Music proceeds in UMM's hour of trial

Jazz musicians under Dustin Retzlaff perform at the HFA recital hall. Thanks to NDSU which provided our trumpet section! A totally enjoyable evening of music, "Americcan music" I might add. I loved the bass trombone sound! The concert was on Thursday. Thanks to Del Sarlette for taking photo. The stage floor has been repaired after an issue of "buckling."

 

Well it's Friday and surely any hopes we had of spring coming forth are rather dashed. We have so many kinds of weather in Minnesota. We think we have seen it all and then a day comes along with a distinct trait. Everything looks white on this Friday morning from the ground up through the sky above. 

I might want to imagine music from the movie "Fargo." The movie springs to mind because of a reviewer who made note of a Minnesota trait. And that is, looking to the distance and barely making out where the horizon is. I believe the reviewer described the horizon as a faint blue line. 

Meanwhile in Morris we're getting into a new semester of the U of M-Morris. And it's not exactly routine times. Another "splash" in the Star Tribune is a follow-up on the previous little "gem" that may have been revealing though not heartening for us. Mercy. So the sky is falling? We might have thought as much after the first article. 

Erin Adler was the writer of both. I had a pleasant email exchange with her after the first one. I had to admit to her I was not a subscriber. She tried nudging me to become one. I explained that I had subscribed in the past. An issue now, I further elaborated, is that the paper's re-design has resulted in smaller type size. In my 70s now, my eyesight has unfortunately declined. 

Hope Erin has my name filed away as someone who might help her with "background" sometime. Journalists salivate over getting "background." I should know. I corresponded also with a predecessor of Erin at the Strib and that would be Maura Lerner. Not sure what she's up to now. I fed Ms. Lerner the "tip" that the chosen new chancellor at our jewel in the crown, Rodney Hanley, had abruptly withdrawn within a couple weeks, as I recall. Was very irregular, obviously. 

If Hanley withdrew because of a mere "whim," I might expect him to be "blackballed," to not be trusted by other institutions. This did not happen. I wrote about the guy. He was with Fisk University. I researched about how that college was promoted and lifted up in its earliest days by a singing group, the "Jubilee Singers." So then I drew the parallel with our UMM and how our little instituti0n got going with its "men's chorus" that traveled to World's Fairs. The chorus performed as part of Minnesota-themed days at those fairs. 

UMM was joined by other music groups from across our state for those days. So the practical value was largely with making an impression on the other Minnesota musicians. Step one was just to assert that UMM was in existence and getting off the ground! It was mission accomplished. My father happened to be the director. 

The original boosters of UMM were nervous about the institution's footing in its earliest days. Anxious. Could this place really "fly?" What about our "brand" of liberal arts education? Was it practicable or risky? 

Today it appears fact that the liberal arts are struggling. Whither UMM? Good question. And the first Star Tribune article by Ms. Adler might have suggested that the sky is falling. Well, look at the word "nosedive" right in the headline! Subtle as a sledgehammer. To confirm our fears, we read in the article that UMM was changing horses in midstream. This was with our chancellor position - the top person. 

In mid-school year the leadership reins were being transferred. We might have expected that if there were problems, they could have been smoothed over in a less panicky way. Instead we sensed panic in conjunction with the word "nosedive."

 

Turning the page 

Within weeks we had a new head person in place and I got to meet him at TMC on campus (which I think has a new name). What a pleasant night at TMC! Students assembled around the room for "student government" which I have learned to expect is characterized by conflict. This has been a burr in my saddle through the years: conflict in UMM student government. If this was a "lab" for the students to experience government, it certainly was not an uplifting one. 

Voila! The students at the meeting I was present for, were most pleasant with amicable spirit! A new day has dawned? 

Not only that, I started attending UMM basketball games where I was impressed by the very firm message pre-game about how standards for fan behavior were going to be enforced. The day must have come when UMM leaders realized we could not countenance the coarse stuff anymore. I had witnessed a lot of that through the years. And a lot of it appeared to reflect the feeling among UMM students that they were superior to the kids at other schools. But today it's all very civilized, thank the Lord. 

UMM has fallen into survival mode - we cannot risk getting kicked out of our conference. We're making a "last stand" in the UMAC. I now enjoy watching UMAC competition more than I thought I would. If we can maintain our current situation, all is right with the world. We need to hope the UMAC stays viable. And we can just "look the other way" with regard to the "oddball" or cultish traits of some opposing schools. Try to ignore it. 

Martin Luther College is affiliated with the Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran Church - that synod believes the Pope to be the antichrist! 

A former athletic director explained to me that "as long as we just stick to sports, we'll get along fine." 

I'll be attending a Catholic funeral in Morris on Saturday and so I have the opportunity to get a blessing from a Catholic priest! The Pope is courageously trying to hold the line versus Donald Trump. Is the Pope powerful enough to stand up to the Orange Man? We may stop laughing about Trump soon - it won't be funny anymore. 

 

Always joyful music

I have enjoyed attending two UMM music events in the last few days. The photo of jazzers at the top here captures the excitement. Earlier in the week I attended the Mardi Gras singalong at the dance studio downtown. Thanks to the UMM choir program for this. 

I wrote a blog post inspired by the Mardi Gras event for my companion blog site. I am an incurable "long-form journalist." A dinosaur maybe. Kids don't like reading dense text, so how can we expect them to read the Bible! Here is the link to the post which is on "Morris of Course." Thanks and God bless of course.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2026/02/umn-morris-gets-another-splash-in-star.html 

 

Tom Grosland

Addendum: A long-time member of the "West Central All-Stars" for Jazz Fest has passed away. This is Tom Grosland. Talented musician and a lively personality. He came to Morris also to direct the Wheaton pep band for tournament basketball at the P.E. Center. He was the nephew of the late Eleanor Killoran for whom the bandshell at East Side Park is named. Tom Grosland RIP. 

   

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

Boys win big, girls show promising sign

The intense basketball action carried over from Presidents Day into yesterday (Tuesday). The thrill of following the MACA Tigers can help offset the dreary mood caused by today's weather. I think this is the way the whole winter is in Missouri. 

So today in Morris we have weather with no redeeming quality. Fortunately our prep sports is all inside! And what a show the MACA boys have been putting on. On the heels of defeating Annandale by ten for Presidents Day, MACA came on even stronger for the Tuesday showcase. It was right here in Motown. 

Can this be? I mean, the Tigers entered the game ranked second in state AA, while our opponent Monte was similarly at lofty heights. Ranked No. 4? That's what the West Central Tribune tells us. But the score of the game did not reflect the expected hard-fought battle. Our crowd must have gotten quite excited as we won 59-35. Margin of 24 points, yes. The 35 points by Monte was their season low. 

The WC Tribune has quotes from the Montevideo coach. No quotes from our coach Torgerson. The article notes when Monte's next game will be - no such note about MACA. Why the disparity in treatment? Why do our Tigers get the short end of the stick? 

There's more: the stat review includes only individual point totals and 3-point shooting for MACA. For Monte the paper is far more generous. The summary includes rebounds, assists, steals and blocked shots. It's pretty naked how the Willmar paper favors Monte over MACA. 

They also continue to refer to us as "Morris/CA." They either don't read my blogs or they couldn't care less about what I write. Probably the latter. I have made the point on program name many times. "Morris Area Chokio Alberta," whether you like it or not. What would the WC Trib say if confronted about this? What would they say if confronted about the disparity in treatment of our Tigers with opposing schools? This has been going on for a long time. There was a time when when we got equitable treatment. 

Of course we shouldn't have to depend on the Willmar paper. The Stevens County Times has a website with a "sports" link. Well, I think you know how that goes. And they have a person paid to write sports. I don't get paid. 

The radio station has a website too. It used to be better. It basically just reports "scores" now. Can you imagine if that was all I did, back when I was in the Morris commercial media? 

I'm proud to share a headline today about the MACA boys' success. Where else on the web can you find that? I'm happy to do it. I think if you asked around, you'd find there was a "grudge" held by certain people associated with Forum Communications. The company reportedly was planning on closing the Morris paper.

 

MACA 59, Montevideo 35

The Tigers led the T-Hawks 33-19 at halftime. Our scoring advantage was 26-16 in the second half. 

Our big gun offensively was Riley Asmus with 24 points. Alex Asmus had a total of ten. Then we see Jack Kehoe 8, Tyson Grove 8, Jonah Huebner 4, Bryce Hardy 3 and Tanner Friesen 2. Grove and Hardy each made a 3-pointer. 

Monte's scoring was topped by Griffin Epema, 15 points. He and Caleb Koenen each made two 3-pointers. Koenen led in rebounds with six. Epema supplied two assists. Koenen had two steals and he blocked three shots.

 

Girls: Minnewaska 57, Tigers 54 

If there's a "moral victory," this would count as one for MACA. That's because we really made a game of it against Minnewaska Area. 'Waska rolls over a lot of opponents. They were fourth in state last year. Last year they led the Tigers at halftime in a way that was embarrassing for MACA. 

The story was quite different coming out of Tuesday. The Lakers won by the minimal margin of three points at Minnewaska. The WC Trib says "at Glenwood" but that doesn't seem precise. 

I am far more familiar with the Minnewaska players' names than for MACA. That is very unfortnate. The Tigers do not get good media attention, not as good as the Lakers. I'm sure MACA is in the Stevens County Times, but that paper only comes out once a week. When will this MACA vs. Minnewaska game get covered in the SCT? 

How does the WC Trib treat our girls program on this day, Wednesday? They have "stats not available" for the Tigers. No names to report. The paper sure gives some 'Waska highlights and names. So again I can type the name of Lauryn Ankeny who scored 13. She recently reached 1000 points for her career. 

I can report that Allie Mrnak scored 13 too. The WC Trib announces when 'Waska's next game will be. No such courtesy for our Tigers. 

Berlynn Green and Olivia Danielson each scored eight points. Then we see Nori Song 7, Kendall Danielson 6 and Jayda Kolstoe 2. Three Lakers each made two 3-point shots: Mrnak and the Danielson girls. Song made one '3'. 

The very active Ankeny with her nine rebounds led there. She also led in assists with four and in steals with seven. Olivia Danielson blocked two shots. My next-door neighbor is Addie Cihak of the MACA team. Hope she had a good night.

 

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

Presidents Day win for 'Waska boys

Sports can flourish on a holiday like Presidents Day. The assignment for the Minnewaska Area boys was to play at New London. A hotly-contested game developed at the home of the Wildcats. The Lakers led at the half 40-36 but had to hang on through the second. And in the end, the Minnewaska cause was on top by one, 80-79. 

Click on link below to read my summary of the Minnewaska girls' wins over EV-W and WCA. This post is on my companion blog "Morris of Course." I like to focus on Morris but so often I have greater access to Minnewaska game details. Today is an example. I'm happy to write about the Lakers. Thanks for reading.

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2026/02/ankeny-reaches-1000-points-as-lakers.html 

 

The Minnewaska boys have a record of 14-9. for the girls it's 19-6. We are inching toward post-season play. The girls took fourth in state last year. 

 

Watch the Danielsons

Monday's game was really big for Laker BBB standout Luke Danielson. The Danielson name is big in Laker basketball these days! Luke of the boys poured in 32 points to really fuel the Laker success. 

'Waska had an iron man look as just five players scored. We see Marc Gruber pouring in 23 points. Cavin Thorfinnson scored 12, Connor Erickson 7 and Tristan O'Neil 6. The long-range shooting standouts were Thorfinnson with four 3-pointers and Gruber with three. 

Danielson with his seven rebounds led there. Thorfinnson produced seven assists and Gruber three. Drew Bleick and O'Neil each had three steals. Four Lakers blocked a shot: Gruber, O'Neil, Thorfinnson and Danielson. 

For New London-Spicer, Ethan Nelson was top scorer with 22 points. The Wildcats had several players get in the act with 3-point shooting led by Nelson and Zachary Lageson each with two. Making one each were Louden Johnson, Kaden Shimek, Griffin Thompson and Gavin Vick. 

Nelson topped their rebounds with nine. Lageson dished out three assists. Lageson and Shimek each had two steals.

 

Girls to host Morris

The high-flying Laker girls have one game remaining in the regular season. Where does the time go? So they'll wrap things up by hosting a Morris team (MACA) that has the capability of challenging some very strong teams. Maybe they're somewhat uneven but do not underestimate the Tigers. 

The 'Waska girls will host the Tigers tonight (Tuesday). Last year there was a game where 'Waska led MACA 58-4 at halftime! Don't look upon that as any sort of precedent. The Lakers are 7-1 in section play and 8-3 in conference. They have had some trouble at home where their mark is 6-4. On Feb. 14 the Lakers lost to New London-Spicer 59-52. 

The 'Waska boys have two games left in regular season. These will be against KMS and BOLD.

 

MACA hoops teams

I can't blog with much detail about our MACA Tigers. That's unfortunate. But when handed lemons, make lemonade. I'm more than happy to treat Minnewaska Area as a home base team. I have family connections to Glenwood. 

Surely I would have done a lot of inspired writing about the Tigers in both boys and girls. Instead my writing has been "spotty." I have to make do with info I can collect from the media. 

We can always consult with "Minnesota Scores." There we see that the MACA boys have been nothing short of super. They've been nothing short of perfect. The Torgerson boys have fashioned a perfecto 22-0 record. Presidents Day saw them notch the 22nd win. This was by a score of 62-52 at Annandale. 

Two games remain for the orange and black against Monte and Sauk Centre. 

The MACA girls sit at 12-10. Numbers like that suggest sort of a hot and cold quality. We'll learn more tonight with the 'Waska game. Get ready for the post-season. Alas the Tigers have lost their last two games. These were against West Central Area and Sauk Centre. 

I know the Tigers have talent! A key player is my next door neighbor.

 

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

Slings and arrows with steps and stairs

I navigated the wooden bleachers at the UMM P.E. Center successfully once again on Saturday. (The new chancellor says it's OK to keep using "UMM" instead of "UMN-Morris.") 

It was another day of a doubleheader of college basketball. I must say, very enjoyable and entertaining. As a young person I thought nothing of going up and down those wooden bleachers. It has taken 20 years since leaving the Morris paper to realize I ought to attend games as a "fan." But this winter with the dismal weather hanging on, I got the bright idea. 

I have memories of some of the past coaches leading the Cougar teams. Nearly all the student-athletes of today weren't even born when I left the Morris newspaper. I have had just scant contact with UMM's current coaches. 

I have noticed some of the older fans, like people who are using canes, sitting at the very top of the bleachers. Is this really the vantage point they'd prefer? I would guess not. They must recognize the hazard of trying to keep from falling when going up/down the bleachers. Has anyone talked much about this? 

I had an experience at our Catholic church where I lost my footing going downstairs and ended up on my knees on the floor. People close by expressed some concern but I was fine. Frankly the good Lord created my body pretty resilient. Long-time residents will remember when I did a lot of distance running. For my size I was pretty good at it. A minimal weight is so important for that pastime, like over 90 percent of the battle. 

I weighed under 150 pounds in the fall of my senior year of high school. Then what happened? 

After years of rather intense running, you'd think my knees would have deteriorated. Perhaps I'd be a candidate for knee surgery which some of my acquaintances have been through. Maybe it's less risky than it used to be, like so many other medical procedures. I know there was once risk. 

I'm 71 years old and thank God that my body is as resilient as it has been. None of us lives forever of course. 

Rob Eul RIP

The community has now lost Rob Eul. Another end of an era with an important local person who had his idiosyncrasies as we all do. Rolling his own cigarettes! 

We will miss Rob. This will be the third funeral at the Catholic Church I have attended recently. It's getting to be too much of a habit. I can go up for communion if I just cross my arms and accept a "blessing." I'm not Catholic but I have always felt an affinity with that church. The Pope has led the way with showing some resistance to the kind of conservative/Republican politics that has asserted itself so much in America. 

The current Pope and his predecessor have been exemplary. I told the guys at the Willie's Cafe this morning (Sunday) that if I go to still another Catholic funeral in such a short time frame, people might start whispering about how I'm just coming for the free meal. Oh I attended a funeral at Faith Lutheran recently too. Of course if I attended it was because of reverence and caring for the departed and that person's family. 

With everyone expressing concern about grocery prices these days, I'm wondering if there's whispering among the church or funeral home folks about people coming to funerals for the free meal. And of course upon broaching the subject, so many of us locally bring up the memory of Allen Anderson. He was a disturbing individual in some ways - need I elaborate? - but I grew up with him and he had a good streak. I always think "there but for the grace of God go I." 

I went to high school with Rob Eul's brother Mike. Mike was the Eul boy who did not stay in Morris. He was the eldest of the children, right? BTW Allen Anderson was in our Class of '73. So was Edith Martin the eldest of the Martin children of the grocery store "dynasty." Edith like Mike did not stay in Morris. Otherwise those families remained quite attached to Morris. 

Time rolls on and we cannot prevent one generation from giving way to the next. This morning "the guys" at the Willie's Cafe got into one of those discussions about health issues. And I imagine your typical young person would get bored listening in. We start talking about our acquaintances and what they're going through. There can be a litany of issues of course. 

And God bless the young folks who are largely relieved of such concerns. Ah, "we were there once!" But time progresses in its inexorable way. 

 

Taking life in your hands?

There was a time when I took for granted hopping up and down the bleachers at the P.E. Center. Now I sense "hazard" all the time and I'm careful. A doctor would call it "situational awareness." 

First Lutheran Church (B.W. photo)

First Lutheran Church is a prime example of the risks posed by a multi-story building. There are steps leading up to the front entrance. Then you go inside and it's "split level" - you must either go up or down. I nearly lost my balance going down the stairs once in the last couple years. 

First Lutheran has a reputation of having a lot of older members. So what a hazard it is, with all the steps and stairs. The elevator is on the far side of the building. Frankly a person feels a little stigmatized using it. We are reminded of our need for special accommodations. You might think it's no big deal. Well, walk a mile in an old person's moccasins sometime. 

 

The fall of FLC 

Does First Lutheran even exist as a true church anymore? It is truly shocking how far this church has fallen. It has fallen to where it no longer has a regular Sunday service in its own building. So I consider it dead. I discontinued my membership. I am churchless. 

I am gravely concerned about the state of the Christian church in America. It seems you have to be a hard-edged Republican to be truly welcome. 

So where do I go now? I will not be an atheist. But I will not linger with people who would deride me as a "liberal." I have lost friends over this. Our congressperson is 100 percent pro-Trump, wouldn't utter a word of doubt about him. 

I assure you I'm not the only older person for whom the steps and stairs thing is top-of-mind. Here's from an email I got last week. This is about First Lutheran Church or "the former First Lutheran." These matters are serious.

 

Deb (Mahoney) was supposed to play, but she fell on the front steps coming in & smacked her head, with a 1 1/2” gash. Someone took her up to the ER, someone else went and got her husband out of mass at Assumption (he was ushering) and got him up to the hospital. 

 

Deb Mahoney! She has been a rock at First Lutheran Church. She came to Morris as a senior in high school but has acted like a "lifer" ever since!

 

Addendum: On Saturday I watched the UMM women's basketball team defeat Martin Luther. The real Martin Luther from history was one of the most intense anti-Semites ever. His words contributed to the Holocaust. But his name is on churches. The "Martin Luther" college is part of the Wisconsin Synod of the Lutheran faith. The Wisconsin Synod considers the Pope to be the antichrist. And you wonder why young people get alienated from religion?

Mood of celebration at UMM for Senior Day, Saturday (UMM photo)

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

Tigers bury BOLD in boys hoops, 85-32

Mid-February means an acceleration of interest in basketball, right? The post-season gets closer. Basketball really alleviates the frustration we feel with how winter "drags on." Yes the temps have gotten more pleasant in recent days. Today (Friday) is quite decent. But winter continues to hover. 

Have you ever seen so much "dirty snow?" Holy cow, absolute black dirt covering the snow in so many places. It's "snirt," yes, but I suggested to my DeToy's server this morning that it's worse than snirt. My server suggested that we have had so much wind this winter, that explains it. Wind lifts the dirt right off the farm fields, I guess. 

Our biking/walking trail to the east of town is not really open yet. If I had to, I could walk my full route with sturdy boots. But the surface is uneven, not worth the trouble. All this comes after two snowless winters, of course. 

The constant we can count on is basketball. We have plenty of both high school and college basketball here in Morris. And look how our MACA boys basketball team did on Thursday. The Tigers absolutely crushed BOLD at Bird Island. 

Four of our players reached double figures in scoring. We took care of business with an 85-32 win over the Warriors! 

BOLD has problems away from the court these days: the criminal investigation into school finances. We can sure be thankful we don't have this in Morris. Morris sails along with its perfect batting average for getting referendums passed. Although, it was close the last time. But just look at Minnewaska with its stumbles. 

MACA fans can jump up and click their heels together this morning because some individual game data is reported by the West Central Tribune. The WC Trib normally doesn't want anything to do with us. So we see the report that shows these four Tigers with the double figures in scoring: Alex Asmus 25, Ben Tiernan 20, Bryce Hardy 11 and Jack Kehoe 11. These four were complemented by teammates: Tanner Friesen 7, Riley Asmus 4, Jonah Huebner 3, Drake Asmus 2 and Ozzy Jerome 2. 

Tiernan was on fire with his 3-point shooting: five makes! Alex Asmus made three long-rangers, Hardy 2 and Friesen 1. The West Central Tribune does not report on the other stat categories for us. 

For a while the MACA coaches were posting boxscores through "Maxpreps." I have not checked yet today, but lately I have noticed no new fresh info there. I get tired of checking. Once the coaches start with a system like this, they should be consistent IMHO. 

I feel good this morning being able to write about MACA at all. It has been really tough since the WC Trib dropped us and Brett Miller left the radio station. Brett wrote actual timely articles for the kmrs website. I have never met him. Evidently the station manager did not find it necessary to replace Brett with that service. Anyone complain? 

The Tigers led 52-21 at halftime. We continued pouring it on the rest of the way. 

BOLD's top scorer was Derrick Bahl with eleven points. Tyler Ruschen scored nine with all points coming on his three 3-pointers.

 

The MACA girls

I arise in the morning with equal enthusiasm about checking "Minnesota Scores" for both the MACA boys and girls results. I say this because I want to remind with a cultural/historical observation. Yes girls basketball got established in the early '70s. But the development took time. And this was not just with the skills of the players - a heavy lift by itself - but with the public perception for taking both genders totally seriously. 

It is a raw uncomfortable fact that people for a long time saw boys basketball as the higher-standing sport worthy of more serious analysis. The disparity remained for a long time even as the gap narrowed. The triumph in the end came with a single player named Caitlin Clark! Yes, she galvanized interest to the extent that pro games had to be moved to larger arenas! 

So today, February of 2026, it's quite clear that women's basketball has full, unquestioned parity. I really find college women's basketball more enjoyable to follow than the men. And while the Iowa women continue to captivate me, I was happy when our U of M Gophers beat the Hawkeyes recently! "Coach Dawn" leads the Gophers. I have a hard time handling her last name. 

Our MACA girls are nearing the end of the regular season. Would you believe just two games left? We'll be playing Sauk Centre and Minnewaska. The Tigers are coming off a defeat at the hands of West Central Area on Feb. 10. Playing on the road, we fell to the Knights 54-47. And of course the Knights are coached by Morris product Becca Holland. 

Becca reached the state championship with her squad last season! That's in Class A. The Tigers play in AA. 

Becca even grew up in my church. That was First Lutheran. As I point out quite regularly, First Lutheran can really be said to be dead now. It no longer has weekly Sunday services at its own building. So it's dead. It has paired with the Methodists. A weird thing because you'd think it would join up with Faith Lutheran. 

At present I have become churchless. My conscience was starting to bother me about being associated with a faith - Christianity - that is so aligned with Donald Trump and MAGA. I just couldn't stand it anymore. Is there any hope on this front now? Hope for a breaking-away? 

We have a congressperson out here on the barren prairie who is worshipful toward Trump. So she supports his Federal police. Will those police be out here to do poll-monitoring for the mid-terms? Trump cannot risk having his party lose in the mid-terms. He'll do anything. Trump and his people will be in a whole lot of trouble if the Democrats gain real power. 

If I show up at our armory to vote, people might say "there's Williams and I bet he'll vote Democrat." 

To date I have seen nothing but very good and civic-conscious people working our polling place. Good chance that will change soon. The Republicans seek autocratic power for their leader. And we now have "concentration camps" in the U.S. There is nothing that I can do about this. 

I would like to type some game details from MACA vs. West Central Area but I can't. I can't find info on the world wide web. Wait all the way until Tuesday for the Morris paper? I don't see why we have to wait so long. That's life.

 

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

"Kid Rock" says "dust off your Bibles"

Is this what America has become?

 

We grew up thinking that the Holy Bible was a cornerstone of our lives. When you get told something enough, you start believing it. Heaven help a kid who would question that. In small towns you came from either a Protestant or Catholic family. For some reason that distinction was important, even defining. A lot of us had to wonder why. 

If you were Protestant the odds were very good you were a Lutheran. The Lutherans heard stories about how strict the Catholic schoolteachers were, how the odds were high you'd be "flunked" there. Authority was rigid. 

And this coincided with the government's authority in telling us we had to support the U.S. involvement in Vietnam. You had to know what was good for you. It took years but we finally saw through the lies of Vietnam. And right now there is a looming threat for how the Christian faith will lose its primacy in America. 

When I was a kid we had the general sense that  Christianity and the Bible, while a somewhat boring and not-always-relatable subject, really did want the best for everyone. Rich or poor. It was benevolent. The 1953 movie "War of the Worlds" projected the benevolent Christian theme. The movie continued our nation's recovery process from WWII. Christianity was the benevolent beacon for moving forward. 

Well, we sure can look around and notice a different state of affairs today. Why have we let this happen to us? I personally have not been blinded. If you follow my writing - first of all bless you - you'll know I have felt consternation about what has been happening. And the whole specter hovers over our rural small communities more than anywhere. 

The nation is lapsing into Fascist or totalitarian rule. And so many of us pay no mind. Our "bastion" against change or evolution is our Christian churches, most of them anyway. We feel threatened by change in general and in particular by changing demographics. God bless all the Spanish-speaking people who are happy doing the kind of work that other people would not want to accept. 

And why are we so judgmental? I mean so judgmental about occupations? Maybe this is laid at the doorstep of our educational system. Maybe I'm thinking of our educational system from when I grew up. Was I an actual victim of the "Cold War?" Of the madness that set in after "Sputnik?" "Sputnik" about drove us out of our minds. So we put our government monopoly education system to work instilling a set of values. Our teachers gave "grades" in classes that were to be interpreted as value judgments. 

I appreciated school classes up through the end of sixth grade - they seemed to impart knowledge that was useful in a universal way. That's what education should be for. After the sixth grade it got a little murky or disturbing - getting dragged through so much content that would seem questionable for one's real future. And I mean a future separate from going to graduate school which would just drag you along through more mostly irrelevance. 

Today we cheer the "Christian" pro-Donald Trump notions as he aggressively and ruthlessly calls for the suppression and outright deportation of so many people who are brown-skinned and might speak Spanish. Many are bi-lingual. Again, these people are happy to do the kind of work like in nursing homes that your average white kid with a background in FFA (perhaps) would only grudgingly accept. And we need that labor. 

We are getting news reports now that the aggressive deportations are hurting business interests. This at a time when the economy is facing other headwinds. 

A microcosm of our current dilemma or dysfunction as a society is - of all things - the Super Bowl. But should we be surprised? The turmoil is evidenced nearly everywhere, maybe especially in connection to popular culture events or signposts. 

Stop and think: years ago the Super Bowl was all about two very good football teams playing each other. Today? Well I didn't watch because I do not have a TV contract. I follow the news online and can catch game highlights if I'm interested. I'm not all that interested. But I sure became aware that everyone had to choose sides with the halftime show! This is perplexing. A halftime show ought to be simple entertainment. 

 

The business world knows 

The NFL with its business sense and prescience gave us the "Bad Bunny" thing which was a logical way of staying in step with our culture evolution in America. It was totally remindful of when Jose Feliciano sang the National Anthem in a "jazzed-up" way during the 1968 World Series. It was a big controversy! In 1968 there was still a strong feeling across America with only some hints of doubt about how we should support the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam war. You could not imagine a bigger tragedy. 

And I think the aggressive ICE deportations of today are a similar tragedy. 

We heard about the "competing" halftime show for the Super Bowl: this would represent Donald Trump and MAGA. Oh here we go again. When will we come out of this? In time to prevent Trump's rise to full-blown dictator just like what happened in 1930s Gernany? It appears to be happening right before our eyes as we see a compliant Supreme Court. The Suprcme Court has become a subsidiary of the White House. 

And now "Kid Rock" tells us to "dust off our Bibles." So if you're a Christian you have to go along with today's Republicans led by Donald Trump? That's the message. 

The "Holy Bible" is so archaic it is ridiculous. How can we expect young people to be attentive to it? Jesus and his "disciples" with their robes and thongs. I'd be happy to cut slack for Jesus and the Bible if all of this had not become an extension of the U.S. Republican Party led by Trump and his own "disciples." Like his cabinet. 

We the people should be rising up to stop it. But we are not. The forces for what was good and righteous won in 1953's "War of the worlds." Can we always assume that good will triumph over evil? I have to admit, right now I am skeptical. 

I watched the "Bad Bunny" performance on YouTube in the days following the Super Bowl. I thought it was totally delightful. God bless the Hispanics among us. And the African-Americans. The law applies equally to everyone. If people want to come to America and follow our laws and pay our taxes, I'm happy to welcome all.

 

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

Did you "imbibe" for the Super Bowl?

"Stay stunned for the Stupor Bowl," an announcer once crowed. Then he corrected, sort of: "Stay souped for the Super Bowl." Maybe the anecdote was funnier in an earlier time when society got more laughs from drunk humor. Or, when country music fans were enthusiastic about "Moe and Joe." That would be Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley. They were "good old boys." They knew how to make a buck from the cultural zeitgeist. 

Upon researching "Moe and Joe" years later, I read that their music was written "tongue in cheek." I ran this by an age peer of mine, someone who like me was attuned to the pop culture of the earlier time, and he departed from that thinking. So did I. We took the music seriously. The alcohol theme coincided with "outlaw country" that even got the imprimatur of the Jimmy Carter administration. 

One thing is for sure: social drinking was quite approved when I was a young adult. Those were the days when Minnesota Vikings fans applauded our "Purple People Eaters." Tremendous pain upon looking back, as we got so excited for four Super Bowl appearances only to have to lick our wounds after each one. We can feel the sting years later. 

Our pent-up wounds were salved years later when the Minnesota Twins won the World Series. That big year was 1987. A repeat performance came in 1991. 

So my generation has put aside the Super Bowl disappointments? From my viewpoint, no. How to deal with it? Maybe with alcohol a la "Moe and Joe?" That would just be a joke. But do today's younger folks even see humor in references to excess alcohol? Young people might not believe how much humor we once found in it. I assure you this is no myth. 

Natalie Wood

In a recent discussion on the Natalie Wood mysterious death, someone pointed out how the threesome on the boat were engaged in alcohol consumption, and that "that's what people did in those days." I graduated from high school in 1973 right at the time our elders felt the drinking age should be lowered to 18. So we heard the argument "if young men can be forced into combat (in Vietnam), young people that age ought to have the privilege of consuming alcohol." 

Well, two points to be made on that. Why were young men being drafted and sent over to Vietnam where odds were good that something terrible was going to happen to them, including death? Our nation put up with this for a very long time and through tens of thousands of deaths of young men. And it was in a war that the U.S. eventually lost. Our servicemen at the end were instructed not to wear their uniforms on the way home. 

A second point to be made is that consuming alcohol, whether to excess or not, is no way any kind of privilege. Did society at the time really think this was some sort of welcome into the adult world? Well I guess that was the premise, so deluded we were. 

The men who survived WWII came home with degrees of PTSD and for them, various vices like drinking and smoking probably seemed therapeutic. We have heard about how cigarette manufacturers provided "smokes" gratis to troops. Helped with morale? A means of getting countless people hooked? Smoking and drinking have never had any actual benefits for anyone. 

We could excuse the WWII vets for a lot. We could look the other way as they found diversions with foolishness. But such behavior should never have been viewed as example-setting. 

The era of drunk humor and "outlaw country music" coincided roughly with the Jimmy Carter administration. I do not choose to find any fault with Carter himself. He might have given us a national health care system were it not for obstruction from Ted Kennedy. 

Carter might have shown affinity for "outlaw music" but really he projected puritanical values. Music? It's just window dressing in our lives. "Outlaw country" had a populist bent, always useful for politicians. How blessed we were to have Carter who was a virtuous national symbol. He projected an air of compassion and doing good, at all times. 

And look at what we have now in 2026. I could try to assemble a whole list of descriptive words. You get my drift. It gets worse all the time as with the Obamas/apes imagery. Now, don't tell me you didn't catch that in the news. It really was a big story. You might want to deny seeing it. 

This is the disgrace us Americans have to live with right now. There appears to be no hope for Congress to remedy it. There is no hope for Congress. Just look at the embarrassment of our own congressperson Michelle Fischbach. A total mouthpiece for what Trump represents. Look at Kevin Kramer in North Dakota, the same deal. 

John Thune

And the Senate majority leader is John Thune of South Dakota. I am quite certain that Thune in his own private thoughts isn't that far from yours truly in terms of how he sizes up Trump. I sense he's a good person who is most comfortable as a Chamber of Commerce Republican. A guy who is like a broken record saying tax cuts bring economic growth. I can at least respect that kind of Republican even while disagreeing with them in fundamental ways. I do believe their heart is in the right place. 

But to try to look the other way on the "Obama/apes" imagery? That is quite a different matter. I write in my current "Morris of Course" blog post that I'd really prefer not rising to face the American flag just before UMM basketball games, so disgusted I am with our president and his Obama/apes thing. Really I'm disgusted with America as a whole for not rising up to demand immediate impeachment. 

But I rise for the flag anyway in the spirit of "going with the flow." 

Here is the link to my "Morris of Course" post which has the heading: "UMN-Morris sports continues its long odyssey."

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2026/02/umn-morris-sports-continues-its-long.html 

 

During the Vietnam war I was not just "going with the flow." Incidentally I heard Moe Bandy and Joe Stampley live in Nashville TN in 1984. Were they serious or tongue-in-cheek? I frankly think they were serious. A little misogyny included too.

If these guys were just putting us on, it was a disservice to the nation's young people.

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