The Dan Pansch/Jesse James Invitational wrestling tournament was held this past Saturday in Brandon, proving to be one of the elite tournaments of the season. Some odd ten years ago or so Brandon and Garretson both were limping along running each their own pretty decent little tournament, when someone came forth with the vision of what such a combined tourney could be.
Dominic Abraham at the Jesse James/Dan Pansch Tournament on Saturday, Jan 11.
This year we had seventeen schools participate in the event held in probably the best possible location in the entire state. Brandon is able to use one of its huge sets of bleachers on one end, leaving enough floor space to put down four huge mats in square formation, giving fans arguably the best view of great competition known anywhere in South Dakota.
Two Minnesota teams who have usually been with us in the past will be back next year, as sometimes rotations of schedules on leap years roll forward in one state and not the other.
Those in attendance were also greeted to some of the best talent ever concentrated in one location with wrestlers from both B and A schools participating.
Canton is the top ranked team in the B standings with two of their wrestlers occupying first and third in the prestigious “Dynamite Dozen” statewide B rankings.
In the A rankings Brandon Valley is currently ranked second and the first five in the A “Dynamite Dozen” were all on hand to give the crowd a view of some of the best talent in this state.
Our first medalist was sophomore Jayce Miller. Miller went 3 for 3 on the day finishing 6th in a field of 12.
Our second medalist was junior Dominic Abraham. Dom won his first match by fall before running in to easily the best wrestler in the state in this weight class, Lucas Anglin from Vermillion. Dom would end up at 3-2 for the day, earning a fall in his final match over a Chamberlain highly ranked wrestler in his last trip to the mat.
Our third medalist was freshman Jaden Richter who finished 8th up at the 220 lb. class.
Another definite highlight of the day was being there to help a newcomer to the sport, sophomore Gabe Johnson celebrate his first victory in this sport.
Gabe Johnson
“We are very proud of Gabe,” said head coach Francis Ruml. “We know how much there is to learn in a new sport and how much dedication it takes to walk out on the mat with no facemask to hide behind or not having your teammates surrounding you in the heat of battle. Gabe definitely deserved that win and the applause he got afterward.”
B school Canton would go on to easily outdistance runner up Brandon Valley to win the tournament, followed by Chamberlain, Bon Homme, and Sioux Falls Roosevelt to round out the top five.
GHS Lady basketball has had some great wins so far this season. Head Coach Matt Schrank tells us all about it here.
Last Tuesday night they faced off against Dell Rapids St. Mary, and won by ten points 63 to 53.
“The game was full of a lot of runs,” said Coach Schrank. “We would build a lead and they would come charging back, we would build another lead and they would cut the lead down again. We had a really balanced scoring attack and our size proved to be too much for them in the end. Lizzie Olson led the way in scoring with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Mya Long and Jaelyn Benson had 10 points a
piece and Peyton Hove added 9. We didn’t have the energy in this game that we needed to really put away the Lady Cardinals, but we executed well enough down the stretch to earn the victory.”
Next, the Lady Dragons traveled and faced Madison over the weekend.
“Another game of runs for us was Saturday Night in the Mustang Seeds Classic at the Dakota State University Fieldhouse. We were lucky enough to play in the late game abasing Madison. “
“Madison is a very long and athletic group that creates a lot of problems defensively. As a team we turned the ball over too
many times in order for us to get in a good rhythm and put away the Lady Bulldogs.
“Early in the game they came out and got a couple of quick steals and layups and we were down early 16-6. Mya Long came in and hit some big shots to stop the bleeding. We went on a big run ourselves to go ahead by 10 points.
“Taking care of the ball was just too big of a problem for us. We fouled late in the game to put them at the free throw line, then turned it over on a rebound that gave them a layup and a foul to go up by 1 point.
“In the last possession, we had a little confusion on where we should be, and ultimately only got one shot off to try and win the game. Lily Ranschau led us in scoring with 18 points, Lizzie Olson had 12, and Mya Long had 11 points. Lily is the 4th different athlete to lead us in scoring this season.
“We have a huge part of our schedule coming up. Tuesday night (Jan 14 details not avail-
able by press time) we’ll be facing Flandreau and it will be a big Big East Conference game. They bring a lot of experience and athleticism to the court. If we don’t take care of the ball it will be a long night for us.
“The following week we have 3 games, all losses from last season: Tea, Luverne, and Vermillion.”
On January 9th, 2020, the Blue Dragons traveled to Flandreau to open the 2020 Big East Conference Tournament against the host Fliers. The home team jumped out to an early 21 to 13 first quarter lead, before the Blue Dragons battled back making the score 30-28 at halftime.
“Something just finally clicked in the second quarter with concerns to our defensive intensity. We were communicating, not allowing second chance opportunities, and capitalizing on their miscues with easy transition buckets,” said Coach Heitkamp. “We have the ability to play with anyone on any given night, we just need to bring that to the court every time.”
Unfortunately, the Blue Dragons couldn’t keep the momentum rolling as they fell short 49-61. Trey Buckneberg (4 rebounds) was the team’s leading scorer as he dented the nets for 15 points, while Cooper Long dropped down 10 points. Lucas Fitzgerald (8 rebounds and 2 assists) followed that up with 7 points of his own. Josef Zahn chipped in with 5 points, as Tristin Rekstad (4 rebounds) and Jake Schroeder (3 assists) connected for 3 points each. Dylan Kindt, Cole Skadsen, and Hayden Olofson rounded out the scoring with 2 points apiece.
The following evening the Blue Dragons were back on the bus traveling to Flandreau to take on the Beresford Watchdogs, who came into the contest winless. The Watchdogs came out of the locker firing on all cylinders as they scorched the nets for 16 points (5-3 pointers), while holding the Blue Dragons to just 2 first quarter points.
“We were not ready to play tonight, which was evident by our lack of defensive intensity and offensive production the opening 8 minutes. So...we needed a spark going into the second quarter and that spark was Sam Schleuter,” explained Coach Heitkamp. “He flew
around the court making plays, which fired up the rest of the team, getting us back into the game. We don’t care if our leader is a senior or a freshman...we just want someone willing to lay it on the line for his team and that is exactly what Sam did for us tonight.”
The Blue Dragons out played their opponent the final three quarters, but just couldn’t get over the hump as they fell short 41-45.
“We dug ourselves such a deep hole the first quarter, but I was proud of how the kids battled back to at least give us an opportunity at the end...we just came up a couple points short,” stated Heitkamp.
Josef Zahn (6 rebounds) led the way with 13 points, with Dylan Kindt following close with 11 points. Trey Buckneberg (5 rebounds) and Cooper Long (3 assists) added 6 points each, while Lucas Fitzgerald (2 steals) and Cole Skadsen (2 steals) rounded out the scoring with 4 and 1 points respectively.
The team was once again back on the road the next day traveling to Sioux Valley to play in the 7th Place game against the Chester Flyers. The Blue Dragons defeated the Flyers a week earlier, so they were out for a little revenge, which they got as they dismantled the Blue Dragons 38-51.
“We had a very tough weekend, but the guys are committed to getting better and that’s exactly what we are going to do,” explained Heitkamp.
Josef Zahn (6 rebounds) once again led the Blue Dragons in the scoring column with 11 points, while Hayden Olofson (2 steals) had a nice game with 8 points. Cole Skadsen, Lucas Fitzgerald, and Sam Schleuter collected 5, 4, and 3 points each. Jake Schroeder (3 assists), Cooper Long, and Brady Debates all netted 2 points, while Dylan Kindt (6 rebounds and 2 steals) had 1 point.
The Blue Dragons are back home tonight, Jan. 16, to face off against West Central! Go Big Blue!
On Tuesday January 7, the Blue Dragons traveled to the Cardinals of Dell Rapids St. Mary’s. Garretson had a strong showing on both the offensive and defensive side and went into the half leading the Cardinals 26 – 5. The Blue Dragons kept the momentum going into the second half and defeated St. Mary’s 51 – 16. Mattea Fiegen led the offensive effort with fifteen points, Molly Hulscher with fourteen and Logan Bly with eleven.
photo by Angela Bly
The Blue Dragons matched up with the Luverne Cardinals on Monday January 13th in Luverne. Garretson led at the half 33 – 8 behind a strong offensive team effort. The Blue Dragons continued to work hard in the second half and came out victorious 52-18. Leading scorer was Mya Long with thirteen points. Mattea Fiegen and Rae- gen Altman added ten points apiece with Molly Hulscher netting eight points and Logan Bly five.
PIERRE—Tourism, cyber security and bioprocessing are among the keys to boosting South Dakota’s economy, according to Gov. Kristi Noem. The governor made those assertions in her State of the State address on Tuesday.
Flanked by Speaker of the House Steve Haaugard and Lt. Gov. Larry Rhoden, Gov. Kristi Noem prepares to deliver the second State of the State address of her administration. (Community News Service photo)
A highlight of Noem’s speech to a joint session of the Legislature was the state’s attractiveness to new businesses, touting South Dakota’s tax structure, work ethic, state credit rating, balanced state budget and lack of red tape.
“For employers and employees alike, my goal is to make sure folks across the country and around the world know that South Dakota is the place to do business,” Noem said. “Whether you’ve owned and operated a business for four generations, or you’re looking to start or even relocate your current operation, I want my message to be crystal clear: South Dakota is open for business.”
Economic opportunity
Noem highlighted tourism as a “bright spot” in the state’s economy, with nine consecutive years of record growth. According to Noem, tourism supports 8.8% of of all jobs in the state.
She hinted at another good year for tourism and told legislators they would learn more at next week’s tourism conference.
South Dakota can be a leader in cyber security, Noem said, as Dakota State University recently received a $1.46 million grant to create a high-speed research network.
“We have a chance to lead the nation in cyber security,” Noem said. “We must remember to train not only this work force, but also attract and create new companies here in South Dakota.”
As with cyber security, Noem predicted potential for the state in bioprocessing. She said in the next decade a partnership between private industry, South Dakota State University and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology would support research and development of bioprocessing.
“Our graduates will have a deeper understanding of how biofuels and agriculture can drive change across the globe,” Noem said.
South Dakota’s status as the pheasant capital of the world is also a means of economic growth, Noem said. She credited a predator trapping program she championed with an increase in pheasant numbers. Noem said 50,000 predators were trapped in the past year.
“Though our efforts have just begun, I’m hearing from people all over the state that birds are more plentiful,” Noem said.
Taking on hemp
Another area of potential economic expansion that doesn’t have Noem as a fan is the production of industrial hemp.
Last year Noem vetoed an industrial hemp bill due to her concerns about public safety, law enforcement and funding.
Noem said she would be willing to sign hemp legislation that has reliable enforcement guidelines; responsible regulations regarding licensing, reporting and inspection; minimum land area requirements; and an appropriate fee structure.
“Those four guardrails I’ve put forward are reasonable,” Noem said at a news conference following her speech. “I think this is the most responsible path forward.”
The governor insists that the program be self-sufficient. Money generated by inspection fees and licensing would be required to pay for the program’s estimated $3.5 million cost.
Meth treatment needed
Noem got a few scattered laughs from legislators when she told them that last year her administration launched a meth awareness advertising campaign. “I’m sure you’ve heard of it,” Noem said, referring to the “Meth, we’re on it” campaign.
“Whether you liked the ads or not, I can tell you this: I have heard story after story of people talking about the problem,” Noem said.
The governor asked legislators to grant her request for additional funding for the next phase—intensive treatment programs.
Budget outlook changes
At her budget address in December, Noem said there was no money available for increases for state employees, public schools or Medicaid providers. Since her budget speech, state revenues have been slightly better than expected.
“What this means is that we may have extra flexibility to achieve the things we want to accomplish,” Noem said. “My number one priority with additional, on-going money will be to provide increases to K-12 schools, providers and state employees.”
At her press conference, Noem said an additional two months of revenue information available by the end of the legislative session in March may also inform how much money lawmakers could designate for state employee salaries, education and Medicaid providers.
SIOUX FALLS – For the second year in a row, Jean Bender was unanimously voted in as chairperson of the Minnehaha County Commission at their annual re-organization meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
But more notable, also for the second year in a row, the commission named four legal newspapers for the county.
This is significant because South Dakota state law requires that a county commission has to publish public notices in all newspapers within a county, but it gives counties a permissible cap limitation of three.
Minnehaha County has the most-dense newspaper population in the state as there are seven newspapers. Most counties statewide have only one or two. Minnehaha County is the only county with more than four.
Representatives of three current legal papers, Garrick Moritz, publisher of the Garretson Gazette, Jill Meier, publisher of the Brandon-Valley Journal, and Lisa Miller, general manager of New Century Press, which prints the Minnehaha Messenger, all spoke to thank the county for its past business and looked forward to keeping people informed about future business in the county.
New Century Press also publishes the Dell Rapids City Journal and agreed to publish county pubic notices there at no extra charge, bringing the total number of papers printing legal notices in Minnehaha County to five.
While the Sioux Falls Argus Leader is the other legal newspaper for the county, no one from that paper or parent company Gannett Media was present to ask the county for its business.
Two other newspapers, the Brandon-Valley Challenger and the Dell Rapids Tribune, also owned by Gannett, were not selected as legal newspapers.
When he made the motion to again select four official newspapers, Commissioner Jeff Barth cited the importance of getting information out to the public.
Barth’s motion was seconded by Commissioner Gerald Beninga and unanimously approved.
The meeting itself lasted over an hour and 45 minutes and saw a variety of other “housekeeping” business taken care of, including: naming Dean Karsky as the commission vice-chair, and re-appointing the non-elected department heads, including county coroner Dr. Kenneth Snell.
Plus, commissioners voted themselves a pay raise going from $28,100 in 2019 to $29,181 in 2020.
While this is approximately a 3.85-percent raise over last year, according to county administrator Carol Muller, it represents an annual increase of 1.75-percent a year since 2014.
Despite the fact the main business was only those annual “housekeeping” measures, the meeting room was surprisingly full of people.
It turned out that most of those people were present for an item about a proposed bike trail around Wall Lake.
Tessa Schwans with the Friends of Wall Lake Trail was again back in front of the commission to get county approval to be their government entity associated with the project, to be able to apply for grants.
However, a number of people used this opportunity to speak against the project.
The main person to speak against the trail was Peggy Bevier of 46271 Wall Lake Place, Hartford.
Bevier had prepared a packet for commissioners dealing with information she had compiled, which stated that 47 of the people she contacted were totally against the project.
She also said she had 10 responses of people in favor of the project “with certain conditions,” such as, availability of parking, arrangements for sanitation, etc.
Bevier added that she had no responses from anyone who was unconditionally in favor of the project.
Two other area residents, Bill Huffman and John Merrill, also spoke with misgivings they had about the project.
Schwans responded to them saying, “I know they have a lot of concerns, which is why we wanted to start the process of having communication.”
She did go on to say that prior to a public meeting held last October, her group did mail out 214 letters to all residents within an area of one-mile of Wall Lake encouraging them to attend the meeting.
Fifty-two interested people attended that meeting on Oct. 28, 2019, and at that time, some concerns were expressed, but no one said they were completely against the proposal.
Both during and after the recent meeting, county commissioners said they were taken aback by the opposition, because prior to this, no one had expressed any opposition or concerns about the project to them.
But Karsky said that this move was, indeed, to start a conversation, and their request before the county was not to approve anything or start construction.
In fact, the motion made by Commissioner Cindy Heiberger, herself a rural Hartford resident, was to accept a resolution that specifically said the county would have no “obligation for funding the project,” but that the relationship with the county was needed to seek funding and grant opportunities.
That resolution passed 5-0.
Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen (left) and Betty Oldenkamp of Lutheran Social Services talk to Minnehaha County Commissioners about new requirements for resettling refugees into a community. In the past, they said the county and state have been very welcoming to refugees, and they hope to keep that relationship going in 2020. (Photo by Dave Baumeister)
Refugees on the way?
Towards the end of the meeting, Betty Oldenkamp and Rebecca Kiesow-Knudsen of Lutheran Social Services gave a briefing to the commission on their program to relocate refugees, and informed commissioners that due to an executive order by President Donald Trump last year, commissioners would have to sign a letter of consent to continue to accept refugees into the community.
Kiesow-Knudsen explained the process for obtaining refugee status and how people seeking refugee status are vetted before going to the various countries that accept them.
“While all refugees are immigrants, not all immigrants are refugees.”
She said that the international definition of a “refugee” is a person unable to return to his or her home country for “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for race, religion, nationality or membership in a particular social or political group.”
She went on to say that people fleeing their home countries – refugees – are first located in a United Nations camp where they begin the security screening process.
And Kiesow-Knudsen said this can take from 18 months to two years and involves biometric background checks against the FBI, DHS and Dept. of State databases.
After that, they are sent to different countries for permanent relocation, and the United States is one of 30 countries that accepts refugees.
All refugees who settle in the United States have legal status (not citizenship) and are eligible to work as soon as they arrive.
Refugee resettlement is a federal program, and the money for that comes from the federal government.
For 2020, the Trump administration has capped the number of refugees the country will accept at 18,000.
Also, last September, the president signed an executive order requiring any states and local governments where refugees would be accepted to sign an agreement.
For the state of South Dakota, Gov. Kristi Noem has already signed such an agreement, but since it is expected 60 to 100 refugees would come to Minnehaha County and Sioux Falls, both the county commission and the city council needed to sign similar agreements.
Kiesow-Knudsen said that since Aberdeen and Huron also regularly accept refugees, those cities, and their respective counties would also have to sign off on accepting them.
In the chart Kiesow-Knudsen showed, it listed 2012 as the high year when South Dakota accepted 649 refugees.
The low year in her figures was the 130 accepted last year.
Karsky thanked Kiesow-Knudsen for her presentation, and said, “Hopefully, people will take the time to understand this, because I think it would clear up a lot of misconceptions.”
Beninga added that he had talked with many employers who said that with refugees, they were some of the best entry-level employees their businesses ever had.
“Frankly, if that process was in effect when we were talking about Norwegians and Germans, probably none of us would be here today,” Beninga quipped.
Barth said that when people hear 400,000 people being murdered and raped, it is just a big number, but when they see a koala bear on fire on TV, “that really is rough!
“If we shut the door on these people, they are going to be on fire, they are going to be murdered, and I don’t want that on my conscience.”
While there was no agreement to be signed at the Jan. 7 meeting, this item was expected to be on the agenda on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
The Minnehaha Commission has its regular meetings each Tuesday at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the county administration building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
These meetings are open to all, and public comment is always encouraged.
Former South Dakota Attorney General Larry Long and the authors of “Gitchie Girl,” Phil and Sandy Hamman, have co-authored a new book entitled, Duct Tape Killer.
“The Hamman’s contacted me,” he said. “They told me that this story needed to be told and that I was the right person to help them because I knew the story and had firsthand knowledge of the case. I could only agree. As a prosecutor, some cases stay with you and this one was extremely important, not just from the perspective of a career, but it was important for us as a state and our society. To the best of my knowledge, and I hope this remains true, Robert Leroy Anderson is the first and only home grown serial killer South Dakota has ever produced and experienced, and I hope that remains to be the case.”
In his legal and political career in South Dakota, Long has written a lot of documents. But this was his first go-around aimed at the reading public.
“I’m grateful to the Hamman’s, because they had a plan going forward,” Long said. “When you prepare documents for a judge in a court case, or a document for a client or case notes or any of the other documents someone in the legal profession must do on a daily basis, it’s different from writing a book. The writers of a book, even a non-fiction book, are ultimately telling a narrative. When you’re working on a court case or conducting an investigation, it doesn’t flow like that. Much of it is routine, and detail-centric. Think of it as doing a jigsaw puzzle in reverse without knowing what or where you’re going to find the pieces that might help you solve the puzzle. It would sure be nice to know where the story is going ahead of time, but you don’t usually get that kind of clarity until the very end.
Tim and Mona Ness of Ness Tax & Bookkeeping Service in Sioux Falls are joining the Garretson area business community, taking over the offices and clients of Robert Jacobson, who retired a short time ago.
by Garrick Moritz, Garretson Gazette
Tim Ness has been working with the US tax code for almost all of his working life. After taking an aptitude test, he was recruited to be a tax auditor for the Internal Revenue Service.
“They gave me the choice of Aberdeen or Sioux Falls South Dakota,” he said. “I couldn’t go shop around for a place to live or get a feel for the place first, I had to choose more or less on the spot. I asked which place was more like my hometown of Fargo, and they said Sioux Falls. I did my training in Aberdeen and really liked it there, and wondered if I’d made the right decision, but when I started in Sioux Falls I knew I’d made the right choice.”
He worked for several years as a tax auditor for the IRS, and is proud of his work there.
“People would often comment that I seemed too nice to be a tax auditor,” he said. “I spent 8 years as a tax auditor and got my MBA at the University of South Dakota in the meantime. In 1999 I decided to switch sides, or rather, to help people in such a way that they didn’t need a tax auditor. After all, if taxes are done right the first time, everyone is happy. And I’m also proud to be self-employed, helping people with their lives and businesses.”
The community came together to support Dwana Eslinger, who was diagnosed with cancer last July. We also have a profile on Tim Ness, who is taking over tax and bookkeeping services from Bob Jacobson, who recently retired. Also, an interview with Larry Long about Duct Tape Killer, a new true crime novel released this week, and coverage of basketball and wrestling, plus more!
There's a lot going on in our community. Keep up with all of it with the Community Events Calendar on page 4. You can download it here and have it easy to hand! Community Events Calendar
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Congratulations to Sara Rogich and family, who won the Holiday Lights Display contest for the Garretson Commercial Club! In this week's issue, we also have Part 2 of the Year in Review, a profile on community member Brett Williams, and the Blue Dragon Youth Wrestling Tournament returns..
There's a lot going on in our community. Keep up with all of it with the Community Events Calendar on page 4 in the on-line or paper version. With your on-line subscription, you can download it here and have it easy to hand!
On-line subscribers get access to a Subscribers' Welcome Area, and are able to view extra photos, articles, and an issue of this week's paper in both a Flipbook and PDF format.
