Thursday’s results

EGF 160 021 0 – 10 9 3

OMA 004 104 0 – 9 9 2

WP – Satterlund; LP – Bush

Highlights – EGF: Jace Van Eps 2×3, HR, 2 runs, 3 RBI, Erickson 1×4, 2B, 2 RBI, McDonald 2×2, 2B, Nowacki 1×3, 2 RBI, L. Anderson 1×3, 2B

UNI 002 000 2 – 4 10 0

EGF 000 010 0 – 1 5 2

WP – Culhane; LP – Hams

Highlights – EGF: Erickson 2×3, RBI, Varnson 1×3, run; UB: Vanis 4×4, 2B, Newton 2×3, 2 RBI, Yanez 2×4, 2B

GRA 030 000 03 – 6 6 1

WES 001 000 20 – 3 1 2

WP – Haagenson; LP – Brown

Highlights – GF: Schauer 3×4, 2B, Hensrud 2×3, Haagenson 9 Ks; W: Sweeney 1×1

GRA 100 10 – 2 6 1

BEN 111 52 – 10 9 0

WP – Utterback; LP – Tostenson

Highlights – GF: Haagenson 2×2, 2 2Bs, Larson 2×2, 2B; B: Kortan 2×3, HR, 3 RBI, Gifford 2×2, 2B, 3 runs

JAM 401 01 – 6 8 5

GRA 530 44 – 16 9 1

WP – Twedt; LP – Anderson

Highlights – J: Maulding 3×3, 2 2Bs, 4 RBI, Trumbauer 2×3, Dobson 1×2, 2B, 2 runs; GF: Widstrup 2×3, 2 runs, 2 RBI, 2B, Bouvette 1×4, 2B, 4 RBI, Houser 2×2, Waldorf 1×2, 2B, 2 runs, 2 RBI

All-conference team

Ada-Borup-West – Austin McCraven, Ames Fassino; Badger/Greenbush-Middle River – Taylor Davy; Fertile-Beltrami – Caleb Sather, Easton Petry; Fosston – Jakob Rudie, Will Christen; Kittson County Central – Brock Scalese; Norman Co. East/Ulen-Hitterdal – Will Jirik; Northern Freeze – Isaak Anderson, Alex Bray; Red Lake County – Will Gieseke, Gunnar Halverson, Ben Gullingsrud; Sacred Heart – Parker Erickson, Elliot Arntson, Nick Satterlund, Isaac Sundby; West Marshall – Derek Moehrle, Blaine Smith, Ethan Ellerbush; Win-E-Mac – Braylon Hamre, Bergen Howard, Owen Strom

Conference awards

MVP – Parker Erickson, Sacred Heart

Offensive Player of the Year – Austin McCraven, ABW

Pitcher of the Year – Braylon Hamre, WEM

Coach of the Year – Mike Gullingsrud, RLC

Ada-Borup-West – Austin McCraven; Blackduck – Wilson Lien, Jayden Rockis; Fertile-Beltrami – Kolby Hemma, Bryer Strem; Fosston – Ryne Duppong, Jake Howard, Jakob Rudie; Mahnomen-Waubun – Easton Bevins; Norman County East/Ulen-Hitterdal – Trig Anderson; Red Lake County – Will Gieseke, Ben Gullingsrud, Kegan Schmitz, Brock Seeger, Gunnar Halverson; EGF Sacred Heart – Elliot Arntson, Parker Erickson, David Larson; West Marshall – Derek Moehrle; Win-E-Mac – Braylon Hamre, Bergen Howard, Kolten Schow, Owen Strom

Coach of the Year – Mike Gullingsrud, Red Lake County

Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton – Wes Hoover, Alex Anderson, Dylan Anderson; EGF Senior High – Jace VanEps, Brody Anderson, Carson McDonald, Rylee Hams; Hawley – Tommy Slette, Wyatt Jetvig; Ottertail Central – Erik Fick, Kale Misegades; Park Rapids – Deshawn Clark; Perham – Ashton Detloff, Drew Ellington, Ty Rooney, Gavin Griffin, Alex Blume; Roseau – A.J. Klint, Eli Wensloff; Thief River Falls – Gannon Zutz, Jaxon Hams, Noah Gonzales, Bodhi Mossestad; Warroad – Liam Grover, Kason Pietruszewski

Coach of the Year – James Mulcahy, Perham

June 19, 2025 6:00 am

If you live in a small town, you probably have fewer grocery stores than you did 30 years ago — and fewer choices inside them.

Independent grocers have disappeared, replaced by big national chains that now decide what’s on the shelves, how much it costs, and who gets to profit.

In 1990, the top four grocery chains controlled just 13% of nationwide sales. By 2019, the top four retailers — Walmart, Kroger, Costco, and Ahold Delhaize — controlled 34% of U.S. grocery sales, according to the USDA.

That concentration hasn’t gone unnoticed. Just last year, the Federal Trade Commission and nine states sued to block a $25 billion merger between grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons, arguing that the deal would harm both shoppers and workers by reducing competition, increasing prices, and consolidating power into fewer hands. The merger has since unraveled, but only after a court battle and mounting public pressure.

In rural counties, market concentration more than doubled between 1990 and 2019, according to USDA data.

One way to measure concentration is the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), a tool used to track monopoly risk. In rural areas, HHI scores jumped from 3,104 to 5,584 — more than twice the threshold where federal antitrust regulators start to worry about competition. According to a 2023 USDA report, the USDA considers anything above 2,500 is considered highly concentrated.

Now that trend may speed up. The White House has proposed nearly $7 billion in USDA budget cuts, including $721 million from Rural Development programs — the ones that help small towns open grocery stores and other local businesses. One program on the chopping block is the Rural Business-Cooperative Service. Loan funding for community facilities and rural businesses would also drop by 45%, with no new grant dollars offered.

At the same time, the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative discusses improving nutrition, but proposes cuts to the very programs that help people buy food, including Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), school meal equipment, and farm-to-school efforts.

The bottom line? Rural communities already hit hardest by grocery consolidation are now facing even more roadblocks.

This article first appeared on Investigate Midwest and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://investigatemidwest.org/2025/06/18/usda-data-highlights-monopoly-risk-in-rural-grocery-markets/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } }

https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/usda-data-highlights-monopoly-risk-in-rural-grocery-markets/

Meet our Boys Lacrosse All-CVC Team including Hopewell Valley’s Luke Caldwell as our Player of the Year and Matt Foret as our Coach of the Year

Originally Published: June 19, 2025 at 6:15 PM EDT

Beeville ISD administrators presented a comprehensive update to the Board of Trustees this week, detailing major strides in summer learning, facility upgrades, financial stability and staff development as the district prepares for the 2025–26 school year.

Chief of Staff Erika Vasquez opened with instructional highlights, applauding administrators for leading professional development sessions and supporting students through the district’s summer school and enrichment programs. Robotics and culinary camps saw strong participation, and Vasquez emphasized the ongoing curriculum planning by teachers to ensure a strong start in August.

COO Dr. Thomas Lawing outlined a busy summer of operations. He reported deep cleaning and maintenance work across campuses, inventory upgrades in the technology department, and several transportation updates. A new regular education bus will replace a delayed special education bus purchase, which will now be rescheduled for next fiscal year. The Child Nutrition department has already served 678 breakfasts and 1,614 lunches in the first two weeks of summer.

Bond projects are also moving forward, including the A.C. Jones High School restroom addition and auditorium renovations. A previously undetected leak was discovered during the demo process and will be addressed through a change order.

Chief of Police Art Gomez spoke on security initiatives, highlighting the district’s advanced level of preparedness. Officers participated in youth mental health and emergency response training, and Beeville ISD hosted a full-scale active attacker simulation involving multiple agencies. Gomez noted that other districts across Texas have reached out to learn from Beeville’s school-based law enforcement model.

Dr. Darryl Cobb, Chief of Human Resources, presented progress on the district’s “Grow Your Own” initiative with Grand Canyon University. Sixteen employees without undergraduate degrees began coursework in June, each receiving an average of $30,000 in grant funding. Participants are on track to earn degrees and certifications within two to three years, with some already expected to be classroom-ready by next year.

Chief Financial Officer Dela Castillo reported a projected year-end surplus of $40,000 and noted that outstanding purchase orders are being closed ahead of the annual audit. The Child Nutrition department is expected to finish in the black and contribute $180,000 in indirect costs to the general fund. The bond program has spent more than $6 million to date, and investments have earned more than $243,000 in interest.

Athletic Director Richard Vasquez shared a positive update on student athletics, noting that 18 student-athletes have committed to compete at the next level. Summer strength and conditioning programs, along with sports camps, are in full swing. Vasquez praised his coaching staff and credited their leadership for the minimal turnover going into the next school year. He also mentioned ongoing interviews for key coaching vacancies, including soccer and tennis.

Beeville ISD’s board expressed appreciation for the detailed updates and commended the district’s continued commitment to growth, safety, and academic and athletic excellence.

PRINCETON — Mercer County Executive Dan Benson highlighted financial recovery and infrastructure progress during his 2025 State of the County address Tuesday at a Princeton-Mercer Chamber of Commerce gathering.

Benson said the county overcame financial challenges through cost-saving measures and operational changes implemented over the past year.

“Last year, when I spoke, I was clear about the challenges ahead. We were in a tough financial spot,” said Benson. “So we rolled up our sleeves, we tightened our belts, and we went to work.”

The county executive outlined infrastructure projects completed or underway, including breaking ground on Trenton Thunder ballpark upgrades, launching the South Broad Street Vision Plan and making improvements at Trenton Mercer Airport. Other projects include reconstruction of the Eagle Tavern, plans to extend the Johnson Trolley Line Trail and restoration of the Montgomery Street Bridge.

Benson said his administration expanded social services, strengthened public health and safety programs, promoted diversity in vendor procurement and established the Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs.

“Now, Mercer County is planting seeds for our future, and that future is bright,” said Benson. “Because Mercer is a special place, and we believe that it should be leading the way. We want to set the standard. We want to show the entire region how government can and should work for people.”

Benson emphasized collaboration with the Board of County Commissioners and coordination with the county’s 12 municipalities.

“For the first time in a long time, there’s real energy and excitement about the future of Mercer County and our Capital City,” said Benson. “Because of the hard work of this amazing team, I can say with confidence that the state of Mercer County is much better today than it was just a year ago.”

“Over the past year it’s been great to see so many people excited again about what our County government is doing,” said Board of Commissioners Chair Kristin McLaughlin after the speech. “We’re proud of the partnership we’ve built with the County Executive, and of everything that we’re doing together to move Mercer County forward.”