Sports & Outdoors

A free community volleyball youth clinic (co-ed) is happening at the Two Harbors High School gym on upcoming dates through mid-October. Open to all students in Kindergarten through 6th grade, Two Harbors High School (THHS) head volleyball coach Carley Challender says this is a good opportunity to check out the sport for anyone interested. 'We started the youth clinic this past Saturday and were incredibly thrilled to see 34 kids come out and want to learn about volleyball with our THHS volleyball athletes,' said Challender.

Friday night’s homecoming football game began on a somber note as the team and community honored Chloe Hietala, THHS graduate 2020, who died recently in a car accident in South Carolina. Playing against the Aiken Gobblers, the Agates came out strong, scoring the first points with a 60-yard touchdown run by junior Isaiah Hietala. The Gobblers came on soon after with a touchdown, but missed a two- point conversion. The first quarter finished with the Agates 7, Aiken 6. By halftime the Gobbers had pushed out another touchdown, but missed the twopoint conversion once again. As the sky darkened and the 2nd half turned drizzly, Aiken came on strong again with two more touchdowns in the 3rd and 4th quarters. With 43 seconds remaining, the Agates got the ball down to the six yard line and Hietala again crossed the end line. The game ended with an Agate loss, 14-28.

Washington, D.C. seemed like another planet to Isabelle Mecklin,15, of Two Harbors. Then, through her dedication and work in 4-H she got a chance to go there herself. Acting as Lake County's first 4-H delegate to the Capitol, Mecklin participated in a program called 4-H Citizenship Washington Focus. It was an opportunity that 4-H Yough Development/ Extension Educator Tracey Anderson calls 'a pretty big deal.' Traveling with 37 other Minnesota 4-Hers this June, Mecklin was able to participate in the program that teaches skills for participating fully in the democratic process. A range of classes and presentations taught the delegates about how they can make their voices heard through citizen involvement. Visiting historic monuments and memorials was also part of the enriching experience. For Mecklin visiting the Franklin D. Roosevelt monument was the most meaningful, as she was able to understand important historical events that unfolded during FDR's presidency. Arlington Cemetery also made an impact on her, with Mecklin stating, 'It's amazing how huge it is and incredible how serious the changing-of-the-guard is.'

by Howie Hanson Two Harbors improved to 2-0 with an impressive 36-18 high school football victory at Rock Ridge last Friday night. “It was a good comeback win for us, in a game where we could have packed it in after being down 12-0,” said Agates coach Tom Nelson.

What would make Lake County a great place to grow up and grow old? Fill out our survey at https:// bit.ly/Age-FriendlyLC to help us guide a community action plan to accomplish just that. In October 2021, Lake County joined a global network of Age Friendly Communities. The network encourages our community to focus on and strengthen the features and services that help to make communities livable for residents of all ages, from the cradle through retirement.