Category Archives: News

Elsie Sinkler, 93

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elsie sinkler obit

Elsie Esther (Schmidt) Sinkular was born on July 8, 1923, on the family farm south of Dallas to Jacob and Lydia (Ring) Schmidt and died May 5, 2016 at Avera Rosebud Country Care Center. She was the third of three children.

Elsie graduated from Gregory High School in 1941 after which she attended SDSU, transferred to Southern State Normal School in Springfield, SD, and graduated in 1943 with an elementary school teaching certificate. She taught in Platte, SD, from 1943-1945 and substitute taught for a short time in Dallas.

Elsie was united in marriage to Woodrow W. Sinkular on April 20, 1944 and to this union three sons were born, Ken and Kent (twins) and Barry.

Elsie was the typical farm wife raising chickens, milking cows, vegetable and flower gardening, and always providing bountiful meals for her family, friends and the farm help. She especially loved baking and took great joy in sharing her baked goods with others. She always said she what she missed the most, when she was no longer able to live at home, were baking, cooking and gardening. She and Woody also liked to get together with friends and neighbors to play pinochle.

Elsie and Woodrow did much traveling together with the highlights being two trips to Germany to reunite with friends that Woody had made while stationed there when he was in the Army. They wintered in Rio Hondo, Texas, upon retiring, and even after Woody passed away on April 25, 1989, Elsie continued being a winter Texan until 2007. She was a member of St. John Lutheran Church, LWML, a lifetime member of the Dallas American Legion Auxiliary and Burke VFW Auxiliary.

Elsie entered Whispering Pines Assisted Living in December 2008, moved to Silver Threads Assisted Living in July of 2010, and due to declining health, moved to Avera Rosebud Country Care Center in July of 2012 where she always looked forward to playing bingo and attending church services.

Leslie Duane Koster, 81

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Leslie Duane Koster, 81, Piedmont, died Wednesday, May 4, 2016, at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Fort Meade, after a long battle with cancer.

Les was born July 29, 1934, in New Underwood, SD. He attended 8 years of school at the Hamilton #2 Country School. Les joined the US Army on May 8, 1957, and was a recovery specialist until his honorable discharge on May 7, 1959.

Les and his brothers were avid sportsmen. They loved to hunt and fish and Les enjoyed trapping. Many times, his brothers would come to the Black Hills for opening days of deer hunting season. They also enjoyed antelope hunting near Faith, SD. Les loved to fish, especially when he caught a 40 inch tiger muskee at Orman Dam.

Les moved to Piedmont, SD, where he helped take care of his aunt, Suzy Koster, after her husband died in 1964. Les was working as a butcher at the Bargain Barn Grocery when he met Ginger Benett. He and Ginger were married on May 4, 1964, and the made their home in Piedmont. He adopted Troy soon after.

Les loved his woodworking and gathering firewood. He was either building with wood, or burning it. His passion for wood led him into a career as a supervisor for Self Help Housing in Rapid Valley. Les also worked Meade County where he drove road grader for 3 years.

Jeffrey Ben Kolbe, 55

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Jeffrey Ben Kolbe was born to Ben and Sally (Remter) Kolbe on April 6, 1961 and died on May 1, 2016 at Sanford Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD at the age of 55.

Jeff was baptized on April 23, 1961 and was confirmed on April 13, 1975, both at Trinity Lutheran Church in Dixon, SD and was a current member of St John’s Lutheran Church in Gregory, SD. Jeff started school in August of 1967 as a 1st grader at Dixon School #57. In April of 1968 he moved with his family to Portland, Oregon and attended 2nd and 3rd grade. His family then moved back to Dixon and finished his elementary education at Dixon School. Jeff graduated from Gregory High School in 1979. In 1981 he graduated with High Honors from the University of SD at Springfield with a diesel mechanic degree.

Jeff lived in the Dixon area his entire adult life farming and custom combining for many years until his arthritis and scleroderma limited his activity. He was very gifted in the field of mechanics and worked on numerous machines. Jeff spent the last five years in a wheel chair with very limited movement. Even from his wheel chair he advised people how to repair and build machinery. Jeff’s sister, Natalie, cared for him for nearly four years with his parents caring for him for the last months of his life. He never complained about his health and had a positive attitude.

Jeff enjoyed vacationing. He visited the Dominican Republic, South Carolina, Florida, Mexico, Costa Rica, and other places with many of his friends. Jeff liked to hunt and was an avid gun enthusiast. As many people know, he could throw a heck of a party and DJ’d for many dances, weddings, and reunions. Jeff worked for many years at Frank Day’s Bar in Dallas, SD. He also enjoyed playing cards, bowling, and was a lucky poker player. He was a fun person to be around.

Jeff was married and had one daughter, Katie Kolbe. Jeff was especially proud of his daughter and grandson, Kenyon.

Kathy Hutton, 54

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hutton obit

Kathy Hutton, age 54, of Winner, passed away at her home on Saturday, April 30, 2016. Memorial service were held on Friday, May 6, 2016 at 10 a.m. at the Mason Funeral Home in Winner. Burial will be held at a later date.

On February 14, 1962, Mr. and Mrs. Jack Duley were blessed with a baby girl that weighted 10 lbs. Vera thought she was her special Valentines gift. Kathy joined 2 older brothers Darrel and Thomas Duley and later a younger sister Christina Luebke and brother Andy Bender.

Kathy lived and went to school all 12 years in Colome. She got married in 1980 to Rand Reterstorf and they moved to Arizona where she lived for 30 years. She had several different jobs there, finally going to work for Norris Air-conditioning as a secretary and was there for 15 years.

She has 2 children: Jeremy Duley of Green Isle, MN and Tasha Reterstorf of Phoenix, AZ.

Kathy came back here in 2014 and worked in many different jobs until she got hired at the hospital. Kathy loved the job and the people there. She had a stroke in April of 2015.

She was predeced in death by her three brothers Darrel, Thomas, and Andy; her father Jack; and her grandparents Joel and Addie Duley and Herald and Emma Condon.

Spirituality: A Unique Summer Tour

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crosses with s.d mag storyBy Katie Hunhoff

Grasshoppers swarmed our fields and towns, devouring everything in their path in the 1870s. Farmers were ruined and entire communities suffered. Kampeska City, the precursor to Watertown, became a ghost town after the plague.

Father Pierre Boucher took action to protect Jefferson in the very southeast corner of today’s South Dakota. He planned a spiritual procession to ward off the hated insects. He announced his plan in Mass on a Sunday in the spring of 1876. The next morning, both Protestants and Catholics convened south of Jefferson and Boucher led them on an 11-mile procession. They ceremoniously placed crosses at four points, and another in the Jefferson cemetery. Soon after, throngs of dead grasshoppers were found nearby at the Big Sioux and Missouri Rivers.

The crosses later became spiritual relics to Jefferson residents. One, outside St. Peter’s Catholic Church, was replaced in 1967. Others can be found 4 miles northwest of town on County Road 1B near the Southeast Farmers Coop Elevator and another near the corner of 330th Street and 480th Avenue west of Jefferson. The wooden crosses are just one of many spiritual places that we recommend exploring in the May/June issue of South Dakota Magazine. South Dakota residents have always been spiritual; currently we are listed as the 16th most religious state according to a Pew Research study based on time spent in prayer, church attendance, belief and “self-described importance” of religion. Early residents relied on their faith to endure the many challenges of life on the prairie — natural woes like drought and floods and storms and more personal challenges such as the mental strains of carving out a new life on the lonesome prairie.

South Dakotans have built beautiful churches as the focuses of our faith. But our story also explores some lesser-known spiritual sites. Reynold’s Prairie, located high in the Black Hills, is one of five mountain places considered sacred to the Sioux. Earlier this year the U.S. Department of Interior declared the meadow is once again Indian trust land and will be managed as a sacred site.

Our story on spirituality also references the gravesites of two brothers, Michael and Joseph Hofer, in the cemetery at Rockport Hutterite Colony in Hanson County. The Hofers, who adhered to the Hutterite tenet of pacifism, refused to serve in World War I after being drafted. They were sentenced to military prisons and were tortured. Eventually both died of pneumonia. Hutterites throughout North America make a pilgrimage to pay their respects at their gravesites.

Many of the spiritual sites we selected are obvious — the Cathedral on the Prairie at Hoven, the Wounded Knee cemetery and Stavkirke in the Hills. But others may surprise you, including Black Elk’s log cabin, Wind Cave and the five Medicine Buttes in South Dakota.

A South Dakota summer is the perfect season to seek out some of these spiritual spots for reflection and contemplation. Lakota scholar Vine Deloria, Jr. once wrote, “The plains of the Dakotas are both hospitable and hostile to people. You must welcome their bounty but ensure that they do not sweep you up, taking your life and making you a part of their restless spirit.” We think Mr. Deloria, who died in 2005, would have liked our spiritual tour. We hope you do as well.

Nelson Elected to Banker Board

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The South Dakota Bankers Association (SDBA), the professional and trade association for South Dakota’s financial services industry since 1884, recently held elections for two of the nine seats on its Board of Directors.

Elected to serve on the SDBA Board of Directors were:
· Kristina Schaefer, General Counsel & Director of Risk Management, First Bank & Trust, Sioux Falls
· David D. Nelson, Sr. Vice President & Branch Manager, First Fidelity Bank, Platte

Nelson is formerly of Winner.

Schaefer and Nelson began their three-year directorships on May 1. This is their first term on the SDBA Board of Directors

Bechtold to Receive National FCCLA award

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dan bechtold at reunion

Dan Bechtold, editor of the Winner Advocate, has been named the recipient of the Family, Career and Community Leaders of America national outstanding media award.

Bechtold’s name was submitted by the Winner FCCLA chapter. Kris Brockhoft is the Winner High School FCCLA advisor.

The newspaper editor will receive the award at the FCCLA national leadership conference in San Diego, Calif., on July 6.

Finney Takes Oath as Mayor of Winner

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Finney

By Dan Bechtold, Editor

Frank Finney was sworn in as the new mayor of Winner at Monday’s meeting of the Winner City Council.  Finney takes over from Jess Keesis who served as mayor for six years.

The new terms of council members also started on Monday. Val Sherman rejoins the city council in Ward Two, Dave Baker in Ward One and Brad Schramm in Ward Three.  Appointed to serve the one-year term in Ward One vacated by mayor Frank Finney was Isaiah Curtis.

The city presented plaques to out going mayor Keesis and to Jena Littau who served one term in Ward Two. Littau and Keesis did not run for re-election this year.

Jody Brozik was elected the president of the council and Dave Baker was named the vice president.

City council committees include:
Police commission—Frank Finney, Val Sherman and Jody Brozik
Cemetery/parks and recreation—Val Sherman, Brad Schramm and Isaiah Curtis
Utilities/street/drainage—Brad Schramm, Jody Brozik, Isaiah Curtis
Finance and ordinance—John Meyer, Sherman and Dave Baker
Insurance/Administration building and Fire Hall—Brozik, Schramm and Curtis
Union committee—Finney, Baker, Augspurger and Paul Jensen
Administrative policy/Personnel—Baker, Sherman and Meyer
Emergency Management/Airport—Brozik, Schramm and Baker
Third District Planning/Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development—Finney and Meyer
Housing/County Relations—Finney
Senior Citizens—Finney

Suspect Arrested in Armed Robbery

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An 18-year-old has been arrested following an armed robbery at Casey’s General Store in Winner on April 10 at 9:29 p.m.

The gunman brandished a gun at the clerk and demanded money. An undisclosed about of cash was taken from the store.
Cody DuBray, 18, Pierre, was arrested at 11 p.m. that night. DuBray turned himself into police chief Paul Schueth.

DuBray was charged with several offenses including first degree robbery, aggravated assault, commission of a felony with a firearm.
DuBray is being held in the Winner jail. He appeared in court and pled guilty but has not been sentenced.

Schueth says the gun has not been recovered. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 842-3939.  Schueth says the police department appreciates the help in quickly capturing the suspect.

Tripp Co. Receives Bridge Improvement Grant

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The South Dakota Transportation Commission awarded 19 Bridge Improvement Grants (BIG) for a total of more than $8 million at their monthly meeting April 28 in Pierre.

The grant funding includes 14 bridge preservation projects totaling $4.079 million and five bridge replacement projects totaling $4.012 million. This is in addition to the $0.908 million for 40 preliminary engineering grants awarded by the Commission in February.

Preservation grant recipients are: Beadle County, Brookings County, Davison County, Fall River County, Hughes County, Meade County, Rapid City and Tripp County.
Tripp County’s grant will be $225,600 capped for design and construction. In addition to the capped grant, the county will also receive 80 percent reimbursement for all construction engineering costs for the project.

Bridge Replacement grant recipients are: Aberdeen, Marshall County, Moody County, Roberts County and the City of Yankton.

Grant funds are limited to a maximum of $4 million per entity over a three year period to ensure the funds are shared among as many local governments as possible. The local governments are required to pay a minimum of 20 percent matching funds and have three years to expend the grant.

One hundred applications totaling $14.4 million were received by the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT). Seven cities submitted 10 applications and 30 counties submitted a total of 90 applications.

The BIG program was created last year in Senate Bill 1. SB 1 set aside $7 million per year from funds generated by license plate fees to be used to repair and replace the aging local government bridges. The SDDOT added an additional $2 million this year, making $9 million available.

These grants are in addition to the $6 million in federal highway funding that SDDOT provides for local bridge projects for each of the years 2016-2018.

The grants are divided into three categories: preliminary engineering, preservation and replacement.

· Preservation work is done to help extend the life of the structure. Project types include bridge deck overlays, railing repairs, adding riprap for scour protection, repairing backwalls, etc.

· Bridge replacement projects are more expensive and these projects are ranked using a point system. Structure condition, detour route length, traffic counts, economic development factors, amount of wheel tax and additional financial commitment are aspects used to rank the projects.

· The preliminary engineering grants included funding for survey, hydraulic analysis and structure sizing. This project work will ensure the grant requests for replacement funds will be more accurate. After this phase is completed, some counties and cities may choose to construct the bridges on their own, without grant funding.