Monthly Archives: February 2016
Verizon Wireless Center
Mankato, Minnesota
Verizon Wireless Center, photo credit: wcha.com
With 3/5th of the Twin Cities population feeling under the weather, I figured that Friday night would be a good time to visit Mankato for some hockey. The Minnesota State Mavericks were hosting the Bowling Green Falcons. A meeting of the top two teams in the WCHA.
The Verizon Center ice sheet
The Verizon Center was built in 1995 and seats 5280. It’s a nice rink for college hockey, and the locals are really into their Mavericks.
The MSU Mavericks during warmups
The first period was pretty evenly played, with MSU taking a 1-0 lead into intermission on a goal by Michael Huntebrinker. SOG favored MSU 9-8.
The second period was all Minnesota State, as they extended their lead to 3-0.
In the third period, the Falcon’s John Schilling scored short handed & unassisted on a very pretty shot on a break-away. Not to be outdone, Bryce Gervais scored short-handed seven minutes later on an equally pretty shot. Gervais added another shorty just over a minute later to round out the scoring. Teddy Blueger assisted on both Gervais goals, as Gervais broke the school record for career SHG with 9.
A 5-1 Maverick win. Cole Huggins was rock solid in net for MSU and had 18 saves. Chris Nell had 16 for BGSU. The three stars of the game: Blueger with two assists; Max Coatta (MSU) a freshman from Minnetonka, MN with a goal and an assist; and Gervais with his three point night. Attendance was 3724.
On the Sioux Trail: Joseph R. Brown
U.S. – Dakota War of 1862, Part IX
Joseph R. Brown circa 1853
Joseph Renshaw Brown was a politician, trader, businessman and Indian Agent. Born in Pennsylvania in 1805, Brown would marry Susan Freniere, a member of the Sisseton tribe of the Dakota.
The Joseph R. Brown Wayside Park near Sacred Heart, MN
Joseph Brown had built a mansion of a home after losing his post as Indian Agent in 1861. The three story, pink granite structure overlooked the Minnesota River Valley, near what is now Sacred Heart.
Brown was away from Minnesota on business when the Dakota warriors raided his home early in the War of 1862. Brown’s wife and 11 children were taken captive, but were not harmed due to her Dakota heritage. The Brown’s three-story home was then set ablaze and the mansion was gutted by the fire.
Brown’s family was later released with the rest of the captives at Camp Release.
The granite ruins of the impressive home still possess a beautiful view of the Minnesota River Valley. The site is now a state wayside park along Renville County Road 15 near Sacred Heart.
The Joseph R. Brown monument in Brown Cemetery near Henderson, MN
Joseph Brown died in New York in 1870, and was buried in Henderson, MN.
On the Sioux Trail: Camp Release
U.S. – Dakota War of 1862, Part VIII
Camp Release Monument
After the Battle of Wood Lake, a group of Dakota chiefs released prisoner Joseph Campbell, with instructions to tell Colonel Henry Sibley that the remainder of the captives were safe. Sibley & his troops would meet with the Dakota Peace Party on September 26, at what is now known as Camp Release.
269 captives of the Dakota, 107 white settlers and 162 mixed-bloods, were handed over to Sibley’s troops.
Many of those released had been held captive for close to six weeks, and a large number of them owed their lives to Dakota Indians who were not in support of the war, and who went out of the way to keep the captives safe. Mary Schwandt was one of these captives. The Schwandt family had all been killed in a raid on 18 August, while Mary was away from the family farm. She was taken captive later that day by a warrior from the Lower Sioux Reservation. Snana, a 23 year old Dakota woman, arranged for Mary to be released to her, and for the remainder of the war, Snana kept her safe from harm. Often Mary dressed in Dakota clothing in order to not attract unwanted attention. Both women wrote memoirs of the events after the war.
1200 Dakota Indians were taken into custody at Camp Release. Eventually, 2000 were captured or surrendered, and they faced mass trials at the Camp Release facilities.
LaBahn Arena
Madison, Wisconsin
LaBahn Arena
The original plan was to take in a women’s game at LaBahn Arena Saturday afternoon, but the game was sold out, and we were forced to run with a makeshift brewery tour instead.
On Sunday, the Badger Women were once again hosting the SCSU Huskies, so we were able to take in another hockey game. The first time either of us had been to a women’s game.
Inside LaBahn Arena
LaBahn seats 2273, and the Badgers have 9 sell outs this year at the rink. The game was all Wisconsin, with the Badgers dominating the entire game. Emily Clark scored twice, and Ann-Renee Desbiens had her 14th shutout of the year, as Wisconsin won easily 3-0. It was Destines’ 31st career shutout.
Iowa Caucus 2016
Reporting from Precinct One, Knoxville, Iowa
In my never ending quest to bring the quirky, the wild, and the oddities, that lie between the Circles, I am reporting direct from Iowa on caucus night.
Anxiously waiting for 7pm
It’s a very good turn out here in Central Iowa. When the returns are in from outstate, we will post them as we receive them. Excitement is in the air, as people realize they are only hours away from ending the relentless phone calls from political campaigns.
It’s hard to be in Iowa during the election cycle, and not run into one campaign or another. Just on Friday I saw Rand Paul and his Corvette here in Knoxville. Since I was in the state on Caucus Night, I had to experience the process for myself.
The Democrats have the more interesting process: Each precinct gathers in a room, then divides up in groups depending on whom they support. With only three candidates, I did not expect a long, drawn out evening. The two large groups in the room belonged to Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Martin O’Malley had a much smaller contingent of supporters, but they were rabid.
For the next 30 minutes, one group or another tried to convince their neighbors to join their candidate. After the half-hour, Martin O’Malley did not have enough supporters to hit the 15% viable threshold. His supporters were then wooo’d by the Bernie & Hillary camps, with slightly over half going for the Bern & the remainder joining Hillary. In the end, Clinton ended up with 53% of the precinct delegates, and Sanders left with 47%. A close race.
I spoke with a Vietnam vet, who at 67, was experiencing his first caucus. He was a supporter of Bernie Sanders, saying he just did not trust Clinton. Benghazi was his main cause against the former Secretary of State.
An employee of the school district also supported Sen. Sanders. It was her third caucus, and she said after meeting Sanders at an event, “He was my guy from that moment on.”
A third Iowan was supporting Secretary Clinton based on her experience, adding: “I just don’t think Bernie can win the general election”.
It was quite the experience to observe. Agree or disagree with Iowa being the first in the nation, Iowans do take their role seriously.
By the numbers:
At press time, with 97% of the precincts reporting, the Republican field’s Top 3:
Ted Cruz @ 28% 8 delegates
Donald Trump @ 24% 7 delegates
Marco Rubio @ 23% 7 delegates
Mike Huckabee ends Presidential bid.
Republican caucus numbers set a record with 180,000 attending.
With 99% of precincts reporting, the Democrat’s Top 2:
Hillary Clinton @ 49.9% 23 delegates
Bernie Sanders @ 49.6% 22 delegates
Martin O’Malley ends Presidential bid.
Democratic caucus attendance did not break the 2008 record numbers, but it was described as “robust”.
It should be noted that Iowa is not a “winner take all” state. Delegates are distributed based on the number of votes a candidate receives.
Kohl Center
Madison, Wisconsin
Kohl Center – exterior
The Alaska Nanooks were flying down to Madison to play the Wisconsin Badgers, so The Curator & I ventured northeast to take in a weekend of hockey.
The Kohl Center, one of the top rinks in college hockey, opened in 1998. The Kohl is also one of the largest arenas in D-1, seating over 15,300 for hockey. Badger fans are some of the most active in the college ranks, and the atmosphere at any Badger sporting event is high octane. The UW Band rarely stops to take a breath.
UA Nanooks vs UW Badgers
Friday was the night for the Nanooks to get an upset. During period one, Alaska could have easily scored 3 goals, but instead they trailed Wisconsin 1-0 on a goal by Corbin McGuire. Missed opportunities would haunt Alaska, and Wisconsin would pounce the ones that came their way.
In the second period, Tyler Morley struck first with a short-handed goal, but Ryan Wagner responded immediately with a PPG to keep the Badger lead at one. Wisconsin would score two more in the period and Alaska one for a 4-2 Badger lead. Tyler Morley would score his second on the night, but that was all the Nooks could muster and Wisconsin held on for a 4-3 win.
Saturday night from the second deck
On Saturday we were joined by another member of the Frozen Foursome. The first two periods showcased some really even-played hockey between the two teams, and the score was 1-1 after two. In the third period, the Badgers had Alaska on their heels, and the damage came quickly. The Badgers would score four in the first 11:43, with the Nanooks managing to get one past Matt Jurusik in the period. A 5-2 Badger win.
Saturday attendance: 9604
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