Ranked #5 in Class AA, Caledonia volleyball topped Cannon Falls 3-0 and Belle Plaine 3-2 to start the year with two wins. Avery Augedahl had 36 assists and Paizley Lange 17 digs and 7 aces on 26 of 26 serving in the win over Belle Plaine. Grand Meadow topped Lanesboro 3-2 in five sets, as Sophia Braun had a double-double (17 kills, 12 digs), Quinn Schaalma 41 assists, Rylee … [Read more...]
2026 Prep Football Preview
The 2025 football season saw three area teams win section titles and make state. Mabel-Canton (11-1) ended a four-plus decades long drought in starting the year 11-0 and winning the Section 1 9-Man title, making state for the first time since 1981. Fillmore Central (10-1) started the year 10-0, grabbing its third 1A title in four years. Caledonia (9-3) added another state … [Read more...]
2026 Prep Volleyball Preview
A year ago, was another strong season for area volleyball teams. Chatfield (Section 1AA) and Fillmore Central (Section 1A) each repeated in winning their respective section titles. The Gophers (27-8) and Falcons (27-7) each went to state, bringing home hardware. Elsewhere, TRC champ Caledonia (26-6), SEC-East champ Mabel-Canton (29-4), and SEC-West champ Grand Meadow (22-7) won … [Read more...]
Chatfield and Fillmore Central Football Teams Compete in Speed and Strength Showcase
With the high school football season fast approaching, teams from Chatfield and Fillmore Central got together for a “combine” of sorts. Coaches from the Gophers and Falcons decided to do something similar to the NFL, which tests prospects across a range of speed, strength, and agility skills prior to its draft. The idea was spawned by FC and Chatfield strength and … [Read more...]
Local Girls Play in 12U Little League World Series
A local girls 12-and-under softball team based out of St. Charles recently made history, traveling to Whitetown, Indiana, to play in the Little League World Series Regional Tournament. This opportunity started with area coaches wanting to expand opportunities for their players to compete on the national stage. Since Little League International is the largest governing body of … [Read more...]
Chatfield School Board Approves Solar Contract for the Elementary School
At the July 8, 2026, school board meeting, board members David Sovinski. Tom Keefe, Jill Harstad, Josh Thompson and Mark Johnsrud were present. Board member Katie Priebe was not present. Also present were Superintendent Ed Harris, elementary principal, Shane McBroom and high school principal, Eric Nelson. Reports Board member Dave Keefe informed the board that he is … [Read more...]
Cougars, Trojans, Cardinals Capture State Clay Target Titles
Mabel-Canton in Class 4A, Rushford-Peterson in Class 3A and LeRoy-Ostrander in Class 2A, each won a state team championship at the Minnesota State High School Clay Target League’s annual state trap extravaganza at Alexandria. They were the first state clay target titles for a Journal-area team since Spring Grove captured three straight in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Going forward, … [Read more...]
Golf (5/26 – 5/28)
(B and G) Section 1AA Meet (Caledonia’s girls were one of five teams to make Day 2. They (693) took fifth behind champion Lake City (659), Red Wing (671), Rochester-Lourdes (679), and PIZM (685). PIZM’s Neva Anderson (40/37/42/36 > 155) was meet medalist over RW’ s Hallie Johnson (38/39/40/39 > 156) by one stroke. Lourdes’ Paige Moeschler (38/40/37/43 > 158) took … [Read more...]
Hot Shots
Mabel-Canton baseball’s season ended with a 13-8 loss to top-seed NRHEG. At 13-11, M-C posted its highest win total since 2005’s team went 15-9. Caledonia baseball topped PEM 9-6 in a 1AA loser-out game, as Max Schmitz was 4-for-4 and Jacob Klug scored four times. Schmitz then homered but Caledonia’s season ended 7-1 to Rochester-Lourdes. At the Section 1AA golf meet, … [Read more...]
Softball: Gophers Top Z-M in Last At Bat, Bow to Cotter
Chatfield softball (2-sed, 17-7) continued its playoff campaign heading back to Rochester for a loser-out game with Zumbrota-Mazeppa (6-seed, 15-10). The Cougars had the Gophers down to their last out. Z-M scored the only run through 6 ½ innings, using an error and two hits in the fourth to take a 1-0 lead. They got runners to scoring position in each of the first four … [Read more...]