COLUMN: Storms wipe out major events

   The heavy storms that hit Monticello Saturday night and much of Sunday did more than drop five inches or so of rain (depending upon whom you ask).

   It also wiped out two major sports events in Monticello that were scheduled for Sunday.

   One of the casualties was the annual Camp Courageous Sprint Triathlon. The event was delayed several times before finally being called off for good mid-morning Sunday.

   It seemed the right call, with rains continuing to be heavy and lightning still in the area. I hope, though, that many of the people who had been training for the event were able to find a triathlon to compete in somewhere else in the coming weeks.

   The other was the Women’s Eastern Iowa Golf Association (WEIGA) Tournament, which Monticello is slated to host for the first time since 2013.

   This one will be made up; it has been rescheduled for Aug. 21.

Props to Mason Reuter

   • In my list of people to thank from last week’s column, I neglected to give a nod to Mason Reuter, our Express summer intern, who did a great job while working on sports and Great Jones County Fair events with me.

   Mason jumped right in and took terrific baseball and softball photos during the Panther seasons, to the point where I was confident in turning the camera over to him for some of Monticello’s biggest games, allowing me to simply watch and take notes.

   At the fair, he stood for hours and took dozens of photos during the 4-H/FFA Beef Show and the 4-H/FFA Poultry Show, without complaint. He also helped us in the task of typing up fair results for our annual Souvenir Edition.

   So thanks, Mason, and great job. Best of luck in your upcoming school year and football season at Luther College.

Bear down…

   I bet on the Chicago Bears. Yes I did.

   At first glance, it might seem foolish to put some of my hard-earned cash on a team that went 6-11 last year.

   Fortunately, I’m not picking the Bears to do anything spectacular, like reaching the Super Bowl or even winning the NFC Central Division.

   No, I took the “over” on how many wins they will get this season. That line was set at 6.5, meaning the Bears need only to go 7-10 for me to win.

   This way, if my Vikings don’t have much of a year, I will still have a rooting interest. Whether I can pull for the Bears against the Vikings on behalf of my bet remains to be seen (doubtful), but I’m hoping Chicago can find seven wins from other sources.

   “Bear down, Chicago Bears…”