The Dakota Valley PTO Daddy Daughter dance was held on Saturday, March 25 at the DV elementary school building from 6 to 8:30 p.m. This was the first time the event has been held post-COVID and it was a resounding success. Many attended all dressed-up and it was a fun time for all. The night was a success in large part to the many volunteers who donated items and helped chaperone. Kellie Markve and Emilie Schroeder, both members of the DV PTO, coordinated the event which included slow songs, fast tunes, cotton candy, balloons, plenty of photo opportunities and more.

The Panther girls golf team will be adding more depth this season as they see their roster size grow in comparison to last year. The team will once again be coached by Brooke Ehlers. Upperclassmen for this talented roster includes senior Lexi Squier and juniors Peyton Carlson and Eliana Vondracek.

For the first time ever, high school softball in South Dakota will be played as a sanctioned sport. And with its inaugural season, the Panthers look to be competitive.

For faith, family and the drive to help others, Dakota Valley student Tyler Schutte visited West Africa for a memory making trip. It was an experience that showed him first-hand how far kindness can go, especially in a third world country. Schutte travelled to Bamako in Mali, with his parents, Kyle and Stephanie of Dakota Dunes, this past February for 10 days. The trio stayed with the operators of ASEMALI orphanage and provided love and service to those in need.

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Four Huskies participated in the AAU state wrestling tournament in Aberdeen on March 25-26. The event took place at Northern State University in Wachs Arena.

Since purchasing the land in 2012, Valley Ag has been working on making the Spink location of their company complete. Well, they are finally done with construction and celebrated with an Open House March 23.

March 18-19 marked a new milestone for V.I.P. Gymnastics, Ninja and Cheer as they hosted the state club gymnastics meet. Over a year in the making, the meet was almost cancelled due to weather, equipment delays and scheduling.

St. Thomas More: “This was a back-and-forth, physical game, and our kids came out on the biggest stage and weren’t intimidated in the least. We led from start to finish and played great defense across the board. At the end of the game, we talked about fouling but there were too many scenarios that could allow them to win instead of just tie, so we played it out. Hollenbeck is a great player and made a great shot to tie the game. However, our guys didn’t panic and went out and executed on the final play to hit what turned out to be probably the most memorable shot of the tournament. Devon Schmitz played great and set the school record for most made 3’s in a game without a miss, going 6/6 from deep. Evan, Easton, Alex and Garrett really played well for us too and helped us maintain the lead the entire game. Overall, we didn’t play great offensively but we found a way to battle through the most physical game in the state tournament and come out with a win. For this being the first time, these guys have been in that atmosphere in basketball, we were extremely proud of them for their execution, grit, determination and overall success.”