THOUGHT FOR TODAY

No person is ever truly alone. Those who live no more whom we loved echo still within our thoughts, our words, our hearts.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls wrestling: home vs. Yankton, 6 p.m.
Boys wrestling: home vs. Yankton, 6 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 7 p.m.
Boys basketball: at Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 7 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Boys wrestling: at Brookings invitational, 9 a.m.
Girls wrestling: at Aberdeen Central invitational, 9:30 a.m.
Gymnastics: home triangular, 11 a.m.
Boys basketball: at Harrisburg, 3 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Harrisburg, 7 p.m.

Gymnastics: In a six-school meet at Rapid City, the Governor girls finished fourth with a team score of 130.05, behind Dickinson, Hot Springs and Chamberlain and ahead of Central and Stevens. Navaeh Karber placed seventh on the beam, Ryen Sheppick tied for eighth in the vault, and Emelia Loe was 10th on the bars.

Girls wrestling: In a dual against Brandon Valley, Governor wins were posted by Shaylee Speck, Sydney Uhrig, Ireland Templeton and Ciara McFarling. In Saturday’s home tournament Pierre finished in first place with 148 points.

Boys wrestling: Pierre doesn’t lose duals very often, but it happened against top-ranked Brandon Valley, 39-20. Jayden Wiebe won by major decision, and Alex Oedekoven, Hayden Shaffer and Deegan Houska won by decisions.

Girls basketball: Two more losses this week have dropped the Governors’ record to 3-8. Pierre gave Brandon Valley a good fight, rallying from 14 down in the second half before losing by only 43-41. Ayvrie Kaiser was high scorer with 17 points. On Tuesday the girls were still in the game against Aberdeen Central through three quarters, but Aberdeen went on a 16-4 explosion in the fourth period to win by 44-28. Reese Terwilliger was high scorer with only eight points. Pierre shot only 13% in the second half, missing all eight three-point attempts.

Boys basketball: The boys found another Black Hills opponent to beat—this time Douglas—and won at Box Elder, 80-41. Then Pierre took Brandon Valley into overtime before losing by 60-57. On Tuesday the Govs were down to Aberdeen Central at halftime by only 21-18 but lost 50-35. Lincoln Kienholz was high scorer for Pierre with 10 points. The Govs’ record is now 5-6.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Wrestling: home triangular (with Sully Buttes and Potter County).
Girls basketball: at Crow Creek.
Boys basketball: at Crow Creek.
— FRIDAY
Gymnastics: at Hot Springs meet.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: at Wagner invitational.
Girls basketball: home vs. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte.
Boys basketball: home vs. Cheyenne-Eagle Butte. Boys game postponed.
— TUESDAY
Girls basketball: at Todd County.
Boys basketball: at Todd County.

Girls basketball: The Buffaloes lost three more games this week. In a 60-33 loss to Sully Buttes, Jordyn Sosa and Cadence Hand each scored eight to be high scorers. In a 47-18 loss to Herreid-Selby Area, Sosa scored eight and Mattie Duffy six. On Tuesday the SCHS girls lost to Gregory, 68-36. The record is now 2-11.

Boys basketball: The Buffalo boys now have a 9-2 record. They defeated Herreid-Selby Area, 49-34, led by Lathan Prince with 17 points and Cormac Duffy 15. On Tuesday the boys whipped Sully Buttes, 55-35, led by Prince’s 22 and Duffy’s 10.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Girls basketball: The Chargers are 9-3 after beating Stanley County, 60-33. Lydia Hill scored 17 points, Stevie Wittler 14, Tailynne Bradford 12 and Ally Wittler 11.

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Wrestling: at Stanley County triangular (with Potter County).
Girls basketball: at Hitchcock-Tulare.
Boys basketball: at Hitchcock-Tulare.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: at Wagner invitational.
Girls basketball: at Warner.
Boys basketball: at Warner.
— TUESDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Jones County.
Boys basketball: home vs. Jones County.

Boys basketball: The Chargers lost to Stanley County, 55-35.

COUNTDOWN

1 day: Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo, Rapid City (Jan. 28).
7 days: State one-act play festival, Rapid City Central (Feb. 3-5).
8 days: Winter Olympics opening ceremonies, Beijing, NBC-TV (Feb. 4).
15 days: State gymnastics meet, Mitchell (Feb. 11-12).
17 days: Super Bowl LVI, Los Angeles, NBC-TV (Feb. 13).
18 days: Valentines Day (Feb. 14).
25 days: Presidents Day (Feb. 21).
28 days: State wrestling tournaments, Sioux Falls Premier Center (Feb. 24-26)/
29 days: State Bantam B hockey tournament, Expo Center (Feb. 25-27).
30 days: NSIC men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls Sanford Pentagon (Feb. 26-March 1).
30 days: Minnesota Loons MLS season opener (Feb. 26).
33 days: President’s State of the Union address (March 1).
36 days: State girls varsity hockey tournament, Aberdeen (March 4-6).
37 days: Summit League men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls Premier Center (March 5-8).
42 days: State girls basketball tournaments, AA Rapid City Monument Ice Arena, A Brookings Frost Arena, B Watertown Civic Arena (March 10-12).
43 days: State boys varsity hockey tournament, Sioux Falls (March 11-13).
49 days: NCAA Division I wrestling national championships, Detroit (March 17-19).
49 days: State boys basketball tournaments, AA Sioux Falls Premier Center, A Rapid City Summit Arena, B Aberdeen Barnett Center (March 17-19).

WORDS OF WISDOM

“In South Dakota the power of the people is inherent. Our power as citizens is not borrowed from politicians; rather it is the politicians’ political power that is borrowed from us.”
— Brendan Johnson, Sioux Falls attorney and former U.S. attorney

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

South Dakota Mines track/field (Erick Colman): At the Dave Little meet at Black Hills State, Erick placed second in the weight throw at 52’5″ and fifth in the shot put at 43’10”. The Hardrockers go to Chadron State’s meet Saturday.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): The Lancers beat Midland, 75-66. Lincoln was 2-of-3 for four points with two rebounds and a steal. In an 80-71 loss to Morningside he did not take a shot or score. Now 6-17 overall and 2-13 in the GPAC, Mount Marty played at Jamestown last night.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Nick Wittler): The Tigers won at Hastings, 77-64, as Nick was 1-of-3 (0-of-4) for two points with one rebound. In a 58-52 loss at Doane he went 3-of-10 (1-of-7) for seven points with four boards. DWU, now 9-11 overall and 6-7 in the GPAC, hosted Dordt College last night, goes to Briar Cliff Saturday and hosts Jamestown next Wednesday.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Tyson Johnson): The Missouri Valley tournament in Missouri to which the Tigers planned to go was canceled. DWU wrestles Saturday against Midland and Doane at the GPAC duals in Sioux City.

Dakota Wesleyan track/field (Cobey Carr, Abbigail Ferris, Morgan Oedekoven): At SDSU’s Division II meet Abby placed 38th in the long jump at 12’2 1/4″. DWU athletes go to Mount Marty’s meet Saturday.

Northern track/field (Rachel Guthmiller): At the Division II meet at SDSU Rachel placed 20th in the weight throw at 45’11 3/4″. Northern athletes go to Mount Marty’s meet Saturday.

Augustana track/field (Elizabeth Schaefer): At SDSU’s Division II meet Elizabeth placed ninth in the long jump at 16’11 1/2″. She ran on the 4×400 relay team which placed eighth in 4:15.05. Augie athletes go to Minnesota State-Mankato’s meet Friday and Saturday.

Dakota State track/field (Houston Lunde): Houston placed 41st in the weight throw at 40’4″ and 40th in the shot put at 36’5″ at the Division II meet at SDSU. The Trojans go to Mount Marty’s meet Saturday.

USF track/field (Jessica Lutmer): Jessica ran on the Cougar 4×400 relay team at SDSU’s Division II meet. They placed 22nd in 4:35.19. USF competes Friday and Saturday at Minnesota State-Mankato’s meet.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): The Coyotes won at St. Thomas, 90-79. and won at Western Illinois, 75-72. Now 12-7 overall and 5-2 in the Summit, USD hosts NDSU Thursday and UND Saturday.

South Dakota State swimming (Morgan Nelson): The SDSU women were beaten by USD in a dual, 197-98, as the Coyotes won 13 of 16 events. Morgan did not swim in that dual. SDSU swims Jan. 28-29 at USD’s last-chance meet in Sioux Falls.

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): The Coyote women stretched their winning streak to 14. In a 70-53 win over Western Illinois, Chloe was 6-of-10 (0-for-2 in threes) for 12 points with two rebounds, one assist and three steals. Then USD hammered St. Thomas, 70-43, using a 26-0 run to take the lead for good. Chloe went 9-of-19 (0-for-2) and 1-of-1 for 19 points with six rebounds, four assists and a steal. USD goes up to NDSU Thursday and on to UND Saturday.

Morningside bowling (Alex Badger): Idle last week, the Mustang bowlers are off till going to Cedar Rapids for Coe College’s meet Feb. 5-6.

Colorado Mines women’s basketball (Liz Holter): The Orediggers, by the skin of their teeth, remain unbeaten in RMAC play at 10-0 while they are 15-1 overall. In a 59-51 win over Colorado-Mesa, Liz was 4-of-13 (2-of-2) for 10 points with four rebounds, two steals and six assists. In a 68-66 overtime victory over Westminster, she was 3-of-10 (2-of-4) and 2-of-2 for 10 points with five rebounds, two blocks, two steals and two assists. Mines played New Mexico Highlands last night, goes to CSU-Pueblo Friday and plays at Adams State Saturday.

Wyoming wrestling (Tate Samuelson): The Cowboys lost a dual to Oregon State, 22-12. and Tate lost his match at 184 pounds by decision. Wyoming goes to Orem, Utah, Saturday for duals against Missouri and Utah Valley.

Augustana women’s basketball (Katie Bourk, Aislinn Duffy): The Vikings lost two conference games last weekend. In a 64-61 loss to Minnesota-Duluth Aislinn was 8-of-20 (2-of-3) for 18 points with 11 rebounds and two steals. In a 72-59 loss to St. Cloud State Aislinn was 10-of-20 (1-of-3) and 4-of-4 for 25 points with seven rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Now 9-7 overall but only 5-7 in the NSIC, Augie plays at Bemidji State Friday and at Minnesota-Crookston Saturday.

Black Hills State track/field (Frank Becker): At their own Dave Little meet, the BHSU men placed third among six teams. Frank was second in the 400 in :53.79 and ran on the third-place 4×400 relay team whose time was 3:34.58. BHSU sends athletes Friday and Saturday to Chadron State’s meet.

South Dakota State track/field (Addy Eisenbeisz): At SDSU’s Jim Emmerich meet Addy placed fourth in the high jump at 5’5″. The SDSU women placed third in the team points behind USD and NDSU. SDSU competes Saturday at the Adidas Classic at Nebraska-Lincoln.

South Dakota State men’s basketball: The Jacks remained unbeaten in the Summit League at 8-0 and went to 17-4 overall with wins over St. Thomas by 92-77 and over Western Illinois by 93-75. SDSU is home vs. UND Thursday and NDSU Saturday.

Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): The seventh-ranked Marauders went all the way to Kenosha, Wis., where they lost a dual to #8 Wisconsin-Parkside, 21-16. Lincoln did not wrestle there. Mary has home duals Friday vs. Southwest Minnesota State and Saturday vs. Minnesota State-Mankato.

South Dakota State women’s basketball: The Jackrabbits whipped St. Thomas, 88-47, and Western Illinois, 114-50. Now 12-8 overall and 8-1 in the Summit, SDSU goes up to UND Thursday and back to NDSU Saturday.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: The girls lost to unbeaten Aberdeen, 7-2. The Oahe goals were scored by Ashton Lee and Brylee Kafka. Abigail Stewart Fromm made 19 saves in goal. The Capital girls play at Brookings at 8 p.m. Friday, then at Sioux Center at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 11:15 a.m. Sunday.

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: Another battle with unbeaten Rushmore ended in a 3-1 win for the Thunder. Scoring the Caps’ goal was Keenan Howard on Grayson Hunsley’s assist during an Oahe power play. Carter Schulz made 34 saves in goal, and the Capitals had 29 shots on goal. Oahe rebounded with a 6-4 Sunday win over Aberdeen. Ashton Griese scored twice with Andre Carbonneau, Dre Berndt, Corbin Beastrom and Jarron Beck adding a goal apiece. Aberdeen clawed back to within 5-4 with three third-period goals, but five seconds after their last score, Beck put the puck in the net off an assist from Griese for the dagger. Schulz made 39 saves, and the Caps had 34 shots on goal themselves. Now 9-4-0, the Capitals will be home against Sioux Falls #1 at 6 p.m Saturday, then they go to Sioux Falls #2 for a 2:30 p.m. faceoff Sunday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild scored a great week, beating Chicago twice, 5-1 and 4-3 in overtime, and winning over Montreal, 8-2. Minnesota goes on the road to the New York Rangers Friday, to the New York Islanders Sunday and to Chicago next Wednesday.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush took two of three from Idaho—winning 5-2 and 3-1 with a 4-1 loss in between those two victories. Rapid City played at Allen last night, then goes on Tulsa for Thursday and Friday games.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd lost twice more, 5-1 to Tri-City and 5-3 to Omaha. Sioux Falls plays at Sioux City Friday and at Omaha Saturday.

Badlands Sabres: The Sabres gave up 13 goals in Great Falls, losing 6-4 and 7-2. Badlands plays at Yellowstone Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Aberdeen Wings: Aberdeen lost a pair to Austin, 3-2 in overtime and 5-2. Aberdeen is home Friday and Saturday vs. North Iowa.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Timberwolves: After a 134-122 loss to Atlanta, the Timberwolves have won twice—136-125 over Brooklyn and 109-107 over Portland. Minnesota plays at Golden State Thursday and at Phoenix Friday, then at home vs. Utah Sunday and Denver Tuesday.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force lost three more times this week—117-107 and 91-75 to Stockton and 129-101 to Agua Caliente. Sioux Falls plays at Austin Thursday, the only game in the coming week.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The tour schedule began with the Mitsubishi tournament in Hawaii, but Tom did not play there. Next stop on the Champions Tour is the Chubb Classic at Naples, Fla., Feb. 18-20.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE

When the South Dakota COVID death toll surpassed 2,500, we thought it a sort of milestone. But now the number has reached 2,623 and continues to rise daily. The 14 newest deaths reported in yesterday’s Department of Health report came from nine different counties, showing the surge to be a statewide issue.

The number of active cases as of yesterday was 35,524, and the number of newly reported cases was 1,508 in just one day’s time.

Other COVID-related happenings in the past week:

• In a part of Beijing where two million people live, they are undergoing mandatory mass COVID testing, and no one is whining too loudly about their freedoms being violated. China is tightening anti-disease controls with the start of the Winter Olympics there only a week away.
• Gonzaga University suspended the season tickets of its most famous basketball alumnus, John Stockton, because he remains unwilling to comply with the university’s mask mandate. He claims more than 100 professional athletes have died from vaccinations, but he has presented no evidence to support his outlandish claim.
• Marty High School in southeastern South Dakota is now allowing no spectators at its home sports events, including basketball games.
• Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell has instituted a mask mandate for anyone on its campus.
• The state of Arizona is suing the Biden administration over its demand that the state stop giving millions in federal COVID relief money to schools that don’t have mask requirements or that close due to COVID outbreaks.
• On Monday there was a new record high number of COVID infections here in free and wide-open South Dakota.
• The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe executives announced a 10-day lockdown in the town of Eagle Butte due to a significant rise in COVID cases there, but the tribal council rejected a lockdown, saying the virus was already entrenched in Eagle Butte and a lockdown would have little effect.
• The city of Rapid City asked its citizens to limit visits to city offices and facilities due to a spike in employee absences due to COVID and other illnesses.
• As of Monday the positivity rate (the number of positive results from all COVID tests) in South Dakota had risen to 41% over the previous seven days, meaning almost half of all COVID tests result in positive tests. On Tuesday the Department of Health report showed the number of active cases in the state had decreased slightly for the first time in more than a month, but the number was still more than 36,000. At the same time the number of occupied hospital beds rose to 423. On Tuesday there were more South Dakotans hospitalized with COVID than at any point since December 2020.
• A federal court said the state of Iowa can enforce its ban preventing local school districts from enacting mask mandates. Talk about local control! However, a lawsuit by a group of parents of disabled children seeking to strike down that law in districts where disabled kids would be affected is being allowed by the federal court to proceed.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“To love my neighbor I must intentionally get to know and understand my neighbor, not demonize or use my power to harm my neighbor. Not handpick the neighbors who look, think, act and vote like me but the ones that God sends.”
— Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner

FOOTBALL UPDATE

NFL playoff games this weekend:
— Sunday, 2 p.m. CST: AFC championship, Cincinnati at Kansas City.
— Sunday, 5:30 p.m. CST: NFC championship, San Francisco at Los Angeles Rams.

Green Bay Packers: With the NFC’s #1 seed quickly ousted from the playoffs, we look to their 2022 regular-season lineup of opponents. With at least five and maybe six wins assured because they play the Lions twice, the Bears twice and the Vikings twice, the Packers will have home games vs. Dallas, Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants, New York Jets, New England and Tennessee and road games at Buffalo, Miami, Philadelphia, Washington and Tampa Bay.

San Francisco Rams: The 49ers have no certain wins in their division since they have to play the Rams twice, Arizona twice and Seattle twice. The 49ers will have home games vs. Tampa Bay, New Orleans, Washington, Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City and Miami and road games at Chicago, Denver, Atlanta, Carolina and Las Vegas.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #28

This is our last contest of this long football season that started in August. Send your 2 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by Sunday morning, Jan. 30:

AFC: Cincinnati at Kansas City.
NFC: San Francisco at Los Angeles Rams.

MIDCO SPORTS NETWORK SCHEDULE

Thursday, 7 p.m.: Men’s basketball, SDSU vs. UND.
Thursday, 7 p.m.: Women’s basketball, SDSU vs. UND (MS2).
Friday, 7 p.m.: Men’s hockey, UND vs. St. Cloud State.
Saturday, 1 p.m.: Men’s basketball, USD vs. UND.
Saturday, 2 p.m.: Men’s basketball, SDSU vs. NDSU (MS2).
Saturday, 6 p.m.: Men’s hockey, UND vs. St. Cloud State.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• As I was checking the entries in our weekly football contest Sunday night after the NFL games ended, there was Greg Dean’s entry. He had sent it in on Tuesday night. Twenty-four hours later he was gone. His loss will long be felt by so many segments of the Pierre community—school and Post 8 athletics, his church, the Legislature where he was a popular lobbyist. The suddenness of his loss was such a kick in the gut to so many people in Pierre and beyond. Meanwhile, at the Brandon Valley school district they, too, are mourning this week. Though Chad Garrow’s death was not such a shock, nevertheless the two-time state championship football coach leaves a huge void in their school and community. One of his elite coaching staff members is our own Jason Bisbee (Riggs ’97).
• Greg Dean and I had a mutual affection for Wessington Springs—he as a native of that community and I as one who first taught school there after graduating from college. I loved that town and the people there! Greg was born a year after I left Springs, but once we met in Pierre when he and Jill had an apartment next door to our house, we were friends ever after. His brother, Dr. Tom Dean, was a student of mine at WSHS during the first year I taught there. To Jill and their wonderful trio of sons—Blake, Bradley and Bennett—we share this thought: Memories . . . let them fill your mind, warm your heart and lead you through.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Independence League: We haven’t heard what the Expedition League, involving the Pierre Trappers, will look like this coming summer, but the Spearfish Sasquatch, one of the former Expedition League teams that bailed out to form the new Independence League, revealed its schedule for 2022 this week. Other former Expedition League teams in the new league will be Badlands (Dickinson), Canyon County (Caldwell, Idaho), Casper, Fremont, Hastings and Western Nebraska (Gering-Scottsbluff). Cities joining those clubs in the new league will be Gem City (Laramie), North Platte, and Nebraska (Omaha).

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Jan. 27:
Karen Wyly, Shana (Holsteen) Read, Maxwell Fergen, Tanya (Hoagland) Hardiman, Andy Woster, Peggy (Huebner) Urquhart, Rory (Groseclose) Mennenger, Karen (Fossen) Cudmore, Megan (Linn) Bertsch, Aidan Javurek-Humig, Matt Kelley, Matt Jensen, Josh Schwartzkopf.

Friday, Jan. 28:
Josh Dehne, Zachary Deal, John Culberson, Cindy Jaeger, Katie Schultz, Kathy (Dalton) Smith.
— 38th anniversary, Rick/Deb LaBrie.

Saturday, Jan. 29:
Chuck Bartlett, Howard Grinager, Tyson Nafus, Jim Ulmen, Alex Beckwith, Ramona Lomheim, Hazel Baumberger (#106).

Sunday, Jan. 30:
Laura Hofer, Michele Hoscheid, Kelly Neiles-Brindza, Julie Osnes, Randy Pool, Rebecca Gruba, Cory Holmes, Isaac Stoeser, Weston Williams.

Monday, Jan. 31:
Jeff Pierce, Levi Reiprich, Tony Bevers, Kevin Stiles, Jane Stewart, Elsie Vogel, Darin Newcomb, Don Hoepfer, Wendy Ramler, William Tousley, Tracy Berg, Blake Freidel.

Tuesday, Feb. 1:
Carl Hawkinson, Colin Brown, Jim Severson, Ed Jacobson, Mary (Junkman) Hoover, Jeremiah Oltmann, Kallie (Dresbach) Hall, Nicholas Edwards, Cole Severson, Tracy (Shangreaux) Boom, Kaylee Kampfe, Andy Gerlach, Katrina Hewlett, Blake Norman, Lygia Garrett-Davis Libel.

Wednesday, Feb. 2:
Cody Coppess, Jeff Stewart, Carla Madden, Nate Chicoine, Joy Erlenbusch, Jordan Reiss, Stevie Brockhouse, Becky (Markley) Wosick, Josh Lamb, Darline Zimmerman.

Thursday, Feb. 3:
Peggy Johnson, Mike Owens, Victor Scharnweber, Daisha (Seyfer) Finke, Mike Baker, Bill Witte, Parker Knox, James Vollmer, Brad Shoup, Deni (Lohman) Hollingsworth, James Kachelmyer, Jason Lindberg, Joshua Kachelmyer, Gianna Harty, Matt McGovern, Kathy (Fette) Paul.
— We fondly remember Jack Unkenholz on his birthday.
— We also fondly remember Donna Fjelstad, who passed away 11 years ago today.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Karen Kern was honored with the prestigious Black Elk Award from South Dakota Tourism. She also received the Roger Eastman Achievement Award from South Dakota/Missouri River Tourism. Karen has spent 36 years in her position of promoting tourism.

Amber Rose Bear Stops, 40, formerly of Pierre, died Jan. 3 in Reno, Nev. Her funeral was held Tuesday at the Lakota Chapel in Pierre. She attended St. Joseph’s Indian School in Chamberlain and the Pierre public schools. She is survived by four children, Halaina Bear Stops of Wanblee, Blake Bear Stops of Pierre, Naomi (Jesse Giago) Bear Stops of Pierre and Christina Bear Stops; four grandchildren; her parents, Juanita Poor Bear of Pierre and Peter Bear Stops Jr. of Miller; her siblings, Brad (Renee) Bear Stops of Pierre, Mark Bear Stops of Rapid City and Rae Bear Stops of Sioux Falls, and two half-sisters.

Riggs High seniors Vick Becker and Adisyn Kuxhaus will be celebrated at the South Dakota regional award ceremony and exhibition Feb. 20 as part of the 2022 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards program. They are among 100 creative teen-agers from South Dakota named as regional award recipients, Vick for his photography and Adisyn for her artwork.

The Riggs High drama department will present two one-act plays, one a comedy and the other a drama, at the Riggs theater at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday this weekend..

Pierre native Kacie Schneider Olson was married Jan. 22 to Phil Greenwood. They and Kacie’s daughter Kendall live in Harrisburg. Phil is biosolids supervisor for the city of Sioux Falls.

Former Pierre resident Fred Pudwill, 89, died Jan. 19. Services were held Wednesday at Kirk Funeral Home in Rapid City. Fred, his wife Allegra and their four children moved to a farm north of Pierre in 1964. He farmed and did construction work, including work on Oahe Dam. They were members of Lutheran Memorial Church while they lived in the Pierre community. Allegra died in 1995, and Fred retired in 2002 and moved to Rapid City. He is survived by two sons, a daughter, three brothers and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

The Pierre-Fort Pierre Kiwanis Club’s annual fund-raising concert, whose proceeds will go entirely to local youth activities and programs as well as scholarships, will be held at the Riggs theater at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 5. Featured on the concert will be the East of Westreville troupe along with guest fiddlers Kenny Putnam and Owen DeJong. Tickets at $15 each are available at the local banks, from Kiwanis members and at the door on the night of the concert.

Such a sign of these times! Robyn Starks Holcomb told on Facebook that, despite having received her vaccinations plus booster shot, she acquired COVID-19, and her dad, Ken Starks, caught it from her. Ken was admitted to a hospital in Sioux Falls for COVID as well as pneumonia and syncope, but he had to wait seven hours in the E.R. for a hospital room to open up. Then, when a room finally became available for him, Robyn was turned away by the hospital’s no-visitation rule, so she found it extremely difficult to not be able to be there to be her dad’s advocate, ask questions, etc. On Monday, however, Robyn posted that Avera has transported Ken back home, and nurses will check on him there, monitoring his meds, oxygen and other factors by computer.

Greg Dean, 58, a Pierre resident for more than 30 years, passed away unexpectedly Wednesday evening, Jan. 19, following a workout at a local fitness center. Visitation will take place tonight (Thursday) from 5 to 6 p.m. at Lutheran Memorial Church, followed by a prayer service there at 6. The memorial service will begin at 10:30 a.m. Friday at Lutheran Memorial Church. Greg grew up on a farm near Wessington Springs and graduated from Wessington Springs High School in 1982. In 1987 he graduated from SDSU with a degree in animal science and economics. During his time at SDSU he was part of Farmhouse Fraternity, worked as student manager of the men’s basketball team and was an assistant football coach at nearby Sioux Valley High School. He married Jill Penticoff in 1993, and they made their home in Pierre as they raised three sons. Greg was an integral part of several aspects of the Pierre community, including the Rotary Club, Lutheran Memorial Church and various sports organizations as coach and board member. He worked for the South Dakota Centennial Commission, the Public Utilities Commission, the offices of Govs. George S. Mickelson and Walter Dale Miller, the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the South Dakota Telecommunications Association and the South Dakota Rural Electric Association. He also was a sports analyst on KCCR game broadcasts of football, basketball and baseball. Greg is survived by his wife, Jill Dean; their sons, Blake, Bradley and Bennett; three brothers, Dr. Tom (Kathy) Dean of Wessington Springs, Larry (Eileen) Dean of Mequon, Wis., and Dick Dean of Wessington Springs; an aunt, Peggy Wedell of Shoreview, Minn., and many nephews and nieces.

The fall semester Dean’s List at Dakota Wesleyan University included these local students: Courtney Brown, Elizabeth Duffy, Josh Rowse, Jastyn Frederick, Morgan Oedekoven, Davis Anderson, Cobey Carr, Abbigail Ferris and Jacey Iedema.

The 2002 inductees into Stanley County High School’s Buffalo Hall of Fame will be football player Steve Hoffman and coach Chris Jorgenson. Hoffman was a four-year football player and was an integral part of the 1986 state 9A championship team. He was named most valuable lineman in the state championship game. He was also a four-year wrestler. Jorgenson coaches basketball, cross country, track and field, and gymnastics in the ’80s and ’90s. The inductions will take place Saturday, Feb. 5, during the BDC conference wrestling tournament at Parkview Gym.

Riggs High alumnus Paul Adam will be a member of the executive team of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at USD, serving in the office of risk manager.

Matt and Taryn (Wolf) Blaseg of Cordova, Tenn., are parents for the first time. Their daughter, Natalie Larae Blaseg, was born Jan. 19, weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and measuring 20 inches. Matt is in his final year at Southern College of Optometry in nearby Memphis but currently is in Minnesota doing a rotation.

The fall semester Dean’s List at Augustana University includes these local students: Chloe Folts, Arden Koenecke, Jett Lamb, Natalie Mohr.

In his role as school resource officer at the Douglas schools in Box Elder, Pierre native Jayson Herra was able to take groups of students to a Rapid City Rush hockey game recently.

Tyler Wenbourne, third of the four children of Pierre natives Kerry and Pam (Welch) Wenbourne of Aberdeen, is a business banker in Aberdeen with Dacotah Bank. He was named the 2021 Small Business Administration 504 Lender of the Year. Tyler started his career with Dacotah Bank in 2005 and graduated from Presentation College with a business finance degree in 2006. He graduated from the School of Banking in Colorado in 2017. Tyler and his fiancee, Randi, live in Aberdeen.

Drs. Jon and Tara Schaack of Rapid City were featured in the most recent issue of Black Hills Woman magazine. Jon, a native of Pierre and the son of Karon Schaack of Rapid City and the late Ken Schaack, met Tara while both were students at the University of Nebraska Medical Center School of Dentistry. They started Schaack Family Dentistry at Pine Peaks in 2004. They are the parents of three daughters.

Bill Donahue, 80, Onida, died Jan. 23. Memorial Mass is being celebrated this (Thursday) morning at 11 a.m. at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Onida. The son of the late Tom and Kathleen Donahue was bortn in 1941. After his mother passed away, Bill gained a second mother when his dad married LaVonne Chamberlain. Bill graduated from Onida High School in 1959. He served with the U.S. Army and was deployed to a tour of duty in Vietnam as a helicopter gunner. In 1965 he returned home and married Karen Fox. Bill spent many years driving an 18-wheeler, hauling grain, pipe, cattle and other products. Later he had a career with the Sully County Highway Department. Survivors include his wife, Karen Donahue of Onida; his seven children, Shane (Kay) Donahue, Zoe (Allen) Hiller, Kathy Donahue, Linda (Mike) McDaniel, James (Kelli) Donahue, Mari Kramer, and Teri (Dennis) Weischedel; 15 grandchildren; 10 great-grandchildren, and a sister, Jean Donahue.

Luke Venner, who for the past several years has been the chef at the upscale restaurant named elm in New Canaan, Conn., and who remains in that position, was married this week to Kelli Arcciado. She is a journalist who writes for Marie Claire and other publications.

Riggs High quarterback Lincoln Kienholz is one of the nominees as Offensive Football Player of the Year in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader’s South Dakota High School Sports Awards. The newspaper awards for all of this school year’s sports will be presented later this spring.

The Belle Fourche community is rallying around the Pottorff family with fund-raising events and other support. Clay Pottorff, the boys basketball coach at Belle Fourche High School who is married to Onida native Katelynn Lamb, learned his father has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Pierre native Jeff Hayward was the subject of an interview that sprang up online this week. He is program manager at Startup Sioux Falls. What is his favorite part of his job? Jeff said, “Engaging with entrepreneurs in the Sioux Falls area and supporting our partners in offering entrepreneurial accelerator programming to underserved communities.” In part of his interview he was asked how he met his wife, the former Kristin Rau. He replied, “I played alto sax and she the clarinet. I swept her off her feet by drawing mustaches and blacked-out teeth on the Abercrombie & Fitch models on her book covers. How could she resist?” Kristin is manager of advocacy and development with Planned Parenthood South Dakota.

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“This is not the time to reduce our efforts in the fight against COVID-19. After all, no one will be safe until everyone is safe.”
— Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada