SPOONER, WI — The United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is pleased to announce the relocation of the Minnesota Moose to Spooner, Wis.

Upon moving from Minnesota to Northwest Wisconsin, the team will adopt a new identity as the Northwest Express. This transition will see the team continuing to compete in the highly competitive Midwest West division from their new home at the Spooner Civic Center.

The Spooner Civic Center, the largest rink in northwest Wisconsin, will now serve as the hub for the Northwest Express. This state-of-the-art facility boasts not only an expansive ice sheet but also a full-size gym, banquet halls, and a newly established bar and restaurant operated by the Express ownership. This extensive facility will offer an enhanced experience for both players and fans.

Building Community Ties

The Spooner Area Youth Hockey Association has expressed enthusiastic support for the arrival of the Northwest Express. Nikki Perkins, representing the association, shared, “Spooner Area Youth Hockey Association is excited to welcome the Northwest Express to the Spooner Civic Center for the fall of 2024. We look forward to building a relationship between our youth hockey program and the Express to continue to grow hockey in the community of Spooner, Wis. We are eager to work together to support the development of all skaters and provide the most positive experience for both the youth and the Junior A hockey team.”

Integrating into Spooner

Located in the heart of downtown Spooner, the Civic Center provides a strategic location for the Northwest Express to integrate into the community. The team is eager to engage in various volunteer opportunities, such as collaborating with the youth program, initiating book clubs, and more. Known for its lakes and cabin country, Spooner offers a unique environment for the team to establish their new hockey legacy.

Leadership and Continuity

The Northwest Express will maintain continuity with key personnel staying on board. Team Owner Joe Dibble, General Manager Jon Jonasson, and Head Coach Nic Leibold will continue in their previous roles, ensuring a smooth transition. The ownership structure will also remain unchanged, providing stability and continuity for the team.

Head Coach Nic Leibold expressed his excitement about the move, saying, “I am excited about this new chapter. The Moose had a great history in Blaine, and I look forward to the success that continues with the Express in Spooner. It will be a great experience for the players to come to the community and grow not just as hockey players, but also develop as young men. We feel this is an important aspect of junior hockey as these guys work toward their goal of college hockey.”

Team Owner Joe Dibble shared his personal connection to Spooner, stating, “We are excited about the move of our hockey program to the Spooner community starting in the Fall of 2024. Spooner has a rich history of Junior A Hockey, and we look to add to that with a new look and exciting brand of hockey. I was fortunate to spend time in the Spooner community as a player, along with bringing the Moose to Spooner for a short stint during COVID-19. Spooner is a special place to me, and I am excited to share that same experience with the players of the Northwest Express. The Northwest Express will be very involved in the community in many different aspects from assisting in youth hockey, volunteering at elementary schools, and any other way the team can find volunteer opportunities within the City of Spooner.”

About the United States Premier Hockey League

Founded in 2012, the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL) is comprised of over 150 teams, fielding more than 20,000 players aged 8-21 in more than 100 organizations across the North, South, Midwest, West, and Canada. Our Junior Divisions consist of the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC), a tuition-free, Tier 2 Junior hockey division, and our Premier and Elite Divisions, all geared toward college and pro placement.

Our Youth and Midget divisions (operated through the Tier 1 Hockey Federation) field full season 9U through 18U teams. The USPHL has sent over 8,000 players to all levels of college hockey including over 3,300 into NCAA college hockey and over 200 players into NCAA Division I hockey. The USPHL has also had 17 players who played in the NCDC drafted by NHL teams.

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#50. Brooklyn

– Typical home value: $438,945
– 1-year price change: +$27,708 (+6.7%)
– 5-year price change: +$150,016 (+51.9%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#49. Altoona

– Typical home value: $324,142
– 1-year price change: +$27,762 (+9.4%)
– 5-year price change: +$116,691 (+56.2%)
– Metro area: Eau Claire, WI

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#48. Bonduel

– Typical home value: $258,873
– 1-year price change: +$27,846 (+12.1%)
– 5-year price change: +$96,788 (+59.7%)
– Metro area: Shawano, WI

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#47. Wales

– Typical home value: $494,350
– 1-year price change: +$28,369 (+6.1%)
– 5-year price change: +$145,943 (+41.9%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#46. Waukesha

– Typical home value: $377,402
– 1-year price change: +$28,460 (+8.2%)
– 5-year price change: +$117,850 (+45.4%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#45. Grand Chute

– Typical home value: $426,064
– 1-year price change: +$28,956 (+7.3%)
– 5-year price change: +$138,899 (+48.4%)
– Metro area: Appleton, WI

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#44. Reedsville

– Typical home value: $283,625
– 1-year price change: +$28,963 (+11.4%)
– 5-year price change: +$94,824 (+50.2%)
– Metro area: Manitowoc, WI

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#43. Oak Creek

– Typical home value: $373,786
– 1-year price change: +$29,042 (+8.4%)
– 5-year price change: +$108,659 (+41.0%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#42. Franklin

– Typical home value: $403,204
– 1-year price change: +$29,188 (+7.8%)
– 5-year price change: +$121,201 (+43.0%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#41. Helenville

– Typical home value: $412,922
– 1-year price change: +$29,260 (+7.6%)
– 5-year price change: +$150,028 (+57.1%)
– Metro area: Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI

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#40. Tigerton

– Typical home value: $131,823
– 1-year price change: +$29,356 (+28.6%)
– 5-year price change: +$51,313 (+63.7%)
– Metro area: Shawano, WI

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#39. Maribel

– Typical home value: $328,689
– 1-year price change: +$29,393 (+9.8%)
– 5-year price change: +$126,549 (+62.6%)
– Metro area: Manitowoc, WI

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#38. Oregon

– Typical home value: $447,572
– 1-year price change: +$29,404 (+7.0%)
– 5-year price change: +$144,007 (+47.4%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#37. Germantown

– Typical home value: $424,935
– 1-year price change: +$29,608 (+7.5%)
– 5-year price change: +$120,516 (+39.6%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#36. Mukwonago

– Typical home value: $441,928
– 1-year price change: +$29,976 (+7.3%)
– 5-year price change: +$124,930 (+39.4%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#35. Bristol

– Typical home value: $566,093
– 1-year price change: +$30,350 (+5.7%)
– 5-year price change: +$159,939 (+39.4%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#34. Middleton

– Typical home value: $559,135
– 1-year price change: +$30,367 (+5.7%)
– 5-year price change: +$170,699 (+43.9%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#33. Cottage Grove

– Typical home value: $445,517
– 1-year price change: +$30,410 (+7.3%)
– 5-year price change: +$137,500 (+44.6%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#32. Fitchburg

– Typical home value: $476,094
– 1-year price change: +$30,535 (+6.9%)
– 5-year price change: +$147,727 (+45.0%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#31. Oconomowoc

– Typical home value: $485,364
– 1-year price change: +$30,606 (+6.7%)
– 5-year price change: +$145,694 (+42.9%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#30. Jackson

– Typical home value: $389,621
– 1-year price change: +$30,843 (+8.6%)
– 5-year price change: +$113,402 (+41.1%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#29. Cecil

– Typical home value: $272,911
– 1-year price change: +$30,854 (+12.7%)
– 5-year price change: +$98,719 (+56.7%)
– Metro area: Shawano, WI

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#28. Eagle

– Typical home value: $468,198
– 1-year price change: +$31,168 (+7.1%)
– 5-year price change: +$131,631 (+39.1%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#27. Ottawa

– Typical home value: $562,773
– 1-year price change: +$31,459 (+5.9%)
– 5-year price change: +$153,189 (+37.4%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#26. Sussex

– Typical home value: $460,830
– 1-year price change: +$31,516 (+7.3%)
– 5-year price change: +$123,341 (+36.5%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#25. Dane

– Typical home value: $451,468
– 1-year price change: +$31,810 (+7.6%)
– 5-year price change: +$158,597 (+54.2%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#24. Elkhart Lake

– Typical home value: $375,425
– 1-year price change: +$32,473 (+9.5%)
– 5-year price change: +$108,199 (+40.5%)
– Metro area: Sheboygan, WI

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#23. Monona

– Typical home value: $441,511
– 1-year price change: +$32,503 (+7.9%)
– 5-year price change: +$147,668 (+50.3%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#22. Baileys Harbor

– Typical home value: $470,445
– 1-year price change: +$33,034 (+7.6%)
– 5-year price change: +$183,697 (+64.1%)
– Metro area: not in a metro area

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#21. Windsor

– Typical home value: $474,703
– 1-year price change: +$33,359 (+7.6%)
– 5-year price change: +$146,786 (+44.8%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#20. Fish Creek

– Typical home value: $483,687
– 1-year price change: +$33,910 (+7.5%)
– 5-year price change: +$184,079 (+61.4%)
– Metro area: not in a metro area

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#19. Rutland

– Typical home value: $501,613
– 1-year price change: +$34,084 (+7.3%)
– 5-year price change: +$160,065 (+46.9%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#18. Sobieski

– Typical home value: $432,499
– 1-year price change: +$34,507 (+8.7%)
– 5-year price change: +$174,423 (+67.6%)
– Metro area: Green Bay, WI

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#17. Wauwatosa

– Typical home value: $384,180
– 1-year price change: +$34,742 (+9.9%)
– 5-year price change: +$116,980 (+43.8%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#16. Brookfield

– Typical home value: $480,428
– 1-year price change: +$35,304 (+7.9%)
– 5-year price change: +$143,258 (+42.5%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#15. Ixonia

– Typical home value: $415,886
– 1-year price change: +$36,068 (+9.5%)
– 5-year price change: +$162,235 (+64.0%)
– Metro area: Watertown-Fort Atkinson, WI

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#14. Egg Harbor

– Typical home value: $352,869
– 1-year price change: +$36,529 (+11.5%)
– 5-year price change: +$135,297 (+62.2%)
– Metro area: not in a metro area

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#13. Waunakee

– Typical home value: $541,473
– 1-year price change: +$37,279 (+7.4%)
– 5-year price change: +$161,504 (+42.5%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#12. Whitefish Bay

– Typical home value: $581,249
– 1-year price change: +$38,131 (+7.0%)
– 5-year price change: +$164,495 (+39.5%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#11. Brighton

– Typical home value: $537,434
– 1-year price change: +$38,267 (+7.7%)
– 5-year price change: +$166,083 (+44.7%)
– Metro area: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI

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#10. Verona

– Typical home value: $559,830
– 1-year price change: +$39,442 (+7.6%)
– 5-year price change: +$177,168 (+46.3%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#9. Burke

– Typical home value: $483,116
– 1-year price change: +$40,955 (+9.3%)
– 5-year price change: +$158,722 (+48.9%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#8. Williams Bay

– Typical home value: $510,371
– 1-year price change: +$42,236 (+9.0%)
– 5-year price change: +$215,448 (+73.1%)
– Metro area: Whitewater, WI

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#7. Spring Prairie

– Typical home value: $495,073
– 1-year price change: +$42,673 (+9.4%)
– 5-year price change: +$189,869 (+62.2%)
– Metro area: Whitewater, WI

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#6. Elm Grove

– Typical home value: $612,189
– 1-year price change: +$43,443 (+7.6%)
– 5-year price change: +$181,812 (+42.2%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#5. Lannon

– Typical home value: $440,805
– 1-year price change: +$44,252 (+11.2%)
– 5-year price change: +$126,027 (+40.0%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#4. Maple Bluff

– Typical home value: $880,647
– 1-year price change: +$47,817 (+5.7%)
– 5-year price change: +$317,731 (+56.4%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

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#3. River Hills

– Typical home value: $906,003
– 1-year price change: +$50,341 (+5.9%)
– 5-year price change: +$252,582 (+38.7%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#2. Oconomowoc Lake

– Typical home value: $1,763,468
– 1-year price change: +$55,223 (+3.2%)
– 5-year price change: +$672,699 (+61.7%)
– Metro area: Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI

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#1. Shorewood Hills

– Typical home value: $997,660
– 1-year price change: +$102,014 (+11.4%)
– 5-year price change: +$355,091 (+55.3%)
– Metro area: Madison, WI

This story features data reporting and writing by Elena Cox and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states.

It will move you to tears.

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall replica in Hartland, Wisconsin, is profoundly moving, a sobering reminder of the staggering loss of young men, and women, we must never forget and always honor.

I went to see the replica Wall in the late evening hours on Saturday, June 1. There’s something especially profound about seeing it at night, lit up against a night sky with electric candles flickering against the plastic-covered photos and newspaper articles that have been lovingly placed near names. The Fire Department has erected a massive America flag. It’s open 24 hours.

Hartland is a very patriotic community, and I’m glad that I live in a county where people appreciate and honor the service and sacrifice, of these brave young men and women.

There’s still a chance to see it, if you haven’t yet. The replica Wall will stand in Hartland’s Nixon Park, 175 E. Park Ave, until 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 2. Hartland is the only Wisconsin community scheduled to get the mobile wall in 2024. According to CBS 58, 67 Waukesha County service members’ names are on the wall. Three are from Hartland. They are Thomas James Carstens, Darryl Jay Koch, and Donald Albert Sudbrink.

“My company had 90 men. Within two weeks, we lost 75% of them,” Vietnam Veteran and volunteer Dick Burr told WISN. “It’s hard. It tears me up right now. You know, I know at least 30, 30 guys that are on the wall.”

The Wall That Heals History

“On Veterans Day 1996, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund (VVMF) unveiled a replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C., designed to travel to communities throughout the United States,” the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund says. “Since its dedication, The Wall That Heals has been displayed at nearly 700 communities throughout the nation, spreading the Memorial’s healing legacy to millions.”

“Bringing The Wall home to communities throughout our country allows the souls enshrined on the Memorial to exist once more among family and friends in the peace and comfort of familiar surroundings,” the VVMF explains.

Carefully and lovingly placed along the replica Wall in Hartland are the photos of some of the men who died, along with flowers, children’s sketches of flags, old newspaper articles, and other mementos that capture the human beings behind the names.

There is a mobile education center that presents the photos of the local heroes whose names are on the wall. This particularly moved me because, a number of years ago, my journalism students and I helped find the final missing photos of Wisconsin service members whose names are on the Wall. This was for a major project sponsored by the VVMF to find a photo for every name. The military photos had burned up in the 1970s in a major fire.

As I stood in the Hartland park, there flashed before me some of the photos we had found. One stood out: Michael Bohrman.

I found his photo for a series on the missing photos that I wrote for the Waukesha Freeman.