THOUGHT FOR TODAY

For those who are starting a new school year:
” If you work really hard and be kind, amazing things will happen.”
— Conan O’Brien

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Boys golf: at Rapid City invitational, 8 a.m.
— FRIDAY
Boys golf: at Yankton invitational, 10 a.m.
Girls tennis: at Harrisburg, 1 p.m.; at Sioux Falls Lincoln, 4 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Girls tennis: at Sioux Falls Washington, 9 a.m.; at Sioux Falls Roosevelt, noon.
Football: home scrimmage, 10 a.m.
— TUESDAY
Boys golf: home invitational, 10 a.m.
Girls soccer: at Aberdeen Central, 4 p.m.
Boys soccer: at Aberdeen Central, 6 p.m.
Volleyball: at Watertown, 7 p.m.

Girls tennis: The Governors opened the season with four duals on the road, winning one and losing three. Pierre lost to Yankton 5-4, to Rapid City Christian 7-0 and to Huron 7-2 but beat Spearfish 5-4. Bailey Jessen and Genevieve Oxford won two singles matches each, and the Jocelynb Corrales/Caitlin Ott doubles team won twice. In addition to Jessen, Oxford, and Corrales/Ott, the other two points in the win over Spearfish were earned by Ott in singles and Adrian Hand in singles.

Girls soccer: The Governors have scored 17 goals in their first two games. In an 11-0 win at Douglas, Ryann Barry scored seven all by herself, and Jasmine Jost, Grace Engbrecht, Josephine Weurtz and Reed Curry each scored once. The game ended via the mercy rule. Then Pierre whipped Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 6-1, as Gracelyn Taylor scored four times, Curry once and Ireland Templeton once while Barry had three assists.

Boys soccer: The Governors opened their season with a 3-0 win at Douglas as Jacoby LaRoche scored two goals and Caleb Morris one. Haley Fabel was in goal for the shutout. This week Pierre got a Caiden Ahartz goal with under five minutes left to earn a tie with Sioux Falls Roosevelt, 1-1.

Boys golf: Pierre finished a strong second in the Warrior-Lynx tournament hosted by Washington and Brandon Valley. The Governors’ team score of 581 was only six shots behind champion Harrisburg. Luke Olson finished third overall with a 71-69=140 card, two under par. Nick Bothun tied for fifth at 74-69=143. Sawyer Sonnenschein placed eighth at 76-69=145. Other Pierre scores: Lincoln Houska 78-74=152, Jack Bartlett 84-76=160, Charlie Simpson 90-86=176.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: coffee.
Friday-Sunday: watermelon.
Monday-Tuesday: banana.
Wednesday-Thursday: orange.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— FRIDAY
Football: at Sully Buttes, 7 p.m.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

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

ONE YEAR AGO IN THE MIDWEEK UPDATE

Aug. 11, 2022: The Pierre Educational Foundation announced the largest donation ever made to the PEF in its history—$1.6 million from the estates of Alvin and Evelyn Benesh.

Aug. 18, 2022: Raising eyebrows and much discussion around the state was the release of the governor’s social studies curriculum for grades K-12 prepared by extremely conservative Hillsdale College in Michigan.

COUNTDOWN

Today: First day of school in Pierre (Aug. 17).
Today: Central States Fair, Rapid City (Aug. 17-26).
1 day: Stanley County and Sully Buttes football opener (Aug. 18).
2 days: BluntFest, Blunt (Aug. 19).
5 days: First day of school at Sully Buttes (Aug. 22).
5 days: Pierre and Sully Buttes volleyball openers (Aug. 22).
8 days: Pierre football and cross country openers (Aug. 25).
9 days: Stanley County volleyball opener (Aug. 26).
13 days: State Fair, Huron (Aug. 30-Sept. 3).
17 days: LifeLight music festival, Sioux Falls (Sept. 3).
18 days: Labor Day (Sept. 4).
21 days: South Dakota Senior Games, Pierre (Sept. 7-10).
21 days: NFL season opener (Sept. 7).
21 days: Sully Buttes homecoming coronation (Sept. 7).
22 days: Riggs High Class of 1973 50-year reunion (Sept. 8-9).
22 days: South Dakota Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Chamberlain (Sept. 8-9).
22 days: Sully Buttes homecoming day (Sept. 8).
24 days: Minnesota Vikings season opener (Sept. 10).
25 days: Sanford International golf tournament events, Sioux Falls (Sept. 11-17).
29 days: Pierre Players’ “Inconsequential Dreams” (Sept. 15-17, 21-23)
30 days: Trojan Day at Dakota State (Sept. 16).
30 days: Blue & White Day at Dakota Wesleyan (Sept. 16).
30 days: “M” Day at School of Mines (Sept. 16).

BASEBALL UPDATE

Four Corners: The local amateur team not only won their regular-season title but also their district championship. In their opening-round game at the state tournament in Mitchell against Mount Vernon, Four Corners kept it close through six innings, but Mount Vernon scored five runs in the seventh inning and eight more in the eighth to run away with a 17-6 win, ending the Four Corners season.

Pierre Post 8: Jett Zabel was named to the Legion All-State second team.

Sioux Falls Canaries (Spencer Sarringar): The Birds lost to Kansas City on Tuesday night, 11-6, but just prior to that, the Canaries went on an eight-game winning streak, taking two of three from Fargo-Moorhead, sweeping Kane County and sweeping Milwaukee. In a 4-0 loss to Fargo-Moorhead, Spencer was 1-for-3 on a ninth-inning single and also walked. In a 4-2 win over Fargo-Moorhead he was 1-for-3 with a second-inning single. In a 3-2 win over Kane County, Spence was 1-for-3, and his seventh-inning double drove in the winning run. In a 6-0 win over Milwaukee he was again 1-for-3, had a third-inning single and walked once. Sioux Falls is at Kansas City tonight, home against Sioux City Friday through Sunday and on the road to Winnipeg Monday through Wednesday.

Minnesota Twins: The Twins have hung on to their first-place status in the AL Central with Cleveland still nipping at their heels. In the past two weeks the Twins won five in a row that included a sweep of Arizona, then lost four straight and now through Tuesday have won three in a row again. Minnesota is home vs. Pittsburgh Friday, Saturday and Sunday, then faces a pair of division leaders—two games at Milwaukee Tuesday and Wednesday, then a home series vs. Texas starting next Thursday.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Lynx: The Lynx lost to New York, 76-66; beat Chicago, 88-79 and lost to Indiana, 91-73. Minnesota plays Seattle on the road Friday and at home Sunday, then hosts Dallas Tuesday.

WORDS OF WISDOM

A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer’s wave goodbye.

SOCCER UPDATE

Women’s World Cup: The USA team reached the knockout round but, after tying Sweden 0-0 in regulation and extra time, they lost on penalty kicks, 5-4, It was the earliest exit for the USA team ever in World Cup history and brought much cheering from the right-wing element in the country.

Minnesota United FC: The Loons won a friendly over Toluca, winning a shootout on penalty kicks 4-2 after the game ended 2-2. In the Leagues Cup the Loons tied Columbus but won on PK’s 4-3 to advance to the quarterfinals against Nashville. There they lost 5-0. The Loons resume MLS regular-season play at New York FC Sunday.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings led early by 10-3 but lost at Seattle, 24-13, in their preseason opener. Minnesota is home vs. Tennessee at 7 p.m. Saturday for the second preseason game, and it will be televised locally on KSFY-TV.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos led for awhile early but lost their preseason opener to Arizona, 18-17. Denver plays at San Francisco Saturday night in the second preseason game.

Sioux Falls Storm: After a pair of stunning last-minute wins in the first two playoff rounds, the Storm went to Las Vegas to play in the Indoor Football League championship game. There they lost to Bay Area, 51-41, in Coach Kurtiss Riggs’ final game as head coach.

NFL live preseason games this weekend:
— Thursday: Cleveland at Philadelphia, 6:30 p.m., NFLN.
— Friday: Carolina at New York Giants, 6 p.m., NFLN.
— Saturday: Jacksonville at Detroit, noon, NFLN.
— Saturday: Miami at Houston, 3 p.m., NFLN.
— Saturday: Chicago at Indianapolis, 6 p.m., NFLN.
— Saturday: New England at Green Bay, 7 p.m., KDLT-TV.
— Saturday: Tennessee at Minnesota, 7 p.m., KSFY-TV.
— Saturday: Dallas at Seattle, 9 p.m., NFLN.
— Sunday: New Orleans at Los Angeles Chargers, 6:05 p.m., NFLN.
— Monday: Baltimore at Washington, 7 p.m., ESPN.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• A couple weeks ago Dr. Lon Kightlinger, having seen the “Oppenheimer” movie, asked me if I knew whether Dr. Ernest Lawrence, the Nobel Prize winner and founder of the cyclotron who is played in the movie by Josh Hartnett, graduated from high school in Pierre. On Wikipedia in the Lawrence biography I found the sentence that “Lawrence attended the public schools of Canton and Pierre,” then enrolled at St. Olaf College but transferred after one year to USD where he graduated. His USD bachelor’s degree was awarded in 1922, so that would have meant he graduated from high school in probably 1918. Dr. Kightlinger found another biography that cleared up things a bit. It said Lawrence was in Pierre when he was ages 9-13, so apparently he and his family went back to Canton where he likely attended Canton’s public high school or Augustana Academy, which was in the same town. Lawrence named his son Robert after his closest friend from Berkeley days, Robert Oppenheimer. It was said of Ernest Lawrence, “Before him ‘little science’ was carried out largely by lone individuals working with modest means on a small scale. After him massive industrial and especially governmental expenditures of manpower and monetary funding made ‘big science,’ carried out by large-scale research teams, a major segment of the national economy.”
• Black Hills Playhouse has announced the slate of plays to be performed next summer, including “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “The Little Mermaid,” “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” and “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.”
• I received notice the other day in an online message signed by Warren Buffett himself, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, that I am the recipient of a mere $5,800,000. Boy, was I excited! Should I be concerned that the e-mail spelled “Berkshire” wrong?
• The National Football League doesn’t like us to know which officials are working which game until a few days before the games are played. But you can find out each week where Brandon Cruse will be working at the www.footballzebras.com website. In his second year as an NFL official Brandon is again part of the Carl Cheffers crew. On the first preseason weekend they worked the New York Jets-Carolina Panthers game in Charlotte last Saturday. Brandon is an umpire and wears No. 22. Checking an NFL website, I learned he has a whole lot to which he has to pay attention in a game. The umpire, stationed primarily in the offensive backfield, has to review players’ equipment, advise players throughout the game, count the number of offensive players on the field, mark off penalty yards and ensure their accuracy, dig into piles after fumbles, before each snap watch for false starts by the center, right guard and left guard and those of the defenders engaged with them, on pass plays watch the same players for the same reasons, and on pass plays assist the referee with rulings on action around or to the passer. When special teams are on the field, Brandon as the umpire has to assure the kickoff team is lined up correctly, be responsible for the kicking team not being offside prior to the kick, watch for infractions by the center and the guards, position himself on punts a few yards behind the punter, on field goals and PATs position himself a few yards behind the holder to his right side, and watch for infractions in and around the strong side of the defensive rush. That’s all.
• Ever since the Summit League basketball tournaments came to Sioux Falls 14 years ago, the women’s (ESPN2) and the men’s (ESPN) championship games have been televised on those networks. Not any more! The league has signed a new contract with CBS Sports Network to televise the semifinal and the final games in both tournaments. That makes the games unable to be seen in my household. How about yours?
• It’s time to start following our local college athletes as they do their thing this fall and through the winter and spring. I need your help. I can check the rosters of the South Dakota colleges, but so far as our local collegians who have gone out of state, I can’t remember them all. Please send me an e-mail to parkerhome16@hotmail.com, listing the out-of-state athletes from Pierre, Stanley County and Sully Buttes that you can think of who will be in any of the fall sports—football, cross country, soccer, golf, tennis, et al.
• It’s going to be a struggle against my summertime routine, but we will begin sending you the Midweek Update every week from now at least until Thanksgiving.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #1

Here’s how this works: Everybody is welcome to participate. Each week we will have 10 games for which to pick the winners. They will be all college and NFL games once those teams get started. The games each week will be listed here in the Midweek Update, but they also will be posted on the Parker Knox page on Facebook on the preceding Sunday evening. “Comment” right there with your 10 winners, or when you see the games listed here in the Update, send your 10 winners by e-mail to parkerhome16@hotmail.com.

How we score the contest: Each week the best record, whether it is 10-0 or 6-4 or whatever, gets 10 points. That could be one person or several. The second-best record gets 9 points. The third-best record gets 8 points, and that’s as far as we go. There is one more thing to consider: No record of worse than 5-5 can earn any points. At the end of the season we total up all the points earned, divide that total by the number of times you entered our contests, and rank the averages from first place on down.

So here we go. Send your 10 winners of these games to parkerhome16@hotmail.com right away, no later than late this afternoon (Thursday) because some of these games will be played tonight:
(1) Stanley County at Sully Buttes.
(2) Wall at Bennett County.
(3) Redfield at Hot Springs.
(4) Lemmon/McIntosh at Timber Lake.
(5) Howard at Hanson.
(6) Tri-Valley at Winner.
(7) Mobridge-Pollock at Webster Area.
(8) Lead-Deadwood at Rapid City Christian.
(9) Wolsey-Wessington at Iroquois-Lake Preston.
(10) Ipswich at Faulkton Area.

SUNDAYS AT THE LEGION

The summer is winding down, but the music is still playing on the deck of the American Legion cabin on Sundays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Remaining performers:
— Aug. 20: Barstool Boys.
— Aug. 27: Andrea Royer Jazz Trio.
— Sept. 10: Roger Dale Coble.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, August 17:
Rachel (Hermanson) Knutson, Stephanie (Colwill) Harmon, Adam Snow, Lois Telford, Karen Stengle, Ryan Callahan, Brad Curtis.
— 10th anniversary, Mitchell/Casi (Huizenga) Popke.
— 16th anniversary, Jesse/Megan Ahlers.
— 22nd anniversary, Jeremy/Penny Ripperger.
— 21st anniversary, Bob/Cara (Roseland) Gray.
— 21st anniversary, Josh/Katie Melgaard.

Friday, August 18:
Brooke (Graff) Albertson, Kyle Weaver, Jerrid Conway, Hannah Stahl, Mike Laarsen, Landyn Uecker, Kathy Lindekugel.
— 11th anniversary, Jamey/Erin (Titze) Herr.
— 16th anniversary, Will/Stephanie (Magedanz) Bartsch.
— 56th anniversary, Larry/Anita Zastrow.
— 14th anniversary, Isaac/Anna Vogel.
— 56th anniversary, Larry/Dee Lundeen.

Saturday, August 19:
Nick Johnson, Tom Huber, Bill Stevens, Jacob Shoup, Remi Bollinger, Naomi Fossen, Tanna Becker, Anita Jung, Emily (Zarecky) Steber, Carmen Howard, Maddie Lund, Ross Hettinger.
— 23rd anniversary, Jesse/Sarena (Nuttall) Beastrom.
— 6th anniversary, Colton/Jenny (McKillip) Langdeau.
— 51st anniversary, Mike/Jean Denton.
— 17th anniversary, Ryan/Melissa (Luers) Hansen.
— 17th anniversary, Abran/Brandy Kean.
— 53rd anniversary, Don/Diane Giesinger.

Sunday, August 20:
Jordan Martin, Amber Ogle, Jared Randen, Brycln Haefner, Lindsay (Friez) Karschnik, Devin Weingart, Becky (Eich) Watson, Sue McNaboe, Tina Jensen.
— 19th anniversary, Tyler/Erin (Schiefelbein) Jones.
— 58th anniversary, Ray/Wanda Beck.
— 18th anniversary Brian/Amy (Johnson) Berendes.
— 13th anniversary, Brad/Katie (Zeller) Murphy.
— 63rd anniversary, Jon/Terry (Lamster) Horning.
— 61st anniversary, Bob/Glynnes Sargent.

Monday, August 21:
Carter Zellmer, Jerry Ortbahn, Abby (Barber) Burgum, Savannah Cromwell, Amy (Ripperger) Grunewaldt, Becki Weischedel-Erickson, Abran Kean, Jordan Lamb, Dennis Reed, Tamra (Buol) Armijo, Dorothy (Nygaard) Gibbs, Amanda Peck, Emily Lancaster, Denise Garber, Jamie Damon, Judson Seaman, John Peck, Rip Ray, Vanessa Sevier.
— 35th anniversary, Larry/Peggy Hofmeister.
— 19th anniversary, Kevin/Kim (Kindle) Nachreiner.
— 19th anniversary, Jay/Nikol (Hillmer) Penrod.
— 30th anniversary, Greg/Sarah (Adam) Axtman.
— 8th anniversary, Vinh/Jackie (Schlaikjer) Nguyen.
— 2nd anniversary, Logan/Mallory (Gordon) Benbow.

Tuesday, August 22:
Steve Harding, Jason Stahl, Sheridan Cronin, Kirby Mammenga, LaDonna Zellmer, Quinn Schiefelbein, Jim McLain, Alissandra Stoeser, David Ludwig, Gail (Flansburg) Tennant.
— 14th anniversary, Demetri/Joni (Haugan) Sengos.
— 3rd anniversary, Bryan/Starla Konechne.
— 42nd anniversary, Brent/Betty Lindbloom.

Wednesday,, August 23:
Becky Burke, Bohde Kuiper, Joshua Knsman, Dan Sutera, Jan Sommer, Hope Dill, Alice Wright, Stephanie Zebroski, Alice Whitebird, Dawn Magee, Merna Imsland, Barry Sargent, Aske Whitebird, Colin Whitebird.
— 9th anniversary, Austin/Kelsey Blair.
— 9th anniversary, Shane/Deni (Lohman) Hollingsworth.
— 9th anniversary, Caleb/Katie (Kemink) Shepherd.
— 48th anniversary, Marty/Shirley Javurek.
— 20th anniversary, Josh/Malene Ford.
— 54th anniversary, Bill/Kathy Van Duzer.
— 9th anniversary, Todd/Michelle (Beemer) DeWitt.
— 3rd anniversary, Jackson/Kate Schumacher.

Thursday, August 24:
Jace Mancuso, Brent Swenson, Dana Day, Carrie Jo (Eckman) Howard, Riley Lamb, Lisa Bondy, Bryan Stahl, Katie Stier Demeri Hanson, Chris Klucas, Darrin Dykstra, Eric Aadland, Shawn Chase, Vivien Van Camp.
— 10th anniversary, Blake/Lindsey (Luers) Hyde.
— 22nd anniversary, Doug/Lindsey (Tilberg) Jennewein.
— 21st anniversary, Kirk/Shaun Van Roekel.
— 49th anniversary, Bill/DeeAnn Stevens.
— 55th anniversary, John/Jean Lakner.
— 66th anniversary, Seb/Carol Axtman.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“You’re off to great places; today is your day. Your mountain is waiting so get on your way!”
— Dr. Seuss

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Dan Cronin, Pierre school board member who this spring was elected to a new term, received the honor of School Board Member of the Year in South Dakota from the Associated School Boards of South Dakota.

The late Jerry Kern, who passed away three years ago, was laid to rest with full military honors Aug. 8 at the new South Dakota Veterans Cemetery in Sioux Falls. All of the Kern children were present in the United States for the first time for this special occasion.

Gary Wickersham, 71, who served as Onida’s mayor for 21 years, died Aug. 4. A celebration of life was held Aug. 10 at the Lankenau shop in Onida. Gary grew up on a farm northwest of Gettysburg and graduated from Agar High School. In 1974 he launched Wickersham Construction, but he was also a farmer, rancher and gravedigger. In 2007 he and Clark Jordre opened the Blue Goose in Onida. Gary was married to Shelley for 36 years, and they shared five children. He was a leader in getting Ringneck Energy established in Sully County. Survivors include his wife, Shelley (Stewart) Wickersham of Onida; their children, Brooks (BJ) Hughes of Ree Heights, Jay (Amanda) Alexander of Onida, Brandy (Christian) Heying of Loveland, Colo., and Jenna (Jon Morin) Wickersham of Pierre; his siblings, Marlene Kearns of Encino, Calif., Lyle (Deloris) Wickersham of Gettysburg, Bonnie Polich of Annandale, Minn., Lila (Don) Hericks of Gettysburg, and Julie (Claudio) Company of Carmichael, Calif.; his brother-in-law, Tom Ludovico of Sunland, Calif., and his father-in-law, Van (Teresa Swenson) Stewart of Onida. Among those who preceded him in death were his daughter, Wendy Wickersham; his parents; his brother, Don Wickersham; his sisters, Audrey Schirmer and Pam Ludovico; his brother-in-law, Steve Polich, and his mother-in-law, Bonnie (Becker) Stewart.

Elizabeth Schaefer, daughter of Pierre natives Troy and Kim (Merkwan) Schaefer of Rapid City, has been announced as a recipient of a $10,000 NCAA Post-Graduate Scholarship. The NCAA awards up to 126 of these scholarships nationally each year to student-athletes who have excelled academically and athletically and who have finished their final year of eligibility. At Augustana she was a NSIC Elite 18 recipient, a four-time NSIC All-Academic honoree, an indoor pentathlon national meet qualifier as a sophomore, an Academic All-District honoree in her senior indoor track and field season, and an all-conference performer in the outdoor-season 400-meter hurdles. She plans to continue her academic career at Creighton University School of Dentistry in Omaha with aspirations of becoming a doctor of dental surgery.

Lois (Osterkamp) Welch, 92, died at Edgewood Healthcare in Pierre Aug. 9. A memorial service was held Aug. 12 at Resurrection Lutheran Church of which Lois and her late husband, Darrell, were founding members. Lois graduated from Blunt High School in 1948. She worked for the South Dakota Division of Vocational Education for more than 40 years. In 1957 she married Darrell Welch. She is survived by her son, Kirby Welch and his children, Willie and Tobie. She was preceded in death by her husband; her sister, Norma Ogan; her brother, Duane Osterkamp, and her parents. Condolences can be sent to Kirby Welch at 1605 E. Cabot in Pierre.

Dr. Jon Schaack, who was a member of a state championship golf team while he was at Riggs High School back in the ’90s, is the 2023 club champion at Arrowhead Country Club in Rapid City.

Former Pierre resident Jeff Eckhoff is one of those selected as the SDSU Alumni Association’s Class of ’23 Distinguished Alumni. A 1982 graduate of SDSU as a sociology major, Jeff and his wife, the former Gea Gjesdal, live in Sioux Falls. He is the director of planning and development services for the city of Sioux Falls. He spent seven years as state director of the South Dakota Small Business Development Center and 16 years as executive director of the Lincoln and Minnehaha counties’ economic development associations. He and the other distinguished alumni will be honored on campus during Hobo Day weekend Oct. 13-14.

Charles D. (Charlie) Olson, 73, died Aug. 5. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. Charlie graduated from Mitchell High School in 1968. He attended Dakota Wesleyan University and SDSU, earning a wildlife management degree. He served in the National Guard. In 1979 Charlie began working for the state, primarily with the Department of Game, Fish and Parks. He spent 26 years in state government, retiring in 2005. Charlie is survived by his daughters, Crystal (Jay) Dillard in Florida and Carie Olson in Las Vegas; his son, Chas (Sheila) Olson of Pierre; seven grandchildren; his brother, Doug Olson of Lake Andes, and his significant other, Sharon Baysinger of Pierre with whom he shared more than two decades.

Gaylord Sonnenschein, 76, died at home in Fort Pierre Aug. 3. His funeral took place Aug. 8 at Community Bible Church. Gaylord was born in Pierre to Earl and Bertha Sonnenschein and graduated in 1965 from Riggs High School where he played football, basketball, track and baseball. He also played baseball and basketball at SDSU where he completed an ag/economics degree in 1970. He served in the South Dakota National Guard. He and Cathy Strudle were married in 1970. They ranched on Mission Ridge Road, but after the 1976 drought he turned to finance and became bank manager at Home Federal. Later he worked with the South Dakota Department of Insurance, retiring in 2017. He is survived by his wife, Cathy; his children, Tiffany (Sam) Anderson, Taylor (Sarah) Sonnenschein and Tarrah Sonnenschein; six grandsons, and his siblings, Judy (Gary) Larson, Diane (Syd) Stevens and Clayton (Sharon) Sonnenschein.

Pierre native Katie Carter is leaving her job at radio stations that cover Bemidji and Grand Rapids, Minn., and will become an adjunct professor at Bemidji State University this fall.

Among the teachers new to the Pierre school district this fall are several alumni of the district. Halle Gronlund will be teaching sixth grade math at Georgia Morse Middle School and coaching JV golf. Callie (Buechler) Morris will be teaching kindergarten at Buchanan Elementary. Andrew Wulf will be the interim choir director at Riggs High School. Tye Johnson will be a special ed teacher at Buchanan, and his wife Sabrina will teach fourth grade at Buchanan.

Larry Kucker, 69, died Aug. 11. A memorial service was held Wednesday at Lutheran Memorial Church. Larry graduated from Watertown High School and earned an MBA at Northern State University. He and Marsha Froke were married in Vienna in 1978. They made their home in Pierre. Larry worked for many years with the state Bureau of Personnel and retired as the state benefits manager. He is survived by his wife, Marsha; their son, Brandon Kucker (Andrea Clarke); three grandchildren; his brother, Bruce (Julie) Kucker, and three nieces; and five siblings-in-law, nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents, his parents-in-law and his sister Bev Kimura.

Aimee (Vogel) Van Houten is one of the new members of the Stanley County teaching staff. She will be a speech pathologist there. Another new SC teacher is alumnus Shay Van Den Hemel, who will be teaching elementary physical education.

PONDER THIS

“The nation needs to wake up to the very real threat that Trump will win the Presidency. He is the Republican nominee. He is leading the polls against Joe Biden. The MAGA GOP is a cult that no longer cares about the rule of law and wants to send Trump back to the White House. No indictment is going to stop his campaign.”
— Reed Galen and Rick Wilson, co-founders of The Lincoln Project