Brian Hansel
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The Minnesota firearm deer hunting opener was blown off course this weekend by a southerly gale that greatly limited success. One of the better areas was Verndale where some local hunters filled out. Sandra Gould of Carr's Convenience had relatives that did well north of County Road 7. Hunting parties passing through Verndale from northern Minnesota complained of poor deer numbers due to tough winter conditions. Brad Snyder of Shell Sports and Bait in Menahga talked to many hunters who had poor action due to the high winds. "It was very tough hunting," Snyder said.
Section 8AA champion Wadena-Deer Creek has been ranked fourth in the eight-team Class AA state volleyball tournament and will face Visitation in a 5 p.m. match Thursday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.
Wadena VFW Post 3922 Commander Jimmy White calls it "a tough row to hoe." The Wadena post has 381 members but the job of recruiting them is becoming increasingly difficult. White is up against a foe that might be unbeatable. He is trying to recruit members from the young ranks of soldiers that have served in Iraq and Afghanistan - the men and women who are veterans of foreign wars. White has been recruiting new members for the Wadena club since 2004. "I've done the best I can to recruit new members," White said.
The top-seeded Sebeka Trojans breezed to a 25-9, 25-12, 25-12 victory over Verndale's young Pirates Friday night in a West Sub-Section 5A match. The Pirates only had 15 kills in the match. Teresa Moenkedick led Verndale with five kills. Moenkedick also had a team-high 17 digs. Jordyn Glenz and Jessica Wright had 12 digs apiece.
My kids gave me a swell trail camera for my birthday this spring to replace the one that was fried by lightning last summer. I have been able to get pictures and video of wildlife both day and night on our farm. The camera will time stamp the pictures. It is great, but it is also dangerous! I have multiple images of three clowns - an eight-point buck, a doe and her fawn. They are the Three Stooges of the Animal Kingdom. At first they were shy of the camera. By summer they were OK with it.
The rifles and slug guns come out this weekend as the Minnesota firearm deer hunting season begins a 15-day run. The state's deer herd is in fairly good shape despite a long, hard winter according to DNR wildlife manager Rob Naplin in Park Rapids. "I think we're near goal in all our permit areas so I think there will be adequate numbers out there," Naplin said. Minnesota has a fair number of bow hunters and a growing number of muzzleloader hunters but the next nine days in the Wadena area will be dominated by firearms hunting.
Emma Schmitz placed fourth in a field of 105 runners last Friday to qualify for her first trip to the Class A state cross country meet. The lissome freshman became the first WDC harrier to reach state since the 2008 season when Hannah Toedter qualified. Schmitz ran a time of 16:02.10 to join nine other Section 8A girls in qualifying for Saturday's state meet at the hilly St. Olaf College course in Northfield.
Emily Miron and Brittney Noon combined for 56 kills Tuesday evening as the Wadena-Deer Creek Wolverines rallied from a 2-1 deficit to oust Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton in a five-game South Sub-Section 8AA championship match at Perham's Prairie Wind School. The top-ranked Wolverines had defeated the No. 2 Rebels 3-2 in the final regular season match for both clubs but it was DGF that grabbed the first game 26-24. The Wolverines evened the match with a 25-22 victory in Game 2 but the Rebels dominated Game 3 25-17. Faced with elimination, the Wolverines responded with a 25-20 victory in Game 4.
There is a belief in some circles that the most dangerous animal in Minnesota is neither the wolf nor the bear. In fact, it is not even considered a predator. It is the white-tailed deer. The beauty and grace of the whitetail speaks for itself. They are swift, strong and agile enough to escape from of their enemies.
The Wheaton Warriors used a powerful ground game to punish the Verndale Pirates 44-8 Tuesday in the Section 4, Class Nine-Man playoffs. Tony Thiel's Warriors, who are ranked second in the section and eighth in the state, rolled up 406 yards on the ground and saw four backs go on touchdown runs. Pat Backman reeled off scoring runs of three and 13 yards.
