Strib Varsity reporters Alicia Tipcke and Cassidy Hetttesheimer journeyed to International Falls in December to dig deep into two stories surrounding high school hockey in the area: an international border battle between the International Falls and Fort Frances boys hockey teams, and a cross-border girls hockey co-op between International Falls and Rainy River, 60 miles away in Ontario. Tipcke joined Vineeta Sawkar on WCCO Radio on Friday, Jan. 16, to discuss the stories, which will publish on Strib Varsity next week.

Check stribvarsity.com on Monday for Tipcke’s story about the boys hockey border battle and on Tuesday for Hettesheimer’s story about the unique girls hockey co-op.

Watch the latest episode of this new “WCCO Radio x Strib Varsity” weekly segment here:

About this partnership

The “WCCO Radio x Strib Varsity” segments air every Friday at 7:50 a.m. on 830-AM. Strib Varsity reporters and journalists join Sawkar each week to share what they’re working on and how they’re going about their work. The week’s top story lines are in focus as well.

Strib Varsity Director Chris Carr joined Sawkar on WCCO in October, and the two discussed why the shared values of WCCO and Strib Varsity are foundational for the partnership. Celebrating student-athletes, high schools and communities across Minnesota is the goal.

Sawkar, a onetime video host for the Minnesota Star Tribune, hosts “The Morning News” every weekday from 6-9 a.m. on 830 AM and audacy.com.