Day the "Chase" music died in Jackson County

It's in southern Minnesota.

My recent writing about Jackson County reminded me of a tragedy from music history. So it's pop music or to be more precise, jazz-rock. A cutting edge performer in the field was Bill Chase. He played his trumpet in big bands like Woody Herman before forging his own identity. Not sure he really became a household name. I was sure rooting for him. 

I was not present for the one time he played in Morris. The concert made one impression, according to the people I talked with later. "Loud!" Well it was fashionable in those times of the early '70s. Music was "cool" if it was loud. This in the judgment of my boomer generation. 

Seems strange: wanting to hear live music or a recording played so loud, it was uncomfortable to listen to. Bill Chase had sensitivity to the prevailing standards. So he "cranked it up" with the volume in his appearance in the early '70s. We might have forgotten how a premium was placed on sheer volume. 

Legend has it regarding the Chase performance in Morris, about half the crowd left during a break, so off-put they were by the volume. Such a shame because Chase's artistry was top-notch. He had carved out a new type of sound with a unique instrumentation to boot. 

Trumpets! Yes this group was a celebration of the trumpet. Nothing subtle about the instrument! This was Bill's "axe." He had a full trumpet section with him. The group had a vocalist that fit right in with the gravelly sound of some top male vocalists of the time. Think Kenny Rogers along with the group "Blood, Sweat and Tears." But "Chase" was not really derivative. 

Jackson County was where it all came to an end. I wrote about the place recently because of our Morris boys basketball team playing Jackson County Central in the section tournament. The game was in fact for the section championship. And the game was played down south too at Southwest State in Marshall. 

Our basketball team alas came out on the losing end. So the JCC Huskies advanced. And in state they lost to Albany, in fact got demolished by Albany. (Albany too is the "Huskies.") A major irony or surprise is that our Tigers had beaten Albany in the regular season. Go figure comparative scores. 

 

Bill Chase's third album

Tragedy 

Bill Chase was working on a fourth studio album in 1974 when he was en route to a performance at the Jackson County Fair. Shudder, his name was added to the list of musicians who were ill-fated because of plane travel. His life was taken in a crash of a Piper Twin Comanche. Bill was 39 years old. Three of his group members were on board and they died too. So did the pilot and co-pilot. 

 

Innovation in music 

The "Chase" group had its start in 1971. Bill established a style that had pop, rock and blues. Four trumpeters were featured and they often played "cascading notes." Truly that was the trademark. If there is one tune you are likely to remember, it is "Get It On." Our high school jazz band in Morris under John Woell even played this. Why, I believe yours truly was in the trumpet section so I can tell you where the auditorium was. It was the auditorium of our old school which no longer stands. 

Chase's trumpet players were capable singers and they arranged music. The group's instrumental makeup was considered unorthodox. On came G.G. Shinn as vocalist. Del Sarlette and yours truly had the opportunity in 2007 to meet and talk with Shinn at a Chase reunion event in St. Paul. I'm happy to recall that my fellow 1973 Morris High School graduate Mike Eul was at the performance too. Actually I gave Mike the "tip" on this. Mike played trumpet and was quite enamored with Chase back in the day. 

The reunion concert included "alums" of the group who were not on the plane that went down. The group did total justice to Chase's vision and standards The performance was at the Minnesota Music Cafe in St. Paul. "Where the food is great and the music's always cookin.' " 

 

A mega story 

And it might have been a joy all the way around. But there was a major tragedy in the Twin Cities that night. This was when the bridge fell into the Mississippi River. It was a major story but it did not dampen the reunion. Del and I called home upon arrival to assure our family members we were OK. We did not cross the bridge in question. 

Jane Sassenfeld (nee Larson) who was a '73 MHS grad like Mike and I, had some serendipity that may have saved her life. But the musicians in the Chase event seemed totally focused on their music revival mission. This you can sense from the event videos on YouTube. Del, Mike and yours truly were seated just a few feet from the stage. 

Overhead TV screens gave us the live picture of news coverage of the bridge disaster. It commanded all media attention. Of course we couldn't hear anything because of the concert! So you might wonder, was this performance annoyingly loud like (considering the legend) the long-ago event in Morris? Well I would say no. There was a real sense of climax when the group concluded with the hit "Get It On." Talk about cascading trumpets! It was a signature sound, indeed. 

Cover of the first (vinyl) "Chase" album

Why did my generation feel it so important or "cool" to have music set so loud? (This was years before the expression or joke "take it up to eleven," popularized by the faux group "Spinal Tap.") Well, when I was young the capacity of "stereo speakers" to generate high volume depended on the money you were willing to spend. "Loud" speakers with a minimum of "distortion" were a status symbol! You had to spend money and then impress your friends with the loudness. 

Remember the talk about "woofers" and "tweeters?" 

As the years passed we got the "unplugged" movement which was a withdrawal from full-on volume. Music did not have to be loud, it just had to be good. Makes too much sense maybe. I think the advent of CD quality sound meant a lot. Just relax and listen to perfect quality sound and forget about the volume. I remember buying a Paul McCartney "unplugged" CD. 

 

Oh my, "what if?" 

What would Bill Chase have done as the years passed? Jazz fans can get engrossed in the question. He had genius quality. He could not complete his fourth album but others came along to do it for him. Without Bill the album had no meaningful potential. But it was a labor of love, done on principle. Of course we could cry as we wonder how Bill would have packaged it. 

And then, what musical ventures would have lay ahead for him? Death is absolute finality. Just like with John Lennon leaving us. Before him, Buddy Holly and others. Amen to the wisdom of the late John Madden of football: "Just stay on the ground." 

I was up on a small plane just once with a well-known crop-duster guy. I was with our Morris newspaper and I took the short flight with some female pork royalty candidates. So I took a photo to give a little "pub" (publicity). In those days pork royalty was assumed to be female. I do remember the pilot's name: Gary Oleen. Obviously there's a system where the doors are securely locked! 

Remember when our U.S Senator Paul Wellstone and his wife died in a plane crash? I remember being at Quinco Press in Lowry when news of that broke. We can all imagine the horror of the final moments. 

 

Enjoy, don't emulate! 

Bill Chase played the trumpet in a way that you would not encourage for high school kids. The style is often described as "scream trumpet." And who was more famous with this than Maynard Ferguson? Chase played in Ferguson's band for a time in fact. And I heard Maynard and his band at Southwest State in the early '80s. 

I have cited the coincidence of the bridge collapsing on the same night as the Chase reunion concert. Here's another coincidence that goes further back: On the day of the plane crash, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency, August 9, 1974. I was in St. Cloud at the time. 

The 1974 "Pure Music" album included the tune "Run Back to Mama," judged so misogynistic by 2007 standards it was not considered for the reunion concert (according to scuttlebutt I picked up). Society evolves. Which is why, the movie "Revenge of the Nerds" seems to have all but disappeared. But what about the old Native American stereotypes in Western movies? 

 

left to imagine 

What would Bill Chase be doing today? What would John Lennon be doing today? Jim Croce? Time is money for pop musicians - air travel is tempting. We saw the Hank Williams character in the movie "The Last Ride" arrange a risky small plane trip. Plane flew just above a storm. The actor Jesse James played Williams' driver, remember? At the end, Hank bequeathed his Cadillac to the young man. Fred Thompson played Hank's manager.

 

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

A touching start to this memorial event

"Jurgs"

Priceless how Fr. Schneider began the final rites for Chris Juergensen yesterday (Thursday). Many people including many young people were present for the event at the funeral home. Fr. Schneider started off the ceremony by saying "are there any sports fans here?" "Jurgs" was part of the local sports scene lifelong. His enthusiasm included UMM in a big way. 

It won't be the same with "Jurgs" no longer seen around the community. The time came when he started using a cane. I have noticed that with more and more of my old acquaintances. Knock on wood re. the possibility that time might come for yours truly. My late father never took to using a cane or a walker. People are different. 

It is unfortunate that at age 71 I have to monitor the obituaries regularly. My family came here in 1960 or '61. We did rent a place in Starbuck on Lake Minnewaska for a few months before settling in "Motown." So I remember the "stuffed animals" at the laudromat in Starbuck! We came to these parts because of the historic launching of the U of M-Morris. 

I remember watching basketball at the old "P.E. Annex," no longer standing of course. St. Cloud State had a building like this, "Eastman Hall," which got renovated instead of torn down. I assume you've heard in the news that a substantial portion of the St. Cloud campus is set to be demolished including some buildings that surprise me. I believe they are still waiting for the money. 

Speaking of waiting for the money, is our Congress going to disgorge significant funds for this treacherous "war effort" abroad? The government will always say there are reasons for a war. So the new disgorgement is $200 billion? The Persia interests may have a strategy as they've done before of dragging us into conflicts that damage our economy. Spending $ on the war only drains us. 

Can't everyone agree that it is odd that our president had a major campaign priority of "no new Mideast wars?" If you are a Trump supporter - odds are high that you are, out here in western MN - can't you agree with me that it is odd or even mistaken? I expected our congressperson Michelle Fischbach in her latest email dispatch to emphasize the need to support the war effort. No such mention. 

The Trump people - certainly Fischbach is one - usually sing in unison. 

Sports is an opiate that diverts our attention from such things. It's an opiate to keep us from feeling down because of the daily headaches of life. Of course that's the glass-half-empty assessment. I grew up during Vietnam so I plead with you to understand how I can express such an attitude. 

Trump is profoundly troubling. On so many levels. But compare our current state of affairs to when young men were drafted and sent to Vietnam. We are so fallible as a human species. 

 

SDSU in the NCAAs today (Friday)

Go "Jacks!" 

I just noticed there is a basketball game that we should be paying attention to today (Friday). Today we should all be cheering for the "Jackrabbits." Boy I laughed the first time when hearing that nickname. It was on my car radio. "Jackrabbits" is the nickname for South Dakota State University. 

Institutions like SDSU were considered quite second-tier when I was young, but boy they can be competitive with the big boys today. But I'm not talking boys right now, I'm talking girls. Actually "women" as the SDSU Jackrabbit women of hoops are set to play in the most prestigious college event. It's time for the "NCAAs." 

And SDSU is right in there albeit as a pretty big underdog today. They are seeded 11th and will play No. 6 Washington at 1:30 p.m. Well I'll certainly have fingers crossed for an upset! I am acquainted with a current SDSU student. Campus is in Brookings SD. 

I remember when I was with the Morris newspaper, someone wrote a letter to the editor quite strongly making the point that Brookings was more welcoming to its student population than our UMN-Morris. I am hopeful that the local climate is changing on this front. And I really think it is. 

For much of its history, UMM has not been the most happy place. It has been oddball in certain ways and this has to end. 

 

Bolstering its future (hopefully)

I implore you 

I am overdue in making the following suggestion but I will lay it out: UMM does not need a "student newspaper." The paper through the years has been far more trouble than it is worth. It has done anything but prompt a smile on so many occasions. It is not needed for any "democratic" ideal. 

Student-run publications should not seek the shield of the "First Amendment" for anything they do. If they are not serving a constructive purpose for the campus, they should disappear. A student-run newspaper is run by a group of students who may not be representative of the campus with their outlook or personality. Ax-grinding sometimes arises. 

And it has made wider the cultural gap between the campus and community. If UMM is to survive at all - yes we need to worry - well that gap needs to be tamped down or eliminated. 

The new chancellor in whom I place faith has stressed how he is going to be talking to public school leaders in this part of the state to see how UMM is perceived and how the image can be made more agreeable for kids out here. I already know some of the things he is going to hear. Don't make me spell it all out right now. The kids and their families out here believe in personal modesty and a sense of decorum that departs from what UMM has exuded all along. 

Is there time to make repairs? Well I'm not sure there is. We can hope. I won't say "hope and pray." But if you want, you can pray for the Jackrabbits of SDSU right now! 

It was nice to see Chris Juergensen "Jurgs" get such a nice send-off to heaven on Thursday. We'll never forget the guy.

 

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

A team that still has "Witts" about them!

Mason Witt ("Voice of Alexandria" image)

Alexandria is up with the "big dogs" now. By that I mean they're in with the state's largest schools in Minnesota's four-class system. 

We're really in prime basketball season now. Many teams have been forced to step aside like our Tigers here in Morris. An undefeated regular season was not enough to get our orange and black to the big show of state. You might say "many are called, few are chosen." 

The MACA boys and girls are done and now they're fans like the rest of us. The boys were stopped by Jackson County Central on Thursday. A stunning outcome for the MACA fan faithful to accept, to be sure. Adding insult to injury, the fans had to make the long trip back from Marshall after the 8 p.m. contest. This with the taste of having lost so fresh. 

Alexandria was the state champion last year in the AAA world. Those schools are relatively big. It must say something about the booming development of Alex that the prepsters are in AAAA. And they are doing quite fine competitively speaking. 

 

Morris ties 

There's a big reason for Morris area fans to show an interest in Alexandria. The "Witt" name remains prominent over there in Cardinal country. Don't y'all remember Jerry Witt as coach of our football team? And his sons as such athletically gifted kids? How can we forget the names Zachary, Forrest and Taylor from years gone by? I remember them as little kids too. 

My, today there's a new generation of Witts turning heads in sports! And yes my hair has turned white. But I'm still doing sportswriting just like I did when the Witts were in Morris. You've heard the lyrics "rock 'n roll is here to stay, it will never die?" You can substitute my name for "rock 'n roll." I think Jerry would laugh about this thought. Jerry played with the UMM football team during that program's 1970s heyday. 

Last year I wrote quite a bit about the Alexandria Cardinals in post-season. I wrote about both the boys and girls. The girls team had Morris connections too. 

 

Touching all bases 

I have been advised that when I write about the athletic genes in the Witt family, I should not overlook the genes provided by Jerry's wife Holly! Actually I never did know her birth/maiden name. Well no problem, fair request. 

Alexandria "Cardinals"

Here's what's going on right now: The Alex boys are in the state tournament thanks to their win at the home gym over Elk River. Yes, not a neutral location. Alex had the top seed, Elk River was No. 3. The Thursday action ended with the Cardinal red triumphant, score of 64-58. So the Cards took the 8-4A title. 

I'm old enough to remember covering some games at the "old" Alex High School. I remember going there to cover the Chokio-Alberta boys. Today C-A has joined in with Morris Area. I think the partnership started when Jerry was still football coach. 

We could have used the C-A boys all through the years. Getting the partnership cemented was a long and pretty arduous process with fits and starts. I remember when C-A tried to set up their own junior varsity basketball schedule when they were not entitled to do that! Oh, and I even remember the short-term pairing of C-A with Clinton-Graceville. The "CACG Thunder." Yes, that registers. 

We have now gotten past small town politics. I got too close to that at times, alas. Could be pretty ugly. I think the state should have moved in and taken charge more often, frankly. Remember how Dawson-Boyd came close to joining the new Lac qui Parle venture? And then they bowed out and ended up being thankful for that? 

Today I am of the view that the MACA programs should just be changed to "Morris" for everyone's convenience. No one should be offended by that. Do you think anyone cares anymore if Cyrus has "town identity?" No. It's a small community that is quiet and safe, just the way people want it. I'm old enough that I covered graduations at Cyrus High School along with some "Panthers" sports events. Oh yes I did. 

There was a period of time when Cyrus was competitive with Morris in basketball! Oh yes it was. And I scratched my head quite a bit. 

 

Distant but striking memory 

I remember publishing a photo of one of the Cyrus Solvie boys with a banner recognizing a career scoring milestone. He was joined in the photo by cheerleaders, everyone all happy, and I thought: "This photo represents a set of wholesome traditional values that the Morris school does not really like." And I assure you, my judgment on this was totally on the nose. 

Eventually we got more accountability for the Morris school. A struggle had to happen first. We had to overcome the avant garde "academic" crowd of Morris. The positive forces eventually won. And who would be against that? Well, mostly a group of teachers/employees within the system that were self-interested and entitled-feeling. They had bought into the avant garde stuff when it was in vogue in the 1970s. The crazy 1970s. 

 

Mason Witt's hot hand 

Mason Witt and Talan Witt play for the Alexandria Cardinals. Not brothers, rather they're cousins. Mason hit a deep 3-pointer to start Alex's scoring on Thursday. This was the first of four straight 3's that he hit. Talan made a layup as part of a 10-2 run by the Cards. 

Elk River kept the game close. Alexandria was triumphant in the end.  More headlines coming for the Alex boys now. Their luster remains bright in the Class AAAA firmament. Our MACA boys are AA. 

A check of the Alex roster shows the name "Scholl" as in Blake Scholl, another Morris connection. Blake is the son of Heather (nee) Lucken and grandson of Bev Kieffer who was known as Bev Lucken when in Morris. Bev was on the school board. She had to deal with some of the unpleasantness as Morris got certain things straightened out. We're talking approximately the year 1988. Our high school principal took over as chief sportswriter for the Morris newspaper. If that sounds strange to you, well it was strange. The school needed a real PR person. And I've never been a PR person. I am a Watergate era writer. 

 

Mason Witt is a captain of the Cards. He became the school's all-time leading scorer midway through this season. Is the "Witt" name German? Those people are competitive by nature as we saw in World War Two.

 

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

Crowded restaurant shows things going well

More new snow on the ground this morning (Wednesday). It's biscuits and gravy morning at DeToy's Restaurant and I had mine. It was also a day for the Missouri Synod Lutherans to gather there in the dining room. Seems like a weekly thing. 

Wow, I was impressed by the land office business being done at DeToy's this morning. It would appear quite the positive indication for the Morris economy. Are we really a refuge from all the "Gotham City" problems of the big city now? Well it would appear so. And we have chosen Republican politicians to lead us including the guy at the top. The guy elected to keep us out of new Mideast wars. 

Now that he has gone totally against that credo, and just kept America up to the norm, are his followers having second thoughts about him? Frankly I wouldn't want to bring up the subject with the morning male patrons of DeToy's. Man, if our friend Dean Monson was still alive, I'm quite certain we'd hear no skeptical word from him. Not about Trump or the Republicans. 

And we have a real full-fledger on the Republican side of the ledger with our congressperson. That's Michelle Fischbach. So loyal, even though Trump has shown a pattern of disrespecting women. Well, he was found responsible in a legitimate legal proceeding for committing sexual assault. And Judge Kaplan has suggested that Trump escaped the most serious judgment of "rape" only on a technicality in New York state law. It was rape. Now it only seems like a "process" story in the news - the term that journos and pols use to describe a passing story, one that blows over. Rape. 

The killing of so many by a U.S. Tomahawk missile in Iran that struck a girls school. Looks like another "process" story. Let DJT try to minimize it or mislead us by saying it was the work of Iran. It obviously was not. And we just sit out here in West Central Minnesota and take it. 

 

Changed impressions

So many things are going well for us compared to the situation in the big cities like our Twin Cities. When I was young the big cities were "cool" and the small towns were backward and shallow. It is certainly nice that our small communities have been lifted up - a real blessing. But why can't more of us be enlightened on the big picture stuff? 

Why do we file into church pews on Sunday with determination to affirm Trump and Republicans as our nation's leaders and example-setters? Historically speaking, the guy who was really responsible for this was Jerry Falwell. 

 

Ahem. . .

At this point in this post I shall change the subject. In saying that I expect people to applaud like when Ed McMahon used to say "I hold in my hand the last envelope." You do remember "Carnac the Magnificent" maybe? I'm age 71 and such memories remain well-ensconced in my head. Like of Bob Uecker saying "I must be in the front row." A Miller Lite commercial of course from the days when social drinking was quite accepted. 

 

Basketball euphoria here 

As I write this it is mid-March. A blend of good and sad news is the backdrop as it always is. Right now we have the local "mania" of a fantastic high school basketball team. Many of us are pretty consumed by this. 

For many of us it really has no connection to our lives. I remember when I was with the Morris paper and we had a consultant visit us. I saw part of his final report and he cautioned us on paying so much attention to high school sports. He cautioned "the interest is limited." You know, I suspected that all along. Seems like it's just part of small community culture to have a local newspaper that amplifies youth sports out of proportion. 

The people who are relatively uninterested do not assert themselves to the newspaper. But, the ones who are hugely interested? Emotionally interested? My God these people assert themselves until hell won't have it. The papers cannot ignore the loudest voices. Let's just make that our little secret. 

Nevertheless, we really truly want the MACA boys basketball team to do well on Thursday. I should emphasize "Thursday night." Indeed, it's a night game set to start at 8 p.m. My God, and the folks are going to have to drive home from Marshall after the game. Please consider checking into a motel instead. 

The fans don't even have the ease of using an Interstate highway. I remember driving to Mankato one year for the state softball tournament and I had to have a road map on the seat next to me. 

Seriously, be careful everyone. Don't rely on "No-Doz" if that product still exists. Steve Sack the great Star Tribune cartoonist liked to work in "No-Doz" with some of his panels. I got to meet Steve when he was a student at the U of M-Twin Cities. 

Our Tigers are going to play Jackson County Central. Having researched the JCC Huskies, looks like they are a team capable of doing damage. 

 

Chris Juergensen

Chris Juergensen RIP 

A note of sadness for fans of the Tigers and Cougars now: the passing of Chris Juergensen. "Juergs." Man, I talked with him 2-3 times in the recent past at the concourse level of the P.E. Center during Cougar basketball. Was stunned to learn he had left us. He was always a reliable fan of youth sports in Morris. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has had the thought that it would be nice if Cougar basketball players could be present for his final rites. 

It's hard to feel cheer about the kind of weather that marks St. Patrick's Day. Nature has not yet awoken. Everything is brown. I was discussing this with Sharon Martin out along the biking/talking trail a couple days ago. Sharon was babysitting the Rambows' dog and the dog accompanied her. She let him loose to come and greet yours truly. I was already acquainted with the dog. The Rambows used to be my neighbors up on Northridge Drive. We're out by the soils lab. "Semi-rural." 

Sharon runs the bakery at Willie's these days. The Iran war will have the effect of rising grocery prices and actually prices of everything. But can I get the Trump supporters to back off on their devotion to Trump? No way. 

Blasphemy IMHO

On Easter all the "Christians" will be flocking to their churches not only out of devotion to Christ and the gospel, but to Donald Trump. It's the way it is. I will condemn the USA for what we have done in Iran. Jesus would condemn us too. You all are lemmings.

 

Addendum: Re. the Missouri Synod Lutherans, is it true that they can only take communion in a Missouri Synod church and in no others? And you wonder why young people get alienated by organized religion? 

 

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

News and weather on day of big Tiger game

Still standing after all these years: the Drudge Report. Maybe you don't remember how this journalistic enterprise really found its footing because of Clinton/Lewinsky. 

Clinton/Lewinsky? You remember, right? Ah how time passes by. 

I have read recently that young people just want to moan when the Clintons surface in the news for any reason. It's all "old news" in their minds. So Hillary testified just recently. And for the record, she (and her fellow attorneys) performed masterfully to obliterate what the Jim Jordan types wanted to do. Or I guess James Comer, the wind-up toy that seeks to attack the Dems as his raison d'etre. That's "raison" with an "o." It is not a breakfast cereal. 

People in media have to be fascinated by the sheer staying power of the Drudge Report. Adding to this fascination is how the site's appearance has not changed through the years and is so beautifully simple. That's because really solid journalism can "sell itself." 

We are used to seeing media websites go through cosmetic changes - what they'd call upgrades - in a shallow effort. Or with newspapers the godawful "re-design" as we saw touted here in Morris when the newspaper was under Forum Communications ownership. The Forum is a very shallow company that will chase any "trend" that pops up. They chased after this stuff until they pulled up stakes and left Morris. Hey, wasn't the "re-design" good enough? 

Very well-grounded legend has it that the Forum was going to close the Morris paper. I got that background from a very well-placed source or friend. A new owner did come upon the scene. Wearing a hero's mantle I guess. Perhaps wearing a cape. Small towns are  notable for how they can anoint heroes (and proclaim villains). 

The Forum would have been proclaimed a villain but they weren't even around anymore. You knaves, they are just a typical Machiavellian enterprise. They shed yours truly at one time. It was in 2006. But of course we learn about the decline spasms of print media all the time. Maybe not disappearing but certainly consolidating. And is it toward true betterment? 

 

News on the Tigers 

How up-to-date is the Morris paper's coverage of our boys basketball team right now? It is Saturday as we deal with a new onslaught of weather that has no redeeming qualities. I'll bet the highways have an uneven surface - not pleasant to deal with. 

And on this day the Tiger faithful will have to travel to Marshall, quite far to the south of here. And we're playing Minnewaska Area. It's a fur piece for the 'Waska fans to travel too. Oh, my kingdom to see this game played at the UMM P.E. Center in Morris! A win-win for everyone. But, the setup is arranged long in advance, and high-level tournament games have been set for Southwest State of Marshall for a long time now. 

Sorry, I cannot claim to have ever attended a sports event at SSU. I did attend a music concert there once: Maynard Ferguson in the early 1980s, packed house, super night. 

 

Query 

I have wondered how many Morris fans actually attend the games at SSU this time of year. I doubt that we see the kind of mass turnout that I remember so well from when our UMM was a hub for this. 

Oh, I remember so well during the Kevin Loge days when the Concordia Fieldhouse was really jammed with fans. And I loved the Polish sausage served at the place! Sorry but I don't really know the level of fan turnout today for the same events. 

A friend of mine did offer something on this: he said that parents nowadays are divided into so many activities, we're less likely to see the mass turnout. That sounds very valid. 

Do I miss the "old days?" Let me say that I do miss the greater number of tournament games played right here in Morris at UMM. The big change happened, as I recall, when the big shift was made to the 4-class system for basketball. At that time, we saw the introduction of the terms "sub-section" and "section" to replace "district" and "region." 

 

Some hazard? 

I am concerned about the long trips fans have to make, especially when the games are at night. Really, someone could get in an accident because of getting drowsy at the wheel. I shudder as I worry about this. But today (Saturday) the starting time is in the afternoon for the Tigers' tournament game against Minnewaska Area. 

Frankly the Tigers look like the prohibitive favorite. Sometimes I think the travel is a dubious thing when the outcome of a game would appear obvious. This can happen when No. 1 seed plays No. 8. In hockey this can actually get sad. I remember when MACA basketball was the No. 1 seed hosting Paynesville the No. 8 and we lost! As the great Chris Berman of ESPN is known to say, "that's why they play the game." Coach Mark Torgerson survived that embarrassment as coach. 

Today there is a different Torgerson with the reins as coach. And my goodness, the Tigers are undefeated! Well, have a good time at the game today you all. You had better drive carefully. 

 

O captain, my captain

Now, let's take a look at the Drudge Report on this dreary yucky Saturday. Here's a link to an article that starts out: "Donald Trump is alleged to have sexually assaulted a woman while she was a minor." 

The legal record already shows that Trump engaged in sexual assault vs. E. Jean Carroll. We have chosen this man as our president.

Remember when we were supposed to have some concern about Ronald Reagan because he had been divorced? Many of us should now wonder if Trump is the biggest douchebag of a human being we've ever seen. But so many "Christians" hold him up like he's deity.

 

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

Tigers take it up to eleven vs. New London-Spicer

Here we are in the heart of basketball mania season. My, how we can get consumed by this for several weeks! It doesn't take such a big toll on me because I do not attend many games. Give me credit, please, for attending some of the UMM Cougar games. Unfortunately these teams had no post-season run. 

I will be redundant here and say I wish our UMM teams could play Northern Sun again. A lot of us are probably forgetting about those days. It got unpleasant toward the end as we could not be competitive. We took our pill of falling down to the UMAC. I resisted showing interest for years and then I finally capitulated. 

I found it quite enjoyable attending the games although I walked away from the last one - the men's playoff game - because the ticket price for seniors had doubled. Well, isn't that the way everything is going these days? When will we start acting like we are getting fed up with it? The new war with Iran is only going to increase the cost of living more. 

God is going to punish the U.S. for what it is doing. And I think of all the Trump supporters filling the pews of certain local churches, a majority of them really. The ones who are not in line with that are fading fast like our local First Lutheran and Federated churches. Sad to see but it's reality. 

There are parts of the New Testament that the "conservative" pastors do not quote from. If they do, the hardened MAGA types will stand up and walk out immediately. There were times when Jesus Christ could sound like Bernie Sanders. I can just hear Trump insulting Sanders with his usual language. Find a personal angle and rub it in: that's what Trump does. I personally think we should all just start laughing at him. 

I don't go to any church now - it is counterproductive. But I do pay attention to basketball. Basketball ought to be considered America's prime sport. So many advantages: highly entertaining to watch, all played indoors away from the vagaries of weather, and less injury risk compared to other sports (certainly football). 

 

Expected outcome 

So right now early in March it is prime hoops season and we are appropriately mesmerized. I opened my laptop early this morning fully expecting to learn that the MACA boys had dismantled, dismembered as it were, New London-Spicer in 3AA play. Well of course that's what happened! 

I looked immediately to an online source that I figured would tell me something about the game. Any suggestions? I knew the West Central Tribune website could fill in some blanks. But the WC Trib is not prepared, yet, to start getting quotes from our coach Torgerson. I thought they would have turned the page by now. But no. We are still being treated as second-class by this newspaper. 

The article this morning does quote the NL-Spicer coach. No quotes from our coach Torgerson, despite the fact Torgerson's team virtually walloped the Wildcats of NL-Spicer. 69-37. Wow, look at that margin of victory! 

There is one sign of progress from the Willmar newspaper. For this game, for the first time all season I believe, it has the thorough stat summary for MACA in the boxscore. Up to now we've seen one of two things: "stats not available" for MACA, or just the individual scoring totals and 3-point shooting. Our opponents get the thorough treatment. 

How good do we have to be to get the WC Trib's attention? In the old days the paper was pretty nice to us. And then, thud! Meanwhile our own Morris newspaper went from publishing twice a week to once. And Brett Miller left the radio station.

 

Tigers 69, NL-Spicer 37

Fans made the trip to Willmar for this 3AA-North playoff game. Obviously the Tigers were seeded No. 1. We have yet to lose all season. The Wildcats of NL-Spicer were in the No. 4 position. Not much chance for a close ballgame. 

We're now in the 3AA-North finals. And we'll face Minnewaska Area next. 'Waska has the No. 3 seed. We might moan as we realize we now have to make the fairly long trip to Marshall. So we'll play the Lakers at SSU's R/A Facility on Saturday at 2:30. At least the game is not at night. I get concerned about fans having to make the long drive home late at night. 

I remember the days when many games at this level were played here in Morris at the P.E. Center. Fading memories I guess. 

The West Central Tribune article this morning quotes NL-S coach Jeff Paffrath. He makes the rather bizarre comment: "This game didn't show it, but Morris/CA is obviously very good." Holy mackerel, guy, your team lost by 32 points. And the paper can't get a quote out of coach Torgerson? 

The WC Trib also quotes Wildcat player Griffin Thompson. 

The game began with Wildcat Zachary Lageson making a 3-pointer. Then the hammer came down on the Wildcats. MACA went on a 14-point run! OK so we see Alex Asmus finishing the game with 19 points. Riley Asmus put in 13 and Jack Kehoe 12. Here's the others: Tyson Grove 8, Ben Tiernan 6, Tanner Friesen 4, Jonah Huebner 4 and Bryce Hardy 3. 

Five different Tigers made 3-point shots led by Alex Asmus with three. Grove and Tiernan each made two while Riley Asmus and Kehoe each made one. Kehoe was tops in rebounds with seven. Riley Asmus contributed two assists. He also stole the ball five times. Kehoe and Huebner each blocked a shot. 

So thanks to the WC Trib, I guess, for having all stat categories included, probably for the first time all season. Winning brings attention I guess. I think Schweiter Chevrolet would like to see Morris getting a little more attention there.

 

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

NL-Spicer overcomes injury-burdened Minnewaska

They keep the NL-Spicer tradition going!

Morris was a hub for important post-season basketball play on Thursday. The prepsters took to the court at our U of M-Morris. I still call it the P.E. Center but I guess it's "Cougar Sports Center." The court is named for James Gremmels. Ah, the memories that yours truly has of covering important high school sports at the place. 

Sorry, I did not attend Thursday night. I would have rooted for the Minnwaska Area Lakers. Their foe was the dynastic New London-Spicer Wildcats. Year after year the NL-S girls program excels. The coach at the center of this: Mike Dreier. 

'Waska entered this game with a very competitive reputation. Those Lakers were fourth in state last season. They were bound to show poise. Poise or no, they could not come up with winning form vs. coach Dreier's juggernaut. So in the end it was the Wildcats of New London-Spicer on top in this 3AA-North finals game. The score: 59-45. 

So it's on to the section title game for the NL-Spicer crew. There they will face Fairmont from down by the Iowa border. The site will be Southwest State University in Marshall, the "R/A Facility." Fairmont is known as the "Cardinals." They defeated St. James convincingly 71-47 to reach the next rung. 

NL-Spicer is zeroing in on trying to make "The big dance" of state. What a glittering W/L mark the Wildcats have: 28-1! Game-time next Thursday is 8 p.m. Wow, that's pretty late. I hate to see such a late time when many of the fans might have a long drive home at night. Why can't the game be played earlier? 

 

Lakers made a bid

Fans at our UMM gym saw the 'Waska Lakers keep things interesting even if the lead was elusive. The score stood 39-37 with 'Waska just a hair's breadth away. The time remaining was 8:37. This was the high water mark for the Lakers. 

Oh my, the Lakers were without the services of senior Alia Randt, whose name I have typed often this season. This had to hurt. Randt was out with a knee injury. An additional burden fell on star Lauryn Ankeny. Lauryn played throughout. Perhaps a fatigue factor held back the Lakers in the end. But give credit to the Wildcats, that's for sure. 

The situation was grim for 'Waska at halftime as they trailed 34-15. The Lakers outscored the Wildcats the rest of the way, 30-25. The hole was too deep. 

I wasn't at the game so I don't know if the bleachers were pulled out on both sides. Only one side is used for UMM games, a situation I don't really like. I covered sports there for years when both sides was the assumed norm. UMM played in the Northern Sun Conference. Perhaps there's no way that the Cougars will ever make it back to that level. 

I argue that the U of M is a powerful institution that ought to be able to lift up its Morris branch. In fact, I always used to hear that the MIAC did not want us because that league feared the U's assets vs. the private schools. Today there is angst about UMM's ability to even survive. We saw the abrupt announcement of the change in chancellors midway through the school year. The U would not have done this if there were not some alarm bells ringing. 

 

MN versus Feds 

Right now my angst is increased by what is happening with Minnesota vs. the Federal government. First it was the ICE crackdown that disrupted the state so badly. And right at the present, it's the punitive withholding of Medicaid funds. This is primarily about politics, the fact that our state will not bend the knee to Donald Trump. We continue having Democrats in key leadership positions. 

Can we count on our own congressperson to be an advocate for us now? I mean to appeal to the Feds or even issue a protest or dissent? We need this now. But our congressperson Michelle Fischbach is totally "MAGA." If anything she will just join the piling-on versus Minnesota. Just watch her "bash" Tim Walz. That's more important to her than acting on Minnesota's behalf. 

Lost Medicaid funding will harm people's lives. I wonder if Fischbach would prefer that Mike Lindell be our governor. We elected Fischbach so we have to answer for this. What if the U of M suffers? The knees might get taken out from under our Morris campus. We are frail and groping now. The recent jazz concert at the HFA featured an entire trumpet section brought here from NDSU. IMHO this is not a good look. Might this be "fraud" in its own way? Just asking. 

What's next in the retribution campaign by the Trump administration vs. Minnesota? Our state's governor was on the presidential ticket that opposed Trump and Vance. Have we dug a deep hole for ourselves? Trump leads like a mob boss. He does not forget those who he feels have wronged him. It is my opinion that we need to push MAGA out of power. Elections are the only real answer. 

Who can come forward to run against Fischbach? We had Collin Peterson before her - no one knew the Farm Bill better. He lost because he posed for a photo with Nancy Pelosi. What's so terrible about Nancy Pelosi? All Republicans care about is giving more tax breaks to the very wealthy. How is that working out for you? Enjoy paying your property taxes? It's a regressive tax. So are the tariffs. So is the sales tax. All of this makes life harder for the common people. 

But so many churchgoers are told "vote Republican." You're lemmings. I can think of less generous terms. Meanwhile, "Mongo just pawn in game of life" - that's me. 

 

Numbers from the game

Lauryn Ankeny and Berlynn Green each scored 11 points Thursday. Kendall Danielson and Eliana Marthaler each scored six. Allie Mrnak put in four, Nori Song three and Olivia Danielson and Londyn Dahl two each. 

'Waska did OK with three-point shooting as Green sank three of these, and Kendall Danielson and Marthaler two each. Song made one long-ranger. Ankeny and Green co-led in rebounds, each with five. Olivia Danielson was tops in assists with four. You can always look to Ankeny as a leader in steals and on this night she had three. Kendall Danielson blocked a shot. 

The top New London-Spicer scorers were Korbin Tanner and Ayla Caskey with 16 and 13 points respectively. Taylor Munsch and Paycen Rutgers each scored seven. Katelyn Delzer and Roxanne Klein matched each other with six points. Kyla Vick scored three and Ezri Boelter one. Vick and Rutgers each made a 3-pointer. 

The rebounds category saw Munsch and Tanner lead with ten each followed by Delzer with nine. Caskey was the leader in assists with four and steals with seven. Munsch and Tanner each blocked a shot.

 

The bigger picture

Minnewaska may have legitimate needs with the referendums that are put out there, referendums that fail. My hope is that the state looks closely and realizes that an alternative way might be found to beef up the school's assets. Looks like referendums are too heavy of a lift, maybe because the school district is not homogeneous or unified enough. Towns are a little too far apart. 

But the school might be improved. I remember when the school was first built. It came across as very impressive even though I had reservations about Glenwood no longer having a high school that was basically in town. 

So at the present, what might the answer be? This happens in school issues: when too much futility looms, to the rescue comes the state! Remember the "Minnesota Miracle?" Maybe you don't. That's where the state decided to just take over and remove an undue burden from local property taxpayers. Maybe the state will notice 'Waska's strain and decide to map out some formula for state funding for 'Waska's legitimate goals for improvement and enhancement. Maybe this would be done in a finesse sort of way. Under the table? Well, I wouldn't use those words.

 

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