THOUGHT FOR TODAY

May the best day of your past be the worst day of your future.
— Irish blessing

STATE GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES

AA: Sioux Falls O’Gorman 49, Rapid City Stevens 42
A: Rapid City St. Thomas More 52, Hamlin 30
B: Viborg-Hurley 58, De Smet 53

STATE BOYS BASKETBALL PAIRINGS

Class AA at Sioux Falls Premier Center Thursday-Saturday (SDPB2):
Sioux Falls Roosevelt vs. Yankton
Harrisburg vs. Mitchell
Sioux Falls O’Gorman vs. Sioux Falls Lincoln
Sioux Falls Washington vs. Sioux Falls Jefferson

Class A at Rapid City Summit Arena Thursday-Saturday (SDPB1):
Dakota Valley vs. Sioux Falls Christian
Flandreau vs. Groton Area
Rapid City St. Thomas More vs. Sioux Valley
Winner vs. Lakota Tech

Class B at Aberdeen Barnett Center Thursday-Saturday (SDPB3):
De Smet vs. Waubay-Summit
Potter County vs. Aberdeen Christian
Lower Brule vs. Castlewood
White River vs. Freeman AcademyMarion

HOCKEY ROUNDUP

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: The Caps went 1-2 at the state tournament in Sioux Falls and placed fourth. In their quarterfinal game the Caps defeated Aberdeen, 5-3, as Carter Schulz made 24 saves in goal. Jarron Beck, Ashton Griese, Barret Schweitzer, Keenan Howard and Carter Sanderson scored goals. Howard’s goal broke a 3-3 tie in the second period as Oahe took the lead for good. In the semifinal the Capitals lost to Rushmore, 4-2, as the Thunder remained undefeated for the entire season. Oahe was down 3-0 before Dre Berndt scored in the second period, and Howard added a goal in the third period. Kieran Duffy made 25 saves. The Capitals got off 19 shots on goal. In the third-place game the Capitals lost to Sioux Falls, 5-2, with Griese and Beck scoring the goals. Schulz made 17 saves. The Caps outshot Sioux Falls by 25-21. Rushmore lost for the first time all season in the championship game won by Brookings, 4-2. It is the second straight state title for the Brookings boys.

Rapid City Rush: Idle last week, the Rush return to action at home vs. Kansas City this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split with Bismarck, winning 4-1 and losing 5-2. Aberdeen plays at North Iowa Friday and Saturday.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd defeated Des Moines, 3-0, and lost to Sioux City, 3-1. Sioux Falls plays at Fargo Friday and Saturday, at home vs. Fargo Sunday, and at home vs. Omaha next Wednesday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild won over Detroit in a shootout, 6-5; lost in a shootout at Columbus, 3-2; lost to Nashville, 6-2, and beat Boston, 4-2. The Wild is home vs. Chicago Saturday and Vegas Monday.

SOCCER ROUNDUP

Minnesota United FC: After three weeks of the regular season the Loons still have not lost. They won Sunday over the New York Red Bulls, 1-0, in New York. Their next game is Saturday at 7 p.m. at home vs. San Jose.

GOLF ROUNDUP

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The tour was idle last weekend. The next stop is the Rapiscan Systems Classic at Biloxi, Miss., April 1-3.

FOOTBALL ROUNDUP

Rapid City Marshals: In their only preseason game prior to their first-ever season in Champions Indoor Football, the Marshals defeated Colorado, 65-35, at home in the Summit Arena. The regular season begins April 2 at home vs. Topeka.

Sioux Falls Storm: In their season opener the Storm defeated Quad City, 35-24. Sioux Falls plays at Bismarck this Saturday and at home vs. Iowa March 28.

BASKETBALL ROUNDUP

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force lost twice to Austin, 116-112 and 112-97, but defeated Texas, 128-90. Sioux Falls plays at Rio Grande Valley Thursday, at home vs. Iowa Saturday and at Birmingham Monday and Tuesday.

Minnesota Timberwolves: After three wins in four games in the past week the Timberwolves remained strongly in the seventh playoffs spot in the Western Conference. If that holds, they will play the eighth-place team (now the Clippers) in a playoff series with the winner becoming the #7 seed in the playoffs. Minnesota lost to Orlando, 118-110; beat Miami, 113-104; beat San Antonio, 149-139, as Karl Anthony Towns scored 60 points, and beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 124-104.

BASEBALL ROUNDUP

Minnesota Twins preseason schedule:
Thursday: Boston
Friday: Atlanta
Saturday: Boston (Bally Sports North, noon).
Sunday: Tampa Bay (BSN, noon).
Monday: Baltimore
Tuesday: Atlanta (BSN, noon)
Wednesday: Boston
March 24: Tampa Bay (BSN, noon).
March 25: Pittsburgh
March 26: Atlanta (BSN, noon).
March 27: Boston (BSN, noon).
March 29: Tampa Bay (BSN, noon).
March 30: Pittsburgh (BSN, noon).
March 31: Boston

COUNTDOWN

4 days: Buchanan Elementary spring concert (March 21).
5 days: Kennedy Elementary spring concert (March 22).
7 days: Jefferson Elementary spring concert (March 24).
9 days: All-State Band concerts, Brookings (March 26).
10 days: The Oscars, ABC-TV (March 27).
15 days: NCAA Div. I women’s basketball Final Four, Minneapolis (April 1, 3).
15 days: S.D. Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Chamberlain (April 1-2).
16 days: Rapid City Marshals season opener (April 2).
16 days: NCAA Div. I men’s basketball Final Four, New Orleans (April 2, 4).
17 days: Grammy awards, CBS-TV (April 3).
19 days: Pierre track/field opening meet (April 5).
19 days: Pierre boys tennis opening meet (April 5).
21 days: NCAA Div. I men’s hockey Frozen Four, Boston (April 7, 9).
21 days: Major League Baseball opening day (April 7).
23 days: Riggs High jazz night (April 9).
24 days: Palm Sunday (April 10).
28 days: Pierre girls golf opening meet (April 14).
29 days: Good Friday (April 15).
31 days: Easter (April 17).
36 days: Pierre Legion Relays (April 22).
40 days: Riggs High spring band concert (April 26).
44 days: Riggs High prom (April 30).

WORDS OF WISDOM

Banning books gives us silence when we need speech. It closes our ears when we need to listen. It makes us blind when we need sight.
— Stephen Chbosky

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Upcoming schedule:
— March 28: Track/field at Ruth Marske Invitational, SDSU.

Basketball: Four Governor athletes were honored on the ESD all-conference basketball teams. Lincoln Kienholz and Jackson Edman of the boys team were named first-team all-conference. Remington Price of the girls team was named first-team all-conference, and Ayvrie Kaiser was given honorable mention.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Basketball: In boys basketball Cormac Duffy and Lathan Prince were named first-team all-conference in the Big Dakota Conference. Stran Scott was received honorable mention. From the girls team Mattie Duffy, Cadence Hand and Taylee Stroup received honorable mention.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: lime
Friday-Sunday: blackberry cheesecake
Monday-Tuesday: orange
Wednesday-Thursday: almond
March 25-27: tutti fruitti
March 28-29: lemon
March 30-31: maple

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, March 17:
Chad Cooper, Bill Markley, Jackson Jennings, Melissa Brock, Peggy Stout, Jack Aadland, Chris Derry, Nick Burke, Joe Gormley, Jesse Krell.
— We fondly remember Jon Olinger on his birthday.

Friday, March 18:
Travis Benbow, John Palmer, Jane Brehe, Madeleine Lindberg, Daniel Mayer, Nickolas Rabern, Nash Hogan, Asher Yackley, Ryker Schumacher, Jamey Howard, Janice Karber.
— We fondly remember Kathy Valnes, who passed away seven years ago today.

Saturday, March 19:
Brenda Badger, Hadley Bryant, Heather Forney, Donald Tassler, Mary Welsh, Craig Long, Sarah Yackley-Ploeger, Stacy (Hull) Cottrell, Layndon Dewell, Darlene Neiles, Betty Garrett, Calvin Wagner.
— 39th anniversary, Chuck/Dawnita Forell.
— 3rd anniversary, Dan/Lacy Johnson.

Sunday, March 20:
Misty Burton, Ben Johnson, Max Huber, Debby Wagner, Samantha (Lytle) Irvine, Jessica (Wood) Steele, Beth (Cruse) Dokken, Scott Jones, Jayde Englund, Rachel Beck.

Monday, March 21:
Loni McQuistion, Ben Gilmore, Mark Hardwick, Gerald Johnson (#91), Jacob Tschetter, Diana Vogel, River Fischer, Linda Knox, Grant Wosick, Bentley Frost, Matthew Heintz, Wanda Meyer, Ben Brown, Kara (Knadle) Schumacher.
— 7th anniversary, Zach/Ashley Parsons.

Tuesday, March 22:
Sharla McCaskell, Betty Eddy, Eric Gednalske, Olivia Smith, Travis Fitzke, Wendy Birhanzel, Nicole Ogan, Serena Norman, Dane Dodson, Oaklie Cruse, Josephine Karim, Nellie Holsteen, George Ford, Leo Schmidt.

Wednesday, March 23:
Kelsey McKay, McKayla Marso-McDonough, Brittani Snow, Toby Bryant, Brian Hylle, Darcy Weber, Keaton Durkin, Livia Neuberger, Jason Person, Amy Wire, Sienna Karim, Soraya Karim, Ashlynn Lizotte, Hadley Shoup.

Thursday, March 24:
Adam Korkow, Tyler Sarringar, Smith Schneider, Bretta (Schumacher) Olson, Jeff Post, Brandon Sieck, Theresa Hanson, Jeff Sampson, Ashley (Dunwoody) Dugstad, Dan Zebroski, Tyrel Hall, Allison Knox.
— 2nd anniversary, Neil/Molly Eichstadt.
— Anniversary, Andy/Jamie (Gannaway) Heymans.

Friday, March 25:
Jude Speece, Allison Mickelson, Kinley Rumpca, Evelyn Bowers, Jamie Dvorak, Adriana Uecker, Angie Gross, Janelle Toman.

Saturday, March 26:
Tyler Nold, Mollie Holden, Audra (Meyer) Cardwell, Elissa Rislov, Roger Easland, Bonnie Korkow, Chad Eschmeyer, Craig Rilling, Connie Colwill, Nadia Rasmussen, Dalton Decker, Jason Monroe, Chas Olson, Terah Bollinger, Pat Adams, Corey Ramsey.

Sunday, March 27:
Casey Ortbahn, Penny Unruh, Wyatt Gran, Quinn Eschmeyer, Marcia Murphey, Mark Mickelson.

Monday, March 28:
Allen Uecker, Christopher Roberts, Carol McKee, David Forney, Susan Flottmeyer, Eileen Herrin, Sarah (Winter) Sonnenschein, Larry Lundeen Angela (DiBenedetto) Smith, Kathy (Adam) Bykowski, Janelle (Kvislen) Carda.

Tuesday, March 29:
Jace Jerome, Nancee Johnson Derek Gustafson, Peggy (Marshall) Engstrom, Michael Bumann, Aaron Bumann, Connor Barnes, Graden Barnes, Sydney Hackett, Joseph Kean.
— 8th anniversary, Clay/Katelynn (Lamb) Pottorff.

Wednesday, March 30:
Jack Magee, Grey Zabel, Nathan Mikkelsen, Nicole (Mikkelsen) Schwinler, Emily (Goeden) Decker, Eric Harris, Patrick Snyder, Mary Hove, Lindsey (Brown) Osterkamp, Doug Smith, Abel Haas, Patty Williams.
— Anniversary, Craig/Charlene Keller.

Thursday, March 31:
Gable Uhrig, Livia Tveidt, Jenny (Ness) Hofer, Chad Gusso, Annie (Fuller) BonneCarrere, Brandon Heckenlaible, Jennifer Merkwan, Brady Goff, Brittany Mehlhaff, Mia Ellefson, Linda Brooks,
— 5th anniversary, Scott/Katrina (Reimnitz) Hesla.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“People fleeing for their freedom and for their lives are desperate to have a second chance. And in the countries that they adopt as their new homes, they become patriotic and productive citizens.”
— David Milibank, International Rescue Committee president

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

South Dakota women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): The Coyotes were assigned a #10 seed in the Wichita Region of the NCAA Tournament and will play Mississippi in Waco, Texas, at 12:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN2. The winner of USD-Ole Miss will play the winner of the Baylor-Hawaii game on Sunday, and that winner will likely be #2 Baylor on its home court.

South Dakota State men’s basketball: The Jackrabbits will play Big East regular-season champion Providence at Buffalo, N.Y., in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at 11:40 a.m. CDT Thursday on TruTV. The winner of that game would play the Iowa-Richmond winner Saturday.

South Dakota State women’s basketball: The Jackrabbit women didn’t get the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament because they didn’t win the Summit League tournament, but they were assured of a spot in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) as regular-season co-champion. SDSU will play their first-round game against Ohio University at 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday) in Brookings. The winner of SDSU-Ohio will play the winner of the Minnesota-Green Bay game in the second round, and that game could be Saturday, Sunday, Monday or Tuesday.

Wyoming wrestling (Tate Samuelson): Tate received an at-large bid into the NCAA national championships tournament at Detroit, which runs Thursday through Saturday.

Colorado Mines women’s basketball (Liz Holter): In their regional semifinal game played at Canyon, Texas, the Orediggers lost to Texas A&M-Commerce, 80-74, ending their season with a 25-6 record. Liz was 5-of-8 (1-of-1) and 2-of-2 for 13 points with three assists and two steals.

Iowa Central Community College baseball (Jack Van Camp): The Tritons swept four games from Moraine Valley CC at Palos Hills, Ill. They won by 7-1, 15-3 and 14-5 scores in three of the games. In a Monday game Iowa Central led 11-1 into the fifth inning, and Jack came in to pitch in relief. He faced five batters, walking one, striking out one and hitting one but shut down the Moraine Valley team to end the game. Now 15-4 overall, Iowa Central plays two games Saturday against Minnesota West.

Texas State baseball (Peyton Zabel): The Bobcats were rated #22 in the nation in the college baseball poll earlier this week. Texas State swept three from Southern University, 6-2, 15-5 and 9-5, and defeated Prairie View A&M, 8-2. Peyton did not pitch in any of these four games. Now 15-3, Texas State plays three Friday through Sunday at Arkansas State, then returns home for a game against Incarnate Word Tuesday.

Northern State baseball (Spencer Sarringar): Some of the Wolves’ scheduled games on their spring break trip were postponed, but they did play five, going 2-3 in those contests. In a 3-1 15-inning win over Lewis University, Spencer went 0-for-3. In a 9-7 loss to fellow NSIC member Wayne State, he was 0-for-2 but walked once, was hit with a pitch once and scored a run. In a 6-4 12-inning win over Notre Dame College of Ohio, Spencer was 1-for-5 and walked once. His hit was a single in the top of the 12th that drove in an insurance run after NSU had gone ahead 5-4. In an 8-3 loss to another NSIC team, Minnesota-Crookston, Spencer was 2-for-5 and drove in Northern’s first run after UM-C had gone up by 7-0. Finally in a 2-0 loss to Grand Valley State of Michigan, Spencer was 1-for-4. Now 5-8 Northern begins NSIC league play with three games this weekend at Winona State.

Outdoor track/field: Of the local athletes who compete in college track and field, Erick Colman and the Hardrockers at the School of Mines begin their outdoor season this Friday at Emporia State’s meet in Kansas. Waiting till next weekend, March 25-26, for their outdoor openers are Frank Becker at Black Hills State at their own home meet, Houston Lunde and the Dakota State team at Wayne State’s meet in Nebraska, Jessica Lutmer and the USF women also at Wayne State’s meet, and Cobey Carr, Morgan Oedekoven and Abby Ferris of Dakota Wesleyan at Buena Vista’s invitational in Iowa. Addy Eisenbeisz and her SDSU women’s teammates will also be opening their outdoor season shortly, but their schedule has not yet been posted.

College men’s basketball: Black Hills State, which won the RMAC regular-season championship, this week won its regional tournament with three more victories and advances to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight national tournament at Evansville, Ind., starting next Tuesday. BHSU has been seeded eighth in the national tournament and has to face top-seed Nova Southeastern in a 2:30 p.m. CDT quarterfinal game. Semifinals will be Thursday and the national championship game Saturday, March 26.

CORONAVIRUS ROUNDUP

Nine more South Dakota deaths due to COVID-19 certainly lessens the number of hospitalizations. The toll through yesterday’s Department of Health briefing now stands at 2,870. One of the nine most recent deaths was a child in the 0-10 age group.

Thirty-four of the 66 counties still have high or substantial community spread of the coronavirus.

Another development in the past week:

— The TSA extended its mask mandate on airplanes and public transit through April 18 while it makes plans to lessen those restrictions.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

— With the winter sports seasons having wound down, we are going to take our first break since Christmas. The next Midweek Update will show up two weeks from today on Thursday, March 31.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Construction fences have gone up around Buchanan Elementary School where an 18-month renovation is beginning. The plan is to bring Buchanan’s facilities up to the level of those at Kennedy and Jefferson schools. Capitol Avenue traffic patterns are being affected, and Buchanan families are learning to approach and leave the school in different ways than those to which they are accustomed.

Levi and Crystal Neuharth and family, who live six miles east of Hayes, and their Prairie Paradise Farms are the recipients of the 2021 Leopold Conservation Award for promoting land conservation in farming.

Two Pierre students at Dakota Wesleyan University, Cobey Carr and Morgan Oedekoven, announced their engagement last week.

Larry Nelson, 82, who spent 40 years in agriculture education, both as a classroom teacher and as state director of vocational education, died March 8 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. His funeral took place Monday at Oahe Presbyterian Church, followed by burial at Scotland. Larry is survived by his wife of 57 years, Sandra Nelson; his sons, Gene (Aurora) Nelson of Sioux Falls and Terry (Joanna) Nelson of Kansas City, and five grandchildren.

A fund-raiser for Pierre high school baseball will take place at Gators Pizza from 5:30 to 8 p.m. next Monday, March 21.

Pierre native Patty (Schlekeway) McClemans has been hired as the next principal of Watertown High School. She has been an assistant principal there for the past two school years, and before that she was an instructional coach and a middle school special education teacher in the Watertown district. When Patty and her husband, Pat, taught in the Pierre district, Patty was a middle school/high school special education teacher in the Pierre and Stanley County districts. Patty and Pat are the parents of five children ranging in age from 27 to 14. As principal she will replace Brad Brandsrud, who announced earlier this year he is retiring.

The following Riggs High School students were the initiates who became members of the school’s National Honor Society chapter last week: Hudson Allen, Robert Arnold, Jack Baker, Hattie Baldwin, Danielle Beck, Landon Bertram, Sara Bierne, Madilyn Brakke, Kasey Broers, Chase Carda, Alexandria Childs, Theodora Crawford, Nathan DeGreef, Mason Dell, Rylan Derry, Danielle DeVaney, Alexis Dilges, Kayleigh Dueis, Jackson Edman, Braedon Foster, Elias Gilk, Karly Harris, Arthur Hodges, Deegan Houska, Elli Hughes, Emma Hunt, Autumn Iverson, Gavin Jacobson, Ayvrie Kaiser, Hannah Kari, LIncoln Kienholz, Brecken Krueger, Jenna Kruger, Hattie Larson, Hannah Lemieux, Morgan Lisburg, Jonathan Lyons, Margaret Maher, Kaeley Malm, Jacob Mayer, Jack Merkwan, Sarah Mohr, Brooke Morris, Cameron Morris, Kate Mullett, Raileyn Myers, Kimber Natvig, Tate Nesladek, Ellie Noyes, Madison Oedekoven, Remington Price, Taya Rattling Leaf, Emma Reitzel, Kendra Rounds, Angela Rowse, Skyler Ruth, Lily Sancherz, MaKenna Schlekeway, Cordell Schlichenmayer, RhyAnne Schoenhard, Marlee Shorter, Maya Shorter, Zakry Sinkey, Oliver Smith, Sydni Snyder, Grace Soma, Gianna Stangeland, Kylie Sterling, Layni Stevens, Gavin Stotts, Olivia Strand, Madison Swenson, Joshua Switzer, Sydney Tedrow, Alec Venner, Kyra Wallace, Kourtney Walti, Tyler Want, Kara Weiss, Michelle Weiss, Bastian Westergren, Jayden Wiebe.

Isaac Schulte, a forward on the Brookings boys varsity state championship team, is the oldest child of Pierre native Sarah (Shepherd) Schulte and her husband Dan. Isaac is a junior at Brookings High School.

Shirley Hnzman passed away March 12 at Edgewood Senior Living. Visitation will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Friday at First Congregational United Church of Christ, followed by a prayer service there at 7. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the church. Shirley and her husband, Paul, raised their eight children at Eagle Butte. She moved to Pierre in 1995.

An update last Friday on Calvin Jones revealed that he and his wife, Inga, had made two more border crossings to reach the small nation of Montenegro in southern Europe, on the Adriatic Sea across from Italy. He said they are staying in an apartment there for a few months. Meanwhile, they are still trying to get friends out of Ukraine.

Neil Hodges, 70, died March 3 in Mesa, Ariz. Mr. Hodges graduated from the School of Mines in 1973 and worked for Hormel in Austin, Minn., for Hanford at its nuclear site in Washington state, for the Forest Service in the Black Hills and for the Veterans Administration hospital at Fort Meade. He spent time in recent years with grandchildren in South Dakota, and in Pierre he enjoyed hosting Pierre Trappers baseball players. He is survived by his wife, Eileen; his brother, Scott Hodges of Sioux Falls; his daughter, Estell (Will) Johnson of Benton, Kan.; his son, Darin (April) Hodges of Pierre; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. A memorial service is being held this (Thursday) morning at 10:30 a.m. at the Kinkade Funeral Chapel in Sturgis.

Pierre native Kris Monroe has been selected as a member of the cast of “39 Variations,” the May show of the Black Hills Community Theatre in Rapid City. That play runs between May 6 and May 22. Rodger Hartley, formerly of Pierre, will be set designer and choreographer.

Ann (Sack) Bridges died March 8 at Good Samaritan Home in Miller. Her funeral was held Tuesday at Feigum Funeral Home. The daughter of the late Frank and Blanche Sack graduated from Sully Buttes High School. She married William Bridges in 1960. Survivors include three children, Bradley, Barbara (Michael) and Brenda, all of Miller, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Among those who preceded her in death were her husband sons Burt and Brian, and a grandson.

Sara Rankin is leaving her post as CEO of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce, a position she has held for 11 months. She will return to the South Dakota Municipal League, this time as director of research and training. Rankin will stay on at the chamber until her replacement is in place. (News courtesy of KCCR News.)

Nichole Bowman, who teaches geometry and Algebra II at Riggs High School, has been selected from several nominations as the Pierre school district’s Teacher of the Year. Meanwhile, the students in the National Honor Society chapter voted on their Teacher of the Year, and the recipient of that designation is Riggs High art teacher Christina Schaefer.

Pastor Michele Slott, who has been associate pastor of First United Methodist Church in Rapid City for several years, has been appointed as full-time pastor of Open Heart United Methodist Church on the south side of Rapid City. Pierre-Fort Pierre friends may remember Michele as the former Michele Vallery.

Eddie Duffy, son of John and Patti Duffy of Fort Pierre, won the regional competition in the 12-13 boys division of the Elks Hoop Shoot. He made 23 of 25 free throws, then had to survive a tie-breaker with Montana’s state champion to advance. Eddie and the other boy both made five of five free throws in the first round of the tie-breaker, then in the second round Eddie was perfect and the Montana boy made only four of five. Eddie now advances to the Elks Hoop Shoot national finals in Chicago on April 30. Earlier this year Eddie won the local contest in December, then won at the state contest in February where he had to go into four tie-breaker rounds to win. He thus qualified for the regional, which included state champions in each age group from South Dakota, Montana and North Dakota. (News courtesy of KCCR News)

John E. Miller, 73, died March 12 at Pike Haven Resort north of Pierre. A celebration of his life will begin at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19, at First United Methodist Church. Since 1996 he and his wife, Jacque, have owned Pike Haven. During his school years John was a quarterback at Washington High School in Sioux Falls and later played football and basketball at South Dakota State where he earned an engineering degree and served as student body president. He and Jacque Alexander were married, and they raised their family in Nebraska and South Dakota. He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Jacque Miller; his children, Dustin (Patricia) Miller, Jenni (Todd) Nelson, Lexi (David) Moore, Johnny Miller and Alex Miller; eight grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; four siblings, Jack (Lora) Miller of Sioux Falls, Tricia (Bob) Branchaud of Lincoln, Neb., Karin Miller of Mora, Minn., and Erik (Candy) Miller of Colton, and a brother-in-law, Rocky Alexander of Onida.

Governor Noem has a new chief of staff, her fifth since taking office three years ago. Mark Miller, who has been Noem’s general counsel, was named chief of staff this week.

Sawyer Brown will be the Saturday night concert headliner during Oahe Days in June.

PONDER THIS

Let’s build a country of opportunities where everybody is equal before the law and where the rules of the game are honest and transparent and the same for everyone.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy, president of Ukraine