THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Pursue what catches your heart, not what catches your eyes.
— Roy T. Bennett

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Three-class basketball shootout: The annual event at Salem this Saturday will include Governor senior Caytee Williams playing on the Class “AA” girls team. The “AA” and “A” girls play at 2 p.m., and that winner plays the “B” girls at 3:30. The “AA”-“A” boys game starts at 5:15, and after the dunk contest, the winner of that game plays the “B” boys at 7 p.m.

This week’s schedules:
— TUESDAY
* Track/field: ESD Conference indoor meet at Aberdeen, noon.

Track/field: Pierre had six event winners at Aberdeen Tuesday in the first meet of the spring season. In girls’ events Jessica Lutmer won the 1600-meter run in 5:49 and the 3200 in 12:55, and Addison Cumbow won the 200 in :29.5. In boys’ field events Jack Merkwan won the 55-meter hurdles in :08.49, Lincoln Kienholz the high jump at 1.83 meters (6.0 feet) and Canyon Jones the pole vault at 3.36 meters (11.3 feet).

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

All-conference basketball: Five SCHS athletes earned all-conference honors in the Big Dakota Conference. Mattie Duffy was named to the girls basketball all-conference team with Jordyn Sosa on the honorable mention list. In boys basketball Cormac Duffy, Nathan Cook and Lathan Prince were named to the all-BDC team.

COUNTDOWN

3 days: Palm Sunday (March 28).
7 days: Twins season opener, Milwaukee (April 1).
8 days: NCAA Div. I women’s basketball Final Four, San Antonio (April 2, 4).
8 days: Pierre high school baseball openers, Rapid City April 2-3).
9 days: NCAA Div. I men’s basketball Final Four, Indianapolis (April 3, 5).
10 days: Easter (April 4).
10 days: Screen Actors Guild awards, TBS (April 4).
14 days: The Masters golf tournament, Augusta, Ga., CBS (April 8-11).
14 days: NCAA Div. I men’s hockey Frozen Four, Pittsburgh (April 8, 10).
19 days: Fort Pierre city election (April 13).
22 days: Minnesota United FC season opener (April 16).
26 days: All-State Orchestra concert, Sioux Falls (April 20).
31 days: The Oscars, ABC (April 25).
36 days: Pierre Players’ “Radium Girls” (April 30-May 2, May 6-8).

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): The Coyotes’ stay at the NCAA Tournament in San Antonio was short-lived. They trailed Oregon 13-4 at the start of the game and after going 3-of-11 in field goals in the first quarter were down 25-8. In the second quarter the only point by USD was a free throw with four seconds left in the half, and Oregon had a 34-9 lead. The field-goal shooting in that quarter was 0-for-21. Things improved in the second half, but it was far too late in a 67-47 loss. USD finished with a 26% shooting percentage while Oregon shot 60%. Chloe was 2-of-12 (1-of-6 in threes) and 1-of-3 for six points with no rebounds, one assist and two steals. Hannah Sjerven with 18 and Liv Korngable with 15 scored 33 of USD’s 47 points. The season ends with a 19-6 record with all of the losses to NCAA Tournament teams.

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): Chloe has moved into 10th place in the all-time USD scoring list with 1,331 career points.

Iowa Western Community College baseball (Peyton Zabel): In the first of four games vs. Ellsworth Community College, Peyton pitched five innings, allowing five hits, two earned runs and four walks while striking out 10. Iowa Western won 9-3 in seven innings, and Peyton got the pitching win for a 3-0 record so far this spring. He faced 22 batters, throwing 85 strikes and 54 balls. Iowa Western won the remaining three games of the series by 11-3, 11-1 in six innings and 12-1 in five innings for a 13-4 record. After two games in Norfolk against Northeast Nebraska CC yesterday, the Reivers are home for four Saturday and Sunday vs. Kirkwood CC (Mo.).

Rochester Community and Technical College baseball (Cade Hinkle): Cade continues to be starting catcher for RCTC even though he is a freshman. The team split four games vs. Rainy River CC. In a 5-4 win Cade was 0-for-1 but walked three times. He worked two more walks while going 0-for-2 in a 5-3 win. He was designated hitter, then catcher in a 7-6 loss in which he was 0-for-5 at the plate. He went 0-for-3 in a 5-4 loss. Now 5-2-1, RCTC plays four Saturday and Sunday vs. Central Lakes College of Brainerd.

South Dakota State baseball (Landon Badger, Garrett Stout): The Jackrabbits opened Summit League play winning one of four games vs. Omaha. In a 6-1 loss center-fielder Landon was 0-for-3 and walked once while Garrett as a pinchhitter and second-baseman was 0-for-1. In a 7-1 defeat Garrett was 0-for-2 but drove home a run with a sacrifice fly, and second-baseman Garrett was 0-for-1, walking once. SDSU won the third game, 7-6, and Landon had a double while going 1-for-5, and Garrett, playing third base and second base, was 0-for-5. In a 7-1 loss Landon was 0-for-4 and Garrett, playing those two infield positions again, was 0-for-2. Now 6-10 overall, SDSU is scheduled for four league games Friday through Sunday at Western Illinois.

South Dakota women’s soccer (Joana Zanin, Janaina Zanin, Emily Mikkelsen): The Coyotes lost to SDSU, 4-0, then tied the other game of the weekend, 1-1. Now 3-6-1, USD is scheduled Friday and Sunday at home vs. Oral Roberts.

South Dakota Mines track-field (Erick Colman, Theron Singleton): The outdoor season opens at Spearfish with the BHSU Yellowjacket Spring Open.

Northern State baseball (Spencer Sarringar): The Wolves are 2-5 overall, 1-2 in the NSIC, in the first few weeks of the season. They continue league play this weekend with a Saturday doubleheader and a Sunday single game at Concordia-St. Paul. Spencer, the starting catcher for NSU, was 1-for-3 and slugged a three-run home run for a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning of the season opener, but NSU lost to Mount Marty, 9-3. In a 4-0 win there he was 2-for-3, walking once, stealing a base and scoring twice. Northern lost a pair to Minnesota-Duluth. 4-0 and 6-0. Spencer was 0-for-2 with a walk in the first game and 1-for-4 in the other contest. Last weekend NSIC play began, and the Wolves beat Wayne State, 8-5, then lost 10-6 and 8-2. In the win Spencer was 1-for-4, driving in a run on an infield ground-out. He hit a three-run triple, scored twice and went 2-for-5 at the plate in the first loss and was 1-for-4 in the nightcap, driving in a run with a first-inning single.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): The Bison scored 50 seconds into the game and rolled to a 34-13 win over previously undefeated UND. Grey got his first collegiate starting spot at right guard for NDSU. Now 4-1 and tied for first in the Missouri Valley, NDSU appears set for another blowout win at USD this Saturday. The game will be at 1 p.m. on Midco Sports Network.

Augustana track-field (Elizabeth Schaefer): The Vikings’ outdoor season will open at the Dordt invitational in Sioux Center, Iowa, next Thursday.

Black Hills State track-field (Frank Becker, Kelsey Van Den Hemel): The Yellowjackets open the outdoor season at home with the Spring Open Friday and Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan baseball (Bradley Dean): DWU lost both ends of a twinbill vs. Dordt College, 5-2 in eight innings and 10-6. Bradley played right field in the latter game, going 1-for-3. That one hit was a two-run home run in the fourth that, at the time, gave the Tigers a 3-1 lead. In a doubleheader vs. Briar Cliff, DWU lost the 5-3 opener, and Bradley was 0-for-3 as the designated hitter. In the nightcap, a 4-3 DWU loss, Brad drove in a run with a first-inning single. Tuesday’s pair against Mayville State was canceled. Now 5-9 overall and 0-4 in the GPAC, the Tigers play two at Morningside Saturday and two vs. Midland at home Sunday.

South Dakota State track/field (Addy Eisenbeisz): The Jackrabbits’ outdoor season opens this Friday and Saturday at the Oral Roberts invitational in Tulsa.

Tennessee women’s basketball (Caleb Currier): Caleb’s second year as a graduate manager of the Lady Vols team, after three earlier undergraduate years as a student manager, ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in San Antonio Tuesday. Tennessee lost to Michigan, 70-55, after winning its first-round game over Middle Tennessee State, 87-62, Sunday. The team’s final record was 17-8. Caleb, a graduate of Sully Buttes High School, is working on his master’s in recreation and sports management.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“You’re not to be so blind with patriotism that you can’t face reality. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it.”
— Malcolm X

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: almond.
Friday-Sunday: strawberry butter.
Monday-Tuesday: lemon.
Wednesday-Thursday: coconut.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

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

Clues:
— ACROSS
(1) Situation in which positives and negatives offset.
(5) Deceased comic author Bombeck.
(6) Affirmative exclamation.
(7) Whiskeys.
— DOWN
(1) To destroy by friction.
(2) Black Knights of the Hudson are their team.
(3) School district at Wakpala.
(4) — Christian Andersen, fairy tale author.

Puzzle answer at the bottom of this Update.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Division I men’s hockey: If college hockey is your thing, this is a great time of the year. The NCAA announced its selections for the tournament, including conference champions and at-large teams. There are four teams in each of four regions, and the four regional champions advance to the Frozen Four in Pittsburgh two weekends from now. North Dakota is the overall #1 seed. For the first time all five Div. I men’s hockey teams in the state of Minnesota are in the field.
— Grand Forks regional: UND vs. American International; Minnesota-Duluth vs. Michigan. Championship game Saturday at 5:30 CDT on ESPNU.
— Bridgeport, Conn., regional: Wisconsin vs. Bemidji State; UMass vs. Lake Superior State.
— Loveland, Colo., regional: Minnesota vs. Omaha (Saturday at 8 p.m. CDT on ESPNU); Minnesota State-Mankato vs. Quinnipiac. Championship game Sunday at 7 p.m. CDT on ESPN2)
— Albany regional: Boston College vs. Notre Dame; St. Cloud State vs. Boston University.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd lost all three games this week—4-3 and 7-4 to Tri-City and 7-3 to Omaha. Sioux Falls is home Friday vs. Sioux City and Saturday vs. Fargo, then plays at Sioux City next Wednesday.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush lost to Utah in a 5-4 shootout, then beat Utah 7-0. After a 5-2 win at Allen, Texas, last night, the Rush plays there Friday and Saturday.

Aberdeen Wings: It is news when the Wings lose, and they lost a 2-1 game to Minot last Wednesday, but then they beat Minot 6-1 and 4-3. Now 35-2-0-1, Aberdeen plays in Cloquet against Minnesota Wilderness Friday and Saturday.

Minnesota Wild: After 5-1 and 6-0 losses at Colorado, the Wild returned to the safety of home and beat Anaheim, 2-1 and 3-2. The Wild has now won 10 straight home games, a franchise record. There’s another home game tonight (Thursday) vs. St. Louis, then Minnesota plays at San Jose Monday and Wednesday.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The Champions Tour is off until April 16-18 at the Chubb Classic in Naples, Fla.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Boys state championship games:
* AA: Sioux Falls Roosevelt 60, Sioux Falls O’Gorman 37.
* A: Sioux Falls Christian 84, Sioux Valley 50.
* B: De Smet 59, Aberdeen Christian 43.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves split with Phoenix, winning 123-119 and losing 113-101; lost to Oklahoma City, 112-103, and lost to Dallas last night, 128-108. Minnesota is home vs. Houston Friday and Saturday, plays at Brooklyn Monday and is home vs. New York next Wednesday.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons’ first two of four preseason games will be in Orlando Saturday vs. Charleston and next Wednesday vs. Columbus.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre Trappers: Added to the 2021 roster this week is outfielder Eric Mast from Big Bend Community College in Washington state. His hometown is Spokane, Wash.

Pierre high school baseball schedule (all doubleheaders unless otherwise noted):
April 2: at Rapid City Stevens, 5 p.m.
April 3: at Rapid City Central, 1 p.m.
April 9: at Mitchell, 5 p.m.
April 17: at Harrisburg, 2 p.m.
April 20: at Huron, 5 p.m.
April 23: home vs. Brookings, 5 p.m.
April 25: home vs. Douglas, 11 a.m.
April 30: at Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 6 p.m.
May 1: Yankton (at Sioux Falls), 5 p.m. (single game)
May 1: at Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 7 p.m. (single game)
May 5: home vs. Rapid City Central, 5 p.m.
May 8: home vs. Brandon Valley, 1 p.m.
May 9: home vs. Sturgis, 1 p.m.
May 14: home vs. Sioux Falls Washington, 5 p.m.
May 15: home vs. Sioux Falls Lincoln, 1 p.m.
May 22: regional tournament.
May 29: state tournament at Sioux Falls.

Minnesota Twins this week:
— L Atlanta 4-2
— W Tampa Bay 2-1
— W Baltimore 12-7
— W Atlanta 4-2
— L Pittsburgh 1-0
— L Tampa Bay 7-6

Minnesota Twins schedule:
— Thursday: at Boston, 5:05 p.m.
— Friday: Atlanta, 5:05 p.m. (FSN+)
— Saturday: Tampa Bay, 12:05 p.m. (FSN)
— Sunday: at Boston, 12:05 p.m. (MLB Network)
— Monday: at Pittsburgh, 12:05 p.m.
— Tuesday: Pittsburgh, 11:05 a.m.
— Thursday, April 1: Regular-season opener at Milwaukee, 1:10 p.m. (FSN)

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Northern football: NSU announced its new Dacotah Bank Stadium will be ready for this fall’s season. The stadium will open with a Sept. 11 home game vs. Southwest Minnesota State. The Gypsy Day game will be on Oct. 2.

Missouri Valley Football Conference standings: NDSU 4-1, SDSU 4-1, UND 4-1, Missouri State 3-1, Southern Illinois 3-2, Northern Iowa 2-3, USD 1-3, Youngstown State 1-4, Western Illinois 0-4. (Note: Illinois State, which is 1-3, ended its spring season this week, and remaining games on its schedule will be declared ‘no contest.’) Games this Saturday: UND at Youngstown State, NDSU at USD (1 p.m. Midco Sports Network), Southern Illinois at Missouri State, Northern Iowa at Western Illinois, SDSU idle.

HOW WELL WE KNOW!

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedy.”
— Ernest Benn

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Remember that next Thursday, April 1, is the day to help Molly Weisgram Maxwell reach her goal of 100 individual purchasers of her new book, “The Other Side of Us—A Memoir of Trauma, Truth and Transformation.” If the 100 figure is reached, Molly’s book will be categorized as an Amazon best-seller, which will help people find it when browsing on Amazon in the future. Molly will share the link with which we can buy our books that day on her Facebook page that morning.
• It is interesting that Oral Roberts’ regional semifinal opponent in the NCAA men’s tournament, Arkansas, is less than two hours away from ORU’s Tulsa campus. That’s closer than all of ORU’s own Summit League opponents’ campuses.
• Twenty-one of the last 22 men’s national champions have come from the Eastern Time Zone. The lone exception was Kansas in 2008. Of the 16 remaining teams, only four reside in the Eastern Time Zone (Syracuse, Michigan, Florida State, Villanova).
• Saturday’s four regional semifinal games in the men’s tournament (these times are CDT): Loyola-Oregon State, 1:40, and Baylor-Villanova, 4:15, on CBS; Arkansas-Oral Roberts, 6:25, and Houston-Syracuse, 8:55, on TBS. Sunday’s four games: Gonzaga-Creighton, 1:10, and Michigan-Florida State, 4:00, on CBS; Alabama-UCLA, 6:15, and USC-Oregon, 8:45, on TBS. Go get ’em, Zags!
• Black Hills Community Theatre is close to resuming in-person live events, but in the meantime BHCT this weekend is streaming online “These Shining Lives.” This staged reading tells the true story of four women who discover the source of their recent sickness is radioactive paint used at their workplace and decide to seek retribution in the form of a class-action lawsuit against their employer. Tickets are available on a pay-as-you-want basis. For details: https://bhct.org/play-reading-series-these-shining-lives/
• Christmas is nine months from today! And all-day Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel are only seven months away! Christmas displays in the big-box scores are only five months away! And to think I don’t have last year’s Christmas letter done yet.
• The Oregon team that beat the USD women on Monday night knocked off higher-seed Georgia in their second-round game yesterday, so Oregon is into the Sweet 16. Their next task is a #2 seed, Georgia, on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Syracuse team that beat SDSU had the misfortune of matching up against #1 UConn, so they had no chance there to continue beyond that game.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, March 25:
Kinley Rumpca, Evelyn Bowers, Allison Mickelson, Jude Steece, Janelle Toman, Angie Gross, Adriana Uecker, Jamie Dvorak.

Friday, March 26:
Connie Colwill, Craig Rilling, Nadia Rasmussen, Roger Easland, Tyler Nold, Elissa Rislov, Mollie Holden, Audra (Meyer) Cardwell, Bonnie Korkow, Chad Eschmeyer, Corey Ramsey, Terah Bollinger, Jason Monroe, Chas Olson, Pat Adams, Dalton Decker.
— 60th anniversary, Ray/Clarice Blumer.

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

Sunday, March 28:
Allen Uecker, Christopher Roberts, Carol McKee, David Forney, Eileen Herrin, Larry Lundeen, Susan Flottmeyer, Sarah (Winter) Sonnenschein, Angela (DiBeneditto) Smith, Kathy (Adam) Bykowski, Janelle (Kvislen) Carda.

Monday, March 29:
Derek Gustafson, Jace Jerome, Nancee Johnson, Peggy (Marshall) Engstrom, Michael Bumann, Aaron Bumann, Sydney Hackett, Joseph Kean, Graden Barnes, Connor Barnes.
— 7th anniversary, Clay/Katelynn (Lamb) Pottorff.

Tuesday, March 30:
Jack Magee, Grey Zabel, Nathan Mikkelsen, Nicole (Mikkelsen) Schwinler, Emily (Goeden) Decker, Eric Harris, Patrick Snyder, Mary Hove, Lindsey (Brown) Osterkamp, Liz Stewart, Doug Smith, Abel Haas, Patty Williams.
— Anniversary, Craig/Charlene Keller.

Wednesday, March 31:
Gable Uhrig, Chad Gusso, Jenny (Ness) Hofer, Annie (Fuller) BonneCarrere, Jennifer Merkwan, Brandon Heckenlaible, Brady Goff, Mia Ellefson, Linda Brooks.
— 4th anniversary, Scott/Katrina (Reimnitz) Hesla.

Thursday, April 1:
Justin Gilmore, Shelley (Marone) Locken, Bronson Blow, John Knox, Steve Maciejewski, Mildred Adams, Meghann (O’Day) Kjolsrud, Lindsey (Suedkamp) Griffith, Justine Berven, Andrew Murphy, Reagan Haefner, Steve Wegman, Leon Blumhardt, Theodora Boolin, Paul Williams, Caden Blair.
— We fondly remember Tate Senftner on his birthday.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

A celebration of the life of Josephine (Robinson) Venner will be held at a later date. She passed away March 20 at the age of 90. The daughter of Gain H. and Molly (Hinesh) Robinson grew up on the Peoria bottoms northwest of Pierre. She graduated from Pierre High School in 1948 and that summer earned a teaching certificate at Black Hills State Teachers College. She married Eugene Venner in December 1949. They made their home in the Agar area until moving in 1958 to Hughes County land homesteaded by her grandfather, Cyrus Robinson. The Venners raised their three sons there. Jo is survived by her sons, Mark Venner and his wife Denise on the farm north of Pierre, Bruce Venner and his wife Lori of Rapid City, and Ivan Venner and his wife Colleen of Hot Springs; 15 grandchildren, 12 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandson. Among those who preceded her in death were her husband, her brother Gain, her sister Helen Tuveson, her parents and a great-grandson, Aiden Venner.

Jim Patten in April will begin a new job with AXA Health and Life Insurance as a Windows service specialist. Jim lives in Narashino, Japan, with his wife, Misato, and their children. He has been a vice president with Nomura Securities Company.

Onida natives Brent and Misti (Currier) Baumberger are back home in Colorado Springs after 11 days in San Francisco. Brent underwent seven-hour surgery for a brain tumor there. He is resting at home now, awaiting more radiation and chemotherapy.

Mary (O’Donnell) Mathews, 80, who graduated from Pierre High School in 1959, died March 22 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. Visitation will be from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friday at the Draper auditorium with Mass of Christian Burial beginning there at 10:30. Mary attended rural school at DeGrey before coming into Pierre for high school. She and her husband, Fred Mathews, made their home on their ranch near Draper. Survivors include her husband; two sons, Mark Mathews and his wife Shelly and Bruce Mathews and his wife Anita; a daughter, Monica Mathews; four grandchildren; two great-grandchildren, and a sister, Kathy McNulty and her husband Don.

Rachel Propst, who will graduate from the SDSU pharmacy school in May with her degree in pharmacy, will be completing a hospital pharmacy residency at St. Cloud Hospital in St. Cloud, Minn., beginning this summer.

Mary Ann Godfrey died March 14 at the age of 67. Visitation was held Wednesday at Isburg Funeral Chapel with burial at Holy Name Episcopal Cemetery at Fort George. Mary Ann attended grade school at St. Charles, S.D., and high school at Kemper Hall, an Episcopal girls school in Kenosha, Wis. She attended USD where she met Patrick Spears. They married and had nine children together. Mary Ann worked at the Indian Health Service clinic at Lower Brule, then the finance department of the IHS clinic at Fort Thompson. She transferred to the IHS Great Plains Area office in Aberdeen. She was working at the IHS Area Office in Billings, Mont., at the time of her death. She is survived by six sisters, Rita Brokenleg Cheri McBride, Carrie Butler, Dana Irvin-Young, Doreen Irvin and Darlene Irvin-Stordall; two brothers, Dennis Irvin and Dusty Irvin; seven of her children, Lesley Spears, Michael Spears, Ryan Spears, Matthew Spears, Clay Spears, Edward Spears, and Patrick Spears, and many grandchildren. Among those who preceded her in death were two sons, Shawn and Patrick Spears; her husband, Patrick Spears, and a brother, Donald Irvin.

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader announced the nominees for its top award in girls wrestling among the awards in every sport that will be presented this summer by celebrity athletic personalities. One of the 12 wrestling honorees is Pierre sophomore Marlee Shorter.

Ray and Clarice Blumer will observe their 60th wedding anniversary this Friday, March 26. Their children are Roxanne Rice and her husband Dan of Pierre, Matt Blumer and his wife Erika of Pierre, and Natalie Lind and her husband Scott of Blunt, and they have nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Todd Mahoney, 54, died March 20. Visitation will be from noon to 7 p.m. today (Thursday) at Feigum Funeral Home with the family present there from 5 to 7 p.m. The funeral will be at 2 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church. He graduated from high school at Parker, S.D., in 1984 and studied electronics at Southeast Technical Institute. He served in the Army National Guard from 1983 to 1998. Todd worked for the Bureau of Information and Telecommunications. He married Michelle Jensen in 1995, and they had two children. He is survived by his wife, Michelle; his children, Soren and Lily; his mother, Mary Mahoney, and his siblings, Kevin Mahoney, Lee Mahoney and Korena Chester.

The SDHSAA state visual arts competition’s awards were announced during the annual show, which was on display in Sioux Falls during the boys Class “A” basketball tournament. In the multimedia/graphic design division, Jack Ferris of Riggs High School was runner-up. The overall team champion awards were won by Brookings in Class AA, Parker in Class A and Mount Vernon in Class B. The team runners-up were Sioux Falls Roosevelt in AA, Tri-Valley inA and Northwestern in B.

Beatrice (Tree Top) Noisy Hawk, 87, who grew up in Pierre, died March 19 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. Her funeral was Wednesday at Trinity Episcopalk Church. Beatrice earned her LPN degree at St. Mary’s HOspital. He worked as a nurse and as a Lakota interpreter for South Dakota Tie-Line. She married Everett Noisy Hawk in 1962,. Survivors include five children, Bible Whipple, Michael Whipple, Catherine Whipple, Jerry Whipple and Everett Noisy Hawk Jr.; seven grandchildren; three great-grandchildren, and four siblings, Michael Tree Top Jr., Rosie Tree Top, Debra End of Horn and Lois Tree Top.

Abby Lingle will graduate from SDSU with her pharmacy degree on May 8. She has been matched with Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City where she will begin a pharmacy residency in July.

As of July 1, Father Tom Anderson, while remaining as pastor of St. Benedict Parish in Yankton, will also become pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Yankton. Although sharing one pastor, the two parishes will remain separate as they are now. To assist Father Tom in his responsibilities over two churches and a school, two priests will be assigned under him.

Jerald “Weldon” Stephens, 79, died March 21 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. Visitation will be from 9 to 10 a.m. Saturday at Feigum Funeral Home, followed by his funeral service there at 10. Burial will take place at the Onida cemetery. The son of Charlie and Lillian Stephens was born in Texas and moved with his family to the Onida area in 1949. Weldon attended rural school and graduated from Onida High School in 1960. At OHS he was an all-around athlete, lettering in football, basketball and track for four years. After earning his education and coaching degree at Northern State College, he taught and coached at New Effington, returning to Northern to get his master’s in education administration. He married Carol Streich of New Effington and adopted her son, Theron. They had another son, Travis. Weldon was principal at Grant-Deuel High School for a year, then principal at Akeley, Minn., for 11 years. He went into private business, then moved to Texas to work in private business and real estate. He returned to Onida in 1993, buying the family farm and the Mosiman Hotel. He operated the hotel as Wheatland Inn until Theron took it over in 2018. Weldon is survived by his brothers, Charlie Stephens and his wife Sandy and Dennis Stephens; his sisters, Cheryl Savell and her husband Lee and Dena Johnston and her husband John; his sons, Theron Stephens and his wife Kelli and Travis Stephens and his wife Sheila; three grandchildren, a step-grandson and three great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Judy Stephens.

Blake Berger of the choir was named Fine Arts Performer of the Week by the Fine Arts Booster Club at Riggs High School.

The daughters of Mike and Mary Thorson and their families are encouraging friends and relatives to shower their parents with cards on the occasion of their golden wedding anniversary, which will be April 17. The Thorsons’ address is 20008 Grey Goose Road, Pierre SD 57501. Their daughters are Shelly Fuller, Jackie Richey and Jen Nedrebo.

Muriel Smit, 69, who worked for 27 years as a custodian in the Pierre School District, died March 17 at Sanford Medical Center in Sioux Falls. Visitation will be from 5 to 6 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at the Isburg Funeral Chapel with the funeral service there at 6. Interment will be at Hills of Rest Cemetery in Sioux Falls. Muriel grew up in Sioux Falls and graduated from Mitchell Tech in 1975. She is survived by her daughter, Tammi Johnson and her husband Bierne of Pierre; her grandchildren, Kevin Hughes and Kayla Bonrud of Pierre and Talia Johnson of Brookings; her adopted son, Justin Barry of Pierre, and two great-grandsons.

Through yesterday’s Department of Health report, the COVID-19 death toll in South Dakota has reached 1,924. There are 2,350 active cases in the state, the most since Feb. 6, with 72 hospitalizations. Yesterday’s report showed 270 new cases. The DOH said 38% of the state’s population has received one vaccination while 24% has completed both doses.

Ryan Kelley is now engaged to Melanie Hofferber. Both are respiratory therapists, he at Denver Health Medical Center and she at Good Samaritan Medical Center. Melanie is a Texas native.

Elwyn Birdsall, 56, Onida, died at home March 22 after a short cancer battle. Visitation will be from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Onida, followed by a prayer service there at 7:30. The funeral will be at the church at 2 p.m. Saturday. Elwyn was born in 1964 to Harold “Buck” and Nada (Schultz) Birdsall. He lived his entire life in Onida, playing football and wrestling at Sully Buttes High School. He and Maradee Eliason were married in 1986. He loved farming but also worked at K&K Implement, Sheehan’s, Onida Feeders and Harvest States Cooperative. The Birdsalls established DTS Spraying/Probing Company in 2005. He is survived by his wife, Maradee; his daughter, Danielle Rausch and her husband Kyle; two grandchildren; his sister, Pam Monroe, and his in-laws, Floyd and Margaret Eliason. He was preceded in death by his parents and a son, Alex.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWER

W A S H
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