Vol. 22, No. 38; Thursday, June 23, 2022

Jun 23, 2022 | Parker's Midweek Update | 1 comment

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

From a forest ranger at Yosemite National Park: “There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest bears and the dumbest tourists.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Twins schedule:
— Thursday: Cleveland, 12:10 p.m.
— Friday: Colorado, 7:10 p.m.
— Saturday: Colorado, 6:10 p.m.
— Sunday: Colorado, 1:10 p.m.
— Monday: at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.
— Tuesday: at Cleveland, 12:10 and 6:10 p.m.
— Wednesday: at Cleveland, 6:10 p.m.
— Thursday: at Cleveland, 12:10 p.m.
— July 1: Baltimore, 7:10 p.m.
— July 2: Baltimore, 1:10 p.m.
— July 3: Baltimore, 1:10 p.m.
— July 4: at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.
— July 5: at Chicago White Sox, 7:10 p.m.
— July 6: at Chicago White Sox, 1:10 p.m.

Four Corners: In recent amateur Pony Hills League games the Four Corners team won over Wessington Springs, 18-3, and did the same to Colome, 12-5. The upcoming schedule includes a home game Sunday against Kimball-White Lake and a road game at the Plankinton Bankers June 30.

Sioux Falls Canaries: The Canaries had a 10-24 record through Sunday’s games. They are home tonight vs. Lincoln and Friday, Saturday and Sunday vs. Kansas City. They are also home July 5-6-7 vs. Sioux City.

Pierre Trappers: In the Expedition League where Souris Valley is so far ahead of everybody else in the standings, the Trappers stood at 7-16 through Monday. Pierre has home games tonight vs. Souris Valley, Friday through Sunday against Red River and June 27-28-29 against North Iowa.

Pierre Post 8: In Legion baseball Post 8 defeated Spearfish 6-3 and Sioux Falls West 6-3, then lost a pair to Watertown by 12-5 and 3-2 scores. At the Dakota Classic in Sioux Falls, the Eights won over Columbus, Neb., 6-3 and Sioux Falls East, 12-9, but lost to Orono, Minn., 8-0 and to Omaha Gross, 14-10. Heading into a home doubleheader against Sioux Falls East last night, Pierre had a 7-9 record. At the Minot tournament this weekend Pierre will play Glendive, Mont., Minot and Billings in pool play. The Eights go to Mitchell next Wednesday, then have home games June 30 vs. Minot, July 1 against Minot and Renner, July 5 with Mitchell and July 6 against Rapid City Post 22.

COUNTDOWN

1 day: Fort Pierre all-school reunion (June 24-26).
1 day: Blunt all-school reunion (June 24-25).
11 days: Independence Day (July 4).
14 days: South Dakota Little League east-river regional tournament, Pierre (July 8-11).
20 days: Black Hills Playhouse’s “Cinderella” (July 13).
23 days: Hills Alive music festival, Rapid City (July 16-17).
24 days: Expedition League all[-star game, Pierre (July 17).
26 days: Major League Baseball all-star game, Los Angeles (July 19).
29 days: State Little League baseball tournament, Rapid City (July 22-25).
34 days: State ‘A’ Legion baseball tournament, Rapid City (July 27-31).
41 days: Central Plains Region Legion baseball tournament, Rapid City (Aug. 3-7).
43 days: Sturgis motorcycle rally (Aug. 5-14).
48 days: Major League Soccer all-star game, Minneapolis-St. Paul (Aug. 10).
48 days: Black Hills Playhouse’s “Something Rotten” (Aug. 10-20).
49 days: Sully County Fair, Onida (Aug. 11-14).
49 days: Field of Dreams game (Cubs vs. Reds), Dyersville, Iowa (Aug. 11).
56 days: First day of school in Pierre (Aug. 18).
65 days: BluntFest (Aug. 27).

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Donald Trump and his supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy. That’s not because of what happened on Jan. 6. It’s because to this very day Trump and his allies would attempt to overturn the 2024 election and possibly succeed.”
— Retired judge Michael Luttig at the Jan. 6 investigation committee hearings

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons defeated the Paderborn team from Europe, 4-3, in a friendly. Back in MLS league play, the Loons lost to New England, 2-1. Minnesota plays at Miami Saturday, at home vs. Los Angeles next Wednesday and at home July 3 vs. Real Salt Lake.

Sioux Falls City FC (Anna Bondy, Molly Knoblauch): The new Sioux Falls team remained unbeaten with a 3-0-0 record after tying Rochester United, 0-0. The team plays at home vs. Minnesota Thunder this Friday, plays Dakota Fusion at Moorhead Sunday, then returns home Tuesday vs. Maplebrook Fury and July 1 vs. Salvo FC.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Storm: The Storm defeated Bismarck, 49-44, but lost to Green Bay, 42-40. Now 7-6, the Storm is home vs. Massachusetts this Saturday night.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): At the American Family Insurance tournament at Madison, Wis., Tom tied for 65th place, earning $2,880 for his 1-over-par weekend of 74-69-74=217. The next stop for senior golfers is this weekend’s U.S. Senior Open at Bethlehem, Pa.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

  • There is an interesting rules change for college basketball coming in the 2022-23 season. There will no longer be a warning against flopping. Instead a flop will result in an immediate technical foul.
  • The next Midweek Update is scheduled to show up on Facebook and at www.everythingsouthdakota.com on Thursday, July 7.
  • According to South Dakota Public Broadcasting, two questions involving Medicaid expansion will appear on our November general election ballots—Constitutional Amendment D and an initiated measure. Voters need to begin paying attention to coverage of these issues so they will be able to vote intelligently on Nov. 8. Each of these two measures would expand eligibility for Medicaid, the federal/state program that pays for the health care of low-income people.
  • The no-no’s are out of luck in a fast-growing, young community like Tea. The other day their bond issue for expansion of the Tea Area High School complex passed with 86% approval.
  • We are only 64 deaths away from the 3,000 COVID-19 fatality toll in Kristi’s free and open South Dakota. New deaths added to the toll increased the figure to 2,936 as of a Department of Health report Wednesday.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: watermelon.
Friday-Sunday: huckleberry.
Monday-Tuesday: root beer.
Wednesday-Thursday: coconut.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“To my fellow Republican colleagues who are defending the indefensible, there will come a day when Donald Trump will be gone, but your dishonor will remain.”
— U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, member of the Jan. 6 investigation committee

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, June 23:
Kirsten Marshall, Deb (Sorenson) Neilan, Leanne Neuhauser, Ty Hardwick, Cleo Hilding, Summer (Pitlick) Mersinger, Taylor Brock, Luke Shoup, Beckett Reilly, Brianne (Barnett) Roby, Kevin Lors, Diane Smith, Kila Vogel, Brandon LaBrie, Trevor DeSchepper, Shawn Flottmeyer, Cathy Barringer, A.Jay Heiss.
— 10th anniversary, Jerid/Janine (Van Ash) Maskovich.
— 21st anniversary, Mark/Kelly (Larson) Anawski.
— 22nd anniversary, Elton/Karla (Richards) Blemaster.
— 15th anniversary, David/Emily (Naylor) Franks.
— 16th anniversary, Aaron/Amanda (Wharton) Brown.
— 10th anniversary, Brody/Andi (Pond) Andresen.

Friday, June 24:
Elliot Riis, Cora Jeffries, Nikki (Koenig) Sullivan, Jacob Parsons, Genny McMath, Dallas Prater, Dennis Gibbs, Jim Patten, Klie Husted, Grayson Miller, Andrew Wulf, Gavin Wilson, Jerren Deal.
— 6th anniversary, Chuck/Alexa (Edman) Miesbauer.
— 5th anniversary, Jody/Sydney Lutz.
— 5th anniversary, Andru/Brittany (Guindon) Meiners.
— 5th anniversary Blake/Ashley (Brotsky) Hemminger.
— 11th anniversary, Kiel/Emily (Auch) Ford.
— 16th anniversary, Brent/Jennifer Sogaard.
— 16th anniversary, Jason/Stephanie (Tveidt) Knapp.
— 16th anniversary, Andy/Kari (Kietzmann) Potter.
— 17th anniversary, Chance/Erika (Rounds) Stoeser.
— Anniversary, Ricky/Vicki (Fosheim) Dant.

Saturday, June 25:
Blair Zimmerman, Patrick Lechtenberg, Piper Word, Joe Schueller, Drew Brandner, Muryl Paxton, Katie (Lakner) Dill, Steph Flyger, Diane Kehrwald, Shavonne Mitchell, Larry Mosiman, Shelby Smith, Brett Stewart, Jenny (Sprenkle) Terveen, Adam Mentele, Dayna (Ludwig) Husman, Krista Smith.
— 1st anniversary, Quentin/Kayla (Nagle) Johler.
— 6th anniversary, Brian/Amy (Grund) Pope.
— 6th anniversary, Neil/Kelsey Nemec.
— 6th anniversary, Andy/Brittany Hanson.
— 12th anniversary, Lucas/Jenna Oehlerking.
— 11th anniversary, Brad/Rachel Lowery.
— 17th anniversary, Tyler/Jessica (Wood) Steele.
— 16th anniversary, Philip/Nicole (Krueger) Whitesitt.
— 11th anniversary, Alex/Rachel lBeckwith.

Sunday, June 26:
Rex Decker, Matthew Kachelmyer, Todd Taylor, Dick Stolp, Ed King, Jase Blair, Jenna Everson, Ryan Bass, Alex Roberts, Landon Miller, Ryan Kennedy, Stee Bass, Deb (Micklos) Nelson, Grace Dozark, Jodi (Cowan) Harder, Jason Fuhrer, Ashley Fosness, Linda (Matzen) Aaker, Elizabeth Weber, Jesse Martin, Coy Gill.
— 1st anniversary, William/Valori (Kinsman) Fairbanks.
— 18th anniversary, Matt/Kendra Hall.
— 18th anniversary, Jesse/Whitney (Palmer) Flottmeyer.
— 12th anniversary, Chad/Amanda (Cerney) Johnson.
— Anniversary, Scott/Sandra (Kern) Mollman.
— 18th anniversary, Chris/Jodie (Reede) Crutcher.
— 18th anniversary, Jeremy/Julie Hand.
— 18th anniversary, Mark/Julia Schlekeway.
— 18th anniversary, Joshha/Heather (Konechne) Proff.
We fondly remember Darlene Grace, daughter of Erin and Susanne Harmon.

Monday, June 27:
Byron Reed, Craig Keller, Jenna Nielsen, Gordon Van Ash, Carrie Messer, Keith Weigandt, Justin Kraemer, Brian Dozark, Heidi Vogel, Willard St. Claire.
— 24th anniversary, Trent/Krista (Lovald) Miller.
— 52nd anniversary, John/Roberta Lovald.
— 7th anniversary, Michael/Sarah Jo (Even) Tveidt.
— 19th anniversary, Corey/Tiffany (Winkler) Carr.
— 13th anniversary, Darin/Heather Noyes.
— 13th anniversary, Jafar/Jessica Karim.
— 41st anniversary, Jerry/Jo Mikkelsen.

Tuesday, June 28:
Torin Coolidge, Brendan Newman, Hilary Gray, Brooke (Drewes) Dozark, Leah Ahartz, Kari Porch, Kathryn Rich, Pam Wenbourne, Brent Sutton, Derrick Haskins, Clayton Colson, Kathy Sarvis, Amanda Fredericksen, Spencer Wedin, Samantha Bahe, Nick Formanek, McKayla Kirkpkatrick, Cole Uecker, Marcia Mentele, Fran Welch, Grey Johnson, Zach Kinsman.
— 25th anniversary, Eric/Julie (Shangreaux) Sibson.
— 25th anniversary, Cory/Dawn (Henderson) Holmes.
— 8th anniversary, Zach/Alisha Kemink.
— 14th anniversary, Michael/Heather Herman.
— 9th anniversary, Cody/Aimee (Vogel) Van Houten.
— Anniversary, Monni/Karen Karim.
— 8th anniversary, Matt/Allison Englund.
— 58th anniversary, Arden/Judy Rapp.
— 58th anniversary, Bob/Janet Judson.

Wednesday, June 29:
Laurie (Koehn) Gilman, Leo Storms, Addison Eisenbeisz, Corbin Heiss, Jessica (Wilson) Burma, Scott Rislov, Mya Parsons, Mike Clegg, Matt Joens, Daphne Jones, Tyler Smith, Hudson Stoeser, Quinn Palmer, Craig Dilley, Esther Barnes, Aaron Denton, Mark Knudson.
— 4th anniversary, Jack/Eileen (Leong) Markel.
— 3rd anniversary, Cody/Kashia (Axthelm) Rosenau.
— 26th anniversary, Todd/Roberta Peterson.
— 48th anniversary, Don/Darla (Pollman) Rogers.
— 48th anniversary, Jay/Beverly Mickelson.
— 9th anniversary, Chris/Tracy (Shangreaux) Boom.
— 20th anniversary, Troy/Kristina (Buxcel) Fredde.
— 9th anniversary, Josh/Alana Breske.
— 9th anniversary, Bryon/Kren (Engbrecht) Reiser.
— 9th anniversary, James/Mandy (Jung) Moisan.

Thursday, June 30:
Melita Hauge, Laurie Gill, Sequoyah Chavez, Wesley Huxford, Ross Wright, Dylan Nielsen, June Hansen, Taylor Anderson, Parker Merriam, Chris Williams, Arick Graham, Trait Thorne, Dick Bradley, Lillian Bell, Raury Cruse, Maggie Thorne, Zane Erickson, Deryn Beck, Greg Adams, Phyllis (Bollweg) Perkovich.
— 4th anniversary, Blake/Nicole Simon.
— 10th anniversary, Tyler/Jill Merriam.
— 32nd anniversary, Revi/Kea (Boyd) Warne.
— 60th anniversary, Lou/Pauline Manus.
— 16th anniversary, Derek/Michelle Hunsley.
— 15th anniversary, Josh/Katie (Shoup) Nebelsick.
— 15th anniversary, Ty/Cathy (Comes) Richter.

Friday, July 1:
Nathan Dryden, Cathy (Comes) Richter, Dennis Ries, Catie Schroeder, Hazel Leidholt, Trevor Samuelson, Quinn Reimers, Nadine Kepford, Eleanor Berghorst, Jodi Hartmann, Owen LeBeau, Reese Richardson, Crystal Dvorak, Misty (Keller) Skinner, , Beckett Larson, Joseph Nebelsick.
— 17th anniversary, Jeremy/Amy Webb.
— 17th anniversary, Justin/Shawna (Claussen) Diedrich.
— 60th anniversary, Ron/Marlys Mullivan.

Saturday, July 2:
Heather (Nuttall) Westover, Taylor (Smalley) Cordingly, Matt Clark, Kellie Parker, Eric Juhala, Luke Edwards, Linda Steele, Gerry Barnes-Beacom, Kelly Mikkelsen, Grace Kachelmyer, Ashlie Tisland, Sandi (Hindman) Laird.
— 3rd anniversary, Drew/Heather Osnes.
— 11th anniversary, Jeff/Kim Marso.
— 11th anniversary, Dan/Susan (Gregory) Walker.
— 6th anniversary, Devin/Laranda Bruns.
— 6th anniversary, Chad/Andrea (Bartel) Sharkey.
— 17th anniversary, Chris/Aftin (Riehle) Eich.

Sunday, July 3:
Trace Franks, Judy Perry, Dave Sayler, Claire (Garry) Peschong, Jenah Feiler, Rick Dockter, Mike Dierks, Dana Martin-Hess, Bethanna (Feist) Baloun, Walker Jacob, Ryan Bear, Chip King, Craig Schochenmaier, Jody Ryland, T.J. Gabriel, Ally (Kraemer) Formanek.
— 6th anniversary, Aaron/Erin Bumann.
— 1st anniversary, Chris/Casey Markley.
— 54th anniversary, Roger/Jean Easland.
— 17th anniversary, Jason/Michelle Glodt.
— 51st anniversary, Jerry/Eileen Krom.
— 13th anniversary, Nathan/Carrie (Schlaak) Barnes.

Monday, July 4:
Peggy Huber, Zach Clark, Jason Bucholz, Dax Salmonson, Joshua Dutt, Aurora Zakahi, Shalista (Wendt) Anderson.
— 52nd anniversary, Daryl/Linda Johnson.
— 13th anniversary, John/Annie (Fuller) BonneCarre.
— Anniversary, Scott/Gina (Kotilnek) Hickenbotham.

Tuesday, July 5:
Terry Fisher, Marina (Baltzell) Rawls, Sarah (Hawkins) Pekarski, Billy Beasley, Kayla (Johnson) Koob, Jim Telford, Kyle Richards, Amber (Anderson) Edelen, Jason Bisbee, Jessica Anderson, Morgan Shaffer, Devin Kampfe, Dylan Workman, Angelica Laskey.
— 47th anniversary, Chuck/Susan Quinn.
— 8th anniversary, Jeff/Kristin (Rau) Hayward.
— 20th anniversary, Bill/Jamie (Breske) McEntaffer.
— 20th anniversary, Joe/Julia (Guhin) Yach.
— 14th anniversary, Pat/Sara (Tillman) Anderson.
— 19th anniversary, Chris/Lindsay (Peitz) Rounds.
— 8th anniversary, Trent/Linsey (Peterson) Robbins.

Wednesday, July 6:
Michael Buhl, Jolene Kern, Dalton Blair, Ericka Williams, Clara Marsh, Tynell Grant, Jude Nill, Isaiah Grant, Ella Durick, Jon Ellenbecker, Winney Belle Denton, Jessica (Melvin) Moore.
— 9th anniversary, Steve/Becky (Markley) Wosick.
— 10th anniversary, Nathan/Catherine Chicoine.
— 20th anniversary, Jayson/Jennifer (Thorson) Nedrebo.
— 9th anniversary, Will/Jenna (Deutscher) Hansen.

Thursday, July 7:
Michelle Moreno, Austin Christopherson, Chelsea (Neuhauser) Hoy, Marylinn Baker, Derald Gross, Kris Monroe, Lucas Solberg, Brydon Denton, Derek Newcomb, Kirk Albertson, Jessica Nicholas, Crayton Bouchie.
— 5th anniversary, Zach/Christina Merrill.
— 4th anniversary, Matt/Korie Tetzlaff.
— 71st anniversary, Marvin/Dorothy Massey.
— 10th anniversary, Jared/Courtney (Thompson) Geigle.
— 32nd anniversary, Jeff/Gea (Gjesdal) Eckhoff.
— 15th anniversary, Darin/Molly (Huber) Hausmann.
— 15th anniversary, James/Audra (Meyer) Cardwell.
— 10th anniversary, Austin/Kristy Unruh.

CAPITAL CITY BAND

Upcoming concert dates and times at the Steamboat Park Amphitheater:
— Wednesday, June 29: 8 p.m.
— Monday, July 4, 9 p.m.
— Wednesday, July 6, 8 p.m.

MUSIC ON THE RIVER

Upcoming performers at the Event Center at 217 W. Missouri Ave.:
— Friday, June 24: K.C. Hughes and the Wayward Travelers.
— Friday, July 1: Riverbank.

SUNDAYS AT THE LEGION

Upcoming performers on the deck at the Legion cabin Sundays at 5 p.m.:
— Sunday, June 26: Dead End Friends.
— Sunday, July 3: In & Out.
— Monday, July 4: The Sidehackers.

BLACK HILLS PLAYHOUSE

“The Odd Couple” continues at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays through July 3. The next show, “Cinderella,” opens July 13.

Theater-goers heading to the Playhouse from Rapid City should remember that Playhouse Road is closed. One way to get to the Playhouse is to go to the city of Custer, then east on U.S. 16A to S.D. Highway 87, the north to Playhouse Road. Another option is go to Hermosa via S.D. Highway 79 and one mile farther south, then west on S.D. Highway 36 to 16A to S.D. 87 and north to Playhouse Road.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Among the 43 members of this coming year’s Leadership South Dakota Class of 2023, taught and led by Rick and Val Melmer, are Stephanie Judson of the South Dakota Community Foundation and Scott Carbonneau of First Premier Bank.

Riggs High alumna Megan Robertson, along with Growing For Market editor Anrew Mefford, will soon be co-hosting a new podcast from the Growing For Market home farm in Maine. The first episodes will launch later this summer. The podcast for local vegetable and flower farmers will also focus on businesses that support and supply local farmers.

Betty Beck died June 9 after a short battle with cancer. A private family service will be held. She and her husband, Russell, were married in 1956. They spent many years in Murdo. AFter retirement they moved to Pierre where they attended Grand Avenue Wesleyan and Community Bible churches. She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Russell Beck of Pierre; her children, Bernadine (Randy) Headley of Kennebec, Darcey (Sharada) Beck of Riverside, Calif., and Robin (John) New of Pierre; seven grandchildren; four great-grandchildren, and a sister, Esther Kreager of Valley, Neb.

Geoff Gross was head track and field coach at Riggs High School from 2004 to 2008 after serving in the same capacity at Winner and before moving to that job at Mitchell. Since 2015 he has been assistant grades 6-12 principal and athletic director at Beresford. Now he has a new job. Geoff is moving to Yankton High School where he will be head track and field coach.

The spring semester Dean’s List at Augustana University includes Chloe Folts, Arden Koenecke and Natalie Mohr of Pierre, Jett Lamb of Onida, and Elizabeth Schaefer and Natalie Young of Rapid City, both of whose parents are Pierre natives.

Riggs High athletes recognized on the Academic All-State team for track and field were Jenna Bush, Addison Cumbow, Katelyn Harris, Canyon Jones, Emily Lingle, Marissa Mathews, Hayden Shaffer, Emerie Stephens and Olivia Swenson.

Gary Sletto, 76, of the Draper/Vivian area, died June 7 at the VA Medical Center at Sturgis. His funeral was held June 15 at Vivian Lutheran Church. Gary attended school at Draper and college at Huron before serving in the U.S. Army. He and LaDell Olson were married in 1971. They lived in Fort Pierre, Pierre and other places until settling on a farm at Draper in 1979. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, LaDell Sletto; his children, Misti (Mike) Chester of Vivian, Derrick (Nancy) Sletto of Oelrichs, and Trevor Sletto of Mitchell; seven grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and his siblings, Gerry (Larry) Cass of Pierre, Olin (Connie) Sletto of Baileys Harbor, Wis., and Kerwin (Wendy) Sletto of Grand Forks, N.D.

A retirement party for long-time Pierre teacher Hope Armstrong was held June 16. We know she taught at Jefferson Elementary and Georgia Morse Middle School. Former students and friends can still send greetings to Mrs. Armstrong at 28868 Puckett St., Pierre SD 57501.

Tim and Rachel (Knutson) Steece have another son in their family. Finley Michael Steece, who will be known as Fin, was born June 10. He joins a brother, Jude, 3, in their family. The Steeces live at Chaska, Minn., in the southwest Minneapolis suburbs.

Ricki Bloomenrader, 66, died at home in Pierre June 15 after a battle with cancer. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. She graduated from Highmore High School in 1973. In 1977 she started working for A-G-E Corporation in Pierre and stayed in their employ for 43 years, retiring in 2010. She spent 28 years with Dale Kiepke, and they were married in 2018. Ricki is survived by her husband, Dale Kiepke; her brothers, Scott (Karen) Bloomenrader of Billings, Mont., and Bret (Wendy) Bloomenrader of Highmore; 11 nephews and nieces, and five stepchildren.

Travis Fitzke, who studied at the Kent State University College of Podiatry Medicine in Ohio after graduating from North Dakota State University, has completed his residency at Sanford in Fargo. He will be returning home to Pierre to work for Avera St. Mary’s Hospital.

Six former athletes at Fort Pierre and Stanley County high school will be inducted into the Buffalo Hall of Fame as part of the all-school reunion this Saturday. The inductees are Stacy (Huss) Hegge (Class of 2005), Lindsay (Stoeser) Heiss (2002), Jeremy Holter (1990), Shavonne (Hannum) Mitchell (1983), Joe Nelson (1971) and Dean Frederick (1963).

Bruce Neuharth, 69, Jeffersonville, Ind., formerly of Pierre, died Oct. 23, 2021. A celebration of his life was held at Richie Z’s in Pierre yesterday. The son of Curtis and Ione (Nellermoe) Neuharth began work with Pizza Hut as a store manager/area manager, went to Gator’s Pizza as a director of training and to Burger King, reaching the level of dean of Burger King University. He joined the staff of Christian Business Men’s Connection, was COO of Arrow Stage Lines based in Omaha and was CFO of Sodrel Trucking in Indiana. He is survived by his wife; his children, Andrea Ward, Jeffrey Neharth and Amy Mchowicz; his mother, Ione Neuharth; seven grandchildren; his sisters, Pam (Dan) Moen and Nanc (Ben) Orsborn, and his brother, David (Lisa) Neuharth.

The fifth annual Run with the Govs road race was held last weekend in Pierre. This time the event was held in memory of the late Gov. Frank Farrar, who was a long-time running enthusiast and participant in road races well into his older years. Among the 170 runners who participated, Riggs High and South Dakota Mines alumnus Theron Singleton finished as the top male in a course-record time of 20:10. The top female was Kaitlin Gustafon in 27:14. The top male under age 12 was Logan Steiner of Pierre in 51:00. The top female under 12 was Annalise Holsing of Cresbard in 25:57.

The final three statues of former governors which comprise Pierre’s Trail of Governors were unveiled last weekend. The statues are those of Gov. Frank Byrne (1913-17), Gov. Andrew Lee (1897-1901), and Gov. William Bulow (1927-1930). One of the statues has been installed in front of the Department of Transportation building on Broadway Avenue. Another now stands at the corner of Pierre Street and Missouri Avenue. The Bulow statue will soon be installed in a new alcove just up the street above the railroad viaduct.

A celebration of the life of the late Barry LeBeau will be held at the American Legion cabin in Pierre at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 9.

Jason Nielsen, 46, who attended kindergarten in Pierre before moving to Sioux City, died at home in Des Moines on June 13. He held chef positions in Portland, Rapid City, Sioux City, Brainerd and Des Moines. Survivors include his son, Jack Nielsen of Des Moines, and his father, Leon Nielsen of Rapid City.

The family of the late Jerry Thielen will be greeting friends at a coffee-donuts hour from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 5, at Feigum Funeral Home, followed by inurnment at Riverside Cemetery.

John J. Smith, 71, died June 8. A celebration of his life will be held at 2 p.m. this Friday, June 24, at Feigum Funeral Home. John graduated from Huron High School in 1968 and earned a full-ride scholarship to Columbia University in New York City, graduated there with a bachelor of arts in English and philosophy in 1972. He returned to South Dakota and worked at various jobs in Pierre. He married Gayle Jirsa two days after his emergency appendectomy and two days before starting studies at the USD law school in 1974. He completed law school in 1977. John interned at the Homestake Mine law firm in Lead and for Chief Justice Roger Wollman at the South Dakota Supreme Court. He was an assistant attorney general, secretary of the Department of Water and Natural Resources, and from 1989 to 2002 was a corporate attorney for ATC/Stream Media in Sioux Falls and New York. He retired as general counsel for the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission in 2015. He is survived by his children, Abbey and Sam; his ex-wife, Gayle; his sister, Ann (Bob) Johnston, and many other relatives.

Lucas Yellow Hawk of Sully Buttes High School won the bareback championship at the state high school rodeo in Fort Pierre and now has qualified for the national high school rodeo.

If you’re in or near Rapid City and you need a job, the Performing Arts Center of Rapid City is looking for a new technical production manager.

Tyler Bonnett, who this spring completed his career as a pilot with the Navy, will begin a training class as a pilot for FedEx in Memphis on July 21. He will be moving to Nashville on July 12 to make that his home base.

Donnis Deyo died June 12. A memorial open house was held June 17 at Feigum Funeral Home. Donnis graduated from Huron High School in 1960 and was married to Gene Deyo from 1960 to 1995. She was a stay-at-home for many years. She returned to work as a legal secretary and spent many years at the South Dakota Unified Judicial System, retiring in 2010. She is survived by her daughters, Kari Deyo, Michelle (Monte) Deyo-Amende and Jennifer Deyo; her son, Trent (Stephanie) Deyo; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Beth Christie, 68, passed away June 13 at Good Samaritan Village in Sioux Falls after battling ALS. A memorial celebration of life was held at First United Methodist Church on June 18. Beth attended Parkston High School and USD-Springfield and married Al Christie in 1974. They lived in Pierre where she worked for the state and for several law firms as a legal secretary. Beth is survived by her husband, Al; her sons, Matt (Bunny) Christie of Brookings and Jeff Sarah) Christie of Alcester; three grandchildren, and her brother, Darrell (Janet) Tiede.

Marie Sylva, 95, Fort Pierre, who volunteered for 30 years at St. Mary’s Hospital with the auxiliary and the RSVP program, died June 18 at Maryhouse. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Tuesday at St. John’s Catholic Church. Marie grew up in Pennsylvania, and married Jerry Sylva in 1950. They lived in many states until his retirement when they came to Fort Pierre and lived along the Missouri River. Jerry was admitted to Maryhouse, and Marie joined him as a resident there in October 2021. Jerry died last August. Marie is survived by her nephew, Barry (Deb) Dufour; her niece, Shelley (James) Martin; their families, and a special friend, Diane (Barry) Smith.

PONDER THIS

“One of the saddest lessons of history is this: If we’ve been bamboozled long enough, we tend to reject any evidence of the bamboozle. We’re no longer interested in finding out the truth. It’s simply too painful to acknowledge, even to ourselves, that we’ve been taken. Once you give a charlatan power over you, you almost never get it back.”
— Carl Sagan

1 Comment

  1. Carol Uecker

    Parker – I took excerpts from the announcement posted on the SD Disability Rights website, about Cole’s new position here: https://drsdlaw.org/blog/Uecker-Selected/

    I am pointing this out, not knowing if it’s okay to take only parts of the article, without permission.

    The Board of Directors for Disability Rights South Dakota (DRSD) is proud to announce that it has selected Cole Uecker as Executive Director. He will be filling the position currently held by Tim Neyhart.
    Cole Uecker comes to the Executive Director position with over 7 years of experience with DRSD. He joined the DRSD team in 2015 as an Advocacy Services Representative before becoming a Staff Attorney in 2019. Most recently, he held the position of Director of the Client Assistance Program (CAP) and Adult Team Lead. As Executive Director, Uecker will oversee the DRSD agency staff and work closely with the Board of Directors. The DRSD corporate office is in Pierre, with field offices in Sioux Falls and Rapid City. “I look forward to the energy and commitment that Cole will bring to the agency in his new role,” Neyhart said. “He is well positioned to lead the agency in the ever-changing need for disability-related advocacy services.”

    Uecker graduated from Pierre’s T.F. Riggs High School in 2000. After a four-year enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps, he returned to school and obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Black Hills University. A year later, Cole went back to school to pursue a graduate degree in Law. In 2014, he earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of South Dakota. He has served on various boards and councils, including the South Dakota Board of Vocational Rehabilitation as well as the Board for the Service to the Blind and Visually Impaired. Uecker is a year 24 graduate of the SD Partners in Policymaking program.

    Regarding the new role, Uecker stated, “I am honored to have the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of giants in serving as DRSD’s next Executive Director. Also, I am excited to contribute, within my new role, to the remarkable work the DRSD staff does on behalf of people with disabilities in South Dakota.”

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