If the early signs are any indication, the Prescott football team is healthy and ready to start the 2026 season. Following the Cardinals' joint scrimmage with Holmen earlier this month, Head Coach Jordan Hansen came away encouraged.

"I thought we were physical up front, and this fall we will have the biggest overall line we've had in quite a while," Hansen said.

That bigger line could make life easier for senior Reese Stanton, who took most of the reps at quarterback and appears to be the leading candidate for the starting job. The Cardinals will find out quickly where they stand. Prescott begins the season with three straight road games, and none of them will be a walk in the park. All three opponents enter the year ranked among the top 20 teams in their respective divisions. The Cardinals start at state runner-up Northwestern, travel to Prairie du Chien in Week 2, and then open conference play at preseason Middle Border Conference favorite Baldwin-Woodville.

A slew of Cardinal alumni will be competing at the college level this fall. Three Prescott cross country graduates will continue to run collegiately. Jayde Canfield will compete for the Yellowjackets of UW-Superior, Amber Van Loon will run at Northern Michigan University, and Ella Johnson will compete at Wartburg College in Iowa. There will be a strong Cardinal alumnus presence on the football field as well. Senior linebacker Brady Block will wear No. 50 for defending Division III national champion UW-River Falls. Wide receiver Will Packard enters his second season at UW-La Crosse. Linebacker Aiden Russell, an Honorable Mention All-Conference selection last season, begins his senior year at Valley City State University in North Dakota. Freshman defensive back Kobe Russell will wear No. 24 for the Bison of North Dakota State University. And on the volleyball court, Reese Ptacek returns for Kansas after an Honorable Mention All-American season last year. The junior will wear No. 10 for a Jayhawks team ranked in the preseason Top 25.

Prescott girls golf has plenty of reasons for optimism. Wisconsin Golf ranks Cardinals senior Layla Salay No. 18 and senior Macy Reiter No. 22 among Division 1 golfers. With Lily Vesperman also returning, Prescott will enter the season as the team to beat in the Middle Border Conference. Coach Chad Salay and his squad will again face the challenge of competing against Wisconsin's best when the Division 1 tournament series begins.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has released its 2026 hunting regulations (Fall 2026-Spring 2027) and the 2026 fall forecast series. The information provides hunters with season details, regulations and outlooks for a variety of game species. New this year is an online version of the regulations featuring a drop-down filter to help users locate information faster. The digital edition follows the same format as the print version, making it easy for hunters to navigate. Printed copies will be available soon at DNR Service Centers.

The Field of Dreams matchup between the Minnesota Twins and Philadelphia Phillies on Aug. 13, 2026, in Dyersville, Iowa, has reached a milestone familiar to baseball fans: no tickets left. Secondary-market tickets remain available, however, for those willing to pay somewhere between $1,680 and $3,100 with fees included. At those prices, it's safe to assume the crowd will be made up entirely of lifelong baseball historians, not a single person just looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Headshaker of the Week: Last week I attended Kirby Puckett Jersey Day at Target Field, where the first 10,000 fans received a replica jersey honoring one of the greatest players in Minnesota Twins history. Puckett, of course, helped bring home two World Series championships and remains one of the most beloved figures in franchise history. The jersey giveaway was a big success. Maybe too successful. The moment fans entered the stadium, the scramble began. And by scramble, I mean grown adults apparently forgot they were walking into a baseball game and not competing in a professional wrestling battle royale. The sight of adults pushing, shoving and throwing elbows in pursuit of a free jersey was remarkable. Watching grown fans use tactics that resembled the forearm smashes and clotheslines of Larry "The Axe" Hennig and Jesse "The Body" Ventura made me wonder if Target Field had quietly transformed into a 1970s wrestling ring studio. The only thing missing was an announcer calling the action. The scene also reminded me of the Treasure Island Seafood Buffet when a fresh bucket of crab legs hits the line. Suddenly, manners disappear, patience vanishes, and the rush to the line is on. Except this time, the prize wasn't crab legs. It was a replica baseball jersey. Watching adults aggressively grab jerseys ahead of young fans, many of whom aren't even old enough to drive themselves to the ballpark was embarrassing. For a free souvenir, no less. You have got to be kidding me. It was a headshaker.