THOUGHT FOR TODAY

May, more than any other month of the year, wants us to feel most alive.
— Fennel Hudson

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls golf: at Aberdeen Central invitational, 10 a.m.
— FRIDAY
Track/field: at Howard Wood Dakota Relays, Sioux Falls, 3 p.m.
Baseball: at Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 6 and 8 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Trackfield: at Howard Wood Dakota Relays, Sioux Falls, 8 a.m.
Baseball: vs. Yankton (at Sioux Falls), 5 p.m.
Baseball: at Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 6:30 p.m.
— MONDAY
Boys tennis: at Mitchell quadrangular, 10:30 a.m.
— WEDNESDAY
Baseball: home vs. Rapid City Central, 5 and 7 p.m.

Baseball: The Govs improved to 10-2 with two exhilarating wins at Brookings, 2-1 and 1-0. In the opener Lincoln Kienholz earned the pitching win, going six innings while striking out 10 and allowing three hits and one run. Isaac Polak pitched the final inning for the save, allowing a hit but no runs. Jayden Wiebe drove in both Pierre runs with a two-run double in the sixth, his second hit of the game. In the nightcap the score was 0-0 until Bennett Dean beat out an infield hit to walk it off in the bottom of the final inning. Aaron Booth pitched 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing only one hit and striking out one. Dean in relief went 3 2/3 innings and also kept Brookings off the board. Kienholz had two hits for the Governors.

Boys track-field: At the Pierre Legion Relays Brandon Valley won the boys team title, followed by Stevens, Washington, Pierre and Winner. Pierre had two individual champions—Hayden Shaffer in the 3200 in 10:13.88 and Lincoln Kienholz in the high jump at 6’4″. Regan Bollweg placed second in the discus at 136’7″ and Canyon Jones second in the pole vault at 12’3″. Kienholz finished third in the long jump at 20’8″ and Blake Wagner third in the discus at 135’10”. Shaffer added a fourth-place medal in the 1600 in 4:49.21. Josh Strand placed fifth in the 400 in :54.62 and Cole Peterson fifth in the long jump at 19’7 3/4″. Pierre’s 4×400 relay team of Austin Finley, Cade Kaiser, Strand and Jones was fifth in 3:39.71. Jack Merkwan placed sixth in the 110-meter hurdles in :16.69. The 4×100 relay team composed of Peterson, Brock Moser, Vick Becker and Tucker Putzier placed sixth in :45.97.

Girls track-field: Brandon Valley won the team title on the girls’ side of the Pierre Legion Relays, followed by Stevens, Washington, Rapid City Central and Custer. Pierre’s best individual finish came from Jessica Lutmer, second in the 1600 in 5:24.79. She was also third in the 800 in 2:29.62. Also third were Marissa Matthews in the pole vault at 7’3″ and Maya Shorter in the discus at 101’2″. Aleise Christopherson was fourth in the long jump at 15’3 1/4″. Danielle Beck placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles in :50.10. Remi Price was sixth in the triple jump at 32’3 1/2″ and Reese Terwilliger sixth in the shot put at 32’9 1/4″.

Baseball: Members of the Governors team named to the Academic All-State list are Bennett Dean, Andy Gordon, Aaron Booth, Isaac Polak and Collin Brueggeman.

Athletes of the Week: Jessica Lutmer and Blake Wagner of the track and field teams earned this recognition last week from the Pierre Athletic Coaches Association. This week’s honorees are Maya Shorter and Hayden Shaffer of the track and field teams.

Boys tennis: The Governors won twice in a triangular at Brookings, beating the Bobcats, 8-1, and shutting out Milbank, 9-0. Tuesday’s matches against Huron and Spearfish were rained out.

Girls golf: At Rapid City Stevens’ invitational last Thursday Pierre was the team champion with a 377 score, 15 strokes better than runner-up Spearfish with 392. Stevens had a team score of 428 and Lakota Tech 594. Ellie Jo Simpson and Haley Nadeau were first and second, respectively, with scores of 88 and 91. Madilyn Brakke placed fifth with a 97. Hadley Hart and Andrea Mosteller tied for eighth with 101s. In the Pierre invitational Tuesday the Governors were seventh. Mitchell and Aberdeen Central were the top two teams. Pierre’s best round was Mosteller’s 21-over-par 92 for 15th place. Simpson was 16th with a 93, Brakke 21st and Nadeau 25th.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls golf: at Faulkton invitational.
Track-field: at Lyman meet.
— FRIDAY
Track-field: at Howard Wood Dakota Relays, Sioux Falls.
— SATURDAY
Track-field: at Howard Wood Dakota Relays, Sioux Falls.
— TUESDAY
Track-field: at Miller invitational.

Track-field: At the Pierre Legion Relays Tracy Nielson won the boys’ discus event with a throw of 138’4″. Nathan Cook placed eighth in the discus at 127’1″. The Buffaloes boys team placed second of 14 teams at the Ipswich Invitational, and the girls were 11th of 14 schools. Cornac Duffy won the triple jump at 37’10”, and Evan Nordstrom won the 300-meter hurdles in :42.74. Earning second-place medals were Andrew Fredericksen in the 200 in :23.91 Nathan Cook in the shot put at 45’10”, and the 4×100 relay team of Fredericksen, Trey Frost, Cook and Nordstrom in :46.35. Nordstrom was third in the 100 in :11.43, Frost third in the 110-meter hurdles in :18.27, and Cook third in the high jump at 5’8″. In girls’ events Kaysen Magee placed third in the 1600-meter run in 3:50.74 and Taylee Stroup third in the 100 in :13.71.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Track-field: At the Pierre Legion Relays Stevie Wittler placed third in the girls’ 100-meter hurdles in :16.43 and finished sixth in the 300 hurdles in :50.12. Lydia Hill was eighth in the discus at 88’11”. Jesse Schall placed sixth in the shot put at 44’8 1/2″.

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) Determined to do.
(5) What horses do at the Derby.
(6) Terrorist group.
(7) Net-like fabric.
— DOWN
(1) Edge at bottom of a hat.
(2) Absence of difficulty.
(3) Tuesday 7 p.m. TV show.
(4) John —-, musician and radio/TV host.

Puzzle answer at the bottom of this Update.

COUNTDOWN

1 day: Pierre Players’ “Radium Girls” (April 30-May 2, May 6-8).
7 days: Pierre Educational Foundation’s Evening of Excellence (May 6).
10 days: Mothers Day (May 9).
16 days: Pierre parent-senior party (May 15).
17 days: FCS national championship football game, Frisco, Texas (May 16).
19 days: NBA playoffs begin (May 18).
21 days: State AA boys tennis tournament, Sioux Falls (May 20-21).
26 days: Pierre Trappers baseball season opener (May 25).
29 days: State track meets, B Rapid City, A Spearfish, AA Sturgis (May 28-29).
30 days: State high school baseball tournament, Sioux Falls (May 29).
32 days: Memorial Day (May 31).
33 days: Post 8 baseball season openers (June 1).
37 days: Casey Tibbs Match of Champions (May 5).
38 days: Kennedy Center Honors, CBS (May 6).
39 days: State AA girls golf tournament, Sioux Falls (June 7-8).
39 days: State B boys/girls golf tournaments, Brookings (June 7-8).
40 days: Pierre city/school board elections (June 8).
47 days: State high school finals rodeo, Fort Pierre (June 15-19).
49 days: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion (June 17-20).
50 days: Oahe Days (June 18-19).
51 days: College World Series, Omaha (June 19-30).
52 days: Fathers Day (June 20).

THOUGHT FOR THE SEASON

May and June. Soft syllables, gentle names for the two best months of the garden year: cool, misty mornings gently burned away with a warming spring sun, followed by breezy afternoons and chilly nights. The discussion of philosophy is over. It’s time for work to begin.
— Peter Loewer

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: almond.
Friday-Sunday: strawberry.

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Northern track-field (Rachel Guthmiller): At the NSU Open meet Rachel placed fourth in the javelin throw with a heave of 128’6″. She was also 18th in the hammer throw at 136’3″ and 28th in the discus at 101’6″. NSU sends athletes this Saturday to Wayne State’s meet in Nebraska.

South Dakota State track-field (Addy Eisenbeisz): At the NSU Open meet Addy placed third in the high jump at 5’4 1/4″. Next on the SDSU schedule is the Summit League outdoor championships at Vermillion May 13-15.

Augustana track-field (Elizabeth Schaefer): The Vikings send their athletes this Saturday to Wayne State’s meet and to the NSIC Challenge meet at Mankato.

Northwestern College (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): The Red Raiders ended their regular season last Nov. 23, but the NAIA rescheduled its postseason playoffs to the spring, so it was a gap of four months between the regular season and the postseason for Northwestern. The Raiders showed no effects, however, bringing their 9-1 record into a 31-7 win over Dickinson State in the first round of the playoffs. Morris was credited with one assisted tackle in that game. Last Saturday Northwestern went to Des Moines and ousted #2 national seed Grandview, 27-24, on a field goal with 1:03 left. So now Morningside will play at #1 seed Morningside in Sioux City in one national semifinal game this Saturday.

Augustana women’s golf (Natalie Young): At Augie’s invitational two weekends ago Natalie placed fourth with a 78-74=152 scorecard. Last weekend at Morton, Minn., for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons the Augustana women won the NSIC championship. Natalie tied for third individually with a 10-over-par 77-78-82=237. Next up is the NCAA Super Regional at St. Joseph, Mo., Monday through Wednesday.

South Dakota Mines track-field (Theron Singleton, Erick Colman): Idle last weekend, the Hardrockers go to Pueblo Friday through Sunday for the RMAC outdoor championship meet.

Iowa Western CC baseball (Peyton Zabel): As usual Peyton got the starting nod for the first game of last weekend’s series against Des Moines Area Community College, and he came through with another pitching win, improving his record to 6-1. He went five innings for a complete game in Iowa Western’s 12-0 win, allowing only three hits and no runs, striking out seven and walking one. The Reivers lost 7-0, won 6-2 and won 8-6 in the final three games of the weekend. Yesterday Iowa Western won twice more, 3-2 and 9-0 over Iowa Lakes CC. The regular season ends in the next week with four weekend games at home vs. North Iowa Area CC and two next Wednesday at Iowa Lakes CC in Estherville.

Black Hills State track-field (Kelsey Van Den Hemel, Frank Becker): At Colorado Mines’ meet Frank ran with the 4×400 relay team, which placed third in 3:30.55. The Yellowjackets go to the RMAC meet in Pueblo this weekend Friday through Sunday.

Rochester Community and Technical College baseball (Cade Hinkle): The Yellowjackets took three of four games from Riverland Community College. In a 4-2 loss Cade went 1-for-3 and walked once. He had the same output in a 4-1 win. In a 5-4 nine-inning win Cade was 2-for-5 and drove in a pair, including an RBI single in the seventh that started a two-run rally that tied the game. In a 5-1 win he went 0-for-3. Now 17-13-1, RCTC will play two Saturday and two Sunday against Anoka-Ramsey CC.

Northern baseball (Spencer Sarringar): The Wolves won two of three over Bemidji State last weekend. In a 5-3 loss Spencer went 1-for-3. In a 12-1 win in eight innings he was 1-for-4, walked twice and scored a run. In a 15-3 Northern victory Spencer hit a two-run homer and a sacrifice fly for three RBIs while going 1-for-3 and walking once. He now has four homers and 23 runs batted in. Yesterday NSU was swept at Minnesota-Crookston, 9-6 and 14-3. Spencer had a double in three trips, walked once and scored once in the opener. In the nightcap he was 1-for-2, walked once and scored once. Now 15-16 overall and 14-13 in the NSIC, Northern plays two Saturday and one game Sunday at St. Cloud State.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): The Bison were down early by 14-0 but scored 35 unanswered points in blowing away Eastern Washington, 42-20, in the first round of the FCS playoffs. This weekend Grey and his teammates will make the longest road trip of his young college career so far when they go all the way to Huntsville, Texas, to face #2 national seed Sam Houston State in the FCS quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Sunday on ESPN2.

South Dakota State baseball (Landon Badger, Garrett Stout): The Jackrabbits split four weekend games vs. NDSU in Brookings, and Landon had the best weekend of his college career. First of all on Friday in the doubleheader opener, a 5-0 SDSU loss, Landon was 1-for-5 and Garrett 1-for-2. In a 3-2 win SDSU scored a walk-off run in the bottom of the ninth. Landon went 0-for-3 and Garrett didn’t have an official at-bat. On Saturday the Jacks blew away the Bison, 12-2, and Landon had three home runs and drove in eight runs. He went 3-for-5 at the plate with a solo home run in the third inning, a three-run homer in the fourth and a grand slam homer in the fifth. Garrett was 1-for-3, walked once and scored twice. On Sunday the Badger bat was still warm as Landon hit a solo homer in the third and a sacrifice fly in the seventh on a 1-for-4 day, walking twice. Garrett went 0-for-2 in the 13-12 SDSU loss. Now 11-21 overall and 6-10 in the Summit League, SDSU plays two Friday and single games Saturday and Sunday at Oral Roberts.

Dakota Wesleyan baseball (Bradley Dean): The Tigers split four games with Hastings College, winning 4-0 and 8-3 and losing 11-2 and 14-13 in 11 innings. In the 11-2 loss right-fielder Brad went 0-for-2. In the extra-inning affair Brad was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter. In a non-conference twinbill vs. Presentation on Tuesday DWU won 18-1 and lost 14-6. In the win Bradley was 1-for-1, driving in a run and scoring once. In the loss he was 1-for-2, walking once and scoring once. Now 14-23 overall and 7-17 in the GPAC, DWU closes the regular season with home doubleheaders—Saturday vs. Mount Marty and Sunday vs. Concordia.

WEDDING DAYS

Saturday: Dan Nielsen/Kim Borbely
June 18: Chris Rumrill/Katya Vakshteyn.
June 18: Shaun Keller/Brittney Ware.
June 26: William Fairbanks/Valori Kunsman.
July 31: Jack Carpenter/Leesa Johnson.
Sept. 25: Nick Jung/Natalie Nagle.
Oct. 2: Jordan Lamb/Abbey Fjeldheim.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Name a professional athlete who last week caught a football dropped 600 feet from a helicopter. Gronk of course! Rob Gronkowski of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers!
• What a fit South Dakota would have over something such as this. At Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for one game this month they will have a fully-vaccinated section where masks will still be required but without social distancing in place. Fans 16 and over must show documentation that two weeks have passed since their final doses. If this works for one game, the Dodgers may schedule more games with this plan in place. The Giants in San Francisco are offering a similar section. Oh, my precious constitutional rights!!!
• Friends of Pierre native Jared Lindbloom should check out his own Facebook page to catch some of his music videos.
• And speaking of music, we call your attention to a Facebook live event, a spring virtual concert by the choirs of the School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City. You can find it at https://www.facebook.com/SDSMTMusicCenter at 8 p.m. CDT (7 p.m. MDT) next Tuesday evening, May 4. The choirs and featured guest soloists—soprano Dr. Christine Johnson, tenor Edward Washington II, bass Paul Robinson and director of choirs Dr. Matthew Bumbach—will perform works by Bach, Schubert, Kyle Pederson, Seth Houston and Katarina Gimon.
• The Howard Wood Dakota Relays in Sioux Falls, which this year is for high school athletes only, will be televised live on Midco Sports Network. Coverage begins at 6 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Twins schedule:
— Friday: Kansas City, 7:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Saturday: Kansas City, 1:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Sunday: Kansas City, 1:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Monday: Texas, 6:40 p.m. (BSN).
— Tuesday: Texas, 6:40 p.m. (BSN).
— Wednesday: Texas, 6:40 p.m. (BSN).
— Thursday: Texas, 12:10 p.m. (BSN).

Minnesota Twins this week: After beating Pittsburgh last Friday, 2-0, the Twins had an awful stretch of four games, losing to Pittsburgh by 6-2 twice and to Cleveland by 5-3 and 7-4. Yesterday they showed some offense in a 10-2 win over the Indians.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Aberdeen Wings: Three more wins aren’t even news for the Wings, who beat Minot, 7-2, and swept Bismarck, 7-1 and 2-0. Aberdeen plays at St. Cloud Friday and Saturday.

Rapid City Rush: Rapid City, which hasn’t been in the playoffs since 2015, moved into the fourth and final playoff spot in its division, at least temporarily, with 6-5 and 3-2 wins over Tulsa. Nineteen games remain in the regular season. Now 27-22-4, the Rush are home vs. Kansas City Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then go to Utah for Tuesday and Wednesday games.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Stampede ended the regular season with 19 straight losses, including 3-1 and 3-2 losses to Lincoln last weekend. The final record was 18-32-3-1.

New league coming to South Dakota: Rapid City will be home of the Badlands Sabres, a team in the North American Tier III Hockey League. The junior hockey league will have a season from mid-September to mid-April, and the Sabres will play home games in the Roosevelt Park ice arena. Rapid City takes over the Missoula franchise, which was sold to new owners. Other teams in the Frontier Division of the NA3HL are located in Gillette, Sheridan and Cody in Wyoming and Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls and Helena in Montana.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild beat Los Angeles, 4-2; clinched a playoff spot when they beat San Jose, 6-3, and last night lost a lead in a 4-3 defeat at the hands of St. Louis. Minnesota is securely in the third spot among four playoff teams in the Western Division with 65 points. St. Louis is fourth, 15 points behind the Wild. Minnesota plays St. Louis again tonight (Thursday) and Saturday and hosts Vegas Monday and Wednesday.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: In their home opener the Loons lost to Real Salt Lake, 2-1, and are now 0-2 in the new MLS season. Minnesota is home this Saturday at 7 p.m. against the newest league member, Austin FC.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Timberwolves: It is rare when the Wolves have a winning streak, but they have won three in a row—101-97 and 105-104 over playoff-bound Utah and 114-107 over Houston. Minensota is home vs. Golden State Thursday, New Orleans Saturday and Memphis next Wednesday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

FCS playoffs: The top four national seeds and the Dakota schools all won their games in the first round of the 16-team FCS playoffs. South Dakota State, #1 national seed, beat Holy Cross, 31-3. NDSU rallied from 14-0 down to beat Eastern Washington, 42-20. UND dominated Missouri State, 44-10. The other Missouri Valley participant in the playoffs, Southern Illinois, eked out a win at Weber State, 34-31. Here is the schedule for the quarterfinals this coming weekend:
— Upper bracket:
Southern Illinois at #1 SDSU, 8 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2.
Delaware at #4 Jacksonville State (Ala.), 2 p.m. Sunday, ESPN3.
— Lower bracket:
UND at #3 James Madison (Va.), 5 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2.
NDSU at #2 Sam Houston State (Texas), 2 p.m. Sunday, ESPN2.
GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): Idle last weekend, the Champions Tour resumes play Friday through Sunday at the Insperity Invitational in The Woodlands, Texas.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

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

Friday, April 30:
Frank Whitebird, Paula (Darger) Gunderson, Jason Rumpca, Virgil Mikkelsen, Dave Knudson, Eileen Dean, Adam Calkins, Juleana Enright, Tyler Merriam, Jake Mortenson, Diana Heymans.
— Anniversary, Rob/Amanda (Chick) Deelstra.
— 5th anniversary, Troy/Kelsey (Hanson) Roth.

Saturday, May 1:
Dianne Wegner, Connor McKittrick, Ryan Swartz, Mark Senftner, Scott Swenson, Connor McKee, Parker Reid Knox, Emilie Oltman, Michelle (Young) McCullough, Elsie Fuchs.
— 11th anniversary, Jeremy/Christine (Gors) Ellwein.

Sunday, May 2:
Ross Vander Vorste, Stacy (Zeigler) Cwach, Chris Henrichsen, Josh Joel, Jared Vermundson, Debra Bollinger.
— 18th anniversary, Murray/Jennifer Thompson.
— 12th anniversary, Mat/Bre Ripperger.
— 12th anniversary, Mike/Terri Mehlhaf.

Monday, May 3:
Rebecca Shatek, Brooke (Severson) Lusk, Sarah Neuhauser, Jason Dodson, Addilene Sanderson, Cari (Jorgenson) Leidholt.
— 7th anniversary, Derek/Stephanie (Wells) Todd.
— 13th anniversary, Devin/Beth Weingart.

Tuesday, May 4:
Noah Odden, Shelby Guthrie, Jessica Larson, Brett Anderson, Deb Rumrill, June (Cary) Classen, Suzanne (Somsen) Moe, Jared Tabbert.
— 2nd anniversary, Erik/Lauren Gilbertson.

Wednesday, May 5:
Track Lindekugel, Kit (Hartley) Schmidt, Max Hanson, Maxwell Johnson, Carissa Ott, Tevan Bryant, Shelly (Schochenmaier) Buseman, Karen Kern, RhyAnna Schoenhard, Wren (Bishop) Hollingsworth, Jason Garrett, Bev Sprenkle, Weston Kusser, Jared Martin, Blake Anderson.
— 10th anniversary, Mike/Kate Clegg.
— 9th anniversary, John/Ashlee Rounds.
— 9th anniversary, John/Courtney (Zander) Fisk.
— 9th anniversary, Jason/Lexi Zeigler.

Thursday, May 6:
Nicole Ormesher, Molly Hanson, Rashelle Tassler, Jean Person, Beth Eckman, Colton Schutz, Tammy (Helgeson) Cruse, Isaac Maxwell, Josh Rose, Brecklyn Mitchell.
— 15th anniversary, Dan/Jessica Rasmussen.
— 15th anniversary Moe/Rochelle Reede.
— 4th anniversary, Justin/Mackenzie (McKeithan) Jensen.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Scott Raue is scheduled for open heart surgery in Bismarck this Friday.

Clyde Pietz, 80, Pierre, died April 19 at the Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Ariz. His funeral is being held this (Thursday) morning at 10:30 a.m. at Lutheran Memorial Church. A native of Hosmer, he graduated from the School of Mines in 1962. He worked on the construction of Oahe Dam while he was a college student. He served in the U.S. Navy. Clyde married the former LaVaughn Roesch in 1963, and they became the parents of two children. He worked for 35 years with the state Department of Transportation in Redfield, Pierre, Huron, Aberdeen and again Pierre, retiring in 1997 as director of operations. He and LaVaughn spent more than 25 winters at Sun Lakes, Ariz. He is survived by his wife in Pierre; his brother, Milo Pietz of Minneapolis; his daughter, Marcie (Jon) Zwanziger of Huron; his son, Michael Pietz of Pierre, and four grandchildren.

This is the weekend of the big rummage sale at the Pierre Senior Center. Hours of the sale are 5 to 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. One of the highlights of the sale will be caramel rolls and coffee offered Saturday morning.

Nicole Asmussen is celebrating the arrival of her fourth grandchild, the first one to be a girl. Breslyn Gentry MIttleider is the new daughter of Nicole’s son, Justin Mittleider, and his wife, BaLeigh. She was born April 26, Breslyn joins brothers Bryden, 14; Bennett, 10, and Bronxx, 6, in the Mittleider family.

Dave and Jan Snyder’s Pathways Spiritual Sanctuary in the northern Black Hills will open for the season Saturday, May 22.

Jenni Garber recently was honored by Anderson Rumpca Dental for 30 years of service to their patients. Jenni started working there right out of high school.

Bennett Dean and Seneca Hertel were crowned king and queen, respectively, at the Riggs High prom. Other candidates for those honors, chosen first by the faculty and then voted upon by juniors and seniors, were Mac Kruger, Houston Lunde, Levi McKinley, Preston Taylor, Emma Lusk, Morkeia Mutchelknaus, Austyn Wiebe and Raegan Wiebe.

Ben Orsbon is retiring from the Department of Transportation. He began work in state government in 1977 with the Bureau of Administration, then moved over to the DOT in 1985 as a transportation planner. He advanced to other positions within the department and retires as federal funding specialist.

Jackson and Katie (Plooster) Schumacher became parents on April 26. Their son, Sullivan George Schumacher, weighed 6 pounds, one ounce. He will be known as Sully. The Schumachers live in Pierre where Jackson works for Capital Area Counseling Service and Katie is an ICU nurse at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. Grandparents are Kent and Linda (Fjelstad) Schumacher and Tom and Anne Plooster.

Bill O’Conner, 55, Fort Pierre, died April 24 at Monument Health in Rapid City. Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, May 2, at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. A memorial service will begin at 10 a.m. Monday, May 3, at Lutheran Memorial Church. Bill graduated from Riggs High School in 1984. He married Taunya Weller in 1989, and they had four children. Bill worked for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources as a well technician. He is survived by his wife, Taunya; his son, Cole O’Conner; his daughters, Talyn Sheard and Carlie O’Conner; three grandchildren; his mother, Barb (Kirby) Sweeney; his sister, Teresa (Tim) Lessert, and his in-laws, Allen and Joyce Weller. Among those who preceded him in death was an infant son, Dace.

Pierre Players’ spring show, “Radium Girls,” opens this weekend with Friday and Saturday night performances and a Sunday matinee. The play returns next week for Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening shows. The number to call for ticket reservations is 224-7826.

Harvey Robinson Jr., 89, died April 26 at Avantara Mountain View in Rapid City. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 4, at the Isburg Funeral Chapel, preceded by visitation beginning at 10 a.m. Mr. Robinson went to school in Pierre, then served with the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War between 1951 and 1955, achieving the rank of second lieutenant. He and Shirley Jean May were married in 1954. He worked for the Department of Transportation in the highway department and later worked in the sporting goods department at Dakotamart. He is survived by five children, Randall (Inge) Robinson in Idaho, Kendall Robinson and Sandra (Brad) Stutesman of Pierre, and Dean (Tammie) Robinson and Darrell Robinson of Rapid City; nine grandchildren; 15 great-grandchildren; a brother, Terry (Pat) Robinson of Pierre and a sister, Ramona Rodewald in Arizona.

Pierre native Dan Nielsen will be married this Saturday afternoon to Kim Borbely. Their wedding will take place at the Spearfish United Methodist Church.

Riggs High alumna Dr. Miranda Tracy recently joined the staff of Monument Health as a hospitalist at Monument’s hospital in Rapid City. She is board-certified in pediatrics and internal medicine. Miranda completed medical school at the University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Medicine and her residency at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She comes to Monument Health after working as an urgent care physician in Texas. According to Monument Health’s most recent quarterly magazine, Dr. Tracy enjoys hiking, boating and camping with her husband, son and dog.

Connie Blasdell of Rapid City, whose husband Charles is a native of Onida, passed away Wednesday after a battle with brain tumors over four decades. She had endured four brain surgeries, nine years of chemotherapy and 36 high-intensity radiation treatments over the years, according to Charles’ Facebook post yesterday. Connie worked as a counselor for abused women, a grant writer and a credit counselor.

Yesterday’s Department of Health daily COVID-19 update revealed that 103 people are hospitalized due to the virus. One hundred twenty new cases were reported yesterday, bringing to 1,789 the number of active cases in the state. The death toll went up by two, and now South Dakota is only 38 deaths away from hitting the 2,000 mark. Forty-four percent of the state’s population is now fully vaccinated.

A fixture in the downtown Pierre Street business scene for six decades, Bob Kaiser, died at the age of 93 at home in Pierre April 23. Visitation will take place tonight (Thursday) from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at the Isburg Funeral Chapel, followed by a prayer service and rosary at 6:30. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church. Bob grew up at Hoven and married Lena Jones in 1951. They became the parents of six children. Bob served with the U.S. Army, and his service included an eight-month tour in Korea as a welder. He attained the rank of sergeant. After military service Bob attended watch college at Elgin, Ill. He joined Ferley Jewelers in Pierre on April 1, 1954. He eventually purchased the business from Les Ferley, then Bob worked with his son Rick in the business for more than 40 years. Survivors include his wife, Lena Kaiser; his six children, Rick (Sharon) Kaiser of Pierre, Peggy (Don) Wallace of Pierre, Susan Kaiser (Greg Flanegan) of Spearfish, Paula (Jeff) Rear of Spearfish, Lori (Jack) Lynass of Rapid City, and Michael (Paula) Kaiser of Lafayette, Colo.; 13 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren. Bob was preceded in death by his parents and seven siblings.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWER

B E N T
R A C E
I S I S
M E S H

PONDER THIS

“I’ve had enough of the old way of living and working. I know you probably have, too. I’ve had enough of the violence in our streets, in our schools, in our places of business, in our neighborhoods . . . everywhere. I’ve had enough of political leaders who are too scared to vote for what’s right. I feel we’ve all had enough of the way things are, in one way or another.

“The truth is people are scared to go out of their homes. They are scared to talk in our public spaces, scared to say anything. They are scared to act. They are scared of what will happen if they do. It’s enough.

“We all can imagine something better, and it will take all of us to get there. I need you, and you need me. Let’s start needing one another more. The opposite is no longer tenable.”

— Maria Shriver in her “Sunday Paper”