Pipestone County Star

A routing open house is planned for Tuesday, June 2 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at St. Leo Catholic Church. Representatives of Xcel Energy presented preliminary route options for the PowerOn Midwest transmission line project to the Pipestone County Commissioners during their May 12 meeting. The proposed 750 kilovolt (kV) transmission line would run from the South Dakota border across southern Minnesota....

The first filing period for candidates in the Nov. 3 election opens at 8 a.m. Tuesday, May 19 and ends Tuesday, June 2 at 5 p.m. This filing period is for federal, state, county and city of Pipestone offices. There is a second candidate filing period for all other cities, townships that hold elections in November and school districts in the county. That filing period begins July 14 and ends July 2...

MARSHALL — Southwest Minnesota Christian/Edgerton standout athlete Jonah Uilk will keep a certain directional component this coming fall. That’s because Uilk has signed with Southwest Minnesota State University, set to compete for the Mustangs in both track and field and cross country. “SMSU was in a list of colleges that I had heard of,” Uilk said in an email to the Pipestone County Star, “and wa...

LUVERNE — Pipestone Area Schools competed at the Big South Conference small school championships on Thursday, May 7. Cardinal Field was an electric place to be as track and field athletes attempted to earn all-conference honors (which went to the top-three in individual events and top-two relays. What’s more, the St. James-Madelia boys and Luverne girls earned championship bars. While the Arrows f...

BENSON — The Pipestone Area Schools’ boys tennis team wrapped up the regular season with a match against Benson/Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg. “Benson has a good team, up and down the line-up,” PAS head coach James Skyberg said. Skyberg reported the Arrows will only play in the singles draw at the upcoming Section 3A individual tournament scheduled for Redwood Valley High School. That means expect to...

REDWOOD FALLS — For the second consecutive year, Pipestone Area Schools’ golfer Vivian Brockberg is an all-Big South Conference performer. Brockberg finished sixth overall in the season standings, moving up from ninth spot during the 2025 campaign. “All-conference, obviously, was a goal for her,” PAS head coach Grant Everson said. “She was rewarded.” On Monday, the conference slate had its climax...

Punk and heavy metal bands have nothing on the Pipestone Area Schools’ baseball team. See, the Arrows endured a “mosh pit” schedule last week versus Big South Conference contenders Windom Area and Fairmont (which was a doubleheader) and a home date versus Murray County Central Thursday, May 7. The Rebels are unbeaten, rolling through their schedule like a hot knife buttering sweet summer corn. MCC...

The Pipestone Athletics would have savored a win over the Milroy Irish in the Gopher League opener on Sunday, May 9 at City Field. That didn’t materialize, however, as the Irish scored at least one run in every single inning for a 14-5 victory. “Our goal is to compete to win,” Athletics manager Avery Ploeger said. “I thought we put out the best lineup for a chance to do that.” Still, Ploeger has t...

JACKSON — The Pipestone Area Schools’ softball team earned second place at the Jackson County Central Tournament on Saturday, May 9. During the event, Arrows’ Kaysa Douty and Amyra Mahik both homered and PAS showed on-field improvement after a period of struggles. PAS has won four of its past six games, and now stand at 9-10 on the season. “We played a lot better defensively,” PAS head coach Rober...

The Minnesota State High School League has conducted draws for the upcoming softball and boys tennis playoffs. Pipestone Area Schools’ softball team has been seeded second, facing No. 7 Worthington at 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 19, in a Section 3AA South subsection opening- round game at Paulsen Athletic Complex. No. 3 Windom Area will play No. 6 Luverne following the Arrows-Trojans game. The winners wil...

The Elk Nation Hall of Fame conducted its Hall of Fame ceremony on Saturday, April 25 at the Elkton Community Center. The 2026 inductees are (from left), Steve Brown, Nikki (Kinner) Holmen, Michelle Gilbertson, Mary Jo Culhane, Annette Stein and Joyce Kramer. Inductee Jayne Duin is not photographed. This photo was contributed to the Pipestone County Star.  Article Link

WOODSTOCK — The Woodstock Community Club will have summer recreation offerings. Club officials have reported O’Hearn Field will be available for use — from practices to games. There will be a men’s slowpitch softball league, which will travel on Tuesday nights. Youth T-ball will be offered for children in second grade and younger. This program will run for five straight Monday nights from June 8-J...

Three local high school wrestlers were named academic all-state selections. The Minnesota Wrestling Coaches Association and The Guillotine publication announced the team in a press release dated Thursday, May 7. Pipestone Area Schools’ Mason Fruechte and Marshall’s Brayden Chandler (a student at Russell-Tyler-Ruthton) and Lincoln Christenson were chosen. Fruechte was 34-9 during the 2025-26 season...

Thursday, May 14 Amateur Baseball 7:30 p.m., Elkton Snappers at Flandreau Blue Teal High School Baseball 4:30 p.m., Mountain Lake Area-Comfrey at Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian 4:30 p.m., Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove at Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (Ruthton) 5:30 p.m., Worthington at Pipestone Area (A’s/City Field) Softball 4:30 p.m., Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian at Mountain...

For Pipestone Area Schools senior golfer Vivian Brockberg, the weather keeps changing. Especially during her home meets. “The day started okay,” PAS head girls coach Grant Everson said, “It was sunny, and not too bad. But, by her fifth or sixth hole, the winds picked up and it was cloudy and cold.” Still, Brockberg managed a third-place finish at the second girls Big South division event at Pipest...

The Class AA fourth-ranked Jackson County Central softball team is as advertised. With quality pitching and mashers up and down the batting order, the Huskies took care of Pipestone Area Schools in a Big South Conference doubleheader at the Paulsen Athletic Complex on Thursday, April 30. “They have pitching depth,” PAS head coach Robert Petersen said, “and from No. 1 to No. 9, there’s not a hole i...

BLUE EARTH — The Pipestone Area Schools baseball team enjoyed its long bus ride home on Thursday, April 30. That’s because the Arrows swept Blue Earth Area by scores of 9-1 (Game One) and 11-1 (Game Two, reduced to five innings by the mercy rule). “Well, in baseball, you can’t take anything for granted,” PAS head coach Rick Zollner said. The Arrows are now creeping back toward the .500 mark, with...

The Pipestone Athletics’ amateur baseball team opened the 2026 season at the Flandreau Blue Teal this past Sunday. And this Sunday, May 10, Pipestone plays host to the Gopher League opener versus the Milroy Irish. The first pitch is set for 2 p.m. at A’s/City Field. “Milroy is a tough game, and they have a good squad,” Pipestone head coach Avery Ploeger said. “We’re looking forward to the challeng...

INFORMATION CALENDAR Thursday, May 7 Baseball 4:30 p.m., Murray County Central at Pipestone Area (A’s/City Field) 4:30 p.m., Heron Lake-Okabena-Fulda at Russell-Tyler-Ruthton (Ruthton, Parents Night) 4:30 p.m., Edgerton/Southwest Minnesota Christian at Adrian-Ellsworth Boys and Girls Golf 9 a.m., Elkton-Lake Benton at Colman-Egan Invitational (Sunrise Ridge, Colman, S.D.) 4 p.m., Windom Area at Pi...

The Pipestone Area Schools’ boys tennis team dropped three matches last week against staunch competition. Redwood Valley topped the Arrows, 7-0, on Tuesday, April 28 — followed by a 7-0 road loss to St. James Area on Thursday, April 30. Fairmont defeated PAS, 6-1, on Friday, May 1, with Joel Cardenas earning the team’s lone victory. PAS played at home versus Worthington on Tuesday, May 5, before t...

Shots were fired on Saturday, May 2 at the Pipestone Sportsmen’s Club shooting range. Those shots marked the beginning of the year for the venue, which conduct its fourth annual fundraiser banquet on Friday, May 8 at the Pipestone National Guard Armory. The event begins with a social hour and drawing sales at 5 p.m. — followed by the dinner at 6:30 p.m. Dinner will be provided by the Pipestone Cou...

Pipestone Area Schools’ student Lane Fruechte competed at the Minnesota/USA Wrestling freestyle tournament last weekend in Rochester. The meet was conducted at Rochester Community & Technical College. Fruechte finished fifth in the Junior 138-pound bracket. Mason Fruechte also competed in the tournament (Junior 144). Lane Fruechte (shown in the photograph at the far right) earned fifth on a me...

MARSHALL — Southwest Minnesota State University pitcher Cody Wichmann just wrapped up his junior season playing baseball. Wichmann, during the 2026 season, was named National College Baseball Writers Association Central Region pitcher of the week, and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference pitcher of the week once (Feb. 25). A former Russell-Tyler-Ruthton student-athlete, Wichmann pitched in 13 g...

The City of Pipestone Parks and Recreation Department has announced its offering the annual trip to see the Minnesota Twins play. This season, local fifth- and sixth-graders will have the opportunity to watch the Twins play the Cleveland Guardians in this American League Central clash. The Twins-Guardians game is set for Thursday, July 9, with the first pitch at 12:40 p.m. Cleveland currently lead...

The Pipestone County Board of Appeals during its April 27 meeting approved a variance allowing Allan Hachmann to build a new house less than 150 feet from the center line of U.S. Highway 75, as required by the county’s zoning ordinance. The approval included the condition that the structure be no closer than 125 feet from the center line of the highway. Hachmann said he plans to remove an existing...