Once again the LQPV-DB Shadows dance team danced their way to the state dance tournament by placing in the top three at section dance Saturday. As a matter of fact, they are section champions in Jazz and High Kick, placing 1st, YME 2nd and Montevideo 3rd.

This Section 3A Dance Competition felt a little strange to me. It wasn’t the same as usual. I think this was my 25th section dance competition in Montevideo. It was strange for a couple of reasons. A few days before I was worried that they were going to postpone it because of the impending weather. I don’t ever remember that happening. The weather did back up the start time by two hours.

The other strange happening was I got a text from the Shadows’ head coach Carly Wager in the morning telling me she was really sick and wouldn’t be able to make it. I felt so bad for her. She puts so much into running the dance program and on this big day she wouldn’t be able to be there with her team. I have had that happen to me as well, a couple of years ago, I had covid and couldn’t attend state dance for the first time. If covid didn’t kill me, not being there almost did. I was devasted that I couldn’t broadcast the State Dance Tournament.

Later in the day, Shauna Vernlund the head coach for the Canby/Minneota Sensations told me her assistant coach Avery Lokken was sick and not able to be in Montevideo with the team. I got the same feeling for her as I did Carly. But that’s life. Some things you can’t control.

I arrived at the high school around 12:30 and the doors didn’t open till 1pm. Jesse Nelson the Activity Director for Montevideo told me to just give him a call when I arrived and he would let me in. There must have been a hundred people standing outside in the cold waiting for the doors to open.

Once inside I began to set up my radio equipment and visit with a few people. The doors opened and there was a mad rush to get the best seats! I was getting settled in my press box when I noticed my friend Natalie Pust sitting in the back row of the gym with her leg up on the seats and a bag of ice wrapped around her foot! Later I went to sit with her and her husband Tim and found out that earlier she had slipped on the ice and fell and sprained her ankle. Wow, again I felt so bad for someone that day. No matter how much pain she was in, she was going to stay and watch her daughter and the Shadows.

I guess the strangest thing Saturday was not having my friend and broadcast partner Ken Franzky with me. Ken and I have broadcast section and state dance for 14 years together. He is an expert in dance, with being a dance dad for many years. He brought so much to the broadcast. All good things must come to an end sometime. I sure appreciated the work Ken put into broadcasting dance on Q-92. Grace Johnson has helped since she graduated and now Grace is coaching dance at Hawley and they qualified for state and Grace wasn’t able to make it Saturday either. So, Dee Dee Schommer and I continued on the tradition of broadcasting section dance. Dee Dee does a super job.

So, Saturday just felt a bit different. But it was still a very happy and exciting day for the Shadows. Can’t wait to be at Target Center Friday and Saturday. Hope I don’t get sick or fall on the ice this week.