IMPORTANT ELECTION NOTE

Every registered voter in the state received an application for an absentee ballot last spring ahead of the primary election. When you returned your application, if you checked “ALL ELECTIONS” in the appropriate box, you will receive an application for an absentee ballot for the general election shortly after absentee voting begins Sept. 18.

Otherwise, you will still have the option of downloading the application for an absentee ballot from off the secretary of state’s website. You would then fill out that application form and send it in, then when the ballot comes, fill that out and get it to your county auditor by Election Day.

A point to remember this fall as the Postal Service officials try to slow down our mail service: Your completed ballot must reach your county auditor by Election Day in order for it to be counted. (In some other states, any ballot mailed by Election Day is counted even though it may arrive days later.) So plan NOT to wait until November to secure your ballot. Waiting to vote in person on Election Day is not wise; you may get sidetracked; we may have a blizzard. We will keep reminding you. The time to start your voting process is September, not November.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre Post 8 vs. Spearfish: Post 8 had to win twice and Renner, the team a slot above Pierre in the seed-point standings, had to lose twice to Sioux Falls East in order for Post 8 to climb back up to No. 4 and earn home-field advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs. Bingo! It happened! In the first game of the last regular-season doubleheader Pierre scored three in the second, one in the third, three in the fourth and two in the sixth to shut down Spearfish, 9-0. It was more than a shutout. It was a no-hitter, thrown by Jack Van Camp, Lincoln Kienholz and Garrett Stout. The pitching strategy was to limit each pitcher’s pitch count so all on the team would be available for the first round of the playoffs. Van Camp had eight strikeouts through three innings, Kienholz five strikeouts in his two innings, and Stout five strikeouts in his two innings. So of the 21 outs made by Spearfish in seven innings, 18 were by strikeout! The only Spearfish baserunners came on two errors, two hit batters and one walk. At the plate Kienholz, Matt Lusk, Andrew Coverdale and Stout had two hits each, and one of Stout’s was a home run. Stout drove in three runs, Kienholz two, and Maguire Raske, River Iverson, Coverdale and Andy Gordon one each. In the nightcap Post 8 made quick work of the Spearfish team, winless against any South Dakota “A” team. Pierre had four runs in the first, one in the second inning and 10 in the third to end the game with a 15-0 score. Pierre had seven hits in its 10-run third and 14 in the game. Cade Hinkle went 3-for-4 at the plate. The pitching duties were shared by Bennett Dean, Elliot Leif, Aaron Booth, Lusk and John Mayer.

Pierre Post 8 vs. Yankton: The kind of pitching performances a team needs at playoff time is what Post 8 got Monday night as Pierre swept Yankton, 8-0 and 10-0, to take the best-of-3 first-round series at Hyde Stadium in two games. In the seven-inning opening Jack Van Camp took the mound first and shut down Yankton with two hits and 10 strikeouts over his five innings. Elliot Leif and Jack Mayer each took an inning of pitching to finish off the game. Andrew Coverdale and Garrett Stout had two hits each, and Andy Gordon, Maguire Raske and Cade Hinkle each had a two-run double. In the nightcap the game lasted only five innings, and Lincoln Kienholz gave up only one hit in those five frames, striking out 12, meaning of the 15 Yankton outs, 12 were K’s. In an eight-run third inning Gordon, Van Camp, A.J. Goeden, Hinkle, River Iverson and Coverdale each drove in a run. Gordon had three RBIs and Van Camp two while Gordon, Coverdale and Raske each had two hits among Pierre’s 12. So now no opponent has scored a run against Post 8 pitching in four consecutive games. Pierre takes an overall record of 27-16 into the next series against Harrisburg.

Legion baseball playoffs:
— In the first round of best-of-3 matchups most games were blowouts except for Mitchell’s two one-run wins and Post 320’s pair of surprises over Sioux Falls East. First-round results:

• Rapid City Post 22 over Spearfish, 12-1 and 15-0.
• Brandon Valley over Huron, 12-0 and 17-0.
• Watertown over Aberdeen, 17-0 and 16-5.
• Pierre over Yankton, 8-0 and 10-0.
• Harrisburg over Sioux Falls West, 15-6 and 2-0.
• Renner over Sturgis, 11-1 and 11-3.
• Rapid City Post 320 over Sioux Falls East, 2-0 and 7-5.
• Mitchell over Brookings, 8-7 and 7-6.

–— Second-round matchups (best-of-3) next Monday and Tuesday:

• Rapid City Post 320 at Rapid City Post 22.
• Mitchell at Brandon Valley.
• Renner at Watertown.
• Harrisburg at Pierre.

(NOTE: These four series winners advance to the four-team state tournament Aug. 7-9.)

Pierre Trappers: The Trappers defeated Western Nebraska, 7-6; took two of three over Badlands, winning 9-6 and 13-4 and losing 9-5, and losing to Fremont Tuesday night 13-7. Pierre is home vs. Souris Valley Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then goes to Minot Monday and Tuesday before returning home against the same team next Wednesday and Thursday.

Four Corners: The local amateur team came up strong in the District 3B tournament at Chamberlain. Four Corners defeated Colome, 6-1, in the first round, then clinched a state tournament berth with a 3-1 win over Kimball/White Lake. Four Corners will play Plankinton in the district championship game tonight (Thursday).

Sioux Falls Canaries: In the past week the Birds lost three of four to St. Paul, winning 13-12 but losing 4-3, 3-2 and 6-4; and beating Milwaukee, 7-4, Tuesday night. Sioux Falls plays at home tonight vs. Milwaukee and Friday through Sunday vs. Chicago before going to Milwaukee for games Tuesday through Thursday.

Colorado Rockies:
Friday—San Diego, 6:10 p.m.
Saturday—San Diego, 6:10 p.m.
Sunday—San Diego, 1:10 p.m.
Monday—San Francisco, 6:40 p.m.
Tuesday—San Francisco, 6:40 p.m.
Wednesday—San Francisco, 6:40 p.m.
Thursday—San Francisco, 1:10 p.m.

Minnesota Twins:
Thursday—Cleveland, 6:07 p.m., Fox.
Friday—Cleveland, 7:10 p.m., FSN.
Saturday—Cleveland, 6:10 p.m., FSN.
Sunday—Cleveland, 1:10 p.m., FSN.
Monday—Pittsburgh, 7:10 p.m., FSN.
Tuesday—Pittsburgh, 1:10 p.m., FSN.
Wednesday—at Pittsburgh, 6:05 p.m., FSN.
Thursday—at Pittsburgh, 12:35 p.m., FSN.

Major league baseball: Just hours before the regular season began, players and owners came to an agreement that two months now the postseason will involve 16 teams instead of 10 as in the past. In each league the top two teams in each division qualify for the playoffs as well as the two teams with the next-best records. There will be no one-and-done wild-card games as in the past. In the first-round best-of-3 series, with all games played at the higher seed, #8 plays at #1, #7 at #2, #6 at #3 and #5 at #4. After that the league division series will be best-of-5, the league championship series best-of-7 and the World Series best-of-7.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“If you can’t trust professional sports players to make smart decisions to keep their league running from a pandemic, how do you expect students freed from months of home quarantine to fare?”

— Mike Allen, “Axios PM”

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: almond.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

All-star basketball: The South Dakota basketball all-star games involving just-graduated seniors will be played this Sunday on Midco Sports Network with the girls game at 3 p.m. and the boys game at 5. No fans will be present. Nick Wittler, 2020 Sully Buttes graduate, will be playing on the Blue team in the boys’ game as will Ryder Kirsch of St. Thomas More.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Pierre Governors girls tennis schedule:
Aug. 21-22: at Sioux Falls invitational.
Aug. 27: Brandon Valley dual (at Rapid City).
Aug. 28-29: at Rapid City invitational.
Sept. 4: at Mitchell triangular.
Sept. 5: at Madison dual.
Sept. 8: Pierre triangular.
Sept. 12: at Huron quadrangular.
Sept. 19: at Aberdeen quadrangular.
Sept. 26: Pierre invitational.
Sept. 29: at ESD meet, Harrisburg.

Pierre Governors boys golf schedule:
Aug. 17: at Sioux Falls Washington invitational.
Aug. 18: at Brandon Valley invitational.
Aug. 25: Pierre invitational.
Aug. 28: at Huron invitational.
Sept. 1: at Aberdeen invitational.
Sept. 4: at Sturgis invitational.
Sept. 11: at Yankton invitational.
Sept. 14: at Brookings invitational.
Sept. 18: at Mitchell invitational.
Sept. 22: at Watertown invitational.
Sept. 26: at ESD meet, Mitchell.

Pierre Governors competitive cheer/dance schedule:
Aug. 29: at Aberdeen invitational.
Sept. 1: at Watertown invitational.
Sept. 5: Pierre invitational.
Sept. 19: at Brookings invitational.
Sept. 22: at Huron invitational.
Sept. 26: at Rapid City invitational.
Sept. 29: at Sioux Falls O’Gorman invitational.
Oct. 6: at Brandon Valley invitational.
Oct. 10: at Mitchell invitational.
Oct. 15: ESD meet, Pierre.

COUNTDOWN

1 day: Sioux Empire Fair, Sioux Falls (July 31-Aug. 8).
2 days: NHL season resumes (Aug. 1).
6 days: State amateur baseball tournament, Mitchell (Aug. 5-16).
8 days: Sully County Fair, Onida (Aug. 7-9).
8 days: Sturgis motorcycle rally (Aug. 7-16).
8 days: Pierre Players’ “Native Gardens” (Aug. 7-9, 13-15).
8 days: State Legion baseball tournament (Aug. 7-9).
14 days: “Field of Dreams” game, Dyersville, Iowa (Aug. 13).
15 days: State 4-H Finals rodeo, Fort Pierre (Aug. 14-16).
15 days: Pierre soccer openers (Aug. 14).
18 days: NBA playoffs begin (Aug. 17).
18 days: Democratic National Convention, Milwaukee (Aug. 17-20).
21 days: First day of school in Pierre (Aug. 20).
22 days: Central States Fair, Rapid City (Aug. 21-30).
22 days: Sully Buttes football opener (Aug. 21).
24 days: Indianapolis 500 (Aug. 23).
25 days: First day of school at Stanley County (Aug. 24).
25 days: Republican National Convention, Charlotte (Aug. 24-27).
29 days: Pierre football opener (Aug. 28).
29 days: Pierre volleyball opener (Aug. 28).
35 days: State Fair, Huron (Sept. 3-7).
37 days: Kentucky Derby (Sept. 5).

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

Directions: Make a box of 16 squares in 4×4 rows. Number the boxes in your top row 1, 2, 3 and 4 from left to right. Number the boxes in your left-hand row 1, 5, 6 and 7 from top to bottom.

Clues:
ACROSS—
(1) Trappers player Piazza.
(5) God of Norse mythology.
(6) What to do by Nov. 3.
(7) Beers made by fermenting a cereal.
DOWN—
(1) ‘—- Wildcats, NCAA men’s basketball champs in 2016 and 2018.
(2) “American —-” TV show.
(3) Go fly a —-.
(4) More than one one.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Minnesota Wild: The Wild lost an exhibition game to Colorado yesterday afternoon, 3-2. Now the real hockey begins as Minnesota and Vancouver begin their best-of-5 series that will qualify the survivor for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Game #1 will be at 9:30 p.m. Sunday on NBCSN and FSN. Game #2 will be at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday on the USA network.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: Columbus had not allowed a goal in three qualifying matches in its group stage, but against the Loons Tuesday night, the Crew and the Loons played to a 1-1 deadlock in regulation time. In the shootout, Minnesota converted all five penalty kicks to Columbus’ three and thus advanced in the “MLS is Back” tournament to the knockout-stage quarterfinals. That match vs. San Jose will be at 7 p.m. Saturday on ESPN2.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Lynx: The Lynx defeated Connecticut, 77-69, and lost to Seattle, 90-66. Minnesota plays Chicago Thursday (7 p.m., FSN); Connecticut Saturday (3 p.m., FSN), and New York next Wednesday (6 p.m., FSN+ and CBSSN).

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• There are sports team names that do not end in an “S” such as the Minnesota Wild. Now there is a new one—the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League. I admit I had to look up the word “kraken” to see what it means or even how to pronounce it. One of the ESPN suits pronounces it like “crackin'” so I will go with that for now. The Kraken begins play in the NHL in the fall a year from now.
• Speaking of hockey, you who follow NCAA hockey with the UND or Minnesota teams or others should know there is a bit of a rule change regarding overtime. Beginning this coming season play will go directly from the third period of regulation time to a five-minute three players vs. three players sudden-victory overtime. If there is still no score after five minutes, the game ends in a tie. The exception is in tournaments where you have to have a winner or in conference play where standings points are determined by wins and losses. In those cases a three-person shootout will be allowed after the scoreless overtime period.
• Most of you reading this can’t remember a time when Regis Philbin was not on television. I can remember his first time. In 1964 we still had only one channel in South Dakota, and that was the CBS station, KPLO-TV. “The Tonight Show” and such on NBC and ABC were still foreign to us way out here. But in that year the Joey Bishop Show moved to CBS for one year, and Joey’s sidekick/announcer was this young dude named Regis Philbin. I remember thinking it was sort of neat to have a live night-time show at 10:30 after the news for the first time.
• SDSU, which lost its game at Nebraska earlier when the Big 10 canceled all non-conference games, has lost another game from its schedule. The game against Butler has now been canceled because Butler’s conference, the Pioneer Football League, has called off all of its schools’ non-conference games. NDSU lost a game vs. Drake, and UND lost a game against Valparaiso. Now comes the Summit League, which has delayed its fall sports’ start to Sept. 23. So USD’s magnificent volleyball team loses preseason tournaments, including one in which they would have faced Louisville. SDSU soccer loses Iowa State, Arizona State, Kansas State and Creighton from its schedule. USD soccer loses matches vs. Wyoming and Iowa State.
• Cubs first-baseman Anthony Rizzo and his wife, Emily, were out in their boat on Lake Michigan one day last week. Rizzo, who has lost some 25 pounds since last season, apparently now has a smaller ring size because, when the Rizzos stopped at the gas dock in Belmont Harbor along the Chicago lakeshore, Anthony’s wedding band slipped off his finger as he was washing his hands, and the ring disappeared into 21 feet of water. Called into action was a veteran scuba diver, who coincidentally has a young daughter with medical issues who has been cared for at one of the hospitals for which Rizzo’s foundation has raised millions of dollars. It took awhile for the diver, but he found the ring at the bottom of the harbor. Rizzo had to hurry to nearby Wrigley Field for the Cubs’ preseason game, and of course in his first at-bat he hit a home run.
• Which umpire would you say had the better weekend? (1) The major-league umpire, who with his big ears on in the ballpark containing no fans, heard a player (not in the starting lineup) sitting in the stands say something and ejected him before the game had even started. (2) The Little League umpire at the state tournament in Rapid City who declared a player out after he had reached first base safely because he had thrown his bat in a manner the umpire disliked. After a 15-minute delay while umpires and coaches conferred, the umpire in question then decided to eject the 12-year-old! And that made him ineligible to play in his team’s state championship game the next day.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Only the soul that ventilates the world with kindness has any chance of changing the world.”

— Father Gregory Boyle

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, July 30:
Lainey Nuttall, Dave Koenig, Linda (Kern) Anderson, Meara Hauck, Kent Skrondahl, Karla (Richards) Blemaster, Pat (Caldwell) Miller, Joan Podhradsky, Dan Barringer, Barb (Thomas) Kinder, Mark Zabel, Keith Garrigan.
— 4th anniversary, Mitch/Theresa (Gabriel) Kleinsasser.
— 4th anniversary, Shane/Jessica (Parsons) Big Eagle.
— 10th anniversary, JD/Megan (Rapp) Deal.
— 9th anniversary, Matt/Amanda (Kusser) Mitchell.
— 15th anniversary, Matt/Daisha (Seyfer) Finke.
— 15th anniversary, Tim/Kristi (Kunsman) Lloyd.
We remember firefighter Dave Ruhl, who lost his life while fighting a forest fire 5 years ago today.

Friday, July 31:
Makenna Nystrom, Julia (Guhin) Yach, Sarah (Zinter) Detwiler, Jeremy Ripperger, Gabriella Herbert, Laficia Leftsich, Jeanine Maskovich, Adalynn Gustafson, Pat Parlin, Linda Geraets.
— 10th anniversary, Trent/Brandi Barth.
— 15th anniversary, Luke/Jennifer Steece.
— Anniversary, Lance/Nicole (Rathbun) Kuper.
— 10th anniversary, Kyle/Kayla (Prince) Kusek.
— 49th anniversary, Dennis/Judy (Metzinger) Pullman.
We remember the late Kier Murphy on his birthday.

Saturday, Aug. 1:
Galen Stolp, Kevin Hall, Loni Shoup, Dustin Bonnett, Ryan Merriam, Camden Vogel, Scott Heibel, Brooke Bjorneberg, Craig Eichstadt, Charlotte Hofer.
— 5th anniversary, Kristen Job/Cindy Royer.
— 5th anniversary, Hunter/Cait Johnson.
— 6th anniversary, Eric/Danielle (Scott) High Bear.
— 17th anniversary, Jay/Ann (Schroyer) Schwartz.
— 5th anniversary, Sam/Morgan (McLain) Willard.
— 11th anniversary, Blake/Randi (McQuistion) Norman.

Sunday, Aug. 2:
Matthew Hardwick, Parker Linn, Rachel (Lundeen) Bailey.
— 17th anniversary, Matthew/Kayla (Crawford) Fisher.
We remember police officers Nick Armstrong and Ryan McCandless, who died on duty 9 years ago today.

Monday, Aug. 3:
Scott Bailey, Eric Titze, Brad Urbach, Robyn Thorpe, Faun Van Bockel, Karen (Strickland) Jones.
— 35th anniversary, Guy/Kim DiBenedetto.
— Anniversary, Rob/Jan Kittay.
— 18th anniversary, David/Jennifer (Lomheim) Sieveking.
— 18th anniversary, Richard/Lynn (McQuistion) Siedschlaw.
— 46th anniversary, Chuck/Kathy Anderson.

Tuesday, Aug. 4:
Jessica Olson, Sadie Lund, Laurel Holcomb, Mike Powell, Kimberly (Bartels) Malone, Karen Palmer, Kellen Casanova, Kayla Trebesch.
— 8th anniversary, Luke/Kristen Edwards.

Wednesday, Aug. 5:
Lukas Erlenbusch, Sara (Schneider) Odden, Gabe Vogt, Rachel Guthmiller, Derik Wright, Jerry Jarvis, Tanner Steele, Shirley Doyle.
— 48th anniversary, Jerry/Myra Duba.
— 53rd anniversary, Milt/Dawn Morris.
— 15th anniversary, Hunter/Stephanie Roberts.
— 14th anniversary, Ross/Anna (Van Duzer) Yost.
— 3rd anniversary, Travis/Nicole Rinehart.
— 3rd anniversary, Brian/Tara (Hyde) White.

Thursday, Aug. 6:
Patti (Mercer) Jordre, Tenley Fitzke, Janet (Schuh) Fulk, Boston Bryant, Nick Bengs, Lynette McCarty, Justin Williams, Matthew Booth, Chris Brinkman, Kipp Stahl, Greg Byrum, Michelle Dvorak, Ryan Yackley, Lincoln Schoenhard, David Perry, Lois Byrum.
— 4th anniversary, Scott/Bailey (Armstrong) Wagner.
— 15th anniversary, Travis/Becky Lindekugel.
— 43rd anniversary, John/Mary (Junkman) Hoover.
— 54th anniversary, Jim/Judy Ulmen.
— 9th anniversary, Jacob/Chezaree Shoup.
— 15th anniversary, Mike/Corinna (Bevers) Christopher.
— Anniversary, Rod/Terry Fisher.

A COMMENT ON THESE TIMES

Nick Kristof, writing in the “Axios AM” newsletter, in a piece entitled, “We Interrupt This Gloom to Offer Hope”:

“The grim awareness of national failures—on the coronavirus, racism, health care and jobs—may be a necessary prelude to fixing our country.

“The last time our economy was this troubled, Herbert Hoover’s failures led to Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s election with a mandate to revitalize the nation. The result was the New Deal, Social Security, rural electrification, government jobs program and a 35-year burst of inclusive growth that built the modern middle class and arguably made the U.S. the richest and most powerful country in the history of the world.”

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

The South Dakota Army National Guard’s 109th Engineer Battalion changed commanders during a ceremony last Thursday. Lt. Col. Kevin Huxford, a native of Pierre and a Riggs High alumnus, took command of the unit. Kevin enlisted in the 200th Engineer Company in Pierre in March 1995 as a bridge crewman. In September 2001 he received a commission as a second lieutenant and was assigned as an engineer platoon leader in Company A, 153rd Engineer Battalion. He has held a variety of staff, training, operations and administrative officer positions. He is also a combat veteran, having served on overseas deployments during Operation Iraqi Freedom from December 2003 to March 2005 and during Operation Enduring Freedom from July 2013 to January 2014. As commander of the 109th, Kevin will be responsible for about 160 soldiers in the 109th with a mission to coordinate and execute tactical operations involving mobility, counter mobility and survivability tasks on the battlefield. The 109th also provides command and control for about 400 soldiers in five assigned units throughout the state. Kevin and his wife, the former Caren Howard, and their children make their home in Rapid City. He is the son of Kay Huxford of Rapid City and the late Bruce Huxford. (News courtesy of the Rapid City Journal)

The Beacon of Hope is an honor presented by First United Methodist Church of Pierre to people of all faiths across the community. For this period the most recent recipients are Mary Carter, Neruda Strait, Barb Lindbloom, Howard Jackson, Craig Solberg, Janet Gourneau, Dolly Nafus, Norm Weaver, Twyla Bartholomew, Tami Merrill and Lee Gerlach.

Our sympathy to Coach Terry Becker and all of his family. His father, Arthur Becker, 80, Yankton, died Tuesday at Majestic Bluffs in Yankton. The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Friedensberg Bible Church in rural Avon. Visitation will be Friday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the church. Mr. Becker worked as a dairy farmer for many years. He and his wife moved into Avon in 1990, and he helped area farmers and assisted in the family day-care business. After retirement the Beckers moved to Yankton where they ran their own house-cleaning business for 17 years. He is survived by his wife, Catherine; his daughter, Virginia Ballard and her husband Brian of Yankton; his sons, Doyle Becker of Sioux Falls and Terry Becker and his wife Yutzil of Pierre; three grandchildren, and twin granddaughters on the way.

Openings/reopenings/reactions:

1. Apparently tired already of the confrontations between cranky customers and their employees, Walmart has relented and no longer will prevent persons who refuse to wear masks from shopping there.

Closings/restrictions/reactions:

1. Airmen at Ellsworth Air Force Base and their families have been restricted from attending the Central States Fair, Kool Deadwood Nights and the Sturgis motorcycle rally. Already on their no-go list were bars, casinos, clubs, concerts and water parks. We wonder how many of them have been whining to their authorities about their constitutional rights and their freedoms.
2. McDonald’s restaurants nationwide will require masks for all indoor customers beginning Saturday.
3. The District of Columbia has a self-quarantine order for travelers coming into Washington from high-risk areas of the country.
4. Little Wound High School at Kyle has joined Cheyenne-Eagle Butte in cancelling all fall sports participation.
5. The Loud American Roadhouse, a prominent downtown Sturgis business, has canceled its indoor concerts during the motorcycle rally.
6. President Trump, who took his Republican National Convention out of Charlotte because that state wouldn’t allow a full-blown arena full of thousands of people for his nominating night, moved the event to Jacksonville. But now, since that state has become a COVID-19 hotspot, the Jacksonville portion of the convention has been called off. Convention business will all take place in Charlotte.
7. The White House demand that any coronavirus aid bill include cuts to payroll taxes, which fund Social Security, was dropped.
8. The South Dakota Hall of Fame honors banquet for this September has been postponed to next year. The medallion ceremony for this year’s inductees will be a virtual event at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 12 and free to public viewing.
9. The University of Sioux Falls announced masks will be required in all public locations on its campus.
10. Those who think shopping is part of Thanksgiving Day took another blow to their gut this week. Target said its stores will not open on Thanksgiving Day this year. Earlier Walmart decreed the same thing, and Dick’s Sporting Goods and Best Buy stores will be closed on that holiday, too. If this keeps up, the only Thanksgiving Day shopping available will be at 7-11.
11. Camp Judson, the Baptist-affiliated church camp along the 1880 Train tracks between Keystone and Hill City, closed this week due to an outbreak of COVID-19, and upcoming retreats there have been canceled.
12. Organizers of the Fargo Marathon, who a month ago were excited to announce their race and accompanying events would be going on as scheduled, have now called off everything scheduled for Aug. 24-29 due to the uptick in coronavirus cases in North Dakota and Minnesota.
13. The state of North Dakota was put on the list of high-risk states Monday.
14. Google will keep its 200,000 workers and contractors at home until at least July 2021.
15. The Summit League has delayed its fall sports, none of which can now compete until Sept. 23. Soccer, volleyball and cross country will now have conference-only schedules.
16. The NAIA postponed national championships in cross country, soccer and volleyball until next spring although conferences are still allowed to compete in those sports this fall.

Josh Breske’s first game as head football coach at Black Hills State University is now going to be later than ever. To begin with, BHSU had its first two non-conference games erased from its schedule when the NAIA canceled all non-conference games for its schools, so BHSU got together with Drake University in Des Moines to play there to open the season. Now Drake’s conference, the Pioneer Football League, has canceled all non-conference games for its schools, so there goes the BHSU-Drake game. Along with all of that, BHSU’s league, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, has ruled that its schools will now play only conference games, so Josh’s first game as head coach will be at home Sept. 19 against CSU-Pueblo. (One problem the RMAC has to overcome is that New Mexico, one of the states with an RMAC team, has a 14-day quarantine in place right now.)

According to the Northern State University athletic website, Gypsy Day will still be Sept. 26 although the football game that day will be the season opener for NSU. Northern’s league, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, has delayed all of its fall sports, so football practice won’t start until Sept. 2, and the first games will be played Sept. 26. Volleyball and soccer will start practicing Sept. 8, and their first matches won’t be until Oct. 2. One of the casualties of the NSIC’s reduction of the football season is that there won’t be a Northern-Augustana game this year.

Hilary (Woodburn) Hunt began work Monday as executive director of Stillwater Habitat for Humanity. She and her husband, a United Methodist pastor, and their children live in Stillwater, Okla.

Pierre native Jerrid Conway and his wife, Bridget, who were married in May 2019, became first-time parents last week. Born in Scranton, Pa., were their twin daughters—Sadie Hope, weighing 3 pounds 15 ounces, and Skylar Grace, weighing 4 pounds, 1 ounce.

The Summit League’s List of Academic Excellence for the past school year includes Ashley Theobald of the SDSU swim team.

The Pierre School District announced its back-to-school plan with classes beginning Aug. 20. There are two options—an online option and an in-school option.

Former Pierre resident Jack Lynass is retiring as chairman of the board of directors of Monument Health’s hospital in Rapid City, a position he held since 2016. He will continue as a board member. Lynass is president and CEO of Black Hills Community Bank.

Pierre native Erik Gilbertson and his wife Lauren of Sioux Falls revealed they are expecting their first child in December.

Conor Cruse, son of Brandon and Melanie (Bunkowske) Cruse of Rapid City, is a member of the Canyon Lake Little League all-star team that won the state championship Sunday night, beating Sioux Falls Little League in the title game, 12-2 in five innings. This year there is no further advancement because the national regionals and the Little League World Series have been canceled.

Hailey Hillestad, whose father, Jed Hillestad, is a native of Pierre and a Riggs High alumnus, has joined the U.S. Air Force after completing high school this past spring and will go soon to basic training as soon as she receives her orders. Meanwhile, her brother, Austin Hillestad, went to basic training last September and is now stationed at Hill Air Force Base near Salt Lake City. His tech area is called Egress, working with doors and seats that have hydraulics and some ejection seats with explosives. Austin is home in Rapid City this week on a week of leave.

Pierre native Abran Kean and his family have relocated from Denver to Spearfish. Abe and his wife, Brandy, have three children—son Evan, 10; daughter Clara, 7, and daughter Callie, 5.

Sandy (Stokke) Brockhouse found an unwelcome visitor in the garden outside her home last week. She was bitten by a rattlesnake and wound up in the hospital’s intensive care unit in Pierre. Her swollen leg made walking impossible, so Sandy had to resort to crutches for a time.

LaCinda Hanson, 76, Fort Pierre, died July 25 at Avera Maryhouse. She grew up at Northville S.D. The Patten family came to Pierre where her father worked for the state highway department. LaCinda worked as a deputy treasurer for Hughes County, as a loan coordinator at BankWest and as owner of her own casino. She is survived by her brother, George Patten; her three sons, Timothy Hanson of Littleton, Colo., Daron Hanson and his wife Lisa of Castle Rock, Colo., and Christopher Hanson of Aberdeen, and four grandchildren.

Caleb Klatt, son of Kevin and Sandy (Case) Klatt of Brandon, just graduated from Brandon Valley High School. On his way to Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego to begin basic training at that boot camp, Caleb had to complete a 14-day quarantine in a San Diego hotel room before reporting to the Marine base. He finished that quarantine Tuesday.

Pierre native Pat Burchill of Rapid City, who recently retired after nearly 43 years in banking, is taking on the duties as acting president of the Monument Health Foundation. He succeeds Priscilla Romkema, who left the foundation presidency to become provost and vice president for academic affairs at Black Hills State University. Pat has been a member of the Foundation board of directors for more than a decade. He is also on the Monument Health System board and is chair of the Rapid City Advisory Council. The foundation fund-raises for such vital programs as the John T. Vucurevich Cancer Care Institute, Children’s Miracle Network and Monument Health’s hospice program. (News courtesy of the Rapid City Journal)

For the second time this month a Pierre man has lost his life in the dangerous waters of the Missouri River downstream from Oahe Dam. Pierre attorney David Braun, 67, drowned near the Fort Pierre boat ramp Monday morning. He was apparently unloading his boat when it got away from him, so he went into the water to try to retrieve it. A 9-1-1 call at 8 a.m. said a pickup and trailer at the ramp were unattended, and an empty boat was floating downstream. Rescuers found his body 15 yards from the ramp after a 30-minute search. A rosary will begin at 5:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church with the family greeting visitors from 4:30 to 5:30. A memorial funeral service is planned for 9:30 a.m. Friday at the Steamboat Park amphitheater. (Please take your own lawn chair.) The service will be livestreamed at the Feigum Funeral Home website. Interment will follow at Black Hills National Cemetery. Mr. Braun was born in Deadwood and graduated from Lead High School in 1971. He attended SDSU as a journalism major until being drafted in 1973 during the Vietnam War. After serving two years in the U.S. Army, he graduated with a business degree from Black Hills State. He and the former Darlene Jensen were married in 1976. They moved to Pierre where he interned for Supreme Court Justice Miller, then practiced law with Max Gors, Jim Carlon and Mark Smith. He served as a deputy state’s attorney in the Department of Social Services under five governors. Later he began a solo law practice after retirement. He is survived by his wife, Darlene Braun; his mother, Mary; his brother, Lonnie; his twin daughters, Tempe (Joel) Heck and Mandy (Kris) Reed, and five grandchildren.

DAY BY DAY

THURSDAY, JULY 23
When it comes to donut shops west of the river, there is no question that Jerry’s Cakes and Donuts on the eastern edge of downtown Rapid City has set the gold standard. But this morning we here on the east side of town have to go only half as far for our sweet breakfast-time treats because Daylight Donuts has opened. When I was there at mid-morning there was still a line from the counter to the door as people awkwardly tried to avoid each other, some with masks, some without. But the donuts? Fabulously, mouth-wateringly good! And my timing was great because the donuts I took to the car and immediately began to devour were still warm from the oven. My favorite? The cake donut with the strawberry frosting. To die for!

FRIDAY, JULY 24
Apparently baseball fans across the land are ready for real live games that count. I was one of some four million people who tuned in to the Nationals-Yankees game last night as the 60-game season opened. It was the largest viewing audience for a regular-season game in years. But as a telecast it was strange. The game itself was in Washington. The play-by-play guy was in the ESPN studio in Connecticut. One analyst was in San Diego. The other was in Atlanta. Unfortunately, since the two analysts are former major leaguers, they can’t help themselves but talk about themselves, so with Chipper Jones as the newcomer to the broadcast booth, we had to endure more than two hours of stories about him and his career. Hopefully by mid-season in a month these guys are either at the ballparks in person so they can tell us what is going on there or they have run out of war stories about themselves.

SATURDAY, JULY 25
Finally in this year when she and all of the other high school graduates of 2020 saw so many important events, even graduation itself, canceled, our family celebrated our own high school graduate this evening with Olivia’s reception at her family’s house. Under shade provided by a pair of tents in their backyard, we enjoyed having numerous relatives, high school friends of Olivia, and theater friends of all of us get together for conversation and walking tacos and congratulatory cake. As this strangest of all summers speeds by, Olivia is now only 2 1/2 weeks from leaving for USD where move-in day will occur earlier than usual and where hopefully she and the other students and staff can somehow stay well.

SUNDAY, JULY 26
I would like to think I would not—and I believe not too many of the men who have held the Presidency would either—set aside all decency and morals just to win re-election. I can think of a couple who have, for sure. So here we are with the Black Lives Matter movement somewhat dying down. The protests against police brutality and injustice toward Blacks were becoming fewer and farther between, two months after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The issue is going away, and things are becoming quieter across the land. But somebody needs there to be violence. Can you think of anyone whom that benefits? Somebody had to stir things up and return protests and counter-protests back to the front pages to offset that annoying news of 150,000 coronavirus deaths. In come the feds, ordered to Portland and Seattle and who-knows-where-else by you-know-whom. Don’t call them police, these camouflaged hoodlums swinging clubs, throwing tear-gas bombs, hauling people off in unmarked vans. But they have succeeded in creating violence, and our man in the White House, inciting fear among the white population in the suburbs, appears to be coming to the rescue to subdue what we now call rioters. And Americans, true to form, are falling for it. Do they honestly believe there is still a chance for a White America to rise again if only they re-elect the one man who can save them from these lesser races of people sharing their country and daring to request equality that the Constitution grants them?

MONDAY, JULY 27
According to the governor, the risks associated with COVID-19 aren’t serious enough to warrant keeping kids out of school. And apparently quite a few school districts’ officials agree with her. I hope they are right. The mamas and the papas who demand that the public schools—their free babysitting service—be open on time and all year have a heroine in the governor’s office. After all, most of the kids won’t die from it, they say. Most of them won’t even get seriously sick from it, they say. They won’t pass it on to their parents or to their teachers, they say. We old people will die pretty soon anyway, they say. The kids’ mental health is just as important as their physical health, they say (but they’re really talking about the mommies’ and daddies’ mental health). Let’s challenge the governor to spend a full school day in a Rapid City elementary school—in the classroom and lunchroom and gym, not in the office for a photo op. No mask, of course, because she doesn’t like those either. But, in the meantime, I wonder what her thoughts are about how fast the virus spread among the youngsters and adults at Camp Judson this past week. But, of course, it doesn’t matter all that much because kids don’t get all that sick from it.

TUESDAY, JULY 28
A group of people in white coats who looked like doctors, claimed to be doctors and staged a news conference today in front of the U.S. Supreme Court building sounded like Trump administration spokespeople or Fox News Channel “experts.” Come to think of it, I guess those two groups are pretty much the same. They said there is a cure for the coronavirus. They said masks are worthless. They said we should open everything up and live life! Even South Dakota got its praise (again!) for supposedly using hydroxychloroquine to control the virus when someone in the “audience” (a plant perhaps?) asked a question! (That project introduced so loudly by Noem, Sanford, Avera and Monument was called off.) And within an hour, today’s video, apparently intended for the Trump base, was spread far and wide by that crowd but immediately discredited by fact-checkers and even taken down by Facebook and other media. Biographies of the people in white coats revealed later that they have less-than-stellar reputations and are certainly not medical authorities. Remember that spreading misinformation is crucial in this election campaign so take with a grain of salt anything you read or hear until proof of its truth is found.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 29
It doesn’t take much intelligence to understand “Big Brother,” but I admit I watch that brainless TV show every summer. I see that this year’s show begins next Wednesday, but the people sharing the Big Brother House will be all-stars—that is, contestants who have appeared on the show in past summers. Apparently they will have already been quarantined for two weeks before the TV cameras come on. It still won’t be fascinating viewing, of course, but I will keep wondering how long before somebody gets sick and has to leave the house. I suspect I already dislike most of these all-stars from past seasons. Maybe I’ll watch baseball instead—that is, the teams whose games haven’t been canceled by positive virus tests.

THOUGHTS FOR THESE TIMES: WHY SPEAKING OUT MUST CONTINUE

Stand with the demonized so the demonizing will stop.
Stand with the disposable so that the day will come when we stop throwing people away.
Stand with those whose dignity has been denied.
Stand with those whose burdens are more than they can bear.
Stand with the poor and the powerless and the voiceless.
Make their voices heard.

— Father Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries, on his goalcast

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