UMM's relative autonomy may be compromised

Mary Holz Clause (Grand Forks Herald image)

Strange, or not so strange. U of M-Crookston is not averse at all to reporting its cooperative relationship with our UMM (or maybe it's UMN now). Crookston seems rather proud of the deal, being quite up-front about it all. Meanwhile many of us here back in Morris have seemed quite uninformed. 

All that yours truly had heard was a vague rumor. In the news reporting business we call this "background." I treated it with more or less a shrug. But hey, fast-forward to the past week and the reporting out of NDSU of Fargo. They'd been searching for a new president. An aspirant was the Crookston head, name of Mary Holz Clause. I have taken to thinking of her as "Mrs. Santa Claus." Consider that Crookston is quite far to the north. Limited humor with that. Clause put herself forward as chancellor of Morris in addition to Crookston. No humor there. 

I rather did a double-take. Was listening to KFGO Radio out of Fargo. The story was over the airwaves repeatedly. Clause did not get the NDSU job. But she and one other were reported as "the other finalists." Over and over this was reported, with everyone getting the impression that Crookston and Morris had a joint chancellor. 

I'm assuming this would be disconcerting for our local UMM advocates, of whom I am one. 

Did KFGO screw up? A member of the Morrison family, the most prominent private benefactor for our UMM campus, thought as much. So if she and I were both surprised, I think that reaction was shared. After exploring this topic for about three days now, I rather have a headache. What a tangled web we weave, when we get into academic bureaucracy titles and nuances. 

A UMM person contacted me and indicated, if I'm paraphrasing correctly, that the Crookston person was really just a backup to our Janet Ericksen, on limited matters where Clause might have more experience. I got the impression that maybe the title was ceremonial in connection to Clause. But then why bestow it? Was it misleading? I had to wonder. 

I now am veering in the other direction with my understanding. I really think Crookston might be in the driver's seat. And if true, I believe "The Silver Fox" Jack Imholte would be rolling over in his grave. But these current times are most different from anything that Imholte ever experienced when he was provost (the equivalent to chancellor then). 

Institutions seem to be facing distinct challenges. In UMM's case with liberal arts being the raison d'etre, more so.

Well, I'll personally say congrats to Ms. Clause (or Mrs. Santa Claus) if she is in fact setting the tone for UMM. She is "executive chancellor" while our Ericksen is "acting" here. 

Mary Holz Clause with U-Crookston mascot

I'm not familiar with Clause at all. Has she been introduced in UMM's "Profile" magazine? I think not. 

Yesterday I discovered a whole web page from the U-Crookston site that spells things out pretty clearly. UMM has not been inclined to edify with such enthusiasm. 

Any talk of a chancellor search committee here? I haven't heard it. The institution has let the once-famous Jazz Festival fade away. It has found money to support the highly dubious softball complex, and to hire Sue Dieter for "Relations." Meanwhile it seems cuts continue apace, "buyouts" and the like. The softball complex will not be serving UMM's specific interests at all. We had a long-established UMM softball field that was perfect for the UMM program and its fans. The new arrangement will be inferior.

 

Edifying from up north

My post of today concludes with an article from the U-Crookston site. It is by Michelle Christopherson. I'm happy to share this piece rather than to keep writing myself, 'cause my brain is getting strained. 

Christopherson quotes U of M President Joan Gabel who uses the word "synergy," and that scares me because that was the word used by Forum Communications when it came to Morris to acquire the newspaper. It was empty, throwaway language. 

Christopherson's article concludes with the assertion that the current relationship is "not a step toward merging the Morris and Crookston campuses." 

Well. . . Not sure I take that at face value. It's something the U is obligated to say at this point. The road to hell can be paved with "synergies."  

Forum Communications left Morris amid well-grounded claims that it was going to close the Morris paper. The Anfisons of Benson came here and rescued it. The Hancock paper was never revived. 

From U of M-Crookston:

CROOKSTON, Minn. (March 18, 2021) - Chancellor Mary Holz-Clause has agreed to assume the role of Acting Executive Chancellor for the University of Minnesota Crookston and Morris campuses for a two-year term to support Acting Chancellor Janet Ericksen of Morris starting this summer.

Morris Chancellor Michelle Behr recently announced her retirement--to begin this June--after four years of leadership on the Morris campus. 

“As you know, the headwinds in higher education are nothing short of historic. The pandemic, the economy, and enrollment challenges across Minnesota and nationwide are just a few of the challenges we face," said University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel. “We must, now more than ever, find ways to focus on our academic mission while seeking opportunities to streamline our administrative and ‘back-office’ functions.”  As a result, Gabel notes, the University will wait until spring 2022 before conducting a search for the Morris campus’ next leader.

To assist with the transition and to ensure continuity at the campus level, Crookston Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs John Hoffman will serve as Acting Senior Vice Chancellor during this two-year period. Both campuses have already collaborated closely, creating innovative synergies to further share administrative service models, which already include a shared registrar and admissions team announced last month. These efforts will continue under the leadership of Acting Chancellor Schrunk Ericksen and Acting Executive Chancellor Holz-Clause.

“Morris has a strong liberal arts tradition, while we focus on hands-on learning. This new sharing of leadership is a natural extension of the cohesive working collaboration between UMN Morris and UMN Crookston,” says Holz-Clause. 

According to Holz-Clause, efforts will continue while honoring the campuses’ unique contributions to the System and their respective communities. “At times, transitions  cause concern. Let me assure you, both of our campuses will remain strong and continue to serve our unique students. And we certainly are aware of our 'lean-ness' on the Crookston campus. We look forward to the coming days when we start investing on a greater level into hiring and bringing to campus some of those individuals who are already hired and will be starting soon.”

Gabel says Holz-Clause will provide behind-the-scenes support for Schrunk Ericksen and allow her to benefit from Mary’s experiences as a sitting chancellor. “Mary is an excellent leader who, while leading a very different campus, appreciates those differences and is committed to helping Janet steward the Morris campus through this transition.”

The transition is not a step toward merging the Morris and Crookston campuses, nor their missions. “Those missions are distinct,” Gabel said. “I expect that this collaboration will further the creative innovative synergies that Morris and Crookston have initiated already. Those administrative efforts will continue."

Crookston-based chancellor has authority here?

Mary Holz Clause

Several degrees below zero again this morning. We have been blasted by winds out of both the north and south this winter. The evidence is on both sides of the residences of Northridge Drive. We're across the field from Homestead. 

The nature of this winter has gotten yours truly to do more writing or journalism than I would normally prefer. I'd prefer these days to get out for a cotton-pickin' walk now and then. Here I sit at the breakfast table on this bleak Thursday morning, cold as hell, and without a doubt I do have something to write about. 

Are we just learning this? About the Morris and Crookston U campuses having a shared chancellor? That the "executive chancellor" is based at Crookston? And that our own chancellor is "interim" here? The "executive" term came at me yesterday from someone who asked that I not quote him. He said that he couldn't be completely sure of his information. 

My response to that is that UMM advocates should not be fumbling around sharing rumors. While the exact facts appear to be fodder for hearsay, there is a legitimate basis for wanting all this to be clarified. It's no secret now that "something is going on." UMM just happens to be very important to our overall welfare in our community of Morris. If we're sharing a chancellor with the Crookston campus, and if the Crookston person is "executive," well maybe this should be known in an official way. 

Yesterday it was all over North Dakota media that a finalist for the NDSU presidency was the Crookston-Morris person. It was reported quite clearly that way. And I sat here feeling puzzled. I couldn't just sit here, I had to get my journalistic instincts cranked up. So now it's Thursday morning with temperature outside sinking yet again, and I'm wondering if the collective morale of UMM advocates should be sinking also. 

Our institution is being run by a Crookston-based person? With "executive" (reportedly) in her title? Could Marshall of our local radio station get to work on this? He's our only hope IMHO from the local corporate media. The newspaper is too busy doing things like taking a picture of the local Girl Scouts promoting their cookie sale, for the front page of course. We need to read about all the local kids being above average all the time, as in Lake Wobegon. 

Reed Anfinson writes about how the newspaper should be a watchdog on government. He makes the argument in theory, but I don't see his Morris newspaper reflecting that in practice. The softball complex project has been begging for some hard questions to be asked. It's nothing personal re. anyone, it's just that the questions need to be asked. Reed should understand that more than anyone. He knows we shouldn't take personally the recent eye-popping AP article that focused on Benson, or how he knows where he has his gun handy. 

Morris and Crookston are separated by a pretty wide distance. Collaborative? It's always a nice thing to a point. But common sense should tell us that if Morris and Crookston are jointly overseen by an "executive" chancellor and that the Morris chancellor is merely "interim," well then maybe the specific Morris interests are not going to be served as well. I'm sure the Crookston person has given speeches about the importance of her institution (in Crookston) and of Crookston as a community. I hardly know anything about Crookston and its campus. A friend emailed me last night.

 

I googled Mary Holz Clause’s bio, she’s just listed as the chancellor at UMC, no mention of Morris. Peculiar mistake.

Academic people are normally very precise about these things. They are notably title-conscious. So what's up? Something is up, do not suggest to me otherwise, Grasshopper. 

I do not see how this can be encouraging for Morris. Already we have had apprehension built up over the last few years about how liberal arts is getting cut in places. The liberal arts have been our "raison d'etre." Remember to spell it "raison" and not "raisin." 

People come here and gush about how absolutely wonderful the liberal arts are, like we are so truly special. Obviously the liberal arts are a wonderful thing. The question is whether an institution can plant its stakes with that, get money for furthering it. To put it gently, wouldn't you think the task is daunting now? 

 

Radio airwaves

The whole Crookston/Morris thing was made known to me yesterday from KFGO Radio. From there I got further confirmation from websites and word of mouth (or email), the latter not bearing as much of an official imprimatur. Maye we could get some clarification from the Twin Cities campus, perhaps from Mr. Joan Gabel herself. 

If we're being run out of Crookston, it is relevant information for our lives here in Morris, a place that UMM likes to describe as "in the middle of somewhere." We all know what that really means. Ahem, we're really out where it's rather barren. If it's really "somewhere," we couldn't need a slogan. 

Speaking of Lake Wobegon, we have had Garrison Keillor out here more than once. I covered his visit once for the Morris newspaper, a visit in which the UMM choir performed my father's composition "UMM Hymn." My father's music helped lift up UMM's profile considerably in the heady early days of the institution. At present we're left wondering how much of a foundation remains, if we're being run out of Crookston. 

C'mon, Marshall at kmrs-kkok, get going with some revelatory reports. Don't leave it up to me. I was written off as washed-up 16 years ago. 

My late father Ralph's composition of "Alleluia" was put on YouTube just recently. I had nothing to do with this. The recording is of the 1971 Oregon All-State choir. From coast to coast, my father's music is shared with audiences to this day. A taste of immortality. 

Ralph E. Williams RIP. Here's the link for "Alleluia":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7vjqlgFe7Y 

 

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

Tigers lose steam in second half, fall to Sauk Centre

Can the MACA boys just roll over everyone? No! We might have thought otherwise early in the season. Success can seem intoxicating. But it puts you in the crosshairs of other teams who scout the heck out of you. The MACA Tigers are still a most fine unit, as they seek to close out the regular season without the weather being a total impediment. 

The weather! I have had disagreements with a couple friends, as I maintain this is the worst winter I've seen. I get some pushback on that. Minnesotans can probe their memory for lots of anecdotes. The late '60s were a piece of work. Granted, but this winter has been so relentless with its miserable conditions, extreme cold and cold with wind. On and on it goes. 

The sun is getting higher in the sky in February. You have heard of the "January thaw." Odds are greater for such a thing in February. But look outside on this mid-February Tuesday. It is 2/22/22. But let's put that novelty aside. Our weather is a big ad for moving south, to just get the heck out of here. Why don't I just use the alternate word to "heck," the more incisive one? We are, after all, in the age of Trump and "let's go Brandon." 

Our U.S. culture has been turned upside down. What will all the ramifications be? Will those ramifications be existential? I think they could. There is nothing that I, as a single individual, can do about it. I would discourage even praying, as it is Christianity that led us here, to the four-year presidency of Donald Trump. It was the "evangelical Christians." Damn them. 

So let's look at the MACA boys basketball game of Saturday, re-scheduled from Friday. It was quite low-scoring. Not sure if the Tigers promoted that complexion of if the Sauk Centre Streeters did. But it was Sauk Centre coming out on top. MACA was dealt its second loss of the season. We did lead at halftime 19-18. But the Streeters picked up "mo" the rest of the way to defeat us 45-40. Action was at Sauk Centre. 

We made 16 of 41 field goal attempts for 39 percent. Jackson Loge held up our scoring, no surprise there. He scored 15 points on 5 of 11 shooting. The other individual point totals were awfully modest. Let's review them: Thomas Tiernan 7, Cole Wente 6, Brandon Jergenson 5, Toby Gonnerman 5 and Sam Kleinwolterink 2. 

Oh my, we struggled from 3-point range, just three makes in 22 tries, 14 percent. Jergenson, Tiernan and Loge each made one. As I have stated repeatedly, I hope fans do not chant "let's go Brandon." Wouldn't it be wonderful if fans could chant this for the right reasons? But we are in the age of Trump. 

Not many freethrow attempts: seven, of which we made five. Loge had four of the makes, Gonnerman the other. Loge collected ten rebounds to lead, of which two were offensive. Our team total was 19, four offensive. Tiernan and Loge each had three assists of our team total 12. Loge had two steals. Our turnover total was 14. Loge blocked two shots.

Girls: Sauk Centre 47, Tigers 39

Can't find many details on the girls hoops game of last Thursday, a 47-39 loss to Sauk Centre. We stay below .500 at 9-15. The Streeters came away with 18-6 numbers. So, this was a high-caliber foe that coach Dale Henrich's squad was playing, at Sauk Centre. 

Let's acknowledge some of our point-scorers: Sydney Dietz with 12, Maddy Grove with nine, and Meredith Carrington, Cate Kehoe and Kaylee Harstad each with six.

 

Wrestling: Tigers 39, United 26

"United" is one of those names that does not help us understand where they're from. It's like MACCRAY or BOLD. I wish sports teams would just go by the high school name that serves as the primary host. Presumably there is one that does. United had the No. 2 seed for the 3AA-North wrestling team tournament. The site: Hutchinson. 

One of the schools in the United partnership is Lac qui Parle. Some people might fumble even trying to pinpoint where that's located. It's Lac qui Parle "Valley." Is there a valley over there? 

United was seeded No. 2 and our MACA Tigers No. 3. That did not stop our Tigers from achieving victory! This was done with a 39-26 score over United. So, congrats Tigers. 

Tyce Anderson at 106 pounds won by a 14-2 major decision over Ben Gunlogson. Grayson Gibson at 113 pounds decisioned Kameron Sather 14-10. We came out on the short end at 120 where our Alex Sperr lost by fall in 5:46 to Daniel Gunlogson. Dallas Walton at 126 pounds was the 3-1 decision winner over Zander Clausen. 

Andrew Marty came on strong to win by decision over Ethan Moravetz 4-1. Then at 138 pounds, it was Ethan Lebrija pinning Isaac Moravetz in 3:54. At 145 pounds, Caden Rose won by tech fall over Tyler Schickedanz, 17-2. Davin Rose at 152 won by fall in 1:40 over Noah Meyer. 

Hunter Massner at 160 pounds dropped a 24-13 major decision at the hands of Dain Mortenson. Our Dain Schroeder dropped a 17-9 major decision to Avery Wittnebel. United made it three in a row as Holt Larson pinned our Noah Amundson in 4:52. 

195-pounder Hunter Gibson of the Tigers pinned Landon Olson in 2:41. Brock Marty vied at 220 pounds for the Tigers and he was pinned in :29 by Keaton Haas. 

Our big guy at 285 was Levi Kellenberger and he decisioned Zach DeBeer 2-0 in overtime.

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

A hex in the second half? Whatever, MACA girls struggle

The away games on Friday and Monday were not kind to the MACA girls basketball team. The Tigers were dealt defeat by the Montevideo Thunder Hawks and the BOLD Warriors.

 

BOLD 74, Tigers 51

The score indicates it must have been a downbeat night for the MACA crew. In terms of the final score, it most definitely was. However, the Tigers executed quite well in first half play and owned a 33-31 lead at the halfway mark. 

I seem to recall the game versus Willmar going this way too. What happened after halftime? Was it a case of the opponent adjusting in certain ways? Whatever the explanation, the roof fell in. Versus BOLD we were outdone 43-18 in the second half. So the final horn sounded with the score 74-51. We came out of the game at 8-14, while BOLD sported 14-10 W/L numbers. 

The kmrs-kkok article talks about "a strong second half performance" by BOLD. But could MACA have kept its fortunes running at a higher level? 

Mari Ryberg was a major force for the host Warriors with her 21 points and four steals. The game was played at Olivia. Ryberg was joined by two of her mates in double figures: Lainey Braulick with 17 points and Abby Meyers with 13. This trio was followed by: Leslie Snow 8, Kenzie Visser 7, Lilly Dean 4, Anna Gardeen 2 and Caylee Webber 2. Braulick made two 3-pointers and Ryberg made one. 

Meyers and Visser topped rebounds with eight and five respectively. Dean and Braulick set the pace in assists with five and three respectively. Ryberg with her four steals was followed by Dean with two. Ryberg blocked a shot. 

Maddy Grove supplied lots of fuel for the erratic Tigers, scoring 21 points. We're erratic in terms of first half personality versus second. Unfortunate. Cate Kehoe fueled our attack further with 16 points. Four other Tigers put in points: Meredith Carrington 5, Sydney Dietz 4, Kaylee Harstad 3 and Brianna Marty 2. Three Tigers each made a 3-pointer: Carrington, Grove and Kehoe.

Montevideo 62, Tigers 49

The Tigers were up against state-ranked caliber on Friday. The challenge was to play the Thunder Hawks of Monte, ranked No. 10 in Minnesota AA. 

Wait a minute, can the following be true? The Tigers led at halftime 33-28. Oh my, there is more than a small pattern emerging here. C'mon Dale, get things figured out. Your team comes on strong for first half play and then something happens. A coach has got to get that figured out. I mean, the coach should get that figured out. It appears this is not an intermittent thing. Chronic? I guess so. 

So the T-Hawks took us to the woodshed in second half play. This was to the tune of 34-16. Must be very frustrating for the MACA fans to watch. I wouldn't want to be there in the second half. 

Are the opposing coaches just capable of making the second half adjustments? Is that it? Is conditioning a factor? That would be easy to solve, just have the coach be like Gene Hackman in "Hoosiers." Practice without scrimmaging? Remember that? 

With Monte we often see the "Koenen" name in a high-profile way. Avery did not disappoint Friday as she put in 25 points. There is more than one Epema on the roster. Tenley Epema scored 16 points while Teagan scored ten. Hailey Dirksen scored six points, Keely Foley three and Kassey Pauling two. Tenley found the range from 3-point land as she made four. Teagan made two as did Dirksen. 

On the MACA side of things, we saw Meredith Carrington lead the way with 16 points including a 3-pointer. Cate Kehoe was right behind with 15 and she also made a '3'. But it was Sydney Dietz making two 3's to lead in that department - her point total for the night was ten. 

Maddy Grove was quiet with her offense and scored six points, while Kaylee Harstad scored two.  

Well my goodness, the Tigers will have to go to work trying to stretch their good performances over two whole halves.

 

Boys: Tigers 84, Breckenridge 45

I caught a few seconds of the boys basketball game on YouTube last night (Monday). What a miracle to be able to watch these games as if they're "on TV!" I should pinch myself. 

I should also pinch myself regarding the outcome of the game. You see, when I was young, Breckenridge was a real nemesis for our Tigers. We had lots of uphill struggles vs. the green crew. We all learned to hate the color green. I recall a Breck coach with the last name of Lipp in those days. 

Today there's nothing uphill at all for our Tigers. We buried the Cowboys 84-45 at our home gym. 

Watching YouTube, it seemed the fan turnout was pretty low. Sometimes I think there are just too many games. The sports schedule gets so relentless, it's hard for all but the most ardent fans to follow. Seems too much really. I mean, when the band has a concert, it's an "event." It's nice but it's also a little too rare. Sports? We get saturated, it seems. 

So the Tigers blew the Cowboys right off the court on Monday. Another routine standout night for Jackson Loge: 25 points on 11 of 13 shooting. He collected seven rebounds. Cole Wente put in 14 points on six of eight shooting. Brandon Jergenson added 12 points and again, I hope the fans do not chant "let's go Brandon." Why do people do this? Thomas Tiernan had a point output of ten. 

We were 64 percent in our field goal shooting. My, the orange and black has 19-1 W/L numbers. Breck struggles with a 3-15 mark. If only success vs. Breck had been so routine in my young adult years. How long ago? Let's skip that.

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

Now it's Maggie Haberman who seeks to shock us

(image from penguin/random house)

Maggie Haberman has won a Pulitzer Prize. She is thus an anointed member of the Beltway privileged class. These people look out for each other more than "the rest of us" realize. George Conway's wife Kellyanne is supposedly the polar opposite of him politically. Our common sense should tell us that this is impractical. 

But life goes on for all these folks who manage their behavior as members of a privileged class. All while pretending to clash sometimes, and presenting their published works as if they spring from the fountain of rapier-like analysis. 

The conflict exists up to a point. It gets obfuscated for the correspondents' dinner, an event that even the group members sometimes caution about. "Is this really appropriate?" Their real concern is "will the general public wise up to us?" Karl Rove dances around onstage while pretending to be a rap artist. Funny! The formally-dressed audience members join in their amusement.There have been very real consequences for all of America, of Rove's involvement with government. He pushes an agenda that may often not be in line with Americans' best interests. 

But in front of all the suits and ties at the correspondents' dinner, his frolicking is supposed to be cute. We see the video on top news/discussion shows. The hosts grin.

So now let's consider the Pulitzer-winning writer of the New York Times - the top imaginable resume in journalism - coming out with her book on Trump. I predicted long ago in one of my emails to John Ziegler, we'd see a parade of books once Trump left office. Not really such a bold prediction, of course. 

"Books" are tedious things that fewer people take the time to really read. I mean really read, to consume. You might "buy a book" and set it aside indefinitely, for a longer time than you'd want to admit. Like the books by Michael Wolff about the Trump presidency. I checked out one from the library. I admire Wolff more than many of the other denizens. But as a regular watcher of MSNBC news programs, I found as I turned the pages that I already knew everything he had in there. I withdrew about a third of the way in. Correction: it was probably earlier than that. 

Wolff is refreshing because he has no pretense about sourcing everything to death! If we can't enjoy a little gossip from the Beltway, what is life for?

If Trump says it?

An article this morning (Thursday) tells us that Haberman's new book is the "one that Trump fears most." Does he really? Is Trump embarrassed or humiliated by anything anymore? We have gotten virtual piles of absurd revelatory stuff about Trump up to now. 

The late Tony Snow was a spokesman for George W. Bush. He said of the series of books about Bush's war management, that they all had a certain "taste." He said it to put down the often-not-charitable books. Because back then, naturally, "conservatives" like Bush and Snow got their followers to be war-mongers. That was the meme in that crowd.

Trump has turned this upside-down, now to push the war skepticism stance.

Snow's point about a certain strain of books with their "taste" can be applied now to the very much-expected stream about the absolute disgrace and infamy of the Trump presidency. On and on it goes, this gravy train for Beltway journalists who churn out the eye-popping stuff. 

Eye-popping? What's new in terms of Haberman's book? Oh surely there is something new and beyond stupid. So we get that: Trump flushing wads of printed paper to clog a toilet. I'd say "you can't make this stuff up" but why bother coming up with cute little rejoinders anymore? We should be past that, past having to read books that are no longer revelatory. Such books should not lead to "Pulitzers." But they will be candidates. The writers are the anointed folks. 

Who is to say my own perspective is any less informative or revealing, than that of a Beltway inhabitant who attended an Ivy League school? I live in Flyoverland, as I remind Ziegler regularly. I attended a state college out here on the tundra. And yet when Jim Lehrer did his big sit-down interview with Bill Clinton when the Lewinsky thing broke, it was I who immediately noticed it was strange how Clinton chose words for one of his answers. "There is no inappropriate relationship," Clinton said.

To recall: I'm sitting here in Flyoverland, having had my cup of morning coffee at McDonald's probably, and I'm thinking "why did the president say 'is' ?" Oh my goodness, I didn't fall off a turnip truck, so I know what's going on: Bill is trying to weasel out with his answer, and Jim Lehrer, the big league, big shot Beltway-blessed journo, just sits there. Oh, Lehrer has a sort of earnest look on his face. "Look, I'm Jim Lehrer and I have the privilege of interviewing the president of the U.S." 

Yes, they are both Beltway creatures, Jim and Bill. They inhabit the same ecosystem. Unsaid: "You scratch my back, I scratch yours." 

Lehrer could have changed history perhaps, by pushing back and saying "Mr. President, with all due respect, you answered my question in the present tense, and I would like to know if you have ever had an inappropriate relationship with Ms. Lewinsky." 

Then of course, Bill could probably have played games with the definition of "inappropriate." Just like, if in a deposition he was asked "did you sleep with (a certain woman)," he'd say no, and explain later that his answer was based on how the two didn't sleep when they were together. 

I have wondered how Bill would have handled himself if Mr. Lehrer had been more, in my opinion, professional. But rather than be professional, Lehrer behaved like a Beltway creature. As I explained to Mr. Ziegler, Lehrer "wanted to be sure he'd be invited to the correspondents' dinner."

 

What comes of it all?

The Beltway creatures were at it again this morning for three hours on "Morning Joe" of MSNBC. They just went crazy talking about how Trump was so absolutely nuts with so much of what he did. They'll describe some of his actions as illegal, which becomes journalistically questionable if no charges are filed. They did that one morning in reporting about Mike Pompeo, when Trump was still in office. If it's a fact that Pompeo broke the law, there should be consequences. I was sitting alone in my house, because I live alone now of course, and I spoke up to the TV set: "Will he be arrested?" Well, I knew the answer. 

Maggie Haberman

Let's get to the essence here: Trump has been a total gold mine for people who try to make their living in news and commentary, or who write books of course. Would Haberman be in the spotlight now without Trump? Without the revelations of Trump clogging up toilets by trying to get rid of documents? We're talking about people in rarefied positions who inhabit this sacred place called the "Beltway." Who can win the Pulitzer Prize. While I'm settled out here in Flyoverland, just sipping coffee at McDonald's, and I'm left only with the satisfaction of recognizing all this bulls--t that is going on. 

Haberman's book is called "Confidence Man, the Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America." 

Whoa, has Trump really "broken America?" Just thought I'd ask. Seems kind of a scary point to be making. But if true, where are the legal consequences for Trump and his top lieutenants? The wacky Rudy Giuliani. The slick Mark Meadows. The oddball Michael Flynn. Steve Bannon who wants to burn the house down. 

Trump was able to pardon some of these dudes. They are all still basically just moseying around. While Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are doing the absolutely heroic work, as they take serious brickbats from the Republican Party. We want these two to be heroes in the end. But we are far from knowing how the story will end.

Haberman's book is of no consequence now. We already know enough, or too much. She and the other Beltway creatures walk the treadmill, that's all. The state of mind of Merrick Garland is all that matters. This is what will determine the future course of America. 

Sometimes I wish we could go back to watching "The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson" and listen to Johnny's jokes about people having consumed too much alcohol. Escapism. Relax and just let good people run government.

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

MACA girls defeat Benson and Paynesville

MACA girls basketball has picked up steam in recent action. The Tuesday story was a lopsided win over Benson. The Tigers cruised with a 62-26 triumph at Benson, home of the Braves, and how much longer will that school keep the nickname? The logo has feathers. As a journalist I have to keep referring to them with their official symbols. 

The Tigers showed a superior flair right from the start. So we led 40-11 at halftime. We applied finishing touches with a 22-15 second half advantage. Our success was with five 3-pointers. Cate Kehoe made two of these, while these teammates each had one: Meredith Carrington, Brianna Marty and Sydney Dietz. 

It was Carrington atop our scoring list with her 16 points. Maddy Grove and Kaylee Harstad each scored ten. The West Central Tribune coverage omits some first names. I'm fairly knowledgeable with the first names anyway, but I whiff on Koehl and Kindstock. I have not even seen the latter name before. Well, welcome to the varsity scoring picture! 

Kehoe's point total: 9. Dietz finished with eight points followed by Kindstock 4, Marty 3 and Koehl 2. The WC Tribune had "N/A" for other stat categories. 

None of the Benson players scored in double figures. Here's their list: Madi Wrobleski 9, Presley Nygaard 5, Kaylin Grube 4, Marley Rush 4, Kaida Helgenset 2 and Adysen Himley 2. Nygaard and Wrobleski each made a 3-pointer. The WC Trib has "N/A" for the other stat categories. The newspaper wants people to pay to consume this coverage.

 

Tigers 63, Paynesville 45

Fans at Tiger Center enjoyed the home team's win over Paynesville on Thursday, Feb. 3. The score was 63-45. Maddy Grove came to the fore in this contest with her 20 points. She also asserted herself to corral nine rebounds. Add to that, five assists and three steals. 

The Tigers shot with 46 percent success. In 3's we were pretty reliable with 7 of 15. Coach Dale Henrich had to be pleased with the ball-handling proficiency: just eight turnovers. Cate Kehoe and Sydney Dietz each put in 14 points. Dietz dished out seven assists. 

Meredith Carrington supplied six assists to complement her nine points scored. Kaylee Harstad was part of the winning mix with ten rebounds. All in all a pleasing night for fans of the orange and black. Paynesville is having a sub-.500 campaign. 

Sorry, yours truly should have posted on the Paynesville game earlier. Do you realize how "snowed" your mind can get when you seek to follow high school sports? Better late than never. I guess on Sunday I was eager to put up the boys basketball Saturday game vs. Osakis. It was a significant game as it brought our first loss of the season. The MACA boys do not have the world-beating look right now. Their previous game was a win but by just two points over Redwood Valley.

 

Boys hockey: Storm 6, Prairie Centre 1

The Storm climbed above .500 to 11-10-1 with their home win (on the Morris ice) over Prairie Centre. Brady DeHaan led the Storm's surging efforts with his hat trick. Action was on Thursday, Feb. 3. Prairie Centre is below-.500. 

Things began nicely for the Morris skaters with a 2-0 advantage in period No. 1. It was DeHaan who began the scoring with an assist from Kaleb Breuer. Tim Blume put us up 2-0 with an assist from Tyler Hadfield. DeHaan did the job unassisted-style to get our third goal which came in the second period. DeHaan did the job again for goal No. 4, this time with Ryan Tolifson's assist. 

Then it was Prairie Centre's Derrick Sorenson scoring unassisted at 12:44. Prairie Centre would not score again. 

The Storm's advantage in the third period was by 2-0. Cole Blume did the job at 3:21 on the power play. He got an assist from Tyler Hadfield. The night's final goal was by Sam Thompson, unassisted at 9:28. 

Our goalie was Christopher Danielson: 22 saves, 23 attempts. Prairie Centre had two individuals share the goalkeeping: Joe Nedoroscik (28/34) and Ben Millard (5/5).

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

Talk of "civil war" is hyperbole, hopefully

What brave new world are you thinking of?

"Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing."

- from  Shakespeare's "Macbeth"

 

Are people really bracing for some sort of civil war? The talk is out there. But when "the talk is out there," peel back and see from where it is coming from. 

In pre-digital times we had a "gatekeeper" news media that tried to keep guardrails with our collective sensibilities. The media encouraged a proper way of thinking even while allowing a pretty fair latitude of political thought. Fast-forward to today and we see that no guardrails whatsoever exist. We all need to step back, take a deep breath and consider what all that means. 

Online is our world of today. It is easy to come upon headlines that simply have "bad language" by our former standards. We have become numb to it. 

In the long-ago times, like the '60s and '70s, people who were aspiring to media roles would seek to be "let past the velvet rope." I'm borrowing that expression from the sage morning commentator Joe Scarborough. What a war horse for staring into the camera Joe has been, I mean hosting a show based on politics for three hours every weekday morning. It gives meaning to being "in the arena." Brickbats galore. Scarborough told us of the long-ago times when fortunate souls would get let past the velvet rope (in effect), into the world of well-known media reporters or pundits. So let's stress it wasn't always based on merit. 

The Internet is nothing if not a meritocracy. And while it is set up to reward the "best" work, the problem is that the chaff does not simply get discarded. It is all out there, readily accessible so that you can hone in on something that simply pleases you at any time. The proliferation of "podcasts" seems rather laugh-provoking. Who in hell has the time to call up even a tiny sliver of such stuff? 

It is still assumed in America that you have a TV set. We hear of the "cord-cutting" but the TV is still pretty standard, although I no longer have one. Going TV-less is becoming more practical with each passing year. I can watch my cable TV news programs pretty reliably through the little screen in front of me. There is a small delay but no big deal. I don't have the whole smorgasbord available but I have enough to feel satisfied. Scarborough is available every day. 

In 2018 I wrote a song called "I'm Watching Joe and Mika" and it's on YouTube. Mika is Mika Brzezinski. Their long-running program on MSNBC is called "Morning Joe." You may listen to my song with this permalink:

https://youtu.be/5L3sMJFPxBA

 

The gatekeeper days of the media often showed us a world where politics was boring. We'd laugh about it. How quaint to think of the old political show "Capital Gang." Oh my, politics so civil. The arguments of the bygone times would occasionally seem intense by the standards of those times. 

Oh, "by the standards of those times." We lost Bob Dole recently. I would have liked to say "Bob, our nation turns its lonely eyes to you." An intelligent and heroic man coming out of WWII, a pillar in American life, but boring even at the time. Boring! Wouldn't we now be blessed by such a state of affairs. 

The guardrails are gone for foul language. If our forebears only could have known what was coming someday. (I'm sure they knew all the words.) A president who drops the f-bomb for media and public consumption. He's former president now. And he was ahead of his time for understanding the media and how to use it. This he did as he assembled his building blocks for fame. He understood the media system and had the talent - yes, it's a real talent - of being a demagogue. 

Trump stands in front of rally crowds and gets them so enthused, in a manner that would be hard to picture with any other prominent Republican. I have joked about the futility if Jeb Bush attempted this. But it's hard to imagine any other "name" Republican from the current clown car of faces being able to perform this way, to even come close. Let's emphasize that it is truly a performance. 

And it takes talent - by this I don't mean the talent of sharing constructive ideas with a sincere strain. I have to break Godwin's Rule here and say the talent was certainly possessed by German's dictatorial leader of the mid-20th Century. Why not say his name? Well, if I do I'll be pigeon-holed. Like I said: Godwin's Rule. And don't you think Hitler assembled associates around him who sought power and importance and the approval of the figure at the top? Which ought to remind you of what? Well, the former president of course. 

But I plead with you at present: Are Americans lock-stock-and-barrel buying into this? Is it really an appreciable percentage of Americans who have bought into it, who are willing to start the "civil war" we hear about as a possibility? A certain strong portion of America continues to be Democrats even though they face the predicament of being in the minority now. As for everyone else, how many are truly invested in MAGA, willing to fight for it? How many will start to get scared of what they've created? How many will have a "come to Jesus" moment? How many will wake up as if they've just been slapped in the face or exposed to smelling salts? 

How many will slowly wise up to what our news media universe has been doing to us? In the old days we depended on someone like Walter Cronkite to finally straighten us out. He famously did that with the Vietnam war, belatedly of course, and LBJ had to admit he could not face the headwinds any more, not when he had to contest with Cronkite. 

Today we are on our own. Do you think you can handle that responsibility? Can you judge Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger without being influenced by how the Republican Party of 2022 is trying to crush them? Can you think for yourselves? Can you ignore Kevin McCarthy? 

Mike Pence has suddenly woken up. Holy cow, talk about belated. It's moving at a snail's pace, this enlightenment among the Neanderthal GOPers. You know what this reminds me of? The scene in the old movie "The Time Machine" where the passive "eloys" suddenly learned how to fight again. They had to fend off the "morlocks." Remember the scene of the guy practicing forming a fist? It is a classic Hollywood scene. 

Pence is the equivalent of the character finding the latent skill. Is it enough? I feel the jury is still out. A civil war? I really think not. It's overblown media hype. I'm banking on the U.S. people being smarter than they often seem. Call me the optimistic one. Watch your back, especially if the South Dakota attorney general is coming up behind you in his vehicle.

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

Open under the basket! MACA boys win 65-63

Success just keeps accumulating for the MACA boys hoops team. Nothing but wins as far as the eye can see. So, the pattern continued on Thursday, Jan. 27, at Tiger Center. There, fans watched the squad get its 17th win against zippo losses. The score was 65-63, so it was not an easy or routine win. 

We're 6-0 in conference, 7-0 vs. section-level opponents, 8-0 at home, 6-0 on the road and 3-0 at neutral sites. Again, nothing but wins as far as the eye can see. Makes the winter seem not quite so harsh. The cold edge is moving back in tomorrow (Thursday), word has it. Yesterday the wind was the headache. 

Starting in mid-March, we should thank the Lord for every day when the weather is more palatable than this. So what(?) with the slush, "snirt," strong winds and cloudy skies. Raise a toast! For now, we just have to hunker down. And, to enjoy winning prep basketball. We are ranked among the state's elite. 

Redwood Valley was at our heels in the Jan. 27 contest. The Cardinals trailed by just three at halftime, 31-34. The second half continued the stalemated look of the game. The Cards had a one-point advantage in the second half, 32-31, not enough to overcome the orange and black. So the final score was 65-63. 

Jackson Loge appeared not to have the greatest night with shooting percentage but he scored the team-best 28 points. He made 11 of 28 shots. Durgin Decker was our other double figures scorer: 14 points. His percentage was a quite super 86 on six of seven in field goals. 

Also scoring for MACA: Brandon Jergenson 8, Thomas  Tiernan 7, Tyler Berlinger 4, Cole Wente 2 and Toby Gonnerman 2. Our team shooting numbers were 26-for-59, 44 percent. Tiernan was two of five in 3-point shooting, Loge two of six. Jergenson had our other '3'. As a team we were five of 17 in 3's, 29 percent. We made eight of 15 at the freethrow line led by Loge with his four makes. Decker made two. 

Loge had 20 of our team-total 34 rebounds. Nine of his boards were offensive. Decker was second-high with four rebounds. Jergenson led in assists with five of our team total 13. Decker and Loge each dished out four assists. Decker and Jergenson each had two steals. The Tigers turned the ball over eleven times. Loge had three shot blocks. 

The kmrs-kkok article described this game as a "dogfight." The article shared some of the closing suspense. So, the scoreboard showed a 62-61 lead for MACA with seconds remaining. Loge fires a pass to Jergenson who was alone underneath. Basket! I hope the MACA fans are not chanting "let's go Brandon." I assume you all know what this means in our political climate. I wonder if the fans have gotten an actual advisory on this. Let's not translate the expression here. 

The Tigers executed a defensive "stop." Loge was poised to get the rebound and he got fouled. His final business of the evening was to make one of two from the freethrow line. The win was wrapped up, No. 17. 

The Cardinals were led by Carson Woodford with 21 points and ten rebounds. Zack Reck put in 13 points for the red crew. Drew Lundeen supplied ten points and Charles LaChapelle nine. Alex Lang collected nine rebounds. The Cardinals left here with an 11-6 won-lost.

 

Boys hockey: Storm 6, Luverne 5

The hockey action extended into overtime on Friday, Jan. 28. MBA vied with Luverne at the Benson ice. MBA got the game-winning goal with 23 seconds left in overtime. Brady DeHaan completed a hat trick with his game-winner. So the boys could savor this hard-earned 6-5 win. 

There was a flurry of scoring in the first period. Luverne worked to a 3-2 advantage in the period. MBA offset the advantage with a 2-1 edge in period No. 2. Each team scored a goal in the final period of regulation. 

Luverne really seemed to own the momentum early-on in this contest. The Cards scored the evening's first three goals. Henry Hartquist got things started at 5:40 with a goal assisted by Brock Behrend. Behrend got the second goal with assists from Owen Sudenga and Jack Schlosser. Behrend put the Cardinals up 3-0 with a goal at 10:40, assist from Sudenga. 

Finally the Storm got warmed up and started scoring. This began with a DeHaan goal with an assist from Ryan Tolifson. DeHaan and Tolifson worked their magic again at 14:13, so MBA is quite in the thick of things, trailing by just one goal at 2-3. 

Our Tim Blume got the score tied with an unassisted goal at 1:46 of the second period. Luverne fought back with a Behrend goal assisted by Hartquist. Then it was Charlie Goff of MBA getting the puck in the net with a Brett Hansen assist. 

Hansen scored our third period goal at 5:07 with an assist from Trevor Buss. Luverne hung in there with a Sudenga goal which was unassisted. Bring on overtime! The overtime goal has some confusion from the news media. I'm sure the kmrs-kkok coverage is correct, DeHaan with the goal. The West Central Tribune coverage had the name unavailable for the goal-scorer, but had DeHaan and Hansen with assists. Obviously DeHaan could not both score and get an assist. But that's the data out there, sorry. 

Our goalie was Christopher Danielson who had 31 saves in 36 attempts. Tyler Arends worked in goal for Luverne: 25 saves, 31 attempts.

 

Thoughts on the media

From an email I shared with a friend this morning:

The Morris newspaper can do so many fancy and splashy things now, thanks to what computers can do. Photography has no overhead and there are no tech challenges. The old photography was the epitome of "analog," was more trouble than it was worth sometimes. Tons of things could go wrong.

Standards can be much higher for Morris paper when it's once a week. Staff has whole week to prepare for just the one paper, and it's not like they put themselves out for the website, they don't. 

It was Sue Dieter's intention to make the website super dynamic, and finally I went into her office and expressed exasperation. At that moment I knew I was on the way out. I sensed we'd have to have the previous night's sports summarized thoroughly or I'd get yelled at, called names, and I just decided I didn't want to live life like that anymore. One problem is that too many people get emotional about high school sports. It would be funny if it wasn't scary sometimes.

 

Thoughts re. macro-level media

We may be in Floyoverland, but I think our insights can be as valued as anyone's, if anyone from the East Coast would just ask! Might I have something to offer? Below are some thoughts I recently shared with nationally-known commentator John Ziegler.

- Has any well-known op-ed writer expressed concern about how "attorney-client privilege" might be getting abused in a serial way? Remember, a disproportionate number of people in gov't are lawyers by profession. So now, when they engage in nefarious things, they fail to turn over info based on attorney-client privilege. We hear about Paxton of TX now.

- Has any well-known op-ed writer prepared the "script" for conservative media when/if Merrick Garland announces real charges against the higher-ups? The Fox News people are all set with, "he's just bitter because he got passed over for the Supreme Court" (by the McConnell machinations). Should Garland recuse himself from EVERYTHING?

- Has any well-known op-ed writer commented on the normalization of potty mouth language in the media? I mean, look at the headlines on "Mediaite" on a given day. Yes, these are quotes, but still. Even with all the "squiggles" to blot out certain letters, it's shocking and stupid. Remember the squiggles for when "Sarge" of Beetle Bailey got mad?

- Has any op-ed writer commented on: Jesse Watters trotting out "kill shot" language re. Fauci, and then being backed by the old argument of "metaphorical." Watters then gets promoted. But what about when Kathy Griffin did her little stunt, which was satirical in spades, and then even Anderson Cooper didn't support her? She lost her New Year's Eve gig.

- Cable news "hall of shame": "Balloon boy," John Mark Karr (in Jonbenet case) and Paris Hilton's detainment. We would not see these things today. Partly because, it's all about partisan fighting now.

 

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