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alden

John’s Journal: The Game’s The Same, No Matter The Location

The first game of any season in any sport is special. In Alden and Verndale, these games kicked off the high school football season in Minnesota; they were Zero Week contests in nine-player football, two of eight such games Thursday and Friday.
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John’s Journal: Another Crack At State Title Motivates MIB Rangers

A new banner hangs in a prominent spot on the wall inside the weight room at Mountain Iron-Buhl High School. Two team photos are prominent reminders of what the Rangers football and girls basketball teams accomplished last season: Minnesota State High School League state champions.
alden

John’s Journal: Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons Aims High

When the Alden-Conger/Glenville-Emmons football team went from 0-9 in 2021 to 5-4 in 2022, it opened some eyes. Coming back from an ofer season to win more than half your games is not an easy lift in football.
Mahlen

John's Journal: 55 Football Seasons For A Coach Who Loves The Game

Mike Mahlen has been the head football coach at Verndale since 1969. That was the year when Neil Armstrong put a foot on the moon’s surface, the Woodstock music festival was held in upstate New York and Sesame Street made its television debut.
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John’s Journal: No. 4 From 2022-23/ The Sky’s The Limit For Tackle Cancer

Tackle Cancer began 10 years ago, and by the time all the participating high schools and colleges in Minnesota send in the funds they have collected this fall, the 2022 total will exceed $400,000. In the decade that Tackle Cancer has existed, nearly $3 million has been raised to fight cancer.
t10

John’s Journal: No. 5 From 2022-23/ A Game To Remember … And Forget

It was a crazy, strange, head-spinning day for the Cardinals. Friday’s game was delayed at halftime because of lightning, then delayed again and again as the strikes continued. Finally, a decision was made to resume the game on Saturday morning. The second half began at 11 a.m. – 16 hours after the first-half kickoff.
Henning

John’s Journal: Nearly A Decade Of Top 10 Yearly Stories

A question came to mind as I began putting together this year's Top 10 John's Journal stories: How long have I been doing this? Well, it turns out that we are nearing the 10-year anniversary of this endeavor.
fosston

John’s Journal: Northern Minnesota Baseball For The Win

In a spring sports season that was delayed and delayed and delayed again by snow and cold and generally rotten weather, the last baseball teams standing in Class A (Fosston) and Class 2A (Esko) hail from up north.