JV baseball field could see major upgrades

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

Just one month after a tragic accident that took the life of recent New York Mills High School graduate Blake Unger, representatives from the NY Mills community are hoping to honor his life on one of the baseball fields he spent so much of his spare time.

During its regularly scheduled meeting last week, the NY Mills School Board heard of a plan from high school baseball coach Dustin Geiser to rename the JV baseball field to Blake’s Field.

“It came up in a conversation about what we can do to honor Blake,” said Geiser. “Our goal is to get a scoreboard that says Blake’s Field. This should cost the school zero dollars as I am hoping to get donors.”

Geiser said the plan would be similar to what Perham has done in the past with a secondary baseball field known as Matt’s Field. The baseball field is used throughout the season as a JV and secondary varsity field and was named after Matt Baumgart, who passed away in 2004. Naming the field after the recent NY Mills graduate could help to start conversation about Unger’s life and what he meant to the greater community. 

“The good part is that leads to some conversations as I’ve asked a few people why do you call it Matt’s Field,” said Geiser of Matt’s Field in Perham

The renaming of the field could also lead to improvements, like getting a new scoreboard on the JV baseball field, which also hosts high school games from time-to-time behind the school.

“We are getting a name, we are getting a scoreboard and we are honoring Blake all at the same time,” said Geiser.

Unger passed away in May from injuries he suffered in an accident in Bluffton Township. He was just 18-years-old and the accident came just hours after a NY Mills High School baseball game and days after he graduated from high school.

The school board approved taking the necessary steps to  rename the JV baseball field as Blake’s Field.

In other news

• Approved the following appointments: Eric Niemi as assistant football coach, Tammy Olson as junior high volleyball coach, Olivia Leasing as elementary administrative assistant, Kayla Lueders as special education teacher and Jazzmin Johnson as school nurse.

• Accepted the following resignations: Kayla Boen as cook, Audrey Walz as teacher and Justice Kunza as teacher. 

• Approved a 2024-25 budget revision that showed general fund revenue at $10,926,974 and expenses at $11,620,538; food service revenue at $788,750 and expenses at $833,144; community service revenue at $314,708 and expenses at $406,731; and debt service at $1,176,104 and expenses at $1,226,000.

• Approved an interim budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year that showed general fund revenue at $11,557,299 and expenses at $12,154,664; food service fund with a revenue at $805,750 and expenses at $851,076; community service fund with revenue at $297,262 and expenses at $403,648; and debt service revenue at $1,264,605 and expenses at $1,224,000. School board member Kristina Ehnert said the board will need to get to work on the budget to close the deficit spending that is being projected in next year’s budget.