Category Archives: Local

Winner Wild 6th grade basketball team played in the Sioux Falls O’Gorman basketball tournament on Jan. 9.
In the first game, Winner defeated BBA (Bartlett Basketball Academy) Fierce 37-14.  In the second game, Winner was nipped 45-43 by Brandon Valley.  In the third game, Winner defeated O’Gorman 40-29.

Awards, entertainment and food will be featured at the Winner Area Chamber of Commerce annual meet set for Jan. 14 at the Winner Bowling Center.
The event will start at 5:30 p.m. with the social.  The banquet will feature wine, wings, ribs and salads.  The awards and recognition will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The entertainment will start at 7:30 p.m. featuring Dueling Duo. This group features dueling pianos and a fiddle player.

The awards to be presented will be: employer of the year, volunteer of the year, Farm/ranch family of the year, business of the year and the achievement award.

Businesses and organizations will be honored for the number of years they have been in business. A business and a church will be honored for being part of the Winner community for 105 years. The Winner Advocate newspaper and the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church were both established in 1910.

The chamber will be electing three directors. The nominations for directors are: Brent Ring of Cone Ag; Ryan Penning of Mason Funeral Home and Wendy Mortenson of American Family Insurance.  Going off the board will be Casey Berndt, Linda Nelson and Erin Petersek.  The new chamber president will be Lisa Hauf.

The South Central Development Corporation will meet at 4 p.m. for their meeting.  Beginning a five year team on the SCDC board will be Tom Kauer, Don Covey, Bill Ferguson and James Mathis.

PIERRE, S.D. – The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) paid out nearly $50 million in state highway funding to counties and Class I city governments in 2015.

These state funds replaced federal highway fund dollars, allowing counties and cities greater flexibility for funding road and bridge projects. Funding for these payouts came as a result of the road and bridge funding bill passed during the 2015 legislative session.
In Tripp County, the total 2015 STP payment was $718,352.04. The total payment to Todd County was $330,458.70.

A portion of the federal highway funds South Dakota receives is allocated to local governments. However, these dollars are restricted for use only on federally approved routes.

Following the passage of 2015’s Senate Bill 1, SDDOT began exchanging those locally available federal funds for state funds, placing the burden of meeting federal requirements on the state and allowing more options for counties and cities. The state funds paid to local governments in lieu of the federal funds are not restricted to particular highway projects or segments of road.

“These funds will provide counties and Class 1 cities more resources to improve their highways and bridges,” said SDDOT Secretary Darin Bergquist. “It should help them to immediately address critical infrastructure needs.”

The annual meeting of the Winner Community Playhouse will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 7:30 p.m. at the playhouse.  The outstanding playhouse member will be honored.

The public is invited to attend this annual meeting.

Savannah R Vogel, Hamill is a new junior member of the American Angus Association®, reports Allen Moczygemba, CEO of the national organization with headquarters in Saint Joseph, Mo.

Junior members of the Association are eligible to register cattle in the American Angus Association, participate in programs conducted by the National Junior Angus Association and take part in Association-sponsored shows and other national and regional events.

The American Angus Association is the largest beef breed association in the world, with more than 25,000 active adult and junior members.

LaTora (Hossle) Becker, formerly of Winner, graduated from South Dakota State University College of Nursing on Dec. 11.

She has accepted an RN position at Avera McKennan in Sioux Falls on the pediatric floor.

The annual Winner Area Chamber of Commerce Banquet will be held Jan. 14 at Winner Bowling Center.
Wings and ribs will be served along with a wine tasting.
Several awards will be presented.
Entertainment will feature Dueling Duo.
There will be several businesses honored this year.
The businesses and organizations to be honored and the year they were established include: Winner Advocate, 1910; Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 1910; Outlaw Ace Hardware, 1920; American Legion Post 169, 1920; Sodak Printers, 1950; Winner Drive-In Theater, 1950; Sentinel Federal Credit Union, 1955; Raven Angus, 1955; The Insurance Center, 1960; Animal Clinic, 1960; Modern Woodmen, 1960; Tripp County Historical Society, 1970; Karl’s TV, 1970; Community Connections, 1975; McCready Construction, 1975; First Fidelity Bank, 1990; Fidelity Agency, 1990; Burns Rentals, 1995; Mel’s Automotive, 2000; Country Pride Cooperative, 2000; Pharmco Industries, 2000; Dennis Assman’s Ultimate Hunts, 2005; Whetham Reality, 2005 and Hearing Health Center, 2005.
Persons planning on attending the Chamber banquet are to RSVP by Jan. 8 to the Chamber office by calling 842-1533.

Arthur Hughes of Winner will receive the Barry and Marilyn Grossenburg Scholarship from South Dakota State University.
Hughes, a freshman, is the son of Jon and Susan Hughes. In high school, Hughes was a FFA member.

Tripp County 4-H Shooting Sports sign up and safety meetings will begin soon.

Archery will begin on Monday, Jan. 4 and gun disciplines will begin on Thursday, Jan. 7.

The first meeting will be sign up and safety meetings with a safety meeting and test the following week on consecutive Mondays or Thursdays.
Each shooter must attend the first two meetings to meet the requirements for the safety classes. Practice will continue each week after that until the state match in Ft. Pierre the end of April.

Safety and signup meetings will begin at 7 p.m. the first week and 6 p.m. the second week at the Tripp County 4-H Center.
Archery bows, bb guns and some other equipment is available for use.

All youth ages 8 and above are encouraged to participate in this program.  A parent or guardian must accompany the shooter each week.

For further information call Tim Pravecek at 842-0855 or John or Marie Condon at 557-3436. If no answer please leave a message.

By Dan Bechtold, Editor

Winner High School football team set several records during its undefeated season.

“We thought we would be competitive but I did not image the year we had. I would have never guessed we would be that dominate,” said the coach.
It started in the opening game of the season when the Warriors scored on the first play and went on to shutout Mobridge/Pollock 50-0. This was the first of eight shutouts that Winner would record this year.  “Playing up to our abilities was impressive week after week,” said Aaker.  “We just played at the level we expected every time. We never took a step backwards. We got better and more confident as we went along.”

“That hunger got more and more as the year went on,” said Aaker. “You know kids hear things and they hear people talk that their schedule was not too tough. I think that added to their determination,” noted the coach.  Aaker explained the team’s core group played tremendous. “It was a very talented group and I was glad to see that our underclassmen got a lot of playing time. That will only help add depth next season.”

“One thing I like about this team was that they helped their teammates out and made the younger players better.”

It was a year that went by quickly for the coach but what a fun ride it has been.