John's Journal: It's Time To Say Farewell

This job was not a dream come true. It was much, much better than that. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine or foresee the things that I have been so fortunate to do over these past 15 years with the Minnesota State High School League. As I now step into retirement, I am nearly at a loss for words ... but I have never really been at a loss for words so I’ll continue typing and see where this takes us.

My retirement date is August 15, 2025, but this ride goes back 51 years to a late August day in 1974 in my home village of Graettinger, Iowa. I was a big, dorky 15-year-old high school sophomore who had two main loves: sports and reading about sports. The thought of writing about sports was not on my radar until one day after English class during the first week of school. Our little school’s only English teacher, Mrs. White, pulled me aside and told me that the lady who ran our town’s weekly newspaper was looking for a student to write stories about the football games.

Mrs. White looked me in the eye and said, “You’re on the football team and you can do this.” 

I can? I can write? What are you even talking about? 

Her confidence in me was important. It started me on this path that has taken me to some great places: Two years at Briar Cliff College in Sioux City, Iowa (where I was the sports information director as a freshman and sophomore) … two years and a journalism degree at Drake University in Des Moines (during my senior year at Drake I worked 40 hours a week on the sports desk at the Des Moines Register) … newspaper jobs in Des Moines after graduation, then Ottumwa and Cedar Rapids, Iowa … six years at the Arizona Republic in Phoenix … almost 20 years at the Minnesota (then Minneapolis) Star Tribune … and this week I close the book on more than 15 years with the MSHSL.

I spent 15 years working the night shift as a newspaper sports copy editor; those are the folks who physically put the newspaper (and these days, the website) together, working hard to correct mistakes, facing strict deadlines and producing the best possible product. I moved from the Star Tribune sports desk to a sports reporting job there in 1996, and I wrote about almost everything conceivable on the Minnesota sports scene. I covered 40-some Twins games a year, wrote a lot about the Timberwolves and Wild, and I was added to the Vikings coverage crew for playoff games. So no, I never covered a Super Bowl. 

I wrote about youth soccer tournaments and Golden Gloves boxing. I wrote about Joe Mauer when he was a high school star and when he was a Hall of Fame-bound Twins star. I got to know Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders from covering the NBA team, and when his kids were attending Wayzata High School I walked up the steps to the press box at a football game there and heard Flip’s familiar voice hollering from the bleachers, “Hey! John!” 

When I began covering high school sports at the Star Tribune, everything clicked. Having the perspective of writing about professional sports was important to me in how I approached prep sports. Pro sports are all about the money and high school sports are all about more important things, like having fun, learning to compete, practicing teamwork and sportsmanship and other life lessons.

I have been really lucky in ways that extend far beyond my working life. My high school sweetheart was a sweet girl named Beth and in June we celebrated 43 years of marriage. We have three kids and two grandkids and life is so good at this stage. Having spent the majority of my career working at night was difficult, but Beth did a phenomenal job of raising our kids to be good citizens and we are extremely proud of them. Our two sons (and grandkids) live a couple hours apart in northern California, our daughter is in the Twin Cities and being retired means more time to travel without checking the high school activities calendar.

How did I know it was time to retire? I’m closer to 70 than 60 and that’s certainly part of the equation. But there were signs that it was time to check out. Two recent examples: 1) On the first day of the girls state hockey tournament last winter, I left home without the backpack that contains my laptop, camera, notebooks and everything else I need to do my job. It took about an hour to drive back home, fetch it and return to downtown St. Paul. 2) Leaving Williams Arena after the final day of the boys state basketball tournament a few weeks later, I checked and double-checked my courtside work area to make sure I had packed everything in the bag. When I got home and unpacked, my wireless mouse was missing. So if anyone sees a mouse inside Williams Arena, it may belong to me. 

Oh, I have done lots of forgetful, dumb things over the years. During the weeks-long stretch of winter state tournaments, which are mostly held in Minneapolis or St. Paul, I leave my home in Dakota County and either take Interstate 35W to Minneapolis or I-35E to St. Paul. On more than one occasion I have driven a few miles on the wrong highway before realizing where I was supposed to be going.

People have been asking me about my favorite memories. Let’s start with people. I won’t try to name everyone who has been important to me, but I will name three.

— 1) Mrs. White, who died 25 years ago, had a tremendous impact on a young kid who was trying to figure out his place in the world. That’s what great teachers do. She liked to call me “Johan” and she declared that I suffered from “diarrhea of the pen.” She wasn’t wrong.

— 2) Arnie Robbins was the sports editor at the Star Tribune who hired me. I pestered poor Arnie for a long time. I was working in Phoenix (where two of our three kids were born) but Beth and I wanted to return to the Midwest. I mailed Arnie sports sections that I had designed, headlines I was proud of, and the occasional writing sample. One summer, while our family was in our native Iowa on vacation, I called Arnie and the then-sports editor of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and arranged to drive up and visit them at their offices ... in other words, I forced them to meet with me. I wanted to allow them to put a face to all the mail I was sending them. Eventually, Arnie gave up and brought me on board in 1991.

— 3) Dave Stead, the now-retired executive director of the MSHSL, created this job that I’m now leaving. When he hired me in 2010, this kind of position did not exist anywhere in the country, meaning no high school governing body had its own full-time journalist. That didn’t stop Dave from realizing that the world was changing and there was no reason the MSHSL couldn’t tell its own stories instead of relying on the traditional media. And Dave absolutely turned me loose, giving me the freedom to go anywhere in Minnesota, wherever the story was. Other state associations have hired journalists, but most of them also have duties related to things like media relations, media credentials, working with broadcasters, directing tournaments, etc. As far as I know, I remain the only person on any state association staff who is free to travel and write and tell stories without any of those other duties.

I have been interviewed by some of my radio friends from around the state in recent weeks, and one of them asked me about coaches who have had a major impact on me. There have been so many, but two names immediately came to mind. The late Bob McDonald won more boys basketball games than any coach in the state, and I was blessed to call Bob a good friend. That friendship extends to Bob’s children and grandchildren, and at some point there may be a fourth generation of McDonalds in the coaching ranks. And Ron Stolski, the retired football coach in Brainerd, remains a close friend. People like Bob and Ron devoted their lives to young people, and there is no greater career path than that. As I have said for many years, teachers and coaches are heroes.

With the Star Tribune as well as the MSHSL I have traveled all over this great state, meeting great people and seeing great things. I’ve been to Red Rock Central, Rock Ridge and Rockford, Maple Grove, Maple Lake and Maple River, Battle Lake, Big Lake, Buffalo Lake, Cass Lake, Chisago Lakes, Detroit Lakes, Forest Lake, Silver Lake, Heron Lake, Howard Lake, Lake City, Lake Crystal, Lake of the Woods, Lake Park, Lakeview, Lakeville, Moose Lake, Mountain Lake, Pequot Lakes, Prior Lake, Red Lake, Spring Lake Park and White Bear Lake. I haven’t been to every school in Minnesota but I sure gave it everything I had.

In these last few months of employment with the MSHSL I have been thinking a lot about what our schools and their sports and activities mean. I believe those thoughts can be crystalized like this: In a world where it is so easy to be disagreeable, whether it be politics or any other topic, high school activities bring people together like nothing else. Go to a game in a stadium or a gym or a pool or wherever and look at the people sitting on the same side of the stands. There can be a huge gulf in their beliefs on a myriad of topics but when they are together, cheering for their team, for their school, for their kids, for their community … well, they are all on the same team. I challenge anyone to find anything else that brings us together like high school sports and activities. Let’s never forget that fact.

This might be hard to believe, but in driving somewhere between 200,000 and 300,000 miles across a state filled with wildlife I have only collided with one deer. It was a glancing blow to the right front fender on a late-night drive home from a football game in Cottonwood, resulting in no noticeable damage to my car (the deer was unavailable for comment).

I have eaten some of the world’s greatest concession-stand burgers and hot dogs and slices of pizza and bags of popcorn. I have compared pretzels and cups of “cheese product” on social media (officially called the Pretzel and Cheese Ratio Challenge) and always giggled when somebody at a game somewhere else tagged me in a post with a photo of their own pretzel and cheese. Genius.

One of my many assignments at the Star Tribune was covering the St. Paul Saints, and Saints founder Mike Veeck’s philosophy summed up a lot of what I have been so lucky to do for so many years: Fun Is Good.

In looking back, I’ve realized that life can be like floating down a river in a canoe. There will probably be rapids along the way, but what you remember most are the serene moments of beauty and truth. And I have seen so much beauty and truth.

--A mom, with tears in her eyes, watching her daughter sing the national anthem in front of a big crowd and statewide television audience at a state basketball tournament.

--So many people thanking me for visiting their schools, telling me they are honored when in truth the honor is all mine. Parents thanking me for writing about their kids. Ticket-takers seeing me walk up and welcoming me with open arms (literally, at times). And here’s a little secret about being a sports journalist: I have almost never had to pay for a ticket to a sporting event.

There have been many unforgettable, away-from-the-spotlight memories. Here are just a few …

--Carlie Wagner sprung onto the girls basketball scene as a sophomore in 2011-12. Her New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva team finished third at state that year and won championships the next two years. She was named Miss Basketball in 2014. I drove to New Richland and interviewed her before an early-season game in her junior season. I asked Carlie how her life had changed since becoming a statewide star. She thought about the question for a moment, smiled that million-dollar smile and said proudly, “Well, I have a lot more Facebook friends!” Carlie has been an assistant girls basketball coach at Stewartville for the last few years and we’re glad to have her back in the game.

--Whenever I hear the song “Beautiful Day” by U2, I think of the football team from Stephen-Argyle. During a six-year period starting in 2003, the Storm won five state titles. I paid the team a visit during one of those seasons, staying at a mom-and-pop hotel in Warren and rising well before sunrise to watch practice. Yes, the Storm tradition is practicing before school, under the lights until daybreak. The kids were running 100-yard sprints when head coach Mark Kroulik hollered, “It’s a beautiful day!” The players, working hard and breathing harder, repeated the phrase in unison, “It’s a beautiful day!”

--Julia Fixsen is one of the all-time greats of Minnesota high school track and field. At Mounds View High School, she set a state record in the pole vault in 2018, and that record still stands. During her senior season in 2019 she failed to clear a height at her section meet, which was heartbreaking because it meant she would not compete at state. A week later, at the state championships, Julia volunteered to help out in running the pole vault. So here was the state’s top all-time pole vaulter – a giant figure to every other pole vaulter at state – pitching in. She could have sulked, she could have gone to the lake, she could have stayed away. Postscript: Competing for Virginia Tech, Julia was the NCAA pole vault champion in 2023. Good things happen to good people.

In the last year or so I have been taking selfies with great friends I have made along the way. They are collected in a gallery on my phone and whenever I look at those photos I smile. And I will be looking at them and smiling for the rest of my days.

I started working for the MSHSL on March 15, 2010. A few weeks later, early in the golf season, I wrote about an athlete who was, and remains, as inspirational as anyone I have known. Trisha Kienitz was a senior at MACCRAY High School in Clara City. Born without a right leg, she uses a prosthetic.

She qualified for the Class A state golf tournament as a sophomore and junior. In that spring of 2010 she was a senior with a goal of returning to state and winning a medal for the first time.

I was on hand at Pebble Creek in Becker for the state tournament, following Trisha’s progress. One of our staff members, aware of her story, whispered to me as the scores were compiled: “She’s going home with a medal.” 

An eighth-place medal was placed around her neck, shining almost as brightly as her smile. Trisha’s mom asked if I would stand next to Trisha for a photo, and of course I was honored to do so. They sent me a copy of that photo, which I framed. It sat in my office for all these years.

Trisha played college golf at Southwest Minnesota State, where the farm girl studied Ag Finance, Farm Management and Ag Marketing.

Trisha and I have kept in touch over the years. Four years after winning that medal, she was back at the state tournament as a spectator and we shared a golf cart, riding around the course and telling stories and smiling. We talked again in the spring of 2020, 10 years after her high school career ended. 

I called Trisha a few days ago. She’s 33 years old and she and her husband Jacob Demarais live on a farm between Willmar and Kerkhoven. They have two young daughters with another baby on the way. 

As we chatted, I asked Trisha about her high school memories. She said, “What pops into my head about high school? Oh gosh. Golf definitely was No. 1, with the most memories. And I still have good friends from high school who I hang out with.”

Memories. Friends. That’s a pretty strong two-word summary of the high school activities experience.

Knowing Trisha is just one of many, many examples of how lucky I have been. I could start a list of inspirational kids, exemplary coaches, talented administrators, exceptional officials and many others, but that list would never end. 

There will continue to be so many great stories to tell. Even as I move into this new phase of my life, I think about stories I would love to tell this fall. I think about football coaches Mike Mahlen in Verndale and Dwight Lundeen in Becker, two wonderful men. They rank first and second in career wins in state history, Mike over 56 years and Dwight over 55 years. They will step away someday, and that will be world-changing in their communities. 

I think about two young star athletes, both from small schools. At this spring’s state track and field championships, Hills-Beaver Creek sophomore Brynn Bakken won Class A girls titles in the 100 and 200 meters in her fourth time at state. What will she do in the future? That’s a great story. And Maple River ninth-grader Auggie Yonkey won the 2025 Class A boys discus championship, continuing a family tradition. Auggie’s dad, Mike, won two state discus titles in the 1980s and his grandpa, Dale Yonkey, was a state discus champ in 1953. That’s an outstanding tale for folks to follow.

Here’s the main thing about this dream job that was way more than a dream come true: It’s the people. It’s the people. It’s the people. It’s the people and it’s the relationships. Whether it’s a coach or an athlete or a media member or an official, parent or fan, it’s the people involved in high school sports and activities that count way, way more than the final score.

As a new school year begins, please do me a few favors…

--Please applaud the officials. If you get the opportunity after the game, tell them “Thank you.” 

--Please exhibit grace toward officials, coaches and administrators. If you are a parent, support your child 100 percent but remember that the team always comes first.

--Please cheer your heart out for your team but don’t bark at the other team.

--Please remember that these athletes are children. In my work I always aimed to treat high school students as if they were my own kids. They all deserve to have a great experience so let’s work hard in making that happen.

--Please remember that the final score isn’t what matters most.

It has been my great honor and privilege to do this work for so many years. The places and the events are memorable, but most of all it’s the people who have been a blessing. 

I often say, only half-joking, that I can drive into just about any town in Minnesota and know that I have a friend there. That is indeed a dream come true.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you all.

--Feel free to contact me at my personal email address: [email protected] and you are invited to follow me on Bluesky and X @MinnesotaMillea

John's Journal Favorite 15

Here are my Favorite 15 John's Journal stories from the past 15 years:

• Perham’s Zach Gabbard Returns To The Gym — Just win. That’s what Zach has been doing since Jan. 20, when he collapsed on the court during a game at Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton. (2011)
• Spartans For Life — I witnessed something that was extremely inspirational and says a lot about what high school activities can mean to our kids and communities. (2018)
• Nothing Stops Westbrook-Walnut Grove’s Kate Jorgenson — Kate may blush if you call her a miracle. All she wants to do is go to school, participate in her favorite sports (basketball, volleyball, golf, swimming), spend time with her family and friends and be a normal kid. (2017)
• Game Night At Roseau’s Hockey Cathedral — Even though some fans live in one town and are employed in the other, hockey draws a clear line in the ice. That was evident as Warroad fans grimaced upon paying for admission and having a big green Roseau Ram stamped on the back of their hand. (2022)
• Three Schools, Three States, One Team — The Campbell-Tintah school district is in Minnesota, Fairmount is in North Dakota and Rosholt is in South Dakota. Where the state lines intersect, Tigers rule the countryside. (2020)
• A Circle Of Gold Is Complete — A mystery gold medal that was given to one of the members of the 1945 Eveleth Golden Bears — and was found by a Minnesota native in 2018 in a Goodwill store in Texas — is in the hands of the Drobnick family, completing the circle of gold.  (2021)
• A Special Day At The Brave Like Gabe Invitational — 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. (2023)
• Jackson County Central Football And A Viral Video — "It's how you respond, which is the biggest part, and they responded really well. Which is why something like 10 million people have seen the video. It’s how you respond." (2019)
• Thanks To The Miracle In Monticello, A Life Is Saved — “We rolled him over and knew immediately that it was serious.” Ryan was somewhat conscious but “clearly out of it.” (2017)
• Every Day Is A Good Day For Waseca’s Wendland — Head football coach Brad Wendland was fortunate. When he was struck by sudden cardiac arrest, he was surrounded by people who were trained in life-saving skills, at a school that had implemented plans to handle such a crisis. (2021)
• The Great Bob McDonald — Amid all the hoopla of Bob McDonald's 59th and final season as a boys basketball coach, as well as his nearness to 1,000 career victories, something important can easily be forgotten. His players. (2013)
• Morris Senior Named Heart Of The Arts Recipient — Kylen Running Hawk is committed to the arts, his culture, his school and community. “I’ve never worked with a kid in the arts who has had more obstacles yet has taken more out of what he does." (2021)
• Hope For Henry In Annandale — These were just games, with the girls and boys basketball teams from Hopkins heading to Annandale for a varsity doubleheader. The overall focus was on a little boy who is in the minds and hearts and prayers of everyone who attended. (2017)
• One Step At A Time, One Foot In Front Of The Other — Mountain Lake’s Luke Klassen conquered cancer and never stopped running. "We said even if I have to be in a chair on the sidelines, we’re going to lead and be involved and be a part of the team. And that was super inspirational to me." (2022)
• Henning’s State Champions Will Gather Again For Jacob — A plaque in the school, with a photo of Jacob, says, “There are some people in life that make you laugh a little louder, smile a little bigger and live just a little bit better.” (2019)