Minneapolis, MN
McFeely: 38 years ago, Spuds went to Minneapolis and brought home state title
MOORHEAD — The Spuds of Moorhead claim two “mythical” high school football state championships, but for very different reasons. Moorhead was declared No. 1 in the state in 1971 by Minneapolis Tribune sports writer Bruce Brothers, who for some reason was given the task of rating teams that season, one year before the Minnesota State High School League began holding playoffs. In 2020, The Associated Press ranked the Spuds No. 1 in Class 5A in a seven-game season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moorhead’s single on-the-field title came in 1987 in Class AA, then the state’s highest of five prep football classifications (AA, A, B, C and 9-man). A 13-7 victory over Winona at the dearly departed Metrodome clinched it for head coach Dan Kostich’s club, with the Spuds getting an early 45-yard touchdown pass from Rick Eidsness to Jay Cerise and two second-half field goals from Greg Reinhiller to provide the margin.
“Moorhead was one of the smallest schools in the largest class 38 years ago and we were the last outstate school that won a state championship in that class,” Kostich said Tuesday from his home in south Florida, where the retired 74-year-old and his wife split time with their longtime house in Moorhead. “Now, of course, they’ve gone to six classes and a 9-man class so things are a little different. I did a little video for those guys the other day as they are preparing to get together in Minneapolis before Moorhead’s game this week. I told them they won 14 games that year, which I believe was the record for football at Moorhead, and that they played 14 games and didn’t lose a fumble. That very rarely happens, so I told them they need to be very proud of that.”
Moorhead has another chance at a state title Friday night, when the Spuds will play Edina for the Class 6A championship at U.S. Bank Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings’ palace that replaced the Metrodome in 2016.
That contest will allow about 20-30 of the ‘87 state champion Spuds to gather and reminisce about their unbeaten season before trekking to the Bank for the scheduled 7 p.m. kickoff to cheer on their alma mater.
The stories will flow.
Newspapers.com
Eidsness, Cerise, Reinhiller, Lance Larson, Chris Bennes, Chris Wanner, Joe Nelson, Scott Videen, Mike Hageman, Scott Gauthier, Chris Olson. Those are just a few of the names from the ‘87 championship roster. Many ex-players are supporting the current Spuds with “87425” posts on social media. (Read it as “‘87 for ‘25.”)
“The memories come flooding back in a heartbeat,” said Dan Altenbernd, a receiver on the Spuds who’s now the CEO of the H2M Brand Haus advertising firm in Fargo. “I had two guys call me this morning and we just talked on the phone and laughed. So much of it comes back to ‘Stich’ and how formidable of a leader he was and how much we admired him. As young people, you don’t really have an appreciation of how old people are. We thought of Kostich as kind of a wily old coach … he was like 36 or 37 years old at the time. Just a young guy. We’re all like 55 now.
“He’d start off his speeches by saying, ‘Fellas ….’ That was his key statement when he was building us up or telling us to do better. ‘Fellas ….’ There was a game at St. Cloud Tech, I think, where we got potatoes thrown at us. Kostich tells us, ‘Fellas, put on your helmets because there might be projectiles.’”
Check it out
Read The Forum’s 1987 newspaper coverage of the Spuds’ championship and more in the archives. Go to newspapers.com.
Those Spuds went through the regular season 9-0 — with lengthy road trips to St. Cloud, Hibbing, Grand Rapids and Superior, Wis. — before walloping Bemidji at Minnesota State University’s Alex Nemzek Stadium in the first round of the section playoffs and edging highly ranked Grand Rapids 6-0 at Concordia’s Jake Christiansen Stadium the next week for the section championship.
It was back to Nemzek in the state quarterfinals against Osseo for another 6-0 victory.
“We didn’t have a home field in those days,” Kostich said. “We never played a game at Moorhead High. We either played at Moorhead State or Concordia, whoever was more gracious to us. That four-block walk from Moorhead State to Moorhead High after winning that state tournament game against Osseo was probably the best walk I’ve ever had in all my years coaching.”
Contributed photo
The semifinals in those days were played at long-gone Parade Stadium, 16,000-seat venue in downtown Minneapolis. The Spuds faced a talented Richfield team, ranked No. 1 in the state most of the season, in the semis.
“Richfield was No. 1 and they had a bunch of Division I guys. It was a suburban school so they had a whole bunch of cheerleaders and a whole bunch of fans in the stands. When we rolled up to the stadium in our bus, I remember Kostich saying, ‘We’re going to do something a little different,’” said Eidsness, who retired earlier this year from a long teaching career in Moorhead. “He leaned over and said something to the bus driver and the next thing we know the bus is driving into the stadium. We just rolled around the stadium on the track that went around the field. I think we did it a couple of times.
“I don’t know what his goal was, whether he was trying to intimidate them or what. I just remember riding around the whole stadium, getting a good look and then we hopped out on our sideline and we were ready to roll. We played a great first half.”
The Spuds scored a touchdown on a long drive in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead, then recovered a squib kick and scored another quick TD before the half to make it 21-0. Game over. The final was 28-0.
Moorhead’s first trip to the Metrodome was a nail-biter against Winona. Eidsness hit Cerise for the long touchdown pass in the first quarter before Winona made it 7-7 at halftime. Moorhead’s defense limited Winona to 15 offensive plays in the second half and Reinhiller’s field goals of 35 and 32 yards provided the final margin.
“What a phenomenal memory for him,” Altenbernd said. “And you can look back and remember the players who stepped up at certain points to make plays. Dan Pink had a great punt return in that game at the dome. Eidsness wasn’t the fastest guy — we’d always tell him to unhook the plow — but his arm accuracy was crazy. To feed Cerise and Jamie Hagness as often as he did in big moments was amazing.
“Chad Mattson made a key tackle on a kick return. If he hadn’t stopped him we’d have been in trouble. There was a pass completion where Jared Nelson, who was a cornerback, jumped on a guy’s back and just rode him until he went down. If Jared hadn’t stopped that guy, that would’ve changed the course of the game.”
Instead, Moorhead brought home the state championship trophy, a feat the current Spuds hope to repeat.
Minneapolis, MN
Man dead, 2 others hurt in overnight shooting in Minneapolis
Police say two people were hurt and one other man died.
A homicide investigation is underway in Minneapolis after a shooting early Friday morning killed one man and hurt two others.
Minneapolis police were called to the area of East Franklin Avenue and Chicago Avenue at around 12:30 a.m.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS cameras caught more than 65 evidence markers scattered across the ground in the area and shattered glass at a bus shelter. Some nearby businesses also appeared to have some damage.
Minneapolis police are still working to determine what led up to the shooting and who was involved but investigators say first responders found the three men suffering from gunshot wounds.
One injured man is in his 40s, the other in his 50s, police say. Both were taken to a hospital by ambulance.
The third man died at the scene. His name and age haven’t yet been publicly released.
Police say early information suggests the men were on a sidewalk when at least one person opened fire, then fled in a vehicle.
So far, no arrests have been made.
Anyone with information about what happened is asked to call police at 612-673-5845 to leave a voicemail or email policetips@minneapolismn.gov.
“This is a tragic and deeply disturbing act of violence that has taken a life, and left others seriously injured,” MPD Chief Brian O’Hara said. “This kind of violence is unacceptable, and we are committed to identifying those responsible and holding them accountable.”
Minneapolis police investigating alleyway shooting near East Franklin Avenue
It comes less than 30 hours after another serious shooting along East Franklin Avenue, just a half-mile west of Friday’s scene. That incident left a man hospitalized with a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. No arrests have been announced in that case either.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is still working to learn more about this shooting. Stay with KSTP-TV for the latest updates on air and on the KSTP app.
Minneapolis, MN
A Minneapolis woman recounts death of Alex Pretti as lawyers eye a class action lawsuit
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minneapolis woman who confronted federal immigration officers alongside Alex Pretti in January was among a group of potential litigants who spoke out Thursday about alleged excessive force against people protesting or monitoring the enforcement surge in Minnesota.
Georgia Savageford, who introduced herself as Wynnie at a news conference, said she was inside an officer’s vehicle when she saw federal agents shoot Pretti.
“That day has changed me forever,” she said. “The trauma will haunt me for the rest of my life, and I will never be the same.”
Savageford said she had been legally observing the actions of federal officers in Minneapolis ever since the shooting death of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Jan. 7. She said she was doing so again on the morning of Jan. 24 when an agent pushed her twice and caused her to fall.
“As I was going down, three agents proceeded to tackle me and drag me face-down into the middle of the street. They knelt on my back, twisted my arms and my legs to the ground, and handcuffed me. The cuffs were so tight I lost feeling in my hands, which resulted in temporary nerve damage,” she recounted.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE did not immediately respond Thursday to emails seeking comment. Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate the killings.
Savageford said Pretti recorded video of her arrest and yelled at agents to leave her alone.
She said the officers put her in the back of a vehicle, from which she saw agents shoot and kill Pretti on the other side of the street.
“At that moment, I thought I was going to die too. I pleaded with the agents to understand why another life was taken, and to not take mine,” she said.
She added that they told her to shut up and to stop being hysterical. She said they then took her to an ICE holding facility where she was held for 12 hours in a cold cell without ready access to food, water or the bathroom until she was released without being charged.
“I did not know him, but I knew he had my back,” she said of Pretti. “I know the kind of heart he had. One that loves and protects without limits.”
Savageford shared her story at a news conference where civil rights attorney John Burris, of Oakland, California, and other lawyers laid out how they’re paving the way for potential class-action lawsuits over alleged excessive force used against protesters and monitors.
Burris, who specializes in police misconduct, helped win an $11 million settlement against the Oakland Police Department in 2003, and helped win a civil jury verdict of $3.8 million for the late motorist Rodney King, who was beaten by Los Angeles police officers in 1991.
He said he and his colleagues have filed complaints with federal agencies involved in the Minnesota enforcement surge on behalf of 10 people, including Savageford, as the first step in a process that’s likely to lead to a larger class-action lawsuit.
“We have many others that are under investigation that have not completed the process. But I thought it was important for us to start this process now. Put the government on notice that we’re here,” Burris said.
Minneapolis, MN
Boy who shielded classmate during school shooting receives Medal of Honor
WASHINGTON (TNND) — A fifth grader from Minneapolis received the Citizen Honor Award from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society.
Victor Greenawalt jumped in front of his friend during a mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.
Weston Halsne told local station KARE 11 that Greenawalt saved his life.
“It was really scary,” Halsne told KARE 11. “My friend Victor, like, saved me, though. Because he laid on top of me. But he got hit.”
Two students were killed and several were injured after a shooter opened fire through the windows of the church last year. The shooter died on the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The Congressional Medal Society said in a statement that Greenawalt showed “extraordinary bravery far beyond his years.”
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – SEPTEMBER 3: Flowers line a pathway to Annunciation Catholic Church as U.S. Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance visit to pay their respects to victims of the shooting there on September 3, 2025 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The shooting left two students dead and many more wounded. (Photo by Alex Wroblewski-Pool/Getty Images)
“Instinctively, Victor protected a classmate with his own body, directly saving their life during the attack,” the society said in a written statement. “His courage and selflessness became a powerful symbol of hope and humanity for a community in crisis.”
Greenawalt was hospitalized following the shooting, according to a verified GoFundMe page. His sister was also injured.
He flew to Washington with his family on Wednesday to accept the award.
Greeenawalt met with Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., while on Capitol Hill. The ceremony also included a wreath-laying at Arlington National Cemetery.
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He received the Young Hero award, which honors individuals age 17 or younger for their courage.
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