John’s Journal:

John's Journal: Victory Day In Grand Rapids

September 22, 2024 |

John's Journal

The Grand Rapids High School football team held its 10th Victory Day gathering, with special needs folks from the area invited to spend the morning with the varsity team and cheerleaders, doing drills and scoring touchdowns.

John's Journal: Back In The Game, Just Like His Mentor

September 18, 2024 |

John's Journal

Eight years after leaving Wayzata, where the Trojans won three Prep Bowls, Brad Anderson became the head football coach at Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

John's Journal: The Owls Are Finally Home In Hancock

September 15, 2024 |

John's Journal

After playing every football game on the road in 2022 while their oft-flooded field was being rebuilt, the Hancock Owls returned home on a day filled with memorable sights and sounds.

John’s Journal: Thinking Back To 23 Years Ago This Week

September 10, 2024 |

John's Journal

There was talk of something bad happening in New York City. I turned on the TV in the kitchen and saw a big black smoldering hole in the side of one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

John's Journal: The Lifesaving Heroism Of A High School Athlete

September 9, 2024 |

John's Journal

Grant Fitterer saved a co-worker’s life by dragging the unconscious person out of a burning car.

John's Journal: The Baby Is Nearly Due As The Season Continues

September 4, 2024 |

John's Journal

Stillwater volleyball coach Sara Baumgard and her husband Sean are prepped and ready for the birth of their first child.

John's Journal: A Glorious Game To Kick Off The Season

September 1, 2024 |

John's Journal

After a 2023 Prep Bowl loss, Kingsland's first opportunity to start over came Friday night against LeRoy-Ostrander/Lyle-Pacelli.

John's Journal: A Great Day For Learning About Theater

August 28, 2024 |

John's Journal

From 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., around 220 students from 15 high schools in Minnesota gathered for a full day of instruction from a talented slate of 49 teaching artists.

John's Journal: Casey O'Brien Is Back In The Fight

August 27, 2024 |

John's Journal

Casey O'Brien has been diagnosed with cancer for a seventh time. He will undergo cutting-edge treatment, which is not covered by insurance.

John's Journal: Coaches, Officials, Zero Week And Special Moments

August 25, 2024 |

John's Journal

The big picture will tell us that St. Anthony Village defeated Breck 39-7, but as we know the scoreboard is only one small part of the big story in high school activities.

John's Journal: Coach To Coach, A Life-Saving Gift

August 21, 2024 |

John's Journal

Tartan High School assistant football coaches Randy Taylor and Jon Wessel are very close friends … even before Wessel gave Taylor one of his kidneys earlier this year.

John's Journal Archives: A Pretty Fair Day For Football Players At State Fair

August 18, 2024 |

John's Journal

A unique situation: Showing livestock at the Minnesota State Fair and playing in a football game on the same day.

John's Journal: After 50 Days Of Summer, A New Year Dawns

August 12, 2024 |

John's Journal

Around the state, the mood was upbeat. That was partly due to outstanding weather; cool temperatures and clear skies. But there’s also something special about the dawn of a new day, the dawn of a new season, the dawn of a new adventure.

John's Journal: What I Did On My Summer Vacation

July 29, 2024 |

John's Journal

The beautiful green vision of a cornfield, followed by soybean fields – sights we had grown up with – told us we were close to home. Minnesota.

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.