Denny Seefeldt, who holds the distinction of being the last town board chairman of New Scandia Township and the first mayor of Scandia, believed that active involvement in your community helps strengthen democracy and contributes to a just society.

Denny Seefeldt (Courtesy of the family of Denny Seefeldt)

“Civic duty was important to him,” said his daughter, Lori Bieging, who lives in Stillwater. “It was a pretty strict moral code. There is right, and there is wrong. I often called him a true-north compass.”

Seefeldt, who held public office in Scandia from 1997 to 2010, died of natural causes Sunday at Boutwells Landing senior living community in Oak Park Heights. He was 88.

When he was seeking to be the city’s first mayor in 2006, Seefeldt said he was running because he wanted to continue serving his community. “I suppose we will be making history, but that’s not what’s driving me,” Seefeldt said. “I’m more concerned about building on all of the good things we’ve done in the past. I’d like to follow through.”

The city was incorporated on Jan. 1, 2007, and Seefeldt led Scandia through the transition from township to city government, including chairing the city’s comprehensive plan committee.

Seefeldt also was instrumental in the successful completion of many projects in Scandia, including construction of the city’s Fire Hall/Public Works building.

“Mayor Seefeldt has represented the citizens of Scandia for 14 years with fairness and competence by thoughtful deliberation of essential issues facing the Town Board and City Council,” read a city resolution marking his retirement from politics in December 2010.

“I’ve been involved in my church or community or the state or the country for 60 years,” Seefeldt told the Pioneer Press at the time. “Sixty years. That’s enough time.”

Wisconsin roots

Seefeldt grew up on a farm in Wittenberg, Wis. He played football and baseball and was valedictorian and student council president at Wittenberg High School.

After graduating in 1954, he attended the University of Wisconsin – River Falls for a year before enlisting in the U.S. Army, where he trained in finance and soil engineering. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers in Okinawa, Japan, and was discharged from active duty in 1959.

He then transferred to the Army Reserve and went back to the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, where he majored in agriculture and minored in chemistry. During his junior year, he met Carol Busch; the couple married in 1960.

“She was smart, so I asked her for a date right after Thanksgiving,” Seefeldt wrote in a book of memories shared with his family. “By Christmas we were steady.”

While at university, Seefeldt got to see John F Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy. “I got to shake hands with Jackie Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt and just missed Queen Elizabeth,” he wrote.

“Kennedy was running for president, and Wisconsin had a primary in those days. UWRF was kind of a hotbed for Democratic politics so he kicked off his campaign there.”

Seefeldt served as president of his college class and was a member of the student Senate and the student advisory committee.

He graduated from UWRF in 1961 and was discharged from the Army Reserve in 1962.

Life in Minnesota

In 1964, Seefeldt received his master’s of science degree from the University of Minnesota in soil physics with a minor in agricultural engineering. He later completed coursework and oral exams toward a doctorate degree in adult education at Florida State University.

The Seefeldts had three children: Todd, Lori and Lisa.

After he graduated, the family moved to Fergus Falls, where Seefeldt worked as a soils agent for University of Minnesota Extension. He then worked for Extension in Cloquet, Minn., for two years.

Settling in Scandia

In 1968, Seefeldt took a job as an agricultural agent for Extension in Washington County, and the family moved to Stillwater and later to Withrow. They moved in 1987 to a 17-acre property in Scandia, where the Seefeldts tended a huge vegetable garden.

Seefeldt was an active member of Elim Lutheran Church and was the volunteer groundskeeper at the cemetery. He also was active in the Scandia-Marine Lions Club, helped coach the Stillwater Area High School Nordic ski team and helped form the Scandia Veterans Memorial.

He loved hunting, competing in the Birkebeiner and playing golf. “He was always working outside,” Bieging said. “He was a runner and a skier, and he was always very physically active.”

Seefeldt was an avid reader and loved learning about history, said his daughter, Lisa Shrum, of New Richmond, Wis. “Dad always said the only dumb question is the one you don’t ask,” Shrum said. “He was always pushing me to keep seeking and learning. He also instilled a sense of fairness.”

Son Todd Seefeldt, of Finland, Minn., remembers family camping trips to the North Shore – playing cribbage, hiking, exploring and reading. “As soon as he finished his latest spy novel or mystery thriller, the book was passed along to me,” Todd Seefeldt said. “Even as his condition worsened over the last few years, we still found time to discuss whatever we were each reading at the time. It was always a treat to find that Dad and I had read the same books and loved the same authors.”

Funeral details

Seefeldt is survived by his wife, Carol; his children, Lori Bieging, Todd Seefeldt and Lisa Shrum; six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

A funeral service for Seefeldt will be held at noon on Wednesday, May 22 at Elim Lutheran Church in Scandia, with visitation two hours prior.

Roberts Family Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.

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Jaden McDaniels had one of his best games of the postseason — and likely the season at large — Thursday in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.

McDaniels tallied 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting, while adding two blocks and a steal on the other end. It was the 23-year-old playing as the most optimized version of himself, and it’s hardly a coincidence it came in a 45-point Wolves’ win.

“When he plays well we win,” teammate Anthony Edwards said. “I don’t know the percentages but, I mean, I feel like when Jaden plays well, can’t nobody beat us.”

There’s some truth to that. Minnesota was 28-12 this season when McDaniels scored in double figures. But it won 56 games, so the team was pretty good in either scenario. Still, in the playoffs, when teams lock in on details and schemes meant to limit or derail stars, role players gain an added importance.

At various points in this series, Denver has gotten more out of its “others.” whether that is Justin Holiday or Christian Braun or, at a significantly higher level, Aaron Gordon.

That was far from the case on Thursday. McDaniels was actively seeking his offense, taking open jumpers while also looking for opportunities to attack. He didn’t hesitate when he got a chance to take Michael Porter Jr. off the bounce from the top of the floor, crossing up the Nuggets’ sharpshooter for an easy finish at the rim.

The biggest look, TImberwolves coach Chris Finch noted, was the 3-pointer McDaniels hit over a backed off Nikola Jokic to get Minnesota rolling after it fell behind 9-2 early.

“He played with a confidence,” Finch said. “We really needed to see that thing go down. And then it was just play off the catch, make the right play, stay confident. Everything came in the flow of the offense, and he got a bunch of buckets in a lot of different ways. Which is for us, when that’s happening with Jaden, we know we’re playing the right way.”

When that’s the case, everyone profits. Nickeil Alexander-Walker hit open shots. Minnesota’s movement generated mismatches Naz Reid could attack inside. Kyle Anderson scored at timely points.

That’s when the Wolves’ offense becomes significantly more difficult to guard.

“Obviously, anybody who plays the game and sees your shots go in early in the game, it’s great for your confidence, great for the rhythm,” Finch said. “People keep trusting the right play that you’re going to make the shots when they come to you. But it’s just about activity. When they’re active and their ball is moving, we’ve got a lot of guys that can put the ball in the basket, and I think with Jaden sometimes, getting 10 shots is also a barometer for us. When he gets 10 shots a game, we’ve been pretty good.”

And when he plays like he did in Game 5 — looking hesitant to take any good look, lacking confidence when he does decide to shoot — it’s easy for a team like Denver to stack up against Edwards and bog the Wolves’ entire offense down.

In the playoffs, no one can allow themselves to go unguarded.

“I get more confidence as the shots go in. It’s just staying even keel even if I miss a couple in a row,” McDaniels said. “Just knowing that I’m capable of making shots. Just keeping that confidence instilled in myself.”

That will face the ultimate test on Sunday. It’s easier to be aggressive and confident at home. It’s easier to do so when the team is rolling and the lead is robust. But what about on the road, in Game 7 with the season on the line?

That’s when it’s difficult to trust yourself. But it’s also when McDaniels may be required to act if Minnesota is to down the champs in this now one-and-done scenario.

“We talked about it on the bench: There’s times when he cuts just to kind of cut to get out of the way but not cut to score,” veteran point guard Mike Conley said. “Like, stay in the corner sometimes, and be ready to shoot, because if you stay in the corner they’ve got to make a 2-on-1 decision. And he did that (Thursday) and was confident in his shot and his ability, and we’re confident in him. We’re going to need him. We don’t win without him, so for him to just stay confident, that’s just the biggest thing.”

“Hopefully,” Finch said, “this gives him the confidence to stack another one.”

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Timberwolves trounce Denver to force decisive Game 7

The Wild’s wild ride this season finally skidded off the pavement in late April, a loss at Denver that officially ended their chances for a postseason bid. It did not, however, end the seasons of a handful of their best prospects.

Two of them, in fact, are still playing — center Hunter Haight and defenseman Kalem Parker, who will meet as opponents in the Canadian Hockey League major junior championship tournament May 24 in Saginaw, Mich.

They’re not the only Wild prospects who made long postseason runs this spring.

Minnesota Wild center Hunter Haight, left, drives past Colorado Avalanche center Cedric Pare in the second period of a preseason NHL hockey game, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2023, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Center Riley Heidt was part of the Prince George team that lost to Parker’s Moose Jaw Warriors in the Western Hockey League championship. Forward Rasmus Kumpulainen had three goals and 11 points in 20 playoff games for OHL runner-up Oshawa.

Elsewhere, left wing Rieger Lorenz, a sophomore, had two points in the title game for Denver’s NCAA champions, and right wing Danila Yurov helped Metallurg Magnitogorsk win the KHL’s Gagarin Cup.

“More playoff games, more meaningful games, more high-pressure games at a young age,” Wild general manager Bill Guerin said. “We want players that are used to that, that become accustomed to it and deal with it better.”

Yurov, 20, scored 16 goals and 30 points for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in 44 games this season and will spend at least one more season in the KHL. Lorenz, 20, will play his junior season at Denver this year.

It’s no secret that Guerin is looking for a few young forwards to contribute next season, if not from the season’s first game, at least as a call-up who might actually be able to put a puck in the net.

The Wild used five forwards who started the year at AHL Iowa last season, and as a group they scored eight goals in 120 games. When you add center Marat Khusnutdinov and wing Liam Ohgren, who joined the team after their pro seasons in Europe ended, it rises only to 10 goals in 141 games — although that’s not entirely fair.

Ohgren, 20, had a goal and assist in four games and never looked out of place. Khusnutdinov improved noticeably in 16 games, finishing with a goal and three assists. The Wild more or less expect them to make the team out of camp.

That hasn’t gone unnoticed by other Wild prospects who saw their success as proof that the right young players can not just play for the team next season, but make the team out of training camp.

“I do look at it that way,” said Haight, who scored 25 goals among 67 points and was a plus-14 in 68 regular-season games for Saginaw last season. “Hopefully I can make that transition to pro hockey next year. When you see guys like Ohgren up there, he’s a phenomenal player, and I played with him at camps — on a line or filling in — and the chemistry’s there.”

Haight, 20, has nine goals and 13 points in 17 postseason games this spring and is having the time of his life. His Saginaw team is host to the Memorial Cup, and playing as one of four teams that won 50 games this season. But it’s been work. Haight, 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, focused on being a two-way player and it showed. Since being a minus-14 with the Barrie Colts in 2022-23, he has improved to a combined plus-20 in two seasons with Saginaw.

“The end goal is to play in the NHL, and without developing those traits, I’m not going to get there,” Haight said.

Guerin has a little money to sign a free agent or two this summer — in the $8 million range if the cap rises to $87.7 million as expected — but the Wild are headed for another year of salary cap misery with $14.7 million of dead space related to the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts. The best way to optimize salary is to get production from players still in their rookie contracts.

Imagine last year’s team without Brock Faber and Marco Rossi each playing 82 games, the first rookies in franchise history to do so. Combined, they made less than $2 million for a team that lived on injured-reserve allowances.

Heidt, 19, had an impressive camp — his first — last fall and had a big regular season for Prince George, 37 goals, 117 points and a plus-34 in 66 games. In 15 postseason games, he had three goals and 19 points.

“It’s been the best time of my life,” Heidt said. “It sucks that we didn’t get that championship.”

Guerin said he wants every Wild prospect to not just aim to make the NHL roster, but to expect it. He needn’t worry about Heidt.

“My goal last year was to make the team,” the young center said. “I expect that every year, especially this year. I’m going to have a really big summer and go into camp believing that I’m going to make the team, whatever it takes.”

Junior Advancement

Four Wild prospects had big postseasons for their major junior teams in the Canadian Hockey League, and two — Hunter Haight and Kalem Parker — will meet in the Memorial Cup tournament May 23-June 2 in Saginaw, Mich.

Player/Pos.              League        Team           Gm     G    A    Pts.   +/-
Hunter Haight, C      OHL              Saginaw      17       9     4    13      -3
Riley Heidt, C          OHL              Pr. George   15      3     16   19     +5
Kalem Parker, D       WHL             Moose Jaw   20     2      7     9      +9
R. Kumpulainen, C   OHL             Oshawa         20     3     11   13     +9

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Jamal Murray failed to make a fadeaway jumper on Denver’s first possession, then tried a floater that spun around the rim and spit out in portending fashion.

Neither of those misses hurt the normally smooth-shooting Nuggets point guard like what came next for him on defense in Minnesota in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals.

As he tried to move around a high screen by Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert early in the first quarter on Thursday night, Murray hurt his right elbow in the collision with the NBA Defensive Player of the Year’s raised right elbow and immediately clutched over in pain. He flexed his arm back and forth to try to loosen up the joint as he turned up the court, but it never did.

Now he’s hurting again, and so are the defending champion Nuggets. They’ll host Game 7 on Sunday.

“I was never really getting into my rhythm again, and my team obviously needed me to tonight, and I didn’t,” said Murray, who also went 3 for 18 in the Game 2 loss. “So, I’m disappointed in myself for not being able to give them the right production that I know I can.”

Murray finished just 4 for 18 from the floor for 10 points in the 115-70 defeat, playing 32 minutes before getting some extended rest in empty-the-bench time down the stretch as Minnesota built a lead as big as 50 points. He said he applied some numbing cream to the elbow to allow him to fully extend it on his jumpers without pain, but he never found his rhythm.

Murray, who was nagged by a strained left calf during the first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, has been bothered by right elbow pain in the past. He wears a protective sleeve over it.

With two off days until the decisive Game 7 in Denver, Murray will have additional time to heal. Will that be enough?

“I hope, for our team’s sake,” he said. “I hope I can get it right.”

This has been quite the eventful postseason for Murray, who hit two last-second game-winners to oust the Lakers in five games in the first round. Then he chucked a heat pack onto the court from the bench in Denver during a Game 2 blowout by the Wolves that drew him a $100,000 fine from the league.

He bounced back strong with 24 points to lead the Nuggets to victory in Game 3, then sank a halftime buzzer-beater from beyond half court to highlight the Game 4 win in Minnesota.

Now all eyes will be on him again in Game 7 as he tries to shake off another disruption.

“It’s all behind us now,” Murray said. “I’ve just got to get ready and be able to be better for Sunday.”

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