THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Be not afraid of discomfort. If you can’t put yourself in a situation where you are uncomfortable, then you will never grow. You will never change. You’ll never learn.
— Jason Reynolds

TOURNAMENTS ROUNDUP

BOYS HOCKEY

The state tournament will be played in Sioux Falls this weekend. Friday’s quarterfinal schedule: 9:05 a.m., Sioux Falls #1 vs. Sioux Center; 11:35 a.m., Brookings vs. Sioux Falls #2; 2:05 p.m., Oahe vs. Aberdeen; 4:35 p.m., Rushmore vs. Watertown. All four of Friday’s games, Saturday’s two championship semifinals, and Sunday’s third-place and championship games will all be televised live on Midco Sports.

‘AA’ BOYS BASKETBALL

All five Sioux Falls schools had home games in the SoDak 16, and (surprise!) all five won. So did Harrisburg, so the Metro has six of the eight teams in the tournament, which will be played at the Premier Center next week March 17-19. At least the SDHSAA won’t have much mileage to pay. The quarterfinal pairings:
Upper bracket:
* Roosevelt vs. Yankton.
* Harrisburg vs. Mitchell.
Lower bracket:
* O’Gorman vs. Lincoln.
* Washington vs. Jefferson.

‘A’ BOYS BASKETBALL

Three West River teams in the field should help the crowd in Rapid City when the tournament opens next Thursday, March 17. The quarterfinal pairings:
Upper bracket:
* Dakota Valley vs. Sioux Falls Christian.
* Flandreau vs. Groton Area.
Lower bracket:
* St. Thomas More vs. Sioux Valley.
* Winner vs. Lakota Tech.

‘B’ BOYS BASKETBALL

Aberdeen will host the state tournament at Northern’s Barnett Center starting Thursday next week, March 17. The quarterfinal pairings:
Upper bracket:
* De Smet vs. Waubay-Summit.
* Potter County vs. Aberdeen Christian.
Lower bracket:
* Lower Brule vs. Castlewood.
* White River vs. Freeman Academy/Marion.

TOURNAMENTS ON TELEVISION

For the next two weekends the two Class “A” tournaments will be on SDPB1, the two Class “AA” tournaments will be on SDPB2, and the two Class “B” tournaments will be on SDPB3. Remember that the “AA”girls this weekend and the “A” boys next weekend will run on Mountain Time since they will be played in Rapid City instead of east of the river.

‘AA’ GIRLS BASKETBALL

Six of the eight teams will travel across the state for the tournament, which will be played in the ice arena at The Monument in Rapid City starting today (Thursday). Don’t expect any record for gate receipts! At least the two Rapid City teams qualified, but as luck would have it, they have to play each other first. The quarterfinal pairings:
Upper bracket:
* Noon MST: Washington vs. Jefferson.
* Stevens vs. Central.
Lower bracket:
* 6 p.m. MST: O’Gorman vs. Lincoln.
* Brandon Valley vs. Harrisburg.

‘A’ GIRLS BASKETBALL

The state tournament will be played Thursday through Saturday at SDSU’s Frost Arena in Brookings. Thursday’s quarterfinal schedule: noon, Wagner vs. Red Cloud; 1:45 p.m., Lakota Tech vs. Rapid City St. Thomas More; 6 p.m., West Central vs. Dakota Valley; 7:45 p.m., Hamlin vs. Sioux Falls Christian.

‘B’ GIRLS BASKETBALL

The state tournament will be played Thursday through Saturday at the Watertown Civic Arena. Thursday’s quarterfinal schedule: noon, Aberdeen Roncalli vs. Viborg-Hurley; 1:45 p.m., Corsica-Stickney vs. White River; 6 p.m., De Smet vs. Aberdeen Christian; 7:45 p.m., Wall vs. Faith.

COUNTDOWN

1 day: State boys varsity hockey tournament, Sioux Falls (March 11-13).
3 days: Daylight Saving Time begins (March 13).
5 days: Riggs High/Georgia Morse Middle School fine arts festival (March 15).
7 days: State boys basketball tournaments, AA Sioux Falls Premier Center, A Rapid City Summit Arena, B Aberdeen Barnett Center (March 17-19).
7 days: NCAA Division I wrestling championships, Detroit (March 17-19).
11 days: Buchanan Elementary spring concert (March 21).
12 days: Kennedy Elementary spring concert (March 22).
14 days: Jefferson Elementary spring concert (March 24).
16 days: All-State Band concerts, Mitchell (March 26).
17 days: The Oscars, ABC-TV (March 27).
22 days: S.D. Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Chamberlain (April 1-2).
22 days: NCAA Division I women’s basketball Final Four, Minneapolis Target Center (April 1, 3).
23 days: Rapid City Marshals indoor football season opener (April 2).
23 days: NCAA Division I men’s basketball Final Four, New Orleans Superdome (April 2, 4).
24 days: Grammy awards, CBS-TV (April 3).
26 days: Pierre track/field season opener (April 5).
26 days: Pierre boys tennis season opener (April 5).
28 days: NCAA Division I men’s hockey Frozen Four, Boston (April 7, 9).

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: The Capitals captured fifth place at the state tournament in Aberdeen. In the quarterfinals they lost to Aberdeen in overtime, 2-1. Kiersten Miller scored off Katherine Reiss’ assist for the only Oahe goal, and Abigail Stewart Fromm made 21 saves in goal. In the consolation semifinal the Capitals led 3-0 after the second period but survived a furious third period to beat Sioux Center, 5-3. Brylee Kafka scored twice, and Ashton Lee, Adisyn Gray and Alyssa Stahl each lit the light once. Fromm made 30 saves. In the fifth-place contest Sunday, the girls dominated Rushmore, 6-2, as Kafka and Lee each accomplished a hat trick and Fromm stopped 25 Thunder shots. Sioux Falls won the state championship with a 5-2 title game win over Mitchell.

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: Olivia Swenson was the Oahe Capitals player who was honored with the Obey Baker Character Award. She as well as Ashton Lee and Adisyn Gray earned Academic All-State recognition. Ashton Lee of the Caps was named to the All-State second team.

State tournaments update: The Capitals boys junior varsity went 1-2 in their state tournament, losing to Rushmore 4-1, beating Sioux Center 4-1 and losing to Aberdeen #2 4-0.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild beat Philadelphia, 5-4; lost to Buffalo, 5-4; lost to Dallas, 6-3, and beat the New York Rangers, 5-2. Minnesota goes to Detroit Thursday and on to Columbus Friday, then plays at home vs. Nashville Sunday and Boston next Wednesday.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Stampede lost to Fargo, 4-1, and lost to Omaha, 4-3, in a shootout. Sioux Falls will be home Friday vs. Des Moines and Saturday vs. Sioux City.

Badlands Sabres: Having lost the first game of their best-of-3 playoff series at home against Great Falls last week, the Sabres went to Great Falls and lost in Game 2, 7-1, to end the series and their first season in Rapid City.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split with St. Cloud, winning 4-3 in overtime and losing 2-1. Aberdeen is home against Bismarck Friday and Saturday.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush took two of three in a home series against Utah, losing 2-1 in a shootout but winning 10-2 and 3-2. Idle this week while a girls basketball tournament occupies the ice arena, the Rush will be home March 18-19-20 against Kansas City.

MIDCO SPORTS NETWORK SCHEDULE

Friday, 9:00, 11:30, 2:00, 4:30: Boys state hockey tournament quarterfinals (MS2).
Friday, 7 p.m.: NCHC quarterfinal playoffs, Game 1, UND vs. Colorado College.
Saturday, 4:30, 7:00: Boys state hockey tournament semifinals (MS2).
Saturday, 6 p.m.: NCHC quarterfinal playoffs, Game 2, UND vs. Colorado College.
Sunday, noon, 3:00: Boys state hockey tournament third-place and championship games.
Sunday, 6 p.m.: NCHC quarterfinal playoffs, Game 3 (if necessary).

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons tied Nashville, 1-1, in their home opener plagued by heavy rain, thunderstorms and a lightning delay. Minnesota plays at the New York Red Bulls at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): Tom did not play in the Hoag Classic in California last weekend. The next stop on the Champions Tour is the Rapiscan Systems Classic in Biloxi, Miss., April 1-3.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force lost to Texas, 120-117; beat Texas, 110-92, and beat Iowa, 115-89. Sioux Falls is home vs. Austin Thursday and Friday, then goes to Texas next Tuesday.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves are on a six-game winning streak as they battle to stay in a playoff position. This week they beat Oklahoma City twice, 138-101 and 132-102 last night, and beat Portland twice, 135-121 and 124-81. Minnesota goes to Orlando Friday, to Miami Saturday and to San Antonio Monday before facing the Los Angeles Lakers at home next Wednesday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Rapid City Marshals: The new team in indoor football has a preseason game at home in the Summit Arena this Saturday night. The Marshals will host Northern Colorado in a 7 p.m. kickoff. The Marshals will be home for their first two regular-season games against Topeka and Sioux City on the evenings of April 2 and April 9, respectively.

WORDS OF WISDOM

If the problem can be solved, why worry? If the problem cannot be solved, worrying will do you no good.
— Shantideva

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, March 10:
Tanner Prince, Adeline Schutz, Anna Bondy, Carol Gengler, Jerid Jaeger, Marty Javurek, Ryan Bisbee, Lincoln Bisbee, Thielynn Wire, Brian Drapeaux, Barak Tibbs, Travis Ruby, Jesse Beesley.
— 4th anniversary, Sheridan/Camille Cronin.

Friday, March 11:
Devan Kleven, Garrett Boe, Maya Herrscher, Cheryl Stoeser, Parker Ripperger, Samantha Dewell, Tricia Heien, Rebekah (Lawver) Boyer, Starla (Ludwig) Luoma, Andy Ogan, Sam Maurice, Micah Rounds, Stacie (Zastrow) Dumford, Marlin Smith (#88), Kelley (Bechtold) Larson, Doug Osnes, LiAnn (Nuttall) Currier, Zach Edman, Tad Perry, Layla Stoeser.
— 7th anniversary, Tom/Megan Lehmkuhl.
— 24th anniversary, Bob/Lynette McCarty.
— We fondly remember Shane Cronin, who passed away eight years ago today.
— We fondly remember Lee Ferguson on his birthday.

Saturday, March 12:
Jena Forsch, Hallie Getz, Alan Dale, Vicki Brooks, Kyle Rausch, John Morris, Nathan Brakke, Aurelia Kerver, Alison Kennedy, Layne Heller, Susan Stahl.
— We fondly remember Whitney Barnett, who passed away four years ago today.

Sunday, March 13:
Brian Cazan, Myron Bryant, Bobby Oleson, Jvonne Heard-Ellingson, Elise Holcomb, Deanna Sutton, Lexie Rausch, Carole Olerud, Vicki (Fosheim) Dant, Anne Severson, Sharla (Cass) Steever, Alicia (Hicks) Malstrom.
— 7th anniversary, Adam/Courtney Korkow.

Monday, March 14:
Lucas Lindholm, Maria Melius, Tara Hiller, Kevin Huxford, Jim Iverson, Ann (Beemer) Candler, Mary Voeltz, Darcy Sorenson, Isaiah Melius, Dee Dee Raap, Kenley Jo Boyer, Jennifer (Lomheim) Sieveking.
— We fondly remember Jon Olinger, who passed away 10 years ago today and whose birthday is March 17.

Tuesday, March 15:
Brooks Hanson, Tavis Weidenbach, Kasey (Anderson) Cappellano, Nora Wheeler, Loren Thompson, Mariah Heiss, Justin Elrod, Arlene DeVany, Ward Judson, Allison Klucas, Cassie (Rausch) Stoeser, Lance Spears.

Wednesday, March 16:
Leah Ries, Ava Bauck, Jennifer (Brink) Anderson, Deb Mortenson, Avery Askew, Patrick Burger (#70),

Thursday, March 17:
Peggy Stout, Jack Aadland, Melissa Brock, Jackson Jennings, Bill Markley, Chad Cooper, Chris Derry, Joe Gormley, Nick Burke, Jesse Krell

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Colorado Mines women’s basketball (Liz Holter): The Orediggers lost in the semifinal of the RMAC conference tournament, 61-54 to CSU-Pueblo. Liz was 0-for-4 and 6-of-6 for six points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. However, Mines earned an at-large bid into the Division II national tournament, starting with a regional semifinal Friday against Texas A&M-Commerce. The other two teams in that region are Lubbock Christian and CSU-Pueblo.

Iowa Central Community College baseball (Jack Van Camp): The Tritons swept all four weekend games against Bryant & Stratton (Wis.), 12-2 in five innings, 12-2 in six innings, 8-2 in seven innings and 4-0 in seven innings. Jack did not play in those games. Now 11-4, Iowa Central will play at home twice Saturday and once Sunday against Moraine Valley Community College.

South Dakota State women’s basketball: The Jackrabbit women beat Denber, 86-59, and Oral Roberts, 72-53, to reach the championship game against USD, but there they lost by 56-45. SDSU has a 23-9 record, awaiting either a trip to the WNIT tournament or an unexpected at-large bid into the NCAA.

South Dakota State men’s basketball: The Jackrabbits increased their school-record win total to 30 against four losses with three wins at the Summit League tournament to win the event and advance to the NCAA Tournament. SDSU beat Omaha, 87-79; beat USD, 83-60 and escaped a championship bid by North Dakota State in the finals to win by 75-69.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): The Coyotes played one of their best games of the year in the quarterfinal round at the Summit League tournament, defeating Kansas City, 74-61, but USD lost to South Dakota State in the semifinals, 83-60, finishing the season at 19-12.

SELECTION SHOWS: The NCAA Division I men’s tournament selection show will be televised on CBS at 5 p.m. CDT Sunday. The women’s tournament selection show, held on Monday in the past, will also be on Sunday this year, and you can see it at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): Chloe was named Player of the Year in the Summit League and also was named most valuable player of the Summit League tournament for the second straight year. She showed why in the league tournament in Sioux Falls as USD won the title for the third straight year. USD won over Western Illinois in the quarterfinals 75-49, as Chloe was 2-of-8 (2-of-5 in threes) for six points with seven boards, two assists and a steal. In the semifinal win over Kansas City by 81-67, Chloe had a career-high 33 points, hitting 12 of 16 field-goal tries (5-of-6 in three-pointers) and 4-of-4 at the line along with a rebound and four assists. In the championship game against SDSU the Coyotes led by a point at halftime, but the defense clamped down on SDSU in the second half, and the Coyotes pulled away in the final minute to a 56-45 triumph. Chloe was 5-of-13 (3-of-5) and 4-of-5 for 17 points with three rebounds, three assists and a steal. USD awaits its destination in the NCAA tournament with a 27-5 record, and the only losses on their schedule were to SDSU in a league game at Brookings and to #1-in-the-nation South Carolina as well as Texas A&M of the SEC, Northwestern of the Big 10 and Oklahoma of the Big 12.

Wyoming wrestling (Tate Samuelson): At the Big 12 championships Tate placed seventh at 184 pounds, pinning a West Virginia opponent in the seventh-place match. He had to wait till Tuesday to see if he would be selected for an at-large bid to the NCAA national championships, and he did. Tate will wrestle at the NCAA nationals for the fourth straight season. That meet will be in Detroit March 17-19, and Wyoming will send a total of four men there.

Texas State baseball (Peyton Zabel): The Bobcats fared well against top-notch competition this past week. Against Arizona, which was ranked #11, they won two out of three in Tucson, losing 7-2 then winning 6-2 and 7-3. On Tuesday the Bobcats were home against #1 Texas and lost to the Longhorns, 9-8, after leading earlier by 6-3. Last night Peyton was starting pitcher as Texas State played in Austin at Texas. He pitched one-third of an inning, facing five batters, giving up a walk and three hits and two runs. The Bobcats fell behind 3-0, but a five-run third on their own part gave them the lead and they beat Texas 6-4. The Bobcats will be home Friday, Saturday and Sunday against Southern and Tuesday vs. Prairie View A&M.

Northern baseball (Spencer Sarringar): The Wolves began a week-long spring-break series of games in Florida yesterday. NSU beat West Virginia Wesleyan, 7-3. Spencer went 0-for-3 officially but was hit with a pitch in the first inning and scored on a teammate’s hit. The second game of a scheduled doubleheader was postponed. NSU is scheduled to play a variety of teams from all over the country from today through Monday. NSU is 3-5 for the season so far.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The truth is the basis of all that we do. There is nothing more important than the truth because there’s nothing more powerful than the truth. Consequently on our team we always tell one another the truth. We must be honest with one another. There is no other way.”
— Coach Mike Krzyzewski, Duke University

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Girls basketball: The Governors had beaten Sioux Falls Jefferson 10 days earlier, but in the SoDak 16 matchup between the two at Jefferson’s home court Pierre lost 52-38 to see the season end with a 10-11 record. Ayvrie Kaiser contracted three early fouls and had to sit out the rest of the first half, and the Cavaliers took control during the second period. Kaiser then fouled out early in the fourth quarter as a Pierre attempt at a rally failed. The Govs were down 24-17 at halftime, but Jefferson rolled to an 18-9 advantage in the third. Pierre hit only one of 11 three-point attempts. Reese Terwilliger with nine was high scorer, Sydney Tedrow had eight, Layni Stevens seven and Kaiser six points. Stevens and Emily Lingle are the only seniors on the team who will be lost via graduation.

Boys basketball: If the young Pierre team a year from now reaches postseason play, they will have one memorable game to remember what can happen at tournament time. The Governors had an 18-point lead at one point and led by 14 beginning the fourth quarter, 51-37, in their SoDak 16 game at Sioux Falls Jefferson. But in the fourth period as momentum switched to Jefferson, the Governors saw their advantage evaporate, and poor free-throw shooting was as much to blame as anything. Pierre missed 14 of 31 free-throw tries in the game, and some of those were the front ends of one-and-one opportunities. Jefferson scored a layup at the fourth-quarter buzzer to force a first overtime, and the Cavaliers eventually prevailed after two overtimes, 79-74, to end the Pierre season. The Governors’ seven turnovers in the fourth quarter and overtimes didn’t help their cause. Jefferson was even worse in free-throw shooting, missing 18 of 31. Lincoln Kienholz was high scorer with 31 points and had 13 rebounds while Hanson scored 11. The only seniors on this Governor team were Matt Hanson and Dmitri Scares the Hawk.

Wrestling: Governors named to the boys ESD all-conference team are Alex Oedekoven, Deegan Houska and Blake Judson. Pierre wrestlers named to the girls all-ESD team are Abbi Lewis, Ciara McFarling, Ireland Templeton, Emalee Larson, Sydney Uhrig, Hattie Baldwin, Marlee Shorter and Gianna Stangeland.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Boys basketball: The Buffaloes won at home over Chamberlain, 42-36, in the semifinal round of Region 6A to earn a spot in the SoDak 16. The Buffs lost a 19-point lead, then regained control of the game. They made seven of 15 free throws in the fourth period, just enough to save the game. Lathan Prince was high scorer with 17 points, and Gavin Irving had 11 as SCHS improved to 15-7 for the season. For their SoDak 16 game Tuesday the Buffs had to travel for two hours and St. Thomas More for 20 minutes for their game at Douglas High School, but the end result likely would have been the same wherever the game was played. SCHS was held to 11 points in the first half and 10 in the second half as St. Thomas More won yet another state tournament trip with a 60-21 win over the Buffaloes. Daysen Titze with eight points and Lathan Prince with six were the high scorers for SCHS. The seven Buffalo seniors who will be lost via graduation are Cormac Duffy, Prince, Gavin Irving, Kaden Heezen, Titze, Ricardo Garcia and Stran Scott. The final record for this season was 15-8.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Girls basketball: The Chargers were within inches of a state tournament berth, but far too many second-half turnovers and three missed winning-basket shots from beneath the basket in the last 10 seconds were fatal as Sully Buttes lost to Faith, 47-44, in their SoDak 16 game played at Mobridge. The Chargers led by 29-22 at halftime. Faith went ahead 45-44, and after a timeout, the Chargers had 13.3 seconds to go the length of the court and sink a winning basket. They worked the ball inside, and three shots from directly underneath, each of which would have won the game, all missed. A foul was called with :00.4 seconds left, and Faith added two free throws to make the final margin three points instead of one. Stevie Wittler was high scorer with 21 points, but 19 of them were in the first half. Ally Wittler scored 11 and Lydia Hill 10. The final SBHS record was 18-5.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Next year’s wrestling tournaments were scheduled to return to the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls. But a post showed up last week that said the 2023 tournaments will be held instead at the Summit Arena at The Monument in Rapid City. I assume it is correct since the post came from one of the high schools. The dates are Feb. 23-25.
• A few weeks back when the Pierre boys basketball team played in Brookings and after the game stopped at a Subway, we saw a post from a Mr. Halverson in Brookings whom the team allowed to step ahead of all of them in the line at Subway so he could get his sandwich and be on his way. He said he hoped Brookings kids would do as the Pierre boys did. Well, at least one of them will! This week we had a note from former Pierre residents Gail and Craig Eichstadt, who now live in Sioux Falls. Back in 2020 Craig stopped at the food court at the Empire Mall to pick up his son, Carl, after work there. Craig picked up a snack at one of those fast-food places and asked an employee to help him get his tray to a table because he uses a cane. The employee ignored him, but a young middle-schooler (probably a high school student now) wearing a Brookings letterman’s jacket left his spot in a food line and helped Craig get his tray to a table, then left without leaving his name. Gail added, “We love our house and its location in Sioux Falls, being closer to Neil and his family here and Anne and her family in Omaha. But we still miss Pierre.”
• In this spot earlier this week I rambled on and on about the fact that this Friday is the 365th day of Year 2 of our pandemic. Saturday starts Year 3. No reason to celebrate that I can see. After filling up a ton of space, late last night I went back and deleted all I had written. You faithful readers should probably count yourselves lucky.
• I also wrote an extensive piece about my anger at the “AA” basketball tournaments—what I call the two Sioux Falls invitationals. At least we have the “A” and “B” tournaments these next two weekends as well as all of the NCAA tournament games. I deleted all I had written on the “AA” subject, too. So I just saved you faithful readers about 15 minutes of reading!
• If we can get through today (Thursday) without any more damage being done, we will be safe from the Legislature except for one day, March 28, when they come back to act on any vetoes by the governor.
• Next year the Summit League tournaments in Sioux Falls will expand to five days with an extra day tacked on at the beginning to allow for the presence of all 10 league members.

ELECTION CALENDAR REMINDERS

March 29: Petition filing deadline for primary election candidates.
April 22: Absentee and early voting begins.
April 26: Petition filing deadline for independent candidates.
May 23: Voter registration deadline.
June 7: Primary election day.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: coffee.
Friday-Sunday: raspberry.
Monday-Tuesday: root beer.
Wednesday-Thursday: lime.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Belated anniversary congratulations to Gary and Twila Merkwan. They observed their 60th wedding anniversary last Thursday, March 3.

Head coach Josh Breske’s Black Hills State University football team’s schedule for next fall has been released. The Yellowjackets will open with two non-conference games—Sept. 1 at Dickinson State and Sept. 10 at home vs. William Jewell (Mo.)—then play nine RMAC league games. The spring game will be played at 6 p.m. April 23.

Anne Marie (Holter) Severyn has completed her Ph.D. in bio-engineering at Clemson University in South Carolina. She and her husband, Lane Severyn, plan to stay in South Carolina until graduation in May. Meanwhile, they are exploring their options about where to go and what to do next. In the meantime, they are also expecting their first child. Anne’s mother is the former Julie Morris, daughter of Milt and Dawn Morris of Pierre. Lane is the son of Shane and Carolyn Severyn of Pierre.

Two days after announcing he would be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Representative, Ryan Ryder of Black Hawk withdrew his candidacy at the request of the South Dakota Democratic Party. They and others objected to some of Ryder’s past tweets.

The USD Chamber Singers, the university’s premier choral group, begins a spring-break tour this weekend. They will perform in Pierre at First Congregational United Church of Christ at 7 p.m. Monday, March 14. There is no admission charge although a free-will offering will be accepted.

Travis and Elizabeth (Lamb) Salmonson of Mitchell added a daughter to their family last week. Addison Elizabeth Salmonson was born March 2, weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces, and measuring 20 inches. She joins brothers Dax, 4, and Beau, 2, in their family. Grandparents include Jamie and Susan Lamb of Onida.

Tyler Want of the choir was last week’s Fine Arts Performer of the Week at Riggs High School.

The 46th annual Kiwanis Club pancake feed will be served from 5 to 7 p.m. next Tuesday, March 15, at First United Methodist Church. The prices are $6 for adults and $3 for children ages 5-12.

The St. Patrick’s Day parade in Pierre next Thursday, March 17, will line up at 4:30 p.m. at Georgia Morse Middle School and move out onto the streets at 5 p.m., going over to Pierre Street, down to Dakota Avenue, west to Central and then toward the river and the Legion parking lot. At the Legion cabin the traditional Irish stew feed will start serving at 4:30 p.m.

Calvin Jones, still in Romania with his wife Inga, posted Monday, “Early morning. Embassy rejected Visa. Lots of money stolen again from us by them. Plan B now.” We are not sure what their Plan B is, but hopefully it works. Meanwhile, Calvin and Inga are trying from where they are to get more friends and relatives out of Ukraine. To help the Joneses with cash, go to https://calvinjones.com/products/productdetail.php?product=204.

Mark Senftner, Northern State alumnus and long-time coach in central and northern South Dakota, is one of this year’s inductees into the South Dakota Basketball Coaches’ Hall of Shrine. Senftner has coached Sully Buttes football for 14 seasons and has taken his Chargers to a state championship game three times. He has coached girls basketball at SBHS for 17 seasons, winning four state championships, finishing state runner-up twice, and qualifying for five other state tournaments. In all, that’s 11 state tournaments in 17 seasons. Prior to coming to Onida, he coached at Timber Lake where he had three state tournament appearances for his teams.

Gale Richardson, Murdo area rancher, passed away at his ranch March 5 at the age of 76. Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at Messiah Lutheran Church in Murdo. The funeral will be at the church at 10:30 a.m. Friday. Gale graduated from Murdo High School in 1965 and attended South Dakota State University and Black Hills State University. He served overseas with the U.S. Army before returning to the family ranch. He is survived by his twin brother, Dale (Beverly) Richardson of St. Onge; two sisters, Rena (Dave) Ortbahn of Pierre and Diana (Joel) Irvine of Folsom, ,Calif., and six nephews and nieces, including Crystal Ortbahn and Dustin Ortbahn of Pierre and Casey Ortbahn of Minneapolis.

All nine bands and choirs from Riggs High School and Georgia Morse Middle School will be part of a concert that concludes next Tuesday’s fine arts festival at the Riggs theater. The five choirs and four bands will rehearse all day, and the public concert begins at 6 p.m. with the bands performing first.

PONDER THIS

What our country deserves from everyone who enjoys its fruits and freedoms is a little more gratitude and a lot less greed.
— Michelle Malkin