The Caledonia/Spring Grove boys swept the first five places in the 100-meter dash at the Cinco de Mayo Meet, hosted by La Crescent-Hokah on May 5. Josh Beardmore won two individual events and ran on the wining 4x100-meter relay. Tysen Grinde won two events along with a third place while Fischer Wait claimed one win and another runner-up finish. That made six winning efforts for … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Catching airborne cash registers, winning awards in Choice
They were married in the king’s palace in Norway. Otto and Caroline Bach, at ages 26 and 24 respectively, and his mother Otilia sailed to New York in 1885 with second-class passage purchased at a country store and post office in Newburg, Fillmore County, Minn., by Otto’s brother and previous immigrant, Mathias Johnson. The newcomers first settled in Newburg and later lived in … [Read more...]
Solum swing provides walk-off, baseball win for Spring Grove
Elijah Solum was Spring Grove’s first batter and also the last. He led off for the Lions in the first inning with a home run and then with his final swing, singled in the winning run for a come-from-behind walk-off 7-6 home win over Mabel-Canton on May 2. In between, Solum (3 for 5) ignited a two-out rally with a single that tied the score at 5-5. He had three of the Lions’ … [Read more...]
Spring Grove sustains one-hit softball setback at Mabel-Canton
Eighth grader Izabel Kaufman had the lone Spring Grove base hit in the 15-0 softball loss at Mabel-Canton on May 2. That single came during the second inning with two outs and the Lions trailing 3-0. Tylar Wenthold tossed the one-hit shutout while striking out six and walking only two. The game ended in the fourth inning with the run rule. It was a non-conference contest, since … [Read more...]
Pitching not quite enough for Spring Grove boys at Lyle/Pacelli
Spring Grove did not trail until the bottom of the fifth inning when a walk and a Lion error set the stage for a two-out, two-RBI single by Dane Schara, which created the eventual final score in the 3-1 Lyle/Pacelli win on May 1 at Marcusen Park in Austin. “Caleb Griffin was fantastic on the mound, striking out 11 L/P batters,” said Spring Grove coach Chris Strinmoen. … [Read more...]
Lion girls score late, but fall to Hurricanes
An RBI single by Spring Grove senior Kenadee Gerard in the final fifth inning spoiled both a no-hitter and shutout for Houston pitcher Lilly Carr. Jada Strinmoen, who had reached base on an error, scored on the play, only the second Lion to reach base after Katelyn Kraus had been hit by a pitch in the previous inning. The Hurricanes won 13-1 with the 10-run rule after five … [Read more...]
Clutch hitting leads to Lion baseball sweep of Bulldogs
Spring Grove used timely hitting while scoring five of its six runs after two outs to earn a 6-2 win and season sweep of visiting Grand Meadow/LeRoy-Ostrander/Kingsland (GMLOK) on April 28. Sophomore Brandon Jahnke was again the winning pitcher as he was in the previous victory versus the Bulldogs. Jahnke allowed only two hits during four innings before three other … [Read more...]
Cal/SG boys host, win track quadrangular
The Caledonia/Spring Grove boys took first place in nine events while winning a home quadrangular track and field meet with Cotter, Wabasha-Kellogg and La Crescent-Hokah on April 28. The Warrior girls finished fourth. Senior Tysen Grinde, junior Josh Beardmore and sophomore Fischer Wait were each three-time winners. Grinde won both the high jump (6 feet even) and the triple … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Knees only painful on Wednesday evenings
Part three of a series Summer revivals, Christmas pageants, a hospital stay and even sore knees during Wednesday prayers are treasured memories for area historian David Beckman of attending South Ridge Church while growing up in the 1940s a few miles west of La Crescent. The family worshipped twice on Sundays, starting with Sunday school for both children and adults before … [Read more...]
Historic home softball game for Spring Grove
April 24, 2023 was a historic afternoon - the first home softball game in 39 years for a stand-alone Spring Grove team. The 25-0 loss to Class AA La Crescent-Hokah was the Lions’ fourth game of the season, but the first shutout. The Grove girls (0-4) had two base hits and four total base runners. Two batters hit by a pitch was the only charity offered by winning pitcher Kaitlyn … [Read more...]