TO THE CLASS OF 2018

You are the greatest miracle in the world.
You have the power to think.
You have the power to love.
You have the power to will.
You have the power to laugh.
You have the power to imagine.
You have the power to create.
You have the power to plan.
You have the power to speak.
You have the power to pray.
You have the power to choose.
Choose to love rather than hate.
Choose to laugh rather than cry.
Choose to create rather than destroy.
Choose to persevere rather than quit.
Choose to praise rather than gossip.
Choose to heal rather than wound.
Choose to give rather than steal.
Choose to act rather than procrastinate.
Choose to grow rather than rot.
Choose to pray rather than curse.
Choose to live rather than die.
You are more than a human being. You are a human becoming.
You are capable of great wonders. Your potential is unlimited.
Enjoy this day today . . . and tomorrow tomorrow.
Now like a butterfly from its chrysalis, you can fly . . . fly as high as you wish, and neither the wasps nor dragonflies nor mantises of mankind shall obstruct your mission, your search for the true riches of life.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Track: Thursday, @ Huron invitational.
Girls golf: Thursday, @ Brookings invitational; Monday, @ Watertown invitational.
Boys tennis: Thursday-Saturday, @ state tournament, Rapid City.

Girls track: At the ESD Conference meet Brandon Valley was team champion, followed by Yankton second, Harrisburg third, Watertown fourth and Pierre fifth among nine teams. Mackenzie Rath won the discus at 125’1″ and was second in the shot put at 39’1 3/4″. Addy Eisenbeisz won the long jump at 17’7″ and was second in the high jump at 5’5″ and second in the triple jump at 35’2″. Taryn Senger placed third in the triple jump at 33’8″. The 4×800 relay team of Jessica Lutmer, Kyla Keyes, Autumn Iverson and Emma Lusk placed fourth as did the 4×100 team of Kyanne Beck, Haylee Hauck, Addy Smith and Emily Mikkelsen. Lutmer placed sixth in the 800 in 2:30.20, Mikah Moser was seventh in the pole vault and Emry Heiss was sixth in the long jump. Girls’ relay teams were sixth in the 4×200, medley and 4×400 teams.

Boys track: Brandon Valley also won the boys’ ESD Conference title, followed by Aberdeen Central second, Watertown third, Harrisburg fourth and Pierre fifth among nine teams. The only Pierre champion was Erick Colman in the shot put at 52’2 1/4″, and he was also seventh in the discus. Paul Adam placed third in the high jump at 6′ and fifth in the long jump at 20’1/2″. Jack Maher was seventh in the shot put, Caleb Lusk sixth in the 3200 in 10:42.40, fourth in the 1600 in 4:39.46 and fifth in the 800 in 2:02.55. Barry Browning placed fourth in the 400 in :52.44. The medley relay team of Leander Austin, Kade McTighe, Barry Browning and Tucker Berens was third. The 4×200 team of Austin, Jaden Jessop, McTighe and Browning placed fourth. Pierre relay teams were fifth in the 4×800 and sixth in the 4×400.

ESD Conference: Pierre placed fifth in both boys and girls all-sports standings this school year. In ESD boys sports Aberdeen Central was the first-place school followed by Brandon Valley and Harrisburg. In girls sports Brandon Valley was the winner with Watertown second and Harrisburg third.

Boys tennis: At the ESD Conference tennis tournament Pierre placed eighth among the nine schools with Mitchell earning the team championship. Jace Wernsmann at #1 singles and Phil Adam at #4 singles both won consolation championship honors. Grant Judson placed fourth at #5 singles. The #3 doubles team of Judson and Spencer Davis placed sixth.

Girls golf: The Lady Govs were sixth in the Mitchell invitational Friday with a 75-over-par 363. Hallie Gronlund tied for 11th at 86, 14-over-par. Annabelle Simpson tied for 24th with Jessa McTighe with 92s. Other scores: Kaitlyn Swenson 93, Rilee Rowse 99, Taylor Davis 99. On the same course in the Parkston invitational Tuesday, Pierre was second at 368 behind champion Burke/South Central. Gronlund placed sixth with an 85, Davis seventh at 89, Annabelle Simpson eighth at 94, McTighe 12th at 97 and Swenson at 103.

THOUGHTS ON GETTING OLDER

Getting lucky means walking into a room and remembering why I’m there.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Track: Thursday, @ Region 6A meet, Miller.
Golf: Thursday, @ Mobridge-Pollock invitational; Monday, @ Region 5B meet, Pierre.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Track: Thursday, @ Region 2B meet, Gettysburg.
Golf: Monday, @ Region 5B meet, Pierre.

Track: At the Miller invitational Lauren Wittler won the shot put at 39’3″, breaking her own school record. Jacob Howard won the men’s shot put at 51’2″ and the discus at 145’2″. Rachel Guthmiller won the discus at 121’10”. The girls’ 4×400 relay team won their race in 4:34.4 as Courtnie Weinheimer, Allyson Wittler, Dani Frost and Brooklynn Bradford carried the baton. At the first Charger Invitational held on the new track in Onida, the boys’ medley team of Morris Hofer, Coulton Lentz, MacKenzie Weinheimer and Sebastian Frost won their race in 3:51.70, qualifying for the state meet. Bradford won the girls’ 100 in :13.34, Lincoln Jordre the high jump at 5’6″, Angela Guthmiller the shot put at 32’8 1/4″ and the discus at 112’2″, Jett Lamb the shot at 47′, and Jack Mercer the discus at 125′. Charger relay teams won the girls’ 4×200, boys’ 4×200, boys’ 4×100, girls’ medley, girls’ 4×400 and boys’ 4×400.

Golf: At the Central Conference meet Kara Huse was medalist among the girls with Lauren Wittler sixth. In boys’ play Devan Kleven placed sixth and Nick Wittler 10th.

LIFE LESSON

Always leave people better than you found them. Hug the hurt. Befriend the lost. Love the lonely.
— TobyMac, SpeakLife

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, May 17:
Josh Davis, Eileen Bertsch, Bill Squires, Gus Terveen, Angie (Wire) Fouts, Calla Ellis, Diana Melvin, Blair Krueger, Mat Ripperger, Tyler Hoffman, Uncle Matt Schatz, Meshanna Heckenlaible, Lanete (McFarling) Kotilnek.
— 15th anniversary, Arlo/Chandra (Miller) Brower.
— 15th anniversary, Dan/Sarah (Shepherd) Schulte.
— 4th anniversary, Cole/Jennifer (Glanzman) Uecker.
— 38th anniversary, Hal/Marie Rumpca.
— 4th anniversary, Charlie/Stephanie Moore.
— 9th anniversary, Matt/Blair (Simon) Picchietti.

Friday, May 18:
Clay Roberts, Doug Marsh, Sara (Tillman) Anderson, Sommar (Jastorff) Nelson, Josh Zellmer, Bryce Herr, Joanne Andersen, Will Hansen.

Saturday, May 19:
Julie Smith, Darin Boe, Jack Runyan, Casey Hight, Matt Koester, Emily Swanstrom, Shawna (Miller) Lizotte, Michelle (Beemer) DeWitt, Mike Yackley, Casey Templeton, Paula Welch, Jeff Hayward, Nola Terveen, Tim Davis, Gordon Woods.
— 11th anniversary, Tim/Melissa Schumacher.
— 6th anniversary, Seth/Karae (Englehart) Parsons.
— 39th anniversary, Kevin/Brenda Goeden.

Sunday, May 20:
Lisa Chamley, Maggie Lanning, Taynen Stout, Katie (Hallock) Moberg, Murray Thompson, Caleb Kuszmaul, Polly Gill, Mark Leiferman, Renessa Williams, Chad Johnson, Ainsley Askew, Deanna Smith, Dave O’Connell, Owen Joy, Elliesia Nelson, Caelum Carr.
— 13th anniversary, Doug/Krista (Beastrom) Stevens.

Monday, May 21:
Boomer Kuiper, Tessa (Heiss) Krueger, Lindsey Kozel, Hayse Moore, Sam Booker, McKenna Halverson, Garrett Weber, Bob McCarty, Tara (Hyde) White.
— 2nd anniversary, Cliff/Alexis (Yackley) Warner.
— 24th anniversary, Paul/Toni Kennefick-Aschoff.
— 7th anniversary, Harry/Emily (Goeden) Decker.
— 7th anniversary, Mark/Alysia Livermont.
— 41st anniversary, Mark/Sheryl Nielsen.
— 14th anniversary, Josh/Kelli (Snow) Rohrer.
— 2nd anniversary, Tyler/Erika Tordsen.

Tuesday, May 22:
Josh Aker, Christopher Carter, Kim (Merkwan) Schaefer, Nicole Royer, Pat Snow, Tennyson Newman, Brian Bumann, Mandy (Hill) Johnson, Dick Koester, Elliot Bertsch, Michell (Knoll) Peterson, Macy (Welsh) Kaiser.
— 8th anniversary, Kipp/Kelsee (Larsen) Stahl.
— 9th annivwersary, Joe/Amy (Robinson) Ryan.

Wednesday, May 23:
Caroline Zebroski, Huntley Canode, Matt Gill, Kade Binegar, Bob Jeffries, Billy Serbousek, Jenny (Gors) Hodges, Morgan Freidel.
— 3rd anniversary, Aaron/Claire Rumpca.
— 3rd anniversary, Dmitri/Brittni Melius.
— 65th anniversary, Darrell/Sue Robbins.
— 26th anniversary, John/Heather Forney.
— 6th anniversary, Maxx/Macy Vaudrin.
— 3rd anniversary, Dustin/Tarin James.
— 9th anniversary, Neils/Kara (Gloe) Christoffersen.

Thursday, May 24:
Stephanie Paul, Betsy (Valnes) Barkley, Luke Schanzenbach, Adrian Freidel, Tony Jockheck.
— 15th anniversary, Gary/Molly Redden.
— 4th anniversary, Mick/Jenny (Ness) Hofer.
— 4th anniversary, Cody/Darcy (Unruh) Keiser.

WORDS OF WISDOM

The world is violent and mercurial. It will have its way with you. We are saved only by love—love for each other and the love that we pour into being a parent, being a writer, being a painter, being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building and what we must save from it, all the time, is love.
— Tennessee Williams

COLLEGE BASEBALL ROUNDUP

South Dakota State (Landon Badger, Quinn Reimers): The Jacks go into the final series of the regular season at NDSU this weekend with a 16-27 overall record, 14-10 in Summit League play. After a 10-0 non-conference loss at Wichita State last Wednesday, SDSU lost two of three to Western Illnois. In a 4-3 14-inning loss Landon went 0-for-6 at the plate, and Quinn faced one batter and getting a ground-out in a third of an inning. In a 13-7 win Landon was 2-for-3, drove in a run, walked twice and scored three times. In a 9-6 loss Landon had an RBI triple in five at-bats. Quinn in two innings pitched walked one, allowed one hit, got five men on ground balls and retired another on a fly. The top four teams in the Summit advance to next week’s league tournament at Tulsa from where the champion advances into the NCAA Tournament.

Minnesota (Nolan Burchill): The Gophers took two of three from Michigan State, winning 10-5 and 3-1 and losing 6-5. On Tuesday Minnesota won in New York over St. John’s, 8-4, to go to 35-13 for the season. The Gophers finish the regular season this weekend with three games at Rutgers.

Northern (Spencer Sarringar): After upsetting top-seed Minot State in the first round of the NSIC Tournament, Northern lost to Concordia-St. Paul 5-4, stayed alive with a 12-6 win over Wayne State but was eliminated in a 4-1 loss to Minot State. NSU finished the season with a 22-20 record.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Chicago Cubs:
Thursday: @ Atlanta, 6:35 (MLBN).
Friday: @ Cincinnati, 6:10.
Saturday: @ Cincinnati, 12:10 and 6:10.
Sunday: @ Cincinnati, 12:10.
Tuesday: Cleveland, 6:05 (ESPN).
Wednesday: Cleveland, 7:05 (MLBN).

Colorado Rockies (times are MDT):
Thursday: @ San Francisco, 8:15.
Friday: @ San Francisco, 8:15.
Saturday: @ San Francisco, 2:05 (MLBN).
Sunday: @ San Francisco, 2:05.
Monday: @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:10.
Tuesday: @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:10 (ESPN).
;Wednesday: @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 8:10.

Minnesota Twins:
Friday: Milwaukee, 7:10 (FSN).
Saturday: Milwaukee, 6:10 (FSN).
Sunday: Milwaukee, 1:10 (FSN).
Monday: Detroit, 7:10 (FSN).
Tuesday: Detroit, 7:10 (FSN).
Wednesday: Detroit 12:10 (FSN).

Pierre Trappers:
May 25: @ Hub City (Aberdeen), 6:35.
May 26: Hub City, 6:35 (home opener).
May 27: Hub City, 5:35.
May 29: @ Hub City, 6:35.
May 30: Hub City, 6:35.
May 31: Hub City, 6:35.
June 1: @ Badlands (Dickinson), 7:35.
June 2: @ Badlands, 7:35.
June 3: @ Badlands, 6:35.
June 4: @ Souris Valley (Minot), 6:35.
June 5: @ Souris Valley, 6:35.
June 6: Hub City, 6:35.
June 7: Hub City, 6:35.
June 8: Spearfish, 6:35.
June 9: @ Badlands, 7:35.
June 10: @ Badlands, 6:35.
June 12: Souris Valley, 6:35.
June 13: Western Nebraska (Scottsbluff-Gering), 6:35.
June 14: Western Nebraska, 6:35.
June 15: Spearfish, 6:35.
June 16: Spearfish, 6:35.
June 17: Spearfish, 5:35.
June 18: @ Western Nebraska, 7:35.
June 19: @ Western Nebraska, 7:35.

Sioux Falls Canaries: The Canaries will play the first six games of the American Association season at home in the Birdcage–Friday 7:05, Saturday 6:05 and Sunday 1:05 vs. Chicago and Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:05 vs. Sioux City.

STRANGE FACTS ABOUT THE U.S.

You can wach more than 100 ponies swim to Chincoteague Island in Virginia each year.

COLLEGE TRACK ROUNDUP

Liberty (Cortney Dowling): At the Big South Conference meet in High Point, N.C., the Flames’ men’s and women’s teams both won conference titles, both for the fourth straight year. The 4×100 relay team on which Cortney is the anchor won their race in :44.80, a new school, meet and stadium record. Cortney is also on the 4×400 team which won in 3:36.75, and she herself won the 400 in :54.65, a personal-best time as a collegian. She was also third in the 200 in :24.96. Qualifiers will compete in the NCAA East Preliminaries at Tampa, Fla., May 24-26.

Mary (Jack Wollman): The Marauders’ men’s team were second in the NSIC conference meet, scoring 18 points in the final event, the triple jump, to leapfrog two other teams in the rain at Winona. Minnesota State was team champ with 191 points, Mary second at 102 1/2, Augustana third at 98 and Wayne State fourth at 92.

South Dakota State (Riley Sears, Max Reinke, Rachel Propst): The Jackrabbit men were second and the women fourth at the Summit League championships. Among the Pierre athletes Riley tied for seventh in the high jump at 6’5″. SDSU’s Bryan Courter was named field events MVP after winning the long jump and the triple jump. Kyle Burdick was track events MVP, winning the 1500, going second in the 10,000 and placing third in the 800. Those Jacks who qualify will compete May 24-26 at the NCAA West Preliminaries in Sacramento.

South Dakota: The Coyote women tied for the league championship at the Summit League championships, the first track title for the USD women since joining the league. The USD men placed third. Shanice Cannigan was named Most Outstanding Performer among the women by winning the 100 hurdles and the 400 hurdles, placing fourth in the long jump and eighth in the long jump and anchoring the 4×400 relay team. Joe Reagan, the male Most Outstanding Performer, won the 200 in :21.00, the second-best time in school history, and was second in the long jump and fourth in the 100 and ran second leg of the second-place 4×100 relay team. Pole vaulter Chris Nilsen won his event in 19’1/4″. Gawain Williams was first in the 100 and became the fourth male in Summit League history to win four titles in the same event. USD won 14 events at the meet. Qualifiers will compete May 24-26 at the NCAA West Preliminaries in Sacramento.

Black Hills State (Allan O’Donnell, Kelsey Van Den Hemel): At a last-chance meet at Nebraska-Kearney, Allan placed second in the high jump at 6’8″. On Tuesday he learned he and teammate Tristan Hepp have both qualified in the high jump for the NCAA national Division II meet at Charlotte, N.C., May 24-26. Allan was also one of five BHSU athletes named South Central All-Region for the outdoor season. He was also all-region for the indoor season.

RECOMMENDED READING

“I Lost My Balance” by Eileen Dover and Phil Down
— Literary WordPlay

WEDDING DAYS

June 2: Ethan Fife/Heather Mangan.
June 2: Cole Cruse/Kadence Feininger.
June 16: Matt Blaseg/Taryn Wolf.
June 16: Brandon Vockrodt/Kayla Nuese.
June 29: Jack Markel/Eileen Leong.
July 7: Matt Tetzlaff/Korie Lebeda.
July 14: Shawn Hlavacek/Rebekah Hartmann.
Aug. 11: Steve Long/Cassie Amundson.
Aug. 18: Todd Leiferman/Hillary Handcock.
Aug. 18: Jason Noyes/Micki DeCurtins.
Aug. 19: Derek Berman/Danea Duxbury.
Aug. 25: Steven Gordon/Katelynn Engh.
Sept. 29: Tyler Arbach/Rachel Hartmann.
Oct. 6: Rodd Bauck/Megan Vockrodt.
Oct. 6: Cale Pell/Sarah Lihs.
Aug. 31, 2019: Devin Maki/Karlie Warne.

NEW DOG CROSS-BREEDS

Pekingese + Lhaso Apso = Peekasso, an abstract dog

SOCCER UPDATE

Sioux Falls Thunder: The Thunder beat LC Aris FC from LaCrosse, 6-1. After playing in St. Paul against VSLT FC last night, the Thunder plays at home Saturday at 7 p.m. vs. the Minnesota Twinstars FC.

Minnesota United FC: The Loons of Major League Soccer lost at San Jose, 3-1. Minnesota plays at Sporting Kansas City at noon Sunday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Storm: The Storm scored late to beat Nebraska, 40-36, and now stand at 7-3 for the season. The Storm goes to Cedar Rapids Friday.

WHY ENGLISH IS SO HARD

The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Lynx: The Lynx improved to 1-1 with an 87-58 win over Chicago in the WNBA. Minnesota is home vs. Los Angeles at 4 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2 and hosts Dallas next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour: Idle last week, Tom Byrum and the Champions Tour golfers go to Birmingham this weekend for the next event on the schedule.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“No man who is corrupt, no man who condones corruption in others can possibly do his duty by the community.”
— Theodore Roosevelt

COUNTDOWN

2 days: Sully Buttes High graduation (May 19).
3 days: Riggs High graduation (May 20).
3 days: Stanley County High graduation (May 20).
4 days: Voter registration deadline for June 5 primary and local elections (May 21).
8 days: State track meets, Rapid City/Sturgis/Spearfish (May 25-26).
9 days: Pierre Trappers home opener (May 26).
10 days: State high school baseball tournament, Sioux Falls (May 27).
14 days: NBA Finals begin (May 31).
16 days: Crazy Horse volksmarches (June 2-3).
18 days: State ‘B’ boys/girls golf tournaments, Watertown (June 4-5).
18 days: State girls golf tournaments, ‘A’ Dell Rapids, ‘AA’ Aberdeen (June 4-5).
19 days: Primary and local elections (June 5).
21 days: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion (June 7-10).
24 days: Tony awards, CBS-TV (June 10).
28 days: Men’s soccer World Cup (June 14-July 15.
29 days: Unveiling of newest Trail of Governors statues (June 15).
30 days: College World Series, Omaha (June 16-27).
35 days: Capital City Children’s Chorus 25th anniversry reunion (June 21).
35 days: Oahe Days (June 21-23).
36 days: Riggs High Class of ’98 reunion (June 22-24).
43 days: Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society Elite Series fishing tournament (June 29-July 2).
44 days: Stanley County High Class of ’83 reunion (June 30).
54 days: MLB All-Star Game, Washington (July 10).
64 days: JazzFest, Sioux Falls (July 20-21).
64 days: Pierre Players’ “Guys and Dolls” (July 20-22 and 26-29).
72 days: WNBA All-Star Game, Minneapolis (July 28).
76 days: State Legion baseball tournament, Pierre (Aug. 1-5).
78 days: Riggs High Class of ’78 reunion (Aug. 3-4).
78 days: Sturgis motorcycle rally (Aug. 3-12).
78 days: Sioux Empire Fair, Sioux Falls (Aug. 3-11).
86 days: Lilly Fest, Fort Pierre (Aug. 11).
95 days: First day of school at Riggs High (Aug. 20).
97 days: First day of school at Pierre elementary and middle schools (Aug. 22).
105 days: State Fair, Huron (Aug. 30-Sept. 3).

FOR LANGUAGE LOVERS ONLY

A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to forget.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre high school baseball: Winning three of four home games last weekend gave Pierre a final regular-season record of 12-6. It is interesting to note that every one of the six losses came in a doubleheader split, so Pierre also defeated every time it played. Pierre swept Huron, Mitchell and Brandon Valley and split twinbills with Brookings, Harrisburg, Watertown, Washington and Stevens. Highlights of last weekend’s games:— Brandon Valley: Pierre had only three hits in the first game but still won 1-0. Starter Peyton Zabel went five innings, allowing on ehit, walking five and fanning five. In the nightcap Pierre won 7-0. Starter Garrett Sout in six innings allowed five hits and one walk while striking out six. Michael Lusk, Peyton Zabel and Grey Zabel had two hits each.
— Rapid City Stevens: Pierre couldn’t get a clutch hit in a 3-2 loss in the first game. Starter Kyle Stover in 3 1/3 innings walked two and allowed three runs and two hits. Maguire Raske held the Raiders in check by striking out 10 in relief. In the second game Grey Zabel pitched a no-hitter, striking out eight and allowing only two baserunners—one on an error and one hit by a pitch. Austin Hoss had two doubles at the plate as Pierre rolled to a 10-0 victory.
–— Regional tournaments (at least what they call them): As of Wednesday afternoon the sites and matchups were yet to be announced, but they will be played Saturday. The top four seeds in this first year of the seeding process are all Sioux Falls schools—1, Roosevelt; 2, O’Gorman; 3, Lincoln; 4, Washington. They have games yet to be played tonight.

THE BLONDES ARE BACK

A girl was visiting her blonde friend, who had acquired two new dogs, and asked her what their names were. The blonde responded by saying that one was named Rolex and the other Timex.

Her friend said, “Whoever heard of someone naming their dogs like that!”

“Helllloooooooooo,” answered the blonde. “They’re watch dogs!”

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: lime.
Friday-Sunday: raspberry cheesecake.
Monday-Tuesday: peach.
Wednesday-Thursday: almond.

RED SKELTON’S RECIPES FOR THE PERFECT MARRIAGE

I married Miss Right. I just didn’t know her first name was “Always.”

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• In American Legion baseball the Central Plains Regional will again be played in Dickinson this August. But for 2019 and 2020 the regional has been awarded to Sioux Falls.
• Legion baseball fans who have been to Floyd Fitzgerald Stadium in Rapid City, home of Post 22, are familiar with Sarge, the cat who lives at the ballpark. Sarge was a rescue cat who was brought to the ballpark to live several years ago. It was recently discovered that he has a tumor in his mouth that must be removed and a biopsy taken. The cost may be at least $500, and possibly several hundred dollars more for teeth removal. Fans and friends are hoping to raise $1,500 to take care of Sarge so he can continue to live among the bleachers, dugouts and training facilities at the Fitz. You can help here:
  www.gofundme.com/post-22s-sarge-needs-your-help
• If you want some thought-provoking reading each day, you should check out Stuart Stofferahn’s blog at http://stuartstofferahn.com/blog/

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Riggs High senior Alex Badger has signed a letter of intent to attend Morningside College in Sioux City next fall and participate on the college’s bowling team.

Hannah Gates, Riggs High senior, is one of 500 national semifinalists in the National Honor Society scholarship program from among more than 11,000 applicants. She will receive a $2,850 scholarship. She will be attending Smith College in Massachusetts beginning this fall.

Justin Bender, a graduate of Riggs High School, died May 11. A celebration of his life will be held this Saturday, May 19, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Wesley Acres Senior Living Center in Mitchell. He was a business owner of JV Sprinkler Service in Bismarck. He is survived by his parents, Randy and Coral Newsam and Brad and Jodi Bender; his significant other, Nadia Dudyrev; his children, Adriana and Alexander, and his siblings, Jesse Bender, Eric Bender, Ryan Bender, Heather Marmon and Madison Bender.

Dr. Kelly Glodt, superintendent of the Pierre public schools for the last 11 years, has been selected by the South Dakota School Superintendents Association as South Dakota Superintendent of the Year. He was previously nominated for the award by the Pierre area superintendents. Dr. Glodt has been an educator for more than 30 years.

Kent Anderson, 35, formerly of Fort Pierre, died unexpectedly at his home in Ashford, Ala., May 7. Services were held Sunday at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. The son of Melvn and Rhonda Anderson graduated from Stanley County High School in 2001. In his senior year he joined the National Guard and completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. Then he attended the University of Minnesota-Morris. Among his survivors are his daughter, Sereniti Lynne; his parents, John and Rhonda Ackley of Pierre; his siblings, Deanna Reindel of Dickinson, N.D., Layne Roeder of Alexandria, Minn., and Riley Ackley of Minneapolis; a special uncle, Perry Longbrake of Fort Pierre, and his grandparents, Sandy Ward of Eagle Butte, Eileen Malcolm of Sturgis, Melvin and Dorothy Anderson of Wasta, and Daryl and Mary Lou Stuart of Fort Pierre.

Pierre native Barry Johnson and his wife Janeen of Champaign, Ill., have had a busy and impressive graduation month. Their son Zach graduated from the University of Cincinnati law school, and their younger son Noah graduated from the University of Illinois and will take a year off from school before beginning medical school.

Principal Tom O’Boyle, who has also been the Stanley County football coach since 2015, will be leaving Fort Pierre to become the middle school principal at Vermillion. O’Boyle is a graduate of USD.

Joshua Waldman, 36, formerly of Pierre, died in West Virginia on May 8. Services were held Wednesday at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. He was the son of the late Larry and Linda (Pawelski) Waldman and grew up and attended school in Pierre. He is survived by his sister, Angela Waldman, and his niece, Bethany Waldman.

Greg Schaefer, oldest of the three children of Troy and Kim (Merkwan) Schaefer of Rapid City, received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree at South Dakota State University. He will be doing a one-year residency in St. Cloud, Minn., then he hopes to work in a hospital pharmacy setting.

Stanley County High alumnus Marty Calkins became engaged last week to Marlin Gonzalas in the Dominican Republic where both live. They are planning a wedding in June 2019. Marty, who formerly taught in Glenwood Springs, Colo., before going to the Dominican Republic, is a professor at the International School of Sosua in Carbarete, D.R. His fiancee is a teacher at a school for boys to help them become good citizens. Marty met Marlin when he volunteered at her school.

May graduates from Northern State University:
— Megan Vockrodt, teaching and learning.
— Chris Forster, business administration.
— Vicki Lentz, teaching and learning.
— Rachael Pederson, teaching and learning.
— Megan Bennett, banking and financial services.
— MaKayla Campbell, business administration.
— Austin Christopherson, finance.
— Faith Kongslien, psychologyu.
— Ben Leidholt, finance.
— Cathrine McGinnis, leadership and administration.
— Elizabeth Raecke, human performance and fitness.
— Olivia Waggoner, accounting/management.

Branden Lahman, son of Blunt native Chad Lahman and his wife Lori of Broom field, Colo., graduated cum laude with a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from the University of Wyoming.

Tim and Barb Bjorneberg of Pierre were among the relatives who went all the way to San Angelo, Texas, for the graduation of their granddaughter, Morgan Sibson, from Angelo State University. Morgan is the daughter of Pierre natives Seric and Julie (Shangreaux) Sibson of Colorado Springs. Morgan completed a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology. She will work for a year before attending physical therapy school.

Michelle (Leidholt) Fonck (’96) graduated from Doane College in Crete, Neb., with a master’s degree in educational leadership. Michelle, whose parents are Mike and Betty Leidholt of Pierre, teaches English at The Career Academy in Lincoln.

Anthony Hunt has completed law school at the University of Oregon in Eugene. He has been hired at a business/corporate law firm in that state.

Mark Swendsen is retiring after more than 40 years with the stations of the Dakota Radio Group. He and his wife, Linda, will be moving to St. Louis to be near their children and grandchildren. A farewell reception honoring the Swendsens will be held today (Thursday) from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Casey Tibbs Rodeo Center.

Jim McLain, whose bachelor’s degree is from SDSU, is nearing completion of his year-long online study toward a master of science degree in secondary education. He has been student-teaching at Georgia Morse Middle School and Riggs High School and now has been hired to teach seventh grade English and language arts at GMMS beginning this fall.

Former Pierre student Jesse Beesley recently became engaged to April Harwell, a native of Ennis, Texas, who works as a clinical imaging specialist at GE Healthcare in Fort Worth. Jesse also lives in Fort Worth where he is a nuclear medicine technician at a hospital.

Jack and Jo Mitchell, long-time Pierre residents and the parents of Terry Disburg, passed away two days apart at Highmore Health. Jack, 86, died Saturday, and Jo, 85, died Monday. Visitation will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 22, at Feigum Funeral Home, followed by a prayer service at 7. Their joint funeral service is planned for 10 a.m. Wednesday, May 23, at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Julia Jones and Chris Rumrill from First United Methodist Church are among the members of a mission team who left earlier this week for the Dominican Republic along with more than 500 pounds of medicines and supplies.

Jordan Keeler, who graduated from Riggs High four years ago this month, now has graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in physiology from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

Conrad Adam, who graduated this month from the University of South Dakota, plans to work as an analyst for the foundations and endowments team at Abbot Downing, a financial services firm in Minneapolis. Conrad was recently honored as Outstanding Senior of the Year by the Beacom School of Business at USD.

Mike Trautner, 1976 Riggs High alumnus and a member of the South Dakota Tennis Hall of Fame, was admitted to the ICU critical care unit at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. He is fighting a vicious sepsis, an infection in the bloodstream, attributed to Group A strep bacteria and the the toxic shock syndrome that ravaged his body, according to a GoFundMe page that has been established. On May 9 he was moved from the ICU unit but remains hospitalized with many complications. Friends of the Trautner family can follow Mike’s progress at this link:
https://www.gofundme.com/our-michael

Auditions for Pierre Players’ summer musical, “Guys and Dolls,” will be held at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, May 21-22, at the Grand Opera House. However, before that, tonight (Thursday) at 6 p.m. there will be a sing-along session at the Grand Opera House to familiarize potential auditioners with the music. For information contact Brad Steckelberg at b_steckelberg@yahoo.com. Show dates for “Guys and Dolls” will be July 19, 20, 21, 22, 26, 27, 28 and 29.

Talk about a summer break! Austin Lentsch and the other 11 members of The Harvad Din & Tonics, their magnificent a capella group, set off next week on a world tour. The stops start with this schedule: May 28, Reykjavik, Iceland; June 1, London; June 5, Dublin; June 7, Zurich; June 14, Strasbourg, France; June 18, Paris; June 22, Luxembourg. Then the group flies a very long way for the Asia portion of their tour: July 1 Osaka, Japan; July 4, Tokyo; July 6, Choshi, Japan; July 11, Beijing; July 13, Hong Kong; July 18, Bangkok; July 22, Singapore; July 27, Seoul; Aug. 1, Sydney; Aug. 6, Seattle.

Former Pierre resident Michael Card has been named interim director of the University Center at Sioux Falls, effective June 22. An alumnus of USD, he has worked for the university since 1992.

May graduates from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology:
— Douglas Bachand, B.S. in industrial engineering and engineering management.
— Andrew Brown, B.S. in civil engineering, magna cum laude.
— Megan Johnson, B.S. in geological engineering.
— James Roussel, B.S. in mechanical engineering.
— Joshua Schweigert, B.S. in computer engineering.

The School of Business at Northern State University inducted eight graduating seniors into Delta Mu Delta, the international scholastic honor society. One of them is Chris Forster of Fort Pierre.

IT’S GRADUATION TIME . . . AND AWAY THEY GO!

Children are like kites. You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground. You run with them until you’re both breathless.

They crash . . . you add a longer tail. They hit the rooftop . . . you pluck them out of the spout. You patch and comfort, adjust and teach. You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that some day they’ll fly!

Finally they are airborne, but they need more string and you keep letting it out, and with each twist of the ball of twine, there is a sadness that goes with the joy because the kite becomes more distant, and somehow you know that it won’t be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that bound you together and soar as it was meant to soar . . . free and alone.