Basketball and band together at UMN-Morris!

The UMN-Morris men played the late game of the basketball doubleheader Saturday at the P.E. Center. There was a lively atmosphere for appreciating hoops. The atmosphere was built by the very pleasant surprise of a UMM pep band. Eureka! It was adequate if not outstanding. It was just nice to see. And the main thing is that maybe this just represents a start. Word might start circulating. 

I'm sure there has always been a high percentage of UMM students who played in their high school band. They don't necessarily focus on music studies at UMM. The pep band would seem to be a nice outlet for any student with that background. How many would still have their old instruments? I kept mine because I kept playing after high school. 

Would the UMM music discipline have instruments available to provide? I suppose there's always a risk of instruments getting damaged. I think UMM guards all of its assets more than in "the old days" just because of the sheer cost of maintenance. I wouldn't have to tell you that the cost is "up." Does science dictate that prices go up? 

I remember the wear and tear that campus assets were subjected to in the days when major high school basketball tournament games were played at the P.E. Center. Obviously both sides of bleachers were pulled out. Excited people streamed into the place. UMM must have gotten compensation from some source for hosting this, at least I assume. 

For years and years it was commonplace: going to the P.E. Center in March for the much-anticipated games. I was with the Morris newspaper. Heavens, today I'd be expected to get in my vehicle, gas it up and head south to Marshall for high-level games. The only time I have ever been at the Marshall facility was actually for a music concert! It was the Maynard Ferguson band in the early 1980s. Packed house and great show. Maynard was "on." To refresh: he was a trumpet player. 

But I have never been to the SSU campus for a high school sports event. I have speculated that the high-level games like sub-section or section championship draw fewer fans than when UMM was a hub. I shared that thought with a friend who offered analysis. He agreed but said that distance was not the only factor. He said "these days the parents are divided into so many activities." 

Yes, "the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves." 

I was at the paper when new teams/programs were being added. I mean, hockey went from being a sandlot type of sport to fully established with the Lee Center. I provided coverage in the "sandlot" days. There was lots of commitment in spite of the lack of amenities. Obviously we were at the mercy of weather. 

Speaking of that, what a mid-winter time we are having right as I write this, late January. Late January means I become another year older. On January 28 I turn 71 years of age. I feel fortunate to have made it this far. Once you've attended your 50-year high school reunion, the rest is gravy, n'est-ce pas? 

I was in the Morris High School Class of '73. We weren't "Morris Area" then. The highlight of our commencement was the speech given by Edith Martin, sister of the Martins we know so well from the grocery store. Could they all have dreamt that their store would have no competitor in the year 2026? I wonder what Edith in 1973 would think of the grocery prices of today. 

Willie's was "Red Owl" when Edith and I were young. I laugh as I remember how she referred to Super Valu then as "America's number one skinflint." 

Our high school has added gymnastics and swimming. I remember the late Rick Lucken expressing some concern about swimming as "another non-revenue sport." 

I'll be blunt and say I covered gymnastics and swimming in a grudging way. These were not fan-oriented sports so where's the interest? Was I supposed to put that consideration aside? Well yes, in the estimation of many. 

And all along we had the UMM teams. Only with the development of the UMM website did we really get a "sports information" department at UMM. For years the "SID" position was in name only and if Mark Fohl were to read this, he would not dispute it. Such far-reaching change brought by the Internet. It is a GIVEN now that colleges supply timely and extensive info on their sports teams. 

Jack Imholte would have been indifferent. He actually would have been skeptical of allocating resources for the purpose of in-depth sports info. And this is not to criticize him. Those were just different times. Staggeringly different. 

One norm was that it was always permissible to criticize ME. I never pretended to be thorough or consistent covering UMM sports. But I nevertheless did a lot of it in the long run. I made it a personal priority to cover UMM soccer in its first year because I felt "this is history." I recalled this in one of my recent meetings with UMM's new chancellor Michael Rodriguez. I guess the Williams family has a sense for "firsts." My father was the only music faculty in UMM's first year. 

 

The prepsters 

Covering Morris High School sports was difficult for a long time. The school had tremendous problems in the 1980s. While this was most evident in co-curricular, the problem went deeper to an underlying culture in the system. There was one individual who made so many of his colleagues cynical and defensive. To this day I'm amazed at the power that person had to influence others. 

I could have wrung my hands over how long it took to overcome that dysfunction. And there sat the superintendent pulling in his big check all the time. He'd probably say his hands were tied. While it may still be hard to "fire a teacher," I think the people who run the schools have leverage to apply heat on problem people in the system. 

And today's administrators appear better trained and conditioned to be true managers relative to the teachers. Previously they came across as warmed-over teachers themselves. So I'm happy about a lot of the strides. But I did have some trying years. I suffered some personal damage because of that (and some other things). 

When I write about sports today, I think you can sense that I feel genuine joy about it all. That is the real me. I probably lost my job at the Morris paper because of fallout from the goalpost incident of 2005. Of course I wasn't prepared to deal with that. And I'll finally reveal a little secret. On that day, I felt about zero interest in the UMM football team. We played at such a bottom level. And I felt considerably more inspiration to cover the area high-schoolers. 

I was flummoxed by the goalpost incident. A letter to the editor from Mike Busian probably set the wheels in motion for my exit months later from the commercial media. And it hurt profoundly. To this day I have some PTSD resulting from things that happened toward the end. I wake up sometimes having had a vivid dream where I'm still with the paper. Happened just in the last few days. I'll wake up and then realize "I haven't worked for the paper in 20 years." 

20 years! And then consider that I'll be 71 years old tomorrow (Wednesday). I'll write about local sports for as long as I can. I will do so right here and now.

 

Carvin Fish

Cougars 80, UW-Superior 78

Yes, a close game to entertain fans at the P.E. Center. It followed the women's victory which I blogged about in my previous post on this site. A slice of pizza costs $4 at the P.E. Center. I remember the years when I'd have my evening meal there for a basketball event: $3 for two slices of pizza! 

The UMM men got to .500 in overall won-lost, at 9-9. Things look better in the UMAC at 4-1. 

Carvin Fish was our big gun with 27 points. Carvin has been "in the zone" of late. He shot 10 of 14 and 2 of 3 in threes. Plus 5 of 10 at the freethrow line. He had eight rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots. Fish comes to UMM from Sisseton SD, Tiospa Zina Tribal School. 

Kaden Pieper scored 18 points and Matt Thompson ten. As a team we shot 26 of 55. In 3-pointers the numbers were 9 of 19. In freethrows: 19 of 29. 

Wasn't Maddy Grove spectacular in the women's game? 28 points.

January 28 of 1961 when this photo was taken. It's me turning age six. Williams family comfortably settled in Morris. History-making time: UMM's very first year! We were devoted to helping get the institution off the ground. Previously it was the West Central School of Agriculture. There are still some vestiges of the "school of ag" on campus. I have suggested that maybe it's time to move past that nostalgia.

I have enjoyed getting to know the new UMM chancellor Michael Rodriguez. The photo shows Dr. Rodriguez (left) with yours truly on Friday morning at Common Cup. The picture makes me think that I should stop cutting my own hair! I started that because of covid. Also stopped seeing the dentist. I finally went to dentist a few months ago and had a tooth pulled. Rodriguez has a major job ahead of him. He insists that UMM does not face a threat of closure. I wish him luck with that pledge. I don't think it's actually a slam-dunk. And with all the stormy weather our state is experiencing right now at the hands of the "Federal police," our economy could be damaged and this could obviously have ramifications for the U. Are you ready to get word that UMM is closing? Well that would certainly be a nightmare scenario. Let us strive to move forward led by the new guy in the chancellor's chair. Good luck!

 

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

Kehoe scores team-best 18 in Tuesday win

The weather has slowed the pace of things for MACA basketball. We're hoping to resume on Tuesday for the boys. Home game against Minnewaska Area. Our most recent game was the previous Tuesday, Jan. 20. On that day the Tigers won yet again. That's all they do, is win! Twelve times they have taken the court this season, successful every time out. 

That 12-0 record includes 6-0 in conference play. It's not premature to think about high-level post-season games. All the way to the top maybe? 

The Jan. 20 opponent was Eden Valley-Watkins. And MACA came away with an 80-56 victory. It was a night for Jack Kehoe to lead the charge in scoring. Kehoe made seven of ten field goal shots to post 18 points. Tyson Grove and Alex Asmus shared the No. 2 position on the scoring list. Each scored 16. Grove made seven of 14 shots, Alex six of 14. 

Jonah Huebner had impact with 12 points on five of eight. Riley Asmus joined in with his nine points on four of six. Then we had Ozzy Jerome with six points and Ian Grove with three. This is the first time I have typed Ian's name. Welcome to my blogs. 

I saw Maddy Grove play fantastic last night (Saturday) for the UMM women. It was a historic might for UMM basketball because there was a pep band! I don't recall even once seeing this in all my years with the Morris newspaper. Who says things are on a downward course at UMM? 

The Tigers' team shooting numbers were 32 of 65, 49 percent. We weren't really scintillating in 3-pointers where we made seven of 28. Alex Asmus was three of nine and Tyson Grove was two of eight. Ian Grove made his only attempt. So did Ozzy Jerome. 

In freethrows the Tigers were nine of 15, 60 percent. Kehoe was four of seven and Huebner two of two. Rebounds! Our team total was 30, 12 coming on offense. The top individual was Alex Asmus with seven. In assists it was Tyson Grove and Alex Asmus leading the way with four and three respectively. We had 18 total assists. 

Alex topped the steals list with his five. Huebner and Kehoe each had four. We had 17 total steals. We had two blocked shots with Tyson Grove and Kehoe taking the honors. 

Now let's get the harrowing winter weather put aside and get into the rest of this exciting season!

 

UMM women win

So it was a marquee night for the "Grove connection" on the UMN-Morris women's hoops team. A good turnout of fans was present on the bleacher seats at our P.E. Center for UMAC action. And as I already mentioned, an actual pep band on hand! Man I could have done a double-take! Seems like not asking too much to have a band organized, n'est-ce pas? 

And the band students do not have to be actual music students on campus, do they? I'm certain there are always lots of students around who have a background of having played in their high school band. Would they still be in possession of their instruments? If not, could the music department help out? 

Well we certainly had a bona fide band present Saturday to build the atmosphere for the doubleheader slate of collegiate hoops. Why so many years without a pep band? How would I rate the band from Saturday night? Well that's not important. It might have been rather threadbare but who cares? Let's consider it a "start." If the fans are happy, that's what matters. The fans and the players! 

The band was announced as being directed by Simon Tillier. So without a doubt the music department has applied its imprimatur. (I like using that word.) I think Simon was actually playing an instrument with the band, from my view up along the concourse. But my eyesight has been in decline. 

We have a different yardstick for judging things at UMM these days, it seems. No longer does it seem necessary to apply the highest college-level standards. It is enough to just keep as many programs going as possible. In other words, for the institution to survive. As long as everyone is having a good time, I'll raise a toast to that. 

But we'll probably never see the bleachers pulled out on  both sides of the gym again. I remember when that was the norm for years and years. I also remember the norm of UMM regularly playing the state universities like Moorhead State and all the others. I really do miss that. You would think that the mighty U of M could keep its Morris campus at the level where we could compete with, and defeat, the state U's. You second that? But those days appear unlikely to return. 

We have a new chancellor at UMN-Morris now who shall we say is trying to right the ship, to land the plane. He's an agreeable guy, Mike Rodriguez. I told him he's probably happy to be here in Morris instead of the Twin Cities where there is a violent disturbance involving the Federal police a.k.a. "ICE." The scenes from there make me think we're heading into dystopian times. Things remain peaceful in Morris and at UMM, thank God. 

President Trump gets so much of his support from places like rural western Minnesota. But then the Twin Cities are where all hell breaks loose with what Trump wants. I think he wants a white supremacist society. And he appears to get backing from our Christian churches like the kind of churches we have out here on the prairie, with few exceptions. 

 

Maddy Grove

Maddy's showcase 

The UMM women's basketball team won 59-48 over UW-Superior on Saturday. And what a night for Maddy Grove as she scored 28 points. She made her only two 3-point shot tries. She was 13 of 26 overall in field goal shooting. She really was our dominant force in scoring. 

Shelby Mortenson had our second-high total of 15 points. I didn't see Gianna Klarenbeek's name in the boxscore. Mortenson topped rebounds with seven. Grace Perry led in assists with four. Wow: Mortenson dominated in blocked shots with seven! Grove had four of our 12 steals. As a team we shot 23 of 62. 

With the win the Cougars improved to 4-1 in league and 7-11 overall. UW-Superior is known as the "Yellowjackets." 

I'm writing this on a most chilly Sunday morning. I have to wonder: Should anyone of truly good conscience consider attending a Christian church in Stevens County today? In Stevens County, this most "red" county that walks hand-in-hand with the orange god, Trump, not the true god of the Bible? 

I will stick to the true God and true Jesus no matter what it takes. Jesus could sometimes sound a little like Bernie Sanders, a "liberal." Pastors have become tentative about quoting from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. They get complaints. I will never be ashamed to cite the quotes from Jesus Christ. I would never put any mortal person like Trump ahead of Jesus. So I would not fit in with most of the churches here in coyote country of Stevens County. 

The Twin Cities are where the people are. Never dismiss that. I continue warning my Apostolic church friends, "beware false prophets."

 

Addendum: From an email I received from a friend a couple days ago:

 

Marshall Hoffman interviewed Dr. Rodriguez on his “Community Connection” KMRS program the other day. It all went well, but then toward the end Marshall mentioned the concern and disappointment on campus with the “sudden departure of his predecessor” (no name was mentioned). Mike kind of hemmed and hawed, didn’t really answer, and changed the subject.

Someday, we’ll have to talk about KMRS – it’s really changed a lot since they moved into the new studio. And not necessarily for the better. Yes, the on-air talent (3 individuals in particular) are much more “polished” and professional than the standard fare of announcers they usually hire. But, they aren’t in the studio – they “work” from very distant locales, i.e. Florida, California, wherever. So that’s how Ingstad Media could afford better talent – they don’t have to pay them to move to Morris and be “live” in the studio. I haven’t talked to Deb (Mattheis) in quite a while, so I haven’t got the skinny yet on how all of that shook out.

 

My answer to Hoffman would have been: "Transitions happen in education all the time." Sometimes it's not for the faint of heart. The institutions are organisms with their own survival instincts. Someone once asked Ringo about the firing of Pete Best. And Ringo said "they could have fired me too."

 

Addendum #2: A friend with a UMM background responded to an email where I made note of the UMM pep band. Historical background, interesting:

 

Wow, a UMM pep band - what a pleasant surprise! I think the last “real” pep bands (not semi-organized, rag-tag student-led groups) were my sophomore year out there, winter of ‘72-‘73. Clyde (Johnson) divided us into 2 groups, A& B, to split the load for home basketball games (men only, no such thing as women’s BB then). But then Title 9 was passed, and instead of funding from the men’s sports programs, they took money from the Humanities division. Clyde didn’t like that, and he told us where athletic department could put their pep bands. Nothing since.  

 

My response: These days so many UMM basketball games are women's/men's doubleheaders, so it's not like the pep band has to make separate commitments to the two genders. I know all about the complications caused for certain people when the number of sports programs proliferated. I was in the commercial media! 

My response #2: The restoration of pep band had a modest start Saturday. Really not a great performance but it was a start! If communication circulates about this, we'll likely see more interest. I personally have always considered pep band an art form! I gather - ahem - that our high school band director does not see it that way!

 

A final note: A photo that includes Dr. Rodriguez with yours truly at Common Cup appears with my current post on my "Morris of Course" blog site. Friends of UMM gathered informally at Common Cup Friday morning, very enjoyable. Here is the link to my post and thanks: 

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2026/01/we-may-be-cold-but-were-not-omaha.html 

  

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

Relief from the cold with UMM hoops

(KHOU image)

We're in another of those occasions where the weather preoccupies us in Minnesota. And we pride ourselves on being so resilient. Is it an intrinsic quality or just a matter of practicality, of survival? Well, rhetorical question. We have no choice in the matter. We do what we have to. 

While so much of normal life slows down or comes to a halt, we can feel some enthusiasm about a home UMM basketball game on Saturday. It's a 3 p.m. start at the place I still call the P.E. Center. Is it "Cougar Sports Center" now? 

I remember all the years before the RFC existed. I remember all the years when UMM teams played in the NIC and then the NSIC grouping. That's "Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference." 

Today we're in the UMAC which hasn't exactly stimulated my enthusiasm but that's the way it is. We play a lot of religious-themed schools. Meanwhile we are quite secular in our orientation with UMM. So there's an irony? Mark Fohl proclaimed that we can get along with these other schools just fine if we "stick to sports." It appears that objective has been accomplished. 
The UMM women's basketball team will face off against UW-Superior at 3 p.m. Not sure if I will walk or drive over. My car had a new battery installed just a couple weeks ago at Heartland Motors. It should be able to deal with the cold. 
The utter cold is the biggest story right now. So many days in a row: that is the novel thing. Looks like it'll continue right through Sunday morning when the Apostolic crowd of guys likes to gather at the Willie's Cafe. I sit close by and I always learn something! 

(B.W. photo)

This morning (Friday) I had an interesting social experience also. I attended a gathering of the UMM folks at Common Cup where Mike Rodriguez was the featured individual. He of course is the new UMM chancellor. I was invited by Erin Christensen. So I was definitely welcome. I have to be sure of these things. The UMM crowd has not always been a suitable milieu for yours truly. 
I am so fortunate to have had so much interaction with Rodriguez thus far. My association has been totally agreeable. Nice coffee cake available at Common Cup for the affair, gratis too. More than one type of coffee too. Very relaxed and fun interaction. 
It was a time to feel totally good about UMM even though we all know some storm clouds could be on the horizon. The big clarion call was issued by the Fourth Estate a while back. Talk about milieus: the press or the media has been my milieu all my life. Report and share opinions in a totally unencumbered way.
It is possible to get a foothold in the Fourth Estate - to have real reach with your writing - even if you don't have a particular degree or pedigree. But maybe my thoughts on this are most apt when reflecting on the pre-Internet age. Today any one of us can have reach. And it is a good thing, to an extent. It does appear that political conservatives have mastered the contemporary landscape to wield real power. This concerns me a great deal. 

Whither Minnesota? 
Minnesota continues to try to navigate as a "blue state." We might have sensed storm clouds about this a while back. Ah, so it is coming home to roost now? With the nation's president unleashing his power with ICE, i.e. the "Federal police." Do I have to tell you once again that Federal police are fundamentally different from the kind of police that we have always assumed to be around? 
ICE has built up a menacing presence in Minnesota. And maybe you cheer for it. I'm sure many of you do. Be careful what you wish for. We may see the "Federal police" burgeon in our Land of 10,000 Lakes, slowly so it would have the "boiling frog" effect. And then it may start asserting itself in ways that most of you would find objectionable. Like to spread around and keep close watch on polling places for the mid-terms, intimidating us. 
It would intimidate us because we all know the preferred outcome for elections by those who wield power in D.C. now. It is the president in concert with his fellow Republicans who are not your father's Republicans, to be sure. Maybe you only sense this in the abstract now. And you might attend a church that is cheerleading with what the MAGA crowd wants. So this is the purpose of church now: to twist arms for political objectives? 
And you pretend that Jesus Christ walks hand-in-hand with you? That is your fantasy or imagination. Well, religion is sort of a fantastical thing by definition, n'est-ce pas? 
Federal police could easily start morphing into the sort of thing we saw with the German autocratic empire of the mid-20th Century. Once the momentum for that starts building, we may well wake up only when it's too late. Do you think the German people are stupid? Well of course they aren't. But look what they acquiesced to. 
 
The seeds 
Here in America we are dealing with dysfunction that started with the 2008 "financial crisis" and how it was not dealt with properly. I actually think that's the whole story. We don't want to accept recessions anymore. But recessions have to be sustained in any properly ordered capitalistic system. To deny that is to invite potential catastrophe. The Federal Reserve may be dragging us to all-out crisis. Will you heed my words? Probably not. 
I may be taking risks for myself just expressing the kind of views that I do. Right at the present time, I am hunkered down at home because of the cold. Welcome to Greenland, you might say. Even Greenland can't escape Donald Trump. The polar bears might feel exasperated.
 

Maddy Grove

Cougars 73, Crown 39
Hey, the UMM women's basketball team is coming off a win! Good news! It was by a score of 73-39 at St. Bonifacius. Crown is one of those religious-themed schools in the UMAC. 
Maddy Grove co-led the scoring charge for our Cougars: 16 points. She made 8 of 15 field goal attempts. She had four rebounds, four assists, two blocked shots and three steals. 
My favorite player Gianna Klarenbeek from Iowa was back on course with her shooting. Following a sub-par game she came to life with 16 points to match Grove. And she was quite back on course with her 3-point shooting. She made three of her five long-range attempts and was six of nine overall. She had five rebounds, four assists, one shot block and one steal. She made her only freethrow try. Our third double figures scorer was Shelby Mortenson with 14 points on 7 of 12 shooting. Our top rebounder was Grace Perry with nine. She also led in assists with six. Anna Myers led in steals with four.

Gianna Klarenbeek

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

UMM women win in distressed Twin Cities

UMN-Morris traveled to play a "Christian University" on Saturday. The trip was to Gotham, i.e. the Twin Cities of Minnesota, where we've seen great unrest of late. "ICE" doing its thing. Protesters disrupted a church service. Increasingly we see American Christianity as synonymous with the aims of the Donald Trump presidency. 

The religious element in Trump's support has always puzzled a great many including myself. But the association just seems to burgeon. Leading where? Well I'm greatly concerned that it will endanger the already-fragile Christian churches across America. The churches hang on to their most fanatical, mostly old members. Mostly white: you know the profile. 

And I'm quite certain that Jesus Christ himself if he did in fact exist would want nothing to do with DJT and what he represents. But the media continues feeding us the meme that evangelicals across America - as if they define the Christian faith - are fighting to the end to support their Orange god. I have been perplexed for so long. And it never ends. 

The meme is supported by the vast media-based network of "conservative" personalities. Ironic, when you consider that the traditional grasp of conservatives suggests these people want calm and temperance and not disruption. Minnesota is in a fracas of disruption. And all that our congressperson will say is "I support law enforcement." 

A great deal of "law enforcement" was performed under the great German autocrat of the mid-20th Century too. Our congressperson should spell out more of what she means. Is she on the bandwagon for the U.S. taking over Greenland? And maybe also Canada, Cuba and heaven knows what else? Isn't this the kind of hostile expansionism that characterized the great German autocracy that finally had to be put down in war? 

Can't America just enjoy life without having to beat the drum in such an ominous way? Have we learned nothing from history? 

Christianity would normally be a refuge for what is right and good. But now in America it is the opposite. So many Trump sympathizers that we see in the media ("alternate reality") wear their Christian crosses around their necks. Like it's part of a uniform for their cause. Be cheerleaders for ICE. Keep pumping up the Orange Man. Do we need a total calamity in this country in order to wake up? 

 

Cougars win

Well on Saturday the UMM women's basketball team got a very satisfying win in St. Paul. We prevailed over University of Northwestern. It was a decisive win by a score of 82-65. The win had to lift spirits as it put our record at 5-11 overall, 2-1 in league. 

Our league is the UMAC, which frankly includes quite non-secular schools. They have missions that they feel are anointed by God, I guess. Keep MAGA strong. Can you deny that? 

Maddy Grove

Maddy Grove was a key contributor Saturday. She was a perfect 8-for-8 in freethrows. She made one of her three 3-point shots. Her 21 points was team-best. Shelby Mortenson was a force with her 17 points. She was 7 of 11 in field goals. Claire Stark added 13 points to the mix and Grace Perry was right behind with 12. 

Unfortunately Gianna Klarenbeek had an off night - it happens - as she was only one of nine in field goals and one of seven in 3's. She finished with five points. Anna Myers came through with seven. Rebounds saw Mortenson with the leading total of 15. Perry grabbed 13. Klarenbeek's four assists was tops. Mortenson blocked two shots. Grove and Klarenbeek each had four steals. 

Do I need to say this again: I miss the days when the Cougars played the state universities like Moorhead State. Looks like it's just not in the cards. 

 

And the campus itself. . .

What about the very survival of UMM? Informed voices are starting to express concern. I won't name names. Our new chancellor is in regular consultation with the U president Cunningham. And I think Cunningham is keeping her finger on the pulse of UMM. The Star Tribune expose on UMM may have begun a crisis atmosphere here. 

The sudden change in chancellors is a signal that all is not right. If the institution was in fact stable, the situation could have been "massaged" from above without such a drastic-appearing move, n'est-ce pas? Will our campus end up abandoned like the Appleton prison? Will blight take over in western Minnesota? 

At least we'll still have our MAGA congressperson, Michelle Fischbach, waving the flag for Trump and all he represents. With all the "Christians" of course. Just look at the Good Shepherd Church in the windswept prairie north of Morris: for sure it's 100 percent Trump voters all three times. 

 

Relieved at this 

I guess I can say one good thing about the decline of UMM: we have seen the apparent death of the once-powerful and pretentious "effete academic intelligentsia" of Morris. For this I would cheer lustily, as these people were once such a pain. They developed a strong dislike of yours truly many years ago. I cheer for their faltering and demise. To hell with all the talk of "GPA." Let's bury it. 

Does UMM care about "GPA" anymore? Or should they only care about trying to attract enough students who can pay their bills? Of course this would not include the Native Americans. Puzzling, since the Supreme Court has banned affirmative action. Academic people are masters at finessing their arguments.

 

Shelby Mortenson

A toast to sports 

UMM basketball is a joyful enterprise until the end finally comes. Am I concerned with my family $ fund to benefit UMM? No, because the fund can be transferred or adjusted under any scenario. I have had this explained to me in detail. 

It almost seems like the music department here has died. Any announcement yet of January music events? We have the cavernous "HFA" building that just hulks out there. 

None of the current travail could have been envisioned 15 years ago. The HFA is an albatross. The P.E. Center is way too nice a facility to be home to a UMAC team. The vision for the campus from years ago should be buried, it appears.

   

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

Victory in Saturday duel of big cats

This can be confusing: Tigers vs. Tigers. Orange and black on both sides. Our MACA boys basketball team hosted Marshall amidst the quite unpleasant weather of late. Conditions were sufficient on Saturday for the Tigers vs. Tigers game at our Tiger Center. 

Here's a toast to the big cats! The cats of MACA treated their home fans to a win by ten. Reviews were good of the MACA performance. Here's an email I got from a friend this morning:

 

I saw the Tiger boys play Marshall Sat late aft. They are 11-0. A very good fundamental team. No real stars just a good team. Probably won’t go too far w/0 the dominating big man but they sure were enjoyable to watch. Coached by none other than Torgy’s son Jacob. He must do some things very right. 

 

My friend is optimistic while trying to caution us against overconfidence? Be mindful of where we might be vulnerable? But we can't be very vulnerable, that's for sure. We'll see in post-season how the team's strengths translate to an ascent. For now we're just bathing in the success of regular victories. "Minnesota Scores" says we have eleven. 

Nice therapy for dealing with the weather which must be a lot like Greenland. Now, why would I bring up Greenland? Maybe Norway would be a better reference on this Monday morning. Have you checked the news headlines? Our president starting to sound like a war monger? You OK with that? 

Remember that once we get into any kind of war, it really turns tragic for all. There is no glory in war. And on the home front, Trump appears to want to wage war on our state of Minnesota and also on the Federal Reserve, which just happens to have a big effect on your pocketbook. Just thought I'd mention it. 

I am 1/2 Norwegian so I am paying attention to what Trump says to Norway. (My other 1/2 is Swedish, my late mom's side.) 

Our MACA Tigers jumped out to a 34-24 lead at halftime Saturday. And at the end, the scoreboard showed 71-61 numbers. Overnight the wind really became hellish again. Now this morning, the frigid temperature is the annoyance. Fortunately I had only a small amount of essential shoveling to do. What lies ahead? 

Six players got in the scoring column for our Tigers. Alex Asmus supplied the main scoring fuel with 27 points. He made half his field goal tries: nine of 18. Tyson Grove had a total of 17 on 5 of 11 shooting. Jonah Huebner put in 13 on 5 of 10. Riley Asmus and Jack Kehoe each scored six, and Ben Tiernan chipped in with two. As a team we shot 24 of 53, 45 percent. 

Grove stood out in 3's with four makes in nine attempts. Alex Asmus was two of five. We were 38 percent in 3-pointers. In freethrows the team performance was 17 of 25, 68 percent. Alex Asmus put up seven of eight numbers from the gift stripe. 

Rebounds! Here our total was 21 with five coming offensively. Alex Asmus and Kehoe co-led in boards, each with six. Riley Asmus had five. Huebner had two of our six assists. Huebner and Riley Asmus each had four steals. Alex blocked a shot. We had nine turnovers.

 

Tigers 72, Sauk Centre 33

Here was a real cakewalk by the Tigers played on Jan. 15. Tigers with 72 points, the Streeters with just 33. Wow, look at the scoring disparity in the second half! After a first half in which we outscored the Streeters by ten, 37-27, we raced to pummel the Streeters 35-6 in the second! I wonder what explained the total dominance. The game was played in Sauk Centre.

Can we start to envision the state tournament? 

Tyson Grove and Alex Asmus paced the Tigers' scoring with 17 and 16 points respectively. Jack Kehoe joined the double figures circle with eleven. Ben Tiernan and Riley Asmus each put in nine points. Jonah Huebner scored eight and Jorge Rodriguez had two. 

Our team field goal shooting was 28 for 58, 48 percent. Grove built his total with four-for-five in 3-point shooting. Tiernan and Alex Asmus each made one '3.'  As a team we shot 6 of 20 in 3's, 30 percent. From the freethrow line we were ten for 22, 45 percent. Kehoe made three of five in freethrows. 

The Tigers collected 31 rebounds of which 15 were offensive. Kehoe and Huebner were individual leaders, each with six boards. 

Four Tigers each had three assists: Tiernan, Grove, Alex Asmus and Huebner. Huebner topped steals with seven while Alex Asmus had four. Alex Asmus and Huebner each blocked a shot. We had only five turnovers. 

The orange and black sails forward with an 11-0 record! We're 4-0 in section and 6-0 in conference. Our home record is 5-0. The best number among all these is the "zero" for losses! Nothing but "W's" on the Minnesota Scores website. 

So much action still remains in the season. Can the weather moderate a little? What about prospects for a "January thaw?" Things will sure get wet and sloppy.

 

The Marshall "Tigers"

I remember that early in my post-newspaper days, I headed out to our golf course for the early-bird cross country meet. I got positioned with my camera, ready to put some photos with a blog post. 

I was reminded of the kind of headaches that can arise out of the blue when doing this work. Along comes a bunch of runners wearing orange and black and I thought "here's a photo opportunity." Then I realized it was the "Marshall" Tigers. I eventually separated out the non-Morris photos. 

Marshall is where Southwest State University is located. That is where a lot of high-level section games get played. Morris fans have had to deal with the considerable distance to travel. And I can remember the days when a lot of the high-level games were right here in Morris at UMM. I guess we didn't know how good we had it. 

Ah, I remember the days when the P.E. Center would get quite full of fans for both boys and girls tournament games. The atmosphere was so excited, almost seeming too much at times. Very loud. Very loud pep bands! But it's all for the recognition of school life. Let's remember though how much pressure we put on the student athletes. 

And then when the tournament is over, there's kind of a depressing "withdrawal" that sets in. Spring usually hasn't quite arrived yet. "Snirt" abounds outside. But we're past the kind of weather we're seeing in early January, that's for sure. Greenland weather! Norway too I suppose. Now let's have the U.S. back off from war threats. We don't want it.

Below: Pure Minnesota motif! Too bad we can't laugh about the whole thing. Viking in a bathtub being pursued by ICE officers in Minneapolis! Defining scene from our winter. Is our congressperson trying to cool the temperature with what the Feds are doing in Minnesota? Maybe telling them to show restraint and back off some? For the sake of everyone's safety? Aren't the ICE actions scary and threatening? Well, you may know that our congressperson is totally committed to Donald Trump. So all she'll say is that she "supports law enforcement."

 

Go back where you came from, ICE! We don't need "Federal law enforcement" here.

 

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

Weather holds off for MACA girls game

The MACA girls hosted Minnewaska Thursday night before the new onslaught of bad weather. I'm looking out my window facing north right now, 7:50 a.m. Most inhospitable conditions, the classic roaring northwest wind. You live on Northridge Drive and you really get appreciation of the northwest wind. You really have to respect it. The earliest settlers out here were shocked at how strong the winds could be. 

MACA team member Addie Cihak lives in the neighborhood. So does tennis coach Britney House. For some reason our neighborhood wasn't real fired up about Christmas lights this year. I wonder if everyone's spirits were being worn down by the daily headlines. And right now we have ICE as the focus. And the protests against it. 

ICE is the Federal police, a law enforcement dimension we really are not used to. We think of state and local in connection to law enforcement. And even that can get overbearing sometimes. You been annoyed by a seat belt ticket that seemed trivial? Well you don't want Federal police to come after you or to even notice you. 

Minnesota is in the crosshairs. You aren't Pollyannish, are you? Surely you should realize that a big reason for this is that our governor was on the national ticket that ran against the current president. Will we even have elections again? And if we do, will they be legitimate or will Republicans "cook" things? Look what happened in 2021 when the Trump supporters attempted to storm the nation's capitol. 

And for what? Pure unadulterated power? 

And now we may see the insurrection act used against our state. And we're getting no help or sympathy from our congressperson out here in western Minnesota? Michelle Fischbach? Fischbach is oriented in quite the opposite way, putting her loyalty to the Orange Man ahead of her devotion to Minnesota. We voted for this. 

 

Minnewaska 56, Tigers 46

Well, the weather held off for the MACA Tigers to play a potent Minnewaska Area team Thursday night. Fans observed at our Tiger Center. The outcome could be deemed encouraging, even though it was a loss. You probably are aware that the Lakers are a power. They took fourth in state last year. And at present they are getting votes in AA. They have some familiar names back from last year. 

The Tigers trailed by eight at halftime. In the end it was a ten-point deficit. 'Waska won this game 56-46. 

Oh shoot, the West Central Tribune has "stats not available" for MACA. Is this ever going to end? Is anyone trying to give the Willmar paper a hard time over this? Would a pressure campaign work? How sad that the stats are "not available" to the WC Trib. 

The WC Trib would nomally be my best hope. I cannot find the MACA details anywhere else. Well, I do have the 'Waska details. And I'm prefectly happy to write about those Lakers. I have family connections to Glenwood. The Lakers outscored the Tigers 27-25 in the second half.

Lauryn Ankeny topped 'Waska's scoring with 15 points. Alia Randt was right behind with 13. Four other Lakers scored: Berlynn Green 9, Nori Song 7, Kendall Danielson 6 and Olivia Danielson 6. 

'Waska showed sharpness in long-range shooting as three players each made two 3's: These were Randt, Green and Kendall Danielson. Song made one 3-pointer. 

Green led in rebounds with ten followed by Randt with eight and KendallDanielson with seven. Green and Song each had two assists. Randt paced the steals category with four. Olivia Danielson blocked two shots.

 

UMM women fall in OT

I'm pleased to say I was in attendance for the UMM women's hoops affair Wednesday at the P.E. Center. UMM hoops is fine entertainment in this bleak weather time of year, n'est-ce pas? All that was missing was a UMM victory but we came oh so close. 

The score was tied at the end of regulation. So the overtime was played in which the visiting Rams of North Central outscored the Cougars 18-12. The Cougars fell in the 88-82 final. We had a great start as we outscored the Rams 19-11 in the first quarter. 

A win would have gotten us pointed in the right direction. Alas, as it stands we're 4-11 overall, 1-1 in the UMAC. 

Claire Stark

The Cougars sure showed good scoring balance. Our four double figures scorers were led by Claire Stark with 20 points. Grace Perry scored 17, Maddy Grove 14 and Gianna Klarenbeek 11. Shelby Mortenson and Brooke Ver Steeg each contributed eight points and Anna Myers four. 

We were 6 of 16 in 3-point shooting with Perry standing out with her four makes. Klarenbeek added two 3's to the mix. Perry was team-high in rebounds with ten. Ver Steeg dished out five assists. 

My own little fan's bias: let Klarenbeek shoot more! She brings the Iowa magic to our women's basketball. 

I had my usual Snickers bar ($2) as a snack during the entertainment. Check out the schedule y'all and consider attending. 

There's a big college sports gambling scandal in the news. I fully expected this with the proliferation of sports gambling. When I was a kid, any kind of gambling was considered immoral.

 

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

 

Class AA power survives an A challenge

My Bonanza Valley newspaper friend Randy Olson can't celebrate this one: the Tuesday night girls basketball game between his BBE Jaguars and Minnewaska Area Lakers. It was a defeat for BBE and another win for our friends to the east Minnewaska Area. 

'Waska often wins in a rout but this was not another of those games. The game had a competitive look and ended in a score of 72-61. No surprise that BBE put up a strong challenge - those Jaguars entered with a five-game win skein. Both teams are getting attention in the state ranking system. Note that they are in different divisions, 'Waska in AA and BBE in A. 

The Lakers own an 11-2 record as we head into the second half of January. BBE is likewise flying high at 10-3, so Randy has plenty of opportunities to write upbeat articles. The Jags led at halftime Tuesday, score of 30-28. The Lakers had the second half scoring edge, 44-31. 

Lauren Ankeny led the scoring charge for 'Waska with 16 points. She made two 3-pointers. Alia Randt was No. 2 with an output of 13 and this Laker made three 3-pointers. Berlynn Green broke into double figures also with 12 points. Then we see Kendall Danielson 9, Nori Song 8, Olivia Danielson 8 and Allie Mrnak 6. 

Kendall Danielson like Randt connected for three 3-pointers. Ankeny and Mrnak each made two 3's. 

The Danielson girls led in attacking the boards, Kendall and Olivia both with five rebounds. Randt topped assists with three. She also led in steals with five. Ankeny blocked two shots and was complemented by Randt, Green and Olivia Danielson each with one. 

Kacey Fischer of BBE

Randy can report that Kacey Fischer of his Jags was an offensive force with 23 points. Teagan Dingmann scored 15, Mya Worms 13 and Macey Roering 10. Dingmann had the only 3-pointer. Fischer topped rebounds with 12. 

Click on link below to read my summary of the 'Waska girls' 68-42 win over West Central Area, and the boys' 51-40 win over WCA. This post is on my companion Blog "Morris of Course." Thanks for reading.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2026/01/ankeny-and-randt-pace-lakers-scoring-at.html 

 

U of M women impress

A huge game is set for the Gophers of women's basketball tonight (Wednesday). There is basis for optimism. Our Gophers are coming off a win over #23-ranked USC. The test tonight would appear more formidable based on rankings. "Coach Dawn" will have her team taking the court to play the third-ranked UCLA Bruins. Game-time is 7 p.m. and it'll be at our home court. 

Me? I'll be taking in the home women's basketball action for our UMM Cougars, 5:30 p.m. Looks like it's a women's/men's doubleheader at the P.E. Center. 

Grace Grocholski

The Gophers had to escape a hole to defeat the Trojans of USC on Sunday. That hole was to the tune of 13 points. "Coach Dawn" got her team fired up and apparently made a few adjustments, much to the delight of our home crowd. 

Our big star was Grace Grocholski with 25 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Sophie Hart was another cog and this was with 15 points, six rebounds and two steals. Mara Braun's contributions: six points, ten rebounds and two blocked shots.

 

Troubling times for our state

A top headline from the "Mediaite" site: "Trump warns 'the day of reckoning and retribution is coming in Minnesota.' " 

What right does Donald Trump have to threaten our wonderful state of Minnesota like this? We are proud of the life we have here. Our standard of living is impressive. Would we want to trade with a red state like Alabama or Mississippi? Well of course not. Being a blue state has evidently gotten us far. 

But Trump appears ready to use the power of his lofty office to knock us down. The "Mediaite" article began "President Donald Trump erupted at the people of Minnesota in a truly unhinged Truth Social post on Tuesday morning." 

You would think that our congressperson out here in western Minnesota would be outraged that Trump would threaten our state this way. But of course I would never look for that, as I would expect the exact opposite. So sure enough, her most recent email release simply states that she "supports law enforcement." 

That statement is fine as far as it goes, but the current question revolves around FEDERAL law enforcement. That's a different animal from what we are used to living with, which is state and local law enforcement. When we think of law enforcement, we think of state and local. We think of the state patrol and our county sheriff's department, those guys in uniform who come to the Willie's deli in the morning. In big cities it's the donut shops. 

Federal law enforcement is really a very scary specter. It can supersede everything. The public will have to rise up en masse to try to stop it, to stop this equivalent of the Gestapo of Nazi Germany. We have in fact seen an uprising. We've seen protest efforts right here in Morris. We need more than just the "Indivisible" people joining in. We need a whole lot of patriots. 

We cannot count on our local churches at all, certainly not the "conservative" churches. The conservative ones if anything are on the other side. If you have any MAGA family members, it is time to CUT THEM OFF. Do not humor them anymore. It is time to disown these people. 

Jesus Christ

Attention ministers: it is time to stop being scared of quoting Jesus from his Sermon on the Mount. Yes Jesus could sound a little "liberal" at times. So what? Be proud of what Jesus Christ stood for. And if certain Trump supporters in your congregation want to stand up and walk out, SO BE IT! Let them go. 

Oh, I suppose you need their money. Well then what is your true god? 

The Catholic Church has been hanging in there so far.

Maybe Michalle Fischbach actually wants us to be like Alabama or Mississippi. 

 

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