Here's what the Plainview-Elgin-Milville Bulldogs are saying about the Scott West Panthers:

"Scott West is a big, physical team. They ride the legs hard, and they'll go cross-face hard," PEM coach Mike Matiash told the Rochester Post-Bulletin.

He also mentioned Lee Goldberg, Tyler Kivel, Tony Valek, the lack of having Tim Hentges available, and that he thinks the match could depend on bonus points.

Here's what the Belle Plaine boys basketball coach Randy Carlson says about the Jordan Hubmen team:

"Jordan is always a tough game for us. They are athletic and have a lot of size up front. They came out in the second half and took it to us, tying the game. We stepped it up a little on defense and started to get a rhythm offensively to find a way to win. I (thought) that our press worked well. I give our guys a lot of credit." 

That, according to the Belle Plaine Herald. The Tigers won that game 72-56 earlier this month.

The Shamrock Medallion hunt begins Wednesday, Feb. 27.

Clues come out in the Belle Plaine Herald weekly.

This year's hunt is dedicated to Larry Bratsch, who found the Shamrock multiple times. He died last year.

Two local wrestling titans could face each other in the second round of the Section 2A team tournament this weekend.

The local matchup for which to watch would only occur if No. 9-ranked New Prague beats No. 8-ranked Hutchinson. The No. 1-ranked Scott West Panthers are scheduled to begin the tournament at noon Saturday, Feb. 16, at Montgomery-Lonsdale High School.

If New Prague loses to Hutchinson, the next most local potential matchup could be Montgomery-Lonsdale-Le Center. But that would be for the championship.

According to the Belle Plaine Herald, here's what Belle Plaine Tigers basketball coach Randy Carlson says about the Jordan Hubmen, who beat his team 71-64 in overtime this month:

"We really had a tough time offensively. Shots did not fall, and we were never really in sync all night. We missed a lot of layups and made some poor decisions offensively. We had some people sick, and that did not help, either." 

The Herald called the game and "overtime collapse" and emphasized that it was Jordan's second conference win of the year.

Scott County is pleased with the progress the city of Jordan is making toward a building a new library.

And from reading the story this week in the Belle Plaine Herald, it doesn't sound like the library is in danger of closing anymore.

If you remember, the Scott County Library Board a couple years ago alluded to plans to shut things down in Jordan if the city wouldn't improve the facility. City officials took seriously the letters they received from the library board, and a new city hall and library are on the docket for construction in the coming years.

Coincidence, or no? You tell me.

On consecutive weeks, the following headlines appeared on the top half of the Belle Plaine Herald:

Belle Plaine is the top school for students coming into the Jordan school district through open enrollment, while Prior Lake is the top destination for students going out of the Jordan district.

The latest edition of the Alliance Advocator, the newsletter
put out by Southern Valley Alliance for Battered Women in Belle Plaine,

I've written for bigger newspaper than the Jordan Independent. But I really like the little ones.