THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t obey the law only when it’s convenient. You can’t be patriotic when you embrace and enable lies.”
— President Joe Biden

CORONAVIRUS ROUNDUP

While Governor Noem in her State of the State address celebrated her hands-off approach to fighting the pandemic these past two years, the numbers of new COVID infections continues to set record-highs day by day.

This week the death toll has risen to 2,534, and all 66 counties in South Dakota are listed under “high community spread.” As of yesterday’s Department of Health report, the number of active cases stood at 22,743 with the report stating 2,708 new cases in the past day. The state reported the first death of a child younger than 10 due to COVID.

• The Golden Globes awards show took place Sunday with no audience and not even a red carpet for the arriving celebrities.
• As of last Thursday, the virus had killed one of every 349 South Dakota residents, and one of every 61 of the state’s citizens was currently infected, the highest number ever since the pandemic began.
• Creighton University in Omaha is requiring masks in all indoor spaces on campus, including sports events. The University of Pittsburgh disenrolled students who had returned to campus without being vaccinated. The university is offering refunds for paid tuition.
• California’s indoor mask mandate was extended to mid-February.
• The Vermillion public schools began a two-week mask mandate Monday since the previously established threshold for number of cases at both their middle school and high school had been reached.
• Meanwhile, on the USD campus there were 91 active cases reported yesterday, up 38% from the previous day.
• The Tea Area school district returned to a mask mandate due to large numbers of illnesses among students and staff there.
• As of Tuesday the Rapid City school district had 500 students and staff in quarantine or actively infected. The biggest outbreak was at Central High School where 35 were so afflicted.
• This sounds familiar! In Wichita the school board president asked people to wear masks, then suspended the meeting when several people, including three board members, refused to put them on.

COUNTDOWN

2 days: NFL playoffs begin (Jan. 15-17).
4 days: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 17).
15 days: Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, Rapid City (Jan. 28-Feb. 6).
21 days: State one-act play festival, Rapid City Central (Feb. 3-5).
22 days: Winter Olympics opening ceremonies, Beijing, China (Feb. 4).
33 days: State gymnastics meet, Mitchell (Feb. 11-12).
35 days: Super Bowl LVI, Los Angeles (Feb. 13).
36 days: Valentines Day (Feb. 14).
43 days: Presidents Day (Feb. 21).
46 days: State wrestling tournaments, Sioux Falls Premier Center (Feb. 24-26).
47 days: State Bantam B hockey tournament, Expo Center (Feb. 25-27).
48 days: NSIC men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls Sanford Pentagon (Feb. 26-March 1).
48 days: Minnesota Loons MLS season opener (Feb. 26).
51 days: State of the Union address (March 1).
54 days: State girls varsity hockey tournament, Aberdeen (March 4-6).
55 days: Summit League men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls Premier Center (March 5-8).

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: For the second time over two weekends the Capitals lost to powerhouse Brookings, this time by 4-1 at home. Carter Sanderson had the lone Oahe goal. Kieran Duffy made 28 saves in goal. The Caps also whitewashed Mitchell, 7-0, as Sanderson, who had a hat trick by early in the second period, made it a four-goal game for himself, and Dre Berndt, Keenan Howard and Jonathon Lyons added sole goals. Carter Schulz in the nets made 17 saves. The Capital boys will be idle this weekend. The next home games are Jan. 22 vs. Rushmore and Jan. 23 vs. Aberdeen.

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: The girls had a loss and a tie over the weekend. Oahe lost to Mitchell, 7-3, as Sara Bierne scored twice and Olivia Swenson once. Abigail Stewart Fromm as goalkeeper made 38 saves. The Capitals tied Huron, 3-3, as Bierne, Swenson and Katherine Reiss each had a goal. The Capitals had a 3-0 lead early in the second period before Huron made its rally. Fromm made 23 saves. This weekend the girls play at Rushmore at 4 p.m. MST Saturday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild defeated Boston, 3-2, and defeated Washington, 3-2, in a shootout. Minnesota is home Friday vs. Anaheim and goes to Colorado Monday.

Badlands Sagres: The Sabres’ two weekend games against Yellowstone were postponed again. Badlands is home in Rapid City Friday and Saturday against Sheridan.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings’ won a pair of shootout games over North Iowa, 7-6 and 5-4. Aberdeen is home vs. Bismarck Friday and goes to Bismarck Saturday.

Rapid City Rush: In three games against Iowa, the Rush won 3-2, lost 4-3 in overtime and lost 9-1. Rapid City plays at Wichita Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd lost to Waterloo, 4-1; beat Lincoln, 5-2, and lost in overtime to Fargo, 3-2. Sioux Falls is home Friday vs. Lincoln and Saturday vs. Omaha.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

NFL playoffs weekend TV schedule (times are CST):
* Saturday, 3:30 p.m.: Las Vegas at Cincinnati, NBC.
* Saturday, 7:15 p.m.: New England at Buffalo, CBS.
* Sunday, noon: Philadelphia at Tampa Bay, Fox.
* Sunday, 3:30 p.m.: San Francisco at Dallas, CBS.
* Sunday, 7:15 p.m.: Pittsburgh at Kansas City, NBC.
* Monday, 7:15 p.m.: Arizona at Los Angeles Rams, ABC and ESPN.

NORTH DAKOTA STATE 2022 SCHEDULE
Sept. 3: Drake
Sept. 10: North Carolina A&T
Sept. 17: at Arizona
Sept. 24: at USD
Oct. 1: Youngstown State
Oct. 8: at Indiana State
Oct. 15: SDSU
Oct. 29: Illinois State
Nov. 5: at Western Illinois
Nov. 12: at Southern Illinois
Nov. 19: UND

MINNESOTA VIKINGS 2022 OPPONENTS

Home games (9): Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, Dallas, New York Giants, Arizona, New York Jets, New England, Indianapolis.
Away games (8): Green Bay, Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, New Orleans, Miami, Buffalo.

DENVER BRONCOS 2022 OPPONENTS

Home games (8): Kansas City, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas, New York Jets, Indianapolis, Houston, Arizona, San Francisco.
Away games (9): Kansas City, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Jacksonville, Tennessee, Carolina, Seattle, Los Angeles Rams.

MIDCO SPORTS NETWORK SCHEDULE

Thursday, 7 p.m.: Men’s basketball, USD vs. Denver.
Thursday, 7 p.m.: Men’s basketball, UND vs. Western Illinois (MS2).
Friday, 7 p.m.: Men’s hockey, UND vs. Omaha.
Saturday, 1 p.m.: Men’s basketball, UND vs. St. Thomas.
Saturday, 4 p.m.: Men’s basketball, USD vs. Omaha (MS2).
Saturday, 6 p.m.: Men’s hockey, UND vs. Omaha.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force lost to Iowa, 106-94, then took two over Salt Lake City, 115-95 and 103-93. Sioux Falls is home Saturday and Sunday vs. Memphis and Tuesday vs. South Bay.

Minnesota Timberwolves: On a week-long southern trip the Wolves won at Oklahoma City, 135-105; won at Houston, 141-123, and lost at New Orleans, 128-125. Minnesota stays on the road at Memphis Thursday, plays at home vs. Golden State Sunday, then goes to New York Tuesday and Atlanta next Wednesday.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The Champions Tour resumes next week in Hawaii with the Mitsubishi Classic Jan. 17-22.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“The terrifying question the country must confront is: What happens when you combine years of conspiratorial rhetoric about guns, weak gun laws and a new strain of conspiracy theories about a rigged election?”
— Nick Suplina and Justin Wagner in Newsweek

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• From today it’s 145 days to the primary election day on June 7 when we will have a chance to defy the Republican hierarchy by voting “No” on Constitutional Amendment C. It’s 298 days to general election day on Nov. 7 when we will have a chance to do the same thing by voting “Yes” on Constitutional Amendment D, the Medicaid expansion measure.
• There’s no place in a county sheriff’s election campaign for the magic word “conservative,” but here it is, already mentioned in the Pennington County sheriff’s race. It seems to me there are a good many qualifications for sheriff that come before whether a man is considered conservative or liberal. In this state just say you’re conservative and you automatically get a few thousand votes for no other reason.
• On Sunday when Sen. Mike Rounds on one of the morning national TV talk shows said the 2020 presidential election was legitimate and that Republicans should just put it in the past and move on, it didn’t take long for former president Donald Trump call him a “jerk” and say he would never endorse Rounds again. So did any of the other three top-flight South Dakota Republicans rush to Rounds’ defense against the elephant in the room? Of course not although Trump has not been pleased with Thune at times either. While Rounds won’t seek election again for five years, this year of 2022 is when Rep. Dusty Johnson, Sen. John Thune and Gov. Kristi Noem all are up for re-election, and they can’t risk the chance of offending Trump too much. If they do and he blasts out at them, Trumpers across South Dakota might join in his anger by voting against Johnson, Thune or Noem. After all, re-election is a politician’s purpose in life. However, Johnson especially faces an ultra-conservative primary election opponent, and Noem also has a primary opponent with conservative credentials.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedule:
— THURSDAY
Boys basketball: home vs. Mitchell, 7 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Girls wrestling: home vs. Huron, 5 p.m.; Watertown, 7 p.m.
Boys wrestling: home vs. Huron, 5 p.m.; Watertown, 7 p.m.
Girls basketball: at Mitchell, 7 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Gymnastics: home invitational, 10 a.m.
Girls wrestling: at Harrisburg invitational, 10 a.m.
Boys wrestling: at Mitchell invitational, 10 a.m.
— TUESDAY
Boys wrestling: at Brookings, 6 p.m.
Girls basketball: at Douglas, 7 p.m.

Gymnastics: In a home triangular Pierre was the team champion with 137.2 points, followed by Aberdeen Central at 136.15 and Stanley County at 120.2. Nevaeh Karber, who tied for first place on the bars, was second in the all-around, and Emmy Loe was third. She won the vault event. At the Brookings invitational the Governors placed seventh with a 130.7 team score. Karber was 14th and Loe 16th in the all-around competition.

Girls wrestling: On the girls’ side of the Lyman tournament in Presho, Pierre was first with 125 points, followed by Spearfish, Harrisburg, Canton and Kimball-White Lake/Platte-Geddes in that order. Ciara McFarling at 285 pounds and Abbigail Lewis at 142 won individual championships. Other placers: Sydney Uhrig, third at 106; Shaylee Speck, sixth at 106; Dani Ringstmeyer, fourth at 120; Kezrey Benning, fifth at 120; Hattie Baldwin, second at 126; Gianna Stangeland, second at 132; Ireland Templeton, third at 154; Mackenna Metzinger, sixth at 154; Emalee Larson, fourth at 170; Kyanne Traversie-Johnson, fourth at 190.

Boys wrestling: In a pair of duals in Bismarck, the Governors dominated Bismarck High, 39-20, and Bismarck Legacy, 51-18. In the dual against the BHS Demons, Josh Rydberg, Nate Williams and Chase Carda won by fall. Jayden Wiebe, Noah Williams and Alex Oedekoven won by major decisions. Deegan Houska, Elijah Boutchee and Blake Judson won by decisions. In the win over Legacy Chance Cardam Boutchee, Blake Judson, Rydberg, Noah Williams, Nate Williams, Gavin Stotts and Hayden Shaffer all won by pins, and Lucas Chamberlin won by decision.

Boys wrestling: Pierre won the team title at Lyman High School’s Mid-Dakota Monster tournament in Presho with 219 points. Then came Winner 211.5, Kimball-White Lake/Platte-Geddes 201.5, O’Neill 186 and Canton 171. Josh Rydberg clinched the team trophy with a first-place pin at 285 pounds. Tristan Spencer also won an individual title at 132 pounds. Other placers: Alex Oedekoven, third at 106; Noah Williams, sixth at 120; Nate Williams, third at 126; Blake Judson, third at 138; Hayden Shaffer, fifth at 145; Jaxon Ducheneaux, eighth at 145; Deegan Houska, sixth at 152; Jayden Wiebe, seventh at 160; Lucas Chamberlin, third at 170.

Girls basketball: The Governor girls put up a good fight against unbeaten #1 Sioux Falls Washington but lost to the Warriors, 65-58. Ayvrie Kaiser scored 21, Remi Price 16 and Reese Terwilliger 14. On Tuesday the girls lost to Lakota Tech, 65-60.

Boys basketball: After opening the season in December with four wins over soft touches in the Black Hills, the Governors have found there is sturdier competition elsewhere in the state. Pierre lost three times this week—74-51 to Sioux Falls Lincoln, 64-44 to Sioux Falls Washington and 46-43 to Winner. Against Washington Jackson Edman had 18 points and 13 rebounds. On Tuesday at Winner the Governors led 36-28 heading into the fourth period but were outscored by Winner 18-7 in the final quarter. Lincoln Kienholz had 13 points, Edman 10 points and 11 boards and Christian Busch 10 points Pierre now stands at 4-3.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Lyman.
Boys basketball: at Jones County invitational.
— FRIDAY
Boys basketball: at Jones County invitational.
— SATURDAY
Boys basketball: at Jones County invitational.
Wrestling: at Battler invitational, Gettysburg.
Gymnastics: at Madison invitational.
— TUESDAY
Wrestling: at Mobridge-Pollock.

Wrestling: At the Lyman tournament the Buffaloes finished 14th with 53.5 points. Chase Hanson placed third at 120 pounds, Colton Brady eighth at 152 and Levi Stover second at 170.

Girls basketball: The Buffalo girls lost to Estelline-Hendricks at the Redfield Classic, 49-28, and lost to Potter County, 48-38. The record is now 1-7.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Miller.
Boys basketball: home vs. Miller.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: at Battler invitational, Gettysburg.
Boys basketball: vs. Langford at Redfield Classic.
— TUESDAY
Wrestling: at Mobridge-Pollock.
Girls basketball: at Timber Lake.
Boys basketball: at Timber Lake.

Girls basketball: The Charger girls lost twice last week and are now 6-3 for the year. They lost to Highmore-Harrold, 54-50, then went to the Redfield Classic where they lost to unbeaten Florence-Henry, 49-39. Stevie Wittler had 16 points and Lydia Hill 13 there.

Boys basketball: The Charger boys won twice this week to improve their 0-4 record to 2-4. SBHS defeated Highmore-Harrold, 64-47, despite being down at the start, 10-0. Landon Hepker scored 19, Marshall Wittler 17 and Dwight Kinney 12. On Tuesday the boys edged Ipswich, 35-33.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I am deeply disappointed in the failure of many members of my party to recognize the grave nature of the Jan. 6 attacks and the ongoing threat to our nation.”
— Former Vice President Dick Cheney, one of only two Republicans to appear on the House
of Representatives floor for the moment of silence commemorating victims of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #26

Send your 6 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by Saturday morning, Jan. 15:

NFC playoffs:
(1) 7 vs. 2: Philadelphia at Tampa Bay.
(2) 6 vs. 3: San Francisco at Dallas.
(3) 5 vs. 4: Arizona at Los Angeles Rams.
AFC playoffs:
(4) 7 vs. 2: Pittsburgh at Kansas City.
(5) 6 vs. 3: New England at Buffalo.
(6) 5 vs. 4: Las Vegas at Cincinnati.

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Dakota Wesleyan track/field (Cobey Carr, Abbigail Ferris, Morgan Oedekoven): DWU resumes the indoor season at Dordt College Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Tyson Johnson): The Tigers lost a 35-20 dual to St. Thomas (Fla.). At 157 pounds Tyson won his match with a 16-0 technical fall win at 3:08. DWU wrestles Morningside at home Thursday and goes to Jamestown Friday.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Nick Wittler): The Tigers lost to Concordia, 88-71, as Nick was 7-of-16 (3-of-6 in three-pointers) for 17 points with three rebounds, an assist and a pair of steals. Last night DWU beat Midland in overtime, 79-76. Nick went 5-of-12 (2-of-7) and 1-of-1 for 13 points with four boards, two assists and a steal. Now 7-10 overall and 4-6 in the GPAC, DWU hosts Mount Marty on Sunday.

Wyoming wrestling (Tate Samuelson): The Cowboys wrestled duals against Northern Iowa and South Dakota State in Brookings, but no team scores were kept, and Tate did not wrestle in either dual. Wyoming is home Friday vs. Iowa State and Sunday vs. North Dakota State.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): The Bison won the FCS national championship for the ninth time in 11 years, thumping Montana State, 38-10. NDSU finished this season with a 14-1 record.

Augustana track/field (Elizabeth Schaefer): The indoor season resumes for the Vikings at Minnesota State Friday.

Augustana women’s basketball (Katie Bourk, Aislinn Duffy): The Viking women’s games at home vs. MSU-Moorhead and Northern were both canceled. Now 7-5 overall and 3-5 in the NSIC, Augustana plays at Minot State Friday and at Mary Saturday.

Black Hills State track/field (Frank Becker): The Yellowjackets are home for an invitational meet Friday and Saturday.

Dakota State track/field (Houston Lunde): The DSU indoor season resumes at Mount Marty’s meet Saturday.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): The Lancers lost in overtime to Northwestern, 83-81, last night. Lincoln did not play in the game. Now 5-15 overall and 1-10 in the GPAC, Mount Marty plays at DWU Sunday and at Midland next Wednesday.

Colorado Mines women’s basketball (Liz Holter): The Orediggers’ game against crosstown Regis on Tuesday was postponed. Still 7-0 in conference play, Mines plays at South Dakota Mines in Rapid City on Saturday.

Northern State track/field (Rachel Guthmiller): The Wolves host Mary in a dual meet Saturday as the indoor season resumes.

South Dakota State swimming (Morgan Nelson): The Jackrabbits go back into the pool competitively against St. Cloud State Saturday.

South Dakota State women’s basketball: The Jackrabbits had not a single player in double figures in a 65-42 loss at USD. SDSU scored only five points in the second quarter and five points in the third quarter. Now 8-8 overall and 4-1 in the Summit League, SDSU plays at Omaha Thursday and at Denver Saturday.

Summit League women’s basketball standings: USD 5-0, SDSU 4-1, Western Illinois 2-1, St. Thomas 2-1, Oral Roberts 2-2, UND 2-3, NDSU 2-3, Omaha 2-4, Kansas City 1-2, Denver 0-5.

Summit League men’s basketball standings: SDSU 4-0, Oral Roberts 5-1, NDSU 3-1, Kansas City 2-1, St. Thomas 2-2, Denver 2-3, Omaha 2-4, Western Illinois 1-3, USD 1-3, UND 0-4.

South Dakota State track/field (Addy Eisenbeisz): The Jacks resume their indoor season at NDSU’s Bison Cup Saturday.

South Dakota State men’s basketball: The Jackrabbits won on their home court over USD, 84-65. Now 13-4 overall and 4-0 in the Summit League, the Jacks play at Omaha Thursday and at home vs. Denver Saturday.

South Dakota Mines track/field (Erick Colman): The Hardrockers are still on a long break until their indoor season resumes at Black Hills State Jan. 29-30.

Morningside bowling (Alex Badger): The Mustangs resume their season at the Midwest Collegiate tournament in Addison, Ill., Sunday and Monday.

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): In a battle of two 4-0 teams in Vermillion, the Coyotes drilled SDSU, 65-42. Chloe was 4-of-11 (2-of-4 in threes) for 10 points with four rebounds, four assists and two steals. USD defends its 5-0 Summit League standing at Denver Thursday and at Omaha Saturday.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): The Coyotes lost at South Dakota State, 84-65, but rebounded to win at UND, 79-68. USD is home vs. Denver Thursday and Omaha Saturday.

Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): Some of the Marauders went to Gunnison, Colo., where Mary won three duals—47-3 over New Mexico Highlands, 41-6 over CSU-Pueblo and 31-9 over Western Colorado. Lincoln did not wrestle there. The team has a dual at St. Cloud State this Saturday.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Jan. 13:
Jill (Borth) Sweetman, Brenda (Crandell) Carroll, Chris Hull, Alex Thorson, Carrie (Schlaak) Barnes, Tyler Boe.

Friday, Jan. 14:
Guy Erlenbusch, Anne (Burchill) Williams, Breckan Shindle, Mike Ludwig, Rachelle (Reeves) Daniels, Jim Keyes, Christine Lusk.
— 5th anniversary, Shawn/Sara Ludemann.
— We fondly remember Colt Gunderson, who passed away 16 years ago today.

Saturday, Jan. 15:
Nic Hogan, Eli Stoeser, Easton Dozark, Madison Sutton, Barb Hillestad, Anajoy Schmitgen, Turok McNulty, Harrison Jennings.

Sunday, Jan. 16:
Cheryl (Wire) Stierna, Alvin Kelley, Andrew Tople, John Hamilton, Ashley Denton, Kate (Wylie) Berreth, Tennile (Asmussen) Lindskov, Anne Denton, Wendy Carroll, Tristan Bryant, Brad Wedeking, Jacki (Parlin) Wicker, Kelli (Snow) Rohrer, Samuel Lechtenberg.
— 6th anniversary, Derrick/Jenny (Hallenbeck) Orr.

Monday, Jan. 17:
Shanna Payne, Jerry Hofer, Anthony Zebroski, Nolan Merrill, Scott Hofer, Karen Lindbloom, Sherri Sundem Wald, Kyle McKeever, Lauretta Dimmick, Jamie (Gannaway) Heymans, Valerie (Fanger) Marso, Stacy Mercer, Sara (Kindopp) Gloe.

Tuesday, Jan. 18:
Leann Weischedel, Rick LaFurge, Twila Dockter, Tyson Lindekugel, Jonathan Moe, Cody Cruse, Robbin Paxton, Cody Hendricksen, Kaden Parsons, Kaden Kampfe.

Wednesday, Jan. 19:
Martha Nystrom, Jake Vogel, Clint Fouts, Lane Hawkins, Allen Hiller, Fletcher Delvo, Noah Wright, Becky (Barringer) Hoffman, Karla Baus, Darin Hausmann, Destiny Garber, Caren (Howard) Huxford, Chandra Schoenhard, Barbara Crandell-Miller.

Thursday, Jan. 20:
Emersyn Jeanotte, DeNeil (Hosman) Taylor, Eleni Wright, Andrea (Miller0 Baker, Amber Kelley, Ryan Anderson, Katie Bartel, Jason Richards, Dorinda Timmons, Greg Chapin, Sue (Brink) Joachim, Kirsten Wilcox, Austyn Norman, Lucas Stoeser, Kathy (Walker) Blackburn.
— 4th anniversary, Allan/Sarah (Zellmer) Johnson.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Jerry Tveidt (Riggs High ’02) has been promoted by Dacotah Bank from his former position as director of credit risk to regional president for the bank’s southern region. He will serve as a resource and leader to the bank’s locations in Brookings, Clark, Willow Lake, Henry, Sioux Falls, Watertown, Custer and Rapid City. Jerry earned his undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University. He began his banking career with the South Dakota Division of Banking in 2006. In 2012 he moved to BankWest as a special assets/marketing analyst. He joined Dacotah Bank in 2013 as a credit risk manager, and in 2014 he became director of credit risk. Jerry lives in Aberdeen with his wife, Darcie, and their daughter and son.

Jordan and Abbey Lamb revealed they are expecting their first child in June, and the baby will be a boy.

Floyd Richards, 88, died Jan. 9. A celebration of his life will be held at Lutheran Memorial Church at 11 a.m. Friday, April 29, followed by a gathering at the American Legion cabin. Arrangements are being handled by Feigum Funeral Home, and additional details can be accessed at www.feigumfh.com.

Pierre native Brent Gromer, supervisory special agent with the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, retired in December. Most recently Brent had served as commander of the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and supervisor of the DCI’s Electronic Crimes Unit.

The first Post 8 baseball pancake breakfast of the winter is happening this Saturday, Jan. 15, from 7 to 10 a.m. at the American Legion cabin. The price for the all-you-can-eat breakfast is a free-will donation.

Patty (Tibbs) Donelan, 83, died at home Jan. 8. A graveside service begins at noon today (Thursday) at Scotty Philip Cemetery. The daughter of Tom and Pearl Tibbs grew up on a ranch in the Mission Ridge area. She graduated from Fort Pierre High School in 1958 and married Larry Donelan in 1964. They ranched in Stanley County along the Bad River, then later ranched at Mission Ridge from 1974 to 2019. They moved to Pierre in 2019. Patty is survived by a daughter, Brenda Donelan of Pierre; two brothers, Clifford (Peggy) Tibbs and Rocky (Norma) Tibbs, and several nephews and nieces.

Jacob Parsons, youngest of the three sons of Ted and Jayne Parsons, recently joined the South Dakota Association of Healthcare Organizations (SDAHO) as its director of fiscal policy. He will monitor state and federal fiscal policy changes, analyze and interpret those changes, and communicate that information to SDAHO members. His job also includes connecting with legislators to keep them updated on legislation important to the healthcare community. Jacob lives in Pierre with his wife Katie and their daughter, Marlow.

After news stories hinted he might consider retiring, U.S. Sen. John Thune announced last week he will indeed seek a fourth term in the Senate, starting with the Republican primary election June 7.

Our sympathy to Terry and Les Cummings and all of their extended family. Terry’s mother, Mariann (Mary) DiPaolo passed away Dec. 7 at the age of 94. A celebration of her life will be held at 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 17, at Feigum Funeral Home. Mary spent her career as a hairdresser and manicurist. She came to South Dakota from her home state of Pennsylvania to be near Terry and her family. Survivors include three children, 14 grandchildren, 28 great-grandchildren and five great-great-grandchildren.

Former Riggs High teacher/coach Todd Palmer has submitted his resignation as athletic director at Sturgis Brown High School.

Alma (Howe) Garneaux, 38, Rapid City, who graduated from Riggs High School in 2001, died unexpectedly Jan. 5 along with her significant other, Jamie Graham. A wake will start at 4 p.m. Friday, Jan. 14, at the Lakota Chapel in Pierre with a prayer service there at 6 p.m. Friday and a funeral service at 9 a.m. Saturday. The daughter of Burnette and Karen Howe grew up in Pierre. Before coming to Riggs High, she attended Wesleyan Christian Academy and Stevens High School. She married Martin Garneaux in 2008, and they were the parents of seven children. Among her survivors are her parents, Burnette and Karen Howe of Rapid City; three siblings, Raina Howe, Craig Howe and Jay Howe, all of Rapid City; her seven children, Kyra Howe, Marley Garneaux, Martin Garneaux III, Marius Garneaux, Marston Garneaux, Marchesa Garneaux and Marciya Garneaux, and many uncles and aunts.

The Cattleman’s Club east of Pierre has been named Restaurant of the Year by the South Dakota Retailers Association.

Former Sully Buttes High School band director Lee Ferguson died yesterday morning from complications due to a sudden illness. After the Fergusons left Sully Buttes, Lee was band director at Tri-Valley High School, and Lee and his wife Caryn have continued to live at Colton. Most recently he has worked as a project coordinator for Habitat for Humanity for Greater Sioux Falls.

Delite (Hyde) Klinkhammer, 77, of Craig, Colo., died Jan. 2. She was the fifth of 10 children of the late Russell and Wava Hyde of Onida and grew up there. In 1961 she married Bob Ripley, and they had two children. In 1971 she married Kurt Klinkhammer, and they had two children. After retiring from a career as a secretary, a bookkeeper, a lunch lady and a retail supervisor, she moved to Craig to be near grandsons and their families. She is survived by three daughters; three grandchildren; six great-grandchildren, and five siblings, Darwin Hyde, David Hyde, Darrell Hyde, Craig Hyde and Cynthia Neimi. No services will be held.

The South Dakota High School Activities Association announced that the Board of Control voted unanimously to sanction girls softball as a sport, and the first season will take place in the spring next year (2023).

PONDER THIS

“We spend Jan. 1st walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives, not looking for flaws but for potential.”
— Ellen Goodman, award-winning author