FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS SEMIFINALS

Friday, Nov. 6:
— Class 11AAA: Harrisburg at Sioux Falls Roosevelt; Sioux Falls Lincoln at Brandon Valley.
— Class 11AA: Huron at Brookings; Pierre at Yankton.
— Class 11A: Madison at Tea Area; West Central at Canton.
— Class 11B: Sioux Valley at Winner; Mobridge-Pollock at Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan.
— Class 9AA: Platte-Geddes at Viborg-Hurley; Lemmon-McIntosh at Hamlin.
— Class 9A: Canistota-Freeman at Howard; Warner at Wall.
— Class 9B: Dell Rapids St. Mary at Kadoka Area; Wolsey-Wessington at Herreid-Selby Area.
Championship games at Vermillion Nov. 12-13-14:
— Thursday, 11 a.m.: Class 9AA.
— Thursday, 3 p.m.: Class 9B.
— Thursday, 7 p.m.: Class 9A.
— Friday, 2 p.m.: Class 11B.
— Friday, 7 p.m.: Class 11AA.
— Saturday, 2 p.m.: Class 11A.
— Saturday, 7 p.m.: Class 11AAA.

A PLAYOFF WIN FOR THE AGES

The quarterfinal playoff game was an uphill battle for the Pierre Governors all night long, and for most of the Mitchell game it seemed that the dynasty was about to die. Pierre is seeking its fourth straight state championship, its fifth in eight seasons, and its sixth state championship game appearance in eight years. But the Kernels, whom Pierre had defeated 48-20 two weeks earlier, were a rugged opponent last Friday.

A fourth quarter in which six touchdowns were scored—four of them by the Governors—made the game what a radio announcer correctly declared to be “an instant classic.” When it was done, Pierre had survived, 34-27, to move on to the semifinals.

It took less than two minutes for Mitchell to make its statement, ending a five-play first possession with a 32-yard touchdown for a 7-0 lead. On Pierre’s second possession the Govs’ offense came alive and marched deep into the red zone, but on a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line, Maguire Raske was stopped short. The Kernels took over and went on a long, time-consuming drive, but a false start penalty on a fourth-and-short situation set Mitchell back and forced a punting decision. Starting from their own 20, the Govs moved well again, starting with a 29-yard pass from Lincoln Kienholz to Jack Merkwan. Two big gains on the ground by Raske put Pierre into the red zone once more. Raske scored from six yards out, and the Govs were on the board with 4:49 left in the first half though the extra-point kick was missed.

Mitchell answered with another drive into Pierre’s red zone. A four-penalty series of plays—three on Mitchell and one on Pierre—ended with Mitchell losing a touchdown on a holding call. A fourth-down pass went incomplete, and Pierre had survived another scare. Kienholz took his team on his shoulders and from the 20 moved downfield with time running out in the half. A 32-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the half was not good, so the score remained 7-6 for Mitchell.

Pierre seemed to have taken control of the game as the third quarter progressed, but on their first long possession the Govs lost the ball on a fumble. After forcing a Mitchell punt, Pierre had a 50-yard field with which to work, but a Kienholz pass from the 35 was intercepted. After two straight scoring chances had ended in no points, Pierre saw Mitchell’s Josh Grosdidier go 84 yards for a score. Though the extra-point kick was blocked, the Kernels led 13-6 with 6:03 left in the third period.

For the third time in the quarter the Governors drove deep and threatened to score, but on fourth-and-a-foot from the 2-yard line, Kienholz was stopped for no gain, and the Kernels had stymied Pierre yet again. It was nervous time as the game moved into the fourth quarter. Then the game, which may have seemed to be prodding along for three quarters, suddenly became the most exciting contest of the season so far.

Having forced a quick Mitchell punt, the Govs saw Jayden Wiebe ignite the fire with a punt return all the way to the Mitchell 22. From there on the first play Kienholz scored on the ground. Carston Miller’s kick tied the game at 13-13 with 10:11 to go. But the exhilaration was short-lived as Mitchell’s Parker Phillips took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to the house, and 16 seconds after they had tied the game, the Governors were behind again, 20-13.

This time it was Brock Moser, another of Pierre’s stash of young guns, who electrified the crowd, returning Mitchell’s kickoff all the way to the Kernel 18-yard line. On a key fourth-down play Kienholz connected with Regan Bollweg on a nine-yard touchdown pass. Miller’s kick tied the game at 20-20, It was the third touchdown in a minute and a half, and we weren’t done yet. (Incidentally that TD reception gave Bollweg the school record of career receptions held by Jack Maher.)

Mitchell continued to battle, starting from its own 41. It took only four plays for them to score on a 32-yard pass to Phillips with 6:34 remaining. For the third time Mtchell went ahead, this time 27-20, and now time was of the essence.

It took Pierre only 44 seconds to go 79 yards and tie the game again. On first down from his own 21 Kienholz connected with Bollweg for 31 yards. On first down from the 48 he hit Raske for an 18-yard gain, and from the Mitchell 30 Kienholz found Aaron Booth, who took it to the end zone. Miller’s kick made it 27-27.

Now it was up to the defense. Bollweg sacked the Mitchell quarterback for a six-yard loss on first down. A second-down pass fell incomplete. On third down it was Josh Rowse who rose up to make the play, a nine-yard sack, and Mitchell had to punt. From his own 29,, Kienholz had 4:04 on the clock to do his thing, and he did. First it was a 24-yard pass to Bollweg, then a 20-yard run by Kienholz himself, then eight more yards on the ground for the quarterback. On second down at the 19, Kienholz found a streaking Booth, who caught the ball in the corner of the end zone for what proved to be the winning score.

Mitchell had only one time-out and 2:43 on the clock. A first-down pass was knocked down by Kienholz, the last man between the Mitchell receiver and another touchdown. On second down the Kernel QB was sacked after a bad snap from center. Mitchell used its final time-out. With 2:11 left and the Kernels facing a desperation third-and-20 from its own 25, Jayce Beastrom bore down on the quarterback, his pressure forced a hurried pass, and when the ball came down, it was in Kienholz’s arms for an interception. Mitchell’s goose had been cooked.

Pierre had 2:06 to kill, and Kienholz was able to drop back a couple steps on each down, then take a knee, and the Govs killed the clock and saved their season for at least one more week.

Sophomore quarterback Kienholz completed 13 of 19 passes for 172 yards. The defense held Mitchell’s star running back Phillips to 31 yards on 12 carries.

LOCAL VOLLEYBALL TOURNAMENT UPDATE

Class AA: Pierre stands at #11 in the seed-point standings with a regular-season match at #3 Huron this Friday. The Governors know for sure they will be on the road next Thursday, Nov. 12, for their SoDak 16 match where the winner advances to the state tournament. As of today, Pierre at #11 would play at #6 Brandon Valley. However, if Pierre were to drop to #12 or #13, the opponent might be Aberdeen Central or Sioux Falls Washington.

Class A: Stanley County swept McLaughlin 3-0 Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round of the Region 6A Tournament on game scores of 25-13, 25-15, 25-13. The Buffaloes play at #1 Mobridge-Pollock tonight (Thursday) in the semifinal, and the winner tonight advances to the SoDak 16 round next Tuesday, Nov. 10. The other semifinal has Miller vs. Chamberlain, and that winner also advances to the SoDak 16.

Class B: Sully Buttes’ season ended Tuesday in a 3-0 loss at Ipswich in the Region 2B Tournament quarterfinal on game scores of 12-25, 15-25, 12-25. The semifinal matches in that region are Ipswich vs. Highmore-Harrold and Potter County vs. Faulkton Area, and those two winners advance to the SoDak 16 Tuesday.

ELECTION ROUNDUP

Election Night in South Dakota was about as suspenseful as watching grass grow as Republicans swept to easy wins almost everywhere. In the vote for President as of Wednesday morning, Donald Trump with 244,641 votes had a margin of 64% to 33% over Joe Biden’s 126,664 votes.

Mike Rounds was returned to the U.S. Senate for another six years as he defeated Dan Ahlers by 68% to 32% as of yesterday morning. The vote totals were 257,832 and 121,591 at that time.

Dusty Johnson won another term in the U.S. House of Representatives, polling 82% of the vote in a race against Libertarian candidate Randy Luallin with 18%.

Gary Hanson won the statewide vote for keeping his seat on the Public Utilities Commission with 69% of the vote compared to Remi Bald Eagle’s 25%.

In District 24 (Hughes-Stanley-Sully) the two newcomer Republican candidates won as expected. Will Mortenson with 8,407 votes and Mike Weisgram with 7,785 votes go to the Legislature. Amanda Bachmann polled 3,079. District 24’s senator, Mary Duvall, was unopposed for re-election.

On the Hughes County Commission the two Republican candidates earned at-large seats on the commission—Tom Rounds with 5,264 votes and Randy Brown with 4,759 votes. The other candidate, Vicky Wilkey, had 3,348 votes.

Governor Noem told state voters to defeat the two marijuana issues on the ballot, but they didn’t pay attention to her. Initiated Measure 26, legalizing marijuana for medical use, had an approval margin of 69% to 31% as of Wednesday morning. Constitutional Amendment A, legalizing and regulating marijuana for recreational use, had a narrower approval spread of 53% to 47%. But hold on. The Legislature just in recent years has overturned the will of the people just months after an election, so early 2021 will see what, if anything, they do to these results.

State voters also approved allowing sports wagering in Deadwood and at reservation casinos by a margin of 59% to 41%.

Looking ahead to 2022, the top-of-the-ticket races in South Dakota will be those for the U.S. Senate (John Thune’s seat), the U.S. House (Dusty Johnson’s seat), and the governorship (Kristi Noem’s seat). It is easy to expect that all three, if they choose to run for re-election, will keep those offices unless someone in their own party dares to make a primary election challenge.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— Thursday:
Volleyball: at Huron.
— Friday:
Football: at Yankton in state 11AA semifinals, 7 p.m.

Boys golf: In the ESD conference meet Pierre placed seventh. Sawyer Sonnenschein had a 12-over-par 84, Luke Olson 90, Johnathon Lyons 91 and Nick Bothun 91. At the state tournament at Willow Run in Sioux Falls, the Governors placed seventh of 17 teams with a scorecard of 333-343=676, 116 over par. Individual champion Nash Stenberg led Lincoln to the state championship with his own scorecard of 2-over 73-69=142. Pierre players’ results:

* Sawyer Sonnenschein, tied for 20th, 22-over 76-86=162.
* Nick Bothun, tied for 26th, 28-over 89-79=168.
* Luke Olson, tied for 36th, 30-over 83-87=170.
* Jack Bartlett, tied for 60th, 42-over 85-97=182.
* Lincoln Houska, tied for 68th, 47-over 96-91=187.
* Jonathan Lons, 85th, 63-over 97-106=203.

Girls tennis: Pierre placed third among 11 teams at the state “A” tournament at Rapid City with 300 points behind Mitchell’s 499 and Rapid City Christian’s 440. Marilee Shorter was the champion at #3 singles, Jocelyn Corrales placed second in the fourth singles flight, Kourtney Walti was third at #5 singles, Sydney Tedrow was sixth at #2 singles, Gracie Zeeb placed fourth at #6 singles, Corrales and Caitlin Ott placed third at #3 doubles, Kara Weiss and Tedrow were fifth at #1 doubles, and Carissa Ott and Shorter placed sixth at #2 doubles. Earlier at the ESD conference meet Pierre placed fifth. Corrales was third in #3 singles, Tedrow fourth at #2 singles, and Corrales and Caitlin Ott third at #3 doubles.

Girls soccer: The Governor girls won over Brookings, 4-1, and Yankton, 5-0, and lost to Roosevelt, 3-1, to end the regular season with a 3-7-1 record. Seeded #11 in the playoffs, Pierre opened at #6 Rapid City Central and lost to the Cobblers, 5-0, to end the season. Seniors lost via graduation will be Ajaye Hicks, Paige Isburg, Andie Allison, Caytee Williams and Brooke Easland.

Boys soccer: Pierre tied Brookings, 4-4, and lost 1-0 games to Roosevelt and Yankton, ending the regular season with a 3-6-2 record. The Governors entered the playoffs as the #14 seed and lost at #3 Watertown, 4-1, to see the season come to an end. Seniors who will be lost via graduation are Paul Heth, Raef Briggs, Cam Ahartz, Nathan Leiferman, Rylee Fishcer and Tyler Johnson.

Soccer: Nathan Leiferman and Cole Peterson of the boys’ team and Caytee Williams on the girls’ team earned ESD all-conference first-team honors. Andie Allison of the girls’ team was named to the all-conference second team. At the end of October the Governors’ goalkeeper, Cam Ahartz, earned first-team All-State recognition as the best boys soccer keeper in the state.

Softball: At the state “B” varsity tournament in Sioux Falls the Pierre girls lost to Tea Area, defeated Dell Rapids and lost in extra innings to Lennox. Highlighting the tournament for Pierre were five out-of-the-park home runs, three by Kenzie Gronlund and two by Kara Weiss.

Cheer/dance: At the O’Gorman invitational the dance team was seventh and the cheer team 10th. At Mitchell’s meet Pierre placed sixth overall. The cheer team was ninth and the dance team seventh at the ESD conference meet. At the state meet in Rapid City Pierre placed 13th in dance with a 293.25 score and 16th in cheer with a 163 score.

Cross country: At the ESD conference meet the Governor boys placed fourth among nine teams. Earning all-ESD honors were Hayden Shaffer in 10th place, Jared Lutmer in 14th and Blake Judson in 15th. In the girls’ race Jessica Lutmer was eighth to earn all-ESD honors. At the state meet in Rapid City the Pierre boys team placed 10th. In individual results Hayden Shaffer was seventh in 16:45.79, Judson 44th in 17:50.68, Mason Dell 51st in 17:59.57, Bradyn Brother of All 65th in 18:10.08, Brady Gere 68th in 18:12.48, Jared Lutmer 73rd in 18:17.60, and Haeden Wheelhouse 90th in 18:59.64. In the girls’ race at the state meet Jessica Lutmer placed 15th in 19:38.99, Jazzlyn Rombough 78th in 21:54.94, BreAnna Lowery 83rd in 21:59.08, Rachel Nemec 1045th in 23:02.73, and Trysta Johnson 120th in 26:29.28.

Football: The Governors went 4-1 in October, the only loss coming at the hands of unbeaten #1 Brookings, 21-14. Maguire Raske scored both Pierre touchdowns. With the score tied at one point the Brookings defense stopped Pierre at the goalline. In other games Pierre swamped Spearfish, 74-28, with Raske scoring six rushing TDs and another on a pass reception and gaining 175 yards on 21 carries. Pierre beat Huron, 35-13, as Raske and Regan Bollweg each scored twice. Gunnar Gehring picked up a fumbled ball and returned it for a score. The Govs won despite four interceptions and a lost fumble. Pierre closed the regular season with a 48-20 win over Mitchell and a 35-13 win over Douglas. Raske had three TDs in each of those two games. Lincoln Kienholz threw for 186 yards and three TDs, and Bollweg had a pick-six score in the mItchell game. One of Raske’s scores against Douglas was the return of the second-half kickoff.

Volleyball: The Governor girls lost to Mitchell 3-2 in a five-set match at home to go to 7-11 for the regular season. One match remains at Huron Friday. In the past month Pierre won matches over Spearfish, Sturgis, Yankton and Douglas while losing to Harrisburg, Brandon Valley, Watertown, Huron, O’Gorman, Lincoln, Brookings and Aberdeen. During the month Miah Kienholz surpassed the 1,000 mark in assists for her career.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Football: After the Mount Vernon-Plankinton game Oct. 5 was canceled, the Buffaloes whipped Hot Springs, 34-0, and edged Groton, 6-0, to finish the regular season at 5-2 with four shutout wins Against Hot Springs Evan Nordstrom scored twice, Lathan Prince ran back an interception for a score, and Trey Frost had a receiving TD. The Groton win gave SCHS a home playoff game as the #8 seed, but on a snowy, muddy field at home, the Buffs lost to McCook Central/Montrose, 22-14, to end the season.

Cross country: In the Region 4A meet Kaysen Magee placed 10th, Sarah Fosheim 11th and Bailey Siedschlaw 19th in the girls’ race to qualify for the state meet. In the boys’ race at the regional Colt Norman placed 25th and Tyson Peterson 29th. At the state meet in Rapid City in the “A” girls race Sarah Fosheim placed 56th in 21:48, Kaysen Magee 62nd in 22:05 and Bailey Siedschlaw 115th in 24:51.

Volleyball: The Buffaloes played 10 dual matches in October, winning two of them over Dupree and Lyman while losing to Sunshine Bible, Colome, Potter County, Sully Buttes, Kadoka, New Underwood, Highmore-Harrold and White River. The SCHS regular-season record was 4-15.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Football: Heading into October winless, the Chargers defeated Hitchcock-Tulare, 44-22, and North Border, 28-14. SBHS then lost to Faulkton Area, 58-50, in double overtime and lost to Ipswich-Edmunds Central, 48-8, to finish the season at 2-6. The Chargers did not qualify for the playoffs this season. In the four October games quarterback Landon Hepker showed promise for future seasons. He passed for 120 yards vs. Hitchcock-Tulare and 157 yards and two TDs against North Border. In the Faulkton loss he passed for 157 yards.

Cross country: At the state meet in the snow in Rapid City, Griffin Petersen placed 23rd in the “B” boys race in 18:27.

Volleyball: The Chargers ended their regular season last week with a 4-12 record. The only win during October was a 3-0 win over Stanley County while the girls lost 3-0 decisions to Highmore-Harrold, Mobridge-Pollock, Herreid-Selby Area, Hitchcock-Tulare and Potter County and 3-1 matches to Philip and Timber Lake. They entered the Region 2 tournament as the #7 seed.

COUNTDOWN

6 days: Veterans Day (Nov. 11).
7 days: State football championships, Vermillion (Nov. 12-14).
7 days: The Masters golf tournament, Augusta, Ga. (Nov. 12-15).
14 days: State volleyball tournaments, AA Brookings, A Watertown, B Huron (Nov. 19-21).
18 days: Pierre’s Parade of Lights (Nov. 23).
19 days: Capitol tree-lighting ceremony (Nov. 24).
20 days: First day of “Christmas at the Capitol” (Nov. 25-Dec. 26).
21 days: Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26).
22 days: Fort Pierre Christmas tree-lighting program (Nov. 27).
28 days: Pierre gymnastics opener at Huron (Dec. 3).
29 days: Pierre Players’ “Same Time Next Year” (Dec. 4-6, 10-12).
29 days: State oral interpretation tournament, Watertown (Dec. 4-5).
30 days: Pierre wrestling opener at Rapid City (Dec. 5).
30 days: Oahe Capitals boys and girls varsity openers (Dec. 5).
35 days: Riggs High choir concert (Dec. 10).
36 days: Pierre girls basketball opener vs. Harrisburg (Dec. 11).
36 days: Pierre boys basketball opener at Harrisburg (Dec. 11).
36 days: Rapid City Rush season opener (Dec. 11).
39 days: States’ electors vote for President (Dec. 14).
39 days: Riggs High band concert (Dec. 14).
46 days: Georgia Morse Middle School band/choir concert (Dec. 21).
47 days: NBA season begins (Dec. 22).
50 days: Christmas Day (Dec. 25).
51 days: Last day of “Christmas at the Capitol” (Dec. 26).
57 days: College football national semifinals (Jan. 1).
65 days: NFL playoffs begin (Jan. 9).
67 days: College football national championship (Jan. 11).
76 days: Inauguration Day (Jan. 20).
94 days: Super Bowl (Feb. 7).

MISERY LOVES COMPANY

On the day after the Twins were swept by Houston in the first round of the baseball playoffs, my nephew, Mike Knudson, posted the following which shared his and other Minnesota teams’ fans’ three decades of misery since the Twins won their second World Series title in 1991:

* 1996: Timberwolves draft Ray Allen, immediately trading him for Stephon Marbury.
* 1998: The 15-1 Vikings lose the NFC championship game on Gary Anderson’s first missed field goal of the year.
* 2000: The Vikings lose 41-0 to the Giants in the NFC championship game.
* 2002: Twins win their division; lost to Angels in the ALCS.
* 2002: The Wild swept by Anaheim in the Western Conference Finals.
* 1997-2003: Wolves lose in first round of playoffs for seven straight seasons.
* 2003: David Ortiz leaves Twins for Red Sox.
* 2003: Last-second Nate Poole TD keeps Vikings out of playoffs and puts Packers in instead.
* 2004: Sam Cassell hurts hip doing big-balls dance; Wolves lose to Lakers in Western Conference Finals.
* 2004: Twins win division; lose to Yankees in ALDS.
* 2005: Randy Moss traded to Raiders; Vikings get #7 overall pick which they use to take Troy Williamson (3 TDs over 3 awful seasons).
* 2006: Twins win division with A.L. Cy Young, MVP and batting champ; swept by A’s in first round.
* 2007: Kevin Garnett forces trade to Celtics.
* 2008: Wild win first division title; lose to Avs in first round.
* 2009: Wolves draft Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn over Steph Curry and DeMar DeRozan.
* 2009: Twins win division in Game 163; swept by Yankees in ALDS.
* 2009: Vikings choke against Bountygate Saints in NFC championship game (Adrian Peterson fumbles; 12 men on field penalty; horrific late Favre interception).
* 2010: Wolves draft Wesley Johnson at #4 over Cousins, Hayward and George.
* 2010: Twins win division; swept by Yankees in ALDS.
* 2011: Vikings draft Christian Ponder #12 overall.
* 2011: Worst team in the NBA Wolves lose lottery (and Kyrie Irving); pick Derrick Williams at #2.
* 2012: Adrian Peterson misses single-season rushing record by 9 yards; Vikings lose to Seahawks in first round.
* 2014-2015: Wild lose to Blackhawks in second round both years.
* 2015: Blair Walsh shanks 27-yard field goal; Vikings lose to Seattle in first round.
* 2017: Wild set franchise record for points; lose in first round.
* 2017: Twins blow 3-0 lead to Yankees in A.L. wild-card game.
* 2017: Vikings blown out 38-7 in NFC championship game one week after Minneapolis Miracle with possibility of home Super Bowl on the line.
* 2018: Wild lose in first round of playoffs for third straight year.
* 2018: Wolves lost in first round of playoffs; Jimmy Butler forces trade seven months later.
* 2018: Vikings lose to already-clinched Bears at home in Week 17; needed it to make playoffs.
* 2019: Twins win 101 games; set MLB record for home runs; swept by Yanks in ALDS.
* 2019: Vikings lose to 49ers in divisional round; Stefon Diggs forces trade three months later.
* 2020: Twins win A.L. Central; swept in two games at home by the 29-31 Astros.

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

South Dakota Mines cross country (Theron Singleton): At a dual with Chadron State, Theron placed fifth in 27:13.14. At the RMAC conference meet in Colorado Springs on Oct. 24, redshirt senior Theron placed 82nd in a time of 28:17.8.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): In their only game this fall the Bison trailed after three quarters for the first time in nearly two years, but they rallied in the fourth period to defeat Central Arkansas, 39-28. The game was played in the spacious FargoDome in front of a crowd of 471 family members and friends of the two teams. NDSU and the other Missouri Valley Football Conference teams will play a spring schedule starting in late February.

South Dakota Mines football (Matt Heilman): The Hardrockers are 2-2 as we move into November. Mines opened the short season with a 34-17 win over Black Hills State, lost to Chadron State 41-25 and 37-22, and scored Mines’ first win ever over Colorado-Mesa 24-9. This Saturday’s rematch against BHSU has been postponed until later in the month due to COVID-19 concerns at BHSU. The Hardrockers’ next game will be at home Nov. 14 vs. Nebraska-Kearney.

Morningside bowling (Alex Badger): Beginning his junior year in Sioux City, Alex placed 10th with a 959 score in the season opener at Oskaloosa, Iowa. The Mustang team had a 7,118 score. Next on the fall schedule will be Hastings College’s Bronco Open Nov. 13-14.

Dakota State volleyball (Nicole Sarringar): The Trojans ended their fall season with a record of 7-5 overall and 3-2 in NSAA play. One of Nicole’s best matches came in a 3-1 win over Viterbo where she had 12 assists, a service ace and six digs. In a 3-2 loss to Bellevue she had two kills, 16 assists, an ace and 15 digs. She had three digs in a season-closing 3-1 win over Presentation.

Black Hills State football (Josh Breske, Gage Gehring, Josh Rowe): Coach Breske’s head coaching career began with a 34-17 loss at South Dakota Mines. In the Yellowjackets’ second game BHSU lost to Colorado-Mesa in the snow at Spearfish. The Oct. 24 game vs. Chadron State was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. With an 0-2 record BHSU will be home Nov. 14 vs. Chadron State at 2 p.m. The rematch against the School of Mines scheduled for this coming Saturday has also been postponed for now.

Presentation College football (Michael Lyons): The Saints stand at 0-8 heading into a game at Dickinson State this Saturday. During the past month PC lost to Waldorf 58-7 and 13-6, to Dickinson State 35-6, to Valley City State 42-13, to Dakota State 21-18 and to Mayville State 42-14.

Dakota Wesleyan football (Cobey Carr, Isaac Cliff): The Tigers are 2-5 going into their bye week. DWU lost to Dordt 47-10, to Midland 50-14 and to Morningside 56-21 while beating Doane 29-26 and Briar Cliff 26-7. The next DWU game is Nov. 14 at Jamestown.

Northwestern (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): The Red Raiders had an all-winning October, beating Dordt 48-40, Concordia 31-17, Doane 35-14 and Midland 43-14. In the Dordt game Mo had six solo tackles and two assisted tackles. Against Concordia he had two solo tackles and three assisted tackles. Now 5-1, Northwestern goes to Hastings this Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan volleyball (Elena Svingen): The Tiger women ended their season with a 12-8 regular-season record. During October they won matches over Briar Cliff, Presentation, Midland, Concordia, Hastings, St. Mary and Mount Marty. Elena did not play in any of the Tiger matches this fall.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): Having transferred from Northern last year, Lincoln is listed as a freshman forward on the Lancers’ roster. Mount Marty opened the season last weekend splitting a pair against Oak Hills Christian College, losing 82-81 and winning 96-73. Lincoln did not play in either game. MMC plays Presentation this Saturday and Valley City State Sunday with both games at the Sanford Pentagon.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Bradley Dean, Nick Wittler): Brad is a senior forward and Nick a freshman guard from Sully Buttes on the Tiger roster. The DWU men open their season at the Sanford Pentagon this weekend, Saturday against Valley City State and Sunday against Presentation. Then they host Briar Cliff next Wednesday.

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 boxers in your left-hand row 1, 5, 6 and 7 from top to bottom.

Clues:
ACROSS—
(1) “Dancing Queen” group
(5) Close-knit group
(6) —- mentality; influenced by peers
(7) Circular current
DOWN—
(1) Pain
(2) Lost blood
(3) Shakespeare, the “—- of Avon”
(4) —- Roddick, tennis legend

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Diane London, owner of the Perkins restaurant on the Fort Pierre end of the bridge, was named Kiwanian of the Year by the Pierre-Fort Pierre Kiwanis Club.

Kathryn Hardin, 70, a former elementary school principal in Onida, died in Rapid City on Sept. 22.

John Young, 91, died Sept. 22 at Fort Meade VA Medical Center. John grew up at Mount Vernon and served with the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He married Hyacinth Linn in 1969. John had a career of more than 45 years with the materials testing lab of the state Department of Transportation. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Hy Young; his son, Jason Young and his wife Krista of Rapid City; four stepchildren, Sharon Johnson, Bernard Linn and James Linn, all of Pierre, and Joseph Linn of Fairfax, Iowa; 11 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A celebration of John’s life took place Sept. 29 at The Fieldhouse in Pierre. He was buried at Black Hills National Cemetery.

Matt Bump of Sioux Falls married Jenna Batzer on Sept. 26, and following their ceremony, according to a Facebook photo they posted, they jumped into a lake together. Jenna works at Augustana University, and Matt is talent buyer/operations manager for Pepper Entertainment and producer/engineer and guitarist for Valleyhill.

Construction began this week on the new Missouri River bridge connecting Pierre and Fort Pierre. It is expected the bridge will be completed by the end of 2022, and the current bridge is scheduled for demolition in 2023. The initial work will involve bringing in cranes and building access roads. Work will continue through the winter. (News courtesy of “Today’s KCCR News.”)

Penn “Stump” Williams III, 57, Pierre, died Sept. 27 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. Services were held Oct. 1 at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church. A 1981 graduate of Riggs High School, he worked for the city parks and recreation department and Hillsview Golf Course. He is survived by his daughter, Streyle Williams of Sioux Falls; his stepchildren, Luke Dokken of Pierre and Ryane Oliva of Rapid City; his parents, Penn and Roberta Williams of Pierre; his brother, Robert Williams of Pierre; his sister, Patty Williams of Pierre, and his brother-in-law, Brian Mews.

The homecoming royalty crowned at Sully Buttes High School last month were emperor Garrett Petersen and empress Jill Hofer.

A check on some South Dakota legislative races from Tuesday’s election that involved people with former ties to the Pierre area: * Hugh Bartels of Watertown, who grew up in Onida, was unopposed for his District 5 seat in the House of Representatives. * Casey Crabtree of Madison, whose parents are Onida area natives, was unopposed for his Senate seat in District 8. * Former Pierre resident Larry Zikmund of Sioux Falls led his opponent by a 66% to 34% margin as of yesterday morning with partial returns counted. *Taffy Howard of Rapid City, whose husband Mark grew up at Blunt, was unopposed for her seat in the House from District 33.

Don Henjum, 59, Sioux Falls, who was born in Pierre in 1960, died Sept. 25 at Sanford Specialty Hospital in Sioux Falls. He was a member of IBEW Local 426 for 28 years Labor Local 620 for seven years and Gage Brothers for eight years. Survivors include his parents, Bob and JoAnn Henjum, and his sister, Debra Kehr.

Keith Boardman and Mesa Winder were crowned homecoming king and queen, respectively, at Riggs High School’s coronation.

The funeral service for Bill Zimmerman, 89, was held at Community Bible Church Sept. 28. He passed away Sept. 23 at Avera Maryhouse. Born in Omaha, Bill married Phyllis Ramsey in 1952. He served with the Army in peacetime Korea. He was a lifetime rancher north of Pierre. He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Phyllis Zimmerman; his sister, JoAnn Glasshoff; his children, Gaye, Paul and John, and their spouses; nine grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren.

Eagles Gallery, a display sponsored by the Rotary Club of PIerre-Fort Pierre, is a new attraction at the Pierre airport terminal. Unveiled Oct. 16, the display is a tribute to four highly-decorated World War II veterans—Henry Potter of Pierre, Don Smith, Harold Thune and Curtis Cameron. The gallery features the aircraft flown by the Doolittle Raiders.

Phil Hanson, 73, Sioux Falls, a native of Pierre, died Oct. 24. The son of the late Howard and Phyllis Hanson married Georgia Nelson Thompson in 1977 and moved to Sioux Falls with her children, Andrea and Peter Thompson. He is survived by his wife; his daughter, Andrea Thompson, and her husband, David Gillian; his son, Peter Thompson, and grandchildren Hunter and Jackson Thompson.

Elise Unkenholz, a junior at Rapid City Stevens, placed 27th in the state “AA” cross country race in a time of 20:22.11. She is the daughter of Pierre native Eric Unkenholz (’92) and his wife, Tasha.

Beverly Zebroski celebrated her 87th birthday on Oct. 27. Friends can still send her greetings at P.O. Box 153, Onida SD 57564.

Norma (Gould) Musick, 88 died at home Oct. 28. She attended high school in Pierre and college at Union College in Nebraska and Black Hills Teachers College. She taught in rural schools, at the Seventh-day Adventist School in Pierre, and at the Holbrook Indian School in Arizona. Norma and her husband, Roy, ranched and raised cattle and sheep. She also worked for the state auditor’s office. Survivors include her daughter, Pamela Scott; her son, Doyle Musick and his wife Melody; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. A funeral service was held Tuesday at the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Pierre.

Dr. Michelle Wattier, a chiropractor in Waterloo, appeared in a Facebook promotional video for the Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa. Michelle is a member of Women for Good, which raises funds for grants that are bestowed upon programs that benefit women and girls.

Ramona Begeman, 85, Parker, died Sept. 21 at Pioneer Memorial Nursing Home in Viborg, just one week after her husband, Marvin, died at the same facility. Services were held Sept. 25 at Hofmeister-Jones Funeral Home in Parker. She is survived by four children, MIke Begeman and his wife Gale of Sioux Falls, Jeff Begeman and his wife Monica of Ponte Vedra, Fla., Rochelle Hyde and her husband Shane of Pierre, and Scott Begeman of Viborg; seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Dr. Brianne (Barnett) Roby has been inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. She is a pediatrics and facial plastic surgeon at Children’s Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis.

Kea (Boyd) Warne marked her 28th year of service to the state, most of it at the secretary of state’s office where she is the elections expert.

Phyllis Sarvis, 86, Pierre, died Oct. 10. The funeral service took place at Feigum Funeral Home on Oct. 14, followed by burial at Black Hills National Cemetery. Phyllis grew up in Indiana. She married Bob Sarvis in 1953, and they moved to South Dakota, eventually settling in Pierre. She babysat many children over the years and helped in the family shoe repair business. She is survived by her sons, Gary Sarvis and his wife Kathy of Sioux Falls and Steve Sarvis and his partner, Julie McBride, of Pierre; her daughter, Lori Gascoigne and her husband Steve of Aberdeen; eight grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and seven siblings. Among those who preceded her in death were her husband, two siblings and a son, Kevin Sarvis.

Since Landon Severson’s freshman year at Sully Buttes High School, he has had to deal with transverse myelitis, a rare disease that affects his ability to move his legs and feet. But the mutual support of his Sully Buttes teammates and the Ipswich/Edmunds Central players allowed it to happen that Landon finished his football career by scoring the Chargers’ only touchdown in the season finale at Ipswich on the receiving end of a 22-yard pass from Landon Hepker. Despite his handicap, Severson has been a stalwart at practices and games for four years. (News courtesy of The Onida Watchman)

The attorney general’s office enjoyed Oreos on Oct. 23 on what would have been the late John Guhin’s 75th birthday. One of his former colleagues sent John’s wife, Carolyn, a note that read, “To quote Nick Young, ‘the king is gone but he’s not forgotten.'”

Belva (LaFave) Wood, 88, North Little Rock, Ark., died Oct. 24. A graveside service was held Oct. 30 at Riverside Cemetery in Pierre. She is survived by her husband of 69 years, Clovis Wood; her daughter, Janelle Coker; a grandson; her brother, Eldon LaFave and his wife Lilia in Pierre, and her sister-in-law, Lorna LaFave in Seattle. Among those who preceded her in death were her parents, Eugene and Olinda LaFave, and her brothers, Wayne, Dennis and Lonnie LaFave.

Darin Bergquist announced his retirement after 13 years as secretary of the Department of Transportation. His first position with the state was as administrative law judge with the Department of Labor starting in 1996. He was appointed by Governor Rounds as DOT secretary in 1997. Darin is a native of Milbank.

On Sept. 12 Orie Bramblee was seriously injured while making repairs on a tractor at home near Hayes. He was airlifted to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls with multiple broken bones and fractures and was temporarily wheelchair-bound. An account to help pay for his medical expenses, damages, and loss of time for his seasonal employment is open at Oahe Federal Credit Union.

Ryan and Kelly (Lingle) Royer revealed they are expecting their third child in April.

The Harrisburg High School varsity softball team coached by Toby Bryant won the state “A” championship, beating Sioux Falls Lincoln in a second championship game, 12-2, after losing to Lincoln in the first game, 12-0. The Tigers also won the ESD championship, and their JV team won both their ESD and state championships. Toby’s two oldest daughters, Dessa and Tevan, play for their respective Harrisburg teams.

Joan Likness and her family honored her late husband, Jim, by planting five Norway spruce trees at Hillsview Golf Course, which was one of his favorite places.

Another event that has fallen victim to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic is the Sully Area Singers’ annual Christmas cantata, usually performed in Onida as well as in Pierre or Gettysburg. Also canceled for this year is the Christmas on the Prairie concert at the cathedral in Hoven where Northern State University groups, the South Dakota Symphony and a chorus of area singers annually share their talents.

Ben Gloe has returned home after a nine-month deployment with the U.S. Army in Korea. Ben, who will mark his 17th year in the Army in January, has rejoined his wife and daughter at Junction City, Kan., near Fort Riley.

Charryel (Lytle) Schreiber, 89, died at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital Oct. 26. A memorial service was held Oct. 30 at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. Charryel grew up in eastern Sully County and attended high school in Onida. She and Walt Schreiber were married in 1952 and divorced in 1982. She is survived by her daughters, Dawn Kleinschmidt and her husband Lee of Harrold, Kim Jost of Agar and Tami Schreiber of Murdo; her son, Bruce Schreiber of Agar; nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.

The full-time employees of the Pierre school district will receive a one-time bonus of $1,000 for their extra hours they have worked due to the pandemic. Part-time employees will receive bonuses of $500.

Jeannette Beemer observes her 102nd birthday this Friday (Nov. 6). You can still send her birthday greetings at 1850 E. Fourth St. #103, Pierre SD 57501.

Erwin “Butch” Koll, 71, Pierre, who worked for the Pierre school district for 20 years until retiring in 2012, died Oct. 14 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. A graveside service was held Oct. 26 at Riverside Cemetery. Butch and his wife, Marge, lived in Clark and Fort Pierre, then in Glasgow, Mont., before relocating to Pierre in 1992. He is survived by his wife; his daughters, Kritin Koll, Kerri Vallery and Kelli Koll, all of Pierre, and two grandchildren.

Roxanne Hammond, who was running unopposed for a new four-year term as Hughes County state’s attorney, submitted her resignation from that office to the county commission Oct. 19. Jessica LaMie, who has been deputy state’s attorney for 2 1/2 years, was appointed as the new state’s attorney.

Mike Yackley, president of BankWest’s locations at Onida and Selby, has become the chairman of the American Bankers Association’s agricultural and rural bankers committee.

Kinsley Maxine Christenson is the newborn daughter of Blunt native Jason Christenson and his wife, Manda, who live in Basehor, Kan. Kinsley weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces, and measured 16 1/4 inches when she was born Oct. 27. She joins sisters Cadence, 17, and Raina, 15, and brother Trevor, 11, in the family. Jason after a long Army career that ended with him at the rank of lieutenant colonel now works in human resources for FedEx Ground.

The traditional Veterans Day program at Riggs High School, which began many years ago during Jay Mickelson’s tenure at the school, will be held at 10 a.m. next Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Judge Scott Myren has been appointed as an associate justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court by Governor Noem. He has been a Fifth Circuit Court presiding judge in the Aberdeen area. He is a former staff attorney at the Supreme Court.

Winter concert dates, COVID permitting: * Riggs High choir concert, Dec. 10. * Riggs High band concert, Dec. 14. * Georgia Morse Middle School band/choir concert, Dec. 21.

Earning Fine Arts Performer of the Week recognition in the past month were Morgan Eckert and Michelle Weiss from the band, Natalie Maillet and Levi McKinley from the choir, Constance Autell from art and Mesa Winder and Joe Cremer in theater.

Named Athletes of the Week by the Pierre Athletic Coaches Association in the past month were these students: Nathan Leiferman in boys soccer, Marlee Shorter in girls tennis, Rylan Derry in both football and boys soccer, Khia White Eyes in competitive cheer, Lincoln Kienholz in football, Austyn Wiebe in volleyball, Hayden Shaffer in boys cross country, Jessica Lutmer in girls cross country, the entire boys soccer team and the entire girls tennis team.

At Red’s Grill and Pub in Sturgis this week they are joking that not all heroes wear capes but some of them wear servers’ aprons. Shiloe King, who attended the Sully Buttes schools and moved from Pierre to Sturgis two months ago, obtained a part-time job at the restaurant. Earlier this week he had just served a couple and their daughter when the girl began yelling that her father was choking. Shiloe sprang into action. Having worked as a certified nurse’s assistant in Pierre two years ago, he knew the proper way to perform the Heimlich maneuver, but he couldn’t lift the choking man out of the booth to get him into a standing position. With the help of fellow employees from the kitchen, Shiloe got him into a standing position, reached into his mouth and pulled out the piece of food. The man immediately had color restored to his face and was fine. (News courtesy of KNBN-TV, Rapid City)

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Black Hills Community Theatre in Rapid City announced a fall online series in lieu of in-person shows. The series will operate on a pay-what-you-want pricing policy. For details and show dates go to https://bit.ly/3663tGS. This weekend an online reading of “A Body of Water” by Lee Blessing will be available for viewing Friday through Sunday. How to stream? https://bhct.org/a-body-of-water/
• One fall food item on which I will pass is pumpkin spice macaroni and cheese, but I have seen it advertised. It doesn’t sound good at all.
• Sioux Empire Community Theatre in Sioux Falls announced it will start a four-show in-person season Dec. 3-13 with “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Shows later in the season will be “Music Man” in March, “Beauty and the Beast” in late April and “Footloose” in June.
• At Iowa State home football games they crank up a siren for each third-down play and for each score, and my dogs don’t like the noise much. While I watched the Oklahoma game last month with the dogs in the room, they went nuts during that telecast, howling at full volume each time the siren sound came over the TV.
• Of all the ignorant and downright stupid comments appearing on Facebook in the past month, the prize winner has to be this: “If masks work, why do we need a vaccine?”
• A contest is underway to name the new arena being built as part of the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center complex in Rapid City. The whole complex will be known as The Monument while the present Don Barnett Arena, LaCroix Hall and other aspects of the civic center will retain their present names. The winner of the contest to name the new arena will get a package of tickets to events coming to the arena in 2022. The naming rights committee will pick the top three names from among those entered in the contest, and the public will vote via social media between Nov. 20 and Dec. 6 to select the eventual arena name. To enter the contest go to gotmine.com/contests/detail/namethearena.
• The Division I men’s basketball tournament scheduled at Atlantis in the Bahamas during Thanksgiving week will be held instead at (where else?) in South Dakota at the Sanford Pentagon. Seven of the eight teams originally scheduled to go to the Bahamas planned to come to Sioux Falls with Duke being the exception, but now Utah has backed out and will be replaced by South Dakota State. West Virginia took Duke’s place, joining Creighton, Dayton, Memphis, Ohio State, Texas A&M and Wichita State on Nov. 25-27 (the day before Thanksgiving, the holiday itself and the day after). All 12 games will be televised on the ESPN networks. SDSU and Creighton will play at 6 p.m. that Wednesday in the quarterfinals. Tickets are on sale soon, and they say masks will be required of those attending. The arriving teams will be taken straight to their “bubble” and will not move about the city but remain pretty much isolated during their three days in Sioux Falls, according to plans. Now we’ll see if any of the other schools think again about bringing their teams to COVID-ridden South Dakota.
• The most astounding discovery I made in the past month was that Wilmer Valderrama, the actor who plays agent Nick Torres on “NCIS,” is the same guy who played Fez, the kid with the Cuban accent on “That ’70s Show” with Ashton Kuchter and Mila Kunis, way back in the day. How come I had never made that connection!
• Imagine working to your very last day on Earth at the age of 100! Legendary Minneapolis Star Tribune sportswriter and columnist Sid Hartman died Oct. 18 at that glorious age, and his last byline appeared in the paper that very day.
• Back in my senior year of high school we who went to the state “B” tournament at the old Aberdeen Civic Arena were Cresbard Comets fans. What a team they had—Bob Swanhorst, Loren Niederbaumer, Lyle Russman, Cliff Allbee and others! I remember we Onida High kids had a good relationship with Ipswich kids that year, and together we sat in the same cheering section. Cresbard got by #2 White River by one point in the quarterfinals, swamped Plankinton in the semis and lost by seven to Howard in the championship game. Cresbard returned in 1957 and won the state “B” title. I was reminded of those great days last week when it was announced that Bob Swanhorst and his wife, Trish, have made a $1 million pledge for student-athlete scholarships at his alma mater, Augustana University. Bob coached at Webster and Huron high schools and Huron College after his playing years at Augie, then they taught and retired at Burnsville in the south Minneapolis suburbs. Great memories of his basketball years!
• In these days when people are becoming very tired and irritable over the precautions necessary during the pandemic, and in some cases in other places having to be quarantined or even locked down, mental health is at a crisis stage. Just for the record, so you can remember you saw it here, the 24-hour helpline for the National Alliance on Mental Health is 800-950-6264.
• A friend and fellow UCC church member during my Vermillion years, Mike Marek, who just retired as a professor at Wayne State College in Nebraska, pointed out why the meeting of each state’s electors to vote for President (this year on Dec. 14) is so long after Election Day, and he makes sense. Back in the Founding Fathers’ years, there was no communication such as telephones or telegraph, so another state’s vote results could not be known unless somebody carried those results to the capital. And it took time to travel. So about six weeks after Election Day, the electors selected in each state’s election made their way to the nation’s capital for their meeting at which the President was elected.
• One of my favorite Facebook posts of the past month: “Quarantine has turned us all into dogs. We roam the house all day looking for food. We are told ‘no’ if we get too close to strangers, and we get really excited about car rides.”
• The conference portion of Summit League teams’ basketball schedules has been announced. It’s interesting that the SDSU teams won’t have to play in Vermillion at all this season. All four USD-SDSU games—two men’s and two women’s—will all be played in Brookings.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Lynx: In the WNBA’s semifinal series the Lynx were swept by Seattle, losing Game 3 by a 92-71 score.

CORONAVIRUS UPS AND DOWNS

1. The Zonta Club in Pierre canceled its annual November vendor show, one of the largest pre-holiday season events in the area.
2. The traditional ball drop on New Year’s Eve in New York will be only a virtual event this year, so how many thousands of people will show up in Times Square anyway. And the Macy’s flagship department store in New York will not offer in-person talks and photos with Santa Claus for children this holiday season.
3. The Bierborse Festival at Main Street Square in Rapid City was canceled due to concerns expressed by participating brewing companies.
4. King & Country, a Grammy-winning duo, performed a drive-in concert in the parking lot at the Denny Sanford Premier Center Oct. 11.
5. Watertown High School canceled all activities for the following week on Sept. 25, due to a high number of cases and close contacts and continued with only online classes.
6. On Sept. 25 the Pierre school district required masks at Riggs and the middle school whenever social distancing can’t be achieved.
7. The Rapid City Area Schools board on Sept. 28 designated teachers and employees as “critical infrastructure workers,” and thus they can continue to work following a confirmed exposure to COVID-19.
8. On Oct. 5 the Rapid City high schools and middle schools joined the elementary schools in going to Level 1 (in-person attendance four days per week for everyone) despite concerns of many. On that day the number of active cases in Pennington County reached a record high level.
9. On Oct. 2 Spearfish High School canceled its homecoming football game on the day of the game due to “significant increase in COVID cases” that day.
10. One week after appearing on CNN and citing personal freedoms in South Dakota, Sioux Falls mayor Paul TenHaken says his city employees must wear masks to curb the virus spread and asked business owners to consider the same mandate, but he refused to impose a city mandate for mask wearing, saying such a mandate could not be enforced.
11. The school at Wall closed due to a lack of classroom substitute teachers and kitchen substitutes for a day, then reopened Oct. 6.
12. At a special session of the Legislature called to secure their input on how to spend billions of dollars of federal money designated for the state, Governor Noem spent the first half of her speech in self-praise for her and her administration. As of that day there were 180 new cases of COVID-19 and 4,274 active cases in the state.
13. Groton Middle School went to full-time distance learning Oct. 6.
14. On Oct. 6, three days after the Stevens-Central football game in Rapid City, parents received an e-mail saying a Stevens player was positive, but parents were told not to keep their kids home unless they develop symptoms. Meanwhile, Central ordered its players to stay home from school for a week and canceled its game vs. Roosevelt.
15. The Hot Springs schools went to online learning.
16. Augustana became the first South Dakota college to announce it will continue a hybrid approach to learning in the spring semester.
17. First United Methodist in Rapid City suspended its in-person worship schedule for at least two upcoming Sundays due to the increase in positive cases in the city. Later in October the church’s leadership council suspended all in-person worship through November.
18. The Kadoka school closed down due to a positive case so that the buildings could be cleaned.
19. Wilson Elementary became the first Rapid City school to close for two weeks, undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine under the school district’s plan.
20. The Spearfish school district reported 10 cases. The superintendent noted a community-wide divide between those taking COVID seriously and those who are not.
21. On Oct. 8 South Dakota led the nation again for cases per 100,000 people and was third in deaths per 100,000 people over the past seven days.
22. The state set a new record for new cases in one day—772—on Oct. 9, 80 of them in Pennington County alone. Three days later the state surpassed 6,000 active cases for the first time as the President, back on the campaign trail, said the coronavirus is disappearing.
23. Governor Noem started her weekly newspaper column this way: “I always knew South Dakota could be an example to the nation. I never expected that such an example would be set in the midst of a global pandemic.” The column came out as the state was experiencing its deadliest week so far.
24. St. Mary High School at Dell Rapids closed for a week due to COVID and a shortage of substitute teachers and staff.
25. The Wagner school board adopted a mandate that masks be worn only when social distancing is not an option. The students must wear masks in hallways and in small classroom groups. A universal mask mandate passed 4-3 on Sept. 16, but the backlash from the district was so great, the board rescinded it the very next day. They also returned to in-person classes after more than 100 students were quarantined due to close contacts.
26. On Oct. 13 Governor Noem said the surge in positive cases was due to increased testing numbers. The same day Mayor Steve Alldner in Rapid City said a mask mandate would be impossible to enforce, but he encouraged businesses to implement such mandates in their businesses.
27. On Oct. 14 all Rapid City Stevens football players in grades 9-12 were required to quarantine from school for seven days due to exposure, but without access to teachers back at school, and the remainder of the Stevens football season was canceled. The same day a new state record of 876 new cases was set.
28. The schools at Custer closed Oct. 15 due to confirmed cases.
29. On the same day the Department of Health reported a record 797 new cases and 13 more deaths, Governor Noem was campaigning for Trump in New Hampshire amid speculation she plans a run for President in 2024. New Hampshire happens to have the first presidential primary election in the nation.
30. The mayors of the 16 largest cities in the state, in lieu of any mandates or comments from state government, issued a joint letter imploring the public to wear masks when social distancing is not possible, to keep interactions to small groups, to stay home when feeling sick, to wash hands frequently and to clean frequently touched surfaces.
31. On Oct. 18 the Sully Buttes school district was declared to have “substantial community spread” and moved to Tier 2 spectator limitations for indoor activities.
32. Mayor Paul TenHaken of Sioux Falls said, “If you want to live in a state that gives you freedoms, that comes with an expectation of responsibility, and I need this region to do more right now.” Meanwhile, the mayor of Fargo, N.D., called for a statewide mask mandate and issued one for his city. Minot also issued a mask mandate in that city.
33. On Oct. 22 the state reported 973 new cases, bringing the total of active cases in the state to 9,273, and the death toll reached 347. The following day the number of new cases was 1,185, marking the first time the number of new cases surpassed 1,000 in a single day.
34. On the Pine Ridge reservation Oglala Sioux Tribe leadership voted to lock down the reservation for seven days in response to a surge in COVID cases.
35. Though more than 60 employees in his department have tested positive since the start of the pandemic, the Pennington County sheriff declined to change his mask policy after seeking COVID funds for employees’ PTO (paid time off).
36. The nation of Ireland went into total lockdown in a desperate bid to save Christmas.
37. On Oct. 25 the South Dakota death toll reached 375, the number of new cases on that day alone was 1,063, and the number of active cases in the state rose to 10,745.
38. Another single-day record of 1,270 new cases occurred on Oct. 27. The active case total reached 11,933 and the death toll 384.
39. On Oct. 28 by a vote of 5-2 the Brookings city council extended its mask mandate for 60 days, requiring masks for all indoor businesses and public spaces where social distancing is not possible.
40. The governor of Illinois banned all indoor dining and bar services in Chicago, and the number of people gathering in one place was also limited.
41. The Pierre school district reported six active cases among students and eight among staff members.
42. Rapid City mayor Steve Allender announced all city meetings and facilities now require masks for all employees and visitors. However, in city hall, one of the affected buildings, the public will have to wear masks to city council meetings, but the council members have the choice of doing so.
43. Riggs High School and Georgia Morse Middle School went to five-days-per-week in-person school effective Nov. 2. Masks are still required wherever social distancing can’t be achieved. At the three elementary schools masks are “strongly encouraged.”
44. Stevens High in Rapid City closed the school to in-person classes Oct. 29 through at least Nov. 6, moving to distance learning.
45. South Dakota’s largest medical organizations launched a joint effort to promote mask-wearing, countering the governor’s long-held position of casting doubt on masks’ efficacy.
46. France announced a full nationwide lockdown for the second time this year. Germany imposed a four-week partial national lockdown.
47. South Dakota hit precisely 1,000 new positive cases of the coronavirus on Oct. 29 and added 19 deaths to the fatality toll, which passed the 400 mark.
48. Keeping everything open for the economy’s sake took a punch to the gut for Rapid City. The December economy will be the loser with the cancellation of the Lakota Nation Invitational 32-team basketball tournament and all accompanying activities.
49. South Dakota made the national news for the wrong reasons (again!) when the positivity rate hit a hefty 46%, meaning 46% of every virus test comes out positive.
50. Monument Health’s hospital in Rapid City and all facilities throughout the Black Hills reverted to a no-visitor policy effective Nov. 2.
51. On Oct. 30 confirmed U.S. cases surged past nine million with infections on the rise in 47 states while political leaders claimed we have it under control. But as cases strained hospitals, officials in many of the hardest-hit states resisted taking stronger action to stop the spread.
52. On Oct. 31 South Dakota alone reported 1,443 new cases of COVID-19 and added 10 more people to the death toll in the state.
53. The Stanley County courthouse closed to the public Tuesday and will remain closed through Nov. 15.
54. On Tuesday the state had 1,004 new cases, the death roll had risen to 446, the number of active cases stood at 13,367, and the number of hospitalizations had risen by 78 from the previous day.
55. In Rapid City Southwest, South and West middle schools and Central High School today are going back to Level 3—total online learning and cancellation of all activities—after all schools in the district had gone to four-day in-person learning earlier.
56. The VFW in Rapid City has canceled the annual Veterans Day parade set for next Wednesday. Instead the holiday will be observed with a ceremony.
57. And a final note: Yesterday there were 91,000 new coronavirus cases in the U.S., the second-highest number of any day all year since the pandemic began.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: The Caps began their preseason schedule with a pair of dominant wins over Mitchell, 5-0 and 5-1. Newcomer Carter Shulz made 15 saves in goal in the shutout win as Raef Briggs, Kennan Howard, Dre Berndt, Jon Lyons and Ayden Anderson scored goals. In the win Kieran Duffy was in net and made 16 saves. Briggs scored twice and Howard, Elliot Leif and Ashton Griese once each. The Capitals are home twice this weekend in exhibition play—7 p.m. Saturday vs. Huron and 1 p.m. Sunday vs. Aberdeen. The Caps’ regular-season SDAHA schedule begins at Watertown and Huron Dec. 5-6, respectively. The girls varsity opens league play at Brookings Dec. 5.

Minnesota Wild: A sign of the times with no end in sight was the decision by the National Hockey League to cancel this year’s outdoor Winter Classic game, which was to have involved the Wild playing Chicago at the Twins’ Target Field. The NHL also canceled its all-star game for the upcoming season.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings are off to a 6-0 start in their regular season with two wins over St. Cloud and four wins over Bismarck. Aberdeen is home this Friday and Saturday vs. Austin as well as Nov. 13-14 vs. Fairbanks.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Stampede lost its first four preseason exhibition games, 1-0 and 6-2 to Sioux City and 5-3 and 6-1 to Fargo. The regular season starts tonight (Thursday) at Des Moines. The first home game is Nov. 14 vs. Fargo.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons have clinched a playoff spot and will end the regular season Saturday at 5:30 p.m. on Fox Sports North vs. FC Dallas. During this past month Minnesota had 0-0 ties against Nashville SC and Real Salt Lake, a 2-2 tie with Houston, a 2-0 win and a 1-0 win over FC Cincinnati and a 2-1 win over Colorado. Three matches were postponed for COVID-19 reasons.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): Tom has played in three tournaments on the Champions Tour in the past month. At the SAS championship at Cary, N.C., he tied for 23rd with a 3-under 70-72-71=213 card, earning $20,580. At Richmond he tied for 15th with a card of 7-under 71-70-68=209, earning $34,000. Last weekend at Boca Raton, Fla., Tom tied for 55th at 3-under with a trio of 71s for a 213, earning $4,200. The Champions Tour this weekend goes to Phoenix for the Charles Schwab Cup championship.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Pierre Trappers: Four members of the 2020 Trappers were named to the Expedition League all-league team. They are Ethan Skuija and Nick Grossman of Cal State-Bakersfield, Cooper McMurray of Kansas, and Carter Howell from Augustana. Ethan was also named Expedition League pitcher of the year.

Pierre Trappers: Seth McLemore, the assistant baseball coach at Murray State University in Kentucky, has been named head coach of the Trappers for 2021. He has been in the Expedition League before as associate coach at Spearfish in 2019 and has also coached in the Beach Collegiate League.

Pierre Trappers: A Facebook post last week indicated that the Expedition League will welcome a new city, and their team has a most interesting nickname. The Mining City Tommyknockers will be based at Butte, Mont., which makes for a very long road trip from everywhere else in the league.

American Legion baseball: Fitzgerald Stadium, home field of Rapid City Post 22, has been awarded the Central Plains Regional tournaments in August 2022 and 2023. The ballpark is currently undergoing a major renovation to be ready for the 2021 season. The Fitz will also host the state tournament in 2022. Next summer’s Central Plains Regional will be held in Sioux Falls.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

SOUTH DAKOTA spring schedule for 2021:
Feb. 19 (Friday): Western Illinois
Feb. 26 (Friday): Northern Iowa
March 4 (Thursday): at North Dakota
March 13: at Indiana State
March 20: North Dakota State
March 27: at Illinois State
April 3: Missouri State
April 10: at South Dakota State

SOUTH DAKOTA STATE spring schedule for 2021:
Feb. 20: at Southern Illinois
Feb. 27: at North Dakota
March 13: Youngstown State
March 20: Western Illinois
March 27: Indiana State
April 3: at North Dakota State
April 10: South Dakota
April 17: at Northern Iowa

High school football updates: The Waverly-South Shore team where J.J. Iverson is an assistant coach finished the season with a 1-7 record amid a rebuilding year for a young squad. Ben Kramer’s Hot Springs Bison had a tough season, finishing 1-7 and not qualifying for the playoffs. In North Dakota the Harvey/Wells County team where Scott Raue is an assistant coach finished a 4-4 regular season, then lost a 38-24 game in the opening round of the playoffs against unbeaten Lisbon. The Wyndmere-Lidgerwood team where MIkal Kern is an assistant coach had a fine 7-2 regular season, then lost 24-6 in their playoff opener vs. North Border. Jason Bisbee and the Brandon Valley team are still playing with a 7-1 record as they head into this Friday’s 11AAA semifinal. The Lynx beat Lincoln, Washington and Harrisburg to end their regular season, then eliminated Aberdeen 43-8 in their playoff quarterfinal.

Midco Sports Network: Midco will televise the Huron-Brookings 11AA semifinal at 7 p.m. this Friday.

Sioux Falls Storm: Chase Vinatieri, who was a record-setting kicker at South Dakota State, has joined the Sioux Falls Storm of the U.S. Indoor Football League, which plays in the spring. He is a nephew of NFL legend Adam Vinatieri.

NFL games on local TV this weekend (subject to change by networks):
— Thursday: Green Bay at San Francisco, Fox and NFL Network, 7:20 p.m.
— Sunday: Detroit at Minnesota, CBS, noon.
— Sunday: Carolina at Kansas City, Fox, noon.
— Sunday: Pittsburgh at Dallas, CBS, 3:25 p.m.
— Sunday: New Orleans at Tampa Bay, NBC, 7:20 p.m.
— Monday: New England at New York Jets, ESPN, 7:15 p.m.

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings lost to Tennessee and Seattle, both by one point; beat Houston, 31-23; lost to winless Atlanta, 40-23, but stunned Green Bay, 28-27. Now 2-5, the Vikings are home vs. Detroit at noon Sunday on CBS.

Denver Broncos: Denver is 3-4, losing to Tampa Bay and Kansas City while beating the New York Jets, New England and the Los Angeles Chargers. This Sunday the Broncos play at Atlanta at noon.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #12

Send your winning teams to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by Friday afternoon (two of the games on the list are Friday night). There are 13 games listed, so pick them all, and we will count the first 10 games that are actually played:

(1) 11AA semifinal: Pierre at Yankton
(2) BYU at Boise State
(3) Florida vs. Georgia
(4) Michigan State at Iowa
(5) Nebraska at Northwestern
(6) West Virginia at Texas
(7) Arizona State at USC
(8) NFL: Detroit at Minnesota
(9) NFL: Miami at Arizona
(10) NFL: New Orleans at Tampa Bay
(11) Oklahoma State at Kansas State
(12) NFL: Chicago at Tennessee
(13) NFL: Las Vegas at Los Angeles Chargers

Last week Levi Neuharth was our winner for 10 points with a 7-3 record. At 6-4 for nine points were Debra Bollinger, Laurie Johnson, Randy Pool, Thomas Voeltz, David Ludwig, Lauren Gilsrud and Nathan Vetter. At 5-5 for eight points were Eric James and Mikal Kern.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Nov. 5:
Don Giesinger, Collin Unkenholz, Korey Nystrom, Marcelleen Davis, Nathan Auch, Tyler Steele, Tyler Falcon, Derek Hunsley, Molly (Weisgram) Maxwell.
— 4th anniversary, Keenan/Carly (Feiler) Retterath.
— 4th anniversary, Jason/Jessica Rumpca.
— 65th anniversary, Virgil/Carol Mikkelsen.

Friday, Nov. 6:
Jeannette Beemer (#102), Alvin Bartels, Maria Tracy, Michelle Kindle, Weston Pierson, Justin Briese, Izabelle Clark, Dan Workman, Jackson Rose, Lindsay (Stoeser) Heiss, Nate Kuchta, Riley Mehlhaff, Ron Woodburn, Nikki (Peterson) Kachelmyer, Eliana Erickson.
— 10th anniversary, Brien/Amanda (Hove) Aadland.
— 10th anniversary, Andre/Julie Melius.

Saturday, Nov. 7:
Cathy Wellner, Sue Gannaway, Kyle Sarringar, Kayla Nagle, Blair (Simon) Picchietti, Maari (Sweetman) LaBrie, Michelle (Wattier) Kezar.
— 11th anniversary, Dustin/Kayla (Trebesch) Dowling.
— 11th anniversary, Tim/Rachel Schmidt.
— 5th anniversary, Ryan/Beth (Feist) Baloun.
— 5th anniversary, Christopher/Virginia Kaus.

Sunday, Nov. 8:
Jeff Everson, Shaun Keller, Laura Marsh, Molly Genzler, Connie Blair, Rick Cronin, Conner Kramer.
— 6th anniversary, Terry/Yutzil (Rodriguez) Becker.

Monday, Nov. 9:
Tom Denton, Zach Merrill, Paula Weeldreyer, Bryan Konechne, Sara Messbarger, Matt Picchietti, Katie Gourneau, Dana (Halverson) Gloe, Susan Lamb, Jami Beck, Colleen Jensen.
— 8th anniversary, Daniel/Alexis (Fanger) Timmons.

Tuesday, Nov. 10:
Garrett Pochop, Patty McGee, Mark Lauseng, Steve Gardner, Royce Volker, Anne (Rounds) Harrington, Ryan Noyes, Sara (Dvorak) Becker, Kyle Kafka, Aaron Laudermith, Joseph Wieseler.
— 1st anniversary, Brock/Mary Axthelm.
— 3rd anniversary, Eric/Katherine (Adam) Danforth.

Wednesday, Nov. 11:
Ellie Ripley, Scott Gibson, Vicki Warne, Jennifer Finley, Danielle Trujillo, Sam Molseed, Carson Wyly, Rosa Iverson.
— 3rd anniversary, Jim/Michelle (Wattier) Kezar.
— 9th anniversary, Lee/Jessica (Schultz) Rausch.

Thursday, Nov. 12:
Andy Jockheck, Greg Vogel, Melissa (Van Duzer) Edeburn, Bergen Murphy, Anita Nicholas, Mike Fouts, Grady Johnson.

MORE NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Sandy (Voller) DePountis of Bismarck began a new job Oct. 1 as executive director for the North Dakota Board of Medicine. For the past eight years she has been working in the office of the North Dakota attorney general.

Sharon Kastner, 76, died Oct. 2. A native of North Dakota, Sharon and her husband Dale came to Pierre in 1979. She worked for Associates Financial Services, Oahe Federal Credit Union and Merriman Printing. She is survived by her husband; her son, Brett Kastner of Pierre; her daughter, Lori Tucker in Oklahoma; two sisters, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

The Brandon Valley girls soccer team coached by Pierre native Jacob Shoup reached the state “AA” championship match against Roosevelt. There the Lynx girls showed defense to be their strong point as they won the state title with a 2-0 win.

Bob Cleberg, 73, Redfield, died Oct. 15. His wife is the former Linda Ogan of Blunt. They were married for 51 years. Among his survivors are his wife; two sons, Jay Stenslie of Maple Grove, Minn., and Jason Cleberg of Aberdeen; a daughter, Shannon Thomas; eight siblings, and a brother-in-law, Jerry Ogan of Pierre.

Brent Sutton of Onida has been selected for the first time to work as a pickup man for the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

Pierre native Tom Kelley, the president, CEO and chairman of the board of Gage Brothers Concrete Products in Sioux Falls, died unexpectedly Oct. 15 at the age of 62. Services were held Oct. 24 at the Gage Brothers facility. The son of the late Tom and Janis Kelley graduated from Riggs High School in 1976. He and Julie Perry were married that fall and lived first in Rapid City while he worked on his degree at the School of Mines. He earned his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering in 1980. Following graduation Tom joined Gage Brothers as a civil engineer and remained there all of his professional life, becoming CEO in 2001. A year after getting his engineering license in 1985 he was honored as South Dakota Young Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers. During the 30 years he and Julie lived in Brandon and later in Sioux Falls to where they moved in 2009, Tom was a generous contribution to both cities. One of his accomplishments was co-chairing the group that advocated for construction of the Denny Sanford Premier Center. He is survived by his wife, Julie Kelley; his daughters, Amy Kelley of Sioux Falls and Susan Wicks and her husband Travis of Madison; his son, Tom Kelley and his partner, Laura Hatfield, of Brookline, Mass.; four grandchildren; and six siblings, Jane Oligmueller of Lincoln, Neb., Julie Polzin of San Tan Valley, Ariz., Patty Maestas of Aurora, Colo., Scott Kelley of Sioux Falls, Katie Nanstiel of Maricopa, Ariz., and Stevie Trudel of Hillsboro, N.D.

Chad Uhrig and Amy (Tate) Mancuso announced their engagement.

Karen Wilcox, 69, Onida, died Tuesday at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. A private family graveside service will be held Monday at the cemetery in Onida. A celebration of her life will be held at a later date.

Chris Rumrill and his fiancee, Katya Vakshteyn, have set June 18 as the new date for their wedding. The ceremony will take place at Riviera Maya in Mexico.

Dedra (Grimwood) Shaw, 62, passed away at home Oct. 16 after a three-year battle with cancer. No public gathering to celebrate her life will be held at this time due to the ongoing pandemic. Dedra graduated from Western Kentucky University in 1980 and married Mike Shaw in Bowling Green, Ky., in 1981. She earned psychology and social work degrees from WKU and later a master’s in counseling at USD while Mike was in law school there. They made their home in Pierre where Dedra worked as director of the Missouri Shores Women’s Violence Center, as a disease intervention specialist at the Department of Health and as a counselor at Capital Area Counseling Service. She is survived by her husband, Mike Shaw of Pierre; her son, Sam Shaw and his wife Amber (LaBrie) and their three children; her daughter, Callan de Hueck and her husband Adam and their four children; her brothers and her sister.

Kevin Pickner, superintendent of the Sully Buttes school district, announced he will be retiring and leaving the district effective next June.

Onida native Larry Martin died Oct. 15 at the Hospice House in Rapid City. A private family service was held Oct. 20 at Black Hills National Cemetery. Larry graduated from Onida High School in 1949, and after serving in the Air Force, earned an art degree at USD. His degree took him to Lincoln, Denver and Rapid City where he became part owner in local advertising agencies. He is survived by his daughter, Pamela Burg of Kemmerer, Wyo.; three grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Among those preceding him in death were his parents, Harold and Dorothy Martin, and his wife, the former Cleo Grage.

Rodd Bauck’s Riggs High School choir performed a concert Oct. 13, and all singers wore masks. Facebook posts indicated the music was “beautiful.” Many of the people in the audience also wore masks.

Former Pierre resident Dean Vogel, 48, Milwaukee, died unexpectedly of natural causes Sept. 27 while on vacation in Duluth, Minn. His late father, Howard Vogel, ran a hardware store in downtown Pierre while the family lived there. Howard died in 1982 when Dean was 11. Dean is survived by his mother, Arlyce Vogel; three daughters, and a brother, Scot. Graveside services will be held at 9 a.m. Dec. 6 at Riverside Cemetery in Pierre.

Chrissa Hibbitts, daughter of Chris and Sarah (Kringel) Hibbits of Keller, Texas, was in a serious car accident Sept. 25. The vehicle rolled several times. Chrissa was in an emergency room but walked away with scratches and a concussion. She has dropped out of Stephen F. Austin University for the time being and will recuperate mentally and physically at home while she looks into some type of online schooling.

Ilene Johnson, 89, Pierre, died Sept. 29 at Avera Maryhouse. Services were held Oct. 5 at First Congregational United Church of Christ. Ilene grew up in Mitchell and married Doyle Johnson in 1950. The family moved to Pierre in 1966. She worked in several administrative positions, including legislative sessions, the attorney general’s office, BankWest, and the May Adam Gerdes & Thompson law firm. She is survived by three daughters, Marilee Johnson-Geary of Mitchell, Karen Palmer and her husband John of Pierre, and Kerry Bowers and her husband Tom of Pierre; a sister, Peggy Hofmeister and her husband Larry of Mountain Home, Ark.; nine grandchildren, 17 great-grandchildren and eight great-great-grandchildren.

The MacArthur Foundation has announced its 2020 class of MacArthur Fellows, honoring the creativity and originality of 21 Americans. The fellowship awards each fellow $625,000 over five years for professional pursuits. Playwright Larissa FastHorse, a hometown Pierre girl and an alumna of Riggs High School, is among the grantees. “Larissa is a playwright and performing arts advocate illuminating Indigenous processes of artmaking and storytelling as well as Native American perspectives on contemporary life,” the Foundation said in a statement. “A member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, she combines a keen sense of satire and facility with dramatic forms in plays that are funny, incisive and at times deeply unsettling for audiences faced with the realities of Native Americans’ experience in the United States.” During the pandemic Larissa has been writing for film and television, which has been a creative boon while theatres remain closed.

Frank Miller Sr., 86, died Oct. 18 at home in Fort Pierre. A private service was held at the Isburg Funeral Chapel on Oct. 23. Mr. Miller grew up at Hayes, then continued the family ranch. He married Rose Marie Wright in 1956. They ranched on the homestead with his sons until his death. After Rose Marie’s death, he married Fe Sico Paradela in 2008. Survivors include his daughter, Beth Krieger; his son, Kevin Miller and his wife Lou Ann; his son, Frank Miller Jr.; and his stepsons, Abel, Alfe and Andrew Bubuli; 12 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren .

Stanley County High School crowned Nathan Cook as homecoming king and Madison Serbousek as homecoming queen last month. Other members of the royal court were Sophie Meligan, Shantay Waldron, Jayda Boxley, Tracy Nielsen, Trey Frost and Jorge Garcia.

Ryan Geraets’ son Bennett, a junior at Sioux Falls Lincoln, tied for 18th place at the state golf tournament and helped his Lincoln team win the state championship. Bennett had tournament rounds of 76 and 85 for a 21-over-par 161 over the two days.

Waldon Jewett, 55, Pierre, died at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital Oct. 4. The funeral took place Oct. 12 at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. Waldon grew up in Timber Lake and married Lori Wishard. He began working at Pierre Indian Learning Center in the maintenance department in 1986 and worked there until his death. Among his survivors are his wife, Lori Jewett; his son, Kevin Bader; his daughter, Kaylee Jo; his mother, Alice Jewett; nine siblings and six grandchildren.

Chief Justice David Gilbertson of the South Dakota Supreme Court received the Outstanding Service Award from the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment during this year’s Community Response to Child Abuse Conference.

Harold and Betty Dean of Wessington Springs, both residents at the nursing home there, passed away in early October within four days of each other. They had been married for 76 years. A family service will be held at a later date. Among their survivors are four sons, Dr. Tom Dean of Wessington Springs, Dr. Larry Dean of Milwaukee, Richard Dean of Wessington Springs and Greg Dean of Pierre, and their families.

Long-time Pierre resident and businesswoman Jackie (Reedy) Marso celebrated her 90th birthday on Oct. 18. If you didn’t have a chance to greet her, you can still send a card to 215 S. Harrison, Pierre SD 57501.

Larry Donelan, 94, formerly of Mission Ridge, died Oct. 9 at Avera Maryhouse. His service was held Oct. 15 at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. Larry came to Stanley County in 1959 and ranched along the Bad River. He married Patricia Tibbs in 1964. They lived at Mission Ridge until 2019 when they moved into Pierre. Larry is survived by his wife; his daughter, Brenda Donelan of Pierre; his brother, Mike Donelan of Montrose, and his sisters, Mary Donelan of Tecumseh, Neb., and Roni Donelan of Los Angeles. Among those who preceded him in death were his parents, five siblings and a son, Dan Donelan.

Riggs High alumnus Peyton Zabel, who is in the midst of his second year at Iowa Western Community College in Council Bluffs, revealed he will continue school and his baseball career next school year at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.

Paul Ward, 82, Sun City, Ariz., formerly of Pierre, died Oct. 16. Memorial Mass was celebrated at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church Oct. 31. Mr. Ward grew up in Pierre with 12 brothers and sisters. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1957 after high school. He worked in his father’s Snappy Delivery business, then became owner of that business in 1981. He married Darlene in 1962, and they raised six children. He volunteered with the Boy Scouts of America and belonged to the Knights of Columbus for 44 years, the Elks for 32 years and the American Legion for 27 years and was a life member of Disabled American Veterans.

Blunt native Scott Howard, a graduate of Sully Buttes High School, and his fiancee Celeste were married Oct. 10. They live in Alexandria, Va. Scott works for the Department of Defense, and Celeste works for the Department of State.

Two of Toby and Amber Bryant’s daughters were named to the Class “A” All-State softball team. They are junior Tevan Bryant, pitcher/first baseman, and freshman Dessa Bryant, infielder, who played for the state champion Harrisburg team.

Barry Pickner, 66, died Sept. 30. His funeral was Oct. 10 at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church. Barry graduated from Todd County High School in Mission in 1972 and earned degrees from SDSU and the University of Nebraska. He was an educator for more than 40 years. Barry married the former Gay Parks in 1979. He is survived by his wife; two sons, Tyler Pickner and his wife Megan and Kyle Pickner and his girlfriend, Maggie Goddard; three grandchildren, and brothers Gerry and Scott Pickner.

Cheryl Kjar, 90, died in Rapid City Oct. 18. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Cheryl graduated from Watertown High School. During college at South Dakota State, she worked at the Fort Pierre drug store where her father also worked. She also worked at Wall Drug. She married Jim Kjar in 1951, and they lived on Taylor Avenue in Pierre for more than 60 years. She worked at the Pierre Clinic. Cheryl and Jim wintered at Mission, Texas, until his death in 2014. Then Cheryl moved to St. Martin’s Village in Rapid City. She is survived by her son, Craig Kjar and his wife Carol; her daughter, Cathy Kjar and her partner, Steve Schewafel; two grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

Dona (Borden) King, 77, died Oct. 17. She grew up on farms west of Onida and east of Blunt. She and Forrest (Bud) King were married in 1949, and they raised their family in Blunt. Dona worked as a dietary supervisor at St. Mary’s Hospital for 26 years. She later worked at the Kings Inn and the ParkWood assisted living facility. From 2004 to 2009 Dona and Bud lived at Hot Springs, returning to Pierre in 2009. He died in 2010. Dona is survived by eight children, Enola Snyder and her husband Lyle in Rapid City, Jo Harkless and her husband Gale in Belle Fourche, Buddy King and his wife Lori of Blunt, Helen Anderson and her husband Gary of Blunt, Nyleen Royka of Blunt, Dolores Irvine of Blunt, Kristi Haney and her husband Dean of Oklahoma City and Ed King and his wife Denea of Pierre; 31 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren, and 17 great-great-grandchildren.

Lacy Nielsen, daughter of former Pierre residents Bob and Barb Nielsen, was married to Brian David Sergio Fike on Oct. 24 at Superstition Manor in Mesa, Ariz. Lacy and Brian live in Mesa, and both work in Scottsdale where she is a category manager/trucks for Republic Services. She is in charge of the company’s 10 regions, buying their trucks and keeping them on the road. Brian is a Scottsdale firefighter.

South Dakota State University announced its Dean’s List from last spring’s semester just last week, delayed because of pandemic-related problems that closed school and delayed classes and testing. Local students on the Dean’s List: Clay Feller (4.0), Allison Gordon (4.0), J.D. Carter, Ashley Theobald (4.0), Marinda Archer (4.0), Cade Currier, Audrey Johnson (4.0), Grace Weinheimer, Samuel Adams, Landon Badger, Kaylee Becker (4.0), Addison Eisenbeisz, Samantha Gortmaker, Talon Griese, Halle Gronlund (4.0), Sarah Haberman (4.0), Nathanael Hill (4.0), Madison Hyde, Alyssa Iedema (4.0), Abbigail Kitts (4.0), Conner Lonbaken, Michael Lusk, Jordan Lutmer, Seth McKinley (4.0), Tate Mueller, Andrew Norwick (4.0), Ty Paulsen, Megan Pease, Hudson Rohrbach (4.0), Matthew Rounds, Evan Rumrill (4.0), Brett Samuelson (4.0), Kailee Schultz (4.0), Ariana Schumacher, Annabelle Simpson, James Speck, Lisa Stein, Kallie Stout (4.0), Jordan Thompson (4.0), Kenzie Trujillo (4.0), Ryan Warne (4.0), Raegan Winder (4.0).

If he didn’t already know the geography of the Big 12 Conference, our favorite white-hat football official, Brandon Cruse, knows it now. Since we last had a MIdweek Update, he and his crew worked in Fort Worth for TCU’s Iowa State game, in Lawrence for Kansas’ Oklahoma State game, in Dallas for the Texas-Oklahoma game, in Morgantown for West Virginia’s Kansas game and in Lubbock for Texas Tech’s West Virginia game. Last Saturday he returned to the Mountain West Conference to work the Air Force home game in Colorado Springs vs. Boise State.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ANSWER

A B B A
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POST-ELECTION WORDS TO PONDER

“We are stressed, locked down, haunted by a common enemy virus that should have united us but instead divided us further. The truth is our future won’t be determined by whom we choose to lead us this week. It will be determined by how we act after we do.

“An American president, when he wakes up, doesn’t step off a cloud. He is a representative, nothing more. What will he represent? What will we represent? Think about the friends we’ve lost this election season. The neighbors we’ve alienated. Who will we be on Wednesday, Thursday and beyond?

“I know this: If the winners gloat and the losers threaten, we won’t be any better than we’ve been the last six months. And does anyone really want the country of the last six months to be the country of the next four years?”
— Mitch Albom, Detroit Free Press

PARKER’S COLUMN

(Editor’s note: This column appeared in the Capital Journal and The Midweek Update 20 years ago in early October 2000.)

High drama in the Great Hall

In the middle of the huge stage at the Great Hall of the Washington Pavilion in Sioux Falls the other day, Ryan Murphy may have presented his greatest performance. Only this time he wasn’t acting.

But let’s backtrack to four years ago this fall when Murf (Riggs High Class of ’96) went to South Dakota State University as a freshman. As a veteran of the Riggs High drama department, it was only natural that he was attracted to the stage at SDSU, too.

In the first letter I received from him after he went away to college, he wrote, “I’ve met this tall, beautiful girl from Volga, and her name is Trisha Haroldson.”

Together throughout college, Murf and Trisha have been in Sioux Falls since June. You see, Trisha, who was last year’s Miss South Dakota in the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City, regularly appears on television newscasts as a reporter and production manager for KELO-TV. Murf has been serving and bartending at Benny’s. They both are involved in the current production of “Chess” at the Sioux Falls Community Playhouse.

The other day Murf took Trisha to lunch on her birthday. On the way back to work, he casually suggested they stop at the Washington Pavilion because he had never seen it before.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Trisha said, “so we went inside the Great Hall where the main theater is. A lady giving tours told us all about it.”

Muorf had prearranged with a security guard to admit only the two of them onto the stage of the mammoth but empty theater. He and Trisha looked around as anyone would do inside such a facility, admiring its beauty and the stillness. You get the picture.

“He told me to put my purse down,” she said. “He grabbed my hand and took me to the center of the stage. Now I knew something weird was going on. When I saw the look on his face, I just started crying.”

Murf’s monologue included something about how they had met on the stage—not this one, but a stage nevertheless—and how he knew the stage would always be a part of their lives and how he wanted her to always be a part of his life.

And just like in a fairy tale, he bent down on one knee and proposed to her.

“So that’s how it happened,” Trisha said this morning, “and we are so excited to finally tell everyone.”

They will be married in Sioux Falls or Brookings next June.

Ryan is the son of former Pierre residents Dick and Sandy Murphy whose Irish gift shop on Phillips Avenue is still a must-stop place whenever you’re in Sioux Falls, if only to connect with some terrific people who used to live in Pierre.