THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“And remember, boys and girls, your school like our country is made up of Americans of many different races, religions and national origins, so if you hear anybody talk against a schoolmate because of his religion, race or national origin, don’t wait. Tell him that kind of talk is un-American.”
— Superman in DC Comics

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Girls soccer: at Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 4 p.m.
Boys soccer: at Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 6 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Girls tennis: at Sioux Falls Lincoln invitational (vs. Harrisburg noon, vs. Lincoln 4 p.m.).
— SATURDAY
Girls tennis: at Sioux Falls Washington invitational (vs. Washington 9 a.m., vs. Roosevelt noon).
— TUESDAY
Boys golf: home for Pierre invitational, 10 a.m.
Girls soccer: home vs. Aberdeen Central, 4 p.m.
Boys soccer: home vs. Aberdeen Central, 6 p.m.
Volleyball: home vs. Watertown, 7 p.m.

Girls soccer (2-0): The season opener was a 10-0 whitewash of Douglas at Box Elder. Besides an own goal, the Governors got a hat trick from Jasmine Jost and single goals from Grace Engbrecht, Grace Richter, Ryann Barry, Meg Maher, Lexi Hillmer and Elli Hughes. Peyton Dittman, a seventh-grade goalkeeper, kept Douglas off the scoreboard. In their home opener the Govs defeated Spearfish, 5-2, behind two goals from Barry and one score each by Natalie Flottmeyer, Bria Sargent and Hughes.

Boys soccer (1-1): The Governors opened with a 7-0 win at Douglas. The scores included hat tricks by Rylan Derry and Cesar Ramirez and a single goal by Erland Tveite. Carson Ahartz made three saves while he was goalkeeper, and Haley Fabel also played that position. The home opener was a 2-0 loss to Spearfish.

Girls tennis (2-0): Pierre swept a pair of matches in the season-opening invitational at home, beating Spearfish 9-0 and St. Thomas More 7-2. Going 2-0 for the weekend were singles players Kara Weiss, Marlee Shorter, Jocelyn Corrales, Kourtney Walti and Caitlin Ott and doubles teams Sydney Tedrow/Weiss and Corrales/Ott.

Boys golf: Pierre made a strong showing at the season-opening Warrior-Lynx Invitational hosted by Washington and Brandon Valley. The Governors tied for second place with Watertown at 307, and both were far behind team champ O’Gorman. Sawyer Sonnenschein placed fifth at 5-over 72-74=146. Luke Olson was eighth at 71-80=151, 10 over par. Nick Bothun tied for 13th at 77-79=156. Other scores: Lincoln Houska 81-82=163, Jack Bartlett 89-74=163, Charlie Simpson 94-84=178.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— FRIDAY
Football: home vs. Sully Buttes, 7 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Volleyball: at Highmore-Harrold, 6:30 p.m.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— FRIDAY
Football: at Stanley County, 7 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Volleyball: home vs. Jones County, 6 p.m.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: blue mood.
Friday-Sunday: huckleberry.
Monday-Tuesday: orange.
Wednesday-Thursday: blueberry.

COUNTDOWN

Today: First day of school in Pierre (Aug. 18).
1 day: Central States Fair, Rapid City (Aug. 19-27).
5 days: First day of school at Sully Buttes (Aug. 23).
9 days: BluntFest, Blunt (Aug. 27).
13 days: South Dakota State Fair, Huron (Aug. 31-Sept. 5).
18 days: Labor Day (Sept. 5).
21 days: NFL season opener (Rams-Bills) (Sept. 8).
22 days: South Dakota Hall of Fame induction events, Chamberlain (Sept. 9-10).
22 days: Badlands Sabres season opener, Rapid City (Sept. 9).
24 days: Minnesota Vikings season opener vs. Green Bay (Sept. 11).
25 days: Sanford International golf tournament events, Sioux Falls (Sept. 12-18).
25 days: Riggs High homecoming coronation (Sept. 12).
26 days: Stanley County High homecoming coronation (Sept. 13).
28 days: Riggs High homecoming parade (Sept. 15).
29 days: Riggs High homecoming day (Sept. 16).
29 days: South Dakota Film Festival, Aberdeen (Sept. 16-18).
36 days: Stanley County High homecoming day (Sept. 23).
36 days: First day for advance voting in general election (Sept. 23).
37 days: Trojan Day at DSU (Sept. 24).
37 days: Swarm Day at BHSU (Sept. 24).
37 days: “M” Day at School of Mines (Sept. 24).
37 days: Cougar Day at USF (Sept. 24).
38 days: South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame induction, Sioux Falls (Sept. 25).
43 days: Smith-Noem gubernatorial candidates debate (Sept. 30).

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

NOTE: If you can think of other former Pierre, Stanley County or Sully Buttes alumni who are participating in or coaching college or high school sports, send that information to parkerhome16@hotmail.com.

Augustana men’s golf (Bennett Geraets): Bennett, the son of Pierre native Dr. Ryan Geraets, is a freshman at Augustana. The golf season begins Sept. 6-7 at the super regional fall preview meet at Winona, Minn.

Augustana football (Jett Lamb, Colton Hartford): Jett, the son of Joey and Brenda (Stewart) Lamb of Onida, is a sophomore defensive lineman, and Colton, whose dad is Pierre native Dr. Joey Hartford of Rapid City, is a sophomore defensive back. The Vikings, picked to win the NSIC championship this fall, open their season at Concordia-St. Paul on Thursday, Sept. 1.

Dakota State football (Collin Brueggeman, Jaden Flor, Nathan Cook): Collin is a sophomore linebacker and Jaden a freshman defensive end for the Trojans. Both are Riggs High alumni. Nathan, a Stanley County graduate, is a sophomore tight end. DSU had a scrimmage against Mount Marty last night (Wednesday) and opens the season next Thursday, Aug. 25, in a home game against Dakota Wesleyan at 7 p.m. on Midco Sports Network.

Dakota Wesleyan cross country (Morgan Oedekoven): This is Morgan’s sophomore season as a runner for the Tigers whose first meet is the Augustana twilight meet on Sept. 2.

Dakota Wesleyan football (Evan Nordstrom): Evan, a Stanley County alumnus, is a freshman wide receiver on the roster for DWU, which opens the season at Dakota State next Thursday at 7 p.m. on Midco Sports Network.

Northern State football (Jacob Howard): Sully Buttes alumnus Jacob is a junior offensive lineman for the Wolves, who open the season at home at 6 p.m. Sept. 1 against Upper Iowa.

Northwestern (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): Mo, the son of Kevin and Joan Hofer of Onida, is a junior linebacker at Northwestern. The Red Raiders have a difficult season opener in their annual rivalry game against defending national champion Morningside in Sioux City Sept. 3.

Black Hills State football (Josh Breske): This will be the fourth year as head coach for Pierre graduate Josh, who also played college ball at BHSU. His Yellowjackets open their season in a non-conference game at Dickinson State on Thursday, Sept. 1.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): This is Grey’s junior season as an offensive guard for the Bison, already ranked No. 1 in FCS football. NDSU opens the season at home Sept. 3 against Drake.

Aberdeen Central football (Justin Briese): After eight years as an assistant at Central, Justin begins his first fall as head coach of the Golden Eagles. His first game will be against the high school where he played football in Pierre Aug. 27.

University of Charleston volleyball (Jaxon Melby): Jaxon, daughter of Pierre native Kyle Melby and his wife Lisa, is a senior outside hitter for Charleston, which opens the season against Adelphi and Post University Aug. 26 and Malloy College and the University of New Haven Aug. 27. Jaxon played high school volleyball at Loveland, Colo.

St. Joseph’s (Pa.) men’s soccer (John Axtman): This will be John’s junior season at St. Joe’s in Philadelphia where the soccer season opens at Navy Aug. 25. John played high school soccer at Central Dauphin in Harrisburg, Pa. His parents are Pierre natives Greg and Susan (Adam) Axtman.

Lafayette men’s soccer (Eric Axtman): The youngest of the three soccer sons of Greg and Susan begins his college career as a goalkeeper at Lafayette in Easton, Pa. Their season opens at home against Fairleigh Dickinson Aug. 25 and Albany Aug. 29. Eric also played his high school soccer at Central Dauphin.

University of Sioux Falls cross country (Jessica Lutmer): This will be her sophomore season as a runner for the USF Cougars for Jessica, a Riggs High alumna. The first USF meet is Augustana’s twilight meet Sept. 2.

SDSU football (Regan Bollweg): Regan, a former Pierre Governor, is listed as a redshirt freshman tight end for the Jackrabbits, whose season opener is at Iowa Sept. 3.

Hot Springs High School football (Ben Kramer): This will be Stanley County alumnus Ben’s 17th year at Hot Springs where his Bison open their season at Redfield this Friday.

Gallaudet football (Kyle Albertson): Riggs High alumnus Kyle is a freshman at Gallaudet in Washington, D.C., where the season opens Sept. 3 against Waynesburg.

South Dakota women’s soccer (Joana Zanin, Janaina Zanin): Joana is a fifth-year senior forward and Janaina a junior midfielder for the Coyotes. They opened exhibition play with a 2-0 win over Briar Cliff, then lost a 1-0 exhibition match to Creighton. USD hosts Loyola of Chicago today (Thursday), then plays at Northern Iowa Sunday.

St. Thomas women’s soccer (Molly Knoblauch): Molly is listed as a freshman midfielder/forward for the Tommies in St. Paul. She is the daughter of the former Kristin McKeever and the granddaughter of former Pierre resident Juanita McKeever. St. Thomas defeated St. Cloud State, 2-1, in an exhibition match. The regular season begins tonight at home against Green Bay.

BLACK HILLS PLAYHOUSE

This is the final weekend of the summer at the Playhouse. “Something Rotten” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m. Saturday. For ticket reservations call 605/255-4141 or visit www.blackhillsplayhouse.com.

SUNDAYS AT THE LEGION

Only three more Sunday evenings of music on the deck at the Legion cabin where the music starts about 5 p.m. The entertainers:
— Aug. 21: Hidden Timber Band.
— Aug. 28: The Valentines.
— Sept. 4: Ham & Cheese.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I like messy people, people who don’t fit in a box or stay between the lines but whose integrity is greater than any rule book and whose loyalty is stronger than blood.”
— Jim Wern

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons won at Nashville, 2-1, to remain in fourth place in the MLS Western Conference standings, a point out of third place but a point ahead of fifth. The team’s record is 11-9-5. Minnesota is home at 7 p.m. Saturday vs. Austin FC.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): At the Boeing Classic outside Seattle at Snoqualmie, Tom placed 75th, earning $1,364 for his 13-over 75-74-80=229 weekend. The Champions Tour goes back east this weekend for the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at Endicott, N.Y.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

There are 11 live NFL preseason games on TV this weekend:
— Thursday: Chicago-Seattle, 7 p.m., ESPN.
— Friday: Carolina-New England, 6 p.m., NFLN.
— Friday: Houston-Los Angeles Rams, 9 p.m., NFLN.
— Saturday: Denver-Buffalo, noon, NFLN.
— Saturday: Washington-Kansas City, 3 p.m., NFLN.
— Saturday: Tampa Bay-Tennessee, 6 p.m., NFLN.
— Saturday: Dallas-Los Angeles Chargers, 9 p.m., NFLN.
— Sunday: Philadelphia-Cleveland, noon, NFLN.
— Sunday: Cincinnati-New York Giants, 6 p.m., NFLN.
— Sunday: Baltimore-Arizona, 7 p.m., Fox.
— Monday: Atlanta-New York Jets, 7 p.m., ESPN.

Where is Brandon Cruse? To see which game Brandon and his crew are working this weekend, go to www.footballzebras.com, look for this week’s assignments, and search for the Carl Cheffers crew.

Minnesota Vikings: In their preseason opener the Vikings lost at Las Vegas, 26-20. The second of three preseason games is at home Saturday at 6 p.m. vs. San Francisco.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos defeated Dallas, 17-7, in their first preseason contest. Denver goes to Buffalo for a noon Saturday preseason game.

Minnesota Vikings first four regular-season games: Sept. 11, Green Bay, 3:25 p.m.; Sept. 19 (Monday), at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.; Sept. 25, Detroit, noon; Oct. 2, New Orleans (in London), 8:30 a.m.

Denver Broncos first four regular-season games: Sept. 12 (Monday), at Seattle, 7:20 p.m.; Sept. 18, Houston, 3:25 p.m.; Sept. 25, San Francisco, 7:20 p.m.; Oct. 2, at Las Vegas, 3:25 p.m.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #1

Everyone is welcome to participate just for the fun of it. We will have 10 games to pick each week. The list of games is posted on Parker Knox’s Facebook page each Sunday evening and posted here in the Update on Thursdays. This week, because the games are all high school games, the deadline for submitting your 10 winners is Friday afternoon. Send them to parkerhome16@hotmail.com or “comment” on Parker’s Facebook page to list them there.

This week’s games:
(1) Sully Buttes at Stanley County
(2) Winner at Tri-Valley
(3) Lyman at Jones County
(4) Potter County at Newell
(5) Hot Springs at Redfield
(6) White River at Kadoka Area
(7) Wagner at Miller/Highmore-Harrold
(8) Iroquois/Lake Preston at Wolsey-Wessington
(9) Webster Area at Mobridge-Pollock
(10) Rapid City Christian at Lead-Deadwood

Each person with the best record each week gets 10 points in our season-long contest. The second-best record gives 9 points to each person who has that record. The third-best record earns 8 points for each person who has it. The only stipulation is that no record below .500 gets any points, even if it is the best, second-best or third-best mark for that week.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Twins schedule:
— Friday: Texas, 7:10 p.m.
— Saturday: Texas, 6:10 p.m.
— Sunday: Texas, 1:10 p.m.
— Monday: Texas, 6:10 p.m.
— Tuesday: at Houston, 7:10 p.m.
— Wednesday: at Houston, 7:10 p.m.
— Thursday: at Houston, 7:10 p.m.

Sioux Falls Canaries: The Birds lost three of four to Lake Country to end the weekend with a 31-47 record. The Canaries are at Fargo-Moorhead tonight and at Milwaukee Friday through Sunday before a home series vs. Sioux City Monday through Thursday.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“We must know all the facts and hear all the alternatives and listen to all the criticisms. Let us welcome controversial books and controversial authors, for the Bill of Rights is the guardian of our security as well as our liberty.”
— President John F. Kennedy

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Make a note on your calendars that the Pierre-Brookings football game on the Friday night of Labor Day weekend will be telecast live on Midco’s Two channel at 7 p.m.
• Yesterday (Wednesday) was the 60th anniversary of Aug. 17, 1962, the day President Kennedy flew into the Pierre airport, rode up to the site of Oahe Dam to dedicate it, went back to the airport and flew away. My brother and I were part of a big crowd at the Pierre airport, about seven or eight rows of people from the fenceline where the President walked by and shook hands. What I remember about him was how short he was compared to my previous image of him and the reddish tint to his hair. We stayed at the airport where his speech at the dam construction site was aired over the intercom, then watched as his motorcade returned. I recall the sight of Air Force One (a much smaller plane than the one now but for that time still a huge aircraft) taking off at the south end of the runway as huge chunks of cement broke apart and flew into the air from the force of the thrust of the plane. John and I went on to Winner to the Pierre Cowboys baseball game that night.
• A year from this coming winter, during the 2023-24 winter, South Dakota will have its first Division I hockey program when Augustana University puts a team on the ice in its new arena. This week Augie announced the first opponent which will appear on the schedule for that initial hockey season, and it is Notre Dame! The Vikings will play two games at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., during the holiday period at the end of next year. Augustana will be a member of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) whose present members are Bemidji State, St. Thomas and Minnesota State-Mankato in Minnesota; Ferris State, Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech in Michigan and Bowling Green State in Ohio.
• Raising eyebrows and a bit of discussion around the state this week was the release of the governor’s new social studies curriculum for grades K-12, prepared by an extremely conservative college in Michigan, which is also Ian Fury’s alma mater, because, of course, nobody in South Dakota education is capable of such work. Whether the Noem administration will pay any attention to public comment is doubtful, but two public hearings will be held—Sept. 19 at the Dakota Event Center in Aberdeen and Nov. 21 at a Sioux Falls location to be announced. Written comment from the public will also be accepted.
• As you can tell in the news notes below, I ran across a ton of back-to-school photos on Facebook this week and copied down some information. I would be glad to include you and your kids (or grandkids), what grades they are starting, where they go to school, etc. But you have to tell me. Send anything to parkerhome16@hotmail.com.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, August 18:
Landyn Uecker, Kathy Lindekugel, Mike Larsen, Hannah Stahl, Kyle Weaver, Jerrid Conway, Brooke (Graff) Albertson.
— 4th anniversary, Todd/Hillary (Handcock) Leiferman.
— 4th anniversary, Jason/Micki Noyes.
— 10th anniversary, Jamey/Erin (Titze) Herr.
— 55th anniversary, Larry/Dee Lundeen.
— 13th anniversary, Isaac/Anna Vogel.
— 55th anniversary, Larry/Anita Zastrow.
— 15th anniversary, Will/Stephanie (Magedanz) Bartsch.

Friday, August 19:
Tom Huber, Nick Johnson, Bill Stevens, Jacob Shoup, Naomi Fossen, Tanna Becker, Anita Jung, Emily (Zarecky) Steber, Maddie Lund, Carmen Howard, Ross Hettinger.
— 16th anniversary, Ryan/Melissa (Luers) Hansen.
— 52nd anniversary, Don/Diane Giesinger.
— 16th anniversary, Abran/Brandy Kean.
— 22nd anniversary, Jesse/Sarena (Nuttall) Beastrom.
— 50th anniversary, Mike/Jean Denton.
— 5th anniversary, Colton/Jenny (McKillip) Langdeau.
— 5th anniversary, Wyatt/Miranda Trautman.
— 5th anniversary, Trevor/Mary (Volmer) Lopour.
— 5th anniversary, Trevor/Brielle (Yackley) Bohle.

Saturday, August 20:
Steve Bickett, Elinor Dekker, Jared Randen, Brycen Haefner, Lindsey (Friez) Karschnik, Devin Weingart, Jordyn Martin, Amber Ogle, Becky (Eich) Watson, Tina Jensen.
— 6th anniversary, Ben/Michelle (Monroe) Kettler.
— 5th anniversary, Cody/Mandi Coppess.
— 18th anniversary, Tyler/Erin (Schiefelbein) Jones.
— 57th anniversary, Roy/Wanda Beck.
— 17th anniversary, Brian/Amy (Johnson) Berendes.
— 12th anniversary, Brad/Katie (Zeller) Murphy.
— 62nd anniversary, Jon/Terry (Lamster) Horning.
— 60th anniversary, Bob/Glynnes Sargent.

Sunday, August 21:
Carter Zellmer, Jerry Ortbahn, Abigail (Barber) Burgum, Savannah Cromwell, Amy (Ripperger) Grunewaldt, Becki Weischedel-Erickson, Abran Kean, Jordan Lamb, Dennis Reed, Dorothy (Nygaard) Gibbs, Tamra (Buol) Armijo, Emily Lancaster, Amanda Peck, John Peck, Rip Ray, Denise Garber, Jamie Damon, Judson Seaman, Vanessa Sevier.
— 7th anniversary, Vinh/Jackie (Schlaikjer) Nguyen.
— 1st anniversary, Logan/Mallory (Gordon) Benbow.
— 34th anniversary, Larry/Peggy Hofmeister.
— 18th anniversary, Kevin/Kim (Kindle) Nachreiner.
— 18th anniversary, Jay/Nikole (Hillmer0 Penrod.
— 29th anniversary, Greg/Sarah (Adam) Axtman.

Monday, August 22:
Sheridan Cronin, Steve Harding, Jason Stahl, Kirby Mammenga, LaDonna Zellmer, Gail (Flansburg) Tennant, David Ludwig, Jim McLain, Quinn Schiefelbein, Alissandra Stoeser.
— 13th anniversary, Demetri/Joni (Haugan) Sengos.
— 2nd anniversary, Bryan/Starla Konechne.
— 41st anniversary, Brent/Betty Lindbloom.

Tuesday, August 23:
Joshua Kinsman, Becky Burke, Bohde Kuiper, Dan Sutera, Jan Sommer, Hope Dill, Alice Wright, Stehanie Zebroski, Alice Whitebird, Dawn Magee, Merna Imsland, Barry Sargent, Colin Whitebird, Aske Whitebird,
—2nd anniversary, Jackson/Kate Schumacher.
— 8th anniversary, Shane/Deni (Lohman) Hollingsworth.
— 8th anniversary, Caleb/Katie (Kemink) Shepherd.
— 47th anniversary, Marty/Shirley Javurek.
— 8th anniversary, Todd/Michelle (Beemer) DeWitt.
— 53rd anniversary, Bill/Kathy Van Duzer.
— 19th anniversary, Josh/Malene Ford.
— We fondly remember Tyler Wilcox on his birthday.

Wednesday, August 24:
Shawn Chase, Darrin Dykstra, Eric Aadland, Chris Klucas, Demeri Hanson, Vivien Van Camp, Jace Mancuso, Brent Swenson, Dana Day, Carrie Jo (Eckman) Howard, Katie Stier, Bryan Stahl, Lisa Bondy, Riley Lamb.
— 9th anniversary, Blake/Lindsey (Luers) Hyde.
— 20th anniversary, Kirk/Shaun Van Roekel.
— 48th anniversary, Bill/DeeAnn Stevens.
— 54th anniversary, John/Jean Lakner.
— 65th anniversary, Seb/Carol Axtman.

Thursday, August 25:
Kelsey Nincehelser, Gary Johnson, Dustin Hight, Chris Lopez, Gina (Kotilnek) Hickenbotham, Michael McKillip.
— 10th anniversary, Brandon/Cassie (Kinsman) Deffenbaugh.
— 10th anniversary, Andy/Debra Yackley.
— 4th anniversary, Steven/Katelynn Gordon.
— 49th anniversary, Rick/Gloria Merriam.
— 4th anniversary, Sam/Katie (Duenwald) Williamson.
— 32nd anniversary, Tim/Thea (Miller) Ryan.
— 10th anniversary, Brandon/Cori (Bechtold) Haag.

ELECTION COUNTDOWN

36 days to the first day of absentee voting and in-person voting at county auditors’ offices (Sept. 23).
67 days to the deadline for voter registration for the general election (Oct. 24).
82 days to Election Day (Nov. 8).

Be a smart voter! Remember that there are two major issues to be voted on on Nov. 8 in addition to the contests for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and legislators. One is Constitutional Amendment D, which if passed would expand Medicaid eligibility to thousands of South Dakotans who are not now eligible. The other is Initiated Measure 27, which if passed would legalize the possession, use and distribution of marijuana.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Calvin Jones and his wife, who escaped Ukraine at the start of the Russian invasion in February, have been in safe European countries since then. Now next week they will be headed to the United States where the Pierre native and distinguished pianist will begin a concert tour through the Midwest, Florida and Texas. His concerts for the benefit of Ukraine relief causes include these dates: Sept. 13, West Des Moines; Sept. 15, Cedar Rapids; Sept. 17, Coralville, Iowa; Sept. 20, Sioux Falls (Forum Theatre); Sept. 22, Watertown (Goss Opera House); Sept. 28, Hernando, Fla.; Oct. 1, Jacksonville; Oct. 6, Sarasota; Oct. 12, Georgetown, Texas; Oct. 14, Sugar Land, Texas. For further concert dates and other Calvin Jones updates, his website is calvinjones.com.

Principal photography has been completed on “Lost on a Mountain in Maine,” the latest film being directed by Pierre native Andrew Kightlinger. Work on the film will now continue in the coming weeks at other sites.

A young woman named Dora from Italy has arrived to live this school year with Matt and Kim Brakke and daughters and attend Riggs High School.

Nate Buscher became engaged over the weekend to Kristen Hendricks. A graduate of the University of Wyoming, Nate moved last year to the Boston area where he works as a structural engineer for a consulting firm.

Johna (Zeller) Leidholt, 58, died Aug. 10 after a long illness with Ataxia SCA3, a genetic disease. Visitation from 5 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 23, will be followed by a prayer service at 6 at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. A scripture service will begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 24, at St. John’s Catholic Church in Fort Pierre. The daughter of John and Patsy (Kimura) Zeller graduated from Riggs High School in 1982 and later completed an accounting degree from Black Hills State University. Johna worked with the Department of Transportation from her college graduation to her retirement in 2019. Johna married Ken Leidholt in 1998, and they had three daughters. She is survived by her husband; daughters Amy (Tim Iron Thunder) Boxley, Beth Leidholt and Julie (Mark) Leidholt-Brueggeman; six grandchildren; sisters Linda (Jim) Lipp and Ellen (Bob) Zeller-Mercer; brother Anthony (Robyn) Zeller; several nephews and nieces; her mother-in-law, Corrine Leidholt; her brothers-in-law T.J. Wiebe, Troy Wiebe and Trevor Wiebe; sister-in-law Cari Leidholt and other relatives.

Kyle Sarringar and Leslie Mews were married in a ceremony at Drifters in Fort Pierre on Aug. 13.

Matthew Sutton, son of former Pierre residents Bob and Lori Sutton, this week began pursuit of a graduate degree in public administration at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

South Dakota State football fans are reminded that a watch party for the SDSU-Iowa game on Saturday, Sept. 3, will be available at the South Dakota State Fair in Huron in the beer garden east of the grandstand. The event is free to all ages and opens just before the 11 a.m. kickoff. The watch party is sponsored by the State Fair and 1st Dakota National Bank.

Katie (Lakner) Dill began her 17th year of teaching this week. She is currently teaching fourth grade. Katie and Brent Dill’s daughters are in eighth, sixth and first grades this year. The family lives in Sachse, Texas, in the northeast suburbs of Dallas.

Brandon Cruse’s first game as a National Football League official was the Jacksonville Jaguars’ home preseason game against the Cleveland Browns last weekend. Brandon is the umpire on the Carl Cheffers NFL crew, and you can find out which game they will be working at the www.footballzebras.com website late each week when assignments are made public. Brandon wears #22 on his official’s uniform. The umpire is normally positioned in the offensive backfield sometime 15 yards deep and just outside the normal tight end position. There are 16 different responsibilities assigned to an umpire on each NFL crew according to the NFL website.

Kandace Kritz, 66, died unexpectedly Aug. 11. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. this Friday at First United Methodist Church. Kandace grew up in Clark, spent two years in Watertown and lived 10 years in Haakon County. During the last 33 years as a Pierre resident she, while raising her four children, focused on studies to be an emergency medical technician. She eventually joined American Medical Response, the local ambulance service, as an EMT and worked up to operations supervisor for AMR in Pierre. Kandace is survived by her sister, Kelli (Brett) Bohn; her brother, Donald (Buddy) Kritz Jr.; her children, Matthew Emerson, Brianna Bolger, Ben Emerson and Adam Emerson; eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Christian Hess took his daughter, Taylor, to the Banff, Alberta, area as a gift before she heads off to college at the University of North Dakota. The Hess family lives just northwest of Minneapolis in Monticello, Minn. Christian and Taylor visited Lake Louise and the city of Calgary as well as other sites in that scenic region of the Canadian Rockies.

Curt Littau, a native of Carter, S.D., near Winner, is the new high school/middle school principal of the Stanley County schools, according to a story in the Pierre Capital Journal. He taught for 12 years in the Todd County district and three years at Colome, then left education to spend 16 years as an auctioneer and real estate broker while running the family ranch. He returned to school in 2019 and taught at Sisseton while earning his master’s degree in secondary administration at Northern State University, finishing it last December. Littau’s wife, Melody, is the new director of special education and speech pathologist in the Stanley County school system.

Chad and Marcie (Fuhrer) Holsteen of Wichita, Kan., sent three of their sons off to a new school year this year. Mason is a senior, their “bonus son” Randy is also a senior, and Ty is a freshman. The Holsteens’ other son, Jordan, is 21.

Wendy Birhanzel has started her fifth school year as superintendent of the Harrison School District Two in the southeast part of Colorado Springs. This is Wendy’s 12th year in that district. Meanwhile, her brother, Rich Birhanzel, continues to be based in Minneapolis for his work as a partner with Accenture Consulting and travels the world for his job.

Jeff and Jamie (Stokke) LeMire, who live in the Kansas City suburb of Olathe, Kan., have their boys beginning new school years. Jacob is an eighth grader active in cross country, and Nathan is a fifth-grader and a hockey player.

Going to the emergency room at night due to chest pains was a life-saving action for Darin Anderson, whose wife is the former Lynsey Meyer. Darin was immediately flown to Sioux Falls where he underwent an angiogram at Avera Heart Hospital the next morning. As of Friday he was home recovering and finding it difficult to remain still. The Andersons recommend scheduled heart screenings.

Samantha Flynn is again coaching girls freshman volleyball at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls. Sam’s “day job” finds her working for a contractor, but she was recruited to coach the Roosevelt freshmen three years ago and continues in that capacity.

Tyson and Jenny (Miller) Goehring, who live in Bennington, Neb., a northwest suburb of Omaha, have two sons, and they started school this week. Briggs is a fourth grader, and Bowen is a second grader. Jenny continues to work as a clinical audiologist at Boys Town National Research Hospital.

Taryn Colson, a 2012 graduate of Sully Buttes High School, earned her wings as one of the newest pilots for Delta Airlines. She will be flying Boeing 737s based out of Atlanta. Taryn is the daughter of Carl and Joy (Peck) Colson.

The news bureau at USD distributed an interesting story last week on the establishment of the Dr. Melvin Thomas Internal Medicine Scholarship at Sanford School of Medicine. Mel Thomas was one of the seven children of the Rev. Roger and Arlue Thomas, who at one time served the Methodist churches in Onida and Agar. He was the third of the Thomas boys, after Kent and John and ahead of Rod, David and Gary and sister Mary Tracy. Mel was a three-sport athlete at Alexandria High School where he and John led the Beavers to two state “B” basketball championships. He went to SDSU on a basketball scholarship, attended the USD school of medicine for two years and finished his medical degree at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He spent a general internal medicine residency at the USD medical school. Dr. Thomas spent 45 years in medicine as a public health officer in Arkansas, chief of medicine at the Department of Veterans Affairs in Sioux Falls, in private practice in Brookings and with the Avera Group in Sioux Falls and as a faculty member at the USD school of medicine. He married Nancy Thum in 2008, blending their family of five adult children—his two and her three. Always a journal writer, he began writing poetry in addition to practicing medicine. He also reveled in classical and bluegrass music, reading, writing and gardening. The Thomas family left Alexandria after John and Mel finished high school, and the Rev. Thomas came to the Onida and Agar churches. Son Dave was an integral part of Onida’s basketball teams in 1968 and 1969, winning the state “B” title in 1969, and Mary graduated from the first class from the new Sully Buttes school in 1971.

Shawn and Bekah (Hartmann) Hlavacek are the parents of a son, Dekker Dwayne Hlavacek, who was born Aug. 10, weighing 7 pounds. He joins a big sister, Brynlee, who is 3. The Hlavaceks live near Florence, S.D. Shawn is a machinist, and Bekah is a nurse. Her parents, Randy and Jodi Hartmann of Pierre, now have five grandchildren, and all five are 3 or younger.

Sara (Stulken) Kehrwald is set to go back to school in her capacity as an IEP facilitator for the Sioux Falls school district. Sara assures that federal guidelines and special education standards are met and coordinates setting up meetings between staff and parents. Sara and her husband, who live in Sioux Falls, run a commercial property management business, so she really does not have summers “free.” Meanwhile, their son, Tobias, is beginning college as a chemical engineering major at the School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City.

Joe and Nikki (Grandpre) Wilson’s three kids began school in Omaha this week. The youngsters are Gavin, seventh grade; Cori, sixth grade, and Jordyn, first grade.

McKayla (Marso) McDonough is joining the staff of The Dance Front studio in Louisville, Colo. She will be teaching there on Saturday mornings. McKayla, her husband Seamus, and their 15-month-old daughter Rogan live nearby. After completing her bachelor’s degree in musical theater at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, McKayla was part of the national tours of two Broadway shows, worked in theater for Norwegian Cruise Lines, was part of the company at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, worked at Boulder Dinner Theatre and worked at The Arvada Center.

The Central South Dakota Board of Realtors honored Meredith Lee Roebuck as Realtor of the Year and Jackie Prouty as the rising star in the local real estate field.

Nick and Brittany (Bailey) Jarecke of Waterloo, neb., sent five kids off to school this week. They are Hudson, a junior; Maren, a freshman; Ruby, a seventh grader, and Dawson and Laney, second graders. Waterloo is the Douglas County West school district on the far western edge of Omaha.

Nicole Asmussen eloped to Colorado this week with Steve Krueger from Mankato, Minn. The couple live in Sioux Falls and were married Aug. 16.

Ronn and Kendra (Ott) Beyer’s daughter, Tessa, began her kindergarten year of school this week. The Beyers live in Tea.

Scott and Melissa (Stevens) Gibson’s girls are back in the Sioux Falls Christian school system this year. Evelyn is a fifth grader, and Mae is a third grader. The Gibson girls have the benefit of having their grandparents nearby, including former Pierre residents Bill and DeeAnn Stevens.

Matthew Lusk completed a summer internship with the Pierre office of Fischer, Rounds & Associates. He has returned to SDSU where he is majoring in ag business.

The children of Eric and Jessi (Huber) Herrscher are back in school, and so are their parents. Sam is a seventh grader, and Maya is a sixth grader. Jessi is in her 17th year of teaching already, and she teaches biology and leadership at Ridgevue High School in Nampa, Idaho. Eric is also at Ridgevue for his 20th year of teaching, and he teaches physical science and biology.

PONDER THIS

“Makeup can make you look pretty on the outside, but it doesn’t help if you’re ugly on the inside. Unless you eat the makeup.”
— Audrey Hepburn