A home dual and big tournament kept the Elk Point-Jefferson wrestling team busy to end January. As hosts on Thursday, January 29, 2026 the Huskies faced Tri-Valley (TV), West Monona-Whiting (WEMO) and Dell Rapids (DR) in a quadrangular. They bested Dell Rapids by a team score of 42-27. However, EPJ fell 36-48 in a close one with WEMO and by a margin of 18-62 to TV.

A close battle on the road to Parkston did not go Elk Point-Jefferson’s way, as the varsity boys took a loss 48-55 on January 27, 2026. It was a tight game with the Huskies always in the mix. However, they were unable to overtake the lead from a strong Trojan squad.

Traveling to Parkston on Tuesday, January 27, 2026 was the Elk Point-Jefferson girls basketball team. They would face a strong Trojan team who had only 1 loss on the season thus far. It was a rough 1st quarter of offense for the Huskies as they found themselves down 9-23 headed into the 2nd period.

A three person political panel of Sydney Davis, Chris Kassin and William Shorma were in Elk Point on January 31, 2026 for a Legislative Cracker Barrel. The event was hosted by Elk Point’s chamber and held at The Nifty Nine, in Elk Point, from 11:30 am to 1 pm. Property taxes, teacher’s pay in the state, issues regarding past flooding, data centers and more were discussed at the event with the District 17 leadership members.

Dakota Valley celebrated Senior Week from January 26–30. During the week, they opened their esports lab to senior parents and hosted senior trivia, interviews, and featured streams highlighting all of the senior esports athletes. Matches were also played across all gaming titles as the regular season of esports comes to a close. Much success was observed by the Panthers as many looked to make the 2026 state competition.

Speech and debate competitors from Dakota Valley ended January strong at the Cavalier Invite in Sioux Falls. Multiple Panthers traveled to Jefferson High School, on Saturday, January 31, 2026, to take part in the 5th annual event. Panther speech and debate coach, Andrew Stewart, was pleased with the effort given by all.

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Back-to-back games did not happen for the Dakota Valley boys basketball team, as wind chill temperatures canceled school and activities on January 23, 2026. The Panthers were supposed to face the Mustangs of Tri-Valley in Colton, South Dakota. However, that contest is postponed with a make-up date still to be determined.

The 1st game in a busy basketball week for the Panther girls was on January 20, 2026 versus Lennox. It was a home contest and a match-up against a top ranked regional and conference opponent. Down 0-7 early, Dakota Valley broke past the Orioles and their full court pressure to garner a hoop.

The Panther Esports roster is performing well in the homestretch of their winter season. They recently completed week #7 of competition during January 19-23, 2026. Below is a submitted recap of all gaming titles.