ELECTIONS UPDATE

Things are getting interesting when it comes to the Republican primary on June 2.

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson now has a challenger for his 2-year term in the U.S. House of Representatives since southwestern South Dakota rancher Liz May has declared her candidacy. There are also two Democratic candidates for that seat in that party’s primary—Whitney Raver and Brian Wirth.

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds has a challenger within the party for his seat in the U.S. Senate with the earlier announcement of the candidacy of Scyller Borglum. There are already two Democratic candidates for that seat in their primary—Dan Ahlers and Clara Hart.

Locally the field of candidates for two seats in the state House of Representatives from District 24 (Hughes-Stanley-Sully) has become crowded. Already filed or at least declared are Republicans Will Mortenson, Mike Weisgram, Noel Chicoine, Bob Lowery and Jeff Monroe. That group will be weeded down to two to advance from the primary to the general election. The current representatives, Tim Rounds and Mary Duvall, can’t run again due to term limits.

The same is true of Jeff Monroe, who can’t seek his state Senate seat again due to term limits. Mary Duvall has filed her candidacy for that chair.

Steve Harding and Caleb Gilkerson have announced their candidacies for the Pierre’s mayor’s chair now held by Harding, and Gloria Hanson has announced she is seeking re-election as mayor of Fort Pierre.

So far as we know, there are no announced candidates for Dan Cronin’s seat on the Pierre school board; for Norm Weaver’s and Roger Inman’s seats on the Hughes County Commission or for Larry Cronin’s, David LaRoche’s and Mike Weisgram’s seats on the Fort Pierre city council.

Election day in the city of Fort Pierre is April 14. The primary election and the Pierre city and school elections will all be June 2.

IF THE POSTSEASON STARTED TODAY

Thank goodness we have sports to take our minds away from politics—state and national. Remember that, so far as wrestling is concerned, this month we have not only the usual state tournaments for individuals but also the team duals state tournaments.

If the Class “A” team duals state tournament began today, the quarterfinal pairings would be:
#8 Mitchell vs. #1 Pierre
#5 Sturgis vs. #4 Brandon Valley
#6 Harrisburg vs. #3 Rapid City Stevens
#7 Dell Rapids vs. #2 Watertown
Close behind right now are #9 Rapid City Central, #10 Madison, #11 West Central and #12 Chamberlain.

If the Class “B” team duals state tournament began today, the quarterfinal pairings would be:
#8 Custer vs. #1 Winner
#5 Kingsbury County vs. #4 McCook Central/Montrose
#6 Redfield Area vs. #3 Canton
#7 Parker vs. @ Kimball/White Lake/Platte-Geddes

If the Class “AA” boys basketball SoDak 16 games were to be played today, the matchups would be:
#16 Sturgis at #1 Yankton
#15 Mitchell at #2 Sioux Falls O’Gorman
#14 Douglas at #3 Sioux Falls Roosevelt
#13 Spearfish at #4 Huron
#12 Harrisburg at #5 Brandon Valley
#11 Watertown at #6 Sioux Falls Lincoln
#10 Aberdeen Central at #7 Sioux Falls Washington
#9 Rapid City Stevens at #8 Rapid City Central

If the Class “AA” girls basketball SoDak 16 games were to be played today, the matchups would be:
#16 Watertown at #1 Sioux Falls O’Gorman
#15 Douglas at #2 Rapid City Stevens
#14 Spearfish at #3 Harrisburg
#13 Rapid City Central at #4 Sioux Falls Lincoln
#12 Huron at #5 Sioux Falls Washington
#11 Pierre at #6 Yankton
#10 Mitchell at #7 Sioux Falls Roosevelt
#9 Brandon Valley at #8 Aberdeen Central

If the Class “A” boys basketball Region 6 tournament began today, the pairings would be:
#1 Crow Creek bye
#5 Chamberlain at #4 McLaughlin
#6 Stanley County at #3 Cheyenne-Eagle Butte
#7 Miller at #2 Mobridge-Pollock
(The two semifinal winners advance to SoDak 16)

If the Class “A” girls basketball Region 6 tournament began today, the pairings would be:
#1 Crow Creek bye
#5 Mobridge-Pollock at #4 Chamberlain
#6 McLaughlin at #3 Cheyenne-Eagle Butte
#7 Stanley County at #2 Miller
(The two semifinal winners advance to SoDak 16)

If the Class “B” boys basketball Region 2 tournament began today, the pairings would be:
#1 Sully Buttes bye
#9 Sunshine Bible at #8 North Central
#5 Lower Brule at #4 Ipswich
#6 Faulkton Area at #3 Potter County
#7 Highmore-Harrold at #2 Herreid-Selby Area
(The two semifinal winners advance to SoDak 16)

If the Class “B ” girls basketball Region 2 tournament began today, the pairings would be:
#1 Faulkton Area bye
#9 Sunshine Bible at #8 North Central
#5 Highmore-Harrold at #4 Lower Brule
#6 Ipswich at #3 Sully Buttes
#7 Potter County at #2 Herreid-Selby Area
(The two semifinal winners advance to SoDak 16)

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Wrestling—Saturday, at Yankton invitational.
Gymnastics—Saturday, at ESD Conference meet, Harrisburg.
Boys basketball—Thursday, at Sioux Falls Washington; Saturday, home vs. Brandon Valley; Tuesday, home vs. Huron.
Girls basketball—Thursday, home vs. Sioux Falls Washington; Saturday, at Brandon Valley; Tuesday, at Huron.

Gymnastics: At the Rapid City triangular Pierre was the team champion with a 135.850 score. Mikah Moser won the vault, bars and beam events and placed second in floor exercise and thus was the all-around winner with a 37.600 score. Emerie Stephens tied for fifth.

Wrestling: The Governors defeated Huron, 68-9, in an ESD dual. Winning by pins were Trey Lewis, Kahlor Hindman, Hayden Shaffer, Jack Van Camp, Regan Bollweg and Preston Taylor. Maguire Raske scored a technical fall, and Jacob Larson won by decision. The Govs also won by forfeit in four weight classes. At the Les Tlustos tournament in Brookings, Pierre was second, only 1 1/2 points behind Brandon Valley. Blake Judson, Shaffer and Van Camp all placed second. Tyson Johnson, Cade HInkle Raske and Bollweg all placed third. Placing fourth were Lewis, Hindman, Deegan Houska and Taylor. Larson placed fifth. Wesley Harsma was sixth. In eighth places were Daniel Tafoya, Jaret Clarke and Gavin Stotts.

Girls basketball: The Governor girls are 7-8 for the season after a 1-2 week. Pierre lost to Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 54-50. Remi Price, Kodi Severyn and Ayvrie Kaiser each scored nine points while Caytee Williams and Kylee Thorpe each scored eight. In a 47-38 loss to Yankton Kaiser had nine points and Price and Thorpe eight apiece. On Tuesday Thorpe sank two pressure free throws with 2.6 seconds left to lift Pierre from one point down to a 60-59 win over Mitchell. Thorpe had 21 points. The Governors sank 19 of 25 free throws.

Boys basketball: The Governors lost two more games this week to fall to 1-14 for the season. In an 83-56 loss on the road against #1 Yankton, Lincoln Kienholz scored 18 points and Grey Zabel 12. Pierre was within 40-36 at halftime, but a 24-4 Yankton run in the third period put the game away. On Tuesday the Govs were down 15-3 early and could not recover in a 60-42 loss to Mitchell. The Kernels have won only three games all season, but two have been wins over Pierre. Kienholz had five three-pointers on the way to a 19-point game, and Paul Adam scored 16. The other seven Pierre points came from four different players. Pierre currently stands out of the postseason and has five games remaining, all of them against rugged opponents—Roosevelt, Lincoln and Washington, all to be played in Sioux Falls, and Brandon Valley and Huron at home.

THOUGHT FOR THESE TIMES

“There comes a time when a man must refuse to answer to his leader if he is also to answer to his own conscience.”

— Hartley Shawcross

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Wrestling—Saturday, home for Big Dakota Conference invitational.
Gymnastics—Saturday, Region 2 meet.
Girls basketball—Tuesday, at Miller.
Boys basketball—Next game, Feb. 13 at White River.

Wrestling: At the Sully Buttes quadrangular the Buffaloes defeated Potter County, 45-18; defeated Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, 48-0, and beat Sully Buttes, 48-6. Chase Hanson, Hayden Roggow and Sydney Tubbs had pins against Potter County. Trey Frost, Levi Stover and Reid Wieczorek had pins against C-EB. In the Sully Buttes dual Wieczorek won by pin in the only match wrestled. At Saturday’s Wagner invitational the Buffs finished 12th of 18 teams, scoring 62 points. Wieczorek placed third at 170 pounds, Cliff was fourth at 182 and Tubbs was fifth at 220. Placing sixth were Levi Stover at 152, Cade Stover at 185 and Dylan Endres at 280.

Girls basketball: The Buffaloes lost three more games this week and are now 0-15. They lost to Crow Creek, 65-19; to Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, 67-25, and to Todd County, 61-29.

Boys basketball: The Buffaloes’ losing streak has reached four as they fell three times this week and are now 6-9. SCHS lost to Crow Creek, 93-59; to Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, 81-56, and to Todd County, 70-52.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
Girls basketball—Friday, at Potter County; Tuesday, at Herreid-Selby Area (at Selby).
Boys basketball—Friday, at Potter County; Tuesday, at Herreid-Selby Area (at Selby).
Wrestling—Saturday, at Big Dakota Conference invitational, Fort Pierre.

Wrestling: At a home quadrangular the Chargers lost to Potter County, 29-18; lost to CEB/Dupree, 22-6, and lost to Stanley County, 48-6. With so few men on the team, the Chargers always have to forfeit several weight classes in duals.

Girls basketball: The girls lost at Hitchcock-Tulare, 49-39, as Kendra Kleven scored 12 and Jill Hofer 11. They won big over Warner, 48-18, with Kleven scoring 12 and Tailynne Bradford 12. On Tuesday SBHS won over Jones County, 49-35, as Kleven scored 17, Ally Wittler 14 and Stevie Wittler 10. The Chargers are 8-5.

Boys basketball: The boys continued to roll this week and have now won 11 in a row after a season-opening one-point loss. SBHS whipped Hitchcock-Tulare, 56-27, led by Nick Wittler’s 15 and Quinn Jordre’s 12. In a 46-38 win over Warner Wittler scored 25, Jett Lamb 8 and Grant Johnson 6. On Tuesday the boys defeated Jones County, 63-29, as Jordre scored 15 on five three-pointers and Wittler 12.

COUNTDOWN

3 days: The Oscars, ABC (Feb. 9).
5 days: New Hampshire primary (Feb. 11).
8 days: State gymnastics meet, Aberdeen (Feb. 14-15).
15 days: Minnesota Twins spring training opener (Feb. 21).
16 days: Nevada caucuses (Feb. 22).
21 days: State wrestling tournaments, Sioux Falls (Feb. 27-29).
23 days: South Carolina primary (Feb. 29).
23 days: NSIC men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls (Feb. 29-March 3).
23 days: NCAA Div. II Super Region 5 wrestling tournament, Sioux Falls (Feb. 29).
26 days: Super Tuesday 14 primaries (March 3).
26 days: Georgia Morse Middle School musical “Frozen Jr.” (March 3, 5).
29 days: State girls hockey tournament, Expo Center (March 6-8).
30 days: Summit League men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls (March 7-10).
31 days: Daylight Saving Time begins (March 8).
34 days: NAIA Div. II men’s basketball national tournament, Sioux Falls (March 11-17).
35 days: State “B” girls basketball tournament, Spearfish (March 12-14).
36 days: State boys hockey tournament, Sioux Falls (March 13-15).
36 days: NCAA Div. II national wrestling championships, Sioux Falls (March 13-14).
36 days: Hayes play (March 13-15).
40 days: Arizona, Florida, Illinois primaries (March 17).
42 days: State “B” boys basketball tournament, Aberdeen (March 19-21).
42 days: State “A” girls/boys basketball tournaments, Rapid City (March 19-21).
42 days: State “AA” girls/boys basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls (March 19-21).
42 days: State high school visual aids exhibition, Sioux Falls (March 19-21).
42 days: NCAA Div. I wrestling championships, Minneapolis (March 19-21).
49 days: Baseball opening day (March 26).
51 days: All-State Band concerts, Mitchell (March 28).
57 days: NCAA Div. I women’s basketball Final Four, New Orleans (April 3, 5).
58 days: Pierre high school baseball opener (April 4).
58 days: NCAA Div. I men’s basketball Final Four, Atlanta (April 4, 6).
63 days: NCAA Div. I men’s hockey Frozen Four, Detroit (April 9, 11).

HOCKEY ROUNDUP

Rapid City Rush: The Rush split with Idaho, losing in overtime, 3-2, and winning, 2-1. Rapid City goes to Wichita Friday and Saturday, then returns home next Wednesday vs. Allen.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings lost twice to Bismarck, 2-1 and 3-1. They host Minot Friday and Saturday.

North Dakota: The Fighting Hawks defeated Colorado College twice, 1-0 and 8-1. Now 21-3-3, UND is off this weekend, awaiting a home twinbill vs. Denver Feb. 14-15.

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: The girls defeated Rushmore, 3-2, as Jessa McTighe scored twice and Sara Bierne once. Abigail Stewart-Fromm made 24 saves. She had 15 more saves in a 30 loss to Watertown. The girls are home vs. Sioux Falls at 1 p.m. Saturday.

SDAHA girls varsity standings (wins-losses-ties-OT losses=points):
(1) Aberdeen 11-1-0-0 22
(2) Sioux Falls 10-0-0-0 20
(3) Brookings 9-3-0-1 19
(4) Mitchell 5-4-0-0 10
(5) Watertown 5-6-0-0 10
(6) Sioux Center 5-9-0-0 10
(7) Oahe 4-8-0-0 8
(8) Huron 2-8-0-1 5
(9) Rushmore 1-11-0-0 2

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: In a 7-3 loss to Sioux Falls, Caden Davis scored twice and Andrew Gordon once. The Caps then defeated Watertown, 4-2, as Elliot Leif scored two, Jaden Flor one and Spencer Wedin one. Kieran Duffy had 15 saves. The Capitals are home three times this weekend—8 p.m. Friday vs. Mitchell, 7 p.m. Saturday vs. Sioux Falls #2 and 4 p.m. Sunday vs. Aberdeen.

SDAHA boys varsity standings (wins-losses-ties-OT losses=points):
(1) Sioux Falls #1 12-1-0-0 24
(2) Sioux Center 11-4-0-0 22
(3) Brookings 10-2-1-0 21
(4) Rushmore 9-3-1-1 20
(5) Huron 7-5-0-01 15
(6) Oahe 5-3-0-2 12
(7) Watertown 5-7-1-0 11
(8) Sioux Falls #2 4-6-1-0 9
(9) Mitchell 3-10-2-0 8
(10) Aberdeen 2-9-0-0 4
(11) Yankton 0-13-0-1 1

Minnesota Wild: The Wild lost to Boston, 6-1, as they returned from the all-star break, then won in overtime over Chicago, 3-2. Minnesota is home vs. Vancouver Thursday, on the road to Dallas Friday, then home against Colorado Sunday and Vegas Tuesday.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd has a six-game winning streak after beating Waterloo, 3-2 in overtime and 5-4, and Tri-City, 7-3. Sioux Falls, the defending league champion, has moved into the sixth and final playoff spot. Sioux Falls plays at Sioux City Friday and Saturday.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“It is so important that we realize saints are not just people who lived long ago. Saints are followers of Jesus who disrupt the status quo in the present. They’re rebels, rejecting the kingdom of the world to live in sync with a greater king. They’re people who refuse to submit to the barriers between the secular and sacred because they know that what we do on Monday is just as holy as what we do on Sunday.”

GOLF ROUNDUP

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): Tom didn’t go to Morocco for the tour’s second event of the season there. The Champions Tour resumes Feb. 14-16 at the Chubb Classic at Naples, Fla.

BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Minnesota Timberwolves: The losing streak reached 12 in a row with a 118-106 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and a 113-109 loss to Sacramento. After hosting Atlanta last night, the Wolves will be home vs. the Clippers Sunday and Toronto Monday.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force won its two games this week, 114-104 over Santa Cruz and 104-99 at Salt Lake City. Sioux Falls is home vs. Santa Cruz Friday, Long Island Sunday and Delaware Tuesday.

MIDCO SPORTS NETWORK LIVE GAMES

Thursday, 7 p.m.: Men’s basketball, Oral Roberts at UND.
Thursday, 7 p.m.: Women’s basketball, NDSU at Omaha (MSN2).
Friday, 7 p.m.: Women’s basketball, Oral Roberts at UND.
Saturday, 1 p.m.: Men’s basketball, Oral Roberts at NDSU (MSN2).
Saturday, 2 p.m.: Men’s basketball, USD at UND.
Sunday, 1 p.m.: Women’s basketball, Oral Roberts at NDSU (MSN2).
Sunday, 2 p.m.: Women’s basketball, USD at UND.
Wednesday, 7 p.m.: Men’s basketball, Western Illinois at USD.

FOOTBALL ROUNDUP

— None of the playoff teams in the NFL have as much of a creampuff schedule as the Kansas City Chiefs next fall. So you who are relishing their win last Sunday might as well start planning to do this all over again next year. So now that we know the Chiefs will be raising a banner at their Opening-Night game in September, we can guess who their opponent will be, whether the NFL puts their game on Thursday night or on Sunday night where the viewers are. The choices for KC’s first opponent are pretty slim—Broncos? Chargers? Falcons? Panthers? Texans? Jets? No to all of those. The only real choices are the Raiders because the NFL may want to showcase their “new” Las Vegas team or the real choice—the Patriots.

— I’m not about to become invested in the XFL, but if you insist on watching football in February, March and April, here you go. The TV games this weekend:
Saturday—Seattle vs. DC, 1 p.m., ABC; Los Angeles vs. Houston, 4 p.m., Fox.
Sunday—Tampa Bay vs. New York, 1 p.m., Fox; St. Louis vs. Dallas, 4 p.m., ESPN.
The XFL dug deep into the bottom of the barrel for the team nicknames. In the Eastern Division are the D.C. Defenders, the New York Guardians, the St. Louis Battlehawks and the Tampa Bay Vipers. In the Western Division are the Dallas Renegades, the Houston Roughnecks, the Los Angeles Wildcats and the Seattle Dragons. So play ball! And I’m talking about baseball, not football.

Super Bowl: In Super Bowl LIV in Miami, Kansas City rallied from a 20-10 deficit at the end of the third quarter to beat San Francisco, 31-20.

SOCCER ROUNDUP

Minnesota United FC: The Loons’ preseason games are almost at hand—Feb. 16 at New England, Feb. 19 at Portland and Feb. 22 at Vancouver.

BASEBALL ROUNDUP

Pierre Trappers: Signed this week to play with the team this summer are these four new players:

— Ssophomore pitcher Conner Banta from Spokane Falls Community College. His hometown is Kennewick, Wash.
— Sophomore right-handed pitrchker Zach Blake from Centralia College. His hometown is Tacoma, Wash.
— Redshirt/freshman catcher/outfielder Hunter Ranweiler from Minnesota State-Mankato. His hometown is New Ulm.
— Sophomore catcher Mitch Stroh from Augustana. His hometown is Elk River, Minn.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Feb. 6:
Declan Murphy, Weston Fuller, Colin McDaniel, Deleight (Kelly) Sudmeier, Mary (Morris) Weinheimer, Stacie (Ries) Swanstrom, Jarrett Klinger, Adam Gallagher, Jenifer Palmer, Alex Hillestad.

Friday, Feb. 7:
Sandy Zinter, Dave Hofer, Franklin Nebelsick, Alexandra Voeltz, Liz (Kirk) Van Camp, Tony Blake, Kennedy Williams, Marilee Johnson-Geary, DaVida (Anderson) Jaqua.
— We fondly remember Hyrma Zakahi, who passed away 3 years ago today.

Saturday, Feb. 8:
Chad Binger, Jean Deffenbaugh, Habie Swenson, Colby Wagner, Steph (Hull) Joens, Alex Plumage, Stephanie (Arne) Davison, Lindsey (Quinn) Nichols, Kelli Nuttbrock, Karen Authier, Karon Schaack, Alana (Tennant) Lacina, Randy Stoeser.
— 56th anniversary, Ron/Priscilla Schmidt.
— We fondly remember Amanda (Weaver) Sprenkle on her birthday.

Sunday, Feb. 9:
Bauer Hunt, Karen Day, Jennifer McKillip, Jamie Lomheim, Dawn Hurney, Steve Smith, Mandy Braun, William Weingart, Carolyn Severyn, Dessa Bryant, Elsie Ann Shoup.

Monday, Feb. 10:
Luke Ross, Carie (Olson) Butter, Ericka Deneke, Jessie Williams, Kelly (Kindle) Hipple, Elliot Harmon, Jeanita (Adams) McNulty, Hart Hoover, Chris Dvorak.
— 3rd anniversary, Adam/Andrea Baker.

Tuesday, Feb. 11:
Jerilyn (Cass) Roberts, Jackson Sleger, Megan Tousley, Beth (Miner) O’Toole, Carly Feiler, Aaron Engberg, Jonathan Urbach, Kerry (Johnson) Bowers, Kelbie Frederick, Cheryl (Beckwith) Ulmen, Colleen (Doyle) Lamb, Chris Dockter, Beth Sachtjen, Kristin Gabriel.

Wednesday, Feb. 12:
Jay Davis, Dave Osterkamp, Grayson Shindle, Dick Tobin, Cody Nelson, Shannon (Taft) Hallock, Julie Linn, Nicholas Deal, Lucas Hoover, Leonard Haggin.

Thursday, Feb. 13:
Suttyn Stahl, Karla Miles, Cooper Gloe, Stacie Mosiman, Dorinda Daniel, Gerda Jorgenson, Darin Smith, Michell Boe, Nathan Shay.

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Minnesota baseball (Nolan Burchill): This is Nolan’s redshirt/junior season as a right-handed pitcher for the Gophers. They open their season at the Angels College Classic in Tempe, Ariz., Feb. 14-17 against Oregon, Pepperdine, San Diego and Arizona.

South Dakota State swimming (Ashley Theobald, Caleb Huizenga): Idle last week, the Jacks swim at their own Jackrabbit Invitational Friday and Saturday.

Wyoming wrestling (Tate Samuelson): The Cowboys won over Oregon State, 18-13, and Tate won his 184-pound match with an 8-3 decision. Now 7-7 overall and 3-1 in conference duals, Wyoming is home Thursday vs. Fresno State and Saturday vs. Oklahoma State.

South Dakota women’s basketball (Ciara Duffy, Chloe Lamb): The Coyotes have rolled to a 21-2 record, 10-0 in the Summit League. In a 71-39 throttling of Omaha, Ciara was 6-of-12 (0-for-3 in three-pointers) and 2-of-3 in free shots for 14 points with four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Chloe was 1-of-4 (0-for-1) for two points with two boards. In a 92-60 win over Denver, Ciara was red hot, going 11-of-17 (5-of-8 in threes) and 4-of-4 for a career-high 31 points with seven assists and five rebounds. Chloe was 7-of-8 (3-of-3) and 1-of-1 for 18 points with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Ciara was named Summit League Player of the Week again. USD plays at UND at 2 p.m. Sunday on Midco Sports Network.

Tennessee women’s basketball (Caleb Currier): The Lady Vols defeated Vanderbilt, 78-69, and lost to South Carolina, 69-48. Now 17-5 overall, Tennessee is home vs. Mississippi State Thursday.

Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): The Marauders, idle last week, go to Augustana Friday and to Southwest Minnesota State Saturday for NSIC duals.

Iowa Western baseball (Peyton Zabel): The Reivers open their season Feb. 15-16 with four games at Garden City Community College in Kansas, then play two at Liberal, Kan., against Seward County CC Feb. 17. Peyton is a sophomore pitcher there.

South Dakota track/field (Maddy McClure): At the Adidas meet in Lincoln, the Coyotes’ Chris Nilsen pole-vaulted 19’3/4″, ranking him currently first in the nation in the NCAA this season. USD hosts its own Alumni Open Friday and Saturday.

South Dakota State track/field (Addison Eisenbeisz): At Minnesota’s Jack Johnson meet Addy was second in the high jump at a personal-best height of 5’7.24″. She ranks eighth-best all-time in SDSU history. The Jacks send athletes to the Adidas Classic at Lincoln and the USD Alumni Open this weekend.

Black Hills State track/field (Kelsey Van Den Hemel, Frank Becker, Allan McDonnell): At their home meet, the Yellow Jacket men and women both finished first in team standings. Kelsey placed second in the 3,000-meter run in 11:16.03. Frank was 11th in the 200-meter dash in 24.66 seconds. He also ran on BHSU’s “B” team in the 4×400 relay, and they placed fifth in 3:41.46. BHSU goes to NDSU’s Bison Open Friday and Saturday.

South Dakota State wrestling (Aric Williams): The Jacks lost a dual to Oklahoma State, 35-3, but won over first-year program Little Rock, 42-0. Now 8-5 in duals, SDSU goes to West Virginia Friday and to Ohio Sunday.

Northern track/field (Rachel Guthmiller): At the DWU meet Rachel finished with no distance in the weight throw event. The Wolves go to NDSU’s Bison Open Friday and Saturday.

Northern men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): The Wolves won at home over Concordia-St. Paul, 88-60, in front of a Friday night crowd of 4,396. On Saturday they drew 5,204 fans who were treated to a 96-62 thumping of Minnesota State-Mankato. Now 17-5 overall and 13-3 in the NSIC, Northern goes to USF Friday and to Southwest Minnesota State Saturday.

South Dakota Mines track/field (Theron Singleton, Erick Colman): At BHSU’s meet Theron was 13th in the mile in 4:50.05 and 13th in the 3,000-meters in 9:38.33. The Hardrockers go to the Ted Nelson Classic at Minnesota State-Mankato Saturday.

South Dakota State baseball (Landon Badger): Suddenly it is Landon’s senior year of baseball with the Jacks, who open their season with three games at Dallas Baptist Feb. 14-15-16. Landon is an outfielder.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Bradley Dean): The Tigers, ranked #10 in the nation in the NAIA last week, lost to Jamestown, 82-75, and defeated Concordia (Neb.), 71-50. Brad got into the latter game for one minute. Now 18-5 overall and 10-4 in the GPAC, DWU, after a game at Briar Cliff last night, hosts Morningside Saturday and goes to Mount Marty next Wednesday.

Augustana women’s basketball (Aislinn Duffy, Katie Bourk): The Viking women defeated Minot State, 75-64, as Aislinn was 5-of-10 (2-of-4) and 5-of-5 for 17 points with 14 rebounds and five assists. She completed a great weekend in an 80-73 win over Mary, going 6-of-12 (1-of-1) and 3-of-4 for 16 points with four rebounds one assist and two blocks. Aislinn was named Player of the Week in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. Augie is now 13-7 overall and 9-7 in the NSIC. The Vikings go north to Minnesota-Duluth Friday and down to St. Cloud State Saturday.

Augustana wrestling (Jebben Keyes): The Vikings beat Northwestern (Iowa) in a dual, 36-12, as Jebben lost his 149-pound match, 5-2. In a 19-12 win over Upper Iowa, Jebben lost his match by a 5-3 score. Augie is home vs. Mary Friday and vs. Minot State Saturday.

Augustana track/field (Elizabeth Schaefer): At Minnesota State’s meet Elizabeth placed second in the pentathlon, accumulating 3,474 points and in the process provisionally qualifying for the NCAA postseason. The Augie women were first among 16 teams. The Vikings compete Saturday at NDSU’s Bison Open.

Black Hills State women’s basketball (Racquel Wientjes): The Yellow Jackets defeated Chadron State, 70-60, as Racquel was 6-of-11 (1-of-2) and 4-of-4 for 17 points with seven boards and a block. In a 62-53 loss at Metro State in Denver, she was 3-of-15 (0-for-4) and 2-of-2 for eight points with seven rebounds, one block and two steals. Now 12-8 overall and 9-6 in the RMAC, BHSU is home this weekend against CSU-Pueblo and New Mexico Highlands.

Colorado Mines women’s basketball (Liz Holter): In a 68-47 win over CSU-Pueblo, Liz was 3-of-10 (1-of-4) and 3-of-3 for 10 points with four rebounds and seven assists. She set a school record of 13 assists in an 89-46 win over New Mexico Highlands. Liz was 4-of-10 (1-of-5) and 4-of-6 for 13 points with five rebounds and four steals along with her 13 assists. Now 14-6, the Orediggers go to Chadron State Friday, then back to Denver to Metro State Saturday.

Lindenwood men’s hockey (Coleman Varty): The Lions split with Oklahoma, losing and winning by the same 3-1 score. Now 17-7-0, Lindenwood and Illinois play a home-and-home pair this weekend.

Texas A&M International women’s basketball (Nate Vogel): The Dustdevils are now 7-14 overall after a 95-85 loss to Cameron (Okla.) and an 87-77 loss to Midwestern State (Texas). The team is home Thursday vs. St. Edward’s and Saturday vs. St. Mary’s.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

— Thank you sincerely to so many of you who sent birthday greetings to me earlier this week.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

The best pancake feed every year is the one sponsored by the Pierre-Fort Pierre Kiwanis Club. The date is next Tuesday, Feb. 11, from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church’s Trinity Center. Prices: $6 for adults, $3 for ages 5-12, free for ages 4 and under.

Pierre native Justin Scott and his wife, Natalie, are expecting a baby boy this year. They recently moved back to Minnesota after several years in Atlanta and are making their home in the Twin Cities suburb of Blaine.

Among the local high school athletes who signed letters of intent on National Signing Day Wednesday were Cobey Carr of Riggs High to Dakota Wesleyan for football, Matt Heilman of Riggs High to the School of Mines for football, Josh Rowe of Riggs High to Black Hills State for football and Jett Lamb of Sully Buttes to Augustana for football. Another Augustana football recruit is Colton Hartford of Rapid City Stevens whose dad, Joe, is a Pierre alumnus.

Former Pierre resident Thea Miller Ryan was named the director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at USD in Sioux Falls. The organization provides short-term, no-test college courses for people over 50. The Pierre branch offers several classes each semester at the Capital City Campus. Download a catalog of classes at www.usd.edu/olli.

The funeral service for Bernard “Bernie” Christenson will be held at First United Methodist Church in Pierre at 10:30 a.m. this Saturday. Visitation from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at the church will conclude with a prayer service there. He passed away at home Jan. 31 at the age of 82. Bernie and his family lived on a farm in North Dakota until he was 11, then on a farm near Britton. He graduated from Britton High School in 1956. During his tenure at SDSU he served with the Army in Panama. Later he earned his master’s degree at USD. Bernie worked at the state’s Division of Criminal Investigation for 20 years, retiring as its assistant director. Under the Kneip administration he was the first chairman of the board of the South Dakota Retirement System. During his professional career he served as a vice president at BankWest, as a city commissioner and as a member of the state House of Representatives. At the request of Governor Mickelson, he helped form the South Dakota Community Foundation in 1987 and became its first executive director, retiring in 2003. Bernie loved aviation, and in 1989 he partnered in purchasing Capital City Air Carrier, Inc. He was a pilot examiner and licensed more than 1,700 pilots. He was also a pilot for state government. Bernie served with numerous community organizations and was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame and the South Dakota Aviation Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Sally, wintered in Arizona for 20 years. Among his survivors are his wife, Sally Christenson of Pierre; his sons, Brad Christenson and his wife Ashley and their two daughters and Brian Christenson and his wife Kate and their two children; his daughter, Kathy Christenson, and her partner, Bryan Walz; his stepson, Nathan Welch and his wife Nicole and their two sons, and his stepdaughter, Macy Kaiser and her husband Mike and their two daughters. Among those who preceded him in death were his parents and four siblings.

Students who attended Riggs High School from 1970 through 1979 are advised of an All-70s reunion to be held during Oahe Days June 18-20. For information check out the Face book page entitled “T.F. Riggs Class Reunion 1970-1979.”

Rod Fisher, who has been broadcasting high school sports in Pierre since the late 1970s, will be retiring from the Dakota Radio Group stations at the end of May. A retirement recognition in his honor will take place Saturday at Riggs High before the Governors basketball game at about 4:30 p.m. Then there will be a reception honoring Rod in the lobby after the game.

Also taking place Saturday night at halftime of the boys basketball game will be the induction of the 1974 wrestling team into the Pierre Athletic Hall of Fame. The ’74 wrestling Governors won Pierre’s first state championship.

Riggs High School’s entry in the state one-act play festival at Sioux Falls O’Gorman’s theater will take the stage at 9:30 a.m. Friday. The Pierre play is an original, “Grommet,” written by Riggs drama coach Ashley Boone. The public is welcome to watch plays from 9 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

At the Oregon Contemporary Theatre in Eugene where Allison Mickelson is a member of the cast, the run of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” has been extended. The play has become the top-selling show in the theatre’s history.

A private celebration of the life of Helen Tuveson, who passed away Jan. 30, will be held at a later date. She was born in Pierre and attended school here. She and John Tuveson were married in 1955 in Omaha, and they raised their family there. She became a beautician. She and her husband moved to Pierre in 2000. Helen is survived by her husband; their children, Rita Koch and her husband Bruce, Jody McClure and Wesley Tuveson; four grandchildren; six great-grandchildren, and her sister, Josephine Venner.

Owen Seibel of the band was named last week’s Pierre Fine Arts Performer of the Week by the Fine Arts Booster Club.

South Dakota State University announced its fall semester Dean’s List, which includes the following area students: Clay Feller, Carter Gordon, Martee Larson, Ashley Theobald, Marinda Archer, Cade Currier, Greer Hofer, Audrey Johnson, Samuel Adams, Hannah Becker, Kaylee Becker, Addison Eisenbeisz, Bennett Eisenbeisz, Samantha Gortmaker, Anna Haberman, Sarah Haberman, Nathanael Hill, Alyssa Iedema, Abbigail Kitts, Tate Mueller, Stephanie Nelson, Ty Paulsen, Joshua Rounds, Matthew Rounds, Evan Rumrill, Brett Samuelson, Kelsey Schmitz, Kailee Schultz, Ariana Schumacher, Annabelle Simpson, Lisa Stein, Erika Stout, Jordan Thompson, Kenzie Trujillo, Ryan Warne, Nicholas Wiebe, Raegan Winder.

Elvyn Hansen, 92, Pierre, died Jan. 29 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. A memorial service was held Feb. 3 at the American Legion cabin. Mr. Hansen grew up at Veblen and served in the U.S. Navy during the final years of World War II. He and Darlene Schreier were married in 1948 and remained married for 43 years until her death in 1991. He worked as a heavy equipment operator in road construction most of his life. He eventually settled in Pierre. He is survived by his daughter, Vicky Engelhaupt and her husband Marv; two grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Among those who preceded him in death were his wife, his son Paul and eight siblings.

Total Beauty and Speedway Laundry, which are owned by Michel and Eric Drageset, were named Fort Pierre’s Business of the Year for 2019 at the annual meeting of the Fort Pierre Development Corporation last week.

The Christmas card from Kevin and Connie Tveidt features a fabulous photo of their entire family amid giant snowflakes as they all spent five days over New Year’s at a Black Hills cabin. The Tveidts traveled a good deal in 2019, including a van trip from Texas to the Florida Keys, several fishing and camping trips to closer locales and numerous trips to visit their children and grandchildren. Stephanie and Jason Knapp live in Helena, Mont., with son Noah, 12; daughter Cambell Jo, almost 11, and son Finley, almost 8. Jerry and Darcie Tveidt live in Aberdeen with their daughter, Ivy, 1. Michael and Sarah Tveidt are in Sioux Falls.

Another family who managed to get everybody within the range of one camera with almost all of them looking at the camera were Ted and Jayne Parsons and their growing family. Their Christmas card featured a family photo taken alongside the river on the Fort Pierre side. Zach and Ashley Parsons are in Pierre with daughter Alycia, 13; son Kaden, almost 4, and son Hudson, 2. Seth and Karae (Englehart) Parsons are in Sioux Falls with Mya, 5, and Parker, almost 4, and will add a third child to their family in April. Jacob and Katie Parsons are in Pierre with their daughter, Marlow, who was born last September.

Mikah Moser of the gymnastics team was named Warrior of the Month at Riggs High for January. The award sponsored by the South Dakota Army National Guard honors a student who excels in the fine arts, athletics or other school activities and programs.

Vernon Lohman, 93, died Jan. 28 at Avera Heart Hospital in Sioux Falls. His funeral was held Wednesday at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. Mr. Lohman grew up in Aberdeen and served in the U.S. Navy. He and Dorothy Dixon were married in 1948. They lived in Ipswich, Webster and Pierre. He worked in school administration and real estate, and eventually the Lohmans owned Riddles jewelry stores. He is survived by his son, Tim Lohman of Pierre; his grandchildren, Blake Lohman, Nic Lohman and Deni Hollingsworth, and one great-granddaughter.

Named Athlete of the Week this week by the Pierre Athletic Coaches Association were Blake Judson of the wrestling team and Ayvrie Kaiser of the girls basketball team.

Retired Riggs High teachers Roger Johnson and Pat Hoing are the first inductees into the South Dakota Technology Education Association’s new Hall of Fame.