The Spring Grove boys saw their 2024 season end with a Fillmore Central lay-up with 3.5 seconds to play in the Section 1A quarterfinals at Rochester on March 6. The 56-55 final score came with the third lead change in the final two minutes. With the No. 7 seed, the Falcons (16-13) sizzled while sinking 13 treys. No. 2 seed Spring Grove (25-4), coming off its coldest-shooting … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Boys Survive Upset Scare from Lanesboro
It did not follow the script as might have been expected, but the state-ranked No. 12 Spring Grove boys persevered to avoid a determined upset bid by visiting Lanesboro, 48-37, in the Section 1A Tournament Round of 16. It was not the usual blowout of the No. 15 seed by the No. 2 seed and a stark departure from the Lions’ 34 and 24-point runaway wins over the Burros in their two … [Read more...]
Lion Boys Hold Off Nevis in State-Ranked, Regular-Season Finale at St. Paul
The Spring Grove boys (24-3) scored the final eight points of the first half of a game they won by eight. The No. 12 state-ranked Lions defeated state-ranked No. 17 Nevis, 58-50, in a Saturday afternoon game at Hamline University in St. Paul. Elijah Solum scored five points in that critical late first-half splurge and finished with a game-high 25 points (9 for 16 shooting). … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Boys Handle Hurricanes Again
The Spring Grove boys overcame first-half turnovers and then dominated the second half to turn away visiting Houston, 64-38. Ben Udstuen had game-highs with 17 points and 8 rebounds. The junior forward hit 5 of 7 shots from the field and 6 of 9 free throws. Jaxon Strinmoen (6 assists) contributed 14 points along with 8 points each from Bryce Berns and Elijah Solum as the … [Read more...]
Lion Boys Separate Late to Sweep Cougars
The 65-50 final score was the greatest spread of the night and not indicative of what a large crowd witnessed during most of the state-ranked Spring Grove boys’ win at Mabel-Canton. The Cougars (13-12, 9-9 SEC) never led, trailed by six points at halftime (30-24), tied the score (34-34) early in the second half and were within four (49-45) with 5:54 to play before the Lions … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Girls’ First League Loss, a Close One at Grand Meadow, 59-56
The Grand Meadow girls broke a tie score in the final minute and sealed the deal at the free throw line for a home win over league-leading Spring Grove, 59-56. It was the first conference loss for the Lions (20-4, 14-1 SEC), who already assured a share of the loop title, were not yet able to nail down the outright championship. The Lion loss kept Houston alive in the SEC … [Read more...]
Lion Girls Rout Rebels Again
Kinley Soiney had an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double along with 6 steals and 6 assists with only one turnover as the state-ranked No. 20 Spring Grove girls clinched at least a share of the conference championship with a 73-41 home rout of Southland. With a season-high 73 points, the Lions (20-3, 14-0 SEC) claimed their first league title in eight years (2016) and the first … [Read more...]
League-Leading Spring Grove Girls Survive Challenge from Last-Place Lyle/Pacelli
The league-leading Spring Grove girls used a 10-point run in the second half to overtake and eventually subdue last-place Lyle/Pacelli, 50-39. It was a vast departure from the Lions’ 46-point demolition of the Athletics a month previous. After leading 40-7 at halftime in that earlier game, the Lions (19-3, 13-0 SEC) played from behind during most of the first half and was down … [Read more...]
Lion Girls Fall Late to Kee Hawks, 50-44
A late seven-point run catapulted Kee (Lansing, IA) past the Spring Grove girls for an eventual 50-44 win. The Hawks won by six points with six more made free throws. It was only the third loss of the season for the Lions (18-3), who are now 2-2 against Iowa competition. Sophomore Kinley Soiney had 13 points and 9 rebounds for Grove while sophomore Kylie Hammel added 12 … [Read more...]
Spring Grove Girls Take Control Quickly Against Cardinals
Kinley Soiney tossed in 23 points and Kylie Hammel 21 plus 8 rebounds as the visiting, Spring Grove girls ripped LeRoy-Ostrander 67-45. Emerson Ingvalson was solid all-around with 7 points and 7 rebounds plus game-high totals of 6 assists and 7 steals. The season records became reversed with the Lions improving to 18-2 (12-0 SEC) and the Cardinals falling to 2-18 (2-11 … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Two Bronze Beasts, Two Men Named Mons
The Norwegian coat of arms features an upright, yellow lion, wearing a crown and wielding an axe. Recognizing the Norwegian heritage of Spring Grove, that lion would be a fitting source of the school nickname, the Spring Grove Lions. But “au contraire,” which in French means “to the contrary.” There is a 50-50 chance that the original namesake bronze lion came from France. … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Booming Brewing, Organized Opposition
Second of a series It was long a familiar landmark for automobile traffic between Hokah and La Crescent on Highway 16 before it was torn down in 1954. The building originally housed one of the most successful breweries in Minnesota. The Root River Brewery was founded in Hokah Township by Joseph Pfeffer, Jr. in 1858, the same year he and his son immigrated from … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Climate, Topography Ideal for Immigrant Brewers
First of a series It surely will never receive another human footstep, but it endures two levels below street level in downtown Caledonia – a century-and-half-old brewery cellar. As far back as the first decades of white settlement in the 1850s-1860s, there were breweries in Southeast Minnesota, often started by European immigrants, particularly but not exclusively German … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Midnight Noises and a Rutabaga “Astonish the Newcomers”
Part five of a series Mysterious and frightening noises at night, a back-and-forth chase with a savage animal and an oversized vegetable were among strange experiences for T. R. Stewart, who as an 11-year-old boy, came with his family to Minnesota Territory in 1853. A half-century later, he wrote about those first few months as one of the first white families to settle in … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Awakening Beneath a Snow-covered Quilt
Part four of a series Hearing the call of prairie chickens was a new and alarming experience. It was 1853 when 11-year-old T. R. Stewart and his family came west from Massachusetts to be among the very first pioneer settlers in southeast Minnesota Territory, near present-day Caledonia. Their first week was spent at a hotel in Brownsville and the second week at the home of … [Read more...]