Vol. 23, No. 20; Thursday, Feb. 2, 2023

Feb 2, 2023 | Parker's Midweek Update | 0 comments

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“February teaches us the lesson of hope that there is a sunny day at the end of every freezing night.”
— Anonymous

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Boys basketball: at Yankton, 7 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Girls wrestling: at Canton quadrangular, 5:30 p.m.
Girls basketball: home vs. Yankton, 7 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Girls wrestling: at Yankton invitational, 9 a.m.
Boys wrestling: at Yankton invitational, 9 a.m.
Gymnastics: home for ESD Conference meet, noon.
— TUESDAY
Girls basketball: at Huron, 7 p.m.
Boys basketball: home vs. Huron, 7 p.m.

Girls wrestling: The Pierre girls continued to dominate wherever they go, accumulating 224.5 points to win Aberdeen Central’s tournament. Then came Aberdeen Central 122, Viborg-Hurley 116, Bismarck Century 96 and Watertown 92. Sydney Uhrig at 106 pounds, Gianna Stangeland at 132, Abbigail Lewis at 142, Hattie Baldwin at 154 and Ciara McFarling at 285 all won individual championships. Other Pierre placers: Londyn Allen-Hunsaker, eighth at 106; Shaylee Speck, fifth at 106; Kali Ringstmeyer, fourth at 113; Lexie Hillmer, third at 113; Kezrey Benning, fifth at 120; Dani Ringstmeyer, second at 126; Ireland Templeton, third at 17; Kyanne Traversie-Johnson, sixth at 1909; Emalee Larson, third at 190; Brylee Pelle, seventh at 285; Heavenly Thompson, eighth at 285.

Boys wrestling: The Governors lost a dual to Brandon Valley, 42-24, and swamped Yankton, 84-0. At the Les Tlustos tournament in Brookings, the Govs ran away with the team title with 287.5 points, followed by West Central 172.5, Canby 169, Lake Crystal 163.5 and Brookings 144.5 among 10 schools. Lincoln Schoenhard at 120 pounds, Tristan Spencer at 138, Deegan Ouska at 160, Trey Lewis at 170, Chance Carda at 182, Gavin Stotts at 195 and Josh Rydberg at 285 all won individual titles. Other Pierre placers: Jacob Mason, fourth at 106; Walker West, eighth at 113; Hudson Shaffer, fifth at 132; Jaxon Ducheneaux, third at 145; Lucas Chamberlin, fourth at 152; Elijah Boutchee, second at 220.

Boys basketball (8-5): The Governors lost a 68-64 overtime game at Sioux Falls O’Gorman, but rallied to dominate Harrisburg, 80-60.

Girls basketball (11-2): The girls dominated Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 57-45, and beat Harrisburg on the road, 40-30. In the latter game Reese Terwilliger scored 10 points, Lennix DuPris nine, Remi Price seven and Ayvrie Kaiser six.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Boys basketball: home vs. Chamberlain.
— FRIDAY
Gymnastics: at regional meet, Wagner, 6 p.m.
Boys basketball: at Highmore-Harrold, 7:15 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: home tournament, 10 a.m.
— MONDAY
Boys basketball: at Potter County, 6:30 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Wrestling: at Gregory triangular.

Wrestling: The Buffaloes won a pair of duals in a triangular in Gettysburg, taking down Sully Buttes 45-15 and Potter County 45-21.

Boys basketball (3-11): SCHS lost to Crow Creek, 77-72; lost to Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, 55-46, and lost to Todd County, 75-51.

Girls basketball (6-11): The Buffalo girls had a 2-1 week, beating Crow Creek, 60-52; beating Cheyenne-Eagle Butte, 45-33, and losing to odd County, 52-43.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— FRIDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Potter County.
Boys basketball: home vs. Potter County.
— SATURDAY
Wrestling: at Redfield tournament.
— TUESDAY
Girls basketball: home vs. Herreid-Selby Area.
Boys basketball: home vs. Herreid-Selby Area.

Boys basketball (2-10): The Chargers had a 1-2 week, and the total point differential in the three games was 10 points. In a 62-59 loss to Hitchcock-Tulare, Landon Hepker sank two free throws with 0:14 left to tie the score, but H-T won the game on a last-second buzzer-beater. Wesley Wittler scored 20, Hepker 15 and Thomas Farries 10. On Saturday the Chargers lost at home to Warner, 55-51, as Hepker scored 21 and Wittler 12. On Tuesday the boys picked up their second win, taking down Jones County in Murdo, 57-54. Wittler scored 10, Hepker 18 and Farries seven.

Girls basketball (11-2): The girls had a 3-0 winning week. In a 50-42 win over Hitchcock-Tulare, Stevie Wittler had 18 points, Lydia Hill 16 and Ally Wittler 11. On Saturday going 13-of-13 in free throws helped the Chargers rally late in regulation time and then take down Warner in overtime, 69-65. Stevie Wittler scored 20 as she surpassed the 1,000-point career mark. Addy Chicoine scored 16 and Hill 14. On Tuesday the girls won at Jones County, 47-44, as Stevie Wittler scored 23, Calleigh Chicoine nine and Hill seven.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Feb. 2:
Jordan Reiss, Nate Chicoine, Joy Erlenbusch, Becky (Markley) Wosick, Stevie Brockhouse, Jeff Stewart, Cody Coppess, Carla Madden, Josh Lamb, Darline Zimmerman.

Friday, Feb. 3:
Peggy Johnson, Mike Owens, Victor Scharnweber, Daisha (Seyfer) Finke, Mike Baker, Bill Witte, Parker Knox, James Vollmer, Brad Shoup, Deni (Lohman) Hollingsworth, James Kachelmyer, Joshua Kachelmyer, Jason Lindberg, Gianna Harty, Matt McGovern, Kathy (Fette) Paul.
— We fondly remember Jackson Parsons, who passed away a year ago today.
— We fondly remember Donna Fjelstad, who passed away 12 years ago today.
— We fondly remember Jack Unkenholz on his birthday.

Saturday, Feb. 4:
Charlene (Hyde) Bietz, John Barber, Blake Deal, Chelsey (Roberts) Renemans, Tom Valentine, Eric Paxton, Jaremy Joy, Alec Espeland, Sheila Ring, Anne Eichstadt, Jamie McQuistion, Avery Burger, JoAnne Hipple, Jake Miller, Tom Gerken, Ethan Hight.
— 34th anniversary, Randy/Jodi Hartmann.
— 50th anniversary, Steve/Peggy Stout.

Sunday, Feb. 5:
Wade LaRoche, LaJena (Johnson) Gruis, Sam Shives, Anthony Hunt, Bob Judson, Ben Merrill, Pamela Cronin, Kara (Fouts) Brewer, Chad Coppess, Nick Osterkamp, Devin Dodson, Jonathan Semro, Amanda Schmitgen, Spencer Richey.

Monday, Feb. 6:
Alex Hillestad, Jenifer Palmer, Colin McDaniel, Adam Gallagher, Jarrett Klinger, Stacie (Ries) Swanstrom, Declan Murphy, Weston Fuller, Deleight (Kelly) Sudmeier, Mary (Morris) Weinheimer, Thea Deffenbaugh.

Tuesday, Feb. 7:
Alexandra Voeltz, Sandy Zinter, Dave Hofer, DaVida (Anderson) Jaqua, Marilee Johnson-Geary, Kennedy Williams, Liz (Kirk) Van Camp, Tony Blake, Maisie Rumpca, Franklin Nebesick.
— 19th anniversary, Tyson/Lindsey Heiss.
— We fondly remember Hyrma Zakahi, who passed away six years ago today.

Wednesday, Feb. 8:
Alana (Tennant) Lacina, Karen Authier, Randy Stoeser, Karon Schaack, Kelli Nuttbrock, Lindsey (Quinn) Nichols, Stephanie (Arne) Davison, Steph (Hull) Joens, Alex Plumage, Colby Wagner, Jean Deffenbaugh, Chad Binger, Habie Swenson.
— 3rd anniversary, William/Katherine (Van Gerpen) Cedeno Torres.
— 59th anniversary, Ron/Priscilla Schmidt.

Thursday, Feb. 9:
Jennifer McKillip, Karen Day, Bauer Hunt, Jamie Lomheim, Steve Smith, Mandy Braun, Dawn Hurney, William Weingart, Carolyn Severyn, Elsie Ann Shoup, Dessa Bryant.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.”
— Roy T. Bennett

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: The Caps are in a four-team race for first place in the SDAHA regular-season standings, now trailing the top three teams by only two points. In an 8-2 win at Yankton eight different men scored goals, including Aidan Dozark, Andrew Coughlin, Andre Carbonneau, Duyan Dodson, Barret Schweitzer, Jarron Beck, Devin Dodson and Carter Gordon. Colin Lee made 21 saves. On Sunday the Caps whipped Yankton again by a 6-1 count. Devin Dodson and Beck each scored twice with Gordon and Ashton Griese each adding a goal. Lee made 18 more saves. The Capitals are home against one of the league leaders, Sioux Falls #1, at 8 p.m. Friday. Then they host Watertown at 7:15 p.m. Saturday.

SDAHA boys varsity standings (wins-losses-ties-OT losses=points):
Sioux Falls #1 12-0-0-0 24
Rushmore 12-0-0-0 24
Brookings 12-2-0-0 24
Oahe 11-2-0-0 22
Mitchell 7-5-1-0 15
Aberdeen 6-7-1-0 13
Watertown 6-9-0-0 12
Yankton 5-13-0-0 10
Sioux Falls #2 4-8-0-1 9
Sioux Center 3-11-0-1 7
Brandon Valley 3-10-0-0 6
Huron 1-13-0-0 2

Oahe Capitals girls varsity: Brylee Kafka had a dream weekend on the ice, scoring her team’s only goal Friday, two more goals Saturday and four more goals Sunday as the Capital girls won three times without allowing a single opponent score. In a 1-0 win over Rushmore, Kafka’s goal came 17 seconds into the third period. Abigail Stewart-Fromm made 31 saves. The Capitals shut out Sioux Center, 5-0, as Kafka and Emily Nemec each scored twice and Cameron Larson once. Sophia Peschong made 18 saves. In a 4-0 win over Sioux Center, Kafka had all of the team’s goals while Fromm made 18 saves. The Capital girls are home Saturday at 2:30 p.m. against Watertown.

SDAHA girls varsity standings (wins-losses-ties-OT losses=points):
Aberdeen 12-1-0-0 24
Sioux Falls 12-1-0-0 24
Brookings 11-2-0-0 22
Mitchell 8-5-0-1 17
Oahe 5-6-1-0 11
Rushmore 4-5-1-0 9
Sioux Center 2-10-1-1 6
Watertown 1-11-0-1 3
Huron 0-11-1-0 1

Badlands Sabres (Mason Martin): The Sabres lost twice to Sheridan, 3-2 and 5-0. Badlands is home in Rapid City Friday and Saturday vs. Great Falls.

Minnesota Wild: The Wild won in overtime over Philadelphia, 3-2, and won in a shootout over Buffalo, 3-2. Minnesota is at Arizona Monday and at Dallas Wednesday.

Aberdeen Wings: Aberdeen lost twice to Bismarck, 6-1 and 3-2 in overtime. The Wings are home Friday and Saturday vs. Minot.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush, on the road due to the stock show in their home arena, lost twice to Utah, 6-4 and 4-3. Ra;id City stays on the road Saturday and Sunday in Wichita.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd lost to Omaha, 3-1, and beat Omaha, 4-2. Sioux Falls, now 14-20-1, plays at Lincoln Friday, then at home vs. Des Moines Saturday and Tri-City Sunday.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Midco Sports Network live games this week:
— THURSDAY
Women’s basketball: SDSU vs. UND, 7 p.m.
Men’s basketball: USD vs. NDSU, 7 p.m. (MS2).
— SATURDAY
Women’s basketball: USD vs. UND, 1 p.m.
Men’s basketball: SDSU vs. NDSU, 2 p.m. (MS2).
Boys basketball: White River vs. Sioux Falls Christian, 5 p.m.
Boys basketball: Sioux Falls LIncoln vs. Minneapolis North, 6:30 p.m.
Boys basketball: Sioux Valley vs. St. Thomas More, 8 p.m.
Boys basketball: Dakota Valley vs. Hull Western Christian (Iowa), 9:30 p.m.

Summit League basketball update:
— WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
* USD (11-11): Beat Western Illinois 74-56; loss to St. Thomas 70-64.
Upcoming games: Thursday at NDSU, Saturday at UND.
* SDSU (18-5): Beat St. Thomas 90-56; beat Western Illinois 81-58.
Upcoming games: Thursday at UND, Saturday at NDSU.
* Summit League women’s standings: SDSU 11-0, NDSU 7-3, USD 7-4, Oral Roberts 7-4, UND 5-5, Omaha 4-7, Denver 4-7, St. Thomas 3-8, Western Illinois 3-8, Kansas City 3-8.
— MEN’S BASKETBALL
* USD (11-12): Lost to Western Illinois 75-72; beat St. Thomas 81-67; lost to Oral Roberts 103-53.
Upcoming games: Thursday home vs. NDSU; Saturday home vs. UND.
* SDSU (12-11): Lost to St. Thomas 60-54; lost to Western Illinois 81-73 (O.T.); beat Kansas City 67-66.
Upcoming games: Thursday home vs. UND; Saturday home vs. NDSU.
* Summit League men’s standings: Oral Roberts 11-0, SDSU 7-4, Western Illinois 7-4, NDSU 6-4, Kansas City 6-5, USD 5-6, St. Thomas 5-6, Denver 3-8, Omaha 3-8, UND 1-9.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: In their only game of the past week the Skyforce beat Texas, 103-95. Sioux Falls is home vs. Birmingham Friday and Saturday, then goes on a far-eastern road trip, starting Tuesday and Wednesday at Long Island.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves beat Memphis, 111-100; beat Sacramento, 117-110; lost to Sacramento, 118-111, and last night beat Golden State, 119-114. The Wolves finish their homestand vs. Dallas Friday and Denver Sunday, then play at Denver Tuesday and at Utah Wednesday.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The next stop on the Champions Tour’s 2023 schedule is a tournament in Morocco Feb. 9-11.

ONE YEAR AGO IN THE MIDWEEK UPDATE

Feb. 2, 2022: A Facebook post: “Only in America do we accept weather predictions from a rodent but deny climate change evidence from scientists.”

FOOTBALL CONTEST RESULTS

Last week’s contest covering the two NFL conference championship games was our last of the season. Beth Yackley-Rinehart was the only one of our 14 contestants to pick both games correctly, earning 10 points. Getting one of the two games correct for 6 points each were Nathan Vetter, Mikal Kern, Laurie Johnson, Levi Neuharth, Jon Boer, David Ludwig, Sue Ford, Dawn Magee and Seb Axtman.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Rapid City Marshals: The indoor football season for the nine CIF (Champions Indoor Football) teams begins this month. The Marshals open their season at home Sunday evening, Feb. 19, against the Fargo Invaders. The other teams in CIF this season are Sioux City, Omaha, Gillette, Billings, Salina, Topeka and Southwest Kansas (Dodge City).

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Augustana swimming (Ella Ward Zeller): The Vikings were idle last week. They swim at USD’s Coyote Invitational in Sioux Falls Friday and Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan track-field (Cobey Carr, Morgan Carr, Abby Ferris): The Tigers were scheduled to compete at Mount Marty’s meet, which was cancelled by winter weather there. DWU hosts its own meet Saturday.

Mary women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): The Marauders lost both games on an eastern trip, losing to Minnesota State 86-60 and to Concordia-St. Paul 58-49. Now 11-8 overall and 10-6 in the NSIC, Mary is home Friday vs. Minnesota-Crookston and Saturday vs. Bemidji State.

Dakota State track-field (Houston Lunde): At Minnesota State’s meet, Houston placed 16th in the weight throw at 46’4 3/4″ and 30th in the shot put with a heave of 40’8 3/4″. The Trojans go to DWU’s meet in Mitchell Saturday.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): The Coyotes lost to Western Illinois, 75-72. In 26 minutes Max was 2-of-6 (0-of-2 in threes) for four points with eight rebounds and two steals. USD beat St. Thomas, 81-67, as Max in 21 minutes was 3-of-3 for six points with a rebound and an assist. On Monday USD was blown out by league-leader Oral Roberts, 103-53. Max in 18 minutes was 1-of-4 and 2-of-2 for four points with three rebounds. Now 10-13 overall and 5-6 in the Summit, USD is home against the North Dakota schools this weekend—the Bison tonight and the Hawks Saturday.

South Dakota Mines track-field (Erick Colman): At Chadron State’s meet Erick was second in the weight throw at 45’5 3/4″. Next on the Hardrockers’ schedule is SDSU’s meet Feb. 10-11.

Minnesota State-Mankato track-field (Maya Shorter): The Minnesota State women were first of 16 teams at their home meet. Maya’s events were not held. The Mavericks host another home meet Saturday.

Black Hills State track-field (Frank Becker): The Yellowjackets went to Chadron State’s meet. We could not find any places by Frank. BHSU goes to Colorado Mines’ meet in Golden Friday and Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Nick Wittler): The Tigers lost to Briar Cliff, 103-73. In 11 minutes Nick was 1-of-2 in three-pointers for 3 points. In a 64-63 win on the road at Northwestern (Iowa), Nick did not score but had one assist. Last night DWu lost to Jamestown, 84-71, and in 10 minutes Nick was 1-of-3 in threes for three points with one rebound. Now 12-12 overall and 8-8 in the GPAC, the Tigers are off until playing at home next Wednesday vs. Northwestern.

Augustana women’s basketball (Aislinn Duffy, Katie Bourk): The Vikings won two more NSIC games. In a 66-48 win over St. Cloud State Aislinn was 6-of-8 (1-of-3 in threes) and 1-of-2 for 12 points with six boards and two steals. Augie beat Minnesota-Duluth 53-51, and Aislinn was 5-of-14 (1-of-3) and 1-of-2 for 12 points with four rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals. Now 19-3 overall and 13-3 in the conference, Augustana goes east to Winona State Friday and to Upper Iowa Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Tyson Johnson, Aric Williams): DWU lost three duals last weekend. In a 45-3 loss to Augustana, Tyson lost his 157-pound match in a 15-4 major decision. In a 27-22 loss to Midland he won by fall in 6:24. In a 45-3 loss to Doane Tyson lost an 8-3 decision. DWU next goes to the GPAC conference meet at Crete, Neb., Feb. 17-18.

University of Sioux Falls track-field (Jessica Lutmer): At Minnesota State’s meet Jessica placed 11th in the mile in 5:14.82. USF goes to the Bearcat Open in Maryville, Mo., Friday and Saturday.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): In their only game of the past week, the Lancers last night lost to Briar Cliff in Sioux City by an 81-66 score. Lincoln went 5-of-8 for 10 points with seven rebounds. Now 8-16 overall and 4-12 in the GPAC, Mount Marty hosts Hastings Saturday and goes to Dordt next Wednesday.

Northern State track-field (Addison Cumbow): The Wolves were scheduled at Mount Marty’s meet, but that event was cancelled by weather. Northern goes to the Bison Open at NDSU Friday and Saturday.

Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): The Marauders lost a 31-9 dual to Wisconsin-Parkside and won an 18-12 dual over Upper Iowa. Lincoln did not wrestle in either dual. Now 11-2 overall and 4-1 in NSIC duals, Mary goes to Augustana Friday and to Southwest Minnesota State Saturday.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”
— Mark Twain

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

  • The head of the NFL officiating crew of which Brandon Cruse was a member this past season will be the head official at the Super Bowl game next week. Carl Cheffers has been an official in the NFL since 2000. Chiefs fans are up in arms, of course, since Cheffers worked Super Bowl 55 in which the Chiefs lost to Tampa Bay two years ago.
  • Earlier this week I received a birthday card (as I do every year) from Julie Bright, who along with Paula Roddewig Ruedebusch was co-editor of our Eternal Flame yearbook at Sully Buttes High School. In thanking her online and talking about my running out to the mailbox without a coat on on a 30-degree Tuesday, Julie, who is a tutor at an elementary school, said there in Abilene, Texas, they were on their second day with no school and a third on the way because it was 22 degrees (in West Texas!!!) and everything was coated with a sheet of ice. No travel, no play outside, no nothing. Here in the Banana Belt it will be 50 degrees (that’s above zero) by Sunday.
  • After football legend Tom Brady announced his retirement yesterday morning, the dumbest waste of air time by the talking sports “experts” on sportstalk radio was their comparing Brady to Patrick Mahomes. Really? I’d say the time to do that is about 20 years from now.

COUNTDOWN

2 days: ESD Conference gymnastics meet, Pierre (Feb. 4).
3 days: Grammy awards, CBS-TV (Feb. 5).
5 days: State of the Union address (Feb. 7).
8 days: State gymnastics meet, Aberdeen (Feb. 10-11).
10 days: Super Bowl LVII, Glendale, Ariz. (Feb. 12).
12 days: Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14).
14 days: ESD Conference girls wrestling tournament, Brandon (Feb. 16).
16 days: Region 3A boys wrestling tournament, Mission (Feb. 18).
18 days: Presidents Day (Feb. 20).
21 days: State wrestling tournaments, Rapid City (Feb. 23-25).
22 days: Pierre Players’ ‘The Outsider” (Feb. 24-26, March 2-4).
22 days: Baseball spring training begins (Feb. 24).
23 days: NSIC men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls (Feb. 25-28).
23 days: Minnesota Loons MLS season opener (Feb. 25).
26 days: Georgia Morse Middle School musical, “The Little Mermaid” (Feb. 28, March 2).
27 days: Zesto opens (March 1).
29 days: Summit League men’s/women’s basketball tournaments, Sioux Falls (March 3-7).
29 days: Girls basketball SoDak 16 games (March 3).
29 days: State girls varsity hockey tournament, Sioux Falls (March 3-5).
30 days: Rapid City Marshals indoor football season opener (March 4).
32 days: Riggs High talent show (March 6).
33 days: Riggs High National Honor Society induction (March 7).
34 days: World Baseball Classic begins (March 8-21).
35 days: State girls basketball tournaments, AA Sioux Falls, A Watertown, B Huron (March 9-11).
35 days: Georgia Morse Middle School fine arts festival (March 9).
35 days: Last day of legislative session (March 9).
36 days: State boys varsity hockey tournament, Brookings (March 10-12).
38 days: Oscars, ABC-TV (March 12).
38 days: Daylight Saving Time begins (March 12).
40 days: Riggs High fine arts festival (March 14).
42 days: State boys basketball tournaments, AA Rapid City, A Sioux Falls, B Aberdeen (March 16-18).
42 days: NCAA Division I men’s wrestling national championships, Tulsa (March 16-18).

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Delores Cichos, 89, died Jan. 27. Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Wednesday at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church. Mrs. Cichos grew up in North Dakota, graduated from Nortonville High School and attended Ellendale Normal for a teaching degree. She married Bob Cichos in 1954. They moved to Pierre and built their family here. After Delores taught school in North Dakota, she worked, after her children were grown, at J.C. Penney in Pierre and as an Avon products distributor. She spent 26 years working for the state at the Division of Motor Vehicles. Survivors include her three children, Tammy (Dennis) Holmes, Mark (Sue) Cichos and Todd (Janette Kadatz) Cichos; four grandchildren, and her brother, Carl (Sally) Peterson.

MaxStrat, the local management and leadership consulting firm founded by CEO Chris Maxwell, announced a series of leadership transitions for 2023. David Maxwell, who has been with the firm since 2021, has been appointed chief operating officer. Laurie Gill, who has retired from several state government cabinet-level positions, joins as part of the leadership team and as a key client executive. Yvonne Taylor, who through December was executive director of the South Dakota Municipal League, and Mary Duvall, who just completed 10 years as a state legislator, join MaxStrat as client executives.

The state one-act play festival begins today and runs through Saturday at the Lorang Theatre at O’Gorman High School in Sioux Falls. Plays run from early morning through the evening Thursday and Friday, and on Saturday the plays run from early morning through 5:30 p.m., followed by the awards presentation. Riggs High School’s one-act entry, “Pirates!”, will be performed at 8 p.m. tonight (Thursday). Stanley County High School’s entry, “937,” will be performed at 10:15 a.m. Saturday.

Allie Maxine Stirling died Jan. 24 at Westhills Village in Rapid City. Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 13, at First Congregational United Church of Christ in Pierre. Maxine grew up near Armour, graduated from high school there and attended Nettleton Commercial College in Sioux Falls. She worked for the Department of the Interior at Cheyenne Agency prior to her marriage to Lawrence Stirling in 1946. In 1957 they made their permanent home on a ranch in Jones County near Capa. She made weekly cream and egg deliveries to customers in Fort Pierre and Pierre, and after her children were raised, she worked for the state until retiring. She was a member of the South Dakota 4-H Hall of Fame, and the Stirlings were active in Trinity Lutheran Church in Midland. She is survived by four children, Leon Michael (Charlene) Stirling, Cherie Soesbe, Brenda (Tom) Warren and Debra (Ron) Housman; four grandchildren; four step-grandchildren; several great-grandchildren and one great-great-granddaughter.

Alex and Rachel (Propst) Auch returned to where they met—the running track at SDSU—to run together in a race for the first time at the Phil LaValle alumni mile last week.

Evan Roth, who has taught for a decade in the field of special education in San Francisco, had a special thrill last Friday night when he coached a Special Olympics basketball team from Galileo High School during halftime of a Golden State Warriors game at the Chase Center.

Alexis (Yackley) Warner will be inducted into the Onida-Sully Buttes Athletic Hall of Fame during Friday’s home basketball games. She was a five-year starter at Sully Buttes High School, played for a year at Iowa State, then played four seasons at USD from 2010 to 2013. She later graduated from the USD law school in 2016 and is now an assistant U.S. attorney in Sioux Falls. She and her husband, Cliff Warner, live in Harrisburg with their children, Leo and Isabella.

One of Pierre’s longest and most loyal champions, Don Boyd, passed away at the age of 76 Jan. 25 at the long-term care facility at Maryhouse. His funeral took place Monday at Trinity Episcopal Church. The second of five sons of Stanton and June Boyd was born in Seattle. He attended school in Pierre and graduated from Riggs High School in 1964. He attended the School of Mines and Northern State College for a time. He served with the U.S. Navy from 1966 to 1969, including a stint as part of a search and rescue squadron assigned to picking up Gemini astronauts from the ocean after their splashdowns. After returning to Pierre, he worked as an advertising salesman for various media and began his own business, Co-Op Printing and Advertising. Don married Sue Grafton in 1970, and they had a son, Craig, together, later divorcing. Don married Kate in 1992, and his days as a confirmed bachelor fell by the wayside. With his marriage to Kate he gained a daughter, Kimberly, and helped raise her son Ricky from toddler to age 13. Don was one of the founders of the Pierre Players community theater organization, served as its business manager and a board of directors member, directed plays and performed in more than 60 shows. He also wrote plays, and he took great pride in “Momma, Where Are You?”, a play about Alzheimer’s disease dedicated to the memory of his mother which he performed statewide. Don was a popular master of ceremonies for numerous events, served as a motivational speaker and performed as a comedy entertainer. The latter was especially the case with his friend, Donna Fjelstad. Later Don, Donna and Kate formed a small theater group, RiverBridge. Don published a weekly newspaper, River Life, for 12 years. From 1990 to 2022 he published a local news sheet delivered to 156 businesses in Pierre and Fort Pierre. Don was one of the originators of the summertime Oahe Days celebration in the 1970s. He served many community organizations and events. Survivors include his wife, Kate Boyd; his son, Craig (Lisa) Boyd of Minneapolis; his step-daughters, Kimberly (Devin) Malone of Minneapolis and Kathy Johnson of Dallas; his stepson, Jake (Toni) Bartels of Chicago; 11 grandchildren and step-grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; four brothers—Dan, Ron, Rick and Jerry—and their wives, and many nephews and nieces.

Pierre native Jack Adam became engaged last week to Sydney Steinhoff. Sydney is from Sloan, Iowa, and she and Jack, who both live in Sioux Falls, met during their years at USD.

Steve Stofferahn’s son Henry left this week to spend the spring semester at Freie Universitaet in Berlin, Germany. Henry is a junior at Indiana State University in Terre Haute where Steve is a professor.

Our sympathy to the Richards family on the loss of Daph Richards this past week. She rejoined her husband, Floyd, who passed away last year. A service for Mrs. Richards will be held later this spring so that family members from far away can attend without the threat of winter weather.

The Fort Pierre Development Corporation awarded its 2022 Business of the Year recognition to First National Bank’s Fort Pierre branch. At their banquet this week the award was presented to branch president Shad Ludemann and his staff

Josh and Kassi (Schuetzle) Wilson of Sturgis have now their own basketball team of sons. Their fifth boy is Jaylen Scott Wilson, who was born Jan. 31, weighing 7 pounds, 10 ounces, and measuring 20 3/8 inches. He joins brothers Jaxten, 10; Cooper, 7; LIncoln, 4, and Cruze, 2, in their family.

PONDER THIS

“While it is February, one can taste the full joys of anticipation. Spring stands at the gate with her finger on the latch.”
— Patience Strong

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Noah’s Lantern

Noah’s Lantern

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Pine-Clad Candle Co.

Pine-Clad Candle Co.