SOUTH DAKOTA STAYS AS RED AS EVER

Wonderful as it is to have the opportunity to vote freely, select our leaders and decide our issues, it remains a painful fact that just about everyone is thankful another election season is over, at least when it comes to campaign television commercials.

The Republican one-party stranglehold on state government remained intact Tuesday as the only Democratic candidates who won anything were a few scattered legislators. The new Legislature will have 92 Republicans and 13 Democrats among its 105 members. Five of the Democrats will be in the Senate and eight in the House of Representatives.

The governor’s race saw 161,416 South Dakotans choose state Sen. Billie Sutton, the Democratic candidate, for that office, but U.S. Rep. Kristi Noem nevertheless prevailed in a close race for the governorship with 172,894. That gave her 51% of the vote, Sutton had 48%, and Libertarian candidate Kurt Evans gained 4,844 votes for 1%.

Despite the lines of voters at polls and high numbers of absentee and early ballots cast, 202,736 people who are registered voters in the state didn’t bother to vote at all, leaving South Dakota with a turnout of 62.75%. The three local counties were among the state’s highest in voter turnout—Hughes County 71.46%, Stanley 71.29% and Sully 75.18%.

The race for the U.S. House seat Noem is vacating went to Pierre native Dusty Johnson (Riggs High ’96) by a margin of 60% to 36% over Democratic candidate Tim Bjorkman. Johnson had 202,673 votes, Bjorkman 121,002, Ron Wieczorek 7,322 and George Hendrickson 4,912.

The one statewide race where it was figured the Democratic Party might have a chance was that for attorney general where Randy Seiler seemed to be the experienced candidate, but he lost to Jason Ravnsborg by 55% to 45%. Seiler was the only Democratic candidate for one of the constitutional offices who was able to get more than 40% of the vote.

Initiated Measure 25, which would have increased the tobacco tax by a dollar per pack of cigarettes to raise money for technical institutes and reduce tuition for their students was defeated by 55%-45%. Opponents, whether they were tobacco companies or South Dakota citizens, feared legislators would use the money raised for their own purposes rather than designating it for the tech schools, an action the Legislature has done in the past.

Initiated Measure 24, which prohibits out-of-state contributions to ballot question committees, was approved by 56%-44%.

Two of the three constitutional amendments on the ballots were defeated. The one that was approved, Amendment Z, states that a constitutional amendment must embrace only one subject. That was approved 62%-38%.

Amendment W, which would have created a powerful government accountability board and changed campaign finance and lobbying laws, was beaten 55%-45%. Amendment X, which would have increased the number of votes needed to approve a constitutional amendment, was turned down 54%-46%.

In the District 24 (Hughes-Stanley-Sully) state Senate race, Sen. Jeff Monroe was re-elected over challenger Amanda Bachmann, 6989 to 3519 (67%-33%). The two seats in the House went to incumbents Mary Duvall and Tim Rounds over Terry Keller and Brian Watterson. Duvall received 7238 (37%) votes, Rounds 6836 (35%), Keller 3449 (18%) and Watterson 2137 (11%).

Four candidates were vying for three seats on the Hughes County Commission. Those seats went to Randy Vance, 4680 (27%); Connie Hohn, 4659 (27%); and Bill Abernathy, 4524 (26%). The other candidate, Tom Tveit, got 3212 votes (19%).

ELECTION NOTES

• One of the surprising results from the governor’s race was that Senator Sutton carried Hughes County, home of state government where, one assumes, almost every employee at least registers as a Republican if not voting the party line. Sutton had 52%, Noem 47% and Evans 1%. In Stanley County Sutton was also the winner with 51% to Noem’s 47% and Evans’ 1%. Sully County went to Noem with 62% to Sutton’s 36% and Evans’ 2%.
• Dusty Johnson easily carried all three local counties, getting 67% of the vote in Hughes, 70% in Stanley and 76% in Sully.
• Billie Sutton carried the counties where Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Yankton and the two universities—Brookings and Vermillion—are located, but in his home county, Gregory County, as well as nearby Tripp County, Noem was the winner. In Sutton’s home county he got 1029 votes to Noem’s 1107.
• It is easy to see why voter suppression efforts against Native Americans are supported. In Oglala Lakota County Sutton received 91% of the vote to Noem’s 7%. Of course the number of votes is minimal—Sutton 2773 and Noem 214.
• Former Pierre resident Charles Turbiville, the mayor of Deadwood, who died in late October, was nevertheless the second-highest vote-getter in the four-person race for the House seats from District 31. He received 28% of the vote there.
• How’s this for a positive post-election statement: The 2020 general election (President and U.S. Senator, among other things) is only 726 days from today.
• Other election notes involving people with local connections:
  • Hugh Bartels (R), who grew up in Onida, was returned to the House from District 5 (Watertown). He and a colleague each received 34% of the vote there.
  • Jordan Youngberg (R), whose grandparents lived in Pierre, was returned to the Senate from District 8 (Madison-Howard-Flandreau) with 55% of the vote.
  • Former Pierre Methodist pastor Howard Grinager (D) of Parker lost his bid for the Senate from District 17, losing to veteran legislator Sen. Art Rusch (R) of Vermillion, 61%-39%
  • Former Pierre mayor Gary Drewes won his bid to a seat on the Pennington County Commission by a 59%-41% margin over an independent candidate.
  • Taffy Howard (R), whose husband Mark grew up in Blunt and graduated from Sully Buttes High School, won re-election to the House from District 33 as the second vote-getter among four candidates. She received 32%.
  • Former Pierre resident Larry Zikmund (R), was top vote-getter in the District 14 House race in Sioux Falls with 26% of the vote, so he was re-elected. The other winner, however, is a Democrat, and a recount is possible there.
  • Riggs High alumnus Jeff Hayward (D) of Sioux Falls received 22% of the vote and the other Democrat 24% in the District 12 House race where the two winners were the Republicans.

FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES SCHEDULE

All seven championship games will be broadcast live on South Dakota Public Broadcasting:

Thursday—
10 a.m.: Class 9A, Howard vs. Canistota/Freeman.
1 p.m., Class 9AA, Kimball-White Lake vs. Bon Homme.
7:30 p.m., Class 11A, Tea Area vs. Dell Rapids.

Friday—
10 a.m., Class 9B, Sully Buttes vs. Colome.
1 p.m., Class 11B, Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan vs. Sioux Falls Christian.
7:30 p.m., Class 11AA, Pierre vs. Huron.

Saturday—
7:30 p.m., Class 11AAA, Sioux Falls Washington vs. Brandon Valley.

These were the semifinal scores last Friday:
Class 9B: Sully Buttes 48, Faulkton Area 14; Colome 74, Wall 28.
Class 9A: Canistota/Freeman 44, Timber Lake 20; Howard 12, Britton-Hecla 8.
Class 9AA: Bon Homme 43, Wolsey-Wessington 14; Kimball-White Lake 42, Garretson 14.
Class 11B: Sioux Falls Christian 38, Canton 20; Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan 41, Mount Vernon-Plankinton 6.
Class 11A: Tea Area 28, West Central 0; Dell Rapids 25, Dakota Valley 22.
Class 11AA: Pierre 40, Brookings 7; Huron 28, Yankton 23.
Class 11AAA: Washington 28, Roosevelt 11; Brandon Valley 29, O’Gorman 15.

THE VOLLEYBALL POSTSEASON PICTURE

Class AA SoDak 16 schedule (these 8 winners advance to quarterfinals of state tournament next Thursday):

Upper bracket—
#16 Sturgis at #1 R.C. Stevens; #9 Brookings at #8 Aberdeen Central.
#13 Harrisburg at #4 Watertown; #12 Brandon Valley at #5 Huron.

Lower bracket—
#14 Lincoln at #3 S.F. O’Gorman; #11 Pierre at #6 Mitchell.
#15 Spearfish at #2 S.F. Washington; #10 R.C. Central at #7 S.F. Roosevelt.

Class A state tournament quarterfinal pairings:

Upper bracket—
#1 Miller vs. #8 Rapid City Christian
#4 Winner vs. #5 Elk Point-Jefferson

Lower bracket—
#3 Sioux Falls Christian vs. #6 Parker
#2 McCook Central-Montrose vs. #7 Aberdeen Roncalli

Class B state tournament quarterfinal pairings:

Upper bracket—
#1 Northwestern vs. #8 Kimball-White Lake
#4 Faith vs. #5 Faulkton Area

Lower bracket—
#3 Chester Area vs. #6 Ethan
#2 Warner vs. #7 Burke

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Volleyball: The Lady Govs lost their regular-season finale, 3-1, to Huron on game scores of 25-20, 19-25, 18-25 and 23-25. Pierre’s 8-12 record gives them the No. 11 seed in the “AA” SoDak 16 round Thursday.

This week’s schedules:

Football: Friday, vs. Huron in state 11AA championship game, Vermillion, 7:30 p.m.
Volleyball: Thursday, at Mitchell in state AA SoDak 16 round, 6 p.m.

Football: On the second possession of their state semifinal game, the Governors started from the Brookings 42-yard line after the defense had secured a second straight three-and-out. Garrett Stout connected with Jack Maher for 18 yards, Stout ran for 16 more, and on the second subsequent play Maguire Raske scored from the 2. It was 7-0, and Pierre was off and running toward the Dome again. After another Brookings punt, the Govs started from their own 47, and Raske went 21 yards on first down. He went six more, then Stout took it the distance of 21 yards for the score, and it was 14-0. Following a failed Brookings field-goal attempt, Stout ran 80 yards for a 21-0 lead early in the second quarter. Just before halftime, the Governors fumbled the ball away after a sustained drive just after Brookings had cut the lead to 21-7. It was that way at halftime. But Pierre gained separation again when Stout went 65 yards to start the second half for a 28-7 lead. Mack Rath’s field goal of 28 yards followed a long drive to make it 31-7. Pierre never had to punt until early in the final quarter. Maher blocked an attempted punt after a high snap and fell on the ball in the end zone for a score, and it was 38-7. Another high snap went all the way through the end zone for a safety that made the final score 40-7.

Football: The Pierre Governors have a strong presence on the ESD Conference’s all-conference football team announced this week. Govs on the honor squad include junior quarterback Garrett Stout, junior offensive lineman Cole Nelson, junior offensive lineman Grey Zabel, senior tight end Jack Maher, senior receiver Zane Schuchard, senior linebacker Gage Gehring, senior defensive lineman Nathan Schnabel and defensive back Lee Snyder.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:

Football: Friday, vs. Colome in state 9B championship game, Vermillion, 10 a.m.

Football: Sully Buttes found itself down 8-0 in the early going of their semifinal vs. Faulkton Area, but a 54-yard pass from Nick Wittler to Sebastian Frost tied the game. Faulkton took a 14-8 lead early in the second period, but Wittler’s 65-yard run tied it up again. An 84-yard pass play between Wittler and Morris Hofer gave SBHS the lead for good (22-14), and it became 28-14 when Jett Lamb cleared a path for Hofer to score from six yards out. The final dagger came with five seconds left in the half when, after an interception, Wittler connected with Grant Johnson over 15 yards. In the second half Wittler scored from the 2 (42-14), and Mackenzie Weinheimer’s 68-yard run made the final score 48-14.

Football: Charger head coach Mark Senftner has been honored as Region 3 Coach of the Year by the South Dakota Football Coaches Association.

Volleyball: In their last regular-season match the Charger girls defeated Herreid-Selby Area, 3-2, on game scores of 15-25, 25-23, 25-20, 23-25 and 15-11. In the SoDak 16 Tuesday at Huron, the Chargers fell at the hands of No. 3 Chester Area, 3-0, on game scores of 15-25, 14-25 and 20-25. Angela Guthmiller had eight kills, Lauren Wittler eight kills and Brooklynn Bradford six kills. SBHS finished with a 20-9 record.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #11

Levi Neuharth missed only Iowa’s loss at Purdue and finished 9-1 in last week’s contest to earn 10 points. At 8-2 for nine points was Lane Kozel. Coming in with 7-3 records for eight points apiece were Seb Axtman, Laurie Johnson, Todd Palmer, Jon Boer and Greg Dean.

This week’s games (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by Saturday morning):
(1) Northwestern at Iowa
(2) Illinois at Nebraska
(3) Auburn at Georgia
(4) Ohio State at Michigan State
(5) Clemson at Boston College
(6) Texas at Texas Tech
(7) Florida State at Notre Dame
(8) Washington State at Colorado
(9) NFL: Miami at Green Bay
(10) NFL: New Orleans at Cincinnati

COUNTDOWN

2 days: Sully County Snow Queen pageant, Onida (Nov. 10).
7 days: State volleyball tournaments, Sioux Falls (Nov. 15-17).
7 days: U.S. Men’s National Team soccer friendly vs. England (Nov. 15).
11 days: Pierre Parade of Lights (Nov. 19).
12 days: Capitol Christmas trees lighting ceremony (Nov. 20).
14 days: Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 22).
15 days: Fort Pierre Christmas tree lighting celebration (Nov. 23).
19 days: Statewide Day of Giving (Nov. 27).
22 days: State oral interpretation tournament, Watertown (Nov. 30-Dec. 1).
22 days: Pierre Players’ “Whodunit, Darling?” (Nov. 30-Dec. 3, Dec. 6-8).
29 days: ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas celebration, Onida (Dec. 7).
32 days: Georgia Morse Middle School band/chorus concert and art show (Dec. 10).
726 days: General/presidential election (Nov. 3, 2020).

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Timberwolves: After a 128-125 win at home over Utah, the Wolves have had a less-than-stellar western trip. They lost at Golden State, 116-99, lost at Portland 111-81 and lost to the Clippers, 120-109, for a 4-7 record. After a game at the Lakers last night, they finish the trip at Sacramento Friday (9:00, FSN+). The Wolves will be home vs. Brooklyn Monday (7:00, FSN) and New Orleans Wednesday (7:00, ESPN).

Sioux Falls Skyforcer: The Force had an all-winning weekend, taking down Fort Wayne, 112-101; Iowa, 114-106, and Memphis, 126-125. After a home game vs. Northern Arizona last night, the Force will be home vs. Wisconsin Saturday and on the road to Salt Lake City Monday.

WHY ENGLISH IS SO HARD TO LEARN

How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

HOCKEY UPDATE

Rapid City Rush: A rare three-game sweep on the road occurred when the Rush won three times by the narrowest of margins in Tulsa—3-2 in overtime, 3-2 after overtime and nine rounds of a shootout, and 4-3 in overtime. In the latter game the Rush tied the game in the final second of regulation time to force O.T. After a home game vs. Fort Wayne last night, the Rush hosts Fort Wayne at 7:05 Friday and Saturday.

Sioux Falls Stampede: It was a rough weekend for the Stampede. Before a home crowd of 10,067 against Fargo Saturday, it appeared the Stampede had scored a tying goal in the very last second of regulation time, but the referee ruled the goal had come after the final buzzer. Such plays are not reviewable in the USHL, so Fargo won, 2-1. The next day in Des Moines the Stampede lost 7-0. Sioux Falls is at Lincoln Friday and at Tri-City (Kearney) Saturday.

Gillette Wild (Coleman Varty): Coleman’s great season rolls on in Gillette where on Friday he scored a goal and had an assist on the other as the Wild lost to Bozeman, 6-2. On Saturday he assisted on Gillette’s first goal, then scored the game-winner at 0:49 of overtime in a 3-2 Wild win. Varty has 11 goals and 18 assists so far this year. Gillette’s record is 5-7-2-1. The Wild play at Butte Friday and Saturday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild defeated St. Louis, 5-1, and lost to San Jose, 4-3. Minnesota is at Los Angeles tonight (9:30, FSN), at Anaheim Friday (9:00, FSN), at St. Louis Sunday (2:00, FSN) and home vs. Washington Tuesday (7:00, FSN).

Oahe Lady Capitals: The girls varsity opens the season at Sioux Center Nov. 24-25.

Oahe Capitals: The boys varsity opened the season with losses in both exhibition games against Huron. In a 7-3 home loss Andy Gordon, Kaden Davis and Tallon Griese scored the Caps’ goals. In a 4-2 loss at Huron Jackson Lake and Gordon got the Oahe goals. The Capitals play Mitchell this weekend, on the road at 7 p.m. Saturday and at home at noon Sunday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Vikings: The defense was superb as the Vikings dominated the Detroit Lions, 24-9. Now 5-3-1, Minnesota has a bye this weekend before facing the Bears in Chicago on Sunday Night Football Nov. 18.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos missed a game-winning field-goal attempt at the buzzer and lost to Houston, 19-17. Now 3-6, Denver has a welcome bye weekend this Sunday.

NFL games on local TV:
Thursday: Carolina-Pittsburgh, 7:20 p.m., Fox.
Sunday: Kansas City-Arizona, noon, CBS.
Sunday: Detroit-Chicago, noon, Fox.
Sunday: Miami-Green Bay, 3:25 p.m., CBS.
Sunday: Dallas-Philadelphia, 7:20 p.m., NBC.
Monday: New York Giants-San Francisco, 7:15 p.m., ESPN.

Midco Sports Network live games:
Thursday: Men’s basketball, SDSU-Alabama State, 7 p.m.
Friday: Women’s basketball, SDSU-Florida Gulf Coast, 7 p.m.
Saturday: Football, USD-Western Illinois, 1 p.m.
Saturday: Football, UND-Portland State, 2 p.m. (MSN2)
Sunday: Men’s basketball, NDSU-UC Santa Barbara, 1 p.m.
Sunday: Volleyball, USD-NDSU, 1 p.m. (MSN2)
Sunday: Women’s basketball, USD-Incarnate Word, 3:15 p.m. (MSN2)
Sunday: Women’s basketball, NDSU-New Hampshire, 4 p.m.
Monday: Men’s basketball, USD-Northern Arizona, 7 p.m.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The Champions Tour had an opening on the schedule last weekend. The golfers will be in Phoenix this weekend for the Charles Schwab Cup.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre Trappers: Another returnee from this past summer will be on the 2019 Trappers roster. He is Jackson Back, a junior left-handed pitcher at Bemidji State University, whose hometown is Beavercreek, Ohio.

LIFE LESSON

“Be the reason someone believes in the goodness of people.”

— Rantings of a Beautiful Mind

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Nov. 8:
Rick Cronin, Connie Blair, Laura Marsh, Molly Genzler, Shaun Keller, Jeff Everson, Conner Kramer.
— 4th anniversary, Terry/Yutzil (Rodriguez) Becker.

Friday, Nov. 9:
Zach Merrill, Tom Denton, Paula Weeldreyer, Bryan Konechne, Sara Messbarger, Matt Picchietti, Mike Currier, Katie Gourneau, Dana (Halverson) Gloe, Susan Lamb, Jami (Benham) Beck, Colleen Jensen.
— 6th anniversary, Daniel/Alexis (Fanger) Timmons.

Saturday, Nov. 10:
Joseph Wieseler, Aaron Laudermith, Kyle Kafka, Sara (Dvorak) Becker, Royce Volker, Ryan Noyes, Anne (Rounds) Harrington, Steve Gardner, Mark Lauseng, Patty MdGee, Garrett Pochop.

Sunday, Nov. 11:
Sam Molseed, Danielle Trujillo, Rosa Iverson, Carson Wyly, Jennifer Finley, Vicki Warne, Scott Gibson, Ellie Ripley.
— 1st anniversary, Jim/Michelle (Wattier) Kezar.
— 7th anniversary, Lee/Jessica (Schultz) Rausch.

Monday, Nov. 12:
Mike Fouts, Grady Johnson, Anita Nicholas, Bergen Murphy, Melissa (Van Duzer) Edeburn, Andy Jockheck, Greg Vogel.

Tuesday, Nov. 13:
Shelli Ness, Colin Alexander, Courtney (Donnan) Vanden Berg, Ann (Sutera) Hepker, Clark Kraemer, Barb (Hoover) Olson, Shanna Peterson, Aaron Clark, Kris Hewlett, Jay Carroll, Casey Buechler.

Wednesday, Nov. 14:
Brandon Brown, Nora Warne, Josh Boyle, Hana Bloomberg, Sandy Spencer, Addisyn Norman, Brody Kelley, Alison (Drewes) Haas, Dakota Bixler, Emma Aadland.
— 38th anniversary, Randy/Colleen (Colson) Pool.

Thursday, Nov. 15:
Robert Nagle, Scott Schuetzle, Chance Stoeser, Therese (Blake) Schutz, Rik Drewes, Molly Ryan, Lorlee (Day) Steever, Ivy Rollinger, Lisa (Ries) Kramer, Shane Hollingsworth, Max Fjelstad.

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Dakota State men’s basketball: The Trojans are off to an 0-4 start, losing to Doane, 91-70; to Nebraska Christian, 78-68; to Dakota Wesleyan, 77-65, and to Mount Marty, 78-75. DSU is home vs. Northwestern (Iowa) Saturday and at Trinity Bible Tuesday.

Black Hills State men’s basketball: The Yellowjackets are still a week away from their openers at Northern Nov. 16 and Augustana Nov. 17.

Augustana men’s basketball: The Vikings lost their exhibition opener to Loras College, 81-76. Matt Cartwright, sophomore from O’Gorman, and Michael Schaefer, freshman from St. Cloud, scored 16 points each. Augie plays in Lancaster, Texas, this weekend against Southern Arkansas and Henderson State and at home vs. Chadron State Tuesday.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball: The Tigers won twice at the Pentagon, beating Dakota State, 77-65, and Presentation, 103-76. DWU, after a game at Northwestern (Iowa) last night, goes to Midland Saturday, then plays at home Monday vs. Sisseton Wahpeton and Wednesday vs. Dordt.

University of Sioux Falls women’s basketball: The Cougar women open their season Friday and Saturday against Ouachita Baptist and Henderson State.

Dakota State women’s basketball: The Trojan women lost to DWU, 106-63, and lost to Mount Marty, 79-71, at the NAIA Showcase at the Pentagon. DSU plays at McPherson (Kan.) Saturday and at Trinity Bible Tuesday.

Black Hills State women’s basketball (Remi Wientjes, Racquel Wientjes): A long road trip opens the season for the Yellowjackets this weekend. They will be in Texas against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Texas A&M-International.

South Dakota men’s basketball: The Coyotes made their debut under new coach Todd Lee last night against York (Neb.). The Yotes will be home Monday against Northern Arizona (Midco Sports Network).

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb, Ciara Duffy): USD opened its season last night against Creighton of the Big East. USD will be home at 3:15 Sunday against Incarnate Word (Texas) on Midco Sports Network.

Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball: The defending national champs defeated Dakota State, 106-63, and Presentation, 91-49, at the NAIA Showcase at the Pentagon. On Tuesday the Tigers lost to Iowa of the Big 10, 102-54. Sarah Carr had 16 points for DWU. Now 3-1, DWU played at Northwestern (Iowa) last night, goes to Midland Saturday and hosts Dordt next Wednesday.

Mount Marty women’s basketball: The Lancer women are on a season-opening roll. They beat Waldorf, 64-57; Presentation, 80-62, and Dakota State, 79-71. After hosting Dordt last night, the Lancers play at Hastings Saturday.

Augustana women’s basketball (Katie Bourk, Aislinn Duffy): The Vikings open their season Friday and Saturday against Washburn and Southern Nazarene, then host Mount Marty Monday.

Mount Marty men’s basketball: The Lancers lost to Waldorf, 74-69; beat Presentation, 69-64, and defeated Dakota State, 78-75. MMC hosted Dordt last night and goes to Hastings Saturday.

University of Sioux Falls men’s basketball: The Cougar men open the season in Marshall, Minn., against Kansas teams Fort Hays State and Emporia State Friday and Saturday.

Northern women’s basketball (Rachel Guthmiller): The NSU women tip off their season Friday and Saturday vs. Pittsburg State and Arkansas Tech.

Presentation men’s basketball: The Saints lost to Mount Marty, 69-64, and lost to DWU, 103-76, at the NAIA Showcase in Sioux Falls. PC is home vs. Oak HIlls Christian College tonight, then goes to Montana to play Montana State Sunday and Rocky Mountain Tuesday.

Presentation women’s basketball: The PC women lost to Mount Marty, 80-62, and lost to DWU, 91-49. After hosting Nebraska Christian last night, PC plays in Hillsboro, Kan., this weekend against Tabor and Bethany.

South Dakota Mines men’s basketball: The Hardrockers lost at South Dakota State, 82-63. Logan Elers had 17 points and Jake Heath 16 for Mines. The Hardrockers are home Friday vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville and Saturday vs. Texas A&M-International.

South Dakota Mines women’s basketball: The Mines women are 0-2 after losing to Colorado State, 77-75, and Northern Colorado, 71-39. They are off now until Nov. 16-17 against USF and Montana State-Billings.

South Dakota State men’s basketball: The Jacks’ exhibition game against South Dakota Mines was an 82-63 win. Mike Daum led SDSU with 29 points. On Tuesday SDSU edged Grand Canyon, 79-74, with David Jenkins scoring 31 and Daum 20. Now 1-0, SDSU is home tonight (Thursday) vs. Alabama State (7 p.m. on Midco Sports Network) and Saturday vs. Bemidji State.

South Dakota State women’s basketball (Sydney Palmer): In their exhibition game the SDSU women defeated Mary, 77-46. Myah Selland scored 22. Sydney went 1-of-4 in field goals and 1-of-2 in free throws for three points with three rebounds, an assist and a steal in 15 minutes. On Tuesday SDSU was whipped at Marquette, 91-52. High scorer was Tagyn Larson with 10. Sydney was 1-of-2 for two points with one rebound in 14 minutes. SDSU will be home Friday vs. Florida Gulf Coast and on the road to Central Michigan Monday.

South Dakota Mines cross country (Theron Singleton): At the RMAC conference meet in Denver, Theron placed 106th in 28:33.2. The Hardrockers placed 11th of 16 teams. Adams State won the league title.

South Dakota cross country (Caleb Lusk, Maddy McClure): Idle last weekend, the top Coyote runners go to the NCAA regional meet in Peoria, Ill., Friday.

South Dakota State cross country (Rachel Propst): Jackrabbit runners go to the NCAA regional meet in Peoria, Ill., Friday.

Black Hills State cross country (Kelsey Van Den Hemel): At the RMAC conference meet in Denver, Kelsey placed 62nd in the women’s 6K in 24:29.7. The BHSU women placed fourth among 15 schools.

Northern wrestling: The Wolves open their season on the mat tonight (Thursday) vs. Concordia (Minn.), then go to the DWU Open Saturday.

South Dakota State wrestling (Aric Williams): Two Jackrabbits won their weight classes at the Daktronics Open. Henry Pohlmeyer, junior from Johnston, Iowa, won at 149 pounds, and Zach Carlson, junior from Kerkhoven, Minn., was the 194-pound champ. Tanner Sloan, freshman from Alburnett, Iowa, was runnerup at 194. Seven University of Minnesota wrestlers were individual champions. SDSU hosts Arizona State in a 1 p.m. dual at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls Sunday.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling: At the Jamestown Open, DWU’s Marcus Urban, sophomore from Plankinton, won three matches before losing in the finals at 157 pounds by 7-5 in sudden victory. DWU hosts Concordia (Neb.) in a dual Friday, then hosts the DWU Open Saturday.

Augustana wrestling (Jebben Keyes): The Vikings placed fifth as a team at SDSU’s Daktronics Open and placed five wrestlers. Highest finishers in fourth place were Clayton Wahlstrom, senior from Custer, and Daniel Bishop, sophomore from Hinton, Iowa. Augie wrestles at the DWU Open Saturday.

South Dakota State women’s soccer: They were hosting the four-team Summit League conference tournament, but the Jackrabbits lost in the semifinals to No. 4 seed Omaha, 3-1. The season ended with a 12-6-1 record.

Northwestern (Iowa) men’s soccer (Cole Cruse): Cole’s junior season ended in the first round of the GPAC playoffs when the Raiders lost to Briar Cliff, 2-1, in overtime. Northwestern loses eight seniors, six of them starters, to graduation this year, but five full-time starters will be coming back as well as a couple more players who saw some starts.

King’s College men’s soccer (August Axtman): In the championship match of the MAC Freedom Conference playoffs, King’s lost to Eastern University, 3-0. Their final record was 11-6-2 overall and 5-2-0 in their conference.

University of Mary volleyball (Korie Tetzlaff): The Marauders ended their season with 3-0 losses to Minnesota-Duluth and Minnesota-Crookston. Mary’s final record was 4-24 overall and 1-19 in the NSIC.

Dakota State volleyball (Nicole Sarringar): The Lady Trojans whipped Waldorf, 3-1, as Nicole had 22 assists and seven digs. In a 3-1 win over Viterbo she had 15 assists and four digs. Now 17-12 overall and 8-6 in the NSAA, DSU plays in the conference tournament Friday and Saturday.

South Dakota volleyball: The Coyotes defeated Omaha, 3-0, to improve to 17-9 overall and 11-3 in the Summit. USD hosts UND Friday and NDSU Sunday.

South Dakota State volleyball: The Jackrabbits lost to Omaha, 3-0, and edged Oral Roberts, 3-2. Now 6-21 overall and 3-11 in the Summit, SDSU goes to Purdue-Fort Wayne Friday and to Western Illinois Sunday.

North Dakota men’s hockey: The Hawks swept a weekend home series over Wisconsin, 5-0 and 3-2 in overtime. Now 4-2-1, UND goes to Miami (Ohio) Friday and Saturday.

South Dakota State men’s swimming (Wyatt Rumrill): The Jacks defeated St. Cloud State, 139-104, and lost to USD, 123-116, in a triangular in Sioux Falls. Wyatt placed fifth in the 200 individual medley in 2:02.26 and third in the 200 breast stroke in 2:13.95. He swam on the 200 medley relay team that was third in 1:38.13. SDSU swims next at the Iowa Invitational Nov. 15-17.

South Dakota State women’s swimming (Ashley Theobald): The SDSU women lost to Northern Iowa, 178-63; lost to USD, 195-46, and lost to St. Cloud State, 158-83. Ashley placed seventh in the 200 individual medley in 2:16.60 and 13th in the 500 freestyle in 5:38.41. She swam on the 400 free relay team which was 12th in 3:53.12. SDSU’s next meet is the Iowa Invitational Nov. 15-17.

Missouri Valley Football Conference standings: NDSU 6-0, Northern Iowa 4-2, Western Illinois 4-2, SDSU 4-2, Indiana State 3-3, USD 2-4, Illinois State 2-4, Missouri State 2-4, Youngstown State 2-4, Southern Illinois 1-5.

Augustana football (Peyton Zabel): The Vikings lost to Winona State, 34-20, and are now 6-4. Augie closes the season at Southwest Minnesota State at 1 p.m. Saturday.

North Dakota football: The Fighting Hawks lost to Idaho, 31-27, and are now 5-4. UND is home vs. Portland State at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Presentation football (Michael Lyons): The Saints lost to Valley City State, 49-21, and closed the season at 5-5 overall, 3-4 in the NSAA.

Black Hills State football (Shawn Schnabel): BHSU was drilled by CSU-Pueblo, 59-0, at home and are now 2-8, heading into the season’s last game at Robert Morris (Ill.) Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan football (Lukas Chase): The Tigers lost to Doane College, 30-3. Lukas had one solo tackle and one assisted tackle. DWU, now 2-8 overall and 1-7 in the GPAC, ends the season at home at 1 p.m. Saturday vs. Hastings College.

South Dakota Mines football: The Hardrockers lost to Chadron State, 50-46, in another RMAC shootout. Four of Mines’ losses this season have now been by four, one, four and three points. Now 4-6 overall and 3-6 in the league, Mines closes the season at home at 1 p.m. Saturday vs. Fort Lewis.

South Dakota State football: The Jacks had another one-sided win, this one 59-7 over Missouri State. Taryn Christion completed 15 of 28 passes for 259 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Cade Johnson had five receptions for 130 yards. Now 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the Valley, SDSU plays at Southern Illinois at 1 p.m. Saturday.

North Dakota State football: The Bison had a relatively competitive game for a change, beating Youngstown State, 17-7, to clinch the MVFC regular-season championship. Now 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the league, NDSU goes to Missouri State for a 2 p.m. kickoff Saturday.

South Dakota football: The Coyotes fell to 3-6 overall and 2-4 in the Valley with a 51-48 three-overtime loss at Indiana State. USD had completed an 81-yard scoring drive to end regulation time and force O.T. Austin Simmons completed 38 passes for 375 yards and three touchdowns. Kai Henry rushed for 113 yards and two TDs. USD is home vs. Western Illinois at 1 p.m. Saturday.

University of Sioux Falls football: USF gave No. 1-rated Minnesota State a good game but lost to the Mavericks, 31-21. Now 6-4, USF closes the regular season at home at 1 p.m. Saturday vs. Wayne State.

Northern football (Alex Gray, Colten Drageset, Joe King, Jacob Howard): The Wolves shut out Minnesota-Crookston, 27-0, and are now 4-6. Colten had one reception for 39 yards, and Alex had three solo tackles. NSU closes the season Saturday at Minnesota-Duluth.

REASONS TO WRITE A LETTER

— Decorate the envelope. Go wild!
— Find a small special thing—a trinket, a photo, a candy—and include it in your letter.
— Write a cause you support, encouraging them and telling them how much their actions mean to you.
— Who’s your favorite celebrity? Send him or her fan mail.
— Write to your dad or mom about how they’ve inspired you.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• As the senior citizens center chorus for which I play the piano in Rapid City sang at the Peaceful Pines assisted living facility last Thursday, it was a joy to greet Marshall and Merrie Miller, who are residents there. The Millers were their usual jovial selves! They tell me two of their children live out here at Johnson Siding and Piedmont, so they have family members close by. Their son Patrick still lives in Grand Forks.
• Former Today Ann Curry hosts “We’ll Meet Again,” a great series about people who find each other many years after their lives intertwined. It returns to PBS Tuesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. on SDPB.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

The Pat Duffy Community & Youth Involved Center will be hosting its 33rd annual Tour of Homes fund-raiser on Saturday, Dec. 1, from 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets for the tour are available at the C&YI Center, Capital City Florists, Prairie Pages, 1st Dakota National Bank, American Bank & Trust and all BankWest locations. Complimentary cookies and coffee for all tour ticket-holders will be available from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the senior center. A $5 lunch will be available at the Sutley Senior Center from noon to 1:30 p.m. For information on the day’s events call 223-2701.

A community supper and benefit for Dale and Kacie (Schneider) Olson and Kendall will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 9, at Shalom Lutheran Church, 1000 E. Maple St. in Harrisburg. The cost is a free-will donation, and proceeds will help the Olsons deal with Dale’s ongoing cancer treatments and travel. Kacie is the daughter of Bob and Kris Schneider of Pierre.

Tim and Rachel (Knutson) Steece of Scottsdale, Ariz., revealed they are expecting their first child in March.

Clellan “Buzz” Bechtold of Vermillion passed away at the age of 86 on Oct. 30 at the Vermillion Sanford Care Center. He grew up in Mellette County and graduated in 1951 from White River High School where he was an outstanding athlete, a state record-holder in hurdles events and a state rodeo champion in team roping. He and Margie Pearsall, who married in 1953, were married for 65 years. The Bechtolds built and owned the Maverick Motel in Mission. During his life he worked as an engineering firm employee, an oil field maintenance worker, a licensed brand inspector, a cattle feed distributor, a lineman and office manager for rural electrics, a deputy sheriff, a mayor of Mission and an owner of a milk trucking company. Later the Bechtolds also lived in Winner, Hartford and Sioux Falls. They were snowbirds to Sun City, Ariz., for many years and moved to Vermillion in 2014. He is survived by his wife, Margie; their children, Crystal McGuire and her husband Jim of Vermillion, Monty Bechtold and his wife Peggy of Pierre, and Cindy Burton of Katy, Texas; eight grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren, and his sister, DeVona Hutchinson. Funeral services were held Nov. 3 at Kober Funeral Home in Vermillion.

The Zonta Club’s annual holiday craft and vendor show will be at the Ramkota from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Steven Zinter, associate justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, died Oct. 30 at Cannon Falls, Minn. His funeral service was held Monday at Lutheran Memorial Church. Justice Zinter grew up in Minneapolis before moving to Sioux City. He earned his bachelor’s degree from USD in 1972. At the university he met Sandra Allen, and they married in 1974. Justice Zinter completed his law degree at USD in 1975. The Zinters moved to Pierre where he became assistant attorney general for the state and served in that capacity until 1978. From 1978 to 1986 he was in private practice with the firm of Schmidt, Schroyer, Colwill, Zinter & Barnett. From 1980 to 1986 he also served as Hughes County state’s attorney. He was appointed as a circuit court judge in 1987 and served until 1997 when he became presiding judge in the Sixth Judicial Circuit. In 2002 he was appointed to the Supreme Court. Among his survivors are his wife Sandy; their daughters, Sarah Detwiller and her husband Mark of Bismarck, and Kelly Zinter and her husband, Brandon Wood, of Sioux Falls; five grandchildren; his brother, Gary Zinter of Plymouth, Minn., and his sisters, Janet Zinter of Brattleboro, Vt., and Joan Zinter of West Shokan, N.Y.

Fort Pierre native Ben Kramer’s Hot Springs football team finished with a 6-3 regular-season record. As the No. 8 seed in Class 11A, they had to go to Tea to face the No. 1 Tea Area team and lost in the quarterfinals, 33-0.

Duke University basketball legend Christian Laettner, who also played in the NBA, along with Sacred Hoops Basketball will host a free basketball camp for all students in the Agar-Blunt-Onida School District on Sunday, Nov. 18. The camp is being sponsored by the Sully Buttes Athletic Booster Club but only for ABO students.

The Hegg Brothers’ Holiday Jam tour of Christmas concerts across the state has been scheduled. They will be in Pierre at the Riggs theater in a benefit concert for the Boys & Girls Club at 7 p.m. Dec. 13. Here is their tour schedule: Dec. 1, Sheldon, Iowa; Dec. 2, Miller; Dec. 7, Rapid City; Dec. 9, Huron; Dec. 11, Mitchell; Dec. 13, Pierre; Dec. 14, Madison; Dec. 15, Sioux Falls Washington Pavilion; Dec. 16, Sioux Falls Orpheum.

A celebration of the life of Kay Reuer will be held at the Moose Lodge in Fort Pierre from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17. She passed away Nov. 4. After growing up in Chamberlain, she married Helmet Reuer in 1957. They moved to a ranch near Fort Pierre in 1962. She worked for a time with the Federal Bankruptcy Court. Mrs. Reuer is survived by her son, Quentin; one grandchild; her brother, Rollin Busack, and her sister, Marlys Busack.

Collin Brueggeman of the football team was named Athlete of the Week by the Pierre Athletic Coaches Association.

Lou and Alyssa Mehlhaff of Sioux Falls became first-time parents Nov. 6. Their daughter, Riley Joyce, weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and measured 19 3/4 inches.

Former Pierre head football coach Jayson Poppinga, now at Sioux Falls O’Gorman, has been named Region 5 Coach of the Year by the South Dakota Football Coaches Association.

A memorial service for Leonda (Haskins) Beastrom will be held at 3 p.m. today (Thursday) at Community Bible Church. She passed away at the age of 61 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls Oct. 30. Born in Kansas, Leonda grew up in Gotebo, Okla., and Onida and graduated from Sully Buttes High School in 1975. She married Terry Beastrom in 1976. She is survived by her husband of Pierre; their children, Krista Stevens and her husband Doug and Jesse Beastrom and his wife Sarena; three grandchildren; her parents, Leon and Nadine Haskins; her brother, Rex Haskins and his wife LeAnn, and her sister, Patty Ogan and her husband Mike.