South Dakota
Four coaching greats set to be inducted into the S.D. High School Coaches Association hall
Note: The print edition of this story incorrectly lists these four as going into the South Dakota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame this Friday. They are going into the South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in July.
MITCHELL — Four coaching greats will be inducted into the South Dakota High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in July.
Bill Weber of Watertown, Kim Nelson of Sioux Falls, Jerome Garry of Madison and Jeff VanLeur of Emery are slated to be inducted during the 54th annual SDHSCA Awards Ceremony scheduled for Sunday, July 20 at 1 p.m. In the Mitchell MCTEA Performing Arts Center.
Bill Weber
Weber spent 35 years as a teacher and football/track and field coach in Rosholt, Mitchell and Watertown.
He was a nine-man football head coach for Veblen-Rosholt and the state’s first three-school co-op (Tri-School with Rosholt, Veblen and New Effington) from 1986-2004 before serving as an assistant in the sport for Mitchell (2004-2006) and Watertown (2006-2021). He compiled a 97-67 record as a head coach with eight Eastern Coteau Conference titles, three Region 1 titles and a runner-up finish in Class 9A. Weber also was an assistant on Watertown’s state Class 11AA runner-up team in 2013.
In track, he coached five individual and two state relay champions along with two Veblen-Rosholt teams that placed fourth in the state meet.
Weber served as president of the South Dakota Football Coaches Association from 2000-02 and was inducted into the SDFBCA Hall of Fame in 2018. He also received the SDFBCA Keeper of the Game Award in 2015. He was twice nominated for the South Dakota High School Football Coach of the Year award and twice earned Region 1 Coach of the Year honors.
His lengthy list of honors includes being named the NHSACA Assistant Coach of the Year in 2022 and South Dakota Assistant Coach of the Year in 2021 and receiving a Max Hawk Distinguished Service Award from the South Dakota High School Activities Association in 2014. He also served as president of the South Dakota High School Coaches Association in 2010-11.
Kim Nelson
Nelson’s 45-year football coaching career included stops at Milbank, Rapid City Central, Sioux Falls Washington and Roosevelt as well as Edina, Minn.
With career record of 314-154, Nelson is the winningest coach in South Dakota high school football history. He led his teams to numerous Northeast, Sioux Interstate and Greater Dakota Conference titles along with a state Class 11AA championship with Roosevelt in 2011 and state runner-up finishes in Class 11A at Milbank (1983), Class 11AA at Washington (2002) and Class 11AAA at Roosevelt (2013, 2014 and 2017).
His list of honors includes numerous conference and region Coach of the Year awards, the South Dakota Football Coach of the Year Award in 2011 and the Dakota State University Alumni Coach of the Year in 2001.
Nelson has been a member of the South Dakota Football Coaches Association since its inception, served as the group’s president in 2012-13 and executive secretary from 2019-2023 and was inducted into the SDFBCA Hall of Fame in 2017.
In addition, he received the American Youth Character Builder Award from Character Counts and an Award of Gratitude from the Communication Services for the Deaf in 2000, was a national finalist for the Power of Influence Award in 2004 and a national finalist for the High School Football Coach of the Year in both 2015 and 2024.
Jerome Garry
The 1975 Garretson High School graduate played football, basketball, wrestling and track and field before continuing his football career as a tight end for South Dakota State University.
His 40-year teaching and coaching career began in 1979 at O’Gorman High School, where he spent eight years. He later spent 20 years at Madison High School (1987-2007) before closing his career at Lourdes High School (2007-2019) in Rochester, Minn.
Garry enjoyed success as a coach in football, serving as an assistant on three state Class 11AA championship teams at O’Gorman before compiling a 74-66 record in 14 seasons as the head coach at Madison. He also served as an assistant at Lourdes where the teams went a combined 102-18 with three state Class AAA championships in 10 seasons.
He also coached Madison to a state powerlifting championship but really made his mark as a head boys and girls track and field coach. At Madison, he led the Bulldogs to five Class A boys and seven combined state titles. He also coached state champion athletes in the sport at both O’Gorman and Lourdes.
Garry spent three years as the Executive Director of the National High School Athletic Coaches Association and has received many honors, including the NFHS Track and Field Coach of the Year in 2001 and the South Dakota High School Activities Association Track and Field Coach of the Year in both 1993 and 1994. He was a finalist for the NHSACA Track and Field Coach of the Year in 2005. He also received the Ralph Ginn Award for Coaching Excellence from South Dakota State in 2010 and the Max Hawk Award (SDHSAA Distinguished Service) in 2021.
Jeff VanLeur
VanLeur has compiled an impressive 45-year coaching career in South Dakota that has included 45 years as head coach in football and boys and girls track and field, 25 years as an assistant boys basketball and four years as a head coach and 17 as an assistant in girls basketball.
At the completion of the 2024 season, VanLeur had a 300-137 career record in football that has included six state Class 9AA championships (2001, 2003, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013) and a state Class 11B championship in 2019. His teams also produced state Class 9AA runner-up finishes in 1993 and 2009 and Class 11B runner-up finishes in 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2021.
The run of success also has featured 12 Cornbelt Conference titles between 1989-2009 and Big East Conference titles in 2018-2020.
Other coaching highlights include being an assistant on four state-tournament teams (1987, 1990, 1994 and 1995) and top finishes as a head coach in girls track (third in 2006) and boys track (fourth in 1994).
VanLeur served as a board member for South Dakota Football Coaches Association from 2000-2002 and the South Dakota Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association from 2007-2022. His various honors include being named the South Dakota High School Football Coach of the Year in 2007-08 and Region 6 Football Coach of the Year six times as well as a nominee for the American Football Coaches Foundation Power of Influence Award in 2015. He was inducted into the SDFBCA Hall of Fame in 2014.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on X (formerly known as Twitter) @PO_Sports or email: rmerriam@thepublicopinion.com
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) -A South Dakota mom is turning her love of children’s books into hope for kids in foster care.
Elizabeth Heggem started selling children’s books through Paper Pie to build a library for her two sons. She soon thought about how she could make an impact in her community.
“There’s roughly 1,600 kids in foster care in South Dakota right now, and maybe only around 700 homes available. So a lot of these kids have to travel when they’re placed in foster care,” Heggem said. “That’s kind of the goal with this book drive: once they’re placed in care and traveling, they have something to do, they have something to hold on to. And they know that they matter.”
Heggem is partnering with South Dakota Kids Belong for a statewide book drive during National Foster Care Month in May. She launched the campaign online with a goal to get books into the hands of kids the moment they enter care.
What’s in each pack
Each EmpowerME pack includes $50 worth of new, high-quality books, a non-disposable bag the child can keep, and age-appropriate selections designed to provide comfort, encouragement, and entertainment during transitions.
The packs are available in five age categories: 0-2, 3-5, 6-9, 10-13, and 14 and older.
“It’s 35 dollars to sponsor a child. Like I mentioned, with Paper Pie’s match, I’m able to provide 50 dollars worth of high-quality, engaging books, and they also get a bag to keep that’s theirs,” Heggem said.
How to donate
Donors can give online or directly to Heggem via Venmo.
- $35 sponsers one child
- $105 sponsers three children
- $350 sponsers 10 children
The books will be waiting in foster care offices across South Dakota for kids of all ages to grab as they head to a new home.
“Sometimes hope looks like a safe place to land and sometimes it looks like a book in a child’s hand,” Heggem said.
Heggem’s goal is to place 500 book packs in offices statewide.
Those interested in sponsoring a book pack can donate online or via Venmo: @Elizabeth-Heggem.
Copyright 2026 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
Hear a bison bull roar as rut season begins in Iowa
Male bison bellow to show strength and fend off rivals during their mating season, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
A 70-year-old Canadian woman died after being struck by a bison May 18 while hiking with her husband in South Dakota’s Custer State Park, after another park visitor was injured by a bison earlier this month.
The couple were on the Grace Coolidge Trail and found themselves behind a group of about five bull bison, according to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office. The couple paused about 500 yards from the animals and waited for them to continue up the trail and out of sight. The couple then continued hiking, came around a corner and encountered the bulls at a distance of 50 yards.
The couple stopped again, and then continued trailing the bison as the animals moved away. A bull eventually broke from the group, charged the woman, hooked her and tossed her into the air.
The woman died from her injuries.
Custer State Park is managed by the Department of Game, Fish and Parks. Spokesperson Nick Harrington said staff moved the bison from the area and are monitoring the animal’s behavior “to ensure public safety and prevent future incidents.” He said dry conditions have caused bison to spread throughout the park in search of grass, increasing the chance that visitors may encounter them on trails.
Harrington said park visitors should keep their distance from wildlife, make noise while hiking, use caution around corners and ridges, and keep pets on leashes.
“It’s important to remember that bison are wild animals and need to be treated as such,” Harrington said in a written statement. “Visitors are reminded to keep their distance from all wild animals and safely enjoy both the trails and wildlife within the park.”
On May 1, a 22-year-old hiker encountered a bison while hiking the Lost Trails by Center Lake, Harrington said in response to South Dakota Searchlight questions about prior incidents. The hiker was with a friend and their dog when they rounded a corner.
“The hiker was struck by the buffalo on the back of her legs and was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries,” Harrington said.
Harrington said the department is not aware of any other incidents involving bison within Custer State Park this year, and there had not been a fatal incident involving a bison in the park since 2001.
The 110-square-mile park in the Black Hills is home to a herd of about 1,400 bison, also known as buffalo. Bull bison can stand up to 7 feet tall at the shoulders, weigh 2,000 pounds and run up to 35 mph, according to the department.
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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