THOUGHT FOR TODAY

Do not grow old, no matter how long you live. Never cease to stand like curious children before the great mystery into which we were born.
— Alfred Einstein

FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS UPDATE

Classes 11AAA, 11AA, 11A:
— Regular-season final games tonight.
— Quarterfinals: Thursday, Oct. 26.
— Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 3.
— Championships: Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 9-11.

Class 11B:
— First-round games tonight:
16 Parker at 1 Winner.
9 Aberdeen Roncalli at 8 Wagner.
13 Groton Area at 4 Elk Point-Jefferson.
12 Rapid City St. Thomas More at 5 Tri-Valley.
15 Webster Area at 2 Deuel.
10 Rapid City Christian at 7 Woonsocket/Wessington Springs/Sanborn Central.
14 Mount Vernon-Plankinton at 3 Sioux Valley.
11 Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan at 6 Hot Springs.
— Quarterfinals: Thursday, Oct. 26.
— Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 3.
— Championship: Friday, Nov. 10.

Class 9AA:
— First-round games tonight:
16 Viborg-Hurley at 1 Parkston.
9 Hanson at 8 Leola-Frederick Area.
13 Bon Homme at 4 Hamlin.
12 Kimball-White Lake at 5 Wall.
15 Great Plains Lutheran at 2 Platte-Geddes.
10 Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy at 7 Stanley County.
14 Ipswich at 3 Howard.
11 Britton-Hecla at 6 Elkton-Lake Benton.
— Quarterfinals: Thursday, Oct. 26.
— Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 3.
— Championship: Thursday, Nov. 9.

Class 9A:
— First-round games tonight:
16 Colman-Egan at 1 Warner.
9 Castlewood at 8 Lyman.
13 Centerville at 4 Canistota.
12 Gregory at 5 Harding County/Bison.
15 Burke at 2 Alcester/Hudson.
10 Estelline/Hendricks at 7 Deubrook Area.
14 Timber Lake at 5 Philip.
11 Chester Area at 6 Wolsey-Wessington.
— Quarterfinals: Thursday, Oct. 26.
— Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 3.
— Championship: Thursday, Nov. 9.

Class 9B:
— First-round games tonight:
16 Faith at 1 Avon.
9 Lemmon-McIntosh at 8 Hitchcock-Tulare.
13 Colome at 4 De Smet.
12 Gayville-Volin at 5 Herreid-Selby Area.
15 Jones County at 2 Faulkton Area.
10 Kadoka Area at 7 Sully Buttes.
14 New Underwood at 3 Corsica-Stickney.
11 Potter County at 6 Dell Rapids St. Mary.
— Quarterfinals: Thursday, Oct. 26.
— Semifinals: Friday, Nov. 3.
— Championship: Thursday, Nov. 9.

STATE CROSS COUNTRY MEET PREVIEW

The schedule of the state meet in Sioux Falls on Saturday: “AA” boys, noon; “B” boys, 12:30; “A” boys, 1:00; “AA’ girls, 1:30; “B” girls, 2:00; “A” girls, 2:30. Each Class “AA” school automatically can enter a team (seven runners, including five who count and two pushers).

Stanley County has two runners who qualified out of the regional meet. Kaysen Magee placed 13th in the girls’ race in 21:40, and Spencer Sargent placed 18th in the boys’ race in 18:57.

Sully Buttes will have two runners at the state meet, having qualified out of their region meet. Jonas Olson placed 18th in the boys race in 19:42, and Myli Weischedel placed 20th in the girls’ race in 25:28.

PIERRE GOVERNORS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Football: home vs. Douglas, 7 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Volleyball: at Sioux Falls O’Gorman, 7 p.m.
— SATURDAY
Cheer/dance: at state meet, Sioux Falls, 11 a.m.
Cross country: at state meet, Sioux Falls, noon.
Volleyball: home vs. Aberdeen Central, 3 p.m.
— TUESDAY
Volleyball: home vs. Brookings, 7 p.m.

Cheer/dance: At the ESD conference meet the Pierre dance team placed fourth overall with a 263.25 score. They were second in hip hop at 258 and fourth in pom at 268.5.

Football: On a cold, wet night in Tea the Governors again got the measure of the Tea Area Titans, this time by a 26-18 score. Down 6-0, Pierre gained momentum when Carson Stoeser blocked Tea’s extra point. Cade Kaiser’s touchdown put Pierre into a 7-6 lead. The Govs were trailing again, this time by 12-7, when Trey Lewis returned an interception. A facemask penalty on the Titans helped to set up Pierre for their next score, which came as Kaiser ran in from the 7 just before halftime for a 14-12 lead. In the second half Kaiser hit Jett Zabel on a 68-yard touchdown pass play for a 20-12 lead. Zabel’s 28-yard touchdown gave Pierre some breathing room. Kaiser rushed for 124 yards and Zabel for 73. Together they teamed up for three receptions covering 98 yards. Total yardage was close—Pierre 286, Tea Area 263.

Girls soccer: Ryann Barry earned first-team All-State recognition, and Aly Hutchinson earned honorable mention All-State status. Ryann, a senior, and Hutchinson, a junior, were also named to the ESD all-conference team along with sophomore Jasmine Jost.

Volleyball: The Governors lost to Yankton 3-0, on game scores of 16-25 22-25, 16-25. Reese Terwilliger had six kills, Campbell Boddicker five kills and Makayla Sherwood five kills. On Tuesday the girls won a 3-2 match over Huron on game scores of 19-25, 25-18, 25-13, 14-25, 15-6. The team’s record is now 9-7.

ZESTO SHERBET SCHEDULE

Thursday: pumpkin.
Friday-Sunday: strawberry cheesecake.
Monday-Tuesday: maple.
Wednesday-Thursday: almond.

STANLEY COUNTY BUFFALOES SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Football: home vs. Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy, 7 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Volleyball: home vs. Highmore-Harrold.
— SATURDAY
Cross country: at state meet, Sioux Falls, noon.
— TUESDAY
Volleyball: home vs. Jones County.

Football: The Buffaloes completed a seven-win regular season as the #7 seed in their class and will host Freeman/Marion/Freeman Academy in their playoff opener tonight. In the last regular-season game the Buffs won at Faith, 38-8, after spotting the Longhorns an early touchdown. Colton Brady ran in from the 9 and from the 1 for the first two touchdowns. Broch Zeeb rushed for a TD and passed to Barrett Schweitzer for another. Schweitzer also had a TD on the ground.

bThe girls lost a 3-2 match to Dupree, lost to Kadoka Area 3-0 and beat New Underwood 3-0. The season record to this point is 16-7.

SULLY BUTTES CHARGERS SPORTS ROUNDUP

This week’s schedules:
— THURSDAY
Football: home vs. Kadoka Area, 7 p.m.
— FRIDAY
Volleyball: home vs. Hitchcock-Tulare.
— SATURDAY
Cross country: at state meet, Sioux Falls, noon.

Football: Making the long trek to Corsica, the Chargers couldn’t cross the goal line in a 14-0 shutout loss to Corsica-Stickney. SB got no closer to the goal line than the 12-yard line. The winners rushed for 179 yards and had zero passing yards. The Chargers ran for 107 yards and passed for 46 yards. Leading scorer Gavin Barber left the game with a shoulder injury. SBHS ended the regular season with a 3-5 record and hosts Kadoka Area in their playoff opener tonight as the #7 seed in Class 9B.

Volleyball: The Chargers went 1-5 in the past week losing to Mobridge-Pollock 3-0, losing to Miller 2-0, losing to Sioux Falls Lutheran 2-0 beating Hot Springs 2-1 losing to Langford 2-1, and losing to Herreid-Selby Area 3-0. The team is now 12-16.

WORDS OF WISDOM

Sometimes what looks like an obstacle in your path is actually a gift meant to move you in a different direction.

COLLEGE SPORTS ROUNDUP

Black Hills State football (Josh Breske): The Yellowjackets lost to unbeaten Western Colorado, 35-20, and are now 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the RMAC. BHSU is home Saturday at 1 p.m. against Colorado Mines.

South Dakota women’s soccer (Janaina Zanin): The Coyotes defeated NDSU, 2-1, and are now 7-4-4 overall and 3-2-1 in Summit League play. USD finishes the regular season Thursday at Kansas City and Sunday at Oral Roberts.

Minnesota State-Mankato women’s soccer (Mackenzie Rath): Mackenzie continued her full-time duty as Mankato’s goalkeeper, making two saves while going all 90 minutes in a 3-0 win over USF and three saves in a 1-0 win over Wayne State. Now 9-1-4, the Mavericks play at Northern Friday and at MSU-Moorhead Sunday.

Dakota Wesleyan football (Evan Nordstrom): The Tigers lost to #3 Morningside, 27-3. They go to Briar Cliff at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Augustana football (Jett Lamb, Colton Hartford): The Vikings are still rolling, beating Winona State on the road, 48-28. Jett and Colton each had a solo tackle. Now 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the NSIC, Augustana is home at 1 p.m. Saturday against Minnesota State-Mankato. This game can be seen live on Midco Sports Network’s MS2 channel.

North Dakota State football (Grey Zabel): The Bison were dealt a stunning loss at UND, 49-24, and are now 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. NDSU goes to Western Illinois for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday on ESPN+.

South Dakota State women’s cross country (Jessica Lutmer): In a meet at College Station, Texas, Jessica placed 82nd in 20:59.0, a personal-best time. The SDSU women placed fifth in team standings. The next meet will be the Summit League conference meet in Brookings next week.

Grand View men’s soccer (Rylan Derry): Grand View won a pair of shutouts, 1-0 over Graceland and 3-0 over Baker. Now 8-5-1, Grand View plays at MidAmerican Nazarene in Olathe, an., Saturday, then hosts William Penn Tuesday.

Dakota State football (Collin Brueggeman, Nathan Cook): The Trojans lost to Waldorf, 34-14, and remain winless at 0-7 overall and 0-5 in the NSAA. Nathan had one reception for 11 yards, and Collin had one solo tackle and seven assisted tackles. DSU goes north to Valley City State for a 4 p.m. game Saturday.

Ohio State football (Lincoln Kienholz): The Buckeyes whipped Purdue, 41-7, and remain unbeaten at 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big 10. They face a challenge at home Saturday against Penn State at 11 a.m. on Fox.

Northwestern (Iowa) football (Morris Hofer): The Red Raiders rocked Briar Cliff, 37-8, to stay unbeaten at 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the GPAC. Morris had one solo tackle and three assisted tackles. His tackle-for-loss resulted in the loss of five yards, and he was credited with half of a sack that resulted in a three-yard loss. Northwestern is home vs. Dordt at 1 p.m. Saturday.

University of Sioux Falls football (Jayden Wiebe, Jack Merkwan, Christian Busch): The Cougars scored 40 points but still lost by 13 at 53-40 in a game against MSU-Moorhead. Now 3-4, USF is home vs. Winona State at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Gallaudet football (Kyle Albertson): Gallaudet won a 24-23 game over Castleton in Vermont and is now 2-4. The team’s homecoming is against Alfred on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

SOCCER STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

“AA” boys: Sioux Falls Lincoln 3, Sioux Falls O’Gorman 2.
“AA” girls: Harrisburg 8, Mitchell 1.
“A” boys: Sioux Falls Christian 4, Tea Area 2.
“A” girls: Tea Area 2, Groton Area 1.

FOOTBALL UPDATE

Midco Sports Network live games this week:
— Thursday: Football, Jamestown vs. Fargo North, 7 p.m. (MS2).
— Thursday: Volleyball, UND vs. Denver, 7 p.m.
— Friday: Men’s hockey, UND vs. Minnesota, 7 p.m
— Saturday: Football, Augustana vs. Minnesota State-Mankato, 1 p.m. (MS2).
— Saturday: Football, SDSU vs. Southern Illinois, 2 p.m.
— Saturday: Men’s hockey, UND vs. Minnesota, 6 p.m.
— Sunday: Women’s soccer, UND vs. Denver, 1 p.m.

NFL live games on local TV this week:
— Thursday: Jacksonville at New Orleans, 7:15 p.m., Prime Video.
— Sunday: Detroit at Baltimore, noon, Fox.
— Sunday: Buffalo at New England, noon, CBS.
— Sunday: Los Angeles Chargers at Kansas City, 3:25 p.m., CBS.
— Sunday: Miami at Philadelphia, 7:20 p.m., NBC.
— Monday: San Francisco at Minnesota, 7:15 p.m., ABC, ESPN.

Class 11AA update:
— Overall records: Pierre 7-1, Yankton 7-1, Watertown 6-2, Tea Area 5-3, Sturgis 5-3, Spearfish 4-4, Aberdeen Central 4-4, Huron 4-4, Brookings 1-7, Mitchell 1-7, Douglas 1-7.
— This week’s regular-season finales tonight: Douglas at Pierre, Brookings at Mitchell, Watertown at Tea Area, Yankton at Huron, Spearfish at Sturgis, Aberdeen Central at Sioux Falls Lincoln.

South Dakota college football update (besides those already mentioned above in College Sports Roundup):
— Northern (3-4): Defeated Southwest Minnesota State, 24-17.
This week: home vs. Wayne State, 6 p.m. Saturday.
— SDSU (6-0): Defeated Northern Iowa, 41-6.
This week: at Southern Illinois, 2 p.m. Saturday.
— USD (5-1): Defeated Youngstown State, 34-31.
This week: at Indiana State, noon Saturday.
— Mount Marty (3-5): Defeated Midland, 28-21.
This week: home vs. Hastings, 1 p.m. Saturday.
— South Dakota Mines (3-4): Lost to Colorado Mines, 45-22.
This week: home vs. Fort Lewis, noon Saturday.
— UND (4-2): Defeated NDSU, 49-24.
This week: at Northern Iowa, 4 p.m. Saturday.
— Minnesota (3-3): Idle last week.
This week: at Iowa, 2;30 p.m. Saturday.
— Nebraska (3-3): Idle last week.
This week: home vs. Northwestern, 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

Minnesota Vikings: They didn’t deserve to win, but they did beat the lowly Chicago Bears, 19-13, surviving when the Bears’ undrafted rookie quarterback threw an interception as his team was driving toward the winning touchdown. Minnesota is home Monday night against the angry San Francisco 49ers at 7:15 p.m. on ESPN and ABC. Minnesota is now 2-4.

Denver Broncos: The Broncos lost to Kansas City, 19-8, and are now 1-5. Denver hosts Green Bay at 3:25 p.m. Sunday.

FOOTBALL COACHING UPDATE

Justin Briese, Aberdeen Central: Justin’s Golden Eagles lost to Yankton, 31-21, and are 4-4 heading into their regular-season finale at Sioux falls Lincoln tonight.

Ben Kramer, Hot Springs: Ben’s Bison beat Hill City, 56-6, to finish their regular season at 7-1. The team hosts Bridgewater-Emery/Ethan in their playoff opener tonight.

Mikal Kern, Wyndmere-Lidgerwood (N.D.): The Warbirds are 6-2 despite a 26-22 loss to LaMoure/Litchville-Marion. Their playoff opener is this weekend with a clash against Griggs-Midkota.

Scott Raue, Harvey-Wells County (N.D.): The team lost to Central Cass, 49-8, and finished the regular season at 5-4. The playoffs begin this week with a game against Rugby.

FOOTBALL CONTEST #10

Last week the losses by USC, Oregon, Louisville and the 49ers messed with many of our contestants. But Terry Tousley survived with a 7-3 record as our only 10-point winner. At 6-4 for 9 points each were Jon Boer, Eric James, Levi Neuharth, Mikal Kern, Randy Pool, Dawn Magee and Debra Bollinger. At 5-5 for 8 points each were Kyle Richards, Brad Cruse, Beth Rinehart, Nathan Vetter and Jason Noyes.

This week’s games (send your 10 winners to parkerhome16@hotmail.com by noon Saturday):
(1) Penn State at Ohio State.
(2) Duke at Florida State.
(3) Utah at USC.
(4) Minnesota at Iowa.
(5) Northwestern at Nebraska.
(6) Tennessee at Alabama.
(7) USD at Indiana State.
(8) NFL: Detroit at Baltimore.
(9) NFL: Green Bay at Denver.
(10) NFL: Miami at Philadelphia.

ONE YEAR AGO IN THE MIDWEEK UPDATE

October 20, 2022: Rea Warne was honored for her 30 years of employment with the state, 24 of those years in the secretary of state’s office as director of elections. (Two months later she was told by the new secretary of state that her services were no longer needed.)

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Discussions are always better than arguments because an argument is to find out who is right and a discussion is to find out what is right.
— Amit Sodha

BASKETBALL UPDATE

Sioux Falls Skyforce: The NBA G League season opens Nov. 11 with the Skyforce playing Indiana.

Minnesota Timberwolves: As the preseason continued, the Wolves beat the New York Knicks, 121-112 and defeated a traveling foreign team, Maccabi Ra’anana, 138-111. The preseason schedule ends tonight at Chicago. Minnesota’s regular-season opener is next Wednesday at Toronto.

SOCCER UPDATE

Minnesota United FC: The Loons were idle last week. They end the MLS regular season Saturday at Sporting Kansas City.

HOCKEY UPDATE

Augustana men’s hockey: The Vikings’ first-ever home games were a rousing success as crowds of more than 3,000 saw them sweep Bowling Green, 3-2 and 4-1. Now 2-2, Augie is off until Oct. 27 at Denver and Oct. 28 at Colorado College.

Aberdeen Wings: The Wings split with Austin, losing 3-2 and winning 2-0. Aberdeen goes to North Iowa for Friday and Saturday games.

Rapid City Rush: The Rush open their season at Iowa tonight and Friday.

Badlands Sabres: On a three-game road trip into Montana, the Sabres defeated Great Falls, 4-2; lost to Butte, 4-3 in overtime, and defeated Butte, 3-2. Badlands is home in Rapid City Friday and Saturday against Gillette.

Sioux Falls Stampede: The Herd lost to Tri-City, 1-0, and beat Sioux City, 6-4. The team plays at Tri-City Friday, at Omaha Saturday and at home vs. Sioux City Sunday.

Minnesota Wild: In the NHL regular-season opening week the Wild defeated Florida, 2-0; lost to Toronto, 7-3, and beat Montreal, 5-3. The Wild is home tonight vs. Los Angeles, Saturday vs. Columbus and Tuesday vs. Edmonton.

COUNTDOWN

2 days: State cross country meet, Sioux Falls (Oct. 21).
2 days: State cheer/dance meet, Sioux Falls (Oct. 21).
4 days: Riggs High band concert (Oct. 23).
7 days: Football playoffs quarterfinals (Oct. 26).
8 days: World Series begins (Oct. 27-Nov. 4).
9 days: All-State Chorus/Orchestra concert, Rapid City (Oct. 28).
9 days: Homecoming at Nebraska (Oct. 28).
15 days: Football playoffs semifinals (Nov. 3).
15 days: NBA in-season tournament begins (Nov. 3-Dec. 9).
17 days: Daylight Saving Time ends (Nov. 5).
19 days: Volleyball SoDak 16 games (Nov. 7).
19 days: Pierre Concert Series: “Yesterday Once More” (Nov. 7).
20 days: Country Music Association awards, ABC-TV (Nov. 8).
21 days: State football championships, Vermillion (Nov. 9-11).
22 days: Pierre Players’ “All Is Calm” (Nov. 10-12, 16-18).
28 days: State volleyball tournaments, Rapid City (Nov. 16-18).
35 days: Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23).

PARKER’S PERSONAL NOTES

• Breakdancing fans, you still have next summer’s Olympics in Paris to watch competitions in your “sport,” if that’s what you call it. But the good news this week is that, for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, baseball, which was scrubbed and replaced with breakdancing, will be back on the slate of sports in the Olympics.
• It took an interception thrown by an undrafted quarterback while he was driving the Bears to victory to allow the Vikings to escape with a win in Chicago on Sunday. Now they get the 49ers, who ought to be very angry when they take the field at US Bank Stadium on Monday night, considering what the NFL refs did to them at Cleveland last Sunday. Here’s an interesting statistic: As of this moment, there are two NFL teams out of 32 which still have not scored a rushing touchdown after six weeks of the season. One is the Steelers. Guess which team the other one is.

BIRTHDAYS/ANNIVERSARIES

Thursday, Oct. 19:
Connor Berg, Carol Heintz, Mary Jean Lomheim, Lydia Nuttall, Franklin Hansen, Jolynn Riis, Archer Edelen, Hilary (Woodburn) Hunt, Carrie (Gerber) Norman, Brian Timp.
— 11th anniversary, Greg/Kayla (Petersen) Barringer.
— We fondly remember Jack Unkenholz, who passed away 14 years ago today.

Friday, Oct. 20:
Gerry Cass, Shelley Erickson, Bill Lytle, Carter Ahlers, Austin Voller, Brittany (Bailey) Jarecke, Vance Thielen, Jon Dravland, Betty Morford, Deb (Kern) Workman, Lisa Heffernan, Emerson Antholz, Zephyr Waitman, Kevin Tiger, Carisa (Rathbun) Marshall, Rohini Knudson.
— 11th anniversary, Josh/Stacie (Ries) Swanstrom.

Saturday, Oct. 21:
Shirley Schnabel, Chris Bondy, Nick Hodgin, Jenna (Neuhauser) Tschetter, Jonathan Bell, Stephen Williamson, Susan Culberson, Corey Carr, Marcia (Davis) Kozel.
— 50th anniversary, Jon/Carol Garry.
— 6th anniversary, Cody/Brook (Jennings) Hutchison.

Sunday, Oct. 22:
Dan Snyder, Pat Anderson, Joni (Haugan) Sengos, Paisley Bramblee, Chris Mullett, Tessa Beyer, Corie Oliva, Gwen Smith, Alexa Berg, Garrett Gordon, Carey Smalley, Joy (Peck) Colson, Lincoln Englehart.
— 18th anniversary, Bobby/Katrina Duncan.
— 12th anniversary, Justin/Somer (LaRosh) Garrigan.

Monday, Oct. 23:
Michelle Van Camp, Seth Hoffman, Cassandra Jones, Theresa (Frick) Jones, Susie Fuller, Eileen Kramer, Celia Costello.
— 46th anniversary, Ted/Sheryl Hall.
— 8th anniversary, Travis/Vera (Van Winkle) Tipton.

Tuesday, Oct. 24:
Carletta Zebroski, Mike Rounds, Jacob Beastrom, Pria Miller, Austin Lentsch, Beau Salmonson, Minnie Budmayr, Craig McTighe.
— 20th anniversary, Lanne/Danielle Ballweg.
— 3rd anniversary, Brian/Lacy (Nielsen) Fike.
— 25th anniversary, Dan/Brooke (Severson) Lusk.

Wednesday, Oct. 25:
Stephanie Strang, Emily Weber, Kelly Meagher-Pitlick, Tom Ripley, Pat Powers, David Reiss, Sullivan Vogel, Sandra (Kern) Mollman, Trevor Fisher, Maxine Blasdell, Todd Madden, Brent Sogaard, Diane Kafka, Josh Graves, Jami Neumiller.
— 20th anniversary, Lance/Stacy Hosman.

Thursday, Oct. 26:
Miles Schock, Shannigan Heckenlaible, Josh Gilkerson, Madyson Hammell, Tifanie Thompson.

NEWS OF PEOPLE AND EVENTS

A memorial service for Charlie Olson, who died on Aug. 5, will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, at the Izaak Walton League clubhouse. His family will greet visitors for an hour beginning at noon.

The Riggs High School Emerald Regiment marching band has completed its marching season. The band placed second at the Lake Region marching festival at Groton, and the Pierre drumline won the outstanding drumline award there. The band finished the season at the March to the Meridian festival at Yankton last Saturday and did not place in the top two there.

Bert Taylor, 96, died Oct. 16. A celebration of his life will begin at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Oct. 23, at Feigum Funeral Home. The family will be present for coffee and fellowship with visitors starting at 9:30.

Tonight (Thursday) is the night of the next program in the Pierre Concert Series. Dallas and Starr Chief Eagle and guest performers will begin their program at 7 p.m. at the Riggs theater. Admission price is $30 for adults and children free.

Jesse Ahlers and his wife, Megan, spent the weekend in Grand Forks, N.D., where Jesse and the rest of UND’s national championship 2003 football team were honored. The returning team members also got to see the Fighting Hawks (no longer the Fighting Sioux) deliver a sound beating to NDSU on the football field.

Bob Schwellenbach, 97, died Oct. 13. His funeral is being held this (Thursday) morning at 10 a.m. at Lutheran Memorial Church. Bob spent his early years on the family farm outside Pierre near the airport. He married Clarice Harvey in 1950. When his parents sold their farm, Bob started Al’s Construction with his father and brother. Later Bob and his brother, Don, established Alkota Construction. Eventually Bob founded Nukota, Inc., and Nukota Rentals. He was instrumental in starting the original Oahe Speedway. He is survived by four children, Sandra Verhelst, Steven Schwellenbach, Stan Schwellenbach and Brenda (Lynn) Sletten; five grandchildren; four great-grandchildren; three sisters-in-law and a brother-in-law. Among those who preceded him in death were his wife of 67 years, his parents, an infant daughter and an infant grandson, and four siblings.

Matt Blake has been promoted to the rank of major in the Iowa Army National Guard.

The Pierre Players community theater organization will hold its annual membership meeting next Thursday, Oct. 26, at 4:30 p.m. at the St. Charles Lounge. The 2024 theater season lineup will be revealed during this event.

Phil Adam, a senior at USD, was one of the royalty finalists at USD’s Dakota Day homecoming festivities last week.

A traditional kickoff to the Pierre holiday season is the annual Zonta holiday craft and vendor show at the Ramkota. The hours are 9 to 5 on Saturday, Nov. 11, and 10 to 3 on Sunday, Nov. 12.

Bob Travis, 89, died Oct. 12. His funeral took place Monday at Trinity Episcopal Church. Born in Indiana, Bob graduated from Rapid City Central High School. He married Thelma Eggen in 1950. After attending Black Hills State University and South Dakota State University, Bob taught first at Deadwood, then at several places in South Dakota until going to work for the Department of Education in Pierre where he finished his career. He was an avid volunteer for many local organizations and events. Surviving are two daughters, Margaret Travis (Russell Iffland) of Pattaya, Thailand, and Katherine (Ivan) Ortman of Canistota, and two grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife and his parents.

Former Pierre resident Angie Wire was married Oct. 14 to Michael Scherb in Mason City, Iowa. It became an even more memorable day when, during the wedding dance and reception, the band’s fog machine set off the venue’s smoke alarms, bringing the Mason City fire department to the scene.

Shawn Schnabel, a former assistant coach with Pierre Governors football, has in recent years been an assistant coach and offensive line coach at Missouri Baptist University in the St. Louis suburbs. Earlier this year he left his job there to take on a similar position at Arkansas Tech in Russellville, Ark. Shawn is married to the former Whitney Stoeser, and they have a son, Owen.

The football playoffs come to Fort Pierre today, starting with a pep rally in the high school gym at 3:15 p.m. There will be an Indian taco feed served at the Quentin Sutley Senior Center from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for a cost of $10 per person with all proceeds going to Jackson Robbennolt, 2023 SCHS graduate who was injured in a UTV accident last month. The Buffs’ football game kicks off at 7 with admission prices of $7 for adults and $5 for children.

Here’s a calendar date to set aside: On Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 6:30 p.m. a program in observance of Native American Heritage Month will take place at Rawlins Library. The guest speaker will be Francis Whitebird on the topic of “Change in Lakota Language and Culture in Lakota Country from the 1950s to the Present.”

DeJuan Strickland, 89, died Oct. 16. Funeral arrangements are pending through the Isburg Funeral Chapel. DeJuan was raised on the family farm of Clarence and Eddie Strickland near Lockney, Texas. In 1951 he expanded the family farming operation to South Dakota on the Day place near Onida. DeJuan and his father were among the initial shareholders of Oahe Grain Corporation at Onida. DeJuan served in the U.S. Army’s 741st Missile Battalion. He married Judy Graham in 1962, and they became the parents of Michael,, Karen and Deidi, all of whom graduated from Sully Buttes High School. DeJuan continued farming throughout his life, spending the recent years at Onida and Fort Worth, Texas. He is survived by his son, Dr. Michael (Dr. Gina Melink) Strickland of Hillsboro, Ohio; his daughter, Karen (David) Lee of Fort Worth; his son-in-law, Trond Bergestuen of Fort Worth; six grandchildren and three step-grandchildren. Among those who preceded him in death were his parents; his sister, Sharinne, and his daughter, Dr. Deidi Bergestuen.

We have mentioned the Sioux Falls Lincoln band before, but this is their biggest weekend of them all. The band, which includes Lori (Stulken) and Shawn Blom’s kids—freshman Seth on trombone and junior Tessa on mellophone—left very early this morning for Indianapolis where they will compete in the Bands of America event.

PONDER THIS

Take a moment tonight. Put your phone down. Step away from it all. Hold space for all that you are carrying and allow yourself to let go of some of what you carry. Take this moment to gather your heart, your mind, your soul, your strength and know that you can walk through this week.
— Maria Shriver