Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media, Author at Big Sioux Media Sports Network

Susan Mattson

August 13, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Susan Mattson, 71, of Trent passed away on Friday, August 10, 2018 at the Riverview Manor in Flandreau. Her funeral service will be held on Wednesday, August 15, 2018 at 1:00 p.m. in the Trent Baptist Church. Visitation will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday at Kahler Funeral Home, Dell Rapids. The family will be present from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. with a Prayer Service at 7:00 p.m.

Susan LaCombe was born on February 14, 1947 at Minneapolis, MN, the daughter of David and Louise (Bayliss) LaCombe. She grew up in Minneapolis and graduated in 1965 from West High School. She married James Mattson on May 6, 1967 in Minneapolis. The couple lived in many different locations and ended up living in Hamel, MN before finally moving to Sherman, SD. While in Sherman, the couple divorced. She then moved to Trent and worked at the EROS Data Center near Garretson for 33 years. She retired on December 31, 2012.

Susan was a member of Trent Baptist Church and Trent Study Club. She also served as the secretary of the Trent American Baptist Women. She enjoyed many trips to Camp Judson in the Black Hills.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother David.

She is survived by her children, Brian Mattson of Sioux Falls, Jannelle Jacobs of Trent; her 5 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren; her sisters, Marie Ziebarth of Flandreau and Marilynn Steiner of Minnetonka, MN; and her sister-in-law, Connye LaCombe of St. Paul, MN.

www.kahlerfh.com

Dell Rapids Library Releases Final Summer Numbers

August 12, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Brittany Moeller, the Dell Rapids Carnegie Library Director, presented the Dell Rapids City Council with the final summer reading program numbers for 2018 during the council’s regular meeting on Monday, August 6th. The summer reading program officially ended the last week in July this year.

“The total sign up for babies through adults for the summer reading program was 654 people. That’s an increase of more than 220 people from last year, so that’s amazing! Our numbers just skyrocketed. We had double the amount of adults and teens sign up, and those are our two hardest groups to get signed up for the summer reading program. So to have those numbers double was pretty exciting to see,” said Moeller. In 2017 the library had a total of 426 people register for the program.

There were a total of six different programs for babies through adults. The library had just under 2,000 people attend just the program, which is nearly double from last year’s number. That number doesn’t include people who came into the library just to use the computer or check out books. There were a total of 934 participants that attended five different programs in 2017.

So far in 2018, the library has issued 71 new library cards for a total of 206 new people to the library. In 2017 the library issued 92 library cards for a total of 212 new people.

“We’ve had a record-breaking summer, and it’s been super exciting and a lot of fun,” Moeller added.

Moeller also said that they would like to keep this trend going, keep seeing people come into the library to participate in the programs, and do all the fun activities.

After the report of the new numbers, Dell Rapids Councilman Gary Haak asked Moeller what she would like to see in the future for the library in terms of programming and reaching out into the community.

“We would like to definitely expand the programs that we do. Libraries aren’t the same as they were 20 years ago. The library that my older siblings were used to where they came in and they checked out all these research books to write their papers and that kind of stuff, they still kind of do that, but a lot of that is online. So now the library’s role is changing. What we provide now is a place for community members to gather, to be together, to learn new things, to have new experiences whether it’s story time for their kids or offering photography classes or different ways we can involve community members. We would love to do more things like that, really expand not only the programming that we have at the library, but what else we can do outside of the library in the community, doing more with the schools, and partnering more with the daycares and centers like that. That’s kind of our main goal,” Moeller responded.

“When we look back at spending the money to add on to this, it shows that we did it right. Probably didn’t build it big enough now, I don’t know. If it’s growing like this, it’s good to see,” Haak commented.

Local Pink Ladies Chapter Gives Back

August 8, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Photo courtesy of Dells City Journal

The Dell Rapids Pink Ladies are a non-profit, all-woman organization committed to helping those in need that are battling cancer. The Dell Rapids Pink Ladies hold various fundraisers throughout the community to raise money for local families fighting all types of cancer. The Dell Rapids Pink ladies will provide funds to cancer patients and their families for incidental expenses. All of the money raised stays in the Dell Rapids community and is donated to those in need.

Through the Pink Ladies website, drpinkladies.com, people can nominate individuals in primarily the Dell Rapids community that are battling cancer of any type.

“Some think we are breast cancer only, and we want to change that perception,” stated Jody Heinemann, one of the board members.

Pink Ladies will support other families that are within a 25-mile radius of Dell Rapids as well. The chapter started as dart players, but has evolved to include more women in the community that do not play darts but still support the cause.

Pink Ladies did not start doing true fundraising up until this year. Previously, as dart players, players would throw their darts, and if their score was less than 25, they would have to put a quarter in what they refer to as the “kitty”. With the addition of a board and becoming a non-profit organization, they were able to start doing more to help those in need in our community.

Board members include: President-Rhonda Nelson, Vice President-Jody Heinemann, Treasurers-Paula Schrier and Jenn Kruse, Secretary-Ashley Horton, Event team-Bailey Erickson, Mindy Schmidt and Jamie Hansen. There are a total of 30 members in the chapter that are dart players and a total of 10 members that are non-dart players.

The goal for the Pink Ladies organization is to make their mission and their cause more well known in the Dell Rapids area. To become a part of the organization or become a member, it is not required that you are a dart player. The more the community knows about the Pink Ladies cause and efforts, the more nominations they will be able to receive and be able to help the people in the community that are in need of it.

Pink Ladies held a bake sale during the city wide rummage sale back in June of this year. The ladies were amazed and overwhelmed with the amount of donations they received and were able to raise enough funds to support six different families that were in need.

The organization is currently making plans for more events and fundraisers to help raise money needed for individuals in the community. One of the events includes a bean bag tournament on Saturday, August 11 in the Norby’s parking lot. They will be selling barbecues, chips, cookies, and drinks for anybody that would like to participate in or watch the tournament. They will also be raffling off a set of pink bean bag boards at the event that were made and donated by Tim and Ashley Horton.

In October the organization plans to trick-or-treat for change instead of candy as a way to help raise money and will be promoting that event in the near future. The Pink Ladies are also planning to sell pink ribbons at local businesses for one dollar a piece to help raise money and raise awareness. All of the organization’s upcoming events and fundraisers can be found on their website.

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Contact Info:
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Dell Rapids, SD 57022
Tel: 605-428-5600
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Free Food Giveaways at First Baptist Church

August 5, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

First Baptist Church in Dell Rapids has been given a new ministry opportunity with the Empire HyVee in Sioux Falls to help distribute food to our community and area. This is not another food pantry, but it is just a free give away of items that the Empire HyVee cannot sell and would have to throw out. This is not expired food. The items simply have a short shelf life to be used or frozen. There is a huge amount of food thrown out in America, and First Baptist Church is trying to help in cutting down on this in the area. Food is already arriving, and the church wants it to go right back out to the people. This is not just for people in need, it is for anyone who wants to stop by.

Sacred Hoops TryOuts and Camps

August 5, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Winter Team Tryouts: Grades 5th – 8th Boys and Girls

Tryout Dates

Sioux Falls: August 19th, 25th & 26th, September 9th
Rapid City: August 26th & 27th & September 9th

ELITE HIGH SCHOOL LEAGUE

Dates: September 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th October 7th, 14th
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Each team will play 1 game per week.
Boys:
Grade 9 & 10
Grades 11-12 – ***INVITE ONLY
Games will be played in Sioux Falls.
Cost: $108.00

Teams will consist of 8 players. Each team will play 1 full college game. Players will compete against the best players from the state. We will divide teams up based on positions and a fair level of play.

Gr. 9-10 will play first 2 games/ Gr. 11-12 will play last 2 games
All based on 32 athletes for 9-10/ 11-12

Contact Sacred Hoops for questions
https://sacredhoopsbasketball.com/

WORKOUTS

Each workout will be 1 HOUR in length.

1 ON 1: $35.00
2 – 4 ATHLETES: $20/player/hour
5 OR MORE ATHLETES: $15/player
10 OR MORE ATHLETES: please email us for pricing

Helen Stansell

August 4, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Helen Christine Stansell, 96, of Dell Rapids passed away peacefully at home Tuesday, July 31, 2018.

Funeral services will begin at 11:00 AM Saturday, August 4, 2018 at Willow Creek Lutheran Church, rural Dell Rapids. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5:00 to 7:00 PM with a Prayer service at 7:00 PM Friday, August 3, 2018 at Minnehaha Funeral Home in Dell Rapids.

Helen Christine Odde Stansell was born December 22, 1921 to parents John and Minnie (Sundem) Odde on a farm east of Hartford, SD. She was baptized at First Lutheran Church in Sioux Falls and confirmed at the Willow Creek Lutheran Church. She attended Foster School until the fifth grade when the family moved to a farm west of Dell Rapids where she attended Hanson School and then graduated from the Lyons High School in 1939.

Helen married Vincent Stansell on August 10, 1942 in Seneca, Kansas. Following their wedding, they moved to San Antonio, Texas where Vincent was stationed in the Army at Lackland Air Force Base. San Antonio was their home for three years and she was employed at Quirk and Company, a general insurance agency. From there, they were transferred to Wilmington, Delaware for a short time.

In 1946, she and Vincent moved back to South Dakota to a farm west of Dell Rapids where they raised their three children. Vincent passed away November 24^th, 1986.

Helen loved the farm, being outdoors, tending the flowers, mowing the lawn, etc, but most of all she loved her family and spending time with them was very important to her. She resided on the farm until 2011 when she had health issues and lived with Nancy and Lynn for six months. While there, her house on the farm burned and she lost everything. After regaining her health, she moved to an apartment in Dell Rapids where she lived out her remaining years.

Helen was an active member of the Willow Creek Church until her later years—taught Sunday school, co-chairman of a work group, member of WELCA, Naomi circle and the Quilters. She was an avid quilter and made a quilt for each grandchild and great grandchild as well as giving away many baby quilts to friends and relatives. She was also known as the “cookie grandma” -many of the family members were sent on their way with a plate or bag of cookies she had baked. Her door was always open to anyone for a cup of coffee and at least one cookie. No one ever left hungry from her house!

Helen was preceded in death by her parents, her husband, Vincent; one brother, Harold Odde and three sisters, Ann Zubke, Ruth Elverson, Evelyn Sittig; special niece, Barbara Umbreit and special nephew, Douglas Sittig.

Left to cherish her memory are her three children, John (Anita) Stansell, Nancy (Lynn) Brehm and Roger Stansell (special friend, Connie Wernke); six grandchildren; Jocelyn (Jason) Patterson, Connie (Eric) Cameron, Michelle Stansell, Shane (Theresa) Brehm, Lacey (Jake) Jensen and Skyler Stansell (fiancée’ Keiana Koepp); twelve great-grandchildren, Layton Harvey, Jonathan “Jonny” Harvey, Alexavier “Alex” Cameron, Kellen Patterson, Ireland Patterson, Vincent “Vini” Camerson , Allana Creech, Piper Patterson, Enzo Cameron, Colter Jensen, Jax Patterson and Tenley Jensen. She is also survived by sister- in- law, Myrtle Odde; several nieces and nephews and special neighbor and “angel”, LeAnne Richeal.

A special thank you to the wonderful team from Compassionate Care Hospice that gave her such tender loving care during her last three months, especially to Amanda and Ashley.

Mary Ann Molta

August 4, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Mary Ann Molta, 83, of Puyallup, WA, formerly of Dell Rapids, SD, passed away on Monday, July 30, 2018 under hospice care. Her Mass of Christian was at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, August 4, 2018. St. Mary Catholic Church in Dell Rapids. Interment will be in the St. Mary Cemetery, Dell Rapids. Funeral arrangements were under the care of Kahler Funeral Home. www.kahlerfh.com

Mary Ann Molta was born on September 6, 1934 at Dell Rapids, SD, the daughter of Joseph and Ruth Putnam. She moved with her family at age seven to Rawlins, WY. She graduated high school in 1952 and married Carmine Molta on June 4, 1952. She worked for the federal government and as a legal secretary retiring in 1985. In 1991 her and Carmine moved to Dell Rapids before moving closer to her daughter in Arlington Heights, IL. Carmine passed away in 2012. Mary Ann moved to Puyallup, WA and remained there until the time of her death.

She is survived by her son, Tom (Kathy) Molta of Bonney Lake, WA; her daughter, Ruth Ann (Bob) Perez of Bonney Lake, WA; her grandchildren, Mike (Jenny) Molta of Bonney Lake, WA and Stephanie Molta of Dallas, TX; her two great-grandchildren, Gabriel and Melanie and her brother, Joe (Peggy) Putnam of Grand Junction, CO.

Rosemary Geraets

August 2, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Rosemary Geraets, 94, of Dell Rapids passed away on Tuesday, July 31, 2018 at Ava’s House in Sioux Falls. Her Mass of Christian Burial was at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, August 3, 2018 in St. Mary Catholic Church, Dell Rapids. Interment will be in the St. Mary Cemetery. Casketbearers were her grandchildren. Visitation with the family present was from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. The Christian Wake was at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 2, 2018 at Kahler Funeral Home. A family rosary will follow the wake.

Rosemary Schwebach was born on September 4, 1923 at Dell Rapids, SD, the daughter of John and Caroline Schwebach. She grew up in the Dell Rapids area and attended school at St. Mary Catholic School. Rosemary worked as a nanny for many area families before moving to Denver. She returned to Dell Rapids and married Ray Geraets on September 4, 1946 at St. Mary Catholic Church. Once married, Rosemary and Ray made their home in Sioux Falls for five years before moving to a farm near Colman for 2 years. Finally in 1958, they moved back to Dell Rapids. Once back in Dell Rapids, she worked as a local waitress, in the hospital and nursing homes in town, and various other jobs. Ray passed away in 2001. In her retirement Rosemary worked as a senior companion, a job she thoroughly enjoyed. Rosemary was able to live on her own until her death.

Rosemary was a member of St. Mary Church and Altar Society, the American Legion Auxiliary, and the Moose Lodge in Sioux Falls.

She is preceded in death by her parents, her husband and several siblings.

She is survived by her children, Jackie (“Skip”) Tool of Dell Rapids, Mark (Darlene) Geraets of Custer, and Doug (Nancy) Geraets of Dell Rapids; her 8 grandchildren, 14 great-grandchildren and 3 great-great-grandchildren; her brother, Jack Schwebach of Dell Rapids; her sisters, Barb (Vince) Ahlers of Plymouth, MN and Carolyn (Denny) Drew of Dell Rapids; her sister-in-law, Dee Salviola of Dell Rapids; her special friends, Bob and Judy Wittrock of Sioux Falls and her many nieces and nephews.

The family has requested that memorials be directed to St. Mary’s or the Ava’s House Hospice.

www.kahlerfh.com

Dell Rapids Legion: 2018 State B Champs!

August 1, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Photo courtesy of Jeff Holm

For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Dell Rapids Legion baseball team can call themselves legion champions! Dell Rapids captured the 2018 State B title in extra innings by defeating McCook/Minor 10-7 on Tuesday, July 31st in Redfield. The last time Dell Rapids won the state legion title was when they won back-to-back titles in 1968 and 1969.

Both teams were held scoreless for the first three and half innings. Dell Rapids finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning. Ty Wood drew a bases-loaded two-out walk to score Elijah Story. Keegan Miller than scored on a wild pitch for an early 2-0 lead.

McCook/Minor tied the game in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run single by Kendall Gassman. Trent Kingsbury added an RBI single later in the inning to give McCook/Miner a 3-2 lead. McCook/Minor added two more runs in the top of the sixth inning on errors to push their lead to 5-2.

Dell Rapids pulled within a run in the bottom of the fifth after Miller and Wood scored on an error. McCook/Minor led 5-4 after six innings of play. They would add two more runs on a two-run single by Cole Gassman to make the score 7-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.

Matt Gillogly lined a double to right field to score Eddie Price to cut the lead to 7-5. Story, the very next batter, took the first pitch he saw and drove it over the left field wall for the game-trying two-run home run.

McCook/Minor would load the bases in the top of the eighth inning with one out after a walk, hit by pitch, and single. Story was able to work out of the jam on the mound by getting the next two batters on a pop out to second and a line out to shortstop.

With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, JD Holm singled to center. Price reached by an error. Gillogly stepped to the plate with Holm and Price on base and one out. On a 3-2 pitch, Gillogly drove a no-doubter over the right field fence for the game-winning three-run home run to give Dell Rapids the title.

Gillogly finished the game with two hits and four RBIs. Price and Miller also had two hits in the game. Story, Holm, and Josh Roemen all had one hit. Story had two RBIs, and Wood also had an RBI. Roemen started the game on the mound pitching six innings giving up five runs, two earned, on eight hits while walking three and striking out six batters. Story pitched the final two innings giving up two earned runs on three hits with two walks and a strikeout.

The team was met by a fire truck and was led back into Dell Rapids down to Rickeman Field where a celebration was had. Dell Rapids finished the season with a 13-6 record.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Holm

Great Plains Watercolor Society Event Held In Dell Rapids

July 30, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Jeannie Ammon uses watercolors to create her painting

Members from all over the region come together to paint in a variety of locations across the area. The Great Plains Watercolor Society has both men and women who participate in their events and workshops totaling 117 members to date. Members come from Nebraska, Minnesota and all over South Dakota.

Carol Baum playing a dulcimer during the painting session at The Mother’s Healing Garden

On Thursday, July 26, The Great Plains Watercolor Society met at The Mother’s Healing Garden here in Dell Rapids. “I don’t paint very well, but it is the experience of sharing nature with your paintbrush,” said Mary Buckmiller, member of the society. “Together, we share our love for painting. We have been to the Avera Cancer Center to paint with patients and family members as well as The Inn On Westport and shared our art with folks that can’t get out and paint.”

Every Thursday the society meets to paint on location at a variety of locations varying from Falls Park in Sioux Falls, Veteran’s Memorial Garden, Jappenese Gardens and so many more. “Twice a month we also get together and paint indoors,” Jeannie Ammon stated. “We have one of our members demonstrate and we all follow along.”

The Great Plains Watercolor Society has numerous art shows throughout the year. Currently, they have an exhibition at Coffea in Sioux Falls and had a display at the Wine & Wander event held in Dell Rapids on July 27.

New members are always welcome to join The Great Plains Watercolor Society. Information for membership can be found at greatplainswatercolorsociety.com. “Everyone is welcome to come check us out,” Ammon said. “Beginners who may have never picked up a brush, or even professionals. We would love to have more people join.”