Is this the best Christmas song?

Nothing says "Christmas" like the "barking dogs" version of "Jingle Bells," right? Heard it this morning over the sound system at Willie's. Caribou Coffee there is kind of a lifesaver because they'll be open on holidays. I realize that today, Tuesday, is not a holiday but we're on the cusp of Christmas and things are slowing down. 

 

Good news

I stopped at Casey's to get an extra cup of coffee and this allowed me to check and see if they'll be open on Christmas Day. Yes! I thanked the clerk for this news. Looks like I can get some food to get through Christmas Day. The refrigerator and freezer are not connected in my home.

I realize First Lutheran has the free meal for Christmas but I wouldn't feel comfortable going in there since I discontinued my church membership. First Lutheran has declined so severely, it doesn't feel right to be involved anymore. I mean, can you really blame me? 

Maybe this hits me especially hard because my family had been going there since 1960 or '61. And I remember vividly how First Lutheran was a most thriving place that really embodied the Christmas faith. Two services every Sunday. A big "UMM Sunday" in the fall of the year. Little by little the church fell into decline. We can point fingers at the non-local denominational leadership. The ELCA went "liberal," progressive or woke or whatever other such terms you want to apply. Finally this came into sharp contrast with the direction of America, and that direction was "conservative." Especially true out here in sparsely-populated rural America. 

And so, left in the wake of that was the wreckage of the once-proud First Lutheran Church. And to make matters worse, the ELCA continues to recognize two of its churches in Morris. It would appear that the Morris community is challenged to support one ELCA church. But there continues to be two. First Lutheran remains alive in name only. 

 

The unraveling of FLC 

We suddenly got word that we would henceforth be spending half of our church time at the local Methodist church! Or to be technically correct, "Methodist/UCC." As if I knew anything about the "UCC." Eventually I was told that church body is more liberal than the ELCA. And "liberal" has become verboten out here, here where we can hear the coyotes howl at night. I will warn you against resisting the "big cities." The big cities are where the people are. Politically speaking they are going to have the mojo. 

We can be a little cocky out here with all of our support for Donald Trump, Michelle Fischbach et al. Our congressperson is absolutely reverential toward the Orange Man. And to think we once had a Democratic congressperson. And at the end, this individual - Collin Peterson - tried running away from his party. I considered that cowardly. If he was destined to go down, he should have accepted this as a proper Democrat. The people were going to choose the true MAGA person anyway. And they surely did. 

We can only cross fingers now and hope that Donald Trump does not bring about the destruction of America. And the kindling for all this got started with gay rights? 

I personally am willing to backtrack on gay rights. I mean if that saves the country. I would never want gays to be persecuted. 

 

Dean Monson RIP 

You wouldn't find a stronger Republican MAGA person than Dean Monson. It was very sad that we lost Dean recently. There were times when I had a hard time putting up with his very strident talk attacking Democrats and pushing the Republicans. It just got to be too much at times. I told people at DeToy's that now that he is gone, I will miss it. 

I said more than once over there: "Why don't those guys just find something else to talk about?" But I will miss Dean. 

However, I am troubled that DeToy's chose to be closed on the day of his funeral. The announcement of this was on the heels of the restaurant announcing that they'll be closed for Christmas Eve Day. I know they've been open in the past on Xmas Eve Day. I know because that's the day I would submit my extra Christmas tip to my favorite server. So I cannot do that this year. 

Closing for both Christmas Day and Christmas Eve Day is a bridge too far IMHO. Add to these two days the day of Dean's funeral. It is too much, it is too disruptive. Nobody thinks of the welfare of people like me who live alone and have no real family left. We have to get by somehow. 

I saw a whole op-ed in the Star Tribune several years ago from someone like me. "We'd just like to have our normal routine." This guy even complained about the TV fare at holidaytime: full of re-runs, guest hosts, throwaway stuff. People must not watch TV in the holidays. So then it's with a big sigh of relief when we have normal life return on the day after the holidays.

Oh we experienced the same problem at Thanksgiving. The closest "Thanksgiving community meal" that I was aware of, was at the Herman Methodist Church. I got two bacon bagels at Caribou Coffee along with a tall cup of coffee, and that got me through the whole day. Why were we depending on this business, Caribou? 

The highways were not in real good shape that day. Not good for driving to Herman. 

 

Not uplifting, unfortunately 

Long gone are the days when I had family. Right now on the cusp of Christmas, I find the developments with Donald Trump so disturbing with all the things he says and does, I cannot feel the real Christmas spirit. It is the Christian faith of America that lifted DJT into the presidency twice. The Christian faith will have some real reckoning when all this is over, assuming it can end with the U.S. even intact. 

Trump talks like he wants to make war now. Saber-rattling right at the arrival of Christmas. He's upset that drugs come from Venezuela. Well why do so many Americans make the choice to acquire drugs? Maybe that's the problem. 

Cocaine comes from  Venezuela, fentanyl comes from Mexico. 

I have never had a drug or alcohol problem. I have not had a failed marriage. But I am generally looked down upon in this community. A lot of this goes back to old school district politics. Morris went through a highly disruptive time in the late 1980s. Businesses got hurt. A lot of people had to start watching their backs. 

 

They were a specter 

Had the public school teachers gotten their way, the Lee Community Center would not have been built. They were anti-hockey. Look what the Lee Center has meant for the Stevens County Fair. 

Most of the old troublemakers in this community seem to have moved away. There was a time when they presented themselves as having all the answers. Then they leave - they go through all the trouble to sell their homes. Married couples used the synergy of their relationships to wield clout, hurt people. I'm tempted to list some of the names right here. But I guess I won't. Not that I care about their welfare. They wouldn't let go of their attitudes no matter what. 

We had our activities director at the school who profoundly misbehaved at a winter sports banquet. Not that he hadn't misbehaved in other ways leading up to that. And yet many of the "problem people" who I am referencing here, supported him. 

I had an exchange with Dick Felstul at Bremer Bank where he had his office. And Dick proclaimed "you have to let them have their autonomy." Yes, the autonomy to run roughshod over basic civilized norms. And this at the school no less. I almost started a shouting match with Felstul right in the bank lobby. 

The pastor at First Lutheran at the time - Deal Larson - got influenced by these people and he confronted me in an unpleasant way at Eul's Hardware when I was simply shopping once. 

Even at Christmas I can have very unpleasant memories entering my head. And how to deal with that? Well, it helped that I listened to the "barking dogs" version of "Jingle Bells" at Willie's. It is the saving grace.

 

Addendum: Dean Monson RIP.

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

Becca Holland turns back our Tigers

Don't know if Becca Holland takes any special pleasure in beating her alma mater. I'm sure she takes pleasure in any win actually. 

Becca is at the helm of the West Central Area Knights of girls basketball. Although early in her career, she has already reached the summit: the state championship! This happened last season. I wrote a blog post on "Morris of Course" that asked if she might have been signed up as Morris coach. She at least landed not far away. And it looks like the success of last year is carrying over into 2025-26. 

The WCA Knights sport a 4-1 record. They got win No. 4 on Friday against our MACA Tigers, here. They worked to a 28-23 lead at the half. The final score was 55-49. The Tigers were competitive but just came up shy. The Knights' title last year was in Class A. 

 

Becca and Beth 

Becca was part of a Holland "tandem" when she played as an MACA Tiger. It was Becca and Beth. A journalist had to be sharp and remember that the first initial was not going to do in differentiating between the two. I caught the West Central Tribune at least once using the "B" first initial in the stats. Can't say I would not have been susceptible to that myself. 

Always remember when assessing a journo's performance when typing through a mountain of sports info, that person can get confused at times. Often I pluck little facts from my memory. And I hope the facts are just that, facts. 

What info is online about the WCA vs. MACA game? I'm always skeptical about finding much when this matchup happens. This morning (Sunday), after getting home from Caribou Coffee where I got my brain stimulated, I see there's an item on "Craig Olson Sports." Oh boy! Will this pan out for having detailed info on either MACA or WCA? Don't ever get your hopes up. 

I clicked on the link and found a grand total of three sentences! I guess we're supposed to be happy with such acknowledgment. I am not. Man, when I think back to the kind of standards that were set for me when I wrote sports for the newspaper! 

The three sentences in Craig Olson Sports is better than nothing. We learn that Izzy Puchalski made seven of eight freethrow shots. She's a Knight. She led her team with 11 points. Madi Fagre and Lila Mahoney each put in nine points. Brinley Ulrich's point total was eight. 

Craig Olson Sports has no details on MACA. The West Central Tribune hardly ever has details on the MACA girls. Lately they have had some on the boys and I don't count on that continuing. MACA used to be served much better. What's up anyway? There still is a Morris newspaper. But it only comes out once a week. It was twice in my salad days there. 

So if you're looking for info on a Tuesday night game, you're - excuse me - screwed. We're deep into the age of the Internet now. Someone should do something creative. Actually I was saying this 15 years ago. 

The community doesn't put much credence in what I have to say. There is an unassailable "party line" on everything. That's our lot in life in Morris. Sometimes I feel like a character in an old "Twilight Zone" episode: the only normal person in a town of deluded folks. 

Our radio station helps out just a little with its website. But it has never been the same since Brett Miller left. I never met the guy. Has anyone given the radio station a hard time? Does anyone give the newspaper a hard time over its neglected website? Am I like the Twilight Zone character in asking these questions? Are people just puzzled to read this? 

Well, I do give a rip. I check the Stevens County Times website just to see if they have woken up. Well, no dice on this Sunday morning. The site is loaded with UMM stuff. UMM's own website supplies sports info with 100 percent thoroughness. It is totally redundant for the SCT site to even get into this. And the top headline this morning is: "Owl girls top Battlers by double digits." 

I'm happy when Hancock succeeds. But I really only care about MACA. It would be nice to see a website or two that really focuses on Morris. I must note here that our boys basketball program has started coming through with info supplied to the "Maxpreps" site. Thanks totally to those guys and keep it up man. 

Is timeliness important? Didn't we have an administrator in the Mike Martin days that seemed to just scream that timeliness is important? So I assume that Mike would bemoan our current media situation. But I don't know. Do you suppose he was just being political? Here I am in that "Twilight Zone" town again. 

The "Minnesota Scores" website informs us that MACA girls basketball is now 2-4. Unfortunately we have lost three straight. I cannot report any individual stats from the WCA game. I'd like to if I could. 

Oh shoot! I see where the Maxpreps site for our boys does not have data from their WCA game. This is an up-and-down thing. 

Our boys won 80-58 over the Knights. We're 6-0 now. 

I will conclude here by asking again: Was it ever possible for MACA to get Becca Holland as our girls basketball coach? It would have been a real step forward.

 

Addendum: So the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. has been re-named? Here's from an email I sent to Warrenn Anderson a couple days ago: 

 

I am getting very concerned that this nation is not going to rein in Trump. So he re-named the Kennedy Center. I was in a musical group that performed there when the place was new in 1972. I bought a Washington Post paper that had an early Watergate article. It was co-written by Bob Woodward and someone other than Bernstein.

We dined on the rooftop of the Kennedy Center. And I thought, "I wonder what all the poor people are doing." Just kidding.

- BW

 

Not just bad weather, it's gloomy

(MN DPS image)

A perfect depiction of Morris on a day like this would be a photo of a garbage container blown over. Don't we all look like characters from the movie "Fargo" right now as we make our rounds, seeking to be oblivious to the weather even as we discuss it with people? 

Here's a line from the Minnesota manual: "Did you order this weather?" It's like someone saying "how are you?" It's just a manner of saying hello. Small talk to indicate we're all aware of what's up with the weather. Holy cow it's just miserable on this Thursday morning. It's more than just the sheer wind and cold, or the ice or et cetera. 

I personally sense gloom and this comes on the heels of the president addressing the nation last night. Every day it's something that has to do with this person who holds our highest elective office. I have sought to issue warnings about him all the way back to 2016. I have lost friends. My church has crumbled because of the forces led by Trump against "progressivism." He and his flock of course resist the forces of history. 

This is not new in our history, hardly. People who resist change want us to envision and strive for an America that never even existed. Attack the Somalis? It's a different culture than mine obviously. But we have laws to deal with people who cannot behave properly. If the Somalis or any other ethnic group want to live here and obey our laws and pay our taxes, I welcome them. 

Trump has actually targeted the Lutheran church. Something about our compassion and helping hand toward immigrants, which obviously our church is going to practice. Why? Because we reflect the teachings of Christ. Hope that isn't just an inconvenience for you. But it may be. 

Christ Himself is not going to stand in the way of the zeal shown by Trump supporters. And holy cow, out here in western Minnesota - the sparsely-populated prairie - MAGA has had a bastion. And the sad part is that our churches have played into it so much. 

The ELCA churches have been resolute in trying to temper all that. Holding our own? No. Sadly, First Lutheran Church of Morris with its proud history can no longer exist as stand-alone. It is accurate to say we are "dead" - just trying to be precise here. Not only have we been forced to partner with another local church, we have partnered with a non-ELCA church. 

Meanwhile we have Faith Lutheran of west Morris doing the yeoman's work of remaining stand-alone. For the time being the local conventional wisdom is that Faith Lutheran is doing better than First. The CW suggests that Faith finds so much strength in the "young families" with kids. And on the surface that looks so heartening. How can you dispute that? 

We always hear rumors about "how certain churches are doing" vs. each other. Then we learn of apparent contradictions. A friend who I think is knowledgeable - one never knows - says it's just a matter of time before the First Lutheran problems catch up to Faith as well. Faith does not have an official long-term pastor now. There is a terrible crisis of a dearth of ELCA pastors. 

I can live my life without going to church. I do miss the small amount of socialization I got there. Life has its bumps in the road. I'll never forget how the late esteemed Truman Carlson left FLC and he was angry. He was a model for understanding how the more conservative folks got revulsed rather quickly by progressivism and how it seeped into the ELCA. 

Frankly I don't notice that much progressivism at the grassroots level. I do sense offensive stuff within the church bureaucracy - the higher-ups - where some appear to be motivated by LGBTQ activism. We should try to put a stop to that. Enough already. Nothing should be allowed to supersede the gospel. 

The once proud and rigid Methodist division has become fractured by politics in connection to you-know-what. 

So I can sit on the sidelines, observe and not participate anymore, except to view services on YouTube that I think are in line with my beliefs and temperament. 

 

Litmus test 

When a church loses the Truman Carlsons of this world, that is nothing but a bad sign. His bitterness grew to a point where the only thing he considered about a political candidate was whether that candidate had an "R" by his name. I tried to go back and forth with him about this. I say "try," only, because there was no hope of really connecting. If I tried sharing with him a skeptical thought about Trump, he'd just smile. A totally dismissive smile. "I don't hear you." 

Commands our attention

So now where is Donald Trump taking this nation? All of our economic policies at this moment point in the direction of more inflation. A new round of once-controversial "QE" started last Friday. That's "quantitative easing." The president tries browbeating and manipulating this thing called the "Federal Reserve" to get the short-term "sugar high" or "sugar rush." Interest rate cuts! 

So Trump calls the Fed chair a "numbskull." Classy guy, Trump is. 

Of course there is a longstanding unwritten rule in D.C. that the president does not comment about the Federal Reserve which is independent. It needs to be independent because sometimes it has to make decisions that are bad in the short term but good in the long term. And if this approach is allowed to die out? Politicians always want the short-term fix. 

Heavens, what side of that do you think Trump is on? Are you even aware of the background I am sharing here? Or do you just listen to your conservative preachers who may not give a thought to economics? Economics matter to you? Eventually it will, I guarantee you. I think it's already burgeoning in our consciousness. It will trump all the things you are hearing at the local (non-ELCA) churches. 

Joe Biden came right out and said he'd have no comment on the Federal Reserve. That was professionalism. 

We have a president now who assumed his position with no background in government or the military. Bone spurs? Whatever. But the Viet Nam war sucked. 

 

Greg Lake

Look at calendar

Right now we are so close to Christmas. And the president in a nationwide address should exude sheer joy and love. He could keep his own personal skirmishes in the background. But no-o-o-o, not with Trump. 

The Christmas spirit is being beaten down this year. "The Christmas we get we deserve," wrote the late Greg Lake in his lyrics for a well-known Christmas song. That's Greg Lake of "Emerson, Lake and Palmer." Indeed the American people are going to get what we deserve. Our congressperson Michelle Fischbach has been complicit in all the bad stuff.

 

The Greg Lake song was "I Believe in Father Christmas." 

 

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo 

Like it or not, state demands UMM deliver

The pleasant "junco"

The charming little junco birds are hopping around in the back yard of the Williams family residence. We are semi-rural. Such a joyful sight with the sun now shining bright on this Tuesday morning. A Tuesday morning when Christmas gets quite near. And so we seek more such upbeat thoughts. 

Our UMN-Morris campus must be quiet. I assume there is still a very long semester break in which the atmosphere out there is frankly dead and discouraging. 

Certainly we need a lift in connection to UMM. It has been quite the year of news and embarrassment. An emergency change in campus leadership. The change could not be delayed until the end of the school year. This means the state has noticed the shortcomings and is keeping close watch. 

Do I sound negative? This is how many people in the community would portray me. They would either disparage me or say I'm not even worth thinking about. I may be a contrarian sometimes but I'm not contrary to facts and logic. I am just contrary to the party line and the little fiefdoms or cliques that throw their weight around. 

We face the stark reality now that the state really wants UMM to deliver better for the money it receives. The powers-that-be don't care if we kick up a fuss about what is going on. Do you think we really have political pull out here? The reality is quite the opposite. 

We can be smug in thinking we're justified in being so "red" politically. It is hard to have a constructive conversation with anyone about this. Lots of sanctimonious folks who think that Donald Trump is the be-all and end-all in their lives. And this is so rigidly enforced in most of our houses of worship. 

We all know, I think, how UMM has been hurt in the most recent epoch of its history. The big push for gay rights or "LGBTQ" was so glaring. Did UMM ever make an institutional statement on gay rights? I think maybe it was just a large faction of students, staff and faculty. The staff will just follow whatever way the wind is blowing. People associated with UMM got so strident and condescending. 

Condescending? Well I recall a UMM prof making public comments where he asked "how is gay marriage going to hurt you?" The question was a perfect setup for the prof and his brethren to make those on the other side look stupid. College professors are good at this. They look at you like they're convinced they know it all. And I know that gay rights will not "hurt" me in any sort of literal sense. So I guess I'd assert that misses the point. 

How do I feel about gay marriage? Right now I'm not so sure. I am voting Democratic at this stage of my life, not that I'm all-in with the party forever. I was willing to be generous with the gay rights cause for a time. If these people have been persecuted or kept "in the closet," it's not fair. But to what extent do we go to remediate? 

Over the recent past I have come to moderate my views, so that I think maybe gay people do not deserve totally equal standing with the straights. I still do not want them to suffer. But maybe they have to accept some limitations because it's the heterosexuals who procreate, who have children in the biological sense. Gays have an argument no matter what you present to them, so they'd say in this instance that gay couples can adopt children. 

They always have an answer. But it borders on arrogance and disrespect on their own part, just like their opponents once showed. 

 

Repercussions 

The whole LGBTQ thing has delivered a whammy to our UMN-Morris. We no longer have a Homecoming parade with a vehicle displaying the king and queen. Such an innocent and routine thing to do. Do it for the alumni - that's what Homecoming is for anyway. Why take a big dump on Homecoming? And if the reputation of UMM becomes besmirched by this - if enrollment actually drops because of the "gay devil worshipers" or "QDW" (for "queer devil worshipers") - then it's a matter for UMM administration to really roll up their sleeves to address and solve. Because in the end, it's all about the State of Minnesota being able to justify what it invests here. 

UMM already has a strike against it by allowing Native Americans to attend for free. Didn't the U.S. Supreme Court make a ruling against affirmative action? You can argue that Natives have been abused in the past. But today's young people had nothing to do with that. Heck, the rest of the population had no part in that either. But the "sociologists" in academia get so caught up on "human groups" and how they have had so much conflict. 

That whole element moved on to the gays. And what a blow this has dealt to UMM. All you had to do is be a person about town to realize this. And let me add with emphasis: All of this caused a reaction from "the other side" which on its own became unpleasant. Did I do enough writing about the "Northstar" publication on the UMM campus? It was a total turd that was deposited on campus decorum. It was an emotional reaction to all the progressive stuff. "Northstar" ended up no more palatable than the things they were complaining about. 

So, I began suggesting in my blog writing: Why don't we have some really firm new UMM leadership that says to students: "You are not here to push political causes, you are here to take your studies seriously in preparation for the rest of your life." 

And students should absolutely respect their professors. My generation went to college at a time when we all knew profs leaned liberal and this would seep into their classes. My advice is: If you don't like this, just roll with the punches. You reserve the right to have your own opinions at any time. You can deny climate change even if all the science seems to affirm it. Sorry, college is a place for science to be really respected. 

 

In driver's seat yet? 

Is the new UMM chancellor in a position to start making decisions in this mid-December? I suppose those people don't work much now because of the holidays. But I think time is short for getting things turned around at UMM. 

We don't have political clout out here. The U of M has a presence in Rochester, thanks to Tim Pawlenty, and believe me, Rochester is on the cusp of a boom of economic development. It's due to the Mayo Clinic expansion among other things. 

Here in Morris we can still hear coyotes howling outside of town at night. This isn't to say that our UMM cannot be stabilized or even rejuvenated. Surely we'll need new and assertive leadership. I think we're answering directly to the legislature now.

Might we call this guy the "new sheriff in town?" He's Mike Rodriguez, new UMN-Morris chancellor as of next month. A man replaces a woman who was nudged out? This won't sit well with the town's feminists. I wonder if the new guy has come across any of my blog writing. Perhaps not. But I know I have some readers. I met new Chancellor Mike Rodriguez at TMC and got a chance to "pitch" to him how I didn't really care for the campus and "community" blending for music. I am assuming he will take a close look at all UMM programs. I could have told him further that our athletic facilities are way too nice to be the home site for a UMAC program. Has he been to a game yet? I have attended several volleyball and basketball games. I remember when UMM was in the Northern Sun Conference and how much more classy that conference was. Is there any going back? Maybe a good starting point would be to establish a nice little homecoming coronation and parade again. Queen should be a biological female.

 

Addendum:

My question to the sociologists: How has awareness of our differences ever helped us get along better?  I recommend the "melting pot" approach with society but academics find that boring.

 

Addendum #2: An email I sent to a friend this morning:

 

Del - There was a sign at DeToy's this morning saying they'll be closed on BOTH Dec. 24 and 25. This is a first. I'm always aware of the place being open on Xmas Eve because that's when I hand Karrie her special Xmas tip. I told Karrie I was disappointed. She seemed to agree and she said "everyone is so happy on that day." But the trend continues: restaurants are more stressed all the time as their costs go up and they don't dare pass too much of that on to customers. I can remember when DeToy's was open on Memorial Day. They used to be open in evening. They used to have a Sunday chicken buffet. 

I am so isolated now that it's nice to go someplace like DeToy's on the morning of Xmas Eve Day. I suppose I can go to Caribou like I did on Thanksgiving morning. If Kelvin is there, I have someone to talk to. And you never know how reliable Caribou is going to be.

 

I have company with the junco birds. 

  

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

With some help, I get questions answered

Let me proclaim that I never lost faith in J.J. McCarthy. Dan Sayles greeted me with a smile and "Skol!" this morning at our favored restaurant in Morris. 

 

My topic for online writing the last few days has been "running up the score." Can we still expect a fuss to be kicked up after games in which this alleged infraction is committed? Because, I can sure remember a time when this was the case. The complaints would get pretty hard-edged. I'd wonder if an aggrieved person (like maybe our own activities director) might want to punch the winning coach in the nose if given a chance. 

The complainer would make an ethical issue out of it. And secondly, the intensity of the complainer would grow out of the sheer embarrassment of being associated with the losing side. I'm still writing about it today because I have felt troubled by those episodes. Wouldn't any reasonable person at least have conflicted feelings? 

I mean, to expect a coach to tell his team to let up in some way, to have all the air taken out of the tires? For what end? To protect the feelings and the image of the opposing team? As if a mere score would cause people to make judgments? 

I worked with a Hancock basketball coach over many years who really felt he should "let the ponies run." His teams generated great excitement. They made state in the two-class system which was almost herculean. Don't expect the coach to end up in any sort of Hall of Fame. He crashed and burned. His wrongdoing landed him in prison in fact. If you can blot that out -  admittedly hard to do - my what a tremendous chapter in Stevens County sports history! 

And I have never wanted that chapter to be obscured or forgotten. His teams could bring nigh a packed house at the UMM P.E. Center for the tournament. The "Owl" mascot would dash onto the court and lead a cheer. The son of Principal Roger Clarke played an electric guitar "riff" at the same time. These memories will stay fresh in my mind. 

The Hancock team attracted a far greater fan turnout at UMM than what UMM's own teams attract today. And it's a night-and-day difference. 

Was the Hancock coach guilty of "running up the score" sometimes? The suspicion floated around. 

Fans here in Morris were inclined to not want to fawn much over what Hancock was doing, the obvious reason being that Hancock was doing rings - rings, I tell you - around our own programs. The sheer jealousy might be intense. 

But the Morris fans, led by an intransigent (translation: pain in the a--) bloc of teachers would never admit to any jealousy. Instead they'd thump their chests with how the priority in Morris was "academics" and so a pox on the sports stuff. Was I irritated? Well, rhetorical question. 

I made trips to the big-time Twin Cities sports venues to follow the Owls. I was in the newspaper media of course. It was the pre-digital times when the public was more reliant on newspapers. A newspaper writer could feel he had a sense of power back then. It was real. And in my case, my formative years were exactly when the whole Watergate thing was unfolding and newspaper writers were the heroes! Isn't that amazing? It happened in Washington D.C. where I presume you'd find the most expensive lawyers! And it was newspaper writers leading America out of its crisis. 

And to be a newspaper writer, you did not need to have any special credentials or degrees! 

The Morris teachers, or let's say a significant "problem" bloc, must have about lost their minds to realize that the chief sportswriter for the Morris paper was not "in with them." They had such a guild mentality. They had enough power as it was. It was healthy for a contrarian to be at the newspaper typewriter. 

And so what I did to be contrary was to indicate real enthusiasm for what the Hancock programs were doing. Girls basketball and wrestling led the way but overall there was a spark throughout. Treasured memories. No one can take those memories away from me. 

 

Focusing on the present

Update: In the past few years I have noticed an increased number of one-sided scores. Just when I thought I'd seen it all, along would come a new one, even "worse." And so I'd wonder if the losing athletic director or coach would want to punch people in the nose for this. 

Take a look at the girls basketball score from BOLD vs. Montevideo on Friday. A tempest of anger and finger-pointing perhaps? I don't know but I doubt it. I sense that the times and attitudes have changed. Just a sense I have. 

And so bless my old newspaper colleague Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley for noticing my writing and sharing his considerable wisdom. Here's what he wrote to me in just the last few hours:

 

Hello Brian, going to take a brief break from typing up basketball stats. It can make one go cross eyed, as you know quite well!

I'll speak briefly to the BOLD-Monte game. I definitely wouldn't accuse BOLD of running up the score. Here's my insight: a team like BOLD (which I saw in person on Thursday in Belgrade) did not have the deepest bench. I think a total of 12 girls dressed for the varsity game. I would imagine that the bottom 5 for BOLD were about equals with the starting 5 for Montevideo. Once the starters established that huge lead, I bet the reserves kept up the same pace. It would be difficult to say to those bottom 5 players for BOLD, "Hey, play conservative ball now since we have such a huge lead."

With the shot clock (which I can argue for and against) a team doesn't have the option to fully take the air out of the ball. They can withdraw a full court press. But every 35 seconds you have to take a shot.

I won't be surprised to see more lopsided scores. Also, I think reserves on your better teams (BBE, NLS, Minnewaska, Sauk Centre) are a notch better than reserves on teams 15 or 20 years ago. That's my two cents. A coach can "sub down" and not lose all that much.

 

Whither UMM Cougars?

Randy has been very attuned to our UMN-Morris. In a different email he pointed out some cause for concern with the competitive caliber of UMM teams these days - a dearth of competitiveness certainly. Or, at least some major questions being raised. He and I think along the same lines and we never kow-tow to a "party line." Randy shared the following:

 

Hello Brian, I'm sure this has crossed your mind at this point, but I had to write it out and have it in black and white in front of me.

UMM's winter basketball teams are 8-14 overall before Christmas; 6 of the 8 wins between the men and women are against Trinity Bible (4) and then the illustrious Oak Hills of Bemidji. Honestly, who has even heard of Oak Hills? I have never heard of them until recent years when UMM started playing them.

 

Randy Olson

Music mixes in!

Randy works in Bonanza Valley where the pep band director is Brystin LaMont, UMM graduate and former director of the Hancock band and pep band. Outstanding person. I shared compliments on her Hancock pep band when I heard it perform for a football playoff game at Big Cat Stadium. And in particular I liked how Brystin played electric bass herself to really give a "bottom" to the sound. 

Alas, I found out later that poor Brystin was reprimanded by her high school principal for doing that. An allegation of being "unprofessional," the way it was told to me. Well the Hancock principal could go and sit under a cow as far as I was concerned. I remember when I wrote about this young man when he was a Hancock student-athlete playing for Dave Schoeck. 

I remember when coach Dave stuck his neck out to express sympathy for the Hancock girls basketball coach when the latter was in the throes of his legal imbroglio. I don't think any teacher would dare write a letter like that now. Here's a little secret: Through that whole process I was totally convinced that the accused coach was guilty. Sometimes I just knew too much for my own good. You might say I was the proverbial guy who "knew where all the bodies were buried." 

I'd actually enjoy seeing that old Hancock girls coach again. God created all of us sinful. There but for the grace of God go I? Well maybe. Dennis would always say to me, "you old sidewinder." I don't think he liked me but I was in awe of his program. 

The Morris program had a coach for three years who was supposed to accomplish great things here. No such luck. The exact opposite happened. Morris was "snakebit." Later on we had a coach named Steve Harter who if anything was worse. 

The Hancock fans were left with memories of their team playing at Williams Arena and the Met Sports Center. Golden memories. And yes, in the two-class system. Phenomenal. 

I'll quote Randy Olson here on the topic of Brystin LaMont and her BBE pep band. Thanks Randy.

 

Due to a lack of brass in her pep bands, Brystin generally has played trumpet or tuba when playing for her own pep bands. We're not nuts enough to tell her she can't play during her own pep band performances. Gosh!  She once told me the story of how that all went down at Hancock. I'll share that with you sometime. 

 

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

Is "running up the score" still a thing?

From the Friday night prep sports news: In girls basketball, BOLD 114, Montevideo 21.

 

There must be an understanding among high school coaches these days, that they do not make allegations of "running up the score." In my very long background of following these things, I know there was a time when we'd hear rumblings. And I could almost shudder at the intensity of these complaints sometimes, as if the allegedly offending coach was doing something utterly immoral. 

I think any reasonable person would feel uncomfortable about this, because you'd have to ask yourself the question: what is really wrong with a team of student-athletes going all out with their effort? 

I remember a coach at Hancock who could receive brickbats. Well, he ended up in trouble but that was on a different front. In terms of alleged "running up the score," he'd sniff and say "we play a certain style of basketball and that's just what we do." 

There is reason behind that. 

I remember a former Morris activities director who'd stand in the hallway and mutter sometimes about the "running up the score" thing. We did have a problem for years with girls teams lacking competitiveness in the high-profile sports. 

I would observe, make some judgments and then maybe share with other people around town. A large faction of the teachers were in total "circling the wagons" mode for defending a particular coach or two, and they could not care less if we had girls teams that were obviously faltering. 

Maybe you think I'm exaggerating. Well I certainly am not. 

It took years until we got an administration that got its ducks in a row. 

 

Eyes on the prize 

These activities are supposed to be fun. That's the only reason they exist. They are fun to the extent that kids are allowed to build their competitiveness to an optimal level. That's the prize as in "eyes on the prize." 

The score of a game is just a couple of numbers. Get over it. Compliment the winning team on its commitment. 

We actually had Morris teachers once who asserted we had a lack of talent. And then they'd frown and vent fury at certain opponents who allegedly "ran up the score." 

Tim Brewster

Oh, this can happen at the major college level too. I wanted to support the Gophers' football coach Tim Brewster for a long time. But I got turned off suddenly when he "got in the face" of an opposing coach - Wisconsin I believe - who he felt "ran up the score." Is it fair to call it a petty issue? 

I wonder what the schools teach our coaches-to-be about this. Is "running up the score" what it appears to be? Is it simply a case of the winning coach being a jerk? There was a time in our Morris school history when the preferred reaction was to castigate the winning coach. As if the issue was so simple and one-dimensional. 

I remember how for many years, the Wheaton girls could run roughshod over Morris. As a side note, Wheaton also had the premier county fair out here for a long time. And then I'd ask: "why?" I won no popularity contests. 

Morris had a leadership element in those days with a lot of people who had comfortable government jobs. They had so many guarantees in their lives. They developed an instinct of not wanting to see anyone in education - coaches included - feel pressure to perform. They'd cry foul. 

As long as those coaches behaved like devoted little members of the comfortable fraternity, their backs would be covered. 

 

The fair surges 

The Stevens County Fair started catching up to Wheaton when we started "following the leader" with bringing in big name musical attractions. But it did take time. The real turning point for our fair becoming "big" was the construction of the Lee Center! It spread out the fairgrounds for one thing. I remember when "commercial exhibits" were in a rickety wooden building. 

I would suggest the low point for our county fair was in the late 1970s. We have truly come far. 

The high school athletic program had to get over hurdles also. Let's say especially the girls. There was no reason for Wheaton to look like it belonged in a completely different league from Morris. 

Hancock was a story unto itself. It obviously out-performed Morris but with a level of intensity that I felt was troubling. I went to high school with one of their assistant coaches in football (W.W.) and he said "they want to win so bad it hurts." 

The Hancock girls basketball coach ended up in a heap of trouble. How big a heap? Well, prison time. A whole chapter of Stevens County sports history should be written about that guy, who incidentally was a product of UMM. He was a Vietnam war veteran also. Some people wanted to cut him slack because of that - the "Rambo defense" I guess. It didn't work. We were dealing with the mistreatment of female student-athletes. 

But what a chapter of Stevens County sports history: post-season games at UMM with fans practically up to the rafters! Yes, bleachers pulled out on both sides of the P.E. Center. A pep band member on electric guitar getting fans fired up as the "Owl" mascot dashed out to lead a cheer! And in all those years, while people talked seriously about Wheaton and Hancock as contenders for great things, Morris was invisible! 

On the one hand I'd feel happy and enthused about Hancock too. And frankly Wheaton too. Why not? I remember a Wheaton player who came to UMM and played hoops. And then I'd look at Morris High School and frankly wonder if we should strive for better. 

And let me assure you: the most outspoken and assertive bloc of our teachers would put a target on your forehead of you talked like that. For some reason they felt threatened. I suppose they felt that if a coach experienced a non-renewal (firing), then this would start happening to others in "the fraternity." And so they guarded their comfortable little status quo - fiefdom - like you wouldn't believe. 

I was there - I assure you it was true. 

Teachers are unionized - they have protections. The turning point had to happen sometime. But things didn't change overnight. The activities director who muttered about opponents "running up the score" moseyed on away from here. This individual tried and failed to stop the growth of hockey. What if he and his allies had prevented the construction of the Lee Center? 

Doubt that? You could talk to Ron Sharstrom. He said "we've been told to watch our backs." 

Was hockey going to be a threat to basketball? It appeared the regressive element only cared about boys basketball. Old biases were still evident. Maybe the biggest irony is that Mary Holmberg was not more assertive.

 

The spark 

What got me going on this topic this morning? Well, I see that the BOLD girls basketball team defeated Montevideo 114-21 on Friday! I'm sitting here wondering if some people still make an issue of this type of thing. Maybe they don't. That would be progress. Just let the players show their skills. The losing team has incentive to work harder.

I write specifically on the BOLD vs. Montevideo game on my companion blog "Morris of Course." Here is the link and thanks:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2025/12/bold-gaining-notice-in-girls-basketball.html 

 

Addendum: The Hancock kid with the electric guitar at tournament games was the son of Principal Roger Clarke. Nostalgia.

   

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

Boys win nail-biter at Montevideo

Christmas is the season for miracles, right? So on this Friday morning with such Godawful weather, I see a miracle worker has been at work. This I realize as I check for information on last night's MACA boys basketball game. We see that the West Central Tribune website has full details on the Tigers. This is amazing. 

We normally see "stats not available" for MACA in the West Central Trib online reporting. We often play schools that are within the paper's coverage territory. Very often in fact. So we are frustrated seeing "stats not available" so regularly. Well, I am frustrated anyway. Morris is an awfully sleepy community so maybe my observations are not shared by many others. 

And whenever I try waking people up, I often get insulted, even in purely personal terms. And the language can be raw, even coming from people in upper-tier professions. 

How did the WC Trib come upon this info from the Thursday game? We can't rule out that the Montevideo coach provided it. If that's the story, a big thank you to the Monte coach. Occasionally we'll see on the WC Trib's site a list of the scoring totals for MACA but no other categories. This is rare but it does happen. The most recent time that I can recall seemed like a blessing until I added up the individual totals and came up four points shy of the team total. So something got left out, probably an individual player who scored four points. And that's a glitch. 

It's good as a matter of course when proofreading to add up the individual totals. And do it before your coach source gets off the phone. Give them a chance to correct things. I'll quote my old Detroit Lakes friend Monte here: "Brian, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things." (Yes, that's his name, Monte.)

The WC Trib is owned by Forum Communications which had a shot at owning the Morris paper. It failed here. They didn't do enough things right. A very well-placed source told me that the Forum was going to close the Morris paper. Our paper of course got rescued. It's only once a week now. It was twice all the years I worked there. 

 

Tigers 68, Montevideo 66

Our MACA boys basketball Tigers prevailed in the Thursday action at Montevideo. This isn't a good time to be taking a lengthy trip. Look at the weather outside. I would shake my head about any fans making the trip to Montevideo. The ones who did saw a nail-biter of a game. We won 68-66. 

Monte's Griffin Epema got the score deadlocked 65-all with a 3-pointer with 40 seconds left. The Tigers misfired on a 3-point attempt. But Jack Kehoe snared the rebound. He passed to Alex Asmus. Alex nailed his 3-point shot and so now the scoreboard shows 68-65 with just over six seconds left. 

Epema then made a freethrow for the Thunder Hawks. He deliberately missed his second attempt. This set up Brody Dick for his last-gasp shot try. It missed! So it's all over with MACA savoring this win by two points. Thus the ride home in such unpleasant weather was made less arduous. The win was our third. How significant was it? Monte came into the night with the No. 2 ranking in Minnesota Class AA! 

Did the MACA coach supply his team's stats to the West Central Trib which does not normally solicit info on MACA? If this is what happened, it means at least that the WC Trib people do not hang up the phone on the MACA coaches. Again, if it was the Monte coach supplying all the info, we just have to say a big "thanks." 

Do Morris people ever try to put pressure on the WC Trib about the paper's stance relative to MACA? What do they say? 

There was a time when Brett Miller was at the Morris radio station and he did a good job reporting about MACA on the station's website. That ended a long time ago. 

 

Alex Asmus, top scorer

Six players scored for the Tigers led by Alex Asmus with 22 points. Tyson Grove put in 14 and Benjamin Tiernan 12. Then we see Riley Asmus with 11, Jack Kehoe with 7 and Jonah Huebner with two. Does this add up to 68 points? It does! It does! Sometimes things do go right. 

Alex Asmus made three 3-pointers while Tiernan and Grove each made two. Kehoe with his seven rebounds led there. In assists it was Alex leading with three. Grove had a steal and Riley Asmus had a blocked shot. 

The "Thunder Hawks"

Brody Dick led Monte's scoring with 22 points. He made three 3-pointers. But it was Jackson Koenen leading in 3's with a total of four. Koenen scored 16 points. Adam Van Binsbergen made two 3-pointers for the T-Hawks. 

There's more than one Koenen with Monte. So we see Caleb Koenen leading in rebounds with six. Epema was tops in assists with eight. Van Binsbergen and Jackson Koenen each had two steals. Dack and Epema each blocked a shot.

 

At D-B Saturday (weather permitting)

The Tigers will take their 3-0 record to Dawson-Boyd on Saturday, provided weather is deemed cooperative. Well it will certainly be cold. Next Tuesday will find the Tigers hosting Melrose. Things don't slow down a whole lot for the holidays. 

Speaking of the holidays, just a couple hours ago I had the pleasure of receiving a poinsettia display from the U of M Foundation. I have probably written more about UMN-Morris lately than the powers-that-be would like. I'm not talking basketball, I'm talking overall institutional issues. It's a trying time. Don't blame me for that. "Mongo just pawn in game of life."

 

Carvin Fish

UMM hoops 

I have had the pleasure of attending several UMM basketball games of late, men's and women's. Will we ever see the bleachers pulled out on both sides of the gym again? Or are we stuck playing so many "weird" schools. It's nice to see the Cougars win as the men did on Dec. 8 over. . .Trinity Bible College. We won 96-64. Four scorers stood out, led by Carvin Fish with 29 points. Kaden Pieper scored 23, Matt Thompson 15 and Thomas Tiernan 13.

The team is done until after the holidays. On Tuesday I sent an email to my fellow UMM advocate Warrenn Anderson about various things pertaining to UMM and a litltle outside that sphere. Moi? I share it here:

 

Hello Warrenn - I'm dealing with the blahs of the winter weather by going to an occasional UMM basketball game. So I went last night, walked to campus in fact. It was a win but oh no, we were playing "Trinity Bible." Imagine Perry Ford accepting this situation. The P.E.Center has a pretty empty feel to it. Looks like bleachers on one side will be pulled in forever. People accept this as status quo now. You and I remember when the place could really be hopping for basketball. 

One positive thing I can say: there is an announcement just prior to game about expected fan behavior and how people could get kicked out if they violate. Boy we sure could have used this in past times. I'd look at Charlie and wonder "Charlie, why don't you do something?" But he had his instructions I'm sure. And I always noticed how Imholte LIKED how the UMM crowd showed "swagger" in connection to UMM's "superiority." Well, maybe we're paying a price for all that now.

I remember Imholte submitting a letter to the U newspaper once during football when he finally had to plead with the students. I remember he wrote "keep in mind that (the visitor) is our guests." UMM should have simply had some policies. But no.

On the way home last night I grabbed a copy of the U student newspaper. So there was an interview with Rodriguez. It surprised me. I thought he was going to be so totally diplomatic with everybody. But he was quoted saying that Sviggum was unrepentant in his visit here. That set up some more conflict IMHO. Even if what Rodriguez said was true, I think he could have let sleeping dogs lie.

Hey, the Gophers are playing on day after Christmas in bowl game vs. New Mexico! Season will have to be considered a success. Another season where we figure "if we could only have gotten one more win, we'd be in a higher-tier game."

Man, some big-time programs are now saying "no" to a bowl game!!! Incredible. I remember when the Gophers under Cal Stoll qualified for the first bowl game in many years. We were so excited. I refreshed my memory and this was in 1977 and it was the Hall of Fame Classic. I think the Gophers were held back for many years by the "academic" people of the U, and finally the people in charge realized we couldn't let this happen any more. Academics and sports are separate and I don't care if the athletes take "basket-weaving classes," to cite the old cliche. My father agreed with me. The Gangelhoff thing was ridiculous. All those years when we suffered while Nebraska was a kingpin! Today Nebraska has fallen way down to mere mortal level. I guess they weren't winning because of the uniforms! We should have known better. Minnesota is more prosperous than Nebraska! Poor Joe Salem.

I called up some old video of Mike Hohensee and now I can see why he was never an NFL prospect: he had a "wind-up" to throw a little like a baseball pitcher. Not that some QBs haven't made it with this trait, like Byron Leftwich.

A pizza slice at the P.E. Center concession stand costs $4, Back in the Perry Ford years I'd have my "evening meal" of two slices at the P.E. Center for TOTAL cost of $3.

One of the blog posts I wrote about the UMM chancellor changeover really got traction - "viral." I probably said some things that did not please certain people.

- BW

Poinsettias for the season!