News

John’s Journal:

Posted: Wednesday, February 9, 2022 - 10:38 AM

Three Class AA productions earn ‘starred performance’ ratings

John's Journal Top 10 No. 1/ Five Years Later, Henning Hornets Remember Jacob

July 10, 2024

John's Journal

Five years after winning a state championship, the members of the 2019 Henning High School boys basketball team continue to inspire. On the fifth anniversary of that state title, I revisited the team and learned that they continue to be a very special group.

John's Journal Top 10 No. 2/ With Mason Archibald, Seeing Is Believing

July 9, 2024

John's Journal

To see Mason Archibald competing in track and field is a testament to the human spirit, as well as the spirit of a competitive, friendly young man from northern Minnesota.

John's Journal Top 10 No. 3/ A Special Day At The Brave Like Gabe Invitational

July 8, 2024

John's Journal

Arvig Park in Perham was the site of the fourth Brave Like Gabe Invitational, an event like no other. Competition was certainly part of it, but there was camaraderie, there was support, there was fundraising, there was remembrance, there was love, so much love.

John's Journal Top 10 No. 4/ Basketball Is A Family Affair In Annandale

July 7, 2024

John's Journal

Skip and Cathy Dolan have three kids and eight grandkids, and the whole lot sits a couple rows behind the Annandale Cardinals bench. Above the bleachers, up on the wall, is a very fitting sign: “Home.”

John's Journal Top 10 No. 5/ Girls Wrestling Is Booming At St. Michael-Albertville

July 6, 2024

John's Journal

The growth of high school girls wrestling in Minnesota has been remarkable. This season is the third one since the MSHSL officially sanctioned girls wrestling, and more than a thousand females are participating, from schools large and small all over the state.

John's Journal Top 10 No. 6/ Let’s Spend A Day With Some Great Concert Bands

July 5, 2024

John's Journal

Bands from Section 2A Subsection 8 gathered for the annual Large Group Contest. Yes, the MSHSL is involved in athletics, but it also proudly oversees all kinds of fine arts activities, ranging from theater to speech to debate to visual arts to choir and band.

John's Journal Top 10 No. 7/ Father And Son, Living A Football Dream

July 4, 2024

John's Journal

Casey O'Brien is a six-time cancer survivor. He has endured 27 surgeries, countless rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, and he has spent nearly a full calendar year in the hospital.

John's Journal Top 10 No. 8/ 108 Years Of Coaching For Rostbergs And Lundeen

July 3, 2024

John's Journal

The Rostbergs and Lundeen combine for 108 years of coaching high school football in Minnesota, and they continue to set a high standard. None of the three will be around forever, but their names will live on in the facilities at their schools.

John's Journal Top 10 No. 9: A Thousand Games For Alexandria’s Kohler

July 2, 2024

John's Journal

The 1,000th game of Wendy Kohler’s coaching career was marked with a brief ceremony before tipoff. The current Cardinals players stood alongside their coach, holding a banner that read, “Congrats Wendy! 1,000 Games Coached.” Many of her former players, including several mothers of current players, cheered from the stands.

John's Journal Top 10 No. 10: From Coaching To Officiating, Goring Stays In The Game

July 1, 2024

John's Journal

During Zach Goring’s days as the head boys basketball coach at Apple Valley High School, he blew a whistle all the time. He’s doing the same thing now, but the coach whose teams played in four state championship games and won three titles – and whose rosters included three current NBA players -- is now blowing his whistle as a basketball official.

John's Journal Top 10 From 2023-24: In Time Of Mourning, The Team Shows Its Support

June 30, 2024

John's Journal

Sam Helgestad, a senior at New Prague High School, is not alone, and neither are his mother, Karry, and older sister Lucy. The family has been embraced by the community in town and beyond.

John's Journal Top 10 From 2023-24: A Wrestling Journey From Italy To The X

June 29, 2024

John's Journal

Tommaso Costantini is a foreign-exchange student who grew up playing rugby in Italy, and dove right into American high school sports by playing football last fall and wrestling this winter. He was a starting linebacker for the Eagles by the midway point in the season and getting to the state wrestling tournament was another memory that will last a lifetime.

John’s Journal Top 10 From 2023-24: From Omaha To St. Paul, Traveling And Performing

June 28, 2024

John's Journal

When Delta Airlines flight 3831 returned to earth at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport a few minutes ahead of schedule, all was well for a group of talented students from St. Michael-Albertville High School.

John’s Journal Top 10 From 2023-24: 80 Years Old And 60-Plus Years Of Officiating

June 27, 2024

John's Journal

John Lieser isn’t exactly a Forrest Gump-type character, but the longtime MSHSL football and basketball official has seen a lot in 80 years of life in Minnesota.

John’s Journal Top 10 From 2023-24: Guardian Caps Change Football

June 26, 2024

John's Journal

Today we begin revealing the top John's Journal stories from 2023-24, beginning with the Honorable Mention honorees.

John's Journal: One Moment, One Hug, That Meant Everything

June 23, 2024

John's Journal

On the final weekend of the 2023-2024 school year, in the ballpark that every baseball-loving kid in Minnesota dreams about, four state champions were decided after a week of weather delays, uncertainty and waiting … waiting … and more waiting.

John's Journal: Remembering Willie, Mickey And The Duke

June 19, 2024

John's Journal

I don’t know how many sports books were available at my little hometown library in Graettinger, Iowa, but I do know that I read every one of them, some of them more than once, and my favorites were about great baseball players.