THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“There is a certain enthusiasm in liberty that makes human nature rise above itself in acts of bravery and heroism.”
— Alexander Hamilton

ELECTION HIGHLIGHTS

Constitutional Amendment D expanding Medicaid eligibility: This measure was strongly opposed by the Republican hierarchy in the Legislature and in the governor’s office, but South Dakota voters gave it their approval by 56% to 44% in Tuesday’s election. This phase of the Affordable Care Act (“Obamacare”) makes thousands of low-income South Dakotans eligible for Medicaid insurance coverage. Republicans tried to make the approval threshold of this issue at 60% by placing that requirement on the ballot in last June’s primary election when primarily only Republicans go to the polls, but their attempt there failed. Thus in Tuesday’s election this amendment needed only a 50% approval, and it received that.

Initiated Measure 27 legalizing the possession, use and distribution of marijuana: This measure, approved by voters two years ago but derailed by the governor and others on a constitutionality technicality, was this time defeated by 53% to 47%.

Governor: All a candidate needs to do in South Dakota to win an election is to be a Republican. Incumbent Kristi Noem won her second term as governor by 62% over Jamie Smith, the Democratic candidate, with 35% and Tracey Quint, the Libertarian candidate, with 3%. Noem will now be governor until January, 2027, when term limits will put her out of the governor’s office. However, it is no secret she desires national office and recognition, so she might serve less than the full four years of her new term if she were to be elected or appointed to some national office. The next election for governor will take place in November 2026 with primary elections, if necessary, the preceding June.

U.S. Senate: Incumbent John Thune, who once said he favored term limits, has now been in Washington, D.C., since 1996 except for two years between his 2002 loss to Sen. Tim Johnson and his 2004 win over Sen. Tom Daschle. Thune served three terms in the U.S. House from 1996 to 2002. He has served three terms in the Senate since his win over Daschle, and on Tuesday he won a fourth term with 70% of the vote to Democrat Brian Bengs’ 26% and Libertarian Tamara Lesnar’s 4%. Thune will now be senator till January, 2029, with his seat up for election or re-election in November 2028. The other South Dakota seat in the U.S. Senate held by Sen. Mike Rounds belongs to him until January, 2027, with that seat up for election or re-election in November 2026.

U.S. House: Incumbent Dusty Johnson rolled to his third term with 77% to Libertarian Collin Duprel’s 23%. There was no Democratic candidate. House members are up for election every two years, so Johnson will serve his newly-won term until January 2025 with that seat up for election or re-election in November 2024. That will be the only statewide race on the ballot two years from now, but of course there will be the presidential election up for grabs at the polls at that time.

Hughes County sheriff: Incumbent sheriff Pat Callahan won on Tuesday with 58% of the vote to independent John Weber’s 42%.

State government cabinet officers: All of the Republican candidates swept into office as expected. Returning to their present positions will be auditor Richard Sattgast, treasurer Josh Haeder, school and public lands commissioner Brock Greenfield and public utilities commissioner Chris Nelson. New to their offices will be attorney general Marty Jackley, who was unopposed, and secretary of state Monae Johnson.

Some other candidates you might know: Hugh Bartels, who grew up in Onida, won re-election to the House of Representatives from the Watertown district with 45% of the vote there. . . . . . Casey Crabtree was unopposed and retained the Senate seat from District 8 in the Madison area. . . . . . Pierre native Kristin (Rau) Hayward of Sioux Falls polled 21% of the vote but lost in the race for the House from District 12 in Sioux Falls. . . . . . Former Pierre resident Larry Zikmund returns to the Senate having won 54% of the vote in his race in District 14 in Sioux Falls.

FOOTBALL STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE

— THURSDAY
11:00: 9B, Herreid/Selby Area vs. Hitchcock-Tulare.
7:00: 9A, Warner vs. Gregory.
— FRIDAY
10:30: 9AA, Wall vs. Parkston.
2:30: 11B, Winner vs. Elk Point-Jefferson.
7:30: 11A, West Central vs. Dell Rapids.
— SATURDAY
1:00: 11AA, Pierre vs. Tea Area.
7:00: 11AAA, Sioux Falls Jefferson vs. Harrisburg.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedule:
— FRIDAY
Volleyball: home vs. Brandon Valley in SoDak 16 game, 1 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Football: Vs. Tea Area in state 11AA championship game, Vermillion, 1 p.m.

Volleyball: Their SoDak 16 match against Brandon Valley, originally scheduled for tonight but moved ahead to last night due to the weather forecast for today, was rescheduled again yesterday due to the already-icy highways and impending bad weather. Now the match is set for 1 p.m. Friday at the Riggs gym with the winner advancing to the state tournament. But considering the forecast, keep checking to see when the match will eventually be played.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Volleyball: Having won their quarterfinal game in Region 6A, the Buffaloes went to Mobridge-Pollock for a semifinal game that would determine a SoDak 16 participant. SCHS lost that match, 3-0, on game scores of 9-25, 12-25, 18-25. Stanley County’s final record for the season was 14-13.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“He said, ‘Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. He is rich who owns the day, and no one owns the day who allows it to be invaded with fret or anxiety. . . . Tomorrow is a new day. Begin it well and serenely with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. This new day is too dear to waste a moment on the yesterdays.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

HOCKEY UPDATE

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split a pair with North Iowa, losing 4-1 and winning 6-3. Now 8-7-1-2 for the year, Aberdeen is home Friday and Saturday vs. North Iowa.

Badlands Sabres (Mason Martin): The Sabres swept a weekend pair vs. Bozeman, winning 5-3 and then 6-5 in a shootout. Mason had two assists on goals in the 5-3 victory. Now 5-9-1-1, Badlands plays Friday and Saturday at Gillette.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush lost twice in Idaho, 4-1 and 5-0, but last night back home Rapid City beat Idaho, 4-2. The Rush stay home to play Idaho Friday and Saturday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild found scoring a challenge in losing to Seattle, 4-0, and losing to Los Angeles, 1-0. Last night at Anaheim the Wild won by a 4-1 count. Now 6-7, Minnesota plays at Seattle Friday, at home vs. San Jose Sunday and at Nashville Tuesday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Missouri Valley Football Conference update:
— Last week’s scores:
SDSU 31, Northern Iowa 28.
USD 20, Missouri State 13.
UND 42, Indiana State 7.
NDSU 56, Western Illinois 17.
Youngstown State 19, Illinois State 17.
— Conference standings: SDSU 7-0, NDSU 5-1, Southern Illinois 4-2, UND 4-2, Youngstown State 4-2, Northern Iowa 4-3, Illinois State 3-3, USD 2-4, Missouri State 1-5, Western Illinois 0-6, Indiana State 0-6.
— This week’s games:
Illinois State at SDSU, 2 p.m.
USD at UND, noon.
NDSU at Southern Illinois, 1 p.m.
Youngstown State at Missouri State, 2 p.m.
Indiana State at Western Illinois, 1 p.m.

NFL games on local TV this week:
— Thursday, Atlanta at Carolina, 7:15 p.m., Prime Video.
— Sunday, Seattle vs. Tampa Bay (in Munich), 8:30 a.m., NFL Network.
— Sunday, Jacksonville at Kansas City, noon, CBS.
— Sunday, Minnesota at Buffalo, noon, Fox.
— Sunday, Dallas at Green Bay, 3:25 p.m., Fox.
— Sunday, Los Angeles Chargers at San Francisco, 7:20 p.m., NBC.
— Monday, Washington at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN.

Midco Sports Network live games this week:
— Thursday, 7 p.m., women’s basketball, USD vs. Creighton.
— Friday, 1 p.m., women’s basketball, UND vs. Wyoming.
— Friday, 7 p.m., men’s hockey, UND vs. Denver.
— Saturday, noon, football, USD vs. UND.
— Saturday, 2 p.m., football, SDSU vs. Illinois State.
— Saturday, 6 p.m., men’s hockey, UND vs. Denver.
— Monday, 6 p.m., women’s basketball, SDSU vs. Mississippi State.
— Tuesday, 7 p.m., men’s basketball, UND vs. Pacific.

Minnesota Vikings: Headed toward a disastrous loss, the Vikings staged a fourth-quarter comeback and won at Washington, 20-17, on a last-second field goal. Now 7-1 and leading the NFC North by 4 1/2 games, Minnesota plays at Buffalo at noon Sunday on Fox.

Denver Broncos: Idle for their bye week last Sunday, the Broncos host Tennessee this Sunday.

Hot Springs High School (Ben Kramer): The Bison’s great season ended with an 8-3 record when they lost in the state semifinals at Elk Point-Jefferson, 47-14. Besides that loss, the only other two Hot Springs defeats were at the hands of Dell Rapids, which is in its state championship game, and McCook Central-Montrose, which reached the state semifinal in its class.

Aberdeen Central High School (Justin Briese): Justin’s first year as head coach ended with a 6-5 record when the Eagles lost at #2 Tea Area, 44-7. Aberdeen’s losses were to #1 Pierre, #2 Tea Area twice, Sturgis and 11AAA Sioux Falls Lincoln.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #13

Wins by SDSU, the Vikings, TCU, the Gophers and the Dolphins saved most of our contestants, but the losses by Alabama, Clemson, Tennessee and the Rams spoiled several of our contestants’ entries. Nevertheless Debra Bollinger, Randy Pool and Beth Rinehart came up with 8-2 records to earn 10 points each. At 7-3 for 9 points each were Brad Cruse, Jon Boer, Eric James, Levi Neuharth and Mikal Kern. At 6-4 for 8 points each were Gary Richter, Eric Lusk, Thomas Voeltz and Dawn Magee.

Contest #13 (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by Saturday morning):
(1) TCU at Texas.
(2) Northwestern at Minnesota.
(3) North Carolina at Wake Forest.
(4) LSU at Arkansas.
(5) Washington at Oregon.
(6) Notre Dame vs. Navy (at Baltimore).
(7) Georgia at Mississippi State.
(8) NFL: Seattle vs. Tampa Bay (at Munich).
(9) NFL: Minnesota at Buffalo.
(10) NFL: Dallas at Green Bay.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The new season of the NBA’s G League has begun, and the Skyforce are 0-2, losing to Iowa by 123-105 and 120-99. Sioux Falls is home vs. Fort Wayne Thursday and at Fort Wayne Saturday.

Minnesota Timberwolves: Minnesota went 1-3 this week, losing to Milwaukee, 115-102; beating Houston, 129-117; losing to New York, 120-107, and losing last night to Phoenix, 129-117. Now 5-7, the Wolves go on a four-game trip, starting at Memphis Friday, at Cleveland Sunday and at Orlando next Wednesday.

Women’s basketball:
— USD (1-0): Defeated South Dakota Mines, 81-50, in an exhibition game. Defeated Midland, 106-41.
This coming week: Thursday, home vs. Creighton; Sunday, at Bradley; Wednesday, home vs. Bellevue.
— SDSU (0-1): Defeated Southwest Minnesota State, 105-59, in an exhibition game. Lost to Creighton, 78-69.
This coming week: Friday, home vs. Lehigh; Monday, home vs. Mississippi State.

Men’s basketball:
— USD (1-1): Won exhibition game over Simpson, 101-55. Lost at Wisconsin, 85-59. Defeated Lipscomb, 85-77.
This coming week: Saturday, home vs. Dakota State.
— SDSU (1-1): Won exhibition game over Concordia-St. Paul, 123-61. Lost at Akron in overtime, 81-80. Defeated Boise State, 68-66.
This coming week: Tuesday, home vs. St. Bonaventure; Wednesday, at Arkansas.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): Tom did not play at the TimberTech Classic. Next on the Tour schedule is the Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix this weekend.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Oahe Zap: The successor to the now-folded Pierre Trappers, the Oahe Zap announced this week they will be part of Independence League Baseball, which began last summer and includes many of the teams in the original Expedition League. However, Oahe does not yet appear on the Independence League Baseball League website. That site says that the 2023 teams in their league will be Badlands (Dickinson, N.D.), Canyon County (Caldwell, Idaho), Fremont, Hastings, Spearfish, North Platte, Gem City (Laramie, Wyo.), and Nebraska Prospects (Omaha).

SOCCER UPDATE

The men’s World Cup begins Nov. 20 in the nation of Qatar, being played at this time of the year because the summertime heat there would have been unbearable. The group stage will be played Nov. 20-Dec. 2, the round of 16 Dec. 3-6, the quarterfinals Dec. 9-10, the semifinals Dec. 13-14, the third-place game Dec. 17 and the final Dec. 18. The United States men’s national team is in Group B along with England, Wales and Iran. The group-stage schedule for the USA: Nov. 21 vs. Wales, 1 p.m. CST on Fox; Black Friday Nov. 25 vs. England, 1 p.m. CST on Fox; Nov. 29 vs. Iran, 1 p.m. CST on Fox.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• My daughter-in-law pointed out to me that the nationwide firm for which she works, Victoria’s Secret, closed all of its stores nationwide until noon on Tuesday to give employees time to vote.
• The fact that an election denier, Monae Johnson, has been elected secretary of state is probably of no consequence to South Dakota. The chances of her having to certify the election of a Democrat or to deny certifying a Democratic winner in any future election in this state seem as remote as they have ever been.
• The next test of Governor Noem’s integrity may be her budget address to the Legislature in December. Will she carry through on her promise made during her round of supermarket photo opportunities last month to get the sales tax on food removed, considering how much that tax brings into the state coffers? How will she recommend replacing those funds? Or will she ignore the issue, considering that less than a year ago she opposed removing the sales tax on food?

COUNTDOWN

7 days: State volleyball tournaments, Sioux Falls (Nov. 17-18-19).
11 days: Men’s soccer World Cup, Qatar (Nov. 21-Dec. 18).
11 days: Pierre Parade of Lights (Nov. 21).
12 days: Capitol Christmas trees lighting ceremony (Nov. 22).
14 days: Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24).
15 days: Fort Pierre Christmas tree lighting and Cowboy Christmas events (Nov. 25).
22 days: Pierre Players’ “‘Til Beth Do Us Part” (Dec. 2-4, 8-10).
25 days: Jeff Gould/A Prairie Christmas On Stage in Pierre (Dec. 5).
32 days: Riggs High band/choir concert (Dec. 12).
39 days: Georgia Morse Middle School band/choir concert (Dec. 19).
42 days: Buchanan School Christmas concert (Dec. 22).
45 days: Christmas Day (Dec. 25).
51 days: College football national semifinals (Dec. 31).

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
— Yoko Ono

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Northern State football (Jacob Howard): The Wolves lost to Bemidji State, 24-14, and now stand at 6-4. The last game of the season will be at home Saturday vs. Minnesota-Duluth.

Missouri Baptist football (Shawn Schnabel): MBU lost to Judson (Ill.), 27-16. Now 3-7, Missouri Baptist ends its season at St. Ambrose (Iowa) Saturday.

Dakota State football (Jaden Flor, Nathan Cook, Collin Brueggeman): The Trojans were idle last week. They close their season at home vs. Waldorf Saturday. DSU stands at 5-4.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): The Bison swamped Western Illinois, 56-17, and are now 7-2 overall and 5-1 in the Missouri Valley. NDSU plays at Southern Illinois Saturday.

Gallaudet football (Kyle Albertson): The Pierre freshman was a starter on the Gallaudet offensive line that led the team’s runners to domination over their opponents. Gallaudet defeated Alfred State, 36-22, to win the school’s second conference title in history and qualify for the NCAA Division III postseason playoffs. The selection show this Sunday at 4:30 p.m. CST will reveal Gallaudet’s first playoffs opponent. The team has a record of 7-2 overall and 5-1 in its league.

South Dakota State football (Regan Bollweg): The Jacks were pressed to the limit at Northern Iowa but won on a last-second field goal, 31-28. Now 9-1 overall and 7-0 in the Valley, SDSU is home Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. Illinois State.

Northwestern (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): The Raiders whipped Midland, 42-10, to improve to 8-1. Morris had four solo tackles and one assisted tackle and participated in two tackles-for-loss for a total of 16 yards lost. Northwestern ends the regular season at Hastings Saturday.

Charleston volleyball (Jaxin Melby): The Eagles ended an impressive regular season with a 30-3 record after sweeping West Virginia State, 3-0. The team plays in the MEC conference tournament Thursday through Saturday.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): The Lancers won both of their games at the Sanford Pentagon last weekend. In a 90-76 win over Presentation, Lincoln was 3-of-4 and 1-of-2 for seven points with seven rebounds and an assist. In an 89-82 win over Valley City State, he was 4-of-8 and 3-of-5 for 11 points with three boards, a block and two assists. On Tuesday the Lancers lost to Dakota State, 98-66, as Lincoln was 4-of-6 for eight points with five rebounds. Now 3-2, Mount Marty plays at Doane Saturday and at home vs. Briar Cliff Wednesday.

Augustana football (Jett Lamb, Colton Hartford): The Vikings’ playoff hopes were dashed for good in a 34-24 loss to Minnesota-Duluth. Now 6-4, Augie ends the season at Southwest Minnesota State Saturday.

Augustana swimming (Ella Ward-Zeller): At the USD extravaganza meet Ella placed second in the 400 individual medley in 4:42.63, fourth in the 100 backstroke in :59.06, and second in the 200 individual medley in 2:07.37. She swam on Augustana’s “A” team in the 400 medley relay, placing second in 3:54.29; on the “B” team in the 200 medley relay, placing 10th in 1:52.10 and on the “B” team in the 400 freestyle relay, placing fifth in 3:37.30. Augustana’s next meet is this weekend in its own invitational.

Augustana women’s basketball (Aislinn Duffy, Katie Bourk): The Vikings open their season at USF’s meet, taking on Fort Hays State Friday and Missouri Western Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Aric Williams, Tyson Johnson): At the season-opening Jamestown Open, Aric won the 149-pound weight class, taking the finals match 3-2 over a Concordia wrestler. Next on the schedule is the DWU Open this Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan football (Evan Nordstrom): The Tigers finished their season at 2-9 with a 38-34 win over Mount Marty.

Black Hills State football (Josh Breske): The Yellowjackets are now 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the RMAC after an 18-7 win at Adams State. BHSU ends its regular season at home Saturday vs. CSU-Pueblo.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): The Coyotes opened their season at Wisconsin and lost there, 85-59. Max was in for 17 minutes and was 1-of-3 and 0-of-1 for two points with a rebound and two assists. Last night USD won at home over Lipscomb (Tenn.), 85-77, after trailing by 14 points early. Max again played 17 minutes, was 1-of-2 (0-of-1 in threes) and 4-of-4 for six points with two assists and two rebounds and was cited by Coach Eric Henderson and the broadcasters for his defensive play. Now 1-1, USD is home Saturday vs. Dakota State.

South Dakota State swimming (Morgan Nelson): At the USD extravaganza meet Morgan placed 13th in the 100 breast stroke event in 1:09.04 and 19th in the 200 breast in 2:34.28. She swam on SDSU’s “A” team in the 400 medley relay, placing fifth in 3:58.97, and on the “A” team in the 200 medley relay, placing fourth in 1:48.44. SDSU hosts Omaha in a dual Friday.

Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): At the season-opening meet in Rochester, Minn., Lincoln placed sixth in the 149-pound class. He lost by tech fall 19-3 to a St. Cloud State wrestler, won an 11-2 major decision over a fellow Mary wrestler, won a 13-2 major decision over a Southwest Minnesota State wrestler and lost the fifth-place match by a 10-4 decision to a Wisconsin-LaCrosse wrestler. The Marauders wrestle Saturday at the Bison Open in Fargo.

Lafayette men’s soccer (Eric Axtman): The Lafayette season ended with a 1-0 loss to Navy in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League playoffs. The final record was 9-6-4.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Nick Wittler): Nick is a starter for the DWU Tigers, who split their two season openers at the Sanford Pentagon. In an 84-77 loss to Valley City State, he was 7-of-18 (5-of-14 in threes) for 19 points with two rebounds, four assists and a steal. In a 90-75 win over Presentation, he was 2-of-7 (2-of-4 in three-pointers) for six points with two rebounds. Now 1-1, DWU plays at Morningside Saturday and at Jamestown next Wednesday.

Mary women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): The Marauders won their opener over St. Scholastica, 84-55. The team is home Friday vs. Central Oklahoma and Saturday vs. Northeastern State University.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, November 10:
Ryan Noyes, Sara (Dvorak) Becker, Royce Volker, Kyle Kafka, Aaron Laudermith, Anne (Rounds) Harrington, Garrett Pochop, Patty McGee, Mark Lauseng, Steve Gardner, Joseph Wieseler.
— 3rd anniversary, Brock/Mary Axthelm.
— 5th anniversary, Eric/Katherine (Adam) Danforth.

Friday, November 11:
Ellie Ripley, Scott Gibson, Vicki Warne, Jennifer Finley, Sam Molseed, Danielle Trujillo, Carson Wyly, Rosa Iverson.
— 5th anniversary, Jim/Michelle (Wattier) Kezar.
— 11th anniversary, Lee/Jessica (Schultz) Rausch.

Saturday, November 12:
Andy Jockheck, Melissa (Van Duzer) Edeburn, Bergen Murphy, Anita Nicholas, Grady Johnson, Mike Fouts.

Sunday, November 13:
Kris Hewlett, Jay Carroll, Casey Buechler, Shauna Peterson, Tanner Foth, Barb (Hoover) Olson, Clark Kraemer, Ann (Sutera) Hepker, Shelli Ness, Courtney (Donnan) Vanden Berg, Colin Alexander, Langston Noyes.

Monday, November 14:
Brandon Brown, Josh Boyle, Emma Aadland, Dakota Bixler, Alison (Drewes) Haas, Brody Kelley, Addisyn Norman, Hana (Bloomberg) Fretta.
— 42nd anniversary, Randy/Colleen (Colson) Pool.
— We fondly remember Sandy Spencer on her birthday.

Tuesday, November 15:
Max Fjelstad, Chance Stoeser, Scott Schuetzle, Robert Nagle, Therese (Blake) Schutz, Rik Drewes, Molly Ryan, Lorlee (Day) Steever, Ivy Rollinger, Lisa (Ries) Kramer, Shane Hollingsworth.

Wednesday, November 16:
LaTonya Anderson, Wes Spencer, Jack Merkwan, Daniel Magee, Chad Uhrig, Hollie (Stutesman) Stoeser, Brian Shekleton, Colby Williams, Tristan Voller, Kris Schaffer.

Thursday, November 17:
Jessica West, Tessa (Bollinger) Hartmann, Claire Taylor, Aaron Goehring, Joseph Merriam, Carol Axtman (#85).

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Steve Smith and Kelsi An Harris are the parents of a daughter, Milana Kelise Smith. “Millie” was born Oct. 26, weighing 7 pounds, 3 ounces. Steve, Kelsi and their son Julian, 2 1/2, moved to Phoenix earlier this year from Colorado.

Merlyn “Bub” Myers, 90, died Nov. 1. Services were held Tuesday at Feigum Funeral Home. Bub married Doris Harrowa in 1954, and they had a daughter, Marles. He worked for Kelley Construction, Kruse Construction and the city of Pierre until retiring in 1999. He and his wife were both prominent bowlers and were active in many other activities. He drove veterans to Fort Meade in the DAV van. Survivors include his daughter, Marles Wieczorek of Wahpeton, N.D.; his granddaughter, Louisa (Tim) Dion; two great-grandchildren; a sister, Denise Stertz of Rapid City, and many nephews and nieces.

Shay Jolley, a native of Canistota and a graduate of SDSU, has been promoted to the position of business development officer at BankWest at the downtown Pierre location. Shay spent five years as a part-time teller at First Bank & Trust in Brookings while he was in college. He later became a personal banker, then managed a commercial loan portfolio for BankWest. In January Shay will become a board member of the Pierre Area Chamber of Commerce. He is also a basketball referee for the Pierre school district and for Special Olympics of South Dakota. He is the son of Pat and Brenda Jolley of Canistota. Pat grew up in Blunt and graduated from Sully Buttes High School in 1974.

Riggs High senior Ayvrie Kaiser this week signed her letter of intent to attend Northern State University beginning next fall and play volleyball with the Wolves.

Sandra (Skotvold) Westerman, 67, died Nov. 2. Sandra was adopted by Selmer and Clarabelle Skotvold in 1956 and graduated from Riggs High School in 1973. She married Steve Westerman in 1990. They moved in 1999 to San Antonio where she worked as finance administrator for the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Texas Health Systems. She retired in 2017. Sandra and Steve spent two years traveling in their RV until his death in 2019. Sandra was diagnosed with lung cancer and COPD shortly thereafter. She came back to Pierre this past August. She is survived by her sister, Sally (Paul) Croner in Texas; her stepson, Luke (Lindsay) Westerman, and two granddaughters in Cut Bank, Mont.; a niece, Amy Novak Garrigan in Pierre, and several “angels” who were her close friends during her final months in Pierre.

The Pierre Players community theater organization held its 2023 season kickoff event last week and announced the shows that will be part of next year’s season. “The Outsider,” a comedy by Paul Slade Smith, will open the season Feb. 24-26 and March 2-4. (Auditions for this show will be Dec. 11.) The second play of the season will be “Jake’s Women,” a dramatic comedy by the legendary Neil Simon, on April 28-30 and May 4-6. The third show will be “Inconsequential Dreams,” a comedy by Michelle Schaunaman, on Sept. 15-17 and 21-23. Closing the year on Nov. 10-12 and 16-18 next year will be “All is Calm,” a musical by Peter Rothstein.

Hilary Lee, 41, died Nov. 4. Services are pending through the Isburg Funeral Chapel.

Jack Tryon, 74, Fort Pierre, died Nov. 7 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital after a brief battle with cancer. There will be no memorial service. Jack graduated from high school at Madison in 1966. He served with the U.S. Navy in Alaska, San Diego and Japan from 1966 to 1969. He worked for 15 years for Northwest Fencing in Chester, then worked for AGE Corporation in Fort Pierre from 1986 until retiring in 2016. He is survived by his wife, Cindy (Halverson) Tryon; his children, Greg (Carrie Jo) of Sioux Falls, Robby (Stacy) of Harrisburg, Becki of DeKalb, Ill., and Molly of Council Bluffs, Iowa; two stepsons; four grandchildren, his sister, Sharon Rons of Sioux Falls, and his brother-in-law, Jim Sprenger of Sioux Falls.

PONDER THIS

“Freedom makes a huge requirement of every human being. With freedom comes responsibility.”
— Eleanor Roosevelt