THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Indian summer breezes blow,
The geese are taking flight.
A softly glowing harvest moon
Lights up the starry night.
The special warmth and happiness
We feel throughout September
Will fill our hearts all winter long
With beauty to remember.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Cross country: at Aberdeen Central invitational, 10 a.m
Boys soccer: home vs. Harrisburg, 4 p.m.
Girls soccer: home vs. Harrisburg, 6 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Boys golf: at Yankton invitational, 10 a.m.
Football: at Mitchell, 7 p.m.
Volleyball: home vs. Sturgis, 7 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Girls tennis: at Brookings quadrangular, 10 a.m.
Girls soccer: at Brandon Valley, noon.
Boys soccer: at Brandon Valley, 2 p.m.
Volleyball: home vs. Spearfish, 2 p.m.
— MONDAY
Boys golf: at Brookings invitational, 10 a.m.
— TUESDAY
Volleyball: at Sioux Falls Washington, 7 p.m.

Football: The Governors blew past Brookings in the home opener, leading 49-0 at halftime. That was the final score after a scoreless second half which was played with a running clock. After a Spencer Easland interception set up the offense at the Brookings 26, Cade Kaiser hit Jett Zabel with a touchdown pass. Brock Moser scored on touchdown runs of one and 19 yards. Another Kaiser-to-Zabel pass play made the score 28-0. Trey Lewis returned a punt all the way 65 yards for a score. Carson Stoeser intercepted a pass and ran it back 36 yards for the next Pierre score. A final Kaiser-to-Zabel pass play resulted in the last score. Ryann Barry kicked the extra point successfully after all seven touchdowns.

Pierre cross country: At the Augustana twilight meet in Sioux Falls, Pierre’s Jared Lutmer finished in an impressive fifth place with a time of 15:54.76, and the Governor boys team placed 20th in the team standings. Other boys places and times:
Caleb Morris, 44th, 16:56.44.
Ian Rounds, 180th, 18:17.27.
Jayden Brandt, 208th, 18:37.10.
Weston Northrup, 217th, 18:38.91.
Alex Oedekoven, 236th, 18:48.19.
Mason Ward-Zeller, 248th, 18:53.83.
Haeden Wheelhouse, 250th 18:54.36.
C.J. Moses, 301st, 19:35.62.
Cayden Morris, 339th, 20:03.05.
— These are the Governor girls’ places and times:
Gwen Richter, 59th, 20:47.47.
Devyn Van Roekel, 73rd, 20:56.88.
Harper Shaffer, 83rd, 21:07.28.
Jayne Lees, 86th, 21:11.13.
Mason Berg, 88th, 21:11.45.
Jazzlyn Rombough, 165th, 22:07.37.
Avery Lisburg, 174th, 22:14.12.
Charlee Williams-Smith, 22:30.52.
Elaina Rounds, 201st, 22:39.57.
Allyson Bauer, 240th, 23:14.03.

Cheer/dance: At the Watertown invitational last Thursday Pierre placed seventh overall with 243.75 points. The team was fifth in pom at 243.5 and tied for sixth in hip hop at 244. At the home invitational Saturday the team placed first overall with a 252 score. They were first in pom at 264.5 and third in hip hp at 239.5.

Girls soccer: The Governor girls lost for the first time this season in a game against Spearfish, 1-0. Pierre still has allowed only two goals in five games. Their record is 4-1.

Boys soccer: Pierre lost a 2-1 game to Spearfish. The Govs’ record is 2-2-1.

Girls tennis: In a triangular Pierre lost to Mitchell, 7-2, and defeated Madison, 7-2. Jocelyn Corrales won in singles in both duals, and she and Caitlin Ott won both of their doubles matches.

Volleyball: Pierre stands at 4-1 after winning two of three duals this past week. In a 3-0 sweep of Douglas the game scores were 25-18, 25-14, 25-15. Campbell Boddickere had 10 kills, Abigail Kropp nine kills, Reese Terwilliger seven kills and Aleise Christopherson six kills. In a 3-1 loss to Aberdeen, Pierre’s first loss of the season, the game scores were 25-20, 21-25, 21-25, 17-25. Terwilliger had 12 kills, two blocks and three service aces while Kropp had 11 kills and two aces. On Tuesday the Govs fought off the heat in the gym to beat Mitchell, 3-1, on game scores of 25-19, 17-25, 25-15, 25-20. Terwilliger had 12 kills, Kropp 12 kills, Boddicker nine kills and Elly Broers five aces.

PIERRE PLAYERS SHOW JUST A WEEK AWAY

Tickets are now on sale for Pierre Players Community Theatre’s production of “Inconsequential Dreams” by Michelle Schaunaman with shows Sept. 15-17 and 21-23 at the Grand Opera House. Cast members are Shelby Bergeson, Lydia Kanz, Jack Mortenson and Danny Nelson.

Doors open at 7 p.m. with performances at 7:30 p.m. except for the one Sunday matinee when doors open at 1:30 for a 2:00 show.

A preview performance will be held Sept. 13 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for that show are $5 at the door.

Learn more about season memberships or individual ticket prices at https://pierreplayers.com.

AND THERE’S MORE . . . SAVE THE DATE OF SEPT. 16

Join Pierre Players at the Waterfront Gallery for the Arts at 207 E. Missouri Ave. on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m. for a behind-the-scenes look at “Inconsequential Dreams.” Playwright Michelle Schaunaman from Aberdeen will discuss her process in writing the script, and the show’s director Alisa Bousa, will talk about staging an original production on the Pierre Players stage.

The cast members will give a glimpse into their characters and perform a scene from the show.

In addition to the discussion on “Inconsequential Dreams” Waterfront Gallery for the Arts on the same day will host an artist reception and show by Alisha (Hunt) Erickson, who is originally from Pierre but now lives in Sioux Falls. She is a nurse and a self-taught abstract artist. She uses watercolors and acrylics to create colorful interpretations of nature and flowers. Art has always been her passion, and over the last few years she has pursued making art a daily part of her life. Her show runs from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 16.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

Volleyball: In a home triangular Saturday the Buffaloes won twice. In a 3-1 win over White River, the game scores were 27-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-20. In a 3-0 sweep over Little Wound, the game scores were 25-18, 25-9, 25-18.

Football: The Buffaloes are 3-0 after steamrolling Dupree, 40-0. Barrett Schweitzer scored four touchdowns, two of them on the ground and two of them on the receiving end of Broch Zeeb passes. Zeeb also scored on the return of a fumble. SCHS made all five two-point conversions. Idle this week during their bye week, the Buffs’ next action will be at home Sept. 15 against Bon Homme.

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Volleyball: home vs. Philip, 6:30 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Volleyball: at Mobridge-Pollock tournament.
Cross country: at Ipswich invitational, 10 a.m.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— FRIDAY
Football: home vs. Faulkton Area, 2 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Cross country: at Ipswich invitational, 10 a.m.
Volleyball: at Philip tournament, 10 a.m.

Football: The Chargers, now 1-2, scored their first win, going to Sunshine Bible Academy and winning there, 62-32. Gavin Barber scored six Charger touchdowns and compiled 365 of Sully Buttes’ 470 total yards. Wesley Wittler passed for 62 yards. Sunshine, however, had 359 yards of its own.

Volleyball: The girls lost a 3-0 sweep against Miller on game scores of 18-25, 8-25, 16-25. Sully Buttes then swept Ipswich, 3-0, on game scores of 25-23, 25-20, 25-19. In the latter match Trichelle White had eight kills, Stevie Wittler three kills and Jaydn Jaeger five aces. The Chargers’ record is 4-3.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: root beer.
Friday-Sunday: tutti fruitti.
Monday-Tuesday: blue mood.
Wednesday-Thursday: almond.

BASEBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Canaries (Spencer Sarringar): The Canaries clinched a playoff berth with a 7-4 win over Winnipeg last Wednesday. Then in the final series of the regular season they took three out of four at Cleburne. In a 7-4 in Spencer went 2-for-4, scored twice and drove in four runs, one on an infield grounder, one on a fourth-inning solo home run and two on a sixth-inning two-run homer. In a 10-6 win Spence was 1-for-3 with a fourth-inning double but was also hit with a pitch twice and scored three runs. Sioux Falls finished the regular season at 52-48, tying for second place in the West Division of the American Association. Qualifying for the playoffs in the West are Kansas City, Sioux Falls, Sioux City and Fargo-Moorhead. The East Division qualifiers are Milwaukee, Chicago, Kane County and Cleburne. The Canaries’ first-round playoff series vs. Kansas City began last night, and Game 2 will be in Sioux Falls on Friday night.

Minnesota Twins: When they lost to Cleveland last week, the Twins’ lead in the A.L. Central Division dropped down to five games. The Twins won two of three over pennant-contending Texas over the weekend, and the lead was still five games on Sunday night. Then the Twins did what they had to do, winning twice in Cleveland by scores of 20-6 and 8-3 to lead again by seven games. An afternoon loss at Cleveland yesterday reduced the lead to six games.

Twins’ schedule:
— Friday: New York Mets, 7:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Saturday: New York Mets, 1:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Sunday: New York Mets, 1:10 p.m. (BSN).
— Monday: Tampa Bay, 6:40 p.m. (BSN).
— Tuesday: Tampa Bay, 6:40 p.m. (BSN).
— Wednesday: Tampa Bay, 12:10 p.m. (BSN, MLBN).
— Thursday: at Chicago White Sox, 6:40 p.m. (BSN).

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Class 11AA update:
— Records to date: Pierre 2-0, Tea Area 2-0, Yankton 2-0, Sturgis 2-0, Watertown 2-0, Spearfish 1-1, Douglas 1-1, Brookings 0-2, Mitchell 0-2, Aberdeen Central 0-2, Huron 0-2.
— Games this week: Pierre at Mitchell, Sturgis at Aberdeen Central, Spearfish at Douglas, Huron at Brookings, Yankton at Watertown, Tea Area at Sioux Falls O’Gorman.

Midco Sports Network live games this weekend:
— Saturday, 1 p.m.: USD vs. St. Thomas.
— Saturday, 3 p.m.: UND vs. Northern Arizona (MSN2).
— Saturday, 6 p.m.: SDSU vs. Montana State.

NFL live games on local TV this weekend:
— Thursday: Detroit at Kansas City, 7:20 p.m., NBC.
— Sunday: Tampa Bay at Minnesota, noon, CBS.
— Sunday: San Francisco at Pittsburgh, noon, Fox.
— Sunday: Las Vegas at Denver, 3:25 p.m., CBS.
— Sunday: Dallas at New York Giants, 7:20 p.m., NBC.
— Monday: Buffalo at New York Jets, 7:15 p.m., ABC, ESPN, ESPN+.
(Note: These games, especially the ones on the local stations on Sunday afternoons, are subject to change without notice.)

Minnesota Vikings: The season opens with a home game against Tampa Bay at noon Sunday.

Denver Broncos: The opener for the Broncos is at home against the Las Vegas Raiders at 3:25 p.m Sunday CDT.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #4

Last week every one of our contestants picked TCU to beat Colorado, so there was no chance of a perfect entry worth 20 points. However, Jon Boer missed only that one game and went 9-1 for 10 points. At 8-2 for 9 points each were Mikal Kern, Kyle Richards, David Ludwig, Brad Cruse, Jason Noyes, Nathan Vetter and Thomas Voeltz. At 7-2 for 8 points each were Levi Neuharth, Seb Axtman, Beth Rinehart, Terry Tousley, Dawn Magee Randy Pool, Eric James and Pat Flanigan.

This week’s contest games: (Everyone welcome. Send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by Saturday morning.)
(1) Montana State at South Dakota State.
(2) Nebraska at Colorado.
(3) Notre Dame at N. C. State.
(4) Texas at Alabama.
(5) Oregon at Texas Tech.
(6) Utah at Baylor.
(7) NFL: Tampa Bay at Minnesota.
(8) NFL: Cincinnati at Cleveland.
(9) NFL: San Francisco at Pittsburgh.
(10) NFL: Dallas at New York Giants.

WORDS OF WISDOM

“We need leaders not in love with money but in love with justice; not in love with publicity but in love with humanity.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons defeated Colorado, 3-0, and tied San Jose, 1-1. Minnesota is home vs. New England at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Minnesota Lynx: The Lynx defeated Atlanta, 91-85, then defeated Phoenix, 86-63 clinching a playoff berth. The Lynx complete the WNBA regular season at Chicago Friday and at Indiana Sunday.

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

— Note that at the top of this Update it says “Volume 24, Number 1.” In other words we are beginning our 24th consecutive year of doing this every week. As I say every year, this is the last year.

COUNTDOWN

1 day: South Dakota Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, Chamberlain (Sept. 8-9).
1 day: Riggs High Class of ’73 50-year reunion (Sept. 8-9).
1 day: Sully Buttes High homecoming day (Sept. 8).
3 days: Minnesota Vikings season opener (Sept. 10).
4 days: Patriot Day (Sept. 11).
4 days: Sanford International golf tournament events, Sioux Falls (Sept. 11-17).
8 days: Pierre Players’ “Inconsequential Dreams” (Sept. 15-17, 21-23).
9 days: “M” Day at School of Mines (Sept. 16).
9 days: Trojan Day at Dakota State (Sept. 16).
9 days: Blue & White Day at Dakota Wesleyan (Sept. 16).
11 days: Riggs High coronation (Sept. 18).
14 days: Riggs High homecoming parade (Sept. 21).
15 days: Riggs High homecoming day (Sept. 22).
15 days: South Dakota Festival of Books, Deadwood (Sept. 22-24).
16 days: Viking Day at Augustana (Sept. 23).
17 days: Minnesota Wild preseason opener (Sept. 24).

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

South Dakota women’s soccer (Janaina Zanin): The Coyotes won at Idaho State, 3-2, and tied Utah State 0-0 on a western trip. Now 2-1-3, USD plays at home tonight vs. Northern Iowa and next Wednesday at Drake.

Minnesota State-Mankato women’s soccer (Mackenzie Rath): The Mavericks blasted Oklahoma Baptist, 7-0, and Mackenzie played all 90 minutes as goalkeeper, recording six saves. In Sunday’s 0-0 tie against Emporia State, she played the first 30 minutes as goalkeeper. Now 1-0-1, Minnesota State is home Friday vs. Central Missouri and Sunday vs. Grand Valley State.

Grand View men’s soccer (Rylan Derry): The Vikings defeated Midland College, 2-0, and bested Hannibal-LaGrange, 5-0. Grand View is now 3-0 and has yet to give up a goal. Grand View, after a home match against Columbia College last night, will be home Saturday against Morningside and on the road Tuesday at Bellevue, Neb.

Ohio State football (Lincoln Kienholz): The Buckeyes opened the season with a 23-3 Big 10 win at Indiana. Now 1-0, Ohio State will be home Saturday at 11 a.m. against Youngstown State.

Dakota Wesleyan football (Evan Nordstrom): The Tigers lost their GPAC opener to Hastings, 24-17, in overtime. Now 1-1, DWU goes down to Doane College at 1 p.m. Saturday.

South Dakota State cross country (Jessica Lutmer): At the Augustana twilight meet, Jessica ran her first race as a Jackrabbit after transferring from USF. She placed 19th in a personal-best time of 18:31.37. SDSU is home Friday for its own SDSU Classic.

Augustana football (Jett Lamb, Colton Hartford): Jett was a starter on the defensive line for the VIkings who smothered Mary 38-7 in their season opener. Colton, a junior defensive back from Rapid City, also played in the game. Augustana goes to Chadron State for a 1 p.m. non-conference game Saturday.

University of Sioux Falls football (Jack Merkwan, Christian Busch, Jayden Wiebe): The Cougars lost their season and conference opener to Minnesota State-Mankato, 54-26. USF goes to Bismarck to play Mary at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Northwestern (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): The defending national champions won their opener over Concordia (Neb.), 48-35. Morris was a starting defensive end and recorded one solo tackle and two assisted tackles. Northwestern goes out of the GPAC to play at Drake in Des Moines at 6 p.m. Saturday.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): At USBank Stadium in Minneapolis, the Bison dominated Eastern Washington, 35-10. Grey was starting left guard on the offensive line. NDSU is home at 2:30 p.m. Saturday against Maine on ESPN+.

Black Hills State football (Josh Breske): Josh’s fourth year as head coach began with a 36-26 loss at St. Thomas. BHSU was down 22-0 early and trailed at halftime 22-10 and after three quarters by 22-13. BHSU travels again this Saturday to pay in Bolivar, Mo., against Southwest Baptist in a noon game.

Dakota State football (Nathan Cook, Collin Brueggeman): The Trojans are 0-2 after a 31-6 home loss to Wisconsin-La Crosse. Nathan had one pass reception on a play that lost four yards. Collin was credited with one solo tackle and seven assisted tackles. DSU goes to Forest City, Iowa, to play Waldorf in their conference opener Saturday at 4 p.m.

Gallaudet football (Kyle Albertson): Kyle was a starting offensive tackle for Gallaudet, which lost its season opener at Keystone (Pa.), 27-6. The team plays Saturday at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.

OTHER COLLEGE FOOTBALL

— Northern State (0-1): Lost to Bemidji State, 49-13.
Next: home 6 p.m. Saturday vs. Minnesota-Duluth.
— SDSU (1-0): Beat Western Oregon, 45-7.
Next: home 6 p.m. Saturday vs. Montana State, Midco and ESPN+.
— USD (0-1): Lost to Missouri, 35-10.
Next: home 1 p.m. Saturday vs. St. Thomas, Midco and ESPN+.
— Mount Marty (1-0): Beat Briar Cliff, 40-14.
Next: at Dordt 1 p.m. Saturday.
— South Dakota Mines (1-0): Beat Valley City State, 31-14
Next: at Truman State noon Saturday.
— Minnesota (1-0): Beat Nebraska, 13-10.
Next: home 6:30 p.m. Saturday vs. Eastern Michigan, Big 10 Network.
— Nebraska (0-1): Lost to Minnesota, 13-10.
Next: at Colorado 11 a.m. Saturday, Fox.
— UND (1-0): Beat Drake, 55-7.
Next: home 3 p.m. Saturday vs. Northern Arizona, Midco2 and ESPN+.

FOOTBALL COACHES UPDATE

Justin Briese, Aberdeen Central: Justin’s Golden Eagles are 0-2 after a 28-7 loss to Tea Area. Central is home Friday against their third straight unbeaten opponent, Sturgis.

Ben Kramer, Hot Springs: The Bison are 3-0 after a 61-6 win over Lakota Tech. Those six points were the first allowed by Hot Springs this season. Hot Springs is home Friday against Dell Rapids (2-0).

Mikal Kern, Wyndmere-Lidgerwood, N.D.: The Warbirds are 3-0 after a 47-20 victory over Maple River. The team plays at Hankinson (2-0) this week.

Scott Raue, Harvey-Wells County, N.D.: Harvey edged Thompson, 21-18, and now stands 2-1 for the year. The team plays at Bottineau (2-1) this Friday.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Part of being a winner is knowing when enough is enough. Sometimes you have to give up the fight and walk away and move on to something that’s more productive.”
— Former President Donald Trump
(Yes, he really did say that once.)

ONE YEAR AGO IN THE MIDWEEK UPDATE

Sept. 8: The South Dakota death toll from COVID-19 surpassed the 3,000 mark.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Our apologies: Last week we listed the birthdays/anniversaries for Sept. 8 under the title of Sept. 7. Those listed below are correct.

Thursday, Sept. 7:
Finnley Oehlerking, Tate Gabriel, Sam Willard, Mark Schlekeway, John Burchill Jr., Ivy Flottmeyer, Connie Tveidt, Jaxon Yackley, Brock Hyde, Josh Anderson, Kathy (Huse) Wika, Jerid Maskovich Kim (Sargent) Forgey.
— 17th anniversary, Jordan/Jenni (Sprenkle) Terveen.
— 16th anniversary, Bryan/Amanda (Crompton) Treloar.
— 10th anniversary, Judd/Jessica (Durkin) Heinzmann.
— 10th anniversary, Andrew/BryAnn (Becker) Knecht.
— 10th anniversary, Paul/Jenny Denton.

Friday, Sept. 8:
Ryan Lauseng, Demaris Axthelm, Jessica Bucholz, Chase Blair, Stuart Martin, Mary Gales Askren, Ashley (Iverson) Feyereisen, Pam (Small) Durkin, Cindy Bahe, Charley Grace Crawford.
— 17th anniversary, Allen/Lindsay (Lower) Uecker.
— 11th anniversary, Mark/Jessica Hardwick.
— 16th anniversary, John/Ashlee (Roemen) Keyes.
— 16th anniversary, David/Kaishia (Bernard) Anderson.
— 11th anniversary Jason/Codi Kinsman.
— 15th anniversary, Josh/Kelsy Vogt.
— 16th anniversary, Aaron/Ashley Denton.
— 5th anniversary, Mitch/Rachelle (Schmidt) Likness.
— 5th anniversary, Rick/Krista (Oehlerking) Miller.

Saturday, Sept. 9:
Hudson Shangreaux, Aubree Withers, Katie Hiemstra, James Moisan, Taylor Flannery, John Moisan, Chandler Bartholomew, Heather (Juhala) Maxwell, Michael Ahlers, Bobbi (Martin) Drewes, Lilian Cruse, Chase Hight, Megan Johnson, Linda (Fjelstad) Schumacher, Samantha (Merrill) Pietz.
— 18th anniversary, Chad/Jenny (Riis) Babcock.
— 17th anniversary, Dustin/Joanne (Berg) Hight.
— 17th anniversary, Matt/Sara (Schneider) Odden.
— 6th anniversary, Mic/Nicole (Madden) Stulken.
— 6th anniversary, Charlie/Carrie (Erickson) Kaufman.

Sunday, Sept. 10:
Laurie Feiler, Jessica Simons, Morgan Hanson, Carrie (Rounds) Larson, Shelbi (Hostler) Schimpf, Deb Bumann Tom Ellefson, Dan Brummer, Chris Eich, Kathy (Goc) Hoisington.
— 12th anniversary, Travis/June (Stewart) Kelly.
— 12th anniversary, Mikal/Myriah Kern.
— 12th anniversary, Ron/Nerissa (Gallagher) Strait.
— 12th anniversary, Daris/Kelsey (Dunwoody) Kampfe.
— 2nd anniversary, Kyle/Amanda Kurth.

Monday, Sept. 11:
Bob Gill, Jason Young, Bennett Eisenbeisz, Dawn Marso, Nancy Gonsor, Joan Likness, Gail Lyngstad, Jamie Van Winsen, Tim Marshall, Jason Nowak.
— 58th anniversary, Dick/Joy Christoffer.

Tuesday, Sept. 12:
Brittney Kirkpatrick, Noah Sprenkle, Brittany (Guindon) Meiners, John Keyes, Lois Fuller, Erin Harmon, William Maurice, Randy McKee, Samantha Harris, Jen de Hueck.
— 26th anniversary, Tom/Molly Valentine.
— 14th anniversary, Drew/Catherine Sweetman.
— 8th anniversary, Aaron/Kelsey (Wilson) Trimble.
— 14th anniversary, Jason/Sarah Sass.
— 15th anniversary, Guy/Mikayla (Mikkelsen) Frick.
— 8th anniversary, Nick/Ally (Kraemer) Formanek.
— 25th anniversary, Ryan/Lisa (Ries) Kramer.

Wednesday, Sept. 13:
Bauer Bollinger, Andrew Smith, Kevin Tveidt, Katie Ludemann, Joe Tetzlaff, Jonalyn Beastrom, Jean Lakner, Cody Richter, Emma Wylie, Nanchy (Pottratz) Kennedy, Denise (Lamb) Wilkins, Ryan Grandpre, Laura (Joachim) Hansen.
— 9th anniversary, Ryan/Dani Tobin.
— 60th anniversary, Dick/Mary Carter.

Thursday, Sept. 14:
Sam Ellefson, Cora Stahl, Levi Neuharth, Ella Marie Smith, Kaitlyn Bruns, Luke Deal, Lisa Forest, Barry Massey, Mark Mancuso, Finn Mancuso.
— 16th anniversary, Jeff/Brianne (Barnett) Roby.
— 21st anniversary, Matt/Kim Brakke.
— 10th anniversary, Jordan/Shelby (Badger) Heckenliable.
— 10th anniversary, Mitch/Stephanie (Dvorak) Delvo.
— 10th anniversary, Torry/Christina Garrett.
— We fondly remember Robert Disburg on his birthday.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Steve Likness, 66, died Sept. 2 at Dougherty Hospice House in Sioux Falls. His funeral is taking place today (Thursday) at 1 p.m. at Lutheran Memorial Church, followed by a celebration of his life at Drifters. Steve was the second of five children of James and Joan Likness and graduated from Riggs High School in 1975. He attended Western Kentucky University and earned a degree in mass communications. Back home in Pierre, he became manager of the State 123 Theater. As he was making theater deposits at American State Bank, he met a teller named Vicki Barth. They were married in 1984 and raised two children. Steve was office manager at JC Printing and Office Supplies until retiring in 2022. He was an active member of the Masonic lodge and Shriners. Surviving are his wife, Vicki; his children, Natalie Likness (Josh Schwartzkopf) and Mitchell (Rachelle) Likness; his mother, Joan Likness; his siblings, Mike (Nancy) Likness, Karen (Gary) Orcutt, Paul (Diane) Likness and Mary (Colin) Keeler; his father-in-law, Ernie Barth, and Vicki’s siblings, Perry (Susie) Barth, Randy (Donna) Barth and Patti (Mark) Broer.

Justin Harmon was promoted to the rank of sergeant in the Pierre Police Department last week. Making the ceremony all the more special was the fact that he was pinned by a pair of other Harmon law enforcement officers, his father Joe Jr. and his grandfather Joe. Justin’s parents are Joe and Stephanie (Colwill) Harmon.

Bob and Christine Sahr of Madison had the pleasure of attending the ceremony at USD in which their daughter, Ally, received her white coat as a member of the nursing Class of 2025.

Eleanor Schmidt, 85, Hoven, died Aug. 29 at Avera Mother Joseph Manor in Aberdeen. Mass of Christian Burial took place Tuesday at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Hoven. Mrs. Schmidt had a nursing career that extended from 1959 to 2006. She suffered a debilitating stroke in 2006. Survivors include four children, Bruce (Julie) Schmidt of Centennial, Wyo., Wayne (Jody) Schmidt of Glenham, Lynette (Branch) Wolf of Pierre and Durran Schmidt of Aberdeen; five siblings, Renee Ihle of Columbus Ohio, Vern Rausch of Hoven, Darrel Rausch of Hoven, Jerry Rausch of Hoven, and Char Nickolas of Pierre; seven in-laws, 10 grandchildren, and 16 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Lefty, her parents, her in-laws and four brothers.

Logan Severson was crowned emperor and Richelle White empress at Sully Buttes High’s homecoming coronation Monday night. Other candidates for emperor were Treyton Smith and Cayden Hilger. The other empress candidates were Adeline Forgey, Lilly Paxton, Addison Chicoine and Stevie Wittler.

Gary Heintz, 76, died Sept. 1. A celebration of his life will take place this (Thursday) evening from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by a prayer service at 7, both at Feigum Funeral Home. His funeral will be at 11 a.m. Friday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, followed by burial at 2 p.m. at Harrold. The son of Red and Grace Heintz graduated from Harrold High School and attended Northern State College. He and Diana Kutz were married and raised four children. Gary taught at Harrold HIgh School for nine years, then became an insurance agent, working for Northwestern Mutual for three years and for State Farm for 39 years until retiring in 2020. He married Patti in 2004. Gary was a founding member of the Plains Folk band and a co-founder of the Dakota Western Heritage Festival. He is survived by his wife, Patti: his sister, Debra (Gary) Hobert of Harrold; his children, Kristine (John) Giroux of Larned, Kan., Jacqueline (Lorin) Wilcox of North Logan, Utah; Rebecca (Tomas) Urias of Mesa, Ariz., and Matthew (Rebekah) Heintz of Mesa; his stepdaughters, Beth (Chris) Henrichsen of Pierre and Amy (Dennis) Hotchkin of Youngsville, N.C.; nine grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.

We have a back-to-back champion in the South Dakota best-bagger competition at the State Fair. Eli Schipper, who works at Fareway Foods in Harrisburg and who is now a student at Augustana, has won the state championship for the second straight year. He is the son of Pierre native Jason Schipper and his wife Sandy, and his grandparents are former Pierre residents Lloyd and Jeannette Schipper. For winning the state title again, Eli gets $500 in cash and again an expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas for the National Grocers Association national best-bagger championship. In this competition each contestant must bag identical grocery orders that are then judged on speed, bag building, uniform weight, personal attitude and appearance.

PONDER THIS

“One of the key problems today is that politics is such a disgrace. Good people don’t go into government.”
— Former President Donald Trump
(Yes, he really did once say this, too.)