Fourth of a series During the first three decades of western migration into southeast Minnesota – for most residents in the 1850s, ’60s and ‘70s –rivers were both a welcome highway and an unwelcome obstacle (depending on which direction you wanted to travel). Steamboat transit for passengers and cargo was an early commercial enterprise during warm weather until an 1880 public … [Read more...]
Spring Grove boys dominate state third-place game, finish 31-2
The basketball season ended on an uplifting note for the state-ranked No. 7 Spring Grove boys, who dominated state-ranked No. 5 Cherry, 68-43, in the third-place game at the 2023 Class A State Tournament. The Lions took control with an 11-point scoring run late in the first half and solidified their lead with 10 and 12-point spurts in the second half. At the tournament, … [Read more...]
Lion boys fall to New Life Academy in state semi-final
The Spring Grove boys (30-2) were left behind in the second half by New Life Academy in the semi-finals of the Class A State Basketball Tournament at the Target Center in Minneapolis on March 24. The state-ranked No. 3 Eagles (26-5) from Woodbury won, 51-35, overcoming 25 turnovers with rebounding, an often withering fast-break attack and defense that kept the Lions away from … [Read more...]
Spring Grove starts state tourney with one-point win
The 2023 Spring Grove boys (30-1) became the only Lions to win 30 games, but they had to hang on - again late - to turn away Mankato Loyola, 39-38, in the Class A State Tournament quarterfinals on March 22 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Loyola cut an 11-point deficit down to two (39-37) with a chance to pull even with a pair of free throws with only nine seconds remaining. … [Read more...]
Boys Basketball: #7 Lions Hold on Versus #1 Goodhue, Roar to State
One lug nut held, maybe two. The Section 1A boys basketball title game between #7 in A Spring Grove (2-seed, 28-1) and #1 in A Goodhue (1-seed, 26-3) will be remembered. For 30 minutes, the Lions were in control. Then, in the blink-on-an-eye, the wheels nearly fell off. The Lions boys, battled-tested from already making state and the state finals in football back in the fall, … [Read more...]
Lion boys ride out Goodhue rally, head to state tournament
The Spring Grove boys went 9 for 10 at the free throw line in the final three minutes to deflate the dreams of Goodhue, which had sent its fans into a frenzy after chopping a 19-point deficit back to two in the 2023 Section 1A championship game at Rochester on March 16. The 57-48 win sealed the Lions second-ever trip to the state tournament. Not only was Goodhue (26-4) the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Preferable on ice, problematic on water, impossible with icy water
Third of a series The Mississippi River, the superhighway of the mid-1800s when settlers sought new homes in Minnesota Territory, was valuable for traveling north and south but an impediment to traveling east and west. It was easier to cross the river during winter. But when there was no river ice, the earliest crossings from Hokah to La Crosse, Wis. were by canoe, rowboat or … [Read more...]
McHugh, Hammel honored by SEC cage coaches
Spring Grove senior Addyson McHugh was named Second Team All-Conference by the Southeast Conference girls basketball coaches. Freshman Kylie Hammel received Honorable Mention. McHugh, a 5-foot-10 guard/forward, was honored again as a senior after receiving Honorable Mention the previous winter as a junior. In her final season in a Lion uniform, the four-year letter … [Read more...]
Boys Basketball: Spring Grove Grinds, Surges into Section Finals
The Spring Grove boys (2-seed, 26-1) advanced into the Section 1A basketball championship game with a 39-24 low-scoring quarterfinal win versus Randolph (7-seed, 16-10), followed by a 57-46 semifinal decision over two-time defending state champion Hayfield (3-seed, 23-6). The quarterfinal was a grind with no offensive rhythm as the Lions and Rockets combined to score only 63 … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Winslows on the water – from Cape Horn to Houston County
By Lee Epps Second of a series Before there were bridges, there was a great variety of boats on the Mississippi River, including steam-powered vessels. As early as 1855, Job Brown, the founder of Brownsville and Riceford, owned the “H. M. Rice“ (like Riceford, named for early Minnesota politician Henry Mower Rice.) By 1863, there was a need for packet boat service to … [Read more...]