John Draper


Latest Articles:

Preserve women’s athletics

I’ve been blessed with four daughters. All four of them have had opportunities to compete in women’s athletics at Pipestone Area Schools. One of them is now trying her hand at the college level. Their experiences have been wonderful. Whether win or lose, they gained much from the experience. Their experiences taught them lessons in how to lose and how... READ MORE >

Time is precious

With such an uncharacteristically warm weather pattern as of late, it is easy to think spring is fully here and summer is just around the corner. As one who isn’t a cold weather enthusiast, I welcome this speedy move through winter and am hopeful that my snowblower stays put until next winter. It’s hard to find fault with the seemingly... READ MORE >

A fraction is all it takes

Jackson — .175. This small fraction of a single point is all that separated Pipestone Area from Jackson County Central (JCC) in gymnastics competition Thursday, Jan. 25. .175 is the minuscule difference that gave Pipestone a 127.475 to 127.30 win over the Huskies for the first time in the 13 years that Arrow Head Coach Stacie Wallace has been leading... READ MORE >

Arrow girls looking for answers

St. James — Pipestone Area made the trip east Friday, Jan. 26 to face the St. James Saints. The Arrows lost to the Saints earlier in the year and came in looking to improve on that and come home with a win. The Saints jumped out to an early 8-1 lead and forced Pipestone into turnovers on two of the... READ MORE >

Pipestone Boys take down Saints and Cardinals

St. James — The Pipestone boys’ basketball team traveled to St. James Friday night to take on the Saints in Big South Conference and Section 3AA competition. Pipestone entered the game with a 9-5 record while St. James was 3-11 on the season. In the first match up of these two schools, the fourth game of the season, Pipestone won... READ MORE >

Extreme cold brings extreme thanks

While I’ve spent the majority of my life in Minnesota, it seems the older I get the less tolerance I have for the winter weather. Like most of you, I accept it as a way of life, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy it. I find myself more tolerant of the extreme cold than I do the physical snow. Snow... READ MORE >

Gymnasts outdone by Worthington

The Worthington Trojans gymnastics team made the trip to Pipestone Area Schools for a dual meet Thursday, Jan 11. Worthington by all definitions could be considered a gymnastics powerhouse. The team is well coached, has top level competitors and routinely wins the Section 3A tournament to qualify for the state meet. The Trojans entered the meet ranked #1 in the... READ MORE >

Arrow boys take down Minneota

The Pipestone boys traveled to Minneota Tuesday, January 16 for a non-conference tilt against the Vikings. Pipestone lead the vast majority of the contest and held off some Minneota runs on their way to a 79-70 win. Things started nicely for the Arrows as they jumped out to an early lead started by an opening three from senior Riley Bosma.... READ MORE >

Pipestone out-duals Luverne after loss to Marshall

Pipestone hosted two fellow Big South Conference teams for a triangular wrestling meet Thursday, Jan. 11. Coming to the Pipestone Area gymnasium were the Marshall Tigers and the Luverne Cardinals. Pipestone split their duals with an opening match loss to Marshall (43-22) and then a narrow 37-36 win over Luverne. Pipestone 22 – Marshall 43 Pipestone’s Carlos Perez-Garcia opened match... READ MORE >

Appreciation for Kevin

Sixteen years ago I found myself covering a baseball game. The paper was without a sports reporter so I was doing my best to give proper attention to the young men taking to the diamond in Marshall.  A rain delay forced me into the dugout where I struck up a conversation with a sports photographer from the Worthington Daily Globe.... READ MORE >