MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We wish you a merry Christmas! Travel safely and enjoy each other’s company as you observe the holiday next week. The Midweek Update will take a week off and return on Thursday, Jan. 3.

ENTERTAINMENT AT THE CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREES

Thursday:
6 to 7 p.m.: River Harmony women’s barbershop chorus, Pierre.
7 to 9 p.m.: First Baptist Church musicians, Pierre.

Friday:
7 to 8 p.m.: Pianist Priscilla Hofer, Pierre.

Saturday:
2 to 2:30 p.m.: Vocalist Isabelle Mikkelson, Gettysburg.
3 to 4 p.m.: Vocalist Sandra Harmon.
4 to 6 p.m.: South Dakota Jazz All-Stars, Pierre.

Sunday:
4 to 5 p.m.: Stephanie Odden and Kari Muntefering, Pierre.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Schedules through Jan. 2:
Wrestling: Next meet Jan. 4-5 at Lyman invitational, Presho.
Gymnastics: Thursday, home triangular (with Rapid City schools), 5 p.m.
Boys basketball: Thursday, home vs. Brookings, 7 p.m.; Friday, at Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 3 p.m.
Girls basketball: Thursday, at Brookings, 7 p.m.; Friday, home vs. Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 7 p.m.; Dec. 29, home vs. Harrisburg, 2:30 p.m.

Wrestling: The conference dual season began with a 45-28 win over Aberdeen Central. Winning for the Governors were Kahlen Hindman, major decision 11-0 at 113 pounds; Hayden Shaffer, 1:56 fall at 120; Tyler Johnson, 15-0 tech fall at 132; Jack Van Camp, 1:45 fall at 138; Cade Hinkle, 3:08 fall at 145; Lee Snyder, 0:57 fall at 160; Jacob Larson, forfeit win at 195, and Gage Gehring, 5:50 fall at 220. At Saturday’s Elk Point-Jefferson invitational, Canton won the team title with 282.5 points, West Sioux (Hawarden, Iowa) was second at 247.5, and Pierre was third at 224, followed in order by Bon Homme-Scotland and Beresford/Alcester-Hudson among 13 teams. Pierre had two champions—Van Camp at 138 and Preston Taylor at 285 pounds. Other Govs placers: 106, Blake Judson third; 113, Hindman sixth; 120, Shaffer fourth; 126, Daniel Tafoya second; 132, Johnson second; 145, Hinkle third; 152, Snyder third; 170, Raske fourth; 195, Gage Gehring fourth; 220, James Lees third. Finally on Tuesday night the Governors entertained Brookings in another ESD dual, and it wasn’t exactly scintillating entertainment as Brookings forfeited eight weight classes. Winning for the Govs were Tyson Johnson in a 5-2 decision, Jack Van Camp in a 15-0 tech fall and Preston Taylor in a 3:25 pin as Pierre won 62-15.

Boys basketball: The Governors opened their season with two wins. Pierre jumped out to a 13-0 lead to start the game en route to a 66-56 win over Douglas. Jack Maher led the Govs with 20 points. The Govs then swamped Spearfish, 72-37, as Grey Zabel scored 17 points, Paul Adam 14, Jack Maher 14 and Garrett Stout 12.

Girls basketball: After a last-minute loss in their opener earlier last week, the Pierre girls lost at Spearfish in double overtime, 80-70. There were some heroic moments— Emily Mikkelsen’s field goal sent the game into overtime, and Hannah Lingle’s free throw forced a second overtime. But the girls ran out of gas as the Spartans roared ahead in the second extra period.

Gymnastics: At the Mitchell meet the Lady Govs placed third among eight teams. Mikah Moser placed fourth in the all-around standings and Meg Erwin seventh.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Schedules through Jan. 2:
Wrestling: Thursday, home triangular, 5:30 p.m.
Girls basketball: Friday, at Herreid-Selby Area (in Selby); Dec. 28, at Kadoka Area; Dec. 29, home vs. Highmore-Harrold.
Boys basketball: Friday, home vs. Lyman; Dec. 29, home vs. Highmore-Harrold.

Wrestling: At the Mount Vernon-Plankinton tournament the Buffaloes placed 13th among 17 teams. J.D. Carter was sixth at 138 pounds, Isaac Cliff sixth at 160 and Reid Wieczorek sixth at 170.

Girls basketball: The Lady Buffs lost to Philip last Thursday, 73-36. Karlie Leafgreen and Cedar Scott scored 12 points each. On Tuesday SCHS got its first win in a 39-37 overtime victory over Jones County.

Boys basketball: The Buffaloes dominated Philip, 60-36, to stay unbeaten, but on Tuesday the boys lost to Jones County, 55-53, for their first defeat.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Schedules through Jan. 2:
Girls basketball: Thursday, at Lyman; Dec. 29, at Parkston Classic vs. Parkston, 6 p.m.
Boys basketball: Friday, home vs. Wall; Dec. 28, at Parkston Classic vs. Canistota, 4:30 p.m.
Wrestling: Dec. 29, at Webster invitational, 9:30 a.m.

Girls basketball: The Chargers stand at 2-1 after splitting a pair of games this week. Sully Buttes lost at Winner, 64-38, as Lauren Wittler scored 16 and Kendra Kleven 13. On Tuesday the girls won at Mobridge-Pollock, 49-31, led by Angela Guthmiller’s 13 and Kleven’s 10 points.

Boys basketball: The SBHS boys also are at 2-1, losing at Winner, 58-49, but winning at Mobridge-Pollock, 56-49. In the latter game Nick Wittler was high man with 18, Jett Lamb scored 12, and Cam Ogle had 11 points.

THOUGHT FOR THE SEASON

“Christmas is a season for kindling the fire for hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart.”

— Washington Irving

COUNTDOWN

5 days: Christmas Day (Dec. 25).
6 days: “Kennedy Center Honors,” CBS-TV (Dec. 26).
9 days: College football national semifinals (Dec. 29).
16 days: NFL playoffs begin (Jan. 5).
17 days: Golden Globe awards, NBC-TV (Jan. 6).
18 days: College football national championship (Jan. 7).
36 days: Riggs High one-act plays (Jan. 25, 28).
38 days: “Rent” live, Fox TV (Jan. 27).
42 days: State one-act plays festival, Aberdeen (Jan. 31-Feb. 2).
44 days: St. Joseph School carnival (Feb. 2).
45 days: Super Bowl LIII, Atlanta (Feb. 3).
48 days: Riggs High musicians at small-group contest, Kimball (Feb. 6).
50 days: State gymnastics meet, Brookings (Feb. 8-9).
54 days: Governor’s Awards in the Arts (Feb. 12).
61 days: Georgia Morse Middle School musical (Feb. 19-21).
62 days: Riggs High musicians at small-group contest, Chamberlain (Feb. 20).
62 days: Summit League swimming championships, Sioux Falls (Feb. 20-23).
64 days: Pierre Players’ “Bill W. and Dr. Bob” (Feb. 22-24, 28-March 2).
64 days: State wrestling tournaments, Rapid City (Feb. 22-23).
64 days: Summit League indoor track/field championships, Brookings (Feb. 22-23).
66 days: Oscars, ABC-TV (Feb. 24).
70 days: Riggs High talent show (Feb. 28).
77 days: Georgia Morse Middle School band/chorus concert and art show (March 7).
77 days: State ‘B’ girls basketball tournament, Huron (March 7-9).
81 days: NAIA Division II men’s basketball national tournament, Sioux Falls (March 11-17).
82 days: Riggs High choral festival (March 12).
84 days: State ‘A’ boys/girls basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls (March 14-16).
84 days: State ‘AA’ boys/girls basketball tournaments, Rapid City (March 14-16).
84 days: State ‘B’ boys basketball tournament, Aberdeen (March 14-16).
84 days: State high school visual arts, Rapid City (March 14-16).
85 days: State boys hockey tournament, Expo Center (March 15-17).
90 days: Riggs High musicians at large-group contest, Mitchell (March 20).
91 days: Jefferson Elementary concert (March 21).
93 days: All-State Band concert, Aberdeen (March 23).
95 days: Buchanan Elementary concert (March 25).
96 days: Kennedy Elementary concert (March 26).
98 days: Riggs High big-band dance (March 28).
107 days: NCAA Division I men’s basketball Final Four, Minneapolis (April 6, 8).

THOUGHT FOR THE SEASON

“One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas Day. Don’t clean it up too quickly.”

— Andy Rooney

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

North Dakota State football: The Bison led SDSU in the national semifinal by only 14-7 at halftime but controlled the second half en route to a 44-21 win. Quarterback Easton Stick rushed for three touchdowns, gaining 147 yards in 16 carries. He also passed for 169 yards, completing 12 of 15 passes for one touchdown. NDSU will be in the national championship game Jan. 5 for the seventh time in eight years and will be seeking its seventh national title.

South Dakota State football: The Jackrabbits finished a 10-3 season with a 44-21 loss at North Dakota State in the FCS national semifinal game. It was SDSU’s fourth loss in the playoffs to the Bison. Taryn Christion completed 10 of 26 passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns. A beautiful 52-yard bomb to Cade Johnson cut NDSU’s lead to 35-21 in the third quarter, but the Bison followed that with a nine-minute drive ending in a field goal that left the Jacks with little time to recover. Pierre Strong rushed for one score. The telling statistic was the 608 total yards the SDSU defense allowed. NDSU gained 439 yards on the ground, an average of nine yards per carry.

South Dakota State swimming (Ashley Theobald, Wyatt Rumrill): The Jacks, idle last week, are off until a Jan. 19 dual against St. Cloud State.

South Dakota State wrestling: The Jackrabbits won their first dual of the year, 19-17, at Oregon State. Down 14-0 after three matches, SDSU won six of the last seven matches, including Blake Wolters’ 6-1 decision in the final and decisive 285-pound match. Earlier the Jacks got a major decision win from Martin Mueller at 197 pounds and four other decisions. SDSU wrestles Dec. 29-30 at the Midlands Championships at Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Augustana wrestling (Jebben Keyes): The Vikings competed with 44 other teams at the nation’s largest Division II meet in the nation in Indianapolis last weekend. The team placed 16th. Jebben was Augie’s best finisher with a fifth-place medal at 141 pounds. He was the only Augie wrestler to enter the second day still unbeaten. He had won his first match 6-2 and his second 2-1 over the tourney’s fourth-seeded wrestler. In the quarterfinals he won a 6-1 match before losing in the semifinals to the No. 2 wrestler in the nation. Jebben lost a close bout in the consolation semis but rallied to win his fifth-place match. He gave Augustana 12 team points in his six matches. Other Augie placers were Luke Nohns, seventh at 285, and Clayton Wahlstrom, eighth at 197. The Vikings go to Fremont, Neb., for the Warrior-Viking Open Dec. 29.

College volleyball: In the NCAA national semifinals Nebraska, down two sets to none, rallied to beat Illinois 3-2, while Stanford swept BYU, 3-0. In the championship game the two teams took turns winning sets until the deciding fifth set when Stanford won another national title, 3 sets to 2 over the Huskers, who have been in the final four for four straight years.

South Dakota State track/field (Riley Sears, Rachel Propst, Addy Eisenbeisz): Idle last week, the Jacks are off until a dual against UND Jan. 12.

South Dakota track/field (Maddy McClure, Madason Tessier): The Coyotes were idle last week for finals and are off until the Iowa Invitational Jan. 11-12.

Black HIlls State track/field (Allan McDonnell, Kelsey Van Den Hemel): The Yellowjackets are off for the holidays until hosting their Myrle Hanson Open Jan. 11.

South Dakota Mines track/field (Theron Singleton, Erik Colman): The Hardrockers were idle last week and are off until the Jan. 11 Myrle Hanson meet at BHSU.

North Dakota men’s hockey: The Hawks, idle last week, are off until a home exhibition game against the U.S. U18 team Dec. 29.

Mount Marty women’s basketball: The Lancer women dominated Doane in GPAC play, 60-37, led by Karlee McKinney with 19 points. Now 5-7 overall and 2-7 in the league, Mount Marty plays in Honolulu tonight and Friday against Rio Grande and Lake Forest, then plays at Presentation Dec. 29 and home vs. St. Mary Jan. 2.

Mount Marty men’s basketball: The men lost to Dakota State in overtime, 85-84; lost to Doane, 88-62, but beat Mayville State, 81-80. Colby Johnson had 27, 22 and 17 points, respectively, in those three games, and Jailen Billings had 26 against Mayville. Now 5-11, the Lancers are off till a Dec. 29 home game vs. Valley City State.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball: The Tigers topped Concordia (Neb.) in GPAC play 105-56, led by Ty Hoglund’s 24 points. DWU took a 10-3 overall record (5-3 in the league) to Las Vegas to play Cal-Miramar last night and Antelope Valley tonight. DWU is home against Peru State Dec. 29, St. Mary (Kan.) Dec. 30 and Morningside Jan. 2.

Dakota Wesleyan women’s basketball: DWU won a non-conference game against Dakota State, 93-63, led by Kynedi Cheeseman’s 20 points. DWU lost its first game of the year to Concordia (Neb.), 82-68, as Sarah Carr scored 19. Now 13-1 overall and 8-1 in the GPAC, the Tiger women are in West Palm Beach, Fla., to play Keiser last night and St. Francis (Ill.) Friday before hosting Morningside Jan. 2.

Incarnate Word women’s basketball (Liz Holter): The Cardinals, still winless, are off until a home game against Rice Dec. 29.

Augustana women’s basketball (Katie Bourk): The Viking women are 12-1 overall and 5-0 in the NSIC. Augie beat Minnesota-Crookston, 86-54, and Bemidji State, 97-48. Shelby Selland was high scorer with 27 and 23 points, respectively. Augie hosted Peru State last night, then waits till a Dec. 30 game at Wayne State.

Augustana men’s basketball: The Vikings swept their weekend NSIC games. In a 91-76 win over Minnesota-Crookston, Matt Cartwright scored 376. In a 74-60 win over Bemidji State, Tyler Riemersma led Augie with 24. Now 7-3 overall and 4-1 in the NSIC, Augie hosted Hastings last night, then is off until going to Wayne State Dec. 30.

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb, Ciara Duffy): The Coyote women, who knocked off Iowa State of the Big 12 earlier, won on the home court of No. 22 Missouri of the SEC, 74-61. Ciara was 7-of-12, including 1-of-5 in threes, and 5-of-5 for 20 points with four rebounds and three assists. Chloe was 3-of-7, including 0-for-1 in threes, for six points with three rebounds, one assist and two steals. USD is in Puerto Rico to play Grambling State last night, Loyola-Marymount tonight and Indiana of the Big 10 Friday. USD opens Summit League play at NDSU Dec. 30. Just this week the USD women were moved up to No. 2 in the nation in the mid-majors poll.

South Dakota men’s basketball: The Coyotes dominated Bellevue, 78-52, as Cody Kelley scored 18 and Tyler Peterson 17. USD won at Colorado State, 68-63, led by Stanley Umude with 15 and Peterson with 12. Playing at No. 1 Kansas Tuesday, the Coyotes lost 89-53. Umuder scored 28 for USD, which is now 6-6. The Coyotes host Southern Mississippi Friday, then open league play at NDSU Dec. 28 and at Denver Jan. 2.

Tennessee women’s basketball (Caleb Currier): The No. 9 Lady Vols lost to No. 8 Stanford, 95-85. Tennessee will be home Friday vs. Eastern Tennessee State and Dec. 28 vs. Murray State.

University of Sioux Falls men’s basketball: The Cougars beat Minnesota-Duluth, 73-66, led by Trevon Evans’ 26 points. USF then lost to St. Cloud State, 83-73, as Drew Guebert scored 23. Now 8-3 overall and 3-2 in the NSIC, USF is off until a Dec. 30 home game vs. Southwest Minnesota State.

University of Sioux Falls women’s basketball: The USF women are 7-3 overall and 3-2 in the NSIC after two league losses last weekend. Minnesota-Duluth beat the Cougars, 51-36, and St. Cloud State topped USF, 66-41. Kaely Hummel was high scorer with 11 and 19 points, respectively. USF hosts Southwest Minnesota State Dec. 30.

Northern men’s basketball: The Wolves have rolled to a 5-0 record in the NSIC and 9-2 overall. Northern beat Minot State, 85-72, as Bo Fries scored 14, Ian Smith 14, Jordan Belka 13 and Andrew Kallman 13. In a 76-59 win over Mary, Smith and Gabe King had 12 points each. After a game at MSU-Moorhead last night, Northern is off until the long road trip to Upper Iowa and Winona State Jan. 4-5.

Northern women’s basketball (Rachel Guthmiller): The NSU women topped Minot State, 57-54, as Brianne Kusler scored 15. Rachel got into the game for six minutes and had two assists. The Wolves lost to Mary, 78-71, as Anika Fredrick scored 12. Now 4-6 overall and 2-3 in the NSIC, Northern played MSU-Moorhead last night, hosts Metro State (Colo.) Dec. 30, then goes to Upper Iowa and Winona State Jan. 4-5.

Black Hills State men’s basketball: The Yellowjackets won both games on a southern Colorado road trip and are now 6-3 overall and 5-0 in the RMAC. In an 85-69 win over Adams State, Stefan Desnica led BHSU with 20 points. Tyler Oliver scored 21 in an overtime 70-66 win at Fort Lewis. BHSU is off until another Colorado trip—Jan. 4 to Western State and Jan. 5 to Colorado-Mesa.

Black Hills State women’s basketball (Remi Wientjes, Racquel Wientjes): The BHSU women won both legs of their Colorado trip and are now 8-1 overall and 4-1 in the RMAC. In a 76-51 win over Adams State, Racquel went 5-of-8 (2-of-3 in threes) and 4-of-4 for 16 points with two rebounds and a block. In a 65-55 win at Fort Lewis, Racquel went 4-of-10 (2-of-5 in threes) and 3-of-5 for 13 points with one steal and three rebounds. Remi did not play in either game. BHSU plays at Western State Jan. 4 and Colorado-Mesa Jan. 5.

Dakota State men’s basketball: The Trojans won in overtime over Mount Marty, 85-84; lost to Morningside, 95-60, and won at Oglala Lakota College, 91-54. Now 4-10, DSU hosts Jamestown tonight, then plays at the Corn Palace Dec. 29-30 against St. Mary and Peru State.

Dakota State women’s basketball: The Lady Ts lost to DWU, 93-63; to Jamestown, 100-41, and to USF, 94-40. Now 1-11, DSU plays Dordt and Northwestern Dec. 28-29, respectively, in Orange City, Iowa.

South Dakota Mines women’s basketball: The Hardrockers lost at Fort Lewis, 62-44, led by Taylor Molstad’s 12 points. In a 52-46 win at Adams State, Mines got its first conference win in five games and is 3-5 overall. Molstad was again high with nine points. Mnes will be home vs. Nebraska Christian Dec. 31 and at Colorado-Mesa Jan. 4 and at Western State Jan. 5.

South Dakota Mines men’s basketball: The Hardrocker men won at Fort Lewis, 75-59, led by Logan Elers with 21. In a 75-61 loss to Adams State, Mitchell Sueker scored 16. Now 4-8 overall and 2-3 in the RMAC, Mines hosts Nebraska Christian Dec. 31 and goes to Colorado-Mesa Jan. 4 and Western State Jan. 5.

South Dakota State men’s basketball: The Jacks gave No. 7 Nevada a great run for its money and led in Reno at the half by 40-33, but Nevada won 72-68. Skyler Flatten led SDSU with 20 points, Owen King had 13 and Tevin King 10. But the big news was who didn’t score—the team’s two highest scorers, Mike Daum and David Jenkins, had five points each. On Tuesday the western trip ended better with a 74-64 win at Eastern Washington. SDSU was led by Daum with 27 and Flatten with 20. Now 10-4, SDSU is home Saturday vs. Montana, then opens Summit League play at Western Illinois Dec. 28.

South Dakota State women’s basketball (Sydney Palmer): The SDSU women competed with No. 7 Oregon but lost at home to the Ducks, 87-79. Myah Selland and Madison Guebert each scored 21. Sydney was 1-of-4 for three points with three boards and two assists. In a 92-49 cakewalk over Savannah State, Sydney was 2-of-2 for four points with three rebounds. On Tuesday SDSU beat Montana State, 88-67, led by Guebert and Tylee Irwin with 18 each. Sydney didn’t score but had four rebounds, a steal and an assist. Now 8-4, SDSU plays at Wyoming tonight, at Western Illinois Dec. 28 and at Purdue-Fort Wayne Jan. 3.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.”

— Peg Bracken

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Lady Capitals: Ashley Gilkerson scored four goals, all in the second period, as the Lady Caps defeated Rushmore, 4-1. Jessica McTighe and Ashton Lee had three assists each and Kaitlyn Swenson one assist. In goal Abigail Stewart-Fromm made 22 saves. The girls varsity is off until Jan. 5 at Huron and Jan. 6 at Aberdeen.

Oahe Capitals: The boys varsity broke a 1-1 tie with three goals in the third period to beat Aberdeen, 4-1. Caden Davis, Spencer Wedin, Talon Grese and Raef Briggs scored a goal apiece, and in goal Tate Mueller made 24 saves. The Caps are off until Jan. 5 at Watertown and Jan. 6 at Huron.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush took two of three from Utah last week, winning 3-1 and 2-1 and losing 3-0. Rapid City will be home Friday and Saturday vs. Wichita and Dec. 28-29 vs. Idaho.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Stampede extended a winning streak to four with a 5-4 overtime win over Dubuque and 5-2 and 6-1 wins over Green Bay. On Tuesday Sioux Falls lost to Des Moines, 2-0. Sioux Falls will be home Dec. 27 vs. Waterloo, on the road to Fargo Dec. 29 and back home vs. Lincoln Dec. 31.

Gillette Wild (Coleman Varty): Coleman had one assist in a 3-2 win over Wausau and another assist in a 4-2 loss to Wisconsin. Gillette then beat Cape Cod, 6-1. Back in their own league, the Wild will be home vs. Yellowstone Dec. 28.

Minnesota Wild: Minnesota beat Florida, 5-1; lost to Calgary, 2-1, and lost to San Jose, 4-0. Minnesota plays at Pittsburgh tonight, at home vs. Dallas Saturday, at Chicago Dec. 27, at Winnipeg Dec. 29 and at home vs. Pittsburgh Dec. 31.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

NFL games on local TV this week:
Saturday: Washington-Tennessee, 3:30 p.m., NFL Network.
Saturday: Baltimore-Los Angeles Chargers, 7:20 p.m., NFL Network.
Sunday: Houston-Philadelphia, noon, CBS.
Sunday: Minnesota-Detroit, noon, Fox.
Sunday: Pittsburgh-New Orleans, 3:25 p.m., CBS.
Sunday: Kansas City-Seattle, 7:20 p.m., NBC.
Monday: Denver-Oakland, 7:15 p.m., ESPN.

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings looked like a playoff contender again in a 41-17 defeat of Miami whose quarterback was sacked nine times by the purple defense. Now 7-6-1 and still controlling their own destiny regarding a playoff berth, the Vikings finish with a road game at Detroit at noon Sunday and a home game Dec. 30 against division champion Chicago.

Denver Broncos: It may no longer be a disgrace to lose to the Browns, but the Broncos did it anyway, falling at home to Cleveland, 17-16. Now 6-8, Denver finishes with a Christmas Eve night game at Oakland Monday and a home game vs. the Los Angeles Chargers Dec. 30.

NEOLOGISMS

Abdicate (v.): to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Midco Sports Network live games:
Saturday, 7 p.m., men’s basketball, SDSU-Montana.
Dec. 28, 5 p.m., women’s basketball, NDSU-Fort Wayne.
Dec. 28, 7 p.m., men’s basketball, NDSU-Fort Wayne (MSN2).
Dec. 28, 8 p.m., men’s basketball, USD-NDSU.
Dec. 29, 7 p.m., men’s hockey, UND-U.S. U18 team.
Dec. 30, 1 p.m., women’s basketball, USD-NDSU.
Dec. 30, 2 p.m., women’s basketball, UND-Fort Wayne (MSN2).
Dec. 30, 4 p.m., men’s basketball, UND-Fort Wayne.
Jan. 2, 7 p.m., men’s basketball, NDSU-Omaha.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: Sioux Falls is on a three-game losing skid, falling to Santa Cruz, 94-89; to South Bay, 124-119, and to Iowa, 119-112. The team is in Las Vegas to play Canton tonight and Maine Friday and will be at Iowa Dec. 30 before home games against Austin Dec. 31 and Jan. 2.

Minnesota Timberwolves: After losing to Sacramento, 141-130, and to Phoenix, 107-99, the Wolves rebounded Monday with a 132-105 win over Sacramento. The Wolves played Detroit last night, then embark on a trip to San Antonio Friday, Oklahoma City Sunday and Chicago Wednesday. They will be home Dec. 28 vs. Atlanta, then go on the road again to Miami Dec. 30, New Orleans Dec. 31 and Boston Jan. 2.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre Trappers: A newcomer to the Trappers for their second season of play will be sophomore outfielder Jonathan Boulaphinh from Yale University. His hometown is Parker, Colo. Also new to the roster will be freshman pitcher/outfielder Nick Spitt of Minnesota State-Mankato, whose hometown is Morristown, Minn.

PONDER THIS

“Christmas is a necessity. There has to be at least one day of the year to remind us that we’re here for something else besides ourselves.”

— Eric Sevareid

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Dec. 20:
Henry Melius, Conor Getty, Steve Hosman, Dustin Garber, Michaela (Thompson) Novak, Louis Mehlhaff, Valori (Kunsman) Floyd, Maddy Jo Sayer, Mathis Joens, Marcie (Lyngstad) Long, Joel Schwader, Luke Studer, Rick Dopps, Kari Dale, Nicole Neal, Jean Cowan, Mary Sarvis, Josh Lamb.

Friday, Dec. 21:
Erica Schipper, Tyler Moodie, Brad Moore, Colt Norman, Caitlin Bingner, Evan Nielsen, David Zellmer, Chris Frost, Jamie Goff, Allison Guindon, Sarah Gran, Eric Sprenkle, Dalaney Uecker, Matt Jahraus, Thomas Ahlers, Isaac Vogel, Laura (Winter) Anderson, Timaree (Ice) Axlund.

Saturday, Dec. 22:
Seneca Hertel, Susan (Erickson) Ogan, Jeff Adel, Twila Merkwan, Neil Eichstadt, Brandon Rausch, Gerad Johnson, Cameron Bullard.

Sunday, Dec. 23:
Dietrich Johnson, Kesiah (Pearson) Frederick, Jeremy DeWitt, Terry Mattke, Susan Colleran, Maranda Ehrenfried.
— 9th anniversary, Eddie/Reina Welch.
— 12th anniversary, Kyle/Jeannie Kafka.

Monday, Dec. 24:
Bruce Kessler, Landon Schumacher, Mary Huckins, Melisa Forest, Jeff Fahey, Bill Gingrich, Sonny Reed, Chris Anglin, Andrea Bauer, Kolton Durkin.

Tuesday, Dec. 25:
Josh Golden, Sheila Gould, Alicia Burchill, Chuck Libby, Katie (Skrondahl) Melius, Kathy (Marso) Harford, Reid Turner, Randy Barth, Kathy (Beemer) Cruse, Hudson Rohrbach, Wanda Hall.

Wednesday, Dec. 26:
Kathy Lucas, Shelby Stadel, Jaclyn Clown, Angel (Hanson) Martin, Bernie (Ripperger) Hanson, Nathan Blaseg, Matt Blaseg, Taylor McGee, Amy (Stahl) Jones, Mary Peltier, Yutzil (Rodriguez) Becker.
— 9th anniversary, Adam/Samantha (Dockter) Gallagher.

Thursday, Dec. 27:
Alaire Palmer, Stuart Stofferahn, Wendy Guindon, Graham Hunsley, Ann Thompson, Chris Iverson, Brian Hermanson, Alana Stars, Sean Colleran, Elizabeth (Lamb) Salmonson, Gary Heintz, Cole Cruse.
— 9th anniversary, Jason/Eva (Schmidt) Reed.
— 6th anniversary, Michael/Natasha Kendall.

Friday, Dec. 28:
Andrew Van Houten, Rob Miller, Kaylyn Pitlick, Morgan Ellefson, Lynette James, Jonas Heard, Kelsey Dykstra, Todd Peterson, Troy Jones, Serena (Buhler) Swenson, Hazel Van Camp, Owen Knutson, Helen Bright.
— 16th anniversary, Jon/Michelle Hofer.
— 16th anniversary, Conrad/Mary (Storsteen) Dieken.
— 44th anniversary, Lari/Linda Ott.

Saturday, Dec. 29:
Tane Bramblee, Rodger Hartley, Kent Kinkler, Thad Fonck, Tyson Bramblee, Donielle Gustafson, Kristi Jordan, Lindsay (Potts) Strohfus, Geryd Erbele, Brandon Haag, Ava Briese, Guy Hunter, Nedra (Eddy) Strouf.

Sunday, Dec. 30:
Chad Lahman, Crystal (Byrum) Frost, Sonja Christensen, Betty Lindbloom, Brian Bondy, Christy Kramer, Brian Lowery, Michael Fuchs, Jim Gerdes, Justin Trebesch, Doug Runge, Casey Keller, Lyndsey Harrowa, Shane Severyn.
— 12th anniversary, Todd/Mollee (Hewlett) Madden.

Monday, Dec. 31:
Nicole (Cholik) Namken, Andy Zarecky, Prentice Weaver, Moriah (Wagner) Gross, Jess Wright, Logan Hall, Bryce Palmer, Sean Getty, Hannah Albertus, Amanda Garrett, Kellan Ogan, Carrie (Kinkler) Smith, Melissa (Huber) Hundstad, Debby Bouchie, Brian Harrington, Caroline Denton.
— 13th anniversary, Kyle/Meaghan (Anderson) Neuberger.
— 19th anniversary, Kris/Calyn (Cronin) Hauck.
— Anniversary, Brian/Carolyn Deal.
— 13th anniversary, Jon/Lindsey (Riter) Rapp.
— 57th anniversary, Jerry/Karen Kern.
— 9th anniversary, Derek/Katlyn Gustafson.
— 5th anniversary, Jon/Pati Kotilnek.
— 30th anniversary, John/Vicki Hagemann.
— 24th anniversary, Norm/Sarah Lingle.
— 2nd anniversary, Logan/Rachel (Howard) Sulentic.

Tuesday Jan. 1:
Brayden Ahlers, Lukas Tedford, Astrid Schaack, Natalie Nagle, Kathy Murtland, Nikki (Grandpre) Wilson, Dolly Christenson, Kim Paxton, David Gordon, Cody Knott.
— 8th anniversary, Kyle/Britany (Gonsor) Willis.
— 6th anniversary, Travis/Lauren Scharnweber.
— Anniversary, Jordan/Nikki Hoover.

Wednesday, Jan. 2:
D.T. Meyer, Will Corcoran, Sara (Lakner) Johnson, Mike Fugitt, Dennis Eisnach, Steve Parker, Zoe (Donahue) Jones, Patty Millar.
— 3rd anniversary, Greg/Shelly (Monnens) Campbell.
— Anniversary, Bryce/Tennile (Asmussen) Lindskov.

Thursday, Jan. 3:
Joie (Schuetzle) Jockheck, Rick Newman, Nathan Perli, Kelsey Glynn, Jennifer McGruder, Ali (Bailey) Maurice, Dorothy Massey, George Bock, Bryson Harter, Bethany Jochim, Brent Lindbloom.
— 4th anniversary, Josiah/Heather Severson.
— 15th anniversary, Paul/Teresa Sowers.
— 15th anniversary, Reid/Leah LeBeau.

FOOTBALL CONTESTS #17-#18

Contest #17 (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by this afternoon, Thursday):
(1) Idaho Potato Bowl: Western Michigan vs. BYU.
(2) Armed Forces Bowl: Hosuton vs. Army.
(3) Gasparilla Bowl: Marshall vs. South Florida.
(4) Birmingham Bowl: Memphis vs. Wake Forest.
(5) Dollar General Bowl: Buffalo vs. Troy.
(6) NFL: Houston at Philadelphia.
(7) NFL: Baltimore at Los Angeles Chargers.
(8) NFL: Minnesota at Detroit.
(9) NFL: Pittsburgh at New Orleans.
(10) NFL: Kansas City at Seattle.

Contest #18 (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by Monday morning, Dec. 24):
(1) First Responder Bowl: Boston College vs. Boise State.
(2) Quick Lane Bowl: Minnesota vs. Georgia Tech.
(3) Cheez-It Bowl: TCU vs. California.
(4) Independence Bowl: Temple vs. Duke.
(5) Pinstripe Bowl: Miami vs. Wisconsin.
(6) Outdoors Texas Bowl: Baylor vs. Vanderbilt.
(7) Music City Bowl: Purdue vs. Auburn.
(8) Camping World Bowl: West Virginia vs. Syracuse.
(9) Alamo Bowl: Iowa State vs. Washington State.
(10) Peach Bowl: Florida vs. Michigan.

Attention, contestants: Watch for Contest #19 to be posted on Facebook Christmas Day, Contest #20 to be posted on Facebook Dec. 26, and Contest #21 to be posted on Facebook Dec. 31.

In last week’s contest all 16 of our contestants picked the Vikings, but they all also picked the Rams. Only David Thoreson and David Ludwig survived to post 8-2 records and earn 10 points each. At 7-3 for nine points was Nathan Vetter. Earning eight points for their 6-4 marks were Jeff Adel, Beth Rinehart and Lane Kozel.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Christmas is a time for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.”

— B. C. Forbes

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Tom Johnson has completed his master’s degree in music education at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. Tom’s 120-page thesis is a classroom guitar method book.

Services for Gerald “Jerry” Joachim, 69, Agar, were held at the Agar Hall Monday morning. He died Dec. 8 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. Mr. Joachim grew up on a farm at Agar and graduated from Agar High School in 1967. After attending Black Hills State, he returned home to farm with his father and later with his brother Bob. Later he worked for Wittler Farms, for Van Stewart’s farming operation and as a propane hauler for Stewart’s. In 1974 he married the former Sue Brink. Among his survivors are his children, Craig Joachim of Onida, Megan Jaeger and her husband Jerid of Blunt, Colby Brink and his wife Marquette of Pierre, and Delynda Christenson and her husband Vince of Sturgis; nine grandchildren; brothers Larry Joachim of New Richmond, Wis., and Bob Joachim of Agar, and sister Nancy Worth of Sioux Falls.

Terry and Yutzil (Rodriguez) Becker became parents for the first time on Dec. 14 when their son, Avett Lee Becker, was born. Of course the baby arrived on Game Day, the opening day of Coach Becker’s Governors boys basketball team’s season!

Josh Hartmann has finished his master’s degree in business from the University of North Dakota while he continues to be stationed at Minot Air Force Base. Josh, whose wife is the former Tessa Bollinger, will be moving to the District of Columbia in the spring for his next Air Force assignment.

Earning Athlete of the Week honors from the Pierre Athletic Coaches Association last week were Garrett Leesman of the wrestling team and Mikah Moser of the gymnastics team.

Our sympathy to the Blake family. Lanny Blake passed away at the age of 68 at Avera Maryhouse Dec. 15. Services were held Wednesday at Faith Lutheran Church. He came to Fort Pierre with his family from Ree Heights when he was a fourth grader. The family moved to Pierre later, and he graduated from Riggs High School in 1968. Lanny earned a wildlife biology degree from SDSU. Returning to Pierre, he worked for Snappy Delivery. In 1976, the same year he married the former Sheryl Titze, he began a 35-year career with the U.S. Postal Service. He is survived by his wife; their son, Tony Blake and his wife Mackenzie; and their daughter, Therese Schutz and her husband Dustin, all of Pierre; four grandchildren, and three siblings, Vicki Nafus, Gene Blake and Melda Bolton.

Jared Lindbloom, who is a professional musician in New York City, is home for Christmas and will perform live at Drifters Bar and Grille Saturday night starting at 7:30 p.m.

Northern State University held its winter commencement last week. Among the graduates were these persons with local ties:
— Sara (Hopfinger) Weischedel, master in music education.
— Dakota Feller, international business.
— Megan Bennett, banking and financial services.
— Travis Johnson, management.
— Faith Kongslien, psychology.
— Janet Ott, business administration.

Mary Hunt, 90, Independence, Iowa, died Dec. 10. Services were held Dec. 13 at the Cornerstone Foursquare Church there. She is survived by her husband of 70 years, Harlan Hunt of Independence; three children, David Hunt of Cedar Rapids, Bruce Hunt of Pierre, and Jan Reed of Winthrop, Iowa; 11 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

Jessica (Callahan) Carr, Georgia Morse Middle School science teacher and Riggs High graduate, has been named a National STEM (science, technology engineering, math) Scholar. She is one of 10 middle school science teachers so honored from more than 200 applications. Jessica and the other scholars spent a week at advanced STEM training, received funds for a classroom challenge project and spent an afternoon with Dr. Eric Mazur, internationally recognized thought leader and speaker in the field of education and knowledge retention. She will also attend the National Science Teachers Association meeting in St. Louis in April. The 2018 STEM scholars designed an experiment that will travel in a Nano Lab aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard space vehicle for launch into microgravity this spring. The scholars and their students will mimic the project in their classrooms, make predictions and follow the launch live. The results of the experiment will be available to all 10 scholar schools within hours of the experiment’s return to Earth.

Ashley Grambihler as well as her fiance, Michael Cheuvront, graduated from Dakota State University in Madison at the December commencement. Ashley’s degree is in elementary education. Michael, who is from Norfolk, Va., works in Seattle for West Seattle Computers.

Your Update editor happened to sit next to former Pierre residents Kevin and Fran Segrud at Dakota Choral Union’s “Christmas at the Cathedral” concert Sunday night. Their daughter, Siri, who has completed chiropractic school, lives in Moline, Ill. Their son, Kai, lives in Boston where he works for Again Faster Equipment as a programmer. Fran continues to work for the Lebrun law firm in Rapid City.

The four newest inductees into the Pierre High School Athletic Hall of Fame were honored at halftime of the boys basketball game last Friday. Charles Burke III was honored in the contributors category. He and his BankWest were the first member of the Pierre Sports Marketing Group and have raised millions for Governor sports. John Knox, honored in the coaches category, coached the girls golf team to two state championships and coached three female and one male state champion golfers. Honored in the athletes category were brothers Toby Bryant and Tyler Bryant, who in the mid- and late-’90s won three individual state wrestling championships apiece.

At the last meeting of the Sully Buttes school board Becky Lamb, who has taught science and math at SBHS for 27 years, announced she will be retiring at the end of this school year. (News courtesy of The Onida Watchman)

Willa (Nafus) Hieb died at the age of 92 Dec. 12 at Brookstone Village in Omaha. Services are being held this (Thursday) morning at 11 a.m. at First United Methodist Church in Pierre. She grew up at Highmore and Holabird and graduated from Harrold High School. She married Herman Hieb in 1946. After moving to Pierre, Mrs. Hieb worked for the state treasurer’s office for 27 years. She is survived by her children and their spouses, Janet and Neil Herman of Omaha, Laurel and Monte McNickle of Bath, Michael and Lois Hieb of Huron and Debra and Craig Wilson of Oak Ridge, N.C.; 11 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren, a sister and three sisters-in-law, including Dolly Nafus in Pierre.

Sully Buttes High students Kendra Kleven and Avery Weinheimer won first place in the 2018 Big Idea competition from among 244 entries involving more than 350 students from 35 schools statewide. The Sully Buttes duo were announced the winners from among the eight finalist entries at Northern State University Dec. 5. The girls’ winning project was their Helping Hearts Delivery Service, which aims to deliver groceries weekly and bring hot meals five days a week to elderly residents in Onida. Their prizes included a $1,000 cash prize, a $1,000 scholarship to Northern, a $1,000 scholarship to Presentation College and a $1,000 scholarship to the School of Mines. (News courtesy of The Onida Watchman)