Tigers outdone by Huskies at Albany field

Fall sports reached an end pretty abruptly for MACA. Our volleyball and football teams entered the post-season above-.500. They ended the post-season above-.500. However, their post-season action ended up pretty abbreviated. Disappointment? Maybe that's one reaction. 

The teams supplied no shortage of highlights through the course of the fall. But the volleyball team played but one match beyond the regular season. It was a loss to New London-Spicer. Football? Well, we won a home post-season game over Montevideo. Very satisfying. After that we went on the road and got overcome. This was at the hands of the Albany Huskies Saturday. 

The football Tigers were on the short end of the 31-20 score. We got into a 25-0 hole by the end of the third quarter. We righted the ship to a degree. Our surging toward the end came up shy. So our final W/L is a quite respectable 6-4. We saw the exciting development of super soph QB Drew Huebner along with others. 

For the time being, let's ponder the upcoming winter sports season. We'll have a wait obviously. Let's celebrate Halloween tonight (Monday). 

The football Tigers' Saturday game was in the Section 6AAA semi-finals. Super soph? Check out Huebner's passing stats from Saturday: 24 completions, 41 attempts, 317 yards, one TD, two picks. Quite a level of proficiency for the young man. He carried the ball 12 times for 16 yards and had a rushing touchdown. 

Our running game was clearly set up to complement Drew's passing. It was minimal: 21 carries, 35 yards, two TDs. Owen Anderson and Mitchell Moser had rushing yards to complement Huebner. Moser carried for a score. Clearly it was passing that made a statement from the orange and black side. 

Need better balance? One could ponder that. The high school game seems much more wide-open than in a past time. Some games are so high-scoring, I wouldn't even want to summarize the scoring. 

Riley Asmus has been spectacular as receiver. He was a marquee performer again Saturday with 11 catches, 139 yards. Tyler Berlinger was an effective target for Huebner also: seven catches for 100 yards and a touchdown. Andrew Marty had two catches for 30 yards and Dan Travis had one for 13. 

Albany showed a much different offensive personality with greater reliance on the run. So the Huskies racked up 273 rushing yards on 46 carries, three TDs. Isaac Evenson set the pace for the victor with 97 yards on 15 carries. Three other Huskies with impact were Cole Panek (51 yards), Ethan Meyer (49) and Joe Schmitt (44). Quarterback Izaac Hutchinson completed six of 12 passes for 127 yards, two touchdowns, no INTs. Ethan Borgerding had two receptions for 51 yards. 

Meyer began the scoring with a touchdown run from the four. This was the only first quarter scoring. Albany picked up steam in quarter No. 2. First it was Panek scoring on a one-yard run, then it was Meyer with a 24-yard catch from Hutchinson. Albany was unsuccessful in its first half conversion plays. The Tigers had yet to score. So at halftime it's 18-0. 

The second half saw Albany build its scoreboard edge. Panek caught a 24-yard TD pass from Hutchinson. Evenson kicked the PAT. 

Finally the Tigers broke onto the scoreboard: Huebner carried the ball in from the two. MACA scored the next TD - this was in the fourth quarter. Huebner threw to Berlinger, 46 yards. Albany answered as Panek had an eight-yard TD carry. Moser scored for the Tigers on a two-yard run. Scoring done for the day. Season over for coach Kevin Pope's Tigers. Albany moves on. 

We're 6-4 on the season while volleyball ended up 11-10. So it's unfortunate we could not have prolonged the season a little more. 

I observed that the pep band was not present for the football win over Montevideo at Big Cat. Sometimes I think band directors are scared of getting obligated to too much pep band stuff, like when we have teams advance a considerable ways. That would not have happened this year. Our pep band would have had just the one post-season commitment: the Monte game. I personally would have liked to see the band there. That's a bias of mine: I think pep band is important and I actually consider it to be an art form, really truly. 

I'd like to see the band with a "trap" drummer and for it to impress so much, it competes with the sports for attention! The director should look for arrangements that are off the beaten path. I don't know about "Centerfold." When I hear the band do that, I hear the sound "in my head" for the next several days. Ear worm.

 

Cross country: section meet

New London was the site for the 6A cross country meet Friday. Kendal Fischer took 17th with her performance at Vintage Golf Course. Hailey Werk finished 18th. I wonder if Hailey was injured? Our boys team was led by Gavin Stallman in 21st place. Our girls team was sixth, the boys ninth. Staples-Motley was the champ in both.

 

Jim Carlson

A tough weekend

By the time yours truly retired on Sunday night, I was in a funk. I could not bring myself to attend the Carlson concert Saturday night. A mixture of feelings prevented me. There would have been a rush of memories reminding me of when my talents meant something in this community. The historical record will show that I had such talents. 

The concert would have revived a raft of memories both from music and journalism. I was in the original "All Stars" band for the Jazz Festival as this famous institution got off the ground. At the start there were no alumni for an alumni band. Were we a motley crew? Maybe. Jim Carlson announced one of the tunes as a favorite from our "nightclub" days. The tune had the perfect sound for this. 

I'll never forget Hubert Grosland with the sax solo on "You Don't Bring Me Flowers." 

I was at the Jazz Fest party to meet the first-ever clinicians for the institution. Randy Purcell was a trombone player who I remembered hearing with the Maynard Ferguson big band at the St. Paul Prom Ballroom. The other clinician in year one was a guitarist name of Rick Cornish. Years later, Del Sarlette had a hard time finding a photo of Mr. Cornish. I hope he's still alive and well. 

What a succession of clinicians through the years. Eventually my contributions with the program were from journalism. You might say I went out of my way to give attention to all of Jim's programs. OK, unapologetically. The more enthusiasm the better. The more the merrier. 

Today UMM appears to emphasize marketing and PR over exciting programs. 

No one could dispute that Jim brought an infectious brand of enthusiasm. I'll argue he built up UMM more than any other person. You might say that at the end, he was sort of pushed aside. It's no secret he was bitter. Jealousies, turf battles and back-biting in academia: administrators are supposed to prevent these from negatively affecting the institution. 

Instead we have a state of affairs now where the suggested decline of UMM has gotten so bad, Regents are thrashing around trying to explain it, even getting into trouble. Maybe the Native Americans here need to send smoke signals to the Twin Cities people. And hey, aren't we wrapping up a wonderful "Indian summer" now? These references are probably non-P.C. but I grew up watching "F-Troop" and the movie "Texas Across the River." Joey Bishop played an Indian in the movie. 

Hey, I really do respect Native Americans. The famous Native American porn star of the 1980s, Hyapatia Lee, responded to a communication I sent her a few months ago. I may be a non-entity for my overall life now, but getting that communication puffed me up, made me smile. 

So, I wasn't present for the Carlson concert or the reception that preceded it. I know there were people there who would have enjoyed seeing me. I assure you. Life marches on. We have to accept that the past is dead. 

Del Sarlette sent me a nice little wrap on the Saturday doings at Edson (Morrison Performing Arts Center). Thanks Del.

 

The Doc Carlson Tribute show went very well. The concert went about 3 hours, but didn’t seem that long. The 2 UMM jazz groups (big band and sextet) were actually pretty decent. There were 2 alumni combos, then the Alumni big band played after the intermission (about 65 alums showed up, Buddy had to rotate personnel like in that Chase Revisited concert). Not a sell-out, Edson maybe 2/3 full, but a vocal and appreciative audience. A slide show and videos interspersed throughout the concert. Your name was even mentioned in one video (an interview with Marty about Jim’s golfing – he talked about the photo you took for the fishwrap after Marty and I beat Jim and Clyde in the PDT Men’s League championship in ‘82 – the photo with the “Swingin’ Musicians” caption).

 Jim Carlson addressing the audience during Jazz Fest. (Del Sarlette photo)

 

You know, if UMM had approached me first on the Edson re-naming, how could I have said anything but "yes?" Could I have out-bid Helen Jane Morrison? You laugh? After laughing a few seconds, calm down and look me in the eye. 

In the future as my life devolves more in a wasteland, I know that Hyapatia Lee will still know who I am. Oh, she's a quite intelligent woman. She has a "Native Strength" YouTube series.

 

Addendum: The Prom Ballroom (or Prom Center) is no longer standing. On the site there now is an ABRA Auto Body center. 

 

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

On "shrinkflation," financial media, and Mr. Sviggum

(image from buzzfeed)

Yesterday (Wednesday) was one of those days where I decided I could use a third meal. Not as much to do outside, now that temperatures are getting colder. It's awful early for cabin fever. Am I eating to counter the discomfort of the last few days, when Morris is in the headlines in an unpleasant way? Nothing we in Motown did wrong of course. We're in the news because a state-level politico made an odd comment. 

So we're still thrashing over this. 

First I'll review my dietary story from yesterday. Dashed downtown to get a frozen pizza, Bellatoria, as oven heated up to 425 degrees. My freezer is disconnected. I get a pizza and then consume it promptly. Pizza, Lay's chips and pop was my evening fare. I woke up in middle of the night with worst case of acid reflux I've ever had. No more frozen pizza for me, ever again. 

So I wonder: are food companies altering the ingredients for cost reasons? Not only are we hearing about inflation, we hear about "shrinkflation." Companies want to hold back raising prices - so as to hold customers - so they cut back with quality/quantity. They do this in a way where they hope we don't notice. This has been talked about quite a bit in the media. 

Inflation has not really seemed to bite us in the butt yet. It is not top-of-mind awareness yet, at least from my perspective. Look out, if the trend remains strong. 

It is highly questionable whether this thing called "the Fed" is doing enough in its battle. Higher interest rates are supposed to tame inflation. I will argue here that "the Fed" kept interest rates too low for too long. So we're paying the fiddler now. The rate increases of the last few months actually seem timid. But the Fed butts up against the stock market-centered interests, along with this beast called the financial media. You are probably aware of Jim Cramer, Joe Kernan et al.

Donald Trump loved going on CNBC to talk to Kernan. Trump would try to remind people "your 401Ks are looking good." The nice thing about an interest-bearing bank account is that it pays interest which is money you can spend immediately. A certificate of deposit can most often be set up to pay monthly. Stocks? I was taught as a child they were risky. 

As a young adult I found the stock market was all the rage, and you'd be teased if you still put faith in bank accounts. The big wave of support is still behind stocks and 401Ks. The financial media voices cry out en masse when they think the time has come for "the Fed" to start cutting rates again. So we get QE over and over, interest rates near zero. And now we have inflation at 8.3 percent. 

 

They'll scream

A couple more interest rate hikes, and the big shots of finance will scream bloody murder if they don't get something like QE again. The financial media that we know today with its incredible biases did not exist when I was a kid. The old gatekeeper media felt it wise to tamp such voices down. Then again, the gatekeeper media did a terrible job advising us on how the Vietnam war was a total mistake. Walter Cronkite finally broke through to say something obvious, but that was way belated. 

Was I a victim of shrinkflation this week? Are food companies messing with us and hoping we don't notice (much). Count the Kleenex in a Kleenex box etc. How is all of this going to end? 

 

Steve Sviggum (mpr image)

And let's talk about UMM

We have the Steve Sviggum matter to hash out this week, still. You may have been misled by the headlines the other day. The word "resigned" was trumpeted. Talk about trying to fool us. Is that what the Regents are trying to do? "Fool us" into thinking Steve Sviggum has resigned from the University of Minnesota Board of Regents? "Resigned" appeared in headlines. 

Silly rabbit, Sviggum has not resigned from the Regents. He only resigned as vice chair. I talked with a well-known UMM retiree just this morning who had been fooled on this. So unfortunate. 

The only proper resolution was for Sviggum to resign, outright. So maybe more pressure will have to be brought to bear. Too bad - it would be nice if the mess was simply over. There is only one interpretation of Sviggum's remarks that are at issue here: those remarks were racist. 

If UMM had a 90 percent white student body, he would not have been prompted to say anything like he did. Oh, enrollment would still be an issue - that in fact is the elephant in the room. So is there really an "enrollment problem" at UMM? Maybe there isn't, maybe the U likes a nice tidy campus of 1000 students that attains certain objectives. If enrollment is a problem, the U administration should take the lead in giving us an analysis with suggestions. 

Sviggum made the assumption there is a problem. Administration should have spoken first, thus relieving Sviggum of his urges of offering commentary. Even the board chair, Ken Powell, was deserving of some finger-pointing. His immediate response to Sviggum's comments was insufficient. Perhaps this individual has tendencies too? Pressure mounted for apologies. 

The problem is that public pressure was required. Maybe it's time to clean house with the Regents. Maybe look for younger people, people more "hip" to our diverse times. In fact, we need younger people all across the political spectrum, don't we? Why are we stuck in this norm of so many older folks, some with apparent cognitive issues? Perhaps this is the fundamental issue at hand? 

Let's take a look at the UMM enrollment facts. Thanks so much to Ruth Thielke for backgrounding me. I had the very good luck of encountering Ruth when we were out along the biking/walking trail. She emailed me subsequently.

 

Brian, I looked up the official fall 2022 enrollment for Morris, and it is 1068.

There is a comparison here:

https://idr.umn.edu/reports-by-topic-enrollment/enrollments

You can select the Morris campus by year, or you can see the historical comparison, or whatever you would like. There is a lot of enrollment data on this site.

It was good to see you today.

Ruth Thielke

 

Was pleased to get feedback on all this from a regular contact of mine, Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley. He initially reacted to my thoughts on "UMM" vs. the apparently preferred "UMN" these days. Here's from Randy, and thanks friend:

 

Hello Brian, and it will always be UM-Morris to me. I find the UMN label very odd. It's UMM just like there's UMC and UMD and the U of M main campus. Anyway I digress.

Hard to justify what Sviggum said in a public sphere. Whatever happens to him is of his own doing.

You are absolutely correct in your blogging that the enrollment issue should be very troubling and worrisome to anyone who cares about UMM's future. I honestly don't think UMM is doing anything wrong per se and I have nothing against its push to be a diverse campus. I loved the diversity I was surrounded by during my 4 years as an undergrad there. I will always cherish those years. They were wonderful, and the diversity was a huge part of that.

The bigger issue is the economy (James Carville, hello!!! Remember his line "It's the Economy, Stupid!") and the REAL question the powers that be need to ask is, "Does UMM provide a good value and a college degree that will be useful in today's marketplace?"

College is horrendously expensive today. I got lucky. I could skate by with 4 years of UMM with some pell grants, academic scholarships and ended with just shy of $10,000 of student loans in 2000 with a B.A. degree in political science that wasn't all that useful in the 2000s, but I have absolutely zero regrets about one single minute of my college days in Morris regardless of how little I got out of that B.A. degree. Isn't that really tremendous? I say this with the purest of sincerity. I absolutely loved my UMM days, even losing to Sean Lazenby for UMM campus president - it was all part of the experience that I'll never forget.

Today many college kids would give their right arm to graduate with "only" $10K of student loans.

If UMM isn't seen as a good value, then families are not going to ship their kids out there, regardless of how wonderful the diversity draw is for UMM. And I'm in the camp that the diversity is a draw. I say that as a Norwegian kid who grew up in a 99% white Norway Lake Township, rural Sunburg...but was fortunate to have some friends at Brooten elementary and later B-B-E who were Hispanic.

PS - you're welcome to share my views on this!!

Randy Olson

 

This discussion took in Del Sarlette also. Del is an MHS Class of '71 alum just like Ruth's husband Neil. Neil wasn't along on the biking/talking path because he had a hobby type of obligation. Ruth backgrounded me. Then I emailed Del:

 

I encountered Ruth Thielke this afternoon when I was on walking trail. She said Neil was out hunting, bow hunting. I said I did not approve of that pastime. She said "I don't think the deer have too much to worry about." I'm surprised Neil would enjoy that. As we parted I said to Ruth "I'm rooting for the deer." We talked a little about UMM music dept. She confirmed how discouraged Jim Carlson was when he left. It was worse than I thought. She groped for the name of the person who she said "tried to destroy the department," so I said "Martin Seggelke?" and she said "yes!" So depressing to hear these stories. She said Jim was responsible for recruiting a large portion of UMM's overall student body, like one-third. He traveled around so much.

Remember that with UMM, it is a publicly supported enterprise so it is not accountable the way a private business is. In other words, all kinds of petty politics comes into play, back-stabbing etc. You just have to expect it. So-and-so is out to get so-and-so.

 

- Brian Williams

Whither the direction of UMM, the whole USA?

We love this campus (UMM image)

Got a kick out of the guy on a podcast who said "whenever I hear a reference to the University at Morris on the news, I think "uh oh." Well, I guess the non-flattering stuff seems to pop up. At the same time we hear words like "excellence" in connection with our U all the time. Maybe it's the latter thing that prevails, thank the Lord. 

However, an occasional messy story does appear. Sometimes UMM will revive these for a discussion in the spirit of "teachable moment." I will suggest one exception to that: the goalpost incident. That was a totally dark affair that I suspect, as a matter of policy, will be buried as deep as the institution can accomplish. I won't bury it because it was important. It had ramifications for me and my career. It happened in 2005. Within a year after that I was gone from the Morris newspaper. My reflections about that whole weekend are in a post that I put up on September 9, 2010. The link:

http://ilovemorris73.blogspot.com/2010/09/goalpost-incident-was-day-of-infamy.html 

 

Today I sit over a cup of steaming instant coffee as I continue to perform as a scribe, only unattached. Unattached to corporate journalism. I ought to be bitter at UMM. I ought to be bitter at the rarefied-air professional class of people in Morris with whom I never fit in. Logic would suggest such an attitude on my part. Who would want to bathe in that?

For sure I step forward with constructive criticism at times. Maybe step over a line now and then. Such an approach was nurtured among my kind during the Vietnam and Watergate years, not that there weren't other catalysts for disruption. I'm sitting here at home at 5:30 a.m. What is the coming week going to bring in the way of headlines? 

The disruption of my younger years seemed wholly constructive, like we were going in the right direction. Seemed like the obstacle was the flat-earth folks. We didn't like seeing tens of thousands of young men die in Vietnam. The disruption of today, as I sit here pondering the new week of headlines, is coming from the folks who seem wholly regressive. It's from the people putting so much pressure on public schools and libraries, hugely emotional, sometimes with literal screaming. They are so motivated by the "woke" term coming from a strain of the media. And they promote Republicans top to bottom. 

We know who the person at the top is. And he's still at it with all his eccentricities or actual mental health infirmities. 

Kari Lake looks now like she'll win the governor race in Arizona. She kisses the ring of Donald Trump. Trump is helping her attain power. Her opponent backed out of a debate on the valid reasoning that Lake would just keep shouting and interrupting. But it's the opponent, Katie Hobbs, who is losing ground in public sentiment, or appears to be. I can only pray for a "blue wave." Don't count on it. 

 

America of 2022

See the kind of zeitgeist I am suggesting now? America has been taken over by the wave of inflammatory, anti-intellectual rhetoric. The media just stands idly by, as if to suggest it's all rather "cute." And the public becomes lemmings. The train wreck was begun by the man who lost the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election. 

Truth is dying. There was a time, believe me, when the media had balls. The Neanderthal voices tended to get sidelined then. William F. Buckley of "Firing Line" had no time for the idiot, emotional voices. But it is such voices that are today like the squeaky wheel getting the grease. 

Jeff Backer (kmrs image)

Can I ask a logical question: Isn't it absurd for one of our area state representatives, Jeff Backer, to still be taken seriously after he was one of just eight representatives, all Republican, to vote against condemning violence at the U.S. capitol? At that point, shouldn't the man just be sidelined? Put out of public view? 

But such is not the zeitgeist of today, in late October 2022, as we move up on another election. The CW is suggesting that momentum is going to the Republicans. Is this the way it is going to go indefinitely? I wonder if the new media reality is such, the regressive/emotional voices are going to stay predominant. Will they intoxicate a plurality of us? 

Backer is from Browns Valley, a fair distance from us in Morris, but could he tar all of us out here? We need responsible voices affecting public policy. Violence is always bad.

 

Our lot in Morris with the U

So here in Morris we have a publicly supported college that is hemorraging students. It has become a state news story. The dust has settled a little. It was kicked up by that Sviggum fellow. People are thrashing around in their thoughts, trying to get to the most rational reaction. 

Is bigger always better? Well I think it is. We should try to get the arrows pointing up, so we might attain the capacity of 2000 students at UMM. And I don't care if this is done with non-liberal arts majors. Ultimately the state will demand measurable/tangible outcomes here. The U is still grappling with a pretty serious deficit, right? 

We have to keep accommodating the Native American students, otherwise it will seem like another broken treaty. White man speak with forked tongue? I know the accommodations for Native Americans have made some UMMers uneasy - that's just from the $ standpoint. 

Sviggum's comments will put UMM under scrutiny. We have already heard that UMM has gone astray with non-practical areas of study that might be considered "grievance majors." I assure you, the Republicans who are getting elected to state office from out here would be totally anti all of that. Up to now they'd be inclined to weigh their words delicately. A part of them loves UMM just because it's a state asset out here in the hinterlands. But surely they would desire that UMM go in another direction. 

Did Sviggum use his words intentionally to create sort of a tempest, directing attention to the matter? Maybe he's crazy like a fox.

 

Addendum: You can throw out most of what I said here if we actually get a "blue wave." Do you suppose women will get out en masse to vote Democrat? This would be because of Trump's Supreme Court justice selections.

 

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

Steve Sviggum and his perception of UMM (UMN)

Steve Sviggum, 'U' Board of Regents vice chair

Tell me when it's over, all this flurry of irrational talk from people who present themselves as "conservative." Please, I am getting tired of it. I am actually literally tired. I am 67 years old, so give me a break. Two days after my research into State Representative Paul Anderson's deep background with MCCL and the like, here I am fielding more Republican talk that seems to go afield of rational thinking. 

The two-party system is not in the Constitution. A two-party system is a constructive thing but what we ought to have, is a Bernie Sanders party on the left and a Joe Biden party on the right. But that's not reality, it's a dream. We function in our world of reality. So today I am confronted with some new material given me by a state-level politico. 

So here I go bouncing from Paul Anderson to Steve Sviggum. BTW vote for Edie Barrett, pretty please. 

Sviggum hasn't been high-profile in the news for a while. The name definitely registered when I got the heads-up just now about a new issue. Here we go again. I was not going to write anything today. Can't I get a break? Holy balls. I could use a picker-upper. 

But here I go: My friend Art Cruze alerted me. He referred to "controversy" in his email to me, a matter I was not yet aware of. Our University of Minnesota-Morris campus is in focus here. So it is pretty darn relevant. Sviggum carries weight as a politico. So my friend Art alludes to controversy and I quickly got backgrounded. Art wrote "putting aside the whole controversy, I was shocked to see that enrollment (at UMM) is down 40 percent!" 

You know what? I'm not sure "UMM" is even the correct reference anymore. The institution has been pushing "UMN." That puzzles me but I'm a mere lifelong local resident who isn't meant to understand all these things. There was a time when people like me would be called "townies." Because it's stereotyping, I think UMM has discouraged such talk. What do I know? Maybe not as much as the movers and shakers behind UMM, but I know there is justified alarm at the language used by Sviggum. 

I sort of understand Sviggum's point, even though I would not agree with it. A man with his background ought not be like a bear with boxing gloves. But he most certainly is. He tosses around the "diversity" term. Diversity is not even the issue, even where Mr. Sviggum is coming from. I think he is trying to articulate something else. I hate to even use the "woke" term as peddled by Fox News et al. There is a whole conservative "meme" industry out there, in case you haven't noticed it. 

Change happens slowly in our society. When I was a kid, TV networks did news as a "public service." Everything evolves. Eventually the people in the industry discovered the profit potential. The loudest voices in the room get the eyeballs, hence Bill O'Reilly and so many others. Alleged "wokeness" is a major lightning rod. 

Along with this comes yearning for a what I'll call "Norman Rockwell's America." It's an idyllic template in the minds of its admirers. Never mind that it never really existed. But oh how they pine for it, when "men were men" - oh hell, let's not dredge that up. 

So now Mr. Sviggum is excited about "diversity" at our campus. There is absolutely nothing wrong with his expressing concern about enrollment. There has been so much whispering and speculation about that. We want to distinguish on-campus students from those not physically here. In the old days there was a goal of 2000 students on our cherished campus. I think that was even met at times. Some might have wanted the number to be pushed higher. 

Times have certainly changed. To be blunt, I feel all the magic of the digital world has rendered formal liberal arts studies far less essential or important than before. This isn't music to the ears of UMM's advocates. My father warned me long ago: Liberal arts is the absolute raison e'etre here, and it's sacrilege to be skeptical. What about the importance of weighing honest opinions? 

No one objects to liberal arts as a matter of principle. But ultimately, higher education is about achieving measurable results. The public invests in these schools for a reason. So can we cling to liberal arts out here on the prairie as if it's a "legacy" sort of thing? As in, "we've always done it this way." Well, I wonder. 

Sviggum made his comments during a U of M Board of Regents meeting. Obviously this is something to be taken very seriously. The KSTP news article suggests that our interim chancellor was at the meeting. Ahem, Sviggum asked the following: "Is it possible that at Morris we've become too diverse? Is that at all possible from a marketing standpoint?" 

Sviggum is the regents' vice chair. Holy cow, and he dares ask in a publicly-quoted way if diversity is a bad thing? Well, I know that people of Sviggum's political ilk are throwing around another "d" word these days: "divisive." So is he sort of splicing the two together? Diversity and divisive? This might be a reach, but "diversity" does in fact make us conscious of our differences. As opposed to what? As opposed to the old "melting pot" concept. Academia eventually concluded it did not like the "melting pot" idea. It was too simple. Nothing to probe there academically, so let's bring on "diversity," so we'd get the multi-ethnic building on our Morris campus. That was the music building where my father started out with UMM music. 

I personally like the melting pot, never saw any reason to question it. But I am a mere "townie" or used to be, when UMM had its imprimatur on such talk. People more blunt would have just called me "stupid." 

I had my share of conflicts through the years when I was with the Morris newspaper. Would you really have preferred someone bland at the paper? That's what you have now. What you have now is unicorns and lollipops in terms of how the paper portrays things. "All our kids are above average." Meanwhile I came out of the Vietnam and Watergate era. A leopard never loses its spots. 

Actually my main issues were with our local public school. UMM ties in with this because it had an "effete" element that gravitated to the other side from me. Good news: I don't sense so much of an element with UMM today. Today I'm quite pleased with how how public school appears to be operating. 

 

Stark facts?

Sviggum asserts that enrollment at UMM (UMN?) has declined by more than 40 percent "over the past decade." He said at the meeting: "I have received a couple letters, two actually, from friends whose children are not going to go to Morris, because it is too diverse of a campus. They just didn't feel comfortable there." 

Janet Schrunk Ericksen

Well, Janet Schrunk Ericksen of our U-Morris was hardly inclined to go along with this. Without coming right out and saying it's wrong, she said the minority students here would be "shocked" that anyone would think our campus is too diverse. 

The KSTP article quoted Morris Campus Student Assembly president Dylan Young, who said he asked around after Sviggum's comments were made known. Young said the minority groups were "outraged." Here I'll make an issue with the whole "minority" term because it contradicts what I feel is the ideal in America, which is the "melting pot." The melting put concept was too simple for academic people to wrap their arms around - "diversity" seemed so much more attractive. More to study and explore, I guess. 

But it foments conflict. It can inflame things because at its core, it accents differences among us. 

KSTP reports that "nearly 50 percent of the 1,000-member student body is a racial minority." Wait a cotton pickin' minute: "One thousand!" I have heard 1300 bandied about as a ballpark figure. So we're "rounding it down" to a thousand now. Why stop there, eh? 

I doubt that "diversity" has much if anything to do with this. We need to look at the value of a degree from UMM, wouldn't you say? I'm not going to be "unicorns and lollipops" on this, not like our Morris paper is likely to be. Never is heard a discouraging word. This Anfinson fellow keeps telling us newspapers are a "watchdog." Looks good in print. 

The Stevens County Times has a disastrous website. And they drone on and on about wanting a "part-time sports reporter." Heavers, is this what we need more of in the Morris paper? Sports? Why are they having such trouble finding anyone? Newspapers are headed nowhere but down. 

 

Sviggum denies racism

KSTP reached Sviggum by cellphone Sunday. He clearly seemed to backtrack some. Not from the enrollment question but from the diversity thing. He insisted he was just "asking questions." He tried saying his comments or questions were "not racist." Yes, and Donald Trump says he's not being anti-Semitic. Or maybe he hasn't actually denied it. We're getting to that point. 

Sviggum said "it's not a racist question at all." To be honest, Mr. Sviggum, it sure can be interpreted that way. 

Few of us in Morris can remember the earliest days of the campus. The campus appeared to be set up to serve the young people of West Central Minnesota. That meant an awfully white-bread, homogeneous student body. Was this inherently better? No. I think on principle it was good to try to focus on West Central Minnesota. However, the mere "diversity" thing with a variety of ethnic backgrounds is a non-issue IMHO. 

If you were to look at music concert programs from my father's earliest years, you'd see hometowns sprinkled from a radius centered on good old West Central Minnesota. How can you not be charmed by that? We have true regional pride. But this needn't be contradicted by the simple influx of a variety of students with a rainbow of ethnic or religious backgrounds. We can still be one big happy family. 

So, why the apparent switch from "UMM" to "UMN?" I think it extends a longstanding trend here. At the very beginning, Dean Briggs wanted the campus to have an identity closely tied to "Morris" the community. So my father wrote the UMM Hymn reflecting that. Garrison Keillor loved having this tune presented for his appearance here. I watched him start applauding before the UMM choir even let go of the last note. Campus sentiment at its core! My father also wrote the fight song which had "Morris" prominent. 

Then the campus changed, wanted its image tied in completely with being a part of the University of Minnesota - frankly, to discard "Morris" as a true part of its image. Don't let anyone deny that. 

 

Status of the "Hymn?"

Last year the UMM choir performed half of the UMM Hymn for its Homecoming concert. Performing both halves would only take two minutes. I missed the performance because I forgot my mask. I rode bike to campus. I had masks in my car. Two people emailed me the recording, which I have not listened to. Just two minutes, please. 

No, I'm not expecting this just because of the money given to the U of MN Foundation in my family's name. BTW the idea for that was 100 percent mine, springing in part from the Morrisons' family commitment. I wouldn't have done it were it not for Helen Jane. I think Helen Jane appreciated the makeup of UMM when it started. Furthermore she has appreciated the makeup every single day since! 

What a resilient person, over age 100 now, still very sharp and able to get around. She and son Jim were out at the fairgrounds for the PRCA event recently. Amazing person. I probably owe my 27-year career with the Morris paper to her. I left the Morris paper after the Morrisons were gone from it. The paper was then run by the charlatans from Fargo. 

On a more upbeat note, let's consider how the UMM football team won Saturday. They won while their Twin Cities campus brethren Gophers lost. I reflected on this and other subjects in an email to a friend Sunday. As is my wont, I'll share the email here. Sometimes my thoughts are more spontaneous in emails! So here goes: 

 

Tanner Morgan (fox9 image)

Hello (name withheld) - Heard about Tanner Morgan's injury at church coffee. So I checked it out online when I got home. I believe Fleck has not announced this as a concussion even though so many people are assuming it was. I reviewed video of the tackle. There was a "punch" by the Illinois player but it looked awful weak to me. I'm not convinced that was even the problem, I think it was that Morgan's left knee got twisted a little as he went down. I could be wrong, but we'll see. So, Illinois is out of the doldrums that it had in the Lovie Smith years. Growing a beard didn't help him. I remember rooting for Jeff George Jr. to be just like his dad but it never happened.

Tanner Morgan is a "sixth-year senior?" Holy cow.

UMM used to have a little committee for endorsing political candidates. I'm not sure that exists any more. In my current "I Love Morris" blog post, I explore how rigidly pro-life Paul Anderson is in his background. Many of these Republicans have had to back off from that. Jensen started the campaign 18 points down in the polls, and now he talks like he's pro-choice. Incredible. Well, if Republicans don't get elected, they won't get their tax cuts, and if it comes to that, they will no longer care about human life!!! Tax cuts are more important to them.

Is "UMM" completely replaced by "UMN" now? All through the years, the institution has tried to downplay the "Morris" part of its identity. When Briggs hired my father, he wanted the opposite approach, and Dad wrote his music accordingly. When UMM was on the "College Bowl" TV show in the '60s, the sign behind the team just said "University of Minnesota," and my Dad said the Mpls. people would be upset about that. Our team did not win.

Jack Imholte would not recognize the UMM of today. You probably remember when UMM sports fans could be so rude to the visiting fans. I take for granted everyone can remember that, but we have moved into a new era. Not only are UMM students/fans more mature and respectful now, I suspect UMM has rules on fan behavior. I used to wonder about good ol' Charlie Grussing at the P.E. Center, "dammit Charlie, why don't you do something?" Well, I think it was because Imholte was actually good with the arrogance. Imholte really loved UMM people acting superior to others.

I checked yesterday, and the UMM music website is still dead: just one concert announced on the upcoming concerts link. Still old photos of departed faculty members. Does this mean anything? Music to be phased out maybe? Sources tell me Crookston is headed toward being a two-year school. And Crookston's chancellor is still our executive chancellor? Can anyone explain to me exactly why this setup was made? I'm sure UMM hates me for writing about it. But it's like the scorpion saying to the frog, "it's what I do."

Nice to see Cougar football winning often, regardless of caliber of opponents. Remember when we beat Northern Iowa?

Tiger football game was covered on Willmar paper's website Saturday morning, and I did not encounter a paywall. I think there's a good chance the paper has been pressured to drop the paywall. It was so annoying how that little panel would come up. If I can get access to raw information again, I can blog much better about Tiger sports. So this week I may plunge into that again. 

MACA volleyball is a problem. The radio station website has little updates but they are very little, like maybe three sentences with the third sentence giving the opponent's won-lost record. Sometimes it's just the basic outcome like 3-1 or 1-3. Meanwhile you'll see several paragraphs about a non-Morris team.

Mark Torgerson rode his bike up to me one day and said he'd been offered the part-time sportswriting job at the Morris paper, but he turned it down. He said it was not a good deal. The Morris paper's website is dead, not even worth discussing. It doesn't have to be like that.

I will blog about the UMM football team but give me a day or two rest. I am getting older. Yesterday I put up posts on Rep. Paul Anderson on both my blog sites. We have female DFL candidates now for both rep/senator and these people are impressive. And they are pro-choice.

- BW

Rep. Anderson bashful about being GOP?

Let's not be subtle, Rep. Anderson

Did you get the flier from Rep. Paul Anderson a few days ago? I wrinkled forehead as I looked all over it, seeing if party affiliation was there. A simple party affiliation, a reasonable thing to want to know about someone. Many people likely know he's Republican. The candidate and his handlers shouldn't assume so much, though. 

The rep for 12A

I have never met this politico. We know he's an incumbent because the flier says "re-elect." But his political party? Apparently we're not supposed to know. Oh, I happen to know he's Republican. He's our District 12A representative.

Word is, Anderson is a reasonable person not in league with some of the more headline-grabbing members of his GOP flock. So he's "normal." But what does it say about the political party if one has to designate certain of its members as normal? 

So, Anderson is not like some of the Republicans on the national stage who can be wild and unhinged. Let's say he's pragmatic? Is he an actual outlier in the Republican Party in this regard? 

Unlike Kristi Noem, I don't think Anderson would want to entertain the thought of having Donald Trump's face added to Mount Rushmore. He can correct me if I'm wrong. Actually that stance would up his odds of being re-elected.

Who would pay for the Mount Rushmore thing?

I am only vaguely familiar with Mr. Anderson. He's new to those of us in Morris. Shall we assume he's proud to be a Republican? If so, why not a little affirmation? Or, is a part of him embarrassed by the antics of some of his political brethren on the national stage? I mean, like the one who jokes about bulls impregnating cows, as the likes of Tom Cotton and Rick Scott stand behind him trying to keep serious looks on their faces. The guy's in the news today for flashing a "prop" police badge in a debate.

Remember when Herschel Walker was in the news for coming to the Vikings in a trade? A trade with the Dallas Cowboys, pretty good for the Cowboys as I recall.

 

A blue/gray thing?

What about Lindsey Graham, the guy from South Carolina who tosses up scattershot thoughts? Many of these weird Republicans come from states of the old Confederacy - not a likely coincidence. The media does not make this observation often enough. John Harwood did - he was axed by CNN. 

The rhetorical bomb-throwers are leading a political party around that ought to be more mature. I assume Paul Anderson would want his party to have the rational stance about things. Be temperate sometimes. But maybe he's nervous about all that is going on. 

Just check in with cable TV news on any given day. I no longer get standard TV but I can catch all these programs through YouTube. That's a pleasant surprise I got when I cut the cable. A few years ago I could not live without TV. Today it's quite practicable. 

So we're left wondering, based on Anderson's promo stuff, just what party he's in. If he was trying to avoid anything contentious with this thing in our mailboxes, it should fail. 

 

The photo of Paul Anderson at right is with a 2012 article headlined "Anderson endorsed at GOP convention." (Hometown News photo)

 

Now, Paul Anderson might seem like a totally agreeable person if you were to meet him. I am actually certain of that. He seems to have a thing about women and abortion. This isn't in his flier, but Rep. Anderson has a grade of "F" from Pro-Choice Minnesota. 

It was just in 2021 that Rep. Anderson co-authored HF 1099 which aims to limit the use of funds for state-sponsored health programs for funding abortions. Then in 2022, Rep. Anderson co-authored HF 3291 which establishes "Choose Life" special license plates. 

Pro-Choice Minnesota considers these measures "blatant attempts to ban abortion care." 

 

Different playing field now

Simply stating pro-life might not have seemed so drastic when women had the protection of Roe vs. Wade. We all know, thanks to Trump's three Supreme Court appointees, Roe vs. Wade was scrubbed after 50 years. How often does the Court take away a right from people?

'Til now we have been partly just amused with Trump and his flock with the likes of Herschel Walker. Oh, there's a litany. We must stop the mere amusement and realize: all that has gone on in the last few years should prompt a clarion call. 

If Paul Anderson is a little embarrassed to be a Republican now, I wish he'd step forward and frankly state his concerns with the bomb-throwing element of his party (metaphorical reference). The GOP everywhere has become so cowed. Maybe you should just square with us, Rep. Anderson, on how you at least subconsciously feel disturbed about elements in your party, so much so, you don't wish to affirm you're a Republican in your leaflets.

Your Republican bedfellow Michelle Fischbach was one of those to vote against certifying the 2020 election results. Not even Tom Emmer did that. I'm no fan of Collin Peterson, as he campaigned in 2020 like he wasn't even proud to be a member of his party. He was bludgeoned with a simple photo that showed him and Nancy Pelosi, just smiling very pleasantly. So that's some sort of cudgel. 

Maybe Rep. Anderson has some inhibitions about his own party? Behind closed doors, he's fine with his party. Maybe the public image is getting some baggage. I'm being generous.

Important side note: when researching this gentleman, please don't confuse him with former State Senator Paul Anderson of the Twin Cities area. 

 

An accurate lens

Let's give credit where credit is due: Rep. Anderson did vote yes on a resolution condemning the "violence and violent rhetoric" at the nation's capitol. Rep. Jeff Backer, meanwhile, our former state rep, was one of just eight representatives, all Republicans, to vote "no." What an asshole. The vote was 111-8 on January 25, 2001.

So Rep. Paul Anderson of Starbuck is not a crazy but it appears he's totally in league with the anti-abortion element. Anti-abortion forces are now weaponized with the Supreme Count's ruling that destroyed the Roe vs. Wade precedent. Elections truly have real world consequences. 

I am concerned about the issue, but in a more broad sense I am alienated by so much of the Republican Party, a party which believe it or not once believed in personal modesty. Amazing. Today they are scared to criticize an ex-president who openly drops the f-bomb, as in "General Mark Milley is a fucking idiot." I wish General Milley had been our president, democratically elected of course. 

So this morning, without even checking, I know Trump is all over the the headlines. Like it's "Groundhog Day." Maybe Trump simply wants attention and he pulls strings thusly. So it's a concerning mental disorder. Narcissism? But it's a problem for all of us now. It threatens women's reproductive health rights. 

So in light of that I proclaim: "Vote Edie Barrett."

There is now a wonderful billboard on the northwest edge of town that shows Barrett and Kari Dorry. Doggonit Kari, I have to confirm the spelling of your name every time I type it. Carrie Dorrie? Cari Dorrey? Well, just takes some discipline. We'll all get familiar if she succeeds vs. Torrey Westrom, he of the dodgy residency status. Unfortunately, I doubt the odds are high of that happening, or of Barrett knocking off Paul Anderson. 

Westrom would not be so cavalier about his residency if he was a first-time candidate. His biggest accuser on this front is not even a Democrat.

Barrett and Dorry are both from Ortonville, nice town.

The Republicans appear for now to be in the driver's seat here in rural western Minnesota. It is possible to get sick of Democrats if they get too much power. But right now the "Republicans" are making me puke. I wish I did not have to express this in such a manner. There is an undercurrent of something truly dangerous in America now. Diagnosing it may go beyond our general understanding of the political parties and their agendas. Actually the underlying problem may not be political; I would assert that the central bank (the "Fed") is at the heart. It's under the radar screen. Is another round of "QE" coming? Are we headed toward digital currency?

 

Addendum: Fresh news as of yesterday, is that Trump acolyte Roger Stone called Ivanka Trump an "abortionist bitch." Such sunny, positive individuals. Alex Jones just did an interview on "Newsmax." Why is anyone interested in even talking to Alex Jones? Well, it's "ratings."

 

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

The law w/ common folks vs. wealthy and connected

Let's take a look at a top news headline this morning, Thursday. I see on the "Mediaite" site: "Trump lashes out at rape accuser with misogynistic jab after judge rules against him in court." 

All this stuff with Trump never reaches resolution. Judges make rulings, "lawyers" posture in all sorts of ways, top media names continue riding this gravy train and it's like Groundhog Day. 

I see in the Morris MN newspaper where this changeover from police to sheriff's dept. dudes is continuing apace. They're all set to make their rounds and nail people for various infractions. And I bring this up in the context of Trump to note that when local law enforcement notices impropriety, they take action. It's swift, it can even be rude, and then essentially it's over. Good luck trying to question any of it. I had a difficult time paying a fine once and I eventually learned from the court administrator's office that a clerical error was made at the police department. 

There is no longer a Morris Police Department. I am contrasting their system with the byzantine maneuvers of those people in the white collar world. Money does talk. We read of outrageous things done by Trump and his acolytes/minions, ad nauseam. (And no, "nauseam" is not spelled like "museum.") 

There's an appeal and then the next action on the matter could be months away. Lawyers appeal through the layers of legal minutiae to delay, appeal and delay again. It is clearly Trump's system and it is being laid bare before us. So, maybe the shifty operators of Trump's ilk are getting nervous over how this whole "racket" operates. Maybe the public will slowly demand some remedial action. Maybe some whistling past the graveyard now. 

Actually all of this should have happened in the wake of the 2008 "financial crisis." I put this in quotes. The crisis was not an act of God. I remember Harold Ford Jr. saying on "Morning Joe" one morning: "It's hard to believe no laws were broken." Well, that's understatement. 

People in the Wall Street orbit can massage the law so that any bad consequences just wilt away in a fog of confusion. I have read that Bill Clinton got away with the whole Whitewater thing because he deliberately made it too confusing for the press and thus the public to follow. These people are intelligent and they know how to maneuver, to obfuscate. 

The poor dude in our little town of Morris who gets caught with a minor traffic violation? It's a whole different world, designed to keep the masses humbled, and for fine money to keep pouring into state coffers. Laws ought to have some of the same sort of stringency in the white collar world of high rollers. But it doesn't. 

How long do we have to wait for Merrick Garland to start making decisions? The Jan. 6 committee is nearly done with its work. We the public will end up being able to read about all the totally horrific stuff that went on in connection to Jan. 6. However, wasn't all of this pretty evident to us at the start? I mean, in the immediate aftermath? That whole debacle would never have happened without one deranged individual. This individual would to this day be nothing more than an amusing entertainment industry curiosity, had he not assumed the most powerful position in the land. 

 

The enablers

We the public allowed Trump to climb to that level. Oh, he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. Somehow I guess we weren't supposed to be too concerned about that. So, we needed the media to lead us with a great degree of wisdom? Well, it should have. But the media, so much of which is a commercial enterprise, found that it made hay with Trump to talk about every day. So much of the talk was from people who were outwardly aghast with the man. The media got its desired "eyeballs" in a way it could never have dreamt of otherwise. 

And if "amusement" had been the only outcome, like a carnival sideshow, fine. But look what happened on January 6. I wrote at the time that my old high school civics teacher would have been flummoxed, would have suggested right in class that it was an abomination. Wouldn't this be prima facie? I then speculated that this poor man, perhaps not "hip" to the times, would get in some trouble, that "conservative" school parents - again I use quotes - would suggest the teacher was being "divisive." 

These parents such as the Apostolic Christians, who I specified with good reason, would argue that the rioters (insurrectionists) were "just trying to keep America great." 

My old civics teacher might have required some counseling - maybe it would be mandated for him. 

So today Trump's picture appears in two places at the top of the popular "Mediaite" website. One of the stories is about the boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago. That matter appears to be cut-and-dried with illegality. But nothing can ever be judged as such in the white collar world of heavy-hitters. Oh my, how the little secret is being laid bare now. 

Trump got away with "judge shopping." I couldn't do that with my seat belt ticket. 

 

E. Jean Carroll (CNN)

"Not my type"

And so we read today about Trump's "misogynistic" rant about his rape accuser, E. Jean Carroll. Trump is arguing that E. Jean Carroll is "not my type." Can you imagine if a common employee of a public school talked as such in a formal action? But Trump can never cross a line where the broad swath of the public finally decides "this is ridiculous, we need to move beyond this horrible person." 

It just never happens. Wish I was not having to write about this spectacle again this morning. And I feel like the character in the "Twilight Zone" episode who discovers he is the only normal person left in a community of zombie-like folks. Is that who I am? And the local Apostolics and other "zealous" Christians would vote for Trump again. The majority of Stevens County churches are like this. And at the same time we read that young people are steadily leaving the organized Christian church. And the old folks don't care? 

Elect Republicans and all they will care about, in terms of their actions, is helping the richest one percent or maybe just a fraction of the one percent amass incredibly more wealth. Ignore all the talk about social issues, the drive toward abortion bans etc. That's all just cover to try to get a certain substantial segment of the public to keep voting for them. Fear of the Democrats, fear of "liberal policies." 

This can change. Maybe it really will change but we'll have to wait a lot longer. In the meantime, heaven help us all. What hath God wrought? 

Vote for Edie Barrett. Vote for Kari Dorry.

 

Addendum: If the Christian faith dies because of all that is going on, I am going to miss it. The fact that so many people can drink the Trump Kool-Aid, just makes me wonder if the original Christians were the same way, having bought into a prevarication, a lie. Maybe Christ was not the Savior, maybe he was just someone like Trump, only with a real conscience. You all will call me a "Trump hater."

 

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