Down 21 points in the third quarter, Hermantown mounted an epic comeback to defeat top-seeded North Branch 35-28 in the Class 4A, Section 7 prep football championship game on Friday night at Marv Heikkinen Field in West Duluth.
Hawks defeat North Branch, advance to state 4A prep football quarterfinals
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Howie: Why arena football struggles with public perception -- and how leagues try to fix it
Stability is the real product. If teams stay in their markets, if players get paid on time, if the community sees the league year after year, the perception changes. But you can’t fix 30 years of history overnight.
Meet the Monsters: Javonte Haynes
Javonte Haynes, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound defensive back, returns to the Minnesota Monsters as one of the most productive defensive players from the former Harbor Monsters roster, bringing championship pedigree and a reputation as a ball hawk in the secondary. The former Indiana University of Pennsylvania standout earned co-MVP honors in
Prep Hockey Notebook
Hermantown shook off a slow start and scored three unanswered goals in the third period to beat Rock Ridge 3-1 in boys high school hockey Tuesday night at Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia. Senior forward Bode Madill pulled the Hawks even early in the final period, and juniors
Howie: Arena football battles history and perception as new and old leagues try to chart a stable future
Note: This is the second column in six-part series on the state of arena football — from the sport’s bruised past to its uncertain future — with a sharp focus on AF1, the upstart league the Duluth-based Minnesota Monsters will join when they relaunch in Spring 2026.
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Obit: Peter Niss
Peter Niss died November 13, 2025 at his home in Mt. Royal Manor Apartments in Duluth. He was born in Minneapolis on October 19, 1946, and grew up in Duluth and at Timber Bay Lodge on Birch Lake near Ely. After attending Duluth East High School and Lawrence University in
Howie: Why arena football struggles with public perception -- and how leagues try to fix it
Stability is the real product. If teams stay in their markets, if players get paid on time, if the community sees the league year after year, the perception changes. But you can’t fix 30 years of history overnight.
Obit: Dean Gagne
It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Dean Lee Gagne. He died on November 17, 2025 at the age of 62 years old. Dean was a smart and loving man, but his life was marked by illness. Overcoming Hodgkin's disease, and a ruptured hernia,
Monsters sign DL, release WR
The Minnesota Monsters AF1 team reshuffled its roster this week, signing a Division I defensive lineman and releasing a wide receiver. Minnesota signed Shaki Holines, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound defensive lineman from UMass, on Dec. 3. Holines played four seasons at UMass, working primarily along the defensive line and producing steadily