  | Following the Rochester I/N Sectional, there's another tournament that was put on the calendar - for next Friday and Saturday. The new Spades and Company bridge space has been open for months now, but they wanted to have a "Grand Opening" tournament and have scheduled that for the end of next week. That is also for non-life master players (under 750). There's no better time to be a non-life master in Minnesota - as playing options are good! |
  | Without the Gopher Regional this month, our tournament tables so far for the year are way, way down from 2025. Total sectional tables (and regionals, although we have yet to have one) are at 734.5 for the year. That's a drop of -45.7% from last year through this period. Not unexpected, as the Gopher would add another 700 tables here - but this metric should recover a bit as time goes on. Your next chance to help bring those Open tournament numbers up will be in St Cloud in just two weeks at the Granite City Sectional. |
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Sectional June 4 Rochester | Sectional June 5-6 Plymouth | Sectional June 11-13 St Cloud  | N A B C July 9-19 Minneapolis  | Sectional Thur August 13 Rochester  | Sectional August 27-29 Roseville  |
 | Nowhere near this top ten list of Minnesota players? Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie], last year's big tournament champion, and neither is Carole Miner [Rochester], the runner-up. Lots of tournaments to go yet this year, so look for a few shakeups before the dust settles close to year's end. |
 | Between the absence of the Gopher this year and the presence of the NABC, this is another metric that's going to have an asterisk next to it this summer - but we're in positive territory for the first half of 2026 and the reason why we are is all due to the little things that make bridge happen at your local club. |
 | The top 50 Minnesota players for this week's gold points Stardust Week are listed to your left. The next gold points are coming up at the Minneapolis NABC. |
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  | Over the course of the five-day tournament, a total of 228 tables were in play, including 30 tables on Sunday for the Swiss teams. You can get results from every day (and event!) of this tournament by clicking here. |
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 | Fay finished the day with 4.43 silver points, or about 4.00 more than she needed - but after playing in Rochester last month and not quite getting the silver she needed, it was terrific to have her become a Life Master at her home club while playing in this sectional. We had a chance to hear from Fay about the exciting buildup to her milestone achievement - and what's next.
FAY: I am, of course, thrilled to have crossed this threshold. But I don't focus on the points or their colors much to be honest, but rather I try to have fun, remember it's a game. I try not beat myself up (not [always] successfully) when the games go really south, and to be proud of myself when they go well. I define "well" as any [score] that begins with a "5". BB: This has been awhile in coming. You were just a fraction short in the Rochester Sectional five weeks ago, and have had some time to look forward to (or wait for) this tournament. . .what was the most difficult part of your journey to becoming a LM? FAY: I think despite missing it by a smidge down in Rochester, this [tournament and chance to get what I needed] came reasonably quickly for me. I've had a "bridge interrupted" career so far. I started maybe in 2018. COVID hit, and then I got hit by a rather large gas tanker in 2022 which derailed me for quite some time. Plus, I work, and my time to play - and more so, to travel and play - is limited. BB: Our most recent Life Master in Minnesota celebrated by taking a scheduled trip to Morocco, which we hadn't heard before. How do you plan to celebrate becoming a Life Master? FAY: There is a manhattan in my future! Or, two. BB: There must be someone out there (teachers, partners, etc) who you'd like to thank or mention as instrumental in having gotten you to this point. Who has really made an impact on your bridge game? FAY: Aw, this is easy. First is my husband, Bob, who is often a bridge widow[er], but has been totally supporting of me running out of the house on Tuesday evenings after working all day, or leaving him on the weekends to play. Then I have to thank both Jackson [Wahl] and Kim[berly Hayward] for one, teaching me lots of sensible and cool bridge things and two, keeping me feeling like I am getting better. I have also played quite a bit with Linus [Bendel-Stenzel] over the last year or two and that has made me more strategic. BB: It's great to have such a strong group of supporters, that's for sure. FAY: And it has to be said: Kim runs a wonderful, welcoming club that is a community. Thank you to the Bridge Center of St Paul! BB: All newly-minted LMs have a good story or two to tell about their journey. Playing against someone famous, a hand that went horribly awry, a tournament that you loved - have you got a story you'd like to pass along? FAY: There's that 2♣ opener by my partner that I passed early on [in my bridge career] - sorry, Mary McIntyre, never again! BB: When players become a LM, some of them slow down quite a bit - others just keep going full blast. What are your bridge plans now that you've crossed this line? FAY: I would love to catch up to my sister, who has 2,600 points, but the math doesn't work. Plus, she's retiring [so more time for her to play]. So I will just have to keep on going like I am now, having lots of fun at the bridge tables whenever I can. BB: Finally - what advice would you give to players who are not yet LMs but are working their way towards that goal? FAY: Don't worry about points! Have fun, believe it will all come together some day, and believe in yourself. It's a game you can play in a wonderful and supportive bridge community for the rest of your life. |
| The 499ers on Saturday saw an outstanding game by Eric Edwalds [Minneapolis] and Suzanne Jiwani [Edina] in the morning. Their 73.33% game was by far and away tops among the 14 pairs in the 499er group. (The next closest game was a 56.67% result.) In the afternoon session, they came in 1st as well - with a 59.94% game and that was good enough for 2.84 silver points. Saturday's two-session pairs games were regionally-rated (read: 40% more masterpoints) thanks to their charity game rating. The charity that benefitted from the extra $4/table was the Minnesota Bridge Education Fund, who will get $180.00 as a result of today's players in attendance. All of the results from this sectional tournament can be found by clicking here. The top fifty masterpoint leaders through four of five days are listed to your left. Next up: the Swiss Teams action! |
 | Another outstanding day Friday, with another 52 tables in play at the Bridge Center of St Paul. 28 tables in the morning (21 open/7 NLM) and 24 tables in the afternoon (19/5) made for a terrific turnout again on Friday. First off: the 499ers. John Baga [Sun City AZ] and Michael Wilson [Savannah GA] took top honors in the morning session with their 66.25% game - then in the afternoon, it was Firoz Nilam [Lakeville] and partner Everett Beguin [Springfield MO] who came in first - they had a 66.15% game among the five table field. On to the Open crowd. This is about the time where we want to remind you that you don't get masterpoint awards for your pair results and your team results in these pair/team games at sectionals such as the North Star - you only get the higher award of the two. So when you look online to see the masterpoint winners, they'll have all kinds of wild numbers posted - but they don't get corrected to the actual awards until well after the tournament. There isn't a player around that wouldn't like to get both awards - but that doesn't happen. The leaders to your left are correct as are their awards. Friday morning's 21-table open crowd found a really stellar 67.03% game that came in from Charlie Carroll [St Paul] and Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis]. They were far and away from the rest of the crowd, with Sharon Anderson [St Paul] and Roger Anderson [St Paul] coming in 2nd overall with a 61.52% game. After the lunch break, the pair of Tom Grue [Roseville] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] took top honors among the 19 tables with a 65.28% game. Second place went to Roark Johnson [Edina] and Jon Martin [Fargo ND] with their 61.81% score. Two more days to go in Roseville - and lots, LOTS more silver points to send out the door. |
  | All Unit 178 games during the week of May 25 to 31 will charge an extra $2 per player, which will go to the NABC Fundraising effort. Each player that plays in a game in Minneapolis will then get a ticket for a drawing at the end of the week - where five NABC T-shirts will be given away to five lucky players. Players can also earn additional tickets in the drawing by making additional donations (we're hoping they have a great supply of tickets for the drawing and use them all!). This all kicks off with the regularly-scheduled Monday game in Edina. However, with the Edina Senior Center closed on Memorial Day, this game will be held at Studio TimeOut on Lyndale Avenue (see flyer to your left). The game begins at 12:30, but Unit 178 is encouraging players to show up earlier and help commemorate the bridge players we have lost since the COVID pandemic. There will be a poster board for pinning obituaries and 3 x 5 note cards with remembrances of the various players who have passed. There is limited space at this playing location, so you're encouraged to RSVP if you're planning to play Monday (details to your left). The fundraising efforts don't have to stop on the 31st, of course, but this is the third and final designated week for local clubs to give away big, big masterpoints while raising some money for the local cause. Unit 178 is maximizing their donation potential with every game next week, so by all means, play and play often! |
 | The morning 499ers was a squeaker, with Tim Finnegan [St Paul] and Gerald Flom [St Paul] having a 60.71% game - good enough for 1st place and 2.06 silver points - just getting past the 60.12% game that David Ha [Minneapolis] and Matthew Yelle [Edina] scored. The Open crowd's 20 tables was won by Joel Kramer [Minneapolis] and Laurie Kramer [Minneapolis], as they earned a 64.58% game to solidly take 1st place overall and 8.71 silver points. Following the lunch break - David Ha [Minneapolis] and Matthew Yelle [Edina] made up for just barely missing out on the first place finish in the morning by winning the afternoon with a 59.90% game and another 1.72 silver points. The 19-table afternoon Open crowd saw Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Tom Grue [Roseville] win 6.65 silver points with their 60.69% game. Lots of scores and lots of masterpoints given out, and you can find all of the results for this tournament by clicking here. Your top masterpoint leaders through day 2 are listed to your left. |
 | So where are we on this? If no tournament was held this week, and the four Metro area clubs that are closed for it would actually be open for business - and be running nothing but NABC Fundraiser games (more likely than not) - their five-week average table count for Wednesday and Thursday this time of year (46¾ tables) would yield a donation of $178.00. The Bridge Center of St Paul's donation over these two days comes to $400.00. It's a much better result for the NABC Fundraising effort, which is probably why Patti Stuhlman [Minneapolis] eagerly gave Unit 103 the green light to have the sectional during what would normally be Gopher week. More than that - it's a WIN for the NABC Fundraising effort; a WIN for the players that are getting silver points in a tournament atmosphere; and a WIN for the Bridge Center of St Paul, as they are raising all kinds of money by hosting the tournament. Win-win-win scenarios do not happen often enough, so let's celebrate by playing more cards. On to Friday! |
 | On day 1, there were 95 players that earned some silver points - that's an amazing turnout and amazing result. Leading the pack after day 1 is Steve Gaynor [Arden Hills], with 9.61 silver points. Steve played with Jean Boettcher [Arden Hills] in the morning, scoring a 62.48% game and coming in second overall, with Steve and Tom Grue [Roseville] earning a 56.63% game in the afternoon, for 4th overall in the PM session. A standout game of 71.37% in the morning by Jackson Wahl [Minneapolis] and Sarah Wahl [Minneapolis] set things in motion today, as they earned 8.94 silver points for their effort. The afternoon was won by Rebecca Anspach [St Paul] and Deborah Weiss [Minneapolis], with a lovely 61.36% game. Your Top 30 masterpoint winners after one day are to your left - now it is on to day 2! |
 | They have added a second game during the week in Duluth. Starting tomorrow, Wednesday May 20th, there's a 12:00pm game every Wednesday at the Hillside Methodist Church. It's located at 1801 Piedmont Avenue, where they play their regular Monday game, and they'll guarantee a partner if you'd like to play Wednesday (this Wednesday or any other) - directions to the church can be found by clicking here. They do ask that if you're looking for a partner to email them at duluthduplicatebridge@gmail.com in advance. The cost of the game is an $8 card fee and includes all the bidding your partner can handle. Cards are now "twice as nice" in the Twin Ports with Duluth's games now on Mondays and Wednesdays. |
      
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(Looking for your club calendar? If it's not here, it hasn't been provided for publication. Be sure to get your club manager or director to send it before the 20th of the month, and you'll see it here every month.) |
    | Statewide, Minnesota's overall table count is up +10.4% vs last year's pre-Gopher week 20-week period. That's an incredible number, and what amounts to a very positive indicator of the health of bridge in our state. So far this year, we've had 4,072 bridge tables in play (no tournaments or online play), compared to the 3,689½ tables statewide during the same period in 2025. Both Outstate Minnesota (+13.4%) and the Metro Area (+8.5%) are seeing a bump in club play, with both Unit 103 (+9.6%) and Unit 178 (+12.6%) each showing improvement over last year. Leading the way is the St Cloud Bridge Club, increasing their weekly average table count by +33.3%, followed by the Duluth Monday games (+31.7%). When it comes to each club's year-over-year comparison, there are a few clubs without data available. Detroit Lakes doesn't run games during the first 20 weeks of the year, the Minn Grand Slam Club and Hennepin BAM club didn't run any in-person games either last year or this year or both, and the new Spades and Company club in Plymouth wasn't running games last year at this time. (BTW, just how important is the new Spades club in Plymouth? All of Unit 178's growth since last year is due to the Spades and Company 7.1 average weekly tables in 2026; without the Spades tables, Unit 178's +12.6% growth since last year actually shows a contraction of -2.8%.) It can always be better, of course, but in today's bridge playing environment it's far more likely to be worse than this. Minnesota bridge players are bucking the trend of bridge elsewhere (at least for now), and that's great news. |
 | Originally, the Welcome Reception was to be on the opening weekend of the event. The ACBL has moved this party for I/N players now to Tuesday, inbetween the morning and afternoon sessions at the Convention Center. If you are an advancing player, and interested in attending this free reception on your behalf, be sure to mark down Tuesday, July 14th. The reception will be held in room 205 at the Convention Center. It should be a great time, and pass the word - all I/N players should plan to be there Tuesday after the morning session for some fun at the NABC. |
 | In the Twin Cities Metro area, the Edina Senior Center is closed on Memorial Day. Tony Ames [Minnetonka] will move his game to 6001 Lyndale Avenue S with a lunch at 11:30am and NABC Fundraiser game at 12:30pm. He has room for 12 tables, so you'll need to RSVP in advance (you can call Tony at 952-200-3871). The Bridge Center of St Paul will be open for business on Memorial Day with an Open game at 10:00am and 749er game at 12:30pm. Woodbury will not have games or lessons on Monday the 25th, nor will Spades and Company in Plymouth. Outstate, the St Cloud Bridge Club will be holding their regular games on Monday the 25th, as will the Rochester Bridge Club. Duluth will not have their Monday games, and while Mankato has a game listed on their website for Memorial Day, the Community Center in which they play is closed - so we'll mark that as an "unlikely". |
     | The top chart to your left is Iowa. About 15 years ago, Iowa actually ran more of D14's tournament tables than Minnesota did (those are the three red data points on the chart). Not now. In 2025, Minnesota's share of all D14 tournament tables was 58.8% vs Iowa's 12.6%, or a difference of +46.2%. But note the blue and red arrows on the chart; the red arrow shows the trend over the past three years has been solidly in Minnesota's favor, as our percentage differential has been increasing. In the post-COVID era, Minnesota's share of tournament tables has increased, and not just vs Iowa. Every state in the Midwest has a red arrow pointing in the same direction over the past three years - showing an increase in Minnesota's favor. But that's not even the most interesting part of these charts! Note the dark blue arrow on each graph, which shows the trend for the several years leading up to the pandemic. It's also in the same direction, favoring Minnesota's tournament efforts during the pre-pandemic years. What does this mean? Well - it would be easy to say "hey, the pandemic" when discussing the trend of Minnesota's increasing share of tournament tables in the Upper Midwest, but these charts demonstrate that you cannot make that argument. The introduction of COVID and subsequent lapse in face-to-face tournament play had nothing to do with Minnesota's increase in tournament table share over the years, as our share of D14 tournament tables clearly started increasing back in the 2012-2016 timeline. (Actually, it appears to have been going on for more than ten years!) Efforts to increase tournament participation and work done by local Minnesota players (and clubs) have been paying off for quite some time now - and it's great news for Minnesota bridge. Finally, one more thing to check out - the bottom of the neighboring state charts to your left is Nebraska. Up until even eight years ago, Nebraska ran almost as many of D14's tournament tables as Minnesota did each year, with a state vs state differential favoring Minnesota in the very low single digits. Not now. Even Nebraska is currently running far fewer tournament tables than Minnesota. This year will be different, without our big regional this month - and it's one of several reasons why we will surely miss the Gopher Regional this year. |
    | Among the local NABC Planning Committee crowd, in the top photo to your left (from L to R) are Dave Neiman [Minneapolis], Keith Thompson [St Paul], Cindy Balderson [Eden Prairie], Marsha Devine [Minneapolis], Bob Balderson [Eden Prairie], Patti Stuhlman [Minneapolis], Linda Purrington [Eagan], Dave Gustafon [Stillwater], Barry Purrington [Eagan], Mike Cassel [Roseville], Kurt Schaeffer [Lakeville], and Matt Belau [Rochester]. Not pictured, but present and having to leave a bit earlier is Peg Waller [Edina]. Flying in and representing the ACBL was Christina Goldsby, the Events Manager for the ACBL, along with Ken Horwedel, NABC Tournament Director, and Jada Woods, the ACBL's Events Specialist. This meeting was scheduled so that all parties could view the event spaces, tournament desk locations, and ACBL office locations during the tournament, among other things - and understand how the tournament will function in these areas. Questions were asked and answered, along with expectations for the upcoming NABC. Presently, the ACBL is estimating around 7,400 tables for the 11-day event, but Christina cautioned that "the measure of a successful tournament is not the table count" but rather that players have a good time while at the tournament. She also let Patti and the crew know "you are all doing a fabulous job." Everything seems to be firing on all cylinders - it would be a shame if you didn't show up to play in July! [Ed.: As one of the many volunteers under Patti's leadership with this tournament, I can personally attest to the fact that everyone really IS working hard to make sure you have a great time at the upcoming NABC. The local volunteerism is off the chart, and the ACBL really does have their act together. It's going to be a great time.] |
 | The ACBL is sponsoring another "Stardust" week from May 18th to May 24th. That means your local bridge club will be providing masterpoints that will ultimately be converted to 25% gold points by the ACBL. There's no additional cost for your local club manager or director to run these games - so there's nothing to do but go play cards and watch the gold dust pile up! Next week should be loaded with gold and silver points across Minnesota, no matter where you play. |
 | Promotional efforts, especially those on the ACBL end, are coming to fruition. The ACBL interviewed Patti, Bob, Matt, and Cindy Balderson [Eden Prairie] last month at the Convention Center, with those interviews being edited this week at ACBL HQ. There's an email blast on the way for May; also at the meeting was discussed what to do with June's player outreach effort. From the PR Committee's standpoint, everything is coming together and right on time. The bottom line in this ZOOM meeting was that all was on schedule, everything is going according to plan, and things are looking good from the view of the committee. They'll meet again in about four weeks. |
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 | Now a sociologist out of Scotland has shown it's good for your social outlook on life - and may be an antidote to over-reliance on artifical intelligence. While AI has learned the game of bridge and beaten some top-notch world-class players, AI does not truly think like we do. Although it's great at playing a bridge hand, according to Samantha Punch [Professor at the University of Stirling, and an International Scottish Bridge Player], it falls short on defense and bidding. And that's important. In addition, bridge players compared to non-bridge players are more optimistic on their outlook on life. You can read the whole article by clicking here. And if you haven't already figured out, it's good for you to keep playing at the table in many, many ways. (H/T Greg Caucutt). |
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The $1,000 donation is far and above what would normally have been raised by Twin Cities clubs during this five-day period (the extra $1/table for the average May Metro area club tables held during that week would be $252). The final veto was given to Patti Stuhlman [Minneapolis], our local NABC Fundraising Chair, who was asked to sign off on the deal and gave it her blessing. But this created a bit of an issue for the Twin Cities clubs that would normally close for a sectional in Roseville - what if they still wanted to do some fundraising of their own and at their own club? The decision was made that those clubs which will close during this sectional tournament next week are being allowed to run NABC Fundraiser games the following week, from May 25-31. This way everyone has a chance to play bridge at their local club and contribute to the NABC Fundraising at the same time. It's a little more complicated than we might like, but it is the best outcome for all involved, and we don't get to say that often enough. Second, the ACBL scheduled a "Glitter Week" next week - right in the middle of what was supposed to be the third week of NABC Fundraising. District 14 clubs (including all Minnesota clubs) would have to choose between offering the ACBL's Glitter Games and the NABC Fundraiser games. No fun. The ACBL has officially announced that due to the Glitter Games next week, now all D14 clubs can hold their Fundraiser games the following week of May 25-31. Not just the Metro clubs that have chosen to close next week. This is what's known as a win-win-win-win, and we're glad to see it. (Updated with the ACBL's decision on Glitter Week's interference.) |
  | Pollen. The website pollen-dot-com has listed these local communities as the absolute worst in the country for pollen this week. Of course, the reason that we're in such bad shape and on this list of the worst is that we have so very many trees out there - which, in reality, is not a bad thing to put us on this list. (Who doesn't like trees?) If you're an allergy sufferer, you probably already know the pollen is bad out there, but here's the documentation to prove it. Thankfully, there's is something you can do to help protect yourself: Get inside and play bridge, of course! The forecast all week is for pollen to be terrible outside, so why not stay indoors for a few hours and enjoy the cards? After all, "we're number 1" when it comes to crazy air outdoors right now - take advantage of being so high on this list. |
 | They're open games (unlimited masterpoints, anyone can play), but geared more towards social players and getting those players more comfortable in a tournament environment. The details are on the announcement which is just to your left - and these Saturday evening games include some chat bridge and dinner beforehand - along with some discussion of the hands afterwards. They do ask that you RSVP, and if you need a partner, that information is also available on the flyer to your left. |
 | Joe was followed this month by Greg Caucutt [Rochester], who earned 22.53 masterpoints, with John Koch [St Cloud] in 3rd place (at 21.34 masterpoints) and Matt Belau [Rochester] close behind in 4th with 21.25 masterpoints. These are all local face-to-face club points that are earned, and don't include any tournament points or online action. Minnesota players who are playing all month in Florida or Arizona and doing terrific, well, they need to talk to the webmaster there. Joe is "back in the saddle" having earned the honor of King of Clubs just two months ago, but will he repeat as the King of Clubs next month? There are a few players gunning for him - but you'll have to get out and play to try to knock him off his perch. |
 | Starring on this list of players would be Sandra Johnson [St Cloud] (see post on her below) who just became Minnesota's newest Life Master. Also heading the list this month would be John Miller [Stillwater], who became a GOLD Life Master this time around. And just as important (if not more so) are all of the new Club Masters, Sectional Masters, etc., who are also on the list - now we're wondering who will be on the list for next month? We'll know soon enough, but it'll be players that are getting out and having some fun at the bridge table, for sure. |
 | This would certainly help make the case that Minnesota's momentum in the bridge world is still moving forward. PRE-ALERTING that this particular metric is about to run into a bit of a wall this month. As it takes into account all F2F tables, it includes the Gopher Regional each year. This year, there is no Gopher Regional, so as we move through the month of May, watch this number dip some. (The only way it would not drop is if the combined Metro Area clubs have 700+ tables during this year's Gopher week, and their combined average table count during that week is 122.) So while this chart is sure to lose some steam in the near future, don't be discouraged as it's not the only measure of how things are going in our bridge world. They're going great at the moment, and everything that you are doing to help is making a difference. |
Mary O'Keefe [Excelsior] Barbara Krutsch [Minnetonka] Barbara Kelly [Minneapolis] Kim Hellier [St Cloud] Jacqueline Johnson [Proctor] Ann Stone [Stillwater] Philip Kronebusch [St Cloud] |
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PREVIOUSLY: [The director] who has been running the games up in Detroit Lakes during the past many summers, was suspended this month by the ACBL for having cheated online. Part of her suspension and being "not in good standing" includes that she is not allowed to manage a bridge club or direct a game - so presently, the Detroit Lakes Bridge Club (in its most recent form) has folded. This club, which has always operated from mid-May to mid-September, held 246½ tables last summer. Unless someone steps up to operate these games at St Luke's Episcopal Church in DL soon, that's a lot of tables that we're going to miss this year. We will see what transpires in the next couple of weeks, if anything, and hopefully have an update soon. It's not bad news that another cheating bridge player was caught and has admitted to what they have done - but it's very troublesome that this particular offender's suspension will impact so many Minnesota players this summer who may not have an option for their bridge game. |
NABC FUNDRAISER GAMES During the week of May 18th to the 24th, clubs may hold their final fundraiser games. These games have an enhanced rating so that clubs can offer the maximum number of points available to be paid out. The extra cost to run these games is $4 per table. Send a check made out to 2026 Summer NABC to Barry Purrington at the address in the attached flyer. Game setup instructions are included in the flyer. VOLUNTEERS There is still time to volunteer your services at the tournament. The volunteer form [can be found by clicking here]. Return your completed form to auntielinda501@gmail.com. PARTNERSHIPS If you need a partner for any event, contact Kurt and Annie Schaeffer at hawkeyeannie67@gmail.com. HOTELS If you haven't already made a hotel reservation, remember that the ACBL's Housing Bureau closes on June 18th. The Bureau is available Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. (Eastern), by calling toll-free 855-956-0776 or contacting acbl.org/minneapolis. Next month we will have parking and transportation information as well as instructions about how to use Entry Express to obtain your entries in advance. See you then! --Warren and the 2026 Minneapolis PR Committee |
 | On the chart going from bottom to top, your local club is either in Unit 103 or Unit 178. Those Units are in D14. District 14 is part of Region 5. And Region 5 answers to ACBL HQ. The bottom line is that whatever volunteering you elect to do - whether it's run for the Region 5 Director or mentor an advancing player once or twice in your local club game - it all adds up. And it's all important. So please keep it up! |
 | Unit 103's Bridge Center of St Paul jumped at the chance to hold a sectional tournament during this Gopher-vacated week, and you'll have five (5!) days of silver-point sectional action at the Roseville club starting on Wednesday, May 20th. Partnerships are still available! Playing in this special sectional also is helping Patti Stuhlman [Minneapolis] and her local efforts toward NABC Fundraising, so not only is it for silver points in a tournament atmosphere, along with a great warmup for the NABC, but it's also for a very good cause. If you're not already scheduled to play in this tournament-which-is-doubling-as-NABC-fundraiser-games, get it on your schedule - and we'll see you in Roseville in two weeks. |
| Congratulations to Sandy! To be sure, there's a celebratory cake in Sandy's future (to be shared among her many opponents and partners) - and we look forward to seeing her new Life Master skills in action at the table. |
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The ACBL did not ship the Medallion awards for the winners (they've been backordered for months), so Unit 103's Board had to improvise for the actual awards. Still fun! Of the 19 tables of players that came to play, Andy Caranicas [St Paul] and Charlie Carroll [St Paul] walked away with 1st place overall and 5.63 masterpoints. There was a separate 499er section, which was won by Diane Alshouse [St Paul] and Tom Owens [Woodbury]. But most of the celebration was for the Ace of Clubs and Mini-McKenney award winners, who took home this year's trophies. And most of them are already working on earning next year's awards. |
   | Looking at table counts for the six Midwest states (Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota), the overall picture for April was an increase of +0.1% from last April. That's. . .a bit insignificant, although one should be happy it's not a larger negative number. There were 2,581 club tables in April among these six states this year - compared to 2,578 tables in April of 2025. Once again, the trend this month here in Minnesota is not universal among all states. Minnesota's increase of +8.3% led to a larger share of all Midwest club tables during April; last year we had 31.1% of all Midwest tables, and this April that number was up +2.6% to 33.7% of all club tables. Wisconsin and Iowa were the two states off the most during this past month compared to one year ago; each of the Dakotas saw a small increase. What does it all mean!? Well, things are going well in our state - for now - and at the moment, the gravitational pull that Minnesota has in cementing itself as the center of the bridge universe in the Upper Midwest has grown just slightly. We'll see what May brings. |
 | The announcement from Spades and Company's new Wednesday morning game (see post below) helped seal the fate of the Wednesday morning game in Roseville. The Twin Cities Metro area couldn't withstand four separate games at the same time Wednesday mornings, and it's possible that it may not support three (we will see). But the Wednesday games at the Bridge Center of St Paul only amounted to 6.0% of all their weekly club tables in the past 52 weeks, and the game was only held 63.5% of the time (33 times in the past 52 weeks), which made the decision to stop operating the Roseville Wednesday AM game much easier. |
  | The idea for this Chili Cookoff was by Win Anderson [St Cloud], who may not have had the winning chili recipe, but she and her partner Alex Warzecha [St Cloud] certainly had the winning bridge recipe, as they came in 1st in the bridge playing portion of the evening (with a 71.00% game). Many more photos of the event are available on the St Cloud Bridge Club website. Do we really have to wait another 12 months to do this again? |
 | Another reason for more chili cookoffs, perhaps? |
 | The month of May is designated as Grass Roots FunD month, where your local clubs can run Grass Roots FunD games that support the District's NAP and GNT programs. Money that is raised during these games goes to the subsidies provided to our D14 winners in the NAP and GNT programs - as they go on to the NABCs and compete against other District winners from around North America. There's no limit to the number of games your club can run to support the Grass Roots FunD effort, so check with your local club manager or director about when they will be running these games - as they pay LOTSA masterpoints on top of everything else. (And they're for a good cause.) The North Star Sectional in Roseville is taking place the third week of the month, taking the place of the Gopher Regional during this locally-held NABC year, and the week coincides with the ACBL's Stardust week. So the Bridge Center of St Paul will have five days of silver points to provide, while clubs elsewhere in Minnesota will be paying gold dust during the same period. The ACBL's Stardust Week also happens to be the third of three NABC Fundraiser weeks - so there is a lot going on this month, including mega-masterpoint games and pigmented points of all colors available. "When all the world is brimming with fun", indeed! |
 | One time they've had 25 weekly tables; three times they saw 24 tables and three more times 23½ tables. So every half table counts, as most bridge players know. Their all-time record was set during one of the first weeks of May - so who knows? Next week may bring another record. |
