fargo." We of course try to look oblivious to the weather. 

I wore all my heavy-duty stuff to get there and back again, including goggles! I have told people I could reach the top of Mount Everest with that outfit! Well that's an exaggeration. Trying to climb Everest is the most foolish thing you can do. I have read extensively about it. 

So the weather was an obstacle for our UMN-Morris Cougars to deal with and overcome. But just think: this past weekend in the Twin Cities and what was happening there! The showdown with ICE. The tension, the danger. Well our Cougars took the floor just fine and played competitive basketball against University of Northwestern. 

What the heck is "University of Northwestern." There's another school I'll have to look up. What do they stand for? 

Carvin Fish

The Cougars came out on the short end in this game played in St. Paul. The score: 88-79. We are now 7-9 in overall and 2-1 in league. The Eagles are below .500 also. 

Carvin Fish led our scoring with his impressive output of 29 points. Kaden Pieper was second-high with 18. Then we see Matt Thompson and Thomas Tiernan both with 14. Tiernan was 4 of 9 in 3-pointers. Thompson was 3 of 10 from beyond the 3-point arc. Thompson was our rebound leader with ten. Gustav Gunderson was our assist leader with five. Fish blocked two shots. Gunderson and LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks IV each had a steal. I prefer just referring to the guy as "LeRoy."

 

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

Ankeny and Randt pace the Lakers' scoring at WCA

The Minnewaska girls basketball team wins in dominating fashion so much of the time. But the Lakers have not been world-beaters. Their ten wins thus far have been offset by two losses. The team cannot rest on its laurels. 

The recent tournament at Fergus Falls showed the Lakers at their best and also with some vulnerability. The "best" was with the 77-41 win over thief River Falls. That was on December 29. On the day after that, the Lakers were humbled by the host Otters of Fergus Falls. The score was 50-39. 

Can the Lakers repeat their fourth place showing in state this time around? Or maybe do even better? Fans will have a lot of fun learning the answer to that question. We're past the holiday season now and the schedule rolls ahead. Since the Fergus Falls tourney the Lakers have played two games. They rolled over Wadena-Deer Creek 69-37 and West Central Area 68-42.

 

Lakers 68, West Central Area 42

This was a matchup of teams of distinction. Both the Lakers and Knights were in last year's state tournament. WCA took No. 1 in Class 'A'. WCA is coached by Morris native Becca Holland. Becca grew up in my former church of First Lutheran. It is questionable to assert that First Lutheran even exists now. But let's not delve into church matters. 

It was 'Waska getting the upper hand over the Knights in the Thursday action at Barrett. 

The West Central Tribune reports that 'Waska took sixth in last year's state tournament. That is wrong. The Lakers were fourth. I covered it in full. Boy, I would not have wanted to make a mistake like that when I was with the Morris newspaper. I'd be called dumb as a pail of rocks. 

WCA stayed pretty close to 'Waska through Thursday's first half. The halftime situation was 'Waska with the modest lead of four points, 29-25. But 'Waska came out charging in second half play to outscore the Knights 39-17. 

The stat report shows two Lakers each putting in 16 points: Lauryn Ankeny and Alia Randt. Just six Lakers scored points. Also in the double figures column were Olicia Danielson with 11 and Berlynn Green with 10. Allie Mrnak and Nori Song scored eight and seven points respectively. 

Five different Lakers made 3-point shots. Here it was Randt leading the way with three makes. Green and Mrnak each made two long-rangers. Danielson and Song each made one. 

Randt led in rebounds with four. Danielson and Song set the pace in assists, each with three. Ankeny was all over the court as usual and led in steals with six. Danielson and Green each had three steals. Four Lakers each blocked a shot: Ankeny, Randt, Danielson and Haillie Schulz. 

The Lakers own a 10-2 record. WCA was left at 6-4.

 

Boys: 'Waska 51, WCA 40

The 'Waska boys had a tandem of senior guards who did a lot to sink the WCA Knights. The score in this 'Waska win was 51-40. Those sharpshooting guards were Marc Gruber and Tristan O'Neil. Both scored 17 points at the Barrett gym. 

WCA owned the one-point edge at halftime, 27-26. The Lakers owned the second half with their 25-13 advantage. Their coach Zachary Traphagen cited three factors lifting his team: defense, freethrow shooting and rebounding. 

Gruber and O'Neil were among just five total point-scorers for the victor. They were joined by Luke Danielson 7, Cavin Thorfinnson 5 and Caleb Kath 5. Gruber, Thorfinnson and Kath each made a 3-pointer. 

Danielson and Kath co-led in rebounds with eight while Gruber grabbed six. Kath dished out three assists. O'Neil had seven steals and Danielson two. O'Neil blocked two shots. Minnewaska owns a 5-4 record.

 

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

2025: Year of the big public library controversy

Casey's in Morris can be a godsend for getting needed food on major holidays like Xmas and New Year's. Now hopefully we're done with holidays for a while. Normal life returns.

Another holiday today (Thursday, Jan. 1) and again I must adjust for trying to get my sustenance for the day. Drove downtown not knowing what to expect. Sure enough, Willie's closed. Sometimes the Caribou kiosk there is a lifesaver when other places are closed. It varies. I wasn't ruling out Willie's or even a restaurant or two being open because New Year's Day is not the hallowed holiday that Christmas Day is. 

The slowdown got a touch worse this past holiday season because of Dean Monson's funeral. That was a hallowed affair. Sure hope Dean is among fellow Republicans in heaven. I'm not sure how many Republicans go to heaven relative to Democrats. RIP Dean Monson. 

So it's New Year's Day and there's one last "refuge" for food I might check out. That has got to be Casey's on the "other side of the tracks" going into west Morris. Doesn't west Morris sometimes seem like a community apart? Park Avenue and Pacific Avenue begin at the same point and "fan out."  As residential development continued, the two streets had to be connected. 

Park Avenue once had a very affluent reputation. I doubt that Pacific Avenue was ever so blessed. Frankly, Pacific has a blighted quality to it. The City of Morris made such a fuss about the old Morris Floral building on Atlantic Avenue. But take a look at the Lembcke Garage property to the north of the Lee Center. Other places along Pacific would appear to be a problem too. 

The City of Morris cannot apply the highest standards on everyone. Heaven help us if they did. 

 

Morris Public Library

A defining tempest for '25

We might remember the year 2025 in this community as the year of the big Morris Public Library dust-up or controversy. Small towns should be careful about the kind of controversies that they allow to develop. Was this one really necessary? 

I couldn't believe my eyes when I first learned from media that there were "allegations of misconduct" about a person who, even if you weren't aligned with her liberal politics, seemed very nice and responsible. "Can it really be?" I asked myself. 

Sometimes in small town life we feel pressure to go along with people in the highest positions of authority. And the city manager would appear to fit the mold for that. The city manager was someone who I'd never met. I was quite familiar with her predecessor Blaine Hill. Wait a minute, I guess we cannot describe him as the predecessor anymore. He's back in the saddle, last I checked. 

My biggest issue with Hill has been over the manner in which the water treatment plant was launched. He and the city council decided that people with "old" water softeners would have to do something about that, and fast, evidently. The council "unanimously passed a law." So just imagine the "Dragnet" theme music in your head for a moment. 

Would law enforcement people show up at my front door? The headline in the newspaper mentioned "old" softeners but don't we need more specific guidance? "Old " does not seem properly precise. I have an "old" riding lawn mower. As long as it starts up in the spring and I can cut grass, I don't care if it's "old." 

My plumber has informed me that the water softener "law" passed by the city council had no teeth. No one was going to get "busted." Since then I have refused to vote for anyone who was associated with that law's passage, mayor included. It should have seemed suspicious that the council did not provide a grace period, or to allow certain existing equipment to be "grandfathered in." 

Here's my bottom line on the subject: until old lead pipes get removed everywhere by act of the government (even the Federal government), we should hold off on "water treatment plants." 

The confusion over our water since the plant started has been upsetting for a lot of people. 

And oh, the library. Good grief, how much taxpayer money was spent on "investigating" the alleged mess there? The librarian ended up surviving, so she must not have done anything egregious. Anything she did wrong really looks like small potatoes. 

In the short term my attitude on the library seemed prudent: go along with the city manager. She out-ranked the librarian, didn't she? Well now I'm not so sure about that. And I have to laugh because in a small town, as many people would have to admit, the people in official positions of power often are not the real decision-makers. There are "shadowy" influences in the background making sure things are done in a certain way. 

 

Case in point: the school

I remember when we had a new superintendent who decided that someone other than Mark Torgerson should be our boys basketball coach. I knew that for a fact because the supt. told me all about it. He is deceased now. He was a very good person but he was not given autonomy. You had to understand about a certain element of the teachers and the various friends they had. Enough hubris to make you lose your cookies. 

Dennis Rettke's choice for coach got vetoed and then legend has it that the coach inquired about the girls coaching job. This was in the days when some might have considered the girls job to be less prestigious than the boys. Oh I've been around a while. 

According to the teachers' contract, the new coach, as a full-time teacher, was entitled to the girls job if he wanted it. He would be replacing a coach who did not have that status, yet. 

But would you believe, the same element of teachers did the arm-twisting again? Ironic, because these were the type of people whom you'd normally assume would follow the letter of their contract.  Quite union-attuned, oriented, to an extent that could make me lose my cookies. 

The new coach got held down again! I began suspecting that all of this was quite irregular. But if I expressed my views, I would have my job endangered. And it did get endangered. I was fortunate to survive the rough waters, sort of. I had a career of 27 years. 

The new coach eventually got the girls job after the board was forced to take a vote which was mixed. The lobbyists for the incumbent coach got ahold of Neil Schmidgall, the way it appeared. But the vote went against the incumbent coach. I was rather surprised that she even wanted to keep the job. 

So the new coach moved in and had a decent start before suspicious things started happening. He had finally succumbed to expedience because of pressures from the element of teachers/friends that I have been alluding to. 

All this for sports! Supposedly those teachers liked to lecture us on how sports does not have supreme importance and that those who prioritize being competitive are Neanderthal, to be teased/condemned. But boy they sure fell on their sword when it came to coaching appointments. You can surmise by now that my attitude toward them is denigrating. 

I will regret forever that we never got a chance to see what the new coach could do if he had gotten a head basketball appointment right away. I checked recently and found that this individual ended up with a quite excellent education career at another community. He appeared to be quite respected and beloved. So I'm happy about that. 

 

Landing on her feet 

I'm happy for librarian Anne Barber even though she got dragged through a hellish mess in which she had to hire a lawyer. She risked having her reputation tarnished forever. I mean, she came close. She waged a successful battle whereas her antagonist city manager seems to have vanished. Now Blaine is back. 

Would Blaine have handled any library problems more sensibly and quietly? Rhetorical question. Peaceful life has appeared to be restored in Morris. You just never know what is going to happen.

 

Chris Baxter today

Addendum: Shall I name-drop? The coach who Dennis Rettke brought here with big things in mind was Chris Baxter. Baxter engineered the big turnaround in girls sports with the job he did with MAHS volleyball in 1987. He came here from the Cyrus school. I was well familiar with him from his Cyrus days as I covered that for the Morris paper. Torgerson had a bumpy first year as boys basketball coach but everyone realized it was not his fault. He inherited a terrible situation. We might ask "why was that allowed to happen?" Well I'm too exhausted to blog any more this morning. 

"There's a million stories in the naked city."

   

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