THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Tough times don’t last. Tough people do. Everybody wants to be a diamond, but the more it is cut, the brighter it sparkles. Remember diamonds are created under pressure from coal.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, April 22:
Bonnie Bauder, Tim Schmidt, Lindsey (Jungwirth) Costello, Bob Burke, Sandra Hepper, Mark Livermont.
— 15th anniversary, Todd/DeNeil (Hosman) Taylor.
— Anniversary, Mike/Jean Rounds.

Friday, April 23:
Preston Mohlman, Scott Carbonneau, Tara Jo St. Germaine, Karen Hofer, Teva Snodgrass, Grady Gilmore, Shirley Bonhorst, Heather Sperry, Gracie (Lindbloom) Curtis, Dusty Paulsen.
— 10th anniversary, Brian/Sarah Custer.

Saturday, April 24:
Phil Leidholt, Dave Lingle, Karissa Guthrie, Terry Larsen, Sean Devine, Damian Dieken, Autumn Bryant, Briggs Goehring.
— 11th anniversary, Joel/Kelly (Johnson) Metz.
— 9th anniversary, Dustin/Kayla (Gallimore) Witt.
— 39th anniversary, Jack/Jill Aadland.

Sunday, April 25:
Evan Jarvis, Amanda Olson, Betty Jones, Cameron Sass, Stephanie (Magedanz) Bartsch, Lola Hollingsworth, Helen Jane Paxton, Greg Lakner, Peggy Hofmeister, Jodie (Hickman) Anderson.
— 12th anniversary, Chase/Joanie (Flottmeyer) Blair.
— 12th anniversary, Justin/Holly Artz.
— 8th anniversary, Trevor/Jackie Fisher.
— 35th anniversary, Bob/Laurie Gill.

Monday, April 26:
John Bradley, Nathan Ellenbecker, Susan (Van Camp) Wendelbo, Matt Mitchell, Julie Miller, John Wellhouse, Beth Simon, Jean Easland, Penn Williams, Ellis Mangan, Jane Candler, Sheryl Nielsen, Susie (Gloe) Hanson, Sarah Gloe, Brian Chicoine, Rebekah (Hartmann) Hlavacek.
— 7th anniversary, Tyler/Nikki (Koenig) Sullivan.
— 7th anniversary, Will John/Kylee (Lamb) Johnson.
— 18th anniversary, David/Ann (Beemer) Candler.
— 7th anniversary, Andrew/Ashley Tople.
— 18th anniversary, Dennis/Jackie (Thorson) Richey.

Tuesday, April 27:
Allyson (Friez) Kreycik, Cora Bertsch, Mike Leidholt, Mona Oehlerking, Mary Potter, Carol (Ebert) Newcomb, Lavin Stoeser, Leo Sengos, Morgan Lindekugel, Lacey Hepker, Melinda Christiansen, Matt Blake, Sarah Olson, Isaac Denke, Daulton Mercer, Gene Weischedel.
— 19th anniversary, Forrest/Susan (McNeely) Foster.

Wednesday, April 28:
Allen Goodman, Ada Mae Stofferahn, Casey Ahlers, Aaron Mentele, Lane Severyn, Gabriel Yost, Steph Paluch, Ryker Custer, Henry Hansen, Boyer Mikkelsen, Barron Kafka, Eric Tilberg, Benjamin Lechtenberg, Brittney (Witte) Hunsley.
— 14th anniversary, Matt/Carly Heard.
— 9th anniversary, William/Lynnette Coolidge.
— 20th anniversary, Mike/Erika (Snow) Andreas.
— 3rd anniversary, Connor/Amanda McKittrick.
— 3rd anniversary, Josh/Kelsie (Brandlee) Williams.
— 3rd anniversary, Chris/Morgan Pope.

Thursday, April 29:
Joey Boyer, Ryan Kelley, Brian Rausch, Josiah Severson, Brittany Rausch, Morrigan Cardwell, Cindy (Bourk) Bowden, Hollis Eschmeyer, Jeremy Jorgenson, Terri Johnson, Blake Rose.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls golf: at Rapid City Stevens, 10 a.m.
Track-field: at Sully Buttes invitational, Onida, 1 p.m.
Boys tennis: at Brookings triangular (with Milbank), 10 a.m.
— FRIDAY
Track-field: home for Pierre Legion Relays, 11:30 a.m.
Baseball: home vs. Brookings, 5 and 7 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Girls golf: home for Pierre invitational, 10 a.m.
Boys tennis: home triangular (with Huron and Spearfish), 11 a.m.

Boys tennis: The Governors lost a 7-2 dual to Aberdeen Central. The two Pierre team points were earned by Matt Hanson and Luke Leingang in their singles matches.

Boys track-field: At the Corn Palace Relays in Mitchell the Governors’ weight men earned several places—in the shot put Houston Lunde second, Blake Wagner fourth and Jacob Larson fifth and in the discus Wagner second and Lunde fifth. Spencer Skjonsberg tied for fifth in the high jump. On the track Tucker Putzier was third and Caden Thompson fifth in the 200. Josh Strand fifth in the 400 and Hayden Shaffer fifth in the 3200. Pierre relay teams placed second in the 4×100 and 4×800 races and third in the 4×200 and 4×400 events.

Girls track-field: Maya Shorter brought Pierre a first-place medal in the shot put at the Corn Palace Relays with a heave of 33’3″. In that event Reese Terwilliger was third and Hannah Lemieux sixth. In other field events Marissa Mathews placed second in the pole vault, Olivia Swenson second in the discus, Remi Price second and Aleise Christopherson sixth in the triple jump and Price third and Christopherson sixth in the long jump. On the track Isabella Jacklkey was third in the 100, Autumn Iverson sixth in the 800, Jessica Lutmer second and Iverson sixth in the 1600 and Lutmer third in the 3200. Danielle Beck was fifth in the 100-meter hurdles and second in the 300 hurdles while Kenzie Gronlund finished fourth in the latter hurdles event. Pierre relay teams were third in the 4×100 and 4×400 races and fourth in the 4×200 relay.

Baseball: The Governors split a pair with Harrisburg and swept a doubleheader against Huron this week. In an 8-5 win at Harrisburg, the first loss of the season for the #1 Tigers, Aaron Booth was winning pitcher, going four innings, striking out six, allowing two hits and two runs. Bennett Dean picked up a save. Jayden Wiebe had three of Pierre’s six hits, and Dean had two hits. Pierre lost a 10-0 game to Harrisburg as Booth had two of the Govs’ three total hits. Isaac Polak, Jett Zabel and Christian Busch pitched for Pierre. At Huron Tuesday the Govs gave up five runs to Huron in the first inning on only one hit, but that proved to be the Tigers’ only hit of the game. Pierre scored four in the second and two more in the fourth to take control. Matt Hanson, winning pitcher, went four scoreless innings, striking out four, walking only one and allowing no hits. Wiebe threw two innings for the save. Zach Letellier and Maguire Raske had three hits apiece. In the nightcap Brady Getz got the win, shutting out Huron over five innings during which he fanned seven and walked none, allowing four hits. Lincoln Kienholz got the save for his two innings in relief. Andy Gordon had three hits among Pierre’s total of 11. The Govs now stand at 8-2, all road games, and finally get to play at home Friday.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls golf: at Pierre.
Boys golf: at Miller.
— FRIDAY
Girls golf: at Philip.
Boys golf: at Philip.
Track-field: at Pierre Legion Relays.
— SATURDAY
Boys golf: at Wall.
Track-field: at Ipswich invitational, 10 a.m.
— TUESDAY
Boys golf: at Potter County.
Track-field: at Miller invitational.

Track-field: Tracy Nielson won the discus event at Potter County’s meet with Nathan Cook fifth. On the girls’ side Kaysen Magee finished second in the 800, and the Buffaloes’ 4×200 relay team placed second in that race.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Track-field: home for Sully Buttes invitational, 1 p.m.

Track-field: At Potter County’s meet Stevie Wittler was a double winner, taking the 100- and 300-meter hurdles events. She also was second in the long jump and third in the 200-meter dash. Griffin Petersen placed second in the 800. Jesse Schall finished third in the shot put.

WEDDING DAYS

May 1: Dan Nielsen/Kim Borbely.
June 18: Chris Rumrill/Katya Vakshteyn.
June 26: William Fairbanks/Valori Kunsman.
July 31: Jack Carpenter/Leesa Johnson.
Sept. 25: Nick Jung/Natlaie Nagle.
Oct. 2: Jordan Lamb/Abbey Fjeldheim.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split a pair with Bismarck, losing 3-2 and winning 3-1. Aberdeen goes to Minot Thursday and to Bismarck Friday, then hosts Bismarck Saturday.

Rapid City Rush: After a win over Allen last Wednesday, the Rush continued the Allen series with a 4-2 win and a 4-1 loss. Rapid City won 4-1 at Tulsa last night and stays there for Friday and Saturday games.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd lost to Sioux City, 4-0, and lost to Lincoln, 6-4. Sioux Falls and Lincoln play in Lincoln Friday and in Sioux Falls Saturday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild continued their torrid surge to a high playoff position with four wins this week. Minnesota beat San Jose twice, 3-2 and 5-2, and did the same to Arizona, 5-2 and 4-1. The Wild goes to Los Angeles Friday, to San Jose Saturday and back home against St. Louis Monday and Wednesday.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Twins schedule:
— Friday: Pittsburgh, 7:10 p.m. (BSN)
— Saturday: Pittsburgh, 1:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Sunday: Pittsburgh, 1:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Monday: at Cleveland, 5:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Tuesday: at Cleveland, 5:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Wednesday: at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m. (YouTube).

Minnesota Twins this week: After winning the final game of the Boston series, 4-3, the Twins lost their opener at the Angels, 10-3. Then the next two games of the series and the first game of a series at Oakland were postponed due to COVID-19 within the Twins team. They were allowed to play Tuesday but didn’t score in either game in 7-0 and 1-0 losses to the A’s. Then yesterday the Twins found ways to lose a 10-9 lead in the ninth and to lose a 12-10 lead in the 10th in losing to Oakland, 13-12, on two infield errors in the bottom of the 10th.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves beat Miami, 119-111; lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 124-105; beat Sacramento, 124-120, and lost to Sacramento, 128-125. Minnesota plays two with Utah, on the road Saturday and at home Monday, then goes to Houston Tuesday.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons lost their MLS season opener at Seattle, 4-0. Now 0-1-0, Minnesota has its home opener Saturday at 7 p.m. against Real Salt Lake.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The Champions Tour returned to action at the Chubb Classic in Naples, Fla. Tom tied for 24th place, earning $14,300 for his scorecard of 70-73-71=214, 2-under par. Steve Stricker won the tournament with a -16 score. The Champions Tour’s next stop is at The Woodlands, Texas, for the Insperity Invitational April 30-May 2.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

FCS playoffs: After a 27-17 upset win at North Dakota State, South Dakota State was accorded the #1 national seed for the 16-team FCS playoffs. The Jackrabbits will host Holy Cross (Mass.) at 2 p.m. CDT Saturday in the first round. Meanwhile, four other teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference also were selected as at-large participants. Southern Illinois will play Weber State, and that winner gets the SDSU-Holy Cross winner in the quarterfinals May 1 or 2. UND and Missouri State have to play each other in Grand Forks at 3 p.m., and NDSU will be home vs. Eastern Washington at 2:30 p.m. The Jackrabbits, if they were to win three times, would have to play only one team from among #2 national seed Sam Houston State, #3 seed James Madison, UND, NDSU or Missouri State, and that would not be until the national championship game in Frisco, Texas, on Sunday, May 16.

Sioux Falls Storm: The Storm will be one of 12 teams playing in the Indoor Football League this season, each of them playing a 16-game schedule. Sioux Falls will have a home intra-squad scrimmage May 8, then open the season with home games May 15 vs. Iowa and May 22 vs. Arizona.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: kiwi.
Friday-Sunday: black cherry.
Monday-Tuesday: blue mood.
Wednesday-Thursday: almond.

COUNTDOWN

3 days: The Oscars, ABC (April 25).
8 days: Pierre Players’ “Radium Girls” (April 30-May 2, May 6-8).
14 days: Pierre Educational Foundation’s Evening of Excellence (May 6).
17 days: Mothers Day (May 9).
23 days: Riggs High parent-senior party (May 15).
24 days: FCS national championship football game, Frisco, Texas (May 16).
26 days: NBA playoffs begin (May 18).
28 days: State AA boys tennis tournament, Sioux Falls (May 20-21).
33 days: Pierre Trappers baseball season opener (May 25).
36 days: State track meets, B Rapid City, A Spearfish, AA Sturgis (May 28-29).
37 days: State high school baseball tournament, Sioux Falls (May 29).
39 days: Memorial Day (May 31).
40 days: Post 8 baseball season openers (June 1).
44 days: Casey Tibbs Match of Champions (June 5).
45 days: Kennedy Center Honors, CBS (June 6).
46 days: State B boys/girls golf tournaments, Brookings (June 7-8).
46 days: State AA girls golf tournament, Sioux Falls (June 7-8).
47 days: Pierre city/school board elections (June 8).
54 days: State high school finals rodeo, Fort Pierre (June 15-19).
57 days: Oahe Days (June 18-19).

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): The Bison never had the lead in a home game against South Dakota State. NDSU trailed at halftime, 10-3, and tied the game at 10-10 and 17-17 before losing to the Jackrabbits, 27-17. Now 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the Missouri Valley conference, the Bison got an at-large bid into the FCS playoffs and will host Eastern Washington at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the first round.

South Dakota State baseball (Landon Badger, Garrett Stout): The Jacks’ four-game weekend series against Western Illinois was canceled. SDSU is scheduled at home against NDSU for two games Friday and single games Saturday and Sunday.

Black Hills State track-field (Frank Becker, Kelsey Van Den Hemel): At Dickinson State’s Blue Hawk meet, Frank placed sixth in the 400-meter run in :53.45. The BHSU men placed fifth among eight teams and the women fifth of six. BHSU athletes will go Friday and Saturday to the Kit Meyer Open at Colorado Mines.

Iowa Western baseball (Peyton Zabel): In the first game of four vs. Iowa Central CC, Peyton won again, this time with a seven-inning complete-game effort. He gave up no runs, two hits and no walks and struck out six. His pitching record is now 5-1. Iowa Western won that game, 3-0, then swept the rest of the weekend, 12-2, 12-1 and 16-6. Yesterday the Reivers won two more, 4-3 and 8-0 over Indian Hills CC, and their record is now 35-7 overall and 26-3 in conference play. Iowa Western plays two Saturday and two Sunday against Des Moines Area CC at Boone, Ioiwa.

South Dakota women’s soccer (Joana Zanin, Janaina Zanin, Emily Mikkelsen): The Coyotes lost to top-seed Denver, 2-0, in the Summit League tournament semifinals, ending their eight-game streak without a loss. USD finishes with a record of 9-7-1. Joana played in all 17 games as a starter, had one assist, and took 21 shots, six of them shots on goal. Janaina got into nine games and recorded one assist.

South Dakota Mines track-field (Erick Colman, Theron Singleton): At the Dickinson State meet the Hardrocker men placed first among eight teams. Erick was fourth in the hammer throw at 162’1″ and Theron fourth in the 10,000-meter run in 33:57.39. Next on the Mines schedule is the RMAC conference meet in Pueblo, Colo., April 30-May 2.

Northern baseball (Spencer Sarringar): Northern lost two of three to Minot State over the weekend. In a 6-4 loss Spencer went 2-for-4, stole a base and scored once. His two hits were both doubles. He went 0-for-3 as the Wolves lost a 13-3 decision. In a 10-0 win Spencer hit a two-run home run in the sixth. Yesterday NSU split with Minnesota-Duluth. In a 7-2 win Spencer hit a first-inning solo homer to put the Wolves on the board. He scored another run later and walked twice. In a 9-8 loss he was 1-for-4, walked once and stole two bases. Now 13-13 overall and 12-10 in the NSIC, Northern plays two Saturday and one Sunday at Bemidji State.

Augustana track-field (Elizabeth Schaefer): Idle last week, the Viking athletes go this weekend to the Drake Relays in Des Moines or the Janvrin meet at Indianola, Iowa.

Dakota Wesleyan baseball (Bradley Dean): The Tigers beat Doane late Sunday afternoon, 10-6, to salvage one game of a four-game series. In that game Brad played right field and went 0-for-5 at the plate. In an 18-2 loss he was 0-for-2 and played left field. Earlier DWU lost by 13-4 and 8-4. Now 11-20 overall and 5-15 in the GPAC, DWU is home for two games Saturday and two more Sunday vs. Hastings, then goes to Presentation for a twinbill Tuesday.

Rochester Community & Technical College baseball (Cade Hinkle): The Yellowjackets took three out of four games from Hibbing Community College. In a 7-5 loss Cade, the starting catcher, went 0-for-3 and walked once. In a 9-4 win he had a 3-for-4 game, driving in a run on a third-inning double. In a 7-4 victory Cade was 1-for-2, walked once and batted in a run on a fourth-inning single. The last game of the weekend was a 22-2 five-inning blowout win, and Cade had a 2-for-2 game, walked three times, scored twice and drove in one run with a first-inning single and another with a fourth-inning triple. On Tuesday the Yellowjackets split a pair in Estherville with Iowa Lakes Community College, winning 4-1 and losing 2-1. Cade played in the opener and went 0-for-3 at the plate. Now 14-12-1 overall but 0-4 in their conference, RCTC plays two Saturday and two Sunday against Riverland Community College.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“You were told that Mr. Floyd died because his heart was too big. Having heard all the evidence, you know the truth. And the truth of the matter is that the reason George Floyd is dead is because Mr. Chauvin’s heart was too small.”
— Jerry Blackwell, attorney for the prosecution

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• For you from the Pierre area who come west to theater productions, here is some news. Black Hills Community Theatre announces two OUTDOOR shows to be performed on the lawn west of the Performing Arts Center/Rapid City High School building on Columbus Street. Both shows are free to the public although donations are welcomed. “Sense and Sensibility” will be performed at 6:30 p.m. June 11, 12, 18 and 19 and at 4 p.m. June 13 and 20. “Charlotte’s Web” will be performed at 4 and again at 6 p.m. on July 17, 18, 24 and 25.
• Next year the state team duals wrestling tournament, which this past February was interwoven with the state individuals tournament, will have a day of its own. The individuals state tournament will be run on Thursday and Friday, and Saturday of that weekend will then be devoted solely to the team duals tournament.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Shelby Guthrie was inducted into the South Dakota Mines Leadership Hall of Fame last weekend. Shelby had been nominated by a faculty member, then interviewed by a committee and finally chosen as a recipient of the honor. Shelby’s year as Student Association president at the School of Mines also ended last week.

Valjean Boe, 60, Pierre, who had worked at the secretary of state’s office since 1996, passed away at the age of 60 April 15 at the Marshall County Healthcare Center in Britton after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. Her funeral will begin at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 24, at Lutheran Memorial Church. A graduate of West High School in Phoenix, Ariz., Valjean spent much time with her grandparents on their Nebraska farm. She met Severin Boe on an airplane while both were flying to Phoenix. They married and made their home in Phoenix where Valjean worked as a store manager for Home Depot. They moved to Pierre in 1994. She is survived by her two children, Madeline Boe of Britton and Severin Boe II of Rapid City; her mother, Arlene Bischoff of Lincoln, Neb.; and her siblings, Jolee (Michael) Stebbins of Martin, Ga., Deann (James) Markley of Mesa, Ariz., Jason Bischoff of Pierre and Michael Bischoff of Montgomery, Ala.

Oahe Speedway posted an announcement that its entire 2021 season has been canceled due to a lease problem.

Caleb Gilkerson and Jess Burchill are the parents of a daughter, Madelyn (Madi) Grace Gilkerson. She was born April 18, weighing 5 pounds, 9 ounces, and measuring 18 inches.

Former Sully Buttes High School teacher/coach Steve Quintus is retiring at the end of this school year as an assistant principal at Mandan High School in North Dakota.

Scott Stabnow, 62, died April 13 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. His funeral took place Wednesday at First United Methodist Church in Pierre. Scott was born in 1958 to Dick and Janice (Gerlach) Stabnow. He attended the Pierre schools and participated in wrestling, football and track as well as Legion baseball and bowling outside of school. He worked as a courier for FedEx for 25 years until retiring in March last year. Scott was a state bowling tournament event champion seven times and rolled 35 perfect 300 games in that sport. He is a member of local and state bowling halls of fame. He was also active on the golf, softball and pool scenes. Scott is survived by his cousins, Steve Gerlach of Tucson, Ariz., Dan Gerlach of Pierre and Patty Reeves of Sioux Falls.

Andy Hubbart has been named regional president at BankWest Pierre. As such he will manage the two Pierre branches and the Kennebec and Kadoka locations of the bank. Andy replaces Terry Fitzke, who has been promoted to head of lending for the entire BankWest organization. A native of Brandon, Andy has 18 years of banking experience after earning a business economics degree at SDSU in 2003 and a master of business administration degree at USD in 2018.

Conrad Adam and Kaitlyn Severyn were married in Deadwood April 16 in the presence of their families.

Stephen Willers of Reeds Spring, Mo., died April 12 at the age of 74. He spent most of his adult life in Sioux Falls. An avid hunter, he spent much of the falls and winters in Pierre. He assisted with the Governor’s Hunt for several years and along with Brian Tracy and Wicker Bill helped lead the children’s hunt. He is survived by his wife, Jeanan; a daughter, a son, two brothers, a sister and three grandchildren. A memorial service was held April 15 at the United Methodist Church in Kimberling City, Mo., and another service took place April 19 at Miller Funeral Home in Sioux Falls.

Pierre native Valori Kunsman, who teaches in the Sparks, Nev., district, is engaged to William Fairbanks. They are planning a wedding on June 26 in the Reno temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

At Riggs High School drama participant Liam Kelly was named Fine Arts Performer of the Week last week by the Fine Arts Booster Club. This week the honored student is Olivia Strand of the art department.

Paula Adam-Burchill, 57, passed away in Sioux Falls April 15. Visitation will be from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Friday, April 23, at Miller Funeral Home-Southside in Sioux Falls. The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church in Sioux Falls. Paula was born to Tom and Patricia (Mickelson) Adam in Pierre, the second of the four Adam children. She graduated from Riggs High School in 1982 and earned a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in chemistry at USD. After graduating from the USD medical school, she spent a family practice residency at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Paula was a doctor at Sanford Clinic for 28 years, delivering countless babies. From 1998 to 2002 she served as chief of the family medicine department. Before retirement she was director of women’s services at the Veterans Medical Hospital. Paula and her high school sweetheart, Tom Burchill, were married in 1987 and raised three sons, Connor, Nolan and Maxwell. She is survived by her husband and her sons; two sisters, Kathleen (Bruce) Bykowski of Eden Prairie, Minn., and Sarah (Greg) Axtman of Harrisburg, Pa.; her brother, Karl (Joan) Adam of Pierre; 15 nephews, four nieces, and six great-nephews and nieces.

So that they can prepare for selecting a replacement for him, Hughes County sheriff Darin Johnson told the county commission Monday that he plans to announce his retirement in the coming weeks.

Onida native Lorlee (Day) Steever has been named Rochester American Business Women’s Association Woman of the Year. Lorlee, whose husband is Pierre native Kevin Steever, works at Mayo Clinic.

Tickets are now on sale for Pierre Players’ production of “Radium Girls,” which opens next weekend and continues the following weekend. The number to call for ticket reservations is 224-7826.

Our sympathy to Barb and Tim Bjorneberg and all of their family on the death of Barb’s brother, legendary De Smet coach Marv McCune. He passed away at the age of 66 Sunday at the Mayo Clinic hospital in Rochester after battling COVID-19. He had also been recovering from leukemia. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at De Smet High School, preceded by visitation there from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday). McCune’s football teams won the mythical 11B state title in 1980 and won the 11A championship in 1981, the first year of playoffs. His basketball teams won state “B” championships in 1987 and 1995 and the state “A” title in 1999. Just last month he was able to watch his son play with De Smet’s boys team as they won this year’s state “B” championship.

Kari Kebach (Riggs High ’01), associate athletic trainer at the University of Colorado in Boulder, is going to another NCAA Tournament. The women’s soccer team which is one of her responsibilities earned a spot in the tournament and will play South Alabama in the first round at Greensboro, N.C., next Tuesday. If the Buffs win that one, Oklahoma State would be their next opponent. All of the tournament is being played within the state of North Carolina this year. This is Kari’s sixth year at CU.

Mike and Jenna Zellmer are the parents of a son, Brooks Michael Zellmer, who was born April 17. He joins a brother, Carter, who is 2 1/2, in their family.

Gov. Kristi Noem, continuing to play to her political base rather than trying to end the pandemic’s effect on South Dakotans, this week issued an executive order stating that any federal government-issued requirements for vaccination passports (proofs that individuals have been vaccinated) will not apply in South Dakota. Meanwhile, the Department of Health continued to urge South Dakotans—half of whom still have not been vaccinated—to get their COVID-19 vaccinations. Yesterday’s DOH report revealed one new death in the previous 24 hours, bringing the state’s toll to 1,954. It was the 17th death so far in April. Meanwhile, there are 2,043 active cases in the state, 157 of them new yesterday since Tuesday’s report. All five of the variants of the virus have now been discovered in South Dakota, and there are 77 cases of these variants within the state.

Kevin Tiger has been named a managing partner of the Silver Spur in Fort Pierre.

Onida native Caleb Currier, who has been working on his master’s degree at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville while serving as a graduate student manager of the women’s basketball team there, has received the Volunteer of Distinction recognition for Professional Promise from the chancellor of the university.

PONDER THIS

Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not obsess. Just breathe and have faith that all will work out for the best.