Clark County Courier

05/29/2026

Two wins send the Clark Area Dinos to the State B tourney.

The Clark Area Dinosaurs clawed their way to the North Region Championship after surviving a white-knuckle victory over Milbank and dominating SBW in two games that were held on the same day. Clark Area staked out a four-run cushion through five innings, then Milbank's Bulldogs chipped and scratched upwards until only a single run separated the two in the final frame. Watson Grantham came to nail down the save, and the Dinosaurs' 5—4 lead stood. In the game against the SBW Mallards, Clark Area scored three times before the first inning was complete. Caleb Drenth led the offense with a 2-for-3 afternoon, while Pommer stole two more bases to give Clark Area a five-steal performance, which created problems that SBW couldn't solve. The final score was 6—2, which secured their spot in the 2026 South Dakota High School Baseball Association State B Tournament.

The Clark Area Dinosaurs are pictured below, champions of the North Region Championship. Sitting in the front row from left to right: Benny Pommer, Kobe Stevenson, Jax Theraldsen, Konrad Frankfurth, and Jose Mahe. Kneeling in the second row: Behrett Ahrens, Will Hovde, Jakob Steen, Watson Grantham, Mason Severson, and Max Bratland. In the back are assistant coach Hudson Fuller, Cooper Pommer, Logan McMillan, Ky Vandersnick, Teague Stevenson, Charlie Luvaas, Damian Severson, Caleb Drenth, and head coach Chris Bokinskie. Photo courtesy of Beth Severson.

📰 To read their full story, get an online subscription at:
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🗞 Or for a physical copy of this edition, visit the Clark County Courier office, Ken's, Gas Plus, or Big C Travel Plaza in Clark, 212 One Stop in Henry, or Lake Grocery in Willow Lake.

05/28/2026

CWL golfers repeat as Region 1B golf champions!

Clark-Willow Lake swept both team titles at the Region 1B Golf Tournament held on May 18 at Lee Park Golf Course in Aberdeen. The girls claimed their third consecutive team championship. Brynn Roehrich became the Region 1B medalist for the fifth year in a row with a total of 72. Faith Roehrich came in a close second (80), Mallory Nelson 14th (96), and Chloe Hagstrom 20th (105). On the boys' side, the Cyclones defended their title for the second year in a row. Cade Gaikowski came in fifth (79), Kooper Wookey fifth (79), Wyatt Schlagel ninth (81), and Logan Borns 19th (91). Since they all placed in the top 20, they won the team title. Seth Lesnar from Webster won the individual medalist honor.

With these wins, both boys' and girls' Cyclone teams will advance to the 2026 Class B State Golf Tournament in Brookings on June 1-2. They are pictured below with their Region 1B golf championship plaques. Head coach John Brown and assistant coach Harrison Wookey are kneeling in the front. From left to right are Mallory Nelson, Chloe Hagstrom, Faith Roehrich, Brynn Roehrich, Cade Gaikowski, Kooper Wookey, Wyatt Schlagel, Logan Borns, and Kaden Wookey. Photo by Val Roehrich.

📰 To read their full story, get an online subscription at:
https://www.clarkcountypublishing.com/my-membership-options-page/
🗞 Or for a physical copy of this edition, visit the Clark County Courier office, Ken's, Gas Plus, or Big C Travel Plaza in Clark, 212 One Stop in Henry, or Lake Grocery in Willow Lake.

05/27/2026

❗️SUBSCRIBERS❗️

If you live within Clark County and you DID NOT receive your paper today (Wednesday), you should receive it in the mail THURSDAY or FRIDAY.

HENRY SUBSCRIBERS: You will NOT receive your newspaper until THURSDAY.

We apologize for these mailing issues and appreciate your understanding.

05/27/2026

✅ South Dakota Governor Rhoden is set to visit Clark!

Governor Larry Rhoden will make a stop at the Corner Diner in Clark on Thursday, May 28 (TOMORROW), at 9:00 a.m.

The public is invited to stop by for coffee and a visit!

05/27/2026

📅✏️ Mark your calendars! Check out this week's community calendar below!

05/25/2026

On this Memorial Day, we thank our heroes for their sacrifice. In memory of many, in honor of all.

05/25/2026

Quote of the week:

"Life plans are an illusion. I tell students that they cannot imagine the opportunities that life will present and that they should spend their time developing a life philosophy rather than a life plan."
—William H. Foege, "The Fears of the Rich, The Needs of the Poor: My Years at the CDC

05/22/2026

Diego Garcia's senior project: constructing the Little Fellow cross.

Garcia thought he had his senior year at Clark High School all figured out. His senior project was nearly complete: months of researching the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children complete with a paper and community project. However, one day Garcia's teacher Mr. Jerome Nesheim mentioned that a member of the Clark Rotary Club had an idea for a community improvement project. Garcia was uncertain given the size of the task, but after encouragement from his brother, he went for it. What was this project? The Rotary Club wished to honor a 75-year long service involving the Little Fellow.

The Little Fellow was a child that had journeyed across the Dakota prairie more than a century ago. Around 14 years old, the boy worked on the railroad line with his parents cooking meals for the laborers. There, he formed a friendship with William F. "Big Bill" Chambers, a brakeman on the ballast trains, until the Little Fellow's passing due to smallpox in August of 1888. Chambers stopped the train each Memorial Day in the location of his burial one mile north of Clark to honor his friend, and the Rotary Club took up the tradition afterward. Now, the club wanted to honor the Little Fellow with something permanent: a large metal cross to stand watch over the prairie grave.

The project was not a task Garcia could take on alone. He used programs to calculate the structure's strength and stability, then he recruited his senior class to help carry the steel into the shop. From there, Garcia had to develop the skills to weld the structure together and ensure that it was prepared for its installation. When it was ready, Garcia called upon the help of his classmates to complete the project. The cross weighed around 600 pounds—six feet underground and 13 feet above the prairie. "It was definitely a teamwork project," Diego says. "I had to ask a lot of guys to help me, but I'm so glad to be a part of this. A monument to a boy whose name was lost—but whose memory endured."

Several classmates of Diego Garcia's CHS Class of 2026 are pictured below providing manpower in helping set the structure in its permanent location last month to honor the Little Fellow's gravesite.

📰 To read Garcia's full story, get an online subscription at:
https://www.clarkcountypublishing.com/my-membership-options-page/
🗞 Or for a physical copy of this edition, visit the Clark County Courier office, Ken's, Gas Plus or Big C Travel Plaza in Clark, 212 One Stop in Henry, or Lake Grocery in Willow Lake.

05/21/2026

Cheryl Hovde and Lori Hovde are retiring after 63 combined years of teaching at Willow Lake.

Cheryl Hovde never forgot the feeling of walking into her childhood school—the hum of combined classrooms, the familiar faces and the teachers who made learning feel like home. In the third grade, sitting at a wooden desk with her feet barely touching the floor, Cheryl decided she would become an elementary teacher. She and her sister Kathy headed to Northern State College, where Cheryl graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Education with a computer emphasis and a minor in Physical Education. Her first teaching job took place in Wakpala, S.D. Then, she taught in Clark High School before becoming a Willow Lake Pirate in the fall of 1996. For the next 30 years, Cheryl taught K-9 computer/technology, sixth grade PE, high school PE, Health, Business Law, Personal Finance, Into to Business, Career Exploration, Service Learning and School-to-Work. She also coached junior high basketball, volleyball, track, yearbook co-advisor and junior class advisor. After 34 years, a new chapter aways for Cheryl to explore while cherishing the memories from her time in the classroom.

For more than three decades, the fifth grade classroom at Willow Lake School wasn't just a room with desks and books—it was a place where Lori Hovde poured her heart, her energy and her life's purpose. Her journey to teaching was not a traditional one. She spent her early years as a stay-at-home mother for her three children, and when she was 30, Lori felt her heart nudging her toward something more. So she enrolled at Huron University to obtain her teaching degree—and when she found a fifth grade position open shortly after graduating, it felt like fate. From that moment onward, Lori knew she had found her calling. Every class shaped her; every student left a mark. Lori shares that her students helped her grow just as much —if not more— than she helped them. Now that she steps into retirement, Lori will always remember she was blessed to have taught in the same school she once walked in and watched generations grow with her.

Pictured below, Willow Lake School District teachers Mrs. Cheryl Hovde (left) and Mrs. Lori Hovde (right) are together at a retirement open house gathering held in their honor. Photo by Tara Knutson.

📰 To read their full story, get an online subscription at:
https://www.clarkcountypublishing.com/my-membership-options-page/
🗞 Or for a physical copy of this edition, visit the Clark County Courier office, Ken's, Gas Plus or Big C Travel Plaza in Clark, 212 One Stop in Henry, or Lake Grocery in Willow Lake.

05/21/2026

To the candidates for the upcoming elections,

We have been informed that you may not have received our Election Questionnaire in the mail, even though it was mailed out two weeks ago. If you are a Commissioner, Sheriff, or Clark City Council candidate and have not turned in your answers and provided us with a picture, please email the Clark County Courier at [email protected] to ensure your responses are printed in the May 27 edition of the Clark County Courier for the public. We need your headshot picture and your answers by Monday, May 25.

Thank you!

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