Big headlines will budge nothing

Now he's convicted

Oh captain, my captain. It is Friday and a former U.S. president is in the news. Just like he seemingly is every day. Over a span of, what is it now? Eight years? Nine? I saw someone at the Willie's checkout this morning with a Star Tribune newspaper. As big a headline as you could expect there. As if WWIII had broken out or something. 

And I totally understand the size of the headline. If I were to question it, it would be with the phrase "what's the use?" Nothing has worked up until now to try to reveal the danger that Trump poses for America. We wait and wait for Republicans and conservatives to calm down, get a grip and maybe realize that Trump should not be "their man." But of course that time never comes. 

So why should it come today, on a day when our state's flagship newspaper has the WWIII-type headline? I paused for just a moment to wonder if we had really reached a watershed where people like Michelle Fischbach, our Seventh District congressperson, might be willing to retreat from the Orange Jesus. 

I wonder about the older guys who sit in the middle section of DeToy's Restaurant in the morning. Really it's a lost cause to hope for a turnaround there. Now all these people are having to answer for a man convicted of some real serious stuff. It has gotten to that point: conviction. Put an asterisk there, as Trump has been found responsible for sexual assault in a civil proceeding. 

That civil judgment should have spelled the end: no more Trump hovering like an amoral specter over this whole nation. 

Nothing I say in this post or out and around town is going to change anything today. The "conservative churches" dot the landscape around Stevens County and their orientation is not likely to change. The evangelical Christians got Trump elected in 2016. The community of Hancock was really committed to him. 

Trump won but once again there's an asterisk: he got three million fewer votes than the Democrat. 

The word "Democrat" now equates with evil around Stevens County. Listen to the guys early in the morning at DeToy's as they mock Biden. I heard one of them comment on what he called "the black attorney general" of New York state. So it has come to this. 

Fischbach could play a role now if she really wanted to be a leader. How valiant and courageous that would be. 

I personally grew up around the valiant cause of protesting the Vietnam war. Let us note that the same type of people who today support Trump also supported the Vietnam war in the '60s. The irony is that today, Trump who got excused from military service on dubious grounds is totally against U.S. foreign military intervention. It is truly hard to explain these things. People in the '60s who reflected his attitude would have been decried as "soft on communism." 

Today Trump appears to be in full embrace with Putin who of course leads Russia and would like to re-establish the old Soviet Union. Strange. It is futile to try to present rational arguments to Trump supporters. 

I was astonished to read this morning a back-and-forth between Dan Abrams and Megyn Kelly. The Trump people like Kelly will concede absolutely nothing. Her attempted rejoinders with Abrams came across like a boy who says "so?" Almost in the same way a seventh grade boy in the lavatory would. "So?" 

So it becomes truly impossible to have a conversation with these people. 

I remember in Truman Carlson's last couple years, I was made to feel like Dan Abrams. He was having nothing of the skepticism about Trump. No agreeable conversation whatsoever. Finally he would just smile. 

I point out the late and beloved Carlson because he was typical of so many. I have drifted away from a close friend I once had in Cold Spring. He came right out and told me he was starting to ignore my blogs. Yes, ignore the opposing side's arguments. Out of sight, out of mind. Put your head down and root for Trump to become total autocratic leader of the U.S. To take over the Federal Reserve which is something I try to warn about. 

But why do I try any more? This morning's headlines are not going to dislodge anything or anyone. And Thom Hartman is warning "what happens to a cult when it loses its leader?" Indeed, if Trump is forced into incarceration, then what? 

Trump is warning us this morning that "if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone." It comes off as sounding the alarm for Americans paying off porn stars. I have never done anything even close to that. I'm not worried, at least not about that. 

I am becoming worried about what a new Trump regime might do to people like me. First he'll take care of the Bidens, maybe with capital punishment. He'll probably have Paxton the Texas guy as his attorney general. So many "conservative" leaders are from the Deep South states. This has worried me for a long time. They will attach themselves to Trump whatever his agenda is, even if we start to take on the traits of a violent dictatorship. 

Purge your enemies and critics. Poison them maybe. Maybe Trump has learned such tricks from Putin. And we simply will not rise up and object? Object from our conservative church pews? Or, continue to be led along by the orange Jesus? Even if he's in jail. 

I have said all I can. It is futile now to even say a prayer, to even say a prayer to the same God that MAGA people choose to worship. So many of them appear to have no sympathy for the Palestinians. Many of the Palestinians are Christian which is more than you can say for the Jews of Israel.

Michelle Fischbach

For the record:

Congressperson Michelle Fischbach's statement from the last 24 hours:

"The American people are rightfully seeing through the attempt to abuse the judicial system against political opponents."

Ah, makes you wonder what the response of Steve Boyd would be. He's coming at Fischbach from the right in GOP ranks. Well why not? That is obviously the drift out here in western Minnesota. I wouldn't bet against him. And Fischbach voted against certifying the 2020 election results. Even Tom Emmer did not do that. 

And now Fischbach might not be good enough for the area's right wingers? What hath God wrought? Does Fischbach support women's reproductive health rights?

 

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

JCC ends Tigers' state bid

Graduation is past, Memorial Day is past, but exciting stuff still happens with high school sports. We're at the apex of Section 3AA softball play now. MACA fans surely hoped our Tigers would still be in it. Marshall is where everything comes together in section play. A lot of high-level post-season action is at Marshall. I guess I might add "unfortunately." It's a pretty long trip at least in my view. 

Our hardy MACA fans watched three games at the Marshall facilities. My recent writing his proven to be prescient. Well, I have become familiar with a lot of patterns through the years. MACA softball will have a stellar regular season campaign and keep it up through the two sub-section games that are played here. 

The complexion of the games changes when heading to the south. I have written many times that southern Minnesota teams will show a mysterious superiority. I really cannot imagine why. But the pattern showed up again for 2024. MACA was stopped twice which keeps them out of the state tournament. 

Here's an email I received from my Bonanza Valley newspaper friend Tuesday night:

 

Hello Brian, gosh darn it anyhow!

The JCC Huskies erased both MA/CA and also Luverne from the Section 3AA playoffs tonight. I'm sure you've caught up to the scores by now. I believe JCC was a fourth-place team in their conference but have now defeated teams who were above them in the Big South standings and now the West Central Conference champions.

I do like rooting from afar for Coach Holmberg's teams, but in the end it is apparent that a tougher schedule does a better job in fastpitch softball of preparing a team for the postseason.

 

It'll be JCC vs. D-C

JCC won twice on Tuesday and that propels them into the 3AA title showdown. JCC is called the "Huskies." Their Tuesday success was by scores of 4-1 over our Tigers and 3-0 over Luverne. Action resumes at 5 p.m. Thursday against Dassel-Cokato. D-C will enter the day unbeaten. 

We may see more than one game on Thursday. This is a double-elimination tournament. A second game would be played if the Huskies win first. Finally it would be winner-takes-all. 

MACA fans felt some optimism as they saw their team plate a run in the top of the first against JCC. Alas the Huskies slammed the door after that, not only on us but on their next opponent. The MACA first inning run was the only run that JCC would allow all day! 

JCC applied the dagger in the bottom of the third when Bailey Finck hit a three-run home run. Finck flexes her muscle at the plate: this was her eighth round-tripper of the season. She now has the single-season record at JCC. 

Lauren Johnson walked in the fourth and ended up scoring on a ground out. Would you believe: the Finck home run was the only hit allowed by MACA in this game? JCC did benefit from five walks. 

JCC's starting pitcher was Hadley Wachal. She fanned six batters over her four-plus innings. Mady Wachal had her arm called on in the fifth. Mady allowed no runs over the last three innings. 

A downer of a game for MACA fans. 

 

JCC over Luverne

The Huskies bore down again to defeat Luverne, using a big top of the fifth: three runs. Again the Huskies won with a minimum of actual hits. Two Huskies hit safely against Luverne: Hadley Wachal and Brielle Tufvesson. 

It was Mady Wachal pitching. She worked the whole game in the circle. She fanned seven Luverne batters and allowed just three hits. 

Hadley Wachal doubled to start JCC's fifth inning rally. She came home on a Kinley VanDeVere ground ball that resulted in an error. Then VanDeVere scored when Johnson hit a ball that was misplayed. JCC kept playing "small ball" as Johnson scored on a ground out by Sawyer Flatgard. 

The Tigers and their fans had to feel a little downcast with the two losses to end the season. It was so uncharacteristic. Look at our final won-lost numbers for 2024: 21-4 overall, 11-3 in section, 14-0 in conference, 8-1 in road action, 1-2 neutral and 12-1 at home. 

 

"Astronomical"

Coach Mary Holmberg continues to be up in the stratosphere with her career numbers. The late Willie Martin would describe those numbers as "astronomical," for sure. Willie and Rachel Martin's daughters had impact in Tiger athletics including softball. 

Mary was already making news with her career numbers when I was still with the Morris paper. That was a long time ago, so just consider where those numbers are now! To repeat: "astronomical." 

The Tigers buried Minnewaska in a sub-section game. Score of 15-0. And yet we have seen the MAHS athletic director go to Minnewaska for money reasons. And the word on the street is that Mr. Karas is going to make significantly more $ at 'Waska. 

Is there a correlation between this and team performance? Again, our softball team beat 'Waska 15-0. Is there an expectation that a highly paid athletic/activities director will generate superior team performances? You can't lay it all on the coaches or administration though. Might we see some correlation? 

We'll see more answers unfolding in the next academic year. Morris has added boys soccer. That will certainly be an interesting new dimension. A primary question: Will soccer drive boys away from football? I personally think it would be great if it did. 

Our softball fortunes were fodder for some talk at church coffee Sunday. I couldn't help but point out some irony could be found: MACA dominating 'Waska in softball while 'Waska has the very richly compensated AD. A very esteemed person at my table right away blurted out what a great coach we have. It's a fact she's great. 

Nevertheless there has been a longstanding inclination in Morris of giving overwhelming credit to coaches when teams win. That in itself might be harmless or benign. Nice to say positive things about people, n'est-ce pas? But the problem is this: when teams struggle as they did in the 1980s, many people including mostly school staff are so quick to say we "lack talent." 

It was a nice deal for the coaches, eh? Coaches get the credit when teams win, kids get the blame when teams lose. I remember a Morris activities director commenting from the podium at a banquet/program, seeking to point fingers. Namely, about how the boys hadn't been playing basketball over the summer. A school board friend of mine cited for me one of the kids who most certainly played basketball over summer. Some others probably did too. 

Not a cool thing to be spoken at a banquet. 

A major problem of Morris extracurricular in that era was that the staff showed resistance to volunteers taking over elementary coaching. The school had previously funded this. When things started to get bad in the mid '80s, a coach said to me "we could see this coming." Well, sometimes you have to swallow your pride, roll with the punches and acclimate. The volunteer option finally got going and they had me do some special coverage to make clear things were changing. 

We had a problem in that era of an element in town that thought the traditional sports emphasis - i.e. "let's win" - was somehow backward. Seemed to contradict academics, they suggested. And boy, these people could be mean if you questioned their attitude. In the end they lost. 

Through it all, Mary Holmberg just kept winning. But we can't seem to get past those doggone southern Minnesota teams. Something in the drinking water down there? 

The "Minnesota Scores" site tells us that Jackson County Central has a 20-6 W/L. They are 9-5 in section, 7-5 in conference, 8-4 away, 4-1 neutral and 8-1 at home. Now, can they make state?

 

Communicating with Mary

Here's an email I was happy to send to coach Holmberg herself on Memorial Day, Monday:

 

Hello Mary - I was at Pizza Ranch on Saturday and a man and woman came up to me for a pleasant chat: Lee Schultz and Rhonda Cline! That was such a pleasant generation of kids to know in this town. I told Rhonda I remembered the little dance she did as a Miss Morris candidate. My memories of Lee aren't that vivid but I have pleasant impressions.

People can get confused about double-elimination tournaments! Maybe the parents get it all figured out but it's a challenge for other people. I am so thankful to be able to go to the "Minnesota Scores" website. I'd be pretty lost without it. I am assuming that the Morris newspaper had to go to press Friday because of the Memorial Day weekend. That wipes out a lot of coverage of big school doings. I check the paper each week at the library. Anne Barber at the library says "I never see kids with the newspapers."

 

Memorial Day 2024

Del Sarlette is the gentleman seen in photo taken at my Williams family monument at Summit Cemetery. Photo was taken over our tranquil Memorial Day weekend. 

Memorial Day weekend is always uniquely tranquil, as if time slows down. We could use more of that? I selected a bench style of monument for our plot. Everyone, you're welcome to stop by and sit a spell! The monument has names of my parents along with yours truly. It acknowledges my parents' important roles with our University of Minnesota-Morris. The U of M has given my family nearly all of what it has. Note the American flag in photo. It honors my father who was a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in World War II, Pacific Theater. I wonder what he would think of the flag displayed upside-down at the residence of Justice Alito.

 

And here's Dad in WWII

My father Ralph is at right in photo below taken during WWII. These guys guarded a merchant vessel, an oil tanker. How I'd love to know the names and hometowns of all the guys in photo!

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

Softball Tigers still in the hunt

Well it is Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. Sleepy time everywhere but maybe more than average here in Morris. Doesn't really seem that "lake weather" has arrived yet. 

Memorial Day weekend is not a sleepy time for high school softball. Quite to the contrary, the post-season action is heading toward a crescendo. The Tigers have no games set for Memorial Day itself. That would probably be sacrilege just like flying an American flag upside down. 

I used to be around some veterans service organization people in Morris who could be very sensitive about how the flag symbol was handled. For example, one year I took a photo of a child wearing a little hat made of the American flag symbol. Someone saw me take the photo and advised me I'd better not run it. The guy said "you'll get in trouble." So I didn't run it. I explained to the very sweet parents what I had been told. 

So, what if someone was found to be flying America's hallowed symbol of the flag, for whom many men have died, upside down? It's a question we should weigh.

MACA softball is still in contention as I write this. Anyone with the newspaper working on Sunday morning? Well, I am. 

The athletes' parents should realize that the post-season details can be confusing for non-parents and casual fans. And my, this is especially true for double-elimination tournaments! Thank goodness I can consult with the "Minnesota Scores" website which is such a reliable home base for the basic current information. 

I can be thankful too I have a friend like Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley who emails from time to time. He gave me the current heads-up on our Tigers this morning. Thanks again Randy.

 

Hello Brian, the Tigers are in the group of the last four standing in Section 3AA. They need to defeat vaunted Jackson County Central to get to the loser's bracket final.

To get to state, they'd need to win four straight games across Tuesday and Thursday next week. Tall task. I am unaware if there was any media there from Stevens County. 

  

We're in 3AA

Let's review how the Tigers have done through the entire post-season thus far. First we had the 14-1 thumping over Montevideo on May 23. That same day we thumped 'Waska 15-0. Both these games were at home. 

'Waska of course has the athletic director that gets paid substantially more than here. And that's why we lost Mr. Karas to 'Waska. I wonder if he can inject a little more competitiveness in the 'Waska softball program. Right now we rule. 

Action shifted to Marshall on Saturday. A long drive for the MACA Tiger fans - unfortunate. In Marshall we were dealt a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to Luverne. But this is a double-elimination affair. With new life we played Windom Area and won impressively 6-0. 

After the pause for Memorial Day we'll resume against Jackson County Central: 5 p.m. Tuesday again at Marshall. 

"Minnesota Scores" tells us our won-lost is 21-3. In section: 11-2. We wrapped up the conference at 14-0. We might do better playing in a more competitive conference frankly. We'd be tested more.

Baseball: an 11-11 tie

The MACA baseball Tigers played two against Minnewaska on May 23. One ended in an unusual tie, 11-11. Not sure if this is recorded as an official game. "MN Scores" has this game as "PPD" for postponed. We lost the other game to the Lakers 5-3. The games were here at Chizek Field. 

What's next? We'll host New London-Spicer for the start of sub-section play on Tuesday, 5 p.m.

Tigers 11, 'Waska 11

The MACA bats were robust as shown by the line score: 11 runs on 14 hits, but there was a blemish in the form of six errors. 'Waska scored their 11 runs on ten hits and committed two errors. We had a parade of pitchers: Jack Kehoe, Ozzy Jerome, Justin Giese, Kaleb Breuer and Alex Asmus. 

Riley Asmus doubled as part of a two-for-three line. He walked, scored two runs and drove in two. Jerome drove in three runs with his two-for-five line, plus he scored a run. Breuer socked a home run! He drove in two runs and scored one. 

Jonah Huebner had a hit in his only at-bat plus he was hit-by-pitch. He picked up an RBI. Alex Asmus had a hit and a run scored. Jackson Hallman went two-for-four with a walk received and two runs scored. John Kleindl drew two walks, scored two runs and had a hit. 

Ashdon Hacker was busy with six at-bats in which he rapped two hits. He drove in a run. Andrew Marty's details: one-for-three, a run, an RBI, a walk, a HBP and a stolen base. Drew Huebner was one-for-one with a run scored.

High school graduation

Friday night was of course big for our MAHS graduates of 2024. I'm told one of the valedictorians who spoke might seem like a stranger to many. A friend reported to me in an email that this individual "hasn't been attending classes at MAHS for three years as he was going to college somewhere (NOT UMM, which bugs me) on that PSEO tax-supported high school skipping program. I bet some kids in the class didn't even know who he was." 

I'll say this: the two speakers for my own MHS graduation in 1973 were rock-ribbed class members, siblings in spirit! But that's the way it was then. I'll name-drop: Edith Martin and John Martin. They were not related. Edith was the oldest child of the famous Willie Martin of Willie's Super Valu. I'm sure Willie thought graduation in '73 was "astronomical."

Touching base

Maybe Warrenn Anderson is one of those out of town for this holiday weekend. Good for him if he is. I did not see him at Caribou Coffee which he normally graces on Sunday morning. I sent him an email on several subjects prior to leaving the house for Caribou. I touch on some pretty current topics. So here's what I wrote:

She's you-know-who

Hello Warrenn - I see where the Indiana Fever lost by 20 last night. I always hear that their next opponent is really good, but the Fever have had the No. 1 overall draft pick two straight years, so that's two of their five players on the floor. Fever ought to hold their own against anyone. I had a feeling these struggles were going to happen. Fever got their one win with Clark having to make a couple very long 3's at the end and sure that was great fun, but you cannot rely on this regularly. I am happy for Clark and I'm sure she's set for life, but I'm ready to withdraw my WNBA fan interest now. I can't watch any games live anyway. 

Remember the old days when if you had a simple cable TV subscription, you could watch Twins and Vikings and a whole lot of other stuff without complications? It was paid for with all those beer commercials like the classic Bob Uecker Miller Lite commercial. "I must be in the front row."

I have a theory on our softball complex. Maybe the new facilities that are built today have to follow lots of regulations, whereas existing facilities are grandfathered in? That makes the old facilities far superior. The old UMM field had a fence that was short enough that most adults could stand around the perimeter of the field and watch. Same with the Wells Park fields, and many fans did that. I notice now there's a net behind home plate at the new place. Maybe that's a regulation too. Such terrible fear about foul balls that the quality of the viewing experience is destroyed. Of course these days with people looking down at their phones so much, there is more of a danger with foul balls.

I still resent how the softball complex was announced to begin with. The promoters really exaggerated how great it would be, and there was that long line of "VIPs" that gathered for the "groundbreaking" photo. They had shovels. How many holes were actually dug out there? It is a boondoggle and maybe I'm the only person talking about it. If we had a better facility, maybe someday we could get the section tournament here. Man, all these trips to Marshall. Cuts down on fan interest and fan presence.

Morris newspaper has not yet come out with their special supplement for the graduating seniors. It should have come out last week. That was really essential. One theory: maybe the paper is late on paying some bills. They have to pay Quinco for being printed there. Litchfield and Hutchinson have lost their papers and apparently no new buyers have come forward.

The thing you have to understand is that overhead costs are killing newspapers.

I am surprised the state just keeps sitting back and allowing all these terrible headlines to appear about St. Cloud State. Don't you think the state needs to send a new "hired gun" administrator there? 

If UMM loses its music and theater programs, what would become of that big hulking building called the HFA? Del S. has called that building an "albatross" on campus and I agree. I think when it was built it was considered avant garde. However, times have changed and that consideration doesn't matter now. Huge hallways and a too-small recital hall, while meanwhile the public school got the opulent "concert hall." So very, very strange.

I'll be at Caribou in about an hour.

- BW

Pay disparity? Well, Tigers thump Lakers

I walked past our softball complex twice on Thursday. 

I walk by heading out east beyond the bypass and then back again as I go home. Lots of noise and enthusiasm connected to the sub-section softball tournament. 

I expected the day to be pretty suspense-free for our MACA Tigers. Will this post-season follow standard form? We'll come out of the starting gate like gangbusters. Then we eventually run into a buzz saw from southern Minnesota. This pattern has been seen so often over the years. 

Sharon Martin gave me an interpretation of it once. She said our Tigers "play in a weak conference." 

So we just don't get tested enough during the regular season. A boffo won-lost record does not punch our ticket for state. We'll see what happens this year. 

We got a reprieve from the wet and rather nasty weather of late. Thursday turned out fine. I saw a table set up over by left field for taking money from fans. However, it didn't really seem like fans were watching a game, seemed more like batting practice for the Tigers who teed off. No surprise. First we manhandled Montevideo with a 14-1 win. Next was an even more decisive outcome: 15-0 over Minnewaska Area. 

'Waska is where our now-former athletic director Blake Karas has relocated. Kind of concerning. I hate to see these moves based nakedly on money. I hate to see it when someone relocates to a school close by. IMHO seems rather crass. Or maybe not, if you believe what people around Morris are reporting about how much more money Karas is allegedly making at Minnewaska. Heavens to Betsy, didn't 'Waska have two failed school referendums some time back? I remember those. 

And now 'Waska appears to be swimming in money! 

Reports around our town have it that Karas will be making $40 thou more a year. That's what the "shoeshine guy" says. And we've had a parade of school employees coming to our Morris Area school board meetings complaining pretty pointedly about pay, to the point of violating proper decorum IMHO. I was surprised at the football coach. His program might be endangered by the new MAHS boys soccer team. The sooner football dies the better. 

Softball has obliterated two opponents in the post-season. Too bad we do not have a softball facility that serves the interests of fans better. You might say it does not serve the interests of fans at all. So very strange. You'd better bring your own chair. You might want to settle out by the outfield fence. 

I saw fans seated outside of first and third bases but I have checked out those viewing positions and they are problematic. The length of the dugouts forces people to sit out a long ways so you look through the fence at an angle. I know it's tough. But people might not want to complain. Well, follow the example of our teachers! They surely complain publicly. 

The amount of available space for seating behind home plate is tiny, at least if you want to see the entire playing field. Well, I stayed out along Prairie Lane where again I saw lots of cars parked along the shoulder. Is that going to be par for the course? I think there are safety issues with kids maybe darting out from between parked cars. But I am merely an observer. 

Sharon and I enjoy walking along the biking/walking trail east of town. Sharon has "Goldy" with her. She is leaving teaching! Say it isn't so. But it's so. 

The next MACA softball game will be on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at Marshall. The opponent: Luverne. How did Marshall become such a hub for high-level section games? It's a long trip for MACA fans. Morris should try to get some of those games here. But for softball, our facility might be deemed mediocre for that. You have to think of the fans. 

 

Where's the special section?

Morris Area graduation is tonight (Friday). I have not seen the annual supplement with the Morris newspaper that honors the graduates. A friend who subscribes tells me this hasn't appeared yet. That's a problem. The next Morris paper will come out four days after graduation. One of the purposes of the supplement is to make sure everyone knows the date and time of graduation, to promote it. 

My, all the years I covered graduation for the Morris newspaper, then known as the Sun Tribune. I covered Hancock's graduation in many years also. All good things come to an end. 

Now I'd like to see a bad thing come to an end: The Indiana Fever's losing streak. They play late tonight out West. Go Caitlin! 

Let's take a look at the game highlights of MACA vs. Minnewaska, the 15-0 win. You'd never guess there was a big pay disparity between the Morris and 'Waska athletic directors, would you? The Tigers buried 'Waska with a 12-run third inning. Coach Mary Holmberg had to smile about the line score: 15 runs, ten hits, a mere one error. Now let's do that to the southern Minnesota teams! 

 

Two Tigers 3-for-3

Lauren Hottovy was a perfect three-for-three in the boxscore. Two of her hits were doubles. She drove in four runs, scored two and drew a walk. Cate Kehoe's bat resonated with three-for-three numbers too. Her hits included a double. She scored three runs, drove in one and stole a base. 

Brianna Marty walked, stole a base and scored a run. Amaya Raths went one-for-three with a ribbie. Nora Boyle walked twice and scored two runs. Haley Kill doubled, scored a run and drove in two. Samantha Konz had a hit, drew a walk and scored two runs. 

Ryla Koehler crossed home plate three times. She walked and drove in a run. Kaylin Steen had a hit, walked and drove in a run. 

Minnewaska's two hits were by Ella Roering and Avery Lewison. 

Kill was our pitcher and she fanned seven batters and walked just one. Mataya Mix took the loss.

Minnewaska came down the home stretch of regular season play with a doubleheader sweep of Benson. My review of that action is on my "Morris of Course" companion blog. Writing about Benson was an opportunity to share further thoughts on their nickname/mascot controversy which is now suspended. I invite you to read my post:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2024/05/waska-sweeps-benson-whose-nickname.html 

 

So we're waiting: Will the Morris newspaper come out with the supplement for MAHS graduation this next Tuesday? It's still too late. People who supported this financially got shorted. It was essential for the publication to appear this week.

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

Bad weather finally moves over for softball

At least we didn't get a tornado yesterday (Tuesday). Have you noticed that the severe weather warning areas have been concentrated in the middle of the U.S.? Maybe just touches the southern edge of Minnesota. And aren't those "storm chasers" something? Find the darkest, most threatening clouds and drive toward it! 

People on "the coasts" who follow the weather are sure being reminded of the existence of the Midwest, those vast and sparsely-populated places that are beautiful because of their serenity. Kansas, Nebraska et al. The University of Iowa with its women's basketball team has helped too! A major team commanding big-time attention even on "the coasts." 

And how invigorating to see Caitlin Clark make one of her "logo 3's" in the pros. It happened the same game where she got her ankle injury scare. I hope proper precautions are taken handling her. Please no "painkillers." The girl could probably use a rest. 

What a day for our weather here in Morris on Tuesday. Dark, wet, windy. And so all this may possibly have rendered our "softball complex" rather a mudhole, maybe? Wet grounds? Sub-section games were initially scheduled to be played there yesterday. Was pretty obvious from early-on they'd be no-go. 

A check with "Minnesota Scores" on this Wednesday morning shows a re-scheduling for Thursday. Is it true that Wednesday has to be left open because that's a day set aside for church activities? I have commented before that this arrangement should end. School activities often fill the available days of the week. I know it can be difficult for getting in the fine arts events. There have been springs when many early-season or even mid-season games are "postponed." 

My, we wouldn't have to deal with that if we had the "inflatable cover" for Big Cat Stadium. The regular season could begin right on schedule, really right after basketball is done. Under perfect conditions. How about that, Mary Holmberg? 

In fact, Big Cat could be a major asset for softball even without the inflatable cover. I have watched UMM softball games played at Big Cat when spring weather fails to cooperate. I was very surprised how good the arrangement was! I wasn't even expecting this to be an option. It is in fact a wonderful option. And for what it's worth, it is tremendously advantageous for the fans. They of course sit up in the bleacher seats just like they would for football - get a wonderful view. 

Fans are of course screwed at the softball complex. No need for me to remind you. 

Let's take a look at our "MN Scores" page and see what's up for Tiger softball on Thursday. OK, the Tigers will play Montevideo at 3 p.m. The location given is "Morris Area" so I assume it's the softball complex. If the pattern of previous years is followed, we'll have one day of post-season play in Morris and then it's off to other locations. 

I believe games are even played over the Memorial Day weekend. I have always been surprised at that. Will we get more weather warnings? 

Sad: I have not been able to write blog posts on MACA softball this spring. I would have enjoyed doing so. I'm not aware of any place online to find timely gave review information. Feel free to correct me on that. In the past we might have expected at least some game info in the Willmar newspaper or its website. The website reviews would be timely. The paper seeks to report the day after a game which is pretty nice. 

MACA has fallen outside the coverage territory of the West Central Tribune. So you can't find it as a matter of habit. Some Tiger baseball info has gotten on their site. That might be because of who we are playing on certain dates. Or maybe the MACA coach is calling in and the paper is taking his calls. Really I can only speculate. 

I was able to write a review of the recent 12-2 win by the MACA baseball Tigers over Lac qui Parle. You might be aware that Bart Hill has retired as LQPV baseball coach. Where does the time go? Bart was coach of the Eagles for 27 years and had a record over .500. Quite a run. I remember writing about Bart when he was an MAHS Tiger student-athlete. I seem to recall his wrestling exploits most of all. 

You may read my post about our 12-2 baseball win with this link, and thanks!

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2024/05/kaleb-breuer-shows-offensive-mastery-vs.html 

 

If you are looking for MACA softball information, you'll find it in the Morris print newspaper - their "dead tree" product - but these articles are way too non-timely. I am surprised that coach Holmberg would be satisfied with this arrangement. Allow me to speculate, and I'd suggest Mary just has old habits? We depend on the newspaper, right? Well in Mary's growing-up days that was certainly a fact. 

I would hope Mary wants to see timely game reports somewhere utilizing the world wide web. The Morris librarian has told me "I never see kids with the newspapers." Don't get ink on your fingers. I'm an old person so I did look at the Morris paper at the library Tuesday. 

I could not find the annual special supplement honoring the MAHS graduating class. Wouldn't this be the week that it came out? I can't rule out that a section of the paper would disappear from the library. That has been known to happen. I'll ask around on this. I saw the Hancock special section on the grads yesterday, so congrats Hancock. 

I covered the Hancock graduation many, many years for the Morris fishwrap. I could have cried the last year I was there, 2006. I couldn't understand why it had to come to an end. 

 

What about buses?

I saw the letter to the editor from Ted Storck in this week's fishwrap. School buses? I have long felt that families should have incentive to transport their own kids to and from school if they can. The families can accommodate their kids' exact schedule this way. In extracurricular? No problem. 

A major reason I disapprove of Wednesday as "church night" - i.e. no school activities - is that the Christian faith in America has taken on such a political tone. Let's say a major swath of it has. And Christianity has done so much to lift up Donald Trump who I consider to be a total mob boss criminal type with zero moral compass. He promotes himself and his own survival, period. 

I can see this but evidently I am in the minority, maybe a small minority. The Christian faith is going to have to answer for this blot on our culture and values. The end just never comes. Trump may destroy our very nation as we've known it. 

So let's get school activities on the calendar for Wednesdays please. It's especially important now that we have new activities like girls wrestling and boys soccer. 

Will our new MAHS athletic director be the soccer coach? Scott Turnbull, formerly soccer coach for UMM? And my, have you heard the reports swirling all around about how much more Blake Karas is being paid at 'Waska over Morris? Is it really $40,000 more? Is it? Didn't 'Waska have two failed school referendums? 

Here's my reaction: We'll have a new girls basketball coach next year in Justin Daly and if he can inject some real excitement to that program, get us to win 2-3 games in post-season, well then I couldn't care less how much the AD is paid. I think our GBB team of this past season had greater potential than what it showed, what with a player like Kaylee Harstad on the roster. 

I hope our new boys soccer program will be like a death knell for football. I will not even listen to arguments from those who continue to back football as a sport. There are no longer "two sides" on that. Whatever benefits football has as an organized activity, those benefits can be duplicated in many other activities. 

The sun is out today. Hallelujah!

  

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

Turnbull turns from UMM to the high school!

Scott Turnbull

We can announce a new athletic director for Morris Area High. Maybe I should say "MACA." This is certainly big news: the new person comes from the UMM athletic staff. Name is Turnbull, Scott Turnbull. We hope he sets high standards for the MACA Tiger programs. 

He replaces a guy who was not here long. A friend informed me that Blake Karas was "poached" by Minnewaska Area, basically just down the road from us. And the reason? A person who seemed in good position to know answered my query by rubbing a couple of his fingers together. Yes, money! Makes the world go 'round I guess. 

But I wish this Karas fellow had relocated further away. Now he'll be a constant reminder of how $ compensation might be an issue here with the Motown school. 

Someone shared with me the theory that "Republicans on the school board are the problem." That's one person's thoughts. I actually wouldn't presume to know the political affiliation of board members. However I might suspect. I suppose such souls would approve of salary hikes grudgingly. Who knows? We certainly have seen a veritable parade of school staff making aggrieved presentations to the board. 

I'll bet these people were totally satisfied on the day when they were first hired. But things go south pretty fast I guess. 

It is true that inflation hovers ever more as a specter. A restaurant in Morris came out with new menus last week. "New menus" are presented with a wink: "higher prices." And so one of my preferred breakfasts there has gone from $13.04 to $14.58. I used to bring a $20 bill and four pennies there. Then I tipped with $2. But we have to wonder now if $2 is even going to be enough for a tip. If my new norm is going to be $3, do I want to deal with $1 bills so much? Answer quite probably is "no." 

So the solution is: lean on the plastic cards nearly 100 percent. I was getting to that point anyway. These changes happen slowly. I feel uncomfortable now when handling paper money and coins anywhere. As a young person I'd very often tip with mere "coins." Leave them on the table. I remember that getting phased out, was hard to accept at first. And I found that leaving paper money on a table was a problem because the table might have wet spots. 

Every so often we see a commentary about how the whole custom of tipping in America has become questionable. Good points are made. Again, change happens slowly. Inflation pushes forward as the Federal Reserve is under constant pressure to keep interest rates low. Well, to cut interest rates actually, cut interest rates and set the stage for more inflation. How do you feel about that? 

So is this what makes our Morris teaching staff so restless? Inflation? They sure do confront our school board with no inhibitions. I was surprised by the assertiveness of the football coach in doing this. He must have complete job security. However, I wonder about the future of football because of our school adding boys soccer. 

And wouldn't you know, our new athletic director Scott Turnbull comes from soccer! Soccer at UMM! Is this coincidence? Is he going to be our first high school soccer coach? Will the school be real fired-up making soccer a strong sport right away? And if so, whither football? Whither football, that truly dangerous sport? I wonder if adding soccer is a way for attracting new students to our school. 

Turnbull was UMM's head soccer coach. His resignation at UMM is effective May 19. Turnbull actually has a background that includes football. He was placekicker for the Cougars in the '90s. But he grew up playing soccer in his native Manitoba, Canada. 

The UMM website informs us that he began his coaching career with the new UMM women's soccer program in 1998. I remember that well. No one at the Morris paper asked me to collect coverage material on the new program. I made the decision myself. I hope that the old press clippings of my work will be like a valued museum piece. I remember the goalie named Katie Riba. 

I did interviews with the coach, a fellow last name of DeVries. I really did not get good vibes from him on a personal level. But he did the interviews and I was excited to do the work. Was the UMM website even established yet? If it was, it was surely in limited, nascent form. 

The early days of the Internet showed many sites in just potential form. They had to look great because in previous times there was no such thing. Most sites in the web 1.0 days were like fixed billboards. They surely looked nice especially to people like me who grew up without the 'Net. The key for progress was going to be interactivity. Bring on web 2.0! 

I have read that the onset of web 2.0 was the real death knell for newspapers. The UMM website of today is 100 percent impressive. So I do not understand why the Morris newspaper (or what is left of it) has to fill its sports link with UMM news. I think it's almost humorous. MACA barely turns up there and if it does, the coverage is stale/old. 

Obviously the paper is desperate to keep trying to sell us their print version which only comes out once a week: totally unsatisfactory. Totally. 

I wonder if Turnbull is going to take a close look at how the MACA programs are covered in the media. Might he make a push to get MACA included again in the West Central Tribune's coverage territory? We have been out of that for maybe 3-4 years. Jackson Loge could not be a nominee for "All Area." 

Here's an idea: Maybe Turnbull could make a push for more MACA sports material showing up on social media. Somehow. The world wide web can accommodate anything. Surely you'd agree, Mr. Turnbull. 

My goodness, has Turnbull been the head UMM men's soccer coach for 14 seasons? Where does the time go? I left the Morris newspaper 18 years ago. That makes me realize: I left the paper at the time our MAHS graduates of '24 were just getting born! 

These grads include Kaylee Harstad who is my Saturday morning server at DeToy's Restaurant. She is so capable and friendly. She was a Tiger basketball standout but I personally thought she did not realize her full potential here. She's a center/post type of player. I have long thought our girls basketball program under-achieves. It'll have a new coach next year: Justin Daly. Who knows how he will do? The great mystery of sports I guess. "That's why they play the game," the great sportscaster Chris Berman says. 

It'll be fun seeing all the games unfold for MACA starting next fall. I hope football fades as soccer gets its footing. 

I was happy to present a graduation card to Ms. Harstad Saturday at DeToy's! It's fun to still feel a little connection to MACA sports doings. I'll never let go of that. Oh, I included a $20 bill. I guess $20 doesn't go as far as it used to.

Hey, Caitlin Clark had a good game on Saturday! She is the definition of "fresh air" in our U.S. culture of now. Blots out the "hush money trial," or it ought to.

Addendum: It is appropriate for a Williams to have special devotion to "first things" at UMM, such as the then-new women's soccer program. I was a self-starter in covering it for the Morris Sun Tribune. It's appropriate that us Williams family members pay attention to groundbreaking things. My father established music at UMM and was the only music faculty in the institution's first year. Would you believe, no women's athletics then? Basketball was played at a facility like what we saw in the movie "Hoosiers." Heady times. Really satisfying times in their own way. But no organized women's sports!

Why would Chris DeVries be unpleasant for me to work with? Probably because he heard negative things from Brian Curtis. And why would Curtis speak ill of me? Probably because of negative things he heard from Mike Martin. Yes, I'm the proverbial guy who "knows where all the bodies are buried" in this community.

 

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

Another breeze with a school referendum?

Our heart and soul, right?

Next week is when we send our MAHS seniors beyond their local public school experience. It is such an abrupt transition. After years and years of being beholden to the public school rules and standards, it simply ends. 

How often in your life have you been asked if you have a high school diploma? Or to prove you have one? Do you even have the physical document in a place you'd remember? 

There is another school referendum on the horizon. Shall we assume it will breeze right through? That has been typical in recent decades. So automatic. The whole landscape for such things must be profoundly different from when I was young. I have been in Morris since the start of the '60s, and it was nothing short of agonizing for a long time to get a school referendum passed. There was the notorious proposal that included a pool. 

KCMT TV sent a reporter here to interview some students. I believe they were seated cross-legged in the grass outside. Sad to reflect on the sense of division that arose in our otherwise peaceful community. I remember one of the kids telling the TV person "people just don't know what they are doing when they vote no." 

I experienced "split shifts" here in Motown. That term alien for you? Morrissites of my vintage will readily remember, I presume. The "shifts" scheme was to accommodate a shortage of space and facilities to handle us all. Such were the student numbers, we had the grades 1-3 elementary school in west Morris. It was let go for school purposes long ago. The name "Longfellow" is still on the front. I am reminded on those Sundays when I attend Faith Lutheran which is across the street. 

Imagine a schoolyard there full of kids. I don't even have to close my eyes to remember. I was in Mrs. Peterson's third grade class when word came of JFK's assassination. I remember her being called into the commons area briefly. She returned with the grim demeanor of having learned of tragedy. I don't remember if we were excused immediately. 

I do remember that for the next several days, "TV news" really came at us as a major institution. It found its legs. My father and I were watching live when Oswald was shot. Dad was seated on a hassock very close to the TV, me on the davenport. 

The image of Longfellow with its burgeoning youth population surely fades. We have been through a lot since then. Whereas conflict over school referendums has almost disappeared, this isn't to say there cannot be conflict. In fact my first ten years of being a full-time employee of the newspaper seemed almost a nightmare. That time period concluded with a mess of controversy and conflicts. 

Why the intensity of the conflict? You might say it was a philosophical conflict and these can be nasty by their nature. A well-known local citizen and sports parent informed me of the surrounding small towns having an "unbelievably negative" view of the Morris school. I won't type his name here but he was a respected person. I'm not talking about Morris' periodic mayor of that era, a fine person but who grated on many within the school system. 

The source who I cite said the perception of Morris extracurricular was that it was being managed "like an extension of phy ed class." Nothing terribly disastrous about phy ed class I suppose. But when you sign up to be in extracurricular sports, there is a model you have to accept. Like it or not, the system is set up to reward winners and to leave losers feeling disconsolate. Lose in the post-season and you're done. Win and you get showered with attention and trophies. 

That's pretty graphic. And real. 

At present things look basically fine. Little issues inevitably arise now and then. I think that with all the attention showered on women's basketball now, standards for judging teams will get nudged higher. I feel our girls basketball team has been under-performing but we'll see with the new coach next year. 

I have expressed skepticism about the softball complex as a facility. I feel its accommodations for fans are grossly insufficient. Just an opinion. Maybe the idea is to just watch on YouTube. 

I wonder if our newspaper gets pressure to try to upgrade what it does on its website. I mean for sports updates. I'll eat my hat if they don't get complaints about this. The print version comes out only once a week. Check the website and it's almost devoid of MACA sports updates. Plenty of UMM, that's for sure. If I was still at the paper and had to answer for this, I'm certain I would be dealing with explosive anger. 

A former MAHS administrator was known to vent quite badly over alleged shortcomings. He insisted that a Tuesday game absolutely had to be covered in full in Thursday's paper. It's harder than you think. We were trying to cover a lot of ground. 

How much do people care now? 

Well there's another school referendum upcoming. The magic date is August 13. Hey, right around fair time! That puts everyone in a good mood? A mood for spending? Are y'all getting more concerned about inflation? I realize that virtually any referendum is a slam dunk for passage here these days. 

You must remember that school representatives can always cite a list of reasons for needing more money. They act incredulous if you try to challenge any of this. It won't matter for August 13 because I'm sure this will be another vote that passes routinely. It has been the norm in Morris for a long time. Fewer people are around who remember the '60s. We can theorize that back then, too much money had to be provided locally as opposed to getting boosts from the state. 

Didn't Wendell Anderson's "Minnesota Miracle" do the turnaround on this? Poor Wendell, his political career suddenly crashed and burned when he appointed himself to the Senate. No redemption after that. He became such a total has-been, he had to settle for accepting a spot on the U of M board of regents. A similar scenario happened with long-time high-profile legislator Dean Johnson who got in trouble with the state's supreme court. Who was telling the truth in that matter? I actually think it's a good bet that Johnson was telling the whole truth. But one of the robed people had apparently said something out of school that wasn't meant to go public. So the court had no choice but to "deny." 

The rest is history with Johnson landing on the regents. An "island of misfit toys?" Well that's an exaggeration I guess. 

I personally would like to see the Minnesota legislature do more hands-on supervision of the state's higher education. Instead they delegate to people who can be "glory hounds." Remember Jesse Ventura going back and forth with Yudof when Yudof was U president? There is nothing wrong with playing a little hardball with the education types. 

I once read that your typical resident of an outstate Minnesota community views the local public school as a "money pit." 

So our school at present wants to improve various things. Well of course they do. So we'll vote yes. At the same time, we have an aggrieved faculty. Pay and benefits not good enough, they assert. 

We hardly knew ye, Blake

We have lost our activities director to rival Minnewaska. Huh? Sharon Martin has resigned. I heard the Hancock band director is leaving for BBE. I hear the C-A band director resigned even though she has tenure. I don't know the entire backstory but the situation seems unsettled. 

We have a rock with our Morris band program, Ms. Dagen. I think she'll want to continue directing here for as long as she can stand on the podium. I'm sorry I missed her ice cream concert on Monday. Sometimes I worry about being present at school activities as an older man (getting older continually) with no known family connection to the school. I'm not a grandparent. Maybe I was just in a bad mood. I'm sure the concert was wonderful. 

I remember photographing Principal Bill Kehoe when he was a C-A Spartan.

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