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PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP
This week’s schedules:
FRIDAY—
Girls soccer: home vs. Brandon Valley (JV 4:00, varsity 6:00).
Boys soccer: home vs. Brandon Valley (varsity 4:00, JV 6:00).
MONDAY—
Boys golf: at Sioux Falls Washington invitational, Willow Run course, 8 a.m.
TUESDAY—
Boys golf: at Brandon Valley invitational, 9 a.m.
Girls soccer: at Spearfish (varsity 4:00).
Boys soccer: at Spearfish (JV 4:00, varsity 6:00).
THOUGHT FOR THIS WEEK
“Were but the mind a bastion of solace in which troubles could be fended off like invaders. Instead I get a shack that lets ’em blow through like the walls ain’t there.”
— John Easton
ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE
Thursday: coconut.
Friday-Sunday: cherry.
Monday-Tuesday: blueberry.
Wednesday-Thursday: key lime.
COUNTDOWN
1 day: Pierre Governors soccer openers (Aug. 14).
1 day: State 4-H Finals rodeo, Fort Pierre (Aug. 14-16).
4 days: NBA playoffs begin (Aug. 17).
4 days: Democratic National Convention (Aug. 17-20).
7 days: First day of school in Pierre (Aug. 20).
8 days: Sully Buttes Chargers football opener (Aug. 21).
8 days: Stanley County Buffaloes football opener (Aug. 21).
8 days: Central States Fair, Rapid City (Aug. 21-30).
10 days: Indianapolis 500 (Aug. 23).
11 days: First day of school at Stanley County (Aug. 24).
11 days: Republican National Convention (Aug. 24-27).
15 days: Pierre Governors volleyball opener (Aug. 28).
15 days: Pierre Governors football opener (Aug. 28).
21 days: State Fair, Huron (Sept. 3-7).
22 days: PGA Tour championship, Atlanta (Sept. 4-7).
23 days: Kentucky Derby (Sept. 5).
25 days: Sanford International golf tournament, Sioux Falls (Sept. 7-13).
28 days: NFL opener, Houston at Kansas City (Sept. 10).
29 days: Stratobowl Historic Hot Air Balloon Launch (Sept. 11).
31 days: Minnesota Vikings opener (Sept. 13).
35 days: U.S. Open golf, Mamaroneck, N.Y. (Sept. 17-20).
35 days: South Dakota Film Festival, Aberdeen (Sept. 17-26).
36 days: Absentee voting for general election begins (Sept. 18).
36 days: Pierre High Class of ’60 reunion (Sept. 18-20).
43 days: Custer State Park buffalo roundup (Sept. 25).
44 days: Brule’ concert at Crazy Horse Memorial (Sept. 26).
47 days: First presidential candidates debate (Sept. 29).
ELECTION REMINDER
Absentee voting for the November general election begins in South Dakota on Sept. 18, which is only 36 days from today. Keep aware of the approaching dates, especially because of the obvious attempts on the part of some parties to delay or suppress voting.
In South Dakota remember you must have a personal ID, such as a driver’s license, to vote. Also you can check on your voter registration status by contacting your county auditor’s office or by going online to the secretary of state’s website’s election pages. The voter registration deadline for the November general election is Oct. 19.
“We cannot treat voting as an errand to run if we have some time. We have to treat it as the most important action we can take on behalf of democracy.” — President Barack Obama in his eulogy to the late Rep. John Lewis
HOCKEY UPDATE
Minnesota Wild: With their Stanley Cup qualifying series tied at a game apiece, the Wild lost to Vancouver, 3-0, Thursday, then lost in overtime in Game #4 Friday, 4-3, to see their season come to an end.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE
Directions: Draw a 4×4 box of 16 squares. Number the squares in your top row 1, 2, 3 and 4 from left to right. Number the squares in your left-hand row 1, 5, 6 and 7 from top to bottom.
Clues:
ACROSS—
1) Hi-Pointers’ home.
5) No place like it.
6) City in Yemen.
7) Big —- Dam.
DOWN—
1) “Moby Dick” captain.
2) Somali capital.
3) Prayer’s last word.
4) To remove by violence.
BASKETBALL UPDATE
Minnesota Lynx: The WNBA Lynx defeated New York, Indiana and Washington this week and lost to Los Angeles. Minnesota plays Las Vegas Thursday (8 p.m.), New York Saturday (5 p.m.) and Dallas next Wednesday (8 p.m.).
LAUGHING SO WE DON’T CRY
Many of you have seen the following shared by several people on their Facebook pages, but if you haven’t, take a break and chuckle a bit as you nod your head affirmatively, realizing how true to the current situation these comments are:
- “I still can’t believe people’s survival instincts told them to grab toilet paper.”
- “At the store there was a big X by the register for me to stand on. I’ve seen too many Roadrunner cartoons to fall for that one.”
- “They said a mask and gloves were enough to go to the grocery store. They lied. Everybody else had clothes on.”
- “Keep in mind, even during a pandemic, no matter how much chocolate you eat, your earrings will still fit.”
- “The buttons on my jeans have started social distancing from each other.”
- “The dumbest thing I’ve ever purchased was a 2020 planner.”
- “Having some states lock down and some states not lock down is like having a pee section in a swimming pool.”
- “I’m going to stay up on New Year’s Eve this year. Not to see the new year in, but to make sure this year leaves.”
- “If I had only known in March it would be my last time in a restaurant, I would have ordered dessert.”
- “Until further notice, the days of the week are now called Thisday, Thatday, Otherday, Someday, Yesterday, Today and Nextday.”
- “When does Season 2 of 2020 start? I do not like Season 1.”
- “I never thought the comment ‘I wouldn’t touch him with a six-foot pole’ would become a national policy, but here we are.”
BASEBALL UPDATE
Pierre Post 8 vs. Brandon Valley: Post 8 lost its opening game at the state Legion tournament in Rapid City by a 12-2 score in five innings. A first-inning run driven in by Andy Gordon following an Andrew Coverdale triple made it 1-0 for Pierre in the top of the first. In the second a pair of walks and a pair of fielder’s choices plated a second run for a 2-0 lead. Then the rains came, forcing a delay of one hour, 34 minutes. After that the game was all Brandon Valley as they scored six runs in the third, five in the fourth and one more to make it a 10-run lead in the fifth. In the third inning alone Brandon Valley had seven hits and still left two men on base as they took control of the game. Starter Lincoln Kienholz retired BV 1-2-3 in the first, but after the long delay he ran into trouble, giving up eight hits and nine runs while fanning three in 3 1/3 innings. Coverdale had two hits for Pierre.
Pierre Post 8 vs. Renner: On Saturday afternoon an elimination game against the defending state champions, many of them O’Gorman athletes, was as intense as it was weird as each team fought to stay alive. To start the game River Iverson doubled, and Garrett Stout and Matt Lusk followed with RBI singles. In the bottom of that inning starter Stout loaded the bases on walks but also struck out the side, keeping the Pierre lead at 2-0. In the second he loaded the bases on walks again, and this time after Jack Van Camp came in in relief, Renner tied the game on a fielder’s choice play and an infield hit, then went ahead on a bases-loaded walk. Pierre pitching had given Renner seven walks in the first two innings. The game got out of hand in the third when the two umpires ejected both managers. Nevertheless, Renner left the bases loaded as a Van Camp strikeout ended their threat. Post 8 took a 4-3 lead in the top of the fourth. Two walks and an infield error loaded the bases with nobody out for Pierre. A run scored on a fielder’s choice play off A.J. Goeden’s bat, tying the game at 3-3. Coverdale’s ball was misplayed into another Renner error as the lead run scored. Pierre had tied the game and taken the lead without the aid of a hit. The intensity continued in the bottom of the fourth when Van Camp struck out two men after Renner’s tying run had reached third base. Neither team threatened seriously, and Post 8 took a precarious 4-3 lead into the bottom of the final stanza. Van Camp struck out the first Royals batter, but then came a pair of singles, and a passed ball moved the tying run to third and the winning run to second base. After a walk Van Camp had to leave due to his pitching numbers, and ace reliever Matt Lusk entered the situation—bases loaded for the fourth time in the game for Renner and only one out. A simple single would probably win it for Renner and end Pierre’s season. But a lightning bolt struck, figuratively speaking at least, when a line drive laser was caught by Coverdale at third base. He fired to first to double off the Renner runner, the double play ending the game with a 4-3 Pierre victory. Stout had two hits at the plate. Van Camp pitched five innings of shutout ball, giving up six hits and striking out seven. To get his fifth save of the season all Lusk had to do was to face one batter, and he got two outs in the process.
Pierre Post 8 vs. Brandon Valley: Post 8 came within one inning of reaching the championship game at the state tournament but lost on a two-run home run by Brandon Valley’s Joe Kolbeck in the top of the seventh inning, 3-1. Matt Lusk as the starter for Pierre went 4 2/3 innings and kept BV off the scoreboard with five hits and one strikeout. Pierre’s 1-0 lead came in the third on an RBI ground-out off Andrew Coverdale’s bat, following a hit batter, a passed ball and a sacrifice bunt. Brandon Valley left the bases loaded in the fourth and again in the fifth after Garrett Stout had relieved Lusk with the tying run at third and two away. A walk loaded the bases, but a fly-out to center ended that threat. Pierre’s first hit—which proved to be the only hit of the game—came in the fifth from Lincoln Kienholz. In the sixth Brandon Valley tied the game at 1-1. In the bottom of that inning the Eights had a chance to retake the lead into the final inning, but runners were stranded at third and second bases. With one out in the seventh BV got a double, then Kolbeck’s home run. In the bottom of the inning with the season on the line Post 8 got a walk to Kienholz with two out, but a strikeout ended the game, sent BV to the championship game and ended Pierre’s season with a 32-18 record. BV starter Trey Sejnoha had only three Pierre baserunners during the game—a walk, that one hit and a hit batter. Eleven seniors were on the Post 8 roster for head coach Brian White and assistants Nathan Naasz and Peyton Zabel.
Four Corners: In their first-round game at the state amateur tournament in Mitchell the Four Corners team lost to Clark, 11-5. Justin Allen had a 3-for-5 day at the plate. Andrew McCloud had two hits and two RBIs.
Pierre Trappers: The Trappers took two of three over Souris Valley at home but were swept in all four games at Badlands. Back home for the final homestand of the season, Pierre won over Badlands Tuesday, 8-7. The team finishes the year at home Friday, Saturday and Sunday vs. Hastings and next Tuesday and Wednesday vs. Badlands.
Sioux Falls Canaries: The Birds have had a poor week, losing to Milwaukee 3-1, to St. Paul 3-1, 2-1 and 8-6, and winning one over St. Paul 12-4. Sioux Falls is home tonight vs. St. Paul and Friday through Sunday vs. Winnipeg before going north to Fargo-Moorhead Tuesday through Thursday.
Minnesota Twins:
Friday—Kansas City, 7:10, FSN.
Saturday—Kansas City, 6:10, FSN.
Sunday—Kansas City, 1:10, FSN.
Monday—Kansas City, 7:10, FSN.
Tuesday—Milwaukee, 7:10, FSN.
Wednesday—Milwaukee, 7:10, FSN.
Thursday—Milwaukee, 6:10, FSN, FS1.
Colorado Rockies:
Friday—Texas, 6:40.
Saturday—Texas, 6:10.
Sunday—Texas, 1:10.
Monday—at Houston, 7:10.
Tuesday—at Houston, 1:10, MLBN.
Wednesday—Houston, 6:40.
Thursday—Houston, 1:10.
WORDS OF WISDOM
“No one changes unless they want to.
Not if you beg them. Not if you shame them.
Not if you use reason, emotion or tough love.
There’s only one thing that makes someone change,
And that is their own realization that they need to do it.”
— Lori Deschene, “3am thoughts”
SOCCER UPDATE
Minnesota United FC: In the semifinals of the “MLS is Back” tournament the Loons lost to Orlando City FC, 3-1. It was the first loss of the MLS season for Minnesota United. Once the tournament finishes, the rest of the regular season will begin. The Loons’ first match will be at home against Sporting Kansas City next Friday, Aug. 21, the first of 18 games left in the regular season.
PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES
- Remember that list of homecoming dates we published here a month ago? Well, forget it! With football seasons being canceled right and left, we don’t know if the colleges are having homecomings at all, so check with your favorite school before hitting the road.
- So what do the marching bands do in the fall without any football games being held? Contrary to public belief, bands do not exist for the benefit of the football programs although they do add color, excitement and class to any game. In the case of at least one school whose post I read, the Pride of the Dakotas band at SDSU will have a fall season even though the Jacks can’t play football till spring. The post said the band will have public performances this fall and they hope people show up. I’ve always said the best part of any SDSU football game is the marching band, and I started saying that way back in the fall of 1992 when my son was part of the Pride.
- A salute to Jon Winkler and Greg Dean for their Post 8 baseball broadcasts on KCCR. I heard probably as many as 30 of their games this summer online, and Jon and Greg were always funny, entertaining but most importantly informative. They know what’s going on and explain it to their radio audience!
- As Jon and Greg explained last Saturday afternoon, there was a perfectly good reason why all four coaches of the state Legion tournament teams were standing around behind the stands, having a conversation while one of the games was going on. Two of the four were waiting for their own game to start later, but the other two had been ejected from their game in the same inning. Umpires were way too obvious at this tournament, and when umpires are noticed, that’s never a good thing.
- A television reminder: Augustana’s 2018 national champion baseball team’s championship game will be shown on Midco Sports Network at 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday).
- Last week’s trivia question in this spot asked what the South Dakota towns of Madison, Milbank, Baltic, Brandt, De Smet, Lebanon, Hurley, Draper, Pollock, Wood and Wallace have in common. The answer is that their present or former high schools all have Bulldogs as their mascot. Almost as soon as The Midweek Update appeared online last Thursday morning, Barb Bjorneberg in Spearfish and Dean Sorenson in Sioux Falls chimed in with the correct answer. Shortly thereafter Julie Osnes, Randy Pool and Greg Dean provided the same correct answer.
- Speaking of Greg Dean one more time, he provides this week’s trivia question: There are at least six high schools in South Dakota whose mascots’ names do NOT end with the letter “S.” How many can you name? Send your answers to parkerhome16@hotmail.com.
- I never watch NBA basketball, but I noticed that, since that league began playing its final regular-season games in their bubble in Orlando, referees have been calling more fouls, and the reason probably is that, due to the absence of fans, the refs can actually hear body contact. Thus the NBA players are shooting more free throws. With no annoying spectators causing distractions behind the baskets, their free-throw percentages are higher.
- A question for Cardinals fans: Do you really think your guys are going to get away with this, playing 15 to 20 fewer games than anybody else and competing for a division title with a better winning percentage? A message to MLB: Make ’em play 15 consecutive doubleheaders and finish with 60 games like everybody else.
- Our first football contest will appear here in next week’s issue. As in the past, the list of the week’s 10 games will show up on my Facebook page (Parker Knox) on Sunday evening. You can respond there with your 10 winners or send them to me at parkerhome16@hotmail.com. We will start with high school games and go as long as the season goes or the schools remain open, whether that’s in September or October. And we will add NFL games when they start and go as long as they play ball. If somehow the NFL stays in session until the Super Bowl, then it will be time for spring football, so this year we may have football contests here in the Update from now through May! But don’t count on it unless, of course, you’re one of those people who think “normal” is returning soon.
- Does anybody else think that, come next winter as “spring football” seasons draw near, the colleges may rethink what they are doing and just wait to have a 2021 season? Are they really going to have a spring season, take a month off, then start fall drills?
- One of South Dakota’s all-time greatest athletes, Carroll Hardy, died at the age of 87 this week. He was a native of Sturgis and was an elite athlete in football and baseball at the University of Colorado. He played football with the 49ers and baseball with the Indians, Red Sox, Colt 45s (the Houston team before they became the Astros) and the Twins. The Twins sent him to their top minor-league affiliate, the Denver Bears, and there he became part of the community. Hardy spent 24 years with the Broncos in various roles. A couple of his baseball milestones: (1) His first major-league home run came as a pinch-hitter for Roger Maris. (2) He was the only man in the history of baseball to pinch-hit for Ted Williams. I have been trying to remember Hardy’s affiliation with the Basin League here in our area, but I can’t remember for sure if he ever did play with his hometown Sturgis Titans.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I don’t believe we are going to be out of the woods with COVID-19 until the fall of next year at the soonest, in my opinion.”
— Dr. Philip Meyer of Avera St. Mary’s Hospital in Pierre
(a doctor who has been practicing internal medicine for 26 years)
BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES
Thursday, Aug. 13:
Finn Meiners, Leto Knudson, Andi Mancuso, Bobbi (West) Meyer, Charissa Howard, Sam Herrscher, Misti (Currier) Baumberger, Kory Davis.
— 4th anniversary, Jerry/Aly Bollinger.
— 9th anniversary, A.J./Tisa Wharton.
— 9th anniversary, Cody/Raelynn (Foss) Dewell.
Friday, Aug. 14:
Eloise Cermak, Ethan Harder, Wyatt Rumrill, George Summerside, Kristi Barnhart Yackley, Andrew Johnson, Mike Walton, Mike Zellmer, Jordyn Ripperger, Rebecca Cruse, Michaela Stroup, Tim Maher, Jackson Goodman, Heath Stoeser, Jonathan Pfleger, Spencer Thomas, Gay Rhoades.
— 10th anniversary, Chris/Victoria Bell.
— 50th anniversary, Mike/Diana Vogel.
— 33rd anniversary Doug/Deb Smith.
— 16th anniversary, Rick/Katie (Skrondahl) Melius.
— 15th anniversary, Nate/Tracie (Seyfer) Vogel.
— 39th anniversary, Tony/Shiela Mangan.
— 10th anniversary, Justin/Jill Gilmore.
We fondly remember Phil Trautner, who passed away 17 years ago today.
Saturday, Aug. 15:
Meredith Lee Roebuck, Kathy (Hoover) Pautz, Hunter Roberts, Jason Christenson, Danny Snow, Jesse Nystrom, Heath Houdek, Jack Steece, Brian Kemnitz, Jared Dutton, Ellie Knudson, Autumn Iverson, Dianne Weyer.
— 40th anniversary, Mark/Glennis (Parsons) Zarecky.
— 11th anniversary, J.D./Amanda Lauing.
— 13th anniversary, Sam/Amber (LaBrie) Shaw.
Sunday, Aug. 16:
Susan Culberson, Dustin Van Balen, Nancy Shoup, Gaylon Gerber, Ann (Schroyer) Schwartz, Brittney (Nuttall) Binger, Mike Vogel, Terry Keller, Melanie (Bunkowske) Cruse, Trudie (King) Feldman.
— 6th anniversary, Derek/Natalie Van Roekel.
— 51st anniversary, Monte/Barb Hillestad.
— 17th anniversary, Jerry/Doralynne (Micklos) Jarvis.
— 50th anniversary, Dave/Marlyce Micklos.
— 12th anniversary, Robert/Samantha (Merrill) Pietz.
— 17th anniversary, Tom/Jill (Novotny) Hart.
— 17th anniversary, Eric/Misty (Doll) Brenden.
— 17th anniversary, Devin/Kimberly (Bartels) Malone.
— 12th anniversary, Terry/Brenda (Crandell) Carroll.
Monday, Aug. 17:
Rachel (Hermanson) Knutson, Stephanie (Colwill) Harmon, Lois Telford, Adam Snow, Karen Stengle, Brad Curtis, Ryan Callahan, Olive Williams, Asher Williams.
— 18th anniversary, Josh/Katie Melgaard.
— 18th anniversary, Bob/Cara (Roseland) Gray.
— 19th anniversary, Jeremy/Penny Ripperger.
— 13th anniversary, Jesse/Megan Ahlers.
— 7th anniversary, Mitchell/Casi (Huizenga) Popko.
Tuesday, Aug. 18:
Kyle Weaver, Jerrid Conway, Hannah Stahl, Mike Larsen, Landyn Uecker, Kathy Lindekugel, Brooke (Graff) Albertson.
— 8th anniversary, Jamey/Erin (Titze) Herr.
— 53rd anniversary, Larry/Dee Lundeen.
— 11th anniversary, Isaac/Anna Vogel.
— 53rd anniversary, Larry/Anita Zastrow.
— 13th anniversary, Will/Stephanie (Magedanz) Bartsch.
— Anniversary, Dave/Linda Bonde.
— 2nd anniversary, Jason/Micki Noyes.
— 2nd anniversary, Todd/Hillary (Handcock) Leiferman.
Wednesday, Aug. 19:
Tom Huber, Nick Johnson, Bill Stevens, Naomi Fossen, Tanna Becker, Jacob Shoup, Anita Jung, Emily (Zarecky) Steber, Maddie Lund, Carmen Howard, Ross Hettinger.
— 20th anniversary, Jesse/Sarena (Nuttall) Beastrom.
— 3rd anniversary, Colton/Jenny (McKillip) Langdeau.
— 48th anniversary, Mike/Jean Denton.
— 14th anniversary, Abran/Brandy Kean.
— 50th anniversary, Don/Diane Giesinger.
— 14th anniversary Ryan/Melissa (Luers) Hansen.
— 3rd anniversary, Trevor/Brielle (Yackley) Bohle.
— 3rd anniversary, Trevor/Mary (Volmer) Lopour.
— 3rd anniversary, Wyatt/Miranda Trautman.
Thursday, Aug. 20:
Elinor Dekker, Jared Randen, Brycen Haefner, Devin Weingart, Lindsey (Friez) Karschnik, Jordyn Martin, Amber Ogle, Sue McNaboe, Becky (Eich) Watson, Tina Jenson.
— 4th anniversary, Ben/Michelle (Monroe) Kettler.
— 3rd anniversary, Cody/Mandi Coppess.
— 16th anniversary, Tyler/Erin (Schiefelbein) Jones.
— 55th anniversary, Ray/Wanda Beck.
— 15th anniversary, Brian/Amy (Johnson) Berendes.
— 10th anniversary, Brad/Katie (Zeller) Murphy.
— 60th anniversary, Jon/Terry (Lamster) Horning.
— 58th anniversary, Bob/Glynnes Sargent.
PONDER THIS
“There is something deeply hypocritical about praying for a problem you are unwilling to resolve.”
— Miroslav Volf
NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS
Shawn and Sara Ludemann of Rapid City became parents on Aug. 7. Their daughter, Rylan Ezra Ludemann, weighed 6.3 pounds and measured 17 1/2 inches.
Twila Dockter’s grandmother, Edna Moser, will celebrate her 100th birthday on Aug. 30. Because of the pandemic, the family cannot hold a party for this special occasion, but they hope friends and acquaintances will shower Edna with birthday cards. Her address: Edna Moser, c/o Twila Dockter, 500 Yucca Dr., Pierre SD 57501.
Levi Cass, younger of the two sons of Riggs High alumnus Loren Cass and grandson of Larry and Gerry Cass of Pierre, was senior class president at Chelmsford High School northwest of Boston and had the honor of speaking at his graduation ceremony. Loren’s older son, Landon, just graduated from college this year.
Alice Just, Sioux Falls, died Aug. 10 just 11 days short of her 100th birthday. Services will be at 1 p.m. Friday at Calvary Episcopal Cathedral in Sioux Falls. She and her husband Ferd moved to Pierre in 1970, and he died later that same year. While she was in Pierre, Alice worked for Gov. Frank Farrar and for the Greater South Dakota Association. She later lived in Huron, Bismarck, Rapid City, Aberdeen and since 1987 Sioux Falls. She is survived by a daughter, four grandchildren, a step-grandson and a sister.
Grace Lutheran Church at Hayes celebrated its 100th anniversary with an outdoor service and potluck dinner Sunday.
Mayor Steve Allender of Rapid City has recommended Jason Culberson as the next chief of the Rapid City Fire Department. Culberson has been serving as interim chief since June. The Rapid City Common Council will consider the mayor’s recommendation Aug. 17.
Meghan Buscher graduated magna cum laude from the University of Wyoming with a degree in mathematics. She has decided to wait a year before going on to graduate school. Meghan has secured a job with Dakota State University. DSU is contracting with her to work at the Department of Social Services in Pierre as a senior data analyst.
Jayce Gene Tetzlaff was born Aug. 8 in Bismarck, N.D. He is the first child of Matt and Korie Tetzlaff. Jayce weighed 7 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 21 1/2 inches.
Alice Buchheim, who is the mother of Mary Thorson of Pierre, will have her 94th birthday on Monday, Aug. 17. Her family hopes friends will provide a card shower for Alice since it is difficult to have a party right now. The mailing address is 410 – 8th St. SE, Highmore SD 57345.
Openings/re-openings/restrictions:
- Princeton, Johns Hopkins and Howard universities this week announced they will teach only online courses this fall semester.
- The Rapid City Catholic school system will require masks for all students in grades 6-12 and for all teachers and staff starting when school opens Aug. 24.
- Now that the coronavirus has been found to exist in Onida, this may change, but the Sully Buttes schools plan to open with normal operations but with assigned seats on buses and in large groups. No masks will be required for spectators at school events. Each student will have three masks—two at school and one at home for cleaning—and will rotate them. It was a 4-3 board vote to mandate masks. In another decision at Sully Buttes, the volleyball team will play its season but will not compete in tournaments where several teams are involved.
- Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa continues to refuse to mandate the wearing of masks, so at least three cities and one county have imposed their own ordinances. Let the legal battles begin! Some school boards in Iowa may also ignore the governor’s demands that all schools open.
- The Sioux Falls school district says that for athletic events four passes will go to each athlete on a team’s roster, plus all students and staff with valid school IDs will also be admitted.
- The Rapid City school district will require masks for students and staff when school opens Sept. 8. At the present time students may attend in-person Mondays through Thursdays, but Fridays will be an e-learning day while buildings are thoroughly cleaned. The school board also ruled that students who choose full-time distance-learning can still participate in extra-curricular activities.
- According to Dr. Kelly Glodt, superintendent, the Pierre school district is still not mandating the wearing of masks but is “strongly recommending” them for students while in class.
- Sturgis motorcycle rally-goers from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will be required to quarantine for 14 days when they return home.
Closings/cancellations:
- The Missouri Valley Football Conference, which includes USD, SDSU, NDSU and UND, postponed their conference football schedule from this fall to next spring. The Big Sky, Mountain West and Mid-American Conference also called off their seasons. Among the big-time FBS conferences, the Big 10 on Monday was the first to call off football and all fall sports, and the PAC-12 was quick to follow, leaving only the Big 12, the ACC and the SEC to make their decisions.
- In Sioux Falls the Downtown Riverfest celebration was canceled.
- The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, which includes South Dakota Mines and Black Hills State, suspended all fall sports except golf and cross country until next spring.
- The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, which includes Augustana, Northern and the University of Sioux Falls, suspended its football season.
- The gigantic Daytona Beach motorcycle rally in Florida scheduled for this fall has been canceled.
- In Hot Springs the Volunteer Fire Department Auxiliary canceled a walking-taco fund-raiser because of an influx of COVID-19 in their county.
- The Summit League (USD, SDSU, NDSU, UND, et al.) canceled all fall sports, including men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball and men’s and women’s cross country.
- The state of New York added South Dakota to its travel advisory list, meaning any traveler to New York from South Dakota must self-quarantine for two weeks upon arrival there.
On Friday in Onida several Sully County employees went on quarantine due to close contact with a person identified as having COVID-19. The county commission approved 80 hours of COVID leave for each employee. If more time than that is needed, the employees will have to use sick leave, personal leave, or pay without leave. (News courtesy of The Onida Watchman)
The Mount Vernon amateur baseball team for which Bradley Dean has been playing this summer stranded seven men on base in the last three innings and lost to Canova, 8-3, in the first round of the state amateur tournament in Mitchell. The team ended the summer with a 15-7 record.
As part of Fort Pierre Summer Nights tonight (Thursday), Indian tacos will be served on Main Street as a benefit for PAWS Animal Rescue from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The price will be a free-will donation.
Life-long Sully County resident Eva Marie Severson celebrated her 95th birthday on Aug. 7. Cards can still be sent to her at 400 ParkWood Drive, Apt. #201, Pierre SD 57501.
Two weeks ago we reported the births of the twin daughters of Jerrid Conway and his wife, Bridget, who live just north of Scranton, Pa. The girls were born a bit early so are still hospitalized. The Conways hope they can get their girls home in a couple weeks. Jerrid works for a drilling company that drills foundations for bridges, skyscrapers and large transmission lines, and now they are busy drilling for solar canopies. The Conways recently bought an old farm, and there is plenty of fishing, hunting and ski resorts in their area.
Donald Stoebner, 82, died Aug. 17. A celebration of his life will take place at 10 a.m. Friday at South Park United Church of Christ in Rapid City. He was ordained as a minister in the United Church of Christ. He served churches in Carthage, Ipswich and Roscoe and spent six years in Maine and six years in Nebraska. After his retirement Mr. Stoebner did interim ministry in Custer and Pierre. He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Rosie Stoebner; three children, six grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren and a great-great-grandchild.
Zach Bruzelius, Matthew Tibbs and Kolby Brooks were sworn in as members of the Pierre Police Department. They are now in in-house and field training. When that is completed, they will be assigned to the patrol division.
Several players from various age groups of the Oahe Hockey Association have been selected for the South Dakota Amateur Hockey Association’s Team South Dakota rosters. They are: U19 girls, Ashton Lee; U16 girls, Olivia Swenson, Sara Bierne; U14 girls, Brylee Kafka; U14 boys, Carter Sanderson; U16 boys, Dre Berndt, Ashton Griese. The assistant coach for the U16 boys Team South Dakota is Pierre native Curtis Egan, who coaches in the Sioux Falls Flyers program.
Jim McLain arrived safely in Quito, Ecuador, for his year of teaching in that South American country. However, upon his arrival there, he could not leave his room for seven days and could not leave his hotel building for 12 days. His only contact with others has been when food and water are delivered. Those who do that take his temperature and ask if he needs towels or a trash pickup. The hotel gym is closed, so his physical activity is accomplished by his own workouts. Jim said he passes time with lots of naps, reading and curriculum work.
Former Pierre residents Dave and Marlyce Micklos will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this Sunday, Aug. 16. Their children are hoping you will join in a card shower for them. The mail address is 904 W. 13th St., Yankton SD 57078. So where are the Micklos kids? Doralynne and Jerry Jarvis and family live in Yankton. Deb and Chris Nelson and family are in Chaska, Minn. Dexter and Rachel Micklos and family are in West Fargo.
Marty Calkins, who will be teaching at the Glenwood Springs, Colo., middle school, Monday posted a photo he took from the front door of his school, showing the billowing clouds of smoke from a wildlife rising from beyond a mountain ridge. By Tuesday his school building had become an evacuation site for residents ordered to flee the fire.
Former Pierre residents Larry and Peggy Hofmeister of Mountain Home, Ark., had been to the Sturgis motorcycle rally for 31 consecutive years until now. They had to miss this year because Peggy sustained a broken arm on one of their recent adventures and is in the healing process.
A lot of what was in eastern Iowa blew into western Illinois early this week when 100 MPH winds raked eastern Iowa. We noticed that Amy Grunewaldt posted that she and Brian and family were without power in Cedar Rapids and were hearing that it may be days before power is restored. They were able to secure a generator for their home from good brother Mat Ripperger, who lives in Sioux Falls. Amy and Mat met halfway between Sioux Falls and Cedar Rapids as he took her a generator, gas, water and Gatorade. Amy posted that they were able to save a great deal of meat they had stored in their freezer. Another Cedar Rapids resident, Pierre native Scott Heibel, had his van stuck inside his garage after the winds damaged the door to such an extent it couldn’t be opened. He said his place was relatively “unscathed” although the top 10 feet of a maple tree snapped off and some siding was blown from his house. Meanwhile, Dr. Michelle Wattier’s chiropractic clinic in Waterloo was without telephone service because lines were down all over that area.
Ciara Duffy, graduated USD women’s basketball star who is the daughter of Fort Pierre native Dan Duffy of Rapid City, is the Summit League’s nominee for NCAA Woman of the Year.
The extended Hermanson family will have two new “presents” under their trees this coming holiday season. Rachel (Hermanson) and Jesse Knutson, who live north of Brookings, are expecting their fourth child in November. Brian and Paige Hermanson in Pierre are expecting their first child in December.
FACT OF LIFE
Tips on how to fall asleep in a living room chair:
- Be old.
- Sit in a chair.
DAY BY DAY
THURSDAY, AUGUST 6
This was another one of those days—uncomfortable to put it mildly, disturbing to put it accurately. The John Pavlovich blog which I read regularly pointed out how this presidency has destroyed relationships in this country and not even the election, however it turns out, will repair them. Families are split down the middle in some cases; church congregations, office staffs, life-long friends as well. No matter your position on Trump or the coronavirus pandemic or anything else, I suggest you go to www.johnpavlovitz.com and search for his Aug. 6 blog entitled “This Presidency is killing relationships, and we’re all grieving.” A couple hours after I read that, his statement proved to be true in my case. A couple of 80-year-olds whom I have known since my Wessington Springs teaching days in 1960-62 but with whom I have spoken probably once in my lifetime sent me a video, probably because they knew it would upset me. It was taped at a rodeo with a guy jumping out of an airplane, bringing down not only an American flag but a “Make America Great Again” parachute. The lily-white crowd was going wild as the Lee Greenwood tune, “I’m Proud to Be an American,” blared over the loudspeaker. The person who sent it to me commented, “We thought it was beautiful.” Well, sweetheart, wave your flag and shout “Amen!” I am not bound to remain “Facebook friends” with anyone I do not choose, and these days my friends total is diminishing rather rapidly. I am positive I will never repair relationships with some of the people who make comments to me on Facebook. But Pavlovitz’s point about what this presidency has done to this country is right on the mark. To make this day complete, Trump in his speech at an Ohio plant, not-so-carefully disguised as another campaign rally, said Joe Biden “wants to hurt God.” I can’t even comprehend what that means.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7
I am aware that in my old age I am critical these days of people and things too numerous to mention. One of my many pet peeves is ballpark public-address announcers who deem themselves to be cheerleaders and entertainers. We have a couple here in this town. I am reminded of the 2005 Legion World Series held in Rapid City when the P.A. announcer, Dick Jonckowski, was a wildly popular hit with all the fans except me. I’m an old-school kind of guy. Being a baseball P.A. announcer in Pierre for 10 years and a basketball and football announcer in that area for decades did not in 2005 nor even now qualify me as a critic of one of Jonckowski’s prestige—P.A. announcer for the University of Minnesota and for more than a half-dozen previous Legion World Series wherever they were held. It just happens to be my personal preference that the P.A. announcer not be an entertainer but rather one who, like the best umpires, enhances the experience for the athletes and does not make himself obvious. Nevertheless, what endeared Jonckowski to the crowd back in 2005 were his jokes. For example:
- “Will the woman who has my hotel room key please return it?”
- “Charles Manson, meet your family at the ticket booth.”
- “Joe Smith just returned from a pleasure trip. He took his mother-in-law to the airport.”
- “After the last surviving sculptor of Mount Rushmore threw out the first pitch: “He still goes up to Mount Rushmore to save face” and “He gets stoned every day.”
- “We’re offering a baseball cocktail. You feel single, you feel double, and you can’t find your way home.”
- “The towels in my hotel room are so big I can’t fit them into my suitcase.”
- “He wanted to be a stud so five of his friends nailed him to a car tire.”
- “He went to school at night to learn to read in the dark.”
- “There was a woman beating on my hotel room door at 3 a.m. Finally I had to get up and let her out.”
- “We’re now offering Jeffrey Dahmer’s new book, ‘How to Serve Your Fellow Man.'”
- “I met my wife in a revolving door, and we’ve been going around together ever since.”
- “My idea of a hypocrite is a mortician trying to act sad at a $10,000 funeral.”
- “Two Polish guys were stranded on an iceberg. One said, ‘I think we’re saved. Here comes the Titanic.'”
Most of the time, in between his jokes, the guy announced the batters’ and pitchers’ names.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 8
Usually the sound I hear when I let the dogs out into the backyard before the sun rises is traffic down on Highway 44, which is about a mile south of our house. Go back out a couple hours later and what do I hear? That steady rumble and roar from the west. That’s the sound of the Black Hills economy, soaking these bikers who have come here from everywhere with money to spend as they try to escape any restrictions imposed by courageous leaders back home who tried to stem the virus tide right from the start and who have been trying to protect their citizens as much as possible. My first—and likely last—encounter with a biker occurred this morning as I took donuts across town to my daughters’ houses. He on his bike and I in my car had just crossed the Mountain View Road intersection on West Main heading west. Apparently the guy on the motorcycle had missed his left-hand turn onto Mountain View because, for one thing, he was in the outside westbound lane of Main. When he realized his error, he immediately without any signal whatsoever cut in front of me in the inside lane so quickly that I had to slam on my brakes to avoid hitting him and his machine. He quickly moved into the turning lane in the middle of Main’s four lanes, did an immediate U-turn, headed back east toward the Mountain View intersection, cut in front of somebody in the eastbound outside lane and made his turn south on Mountain View. No harm, no foul. After all, he’s helping the economy, certainly the most important crisis we’re facing this summer, right? Unfortunately for this biker’s family, he may not survive the rally if he drives like that on a regular basis.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 9
Former First Lady Michelle Obama in her podcast a couple days ago told how she has been dealing with a form of low-grade depression this year. Comments from people on the right, as one would expect, laid into her immediately, wondering aloud how a person with a comfortable lifestyle, fame and fortune, and a summer home on Martha’s Vineyard could be depressed about anything. In my opinion, these days how can a thinking person not be distressed! Mrs. Obama discussed such things as the COVID-19 pandemic that has swept the nation, the deaths that prompted the Black Lives Matter movement, the crucial importance of the upcoming election and the stress over the opening of schools. Several times recently I have awakened in the dark of night, thought about these things and found myself unable to get back to sleep. I saw a Facebook post where Steve Carell, the actor who played boss Michael Scott in the “The Office” TV series, said, “I didn’t get much sleep, but I did get a few hours of anxiety in.” At my age I have the comfort, if you can call it that, of knowing I won’t live long enough to be around to experience the repercussions of all of these crises, but my kids will, and my grandchildren certainly will. Those going about their business as if nothing is going on, caring only about themselves and their “freedoms,” not only anger me but scare me. Those who post that the whole pandemic thing will be over the day after the election anger me. The medical authority who predicts that this may be the darkest winter the United States has seen for years scares me. But you go ahead, get the gang together and go to your beach party and your fair and your rodeo. Or as one local redneck said on Facebook today, “It’s a free country. Go where you want.” No reason to be stressed around here!
MONDAY, AUGUST 10
The NFL season is supposed to begin one month from tonight on Thursday, Sept. 10, when Houston goes to Kansas City and, if we keep watching, we will have to endure seeing the Chiefs raise their Super Bowl flag. But I’ll just go to the kitchen while they’re showing that and the Chiefs fans are doing their tomahawk chop. But back to the subject of NFL football. With the college season pretty much gone till spring or next fall, we can expect the NFL to gobble up Saturday television time—NFL in the afternoon, NFL in the evening. So besides Monday nights, Thursday nights, Sunday afternoons and Sunday nights, we may have the NFL two or three times on Saturdays, unless the good old boys in the South persist and have their college seasons. Just wait till an NFL team has to postpone a game because it is swamped with positive COVID-19 tests! That will surely be the end of civilization as we know it.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 11
Maybe there is a ray of hope that there is light at the end of that proverbial tunnel in this country. This was the afternoon when former Vice President Biden made it known that his running mate this fall will be Sen. Kamala Harris of California, a force with whom to be reckoned. Her debate with Vice President Pence on Oct. 7 will be must-see TV. The announcement of Harris’ selection came in the same week I read most of a disturbing article by Canadian scholar and anthropologist Wade Davis of the University of British Columbia. His article in Rolling Stone says that “in a dark season of pestilence, COVID has reduced to tatters the illusion of American exceptionalism.” Are we no longer the greatest nation in the world as the right-wing flag-wavers still claim? Davis states that in “every prosperous and successful democracy in the world” except this one, such things as universal health care, equal access to quality public education, a social safety net for the weak, elderly and infirmed are considered fundamental rights, but in the United States, he says, they are dismissed as “socialist indulgences” and “signs of weakness.” Here “no one owes anything to anyone” and “all must be prepared to fight for everything—education, shelter, food, medical care,” Davis says. He writes that “America has had its time” and that this country now has directed toward it one emotion that has never been directed toward the USA by the rest of the world until now, and that is pity. If you are interested, hopefully you can access Davis’ full article entitled “The Unraveling of America.” It appears to me that making America great again is still the goal, and the election that is just around the corner may be the last chance to turn the tide, even if it does come in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and in a world where politics takes precedence over saving a dying planet.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 12
“‘Twas the night before college . . . . .” So the Knoxes who are in Rapid City got together last evening for burgers and brats at the Perlis’ back yard as a goodbye to the oldest of the six grandchildren. Olivia Perli left for USD early this morning, 18 years and four months after I opened my inbox, saw an e-mail from Holly’s sister and learned that I was a grandfather for the first time. I couldn’t sleep after 3 a.m. this morning for some reason, so I got up to make it to the new donut shop by the time they opened at 5:30, then met Olivia and Holly at their front door with fresh donuts for their drive to Vermillion and left another half-dozen box for Nathan and Audrey for when they left a couple hours later in their other car. This all brought to mind a morning 23 years ago this month. I had driven Holly down to Kearney where her mom was working at the time. That morning I turned left for home, and Holly and her mom turned right toward Lincoln where Holly would spend her first semester. I still remember seeing her (well, at least the car) disappear in my rear-view mirror. This morning the same thing happened when, as I headed back across town after the donut delivery, Holly and Olivia and their car turned off into Starbuck’s, and I saw them through my rear-view mirror. Through the day today it was fun to see photos of their errands around the USD campus—picking up textbooks ordered earlier, securing a university ID, posing in front of Legacy outside the MUC. On Thursday she joins the masses in moving into her dorm—one room away from where her mom lived in the same building as a freshman 22 years ago after she had transferred up from UNL. On Friday her parents and sister leave Vermillion for home, and Olivia stays there. I suspect some tears will flow. It’s going to be a fun year, even if most of us in the family go back to college vicariously from the other side of the state.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWER
A G A R
H O M E
A D E N
B E N D
Thanks for remembering Carroll Hardy, Parker. Hardy played outfield for the Pierre Cowboys in the Basin League’s inaugural season of 1953. That was after his sophomore year at Colorado. The Mitchell newspaper named him to its Basin League all-star team. Other notables on the ’53 Cowboys included hometown infielder Sox Walseth, later the basketball coach at Colorado, and catcher Milt Welch, who had a men’s clothing store in Pierre after a brief stint with the Detroit Tigers in the 1940s. I don’t know if Hardy had any later Basin League appearances, but Sturgis didn’t enter the league until 1961. Hardy was drafted in both baseball and football in 1955 and turned pro with the Cleveland Indians and San Francisco 49er organizations.