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

Two Events Coming to Downtown Dell Rapids

June 9, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Downtown Dell Rapids will be hosting two big events in the coming weeks. The Dell Rapids City Council approved both of all necessary permits during their regular meeting on Monday, June 4th.

The first big event that will be held downtown is the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce’s Quarry Days street dance on Saturday, June 23rd on Main Street. Judd Hoos will again headline the street dance with opening act Ashley Wineland starting about 7:15 p.m. This year’s street dance is being sponsored by Norby’s.

A new event being hosted by the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce will be held on Saturday, July 28th called “Wine and Wonder”.

“This is a new event that the Chamber has worked with the local businesses on Main Street. They’ve been talking about this for a few years,” said City Administrator Justin Weiland. The reason for how long it’s taken to get this event going was due to working with the South Dakota Department of Revenue and making sure the event followed all the state’s liquor laws.

The “Wine and Wonder” event will close down Main Street for folks to come and enjoy wine and beer samples from local wineries and breweries while wondering downtown shopping, listening to live music, and viewing or participating in art demonstrations. Cricket’s Catering and Gold Star Kettle Corn will be serving food. The local wineries that are currently registered to be at the event include Tuckers Walk Vineyard, Humble Hill Winery, Schade Vineyard, Valiant Vineyards Winery, and Take 16 Brewing Company.

Dell Rapids Girls Golf Ends Season at State Tournament

June 5, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids Quarrier girls golf team finished their 2018 season with an appearance at the 2018 State A Golf Tournament Monday, June 4th and Tuesday, June 5th at Rocky Run Golf Course in Dell Rapids. The Quarriers finished 11th as a team with a final two-day score of 819. Belle Fourche took home the team title with a final score of 735. Sioux Falls Christian was second at 747, and Parkston finished third at 751.

Kaitlyn Greenhoff finished in 7th place after having a round of 85 on Monday and 86 on Tuesday for a final score of 171. Olivia Downs had a two-day total of 205. Abby Greenhoff finished with a 219. Sami Schmidt finished with a total of 224, and Sydney Emery had a two-day score of 262. Payson Birkeland of Belle Fourche won the individual title with a final score of 159.

Bonnie Henry

June 2, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Bonnie L. Henry, 67, of Dell Rapids passed away on Friday, June 1, 2018 at the Dells Nursing and Rehab Center. Her Funeral Service is at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 4, 2018 in the Lutheran Church of Dell Rapids. Rev. Dr. Jeff Sorenson will officiate. Casketbearers are Gary Belfrage, Jerry Berg, Jim Berg, Casey Berg, Austin Henry and Jack Henry. Visitation is on Sunday, June 3, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. in the church with a time of sharing at 7:00 p.m. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Kahler Funeral Home.

Bonnie Berg was born on April 4, 1951 at Milbank, SD, the daughter of Stanley and Cecelia (Boyle) Berg. She grew up and attended elementary school at Stockholm, SD. She attended South Shore High School graduating in 1969. After high school she attended Dakota State College in Madison, SD. She married George Henry on July 29, 1972 at South Shore. The couple made their home in Parker, SD for two years before moving to Castlewood, SD for three years. In 1977 they moved to Dell Rapids, SD. Bonnie worked as the office manager for Dearduff Chevrolet until the business was sold. She then worked as a bookkeeper and office manager for Pfeifer Implement in Sioux Falls until her retirement in February of 2016. In May of 2016 Bonnie had a stroke. She became a resident of the Dells Nursing and Rehab Center in June of 2016.

Bonnie loved playing golf and cards with her many friends, reading, camping and spending time with her four grandchildren. In the past two years, Bonnie was incredibly tough and never lost her sense of humor. She was able to get out of the nursing home many times to attend grandkid events and to go home and to Nate and Tammy’s house which she enjoyed.

She is preceded in death by her parents and her brother, Mike.

Bonnie is survived by her husband of 45 years, George of Dell Rapids; her son, Nate and his wife, Tammy of Dell Rapids; her grandchildren, Austin, Jack, Maddie Jo and Ry Guy all of Dell Rapids; her three brothers, Jerry (Mary) Berg of Brookings, Jim (Sue) Berg of Stockholm and Casey Berg of Watertown.

The family wants to recognize the incredible staff at the Dells Nursing and Rehab Center for all of their loving care for Bon. It was deeply appreciated.

To honor Bonnie’s memory, the family ask that friends wear baseball jerseys or golf attire to the funeral on Monday.

The family asked that memorials be directed to the Dells Nursing and Rehab Center.

www.kahlerfh.com

Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office Gives County Report to Dell Rapids Council

June 1, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead along with Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Mike Walker gave a report of what the office is seeing throughout the county. The presentation was given during the Dell Rapids City Council’s regular meeting on Monday, May 21st.

Sheriff Milstead noted that the drug cases in Dell Rapids stayed nearly the same from 2016 to 2017. Dell Rapids had 29 cases in 2016 and 30 in 2017. However, Sheriff Milstead said the meth arrests and overdose deaths in the county have doubled. There were 11 overdose deaths in Minnehaha County in 2016 and 21 in 2017.

“We didn’t use to see meth overdoses, but here’s what’s happening. Our percentage of purity and strength of our meth coming into our community is nearly 100%,” said Milstead. He also noted that the meth epidemic is something the sheriff’s office struggles to handle. Milstead said that over half of the violent crimes and burglaries in the county are related to meth use.

Meth isn’t the only the drug being seen in the county. Milstead noted that seven of the overdose deaths in 2017 was related to heroin.

“I don’t think I’ve ever said the word heroin in Dell Rapids. I never thought that I would, but heroin is in our communities now,” Milstead added.

Despite the shocking statistics given by Sheriff Milstead, he praised the council and the community of Dell Rapids.

“I have great respect for what you do and the challenges you face. It’s really nice, actually, to come up and listen to a setback issue being a major thing that you’re handling, and you’re not dealing with a crisis that we’re seeing in other communities. I think there’s a reason why people live in Dell Rapids. They want to keep it like Dell Rapids and will fight to keep it that way,” Milstead commented.

Officer Walker provided a few comments as well. He noted that while he doesn’t know everything that goes on in the school, he does hear a lot. Walker said he that he does hear a lot of the trends and said that it goes up and down every year.

“This year has been a really, really good year at Dell Rapids I think. I’m not here to tell you that no kids are using marijuana or drinking and stuff, but I just did not hear the trend that I have in the last three or four years,” Walker said.

Walker also noted that while he didn’t hear some of the same trends in the school when it came to marijuana or drinking, he did mention that vaping is now becoming more of an issue.

Sheriff Milstead and Officer Walker also touched on other drug related items, apps and technology that the office is using or hopes to use, and social media.

The entire nearly hour-long report can be viewed in the video.

Post Season Awards for Dells Baseball

May 29, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Several members of the Dell Rapids baseball team earned post-season awards this season.

Four players earned 2018 Academic All-State awards for having a GPA of 3.5 or above. They were Elijah Story, Matt Gillogly, Tyson Dahler, and Jeffrey Schuch.

Dell Rapids had three players earn All-State honors. Eddie Price was a First Team All-State selection. Story and Gillogly were Second Team All-State selections.

Six players were mentioned for the Region 2B All-Region team. Price, Story, Gillogly, Carter Gullickson, and Jay Holm were All-Region selections. Keegan Miller was an All-Region Honorable Mention.

Dell Rapids finished with an overall record of 10-3.

Dell Rapids Students Participate in Community Service Day

May 26, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Students from Dell Rapids participated in a community service day during the afternoon of

Friday, May 18th. Students were bused out into the community and then picked up trash as they walked back towards the school. Some students also helped do landscaping projects around the Dell Rapids High School building.

A large number of trash bags were filled from the community clean-up.

Students also painted inside of the train car in the park and played bingo at the nursing home.

Pastor Earl Johnson

May 25, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Pastor Earl D. Johnson, Dell Rapids, surrounded by his family, passed away late Thursday, May 24, 2018 at the Bethany Home in Brandon after a long battle with several illnesses. Visitation is on Monday, May 28, 2018 from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the Lutheran Church of Dell Rapids. His Funeral Service is at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 in the Lutheran Church of Dell Rapids. Interment is in the Willow Creek Cemetery, rural Dell Rapids. Earl’s nephews and nieces will serve as his casket bearers. Pastor Eldon Thurow will officiate. Tim Schreck will play the organ. Funeral arrangements are under the care of Kahler Funeral Home.

Earl was born on July 18, 1940 on the family farm near Trimont, Minnesota, to Arne and Ragnal Johnson. On the farm Earl lived with his parents, six siblings and a grandmother. Early education was at Pleasant Hill #115 country school nearby, then to Truman High School, Truman, Minnesota in seventh grade. He graduated in 1958. For three years Earl farmed with his father, then decided on attending Concordia College, Moorhead. It was there that the Spirit pushed and prodded and he went to Luther Seminary in St. Paul after his graduation from college, with plans on becoming a pastor.

In the meantime he met his “Beautiful Brown Eyes,” Linda Christensen from Forestburg, South Dakota. They were married June 24, 1967 at Forestburg Lutheran Church.

After the first two years of seminary training, Earl was fortunate to serve his year of internship in a mission church at Royal City, Washington. Returning to seminary, he graduated in 1970. While studying, he also had a small house painting company, specializing in “big houses no one else wanted to paint.” Linda taught elementary music in several schools during those years.

Earl’s first Call was to Trinity Lutheran, Fowler, Colorado, on the Arkansas River. It was a terrific church for a rookie pastor. While there Carl Arne and Elizabeth Rae were born in nearby Pueblo. American Lutheran in Gothenberg, Nebraska was his second Call, as Associate Pastor, in 1975. Two years later he was asked to start a mission congregation in LaSalle, Colorado. Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran slowly grew, meeting in an old school band room. Son Andrew Mark was born in nearby Greeley.

Ulcerated vocal cords cropped up, necessitating a move to a more humid climate. In 1983 Earl accepted a Call as Associate Pastor in the Lutheran Church of Dell Rapids and rural Willow Creek Lutheran. A year later he became Administrative Pastor. Earl served in this position for the next eight years. In 1985 he worked with three lay women from the community to organize the local Food Pantry. He and three others met at Volga Lutheran in 1984 to work with the Family Farm Organizing Research Center from St. Paul. After several meetings the grass roots movement Dakota Rural Action was formed. He served several years as the first Director of the Dell Rapids Community Foundation, established in 1998.

In 1992 Earl resigned from LCDR due to worsening vocal problems. After reconstructive surgery at the Mayo Clinic he was able to continue as pastor in 1994, serving Benton Lutheran, rural Crooks. A merger with Willow Creek occurred in 2000. Thus, he was installed at Willow twice! Within a 30 mile radius Pastor Earl Johnson preached in 21 churches plus 12 more elsewhere in the state. Some of these were interim churches he served upon “retirement” in 2005.

Grateful for sharing his life are his wife Linda, son Carl and Kathy – Tyler, Cole, Trevor of Sioux Falls, daughter Elizabeth of Dell Rapids, son Andrew and Becky – Noah, Gavin, Emma, Olivia of Tea, as well as his sisters and brothers, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Oh, and Earl had a hole-in-one.

Earl requested his memorials benefit the ELCA Disaster Aid for Refugees and also the building funds at both Lutheran Church in Dell Rapids and Willow Creek Lutheran.

www.kahlerfh.com

Cardinals and Quarriers State Track Results

May 25, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Athletes from the Dell Rapids St Mary Cardinals and Dell Rapids Quarrier track teams are participating in the 2018 South Dakota state track meet held in Rapid City on Friday, May 25th and Saturday, May 26th.

The Cardinals’ Ella Heinitz finished 2nd in the 400m dash and 8th in the 800m dash, and Weston Geraets had a 6th place finish in the triple jump. The boys 4x800m Relay team also finished 7th. For the Quarriers the girls’ 4x100m relay team finished 4th, girls’ 4x200m relay team finished 7th, girls’ 4x400m relay team finished 4th, the boys’ 4x100m relay team placed 3rd, and the boys’ 4x400m relay team also placed 3rd. Aspen Hansen and an 8th place finish in the 300m hurdles. Mason Schmidt won the High Jump event for the second year in a row and placed 8th in the long jump. Sydney Stofferahn finished 8th in the Discus, and Emma Paul finished 8th in the Shot Put.

Individual Girls Results

100m Dash Prelims (Class B)

Ella Heinitz – DRSM – :13.18 **Qualified for finals**

100m Dash Finals (Class B)

Ella Heinitz (8th) – DRSM – :13.15

200m Dash Prelims (Class B)

Ella Heinitz – DRSM – :27.62

400m Dash Prelims (Class B)

Ella Heinitz – DRSM – 1:00.64 **Qualified for finals**

400m Dash Finals (Class B)

Ella Heinitz (2nd) – DRSM – 1:00.58

800m Run (Class B)

Ella Heinitz (10th) – DRSM – 2:29.89
Tana Harrinton (17th) – DRSM – 2:45.78

3200m Run (Class B)

Addy Gilbert (10th) – DRSM – 13:29.88

Shot Put (Class B)

Maddie Schwebach (14th) – DRSM – 33’8.75″

4x100m Relay Prelims (Class A)

Hannah VanOverbeke, Shaylee Hoff, Hannah Heiberger, Aspen Hansen – DR – :51.06 **Qualified for finals**

4x10om Relay Finals (Class A)

Hannah VanOverbeke, Shaylee Hoff, Hannah Heiberger, Aspen Hansen (4th) – DR – :51.81

1600m Sprint Medley Relay Prelims (Class A)

Sam Price, Ava Schuring, Brooke Klein, Kat Fletcher – 4:46.42

High Jump (Class A)

Kyra Graham (12th) – DR – 4’7″

4x200m Relay Prelims (Class A)

Hannah VanOverbeke, Shaylee Hoff, Ava Schuring, Aspen Hansen – DR – 1:48.23 **Qualified for finals**

4x200m Relay Finals (Class A)

Hannah VanOverbeke, Shaylee Hoff, Ava Schuring, Aspen Hansen (7th) – DR – 1:49.11

300m Hurdles Prelims (Class A)

Aspen Hansen – DR – :46.39 **Qualified for finals**

300m Hurdles Finals (Class A)

Aspen Hansen (8th) – DR – :51.39

400m Dash Prelims (Class A)

Shaylee Hoff – DR – 1:01.71

4x400m Relay Prelims (Class A)

Madysen VanOverbeke, Ava Schuring, Aspen Hansen, Shaylee Hoff – DR – 4:11.22 **Qualified for finals**

4x400m Relay Finals (Class A)

Madysen VanOverbeke, Ava Schuring, Aspen Hansen, Shaylee Hoff (4th) – DR – 4:12.19

Discus (Class A)

Sydney Stofferahn (8th) – DR – 106’8″
Emma Paul (20th) – DR – 92’00”

Shot Put (Class A)

Emma Paul (8th) – DR – 35’3.5″

3200m Run (Class A)

Katrina Kruel (15th) – DR – 12:58.03

Long Jump (Class A)

Hannah Heiberger (14th) – DR – 16’2.5″

Individual Boys Results

800m Run (Class B)

Connor Libis (14th) – DRSM – 2:13.40

Triple Jump (Class B)

Weston Geraets (6th) – DRSM – 41’2.5″

300m Hurdles Prelims (Class B)

Ethan Geraets – DRSM – :43.84

4x800m Relay (Class B)

Ryan Eining, Connor Libis, Logan Gaspar, Ethan Geraets (7th) – DRSM – 8:39.83

1600m Run (Class B)

Ryan Eining (13th) – DRSM – 5:01.94

High Jump (Class A)

Mason Schmidt (1st) – DR – 6’4″
Brayden Pluscher (9th) – DR – 5’10”
Ryker Pedde (16th) – DR – 5’8″

Triple Jump (Class A)

Josh Heinemann (23rd) – DR – 38’9″

4x100m Relay Prelims (Class A)

Blake Reider, Derek Ahlers, Mason Schmidt, Andrew Hegge – :44.18 **Qualified for finals**

4x100m Relay Finals (Class A)

Blake Reider, Derek Ahlers, Mason Schmidt, Andrew Hegge (3rd) – DR – :44.43

1600m Sprint Medley Relay Prelims (Class A)

Jeffrey Schuch, Logan Stone, Danek Hilmar, Karsen Welbig – DR – 4:05.77

4x200m Relay Prelims (Class A)

Blake Reider, Derek Ahlers, Logan Stone, Andrew Hegge – DR – NT

4x400m Relay Prelims (Class A)

Blake Reider, Mason Schmidt, Caleb Kirschenmann, Derek Ahlers – DR – 3:32.67 **Qualified for finals**

4x400m Relay Finals (Class A)

Blake Reider, Mason Schmidt, Caleb Kirschenmann, Derek Ahlers (3rd) – DR – 3:32.62

Long Jump (Class A)

Mason Schmidt (8th) – DR – 21’4″

Quarrier Girls Golf Team Qualifies for State

May 24, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids Quarrier girls golf team qualified for the State A tournament with a third place finish at the Region 1A tournament on Thursday, May 24th at Rocky Run Golf Course in Dell Rapids.

The Quarriers finished with a team score of 411. Madison won the region title with 369. Sisseton finished second with 401. McCook Central-Montrose was fourth at 420, and Milbank finished fifth with 429.

Kaitlyn Greenhoff had a third place finish individually with a round of 87. Olivia Downs placed 11th with a round of 102. Sydney Emery had a 16th place finish with a 107. Abby Greenhoff was in the top 20 with a round of 115. Sami Schmidt finished with a round of 131.

The 2018 State A girls golf tournament will be held on Monday June 4th, and Tuesday, June 5th at Rocky Run Golf Course in Dell Rapids.

Baseball and Softball in Full Swing in Dell Rapids

May 23, 2018 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

As the school year comes to a close, the summer ball season has begun. After weeks of trying to battle snow storms and wet fields, the youth baseball and softball teams have begun playing games and fans can be heard cheering for their teams every night on the Dell Rapids ball fields.

The Dell Rapids 15/16 Teener team began their season on Monday, May 21^st with a close loss to Volga 11-12 . Two Dell Rapids 13/14 teams, Dells-J and Dells-N, have already played a few games this season. Dells-J is currently 1-1 on the season, and Dells-N is 0-1. The Dell Rapids Legion team will begin their season in early June. Dell Rapids PBR and the Dell Rapids Mudcats amateur baseball teams have also started their 2018 season.

The Dell Rapids 12U and 10U baseball teams are in their second week of games. Dell Rapids has four 12U teams and six 10U teams this year that can be found on the diamonds every Monday and Wednesday night. The 8U baseball teams began their season on Tuesday, May 22^nd, and they play Tuesdays and Thursdays. The 6U teams began their season on Monday, May 21^st and play Mondays and Wednesdays with some games being played at Dells Nursing and Rehab Center. The Dell Rapids 12U, 10U, 8U, and 6U softball teams began their season on Tuesday, May 22^nd. Their games on are Tuesday and Thursday nights.

One new feature has been added to one of the youth fields for this summer. Eagle Scout Jack Prasek put together a manual scoreboard and installed it on Field F for the Dell Rapids Baseball and Softball leagues as part of his Eagle Scout project. The new scoreboard has been a great addition to the field.

Diamonds will be full of baseball games and softball games almost every night of the week through the early part of July. Head down to the fields and catch some exciting games all summer long!

« Previous Page