THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“Pessimist: Glass half-empty.
Optimist: Glass half-full.
Psalmist: ‘My cup runneth over.'”
— Adel Thalos, “Christian Humor”

STATE ‘A’ HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PAIRINGS

PIERRE REGIONAL
Saturday, noon: Pierre vs. Rapid City Central.
Saturday, 2 p.m.: Brandon Valley vs. Yankton.
Saturday, 4 p.m.: Winners in championship game.

ROOSEVELT REGIONAL
Sioux Falls Roosevelt vs. Douglas
Sioux Falls Washington vs. Sturgis

LINCOLN REGIONAL
Sioux Falls Lincoln, bye.
Sioux Falls O’Gorman vs. Mitchell.

HARRISBURG REGIONAL
Harrisburg vs. Huron.
Brookings vs. Rapid City Stevens.

STATE TOURNAMENT at Sioux Falls Stadium May 29
Pierre region champion vs. Roosevelt region champion, noon.
Lincoln region champion vs. Harrisburg region champion, 2 p.m.
State championship game, 5 p.m.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Girls golf: At the Mitchell invitational Friday the Governor team placed eighth at 82 over par. O’Gorman was the team champion at 29 over. The Pierre scorers were Haley Nadeau at 91, Madilyn Brakke at 92, Hadley Hart at 93 and Ellie Jo Simpson at 94.

Track-field: At the ESD Conference meet Hayden Shaffer placed fourth in the boys 3200. The day’s only Pierre winner was Jessica Lutmer who took the girls’ 3200 in 11:42.13. She was third in the 1600, and Maya Shorter was third in the discus.

Baseball: The Governors solidified their hold on a regional hosting spot with three wins in four games over Sioux Falls teams and ended the regular season with a 19-5 record.
— S.F. Washington: The visitors committed 16 errors in a doubleheader, and 16 of Pierre’s 22 runs were unearned. In a 10-2 win in the opener Lincoln Kienholz threw 5 1/3 innings, allowing only three hits and a run while striking out six. Bennett Dean and Matt Hanson finished the game on the mound. Kienholz and Dean each had three hits. Pierre broke the game open with a four-run fourth. In the nightcap it was a 12-2 Pierre win that started with a seven-run first inning. Jacob Mayer, Jayden Wiebe, Gary Nedved, Spencer Letellier and Kienholz all had RBIs in the big first frame. Brady Getz was starting pitcher, but reliever Isaac Polak got the win, holding the Warriors to one hit and no runs in his two innings in which he struck out two.
— S.F. Lincoln: Two unearned runs for Lincoln in the first were followed by a three-run Pierre fourth, highlighted by Andy Gordon’s two-run double. That set the stage for a spine-tingling finish. Starting pitcher Elliot Leif was sensational, allowing only two hits over six innings and into the seventh, but the pitch count required that he be replaced after the first batter of the seventh who walked. Reliever Bennett Dean struck out his first man, gave up a single, got an infield ground-out, and with runners at third and second with two out, issued an intentional walk to set up a force at any base. That wasn’t needed, however, when Dean struck out the final Lincoln batter to end the game with a 3-2 Pierre victory that probably clinched the regional hosting job. The nightcap saw Lincoln score two in the first inning again, and a six-run third put the game out of reach of the Govs, and the Patriots won by 12-2. Starter Jackson Edman and relievers Collin Brueggeman, Jett Zabel and Christian Busch did the pitching. Hanson and Kienholz had two hits each among Pierre’s total of six.

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls golf: at Brookings invitational, 10 a.m.
Track-field: at Huron invitational, 3:30 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Baseball: home for regional tournament; vs. Rapid City Central, noon; championship game, 4 p.m.
— MONDAY
Girls golf: at Watertown invitational, 10 a.m.

Boys tennis: There is a new state champion in Pierre. Luke Leingang, Riggs High junior, won the individual state title in the Flight 3 singles at the state “A” tournament in Sioux Falls Monday and Tuesday, starting outdoors and finishing indoors. Leingang won his quarterfinal match over a Spearfish player 6-1, 6-0. He swept his semifinal opponent from Mitchell, 6-4, 6-0. In the championship game he continued his perfect record of not losing a game by taking down a Yankton player 6-3, 6-3. Other singles results for Pierre were Matt Hanson, fifth place in Flight 1; Blake Judson, sixth in Flight 2, and Spencer Kelly, fifth in Flight 4. In doubles play Hanson/Judson placed sixth in Flight 1. Leingang/Kelly won the third-place match in Flight 2. Denton Beck/Jacob Mayer placed sixth in Flight 3 doubles. The Governors with 259.5 points as a team tied for fifth with Lennox behind champion Sioux Falls Christian, runner-up Yankton, third-place Huron and fourth-place Mitchell. Denton Beck is the only senior on Coach Steve Steele’s team, so next season looks promising for Pierre.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Track-field: At the Kimball meet last week Evan Nordstrom won the 100 and 200, Nathan Cook won the shot put and the discus, Trey Frost won the 300-meter hurdles, and Andrew Frederickson won the 400. Those four athletes joined together to win the 4×100 and 4×200 relays. Cormac Duffy placed second in both the triple jump and the long jump. On the girls’ side Taylee Stroup was second in the 100 and Shantay Waldron third in the 200.

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Track-field: at Region 6A meet, Chamberlain.
— MONDAY
Golf: at Region 5B tournament, Huron.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Girls track: Onida hosted the Central Conference meet Saturday. Stevie Wittler won the 100-meter hurdles in :16.20 and the 300-meter hurdles in :49.68. Lydia Hill was a double winner, capturing the discus at 108.3″ and the shot put at 33’7″. Ally Wittler placed second in the discus and Addison Chicoine third in that event. The girls 4×100 relay team placed third.

Boys track: At the Central Conference meet Jesse Schall won the discus at 133’2″ with his brother, Jordan, right behind at 129’8″. Landon Hepker was second in the triple jump, Griffin Petersen third in the 800, Isaac Ramirez third in the 400, and the boys’ 4×100, 4×200 and 4×400 relay teams all second in their respective races.

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Track-field: at Region 2B meet, Gettysburg.
— MONDAY
Golf: at Region 5B tournament, Huron.

POLITICS 2022

U.S. Senate — If Sen. John Thune decides to run for re-election next year, he likely will have an easy path to a fourth term. However, he will have at least one challenger in the Republican primary election in June a year from now. Mark Mowry of Spearfish announced this week he will be a candidate for the Republican nomination. In a Rapid City Journal announcement story this week, Mowry said he is an “America First” candidate, is pro-life, is against gun legislation, supports stronger measures against protests, is in favor of stronger national borders, supports stronger nuclear families and supports what he calls Governor Noem’s “strong leadership.” Mowry and his family spent 20 years in India after going there initially on a mission trip. He and his wife, the former Paula Sack, have four adult children. Paula, daughter of the late Paul and Sylvia Sack, grew up in Onida and graduated from Sully Buttes High School.

COUNTDOWN

3 days: Stanley County High graduation, noon (May 23).
3 days: Riggs High graduation, 2 p.m. (May 23).
5 days: Pierre Trappers season opener (May 25).
8 days: State track meets, AA Sturgis, A Spearfish, B Rapid City (May 28-29).
9 days: State high school baseball tournament, Sioux Falls (May 29).
11 days: Memorial Day (May 31).
12 days: Post 8 baseball season openers (June 1).
16 days: Casey Tibbs Match of Champions (June 5).
17 days: Kennedy Center Honors, CBS-TV (June 6).
18 days: State AA girls golf tournament, Sioux Falls (June 7-8).
18 days: State B golf tournaments, Brookings (June 7-8).
19 days: Pierre city council/school board elections (June 8).
26 days: State high school finals rodeo, Fort Pierre (June 15-19).
28 days: South Dakota Shakespeare Festival, Vermillion (June 17-20).
29 days: Oahe Days (June 18-19).
30 days: College World Series, Omaha (June 19-30).
31 days: Fathers Day (June 20).

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Softball: Two South Dakota college teams have advanced to postseason tournaments. The SDSU softball team won the Summit League tournament and qualified automatically for the NCAA Tournament. The Jackrabbits will be in the Fayetteville, Ark., regional and will play Stanford in their first game of the double-elimination regional. The other teams there are national #4 Arkansas and Manhattan. The SDSU game is at 2:30 p.m. Friday and available online on espn3. Meanwhile, Augustana earned the #1 seed in the NCAA Division II Central Regional being played at Edmond, Okla. Augie will open against the winner of the Southern Arkansas-Central Oklahoma game.

South Dakota State baseball (Landon Badger, Garrett Stout): The Jackrabbits lost three of four games at North Dakota State and now stand at 12-28 overall and 7-12 in the Summit League. SDSU plays four games at home vs. Oral Roberts Thursday (2), Friday and Saturday. In a 7-4 loss to the Bison Landon was 1-for-3, walked once and scored once, and Garrett was 0-for-1. In a 5-0 win Landon went 0-for-4. IN a 5-3 defeat Landon was 0-for-3, had one sacrifice and recorded one RBI on an infield grounder, and Garrett was 0-for-0. In a 10-4 loss Landon went 1-for-5 and Garrett again had no official at-bat.

Iowa Western baseball (Peyton Zabel): The season ended earlier than expected for the Reivers when they lost a three-game series to Indian Hills Community College, two games to one. Iowa Western won the first game, 4-3, in nine innings and sent Peyton the mound in Game #2 for the series clincher but Indian Hills scored three runs in the first, one in the second and one in the fourth. Peyton went four innings, allowing seven hits, five runs (two earned) and one walk while fanning three. He faced 23 batters with 81 pitches, 63 of them strikes. His final season pitching record was 8-2. Indian Hills won that game, 6-2, in nine innings, then in the deciding game beat Iowa Western, 7-3. The Reivers’ season ended with a 50-10 overall record, 38-4 in conference play.

South Dakota State track-field (Addy Eisenbeisz): At the Summit League championships in Vermillion Addy placed fourth in the high jump at 5’7.05″. NDSU won the men’s conference title for the 11th straight year, and the NDSU women won their title for the 13th straight year.

Augustana track-field (Elizabeth Schaefer): At the NSIC conference meet in Duluth Elizabeth began competition in the women’s heptathlon. In the first event, the 100-meter hurdles, she finished first at :14.59. In the high jump she cleared 4’7 3/4″. Elizabeth had to withdraw from the competition due to injury ahead of the first day’s next two events.

Northern track-field (Rachel Guthmiller): At the NSIC conference meet in Duluth Rachel placed 22nd in the hammer throw at 147’0″.

Rochester Community & Technical College baseball (Cade Hinkle): In the first round of their regional tournament the Yellowjackets went 2-1 in pool play and were one of two teams advancing to the four-team regional final Thursday through Saturday along with Century, St. Cloud and Itasca community colleges. The winner this weekend advances to the NJCAA World Series in Greenville, Tenn., next week. In an 11-0 six-inning win over Rainy River CC, Cade went 1-for-2. In an 11-7 10-inning loss to St. Cloud, Cade was 1-for-4 and had one RBI with a sacrifice fly. Rochester stayed alive with an 11-1 win in six innings over Minnesota State CTC. Cade was 2-for-3 and had one RBI.

Northern baseball (Spencer Sarringar): The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s all-conference baseball team for this season includes Spencer on the defensive team. As NSU’s catcher he had a .976 fielding percentage with 256 putouts, 30 assists and 20 caught-stealing. As a batter Spencer had a .279 average with 341 hits (five doubles, two triples, four home runs, 24 RBIs and 20 runs scored. He had an on-base percentage of .391 and a slugging percentage of .468.

WEDDING DAYS

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.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings swept Minot, 10-1 and 4-1. The Friday night win was Aberdeen’s 50th in 55 games this season, setting a new North American Hockey League record. The final regular-season record is 51 wins, 4 losses, no ties and one overtime loss for 103 points. The nearest competitor in the Central Division, Bismarck, was second with 64 points. The Central Division semifinals begin with the first two games of a best-of-five series against Minot in Aberdeen this Friday and Saturday.

Rapid City Rush: A three-game series at Wichita became a two-game series when Sunday’s third game was canceled due to unplayable ice conditions. Earlier the Rush had lost, 5-3, and won, 3-2. Last night the Rush opened a four-game home series against Indianapolis with a 5-4 overtime win, and the series continues Friday, Saturday and Sunday..

Minnesota Wild: After losing the last regular-season game to St. Louis, 7-3, the Wild have begun the NHL playoffs by splitting the first two games of the first round against Vegas. Minnesota won in overtime, 1-0, Sunday, but lost Tuesday by 3-1. Game 3 tonight (Thursday) and Game 4 Saturday will be in St. Paul. Game 5 will be in Vegas Monday. Game 6, if necessary, next Wednesday will be back in Minnesota.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: laffy taffy.
Friday-Sunday: lime.
Monday-Tuesday: blackberry.
Wednesday-Thursday: strawberry cheesecake.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Storm: In their Indoor Football League season opener the Storm lost to Iowa, 56-36. Sioux Falls is home vs. Arizona at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre Trappers: Added to the 2021 roster most recently were outfielder Christian DuMont of Houston Baptist University and right-handed pitcher Fischer Rausch of Southeast Missouri State. Christian’s hometown is Houston, and Fischer is from Valley Park, Mo. Another addition this week is infielder Kaiden Cordoso of Minot State University. He is from Abbotsford, B.C. Also joining the roster is right-handed pitcher Tyler Luban of Minot State. He is from El Cajon, Calif.

Four Corners: The local amateur team opened the Pony Hills League season with plenty of offense, pounding Chamberlain, 15-1, in a home game at Four Corners last Sunday. Tonight the team plays at Colome, but they will be at home Sunday afternoon against the Plankinton Bankers. Next Thursday they play at Kimball-White Lake.

Pierre Trappers schedule:
— Tuesday: home vs. Hastings.
— Wednesday: home vs. Hastings.
— Thursday: home vs. Hastings.

Minnesota Twins schedule:
— Thursday: at Los Angeles Angels, 3 p.m. on BSN and FS1 and 6:07 p.m. on BSN.
— Friday: at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m., on BSN.
— Saturday: at Cleveland, 3:10 p.m., on BSN and MLB Network.
— Sunday: at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m. on BSN.
— Monday: Baltimore, 6:40 p.m. on BSN.
— Tuesday: Baltimore, 6:40 p.m. on BSN.
— Wednesday: Baltimore, 12:10 p.m. on BSN and MLB Network.

Minnesota Twins: The Twins had a 2-5 week through yesterday. They lost the last game of a series in Chicago to the White Sox, 6-4; lost two of three to Oakland and lost two of three in a home series against the White Sox.

Sioux Falls Canaries: The Birds reached the American Association championship series last season. They have opened the 2021 campaign with a split against Winnipeg losing 9-0 but winning last night 5-3. Sioux Falls stays home against Winnipeg tonight, against Kane County Friday, Saturday and Sunday and against Houston next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday before making the first road trip of the season.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Timberwolves: After a 114-103 loss to Denver and a 124-108 loss to Boston, the Wolves won their last game of the season over Dallas, 136-121. The final record was 23-49.

COVID-19 UPDATES

• Wednesday’s report from the state Department of Health showed 574 active cases in the state, and the number of active cases of COVID-19 in South Dakota dipped to the lowest level in more than a year. The number of hospitalizations as of yesterday was 53, including 19 persons in ICUs and nine on ventilators. The South Dakota death toll is at 1,994, only six away from 2,000.
• The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said vaccinated persons can go without masks indoors at most locations although some places still require masks be worn at their businesses and events. However, there has been much pushback nationwide (except, of course, in South Dakota) for the loosening of the recommendations.
• The Minnesota Twins announced Target Field seating will be available at 80% capacity for June home games and at full capacity beginning July 5.
• The Chicago Cubs’ Wrigley Field will move to 60% capacity effective May 28.
• “Aladdin” will join the list of Broadway shows reopening in September. The national tour of “Dear Evan Hansen” will resume Dec. 7.
• “Hamilton” will require all cast and crew members to be vaccinated before they can resume work on that show.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers are planning for full capacity at Heinz Field for games this fall.
• Target stores have ended their mask requirement for fully vaccinated customers and employees.
• The CDC said schools that are open for K-12 in-person instruction should continue to require masks for the time being.
• Disney theme parks in Florida are keeping their mask mandates for now but may relent when summer heat arrives.
• Walmart and Sam’s Club stores dropped their mask rules for fully vaccinated customers and employees unless masks are required by local mandates.
• The NFL said fully vaccinated players and staff no longer are required to wear masks at team facilities.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL said fans will still be required to wear masks at the Pens’ home playoff games.
• The South Dakota Air and Space Museum at Box Elder has reopened to the public for the first time since the pandemic began last year.
• The New York City Marathon will be held on the usual date, the first Sunday of November, this fall but with 33,000 runners instead of 55,000.
• California will stay masked for another month until June 15.
• Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, will operate under full capacity beginning May 29.
• Three Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., have reopened to the public.
• The Pittsburgh Pirates will open their PNC Park to 100% capacity effective July 1.
• “Come From Away” resumes its run on Broadway in September.
• At Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in suburban Minneapolis the run of “Music Man” resumes July 2.
• Universal Orlando Resort no longer requires masks outdoors.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons won their second straight, a 1-0 win over Dallas, getting the only goal in stoppage time in the 93rd minute. Now 2-4, the Loons are off until a May 29 game at Real Salt Lake.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Championship: The PGA Tour’s second major event of the 2021 season takes place in South Carolina this weekend. Television coverage will be on ESPN Thursday and Friday and on CBS Saturday and Sunday.

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): At the Mitsubishi event, Tom tied for 26th place with an even-par weekend of 73-69-74=216, earning $15,300. The winner was Dicky Pride at 205, 11 under par. Next event on the Champions Tour is the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship in Tulsa May 27-30.

THOUGHT FOR 2021 GRADUATES

“Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”
— Judy Garland

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Last week Black Hills Community Theatre announced the fifth show of the 2021-22 season will be “33 Variations” by Moises Kaufman. Earlier in the week, as we told you in last week’s Update, BHCT announced the first four shows on the schedule will be “Matilda the Musical,” “Men on Boats,” “Julius Caesar” and “Urinetown the Musical.”
• I am one who is an avid USD Coyotes fan when it comes to college sports, and I especially root against SDSU when it comes to women’s and men’s basketball. But I must admit this great Jackrabbits football team this season won me over, and it took more than 24 hours for me to get over the gut-wrenching loss in the FCS national championship game Sunday. I’m not sure I can get it out of my head even now. When the revised SDSU football schedule for this coming fall came out last week, I immediately thought that Labor Day weekend would be a great chance to get out of town and get down to Denver for something, perhaps a Rockies game if they’re home and for sure the Jacks’ football opener at Fort Collins on Sept. 4. But now I have concern about this coming fall. Matt Zimmer’s article in the Argus Leader Tuesday points out that, while everyone except Preston Tetzlaff could be back, some of the players will not—“free agents” may transfer elsewhere and then there are the injuries. The second-string quarterback, J’Bore Gibbs, for sure won’t be available, Zimmer said, and it sounds as if starting QB Mark Gronowski’s injury from Sunday is bad enough that he may not be playing either. So the upcoming Jacks season, in which the opening game is now only 98 days away, has a cloud or two hanging over it. How sad the nation and especially Jacks fans didn’t get to see the offense from Gronowski to the Jankes and the other receivers on full display the way we came to enjoy it this spring. Zimmer’s column on Sunday’s game in Monday’s paper said the “what ifs” will be on Jacks players’ and fans’ minds for decades. What if the weather had been decent? What if all those penalties hadn’t happened? What if the two field goal tries had not been botched? What if the defense could have stopped one of those fourth-down plays on Sam Houston’s last drive? And especially what if Gronowski hadn’t been knocked out of the game almost before it started? It was a great season and a terrific playoff run, and the Jacks despite all odds made quite a comeback to take the lead and hold it almost to the end. But the game was 16 seconds too long, and Sam Houston rallied the way they always do, winning it 23-21. It still makes my stomach hurt.
• Unlike Division I football, where we already know that next year’s national champion will be Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State or Oklahoma, soccer among the major schools gives everybody a chance. If you didn’t already know, how long would it take you to guess which schools have won the Division I national men’s and women’s championships? Quite awhile, I guarantee you. The women’s title has been won by Santa Clara, beating No. 1 Florida State in the championship match. As for the men, the national champ is Marshall, who won in overtime over No. 3 Indiana in the final match.
• Here’s something I bet you didn’t know unless you are a high school coach or athlete. There no longer is any connection between region track meets and the state track meet so far as entry qualification is concerned. So I ask, what is the purpose of a region track meet, other than to give the kids another major meet to attend and to keep them in shape for next week’s state meet. Apparently this new rule was to have taken effect last year, but the track meets were canceled due to the onset of the pandemic. Qualifying for the state meet now involves meeting or surpassing an event’s standard time, height or distance set by the SDHSAA. Here’s another thing about track and field—while this year the state meets are being held at three different sites in the Black Hills and in past years the first day was held at three different sites, starting next May in 2022 the state meet will be three days in length, and all three classes will compete in one city, rather than three.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, May 20:
Owen Joy, Caelum Carr, Elliesia Nelson, Dave O’Connell, Deanna Smith, Ainsley Askew, Chad Johnson, Mark Leiferman, Caleb Kusmaul, Renessa Williams, Polly Gill, Murray Thompson, Katie (Hallock) Moberg, Taynen Stout, Maggie Lansing, Lisa Chamley.
— 16th anniversary, Doug/Krista (Beastrom) Stevens.
— 70th anniversary, Glenn/Phyllis Jorgenson.

Friday, May 21:
Tessa (Heiss) Krueger, Hayse Moore, Lindsey Kozel, Boomer Kuiper, Tara (Hyde) White, Bob McCarty, Garrett Weber, McKenna Halverson, Sam Booker.
— 10th anniversary, Mark/Alysia Livermont.
— 10th anniversary, Harry/Emily (Goeden) Decker.
— 27th anniversary, Paul/Toni Kenefick-Aschoff.
— 5th anniversary, Cliff/Alexis (Yackley) Warner.
— 44th anniversary, Mark/Sheryl Nielsen.
— 17th anniversary, Josh/Kelli (Snow) Rohrer.
— 5th anniversary, Tyler/Erika Tordsen.

Saturday, May 22:
Dick Koester, Elliot Jean Bertsch, Michell (Knoll) Peterson, Macy (Welsh) Kaiser, Tennyson Newman, Mandy (Hill) Johnson, Brian Bumann, Pat Snow, Nicole Royer, Christopher Carter, Scott Aker, Kim (Merkwan) Schaefer.
— 11th anniversary, Kipp/Kelsee (Larsen) Stahl.
— 12th anniversary, Joe/Amy (Robinson) Ryan.

Sunday, May 23:
Kade Binegar, Matt Gill, Hunter Canode, Caroline Zebroski, Bob Jeffries, Billy Serbousek, Jenny (Gors) Hodges, Morgan Freidel.
— 12th anniversary, Neils/Kara (Gloe) Christoffersen.
— 6th anniversary, Dustin/Tarin James.
— 9th anniversary, Maxx/Macy Vaudrin.
— 29th anniversary, John/Heather Forney.
— 68th anniversary, Darrell/Sue Robbins.
— 6th anniversary, Dmitri/Brittni Melius.
— 6th anniversary, Aaron/Claire (Boyer) Rumpca.

Monday, May 24:
Kellen Pottorff, Cameron Pottorff, Stephanie Paul, Betsy Valnes, Luke Schanzenbach, Gio Cappellano, Adrian Freidel, Tony Jockheck, Hannah Maxwell.
— 18th anniversary, Gary/Molly Redden.
— 7th anniversary, Mick/Jenny (Ness) Hofer.
— 7th anniversary, Cody/Darcy (Unruh) Keiser.

Tuesday, May 25:
Michael Lyons, Kristen (Hanson) Ganske, Jennifer (Duba) Erlandson, Bronson Schiefelbein, Kris Schneider, Caitlin Reimers, Ryan Russell, Jessica Smith, Ronda (Zebroski) Kline, Dave Mack.

Wednesday, May 26:
Chad Gran, Conor Cruse, Tom Harmon, Abby Kennison, Bergen Osterkamp, Beth (Yackley) Rinehart, Adrie Frame, Jackie (Schall) Shepherd, Brandon Christiansen, Ryan Goehring, Will Mortenson, Jessica Lomheim, Isabel Gander, Chuck Quinn.
— 26th anniversary, Derk/Teresa (Tassler) Campbell.
— 9th anniversary, Mike/McLean (Thompson) Kerver.
— 8th anniversary, Tim/Rachel (Knutson) Steece.
— 14th anniversary, Josh/Meagan Hove.

Thursday, May 27:
Emma Haberman, Mary Peterson, Audrie Morris, Troy Fox, Marcia Mack, Debbie (Willingham) Hubbard, Kristi (Kennedy) Van Winkle.
— 4th anniversary, Ryker/Angela (Koch) Tieszen, Erin Stars.
— 5th anniversary, Alex/Nikki (Douglas) Jensen.
— 4th anniversary, Cody/Jessica (Blackmore) Nilson.
— 15th anniversary, Jason/Deanna Reitz.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Sara Rankin has been named the new CEO of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce. She will assume her duties in that position on June 14.

Riggs High football seniors signing letters of intent last week included Regan Bollweg to SDSU, Gunnar Gehring to USF, Collin Brueggeman to Dakota State and Josh Rowse to Dakota Wesleyan. Another Riggs senior, Nathan Leiferman, is headed to Presentation College to play soccer.

Stanley County senior Tayne Bohman signed his letter of intent to attend Presentation College and play basketball there.

Among high school and college graduates we have noticed this month:
— Brooke Opitz at West Central High School in Hartford. She is the daughter of Barb (Sutera) and Tom Opitz and granddaughter of Dan and Helen Sutera of Onida.
— Laurel Holcomb at the University of Sioux Falls with a B.A. degree in communication studies and theatre. She is the daughter of former Pierre residents Jeff and Robyn (Starks) Holcomb of Sioux Falls.
— Andrew Van Gerpen at the University of Minnesota with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. He graduated from Riggs High in 2017.
— Allyson Sahr at Madison High School. She is the daughter of Bob and Christine (Blasius) Sahr.
— Jaida Kramer at Hot Springs High School. She is the daughter of Fort Pierre native Ben Kramer and his wife Andrea.
— Caleb Huxford at Stevens High School in Rapid City. He is the oldest child of Pierre natives Kevin and Caren (Howard) Huxford.
— Ethan Headlee at Harrisburg High School. He is the grandson of former Pierre residents Marcia and Dave Mack.

Daniel “Danny” Bergeson, 82, Fort Pierre, passed away at home May 17. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the Isburg Funeral Chapel with a time of sharing there starting at 6:30. A memorial service is planned for 1 p.m. Monday, May 24, at Lutheran Memorial Church. Danny grew up and attended school at Hayes until fourth grade, then he came into Pierre, eventually graduating from Pierre High School in 1957. He married Janice Leidholt in 1957, and they had a daughter, Danette. Danny graduated from Southern State Teachers College in 1960. He worked as a foreman at Harding Motor Company and as a purchasing agent with the South Dakota Highway Patrol. He is survived by his wife, Janice; his daughter, Danette (Buddy) Cronin; four grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Onida area native Dick Seaman passed away at the age of 90 May 15. His family had a 90th birthday celebration for Dick just a month earlier, so the family has decided to have only a private family graveside service at the Nemo cemetery, which was held earlier this week. Dick and his wife, the late Rosella (Pollman) Seaman, made their home at Nemo in the Black Hills for many years after retiring from Sully County from 1978 until retiring again and moving into Rapid City. After Dick farmed on his family farm west of Onida for decades, they moved to the Black Hills. Dick and Rosie, wherever they lived, were God’s servants on Earth, as members of the Mennonite church in Onida, as missionaries and as pastors Dick is survived by four of their five children, Barbara (Glenn) Klinkel, Rapid City; Brad (Lynn) Seaman, Lenexa, Kan.; Benita (Gaylen) Engle, Eudora, Kan., and Boyd Allen (JoLynn) Seaman, Olathe, Kan.; 24 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife and a daughter, Betty (Gregg) Motley, Overland Park, Kan. To make contact with members of the Seaman family, use this address: 667 Middle Valley Dr., Rapid City SD 57701.

Former Pierre residents Glenn and Phyllis Jorgenson are observing their 70th wedding anniversary today (Thursday). Friends can still send them greetings to P.O. Box 89303, Sioux Falls SD 57109. The Jorgensons are well-known statewide for their service to others through the River Park treatment facilities and the River Park Foundation.

Tim Schmidt (Riggs ’92), who lives in the Twin Cities, and three other men from the National Lutheran Choir were in a quartet who sang the national anthem at the Minnesota Twins’ home game last Saturday afternoon.

Voting reminder: The voter registration deadline is next Monday, May 24, for anyone intending to vote in Pierre’s school board and city commission elections on June 8.

Scott Raue, who had triple heart bypass surgery in early April remains hospitalized in Bismarck. He had major surgery on Tuesday of this week to check on infection in his chest, but fortunately it was found to be clear. Things are looking better for Scott, but he will have to go to rehabilitation for several weeks once he is discharged.

Shiela Mangan is retiring after 27 years of service to the Pierre school district. She worked on lunch and recess duty at McKinley Elementary in her early years of school district work, then became a computer teacher and finally worked in the tech room at Riggs High.

Shelby Guthrie, after graduating from the School of Mines, left this week to begin her environmental engineering internship with Nucor. Shelby will be living in Dothan, Ala., and her plant is located just across the nearby state line in Georgia.

Riggs HIgh alumnus John Williams (’02), who played tennis when he was a Governor, has been coaching the Sioux Falls Christian boys tennis team this spring season. After the first day of the state tournament Monday, his team had the Class “A” lead, all three of his doubles teams had advanced to the final day, and five of the six singles players had also advanced. Things worked out beautifully on the final day Tuesday as the SFC team won the Class “A” state team championship with 455.5 points, followed by Yankton in second and Huron in third.

Patrick Callahan has been named vice sheriff of Hughes County by the county commission. He will help the transition from one sheriff—the soon-to-be-retired Darin Johnson—to the new sheriff. Callahan will be brought up to date on the operations of the sheriff’s department by Johnson before Johnson retires. Callahan operates the community cable access channel, Oahe TV, but he was a Pierre Police Department officer and medic for 24 years. (News courtesy of “Today’s KCCR News.”)

Jerry Lundberg, 70, died at home in Pierre May 17. Born at Pickstown, he attended school in Madison and Sioux Falls, graduating from Lincoln High School in 1968. He had a long career in road construction until retiring in 2020. He is survived by his long-time partner, Rose Vice of Pierre; his mother, Lois Lundberg of Sioux Falls; his sister, Kathy (Greg) Sadowski of Steamboat Springs, Colo.; and his brother, MIchael (Candy) Lundberg of Wright, Wyo. For service information refer to www.isburgfuneralchapels.com.

PONDER THIS

“The major difference between hating and loving is perhaps that, whereas to love somebody is to be fulfilled and enriched by the experience, to hate somebody is to be diminished and drained by it. Lovers, by losing themselves in their loving, find themselves, become themselves. Haters simply lose themselves. Theirs is the ultimately consuming passion.”
— Fredereick Buechner in “Whistling in the Dark”