ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is asking hunters to avoid shooting marked research bears. The bear hunting season officially opened on Monday, Sept. 1, across the state. These bears are marked with distinctive, large and colorful ear tags. They also are wearing radio collars. Researchers are monitoring 50 black bears across the state. These bears live primarily near Chippewa National Forest, Camp Ripley or the Brainerd and Duluth areas. All but three of the bears are female. Photos of collared research bears and findings are available on the Minnesota DNR bear hunting page. Select seasons are...

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WORTHINGTON — Minnesota West Community and Technical College head volleyball coach Brittney McNab recently marked a milestone. McNab earned her 100th career coaching victory in a 3-1 victory over Northland Community & Technical College at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. The Bluejays won by set scores of 25-17, 26-28, 25-19, 25-20. In the win, former Russell-Tyler-Ruthton standout Ally Nelson provided seven kills, four digs and three solo ace blocks. Minnesota West stands at 7-1 after the Siouxland Invitational in Sioux City, Iowa — with tournament wins over Ellsworth (Iowa) Community College, Labette (Kan.) and Western Iowa Tech. Highland (Kan.) is the only...

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The Pipestone Sportsmen’s Club summer trap shooting league came to a conclusion on Wednesday, Aug. 27. This was the first-ever league of its kind at the grounds located northeast of Pipestone. Here’s the group (from left): Dalton Van Dyke, Gary Groth, Mark Templin, Dar Sietsma, Justin Kroschell and Cal Tinklenberg. Results may be found in agate form on the inside rail of Page 2 in the sports section of The Pipestone County Star. Sietsma was also the winner of the lawn mower drawings.

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WORTHINGTON — Pipestone Area Schools’ seniors Vivian Brockberg and Kate Hanson were paired together for a doubles tournament Saturday, Aug. 23. And the new tandem was successful, feeding off their success from a doubles match versus Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd Thursday, Aug. 21. “They did really well together,” PAS assistant coach Tanya Schroyer said. “They both stepped up and scored a lot of points.” The Worthington Tournament has a non-traditional format, with two PAS doubles teams in each one of three flights. Winning a single game in a match was worth one point. Yellow Medicine earned the overall team title...

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NEW PRAGUE — The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton volleyball team opened the 2025 season at The 12th Annual Sideout Classic Saturday, Aug. 23. In a contest of teams ranked in the Minnesota Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll, No. 2 Mayer Lutheran defeated No. 5 RTR in four sets, 25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 25-20. Laken Baartman, who just celebrated her 17th birthday Monday, paced the Knights defense with 30 digs and Sara Thooft added 10. Dru Ellefson distributed 23 assists and Brezlyn Buchert 10 as four different players scored in this statistical category. Ava Karbo pounded down 11 kills and Sara Thooft nine. Brynn Borresen...

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The Pipestone Area Schools football team returns five starters from last year’s squad that produced a 7-3 record. All of the starters are two-way players, as reported by PAS head coach Scott Boomgaarden. Those players are 2024 offensive player of the year Cayden Zephier (who will play running back this year), quarterback/defensive back Austin Musch, offensive/defensive lineman Jackson Post, wide receiver/defensive back Kayden White and running back/linebacker Xavier Banjoko. Zephier, as a wide receiver last season, paced the Arrows with 655 yards including a 94-yard TD. He picked off three Redwood Valley passes during the Section 3AA playoff game. Playing...

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LOCAL CALENDAR Tuesday, Sept. 2 Cross Country 10 a.m., Elkton-Lake Benton at Redhawk Run, Hendricks Golf Course Girls Tennis 4:30 p.m., River Valley (Springfield) at Pipestone Area Volleyball 7:15 p.m., Pipestone Area at Luverne, Cardinal Gymnasium 7:15 p.m., Elkton-Lake Benton at Castlewood 7:15 p.m., Edgerton at Southwest Minnesota Christian  7:15 p.m., Tracy-Milroy-Balaton at Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, Knights Gymnasium Thursday, Sept. 4 Cross Country 4:15 p.m., Pipestone Area and Russell-Tyler-Ruthton at Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Invitational, Tracy Golf Course Girls Tennis 4:30 p.m., Pipestone Area at Luverne Volleyball 7:15 p.m., Pipestone Area at Adrian-Ellsworth 7:15 p.m., Oldham-Ramona-Rutland at Elkton-Lake Benton 7:15 p.m., Edgerton at Lakeview (Cottonwood)...

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INFORMATION LOCAL SCOREBOARD Tuesday, Aug. 19 Girls Tennis  Yellow Medicine East 5, Pipestone Area 2 MACCRAY (Clara City) 4, Pipestone Area 3 Thursday, Aug. 21 Boys Soccer New Ulm 3, Southwest Minnesota Christian 1 Girls Tennis  Montevideo 7, Pipestone Area 0 Lac qui Parle Valley/Dawson-Boyd 4, Pipestone Area 3 Friday, Aug. 22 Football Elkton-Lake Benton 59, Waubay-Summit (S.D.) 8 Saturday, Aug. 23 Volleyball Sideout Classic At New Prague Mayer Lutheran d. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton, 25-21, 24-26, 25-14, 25-20 HOW THEY STAND As of Sunday, Aug. 24 Standings Football School       Record       Elkton-Lake Benton       1-0...

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ROCHESTER — Minnesota West Community & Technical College football opens the season this Saturday, Aug. 30. And the Bluejays have been picked to finish third in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference’s preseason poll. Head coaches from all the member schools cast ballots, sharing their thoughts on the 2025 season. Minnesota West will play NJCAA Division III national champion College of DuPage (Ill.) at 1 p.m. Saturday from Trojan Field in Worthington. Jermaine Smith, the ex-Green Bay Packer, begins his second season as Minnesota West’s head coach. Former Pipestone Area Schools offensive coordinator Ryan Koopman will be quarterback coach/special teams coordinator...

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LAKE BENTON — The 30th Annual Buffalo Ridge Pheasants Forever banquet has been set for Saturday, Sept. 13. The Lake Benton Events Center will be the site. The physical address is 114 Center Street South. Happy hour and drawings will take place from 5-7 p.m., with the dinner and live auction to follow. Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

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