Three Spring Grove boys achieved individual career-highs while the state-ranked No. 10 Lions were limiting Kingsland to season-low scoring, 62-27, in the March 3 Section 1A opener for both teams. For No. 4 seed Spring Grove, it was the third win over the Knights this season and the teams’ third all-time playoff clash which earned the Lions their first postseason bus ride back … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls make progress on improvement path
The improvement that was expected in 2022 was realized by the Spring Grove basketball girls, who were ready for small-school competition, going 10-9 against other Class A clubs. However, small schools in the southeast corner of the state are not able to fill out a maximum 26-game slate without scheduling several larger Class AA clubs. The 2022 Lion girls were not able to derail … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Houston County pioneer thwarted land sharks, debt collectors
Thousands of Minnesota “wives and children owe their homes to the foresight and wisdom” of a man from Houston County, stated the Duluth Daily Short Line. In the first Minnesota legislature of 1858, a young senator from Caledonia authored a bill, which decades later was still praised by a Washington, D.C. publication as one of the state’s best laws. Houston County pioneer, poet, … [Read more...]
Section upset bid slips away late for Lion girls, 44-41
It was a heart-breaking final half-minute of the section opener and the season finale for the Spring Grove girls. But it was also validation of progress for the No. 11-seeded Lions (10-17). The 44-41 playoff loss at No. 6 seed Rushford-Peterson (12-15) came two months after the Trojans, on the same court, had mauled the Lions by 42 points. In this playoff rematch, Spring Grove … [Read more...]
Lion boys fall in final half-minute at Fillmore Central, receive No. 4 section seed
It was a gut-punch finish for the Spring Grove boys, who had rallied back from a 10-point, second-half deficit to lead by as many three points. But a late Lion turnover allowed the 8-win Falcons to upset the 22-win Lions, 55-54, at Preston on Feb. 25. In this non-conference, regular-season finale for both teams, Fillmore Central snapped an 11-game, 11-year losing slide in the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Gold, murder, a water spout and a new Lutheran edifice
Part six of a series. Residents of Houston County were among those seeking wealth during the Black Hills Gold Rush of 1874-1877. Gold had been discovered in Dakota Territory by an 1874 United States Army expedition of 1,000 men, led by George Armstrong Custer. In 1877, according to a published history of Houston County, “A lot of Blackhillers, as they were called, left … [Read more...]
Spring Grove girls grab two road wins, receive No. 11 section seed
Jordian Leahy scored a career-high 33 points plus a 20-point performance as the Spring Grove girls closed the regular season with a pair of satisfying road wins at Southland, 55-37, and at Lyle/Pacelli, 74-63. The Lions the Section 1A Tournament with the No. 11 seed among 19 teams and open postseason play at No. 6 Rushford-Peterson. It will be a rematch with the Trojans having … [Read more...]
SG boys’ buzzer-beater sets up overtime triumph during three-win week
Elijah Solum nailed a buzzer-beating, 3-point basket to send the game into overtime, and then the sophomore guard scored the only two points in the extra period as the Spring Grove boys finally prevailed, 39-37, in a titanic defensive duel with visiting Lyle/Pacelli in a showdown of SEC division champions. It was the first matchup ever staged in Spring Grove between two teams … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past Bells rang for classes, curfew and calamities
Before people had clocks and wristwatches, bells rang out the time of day. Centuries later, but still before electricity provided conveniences such as fire sirens, bells were a source of community communication - sometimes summoning people out of their homes, sometimes sending children back home. In the early 1900s, there were bells all around Houston, Minn. – according to town … [Read more...]
Lion girls fall to Falcons, grab wins against Knights, Cardinals
The Spring Grove girls won two of three games last week, all of which at home and all decided before halftime. Fillmore Central lashed the Lions, 78-36, on Feb. 8 before the Grove girls claimed a 68-38 thrashing of Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons on Feb. 10, one night before completing a season sweep of LeRoy-Ostrander, 60-42. The latter was a conference contest after Spring … [Read more...]