Girls win 7-1 and 10-0 at Minnewaska

Look at all the W's for the MACA softball Tigers on the "Minnesota Scores" website. On this Sunday morning we see a 15-1 record. Phenomenal as the post-season gets closer. Can the Tigers overcome the jinx of playing the southern Minnesota teams? 

The 15-1 numbers show that we are not world-beaters. Melrose found a way to defeat us on May 1. That was a 5-2 score. So outside of that game it's a series of W's to certainly please the fans. 

Most recently our success was on the road. Not far away, to Minnewaska Area. Our former activities director "defected" to 'Waska, or was "poached" or however you might like to describe it. It's a competitive marketplace. So while that individual gets paid more in 'Waska than our cheapskates were willing to offer - just kidding (?) - our softball team showed superiority in a doubleheader. We get the last laugh. 

MACA turned back the Lakers 7-1 and 10-0. The scores indicated it was business as usual for the orange and black. But again, can we do this against the likes of JCC? The goal is state. Looks like there's a home doubleheader coming up on Tuesday. After that, there are just two remaining regular season games. Will anything be done to accommodate fans better at our softball complex? 

Game 1 against the 'Waska Lakers had the 7-1 score. Haley Kill performed from the pitching circle. She was quite in command as shown by her 14 strikeouts. She allowed three hits and one run and walked one. Our line score showed us playing errorless ball. Our seven runs came on seven hits. The hits were pretty spread around. 

Brenna Jergenson had the multiple-hit game with a two-for-four line and a run-batted-in. Lauren Hottovy had a double, drew a walk and stole a base, plus she scored three runs and drove in one. Kaylin Steen had a hit, stole a base, drew a walk and drove in a run. Then we see Samantha Konz with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. 

Harmony Cloverdale went one-for-three, drew a walk and scored a run. Makenzie Konz walked and scored a run. Leah Berlinger tripled and scored a run. BTW I love the name "Harmony Cloverdale."

 

Game 2: Tigers 10, 'Waska 0

In command again, this time shutout-style. Nora Boyle was handed the ball for pitching duties. In her six innings she allowed three hits and struck out two. She also contributed a hit, one of eight by the Tigers. 

Again we played errorless ball. Boyle scored a run and drove in two. Samantha Konz had a hot bat with a double and triple as part of her three-for-three showing. Her RBI total was four. 

Lauren Hottovy had a hit in her only at-bat. She had a SAC fly, a walk received, an RBI and two runs scored. Kaylin Steen scored twice and stole a base. Haley Kill walked and scored a run. 

Harmony Cloverdale had a hit, drew a walk and scored a run. Makenzie Konz had a hit, drew a walk and scored a run. Ryla Koehler scored twice, rapped a hit and drew a walk.

 

UMM graduation

Memory tells me the UMM graduation has had to be moved indoors on many occasions. It's best when it can be outside of course. That's how it was for UMM's first graduation in 1964. I remember. 

The campus was blessed to have an outdoor ceremony for its 2025 edition. Very pleased to be in attendance. I'm sure the numbers are not as high as they once were. Still, a very impressive atmosphere for the grads and the proud family members and friends. 

I stopped by the dining hall for the graduation brunch. I told the attendant that the price was $12 back in the fall for Homecoming. So, what might it be for the spring graduation? Well, it was $13. So, isn't that how inflation works? The prices inch upward and we largely just absorb it. What else are we going to do? 

I enjoyed the brunch. Nice to have some Rice Chex cereal for a change. I don't have the refrigerator connected in my home. I live pretty conservatively. I have confronted diabetes and decided I don't need food temptations from the 'fridge. Good news: My most recent medical exam showed I am now "pre-diabetes" which is an improvement! Maybe I can progress further. 

We hope there are many more UMM graduations to come. But I don't know, as the Washington D.C. leaders are on the warpath against DEI. And, DEI is how UMM largely packages itself these days. Do I care? I really don't. I just care that the institution can survive or isn't driven into spasms of uncomfortable change. We'll see what things look like in the fall. 

Nice to see instrumental music again for the 2025 graduation: a brass group, very sharp. Simon Tillier directed. The group even played "Pomp and Circumstance." In an ideal world we'd have the regular symph. winds playing again. That was the norm for a long time. We took it for granted. Changing times bring adjustments.

 

MAHS music reminder below. And note there's an ice cream social set for 6 p.m.

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

MACA buries Benson on the diamond

How about 14 runs in the seventh frame? Quite the offensive outburst for the orange and black of the baseball diamond. The Tigers were already showing command before the seventh inning. But their bats got going for a decisive final flourish. 

This was in Game 1 of the Thursday doubleheader against the Benson Braves. Yes they're still the "Braves." The nickname goes against the wishes of our state government but oh well. 

Our 14 runs in the top of the seventh were en route to the final 26-6 winning score. Benson hosted. 

We always must make clear which "Asmus" we're talking about. So let's acknowledge Alex Asmus as the winning pitcher. His stat line was not outstanding this time around. But the "W" looks nice next to his name. Benson was able to get through with offensive punch at times. 

Alex pitched six innings and allowed six hits and four runs which were earned. He set down nine Brave batters on strikes. Jackson Hallman finished up on the hill. Benson had a parade of five different pitchers trying to subdue the MACA batters. I guess a futile cause on this day. 

Can we all envision the orange and black in the state tournament? Our line score was 26 runs, eleven hits and two errors. Benson rapped ten hits but fumbled in the field with seven errors. Not a pretty sight for the Benson fans. 

 

Eleven MACA hits

Now, on to the MACA offensive story where we see Riley Asmus with a three-for-four line, three runs scored, an RBI, walk received, a stolen base and on once via HBP. 

Jonah Huebner had a two-for-three line and drove in four runs while scoring three. Jonah doubled, stole a base and drew a walk. 

Alex Asmus had a hit, drew a walk, stole a base and scored two runs. Riley Saito walked, scored a run and drove in one. Jack Letendre had a hit in his only at-bat, plus he scored a run and drove in two. Jack Kehoe socked a triple. Kehoe scored three runs, drove in four and walked twice. 

Hallman worked the Benson pitching for four walks. He was a terror on the basepaths with three stolen bases. He scored four runs and drove in one. Kye Suess drove in three runs on his one-for-four line. He walked and scored a run also. Justin Giese was busy with a stolen base, two walks received, two RBIs and two runs scored on his one-for-three line. 

Hunter Smith walked twice and scored two runs. Leo Perez walked and scored a run. We have to remember there are two "Huebners" too. Drew Huebner had a hit and also reached three times on walks and once on HBP. Drew crossed home plate three times. 

For the "Braves" - excuse that reference - Landon Skarsten and Alex Claussen both went three-for-four and Noah Goossen had two hits. The losing pitcher was Claussen. 

The Tigers took Game 2 by a score of 11-0. Riley Asmus and Hallman shared the pitching. Drew Huebner hit a home run. 

Let's take a look at the "Minnesota Scores" website for MACA baseball. My we're a juggernaut. We learn that our W/L is a superlative 16-0. Looks like we don't play again until next Thursday. Action will be at BOLD where the school district has controversy with a criminal investigation. In Morris the biggest issue is the substantial staff cuts that drew 125 members of the public to a recent board meeting. 

Is the public calming down about that? In the old days I knew about everything that was going on. Today I have to go out of my way.

 

That long ago?

The last MAHS graduation I covered for the Morris newspaper was in 2006. It was the first graduation in the new gym and I was proud to be part of it with my newspaper work. But, so long ago now. 

Would I have liked to continue it? Well of course I would have. Ditto with being at the Hancock graduation. Maybe I was even more emotional about saying goodbye to that event. I still remember the song that was played for the slide show there. Made me get a little misty in fact. My last graduation there was when the "Grunig twins" graduated. 

One of those guys played football and the other one didn't. I was amused to hear coach Adam Steege talk about that. Of the non-football-playing twin, Steege said he was a "pacifist." Hey, that attitude is right in line with me. 

Also re. the Hancock graduation, the Grunig twins' father Ken had his Hanocck band start "Pomp and Circumstance" with a percussion intro that always startled me! I think I got a bit of a reputation for that. Oh to pay a visit again someday. Today's graduates weren't quite born yet when I left the paper. I haven't aged a day, have I? 

The Hancock graduation had more of an intimate atmosphere to it. But the MAHS atmosphere was great too. I found it was easier to take notes in the new gym compared to previously. Oh for years the 1968 gym had terrible acoustics for that IMHO, or a mishandled sound system. The standards are much higher today for everything. But I still think my work would "cut it." We can only speculate. 

The memories are stored in my head from years and years - no one can take these away from me. I still remember when we had the literal earthquake during the MAHS graduation. The Lopez boy was speaking. He's no longer a boy. I recall him saying later that he wasn't sure at first what the rumble was. Actually I did think earthquake right away. There is a history here. There are no train tracks next to the high school building! It is very rare for me to get invited to graduation receptions anymore. I carry on with life.

 

Maybe a footnote

My own graduation from 1973 is quite secondary in my thoughts, to all the graduations I covered with the Morris Sun Tribune. These included graduations at Cyrus High School. I remember seeing a Japanese exchange student with the Cyrus grads who I had interviewed for a feature article. She was emotional as she participated in CHS graduation! Wonderful thing to see. 

I have no emotions reflecting on my own MAHS graduation. I concluded high school with no useful skills at all, but I had been dragged through endless tedious and boring "academic" classes that are a scar on my memory, sorry. 

Wally Behm was our principal. His stock seemed to fall rather suddenly here. But he was the "principal to the boomer generation" of Morris. Each community has someone like this ensconced in its history: "principal or superintendent to the boomers." A wholly unique niche. Wally was a smart and good person. But I think he was a product of another age. He had a stately presence. He had a sense of humor but when he got mad you'd quickly shudder. 

Our superintendent up to 1970 was Oscar Miller who seems to have vanished from community memory. After Oscar it was the very well-remembered Fred Switzer. Fred knew the value of a dollar to a fault. Whereas Oscar clearly had a "PR personality," Fred did not. Fred was rather cold and dry. To the extent there were problems with him, it was probably due to the board. I went to a 10K run once with one of Fred's sons and he told me "people don't seem to realize he works for the board, it isn't the other way around." 

It's really hard to feel joyful about anything that happened in 1973 because the whole Vietnam tragedy was not yet over. The fall of Saigon happened two years later. And to think we could have just avoided the whole thing. The U.S. lost the war. Whatever bad memories I have, I wasn't sent to that hellhole. 

My family had a family friend who was killed by friendly fire in 1966. Bless today's young people who don't have to deal with something like this. As for the Iraq adventure, why did the U.S. have to send National Guard troops to fight? Why didn't the American public rise up to question it?

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

A Carter quote echoed by. . .Trump?

Peanut farmer from Georgia

Another quote that is really more a paraphrase from what was really said? I don't know about taking this kind of license. So I ought to verify the "tighten our belts" comment from Jimmy Carter. Already I knew that he did not use the word "malaise" in this famous or infamous speech. 

America has never been afraid of excess. The more the better for our personal lifestyle and possessions - that's the credo. And I'm not totally putting it down. Going for the moon is quite fine for anything. We must be thoughtful and be guided by the Judeo-Christian ethic. 

Republicans more than anyone would diss the idea that we'd have to "tighten our belts." They had an opportunity to show their attitude on this after the noteworthy Jimmy Carter speech in 1979. Americans were still listening to disco music. While our memories have been fading, think of disco and the decade should be revived nicely. 

Protests in Iran were persisting. The revolution there was causing international worry. A fundamentalist cleric took power. Oil production became limited, thus Americans faced rising prices. Carter saw his stock diminished. How about a speech to try to remedy? These were the days before our attention got carved up by the Internet. 

Bring on July 15, 1979. Carter gave his most important address to the nation. "Angst" might describe our collective state. I thought Carter's manner of speaking was fine. Most others thought otherwise. Through the prism of time the speech has not aged well. 

 

Movie flashback

I wonder how many people reacted like me to a scene in the movie about the "Miracle on Ice" hockey team. The team was unwinding with a game of touch football, as I recall. We heard the Carter speech in the background. What stood out for me was that the guys were oblivious to Carter's words. They were sharing some unbridled fun and paid literally no mind. 

The message: It is against the American nature to hear about sacrifice. I mean sacrifice to your personal lifestyle and living standards. Our capitalistic system ought to afford us the chance to "go for the moon." Earn and live well. I have no issue with the Republican pols on this. 

Then there is the separate matter of the sacrifice of lives for the sake of war. George W. Bush sold us on that for the Middle East. The sands have clearly shifted on this. Whereas you used to risk being called a "commie" for opposing war, today the leading element of the Republican Party appears totally against war. As a 70-year-old who certainly followed the tragedy of war, it's kind of mystifying. I mean the shape-shifting going on here. 

William Kristol

So the vice president J.D. Vance assails William Kristol on this front. Vance was responding to criticism. And I must say as a Democrat, Vance totally and decisively put Kristol in his place. Should have left him mumbling. 

The Republicans now just happen to have a leader that influences the party with such firmness, he can get them in line on anything. While I am scared of this about 100 percent, it is interesting how the party is now thumbs-down on war adventurism. So we've gone from George W. Bush to Donald Trump. And the self-styled and self-marketing "conservative media" has tagged along with each one. 

 

Word out of the ether?

Jimmy Carter gave what came to be called the "malaise speech." Which is fascinating because Carter never used the word "malaise." Sounds like a popular word for college professors. Yes, they're responsible for this I'm sure. Amidst the disturbing international circumstances which had ramifications here, Carter decided to question the self-indulgence and consumption of America. At the same time, he preached the need for sacrifice - individual and collective. 

Carter was certainly most well-intentioned. Sacrifice can be a noble thing, if we're not talking wartime death. If you're going to associate such an attitude with a political party, it would be the Democrats. They are cautious about pumping up "materialism." 

Republicans? I remember when "Fred Mertz" of the "Lucy Show" had a little kiosk called "Big Hunk of America" to compete with "Ricky's" "A Little Bit of Cuba." "A big hunk" is what Americans seek to go for, n'est-ce pas? I'll repeat that it is ingrained in our nature. 

I am fascinated to see that not only the word "malaise" was a post-speech invention, so too were the words "we'll have to tighten our belts." Man, I remember that quote being bandied about back in the day. But hey, it was a paraphrase! Ethical questions about journalism maybe, I mean if the wrong words gained currency. 

Today we have the grand "meritocracy of the Internet" enforcing precision. Don't let the professor types hold forth. Put aside "malaise" and "tighten our belts" as interpretations i.e. paraphrasing,which granted was accurate. 

 

Incongruous

Why am I bringing this up today? A very good and timely reason. You see, not only has DJT transformed the Republican Party into anti-war, he has now come out against excess consumption! This was with his "dolls" comment of the other day. Maybe these remarks will become a defining part of his presidency. Sheesh, there are so many other dubious parts clamoring for attention. 

Excess consumption? Girls wanting "too many dolls?" Really? DJT is trying to get us ready for the trials lying ahead because of his tariffs. Rising prices to be sure. Haven't we had enough of rising prices? Maybe we have. The Trump-supporting element of the USA wants to follow him so automatically, knee-jerk you might say. 

Michelle Fischbach

Ask our congressperson Michelle Fischbach about the need for sacrifice to "get along with less." She ought to put down such ideas. She is a Republican. But she is 100 percent Trump-supporting. Of course she will not question the Orange Man. I'll repeat: Someone should ask her sometime if there is anything Trump could do or say that she would disagree with. 

I predict that Americans are not vigilant or thoughtful enough about what is coming in the way of higher prices. I predict it really will "cross a line." And then we may fall into a true "malaise." Can it be remedied? 

The scary thing is that DJT has built up such a wall of power around himself, assisted often by the Supreme Court. Can the dam break? That is the big question. 

I'd love for someone like Carter to be our president again. Ah, memories come back of the story he told about the rabbit swimming toward his boat in the swamp!

  

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

Take time to reflect on change

American resilience has always paid off, right? Can we count on the past always setting the upbeat example? The year 1961 was watershed here in Morris. Really for all of Minnesota too. So many ways we might contrast life then with today. Well, the cost of bread was 23 cents for a pound in 1960. And that was up from 12 cents in 1950. 

I'm thinking of the year 1961 specifically because of the impact felt. For the first time us Minnesotans had top-tier pro sports teams to cheer for! Can you imagine life without that? Maybe my generation of the boomers was proliferating in numbers to the extent that the need for more entertainment was obvious. And of course the boomers' potential cried out. 

Baseball moved west when the practicality of air travel pushed for this. Previous to the page-turning new age of baseball, "a trip west" meant St. Louis or Chicago. It was the habitual way of thinking. And we'd like to think that surely Minneapolis and St. Paul were well-enough developed to support the top tier. But the economy was not ready. If it had been ready, surely the enterprising owners would have moved out here. 

Interesting how we got the Twins and Vikings in the same year. So just think: before that we were really bereft. Of course we had sports. I have gathered that U of M football was the really big deal. And it was super-competitive through the early 1960s. We had quarterback Sandy Stephens. Rose Bowl trips. All of that seems rather faded history now, doesn't it? Because, the Vikings really supplanted the Gophs. 

The quality of TV technology with the super color picture paved the way for football to become the obsession. "Color" programs were announced on NBC with the peacock, remember? This was satirized in the original "Police Squad" TV show. "In color." Well, it really was a big deal once. 

The football Gophers became like an afterthought for quite a few years. We could not conceive of the Rose Bowls any more. We watched as Nebraska, Michigan, Penn State and others somehow found the formula to excel. And I was puzzled. Isn't Minnesota a more prosperous state than Nebraska? 

I don't think we felt the need. Well, we had the Vikings. Nebraska certainly didn't have that! 

Metropolitan Stadium was built to attract big league baseball. The Vikings were "the other tenant." Bud Grant was certainly on record commenting on that. 

I wrinkle my forehead because Met Stadium was such a breakthrough when it was built. Yet only a couple decades later, it had to be abandoned. It was literally left abandoned and to totally decay. 

As  a little kid my father told me about the Minneapolis "Millers." It was the top-notch minor league baseball team in Minneapolis. While St. Paul had the "Saints." Dad directed the Apollo Male Chorus of Minneapolis through part of the '50s. 

I still wonder what the atmosphere of "Nicollet Park" was like. It was the Millers' home before Met Stadium came to be. Was it a special experience to be there? The great WCCO TV newscaster Dave Moore thought it was. Maybe he courted someone there once. I have never noticed much gushing about the place, generally speaking. 

St. Paul had "Lexington Park" for a long time, located close go the old Prom Center which eventually got close to my heart. It's gone now, having gotten out of the way for progress. 

And what of life in our Morris for the year 1961? The new UMM went into the first spring of its existence. However, no graduation yet. The first graduation would not happen until 1964. I remember being out on the campus mall that night. There were no "hills" on the mall in UMM's early days. Thus, kids would get out there to fly kites in the spring. A friend and I have joked about the "hippie" kids doing that. 

Prior to the hippies or the protesters we had the "beatniks." The boomers started exhibiting their counterculture. We didn't want to fit into the old mold. We must have found fault with some of those values. The Vietnam war was certainly not our idea. Quite to the contrary. The grand WWII generation got fooled on that one. Those people should have seen that Vietnam was nothing like the worldwide crisis that drew us in, in the 1940s. 

Our UMM has now had such a long history. So long, we should accept the institution's viability into the long-term future, right? But it's never so simple. 

We're all thinking about graduation because that's what is coming up this weekend out on campus. I would surely never miss it. There's a brunch at the dining hall earlier in the day. I will watch with interest to see if the total amount of humanity on the mall is large enough to retain optimism. 

I'm told there will be an instrumental ensemble. Well that's a step up from having no band at all. My, for so many years we took the band for granted at graduation. I never dreamt this could fade away. 

Is it possible that UMM will take on a new mission for its future? Recently many of us have had to feel concern over the attacks on "DEI" coming from the most powerful people in Washington D.C. UMM has basically been branding itself with "DEI." Whatever works, I root for it. I do feel there is substantial cause for concern. 

But on graduation day we should feel overcome with joy. I just hope there's a good turnout of "humanity." 

I spent kindergarten as a little kid at East Elementary in Morris. UMM was finding its legs. And then for the next three years, I attended school at "Longfellow" which today houses offices for St. Francis Health Services, or at least that's my understanding. It's across from Faith Lutheran. 

"Longfellow" was where my third grade teacher informed us in such a somber manner about JFK's assassination. The kaleidoscope of history moves onward. We hope UMM can open routinely for business next fall. But I don't know.

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

Riley Asmus unstoppable in big win

The MACA diamond teams are showing they can be merciless when winning! So even though our school board is making pretty noticeable staff cuts - noticeable enough to draw 125 members of the public to the recent meeting - this apparent austerity is not affecting sports or at least certain programs. 

The last time I wrote about softball, the Tigers had just taken care of business in a 26-0 win over Benson. Mercy! 

This morning (Saturday) as I check the prep sports news, it's redux. This time it's with baseball. Here we see a crushing 22-3 victory over Lac qui Parle. Bart Hill has retired as LQPV coach. So he did not have to deal with this misfortune for the Eagles. Bart is of course a Morris native. He had a heckuva run with his LQPV Eagles. 

In the present time the Eagles are licking their wounds. Our Riley Asmus was like a wrecking drew at the Madison diamond. Riley's bat launched three home runs among five total by the orange and black. What a crowd-pleasing game for the Tiger partisans who made the trip! Riley is committed to Creighton for his future athletic pursuits. 

Look at Riley's boxscore line: five-for-five! He drove in ten runs. He crossed home plate five times. It doesn't end there. We saw his pitching flair on display too. He got the "W" by his name. He set down six Eagle batters on strikes. 

The other MACA home runs were off the bats of Drew Huebner and Justin Giese. The complexion of the game was established right in the first inning: nine runs for the Tigers. Let's acknowledge it was a bleak afternoon for the LQPV fans. Dylan Keimig supplied a LQPV highlight with a home run. Also hitting safely for the home team were Davis Patzer, Gavin Meyer, Tyler Erp and Brandt Schommer. Schommer's hit was a double. 

The MACA offensive review shows Andrew Marty with a hit in his only at-bat, a double. He worked the LQPV pitching for three walks. He crossed home plate four times. Riley Asmus had a double to go with his home run blasts. 

Ozzy Jerome had a hit, drew three walks and scored two runs. Alex Asmus had two hits and got hit-by-pitch twice. He scored a run and drove in a run. Jack Kehoe had a hit and a run scored. Jonah Huebner scored a run, drove in one, walked and stole a base. 

Jackson Hallman stole three bases and scored a run. Justin Giese went two-for-two with one of his hits a home run. He scored two runs, drove in three, drew a walk and stole a base. Hunter Smith doubled and scored a run. 

Drew Huebner had a two-for-three line including his round-tripper. He scored three runs. Kye Suess drew a walk and scored a run. 

Riley Asmus shared pitching duties with Jack Kehoe. Asmus worked four innings and Kehoe one. Asmus fanned six batters and Kehoe two. Only one walk issued by the Tiger pair. 

Onward and upward now for the MACA baseball crew? Just like the softball team? The school staff cuts sure aren't having any effect with these programs! Do I understand correctly that hockey is being made self-supporting? Is the public going to be good with this? You know what might happen: we'll hear cries for other programs to be self-supporting as well. 

I mean, why not? Why not football? Football is not even a safe sport for our boys to be playing. 

Some people consider band and choir to be "extracurricular." This has always been bandied about, whether music is extracurricular or part of the core learning. I don't care as long as it gets financial support. And wouldn't you know, band is not affected at all by the staff cuts. 

So we saw quite the exciting band concert this past week at the concert hall. The band program absolutely flourishes. Never a doubt about how committed the band directors are. We can always feel assured that the directors are idealistic people who go for the moon. Believe me, I have seen a number of Morris teachers through the years develop weaknesses when it comes to this. There have been times where I've had a hard time containing my discontent. 

There was a huge audience for the band concert which involved grades 5-8. I sat next to the mother of the seventh grade bass clarinet player. I told her "we all remember who the bass clarinet player was when we were in high school band." 

As an aside, let me say that I visited the Morris Public Library twice last week and did not see Anne Barber there. Certain people had assured me she'd be back. I can't believe it totally until I see her there sometime. I'm actually a little cautious about going to the library now. I mean, after all that has happened. Unfortunately there has to be a winner and a loser at the end of all this - maybe that's the most dispiriting aspect. 

I have never met our city manager. I refuse to make any negative assumptions about her. Is there anything the city council and mayor could have done to prevent the actual controversy, because controversy is never a good thing? The council has surely discovered how popular Anne is. She has ties to the UMM community. 

Do y'all think Donald Trump has a chance to become Pope? So many people have actually put DJT on a level with God and Jesus. We see this locally.

 

Addendum: The bass clarinet player when I was in band here was Peter Timmons! He has had quite the career as an attorney.

 

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

Softball Tigers look to rule regular season

A rather typical spring so far for the MACA softball Tigers. Year after year this program performs so superbly in the regular season. Lots of joy for everyone involved with the program, of course. The disappointing part happens when we get into the post-season tournament. 

Oh our first couple games at least go fine. Sub-section is usually played at our local "complex" where unfortunately fans struggle to get a good and comfortable seating position. Maybe they would deny this but I'm sticking to my opinion. 

We were sold this complex being such a grand facility. The city said "no" to a second request for funds from the project's promoters. The city was nice enough to make an initial contribution. I would actually question the wisdom of that. 

IMHO we needed assurances that the facility would live up to original conceptions. The announcement at the start was with a flourish, including a row of supposed VIPs with shovels as if there'd actually be a lot of digging out there. 

Let me remind you that I cannot help but pay attention to all this because Prairie Lane is on my daily walking route, both coming and going. It's great to head out east of town to the wild surroundings, away from the trappings of civilization. I spent 27 years in the rat race of writing for the Morris newspaper. A day doesn't go by where I don't wonder what it would be like to try to do it again. 

The odds are slimmer for me having any kind of repeat of that, mainly because my eyesight is diminishing. We resist the effects of aging until finally we capitulate. God sees to it. 

Again, nice to see MACA softball performing so well in the regular season. Good chance we'll roll through the season this way. And then we'll wonder: can MACA break the "jinx" (or whatever it is) of playing the teams from southern Minnesota? Surprising how long that handicap has gone on. 

Sharon Martin gave me an interpretation once: The Tigers "play in a weak conference," she said. The Tigers would benefit from being tested by a higher caliber of competition. And why would our West Central Conference be hindered in this way? Seems like a respectable conference overall, at least that's my impression. 

Well, I have no idea about the weakness that Ms. Martin alluded to. These days she's the smiling presence at the Willie's bakery. The Martin name and groceries go hand in hand. I think the stresses of teaching were getting to her and I fully understand. And look at the stresses being added on at present for our Morris Area school system. Phenomenal, earth-shaking and no hyperbole with those descriptions. 

Holy cow, over a hundred members of the public at the school board meeting last Monday? The number I first heard was 100, given by the superintendent himself on the radio station website. The website offered just two brief snippets of interview comments by the super. But was it really an "interview?" 

Hard questions? Well I'd say the interviewer just tossed softballs to the super. Maybe it wasn't even that much - I think the radio station just gave him a platform to take over for a minute or two and give us his carefully massaged comments about how, well, the board just had to make some cuts and it's all so routine. Life goes on as if a breeze. That's what we were supposed to take away from it. 

Well I didn't of course. I'm a cynical old journalist who came up during Watergate. And I know that if 125 people turn out for a board meeting to show concern about the significant staff cuts, we cannot describe it all as "routine." I heard from my friend Randy Olson of Bonanza Valley on this:

 

Hello Brian, I tell you what: having 100 people (hell, having TEN people) at a school board meeting is nothing to sneeze at. Something must be happening.

I've been covering B-B-E school board meetings for over 10 years now as publisher. In that time, I can't add up to 100 the number of visitors from the public at a school board meeting. Back in 2017(ish) we probably had 15 to 20 regarding class sizes for a kindergarten section. That would be a high water mark.

As a newspaper, you have to keep the public informed, and when things get tough - they may get upset but at least they won't be looking for their pitchforks.

I suppose if I go to the library today (Tuesday) to look more at the Morris paper, I'll see Anne Barber back as director there. Given the length of her suspension from duties, I was almost assuming we'd never see here there again. The whole thing started out as "allegations of misconduct" which were awfully strong words, almost pushing us to a bias of some kind. 

So the suspension was carried out and now she's back as if everything was so routine? Well I guess we'd have to suspect "yes." But the city (led I presume by the city manager) dragged us through a most unpleasant episode. And if Anne can now resume duties as if not missing a beat, are we to assume then that there was no serious misconduct, misjudgment, oversight lapses of whatever? 

Barney Fife

And if it was truly small potatoes, I don't understand the huge spectacle of it all. I mean, the three Barney Fifes that had to be called to protect the physical safety of our city council members? Sheesh. Very strange. And so now normal life resumes in our "Peyton Place." 

What will come of the school staff cuts? Can Supt. Monson sell us on the idea that "it's just one of those things?" "Nothing to see here?" 

Will the remaining members of school staff be bitter in the aftermath? I have seen this consequence before. The teachers are a hugely powerful political bloc in the community, if past is precedent. Of course, "past" for yours truly goes back further all the time. Maybe people are more civilized today. I cut my teeth during Watergate. 

The place to look for uncivil behavior and ignorance now is Washington D.C. The congressperson MTG wanting to celebrate the Pope's death, coming right out and saying it. No uprising to try to get her to resign from Congress. So maybe a whole lot of Americans agree with her? How do Catholics in Morris feel? Of course MTG represents a state of the old Confederacy. 

There's plenty of ignorance in the Upper Midwest too. We have a MAGA congressperson.

 

Follow the Tigers

Can MACA softball beat the likes of Jackson County Central this year? Stay tuned. Are the fans having to place their own chairs in the muddy ground by the softball complex again? Way out by the outfield fence? This is progress? 

As I write this, MACA softball is 10-0. Way to go Tigers! Sharon Martin attends the games. Looks like she hasn't got a new dog yet to replace the never-to-be-forgotten "Goldy." "All dogs go to heaven."

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

Looks like Anne will be back on Monday!

Pretty soon it will be Memorial Day and we can forget about some of the tensions of this past spring. A blast of summer-like temperatures should do the job. Let's see, what were we so worked up about? Based on information I gleaned this morning (Sunday), looks like Anne Barber will be back at the library on Monday. Very interesting news. 

The length of her suspension had me wondering if she would ever be back there. Due to the secretive stance of city officials, we frankly had to retreat to a whole lot of speculation. You can call it gossip. We cannot be blamed for that due to the rather sensational nature - three sheriff's deputies - of how this matter was guarded early-on. 

As if supporters of the library director might commit physical violence? I had a hard time typing that. But not one but three Barney Fifes? My guess on this is that council members were receiving comments on this that were not very civil. I could put that in more raw terms. And such comments would actually be uncalled for. 

I had to feel sorry for the city manager who probably had grounds for looking into things. And it's good that we have vigilant public servants who guard the public's interests without fear or favor. I have never met the city manager. I sure knew Blaine Hill from previous times. To the extent there were problems at the library, should Hill have been the one acting on that? 

Because our legacy commercial media in Morris performs so badly these days, I sought an update from people we know at Willie's Super Valu. Jim Morrison once observed with a smile that whenever we were looking to ID a person in a photo for the newspaper, "just go to Willie's." Someone there would know, customer or employee. Small town wisdom. 

Actually it would be better if we could rely on legacy media. So I'm thinking of the newspaper - only one a week these days - and radio. Radio has lost the talents of Marshall Hoffman and Brett Miller. There's a gaping void now, but I'm sure the owners don't care, if this service does not figure in with the "bottom line." Maybe we the public should make sure it does figure in. 

Yes the paper comes out just once a week - it was two in the heyday of yours truly - but the paper has this thing called a "website." There is no limit to what you can put on a website, articles and photos of course. The paper like the radio station must think there's little bottom line value to the website. Of course they're happy to "sell" space to anyone. 

But I'm talking about real leadership with active news/sports collection and dissemination. And this in theory should be good for their bottom line. Building good will with the community. 

So were there a hundred people at the Monday school board meeting? A fellow at Willie's Cafe came across as knowledgeable and he said "125." That is an absolutely amazing turnout for a school board meeting. I'm curious as heck what the sentiment of all those people was. Certainly some hot-button issues and questions. As I sit here now on this Sunday, I have had no blanks filled in. 

I do know about the cuts in school staff that are set to be made. And I think word got around about that due to a Facebook page and not the normal media. One thing the legacy media is always willing and enthusiastic to do: take your money for direct advertising/promotion. The next Morris paper comes out Tuesday, over a week after the big school board meeting was held. It would be so nice to consume an analytical discussion of what exactly is happening, what might be yet to resolve. In absence of clear understanding of such things, I'm left to talk to people "out and around." It's the only vehicle there is. 

Someone said hockey is being cut. The whole program? Is it really being cut or is the school just forcing private money to take over? All this happens after the school added soccer? I think it's fantastic that the school added soccer. Fight to preserve it, or even add to the resources for it IMHO. Let's cut football, I mean totally cut it. I bet that's an expensive sport. 

Maybe the newspaper will help us on Tuesday. But there is no guarantee. The publisher likes talking about how we need newspapers as "watchdogs," but does the Morris paper really act as a watchdog? Seems I recall reading the publisher's thoughts on how the government should help newspapers. And that's partly because of the watchdog function. However, the government does not require newspapers to act as watchdogs, and if they're going to get government support, their performance had better warrant it. 

Everybody would like help from the government if they can get it. Arkansas wants disaster relief now but the answer is "no." And that's because the Federal government's new direction is to "make the states pay." The Arkansas governor was a Trump spokesperson in the first Trump presidency. Now she and her state are getting screwed. 

My source on the school board meeting said the public comments were tightly managed/limited. Were there sheriff's deputies present for this one? I mean, given how emotional people/parents can be on school issues? 

Shane Monson

The radio station website had a brief audio snippet in which the superintendent was allowed to completely take over and give us his party line. Superintendents always strive to give the impression, if they can get away with it, that there is never any controversy, no burning disputes of any kind. It's all so peaceful, routine and orderly. It's part of selling themselves to the public if they can pull it off. And the radio station at least is not stopping Mr. Monson from pulling it off. 

Bad things can actually happen with school districts. Look at what is happening with BOLD: "criminal investigation." If it can happen there, it can happen anywhere. 

It was impossible to rule out something really bad at our library and its director. But I spoke with someone who is close to the director this morning at Willie's, and got the news that Anne will be back on Monday! Good news? I think the good news is that the suspense is subsiding. 

Anne Barber

I wonder if Anne's many friends are planning a big gala welcome-back for her. And would this suggest/imply that the city manager is the "heavy" in all this? Oh, clean up your thoughts. We had a well-known retired attorney who went after the city manager pretty bad for a while. It prompted me to consider the city manager's side in this a little more. 

Looks like we can see Anne back in captain's chair Monday! To whatever extent she might have done anything wrong, her suspension was her "punishment." Seems the suspension went on pretty long. I began to think we'd never see her there again. 

Now I must ask: what kind of comity can we expect between the library director and the city manager?

 

Addendum: Still another hot-button local topic: Is UMM in trouble because of DEI? That question has been floating for a while but there was a new development this past week, with DJT signing new documents that pertain to colleges/universities. So we have to ask again: Is UMM in trouble? Are top U administrators at the Twin Cities campus getting nervous about our little enchanted citadel on the prairie? 

I probe this question further on my new post on my companion blog of "Morris of Course." I invite you to read with this link. Hey, I wrote this in the middle of the night!

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2025/04/fresh-news-might-bring-panic-for-umn.html 

 

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

Our school's current travail a wakeup call?

So easy to sign on to the "liberalism is bad" attitude over our recent past. The Morris area has been wholly receptive. It appears our DJT sycophant Michelle Fischbach has a lock on her position, maybe permanently. Oh but politics can be so fluid. The pols themselves can be fluid. They want to get reelected. 

But there are hardcore principles that most of them don't want to drift away from. If you want assurance that the Federal government will be around to hold our hands, you should vote Democrat. But try selling that on "talk radio," at least the kind of talk radio that has been the norm. Some people must listen to this for many hours at a time. 

I checked the schedule for an average day for the iHeart station in Omaha NE - a good Midwestern barometer if there ever was one - and it's a succession of "the usual suspects." I wonder if they'd even go along with MTG with her celebratory remarks after the Pope's death. The "liberal" Pope Francis. Can't we just remember him as a truly caring and empathetic soul? What exists deep down in MTG's soul? 

Here I'll insert that "all politics is local." So people really can put aside certain gut biases and care about how people and kids are faring where they live. And schools are always going to be a high priority. 

A gut punch to the ribs here in Morris now? I mean with the sudden announcement of staff cuts to our Morris Area system? So soon after we passed a referendum? The superintendent "lectures" us on how the referendum was a completely separate matter, separate from school "operations." Meaning what? That we're screwed on school operations and will have to pass another referendum soon? Oh, joy. And then the school administration and certain sanctimonious community spokespeople will tell us we "have to" pass it. 

 

"Anonymous"

I would not even know about the local school cuts were it not for word circulating from a certain Facebook page. Word really seemed to get around in a short time, perhaps making the supt. want to gnash his teeth. He and the board would be on the defensive. Word sprang from the "Anonymous" Facebook page or so it has come to be called. 

And so there was a school board meeting on Monday night. How are the newspaper and radio station doing with covering that meeting? I know from the minimal coverage by the radio station that 100 members of the public were there. I'm trying to picture that: must have been a full room. 

I'd like to see more "real" coverage because I assume some citizens must have had something to say. I know that's a mere assumption. If there was any back-and-forth, it would be nice to know at this time about the content. Anyone showing emotions? 

I bring up the "macro" picture with Fischbach and others because of course we hear all the talk about Republicans wanting to tear down our government apparatus in Washington D.C., like to even wipe out the Federal Department of Education. 

I recall reading that DJT would like to be done with FEMA and to have states pay for disaster relief. But here's the problem: states cannot operate on a deficit, right? Whereas the Feds have massive flexibility even though the deficit itself is an issue. Well, we'll get to that I suppose. 

Morris is never an isolated situation. The BOLD school may be isolated with its outright "criminal investigation" with school finances, but Morris is not, I presume. 

If it could happen at BOLD it could happen at any outstate school like ours. Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? Shall we call for an audit here? Look how the City of Morris decided to train its eyes on the library. Stuff happens. 

So now after electing Republicans all up and down the line - we love "fiscal responsibility" - guess what? Well, Minnesota schools get about ten percent of their funding from the Federal government - around $1.4 billion last year. It covers everything from Head Start to teacher training to special education. 

Gov. Tim Walz

The Morris cuts look like a precursor or a canary in the coal mine. Gov. Walz expresses concern about the Federal government taking the ax to the Dept. of Education. Walz has said "the president has no idea how education works." When school administrators can't feel certainty about the $ coming in, it's trouble. 

Walz has spoken recently with a bridge-building tone with Republicans. The problem is that some Republicans just can't handle it when a Democrat criticizes Trump. One Republican was quoted saying that Walz's positiveness was "overshadowed by a quite frankly angry rant about Donald Trump." 

So Republicans refuse to even listen because their "god" of Trump does not get total respect and deference? Does Trump ever get mad at people? 

 

The truism

We will be reminded again I'm sure that "all politics is local." And where can I find some coverage of what all happened at the Morris Area school board meeting? Do I have to go to social media? Think twice before advertising any more with our "legacy media." They take so much for granted. 

More of my thoughts on our apparent dicey school situation is on my companion blog of "Morris of Course." This is a fresh post. I invite you to read:

https://morrisofcourse.blogspot.com/2025/04/was-board-meeting-as-tame-as-was.html 

I keep checking the SCT site in case they surprise us with something fresh and helpful, as they did recently when the library story first broke. But now I'm so sick of seeing the same cotton pickin' photo of the two guys fencing! And, the Pablum-like article about the "junior city council member." We have had some real hot-button issues in the community recently. We need to learn more about these. Otherwise, speculation takes over. 

And how about the sports link on the paper's website? Seems to be nothing but UMM Cougar sports. If I had to answer for this, I'd be called every name in the book.

Morris Area school board

 

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

Hard to follow some big local stories

Supt. Monson

Man, we've had the East Side Park thing, the library matter, the nuisance issues with west side property, and now out of the blue: our school district. I was not prepared for a school-centered controversy or kerfuffle, I just wasn't. 

School matters can be a cauldron for strong feelings. I guess I know that having been involved with the newspaper's past, a past that becomes ever more long-ago. 

Word shot around town about the school thing thanks to the "Anonymous" Facebook site. In the old days we were supposed to rely on the newspaper and radio station. So is this a major change in our habits, our expectations? Is it good or does it have drawbacks? 

It's 1 p.m. Tuesday as I write this. Hey, I don't have to wait several days to see my writing appear in print. This is a very fresh topic, I guess a hot-button topic. The newspaper website "teased" us a couple weeks ago by having timely and decent coverage of the first city council closed-door meeting on the library matter. The problem with the "tease" is that it made many of us want to check the paper's site more often, thinking we'd find more fresh material. 

We're looking for some frank and blunt material with the premise that there are strong feelings involved. Of course the coverage should be balanced. It's so cotton pickin' hard to find new illuminations on the library matter. 

I went to library earlier today and did not see Anne. A very nice young employee brought out the new Morris paper for me to look at. I also checked the previous week's paper for the comments by two people on items of interest: 1) the library, and 2) the nuisance property or properties right next to Faith Lutheran Church. 

Yes, the cost of the city's "investigation" on the library should be made known. Two attorneys apparently battling it out? That accurate? And one of them represents the apparently-suspended librarian? What if the city's attorney loses? Taxpayers will have paid that individual. The whole matter seems so strange. If there was some wrongdoing, why don't we just see the punishment meted out? This might even involve termination. 

Library director, Anne

With so much time having gone by now, I'm having a harder time imagining Anne returning. And I'm sure the thing the city does not want to see is the librarian returning "in a blaze of glory" with a welcoming crowd, balloons etc. What on earth has gone on behind the scenes there? I'm at a loss to even speculate. Being in limbo is not good for the community. 

But the matter at hand now is the Morris school. Holy cow, can we rule out some sort of disruption with finances like what has happened with the BOLD school? Time for a rigorous audit? 

Everyone acting above board? 

I regret sounding like I might be over-talking things here, however I must express dismay over how the radio station website reports on the school board meeting last night (Monday). I'll elaborate: the station takes the path of least resistance - common in corporate media - by interviewing the superintendent. The super knows it all, right? But he is a supremely self-interested person. Of course he'll do anything to turn a fire hose on controversy to extinguish it. 

Back in the old days when I refused to accede to this, I'd end up with Howitzers pointed at me. I still lasted 27 years in the Morris commercial media. I covered more ground across the board than anyone else in Morris media history. I wrote for both the Morris and Hancock newspapers, sports and non-sports, countless photo captions. And now I sense Howitzers pointed at me again. 

The very courteous radio interviewer sits down with the super. Guy named "Monson." Haven't we had more than one "Monson?" I have never met the new one. I should compliment him on completely taking advantage of the radio guy to snow him with "happy talk" so syrupy and thick, I could have thrown up. 

Monson tells us everything is being handled so routinely. All things will pass. Most of all, everything will be fine. Well it's not as if I expect the Morris school to totally collapse. People need to do their work to get paid. A few months ago there was a steady parade of teachers appearing at school board meetings to - let's be frank - bitch about their pay. 

I stated at the time that school board meetings should be about what the school is doing for the kids, not what the school is doing for the teachers. I guess even the teachers' benefits came into the picture, so I wanted to cheer at the board member's remark about how teachers should practice "preventative health care." 

Yes the clinic gets ahold of you, gives you all sorts of tests and then you get prescriptions and follow-ups. And as our late newspaper cartoonist Del Holdgrafer would say, "be sure and straighten up at the desk when you leave." (When you pay your bill.) 

Bills, bills, money, money. The school district came at us with a referendum not long ago. Referendums have been passing like a breeze in the recent history of our Morris school. The most recent one did not pass so routinely. It really barely passed, so are we looking at a more skeptical public? 

And holy condescension Batman, listen to how Monson "educates" us on the difference between those funds and the operational funds. He noted that some people would see irony and find disappointment in how the referendum could only be applied to facilities whereas the major new cuts are in a different category. He implies that some of us are gullible or stupid. 

Well I know full well that the referendum was for physical plant only. But my rejoinder is this: money is money. Maybe if we all knew the scythe was coming for school staff, maybe we'd put the brakes on the physical plant spending and say "hey, let's apply money to staff instead." 

Sigh, so will the school come at us with a new referendum now? 

Monson let on in the radio interview that a bunch of people were at last night's school board meeting. To what extent was the turnout attributable to the "Anonymous" Facebook page? And did all these people just sit there like passive sheep? Any anger? We're talking about leadership for the kids in school activities. 

Monson did not share about the audience behavior - it is not his job to do so. His job totally is to put a happy face on school operations. "Nothing to see here," as Leslie Nielsen as "Frank Drebin" said in a "Police Squad" movie. Yawn. We'll just move forward, right? 

We need a more diligent local news media, a media that can get its hands dirty. The radio station got totally out of the way for the super to "sell" things, as superintendents always do. Call them out on this.

 

Mike Odello

Addendum: The special election for school board surely cost money. And a source tells me that if Mike Odello had resigned from the board just one day earlier than he did, the election would not have been required. And now Odello's teaching position is on chopping block? After he resigned from board to accept it? Can he increase his hours for UMM music? But I think there's budget austerity there too. Look at how DOGE is attacking Dept. of Education in Washington. It's dripping down to local levels. And UMM looks as though it will continue with "DEI." Well, we'll see.

 

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