Republican Rep. Jim Abeler of Anoka is running for the U.S. Senate.

“We’re in,” Abeler said on Tuesday (June 18).

Currently serving his eighth term in the Minnesota House, Abeler’s decision to challenge incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Al Franken in 2014 caught local Republicans off guard.

“It was a complete surprise to all of us,” said Senate District 35 Deputy Chairman Don Huizenga.

Local Republicans were “pretty shocked,” he said.

Abeler alerted area Republicans of his intentions on Monday (June 17) night, some 12 days after making the final decision to run.

“It occurred to me they need a problem solver (in Washington), which is me,” Abeler said of stepping forward.

Rep. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka, speaks on the House floor last session. (Photo by T.W. Budig)

Abeler, a House Republican maverick, intends to seek the Republican Party’s U.S. Senate endorsement. But he has not decided on whether to abide by it, he said.

Franken is a formidable opponent, Abeler explained.

He’s the incumbent and has statewide name recognition — “a huge advantage,” Abeler said.

But Abeler, expressing particular concern over the world his three grandchildren will inherit, was starting his U.S. Senate run because he believes America is in trouble.

“Our children and grandchildren are born into a future as indentured debtors of our country’s careless spending. When we are dependent on the government, we are absolutely not free,” Abeler said in a statement.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Al Franken campaigning in Dakota County last autumn. (Photo by T.W. Budig)

It’s not his intention to go to Washington to blame people for the national debt, Abeler said.

But he wants Congress to recognize the serious threat exists, he said.

Abeler stresses what he says are his skills as a problem solver.

“My home-grown Minnesotan values guide me and my personal decision making priorities of ‘Creator, conscience, and constituents,’ in that order, provide me guidance for the tough decisions I face in my current elected responsibilities,” Abeler said in his statement.

“I think outside the box, consider all sides of an issue, and then make a reasoned, thoughtful decision,” he said.

Abeler has not always been in the good graces of his party.

One of the “Override Six,” a group of House Republicans who voted to override Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s veto of a Democratic transportation finance bill containing tax increases, Abeler faced endorsement challenges.

Huizenga, who battled Abeler for the endorsement following the override vote, said a lot of people within the Republican Party have issues with a lot of the votes Abeler has taken.

Huizenga suspects Abeler might have been nudged to run for the U.S. Senate, because for all his efforts at cultivating Democrats, it ultimately didn’t work.

“Nobody listened to him,” Huizenga said of the aftermath of the Democratic takeover of the Legislature.

“In my opinion, Jim took a bath from the Democrats this year,” he said.

Abeler himself complained last session that Democrats refused to listen to Republicans.

A chiropractor by profession, Abeler has chaired the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee, currently serving as lead Republican.

For all the billions being spent in the area of health care, results remain mediocre, Abeler argues.

Abeler, 59, and Barb, his wife of 32 years, have six sons.

One son, Josiah, died suddenly in September of 2011 after a seizure while asleep.

Josiah Abeler was 22 years old.

Abeler plans to have formal announcement of his candidacy at a future date.

He looks back at his years in the House as giving him the chance to do good things.

“This has come along,” he said of running for the U.S. Senate.

Considering a big run for public office is like a parachute jump — it’s a pretty view high up there, Abeler said.

“But you have to take that last step,” he quipped.

Republican Minnesota business executive Mike McFadden, an executive at the Lazard finance firm, recently announced his intention to run for U.S. Senate.

“I welcome Representative Abeler into the race and look forward to seeing him on the campaign trail, but my focus remains drawing a distinction between myself and Sen. Al Franken,” McFadden said in a statement.

Another possible Republican candidate is Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhasen.

DFL State Chairman Ken Martin believes Franken is in good shape at this point in his first term.

“If you look at the trend line since he’s been elected, it just continues to climb,” Martin said.

“He hasn’t done anything completely controversial or made any stupid remarks,” he said.

“He’s kept his head low and done  the hard work of being a Senator. I think’s taken on some tough fights people appreciate,” Martin said.

“I feel really good about that one,” Martin said of the U.S. Senate race.

“If the election were held tomorrow, he’d (Franken) win hands down — going away,” Martin said.

Still, the election is a long way away, the chairman noted.

Tim Budig can be reached at tim.budig@ecm-inc.com.

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Republican House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt sat on the farmhouse porch with a smiling lab at his feet and a cooing mourning dove in a nearby tree.

“When I am in St. Paul, I am so busy — and I really love what I do down there. But I can’t wait for the weekend to come,” Daudt said of returning to Crown.

Although Daudt spends many nights in St. Paul, his cabin on Spectacle Lake, the farm his grandfather bought in 1938, about a mile from the crossroads of Crown in southwest Isanti County, is old home ground.

House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt, R-Crown, takes the House floor last session as caucus members look on. While legislative duties keep Daudt in St. Paul many nights, his roots are in Greater Minnesota. (Photo by T.W. Budig)

Daudt did not grow up there.

He grew up on a sheep farm near Princeton, a big operation with as many as 400 animals, But after graduating from the University of North Dakota, it was on his grandfather’s farm, 62 remaining acres, Daudt went to live.

Daudt and his brother Shane share the place, along with a coop of Cornish Cross chickens who will not live to see the autumn, six Black Angus, three of which are calves, and a black lab, Kurt Daudt’s pet, Lucy.

The lights of Crown do not blemish the evening sky.

“We say it’s a gas station, a bar, and church. And that’s what Crown is,” Daudt said, smiling.

Even so, Crown has old names.

Daudt is one of them.

The windmills Grandfather Louie Daudt, a folk artist as well as inventive mechanic, fashioned out of scrap still cut the wind here and there around Crown, Daudt said.

Another old Crown family name is Grams, former Republican U.S. Sen. Rod Grams having a farm not far away.

Properly clad for hauling manure and chainsaw work, Daudt pauses to pet his appreciate black lab, Lucy, on the family farm near Crown. (Photo by T.W. Budig)

Not that Daudt’s vistas have been defined by fence lines.

“I’ve always been the kind of person who wants to get involved in things,” Daudt said. “And maybe even to a fault.”

At age 24, Daudt was elected to the Stanford Township Board, a “thankless” job where he heard complaints about plugged culverts, flooded yards, but learned a lot about basic government.

“And I learned most of all, people just want somebody to listen to them,” Daudt said.

Next stop was the Isanti County Board — Daudt beat an incumbent.

“I’ve always been kind of tapped, or recruited, to run for something else,” he said.

Daudt left the county board in his second term to successfully run for the Minnesota House.

In St. Paul, at the beginning of his second term, Daudt’s Republican House colleagues voted him minority leader, the quickest rise to that position in a century.

“I kind of think it will happen,” Daudt said of becoming speaker of the House, predicting the Republicans will reclaim majority status.

“If I’m successful at that,” Daudt said of advancing the Republican message, “I believe my team will reward me.”

Daudt foresees Republican fortunes brightening.

Democrats have gummed up the state’s economic recovery, he argues, and been plainly self-serving at times.

“I don’t think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out why they were doing that,” he said of day care and long-term care unionization legislation, “because unions give them a lot of campaign money.”

The legislation allows for a unionization vote.

Daudt has been urged to run for Congress in the 6th and 8th congressional districts, he said.

He lives in the 8th, but the border of the 6th District, the home of the bulk of his legislative district, is a stone’s throw away.

But Daudt indicated he has promises to keep.

“It would be really self-serving for me to serve three years in the Minnesota House, and then announce I’m running for Congress,” Daudt said.

Asked if his Republican colleagues would feel let down, Daudt thought they would.

“I think so. And I wouldn’t blame them a bit,” he said.

Daudt, though saying he hasn’t really thought about going to Washington, doesn’t wholly dismiss the idea.

“I have a feeling, if I would go out there (to Washington as a congressman), I could be influential,” Daudt said, saying he’s good at building relationships.

“(But) I truly believe we need to put Republicans back in the (Minnesota House) majority,” he said.

“I’m really committed to that,” he said.

To tour the farm with Daudt is to hear about future projects.

The Daudts recently tore down an old two-bunker corn crib, and give other old farm buildings hard glances.

Kurt Daudt jokes about sparing the raspberries growing next to one weather-beaten structure.

There’s talk of a new pole barn.

Nudged by a familial gene for mechanics perhaps, Kurt Daudt looks to restoring his weekend ride, a rustless 1966 Ford Bronco he purchased from the City of Havre, Mont.

Proof of origin can be seen in fading letters on the Bronco’s door.

Like Grams, the Daudts collect tractors.

There’s a 1947 John Deere B used in the fall to haul firewood — the Daudts heat with wood, cut 10, 12 cords a year.

There’s another John Deere, vintage 1937, Grandpa Daudt’s tractor, with distinctive spoked wheels. A 1941 John Deere H, one with a single front tire for crops with narrow rows, sits with the other two tractors in partial cover.

Other tractors are here and there.

“I’ll probably do the Bronco before I do any of these,” Daudt reflectively said.

“Lucy loves riding in it.”

The Daudts don’t work the farm fields. Instead, they rent 24 acres to a neighbor who works the land.

In the fall there’s deer hunting, pheasants, a pond for waterfowl,

Tucked into a garage there’s a mini-bike for Kurt Daudt’s nephew to ride.

Daudt talks of work on the farm as a labor of love, if ceaseless love.

“As you can see by the lawn,” he quipped, pointing out a patch of tall grass.

“Sometimes I have to tell myself to relax,” Daudt said.

“But my mind is always kind of thinking, whether it’s stuff at the Capitol — what can we do to fix this, improve that — or whether here at the farm or at lake,” he said.

“I’m always thinking about my next project,” Daudt said.

Yet Daudt, 39, insists he’s never plotted out an overall course for his life.

“I have always reacted to where there’s need and where’s there’s opportunity,” Daudt said.

“If you are successful, then there will be another opportunity.”

Rep. Marion O’Neill, R-Buffalo, views Daudt as doing a good job leading the House Republican Caucus.

With Democrats controlling state government, it’s a tough go, she said.

O’Neill, a freshmen, appreciates Daudt making time for caucus members.

“He’s always available,” she said.

O’Neill views Daudt as “comfortable” leading House Republicans.

“I think he’s doing great,” former Republican House Minority Leader Marty Seifert said.

Seifert views Daudt as having the respect of his caucus. Leading the caucus is a balancing act, Seifert said, because traditionally the Republican House Caucus is evenly split between rural and metro.

The role of minority leader is tough, Seifert said.

You have a message, a microphone, a vote button — not much else, he said.

But Seifert, too, views Democrats as leaving House Republicans with opportunities.

Daudt, in looking ahead to the 2014 legislative session, which begins next February,  spoke of bonding and other concerns.

“I look for our bonding (bill to be) under $1 billion,” Daudt said, arguing one reason the House Democrats’ $800 million bonding bill crashed on the floor last session was lack of communication.

“They didn’t include me in the conversations,” Daudt said.

House Democrats must have Republican votes to pass a bonding bill.

Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton intends to seek public support over upcoming months for a transportation initiative. Daudt speaks of focusing on roads and bridges — we can’t walk away from these investments, he said.

Daudt, who once rode Northstar Commuter Rail to a Vikings’ game and fond the experience pleasant, takes a cautious stance on transit.

Asked whether someone in Crown would know about the proposed Southwest Light Rail Line, Daudt doubted it.

“They’d think it’s a airline or something,” he quipped.

Daudt spoke of addressing the Democrats’ expansion of the state sales tax to repairs and warehousing.

He dislikes the idea of farmers needing to pay the sales tax on repairs of machinery. And Daudt argues that extending the sales tax to warehousing indirectly will cause commodity prices to rise.

Daudt views himself as a steadying influence in the House.

“I think what (House Speaker Paul) Thissen and (House Majority Leader) Erin Murphy figured out from me, is they could trust me. And when I tell them I’m going to do something, I’ll do it,” Daudt said.

He didn’t want the final hours of last legislative session to become “ugly,” Daudt said.

And they weren’t, he said.

Tim Budig can be reached at tim.budig@ecm-inc.com

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Waconia-based band Molly’s Worst Enemy – from left, Max Rickell, Deano Erickson, Paul Winkelman, Devin Aadland and Chris Braudt – will tour this summer to promote their newest CD “You’ll Never Walk Alone.” They will travel as far as Cleveland, Ohio, spending over 33 hours in their 15-passenger van.

By Greta Sowels
Waconia Patriot

There is an old proverb that says, “Great things come from small beginnings.”

This can be said of a lot of different things, but perhaps it is especially applicable to local band Molly’s Worst Enemy. After playing their first set in 2010, the group released a CD earlier in 2013 and is planning to leave on tour June 14.

The group began at Waconia High School, where all of the members attended school and were part of the show choir. Their first gig was an event called coffeehouse, where they played a set of songs by Say Anything, a band that they particularly liked. The set went really well, which encouraged the group to play again at the homecoming dance.

The band put out a CD in 2011 and toured with it around the cities and to Fargo, N.D. However, the group’s tour last summer fell short of expectations. “All of the shows canceled on us as we were on the road,” said guitarist Deano Erickson.

Molly’s Worst Enemy’s newest CD, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” was released in January 2013 and is currently sold on iTunes or locally at Mocha Monkey. Erickson used the words rocky, fast and melodic to describe the music, adding that it was “punk you could sing to.”

The band will be touring this summer with that CD beginning June 14. This time, the band had a booking agent, Jeremy Hiniker, who booked most of their shows.  Show locations include venues with a stage, a bar and house or basement shows.

“This will be our first chance at establishing them as more than just a local band as they work to prove themselves on the road,” said Hiniker. “This will help to gain them the attention they deserve.”

After leaving Minnesota, the band will travel around Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana and will go as far as Cleveland, Ohio. The trip is over 33 hours of driving time.

Erickson said that the basement shows are the best because they are the most personal.

“Fifty to 75 kids in a basement, and it’s just packed,” said Erickson. “The same amount of people in a venue that’s supposed to hold 200, then it just looks really open.” Erickson also mentioned that the band plays for a lot of high school students but can also draw attention from a variety of older people in the music scene.

The bands members – Max Rickel, Chris Braudt, Devin Aadland, Paul Winkelman and Erickson – had to personally pay to get the band started up, which included putting out a CD, making t-shirts and travel costs on tour. “It’s slowly getting to the point where we don’t have to pay to be in the band anymore,” said Erickson. “We don’t have to put our own money in because the band is kind of funding itself.”

For the tour this summer, the band will travel in a 15-passenger van loaded with equipment. “Basically when we play shows we get $50 to $100 per show and all of that money goes right into the gas tank,” said Erickson. Sometimes venues will feed the bands, but if not, the band will eat the free meal that Chipotle provides to touring bands or hang around Little Caesar’s Pizza waiting to collect pizza that would otherwise be thrown out. “We spend a lot of nights sleeping on the floor of somebody’s basement or on couches,” added Erickson.

In addition to financial strains, the band has also dealt with relational conflicts among friends, girlfriends and family. It was also a challenge to pull together the band during the school year because the members were spread as far as a Chicago. Aadland, who attends Columbia College in Chicago, will be leaving the band in the fall to pursue photography full time. The band is still solidifying a replacement bass guitarist.

Erickson emphasized that while the members have made sacrifices to be in the band, it is all worth it.

“It’s exhilarating,” said Erickson. “It’s so much fun to have like your four or five best friends and you’re all collaborating on a piece of art – a song that essentially is you.” He also mentioned that all of the songs that Molly’s Worst Enemy writes and performs are very personal. “It’s as honest as we can possibly be.”

Hiniker is excited about Molly’s Worst Enemy, adding that they are honest, relatable people. He see’s this tour as a stepping-stone to a great future. “If these guys can maintain their passion and work ethic, which I fully expect them to do, I see nothing stopping them.”

To learn more about the band, check out their Facebook page.

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CLASS A
Henry Sibley Marching Band – 65.70
Winona Cotter Marching Band – 64.30
Richfield Marching Spartans – 59.30
Saint Francis Marching Band – 54.40

CLASS AA
Litchfield Marching Dragons – 73.30
Sauk Rapids-Rice Marching Storm – 71.60
Champlin Park Marching Band – 70.40
Maple Grove Marching Crimson – 65.90

CLASS AAA
728 Cadets – 82.70
Mankato 77 Lancers – 79.80
Park Center Marching Pirates – 79.50
Owatonna Marching Band – 68.10

Best Winds
Winona Cotter – A
Litchfield – AA
728 Cadets – AAA

Best Drumline
Henry Sibley – A
Sauk Rapids-Rice – AA
728 Cadets – AAA

Best Color Guard
Henry Sibley – A
Litchfield – AA
Park Center – AAA

Grand Champion
728 Cadets

People’s Choice
728 Cadets

Owat-onia Grand Champion of the Day
728 Cadets

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The Royals were bounced to the third-place game by a 5-3 loss to Perham in the semifinals. Watertown-Mayer cut into a 4-1 lead with two runs in the fifth inning, but missed a great opportunity to do more damage when they failed to add any more runs despite having the bases loaded with just one out.

In the third-place game, the Royals had the bad luck of facing the state’s top-ranked team, St. Cloud Cathedral, which had been upset by Kasson-Mantorville in the other semifinal earlier in the day. Brian Minks threw a one-hitter for the Crusaders (25-3), who got one run in the first inning and four more in the second.

Brendan Weege had the lone Watertown-Mayer hit in the third-place game. Weege, Matt Elsenpeter and Brett Johnson all had two hits for the Royals in the semifinal loss to Perham. Matt Elsenpeter officially had the only RBI on the day according to MSHSL stats, but Mark Sandquist also should have been credited with an RBI in the first game.

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Hamburg will host the two-day Zummerfest this weekend. (NYA Times staff photo by Adam Gruenewald)

by ADAM GRUENEWALD
NYA Times

A revised schedule for the 31st annual Zummerfest is expected to pack the crowds in for the two-day event in Hamburg this weekend.
Once a three-day affair, organizers of the Hamburg Lions Club and Hamburg Fire Department Relief Association effort are introducing more events to Zummerfest while eliminating Sunday entirely.
Bruce Gruenhagen, a former president of the Lions Club and member of the Zummerfest organizing committee, said the group wanted to both lessen the impact on its volunteers and avoid conflicts with Father’s Day.
“We’ve been talking about it for a few years,” said Gruenhagen, who has been involved with organizing the event since 2006. “It’s getting harder to find volunteers. A lot of younger folks just aren’t doing stuff.”
Gruenhagen added the three-day festival takes its toll on the volunteers.
“It’s a tiring weekend,” he said. “If you work Friday, Saturday and Sunday plus set up ahead of time… definitely by Sunday, you’re just dragging.”
In addition to the Classic Car Show and Cruise and music by the Castaways on Friday, adult bingo will liven up the evening and raise some funds as well.
“As Lions we do bingo in the fall and the spring in the community hall and that’s always been pretty popular,” said Gruenhagen. “So we thought this could keep people’s interests for a while.”
Saturday will be highlighted by traditional kid favorites such as the antique tractor show, tractor and truck pull and youth baseball games while new events like Texas Hold ‘Em, Circus Clowns and a BBQ contests will enhance the festivities.
“We tried to set up more things to do,” said Gruenhagen. “We got quite a few things in there.”
Texas Hold ‘Em gives card playing enthusiasts another avenue apart from the annual Sheephead tournament, while the clowns from Carson Barnes Circus will give attendees a taste of what’s to come as Hamburg Lions and the NYA Chamber of Commerce are putting on a circus on Sunday, June 30.
“We’re going to be pre-selling tickets to the circus there so that’s kind of a kick-off,” said Gruenhagen.
Two BBQ contests, one with judges and people’s choice, will be sure to satisfy attendees’ curiosity and stomachs.
“You can buy a wristband and you can sample all the pulled pork and ribs,” said Gruenhagen. “These guys will be cooking since early in the morning… I think it will go over pretty well.”
Amidst the changes, Gruenhagen is hopeful Zummerfest will draw a large crowd to support both the Hamburg Fire Department for equipment and Hamburg Lions.
“We do so many different things,” said Gruenhagen, mentioning vision and hearing, camps for kids in need and support for local handicapped-accessible bathrooms in Bi-Centennial Park in Hamburg or national efforts like the tornadoes in Oklahoma.
One major concern at the moment for the group is weather, which organizers hope will cooperate with sunny weather.
“The unfortunate side is this is an event where it really depends on weather,” he said. “If the weather isn’t good we don’t raise a lot of money.”

SCHEDULE
Friday, June 14:
8 a.m. – City Wide Garage Sales
4 p.m. – Food Stand opens with burgers, hot dogs, walking tacos, french fries, onion rings, root beer floats, ice cream and sweet corn.
5, 7 p.m. – Classic Car Show and Cruise with registration at 5 p.m. and cruise at 7 p.m.
6 to 8 p.m. – Adult Bingo
8:30 p.m. to  midnight – Music by Castaways featuring tunes from the 1950’s and 60’s

Saturday, June 15
All Day – Kids Bounce Houses, Antique Tractor Show
8 a.m. – City Wide Garage Sales
9 a.m. – Youth baseball games begin
9 a.m. – Texas Hold ‘Em, Sheephead Tournament
11 a.m. – Tractor and truck pull
Noon – Free youth activities for kids 12 and under with Kids Bingo, coloring contest and a bicycle grand prize
Circus clowns from Carson Brothers Circus
1:30 p.m. – Magic show by Matt Dunn including live animals
2:30  p.m. – Registration for kids pedal pull for ages 4 to 11
3 p.m. – Kids pedal pull begins
4 p.m. – Classic BBQ Contest judging
5 p.m. – People’s Choice BBQ Contest judging
8 p.m. to midnight – Blurred Vision

Contact Adam Gruenewald at adam.gruenewald@ecm-inc.com.

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This pitch was the decisive moment in Thursdays state quarterfinal baseball game between Watertown-Mayer and Minnehaha Academy, when Brett Johnson was awarded first base on a catcher’s interference ruling with the bases loaded. The play resulted in the long run of the game, sending the Royals ahead to the state semifinals despite nearly being no-hit by Minnehaha Academy’s John Pryor. (CCN staff photo by Matt Bunke)

 To many people in attendance, the way Watertown-Mayer won Thursday’s state quarterfinal baseball game at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud was about the most peculiar way imaginable. But for those who have been following the Royals’ playoff run, it was pretty much par for the course.

Watertown-Mayer, which struck out 14 times and didn’t get its first hit against Mr. Baseball finalist John Pryor until there was one out in the seventh inning, still managed to beat beat Minnehaha Academy 1-0 when the game’s lone run crossed the plate on a catcher’s interference call with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning. That play, combined with yet another pitching masterpiece from Michael Herd, helped the Royals advance to Class AA’s final four and a matchup with Perham on Friday.

“We keep finding ways,” Watertown-Mayer coach Justin Stohs said. “That’s the way the whole season’s gone. We’re finding ways to win games, and that’s what matters. The guys have faith we’re going to find a way to do it.”

The decisive fifth inning started when Joe Reinert reach on an error. When Mark Sandquist drew a walk with one out and David Gallus drew another with two outs, Brett Johnson stepped to the plate. His late swing with two strikes knocked the glove off Minnehaha Academy catcher Eamonn Manion’s hand, and gave the Royals all the “offense” they needed.

“It wasn’t the best way to win, but a win’s a win,” said Watertown-Mayer third baseman Brendan Weege, whose impressive leaping grab in the third inning saved his team a run.

In a cruel bit of irony for Minnehaha Academy, and Manion in particular, the Redhawks argued vehemently in the first inning that Manion should have been awarded first base because of what they believed was catcher’s interference on Johnson, the Watertown-Mayer catcher. It would have given the Redhawks runners on first and second with just one out, but if it interference did occur, the home plate umpire didn’t see it, and he didn’t change his call after conferring with the base umpires.

The Redhawks were none too happy when the catcher’s interference call went against them in the fifth, but the Royals were certainly willing to take a run however they could get one with as well as Pryor was throwing.

The Royals knew they’d be in for a tough battle against Pryor, who boasted a 7-0 record and 0.26 ERA on just one earned run in 53 innings this year. Pryor looked like every bit the ace he was billed to be, striking out the first five Watertown-Mayer hitters on his way to 14 for the game. Pryor throws in the mid-80s, but used a devastating curve ball as his strikeout pitch to render the Royals helpless most of the game.

As good as Pryor was, though, Herd was equally impressive for Watertown-Mayer. The junior extended his string of scoreless innings this postseason to 29.2 with a two-hit shutout against the state’s sixth-ranked team. His last start was a one-hit shutout of third-ranked Holy Family.

“We weren’t surprised,” Stohs said of Herd’s outing. “We knew he’d keep us in the ball game, and he really did today.”

Herd, not a particularly hard thrower who relies mainly on a fastball and changeup, mixed his speeds brilliantly and hit his spots with precision, as he has all year. With only three earned runs allowed this season, he lowered his ERA to 0.42 after Thursday’s superb outing.

“He’s just developed into an all-around good pitcher,” Stohs said. “He changes speeds and he keeps it down. But he’s also working about three inches inside and three inches outside. He’s really working the black of the plate, and I wish people could really study how he does it.”.

Herd struck out just three, and relied on his defense to do the rest behind him. Much as they have been all postseason long, the Royals were steady as could be defensively, saving several runs with impressive plays. Herd was quick to credit his teammates for his recent string of dominance on the mound.

“I think it’s the defense behind me,” Herd said. “They know what they’re doing, and they just keep going at it.”

The Royals made just one error, but it was actually a bad bounce that ate up shortstop Matt Elsenpeter to lead off the third inning. But, after a sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second with one out, Weege’s spectacular leaping grab on a line drive hit by Ford Schroeder saved a run and allowed Herd to get out of the inning by getting Ryan Evenson to pop out to short.

In the fifth inning, after Minnehaha Academy drew a leadoff walk, a ball smoked down the first base line by Josh Wintz appeared to be huge trouble for the Royals, but first baseman Joe Reinert, who had been holding the runner on, snared the ball out of the air and doubled the runner off to eliminate another Redhawk threat.

And finally, Manion’s sinking line drive to left center to lead off the sixth inning appeared ticketed for the gap, but Nick Tschida’s diving catch set the tone for a 1-2-3 inning for Herd. Herd also worked a 1-2-3 seventh, ending the game on a foul popout to Reinert at first.

Pryor, who already has three no-hitters in his career, flirted with his fourth, but gave up an infield single to Mark Sandquist on a ground ball to shortstop with one out in the seventh inning. As dominant as the senior lefthander was, though, he was tagged with his first loss, and fell to 7-1 on the year.

Watertown-Mayer (17-8) will play in the state semifinals Friday at 2:30 p.m., once again at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud. The Royals will take on Perham, which upset second-seeded Delano, 3-1, on Thursday.

Herd said it’s hard to believe his team is in the position that it is.

“This team has really come together,” he said. “I never expected this to happen. I never really expected that we’d be section champs, and here we are, in the top four in the state right now.”

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CITY OF COLOGNE

Notice is hereby given, that the City Council of the City of Cologne will hold a public hearing at 7:00 p.m., or as soon as the matter may be heard, on Monday, July 1, 2013, at Cologne City Hall, 1211 Village Parkway.  The purpose of the hearing is to consider vacating two portions of Conrad Avenue.

All that part of Conrad Street, as delineated and dedicated on the plat of VILLAGE OF BENTON CITY, according to the recorded plat thereof, Carver County, Minnesota lying northerly of the westerly extension of the north line of Playhouse Street, as delineated on said VILLAGE OF BENTON CITY and lying southerly of Lake Street West (said Lake Street is formerly known as Highway No. 212).

AND

All that part of Conrad Street, as delineated and dedicated on said, VILLAGE OF BENTON CITY, lying northerly of the westerly extension of the north line of Market Street, as delineated on said VILLAGE OF BENTON CITY and lying southerly of the westerly extension of the south line of Playhouse Street, as delineated on said VILLAGE OF BENTON CITY.

Susan Mueller, Deputy Clerk

City of Cologne

(Published in The Waconia Patriot June 13 and 20, 2013

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Madli Remmelkoor, Southwestern Company has been issued a Peddler’s Permit to sell children’s educational software and books door to door in residential neighborhoods of the City of Waconia, contingent upon the following: strict adherence to the rules of Section 590 of the Waconia City Code; and no sales shall be permitted within any City Park.  Effective June 13, 2013.

(Published in The Waconia Patriot June 13, 2013

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