THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“It is not my job to convert anyone or everyone to my understanding. I bear witness, I hope, to what I believe by the way I live my life.”
— William Spong

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls wrestling: at Huron vs. Huron and Watertown, 4 p.m.
Boys wrestling: at Huron vs. Huron and Watertown, 4 p.m.
Girls basketball: at Yankton, 7 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Girls wrestling: at Canton quadrangular, 5:30 p.m.
Boys basketball: home vs. Yankton, 7 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Girls wrestling: at Yankton invitational, 9 a.m.
Boys wrestling: at Yankton invitational, 9 a.m.
Gymnastics: at ESD conference meet, Mitchell, noon.
— TUESDAY
Girls wrestling: home vs. Mitchell, 5 p.m.
Boys wrestling: home vs. Mitchell, 5 p.m.
Girls basketball: home vs. Huron, 7 p.m.
Boys basketball: at Huron, 7 p.m.

Boys wrestling: To say the Governors didn’t waste any time in disposing of Yankton in a dual is an understatement. Of the eight pins scored by Pierre in a 69-12 trouncing of the Bucks, six of them took a minute and a quarter or less. Winning by fall were Chase Carda in 51 seconds, Kylen Horsley in 35 seconds, Jayden Wiebe in 1:01, Lucas Chamberlin in 58 seconds, Chance Carda in 14 seconds, Ryler Shrake in 2:32, Carson Stoeser in 1:14 and Tristan Spencer in 2:57. Blake Judson won by technical fall, 17-0, and Jacob Mason won by major decision, 18-6.

Boys wrestling: Pierre placed a strong second at the Les Tlustos meet in Brookings with 237.5 points behind Brandon Valley’s 281. Harrisburg was third, Mitchell fourth, Brookings fifth and Sioux Falls Lincoln sixth. Alex Oedekoven won the 106-pound class, and Deegan Houska was the 152-pound champion. Other placers: Lincoln Schoenhard, fourth at 113; Noah Williamsk third at 120; Nate Williams, fifth at 126; Tristan Spencer, third at 132; Blake Judson, second at 138; Chase Carda, fifth at 145; Jayden Wiebe, fourth at 160; Lucas Chamberlin, fifth at 170; Chance Carda, third at 182; Gavin Stotts, fourth at 220; Josh Rydberg, seventh at 285.

Girls wrestling: Pierre won two of the four matches wrestled against Yankton in a dual last week. Sydney Uhrig won by pin in 1:11, and Gianna Stangeland won byu decision, 12-6. At the Brookings meet Pierre had four individual champions—Abbigail Lewis at 142 pounds, Stangeland at 132, Uhrig at 106 and Kezrey Benning at 120. Other placers: Shaylee Speck, second at 106; Londyn Allen-Hunsaker, seventh at 106; Nevaeh Baade, fourth at 113; Kali Ringstmeyuer, eighth at 113; Dani Ringstmeyer, second at 120′ Hattie Baldwin, second at 126; Emalee Larson, third at 120; Kyanne Traversie-Johnson, seventh at 190.

Boys basketball: The Governors lost to Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 55-44, after leading at halftime, 24-21. Matt Hanson had 16 points, Lincoln Kienholz 14 and Jackson Edman 12. The next day Pierre surged to a 65-47 win at Harrisburg, led by Kienholz with 20, Edman with 18 and Hanson with 14. Pierre’s record is now 6-7. The win over Harrisburg was Pierre’s first over a team not from the Black Hills.

Gymnastics: At a home meet Pierre was the first-place team with a score of 136.4. Nevaeh Karber won the all-around standings, placing first on the beam, third in the vault, third in floor exercise and fourth on the bars. Ryen Sheppcik was third in the all-around.

Girls basketball: The Governors lost to Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 75-54, but beat Harrisburg, 63-54. In the latter game Remi Price scored 30 points and Reese Terwilliger 12. The team’s record is now 4-9.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Boys basketball: at Chamberlain.
— FRIDAY
Girls basketball: at Todd County.
Gymnastics: at regional meet, Chamberlain.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: home for Big Dakota Conference tournament.
— MONDAY
Boys basketball: home vs. Potter County.
— TUESDAY
Wrestling: at Bennett County triangular.
Girls basketball: home vs. Miller.

Wrestling: In a triangular the Buffaloes lost to Sully Buttes, 39-24, and lost to Potter County, 30-24.

Boys basketball: It’s been a long time since a Buffalo team was 11-2, but this year’s team stands at that point. This week the Buffaloes beat Crow Creek, 51-44, and Todd County, 42-34.

Girls basketball: The Buffaloes lost to Crow Creek, 61-34, and defeated Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, 39-31. The team’s record is now 3-12.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— FRIDAY
Girls basketball: at Potter County.
Boys basketball: at Potter County.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: at Redfield invitational.
— MONDAY
Boys basketball: at Langford.
— TUESDAY
Boys basketball: at Herreid-Selby Area (in Selby).

Wrestling: The Chargers lost a pair of duals at a triangular, 39-24 to Stanley County and 34-24 to Potter County.

Boys basketball: The Chargers won at Hitchcock-Tulare, 48-40, led by Landon Hepker’s 21 points. In a 52-48 loss at Warner, Hepker scored 18, Jordan Schall nine and Tyler Marshall nine. On Tuesday SBHS edged Jones County, 57-54, as Dwight Kinney and Hepker each scored 16. The record is now 5-7.

Girls basketball: Three more wins this week included a 61-34 win at Hitchcock-Tulare. Stevie Wittler and Lydia Hill each scored 17 and Caitlin Birney nine. In a 48-44 win at Warner Stevie Wittler scored 20, Addy Chicoine 10 and Ally Wittler 10. On Tuesday the girls dumped on Jones County, 50-34, led by Stevie Wittler’s 19 points and Hill’s 18.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Feb. 3:
Daisha (Seyfer) Finke, Mike Baker, Bill Witte, Deni (Lohman) Hollingsworth, Brad Shoup, Parker Knox, Peggy Johnson, Mike Owens, Victor Scharnweber, Kathy (Fette) Paul, Jason Lindberg, Matt McGovern, Gianna Harty, Joshua Kachelmyer, James Kachelmyer.
— 26th anniversary, Jack/Dawn Magee.
— We fondly remember Donna Fjelstad, who passed away 11 years ago today.
— We fondly remember Jack Unkenholz on his birthday.

Friday, Feb. 4:
John Barber, Blake Deal, Chelsey (Roberts) Renemans, Charlene (Hyde) Bietz, Tom Valentine, Sheila Ring, Alec Espeland, Jaremy Joy, Eric Paxton, Anne Eichstadt, Jamie McQuistion, Avery Burger, JoAnne Hipple, Jake Miller, Tom Guhin, Ethan Hight.
— 49th anniversary, Steve/Peggy Stout.
— 33rd anniversary, Randy/Jodi Hartmann.

Saturday, Feb. 5:
Wade LaRoche, LaJena (Johnson) Gruis, Anthony Hunt, Sam Shives, Bob Judson, Ben Merrill, Pamela Cronin, Kara (Fouts) Brewer, Chad Coppess, Nick Osgerkamp, Devin Dodson, Jonathan Semro, Spencer Richey, Amanda Schmitgen.

Sunday, Feb. 6:
Adam Gallagher, Jarrett Klinger, Stacie (Ries) Swanstrom, Declan Murphy, Alex Hillestad, Jenifer Palmer, Colin McDaniel, Weston Fuller, Deleight (Kelly) Sudmeier, Mary (Morris) Weinheimer, Thea Deffenbaugh.

Monday, Feb. 7:
Dave Hofer, Franklin Nebelsick, Sandy Zinter, Alexandra Voeltz, Liz (Kirk) Van Camp, Tony Blake, Maisie Rumpca, Kennedy Williams, Marilee Johnson-Geary, DaVida (Anderson) Jaqua.
— 18th anniversary, Tyson/Lindsey Heiss.
— We fondly remember Hyrma Zakahi, who passed away 5 years ago today.

Tuesday, Feb. 8:
Karen Authier, Randy Stoeser, Alana (Tennant) Lacina, Karon Schaack, Kelli Nuttbrock Lindsey (Quinn) Nichols, Stephanie (Arne) Davison, Alex Plumage, Steph (Hull)( Joens, Colby Wagner, Jean Deffenbaugh, Chad Binger, Habie Swenson.
— 58th anniversary, Ron/Priscilla Schmidt.
— 2nd anniversary, William/Katherine (Van Gerpen) Cedeno-Torres.

Wednesday, Feb. 9:
Jennifer McKillip, Karen Day, Jamie Lomheim, Steve Smith, Mandy Braun, Dawn Hurney, William Weingart, Carolyn Severyn, Dessa Bryant, Elsie Ann Shoup, Bauer Hunt.

Thursday, Feb. 10:
Ericka Deneke, Carie (Olson) Butter, Jessie Williams, Kelly (Kindle) Hipple, Luke Ross, Darcy Ann White, Jeanita (Adams) McNulty, Chris Dvorak, Hart Hoover.
— 5th anniversary, Adam/Andrea Baker.
— We fondly remember Elliot Harmon on his birthday.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Blowing out someone else’s candle won’t make yours shine brighter. Remember that!”
— a thought 2022 political candidates might consider

CORONAVIRUS ROUNDUP

The South Dakota death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 2,665 with five new deaths reported in yesterday’s Department of Health update. The number of active cases in the state was at 28,789, but at least this number is showing a slow but downward trend.

• In Ottawa thousands protested COVID mandates, masks, lockdowns and restrictions and displayed expletive-laden signs about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
• The 13 more deaths in the state reported by the Department of Health Monday made January the deadliest month since January 2021 with a total of 164.
  One of the deaths was the third youth to succumb to COVID in the state, and this victim in Pennington County was the first in the 10-19 age group.
• In the state of Washington, former state trooper Robert LaMay, who publicly told off the governor over his COVID vaccination mandate and then resigned and became a frequent media figure, died of COVID ast the age of 50.
• The Army announced that any soldier who refuses to be vaccinated against COVID-19 will be discharged.

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Augustana women’s basketball (Katie Bourk, Aislinn Duffy): Rallying from a 20-point deficit, the Vikings won at Bemidji State, 69-64, as Aislinn was 4-of-10 (0-for-1) and 1-of-2 for nine points with 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. The other game on Augie’s northern road trip at Minnesota-Crookston was canceled. Now 10-7 overall and 6-7 in the NSIC, Augustana is home Friday vs. Winona State and Saturday vs. Upper Iowa.

Morningside bowling (Alex Badger): Idle last week, the Mustang bowlers roll this weekend at Coe College’s tournament in Cedar Rapids.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): The Lancers won over Jamestown, 64-59. Lincoln was 1-of-4 for two points with one rebound and one assist. MMC was 7-17 overall, 3-12 in the GPAC, heading into a game last night vs. Briar Cliff. The Lancers host Hastings Saturday.

Black Hills State track/field (Frank Becker): At Chadron State’s meet Frank ran on the 4×400 relay team which placed third in 3:40.32. BHSU competes Saturday at the Bison Open in Fargo.

South Dakota State track/field (Addy Eisenbeisz): At the Adidas meet at Nebraska, Addy did not post a height in the high jump. The Jacks go to the Bison Open in Fargo Saturday.

Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): The Marauders won two more NSIC duals, 28-10 over Southwest Minnesota State and 25-11 over Minnesota State-Mankato. Lincoln did not wrestle in either dual. Mary is home Sunday against Augustana.

South Dakota State women’s basketball: The Jackrabbits kept pace one game behind USD with a game against the Coyotes coming up Saturday. SDSU dominated UND, 78-49, and NDSU, 76-60. Now 14-8 overall and 10-1 in the Summit, SDSU hosts USD at 2 p.m. Saturday.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): The Coyotes lost in overtime to NDSU, 74-62, but defeated UND, 71-58. USD is now 13-8 overall and 6-4 in the Summit. They will be home vs. SDSU Saturday and on the road to NDSU Monday.

South Dakota State swimming (Morgan Nelson): The Jacks lost a dual to USD. Morgan placed seventh in the 100 breast in 1:08.54, 36th in the 100 back in 1:11.73, 27th in the 50 freestyle in :26.42 and 41st in the 100 individual medley in 1:06.29. She swam on the 200 medley relay team which placed 12th in 2:00.48. Next on the schedule is the Summit League meet at West Fargo Feb. 16-19.

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): USD defeated NDSU, 78-59, as Chloe was 8-of-20 (2-of-7 in three-pointers) and 3-of-3 for 21 points with three rebounds, six assists and two steals. UND gave the Coyotes a good game in the first half before USD pulled away to win by 88-72. Cloe was 4-of-15 (2-of-7) and 1-of-2 for 11 points with four assists, two steals and a blocked shot. Hannah Sjerven had 30 for the Yotes, who earned their 16th win in a row. Now 18-4 (the only losses have been to South Carolina, Northwestern, Texas A&M and Oklahoma) and 11-0 in the Summit, USD puts its perfect league mark on the line with a trip to SDSU at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Colorado Mines women’s basketball (Liz Holter): The Orediggers lost their first conference game in a 70-59 defeat at the hands of CSU-Pueblo. Liz was 2-of-6 (2-of-5 in threes) for six points with two rebounds, two steals and two assists. Back on the winning track, Mines defeated Adams State, 57-52, as Liz was 2-of-5 (0-of-2) and 2-of-2 for six points with five boards, four assists, a block and a steal. Now 17-2 overall and 12-1 in the RMAC, Mines plays at Metro State Friday and at Colorado Christian Saturday.

Wyoming wrestling (Tate Samuelson): The Cowboys lost to Missouri, 30-6, and defeated Utah Valley, 23-17, for their first dual win of the season. Tate did not wrestle in either ual. Wyoming goes to Northern Colorado for a Friday dual.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Tyson Johnson): The Tigers lost a dual to Midland, 22-12, and another to Doane, 41-6. Against Midland in his 157-pound match Tyson lost a 5-3 decision. Against Doane he lost by tech fall, 20-3, at 5:40. DWU is home vs. York College Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Nick Wittler): DWU lost to Dordt, 80-73, as Nick was 4-of-11 (2-of-7) for 10 points along with two rebounds, two assists and a steal. In a 75-68 win over Briar Cliff he was 5-of-10 (5-of-7) and 2-of-2 for 17 points with a rebound and two assists. Now 10-12 overall and 7-8 in the GPAC, DWU played Jamestown last night, then is off until playing Northwestern next Wednesday.

USF track/field (Jessica Lutmer): At Minnesota State-Mankato’s meet Jessica placed 13th in the mile in 5:22.0 and 11th in the 3,000 meters in 10:47.76. USF goes back to Mankato for another meet Saturday.

South Dakota State men’s basketball: The Jackrabbits stomped on UND, 96-61, in Brookings, then five days later played UND again, this time in Grand Forks, and escaped with a 70-64 win. In between SDSU beat NDSU in another close one, 80-76. But SDSU remains 11-0 in the Summit League and 20-4 overall. Next game is at USD at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Dakota State track/field (Houston Lunde): At Mount Marty’s meet Houston placed 18th in the weight throw with a toss of 39’2 1/2″ and 24th in the shot put at 37’10 1/2″. The Trojans compete Friday and Saturday at the Bison Open at NDSU.

Augustana track/field (Elizabeth Schaefer): The Vikings competed at Mankato’s meet, but Elizabeth did not compete there. Augie sends athletes back to Mankato for another meet Saturday.

Northern track/field (Rachel Guthmiller): At Mount Marty’s meet Rachel was 13th in the weight throw at 43’6 1/2″ The Wolves go to the Bison Open in Fargo Friday and Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan track/field (Cobey Carr, Morgan Oedekoven, Abby Ferris): At Mount Marty’s invitational Abby placed 13th in the long jump at 12’9 1/4″ and eighth with the 4×400 relay team in 4:46.62. Cobey was 12th in the long jump at 18’8 3’4″ and 28th in the 200-meter dash in :26.19. The Tigers go to USD’s meet Saturday.

Northern baseball (Spencer Sarringar): The Wolves have Spencer on their roster as a redshirt-senior catcher. NSU, weather permitting, opens the season in Kansas this weekend, playing Emporia State Friday, Central Oklahoma Saturday and Pittsburg State Sunday and Monday.

Texas State baseball (Peyton Zabel): Peyton is a redshirt sophomore right-handed pitcher for the Bobcats in San Marcos, Texas, where the season opens Feb. 18-19-20 with four home games against Utah Valley.

Iowa Central CC baseball (Jack Van Camp): Jack is a freshman left-handed pitcher for the Tritons in Fort Dodge. Their season opens Feb. 11-12 with three games in Enid against Northern Oklahoma.

South Dakota Mines track/field (Erick Colman): At Chadron State’s meet Erick was fourth in the weight throw at 50’4 1/2″ and sixth in the shot put at 42’9 3/4″. The Hardrtockers send athletes on Feb. 12 to either Washburn’s meet in Topeka or SDSU’s meet.

MIDCO SPORTS NETWORK SCHEDULE

Thursday, 7 p.m.: Men’s basketball, UND vs. Denver.
Friday, 7 p.m.: Men’s hockey, UND vs. Omaha.
Saturday, 2 p.m.: Women’s basketball, USD vs. SDSU.
Saturday, 6 p.m.: Men’s hockey, UND vs. Omaha.
Saturday, 7 p.m.: Men’s basketball, USD vs. SDSU.
Tuesday, 7 p.m.: High school boys basketball, Sioux Falls Washington vs. Brandon Valley.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• If you have a student at the School of Mines, pay attention. My church (First United Methodist Church in downtown Rapid City) is instituting a new Young Adults group, which will meet every other Tuesday noon, continuing Feb. 8. A home-cooked meal prepared by a church member will be served to the group at each meeting. They are currently studying John Eldredge’s “Epic.” If your Mines student would be interested, have him or her contact associate pastor Michele Slott at 605-390-8757 or PastorMich.SD@gmail.com.
• The football contest which we ran from late August through last Sunday’s NFL games has been won again by Jason Noyes, Pierre native now living in Sioux Falls. Contestants earned 10, 9, 8 or 0 points each week (except for that one time when one contestant had a perfect slate of 10 picks—that was Jason, by the way), and the point total for each was divided by the number of times he or she entered. Following Noyes in order were Eric James, Mikal Kern, Randy Pool, Kyle Richards, Thomas Voeltz, Seb Axtman, Jon Boer, Nathan Vetter, Levi Neuharth, David Ludwig and Dawn Magee.
• The Expedition League announced that the Red River Pilots, based in Grand Forks, will be an addition to the college-age baseball league this coming summer. According to a source at the league office, the other teams in the league will be the Pierre Trappers, the Sioux Falls Sunfish, the Souris Valley Sabre Dogs based in Minot, the Brandon (Manitoba) Whiskey Jacks and a sixth team to be announced soon.
• With pitchers and catchers due to report to their Florida and Arizona spring training camps in only two weeks, it appears that won’t happen and that MLB owners and players won’t come together in time to settle their million-dollar differences, thus postponing games. So if we aren’t going to have big-league ball to follow, how about the TV sports networks covering college baseball better than they usually do! If you ever knew it at all, last year Mississippi State beat Vanderbilt, 2 games to 1, in the championship series at the end of the College World Series. The latest pre-season poll ahead of this 2022 season includes these teams: 1, Texas; 2, Arkansas; 3, Vanderbilt; 4, Mississippi State; 5, Mississippi; 6, Stanford; 7, Oklahoma State; 8, LSU; 9, Florida; 10, North Carolina State; 11, Florida State; 12 East Carolina; 13, Notre Dame; 14, Texas Tech; 15, Arizona; 16, Georgia; 17, TCU; 18, Oregon State; 19, Tennessee; 20, UC-Irvine.
• As I was working at a house manager job for the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City one night earlier this week, during a lull in the activity I had a conversation with a woman which has bothered me all week. She maintains that the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing but a hoax. I asked her to explain the number of deaths alleged to be as a result of COVID, and she said the first-year deaths were due to a conspiracy by sources desiring to take over the United States. I asked her why she has not been vaccinated, and she claims all of the deaths since the vaccines were developed and approved are due to the vaccine itself, a plot by our federal government to lessen the population. What is most disturbing is that people like her vote. No wonder that the majority of the people elected to the Legislature and the school board, among other entities, are so far-right on almost every issue.
• In case you didn’t catch this on Facebook yesterday on Groundhog Day: “Only in America do we accept weather predictions from a rodent but deny climate change evidence from scientists.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“If we’re not the ones to be a catalyst for change, how is South Dakota ever going to be the place we want it to be?”
— Kameron Nelson of Sioux Falls, announcing his candidacy for the House of Representatives from District 10

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Skyforce: In their only game in the past week the Skyforce lost to Austin, 119-97. Sioux Falls is home Thursday vs. Agua Caliente and Sunday vs. Birmingham.

Minnesota Timberwolves: After losses to the two best teams in the Western Conference, 124-115 to Golden State and 134-124 to Phoenix, the Wolves beat Utah, 126-106, and Denver, 130-115. Minnesota plays at Detroit Thursday, at home vs. Detroit Sunday and at Sacramento Tuesday.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The Champions Tour was idle last week. The next scheduled stop is the Chubb Classic in Naples, Fla., Feb. 18-20.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Rapid City Rush: Forced on the road for two weeks due to the stock show and rodeo in their home arena, the Rush won at Allen, 6-3, and split with Tulsa, losing 7-1 and winning 4-3. Rapid City stays south with games at Kansas City Friday and Saturday and another at Tulsa Sunday.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd lost to Sioux City, 7-4, and lost in overtime to Omaha, 3-2. Sioux Falls’ home games vs. Omaha Friday and Sioux City Saturday have already been postponed due to ice issues at the Premier Center, but the team is scheduled to be on the road to Sioux City Tuesday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild swept the big city, beating the Rangers, 3-2, and the Islanders, 4-3. After playing Chicago last night, Minnesota is off until a game at Winnipeg Tuesday.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split with North Iowa, losing 4-2 and winning 4-2. Aberdeen goes to Minot Friday and Saturday.

Badlands Sabres: The Sabres lost twice to Bozeman, 6-3 and 7-1. Badlands plays at Yellowstone Friday and Saturday.

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: The Caps lost to the two Sioux Falls teams, falling to Sioux Falls #1, 4-1, and to Sioux Falls #2, 2-0. The lone goal was scored by Keenan Howard on an assist from Barret Schweitzer. That came in the first period after which Sioux Falls scored four goals in the third period to take over the game. Carter Schulz made 26 saves against #1 and 19 more against #2. The Caps fired off 47 shots in the shutout loss but couldn’t get any of them into the net. The boys will be home at 7 p.m. Saturday vs. Watertown.

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: The girls won once, lost once and tied once over the weekend. In a 5-3 loss to Brookings the goals were scored by Brenna Ullmann, Brylee Kafka and Alyssa Stahl. Abigail Stewart Fromm made 23 saves. In a 2-2 overtime tie at Sioux Center, Ashton Lee and Kafka scored the Oahe goals, and Fromm made 26 saves. The girls won at Sioux Center, 3-2, with Kafa and Sara Bierne scoring two of the goals and Fromm making 16 saves. The girls will be home vs. Watertown at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

COUNTDOWN

Today: State one-act play festival, Rapid City Central (Feb. 3-5).
1 day: Winter Olympics opening ceremonies, Beijing, China (Feb. 4).
8 days: State gymnastics meet, Mitchell (Feb. 11-12).
10 days: Super Bowl LVI, Los Angeles (Feb. 13).
11 days: Valentines Day (Feb. 14).
18 days: Presidents Day (Feb. 21).
21 days: State wrestling tournaments, Sioux Falls Premier Center (Feb. 24-26).
22 days: State Bantam B hockey tournament, Expo Center (Feb. 25-27).
23 days: NSIC men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls Sanford Pentagon (Feb. 26-March 1).
23 days: Minnesota Loons MLS season opener (Feb. 26).
26 days: State of the Union address (March 1).
29 days: State girls varsity hockey tournament, Aberdeen (March 4-6).
30 days: Summit League men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls Premier Center (March 5-8).
38 days: Daylight Saving Time begins (March 13).

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Recognized as Athletes of the Week last week by the Pierre Athletic Coaches Association were Kylen Horsley of the wrestling team and Ryen Sheppick of the gymnastics team.

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (Riggs ’96) made it official Monday, announcing he will seek a third term in the House of Representatives, starting with the June primary election.

Teena (Bowlin) Tople, 62, died Jan. 30 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at Calvary United Pentecostal Church in Pierre. Teena was adopted at the age of 9 by the Rev. Jack and Phyllis Skibba. She graduated from Riggs High School in 1977 and married Steve Tople that year. Teena worked at various motels as a night auditor. Survivors include two daughters, Rebecca Dufek and Lee Ann Wright; four grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

The Dean’s List at Minnesota State-Mankato for the fall semester included Josh Lamb (4.0) and Claire Hussey.

Winning the Republican primary in June won’t be enough for Gov. Kristi Noem or whichever Republican candidate beats her. The Republican candidate will have a general election opponent for sure. Announcing his candidacy for governor on the Democratic side this week was Rep. Jamie Smith of Sioux Falls, a realtor who is a former teacher and wrestling coach. He has been in the House of Representatives since 2016. He is currently the minority leader of the House.

Tevan Bryant, Harrisburg senior and daughter of Toby and Amber Bryant, is one of the nominees for Softball Player of the Year in the Argus-Leader Sports Awards to be presented later this year.

Inducted into the Onida/Sully Buttes Athletic Hall of Fame during a basketball game next Thursday, Feb. 10, will be Coach Mark Senftner and Katelynn (Lamb) Pottorff.

Mary Ann (Stertz) Erickson died Jan. 25 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. Services were held Monday at First United Methodist Church. Born in Pierre, Mary Ann attended schools in Wisconsin. She married Mervin Erickson in 1962. Mary Ann worked as a benefit specialist for the state of South Dakota. She is survived by a daughter, Melanie Rowell of Dell Rapids; two sons, Ronald Erickson and Keith Erickson of Pierre; a sister, Elaine Scott of Fort Pierre; two brothers, Raymond Stertz of Pierre and Lee Stertz of Minneapolis; 11 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Our sympathy to Dodie Noordermeer, whose brother, Michael Brunick, 68, passed away Jan. 17 in Chandler, Ariz.

The only member of All-State Band from the local area next month will be Sully Buttes senior Collin Bradberry. He will play trumpet in the Clark Band. Among those selected via audition for the Lewis Band are two other students with local connections. Eli Schipper, Harrisburg senior trumpet player, is the son of Jason and Sandy Schipper. Among his grandparents are former Pierre residents Lloyd and Jeannette Schipper. Tom Jennewein, senior clarinetist from Vermillion High School, is the son of Doug and Lindsey Jennewein, and his maternal grandparents are Darell and Marileen Tilberg of Onida. The two bands will rehearse and perform concerts at SDSU’s new performing arts center in Brookings in late March.

Jackson Schumacher is now officially a LCSW (licensed clinical social worker).

Jacob Howard of Onida is one of Northern State’s athletes earning the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference’s Mules Brand All-Academic with Distinction Award. Jacob plays football at NSU where he majors in government and criminal justice. Each recipient of the award gets a certificate and a wristwatch from the conference.

The annual carnival at St. Joseph Elementary School in Pierre takes place this Saturday in the school gym from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Riggs High senior Canyon Jones signed his letter of intent to attend Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge next year and participate on the swimming team there.

Aaron Propst has been working for the past four months at Raven Aerostar in Sioux Falls. Raven specializes in stratospheric balloon systems and radar systems. Aaron works on the system reliability team and is responsible for most of the software testing for their atmospheric balloon flight computers.

Jerrid Conway says one of his twin daughters born July 23, 2020, was diagnosed with congenital heart disease when she was only a day old. She underwent open-heart surgery at the age of two months. Now, thanks to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, little Sadie Hope is thriving alongside her sister, Skylar Grace. Jerrid, Bridget and their girls live on a farm near Scranton, Pa. He works for a drilling company on the East Coast.

The state high school one-act play festival goes west of the river for the first time ever Thursday through Saturday. Forty-five schools will present their plays for the public and judges at the theater at Central High School. Pierre’s play will be performed at 3:30 p.m Thursday, and Stanley County’s play is set for 12:45 p.m. Friday. Awards will be announced late Saturday afternoon at the conclusion of the final play.

Pastor Jeffrey Neuberger, 73, the chaplain at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital campus in Pierre, died Jan. 30 after many years of health issues. His funeral will be held Feb. 16 at the Isburg Funeral Chapel, followed by burial the next day at Black Hills National Cemetery. After his education Mr. Neuberger worked as a nurse, hospital administrator and nursing home administrator all over the United States. He taught university classes in South Dakota and four other states. After retiring he became a pastor. He was also a veteran of service in the National Guard, the Army and the Air Force. In 1985 he married Carla Opbroek. He is survived by his wife; a sister, Sharon Lenger; his children, April (Darin) Hodges, Mathew Opbroek, Clay Opbroek, Michael (Nicole) Opbroek, Christina (Jason) Sands, and Brad (Paula) Krause, and 17 grandchildren.

The Fine Arts Performer of the Week at Riggs High School last week was Kirsten Korber from the choir and the band.

Landon Badger, who is now a physical education teacher at Kennedy Elementary School in Pierre, was surprised one morning this week when his parents and some of his former coaches showed up at the school. Landon learned he is the first Pierre athlete to be selected for the South Dakota High School Baseball Hall of Fame. This Hall of Fame has been in existence only since 2020, and there are 36 inductees so far. Besides his “day job” at Kennedy, Landon, who graduated last year from SDSU where he was a baseball star, is part of the Post 8 baseball coaching staff and coaches the Oahe Capitals JV boys hockey team.

PONDER THIS

“Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak up and speak out, we strike a blow against freedom, decency and justice.”
— Sen. Robert F. Kennedy