THOUGHT FOR TODAY

See the light in others and treat them as if that’s all you see.

BOYS STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

Class AA: Mitchell 46, Brandon Valley 45.
Class A: Hamlin 53, Sioux Falls Christian 50 (O.T.).
Class B: Howard 60, De Smet 55 (O.T.).

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
—FRIDAY
Boys tennis: at Rapid City invitational (vs. RCS 8 a.m., RCC 11 a.m., STM 2 p.m.).
— SATURDAY
Boys tennis: at Rapid City invitational (vs. Spearfish 8 a.m., RCChristian 11 a.m.).
Track: at Marske invitational, Brookings.
Softball: at Rapid City Central, 1 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Softball: at Aberdeen Central, 6 p.m.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Girls basketball: Mattie Duffy and Cadence Hand of SCHS were given honorable mention on the Big Dakota Conference all-conference team.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: root beer.
Friday-Sunday: cherry.
Monday-Tuesday: lemon.
Wednesday-Thursday: almond.

COUNTDOWN

1 day: Sioux Falls Storm indoor football season opener (March 22).
2 days: All-State Band concerts, Pierre (March 23).
3 days: Palm Sunday (March 24).
4 days: Pierre track season opener, Brookings (March 25).
7 days: Minnesota Twins season opener, Kansas City (March 28).
7 days: Pierre high school baseball season opener, Rapid City (March 28).
8 days: Good Friday (March 29).
9 days: Pierre softball season opener (March 30).
10 days: Easter (March 31).
12 days: Pierre boys tennis season opener (April 2).
12 days: Bob Judson Invitational track meet (April 2).
15 days: NCAA Div. I women’s Final Four, Cleveland (April 5, 7).
16 days: NCAA Div. I men’s Final Four, Glendale, Ariz. (April 6, 8).
18 days: Solar eclipse (April 8).
21 days: Pierre girls golf season opener, Harrisburg (April 11).
29 days: Pierre Legion Relays (April 19).
29 days: Pierre Players’ “Love, Loss and What I Wore” (April 19-27).
29 days: Absentee voting for June 4 elections begins (April 19).

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Northern softball (Tessa Bryant): The Wolves are 14-6 after the conclusion of their spring break week of games in Florida. From Thursday through Saturday they went 4-2 including wins over Caldwell, Pittsburgh-Johnstown, Wayne State and St. Michael’s and losses to Bentley and Shepherd. Northern plays two at Augustana Saturday and two at Minnesota State Sunday.

Augustana baseball (Jack Sutton): This is the sophomore season for Jack, a third-baseman and utility player for Augie who graduated from Harrisburg High School. The Vikings have a 13-4 record so far this season. They are home for single games Friday and Sunday and a doubleheader Saturday against Minnesota-Duluth.

Northern track (Addison Cumbow): This is her sophomore year at NSU for Addy, who competes in hurdles events. The Wolves open their outdoor season April 5-6 at USD’s earlybird meet.

South Dakota State track (Rylan McDonnell, Lydia Hill, Jessica Lutmer): The Jackrabbits open their outdoor season March 29-30 at meets at Stanford, Calif., and Kearney, Neb. Rylan, who has grandparents in Pierre, is a freshman jumps competitor from Wall High School. Lydia is a freshman from Sully Buttes who competes in the throws. Jessica is a junior distance runner from Riggs High School.

Dakota State track (Houston Lunde): The outdoor season for the Trojans begins March 28-29 at Wayne State’s meet in Nebraska. This is the junior year for throws competitor Houston.

Texas State baseball (Peyton Zabel): The Bobcats stand at 12-9 overall and 2-1 in conference play as of today. Last weekend they took two of three over Appalachian State, and Tuesday night they outscored Texas-San Antonio 14-13. Peyton pitched in the 3-2 loss to App State Sunday as the team’s first reliever out of the bullpen. He faced seven batters in his one inning of work, giving up two hits, two walks and no runs while striking out one and retiring the other two on fly balls. Texas State goes east to Virginia to play Friday, Saturday and Sunday at James Madison, then hosts Texas-Rio Grande Valley next Tuesday.

South Dakota State baseball (Brady Hawkins): The Jackrabbits are 10-11 as of today. This is the junior year at SDSU for Brady, an Ethan High School graduate whose dad, Tim, is a Sully Buttes alumnus. In a 10-3 loss at Creighton on Tuesday, he entered the game as the first reliever, pitching two innings and facing nine batters. He gave up three hits and two runs, struck out one and retired three on fly balls and two on grounders. SDSU plays Summit League games at St. Thomas Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Dakota Wesleyan baseball (Jonathan Lyons): Jonathan is a freshman infielder for the Tigers, who have a record of 8-13 as of today. Their latest game was a 12-6 loss to Dakota State on Tuesday. DWU has conference doubleheaders at Dordt Saturday and at Midland Sunday, then plays a non-conference game at Augustana next Tuesday.

BASEBALL UPDATE

PIERRE HIGH SCHOOL SCHEDULE
March 28: at Rapid City Stevens, 7 p.m.
March 29: at Sturgis, 7 p.m.
April 5: at Sioux Falls Lincoln, 5 and 7 p.m.
April 6: at Sioux Falls Washington, 12 and 2:15 p.m.
April 9: at Huron, 7 p.m.
April 12: at Brandon Valley, 5 and 7 p.m.
April 13: at Sioux Falls Jefferson, 12 and 2:15 p.m.
April 19: Home vs. Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 5 and 7 p.m.
April 22: at Mitchell, 5 and 7 p.m.
April 26: at Brookings, 5 and 7 p.m.
April 28: Home vs. Tea Area, 12 and 2 p.m.
May 3: Home vs. Mitchell, 6 and 8 p.m.
May 4: Home vs. Harrisburg, 1 and 3 p.m.
May 7: Home vs. Rapid City Stevens, 5 and 7 p.m.
May 10: Home vs. Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 5 and 7 p.m.
May 12: Home vs. Yankton, 1 and 3 p.m.
May 18: Regional tournament.
May 25: State tournament, Sioux Falls.

Minnesota Twins schedule:
Thursday: Washington.
Friday: Atlanta (BSN).
Saturday: Boston.
Sunday: Baltimore (BSN).
Monday: Atlanta (BSN).
Tuesday: Atlanta.
Thursday: Regular-season opener at Kansas City, 3:10 p.m. (BSN).

Oahe Zap: Added to the roster for this summer this week is Vince Polizzi, sophomore infielder at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. His hometown is Naperville, Ill. Another newcomer to the Zap will be Andrew Phillipis, freshman outfielder from South Dakota State, whose hometown is Hartland, Minn. Also joining the roster is Garrett Bergmann, sophomore pitcher from Iowa Lakes Community College whose hometown is Spring Hill, Kan.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Div. I men’s: SDSU vs. Iowa State at Omaha, 6:35 p.m. Thursday (TruTV). Winner will play Drake or Washington State in Omaha Saturday.

Div. I women’s: SDSU vs. Utah at Spokane, Wash., 9 p.m. Saturday (ESPNU). Winner will play Gonzaga or UC-Irvine in Spokane Monday.

Women’s NIT: USD vs. UC-Riverside at Vermillion, 7 p.m. Friday. Winner will play Northern Arizona.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: Jarron Beck of the Capitals was named to the All-State second team. The Hobey Baker Award, which goes to a senior on each varsity team, was accorded to Corbin Beastrom among the 13 Capitals seniors. Earning Academic All-State honors were Beck, Beastrom, Alex McIntire, Luke Miller, Riley Pfeifer and Barrett Schweitzer.

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: Oahe’s Brylee Kafka was named a first-team All-State player. The Hobey Baker Award to a senior on the team went to Alyssa Youngbluth, who was also Academic All-State.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference.
— Mark Twain

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, March 21:
River Fischer, Linda Knox, Grant Wosick, Kara (Knadle) Schumacher, Ben Brown, Bentley Frost, Matthew Heintz, Wanda Meyer, Ben Gilmore, Loni McQuistion, Mark Hardwick, Jacob Tschetter, Diana Vogel, Gerald Johnson (#93).
— 9th anniversary, Zach/Ashley Parsons.
— 26th anniversary, Dan/Lora (Den Ouden) Moore.

Friday, March 22:
Eric Gednalske, Betty Eddy, Sharla McCaskell, Olivia Smith, Travis Fitzke, Wendy Birhanzel, Nicole Ogan, Dane Dodson, Serena Norman, Josephine Karim, Oaklie Cruse, Nellie Holsten, George Ford, Leo Schmidt.

Saturday, March 23:
McKayla Marso-McDonough, Kelsey McKay, Brittani Snow, Brian Hylle, Toby Bryant, Darcy Weber, Keaton Durkin, Livia Neuberger, Jason Person, Amy Wire, Ashlynn Lizotte, Hadley Shoup, Brooks Markley, Sienna Karim Soraya Karim.

Sunday, March 24:
Adam Korkow, Tyler Sarringer, Smith Schneider, Bretta (Schumacher) Olson, Jeff Post, Brandon Sieck, Jeff Sampson, Theresa Hanson, Allison Knox, Tyrel Hall, Dan Zebroski, Ashley (Dunwoody_) Dugstad.
— 12th anniversary, Neil/Molly Eichstadt.
— Anniversary, Andy/Jamie (Gannaway) Heymans.

Monday, March 25:
Allison MIckelson, Jude Steece, Kinley Rumpca, Evelyn Bowers, Jamie Dvorak, Adriana Uecker, Angie Gross, Janelle Toman, William Tveidt.

Tuesday, March 26:
Mollie Holden, Nadia Rasmussen, Roger Easland, Elissa Rislov, Tyler Nold, Audra (Meyer) Cardwell, Chad Eschmeyer, Craig Rilling, Connie Colwill, Dalton Decker, Pat Adams, Chas Olson, Jason Monroe, Terah Bollinger, Corey Ramsey.

Wednesday, March 27:
Penny Unruh, Mark Mickelson, Marcia Murphey, Casey Ortbahn, Wyatt Gran, Quinn Eschmeyer.

Thursday, March 28:
Allen Uecker, Larry Lundeen, Brynn Bumann, Eileen Herrin, Sarah (Winter) Sonnenschein, Susan Flottmeyer, Angela (DiBenedetto) Smith, Kathy (Adam) Bykowski, Janelle (Kvislen) Carda.
— We fondly remember Dave Forney on his birthday.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

God does not need your good works, but your neighbor does.
— Martin Luther

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

There will be a statewide contest for which to vote on your ballot in November. As U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, the Republican candidate, seeks re-election, he will have a Democratic opponent. Sheryl Johnson announced her candidacy for the House seat.

Long-time Pierre resident and public servant Ken Stofferahn passed away at home in Lincoln, Neb., at the age of 89 Monday night. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. this Friday at Colonial Chapel Funeral Home in Lincoln. A memorial service will be held at 9 a.m. Saturday at First Lutheran Church in Lincoln. Interment will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday at Humboldt, S.D. Ken grew up on farms near Lakefield, Minn., and Humboldt, graduating from Humboldt High School in 1952. He enlisted in the Air National Guard after high school and completed a bachelor’s degree in agriculture at SDSU in 1957. After working briefly in Milwaukee, he returned home to farm 480 acres with his parents. Ken joined the new National Farmers Organization (NFO) in 1961 and rose in its ranks to become a board member and from 1968 to 1972 director of national membership based in Corning, Iowa. He married Diane Henderson, whom he had met on his NFO travels, in 1965. After leaving the NFO, Ken and Diane came back to Humboldt to raise their four children on the farm until relocating to Pierre in 1979. His political career began with a run for the U.S. Senate in the Republican primary in 1972. He lost that primary race, but it began two decades of public service as a local school board member and as a Republican legislator in 1975-77. Ken changed his political party affiliation to more closely reflect his beliefs. He lost primary and general election bids for the U.S. Senate in 1978, the U.S. House in 1980 and governor in 1986. However, he made successful runs for the Public Utilities Commission in the elections of 1978, 1984 and 1990. He retired from the PUC in 1997. After several years as a financial adviser and an insurance agent, Ken and Diane moved to Lincoln in 2006. He is survived by his wife, Diane Stofferahn of Lincoln; his daughter, Stacey (Reed) Uthe of Kansas City, Mo.; his sons, Stuart (Heather Castle) Stofferahn of Lincoln and Steven (Maggie Dalrymple) Stofferahn of Terre Haute, Ind.; his daughter-in-law, Kelly (Gray Stofferahn) Muck of Rapid City; eight grandchildren, and a sister, Lois (Rudy) Anderson of Custer. Among those who preceded him in death was his oldest son, Mike, in 2001. Gifts in Ken’s honor can be sent to St. Paul Cemetery Association c/o St. Paul Lutheran Church, Box 137, Humboldt SD 57035.

A celebration of the life of Catheleen (Siebrasse) Murphy will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. this Saturday, March 23, at the St. Charles. She died last Aug. 25.

Anna Richardson, a junior at Worland High School in Wyoming, won the high jump at the Wyoming state indoor track meet at 5’2″, breaking the state indoor record. She also placed fifth in the 55-meter hurdles. Anna’s mother is the former Sara Goeden.

Long-time Sully County resident Hazel Baumberger, who now calls the new Peaceful Pines Assisted Living in Fort Pierre home, has been officially declared to be the oldest living South Dakotan. She celebrated her 108th birthday on Jan. 29. She was honored recently with a certificate proclaiming her longevity. (News courtesy of The Onida Watchman)

John Axtman will graduate with honors from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in May. He is the middle of three sons of Pierre natives Greg and Sarah (Adam) Axtman of Harrisburg, Pa. Their oldest son, August, works for Vanguard Financials. Their youngest son, Eric, is a junior at Lafayette University in Pennsylvania.

Ryan “Opie” Taylor, 38, Fort Pierre, died Monday as the result of an automobile accident. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, at Faith Lutheran Church, followed by a prayer service at 7. The funeral will be at Faith Lutheran at 11 a.m. Wednesday, March 27.

Dennis Bruce, 63, died March 12. A memorial ride will start at 3 p.m. this Saturday, March 23, from the Westside Bar in Fort Pierre, weather permitting. A time of remembrance will begin at the bar at 4 p.m. Dennis served in the U.S. Navy, then earned a bachelor’s degree at USD. He worked in construction for many years. He returned to Pierre to care for his mother after his father’s death. Dennis was an avid golfer and motorcyclist. He is survived by his brothers, Jerry Bruce and Jim “JB” Bruce.

Billings, Mont., firefighter Chris Voller on the weekend of March 10 competed for the second straight year in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Stairclimb, an event which raises funds for the society in its efforts to conquer leukemia. The Stairclimb is a race to the top of the Columbia Tower skyscraper in downtown Seattle, and contestants wearing full firefighter gear and breathing through airpacks climb the 69 flights to the finish line. Chris did it in less than 20 minutes, not as fast as last year but still a good time. This year Chris’ wife, Ashlee, and their son, Tristan, were waiting at the top of the tower when Chris got there. Tristan has beaten leukemia. Chris’ parents from Pierre went out to Billings to stay with the Vollers’ younger son, Austin, while his parents and brother were in Seattle.

The South Dakota Amateur Hockey Association will induct its second class of honorees next month, and after it is over, the Oahe Capitals will have five of its former players and two other men enshrined in only the second year of the Hall of Fame’s existence. Inducted on April 12 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center will be Cash Anderson and Cody Bishop as players, Rob Kittay in the coaching category, and Dave Nelson in the builder category. The former Capital players who were inducted last year at the first induction are Landon Badger, Matt Farris and Austin Wagner.

At the National Honor Society induction program at Riggs High School this week, Ryan Royer was named Teacher of the Year by the NHS chapter.

Kenton Mattheis, 79, died Feb. 12 after more than seven years of dialysis. He was buried at Kirk, Colo. Kenton graduated from Harrold High School in 1962, served in the U.S. Navy, then married Polly Buchanan in 1966. They had two children. Kenton earned a degree in diesel mechanics at USD-Springfield. He married Carol Mann in 1986, and they lived in Colorado Springs. He is survived by his wife Carol; his son, Brett Mattheis of Papillion, Neb.; three grandsons; and three sisters, Marlene (Dennis) Marso of Harrold, Linda Mattheis of Lehi, Utah, and LaVonne (Gary) Harkless of Green Valley, Ariz. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Stephanie, and many other relatives.

Steve Steele, Pierre Governors head football coach, has been selected one of 25 volunteer coaches from more than 1,500 applicants to work with drafted and undrafted rookies invited to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ rookie camp May 6-12. Steele and the other selected coaches will also work with some of the nation’s most prominent coaches during the week. (News courtesy of KCCR Sports)

Owen Peterson, oldest grandson of Sandy Peterson and the late Terry Peterson, is one of 10 high school seniors selected for $2,000 scholarships from Black Hills Credit Union.

Luella Tople, 96, died at home March 12. Her funeral was held Wednesday at Faith Lutheran Church. Luella grew up in Pierpont after her mother died when Luella was 8 years old. She helped her father raise her younger brothers. She married Eugene Tople in 1947 in Webster, and they moved to Pierre in the 1960s. After her children were grown, she worked for the Capital Journal and State Publishing Company until retiring at the age of 75. She is survived by her children, Carol (Bill) Kissner, Doug Tople, Betty (Curtis) Wagner, Lori (Don) Wilson and Tim Tople; 15 grandchildren; 40 great-grandchildren; 23 great-great-grandchildren, and two brothers, Sam and Marvin Mortenson. Among those who preceded her in death were her husband, her parents, two siblings and daughters Linda Tople and Jody Larsen.

Pierre welcomes some of the state’s best high school instrumental musicians this weekend for All-State Band. They will rehearse as two bands—Lewis Band and Clark Band—in the Riggs theater and the band room in preparation for a grand concert at 4 p.m. Saturday. The doors of the theater will open for ticket sales at 3 p.m. Prices are $15 for adults and $10 for students, but be advised that tickets will be sold for cash or check only (no credit or debit cards).

Pierre native Rodger Hartley and his wife, Joanna Lawler, are part of the cast of “Becky’s New Car,” the next production at their own Catalyst Theater Company in downtown Rapid City. The play will have nine regular shows and three pay-what-you-can performances between March 29 and April 20. For more information and ticket reservations, go to catalyst.art/tickets.

PONDER THIS

We all want the same things—physical safety, financial security, happiness, love. Some of us just want it for others, too.