THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before!
What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.
— Dr. Seuss

ENTERTAINMENT AT THE CAPITOL

— THURSDAY
Noon to 1: Pierre Music Store students and instructors.
5 to 5:30: Hanukkah menorah lighting.
— FRIDAY
5 to 5:30: Hanukkah menorah lighting.
7 to 8: Andrew Wulf, flute, and Ron Smith, piano, Pierre.
— SATURDAY
5 to 5:30: Hanukkah menorah lighting.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Upcoming schedules:
— FRIDAY, Dec. 30:
Girls basketball: home vs. Spearfish.
Boys basketball: at Spearfish.
— SATURDAY, Dec. 31:
Girls basketball: home vs. Sturgis.
Boys basketball: at Sturgis.
— TUESDAY, Jan. 3:
Boys wrestling: at Harrisburg.
Girls basketball: home vs. Sioux Falls Lincoln.

Girls basketball (3-0): Last week’s two home games were postponed—the Spearfish game to Friday, Dec. 30, and the Sturgis game to Saturday, Dec. 31. At home Tuesday the girls dominated Watertown, 51-29, holding the Arrows to only six field goals and forcing 21 turnovers. Ayvrie Kaiser scored 12 points, Reese Terwilliger 11 and Remi Price 10.

Boys basketball (3-0): Last week’s two road games were postponed—the Spearfish game to Friday, Dec. 30 and the Sturgis game to Saturday, Dec. 31. On Tuesday the boys stretched their record to 3-0 with a 64-46 win at Watertown. Lincoln Kienholz scored 17 points, Benjamin Heisler 15 and Jackson Edman 15.

Girls wrestling: The Governor girls’ trip to the tournament at Ashley, N.D., was cancelled.

Gymnastics: The trip to the Mitchell invitational on Saturday was cancelled.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Upcoming schedules:
— THURSDAY, Dec. 29:
Girls basketball: home vs. Winner.
Boys basketball: home vs. Winner.
Gymnastics; at Hot Springs invitational.
— FRIDAY, Dec. 30:
Girls basketball: at Herreid-Selby Area (in Selby).
Boys basketball: at Herreid-Selby Area (in Selby).
— TUESDAY, Jan. 3:
Girls basketball: home vs. Highmore-Harrold.
Boys basketball: home vs. Highmore-Harrold.

Girls basketball: The Buffaloes’ game against Philip last Thursday was postponed because of the blizzard. On Tuesday this week the girls dropped to a record of 0-4 after a 53-25 loss to Jones County.

Boys basketball: Last week’s Philip game was postponed. This week the Buffs lost to Jones County, 61-51, and now have a 1-1 record.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Upcoming schedules:
— THURSDAY, Dec. 22:
Girls basketball: at Wolsey-Wessington (in Wolsey).
Boys basketball: at Wolsey-Wessington (in Wolsey).
— SATURDAY, Dec. 31:
Boys basketball: at Winner.
— MONDAY, Jan. 2:
Girls basketball: at Lyman.
Boys basketball: at Lyman.
— TUESDAY, Jan. 3:
Girls basketball: at Philip.

Boys basketball: Last Saturday’s game at Winner was postponed to Friday, Dec. 30.

Girls basketball: Last Friday’s game against Herreid-Selby Area was postponed to Feb. 7.

COUNTDOWN

3 days: Christmas (Dec. 25).
6 days: “Kennedy Center Honors,” CBS-TV (Dec. 28).
9 days: FBS college football national semifinals (Dec. 31).
15 days: Georgia Morse Middle School holiday concert (Jan. 6).
16 days: Inauguration and events in Pierre (Jan. 7).
16 days: Pierre Athletic Hall of Fame inductions (Jan. 7).
17 days: FCS national championship game (Jan. 8).
18 days: FBS college football national championship game (Jan. 9).
19 days: Legislative session begins (Jan. 10).
19 days: Golden Globes awards, NBC-TV (Jan. 10).
23 days: NFL playoffs begin (Jan. 14-15).
25 days: Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 16).
29 days: Pierre invitational girls wrestling tournament (Jan. 20).
30 days: Pierre invitational boys wrestling tournament (Jan. 21).
36 days: Rodeo Rapid City and Black Hills Stock Show (Jan. 27-Feb. 4).
36 days: Riggs High one-act play (Jan. 27-28).
42 days: State one-act play festival, Sioux Falls O’Gorman (Feb. 2-4).
44 days: ESD conference gymnastics meet, Pierre (Feb. 4).
50 days: State gymnastics meet, Aberdeen (Feb. 10-11).
52 days: Super Bowl (Feb. 12).

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Minnesota State-Mankato track/field (Maya Shorter): Maya’s freshman season at Minnesota State is underway. She throws the discus and the javelin. The Mavericks’ next indoor meet is at home Jan. 13.

Black Hills State track/field (Frank Becker): Frank is a senior and will be running the sprints and relays for the Yellow Jackets. Their next meet in the indoor season will be the Myrle Hanson Open at home Jan. 14.

Northwestern (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): The Red Raiders won the NAIA national championship game in Durham, N.C., beating Keiser (Fla.), 35-25, and finished their remarkable season with a 13-1 record. The only loss was a one-point defeat on Sept. 3 at the hands of defending national champion and #1-rated Morningside, and that was followed by 13 straight wins. In the title game Mo was credited with four solo tackles and two assisted tackles for a total of six, and he also had one forced fumble. For his season he was honored on the GPAC all-conference team in the honorable mention list. He was named NAIA Defensive Player of the Game in the first-round playoff win over Dickinson State. Mo is the son of Kevin and Joan (Mord) Hofer of Onida.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): The Bison defeated Incarnate Word (Texas), 35-32, in the national FCS semifinal game in Fargo, improving their record to 12-2. The only NDSU losses were by three points at Arizona and by two points to SDSU. The Bison earned a rematch with SDSU in the national championship game on Jan. 8 in Frisco, Texas.

South Dakota State football (Regan Bollweg): The Jackrabbits avenged last year’s national semifinal loss at Montana State by whipping the Bobcats soundly in Brookings, 39-18, in this year’s national semifinal. The Jacks on their first five possessions had four touchdowns and one field goal as they put down Montana State early and held on comfortably to earn a spot in another national championship game against NDSU in Frisco, Texas, on Sunday, Jan. 8. SDSU lost at Iowa 7-3, in the first game of the season in September and since then have reeled off 13 straight wins.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Tyson Johnson, Aric Williams): Idle last week, the Tigers are off until the Hastings Open on Jan. 7.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): Last week’s Dordt game was postponed to Dec. 31. Escaping the weather, the Lancers were in Florida where they lost to Webber, 92-80, and won over Fort Lauderdale, 85-82. In the Webber game Lincoln went 2-of-2 and 2-of-3 for six points with five rebounds and two assists. Against Fort Lauderdale he was 5-of-8 and 3-of-5 for 13 points with five boards and a blocked shot. Now 6-10, Mount Marty is off until that rescheduled GPAC game against Dordt on New Year’s Eve.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): The Coyotes lost their last non-conference game to Coastal Carolina, 87-86, as Max was 2-of-3 (1-of-2 in threes) and 2-of-2 for seven points with two rebounds and a steal. In the Summit League opener USD lost to Kansas City, 62-45, and Max was 2-of-3 (1-of-1 in threes) for five points along with a pair of rebounds. Last night’s game against Oral Roberts was postponed. Now 5-8 overall and 0-1 in the Summit, USD is home Dec. 29 against St. Thomas and Dec. 31 against Western Illinois.

Augustana swimming (Ella Ward-Zeller): The Vikings are on their holiday break. The next meet will be a dual against Omaha on Jan. 19.

Mary women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): The Mary women won their only game last week, 59-54 over Minot State. Now 5-4 overall and 4-2 in the NSIC, Mary is off until league games against Bemidji State Dec. 30 and Minnesota-Crookston Dec. 31.

Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): Lincoln did not wrestle with other Marauders at the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis last week. Next on the Mary schedule are the NWCA national duals in Louisville on Jan. 6-7.

South Dakota swimming (Morgan Nelson): Idle last week, the Jacks are out of the pool until a dual against St. Cloud State on Jan. 14.

Northern track-field (Addison Cumbow): At the NSU Open Addison placed fourth in the 55-meter hurdles in :09.23. At the DWU meet she competed in the pentathlon and earned 2,008 points, finishing second of two contestants. She ran the 60-meter hurdles in :11.11, the 800 in 3:19.41, the high jump at 4’7″, the shot put at 22’11 1/2″ and the long jump at 14’10 1/4″. The Wolves’ next meet will be in a dual against Jamestown on Jan. 14.

USF track-field (Jessica Lutmer): At the SDSU meet Jessica placed third in the 3,000-meter run in 10:28.12. The Cougars’ next meet is the Mount Marty Open on Jan. 14.

Dakota Wesleyan track-field (Cobey Carr, Abby Ferris): At DWU’s own meet Cobey won the triple jump at 42’3/4″ and placed third in the long jump at 20’4 1/2″. Abby was second in the long jump at 14’11 1/2″. The next meet for the Tigers will be the Dordt Open on Jan. 14.

South Dakota Mines track-field (Erick Colman): At the Yellow Jacket Open at BHSU Erick placed fourth in the shot put at 44’7 12″ and fourth in the weight throw at 55’3 1/2″. At Wyoming’s meet he was second in the weight throw at 53’1 1/2″ and fifth in the shot put at 47’10”. The Hardrockers’ next meet is Jan. 14 at BHSU.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Nick Wittler): After the Tigers’ game against Northwestern was postponed by weather, the team went to Florida. There on Sunday the team lost to St. Thomas (Fla.), 76-66. On Monday DWU won over Rochester (Mich.), 74-66, as Nick was 1-of-2 for two points with two rebounds, a steal and an assist. Now 6-7, DWU returns to play Dec. 30 in LaCrosse, Wis., against Viterbo.

Augustana women’s basketball (Katie Bourk, Aislinn Duffy): The Vikings won over Upper Iowa, 79-56 as Aislinn continued her sensational season, going 7-of-13 and 5-of-5 for 19 points with 11 rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal. In another NSIC game the Vikings defeated Winona State, 73-57, as Aislinn was 7-of-11 (1-of-2) for 15 points with six boards, eight assists and a steal. In a non-conference game Monday Augie whipped Mount Marty, 81-45, as Aislinn contributed a triple double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists along with three steals. Now 11-2, Augustana is off until a league game at Wayne State on Dec. 31.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“I heard the bells on Christmas Day,
Their old familiar carols play
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on Earth, good will to men.”
— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

HOCKEY UPDATE

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split a weekend pair with Austin, losing 5-3 and winning 4-2. Aberdeen is off on Christmas weekend and returns to the ice at home vs. St. Cloud Dec. 30-31.

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: The girls’ game against Aberdeen was postponed until Feb. 10 due to last week’s blizzard. They did make it to Sioux Falls Sunday and lost 3-0. Abigail Stewart Fromm had 24 saves in the game. The Oahe girls are now 0-2-1 and will be home Dec. 30 at 6 p.m. against Huron, against Brookings at 6 p.m. Dec. 31 and against Sioux Falls at 5 p.m. New Year’s Day.

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: The Caps’ games on the road against the two Sioux Falls varsity teams were postponed due to the winter storm. Now 5-1, the Caps return to action at home at 8 p.m. Dec. 30 against Huron.

Badlands Sabres (Mason Martin): At Blaine, Minn., as NA3HL teams from across the nation assembled for cross-league games against each other, the Sabres lost to Austin, 6-1, and defeated New Jersey, 4-3. Back in league play next week, the Sabres will be home against Bozeman Dec. 30-31.

Rapid City Rush: Last week the Rush lost three games to Idaho by 4-1, 5-2 and 5-1, then last night lost to Wichita 6-3. Rapid City continues its series in Wichita tonight and Friday.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild have now won six games in a row, most recently scoring 4-1 victories over Detroit and Chicago, 4-2 over Ottawa and last night 4-1 at Anaheim. Minnesota plays San Jose tonight and Winnipeg next Tuesday.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Midco Sports Network live games this week:
— THURSDAY
Girls basketball: Tea Area vs. Brandon Valley, 5:30 p.m.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force beat Grand Rapids, 108-105, and defeated Greensboro, 108-91. After a late-night game against Delaware last night, the Skyforce remains idle until playing at Oklahoma City back in G League play on Dec. 27.

Men’s basketball update:
— USD (5-8): Lost to Coastal Carolina 87-86; lost to Kansas City 62-45; Oral Roberts game postponed.
Upcoming games: Dec. 29 St. Thomas, Dec. 31 Western Illinois.
— SDSU (5-8): Bellevue game postponed; lost to Oral Roberts 79-40; Kansas City game postponed.
Upcoming games: Dec. 29 Western Illinois; Dec. 31 St. Thomas.

Women’s basketball update:
— USD (6-7): Lost to Tennessee-Martin 67-61; beat Kansas City 82-59; beat Oral Roberts 101-57.
Upcoming games: Dec. 29 at St. Thomas, Dec. 31 at Western Illinois.
— SDSU (9-5): Lost to South Carolina 62-44; beat Oral Roberts 83-80; beat Kansas City 86-54.
Upcoming games: Dec. 29 at Western Illinois, Dec. 31 at St. Thomas.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves lost to the Los Angeles Clippers, 99-88; beat Oklahoma City, 112-110; beat Chicago, 150-126; beat Dallas, 116-106, and lost last night to Dallas, 104-99. Now 16-16, Minnesota plays Boston Friday, Miami Monday and New Orleans next Wednesday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

NFL games on live local TV this week (games subject to change by the networks):
— Thursday: Jacksonville at New York Jets, 7:15 p.m., Prime Video.
— Saturday: Cincinnati at New England, noon, CBS.
— Saturday: New York Giants at Minnesota, noon, Fox.
— Saturday: Philadelphia at Dallas, 3:25 p.m., Fox.
— Saturday: Las Vegas at Pittsburgh, 7:15 p.m., NFL Network.
— Sunday: Green Bay at Miami, noon, Fox.
— Sunday: Denver at Los Angeles Rams, 3:30 p.m., CBS.
— Sunday: Tampa Bay at Arizona, 7:20 p.m., NBC.
— Monday: Los Angeles Chargers at Indianapolis, 7:15 p.m., ESPN.

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings trailed Indianapolis at home, 33-3, but staged the greatest comeback in NFL history. They still were behind by 36-14 entering the fourth quarter but scored three touchdowns, adding a two-point conversion after the last one to tie the game at 36-36. In overtime after each team had possessed the ball, the Vikings drove to a game-winning field goal as time expired and won 39-36. Now 11-3, the Vikings host the New York Giants, who are seeking a playoff berth, at noon Saturday.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos won a game, 24-15 over Arizona, and are now 4-10. Denver plays the Rams in Los Angeles at 3:30 p.m. Christmas Day.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #19

Last week’s nail-biters won by the Vikings and the Lions saved our contestants much grief. But losses by Washington State and Cincinnati in bowl games messed up many entries. David Ludwig and Mikal Kern missed only the WSU loss and had 9-1 records for 10 points each. At 8-2 for 9 points each were Beth Yackley-Rinehart, Nathan Vetter, Thomas Voeltz, Dawn Magee and Debra Bollinger. At 7-3 for 8 points each were Levi Neuharth, Jon Boer, Laurie Johnson and Randy Pool.

Contest #19 (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by THIS AFTERNOON (Thursday):
(1) Armed Forces Bowl: Baylor vs. Air Force.
(2) Gasparilla Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Missouri.
(3) NFL: Buffalo at Chicago.
(4) NFL: New York Giants at Minnesota.
(5) NFL: Cincinnati at New England.
(6) NFL: Washington at San Francisco.
(7) NFL: Philadelphia at Dallas.
(8) NFL: Green Bay at Miami.
(9) NFL: Seattle at Kansas City.
(10) NFL: Denver at Los Angeles Rams.

Contest #20 (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by TUESDAY MORNING, Dec. 27:
(1) Guaranteed Rate Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State.
(2) Military Bowl: UCF (Central Florida) vs. Duke.
(3) Liberty Bowl: Kansas vs. Arkansas.
(4) Holiday Bowl: North Carolina vs. Oregon.
(5) Texas Bowl: Texas Tech vs. Mississippi.
(6) Pinstripe Bowl: Syracuse vs. Minnesota.
(7) Cheez-It Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Florida State.
(8) Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Washington.
(9) Sun Bowl: Pittsburgh vs. UCLA.
(10) Gator Bowl: Notre Dame vs. South Carolina.

Contest #21 (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by THURSDAY MORNING, Dec. 29:
(1) Orange Bowl: Tennessee vs. Clemson.
(2) Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. Kentucky.
(3) Sugar Bowl: Alabama vs. Kansas State.
(4) Citrus Bowl: LSU vs. Purdue.
(5) Cotton Bowl: USC vs. Tulane.
(6) Rose Bowl: Utah vs. Penn State.
(7) National semifinal: Michigan vs. TCU.
(8) National semifinal: Georgia vs. Ohio State.
(9) NFL: Dallas at Tennessee.
(10) NFL: Miami at New England.

Contest #22 (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by SUNDAY MORNING, Jan. 1:
(1) NFL: New Orleans at Philadelphia.
(2) NFL: Pittsburgh at Baltimore.
(3) NFL: Chicago at Detroit.
(4) NFL: Minnesota at Green Bay.
(5) NFL: New York Jets at Seattle.
(6) NFL: Indianapolis at New York Giants.
(7) NFL: San Francisco at Las Vegas.
(8) NFL: Carolina at Tampa Bay.
(9) NFL: Los Angeles Rams vs. Los Angeles Chargers.
(10) NFL: Buffalo at Cincinnati.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• I have gone through the websites of all of the South Dakota colleges to check for local athletes on their indoor track and field rosters. But if you know of a Pierre, Stanley County or Sully Buttes graduate who is participated in track and field at an out-of-state school, please let me know at parkerhome16@hotmail.com
• I must admit that, after I checked my phone while I was working Saturday afternoon and saw that the Vikings were trailing the Colts by 30-0, I never gave the game another thought for the next hour or more. Imagine my surprise when I checked for a final score and saw that now the score was 36-36. What/??!!! After that I followed the play-by-play on my phone—that is an exasperating and very slow process—until Joseph kicked his game-winning field goal. 39-36 after trailing 33-0! Who would have thought?! As many have said for many years, the Vikings will be the death of us.
• At Central High’s holiday concert last week when the first strains of the closing number, Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” were played by the orchestra, my daughter and I immediately jumped to our feet. Apparently the majority of those in attendance have never enjoyed Handel’s “Messiah.” Of course you stand up for that piece! Fortunately we were not the only ones who did, but the folks directly behind us probably shook their heads and wondered why we were standing.
• A record never again to be broken? Probably. The Pierre schools closed down for four straight days for Winter Storm Diaz last Tuesday through Friday. As a few of us old-timers mused online, hell surely froze over.
• We will take next week off from producing a Midweek Update as we get ready for the 2022 Parkie Awards to be presented in our next issue, which will show up at www.everythingsouthdakota.com and on my Facebook page on Thursday, Jan. 5. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
• KSFY-TV reported this week the most common names given to babies born at Sanford Health during 2022. On the boys’ list Oliver was the #1 name for the second straight year, followed by: 2, Hudson; 3. Liam; 4, Theodore, and 5, William and Brooks. Olivia was the most popular girls’ name with Ava second, Evelyn third, and Harper, Emma and Amelia tied for fourth, followed by Eleanor.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all the year.”
— Charles Dickens in “A Christmas Carol”

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Dec. 22:
Neil Eichstadt, Cameron Bullard, Brandon Rausch, Gerad Johnson, Twila Merkwan, Jeff Adel, Susan (Erickson) Ogan, Seneca Hertel.

Friday, Dec. 23:
Maranda Ehrenfried, Jeremy DeWitt, Terry Mattke, Susan Colleran, Kesiah (Pearson) Frederick, Dietrich Johnson, Sullivan Zarecky.
— 13th anniversary, Eddie/Reina Welch.
— 16th anniversary, Kyle/Jeannie Kafka.

Saturday, Dec. 24:
Andrea Bauer, Chris Anglin, Bill Gingrich, Kolton Durkin, Landon Schumacher, Bruce Kessler, Mary Huckins, Melisa Forest, Jeff Fahey.

Sunday, Dec. 25:
Josh Goeden, Sheila Gould, Chuck Libby, Alicia Burchill, Katie (Skrondahl) Melius, Hudson Rohrbach, Kathy (Beemer) Cruse, Randy Barth, Kathy (Marso) Harford, Reid Turner.

Monday, Dec. 26:
Kathy Lucas, Angel (Hanson) Martin, Jaclyn Clown, Shelby Stadel, Bernie (Ripperger) Hanson, Yutzil (Rodriguez) Becker, Mary Peltier, Amy (Stahl) Jones, Taylor McGee, Hazel Marso, Matt Blaseg, Nathan Blaseg.
— 36th anniversary, Pat/Brenda Jolley.
— 13th anniversary, Adam/Samantha (Dockter) Gallagher.

Tuesday, Dec. 27:
Stuart Stofferahn, Wendy Guindon, Alaire Palmer, Alana Stars, Sean Colleran, Liz (Lamb) Salmonson, Brian Hermanson, Ann Thompson, Chris Iverson, Graham Hunsley, Gary Heintz, Cole Cruse.
— 10th anniversary, Michael/Natasha Kendall.
— 13th anniversary, Jason/Eva (Schmidt) Reed.

Wednesday, Dec. 28:
Dalila Timmons, Dayna Timmons, Andrew Van Houten, Rob Miller, Kaylyn Pitlick, Morgan Ellefson, Lynette James, Jonas Heard, Kelsey Duykstra, Todd Peterson, Troy Jones, Hazel Van Camp, Owen Knutson, Helen Bright, Serena (Buhler) Swenson.
— 20th anniversary, Jon/Michelle Hofer.
— 20th anniversary, Conrad/Mary (Storsteen) Dieken.
— 48th anniversary, Lari/Linda Ott.

Thursday, Dec. 29:
Tane Bramblee, Rodger Hartley, Kent Kinkler, Thad Fonck, Tyson Bramblee, Donielle Gustafson, Kristi Jordan, Lindsay (Potts) STrohfus, Geryd Erbele, Brandon Haag, Ava Briese, Guy Hunter, Nedra (Eddy) Strouf.

Friday, Dec. 30:
Shane Severyn, Crystal (Byrum) Frost, Sonja Chrstensen, Chad Lahman, Brian Bondy, Betty Lindboom, Christy Kramer, Brian Lowery, Michael Fuchs, Jm Gerdes, Justin Trebesch, Doug Runge, Casey Keller, Lyndsey Harrowa.
— 16th anniversary, Todd/Mollee (Hewlett) Madden.

Saturday, Dec. 31:
Jess Wright, Logan Hall, Bryce Palmer, Moriah (Wagner) Gross, Andy Zarecky, Prentice Weaver, Nicole (Cholik) Namken, Sean Getty, Hannah Albertus, Kellan Ogan, Amanda Garrett, Carrie (Kinkler) Smith, Melissa (Huber) Hundstad, Debby Bouchie, Brian Harrington, Caroline Denton.
— 6th anniversary, Logan/Rachel (Howard) Sulentic.
— 19th anniversary, Rob/Bethany Nill.
— 28th anniversary, Norm/Sarah Lingle.
— 34th anniversary, John/Vicki Hagemann.
— 9th anniversary, Jon/Pati Kotilnek.
— 13th anniversary, Derek/Katlyn Gustafson.
— 17th anniversary, Kyle/Meaghan (Anderson) Neuberger.
— 23rd anniversary, Kris/Calyn (Cronin) Hauck.
— Anniversary, Brian/Carolyn Deal.
— 11th anniversary, Jordan/Nikki Hoover.

Sunday, Jan. 1:
Kathy Murtland, Nikki (Grandpre) Wilson, Dolly Christenson, Natalie (Nagle) Jung, Astrid Schaack, Lukas Tedford, Brayden Ahlers, Dave Gordon, Kim Paxton, Cody Knott, Vance Lamb.
— 10th anniversary, Travis/Lauren Scharnweber.
— 12th anniversary, Kyle/Britany (Gonsor) Willis.

Monday, Jan. 2:
Mike Fugitt, Steve Parker, Sara (Lakner) Almarez, Will Corcoran, D.T. Meyer, Zoe (Donahue Jones) Hiller, Patty Millar.
— Anniversary, Bryce/Tennile (Asmussen) Lindskov.
— 7th anniversary, Greg/Shelly (Monnens) Campbell.

Tuesday, Jan. 3:
Rick Newman, Kelsey Glynn, Jennifer McGruder, Ali (Bailey) Maurice, Dorothy Massey, George Bock, Brent Lindbloom, Bethany Jochim, Bryson Harter, Joie (Schuetzle) Jockheck.
— 8th anniversary, Josiah/Heather Severson.
— 19th anniversary, Paul/Teresa Sowers.
— 19th anniversary, Reid/Leah LeBeau.

Wednesday, Jan. 4:
Josh Joy, Joanie (Flottmeyer) Blair, John Sterling, Jack Baker.
— 3rd anniversary, Brian/Paige Hermanson.

Thursday, Jan. 5:
Jeff Schlekeway, Mike Shoup, Mary (Hight) Wire, Maren Formanek, Bowen Goehring.
— We fondly remember Debi Englehart on her birthday.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Robyn Starks Holcomb in Sioux Falls posted the news that her dad, Ken Starks, who owned and operated the legendary Town & Country Restaurant at the foot of the bridge in Pierre for many years, has myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a rare blood cancer in the leukemia family. There are no treatment options, she said, that would be worse for him than simply watching lab work and making decisions along the way in favor of quality of life and comfort. We wish Ken peace and comfort. Thinking back, how many middle-of-the-night breakfasts did you enjoy at the old Town & Country (and later Chikadily’s)? The building is no longer there, of course, but the memories are. And we send along our sympathy to Ken, who this week had to put to sleep his faithful four-legged companion, Ben.

Verne Baker, 87, Pierre, died Dec. 13. His funeral is being held today (Thursday) at 2 p.m. at Feigum Funeral Home. Burial will be at Black Hills National Cemetery.

Tom and Peggy Huber’s Christmas letter revealed that they were at Fort Myers, Fla., last spring and plan to return in March and April this coming spring. The effects of Hurricane Ian still affecting that area may change their plans a bit, however. Dr. Tom may be retired officially, but he made another medical mission trip to the Dominican Republic in 2022. The Huber kids are all doing well—Jessi and Eric Herrscher, Sam and Maya, in Nampa, Idaho; Molly and Darin Hausmann, Riley and Cailyn. in Fort Pierre, and Max and Lisa Huber, Dakota and Rocco, in St. Paul.

Ian Kelley, the oldest son of Emily (Stout) Kelley and her husband, Chris, is a freshman tuba player in the band at Broken Arrow High School in the Tulsa suburbs in Oklahoma. While Broken Arrow is renowned as a “football school,” its band ranks right up there, too, winning championships in competitions nationwide.

An obituary we missed seeing back in October was that of Gordon Mydland, who passed away Oct. 6 at the age of 100 in Brookings. Mr. Mydland opened a music store, Mydland Music, in downtown Pierre back in the 1950s. He later entered the political and judicial world, serving as a state senator from 1963 to 1968, as state attorney general from 1969 to 1973 and as a circuit court judge from 1973 to 1987. His first wife, Lorrie, died in 2000, and Mr. Mydland married Dee Kurvink in 2012. He is survived by his son, Gale (Cindy) Mydland of Brookings; a stepson, Brent (Diane) Stapleton of Sun City West, Ariz., and a granddaughter, Kate Mydland of Sioux Falls.

Some day Mark and Tanna Zabel won’t have games to go to somewhere every weekend all year long, but as for now they continue to enjoy their blessings—their three sons. According to their Christmas card, Jett is a junior at Riggs and will have another school year after this one for baseball, football, basketball and track. Grey is a junior at North Dakota State and bound to another national championship football game on Jan. 8. Peyton is a senior at Texas State, and his baseball team anticipates reaching the NCAA Tournament again.

Lois Warner, 95, died at home Dec. 11. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. Friday, Dec. 30, at New Life Assembly of God in Pierre, followed by the funeral at 11 a.m. there. Mrs. Warner grew up in Oklahoma where she graduated from Waynoka High School in 1945. She married Richard Warner right after high school, and they remained married for nearly 70 years until he died in 2015. In 1958 the Warners moved to South Dakota to a ranch in Lyman County. In 1976 they moved to Sully County near Onida where they developed a farm from rocky pastureland. They retired from the farm in 1996, and they moved into ParkWood Apartments in 2011. Lois was a church pianist wherever she lived, and she taught music lessons. Surviving are her children, Reta (Richard) Harkins of Ekalaka, Mont., Kirby (Deb) Warner of Morristown, Ariz., Joe (Barb) Warner of Onida, and Dow (Cindee) Warner of Pierre; a son-in-law, Dan (Connie) Todd of Pierre; 12 grandchildren and 32 great-grandchildren. Among those preceding her in death were her husband; a daughter, Ronda (Warner) Todd; a daughter-in-law, Aimee Warner; a grandson, a great-grandson and three siblings.

For Debra Bollinger retiring from her job in the Richmond, Va., area in the spring of 2021, according to her Christmas letter, she has kept busy with moving, construction, supply chain delays and settling into her two new homes. She spends May through October in the Black Hills near Lead and November through April in Sun Lakes, Ariz. In the meantime while work has been going on at both locations, she has visited relatives and friends nationwide. During her summer in the Hills she joined what she called other “old ladies” at winter aerobics in Deadwood and welcomed her brother, Mark, for a long visit. It will be great for Deb to go back to the cabin next spring and have nothing to complete! Deb plans to spend a week in Florida with Mark and his wife, Julie shortly after the holidays.

South Dakota Sports Scene posted a story last week on Pierre native Kerry Wenbourne, who is still officiating basketball four or five nights a week. Kerry and his wife, the former Pam Welch, have lived in Aberdeen since 1976, and they raised their family there. About half of each week’s officiating assignments for Kerry are at Aberdeen Central High School working sub-varsity games, but he still goes out of town a couple times per week, too. In the story he said the dark side of officiating is that the “well is running dry”—he guesses 70% of all of today’s officials are over 50. Aging and problems with parents of athletes are making the supply of officials dwindle. He expressed his appreciation for the support of Pam and their family over his long refereeing career.

Riggs High senior football player Jason Maciejczak earlier committed to attending the University of North Dakota and playing football there beginning next fall. This week he announced his decommitment from UND and his commitment to the University of Nebraska where he plans to be a Husker.

Karen Lindbloom’s Christmas card photo showed a four-generation glimpse taken last summer at her mother’s funeral. Pictured are Karen’s 96-year-old dad, Arland Klein; Karen herself; her sons, Chris and Rodd Bauck, and Chris’ son Ian. Mr. Klein is a dementia patient, so he no longer lives at home alone, so Karen and her brother have made numerous trips to their hometown to go through “stuff,” but it has been a great re-bonding time for Karen and Norm. Karen continues as a piano accompanist for Riggs High musicians directed by Rodd, and she still after 30 years is music director at Faith Lutheran Church. Chris, his wife Robin, and their family live in St. Cloud, Minn., but plan to be with Karen in Pierre for Christmas Day. Rodd and his wife, Megan (Vockrodt), live right down the street with their dogs.

Janice Bjerke, 82, died at home Dec. 10. Her funeral scheduled for Dec. 17 in Pierre was postponed and has not yet been rescheduled. There was also a service held in Rugby, N.D., Wednesday. Janice attended North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton and worked for more than 40 years at Good Samaritan Hospital in Rugby. She married Garry Van Sweringen in 1962, and they raised two children. She married Darrol Bjerke in 2002. She is survived by her husband, Darrol Bjerke; her son, Dave (Amy) Van Sweringen; her daughter, Christy (Shannon) Seidler of Garrison, N.D.; her stepdaughter, Cindy Paul of Pierre; five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Joan Adam, who has been secretary of the Department of Health since March, announced her resignation from that position in the Noem administration’s cabinet Monday. At the same time news outlets in the state have reported that conservatives have criticized the awarding of a community health grant to The Transformation Project, an organization that advocates for transgender people. When Governor Noem found out about it, the state dissolved the contract and began to examine other Department of Health contracts.

Pierre native Chris Voller in March will go with other Billings, Mont., firefighters to Seattle to climb the Columbia Tower, the city’s tallest building, in the 2023 LLS Firefighter Stairclimb. Chris and other participants will attempt to climb 70 flights of stairs in full gear, including masks and airpacks, raising awareness and funds for the National Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Chris’ son, Tristan, has been battling leukemia for the past year. To support Chris in his efforts, go to llswa.org, then click on the stairclimb link, then click on “donate,” then click on “donate to an individual,” and in the appropriate spot type in Chris Voller’s name. That will take you to the page where your donation will be credited to Chris.

Long-time Capital Journal editor Dana Hess and his wife, Jeanne, are still in Brookings. According to their Christmas letter, they lost Dana’s stepmother to cancer in September. Following her passing Dana and Jeanne spent October at Anna Maria Island in Florida. Now they have planned an European river cruise for 2023. Dana still does freelance writing assignments, and Jeanne has a doll clothes business with an Etsy shop and sews garments for Avera Health. Their son Alan is still in the real estate business but now works for EXP Realty on his own. Alan’s wife Ann writes for and edits two online agricultural magazines. Their daughter Dylan is a high school junior, and their son Benson is a first grader. The Hesses’ other son, Paul, developed his own clothing line based on topographic depictions of mountains. Paul lives in St. Paul and also works remotely as a user experience designer for Daktronics.

Winter commencement graduates from Black Hills State University included these local students:
* Haylee Hauck, B.S. in business administration/management.
* Kylie Light, B.S. in biology.
* Kari-Anne Lyons, A.A. in general studies.

Blunt native Carrie Jo (Eckman) Howard attended her last school board meeting in the Greenbush-Middle River district in northern Minnesota this week after 20 years of service as a board member there.

The Christmas card from Scott and Melissa (Stevens) Gibson of Sioux Falls shows that the Gibsons and their two daughters, Evelyn (11) and Mae (9), enjoyed a trip to Arizona for desert hikes and sunshine, a week in the Black Hills and a surprise trip to Disneyland in 2022. Scott is still a full-time dentist, Melissa is a part-time dentist and family activity coordinator, Evelyn is a fifth grader and Mae a third grader. Both girls are active in piano, dance and tennis and other activities and enjoy play with family pups Lilly and Biscuit.

Marge Lusk, 83, Pierre, formerly of Highmore, died at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital on Dec. 16. Visitation will begin at 5 p.m. and a prayer service at 6 tonight (Thursday) at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Friday at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church. Mrs. Lusk grew up in the Yankton and Doland areas, then graduated from Highmore High School. She married Robert Stransky, who died in a car accident. She married Marlin Lusk, and they raised five children. She retired and stayed in Highmore until moving to ParkWood Apartments in Pierre. Her survivors include five children, Mary Jane (John) West of Pierre, John (Tammy) Lusk of Pierre, Dan (Brooke) Lusk of Pierre, Marla (Troy) Schmitt of St. Helena, Neb., and Marcia (Steve) Lusk-Caldwell of Cocoa Beach, Fla.; eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, her husbands and seven siblings.

Wilfred and Carmen Peterson will have their family home for Christmas. Todd Peterson and his wife, Roberta, will be here from Nashville. Daughter Kara Brandlee and her husband, Tim, will come over from Fort Pierre. Arriving from Alexandria, Va., will be Kelsie (Brandlee) Williams; her husband Josh, and their daughter Felicity.

Jim and Rosa Iverson’s Christmas letter included much news about their family, but first, let’s look at the two of them. The Iversons’ 142-year-old house (circa 1885!) on Washington Avenue has kept Jim busy in 2022 with repairs and renovations, but his athletic genes still encourage him to play golf, pickleball and slow-pitch softball. Rosa, who turned 65 in November, may consider herself a senior citizen, but she still works enough shifts at Zesto (still the best job in Pierre!) to inspire her teen-age co-workers. Rosa also translates into Spanish for local courts and attorneys. Jim and Rosa, after waiting out COVID restrictions for three years, went on a 10-day trip to Israel and the Holy Land last spring. Older son J.J. continues his day job as a sales associate for Zimmer Blomet based in Watertown but keeps busy in various sports, being uncle to his nieces and completing projects at his lake house while coaching high school football. Older daughter Angie married Anthony Hoekman last January, and a reception was held at the Schade Vineyard at Volga in June. The Hoekmans live in downtown Sioux Falls, and Angie has a new job with S.D. CEO East Women’s Business Center. Younger son Chris and his wife, Nino, who live in Washington, D.C., are expecting their first child (and the Iversons’ third grandchild) in late April 2023. Meanwhile, Chris’ job takes him to, among other places, Rosa’s homeland of Honduras where his organization promotes economic and educational opportunities. Speaking of babies, younger daughter Ashley and her husband, Jason Feyereisen, welcomed Sloane Grace in November, and she joins Mia, 4 1/2, in their family in Watertown. Ashley continues her work as a nurse at the hospital there.

Hannah Lingle graduated from Minnesota State-Moorhead last week. She completed a B.S. in speech/language/hearing sciences with a minor in leadership studies and graduated summa cum laude.

Andy and Joie (Schuetzle) Jockheck posted their family Christmas photo from their home in Post Falls, Idaho, right next to Coeur d’Alene way up north. Andy is in his second year at Columbia Bank and is a board member of the Post Falls Educational Foundation. Joie, no longer teaching, is in her second year at Macro Air as a content/digital marketing specialist. Their older son, Carter, 16, is a high school sophomore, active in Ski Club and an employee at a Walmart. Bennett, 15, is a high school freshman who plays football and lacrosse.

Winter graduates from Northern State University included these local students:
* Teri Carter, B.S. in accounting.
* Ashley Even, B.S. in accounting.
* Judah McKinley, summa cum laude, B.S. in education/English and B.A. in theater.
* Jacob Howard, magna cum laude, B.A. in government and criminal justice.

South Dakota elections have run smoothly for decades, and one of the people responsible for that is Kea (Boyd) Warne, who has served in the secretary of state’s office under five different secretaries of state since joining the staff of the late Joyce Hazeltine in 1993. However, with a new administration coming into that office, Kea was notified in the past week that she would not be offered a position in the office under Monae Johnson. Johnson was elected in November as secretary of state after beating out Steve Barnett at the Republican convention last summer by hinting that there should be integrity in South Dakota’s elections. She was then appointed by Governor Noem as interim secretary of state when Barnett left office early last month. Kea has been in the secretary of state’s office for 24 years, at one point was deputy secretary of state and most importantly has been director of the division of elections.

John and Susan Culberson, former Pierre residents who have been in Custer for many years, checked in with some family news. Grandson Zac Culberson, son of Jason and Kelly of Rapid City, was recruited away from Cognizant to work for Safeway in the IT field. They moved him to Arlington, Texas, which is perfect since he is a Dallas Cowboys fan. He works remotely so is home in Rapid City for Christmas and for sister Amanda’s wedding to Kyle Pfeifle on Jan. 21. John and Susan cruised to the Canadian Maritimes in September, then in November they followed the SDSU women’s basketball to the Bahamas for their tournament. They saw the Jacks lose to UCLA by only seven points and win over Rutgers and Louisville. Their daughter, Kylie Nystrom, changed jobs. She now works for a firm that matches mid-level health care providers with supervising doctors. She works remotely so she plans to base herself in the nation of Costa Rica. She had been with Medsurant as a regional manager in Nashville.

Celia (Fritts) Miner, 81, a native of Yankton, a long-time attorney there and a former member of the South Dakota Board of Regents, passed away at her home in Yankton Tuesday. Her husband, Jim Miner, was a long-time teacher/coach at Yankton High School before his retirement. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday at Wintz & Ray Funeral Chapel in Yankton, followed by a time of sharing stories with the family at 7. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the United Church of Christ in Yankton. Celia Fritts grew up in the New Jersey/New York City area and moved with her family to Yankton during her middle school years. She graduated from Yankton High School in 1959. During high school debate and All-State Chorus, she met Jim Miner of Watertown, and they both attended Huron College and were married in 1963. Celia taught at Dryden, N.Y., for a time while Jim was completing his master’s degree at Cornell. Back in Yankton, they both taught at YHS. In 1967 they became parents of twin daughters. Celia taught at Mount Marty College, beginning a long relationship with that school where she later served on the board of trustees and later as academic dean. The Miners spent a year in England while Jim taught on a Fulbright Scholar exchange. Back home, they adopted their son, Jeremy. Celia graduated from the USD law school in 1983, clerked for U.S. District Court Judge Fred Nichol, and joined a Yankton law firm which later would bear her name as part of its title. Celia, Jim and family were world travelers. Celia was an education advocate as well, serving on many statewide and local education groups and panels and as a member of the Board of Regents. She is survived by her husband, Jim Miner; her daughters, Amy Miner (Julie Amsberry) and Elizabeth “Beth” (Bill) O’Toole; her son, Jeremy (Kathy) Miner; two granddaughters and a great-grandson.

Laurie Gill, the current secretary of the Department of Social Services who has served nearly 25 years in several leadership capacities in state government, is retiring from state government effective Jan. 8. Gill was also mayor of Pierre for three terms.

Larry and Mary Jo Johnson’s Christmas card, on one side, shows photos of their two big highlights of 2022. One was becoming grandparents for the first time when son Tom and his wife, Parker, gave birth to daughter Noma Juelle on June 30 (named after Parker’s grandmother Noma and Tom’s grandfather Juell). They live in the Twin Cities where Tom teaches guitar remotely and Parker and her mother lead dance/exercise classes. Larry and Mary Jo also went on a trip to Scotland and Ireland with seven friends, spending a week in each country. Meanwhile, their older son Chris and his girlfriend, Andrea, bought an RV and traveled around the country where Andrea worked in theater productions. During last summer she was part of the company at Black Hills Playhouse. Chris works remotely for BackCountry, an outdoor outfitting company. Starting this month, however, Chris has taken a new job with the Oregon Parks Department based in LaGrande. At home in Pierre the elder Johnsons continue to make music as they always have. Larry directs the Capital City Band and builds things for theater productions and the Capitol Christmas while portraying Santa at different events. Mary Jo plays in the band and schedules the Capitol Christmas entertainment.
PONDER THIS

“Want to keep Christ in Christmas? Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, forgive the guilty, welcome the unwanted, care for the ill, love your enemies, and do unto others as you would have done unto you.”
— Steve Maraboli

PARKER’S CHRISTMAS LETTER

Christmas 2022

I am writing this on Thursday of last week as a three-day winter storm stretches into a fourth day. It has been nice to be at home since Monday with nowhere to go. I simply did not get around to writing a Christmas letter, having it printed downtown and getting it mailed to those who annually are on my list. I figured a lot more people will read it here, and most of those who would otherwise receive it in the mail probably will find it in this place anyway.

As I look back, it seems that 2022 was little more than a constant flow of interactions with doctors, physician’s assistants, lab assistants, nurses and appointment schedulers. But 11 months after it all began, here I am, still kicking and looking forward to another year as I approach turning 84 in early February.

It all began in early February 2022 when I had a night of constant chest pain all night. The next morning, with the pain gone, I nevertheless called my regular doctor. His schedule was full, so I saw a P.A. at his clinic within three days. February was spent checking my heart—an EKG, an electrocardiogram, a stress test, an MRI, and on and on. The eventual consensus was that I have “a heart of a 50-year-old.” However, another extremely high score on a PSA test resulted in my doctor’s referring me to Monument Health’s urology department, and I have been a regular customer there ever since last spring.

After a first exam a urologist told me that my prostate was “a monster.” The next step was a biopsy in late June, and of 15 samples taken from me, only two showed a sign of some cancer. So surgery was scheduled. The “earliest possible date” proved to be Oct. 5, and on that day my prostate was removed. I recuperated for 10 days at the home of daughter/nurse Holly. A subsequent appointment allowed me to have tubes removed and return home to my basement room at son Jason’s house. It has taken a few weeks for my body to recuperate and return to operating normally. I need to have regular checkups, of course, but I feel fine and am thankful for good results of all of this so far and for the good wishes from so many people.

After singing in church choirs for 70 years—through high school, college, teaching years, newspaper years, wherever I have lived—my voice and I decided that was enough, so after last spring I bowed out of the choir at First United Methodist Church in downtown Rapid City. I have continued to be the substitute organist there, playing whenever needed. Last spring, when two of my kids were in a play with the associate pastor of South Canyon Lutheran Church, I checked out that church and volunteered to the music director to assist on the organ if and when they needed someone. Since then I have been part of the regular organist rotation, playing for services on the average of once a month and, during this Christmas season, more often than that. I have found the people and staff there to be wonderful people, so 2022 has given me an additional church home. Now I have two!

I have also continued as director/accompanist for the Joyful Gals & Guys chorus at Canyon Lake Senior Center (they call it “Activity Center” now). We regularly meet on Thursday mornings to practice our program, and then in the afternoons sing at nursing homes and assisted living centers. This year has been a challenge with all of us aging, a few bowing out, several COVID cases and numerous postponements on our schedule. We had to skip the senior center’s fall concert when, on concert day, the building lost power and heat. The moving of the concert to a week later forced us to drop out because we couldn’t round up enough of our people to perform adequately a week later than planned. We will plunge ahead into 2023, at least through the spring, hoping we can hang together with enough singers to entertain those “old people” that we “old people” want to entertain!

As nearly as I can remember, the only times all year when I left the city limits of Rapid City were the four times Holly let me tag along to shows down at the Black Hills Playhouse in Custer State Park and on Thanksgiving when Jason, my grandson Parker and I went to Blunt for dinner at Dianna’s home there.

Jason continues to work at Monument Health’s Heart and Vascular Institute in the new part of the hospital that opened just last year. His wife, Allison, is still a manager at the Victoria’s Secret store at the Rushmore Mall. Their son, Parker, suddenly is 11 going on 12 and a sixth grader at East Middle School. Jason and Parker are frequently in the casts of Black Hills Community Theatre productions. Jason also works as one of BHCT’s concessions managers, and Parker enjoys accompanying his dad to “help” in the concession stand at plays and concerts. I too work for BHCT and other entities that use the Performing Arts Center as a house manager, seeing that everything goes smoothly out front, organizing ushers, assuring the performers that they have whatever they need, et al.

Ryan, after a year in Pittsburgh, returned last spring to Tucson, Ariz., where he had lived for 10 years prior. He works at a Trader Joe’s store there, has returned to theater work and looks forward to rejoining the company at the Rogue Theatre in 2023, a place where he had many prominent roles during his previous Tucson tenure. We look forward eagerly to having Ryan and his ladyfriend come for a few days over the New Year’s holiday.

Heather continues work as a prosecutor for the U.S. attorney’s office. Her husband, George Sazama, heads up the ICU at Monument Health’s hospital. Their oldest son, Dylan, who turned 18 early this fall, is attending Central High School and headed to graduate in the spring. The twins, Nolan and Lincoln, are third graders at Meadowbrook Elementary School and active in football, basketball, soccer, baseball—you name it. If I live long enough, I anticipate a lot of ballgames to attend over the coming years with those two so involved.

Holly is a nurse educator for Monument Health. She has also been president of ACTS, the Central High theater support group, and she has continued to appear in plays with Black Hills Community Theatre. In fact, Holly, her daughter Audrey, and Heather will all be in “A Chorus Line,” ACTS’ fund-raising play on Jan. 5-6-7 which will raise funds to send a group of Central High theater kids to Ireland and Great Britain next spring, a trip on which Holly and Audrey will travel. Audrey is a sophomore at Central High and active in drama and band while also working at the front reception counter at Tally’s restaurant downtown. Holly’s older daughter, Olivia, has continued USD classes online from home this school year while working at Monument Health and elsewhere. Olivia and a high school friend live in a house in another part of Rapid City.

It boggles my mind to realize that Jason turned 49 a few weeks ago, Ryan will be 47 in April, and the girls will be 44 next August. As I look up to the walls here in my room and see photos of them from years gone by, I wonder how I got to be so old so fast.

My brother, John, and his wife Linda still live in Onida where they have been all of their married life since the mid-1960s. John has retired from golf coaching, but he still works at the golf course in Pierre. They spend the winter months in the Phoenix suburb of Sun City West from New Year’s to spring. Their daughter, Jayne, and her husband, Clark Kraemer, are still here in Rapid City, as are their two kids. Ally and her husband, Nick Formanek, have a thriving electrical business and two young daughters. The Kraemers’ son Justin and his fiancee Kelsey, who are also here, will be married next August.

If you are reading this, you know I have continued to produce The Midweek Update each week for well over 20 years now. Each year I swear this will be the last year, but then I am reminded by somebody how much they anticipate reading it each week, and, well, how can I quit? So I stay in contact with the Pierre/Fort Pierre/Onida/Blunt scene by rounding up news items and sports scores from those places “back home.” The Update, as you know if you are reading this, shows up each Thursday at www.everythingsouthdakota.com and on my Facebook page.

I thank you all for your love and friendship and for remaining in contact, even though I now have been gone from Pierre for 18 1/2 years. I wish for each of you a safe and healthy 2023. I appreciate more than ever how precious one’s good health is. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Parker