THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“Baseball isn’t boring. Baseball is built-up suspense, strategic maneuvers and decisions, intricate plays and thinking ahead. Baseball doesn’t need to be fixed. It needs to be savored, appreciated and enjoyed. Baseball is timeless.”

ELECTION COUNTDOWN

7 days of early voting remaining after today. Vote at your county auditor’s office.
12 days to Election Day, Nov. 8.

FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

Tonight’s quarterfinals (semifinal games will be Friday, Nov. 4):

Class 11AAA:
#8 Sioux Falls Washington vs. #1 Sioux Falls Jefferson.
#5 Brandon Valley vs. #4 Sioux Falls Lincoln.
#7 Rapid City Stevens at #2 Sioux Falls O’Gorman.
#6 Sioux Falls Roosevelt at #3 Harrisburg.

Class 11AA:
#8 Sturgis at #1 Pierre.
#5 Brookings at #4 Yankton.
#7 Watertown at #2 Tea Area.
#6 Spearfish at #3 Aberdeen Central.

Class 11A:
#8 Lennox at #1 Dell Rapids.
#5 Dakota Valley at #4 Sioux Falls Christian.
#7 Madison at #2 West Central.
#6 Canton at #3 Beresford.

Class 11B:
#8 Deuel at #1 Winner.
#5 McCook Central-Montrose at #4 Mount Vernon-Plankinton.
#7 Hot Springs at #2 Aberdeen Roncalli.
#11 Redfield at #3 Elk Point-Jefferson.

Class 9AA:
#8 Bon Homme at #1 Wall.
#5 Hanson at #4 Hamlin.
#7 Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy at #2 Elkton-Lake Benton.
#6 Parkston at #3 Howard.

Class 9A:
#9 Canistota at #1 Warner.
#5 Philip at #4 Harding County/Bison.
#7 Castlewood at #2 Lyman.
#6 Wolsey-Wessington at #3 Gregory.

Class 9B:
#8 Avon at #1 Herreid-Selby Area.
#12 Irene-Wakonda at #4 Sully Buttes.
#10 Dell Rapids St. Mary at #2 Hitchcock-Tulare.
#6 De Smet at #3 Kadoka Area.

The schedule of championship games at the DakotaDome:
— Thursday, Nov. 10: Class 9B, 11 a.m.; Class 9A, 7:30 p.m.
— Friday, Nov. 11: Class 9AA, 10:30 a.m.; Class 11B, 2:30 p.m.; Class 11A, 7:30 p.m.
— Saturday, Nov. 12: Class 11AA, 1 p.m.; Class 11AAA, 7 p.m.

VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS

The SoDak 16 games, which will determine the state tournament qualifiers, are only two weeks away. First come regional tournaments for Class “A” and Class “B” while the “AA” schools finish their regular seasons next week awaiting the SoDak 16 round.

In Class “B” Region 6B, Sully Buttes today is the #5 seed in the region and would play at #4 Potter County in the regional quarterfinals if the playoffs started today. That winner would then play either #1 Herreid-Selby Area or #8 Highmore-Harrold to see who goes on to SoDak 16. The regional starts Monday with a #8-#9 match, and the quarterfinals are Tuesday with the semifinals next Thursday.

In Class “A” Region 6A, #3 Stanley County is almost certain of a home match in the regional quarterfinals Tuesday against #6 Cheyenne-Eagle Butte if things stay the same as they are today. That winner would next play #2 Mobridge-Pollock or #7 McLaughlin in the semifinal to see who goes on to SoDak 16. After Tuesday’s quarterfinals the semifinals will be next Thursday.

In Class “AA” Pierre as of today is #5 and would be home for a SoDak 16 game on Thursday, Nov. 10, against #12 Brandon Valley. That winner would advance to the second game of the state tournament against the #4-#13 winner; right now that game would pit #4 Jefferson vs. #13 Brookings.

All three state tournaments will be played simultaneously in Sioux Falls on Nov. 17-18-19.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Football: Unbeaten Pierre went to winless Douglas to end the regular season, and the result was a 46-6 Governor victory. The second half was played with a running clock. Lincoln Kienholz passed to Brecken Krueger on a 48-yard pass play for a 7-0 lead. The Governors blocked the first Douglas punt, and George Stalley recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown (13-0). A 27-yard TD run by Kienholz made it 19-0 after a quarter. Chase Carda intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown (25-0). Kienholz passed to Cade Kaiser for two scores, one from the 1-yard line and one from the 2-yard line (39-0 at halftime). In the third quarter Kienholz hit Kaiser for another score (46-0). Douglas got on the scoreboard on a 67-yard touchdown pass play in the fourth quarter.

Cheer/dance: At the state tournament the Pierre dance team placed seventh of 19 schools with a 264 score. In cheer the pom team was fifth of 10 teams with a 263 score, and the hip hop team was seventh of 14 at 265.

Girls cross country: The Pierre girls finished ninth at the state meet in Huron where Rapid City Stevens was the team champion. Seventh grader Devyn Van Roekel was Pierre’s best with a 23rd-place finish in 20:10.10. Eighth grader Jayne Lees placed 34th in 20:35.57. Other Governor runners: 50th, seventh grader Hayden Shaffer, 20:54.17. 58th, sophomore Mason Berg, 20:58.92. 60th, eighth grader Elaine Rounds, 21:01.99. 95th, eighth grader Raegan Pfeifer, 22:14.95. 98th, junior Jazzlyn Rombough, 22:24.52.

Boys cross country: Pierre junior Jared Lutmer placed third in the “AA” boys 5K at the state meet in Huron in a time of 16:17.51. Senior Mason Dell placed 35th in 17:27.85. Other Pierre runners: 42nd, freshman Caleb Morris, 17:31.50. 55th, junior Haeden Wheelhouse, 17:48.50. 76th, sophomore Mason Ward-Zeller, 18:17.63. 82nd, senior Brady Gere, 18:25.34. 109th, junior Tayshaun Agard, 19:12.75. The Governor boys finished eighth in the team standings. Rapid City Stevens won the team title.

Volleyball: The Governors swept Aberdeen Central, 3-0, on game scores of 25-12, 25-19, 25-22. On Tuesday the girls won at Brookings, 3-1, on game scores of 25-16, 25-16, 17-25, 25-18. Pierre’s record is 15-4 with one regular-season dual remaining at Jefferson next Tuesday.

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Football: home vs. Sturgis in playoffs quarterfinal game, 7 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Volleyball: at Sioux Falls Jefferson, 7 p.m.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Football: The Buffaloes’ season ended at 3-6 with a 58-8 loss at Wall in the first round of the playoffs. The #16 seed Buffaloes actually led #1 seed Wall, 8-7, but the Eagles scored the next 51 points to win in a blowout. The game ended early due to the mercy rule.

Cross country: At the state meet in Huron in the “A” girls race sophomore Kaysen Magee placed 95th in 21:41.17. Junior Rachel Nemec was 102n in 22:34.53.

This week’s schedule:
— TUESDAY
Volleyball: home for Region 6A quarterfinal match.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

Football: It wasn’t pretty, but the Chargers survived their Class 9B playoff first-round game over Potter County, 14-12. Thomas Farries ran in a touchdown from three yards out to tie the game at 6-6, but the Battlers led at halftime by 12-6. In the second half Landon Hepker ran 25 yards for a score, completing a 97-yard drive, and the two-point conversion put SBHS ahead to stay, 14-12. The team’s record is 7-2 heading into tonight’s quarterfinal at home vs. Irene-Wakonda.

Cross country: At the state meet in Huron in the “B” girls race freshman Myli Weischedel placed 112th in 28:11.37.

Volleyball: The Chargers finished the regular season with a record of 13-16. In a close match Monday at Hitchcock-Tulare the girls fell 3-1 on close game scores of 23-25, 27-29, 29-27, 18-25.

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Football: home vs. Irene-Wakonda in playoffs quarterfinal game, 6 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Volleyball: Region 2B quarterfinal match.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“Believe nothing you hear and only one-half that you see.”
— Edgar Allan Poe

COUNTDOWN

1 day: World Series begins (Oct. 28).
2 days: Hobo Day at SDSU (Oct. 29).
2 days: All-State Chorus/Orchestra concert, Sioux Falls (Oct. 29).
2 days: Lancer Day at Mount Marty (Oct. 29).
10 days: Daylight Saving Time ends (Nov. 6).
12 days: Election Day (Nov. 8).
14 days: State championship football games, Vermillion (Nov. 10-12).
21 days: State volleyball tournaments, Sioux Falls (Nov. 17-19).
25 days: Men’s soccer World Cup, Qatar (Nov. 21-Dec. 18).
28 days: Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24).
36 days: Pierre Players’ “‘Til Beth Do Us Part” (Dec. 2-4, 8-10).

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Vikings: The Vikings had their bye week last weekend. They return to action at home against Arizona at noon Sunday on Fox.

Denver Broncos: Denver fell to 2-5 after a 16-9 loss to the New York Jets. Denver plays Jacksonville in London Sunday morning on ESPN+.

Class 11AA update:
— Final records against other 11AA teams: Pierre 8-0, Tea Area 7-1, Aberdeen Central 5-3, Yankton 5-3, Brookings 5-3, Spearfish 4-4, Watertown 3-5, Sturgis 2-4, Mitchell 2-6, Huron 2-7, Douglas 0-6.

Hot Springs High School (Ben Kramer): The Bison won their playoff first-round game at home over Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan, 45-6. Kramer’s team goes on the road for their quarterfinal game tonight vs. #2 Aberdeen Roncalli.

Aberdeen Central High School (Justin Briese): Justin’s first year as head coach ended with a 5-4 regular-season record and a 42-7 loss to Sioux Falls Lincoln. The Golden Eagles, seeded #3 in Class 11AA, play their quarterfinal round game at home tonight vs. #6 Spearfish.

NFL games on local TV this weekend:
— Thursday: Baltimore at Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Prime Video.
— Sunday: Denver vs. Jacksonville (in London), 8:30 a.m., ESPN+.
— Sunday: Pittsburgh at Philadelphia, noon, CBS.
— Sunday: Arizona at Minnesota, noon, Fox.
— Sunday: San Francisco at Los Angeles Rams, 3:25 p.m., Fox.
— Sunday: Green Bay at Buffalo, 7:20 p.m., NBC.
— Monday: Cincinnati at Cleveland, 7:15 p.m., ESPN.

Midco Sports Network live games this week:
— Thursday, 4 p.m.: A South Dakota high school football playoff game.
— Saturday, 2 p.m.: College football, SDSU vs. Indiana State.
— Saturday, 3 p.m.: College football, UND vs. Abilene Christian (MS2).
— Saturday, 9 p.m.: College men’s hockey, UND vs. Arizona State.
— Tuesday, 7 p.m.: College volleyball, USD vs. UND.

USD football at Youngstown State at noon Saturday can be seen on KELOXTRA east of the river and on CW of the Black Hills west of the river.

Missouri Valley Football Conference update:
— Last week’s scores:
USD 27, Southern Illinois 24.
SDSU 49, UND 35.
Northern Iowa 41, Missouri State 20.
Youngstown State 28, Western Illinois 27.
Illinois State 27, Indiana State 21.
— Conference standings: SDSU 5-0, Southern Illinois 4-1. NDSU 3-1, Illinois State 3-1, UND 3-2, Youngstown State 2-2, USD 1-3, Indiana State 0-4, Missouri State 0-4, Western Illinois 0-4.
— This week’s games:
USD at Youngstown State, noon.
Indiana State at SDSU, 2 p.m.
lllinois State at NDSU, 2:30 p.m.
Abilene Christian at UND, 3 p.m.
Northern Iowa at Southern Illinois.
Western Illinois at Missouri State.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #11

Last week losses by the Buccaneers, Montana, Weber State and Mississippi gave many of our contestants problems, but Mikal Kern, Kyle Richards and Nathan Vetter still survived with 7-3 records for 10 points each. At 6-4 for 9 points each were Jon Boer, Levi Neuharth, Jason Noyes, Dawn Magee, Brad Cruse and Thomas Voeltz. At 5-5 for 8 points each were Eric James, Seb Axtman and Randy Pool.

This week’s games (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by Saturday morning):
(1) Notre Dame at Syracuse.
(2) Illinois at Nebraska.
(3) Ohio State at Penn State.
(4) Kentucky at Tennessee.
(5) TCU at West Virginia.
(6) USC at Arizona.
(7) NFL: Arizona at Minnesota.
(8) NFL: San Francisco at Los Angeles Rams.
(9) NFL: New York Giants at Seattle.
(10) NFL: Green Bay at Buffalo.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Badlands Sabres (Mason Martin): The Sabres split a pair against Butte, losing 4-3 and winning 4-2. Badlands goes up to Great Falls for Friday and Saturday games.

Minnesota Wild: After opening the season with three straight defeats, the Wild won two of three in the past week, beating Vancouver, 4-3 in overtime; losing to Boston, 4-3 in overtime, and winning at Montreal, 3-1. Now 2-4, Minnesota continues its eastern trip at Ottawa tonight, at Detroit Saturday and at Chicago Sunday before coming home to host Montreal Tuesday.

Rapid City Rush: On the season-opening weekend the Rush won at Utah, 5-3, and lost there, 3-2. Rapid City has its home openers Friday and Saturday vs. Kansas City.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split with Minot, losing 3-2 in overtime and winning 4-2. Aberdeen plays at home Friday and Saturday vs. Austin.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The NBA’s G-League season opens with the Skyforce at Iowa next week on Nov. 5-6.

Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves have begun the NBA season with a 3-2 record. Minnesota in the past week lost to Utah, 132-126; beat Oklahoma City, 116-106; lost to San Antonio, 115-106, and beat San Antonio, 134-122, last night. The Wolves host the Los Angeles Lakers Friday, then head out on the road to San Antonio Sunday and to Phoenix Tuesday.

GOLF UPDATE

PGA Champions Tour (Tom Byrum): Tom did not play last weekend at the Dominion Energy Classic in Richmond, Va. Next on the Tour schedule is the TimberTech championships at Boca Raton, Fla., Nov. 4-6.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Bands don’t have websites with rosters and statistics as sports teams do, so I have to ask here: Are there any local students (Pierre, Fort Pierre, Onida, Blunt, et al.) who are part of SDSU’s Pride of the Dakotas marching band that will be performing in Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade in New York four weeks from today?

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): Idle last week, the Bison return to action at home Saturday vs. Illinois State.

St. Joseph’s men’s soccer (John Axtman): The Hawks whipped St. Bonaventure, 3-0, in their only game this past week. John saw action in the game. Now 3-5-8, St. Joe’s goes west to St. Louis for a Saturday game.

St. Thomas women’s soccer (Molly Knoblauch): The Tommies lost to Western Illinois, 3-1. They did not qualify for the Summit League tournament, so the season ends with a 6-8-3 record.

South Dakota women’s soccer (Joana Zanin, Janaina Zanin): The Coyotes lost to NDSU, 4-1, and lost to UND, 1-0. In the game against the Bison Joana had an assist on the lone USD goal. USD did not qualify for the Summit League tournament, so the season ends with a 4-9-5 record.

Gallaudet football (Kyle Albertson): After trailing 18-0, Gallaudet rallied to make it a close game but lost to Maritime (N.Y.), 26-24. Now 5-2, Gallaudet plays at home Saturday vs. Anna Maria.

South Dakota State football (Regan Bollweg): Coming off their big win over NDSU, the Jackrabbits fell behind early but rallied strongly to whip North Dakota, 49-35. Now 7-1 overall and 5-0 atop the Missouri Valley conference, SDSU has its Hobo Day game Saturday at 2 p.m. vs. Indiana State.

Northwestern (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): The Raiders dominated Doane, 59-10, to improve to 6-1. Mo was credited with two solo tackles and two assisted tackles, including two sacks for a total of 17 yards lost. Northwestern is home Saturday vs. Briar Cliff.

Black Hills State football (Josh Breske): The Yellowjackets lost to Colorado Mines, 38-0. Now 5-3 overall and 3-3 in the RMAC, BHSU plays at home against winless Fort Lewis Saturday.

Augustana football (Jett Lamb, Colton Hartford): The Vikings were beaten by Minnesota State-Mankato, 35-14, and now stand at 6-2. Jett was credited with one solo tackle. Augie plays at Winona State Saturday.

Northern football (Jacob Howard): The Wolves defeated Concordia-St. Paul, 49-20, and are now 5-3. Northern is home Saturday vs. Minnesota State-Moorhead.

Missouri Baptist football (Shawn Schnabel): The Spartans lost to Olivet Nazarene, 37-30, and are now 2-6. MBU plays at home vs. Trinity International Saturday.

Dakota Wesleyan football (Evan Nordstrom): The Tigers are now 1-8 after a 22-13 loss to Midland. DWU faces the nation’s #1 NAIA team, Morningside, on the road Saturday.

Dakota State football (Jaden Flor, Collin Brueggeman, Nathan Cook): The Trojans defeated Mayville State, 38-24. Now 4-4, DSU goes to Iowa Wesleyan for a Saturday game.

University of Sioux Falls cross country (Jessica Lutmer): At the Mount Marty invitational in Yankton the Cougar women placed first in the team standings. Jessica finished 10th in 19:11.71. With the regular fall season ended, the USF runners turn their attention to the NSIC conference meet at Wayne, Neb., Nov. 5.

Augustana men’s golf (Bennett Geraets): The Vikings ended their fall season at the Tulsa Cup tournament, placing 13th as a team with a 623 total score. Bennett was Augie’s best scorer with a card of 76-76=152, tying for 26th place.

Lafayette men’s soccer (Eric Axtman): The Leopards tied Loyola (Md.), 1-1, and lost to Hofstra, 4-0. Now 8-5-3, Lafayette plays at American University Saturday and at Army next Wednesday.

Charleston volleyball (Jaxin Melby): The Eagles have a lofty 25-3 record after 3-0 sweeps this week over Frostburg State, Fairmont State and Davis & Elkins. Charleston hosts Glenville State Friday and St. Augustine and Central State Saturday and goes to Concord University Tuesday.

South Dakota men’s basketball (Max Burchill): This is the sophomore season with the Coyotes for Max, a Sioux Falls Lincoln graduate and the son of Pierre natives Tom and Paula (Adam) Burchill. USD opens the season with a home exhibition game Sunday afternoon against Simpson College (Iowa).

South Dakota swimming (Morgan Nelson): Morgan’s sophomore year as a Coyote swimmer has seen USD go on a 2-3 record in dual meets so far this fall. In a 185-100 loss to Iowa State, Morgan swam on the “B” team in the 200 medley relay, placing fifth in 1:50.47. Individually she was third in the 100 breast stroke in 1:08.44 and fourth in the 200 breast in 2:36.15. USD swims duals against St. Thomas and Minnesota in Minneapolis Friday.

Mary women’s basketball (Chloe Lamb): USD graduate Chloe Lamb of Onida is beginning her first year as assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of Mary in Bismarck. The Marauders open their season at home Nov. 6 vs. St. Scholastica (Minn.).

Mary wrestling (Lincoln Turman): Lincoln is a redshirt senior majoring in nursing at Mary in Bismarck. He and the other Marauder wrestlers open their season Nov. 5 at the Yellowjacket Open in Rochester, Minn.

Augustana swimming (Ella Ward-Zeller): This is Ella’s freshman year at Augustana, and she and the Viking swimmers are already 10-0 in dual meets. In the most recent win over Northern she swam on the 200 medley team, placing second in 1:51.60. Individually she won the 200 backstroke in 2:05.26 and finished second in the 400 individual medley in 4:43.14. Augie swims Nov. 4-5 at the USD Extravaganza meet in Sioux Falls.

Augustana women’s basketball (Katie Bourk, Aislinn Duffy): This will be the 10th year at Augustana as an assistant women’s basketball coach and her 12th year there in all, she having been a graduate assistant for two years before her current tenure began. Aislinn is a senior forward and the daughter of Fort Pierre native Dan Duffy. The Viking women open there season up the street at USF against Fort Hays State (Kan.) Nov. 11 and Missouri Western Nov. 12.

Mount Marty men’s basketball (Lincoln Jordre): This is his senior year on the Yankton campus for Sully Buttes grad Lincoln. The Lancers are home for their season openers Sunday vs. Graceland (Iowa) and Wednesday vs. Waldorf (Iowa). They will play at the Sanford Pentagon Nov. 5 vs. Presentation and Nov. 6 vs. Valley City State.

Dakota Wesleyan wrestling (Tyson Johnson, Aric Williams): The DWU roster lists Aric as a graduate student and Tyson as a freshman. The Tigers open their season Nov. 5 at the Jamestown Open.

Dakota Wesleyan men’s basketball (Nick Wittler): The Sully Buttes grad is a junior already at DWU where the Tigers open their season at the Sanford Pentagon Nov. 5 vs. Valley City State and Nov. 6 vs. Presentation.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Sticky fingers, tired feet. One last house, trick or treat.”
— Rusty Fischer

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Oct. 27:
RoseMary Currier, Kinsley Christenson, Bev Smedley, Haylie Ripperger, Carter Schiefelbein, Keith Hrdlicka, River Iverson, Chris Rasmussen.
— 21st anniversary, Rick/Lisa Knudson.

Friday, Oct. 28:
Megan (Rapp) Deal, Kendra (Ott) Beyer, Jane Pitlick, Kyle Cichos, Logan Stoeser, Samantha Beck, Kristi Hestdalen, Jodi Gabriel, Katherine Breske, Thelma Allison, Madison Siebrasse, Trevor Larson, Kathryn Lindbloom.
— 33rd anniversary, Jeff/Wanda (Ping) Adel.
— 5th anniversary, Brady/Alyssa (Hudecek) Groff.

Saturday, Oct. 29:
Amanda Harsin, Darcie (Olson) Kringen, Tyler Prue, Tara Prue, Jenna Hall, Tim Cass, Abe Storms, Brian Paulson, Mike Hofmeister.
— 17th anniversary, Clint/Geli (Morin) Alumbaugh.
— 39th anniversary, Mike/Sharon Larsen.
— Anniversary, Jon/Michelle Boer.
— We fondly remember Greg Dean on his birthday.

Sunday, Oct. 30:
Branch Wolf, Karna (Knapp) Pfeffer, Michael Roberts, Jessica (Duba) Castelli, Dusty Hunsley, Carrie (Gonsor) Sanderson, Trey Owens, Nicole Hill, Andrew St. Claire, Taryn (Wolf) Blaseg, Satchel Workman, Milo Nill, Jim Bilbrey, Cassidy (Rogers) Kulesa.
— 13th anniversary, Jason/Allison Knox.

Monday, Oct. 31:
Joey Stahl, Cori Bechtold-Haag, Gus Bixler, Mya Ann Boe, Brian Van Camp, Christee Staufer, Brady Washecheck.

Tuesday, Nov. 1:
Tate Uecker, Kelcy Curtis, Melanie (Ramse) Turp, Mark Kozel, Marc McGregor, Juanita McKeever.
— 14th anniversary, Jason/Amy Ondell.
— 19th anniversary, Justin/Mindy (Stearns) Sivage.
— 19th anniversary, Nathan/Nicole Welsh.
— 8th anniversary, Mike/Rachel Fisher.

Wednesday, Nov. 2:
Kevin Richter, Mat Dutt, Rochelle (Rutschke) Kenzy, Glenda (Gill) Eisenbeisz, Jeremy Pullman, Dax Larson, Tiffany (Sonnenschein) Anderson, Brandon Lowery, Eddie Welch, Dee Clegg, Lois Ries, Cindy (Minder) DeFries, Jasmin (Fosheim) Turner, Taylor (Hyde) McLennan.

Thursday, Nov. 3:
Caden Thompson, Samantha Nielsen, Cortlyn Ahlers, Gus Runyan, Dale Bertsch, Chris Rounds, Randy Englund, Kevin Woster, Liz Hunt, Jarah (Smith) Vycital, Karla (Grueb) Kendrick, Darin Ries, Ed Baer, Emily Finley, Dakota Coppess.
— 10th anniversary, Joe/Rachel Lomheim.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

The grand concert by this year’s South Dakota All-State Chorus and Orchestra will be televised live on South Dakota Public Broadcasting at 7 p.m. CDT Saturday.

Pierre native Seth Waitman (Riggs ’04) and his wife, Taragade, who live in Thailand, became parents for the first time on Oct. 20. Their son, Zephyr Akira Augustus Waitman, weighed 8.6 pounds and measured 20 inches.

Chris Hesla, 61, died Sept. 28. A celebration of his life will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5, at Outpost Lodge north of Pierre. Chris graduated from Central High School in Rapid City in 1978 and from USD-Springfield in 1980 with a degree in electronics communications. He worked on mining radio systems at Gillette, Wyo., for Motorola in Pierre, as an engineer at KGFX, then opened Hesla’s Marine Electronics in 1985. Chris spent many years with High Plains Wildlife Federation and for 24 years lobbied statewide for protection of resources and for sportsmen’s rights. Chris married Colette in 2007, and he welcomed Jac and Max into his life. He is survived by his wife; his stepdaughter, Jacquelyn (Shawn) and their son, Mason; his stepson, Maxwell; his sister, Teckla (Jerry), and many nephews, nieces, great-nieces and great-nephews.

Michael Lusk and Halle Gronlund became engaged last week. Michael, a graduate of SDSU, works at First National Bank in Pierre. Halle is a senior at SDSU working toward her high school math teaching degree.

Patricia (Williamson) Buchholz, 93, Pierre, passed away Oct. 19 at Avera Maryhouse. Her funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at Feigum Funeral Home, preceded by visitation there at 10 a.m. Pat graduated from Onida High School in 1945, married Russell Buchholz and became a rancher’s wife. She also taught in rural schools in Sully County. Pat graduated with a B.S. in education from Black Hills State at the same time as her son, Terry. The Buchholzes moved to the Hot Springs area in 1972. They continued raising quarter horses, and Pat taught school. She eventually moved back to Pierre to be closer to family members. She is survived by her daughter, Kathy Sprinkel of Pierre; her granddaughter, Audra Bourk and her fiancé Jeff Chaput of Langdon, N.D.; her grandson, Jess (Sonia) Bourk and their two children of Highmore; her granddaughter, Kia (Brandon) Rieger and girls of Pierre, and her sister, Marilyn Bauer of Piedmont. Among those who preceded her in death were her husband, her son Terry just this fall, her parents and her grandparents.

Ryan Parker Knox plays the character Don in a two-person play with a long title, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gynecologic Oncology Unit at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center of New York City.” The show will run from Nov. 19 to Dec. 4 at the Temple of Music and Art Cabaret in Tucson, Ariz. Ryan and Samantha Cormier as Karla play two opposites forced to spend hours together visiting their stricken mothers who share a room at a cancer hospital.

Jennette Styles, 63, died at home Oct. 18 after battling COPD. A memorial service will be held later at Isburg Funeral Chapel. Jennette grew up in Vancouver, Wash. She came to South Dakota in 1978 to be closer to family. She married Buddy Jorgensen in 1978, and they had three sons. She married Larry Styles in 1998, and they lived in Draper and Rapid City. They moved to Pierre last January. Jennette worked briefly for the Department of Game, Fish & Parks and worked in various retail and service jobs. She is survived by her husband, Larry; her sons, B.J., Mike and Matt Jorgensen, all of Pierre; two grandchildren, and her sister, Jeannie (Lyle) Bays of Ridgefield, Wash.

Former Pierre resident Billy Beesley is a new grandpa again. His daughter, Billie (Beesley) Miller, and her husband Allan of Fort Worth, Texas, are the parents of a baby girl, Pria Malone Miller, who was born Oct. 24, weighing 6 pounds, 14 ounces, and measuring 20 inches. The Millers have an older son, Decklan.

Michele (Doren) Lewis, 53, Pierre, died at home Oct. 17. Her funeral took place Oct. 24 at the Isburg Funeral Chapel. Michele grew up in Fort Pierre, then attended Job Corps in Utah where she earned her GED. She also attended Southeast Tech in Sioux Falls and worked at the Crippled Children’s Hospital as a CNA. She married Anthony Lewis, and they had two daughters. Michele moved back to Pierre and worked at various hotels in their laundry services. Survivors include two daughters, Natalie Lewis of Pierre and Chantal Lewis of Spearfish; a grandson; her mother, Deborah Augustine; her father, Robert Doren; her siblings, Jennifer Haukaas, Paul Haukaas, Larry Haukaas Jr. and Robbie Doren, and many other relatives.

Pierre native Sam Holden has begun his second year back at Black Hills State University where he is assistant athletic director in charge of events and internal operations. Back in the day Sam earned his bachelor’s degree at BHSU in 2010 and his master’s there in 2012, and he was an assistant basketball coach there. At Mount Marty College in Yankton he was an assistant basketball coach. His next stop was the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., where he was athletics facilities and events supervisor and an assistant basketball coach. At St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., he was associate athletic director for facilities. He returned to BHSU in the fall of 2021.

Netta (Hackett) Lammon, 93, died Oct. 19. Her funeral was held Monday at Resurrection Lutheran Church. Netta grew up in Fort Pierre and graduated from high school there. She married Donald Lammon in 1949, and they were married for 73 years. She is survived by her husband; her daughter, Shannon (Norman) Kallio of Grass Lake, Mich.; her daughter-in-law, Nancy Lammon of Jackson, Mich.; four grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; a brother, William (Kathy) Hackett of Sturgis; a sister, Rose Lee Jacob of Port St. Joe, Fla., and other relatives.

PONDER THIS

“Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up at the polls.”
— Peggy Noonan