AT YOUR CREATIVE SERVICE ­—Computer and canvas wiz, Audrea Horejsi, is ready to take the lead in all your creative and business-driven projects. (Star Eagle photo by Rachel Rietsema)

Geneva’s newest business to hold open house January 21

By RACHEL RIETSEMA

Staff Writer

Therein the home sweet home of Audrea Horejsi lies a shrine of keepsakes. Everywhere visitors look, Horesji has taken the liberty of featuring heaps of art projects and other crafty items on the walls.

How fitting is it then that her newest business venture thrives off the knack she has for transforming empty space into a colorful kaleidoscope of creativity?

“I’ve worked in an office all day long since I was 18 years old,” Horejsi said. “I just didn’t want to do it anymore.”

Officially free of the filing cabinet, this innovative daredevil is overjoyed to announce the founding of her new business, Custom Creations by Audrea, with an open house to be held on Saturday, January 21 from 12-5 p.m. at the Geneva Community Center. She welcomes any and all curious souls to stop by and soak in all the services she plans to provide.

2011 in review

Editor’s note: This is the first of a three-part series reviewing the year 2011 as seen in the pages of the Star Eagle

Compiled by JODY WYNNEMER

Staff Writer

2011 was a year of change for most of the world. The year saw the end of the FBI’s most wanted terrorist, Osama Bin Laden. The state of Minnesota experienced the longest shutdown in the United States. Weather wise, we were wet in the spring and unseasonably dry in the fall here in Minnesota. Several important people left us in 2011, notably Steve Jobs, founder of Apple and Harmon Killebrew, Hall of Famer who played for the Minnesota Twins. Locally, another stretch of Highway 14 opened up south of Waseca, saving driving time west to Mankato.

JANUARY 

• “Whitey” Hagen, of the Geneva Cancer Auction Committee, announced the prizes and highlights of the annual affair scheduled for January 7-8, and 14-15.

• Eric and Heather Hendrickson of rural New Richland spoke of how their lives were forever changed when they were blessed with triplets November 4, 2010.

• Third grade students at Ellendale went on a shopping spree at Lerberg’s Foods to gather items for the area food shelf. The students decided to give to others instead of having a gift exchange among themselves. All told, the students collected $450 which purchased about 200 pounds of food and other items.

• The Panther girls’ basketball team was nipped by tourney host St. Peter 57-55 in a holiday tournament.

• Thelma Kormann’s children hosted an open house for their mom in honor of her 80th birthday.

• The New Richland Care Center re-opened after over a three-month closure due to the September 2010 floods.

• Recently re-elected Mayor Tom McShane and New Richland Council Members Christine Gislason and Amy Ihrke are sworn in for their terms at city hall.

• The Panther wrestlers top Medford to stay unbeaten in their young season.

• The NRHEG Star Eagle celebrates its 125th year serving the news needs of the community.

SUCCESSFUL SUB-REGION — Following a successful sub-region competition, the NRHEG Junior High Knowledge Bowl team stopped at the Mankato Mall for a late lunch. Pictured from left: Jordan Mueller, Colton Hagen, Koleton Koziolek, Eli Lutgens, Haylie Moser and Melissa Malakowsky. No, they didn't get to ride the carousel. (Submitted photo)

Junior High Knowledge Bowl was offered as an extracurricular activity for NRHEG students in grades 7-9 this fall.

The program, which included 49 teams from 22 schools, is put on by the South Central Service Cooperative of Mankato.

Ten NRHEG students, under the direction of Mary Sack, gave it a try. They practiced weekly, trying to work around driver’s training, FFA and sports. The six-person competition team consists of 7th-grader Koleton Koziolek, 8th-grader Eli Lutgens and 9th-graders Colton Hagen, Melissa Malakowsky, Haylie Moser and Jordan Mueller.

The first meet involved leaving school at 6 a.m. to get to Fairfax by 8:15.

“Our showing was good considering it was their first experience,” said Sack. “We finished in 21st place with 29 teams.”

In subsequent meets the NRHEG team improved: 18th place in Nicollet, 7th place in North Mankato and 8th at the final regular season meet.

On December 16th the team competed in the sub-region event which was at MSU.

“We did well enough to advance to regions which, will be held in Mankato on Friday, January 6th,” said Sack. “This group of young people has been great to work with. I hope their enthusiasm will continue as they will be wonderful members of the senior high teams in the future.”

Jim Hanson, my cousin, admired his little grandpa Chris Christensen who was born in Denmark but spent most of his life in Geneva, Minnesota. 

Thanksgiving Day while Jim and Maryalice were hosting the Hanson Horde, Jim brought out Aquavit and told a story of this mysterious liquor. I thought this would be interesting, as many have never even heard of Aquavit.

My great-grandfather, Chris Christensen, who lived in Geneva, would always have a bottle of Aquavit on hand. At family gatherings, he would usually share some Aquavit with his guests - usually only the men.  The prized bottle was brought forth from the freezer - a tiny amount poured forth in each glass, and the toast given. Growing up, you knew you were coming of age when you were included in the secret ceremony of the Aquavit!  It was enough to instill within you the traditions of the Vikings and make you want to raid the nearest village! 

Every civilization has its ceremonial self-flagellation, scourging, or blood-letting. For Scandinavians, it is the consumption of Lutefisk or Aquavit! Most Scandinavian, Icelandic, and Greenlanders know Aquavit as “braendevin” or “blenevin” - literally burning wine for its warming taste. In Iceland, it is used to eliminate the taste of fermented shark (which Jim said was the worst thing that he has ever eaten) It is perhaps the only liquor up to that test!

The Aquavit (or Akavit, in Scandinavian countries) ceremony goes like this: Aquavit- if you know your Latin, you would know that it is broken down into Aqua (water) and Vit‚ - the root word of Vitae (life) - therefore, water of life. You can get it in any Arctic area of the world - Iceland, Greenland, Scandinavia, Russia - because it is spicy. Most Aquavit is clear in color, except for Norwegian Aquavit, which is yellow in color because it was filtered through the kidneys of a Dane first! The real story is as follows:

In 1805, back during the days of sailing ships, a Norwegian merchant exported Aquavit to Indonesia using huge oak wine barrels. The constant rocking and the heat of the trip crossing the Equator caused the formerly clear liquid to take on a yellow color from the oak barrels. When it arrived in the tropics, the buyer took a taste and said, “This stuff has spoiled,” and rejected the cargo. The ship’s owner took it back to Norway, where the sellers sampled the Aquavit and pronounced, “Hoo! Ha! Dis stuff iss beddar den ven it vas shipped!” (at least the Norwegian equivalent). To this day, Norwegian Aquavit will be yellow in color, it will have the word linie (line, or Equator in Norwegian), and as I tell people, “Norwegians don’t always read so good, don’t ya know,” so it will have a picture of a sailing ship. The liquor must be certified that it has been on a ship of Norwegian Registry twice across the Equator - a voyage to nowhere.

When drinking Aquavit, it is usually served very cold - from the bottom of the freezer. It is served in a stemmed glass, not much larger than a large thimble (so it is not warmed up in the hand) when drinking by themselves, not toasting friends. Scandinavians take their Aquavit in small doses - sometimes three times a day, usually at mealtime, and the entire daily consumption is not much more than a single shot.

The Aquavit consumption, however, is rarely done alone. It is a community ceremony. Proper manners decree that the Aquavit be poured for all first, then each person takes their glass. The host raises the glass and looks directly into the eyes of every guest before toasting, “Skol!” (To your health). 

Aquavit is never sipped. The small glass is thrown straight down. In this way, it is as much a social gathering and communion with others as it is a drink.

I hope that you enjoyed learning about Aquavit!

Birthdays and anniversaries:

• Thursday, January 5th:  Olivia Pauline Christopherson, Devon Mark Born, Pat Simon King, Warren Kelly, Randy Paulson, Jay Neitzel, Amy Kasper, Nash Petranek, Janelle Nielsen, Melinda & Ray Talamantes.

• Friday, January 6th: Mallory Anna Schlinger, Marianne Christensen, Kevin Jensen, Tammy Busho, Todd Nelson.

• Saturday, January 7th: Rodney Peterson, Gary Ayers, Stacy Jensen Pirkl,  Karina Thompson.

• Sunday, January 8th: (Elvis Presley) Cameron Schember, Mike Marcus, Terry Pelzl, Dan Reese, David Jensen, Ryan Benning, Jennifer Rechtzigel, Brandon Borchert, John & Melissa Marlin.

• Monday, January 9th: Melinda Hanson Talamanates, Lisa Dunn Wayne, Mark Lee, Adam Deml, Jay Wangsness, Steve Vanden Heuvel, Becky Wayne Clark, Larry Jensen, Allen Dobberstein, Allan Swearingen, Dan & Lavonne Nelson.

• Tuesday, January 10th: Sue Hunnicutt, Gary Nelson, Eldert & Avis DeRaad, Robert & Eleanor Leiser.

• Wednesday, January 11th: Joyce Sward, Melissa Farr, Rick Hanson, Nanko DeRaad, Deb Robertson Hare, Brad Nelson, Kelly Reichl, Alvin & Ardys Nelson, Dennis & Barb Grunwald.

May the year ahead bring you a world of pleasures.­

Here we go again! We are now descending on another year and just like trolling an unfamiliar lake, we never know what will be lurking around the next bend. With this in mind, I hope everyone has a safe and healthy 2012.

When thinking about past fishing experiences, one of my most memorable experiences doesn’t even involve fish. On one summer outing to the cabin with my grandson Trevor, we had a pretty unique experience. We decided to do what has become a routine occurrence each year, a visit Spider Lake for a little fishing. 

Spider has been and probably still is my favorite lake to spend time on. It has so much beauty that even a poor fishing day can be totally enjoyable just because of the scenery that surrounds you.

On this particular visit, we were heading down the lake to the part of the lake that is referred to as 3rd lake. As we sped into the narrows between 2nd and 3rd, Trevor started pointing and yelling, and at first, I didn’t see what he was excited about. But then, I noticed off to my left a calf moose attempting to climb out of the water onto a small island that sits near the narrows. I slowed the boat so that we could watch as the calf made its way onto shore and into the woods. You could barely see its mother watching from the cover of the trees. This was indeed a special memory that Trevor and I will always share.

Making memories in the great outdoors with family is indeed something that gives me a lot of satisfaction. As I reflect on other events, I guess I could actually take any one of the grandsons and find a story to tell about their outdoor experiences that I’ve been fortunate enough to witness. This is what makes spending time in the outdoors with family special. Watching nature do its thing is so great because you never know what natural wonder you will be able to observe at any given time.

— — —

In the aftermath of this year’s firearms deer hunting season, there was indeed a downside. The number of citations issued and also a number of firearms seized. The DNR issued the following report:

DNR cites 144 with baiting; seizes 134 firearms/bows.

Conservation officer weekly activity reports confirm what officials with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) already suspected: Deer baiting was pervasive during the 2011 big game season.

DNR conservation officers issued 144 citations, issued 24 warnings and seized 134 firearms/bows in baiting relation investigations during the 2011 bow, firearms and muzzleloader seasons. It’s the highest number of baiting citations issued during the deer hunting seasons since the DNR began tracking these violations in 1991.

“It seems that every year our officers are spending more and more time responding to complaints about baiting or discovering it while on patrol,” said Lt. Col. Rodmen Smith, DNR Enforcement assistant director. “It’s become a very common violation.”

Deer baiting is strategically placing a pile of food near deer stands or clearings with the intent of luring a deer into close hunting range. It has been illegal to bait deer in Minnesota since 1991.

Conservation Officer Marty Stage of Ely said he spent a lot of the big game season “chasing violators illegally baiting deer. The practice has certainly not gone away or apparently even slowed,” Stage said.

The fine for illegal baiting is $300, plus $80 or so in court costs. Another $500 can be tagged on for restitution if a deer is seized. Guns may be confiscated as well.

“It is pretty sad when the rifle that has been handed down for generations is lost forever due to unethical hunting,” said Conservation Officer Darin Fagerman of Grand Marais. “Grandpa might not be too happy about that either.”

Smith said he is hopeful that by releasing the numbers on illegal baiting activities, it sends a message that Minnesota values it natural resources and there is a price for engaging in this activity.

— — —

 In my last column, I had written a little about my grandson Trevor catching walleyes in the channel and releasing a 10-12 inch fish. In that same instance, I also said that my own personal slot limit was between 14 and 20. Somehow, the person that put my story in the paper must have misunderstood and used a sub header hinting that I recommended keeping walleyes between 10-20 inches. I will never tell another fisherman what size fish to keep. If a fish falls within the legal size limit, then it should be up to the fisherman. Always keep in mind that you are only allowed one walleye per person over 20-inches. That is the law.

There were some walleye being caught in the channel by Frank Hall Park this past week. You could have probably guessed this by the number of fishermen that you’ve been seeing on the ice this past week. It looks like the time is right for some action so you might want to give it a try.

Until next time, play safe, watch out for thin ice, good fish’n and enjoy the Minnesota outdoors experience.

Please remember to keep our troops in your thoughts and prayers during the holidays and the coming year. They are the reason we are able to enjoy all the freedoms that we have today.

Echoes from the Loafers' Club Meeting

"How come you never offer me a penny for my thoughts?"

"It's because your thoughts aren't worth a penny."

"Some are."

"Which ones?"

“It'll cost you a penny to find out."

Driving by the Bruces

 I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: if you plan to take the road less traveled, make sure you have enough gas.

I've learned

1. It, is, easy, to, use, too, many, commas.

2. I like warm sheets and cold pillows.

3. That it's not really tailgating if the bumpers aren't touching.

Scene from a marriage

I made a mistake while shopping. I bought something that required sizing. Husbands should tread lightly in the arena of buying things that come in specific sizes. I made a further error by buying it in a size that was too big for my bride. Egad! If you are going to buy something for your wife and you are not sure of the size, tend to buy it in a size too small. You will still be wrong, but you will be complimentary. Remember the man’s rule — never overestimate age, weight, or size.

Dying to be there

Deb Kenison of Ellendale said that she once asked her father if he was going to a man's funeral. Her father replied, "No. Why should I? He's not going to go to mine."

Counting birds and sweet rolls

I was tired. I had been up late working and then up early to do a Christmas Bird Count. I had just finished a long hike in pursuit of bird sightings and was feeling a bit peckish. I stopped at a supermarket to buy a sweet roll. The cashier asked how many baked items were in my bag. I told him one. He asked me if I was sure. Well, of course, I was sure. I told him that he could count it if he liked. He said that wouldn't be necessary and rang up my purchase. I got to the car and opened the bag. There were two rolls in it. I had bought one for my wife. My mind, groggy and preoccupied with birds, had forgotten the second roll. I rushed back into the store and paid the cashier for the second roll.

I hoped I had been better at counting birds than I’d been at counting sweet rolls.

Those thrilling days of yesteryear

It snowed. It was a hard snow.

I tried not to get my hopes up, but it kept snowing. I debated whether it was worth doing my homework. Why would I do homework if school was going to be canceled?

It continued to snow. I listened to the guy on the radio give the school closings. He was likely enjoying his peak audience.

I listened and waited. And waited. And waited.

School was closed — finally.

I high-fived the disembodied voice of a radio announcer that I would never meet.

Good things do come to those who wait.

Did you know?

If JFK were alive today, he would be 94.

U.S. Census Bureau figures show that 20 percent of jewelry store sales happen in December.

Ten percent of Americans play golf.

The corner of the mouth is called a “wick."

According to Roll Call, the total Congressional net worth has increased 24% since 2008.

Artificial Christmas trees make up 61% of the market.

Colonel is an honorary title given to all auctioneers; not all use it. It comes from the Civil War. Only those officers with the rank of at least a colonel could divide the spoils of war, using the bidding process for this purpose.

Nature notes

According to recent press release, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch for 2010-11 showed the chickadee as the most common bird at the feeders. It was followed in order by the downy woodpecker, blue jay, dark-eyed junco, white-breasted nuthatch, American goldfinch, hairy woodpecker, northern cardinal, house finch, and house sparrow. House sparrows and European starlings are showing a decline and Cooper's hawks are being seen at more feeders than ever before.

Talking to the Holstein

I was talking to the Holstein the other day. The Holstein is a retired milk cow, so she has time to talk. I asked the Holstein if she made New Year’s resolutions.

The Holstein chewed her cud thoughtfully and said, “I have resolved to say only nice things about people. I do hope that it doesn’t prove to be a vow of silence.”

Meeting adjourned

“Forget injuries, never forget kindness.”—Confucius

The scurs were on target with the Thursday/Friday precipitation events but failed miserably to predict the New Year’s Eve. Oh well, at least they got the New Year’s Day flurries right. Will we continue on our warm streak? Starting Wednesday, mostly clear with highs of 35 and lows of 25. Thursday, mostly sunny with highs of 40 – 45 and lows around 30. Partly cloudy Friday and warmer with highs of 45 and lows dropping to 25. Partly cloudy and cooler on Saturday with highs of 30 - 35 and lows near 20. Sunday, partly cloudy with highs of 25 – 30 and lows near 20. Partly cloudy on Monday with highs around 35 and lows near 15. Tuesday, cloudy with a chance of snow developing. Highs of 35 – 40 and lows of 10 – 15. The normal high for January 9th is 23 and the normal low is 5. On January 4th we will be back over 9 hours of daylight, having gained a whole 7 minutes since the winter solstice. We’ll keep gaining about a minute a day until about the 15th. The scurs will be putting out that patio furniture before you know it, the stuff that didn’t blow away last fall that is.

The Full Moon for the month of January falls on the 9th and is known by several names. Most popular among them is probably the Full Wolf Moon, due to the wolves that could be heard howling outside the Indian winter encampments. It has also been known as the Old Moon or The Moon after the Yule. The Ojibwe called this the Great Spirit Moon and the Sioux by several names, including the Moon of Strong Cold, Moon When Wolves Run Together and the Moon When Frost is in the Teepee. Am guessing the frost in the teepee didn’t have anything to do with being out carousing with their little fat buddies in those days.

Speaking of the little fat buddies, a special thank you to all of those who supplied extra Christmas goodies at the Mall for Men. They were so numerous it’s tough to remember who brought what in but were most appreciated by all of us. With all the slippery conditions and high wind warnings (both inside and out) there’s no question we needed all the additional ballast we could get. 

What a confusing holiday season we’ve just been through. With Christmas and New Year’s Day both on Sunday, it was difficult to tell what to do on Monday. Since banks, the Post Office and many other businesses were closed, it didn’t make a lot of sense to go into work. However, it always makes for guilty feelings that you really should be there, NOT! Given the amount of leftover stuff to be done after both holidays, those days were reserved to play catch up and to visit with family. It still seems strange to see bowl games played after New Year’s Day. Used to be that day was reserved for the major bowls and the national champion was decided. Now it stretches on for weeks and without some heavy duty channel surfing, one never knows what is on when anymore. Guess what? If you thought the 2011 holiday season was screwed up, wait until December. With 2012 being a leap year, Christmas and New Year’s will be on Tuesday. Oh goody!

The goldfinches are becoming more faithful at the bird feeders once again. The strong winds had them holed up somewhere but once they subsided, the little olive birds were back after sunflower and thistle seed. There are still a few of the regulars such as juncos, blue jays, nuthatches, downies and hairies but the chickadees are AWOL again. The squirrels appear content to clean up under the feeders and ignore the ear corn set out for them. Rather than face Ruby’s wrath, they drag ears from the field up in the yard. Others have mentioned similar goings on at and around their feeders. Perhaps with a little consistent snow cover we’d see a resurgence in bird numbers and variety. 

The lack of snow has also impacted something one wouldn’t think of: the sheep. Since there is no automatic waterer, only a large water tank with a heater in it, one knows approximately how much water they go through on a daily basis. With our brood ewe numbers down from last year one would think the water consumption would be down as well. Wrong-O! Apparently they were eating a fair amount of snow last year so the tank only needed to be filled about every three days. This year filling the tank and draining the hose is an every-other-day occurrence.   

Since the days are getting longer it was time to take a look at some of those garden catalogs that arrived. There are a few new items that caught my interest although nothing really new in the winter squash department. There are some new gourds that could be fun to grow. Because they are so competitive, producing gourds is a little growing weeds; the level of management required is pretty low. In honor of all the seed catalogs arriving, I decided on New Year’s Day to plant the amaryllis bulb Mrs. Cheviot had given me for Christmas before it popped its head out of the box. It’s amazing how that coconut growth medium expands to fill a container after adding warm water. Once planted, the amaryllis was placed in the south-facing living room. After a night of celebratory respiration in the newfound moisture, the sprout began showing signs of phototropism the next day, attracted to the morning light. This is a live one and will need to be turned regularly. 

Mrs. Cheviot and several other acquaintances have contacted the alien once again. With the amount of barking she was doing though, I was debating about hauling her down to Little Jerusalem to see Ruby’s veterinarian. It’s easy to get run down this time of year and even easier to not eat right. There are so many sweets and high carb foods around without much for fruit and veggies typically. Oh well, after a week or so of me doing it all she’s starting to come around. When Ruby does her hot potato impression and sleeps on Mrs. Cheviot’s lap, it helps keep the veterinarian away.  

See you next week…real good then.

Remembering the life of Rev. Dee Dunn…

Delores “Dee” Dunn, was born on December 17, 1930, in Flint, Michigan, the daughter of David and Madeline E. (Buckarma) Sabbadino.  

Dee graduated from Beecher high school in 1949 where she excelled as an athlete in basketball, softball, track and field hockey.  She graduated in 1954 from Michigan State College, majoring in teaching, with a focus in Physical Education and Science.  

Dee married Wallace A. Dunn of Ellendale MN on July 31, 1954 and raised three children: David Brandt Dunn of Chicago, IL, Lisa Dunn (husband Bob Wayne) of Ellendale, MN and Leah (Ruth) Scott (husband Bill) of Anchor Point, AK.

Dee taught physical education and health classes in Ellendale, MN for a few years after she got married. Then in 1972, she received a degree in nursing, and worked at various hospitals and at the Sweere chiropractic office in Owatonna.  Her desire to help people led her to go back to school to get a Masters degree in counseling & social work from Mankato State University in 1979.  Dee assisted many people in her work as a counselor at Fountain Lake treatment center in Albert Lea, and at the Mower county mental health center in Austin.  Dee’s passion and faith in God called her forward to obtain a Masters of Divinity degree from the United Theological Seminary in New Brighton, MN in 1985. She was later ordained at Judson Baptist Church in Minneapolis in 1986.  She worked for a time as an assistant minister at First Baptist in St. Paul and then continued her work in family practice at Lutheran Social Services in the Twin Cities & in private practice.   Dee also worked as a Chaplin at Hudson Foods in Albert Lea and volunteered her time to work with people in the hospice program in Owatonna.

Dee’s passion was to help people on their life journeys, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Her quest to be close to God was fulfilled through her work to help people.  She was an avid reader and enjoyed traveling to many sacred sites around the world.

Dee died peacefully on Thursday, December 29, 2011 at the Good Samaritan Society in Albert Lea.  She was 81. She will be greatly missed by all her family and friends. 

She is survived by her children, her sister Rozella Merhish of Green Bay, WI, her brother Joe (Julie) Sabbadino of Greenville, SC, and two nephews, David and Daniel Sabbadino.  

Her parents preceded her in death.  A memorial service will be held later this spring.  Memorials can be sent to the Crossroads Community Hospice in Albert Lea, MN.

REASON TO SMILE — NRHEG sophomore Carlie Wagner wore a big smile after being presented a special basketball by coach John Schultz after scoring her 1,000th career point at St. Peter last Thursday. (Star Eagle photo by Chris Schlaak)

Sophomore hits milestone as NRHEG girls stay undefeated

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

Carlie Wagner tops 1,000 career points, the NRHEG girls’ basketball team powers its way to a tournament championship and, along the way, remains undefeated.

Just another day at the gym for the Panthers.

Wagner, just a sophomore, reached the 1,000-point milestone for her career as the Panthers dominated St. Peter 70-44 for the title in the St. Peter Holiday Classic that wrapped up last Thursday.

Wagner, who entered the game needing 17 points for 1,000, was battling a cold and wasn’t feeling 100 percent before the game. Nevertheless, she got the milestone out of the way in the first half, finishing with 27 points, seven rebounds and four assists. She was named the tournament’s MVP.

According to coach John Schultz, Wagner was not a one-player show.

“We played a complete game, the whole team played well,” said Schultz. “Our defense created a lot of turnovers that cashed into points.”

By JIM LUTGENS

Editor/Publisher

The NRHEG boys’ basketball team lost in the consolation championship game of the Bethany Lutheran Holiday Classsic in Mankato Dec. 27-29.

The Panthers, who won one of three games, improved their record to 3-8 overall. They’re 1-4 in the Gopher Conference.

The Panthers fell 75-65 to St. Croix Lutheran in the opener Dec. 27.

St. Croix used pressure defense to force 14 NRHEG turnovers and take a 48-30 halftime lead.

“St. Croix did a nice job penetrating and back cutting and got numerous shots in the paint,” said Panthers coach Pat Churchill. “Their defense is in your face and aggressive. They play up the line and we were struggling to get into our offense. We were tentative and relaxed and they took it to us and got the big first-half lead.”

The Panthers improved in the second half, pulling within six at one point. But they got no closer.