Steven A. Lent of Duluth, MN, passed away unexpectedly on Monday, December 15th, 2025 at the age of 75. He was born at St. Luke’s Hospital on August 11th,1950 to Sherman and Alice (Greseth) Lent. He grew up and raised his family in Kenwood. He was a member of First Lutheran Church. He graduated from Duluth Central High School in 1968. He attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth from 1969-1971, then transferred to the University of Minnesota to finish his degree, and graduated in 1973 with a degree in Electrical Engineering. In the summer of 1973 he started working at Minnesota Power. During his time employed at Minnesota Power he worked in many departments, and obtained his Masters Degree in Business Administration from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He worked there his whole career until his retirement in April 2014, after 43 years. 

On September 28th, 1974, he married his beloved wife, Joyce (Handy). Together they raised their two children, Bryan and Becky in Kenwood. He was passionate about and actively involved in youth sports, both as a player and coach. He participated in football and track & field in high school. He participated in track & field at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, and held the shot put record there for many years. He was well known in Duluth and the surrounding area as being “The Home Run Hitter” through his many years of slow pitch softball. He coached many youth sports, making significant impacts on hundreds of children in Duluth. He continued to support youth sports through his adored grandchildren. 

He was preceded in death by his parents, and brother Thomas. He is survived by his loving wife Joyce; Children: Bryan (Ashley) Lent, and Becky Lent (Ty Lounsberry); Grandchildren: Callie Kleiman, Berklee Lent, Trent Lounsberry, and Georgia Lent; Brother-in-law Don Handy and many relatives, and dear friends.

A visitation to celebrate the life of Steve will be held on Friday, January 2nd at Ridgeview Country Club, 700 West Redwing Street, Duluth, MN, 55803; visitation from 1-4pm, light refreshments will be provided.

A private family service and burial will be held at a later date at Park Hill Cemetery in Duluth. Arrangements by Affordable Cremation and Burial.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations in Steve’s honor to The Dick Forbort Fund, Duluth Superior Community Foundation, 324 W Superior St, #700, Duluth, MN, 55802; or https://theranchteammatesforlife.org/donate/

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (VISIT EAU CLAIRE PRESS RELEASE) – Visit Eau Claire, in partnership with the Sonnentag Center, has secured a major national sporting event for 2026, bringing the Pylon 7on7 Flag Football Tournament to the Sonnentag Field House on March 14–15, 2026.

Pylon 7on7 is a premier traveling flag football tournament that attracts elite high school athletes from across the country. The Eau Claire stop is expected to welcome more than 30 teams and over 1,000 athletes, coaches, families, and spectators, generating direct economic impact for the community.

While Pylon 7on7 features high-level flag football competition, the event is widely recognized as a critical exposure platform for student-athletes pursuing collegiate opportunities. Over the past two decades, Pylon has helped produce over three thousand Division I college commits and over 300 NFL alumni, establishing itself as a proven pathway for athletic development, competition, and visibility.

“We’re extremely excited to welcome Pylon 7on7 to Eau Claire,” said Lucas Connolly, Sports Relationship Manager for Visit Eau Claire. “This event brings elite competition to our community and provides young athletes with a platform to compete, be seen, and develop, while highlighting the Sonnentag Center as a top-tier venue for national sporting events.”

Scheduled between Pylon 7on7 events in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, Eau Claire’s inclusion reflects the growing reputation of the region as an attractive host for large-scale sporting events.

“This tournament is another example of how Eau Claire continues to grow as a destination for youth sports, and we are excited to partner with Visit Eau Claire to welcome Pylon 7on7 Football and the many athletes, families, and visitors who will experience our community,” said Steve Kirk, Interim General Manager of the Sonnentag Center.

The event was secured through a collaborative effort between Visit Eau Claire’s sales team and the Sonnentag Center. This partnership reinforces a shared commitment to attracting impactful sporting events that drive visitation, showcase local facilities, and elevate Eau Claire’s profile on a national stage.

Copyright 2025 WEAU. All rights reserved.

With Matthew Knight Arena packed with school kids for a midweek matinee, the viral “6-7” trend created a moment of joyous jubilation late in the third quarter when Jacobs completed a three-point play for the Ducks’ 67th point, on the way to an 85-59 win over Portland. After making the free throw, Jacobs backpedaled down the court making the ubiquitous hand gesture associated with “6-7,” as did hundreds of kids in the arena.

“I don’t know why it’s a thing but it is, and the kids love it,” said Jacobs, who passed up a three-pointer that would have gotten the Ducks to 67 points, instead driving to the hoop and scoring while absorbing contact. “I didn’t know that it was the point to get six-seven. And then they fouled me and I realized, you have to make a free throw. So it was kind of funny.”

Jacobs finished the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds for her second straight double-double, and Katie Fiso finished one rebound shy of a triple-double, tallying 10 points, 11 assists and nine boards. Amina Muhammad added 12 points, while Avary Cain and Sarah Rambus added 11 each.

And the Ducks teamed up to create a core memory for the kids in attendance, peaking with the free throw by Jacobs for the 67th point of the game. UO coach Kelly Graves immediately called timeout, allowing for an extended celebration by the young fans in the stands.

“I just think it’s important to have a game like this for the kids,” Graves said. “That’s a memory that they had today. It was a fun, fun atmosphere. They got to be around their friends, and they were exposed to our basketball team. And you never know what kind of impact it makes.”

The UO women mostly executed with aplomb in the atmosphere, shooting 44.9 percent for the game and committing just 14 turnovers while forcing 24.

“I feel like when we’re having fun, we’re playing the best type of basketball,” Fiso said. “I keep mentioning it — like, we compete in practice, and that’s where we get our sense of joy. We know there’s a fine line, when to be serious and then when to be goofy. I feel like that’s gonna take us far, because we know when to switch that.”

How It Happened: The Ducks took control early by scoring the first seven points of the game, though the start seemed a bit uneven given that the UO women only had three field goals over the first seven minutes of the day. Then Fiso hit a three-pointer and Cain followed with another, and Oregon took a 19-7 lead into the second quarter.

It was 22-9 in the second when the Ducks put together a 9-0 run, with all nine points scored by Muhammad and Cain. Muhammad ended up with 10 points in the period, helping the Ducks take a 44-19 lead into halftime.

“They’re great and they’re amazing,” Fiso said of Muhammad and Cain’s play off the bench. “They came out with a lot of energy, a lot of sense of urgency, too. Just creating the right plays, making the right shots.”

The opening minutes of the second half went back and forth. Portland cut Oregon’s 25-point halftime lead down to 19 a couple of times, the last at 56-37.

“We’re still a pretty young team, all things considered,” Graves said. “We’ve got to learn to come out in that second half and play with the same kind of intensity, and not just trade basket for basket.”

Jacobs, one of Oregon’s most veteran players, led the way out of that span. From the point Portland got within 56-37, Jacobs scored Oregon’s next 11 points, the capper the three-point play for a 67-39 lead.

By the fourth quarter, about the only remaining drama pertained to Fiso’s triple-double chase. She came up just short, but it seems only a matter of time before she notches one.

“I’m happy I can be that person for my team,” Fiso said. “And I know that in order to be great, yes, the assists are cool, but if I want to get to that next level, I gotta start filling up all the other stats. My coaches are on me in film, like, if you want to be great, you got to fill up all the other stuff as well. So that was kind of my initiative.”

Up Next: The Ducks face Stanford at the Women’s Bay Area Classic in San Francisco on Sunday (3 p.m., ESPN).

More Than 550 Boys Volleyball Teams Gather in Los Angeles for SoCal Cup ‘Winter Formal’ Event and College Combine

AIM Sports Group Further Demonstrates its Commitment to Boys Volleyball with Three Days of Unparalleled Competition, Plus a High School College Combine and Junior College Tournament

One of the nation’s leading tournament series for boys volleyball, SoCal Cup, hosted its latest ‘Winter Formal’ tournament at the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC) this past weekend.

Despite construction at LACC, the three-day event, owned and operated by AIM Sports Group, drew more than 550 club volleyball teams of various age groups (12U through 18U) from across the nation. The three-day Winter Formal event packed the Los Angeles Convention Center floor with volleyball courts and a unique fan experience, while drawing a crowd of more than 19,000 daily attendees including athletes, coaches, families, and spectators.

This year’s event also featured a high profile College Combine the day prior, drawing coaches and scouts from more than 25 universities from across the country. With more than 350 young athletes and about 50 coaches participating in the College Combine, the day leading up to the Winter Formal became a unique opportunity for players to get noticed and take their talents to the next level.

In addition, the Winter Formal event provided a venue for a Junior College tournament for 16 Jr. College programs. Many of the recruiting scouts and athletes from that tournament also participated in the Combine.

“The College Combine we had at this year’s SoCal Cup Winter Formal event was an added bonus to what was already an amazing event,” said AIM Sports Group Founder John Gallegos. “The Combine exceeded expectations and further demonstrated our commitment to the development of the sport at all levels. It all ties in with our overarching mission to advance sports performance and enjoyment for youth athletes. AIM Sports Group is all-in on the growth of boys volleyball for generations to come.”

Founded by AIM Sports Group to provide elite competition, developmental playing opportunities, and training for young athletes, the SoCal Cup has grown exponentially over the last five years and is now one of the largest and best-attended youth volleyball event series in the country. The next event, the SoCal Cup Open Championship, will take place January 17-19 in Salt Lake City.

Balboa Bay was the overall tournament-winning club this year, capturing titles in three divisions. The full list of boys volleyball clubs that achieved bragging rights this year by winning their divisions at the Winter Formal event included:

Open:

18 Open: MB Surf 18’s Asics

17 Open: Coast 17-1 Victor/Berkley

16 Open: Balboa Bay 16 Blue

15 Open: Indoor

14 Open: MB Surf 14’s Asics

13 Open: Bay to Bay 13-1

12 Open: Aspire 12 Thanos

Club:

18 Club: Bravo 18-X

17 Club: Balboa Bay 17 White

16 Club: Balboa Bay 16 White

15 Club: Liv 15’s Royal

14 Club: Bay to Bay 14-Club

AIM Sports Group is a premier youth sports enterprise that owns and operates a state-of-the-art facility, premier youth boys volleyball league, regional and national events, and tech & media platforms. AIM is focused on enhancing the journey of youth athletes through innovation and elite competition in sports. Learn more at aimsportsgroup.com.

Learn more about upcoming SoCal Cup events at SoCalCupVolleyball.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Paul Williams, paul@medialinecommunications.com, 310/569-0023

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251218108284/en/

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday unveiled a series of regulatory actions designed to effectively ban gender-affirming care for minors, building on broader Trump administration restrictions on transgender Americans.

The sweeping proposals — the most significant moves this administration has taken so far to restrict the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgical interventions for transgender children — include cutting off federal Medicaid and Medicare funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children and prohibiting federal Medicaid dollars from being used to fund such procedures.

“This is not medicine, it is malpractice,” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said of gender-affirming procedures on children in a news conference on Thursday. “Sex-rejecting procedures rob children of their futures.”

Kennedy also announced Thursday that the HHS Office of Civil Rights will propose a rule excluding gender dysphoria from the definition of a disability.

In a related move, the Food and Drug Administration issued warning letters to a dozen companies that market chest-binding vests and other equipment used by people with gender dysphoria. Manufacturers include GenderBender LLC of Carson, California and TomboyX of Seattle. The FDA letters state that chest binders can only be legally marketed for FDA-approved medical uses, such as recovery after mastectomy surgery.

Proposed rules would threaten youth gender-affirming care in states where it remains legal

Medicaid programs in slightly less than half of states currently cover gender-affirming care. At least 27 states have adopted laws restricting or banning the care. The Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding Tennessee’s ban means most other state laws are likely to remain in place.

Thursday’s announcements would imperil access in nearly two dozen states where drug treatments and surgical procedures remain legal and funded by Medicaid, which includes federal and state dollars.

The proposals announced by Kennedy and his deputies are not final or legally binding. The federal government must go through a lengthy rulemaking process, including periods of public comment and document rewrites, before the restrictions becoming permanent. They are also likely to face legal challenges.

But the proposed rules will likely further intimidate health care providers from offering gender-affirming care to children and many hospitals have already ceased such care in anticipation of federal action.

Nearly all U.S. hospitals participate in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, the federal government’s largest health plans that cover seniors, the disabled and low-income Americans. Losing access to those payments would imperil most U.S. hospitals and medical providers.

The same funding restrictions would apply to a smaller health program when it comes to care for people under the age of 19, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, according to a federal notice posted Thursday morning.

Moves contradict advice from medical organizations and transgender advocates

Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, on Thursday called transgender treatments “a Band-Aid on a much deeper pathology,” and suggested children with gender dysphoria are “confused, lost and need help.”

Polling shows many Americans agree with the administration’s view of the issue. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey conducted earlier this year found that about half of U.S. adults approved of how Trump was handling transgender issues.

Chloe Cole, a conservative activist known for speaking about her gender-transition reversal, spoke at the news conference to express appreciation. She said cries for help from her and others in her situation, “have finally been heard.”

But the approach contradicts the recommendations of most major U.S. medical organizations, including the American Medical Association, which has urged states not to restrict care for gender dysphoria.

Advocates for transgender children strongly refuted the administration’s claims about gender-affirming care and said Thursday’s moves would put lives at risk.

“In an effort to strongarm hospitals into participating in the administration’s anti-LGBTQ agenda, the Trump Administration is forcing health care systems to choose between providing lifesaving care for LGBTQ+ young people and accepting crucial federal funding,” Dr. Jamila Perritt, a Washington-based OB/GYN and president and CEO of Physicians for Reproductive Health, said in a statement. “This is a lose-lose situation where lives are inevitably on the line. “

Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen, senior vice president at The Trevor Project, a nonprofit suicide prevention organization for LBGTQ+ youth, called the changes a “one-size-fits-all mandate from the federal government” on a decision that should be between a doctor and patient.

“The multitude of efforts we are seeing from federal legislators to strip transgender and nonbinary youth of the health care they need is deeply troubling,” he said.

Actions build on a larger effort to restrict transgender rights

The announcements build on a wave of actions President Donald Trump, his administration and Republicans in Congress have taken to target the rights of transgender people nationwide.

On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order that declared the federal government would recognize only two immutable sexes: male and female. He also has signed orders aimed at cutting off federal support for gender transitions for people under age 19 and barring transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.

On Wednesday, a bill that would open transgender health care providers to prison time if they treat people under the age of 18 passed the U.S. House and heads to the Senate. Another bill under consideration in the House on Thursday aims to ban Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for children.

Young people who persistently identify as a gender that differs from their sex assigned at birth are first evaluated by a team of professionals. Some may try a social transition, involving changing a hairstyle or pronouns. Some may later also receive hormone-blocking drugs that delay puberty, followed by testosterone or estrogen to bring about the desired physical changes in patients. Surgery is rare for minors.

___

Shastri reported from Milwaukee. Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill contributed to this report.

Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.