Category Archives: State

Ballots in the senate and house race from Dist. 21 in Tripp County were counted Friday morning.

The count showed no change from the primary election and the 100 percent post election audit hand count.

Friday the count stopped after the third precinct since Tripp County did a 100 percent hand count for the post election audit.

Gregory County recounted the Dist. 21 ballots on Thursday afternoon.

In the Dist. 21 primary election, Mykala Voita defeated incumbent senator Erin Tobin. However, when counting just Tripp County votes, Tobin was the winner.

For Dist. 21 state representative, Marty Overweg and Jim Halverson were the winners with Lee Qualm as the third candidate.

Several teams from Winner High School have made the academic achievement team for achieving or exceeding a grade point average of 3.0.

The following programs on the team are: boys basketball, boys basketball cheerleaders, boys cross country, boys golf, boys track and field, wrestling, competitive cheer, competitive dance, football, football cheerleaders, girls basketball, girls basketball cheerleaders, girls golf, girls track and field, one act play, oral interp, softball, student council, volleyball and yearbook.

The South Dakota High School Activities Association academic achievement team award began during the 1996-1997 school year and is designed to recognize varsity athletic teams and fine arts groups for their academic excellence.

The SDHSAA believes that high school students learn in two distinct ways: inside the classroom and outside the classroom on the stage and athletic field.

The SDHSAA award program is designed to create a positive environment as well as an incentive to encourage school “teams” to have their members excel both in the classroom and the activity.

FORT PIERRE — In the world of trap shooting Winner’s Jude Sargent pitched a perfect game Thursday breaking 100-of-100 targets to win the state trap shooting contest in Fort Pierre.

Sargent advances to the national tournament that will be held during the National High School Finals Rodeo in Rock Springs, Wyoming, on July 14-20.

Tripp County will be well represented at that national tournament as Colome’s Jack Anderson (94) and Winner’s Oren Sargent (94) finished third and fourth in the competition. Aberdeen’s Addison Ward finished second in the competition with a 96.

The top-four finishers advance to the National High School Finals Rodeo.

Jude Sargent is a two-time state champion and a two-time national qualifier. Anderson and Addison Ward are both three-time national qualifiers.

A small group of the 147th South Dakota Army National Guard band stationed out of Mitchell will perform in Winner on Feb. 8. They will perform in the Armory from 2:45 p.m. to 3:25 p.m. 

Winner is one of their stops on a tour of schools.

Mission Essential Brass is a nine member ensemble. The band plays a variety of music and has a high energy show.

The band is based in Mitchell and has seen overseas deployment to Guatemala in 1991, Panama in 1996 Nicaeragua in 2002 and Suriname in 2018.

The band performs for military and civilian functions throughout the region and is made up of musicians aged 17 to 60.

In addition to the concert and ceremonial bands, the 147th Band is comprised of four unique music performance teams: Sgt. Rock, FTX, Drive On and Mission Essential Brass.

Winner Regional Hospital has been recognized by the Chartis Center for Rural Health as a 2023 Quality 2023 performance leadership award for being in the 75th percentile or above among rural hospitals of America in quality.

The performance leadership awards are based on the results of the Chartis Rural Hospital Performance Index, the industry’s most comprehensive and objective assessments of rural hospital performance.

INDEX data is relied upon by rural hospitals, health systems with rural footprints, hospital associations and state offices of rural health around the country to measure and monitor performance across areas impacting hospital operations and finance.

Brian Williams, CEO of Winner Regional, says this has been awarded to Winner Regional Hospital is a recognition to all members of the Winner Regional team in every department. 

“WRH has some of the best people in healthcare working here in our community and this award recognizes the hard work and dedication of WRH staff have for our community,” said Williams.

“I want to thank each one of them for everything they do every day and for the support we receive from our community to allow us to provide healthcare services to them. As WRH would have never been recognized for this award without such a supporting community, “ said Williams.

Joseph Laprath of the Winner Area cross country team placed 21st at the state meet Saturday in Sioux Falls.

The senior placed 21st in 16:44.98 and was on the medal stand as he placed in the  top 25.

Coach Jayd Schuyler said Laprath ran well at state held at Yankton Trails park. “He put himself in a position to be one of the top 25,” said Schuyler.

“It was great to see Joseph end his cross country career on the podium at the state meet,” added the coach.

Schuyler said Laprath is the third boy cross country runner to place at state since he started coaching in  2011. The other two are Coleton Schuyler (2014) and Kade Watson (2017, 2019, 2020 and 2021).

It has been a goal of Laprath to place at state and he accomplished his dream his senior year. It was a happy day for the outstanding cross country runner. 

Winner High School oral interp team competed at Sioux Falls Washington on Oct. 20.

Hayden McMurtrey competed in varsity poetry, Grace Brown in varsity dramatic, Wyatt Winfield in novice poetry, Shannon Rank in novice dramatic, Brayden Woods in novice storytelling and Payton Jensen in novice humorous.

The team competed against 25 other schools.

The team traveled to Brookings on Oct. 23 for a competition.

Winner is one of 23 South Dakota communities that will have extra money to promote pheasant hunting in their area thanks to Travel South Dakota’s Rooster Rush campaign.

“Rooster Rush is designed to put a spotlight on South Dakota’s pheasant hunting—the best hunting in the world,” said Jim Hagen, secretary of the South Dakota Department of Tourism. “We are proud to work with these communities and help them develop their own Rooster Rush promotions that will attract and welcome hunters.” 

The Winner Area Chamber of Commerce is using the money to welcome hunters to Tripp County and Winner.

Community organizations were given the opportunity to apply for up to $500 in funding for Rooster Rush promotional materials or advertising.

Travel South Dakota provides the Rooster Rush logo and ad templates for communities to customize with localized information.

Winner and other communities chosen will have the opportunity to enter their Rooster Rush marketing efforts for a chance to win the Cacklin’ Community Award. The award is announced at the annual governor’s conference on tourism in January.

By Dan Bechtold

Editor

Carrying an American flag a 14 year old Florida boy crosses the highway at McDonalds for a one mile run to honor fallen heroes in South Dakota.

Zechariah Cartledge, Orlando, Fla., is part of the Running 4 Heroes organization.

This organization started with a kid, an appreciation for first responders and a mission to raise awareness and funds for those fallen in the line of duty.

Cartledge was born with a gift of running. He was raised with an appreciation for first responders and all they do for the community. As he grew older, Cartledge decided to help the families of fallen first responders in a meaningful way.

In 2019, Runner 4 Heroes officially became a non-profit. Cartledge runs one mile for every first responder who makes the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. He wants to honor those who gave up their life so we may live in a better world.

He was on his way to honor a Valentine, Neb., police officer who was injured. He wanted to do a South Dakota run to honor fallen first responders in this state and chose a mile run in Winner. He ran from McDonalds to the Winner Drive-In Theater on July 18.  

He was going to Valentine to deliver a $10,000 grant to injured police officer Jasmine Hoefs.

On Dec. 16, 2022, officer Hoefs was assisting EMS getting to a patient that was having a medical episode following a four day snow storm when she was accidently run over by a front end loader. The impact caused injuries to her head and left arm.

Since the incident, Hoefs has undergone three surgeries to her face and shoulder as well as reconstructive surgery to her left arm. More surgeries are to come.

Each month the young runner gives a $10,000 donation to a first responder.

The high school freshman has been doing this run for about four years.
When explaining how he got started he said: “I have always had a great connection with first responders after learning more about what they do for our community. I wanted to help my local community.

He does the run all year long. When in school he will leave on a Friday and come back on Sunday that way he does not have to miss school.

When asked what he enjoys about the event he said he enjoys meeting new families in new communities, getting to learn their stories. These are stories I would never learn before.  And getting to run in places like Winner that I thought I would never be able to run in,” he said.

The student notes the organization has given a total of over $800,000 back to local communities.

“First responders do so much for us. I want to let them know they are appreciated,” he said.