THOUGHT FOR TODAY

St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time . . . . . a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.

TOURNAMENT TIME ROUNDUP

STATE ‘AA’ BOYS BASKETBALL

Thursday quarterfinals at Summit Arena in Rapid City (Mountain Daylight Time):
12:00: Sioux Falls Jefferson vs. Harrisburg.
1:45: Yankton vs. Sioux Falls Washington.
6:00: Sioux Falls Lincoln vs. Sioux Falls Roosevelt.
7:45: Pierre vs. Mitchell.
(All games televised on SDPB1.)

STATE ‘A’ BOYS BASKETBALL

Thursday quarterfinals at the Denny Sanford Premier Center in Sioux Falls (Central Daylight Time):
12:00: Dakota Valley vs. Hot Springs.
1:45: Hamlin vs. Sioux Valley.
6:00: St. Thomas More vs. Elk Point-Jefferson.
7:45: Sioux Falls Christian vs. Mount Vernon-Plankinton.
(All games televised on SDPB3.)

STATE ‘B’ BOYS BASKETBALL

Thursday quarterfinals at the Barnett Center in Aberdeen (Central Daylight Time):
12:00: Lower Brule vs. Castlewood.
1:45: Faith vs. White River.
6:00: Aberdeen Christian vs. Ethan.
7:45: De Smet vs. Viborg-Hurley.
(All games televised on SDPB2.)

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Girls basketball: The Governors won an ugly game, won a game in which they were dominant, then in the state championship game fell at the hands of the state’s No. 1 team, bringing home the state runners-up trophy. In the quarterfinals neither Pierre nor Rapid City Stevens put any fear in any future opponents, but somebody had to win, and Pierrre did, 42-34. The Govs led 11-8 after a quarter, 21-15 at halftime and 29-21 after three periods. Stevens crept back to within four points with 22 seconds left but four consecutive free throws by Remi Price at 0:21 and 0:15, following a pair of Stevens turnovers, saved the game. Pierre had 18 turnovers but Stevens 26. Pierre shot 28.6%, making only 14 of 49 shots (3-of-15 in three-pointers) but Stevens was no better, making 15 of 47 shots for 31.9% and missing on all eight of their three-point attempts. Price had 15 points, Lennix Dupris eight and Ayvrie Kaiser seven to lead Pierre scoring. There was no such ugliness in the semifinals as Pierre raced out to a 15-2 first-quarter lead over Harrisburg, led 24-10 at halftime and 37-21 after three en route to a 51-37 win. The five starters were the only players who scored—Reese Terwilliger 19 with eight rebounds, Ryann Barry 10, Kaiser eight, Price 7 and Dupris seven with six boards. In the championship game the Governors had several long scoring droughts. After an 11-11 tie after one quarter a dry spell covering the last 5:06 of the second quarter left Pierre in a 31-20 halftime hole. In the third period the Governors had a 4 1/2-minute scoring drought and trailed 45-29. The final score was 54-36 in Washington’s favor. Pierre shot only 25.5% from the field compared to the Warriors’ 40.7%. Barry with 12 points was the only Pierre player in double figures. Price scored eight and Terwilliger seven.
Terwilliger and Price were named to the all-tournament team.

PIERRE HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL SCHEDULE

March 31: at Rapid City Stevens, 6 p.m.
April 1: at Sturgis, 3 p.m.
April 7: at Huron, 6 p.m.
April 11: at Mitchell, 7 p.m.
April 14: at Sioux Falls O’Gorman (Augustana complex), 7 p.m.
April 15: at Sioux Falls Roosevelt (Augustana complex), noon.
April 21: at Sioux Falls Jefferson (Harmodon fields), 7 p.m.
April 22: at Harrisburg, 3 p.m.
April 25: at Brookings, 7 p.m.
April 28: home Sioux Falls Lincoln, 7 p.m.
May 5: home Sioux Falls Washington, 7 p.m.
May 6: home Brandon Valley, 3 p.m.
May 12: home Mitchell, 8:30 p.m.
May 14: home Rapid City Stevens, 3 p.m.
May 20: regional tournament, TBD.
May 27: state tournament, Sioux Falls, TBD.

PIERRE HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL SCHEDULE

March 25: home Rapid City Central, 1 p.m.
March 31: home Aberdeen Central, 4 p.m.
April 1: at Watertown, noon.
April 3: at Rapid City Stevens (Parkview fields), 1 p.m.
April 3: at Sturgis (Rapid CIty Parkview fields), 5 p.m.
April 13: home Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 4 p.m.
April 14: home Yankton, noon.
April 21: at Harrisburg (Sanford complex), noon.
April 21: at Brandon Valley (Sanford complex), 4 p.m.
April 27: home Mitchell, 4 p.m.
April 28: home Brookings, 4 p.m.
May 5-6: tournament, TBD.
May 12: at Sioux Falls Jefferson (Sanford complex), 6 p.m.
May 13: at Sioux Falls Lincoln (Dunham Park), 2 p.m.
May 19: home Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 4 p.m.
May 20: home Sioux Falls Washington, 1 p.m.
May 23: SoDak 16, TBD.
June 1-3: at state tournament, Aberdeen.

PIERRE TRACK-FIELD SCHEDULE

March 27: at SDSU varsity invitational, noon.
April 1: at SDSU varsity invitational, 1 p.m.
April 4: home for Bob Judson meet, noon.
April 6: at Huron invitational, 2 p.m.
April 14: at Rapid City meet, 9 a.m.
April 20: at Sully Buttes invitational, Onida, 1 p.m.
April 21: home for Legion Relays, 11 a.m.
April 29: at Aberdeen invitational, 10 a.m.
May 5: at Sioux Falls O’Gorman invitational 9 a.m.
May 5-6: at Howard Wood Dakota Relays, Sioux Falls, 2 p.m./9 a.m.
May 9: home invitational meet, 3 p.m.
May 13: at ESD conference meet, Brandon, 11:30 a.m.
May 18: at Huron meet, 2 p.m.
May 25-27: at state meet, Sioux Falls.

PIERRE GIRLS GOLF SCHEDULE

April 13: at Harrisburg invitational (Spring Creek), 9 a.m.
April 17-18: at Rapid City invitational (Meadowbrook), 10 a.m.
April 25: home invitational, 10 a.m.
April 27: at Aberdeen invitational 10 a.m.
May 4: at Huron invitational (Broadland Creek), 10 a.m.
May 5: at Yankton invitational (Fox Run), 9 a.m.
May 12: at Mitchell invitational (Lakeview), 10:30 a.m.
May 16: at Watertown invitational, 10 a.m.
May 18: at Brookings invitational, 10 a.m.
May 23: at ESD conference meet, Watertown, 10 a.m.
June 5-6: home for state tournament.

PIERRE BOYS TENNIS SCHEDULE

April 1: at Sioux Falls triangular.
April 4: home triangular (Mitchell and Rapid City Central), 11 a.m.
April 10: at Harrisburg quadrangular, 10 a.m
April 13: home Aberdeen Central, 10 a.m.
April 17: at Sioux Falls triangular.
April 25: home triangular (Huron and Spearfish), 11 a.m.
April 27: home Brandon Valley, 1 p.m.
May 1: at Mitchell quadrangular, 10:30 a.m.
May 4-5: home invitational, 11 a.m./9 a.m.
May 9: at ESD conference meet, Mitchell, 8 a.m.
May 15-16: at state tournament, Sioux Falls, 8 a.m.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Basketball all-conference: Broch Zeeb of the Buffaloes was first-team all-conference in the Big Dakota Conference. Kaden Montana received honorable mention. In girls basketball Mattie Duffy, Cadence Hand and Morgan Hoffman were selected for honorable mention.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Girls basketball: The Chargers lost only three times through the entire regular season, but at the state “B” tournament they doubled that loss total, losing three times to finish eighth and end the winter with a 20-6 record. In the quarterfinals Wall led at the first two quarter stops by 13-11 and 31-23, but the Chargers went ahead 39-37 after three. The Eagles had a 21-point final period to rally for a 58-50 win. Sully Buttes outrebounded Wall 35-28 but Wall made 10 more free throws. Lydia Hill had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Stevie Wittler 13 points four rebounds and five assists, and Abby Chicoine 12 points, four rebounds and two assists. In the consolation semifinals Jones County took command 13-5 in the first quarter, led at the next two breaks 26-10 and 33-21 and won by 47-38. Hill had 17 points, Ally Wittler eight and Stevie Wittler seven. The seventh-place game went to Howard, 54-44, as the Tigers outrebounded the Chargers 40-24 and shot 39% to the Chargers’ 29%. Stevie Wittler was high scorer with 17, and Ally Wittler had 10.

ONE YEAR AGO IN THE MIDWEEK UPDATE

March 16, 2022: The Sully Buttes girls missed three game-winning baskets from directly beneath the basket in the last 10 seconds, losing to Faith in their SoDak 16 game at Mobridge, ending the Charger season with an 18-5 record.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: almond.
Friday-Sunday: lime.
Monday-Tuesday: cinnamon.
Wednesday-Thursday: coconut.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Change never happens at the pace we think it should. It happens over years of people joining together, strategizing, sharing and pulling all the levers they possibly can.”
— Judith Heumann

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Augustana women’s basketball (Aislinn Duffy, Katie Bourk): At the Central Regional the Vikings lost on a pair of last-second free throws to Missouri Southern, 75-74, in what proved to be Coach Dave Krauth’s last season as Augie head coach after 34 seasons. Duffy had put Augustana ahead with a driving layup at 74-73, but a foul at 0:05 led to the winning free throws for the Missouri club. Aislinn went 9-of-18 (1-of-5 in three-pointers) and 3-of-3 for 22 points with eight rebounds, three assists, a block and three steals. Aislinn ended her career with 363 points, leaving her 15th all-time in Augie history. She had 769 rebounds, tying her for ninth all-time in the Augie recordbooks. She achieved both marks though playing in only 99 career games.

Dakota State track-field (Houston Lunde): The Trojans begin their outdoor season March 24-25 at Wayne State’s Wildcat Classic in Wayne, Neb. Houston will again be in the throwing events for DSU.

Minnesota State track-field (Mack Rath): The Mavericks’ first outdoor meet will be Wayne State’s Wildcat Classic March 24-25. Mack will be in the throwing events.

Augustana track-field (Elizabeth Schaefer): The Vikings’ first outdoor meet will be the Raleigh Relays in North Carolina March 23-24.

University of Sioux Falls track-field (Jessica Lutmer): The Cougars’ first outdoor meet will be the Wayne State Wildcat Classic in Nebraska March 24-25.

University of Sioux Falls softball (Madie Brink): The Cougars, for whom Madie is an assistant coach, are already 9-10 in the season so far. This weekend they will be in Joplin, Mo., and Pittsburg, Kan., to play two against Missouri Southern, single games against Northeastern State (Okla.) and Pittsburg State and four games against Central Oklahoma.

Dakota Wesleyan track-field (Cobey Carr, Abby Ferris): The Tigers’ first meet of the outdoor season will be Wayne State’s Wildcat Classic March 24-25.

Northern softball (Tevan Bryant): Over the first 10 games of the season Tevan, a freshman from Harrisburg High School, started nine of those games, had nine hits and nine RBIs and had a .321 batting average. This past weekend Northern lost to William Jewell, 4-3; beat that team, 3-1, and lost to them again, 1-0. In the first of those three games Tevan went 1-for-3, and in the third game she was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter. On Tuesday NSU lost twice to Central Missouri, 8-6, and 10-2 in five innings. In the first game Tevan was 2-for-2, driving in a run on a solo home run and batting in another with a double. Now 6-9, NSU plays six games this weekend in Joplin, Mo., and Pittsburg, Kan., against Northeastern State (Okla.), Central Oklahoma, Missouri Southern and Pittsburg State.

South Dakota Mines track-field (Erick Colman): Erick will be in the throws for the Hardrockers again. The first meet of the outdoor season will be Black Hills State’s meet March 25.

Black Hills State track-field (Frank Becker): The Yellow Jackets will host their Yellow Jacket Spring Open March 24-25 to open the outdoor season.

South Dakota State baseball (Brady Hawkins): The Jacks went 3-5 in their first eight games, and Brady, a sophomore pitcher from Ethan and the son of Sully Buttes alumnus Tim Hawkins, had a 9.45 ERA, allowing seven earned runs and five strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings pitched. He had started two games. Last weekend SDSU was swept by Western Kentucky, 11-6, 10-3 and 3-0. In the second of those three contests Brady pitched 2 2/3 innings, giving up nine hits, four earned runs and no walks while striking out two. On Tuesday SDSU lost to Lindenwood, 3-2. Now 3-9, the Jackrabbits play three Friday through Sunday at Iowa.

Northern State track-field (Addison Cumbow): Addy will be running the hurdles for the Wolves. Their outdoor season’s first meet is the TSU Relays in Houston this Friday and Saturday.

Rollins College baseball (Spencer Sarringar): Last week Rollins defeated Notre Dame of Ohio, 12-0, and lost to Minnesota-Crookston, 5-2. Spencer had yet to return to baseball action after undergoing a broken hand, thyroid surgery that required hospitalization and a case of strep throat. But he came back Saturday as Rollins shut out Notre Dame of Ohio algain, 7-0. Spence was 0-for-1 but talked three times, scoring twice and getting an RBI on a bases-loaded walk. Yesterday Rollins lost to Flagler, 16-9, but Spence went 2-for-4, walked once and drove in a run with a first-inning single and another run with a seventh-inning double. Now 15-6, Rollins plays three games this weekend against Florida Tech in Melbourne.

University of Sioux Falls men’s golf (John Young): At the Hillcat Classic in Owasso, Okla., Monday and Tuesday, the USF men placed seventh as a team with a 937 score, 73 over par. John, a freshman from Rapid City and the son of Pierre native Jason Young, was 56th individually with a 47-over scorecard of 88-90-85. USF next plays March 27-28 at the NSIC preview invitational at Blue Springs, Mo.

Texas State baseball (Peyton Zabel): The Bobcats swept a weekend series from North Dakota State, 8-7 with six runs in the eighth inning, 19-18 and 5-1. In the second of those games NDSU scored five in the top of the ninth to lead 18-17, but Texas State won with a two-run walkoff homer. Peyton did not pitch in those games nor in Tuesday’s 8-4 win over TCU. Now 11-5, Texas State will be home Friday through Sunday for three games vs. Southern Mississippi, then home again Tuesday against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

S.D. COLLEGE TEAMS IN THE POSTSEASON

SDSU WOMEN:
The Summit League champion Jackrabbit women were given a #9 seed in their region and will play #8 USC at Blacksburg, Va., at approximately 7 p.m. CDT Friday. The game can be seen on ESPNews. The winner of the SDSU-USC game will play Sunday against the winner of #1 Virginia Tech-#16 Chattanooga. The games are being played on Virginia Tech’s home court.

DAKOTA STATE WOMEN:
The DSU women from Madison are in the NAIA national semifinals! The Trojans made it out of the first and second rounds to advance to the final 16 at Sioux City. There this week they defeated Carroll College (Mont.), 82-72, and last night the Trojans stunned the #1 national seed, Indiana Wesleyan, 71-70. Dakota State will play in the semifinals Friday against Clarke College (Iowa). The championship game will be played Saturday.

AUGUSTANA WOMEN:
A foul call with five seconds left and the resulting two free throws caused Augustana’s 75-74 to Missouri Southern in the Central Regional at Duluth.

NORTHERN MEN:
The Wolves lost to Emporia State (Kan.), 72-51, in their first game at the Central Regional in Maryville Mo.

BLACK HILLS STATE WOMEN:
The BHSU women won their regional opener, 61-57, over Regis, but then lost in the regional semifinals to Lubbock Christian, 66-50.

BLACK HILLS STATE MEN:
The Yellow Jackets won over Colorado Mines, 68-48, in their South Central Region tournament in Canyon, Texas, in the quarterfinals; beat Fort Lewis, 81-66, in the semifinals, and then edged the host #1 seed West Texas A&M, 68-67, in the championship game. BHSU’s Joel Scott missed the first of two free throws but made the second with :03.9 left in the title game. West Texas went the length of the court and got off a successful field goal, an apparent game-winner, but after several minutes, the officials ruled the shot came too late, so BHSU goes back to the national Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind., for the second straight year. In the quarterfinals next Tuesday these are the matchups: Noon CDT, Black Hills State vs. Minnesota-Duluth; 2:30, West Liberty (W.Va.) vs. New Haven (Conn.); 6:00, Nova Southeastern (Fla.) vs. Missouri-St. Louis; 8:30, Cal State-San Bernardino vs. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.). The semifinals will be next Thursday and the championship game March 25.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Oahe Capitals boys varsity: The Capitals brought home the third-place trophy from the state tournament in Brookings. In the quarterfinals Oahe took out Sioux Falls #2 with a 4-3 win, outshooting this Flyers team 58-21. The Caps were down 1-0 and 2-1 and 3-2 but rallied each time. Barret Schweitzer and Andre Carbonneau each had a goal, then Ashton Griese scored at 0:36 of the third period to tie the game, and Schweitzer won it at 7:18 of that period. Colin Lee made 18 saves. In the semifinals Brookngs outshot the Caps in the first period alone by 26-5 and scored twice en route to a 6-1 win. Oahe was down 6-0 when Devin Dodson scored at 2:32 of the third for the team’s only goal. Lee was busy, making 60 saves as his team was outshot 66-17. On Sunday the Capitals ended their season in exhilarating style with a third-place victory over Rushmore, 6-3. Devin Dodson, Jarron Beck, Aidan Dozark, Schweitzer, Carter Gordon and Corbin Beastrom each had a goal, and Lee made 31 saves as the Caps outshot the Thunder 34-21.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush took two of three from Wichita at home, losing 6-4 but winning 4-2 and 2-1. Rapid City is home again Thursday, Friday and Saturday vs. Tulsa.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split with Austin, losing 2-1 and winning 2-0. Aberdeen plays at North Iowa Friday and Saturday.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd lost to Waterloo, 3-2; lost to Fargo, 5-4, and beat Sioux City, 4-2. Sioux Falls goes to Omaha Friday. then hosts Des Moines Saturday and Omaha Sunday;

Minnesota Wild: The Wild beat San Jose, 5-2; lost in overtime to Arizona, 5-4, but still gained a standings point, and last night outscored St. Louis, 8-5. Minnesota is home vs. Boston Saturday and Washington Sunday before going to New Jersey Tuesday.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Timberwolves: The wolves lost in overtime to Brooklyn, 124-123; beat Atlanta, 136-115, and last night lost to Boston, 104-102. Minnesota goes on the road to Chicago Friday, Toronto Saturday and New York Monday, then plays Atlanta at home next Wednesday.

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The Force defeated Austin, 124-108, and last night defeated Ignite, 120-116. Sioux Falls plays Ignite again tonight, then goes on to Stockton Saturday.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Twins spring training schedule:
— Thursday: Tampa Bay, 12:05 p.m. (Bally Sports North).
— Friday: Baltimore, 12:05 p.m.
— Saturday: Pittsburgh, 12:05 p.m.
— Sunday: Atlanta, 12:05 p.m.
— Tuesday: Tampa Bay, 5:05 p.m.
— Wednesday: Boston, 5:05 p.m.
— Thursday: Toronto, 12:05 p.m. (Bally Sports North).

Minnesota Twins: This past week the Twins in spring training games beat the Dominican Republic national team, 2-1; tied Baltimore, 5-5; beat Boston, 4-3; lost to Detroit, 8-7; beat the New York Yankees, 1-0; tied Pittsburgh, 2-2, and lost to Tampa Bay, 7-4.

World Baseball Classic: The United States has advanced out of pool play into the quarterfinals. The USA in pool play went 3-1, beating Great Britain 6-2, losing to Mexico 11-5, beating Canada 12-1 and beating Colombia last night 3-2. Cuba has already won its quarterfinal game. Quarterfinal game #2 between Italy and Japan was played early this morning our time. Quarterfinal game #3 has USA vs. Venezuela at 6 p.m. CDT Friday on FS1. Quarterfinal game #4 pits Mexico vs. Puerto Rico and 6 p.m. Saturday on Fox. The semifinals schedule: Cuba vs. USA or Venezuela, 6 p.m. Sunday; Italy or Japan vs. Mexico or Puerto Rico, 6 p.m. Monday. The championship game will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons are 1-0-1 after two games following a 1-1 tie with the New York Red Bulls at Allianz Field. Minnesota plays at Colorado Saturday.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): The Tour was idle last week but resumes at Newport Beach, Calif., with the Hoag Classic.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Storm: The Storm’s season in the Indoor Football League opens at Quad City on April 1.

Rapid City Marshals: The Marshals lost to Gillette, 68-20, and are now 0-2. Rapid City’s next game is March 27 at Billings.

South Dakota State: The national champion Jackrabbits’ season opener at home vs. Western Oregon has been moved from the first Saturday of the season to Thursday night, Aug. 31, at 7 p.m.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Eight high schools have had both their girls and boys basketball teams qualify for state tournaments this year. They are Pierre, Mitchell, Harrisburg, Jefferson and Washington in “AA”; Sioux Falls Christian and Hamlin in “A” and Castlewood, Ethan and Viborg-Hurley in “B.”
• Girls state tournaments don’t go west very often, but next year the Class “B” tournament will be in Rapid City. The “AA” will be at the Sanford Pentagon again, and the “A” tournament will be in Brookings at the Swiftel Center.
• You who are rabid bikers (I mean bikes, not motorcycles) probably already know how to register for the RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa), but this year’s dates are July 22-29. The 500-mile ride starts at Sioux City, and after overnight stops in Storm Lake, Carroll, Ames, Des Moines, Tama-Toledo and Coralville, it ends at Davenport. You can sign up at the RAGBRAI website.
• It was 20 years ago in the first week of January. I was at Riggs High for a ballgame or something in the gym. The college kids had all returned to their campuses, or so I thought. And then I saw Nick Johnson sitting on the bleachers, and I asked him what he was still doing there at home. That’s how I learned the 200th Engineer Company of the South Dakota Army National Guard was about to be called to active duty. Later that month they were, and for the next year we at the Capital Journal followed the 200th and worried about them daily as did just about everybody else in Pierre as the war in Iraq raged on. Almost every day we published mail addresses of the many local soldiers in the 200th so they might get some mail from home. And then a year and two months later it was March 2004, and they were finally coming home. Now I see that the 200th is planning a 20th anniversary deployment reunion to be held in Pierre on Aug. 4-6 this summer. Members can get more information on Matthew Thorn’s Facebook page.
• Of all the junk mail I receive—and there is a ton of it!—my favorite are the pieces that come addressed to Oarjer Jnix. Somewhere, somehow my actual name got misspelled and mistyped by somebody—probably one of those people at Customer Services who barely speaks English—and now it’s Oarjer Jnix. I don’t know what they sell or what they want from me because I always throw away their mail.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“No matter how hard some try, we can’t choose to learn just what we want to know and not what we should know. We should learn everything—the good, the bad, the truth of who we are as a people.”
— President Biden

COUNTDOWN

4 days: Buchanan Elementary spring concert (March 20).
5 days: Kennedy Elementary spring concert (March 21).
5 days: NCAA Div. II men’s basketball Elite Eight, Evansville, Ind. (March 21-25).
7 days: Jefferson Elementary spring concert (March 23).
9 days: All-State Band concerts, Sioux Falls O’Gorman (March 25).
11 days: Legislature’s veto day (March 27).
14 days: Minnesota Twins season opener (March 30).
15 days: Pierre Governors softball season opener (March 31).
15 days: NCAA Div. I women’s basketball Final Four, Dallas (March 31, April 2).
16 days: NCAA Div. I men’s basketball Final Four, Houston (April 1, 3).
16 days: NCAA Div. II women’s basketball national championship game, Dallas (April 1).
17 days: Palm Sunday (April 2).
19 days: Bob Judson Invitational track meet (April 4).
21 days: NCAA Div. I men’s hockey Frozen Four, Tampa (April 6, 8).
22 days: Good Friday (April 7).
24 days: Easter Sunday (April 9).

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, March 16:
Deb Mortenson, Patrick Burger, Avery Askew, Ava Bauck, Leah Ries, Jennifer (Brink) Anderson.

Friday, March 17:
Chris Derry, Joe Gormley, Nick Burke, Jesse Krell, Peggy Stout, Jack Aadland, Melissa Brock, Jackson Jennings, Bill Markley, Chad Cooper.
— We fondly remember Jon Olinger on his birthday.

Saturday, March 18:
Madeleine Lindberg, Travis Benbow, Kendall Light, Daniel Mayer Nickolas Rabern, Nash Hoganb, John Palmer, Jane Brehe, Janice Karber, Jamey Howard, Ryker Schmacher, Asher Yackley.
— We fondly remember Kathy Valnes, who passed away 8 years ago today.

Sunday, March 19:
Betty Garrett, Darlene Neiles, Sarah Yackley-Ploeger, Layndon Dewell, Calvin Wagner, Stacy (Hull) Cottrell, Mary Welsh, Heather Forney, Craig Long, Hadley Bryant, Brenda Badger, Donald Tassler.
— 4th anniversary, Dan/Lacy Johnson.
— 40th anniversary, Chuck/Dawnita Forell.

Monday, March 20:
Jessica (Wood) Steele, Beth (Cruse) Dokken, Scott Jones, Jayde Englund, Rachel Beck, Debby Wagner, Samantha (Lytle) Irvine, Ben Johnson, Misty Burton, Max Huber.

Tuesday, March 21:
Jacob Tschetter, Diana Vogel, Mark Hardwick, Loni McQuistion, Ben Gilmore, Grant Wosick, River Fischer, Linda Knox, Bentley Frost, Wanda Meyer, Matthew Heintz, Ben Brown, Kara (Knadle) Schumacher, Gerald Johnson (#92).
— 25th anniversary, Dan/Lora (Den Ouden) Moore.
— 8th anniversary, Zach/Ashley Parsons.

Wednesday, March 22:
Sharla McCaskell, Betty Eddy, Eric Gednalske, Travis Fitzke, Olivia Smith, Wendy Birhanzel, Nicole Ogan, Serena Norman, Dane Dodson, Oaklie Cruse, Josephine Karim, Nellie Holsten, George Ford, Leo Schmidt.

Thursday, March 23:
Kelsey McKay, McKayla Marso-McDonough, Brittani Snow, Toby Bryant, Brian Hylle, Darcy Weber, Keaton Durkin, Livia Neuberger, Jason Person, Amy Wire, Sienna Karim, Soraya Karim, Hadley Shoup, Ashlynn Lizotte.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Monica Baumeister, 84, died Feb. 20 at Avera St. Mary’s Hospital. Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1 p.m. Saturday, April 1, at Christ the King Catholic Church in Presho. Monica and her second husband, Vern, moved to Pierre in 2011. After his death in 2018, Monica moved to the Lincoln Apartments. Survivors include her daughters, Kim (Rod) Dowling Angela (Dennis Scott) Ehlers, Linda (Larry) Stuckenbroker and Becky (Wes Moore) Diehm; 11 grandchildren and 22 great-grandchildren.

Jason Christenson, former Sully Buttes wrestler and Blunt native, won the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association’s Club Coach of the Year award. Jason coaches with the Bobcat/Lady Cat Wrestling Club at Basehor-Linwood, Kan.

Five Riggs High students have won a trip to Washington, D.C., after placing first this week in the culinary management portion of the ProStart Invitational held at the Ramkota RiverCentre. This portion of the contest has students showing the skills needed to begin a restaurant from concept through operation, marketing, critical thinking and menus. The five students are Ellie Noyes, who won the President’s Award for showing the best leadership; Ayden Syll, who won the Knife Skills Award for overall technique and talent in the kitchen; Tyler Want, Gavin Jacobson and Marlee Shorter. A team of Sturgis students will also go to Washington. They won the culinary side of the competition in which Pierre placed second. (News courtesy of KCCR Radio News)

The funeral for Tina (Laundreaux) Hyde, who passed away Tuesday after a hospitalization, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the Presbyterian church in Onida, preceded by visitation there at 9 a.m. Tina graduated from Agar High School and attended Stewart’s School of Hairstyling. She worked for many years at the Vanity Beauty Shop in Onida. She and her husband, Stew Hyde, operated a Main Street bar and restaurant in Onida. For more than two decades she has been a custodian at the Sully Buttes school. She is survived by her husband, and two children, Elana (Tanner) Norman and Shane Hyde.

In Rapid City Jason Knox and fellow cast members begin their Black Hills Community Theatre production of the musical, “Sister Act,” this weekend with shows Friday and Saturday nights and Sunday afternoon. The same schedule is in place for next weekend. Meanwhile, in Tucson, Ariz., Ryan Parker Knox and his colleagues complete their run of “The Seafarer” at the Rogue Theatre this weekend with three shows.

The Pierre Education Foundation (PEF) has set May 4 as the date for this year’s Evening of Excellence. Riggs High students who have achieved a grade point average of 3.75 or higher throughout their academic careers will be honored that night. Those 2023 Scholars of Excellence include Hudson Allen, Robert Arnold, Hattie Baldwin, Danielle Beck, Landon Bertram, Madilyn Brakke, Kasey Broers, Andre Carbonneau, Chase Carda, Rylan Derry, Danielle DeVaney, Alexis Dilges, Jackson Edman, Amberly Gates, Elisas Gilk, Karly Harris, Arthur Hodges, Elli Hughes, Emma Hunt, Autumn Iverson, Lincoln Kienholz, Brecken Krueger, Jenna Kruger, Hattie Larson, Hannah Lemieux, Jason Maciejczak, Margaret Maher, Diana Makepeace, Jacob Mayer, Jack Merkwan, Sarah Mohr, Brooke Morris, Cameron Morris, Raileyn Myers, Tate Nesladek, Hans Nixon, Ellie Noyes, Madison Oedekoven, Remington Price, Taya Rattling Leaf, Emma Reitzel, Nicholas Roggenbuck, Kendra Rounds, Angela Rowse, Lily Sanchez, MaKenna Schlekeway, Cordell Schlichenmayer, RhyAnna Schoenhard, Owen Seibel, Timara Short Bull, Marlee Shorter, Maya Shorter, Oliver Smith, Sydni Snyder, Gianna Stangeland, Gavin Stotts, Olivia Strand, Madison Swenson, Joshua Switzer, Sydney Tedrow, Alec Venner, Kyra Wallace, Kourtney Walti, Tyler Want, Kara Weiss, Michelle Weiss and Jayden Wiebe.

The students listed above who have been recognized as Scholars of Excellence by the Pierre Education Foundation each were able to list one educator from their past who was special to them. Those teachers become finalists for BankWest’s Educator of Excellence award, which will be bestowed on May 4 at the Evening of Excellence banquet. The teachers are listed by the school at which they were teaching when the Scholars of Excellence who nominated them had them as teachers: Riggs High School—Rodd Bauck, Terry Becker, Kim Bierle, Charis Blanchette, Jenny Hodges, Shawn Lewis, Mackenzie McKeithan-Jensen, Christina Schaefer, Daniel Youmans. Georgia Morse Middle School—Nichole Bowman, Guy Hunter, Joseph Lehman, Michelle Strand. Buchanan Elementary—Jennifer Allen, Betty Hanson, Chad Kringel. Jefferson Elementary—Amber Stout, Paula Weeldreyer. Washington Elementary—Megan Deal, Brenda Hardwick, Kim Livermont, Denise Overweg. St. Joseph Elementary—Becky Kitts, Teresa Madsen, Rebecca Walsh.

Gloria (Gloe) Lawrence passed away March 4 at Maryhouse. Her funeral took place March 10 at Faith Lutheran Church. Gloria grew up in Presho and graduated from high school there in 1960. She married Ron Lawrence later that year, and they first lived at Onida. During her adult years Gloria worked for Bob Oliva’s State Farm Insurance agency, the South Dakota High School Activities Association, Stulken Petersen & Associates, the Hughes County state’s attorney’s office and the Stanley County elementary school. Gloria and “Mouse” lived for awhile in Arizona, then returned to South Dakota where their children and grandchildren were. Over the years she was an avid supporter of Ron’s own athletic endeavors and his teams during his coaching career. She was a scorekeeper for the SCHS basketball and volleyball teams for many years. She is survived by her children, Brenda (Bruce) Lounsbury of Fort Pierre, Brad Lawrence of Mitchell, Debra (Monty) Kenworthy of Fort Pierre and Tracy (Oren) Lesmeister of Parade; six grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Among those who preceded her in death were her parents, her husband, brother Wayne Gloe and sister Donna Youngberg.

Shantel Krebs, a former legislator and secretary of state, was named interim head of Avera St. Mary’s Hospital to serve while Dr. Mikel Holland is on medical leave.

Chris Voller, a firefighter in Billings, Mont., participated Sunday in the 2023 LLS Firefighter Stairclimb in the Columbia Center skyscraper in Seattle, a building with 89 floors and 1,356 steps to the top. Chris’ time was only 18 minutes, 51 seconds from ground level to the top. The event is sponsored by the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) of Washington and Alaska. Two thousand firefighters from more than 330 fire departments and eight countries participated to raise funds to cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. Chris’ son Tristan has been a leukemia patient for the past year and a half. Firefighters from Missoula, Mont., joined their Billings colleagues in participating on behalf of Tristan.

Truman Goddard, 79, Whitewood, died at home March 4. A celebration of his life was held March 9 at the Millstone restaurant in Spearfish. Truman was a native of Sully County and a graduate of Onida High School. He is survived by his wife, Paula; his daughter, Barbara (Tim) Kelly; his son, Lamar (Gari Jo) Goddard; a granddaughter, and his sister, Gloria Garrity. Among those who preceded him in death were his parents, Guy and Violet Goddard; his brother, Stephen Goddard, and his sister, Barbara Goddard.

Isaac Schulte, one of the players on the Brookings boys hockey state championship team, is the son of Pierre native Sarah (Shepherd) Schulte and her husband, Dan. This was Isaac’s senior season with the Rangers.

Kay Howard, 82, Blunt, died March 8 at Avantara in Pierre. Visitation will be from 5 to 6 p.m. Friday, April 21, at the Isburg Funeral Chapel followed by a prayer service and rosary at 6 p.m. Memorial Mass will be celebrated at 1 p.m. April 22 at Ss. Peter & Paul Catholic Church. Burial at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Blunt will be followed by fellowship at the Blunt Community Center. The former Kay Seeman attended school in Huron and at South Dakota State University where she met her husband, Richard “Rick” Howard. They were married in 1961 and settled in Blunt where Kay lived for 61 years. She raised her children and her extensive garden and worked as a bookkeeper for the Howard Bros. Hardware & Implement business. Kay is survived by her husband, Rick Howard of Blunt; her children, David (Mary) Howard of Brandon, Scott (Celeste) Howard of Alexandria Va., Michelle Jones of Harrold, Mark (Taffy) Howard of Rapid City and Chris (Camille) Howard of Cheyenne, Wyo.; 14 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Eddie Duffy of Fort Pierre, representing St. John’s Catholic Church, won the Knights of Columbus state free-throw hoop shoot at Chamberlain. He hit 24 of 25 free throws successfully to become the champion.

Ida Engelhardt, 95, Rapid City, died March 12 at Monument Health after a brief illness. Her funeral will be at 10 a.m. Friday at St. Therese the Little Flower Catholic Church in Rapid City. Mrs. Engelhardt and her husband, Joe, moved to several towns in South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa while he worked as a railroad depot agent. They owned Zesto in Pierre and a drive-in diner in Fort Pierre before moving to Rapid City in 1974. She is survived by nine children, including Cabrini (Al) Arendt of Fort Pierre; 18 grandchildren; 16 great-grandchildren, and six siblings, including “Uncle Matt” Schatz of Pierre.

The Hayes Drama Club’s annual play weekend is coming up soon. “Trouble in Tumbleweed” will be performed at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 31 and April 1, and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 2, at the Hayes Hall. Tickets at the door cost only $5.

Harlan Fransen, 77, died March 12 at Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. Visitation will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. tonight (Thursday) at Faith Lutheran Church with a prayer service beginning at 7. The funeral will be at the church at 11 a.m. Friday, followed by burial at the cemetery in Gettysburg. Harlan graduated from Gettysburg High School in 1963, then served with the U.S. Army in Germany during the Cold War. He and his wife, Verna, were married in 1966 and were married for 56 years. He had a long career with Western Airlines, later Delta Airlines, in Pierre, Rapid City and Albuquerque, N.M. He is survived by his wife, Verna; his sister, Dorothy Sloat; his children, Jeffrey Fransen, Terry (Jodi) Fransen and Angela Garvey, and five grandchildren.

PONDER THIS

“We’ll go down in history as the first society that wouldn’t save itself because it wasn’t cost-effective.”
— Kurt Vonnegut