Happy Hour with John Gaskins

It is Mid-July, the Sahara Desert of the summer sports calendar.   If you've had a deep thirst to hear about football, Tuesday in the Sioux Falls Pentagon was the time and day to quench it.   Behold, Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Day 2026.   All nine teams sent one coach and two players to talk about... well, whatever the media asked them. The men were sent through a car wash of reporters and recorders around Heritage Court, station-to-station.   Sioux Falls Live's team of Matt Zimmer and Marcus Traxler sat down with the three representatives from each school simultaneously. Nine times.   Yes, we're channeling Dean of Students Ed Rooney from Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Niiiiine times!   Those chats were all approximately 10 minute overviews of the programs, with questions and answers focused their expectations, their improvements from last year, the gauntlet that still is the MVFC despite North Dakota State's exit to the FCS.   Oh, yeah, almost every team was asked about the notable absence of the Bison.   You can watch the full replay of all nine chats here at Sioux Falls Live and the Midwest Sports Plus app.   Some of those same interview subjects were escorted a few feet away for 1-on-1 interviews with the Happy Hour host.   These were not your standard program overviews.   Which dark and raunchy sitcom starring a voice from The Simpsons did new USD coach Matt Vitzthum watch some evenings to escape his ever-consuming job?   The all-time Big Ten GOATS — Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler — played major roles in the life of Indiana State head coach Curt Mallory, who turned down a scholarship offer from his own father at Indiana to play at Michigan. Mallory also coached for his father Bill, regarded as Indiana's best-ever coach until some guy named Curt Cignetti came along.   So, what are Mallory's most vivid memories and lessons from all of these icons?   How did another Big Ten legend, Joe Tiller, the coaching mentor of Illinois State coach and "dean of MVFC coaches" Brock Spack, use sarcasm as part of his ability to rescue Purdue from the abyss and take Boilermaker fans on their greatest 12-year journey while Spack was the defensive coordinator?    North Dakota head coach Eric Schmidt had a front row seat to the coaching mastery of University of Sioux Falls legend and Milbank native Kalen DeBoer— first as a fellow assistant at Southern Illinois during DeBoer's first couple years after leaving USF following a 69-3 run, then again when head coach DeBoer hired Schmidt to Fresno State, then Washington.   So what does Schmidt pluck for DeBoer, who has won 86 percent of his games as a head coach?   How did the way DeBoer operate partly help Schmidt navigate a recent NCAA violation at UND involving a recruit?   How on earth was the 2025 Walter Payton Award winner Beau Brungard not plucked with seven-figure money by a Big Ten or SEC school after racking up 4,702 combined yards and 53 combined touchdowns last season?  What was it like for Brungard to be a son of a quarterback on YSU's 1993 and '94 FCS national championship teams?   We saved the best tease for last:   How does SDSU coach Dan Jackson plan to beef up the rivalry with South Dakota now that North Dakota State has exited the league?   Oh, yes: We asked Jackson about the "Little Brown Jug,"the trophy for the winner of State vs U until the Jacks took the FCS leap over 20 years ago. Where is it? Might it re-appear when the Jacks & Yotes square off on Oct. 31?   Enjoy.   Later in the episode, a couple of interviews from Midwest Sports+ reporter Zach Borg— MVFC commisioner Jeff Jackson and North Dakota quarterback Jerry Kaminski.    

The Youngstown State quarterback who racked up 4,702 total yards and 53 total touchdowns to win the "Heisman Trophy of the FCS" is a hometown kid (from 15 miles away). His father is the only QB in YSU history to direct the Penguins to two national titles. So, did Beau grow up always wanting be a QB? Did he always want to play for YSU? Is his allegiance to the town and college the main reason why he chose to play there, then stay after a dynamite junior season?  

Being a college football coach can be all-consuming and time-absorbing. In their scant down times, different coaches find different ways to get away from it all. For USD's first year head coach Matt Vitzthum, one of his comfort outlets was a dark and raunchy comedy show from the late 2010's. Hint: The main character on the show about a baseball announcer had a signature sport jacket that looked a lot like Vitzthum's red-and-black plaid blazer at MVFC Media Day. There's more to this conversation than random situation comedies that Netflix, sadly, only makes available some of the time. Yeah, there's the only football program in the FCS that has reached the quarterfinals three years in a row, but has it's third coach in three years and three quarterbacks vying to fill the mammoth shoes of Aidan Bouman. There's a defense that was sneaky good last year, especially during the Coyotes' four-game winning streak to finish the regular season and clinch a playoff berth, not to mention sole second place in the MVFC... and that defense has at least one sneaky great player Vitz loves talking about. Yeah, you'll hear about that stuff, too. But you'll get to know the new boss a little better. 

Yes, SDSU is the favorite to win the MVFC, with 28 of 36 first place votes. Yes, the Jacks feel like the new kingpin of the league with NDSU gone. And yes, they'll miss the rivalry. But on Happy Hour, we're not here to talk to Dan Jackson about these things on MVFC Media Day. Others did. You'll hear those topics with Dan and the players he brought, Chase Mason and Logan Green. Let's have some fun with Dan, a chat about golfing and the alcoholic beverages of choice of fellow MVFC coaches, one of which he has found a closer connection than the others. That would be his in-state rival, Matt Vitzthum. Hear how Dan and Matt are working together on things to improve both programs, including a rivalry that has moved to front and center with the Dakota Marker out of play. For now. And then, there's Chase Mason. It's been a few months since we talked to Dan, so we always need a Chase update.

North Dakota's head coach played linebacker on a Div. II national championship team in 2001. So, Eric Schmidt has lived UND's heyday. Now he is in his second season as head coach, trying to turn it from a perennial 7-5 FCS team into a national champion. What did he take from years with Dale Lennon at both UND and Southern Illinois, where as a young assistant Schmidt met USF legend and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer? Yeah, Schmidt could immediately see how DeBoer's NAIA dominance could eventually translate into ascending the FCS and FBS ranks, and goes into detail. Part of Schmidt's path back to UND was eventually coaching under DeBoer at Fresno State and Washington, where he saw even more magic touch, this time from DeBoer as a head coach. The Fighting Hawks were 8-6 last year, with five of their losses coming by five points or less, including No. 1 NDSU. How does UND get over the hump? How does Schmidt process the in-state bully Bison no longer being a road block to UND's path to MVFC titles?

Illinois State is not the easiest place to be a head football coach. Well, no school outside of the Dakotas is an easy place to coach in the MVFC. But 18th year Redbirds coach Brock Spack learned from a master of taking a difficult job and creating a masterpiece. Joe Tiller was a coaching mentor of Spack's at Purdue as a player in the 1980's, then as Spack's boss with the Boilermakers during Tiller's 12-year run that included 10 bowl games and a Rose Bowl. Hear how Tiller did — funny stories ensue — then how Spack figured it out at ISU, where he has guided seven teams to the playoffs and two to the national championship game, including last year. Was there any consideration to retire (at age 64) after such an epic playoff run?  

Now in his 10th season at Indiana State, Curt Mallory is coming off a 3-9 season that featured one incredible win at South Dakota State. But we didn't talk about that. You can hear about that in tomorrow's show from Mallory's conversation with Matt Zimmer and Marcus Traxler.   No, today, it is Big Ten legends storytime.

Zach Borg goes 1-on-1 with the Fighting Hawks quarterback who emerged from seemingly out of nowhere to become one of the best in the league, but feels like he has a lot more in store in 2026. Then, MVFC commissioner Jeff Jackson responds to questions about the league's current nine-team makeup now that NDSU has left. Is the Valley looking to expand back to 10?

The recount is in. Sioux Falls has a new mayor. Christine Erickson is the first female leader in city history.   Well, probably. Probably the mayor, that is.   Turns out Erickson won the election runoff against Jamie Smith by four votes instead of two — that's out of about 37,000 votes — after the recount that ended last week.   But why isn't her inauguration a done deal, as of Monday night?   That's one of many questions a steely veteran Sioux Falls and South Dakota political reporter like Sioux Falls Live editor Patrick Lalley answered in Monday's edition of "Lalley-Gagging" on Happy Hour at the Orion Pub in downtown Sioux Falls.   Another one — what kind of mayor is Erickson expected to be?   How about another — what kind of boost will current mayor (until Friday, probably) Paul TenHaken's endorsement give Gov. Larry Rhoden in the July 28 Republic Primary runoff for governor against Toby Doeden?   What will be TenHaken's legacy?   Is Doeden helping or hurting himself more with continued scorched earth rhetoric and campaign signs that save "Vote Doeden: Save SD"   Does South Dakota need to be saved? If so, from what?    Lalley-gag with us for the answers. Also today:     NDSU goes to the Bank for rental space on unis, athletics funding North Dakota State played a game of "Let's Make a Deal," and now Bison athletes will literally wear the deal.   And likely, so, too, will Jackrabbit and Coyote athletes. Someday.   On Monday, NDSU athletics announced a multi-year partnership with a local corporation to wear that company's logo on all of its athletic uniforms for lots and lots of money — all in the name of staying competitive nationally in the arms race of Div. I sports, especially in the FBS realm the football program is entering.   So, where is the school going to get the money?   From a bank, of course.    Gate City Bank, a Fargo-based institution worth almost $4 billion. Its president since 2019 Kevin Hanson sat at a podium Monday in Fargo with as wide a grin as smiles of NDSU's athletics director Matt Larsen and football coach Tim Polasek.    The three spent a half-hour glowing in the radiance of a partnership they all said repeatedly was more than transactional. After that, four student-athletes — two of them football players — walked up next to the podium to model the Gate City Bank logo, which took up a small portion of their threads:    4 inches by 4 inches.   "One thing we heard from student-athletes across the country is they don't want to look like NASCAR," said Larsen, who's served on multiple NCAA committees and helped shape the organization's jersey patch policy.   According to the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, NDSU becomes the fourth school in the Mountain West Conference to make a corporate patch deal and that partnership is believed to be worth around the same as Wyoming's recently-inked deal in April with Tallgrass Energy out of Kansas worth a reported $4.5 million over five years.   Deals at UNLV (Acesso Biologics, a Las Vegas-based leader in medicine, a five-year deal worth $11 million) and Air Force (five years, $10 million deal with USAA) are about twice as big as NDSU's.   So, what should fans make of this? Is it college sports selling its soul? Yep. But is the price worth it? Only if you want your team to afford winning at all costs.    Is it coming to South Dakota's Div. I teams?   South Dakota athletic director Jon Schemmel and SDSU A.D. Justin Sell both responded promptly to Sioux Falls Live's inquiry. "Yes, we absolutely are seeking those types of parnerships moving forward," Schemmel wrote in a text. "We aren't in a hurry to do it but confidentwe will find the right partner(s) for those kind of partnerships in the future."   Sell's text was similar:   "We are actively working on all revenue streams and opportunities, including jersey patches."   The Happy Hour host plays a couple of the most important soundbites from the NDSU presser and weighs in on what this means for the ever-growing, ever-branding new world of college sports, especially in South Dakota.   Sioux Falls falls short in NCAA Div. I men's hoops bid Also, Sioux Falls is was not the city the NCAA chose to be the other host city for the newly-expanded "play-in" rounds of the men's Div. I basketball tournament. The nod went to Wichita to join Dayton for those games, which take shape on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the real March Madness of the round of 64 tips off on Thursday and Friday, all as a result of the recently-approved expansion of the field from 68 to 76 teams.   Boise, Des Moines, and Albuquerque were other reported bidders.    Twice this spring Happy Hour chatted with Sioux Falls Sports Authority project director Jerry Palleschi about the city's bid to add that crown jewel event to the expanding list of college events coming to the city, a list that includes two NCAA men's hockey regionals, an NCAA women's hoops regional (featuring South Carolina) and multiple Div. II national championships in basketball, wrestling and volleyball.   So, why didn't our fair city get the call this time? The Happy Hour host suggests there are good reasons—none of which mean Sioux Falls wasn't a worthy option—and we should have seen it coming. Dan Patrick shows Kevin O'Connell how to answer the QB inquiry The Minnesota Vikings head coach tried his best to deliver his company line about the "open competition" between veteran Kyler Murray and struggling sophomore J.J. McCarthy at quarterback.   Kevin O'Connell was not in welcoming company for that line.   Legendary sports talk host Dan Patrick not only refused to accept KOC's tapdance but also told O'Connell what he should say.   Needless to say, DP does not feel it is actually an open competition.   Hear him hilariously pick KOC apart in a good natured, poke-in-ribs sort of way.    

The recount is in. Sioux Falls has a new mayor. Christine Erickson is the first female leader in city history.   Well, probably. Probably the mayor, that is.   Turns out Erickson won the election runoff against Jamie Smith by four votes instead of two — that's out of about 37,000 votes — after the recount that ended last week.   But why isn't her inauguration a done deal, as of Monday night?   That's one of many questions a steely veteran Sioux Falls and South Dakota political reporter like Sioux Falls Live editor Patrick Lalley answered in Monday's edition of "Lalley-Gagging" on Happy Hour at the Orion Pub in downtown Sioux Falls.   Another one — what kind of mayor is Erickson expected to be?   How about another — what kind of boost will current mayor (until Friday, probably) Paul TenHaken's endorsement give Gov. Larry Rhoden in the July 28 Republic Primary runoff for governor against Toby Doeden?   What will be TenHaken's legacy?   Is Doeden helping or hurting himself more with continued scorched earth rhetoric and campaign signs that save "Vote Doeden: Save SD"   Does South Dakota need to be saved? If so, from what?    Lalley-gag with us for the answers. Also today:

North Dakota State played a game of "Let's Make a Deal," and now Bison athletes will literally wear the deal.   And likely, so, too, will Jackrabbit and Coyote athletes. Someday.   On Monday, NDSU athletics announced a multi-year partnership with a local corporation to wear that company's logo on all of its athletic uniforms for lots and lots of money — all in the name of staying competitive nationally in the arms race of Div. I sports, especially in the FBS realm the football program is entering.   So, where is the school going to get the money?   From a bank, of course.    Gate City Bank, a Fargo-based institution worth almost $4 billion. Its president since 2019 Kevin Hanson sat at a podium Monday in Fargo with as wide a grin as smiles of NDSU's athletics director Matt Larsen and football coach Tim Polasek.    The three spent a half-hour glowing in the radiance of a partnership they all said repeatedly was more than transactional. After that, four student-athletes — two of them football players — walked up next to the podium to model the Gate City Bank logo, which took up a small portion of their threads:    4 inches by 4 inches.   "One thing we heard from student-athletes across the country is they don't want to look like NASCAR," said Larsen, who's served on multiple NCAA committees and helped shape the organization's jersey patch policy.   According to the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, NDSU becomes the fourth school in the Mountain West Conference to make a corporate patch deal and that partnership is believed to be worth around the same as Wyoming's recently-inked deal in April with Tallgrass Energy out of Kansas worth a reported $4.5 million over five years.   Deals at UNLV (Acesso Biologics, a Las Vegas-based leader in medicine, a five-year deal worth $11 million) and Air Force (five years, $10 million deal with USAA) are about twice as big as NDSU's.   So, what should fans make of this? Is it college sports selling its soul? Yep. But is the price worth it? Only if you want your team to afford winning at all costs.    Is it coming to South Dakota's Div. I teams?   South Dakota athletic director Jon Schemmel and SDSU A.D. Justin Sell both responded promptly to Sioux Falls Live's inquiry. "Yes, we absolutely are seeking those types of parnerships moving forward," Schemmel wrote in a text. "We aren't in a hurry to do it but confidentwe will find the right partner(s) for those kind of partnerships in the future."   Sell's text was similar:   "We are actively working on all revenue streams and opportunities, including jersey patches."   The Happy Hour host plays a couple of the most important soundbites from the NDSU presser and weighs in on what this means for the ever-growing, ever-branding new world of college sports, especially in South Dakota.   Sioux Falls falls short in NCAA Div. I men's hoops bid Also, Sioux Falls is was not the city the NCAA chose to be the other host city for the newly-expanded "play-in" rounds of the men's Div. I basketball tournament. The nod went to Wichita to join Dayton for those games, which take shape on the Tuesday and Wednesday before the real March Madness of the round of 64 tips off on Thursday and Friday, all as a result of the recently-approved expansion of the field from 68 to 76 teams.   Boise, Des Moines, and Albuquerque were other reported bidders.    Twice this spring Happy Hour chatted with Sioux Falls Sports Authority project director Jerry Palleschi about the city's bid to add that crown jewel event to the expanding list of college events coming to the city, a list that includes two NCAA men's hockey regionals, an NCAA women's hoops regional (featuring South Carolina) and multiple Div. II national championships in basketball, wrestling and volleyball.   So, why didn't our fair city get the call this time? The Happy Hour host suggests there are good reasons—none of which mean Sioux Falls wasn't a worthy option—and we should have seen it coming. Dan Patrick shows Kevin O'Connell how to answer the QB inquiry The Minnesota Vikings head coach tried his best to deliver his company line about the "open competition" between veteran Kyler Murray and struggling sophomore J.J. McCarthy at quarterback.   Kevin O'Connell was not in welcoming company for that line.   Legendary sports talk host Dan Patrick not only refused to accept KOC's tapdance but also told O'Connell what he should say.   Needless to say, DP does not feel it is actually an open competition.   Hear him hilariously pick KOC apart in a good natured, poke-in-ribs sort of way.

The man who changed the face of South Dakota State football isn't John Stiegelmeier.   It was the head coach who preceded Stig: Mike Daly.   At least, that is what Stigelmeier said in his recently-released biography book Stig & The Rise of South Dakota State Football by Tanner Castora. A Fairmont, Minnesota, and Augustana football standout, Daly was a young SDSU defensive coordinator when he hired Stiegelmeier as a volunteer student assistant in 1977.    After Daly spent 12 seasons away from SDSU from 1979-90 — as DC under Don Morton for successful stints at North Dakota State and Tulsa before a three-year disaster at Wisconsin — Daly was hired as Jackrabbits' head coach after the 1990 season.   The Jacks had suffered back-to-back losing seasons, including 3-8 in 1990. Daly encountered an underfunded and under-prioritized program and immediately turned it around.   After six winning seasons — SDSU won six or seven games every year, was 40-24 overall and 31-22 in the North Central Conference — Daly walked away from the school and from coaching for the rest of his life. Stiegelmeier took over. It took a while, but the rest is history— SDSU became an FCS powerhouse and eventual national champion. Daly detailed his time at SDSU and other captivating stories from his football journey in a 100-minute interview on Happy Hour with John Gaskins.   A portion of that conversation — Daly creating and producing his own weekly TV show to bring more attention to the Jackrabbits — leads off this week's South Dakota Sports Lounge, a weekly show that features the hand-picked "best" local segments of the week from daily sports programs in the Forum Communications family, concluding with a feature story from Zach Borg.   Here are the other shows' picks for July 6-10:   Hot Mic with Dom Izzo (Fargo): Veteran Forum of Fargo-Moorhead columnist Mike McFeely previews North Dakota State's maiden voyage in the FBS and next week's Mountain West Conference media days. Will the Bison contend for the title right away?   The Nate Brown Show (Rapid City): Jerry Brewer (senior columinst at The Athletic) shares his  his experience covering the World Cup.   Zach Borg feature: A close-up look at the Kairos Volleyball Club in Sioux Falls, rated as a Top 40 club in the United States. It has pumped out dozens of eventual college players and stars like Nebraska's three-time Big Ten Setter of the Year, Bergen Reilly. 

Nobody prepares to be diagnosed with cancer.   But nobody seems better equipped to handle and battle it than Nate Malchow.   After 40 years of competing and coaching sports (and some music) at a high level and with unrelenting focus and conviction, Malchow says he had the right mindset to tackle the chemotherapy, radiation, physical and mental fatigue, worries and doubts, and ability to keep loved ones uplifted.   The Sioux Falls Washington activities director details that experience with the same down-to-earth and exacting way he drew up game plans and inspired girls basketball players to reach their full potential when he was the Warriors' head coach from 2005-14.   In those nine years, Malchow turned a flattened program into a state powerhouse that won three titles and reached an additional championship game.   At 36, the former Aberdeen Central and Concordia-Moorhead post player stepped down from coaching to take the WHS A.D. job. Why?   With plenty of adversity and winning under his belt, Malchow told stories about these life events and more in an hour-plus conversation at Gibs Sports Bar in Sioux Falls, appropriately on the east side of the city, 2.5 miles from WHS.   He also had stories about being ACHS teammates with current Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel, and playing against some of the Universtiy of Minnesota players who led the Golden Gophers to the Final Four in 1997.   He also shared stories about his first coaching job as a graduate assistant for SDSU legend Scott Nagy, and his several years under Fred Tibbetts, one of the best girls' coaches in state history.    All along the way, you'll find out why Malchow had the fight in him to overcome cancer and far more basketball opponents that overcame him.     Thirsty Thursday MVFC '26 overview News flash: North Dakota State is no longer in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.   Safe to say, the league is now up for grabs without the team that won 12 titles in 15 years, right?   Or will South Dakota State just perk back up to No. 1, as the Jackrabbits did for three out of four seasons in 2020-23?   That's one MVFC topic the Happy Hour host and Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer covered on a "Thirsty Thursday" from kRav'N Bar & Grill.   But, there are so many more topics to toss ahead of Tuesday's MVFC Media Day in Sioux Falls.   You can watch Sioux Falls Live's coverage live starting Tuesday at 9 a.m. here on Sioux Falls Live or on KSFL-TV (Ch. 36 over-air, Ch. 616 Midco). A subscription to Midwest Sports+ — which includes access to live local high school football games this fall and dozens of prep football and basketball games from last season — will allow you to watch the coverage on your television with the MS+ app.   The Thirsty Thursday guys also talk about the most intriguing things about the MVFC in '26, topics to bring up on Tuesday:   * What is in place at SDSU to prevent the late-season four-game collapse after Chase Mason (and other key players) was hurt?   * Who is in the Jacks' running back stable to give the run game and "explosive play" game a much needed boost?   * Who, if anyone, emerged from the pack during the spring in USD's three-horse quarterback race under new head coach Matt Vitzthum?   * What is in store for the SDSU and USD defenses?   * Which of the non-South Dakota teams seems most equipped to win the league?   After kicking around these topics, the hosts dig into the recent surges of the Minnesota Twins and Sioux Falls Canaries.    

Nobody prepares to be diagnosed with cancer.   But nobody seems better equipped to handle and battle it than Nate Malchow.   After 40 years of competing and coaching sports (and some music) at a high level and with unrelenting focus and conviction, Malchow says he had the right mindset to tackle the chemotherapy, radiation, physical and mental fatigue, worries and doubts, and ability to keep loved ones uplifted.   The Sioux Falls Washington activities director details that experience with the same down-to-earth and exacting way he drew up game plans and inspired girls basketball players to reach their full potential when he was the Warriors' head coach from 2005-14.   In those nine years, Malchow turned a flattened program into a state powerhouse that won three titles and reached an additional championship game.   At 36, the former Aberdeen Central and Concordia-Moorhead post player stepped down from coaching to take the WHS A.D. job. Why?   With plenty of adversity and winning under his belt, Malchow told stories about these life events and more in an hour-plus conversation at Gibs Sports Bar in Sioux Falls, appropriately on the east side of the city, 2.5 miles from WHS.   He also had stories about being ACHS teammates with current Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel, and playing against some of the Universtiy of Minnesota players who led the Golden Gophers to the Final Four in 1997.   He also shared stories about his first coaching job as a graduate assistant for SDSU legend Scott Nagy, and his several years under Fred Tibbetts, one of the best girls' coaches in state history.    All along the way, you'll find out why Malchow had the fight in him to overcome cancer and far more basketball opponents that overcame him.

News flash: North Dakota State is no longer in the Missouri Valley Football Conference.   Safe to say, the league is now up for grabs without the team that won 12 titles in 15 years, right?   Or will South Dakota State just perk back up to No. 1, as the Jackrabbits did for three out of four seasons in 2020-23?   That's one MVFC topic the Happy Hour host and Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer covered on a "Thirsty Thursday" from kRav'N Bar & Grill.   But, there are so many more topics to toss ahead of Tuesday's MVFC Media Day in Sioux Falls.   You can watch Sioux Falls Live's coverage live starting Tuesday at 9 a.m. here on Sioux Falls Live or on KSFL-TV (Ch. 36 over-air, Ch. 616 Midco). A subscription to Midwest Sports+ — which includes access to live local high school football games this fall and dozens of prep football and basketball games from last season — will allow you to watch the coverage on your television with the MS+ app.   The Thirsty Thursday guys also talk about the most intriguing things about the MVFC in '26, topics to bring up on Tuesday:   * What is in place at SDSU to prevent the late-season four-game collapse after Chase Mason (and other key players) was hurt?   * Who is in the Jacks' running back stable to give the run game and "explosive play" game a much needed boost?   * Who, if anyone, emerged from the pack during the spring in USD's three-horse quarterback race under new head coach Matt Vitzthum?   * What is in store for the SDSU and USD defenses?   * Which of the non-South Dakota teams seems most equipped to win the league?   After kicking around these topics, the hosts dig into the recent surges of the Minnesota Twins and Sioux Falls Canaries.

The man who changed the face of South Dakota State football isn't John Stiegelmeier.   It was the head coach who preceded Stig: Mike Daly.   At least, that is what Stig said in his recently-released biography book Stig & The Rise of South Dakota State Football.   Daly hired Stig twice. First, as a volunteer student assistant when Daly was the Jackrabbits defensive coordinator in 1977. Fourteen years later, when Daly was hired as head coach after a decade away, he elevated Stig from defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator to defensive coordinator.   After six winning seasons — SDSU won six or seven games every year, was 40-24 overall and 31-22 in the North Central Conference — Daly walked away from the school and from coaching for the rest of his life.   He was just 46 years old and had 20 good coaching years left in him. Instead, Stig took over. Solid but not elite level football continued until administration and boosters got serious in 2003 and decided to make the leap to Div. I.    The rest is history. SDSU became a powerhouse and eventually a national champion under Stig.   Does Daly regret walking away so soon? Why did he do it in the first place? What kind of pride does he take in Stig crediting him for laying the championship foundation?   More importantly, how did Daly do it? Before Daly arrived as head coach in 1991, SDSU was usually an afterthought in North Central Conference football, regularly smothered by titans like North Dakota State and North Dakota. Even arch rival South Dakota reached the national semifinals twice in a row in the 1980's.   The Jackrabbit awakening all started with a TV show — The Mike Daly Show — and an absolute conviction that football should be taken seriously by players and coaches, even if the administration wouldn't.   The stories of the turnaround in Brookings are just a fraction of Daly's rich football life.

The stories of the turnaround in Brookings are just a fraction of Daly's rich football life.   There was growing up in Fairmont, Minnesota, without his father — a World War II Presidential Unit Citation honoree who died of polio when Mike was a year old.   There were his college days and early coaching days at Augustana, where he met and enjoyed the beer-tapped refrigerator of fellow assistant Don Morton.   There were a few years in the 1970's as an assistant at SDSU, where Daly hired Stig, before Morton became NDSU head coach and whisked Daly away.    In the next decade, with Daly as Morton's defensive coordinator, the Bison would win a Div. II national title, Div. I Tulsa would have one of its best teams in school history, and Wisconsin would give the duo a Big Ten opportunity of a lifetime.   The Badgers were not a football-first institution. Morton went 6-27 in three years and was fired after the 1988 season. Daly was left unemployed until a chance encounter at a grocery store during a summer fishing trip changed everything.   Now 76, Daly describes all this on a lazy Tuesday afternoon in Gateway Lounge — one of his regular Sioux Falls haunts — in the affable ease that made him a popular coach.   Come for the story about meeting Richard Nixon at a high-end restaurant in Miami the night  before Tulsa played the No. 1 ranked Miami Hurricanes in 1986.   Stay for the emotional story about how the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers may have saved the life of his only child, who is now the CEO of a hospital in Wisconsin.      

The man who changed the face of South Dakota State football isn't John Stiegelmeier.   It was the head coach who preceded Stig: Mike Daly.   At least, that is what Stig said in his recently-released biography book Stig & The Rise of South Dakota State Football.   Daly hired Stig twice. First, as a volunteer student assistant when Daly was the Jackrabbits defensive coordinator in 1977. Fourteen years later, when Daly was hired as head coach after a decade away, he elevated Stig from defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator to defensive coordinator.   After six winning seasons — SDSU won six or seven games every year, was 40-24 overall and 31-22 in the North Central Conference — Daly walked away from the school and from coaching for the rest of his life.   He was just 46 years old and had 20 good coaching years left in him. Instead, Stig took over. Solid but not elite level football continued until administration and boosters got serious in 2003 and decided to make the leap to Div. I.    The rest is history. SDSU became a powerhouse and eventually a national champion under Stig.   Does Daly regret walking away so soon? Why did he do it in the first place? What kind of pride does he take in Stig crediting him for laying the championship foundation?   More importantly, how did Daly do it? Before Daly arrived as head coach in 1991, SDSU was usually an afterthought in North Central Conference football, regularly smothered by titans like North Dakota State and North Dakota. Even arch rival South Dakota reached the national semifinals twice in a row in the 1980's.   The Jackrabbit awakening all started with a TV show — The Mike Daly Show — and an absolute conviction that football should be taken seriously by players and coaches, even if the administration wouldn't.   The stories of the turnaround in Brookings are just a fraction of Daly's rich football life.   There was growing up in Fairmont, Minnesota, without his father — a World War II Presidential Unit Citation honoree who died of polio when Mike was a year old.   There were his college days and early coaching days at Augustana, where he met and enjoyed the beer-tapped refrigerator of fellow assistant Don Morton.   There were a few years in the 1970's as an assistant at SDSU, where Daly hired Stig, before Morton became NDSU head coach and whisked Daly away.    In the next decade, with Daly as Morton's defensive coordinator, the Bison would win a Div. II national title, Div. I Tulsa would have one of its best teams in school history, and Wisconsin would give the duo a Big Ten opportunity of a lifetime.   The Badgers were not a football-first institution. Morton went 6-27 in three years and was fired after the 1988 season. Daly was left unemployed until a chance encounter at a grocery store during a summer fishing trip changed everything.   Now 76, Daly describes all this on a lazy Tuesday afternoon in Gateway Lounge — one of his regular Sioux Falls haunts — in the affable ease that made him a popular coach.   Come for the story about meeting Richard Nixon at a high-end restaurant in Miami the night  before Tulsa played the No. 1 ranked Miami Hurricanes in 1986.   Stay for the emotional story about how the Minnesota Vikings and San Francisco 49ers may have saved the life of his only child, who is now the CEO of a hospital in Wisconsin.   Enjoy the revival of The Mike Daly Show. It's must-see TV... and must-listen podcast.

Goodbye, lakeside grillouts, fireworks and family reunions.  Hello, pigskin.   The second the Fourth of July hits the rear view mirror, it feels like it is time to talk football. And just to ensure there is no confusion regarding which football we're talking about on this week's "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast with Sioux Falls Live sports editor Matt Zimmer this week, the American soccer team put itself and its World Cup title hopes in the rear view on Monday night.   Nope, we're looking through the windshield. And we see the Missouri Valley Football Conference media day on the horizon, just a week away.   Sioux Falls Live (yes, this website via this link) and KSFL-TV (Ch. 36 over-the-air and Ch. 616 on Midco) will carry interviews with every player and coach representing every team in the league next Tuesday starting at 9 a.m.   This gave Zim and the Happy Hour host an opportunity to prime for the event by discussing the MVFC's biggest storylines heading into the 2026 season. Namely:   * Who is not coming to Media Day is the biggest story. NDSU will be eerily absent now that the Bison are in the Mountain West. And when you're the 800 lb. gorilla of a league, everyone will notice the absence as much (if not more) than when the green and gold were a part of the festivities. * Who is the favorite to win the league now that the path is way clearer without NDSU?    * OK, spoiler aleart— it is SDSU. Well, that's what Zim and the host think. Why? And what kind of contenders will USD, eternally up-and-coming UND, and defending national runner-up Illinois State be?   * How much will Jacks & Yotes fans care about NDSU's maiden voyage in the FBS?   * Should Jacks & Yotes fans root for the Bison to be successful?   Meanwhile, the lingering LeBron James free agency continues to give us an excuse to dream about the "King" taking his court to Minnesota? Would this be a royal flush?    And, then, there's the other football. Team USA once again flopped in an early knockout stage.   Why does the host compare the Americans to the Minnesota Vikings?   Enjoy.

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July!   As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million dollar deals at major conference schools he decided to turn down so he could return to Brookings with best friend Chase Mason and chase a national title in 2026.   These chats are a terrific primer to next Tuesday's Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Days, where Sioux Falls Live and KSFL-TV will be providing a bunch of live interviews with the top players and coaches in the league to get ready for the 2026 season— chats that will also be posted on Happy Hour.   Happy Hour will return with new shows tomorrow (Tuesday). Get ready for an all-time SDSU legend on Wednesday!     Charles Pierre, Jr. - June 3, 2025 Remember this guy?   He was the MVFC's top rusher and the first USD player to rush for over 1,000 yards when he sprang for 1,244 yards in his sophomore season of 2024, earning him Third Team All-America honors from Phil Steele and honorable mention All-America from the Associated Press. Of course, he was also first team All-MVFC.   In Happy Hour's enjoyable and engaging chat with the laid back Orlando native in early June 2025, Pierre gave us a glimpse into his childhood in Florida, his "alien leg," how he ended up in Vermillion, and how he was ready to tear it up in 2025 as a junior.   Three months later, in USD's second game, Pierre suffered a season-ending injury at Lamar that cleared the way for backup L.J. Phillips to immediately skyrocket his way to the top of the MVFC and FCS rushing charts, earning Phillips All-America honors and an NIL payday at Iowa.   This chat with Pierre will wet your whistle for his reset in 2026, and for a near-future conversation with him about going through the injury and his hunger to burst back on the field.     Quentin Christensen - Jan 22, 2026   Why in the world would he do that?   So many have asked that question about South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason and All-American offensive lineman Quinten Christensen after learning both players turned down at least one offer of $1 million in NIL money to transfer to a Power Four school.   Mason explained his decision to stay at SDSU in a Happy Hour conversation in December.   Thursday, January 22, was Christensen's turn. Playing a position in such high demand in the SEC and the Big Ten, the in-state senior-to-be from Wessington Springs (two hours from Brookings) could have taken life-changing money and potentially raised his NIL stock by competing at a higher level.   Christensen explains why his SDSU experience and the connections he has made with the program outweighs finances. One of those connections is with former teammate and current Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Mason McCormick, who took Christensen under his wing when "Q" was a freshman.    Hear about what Christensen learned and continues to learn from McCormick along with what the "605 Hogs" and the 2025 Jackrabbits learned in a topsy-turvy 9-5 season, the first under Dan Jackson. It included the death of running back Nate White before the season started and the foot injury to Mason that started a four-game losing streak after a 7-0 start.   "Q" offers his perspective on Jackson and the influence coach John Stiegelmeier still casts on Christensen and the players three years after "Stig" retired.   The Happy Hour conversation begins with a trip back in time to Christensen's upbringing on the family cattle ranch in Wessington Springs and the influence his parents — both athletes — had on his development in football and wrestling.

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July!   As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations with All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million-dollar deals at major conference schools he decided to turn down so he could return to Brookings with best friend Chase Mason and chase a national title in 2026.   These chats are a terrific primer to next Tuesday's Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Days, where Sioux Falls Live and KSFL-TV will be providing a bunch of live interviews with the top players and coaches in the league to get ready for the 2026 season— chats that will also be posted on Happy Hour.   Happy Hour will return with new shows tomorrow (Tuesday). Get ready for an all-time SDSU legend on Wednesday!   Quentin Christensen - Jan 22, 2026   Why in the world would he do that?   So many have asked that question about South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason and All-American offensive lineman Quinten Christensen after learning both players turned down at least one offer of $1 million in NIL money to transfer to a Power Four school.   Mason explained his decision to stay at SDSU in a Happy Hour conversation in December.   Thursday, January 22, was Christensen's turn. Playing a position in such high demand in the SEC and the Big Ten, the in-state senior-to-be from Wessington Springs (two hours from Brookings) could have taken life-changing money and potentially raised his NIL stock by competing at a higher level.   Christensen explains why his SDSU experience and the connections he has made with the program outweighs finances. One of those connections is with former teammate and current Pittsburgh Steelers lineman Mason McCormick, who took Christensen under his wing when "Q" was a freshman.        Hear about what Christensen learned and continues to learn from McCormick, along with what the "605 Hogs" and the 2025 Jackrabbits learned in a topsy-turvy 9-5 season, the first under Dan Jackson. It included the death of running back Nate White before the season started and the foot injury to Mason that started a four-game losing streak after a 7-0 start.   "Q" offers his perspective on Jackson and the influence coach John Stiegelmeier still casts on Christensen and the players three years after "Stig" retired.   The Happy Hour conversation begins with a trip back in time to Christensen's upbringing on the family cattle ranch in Wessington Springs and the influence his parents — both athletes — had on his development in football and wrestling.

Happy Monday and Happy Sixth of July!   As we continue to celebrate America's 250th & the holiday, enjoy conversations with All-American football players: USD running back Charles Pierre, Jr., before his season-ending injury, and SDSU's Quentin Christensen, the cattle-farming offensive lineman who became a folk hero among Jackrabbit fans even before an outstanding 2025 that led to million-dollar deals at major conference schools he decided to turn down, so he could return to Brookings with best friend Chase Mason and chase a national title in 2026.   These chats are a terrific primer to next Tuesday's Missouri Valley Football Conference Media Days, where Sioux Falls Live and KSFL-TV will be providing a bunch of live interviews with the top players and coaches in the league to get ready for the 2026 season— chats that will also be posted on Happy Hour.   Happy Hour will return with new shows tomorrow (Tuesday). Get ready for an all-time SDSU legend on Wednesday!   Charles Pierre, Jr. - June 3, 2025   Remember this guy?   He was the MVFC's top rusher and the first USD player to rush for over 1,000 yards when he sprang for 1,244 yards in his sophomore season of 2024, earning him Third Team All-America honors from Phil Steele and honorable mention All-America from the Associated Press. Of course, he was also first team All-MVFC.   In Happy Hour's enjoyable and engaging chat with the laid-back Orlando native in early June 2025, Pierre gave us a glimpse into his childhood in Florida, his "alien leg," how he ended up in Vermillion, and how he was ready to tear it up in 2025 as a junior.   Three months later, in USD's second game, Pierre suffered a season-ending injury at Lamar that cleared the way for backup L.J. Phillips to immediately skyrocket his way to the top of the MVFC and FCS rushing charts, earning Phillips All-America honors and an NIL payday at Iowa.   This chat with Pierre will wet your whistle for his reset in 2026, and for a near-future conversation with him about going through the injury and his hunger to burst back on the field.

The last time Staff Sgt. Kim Hubers was in New Orleans, she spent six weeks helping clean up the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina as a member of the South Dakota Army National Guard. People who had lost everything in their lives literally fell into her arms. Twenty years later, the lifelong Vikings fan was wrapped in Justin Jefferson's arms as part of a Super Bowl trip rewarded to her through the USAA (United Services Automobile Association).  Hubers brought 18-year-old daughter Aubrey to experience not only the suite life in the Superdome for the big game itself, but the Saturday Fanfest, where they met and shared a few minutes with the Vikings' All-Pro receiver. Hubers, the 2023 Disabled American Veteran of the year, tells vivid memories of her Katrina experience and explains the emotions of returning to a place that was so devastated and is now "electric" with people, music, art, culture, and the buzz of the Super Bowl. In an encore publishing of a Happy Hour chat from the spring of 2025, Hubers also describes the physical and mental pain suffered her entire life from her year in the Iraq War and six weeks in Katrina, and how she channels it into serving other disabled veterans.  It is an hour full of heartache and heartwarmth. Happy Independence Day!

Nothing is more American than daring to dream big. Of imagining the impossible and at least trying to make it happen.   So, what better way to celebrate our nation's 250th birthday on Happy Hour than to think big about Team USA's chances of winning the World Cup? The idea that they could play well enough to win is not absurd.   How can it get any bolder or more absurd than that?   By enthusiastically sketching out the utopia of LeBron James joining the Minnesota Timberwolves, a marriage made in NBA heaven for two parties desperate for an NBA title and needing the other to push them over the top.   Sure, the odds are long, literally, according to Vegas. But perhaps the chances of our nation's forefathers taking down the mighty British armed forces to establish independence were just as long.   The Happy Hour host and his Thirsty Thursday friends—Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer and Orion Pub co-owner Jon Oppold—state their case for The King to come to the city of Prince.   Game, blouses.   The host and Singer then dive into World Cup and the red card heard 'round the world in Wednesday night's win. Plus, they break down some of the winners from Sioux Falls Live's 3rd Annual College Athletes and Coaches of the Year awards.

Happy 4th of July Weekend. It's time for another South Dakota Sports Lounge, where we take you to the best segments of the week across our Forum for an inside look at sports in the Midwest.  Hot Mic with Dom Izzo kicks off our show with guest Jeff Kolpack. It was a big week for NDSU, which officially became an FBS football team on Wednesday according to the NCAA calendar. Expectations could not be higher for the Bison, as most analysts are predicting they'll make a bowl game appearance in their first year, with some even expecting them to win the Mountain West.  Kolpack and Izzo dive into what's new at this level.  Happy Hour with John Gaskins dives into the Summit League coaching landscape. It's a game of comparison between the two Dakotas. BOTH Bison basketball coaches, Jory Collins and Dave Richman, had their contracts extended 5 years through the 2031 season. Meanwhile, the University of South Dakota Men's coach, Eric Peterson, enters the final year of his contract.  Zach and John talk about what Peterson has to do to earn an extension of his own; however, what he needs to do could lead to him taking a bigger job elsewhere.  The Nate Brown Show talks NFL this week with Thor Nystrom from SKOR North. It's a confusing time to be a Minnesota Vikings fan, as they prepare to enter the 2026 season with a quarterback battle. This has analysts split on what to expect from the team this season.  Nystrom and Brown break down what sportsbooks believe the Vikings' win total may be, as well as if another disappointing season could lead to the departure of Kevin O'Connell.  Lastly, Midwest Made: Season 2 makes its debut with high school Clay Trap Shooting in Mitchell.

Nothing is more American than daring to dream big. Of imagining the impossible and at least trying to make it happen.   So, what better way to celebrate our nation's 250th birthday on Happy Hour than to think big about Team USA's chances of winning the World Cup? The idea that they could play well enough to win is not absurd.   How can it get any bolder or more absurd than that?   By enthusiastically sketching out the utopia of LeBron James joining the Minnesota Timberwolves, a marriage made in NBA heaven for two parties desperate for an NBA title and needing the other to push them over the top.   Sure, the odds are long, literally, according to Vegas. But perhaps the chances of our nation's forefathers taking down the mighty British armed forces to establish independence were just as long.   The Happy Hour host and his Thirsty Thursday friends—Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer and Orion Pub co-owner Jon Oppold—state their case for The King to come to the city of Prince.   Game, blouses.   The host and Singer then dive into World Cup and the red card heard 'round the world in Wednesday night's win. Plus, they break down some of the winners from Sioux Falls Live's 3rd Annual College Athletes and Coaches of the Year awards.     Special 4th of July guest: 2023 Disabled Veteran of the Year Kim Hubers   The last time Staff Sgt. Kim Hubers was in New Orleans, she spent six weeks helping clean up the wreckage of Hurricane Katrina as a member of the South Dakota Army National Guard. People who had lost everything in their lives literally fell into her arms. Twenty years later, the lifelong Vikings fan was wrapped in Justin Jefferson's arms as part of a Super Bowl trip rewarded to her through the USAA (United Services Automobile Association).  Hubers brought 18-year-old daughter Aubrey to experience not only the suite life in the Superdome for the big game itself, but the Saturday Fanfest, where they met and shared a few minutes with the Vikings' All-Pro receiver. Hubers, the 2023 Disabled American Veteran of the year, tells vivid memories of her Katrina experience and explains the emotions of returning to a place that was so devastated and is now "electric" with people, music, art, culture, and the buzz of the Super Bowl. In an encore publishing of a Happy Hour chat from the spring of 2025, Hubers also describes the physical and mental pain suffered her entire life from her year in the Iraq War and six weeks in Katrina, and how she channels it into serving other disabled veterans.  It is an hour full of heartache and heartwarmth. Happy Independence Day!

Few letters are more of a lightning rod in sports right now than "NIL."    It is difficult to have a discussion about the state of college sports without bringing up "Name, Image, and Likeness" which has seemingly transformed from, "let's give athletes a chance to pocket money that is rightfully theirs from, say, endorsements and jersey sales" to, seemingly, this is their salary—this is what it costs for them to play at your school and there are no limitations to it.   The nature of both NIL money — and the transfer portal that allows college athletes to change schools without redshirting and without a limit on how many schools they can play for during their eligibility — has frustrated fans and driven away legendary coaches from Nick Saban and Chris Klieman in college football, to Jay Wright and Dusty May in hoops.    Last week, May left one of the best and most lucrative gigs in the college ranks at Michigan to take an NBA job with the Dallas Mavericks, reportedly so he didn't have to deal with the headache of NIL and constantly rotating rosters.   NIL has certainly affected college teams in South Dakota. Div. I and Div. Division I and Division II teams more frequently lose their best players, who leave for schools that can offer them more NIL money.   Of course, NIL has led to a new industry: NIL agents and agencies. Like the pro athletes, these college athletes seek representation to potentially land the best NIL deal.    Dollars aren't the only thing at stake for the athletes. Their agents also get a cut of the NIL money, similar to how a real estate agent receives a percentage from selling a home or business property.   At this point, NIL agents appear to generally have a negative reputation in the public eye. NDSU coach Dave Richman lashed out about one agent last season while on local television, telling a story about that agent trying to get in the ear of one of his players during the season.   Some NIL agents have been called nothing short of slimeballs, scumbags, or snakes by some coaches. Other coaches, like SDSU football's Dan Jackson and USD basketball's Eric Peterson have told us here at Happy Hour there are good eggs in the NIL agency basket— people who mean well and genuinely want to help athletes, coaches, and schools do it "the right way," whatever that means. Coaches work with NIL agents, as well. While athletes look for pay raises or other places to play, coaches look for athletes to transfer into their program to improve their squads.    So, it's about time the South Dakota sporting public meets someone from an NIL agency to learn more about the business and how the process of gaining, keeping, and benefiting from  clients works.   "CSG" is a South Dakota-based agency that represents not only college athletes seeking NIL opportunities but also currently represents NFL players, most notably Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.    A new thoroughbred has joined the CSG stable. Perhaps you've heard of him—South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason.   Back in early March, a scout from CSG reached out to the Happy Hour host about joining the show to help illuminate how NIL scouting and agency works for the public.   That day has arrived. Noah Clair is CSG's director of scouting, athlete relationships, and NIL. Over 85 minutes, he gave us a glimpse into the world most fans know little about.    We hope you find it informative.

Few letters are more of a lightning rod in sports right now than "NIL."    It is difficult to have a discussion about the state of college sports without bringing up "Name, Image, and Likeness" which has seemingly transformed from, "let's give athletes a chance to pocket money that is rightfully theirs from, say, endorsements and jersey sales" to, seemingly, this is their salary—this is what it costs for them to play at your school and there are no limitations to it.   The nature of both NIL money — and the transfer portal that allows college athletes to change schools without redshirting and without a limit on how many schools they can play for during their eligibility — has frustrated fans and driven away legendary coaches from Nick Saban and Chris Klieman in college football, to Jay Wright and Dusty May in hoops.    Last week, May left one of the best and most lucrative gigs in the college ranks at Michigan to take an NBA job with the Dallas Mavericks, reportedly so he didn't have to deal with the headache of NIL and constantly rotating rosters.   NIL has certainly affected college teams in South Dakota. Div. I and Div. Division I and Division II teams more frequently lose their best players, who leave for schools that can offer them more NIL money.   Of course, NIL has led to a new industry: NIL agents and agencies. Like the pro athletes, these college athletes seek representation to potentially land the best NIL deal.    Dollars aren't the only thing at stake for the athletes. Their agents also get a cut of the NIL money, similar to how a real estate agent receives a percentage from selling a home or business property.   At this point, NIL agents appear to generally have a negative reputation in the public eye. NDSU coach Dave Richman lashed out about one agent last season while on local television, telling a story about that agent trying to get in the ear of one of his players during the season.   Some NIL agents have been called nothing short of slimeballs, scumbags, or snakes by some coaches. Other coaches, like SDSU football's Dan Jackson and USD basketball's Eric Peterson have told us here at Happy Hour there are good eggs in the NIL agency basket— people who mean well and genuinely want to help athletes, coaches, and schools do it "the right way," whatever that means. Coaches work with NIL agents, as well. While athletes look for pay raises or other places to play, coaches look for athletes to transfer into their program to improve their squads.    So, it's about time the South Dakota sporting public meets someone from an NIL agency to learn more about the business and how the process of gaining, keeping, and benefiting from  clients works.   "CSG" is a South Dakota-based agency that represents not only college athletes seeking NIL opportunities but also currently represents NFL players, most notably Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.    A new thoroughbred has joined the CSG stable. Perhaps you've heard of him—South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason.   Back in early March, a scout from CSG reached out to the Happy Hour host about joining the show to help illuminate how NIL scouting and agency works for the public.   That day has arrived. Noah Clair is CSG's director of scouting, athlete relationships, and NIL. Over 85 minutes, he gave us a glimpse into the world most fans know little about.    We hope you find it informative.

Few letters are more of a lightning rod in sports right now than "NIL."    It is difficult to have a discussion about the state of college sports without bringing up "Name, Image, and Likeness" which has seemingly transformed from, "let's give athletes a chance to pocket money that is rightfully theirs from, say, endorsements and jersey sales" to, seemingly, this is their salary—this is what it costs for them to play at your school and there are no limitations to it.   The nature of both NIL money — and the transfer portal that allows college athletes to change schools without redshirting and without a limit on how many schools they can play for during their eligibility — has frustrated fans and driven away legendary coaches from Nick Saban and Chris Klieman in college football, to Jay Wright and Dusty May in hoops.    Last week, May left one of the best and most lucrative gigs in the college ranks at Michigan to take an NBA job with the Dallas Mavericks, reportedly so he didn't have to deal with the headache of NIL and constantly rotating rosters.   NIL has certainly affected college teams in South Dakota. Div. I and Div. Division I and Division II teams more frequently lose their best players, who leave for schools that can offer them more NIL money.   Of course, NIL has led to a new industry: NIL agents and agencies. Like the pro athletes, these college athletes seek representation to potentially land the best NIL deal.    Dollars aren't the only thing at stake for the athletes. Their agents also get a cut of the NIL money, similar to how a real estate agent receives a percentage from selling a home or business property.   At this point, NIL agents appear to generally have a negative reputation in the public eye. NDSU coach Dave Richman lashed out about one agent last season while on local television, telling a story about that agent trying to get in the ear of one of his players during the season.   Some NIL agents have been called nothing short of slimeballs, scumbags, or snakes by some coaches. Other coaches, like SDSU football's Dan Jackson and USD basketball's Eric Peterson have told us here at Happy Hour there are good eggs in the NIL agency basket— people who mean well and genuinely want to help athletes, coaches, and schools do it "the right way," whatever that means. Coaches work with NIL agents, as well. While athletes look for pay raises or other places to play, coaches look for athletes to transfer into their program to improve their squads.    So, it's about time the South Dakota sporting public meets someone from an NIL agency to learn more about the business and how the process of gaining, keeping, and benefiting from  clients works.   "CSG" is a South Dakota-based agency that represents not only college athletes seeking NIL opportunities but also currently represents NFL players, most notably Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.    A new thoroughbred has joined the CSG stable. Perhaps you've heard of him—South Dakota State quarterback Chase Mason.   Back in early March, a scout from CSG reached out to the Happy Hour host about joining the show to help illuminate how NIL scouting and agency works for the public.   That day has arrived. Noah Clair is CSG's director of scouting, athlete relationships, and NIL. Over 85 minutes, he gave us a glimpse into the world most fans know little about.    We hope you find it informative.

It's the last day of June.   The first day of July means a return to football practice to start a new season is on the calendar for almost every team at every level.   The calendar flip also means North Dakota State is officially and legally no longer a member of the FCS and Missouri Valley Football Conference.   It is another reason to anticipate life for schools like SDSU and USD without the 800 lb. Gorilla of both the league and the entire subdivision.   Perhaps more intriguingly, a reason to ponder if the Bison are truly making the right move for their future by saying goodbye to constant dominance.   Or are they saying goodbye to dominance?   National pundits like veteran college football reporter Brett McMurphy foresee immediate Mountain West Conference title contention.    Is it unfathomable that NDSU goes 12-0 and wins a watered down MWC that no longer includes long-time league kingpin Boise State and four other MWC schools who have left for the way-watered-down Pac 12 (Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Utah State)?   Should SDSU and USD seek this "next level" action within the next few years, or should they be happy staying in the FCS lane— where the path to MVFC and national titles is much clearer without the Bison standing in the middle of the road?   This isn't the first time Happy Hour has explored these topics, nor will it be the last.   On a Tuesday at the Gateway Lounge in Sioux Falls, Zach Borg takes the weekly seat of the vacationing Matt Zimmer to give his takes, and Borg has plenty. He's been covering college sports in the Dakotas since 2006, first in Fargo before the Bison became the big dogs of the FCS. Borg has been in Sioux Falls since 2014.   The school in Fargo also recently dropped a couple of other headlines ripe for reaction.   Both men's basketball coach Dave Richman and women's basketball coach Jory Collins agreed to five-year contract extensions that will keep them at NDSU through 2031.   Both Bison squads won regular season Summit League titles this past season. The men also captured the Summit League Tournament title and the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth, while the women took SDSU to the wire in the SLT championship game and were one of the "last four out" teams in the NCAA field.   Should we expect these two coaches to remain in Fargo long-term, and, if so, what does that mean for the Jackrabbits and Coyotes?   The news comes just a day after Happy Hour chatted with USD men's coach Eric Peterson, who is entering the final year of his initial five-year contract, which was not extended after this past season. (This doesn't mean Peterson won't eventually get an extension. He just doesn't have one at the moment).   On Thursday, Peterson joined Happy Hour to talk about this along with his newly-assembled roster that includes nine transfers and three high school commits.   How much of a disadvantage does this put Peterson in compared to NDSU, UND, and SDSU coaches, all of whom have agreed to multi-year deals within the last 15 months?   Let's talk.    

Sioux Falls native and lifelong resident J.J. Hartigan has spent his entire play-by-play career in Sioux Falls and Brookings, calling games and working with legendary coaches, athletes, and broadcasters along the way. Currently, Hartigan is now the sole voice of Augustana football and basketball (radio and streaming) after the recent passing of the 42-year "Voice of the Vikings" Jeff Fylling.  Fylling was the radio broadcaster while Hartigan has called Augie games for TV and streaming since 2014. How has Hartigan processed replacing a legend everyone in the Augie community considers irreplaceable? His modest yet energetic attitude about his role comes from an upbringing in a sports savvy city like Sioux Falls, where he played youth sports and his father took him to plenty of local prep, college, and minor league games. How and when did Hartigan decide he wanted to be behind the microphone, and how would he describe his first professional gig: Calling amatuer baseball in Mankato with the Northwoods League. This eventually led to Hartigan's first gig calling a professional team: The Sioux Falls Canaries, his hometown club. It was a dream job, but on a team with some nightmare results. That didn't stop him from soaking in the thrill of the job and everything there is to learn that comes with doing it.  

Hartigan has called play-by-play for two colleges in South Dakota (SDSU & Augustana) and two Sioux Falls minor league squads (Canaries and Storm).  In part 2 of our conversation about his career, he takes us to Brookings to call games for legendary Jackrabbit teams, coaches, and players— like Aaron Johnston, Scott Nagy, Jill Young, and Nate Wolters. What was it like being around championship teams and people from 2011-14? And what was it like to take the women's hoops mic from Tyler Merriam, who had established himself as a popular voice for that program? Hartigan then takes us to the Sioux Falls Storm headset in 2021, where he took over for the iconic "Silver Fox" Rich Roste in the middle of the season after "The Silver Fox" called it quits abruptly. What was it like to work with 11-time championship coach and local football legend Kurtiss Riggs?  Finally, some stories of calling games for Tom Billeter and the 2016 national championship men's basketball team at Augustana, and early Jerry Olszewski football teams that included future Viking cult hero C.J. Ham.  Plus, Hartigan describes with delight his father and traveling music companion Pat, and his mother Dawn, who he considers a pillar of the Sioux Falls community in her work with the federal government and young immigrants acclimating to American life.      

It might be a bit much to call someone under age 40 "living, walking history," but veteran local sportscaster J.J. Hartigan is undeniably someone who has called some history and gotten to know well some of the sporting legends of South Dakota over his 16-year career:   C.J. Ham Nate Wolters Aaron Johnston Scott Nagy Tom Billeter Dan Jansen Kurtiss Riggs Lorenzo Brown Steve Shirley Ben Moore   And, of course, the all-time Voice of the Augustana Vikings, Jeff Fylling.   Hartigan is the play-by-play voice who has the unenviable task of filling Fylling's position after Fylling died of cancer this past spring following over 40 years behind the microphone for the Blue & Gold. Hartigan stepped in for Fylling during the full 2024-25 season, during which Fylling had stepped away from the mic to treat his illness.   But, nobody replaces Fylling. He was one of a kind. Irreplaceable as both a talent and a human.   Anyone who knows Hartigan knows he possesses the humble heart and steely self-confidence to deftly take over the role and make it his own— with his immense talent, vast  experience, and the modesty required to honor Fylling both as a broadcaster and human.   The Lincoln High School alumnus displays all that in an 80-minute conversation about his life and career with the Happy Hour host over beers at Gateway Lounge.   Along with this comes compelling and at times hilarious stories about all those local icons listed earlier in this article. His resume includes play-by-play work for:   * SDPB state tournament hoops from 2010 until the present day   * South Dakota State women's basketball from 2011-14   * Sioux Falls Canaries baseball, 2014-17   * Sioux Falls Storm football 2021-24   So, yeah, Hartigan has stories to tell about thrilling games, memorable championships, larger-than-life personalities, and the occasional moments of humility.   If you've ever wondered what some of the most accomplished and beloved coaches and athletes from the last 16 years of Sioux Falls and South Dakota sports are really like to be around, this will make for an enjoyable listen.   But, of course you do. And, of course you will.   

So, you want to be a Div. I mid-major basketball coach? Invest in plenty of Pepto Bismol for the stomach knots in those tight games, Nyquil to put to rest those sleepless nights, caffeine to keep you going through endless hours on the recruiting trail, and perhaps even Novocain to numb the pain of 18-to-22-year-olds breaking your heart.   The latter has been in greater supply the last few years due to unlimited NIL possibilities and wide open transfer rules that gut rosters.   For example, the University of South Dakota men's team will have 12 out of 16 new players in 2026-27, with nine of the fresh faces coming from the portal after several left USD hoping the grass was greener (or playing time more ample) elsewhere.   Eric Peterson, a former junior college coach, is no stranger to the revolving door, so he was up to the task of describing his job over the last few months after the buzzer sounded on an injury-riddled 16-16 season.   The Coyote coach's interview on Happy Hour with John Gaskins leads off this week's South Dakota Sports Lounge, a weekly show that features the hand-picked "best" local segments of the week from daily sports programs in the Forum Communications family, with a feature story from Zach Borg to walk it off.   Here are the other shows' picks for June 26-30:   Hot Mic with Dom Izzo (Fargo) — Summit League Commissioner Josh Fenton explains why the conference's executive panel voted 7-0-1 to keep Midco Sports (streaming) and CBS Sports Network (TV) as its multimedia partners for a few more years.    The Nate Brown Show (Rapid City): Sioux Falls Live sports reporter and editor Matt Zimmer weighs in on Sioux Falls as a potential host city for the "play-in" games of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, the future of sports betting in South Dakota, and an early preview of MVFC teams to watch.    Zach Borg feature: Sioux Falls Jefferson's Macy Bryant, South Dakota's high school softball player of the year. 

Nobody ever said that being the head coach or a fan of college or pro sports team is easy.   But as Rockford Peaches manager Jimmy Dugan — played by Tom Hanks — said in "A League of their Own:"   "It's the hard that makes it great."   Will the hard turn out to be great for University of South Dakota basketball coach Eric Peterson after losing most of his roster to the transfer portal?   Will the hard turn out to be great for the Minnesota Timberwolves fans who fell in love with Naz Reid for seven years, then woke up Thursday to learn the cult figure power forward was traded to Charlotte in a deal that included point guard and former lottery pick LaMelo Ball?   Will the hard turn out to be great for the city of Sioux Falls, the smallest of six cities bidding for NCAA men's basketball tournament "play-in" games in the newly expanded field of 76 starting next March? The others are reportedly Omaha, Wichita, Albuquerque, Boise, and Des Moines, all of which have hosted games in the event multiple times?     Then, there are American soccer fans, who have been treated to easier wins than expected in the first two rounds of the World Cup and are expected to be favored in their next three matches in the event (next two matches, if you don't count Thursday's inconsequential meeting with Turkiye).   Should that go to form, the "hard" of playing in the quarterfinals will certainly come with great anticipation.   All of those topics were discussed on the "Thirsty Thursday" edition of Happy Hour with the host and Sioux Falls Live sportswriter Trent Singer.   Peterson joined to discuss his top new players, those he lost in the portal, how he finds new players, conversations he has with players who leave USD to "jump in," and his job security. Now in the final season of a five-year deal, Peterson's contract was not renewed following a 16-16 fourth season in which he arguably did his best work with a M*A*S*H unit of key players missing long stetches.    What was his reaction to learning he only has one guaranteed year left at USD? How well do the new players he landed fit into the up-tempo, full court pressure style he has established in Vermillion?     Later on in the show, Jackson Rentschler, bartender at kRav'N Bar & Grill and Team USA watch party organizer, joined to evaluate the Americans' first two rollicking World Cup wins, their chances of going deep into the event, the atmosphere at kRav'N for the official American Outlaws watch parties, and his once-in-a-lifetime experience attending a World Cup soccer game featuring arguably the GOAT of the sport, Lionel Messi.   But the show starts with the host and Trent Singer breaking down the second wild Minnesota Timberwolves trade in the last four days. Why is LaMelo Ball a "perfect fit" in the backcourt with Anthony Edwards, and why was the team willing to let Reid, one of the most popular players in team history, walk out the door? The two hosts also discuss Sioux Falls' chances of beating five larger cities for the NCAA men's tourney play-in games and Augustana's new softball coach.    

Jackson Rentschler, bartender at kRav'N Bar & Grill and Team USA watch party organizer, joined to evaluate the Americans' first two rollicking World Cup wins, their chances of going deep into the event, the atmosphere at kRav'N for the official American Outlaws watch parties, and his once-in-a-lifetime experience attending a World Cup soccer game featuring arguably the GOAT of the sport, Lionel Messi.

The fifth-year coach joined to discuss his top new players, those he lost in the portal, how he finds new players, conversations he has with players who leave USD to "jump in," and his job security after athletic director Jon Schemmel chose to not renew Peterson's contract, which leaves him with just one year on his current deal. Now in the final season of a five-year deal, Peterson's contract was not renewed following a 16-16 fourth season in which he arguably did his best work with a M*A*S*H unit of key players missing long stetches. 

The host and Trent Singer break down the second wild Minnesota Timberwolves trade in the last four days. Why is LaMelo Ball a "perfect fit" in the backcourt with Anthony Edwards, and why was the team willing to let Reid, one of the most popular players in team history, walk out the door? The two hosts also discuss Sioux Falls' chances of beating five larger cities for the NCAA men's tourney play-in games and Augustana's new softball coach.

The eligibility of athletes competing in the NCAA will likely never be the same.   The Minnesota Timberwolves appeared to cut off their nose to save their face.   One of the most incredible outcomes of an election in a city the size of Sioux Falls means it will be at least another couple of weeks before we know who the next mayor will be.    Those are three whopping developments over the last three days. Three topics ripe for insight and lively conversation on Happy Hour.   The host broke down the unanimously-passed "5-for-5" rule that could mean seismic shifts in how college athletes' careers are spent.    What is the rule? How are prominent Div. I athletes in South Dakota impacted? The host used the examples of six of the most high-profile and accomplished recent athletes in the Dakotas to explain how the new rule will or would have applied to them and their chances of getting an extra year to compete: Chase Mason, Aidan Bouman, Brooklyn Meyer, Angelina Robles, Avery Koenen, Bergen Reilly.  Of course, like most NCAA rules passed lately, it might get overturned in court. But it might not.        Timberwolves tides turn on Randle. Now what? First Karl-Anthony Towns two years ago. Now, Julius Randle. Anthony Edwards again loses his No. 2, or Robin to his Batman, in a trade the Minnesota Timberwolves clearly deemed necessary to strengthen their chances of an NBA title. Or at least reaching the NBA FInals. Randle's undeniably lousy NBA Playoffs performance, made worse by reports of his moodiness that did not go over well with coaches and teammates, led general manager Tim Connely to deal the 31-year-old three-time All-Star power forward — the main piece of the trade two years ago that sent KAT to the Knicks — to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade with the Chicago Bulls on Monday. If you believe some NBA circles, ANT is not happy in Minnesota because of these moves. Should we believe that ANT may be itching to leave Minneapolis? As importantly, did the Wolves get better by discarding Randle, which opened room in the bank to sign guard Ayo Dosumnu to a five-year deal worth $122 million, or $22.5M per year?  This all happened before the NBA Draft, which started on Tuesday. The Wolves gave up their first round pick (No. 28) as part of the deal.  Ahead of Wednesday's second round, in which Minnesota will select the No. 33 pick, Happy Hour sat down with resident Timberwolves analyst and pulls-no-punches die-hard fan Chris Johnson, the University of Sioux Falls men's basketball coach and Twin Cities native. The moves, ANT's happiness, the decision to let Nickeil Alexander-Walker walk last summer, the team's depth, the lack of a true point guard (at the moment)... all factor into the Timberwolves' chances of emerging again as a Western Conference and NBA Finals contender. So... are they? Johnson digs in. Mayor's Race still up in the air You think two points is a narrow margin of victory and defeat in a football or basketball game? Well, 40-38 or 116-114 has nothing on 18,279 to 18,277.  That's the vote tally in favor of Christine Erickson from Tuesday's mayoral runoff election in Sioux Falls. By percentages, it was a 49.91 to 49.91 percent tie. There will be a recount. We won't know who will be the city's next mayor for at least a couple of weeks.  Sioux Falls Live editor Patrick Lalley has covered political races and elections in Sioux Falls and South Dakota for over 30 years and has tirelessly covered this particular campaign. Lalley sat down with the host at Orion Pub to make sense of the results, including how Smith narrowed the gap between him and Erickson by 9 percent from the initial election three weeks ago. In general, these "postgame" conversations all ask and answer the question, "What does this all mean?"  Stocking stuffer: What Lalley makes of the three city council seats won on Tuesday?

You think two points is a narrow margin of victory and defeat in a football or basketball game? Well, 40-38 or 116-114 has nothing on 18,279 to 18,277.  That's the vote tally in favor of Christine Erickson from Tuesday's mayoral runoff election in Sioux Falls. By percentages, it was a 49.91 to 49.91 percent tie. There will be a recount. We won't know who will be the city's next mayor for at least a couple of weeks.  Sioux Falls Live editor Patrick Lalley has covered political races and elections in Sioux Falls and South Dakota for over 30 years and has tirelessly covered this particular campaign. Lalley sat down with the host at Orion Pub to make sense of the results, including how Smith narrowed the gap between him and Erickson by 9 percent from the initial election three weeks ago. In general, these "postgame" conversations all ask and answer the question, "What does this all mean?"  Stocking stuffer: What Lalley makes of the three city council seats won on Tuesday?

First Karl-Anthony Towns two years ago. Now, Julius Randle. Anthony Edwards again loses his No. 2, or Robin to his Batman, in a trade the Minnesota Timberwolves clearly deemed necessary to strengthen their chances of an NBA title. Or at least reaching the NBA FInals. Randle's undeniably lousy NBA Playoffs performance, made worse by reports of his moodiness that did not go over well with coaches and teammates, led general manager Tim Connely to deal the 31-year-old three-time All-Star power forward — the main piece of the trade two years ago that sent KAT to the Knicks — to the Brooklyn Nets in a three-team trade with the Chicago Bulls on Monday. If you believe some NBA circles, ANT is not happy in Minnesota because of these moves. Should we believe that ANT may be itching to leave Minneapolis? As importantly, did the Wolves get better by discarding Randle, which opened room in the bank to sign guard Ayo Dosumnu to a five-year deal worth $122 million, or $22.5M per year?  This all happened before the NBA Draft, which started on Tuesday. The Wolves gave up their first round pick (No. 28) as part of the deal.  Ahead of Wednesday's second round, in which Minnesota will select the No. 33 pick, Happy Hour sat down with resident Timberwolves analyst and pulls-no-punches die-hard fan Chris Johnson, the University of Sioux Falls men's basketball coach and Twin Cities native. The moves, ANT's happiness, the decision to let Nickeil Alexander-Walker walk last summer, the team's depth, the lack of a true point guard (at the moment)... all factor into the Timberwolves' chances of emerging again as a Western Conference and NBA Finals contender. So... are they? Johnson digs in.      

NCAA 5-for-5 eligibility rule passes. Chase Mason survives it. Which prominent Jacks & Yotes don't?

  Don't come driving down the lane on Matt Zimmer with your "coaches portal is always open" snark, Jay Bilas.   The Sioux Falls Live sports editor will be ready to stuff, dead in its tracks, the notion (and Bilas' Monday tweet) that Dusty May leaving national champion Michigan after just two years for the NBA symbolizes the hypocrisy of college basketball purists who oppose players transferring whenever they want.   That's just one of many topics—several involving the modern college sports conversation around eligibility, scholarships, NIL, and transferring—covered in this week's "Nobody's Listening Anyway" podcast with Zim and the Happy Hour host at Gateway Lounge in Sioux Falls.   On the other side of the precarious nature of coaching college hoops is USD's Eric Peterson, who is entering the final year of a contract his athletic director Jon Schemmel was unwilling to extend.   With his job conceivably on the line and with almost every player who contributed last season having transferred, Peterson rebuilt his roster, and Zim explains why he is impressed by the project.   Then, there's the changing landscape of college baseball, which just exited its largest stage at the College World Series last night in Omaha. What about that sport has improved dramatically, and why will it likely never become a "summer sport" that ends in August instead of June?   Also on the table this week:   * Why Zimmer was captivated by his friend and former boss Stu Whitney's recently-released book "The Great Burns" about legendary local football coach Bob Burns   * Shohei Ohtani showed out in his first at-bat against the Twins at Target Field, which leads to another Zim rant about the buffoonery of the Twins' ownership and front office management   * The Timberwolves traded Julius Randle in what is widely considered a salary dump, which cleared room to sign guard Ayo Dosunmu to a five-year, $112 million deal. Good moves? What's next, or what should be?   * What should we make of the Jackrabbits landing a rare 3-star football commit— Larenzz Pratt?   * 34-year ESPN Sportscenter Linda Cohn is retiring after hosting the most episodes (5,500+) in the history of the iconic show   * The return of the "Dead Guy of the Week" 

Parachute from an airplane onto the beaches of Normandy and into trenches of World War II, where bullets and grenades are flying and men are dying all around you as you ambush German soliders while trying to figure out both how to surive and help save the world from Nazi persecution.    Enter the ring to exchange haymakers during Golden Gloves state championships and national tournaments.    Witness the plights, desperate measures, and perseverance of families trampled by the Great Depression, including bootlegging, illegal gambling, and gangster behavior.   Saddle up to the downtown Minneapolis bar to hear a brazen if not ridiculous sales pitch to bring the first Minnesota Vikings football game in team history to Sioux Falls.   Take a seat in the locker room and on team buses to hear the speeches — or at a Quarterback Club luncheon to laugh uncontrollably at the one-liners — of arguably the greatest football coach at any level in the history of South Dakota.   Discover how, time and again, one man ruffles feathers, moves mountains, tickles the funny bone, and inspires ordinary people to do extraordinary things.   You can't go back in time, but you can immerse yourself in the incredible life of Bob Burns by reading the biography "The Great Burns," penned by Stu Whitney.   The former daily news and sports writer/editor and investigative news and political journalist has spent his entire 36-year post-college career in Sioux Falls. Roughly the first 25 of those were spent covering local sports and describing them in a unique, free-flowing, sometimes caustic, and often whimsiocal fashion.   After arriving in Sioux Falls in 1990, the Michigan native quickly discovered the indelible mark Burns made on the city and the region — both on the gridiron and in the community as a coach who won 68 percent of his games and a litany of conference and state championships at three different high schools.    Burns turned Sioux Falls Washington into a dominating regional titan and transformed both Augustana College and O'Gorman from doormats to powerhouses. He was the marketing mastermind behind the Dakota Bowl and creation of the South Dakota high school football playoffs.   His life's adventures and accomplishments alone are a solid launching pad for a book. But the stories of Burns' bravado, bluster, biting humor, and bigger-than-life personality make for a rollicking page turner, especially after you get past the part where his life could have easily ended in World War II combat.    By conducting over 90 interviews with people who knew Burns best, viewing videotapes of interviews with Burns, pouring through heaps of Burns family letters and library newspaper archives, and taking a trip overseas to the battlefields in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, Whitney immersed himself into Burns' life and legacy.   While the 300-plus pages of storytelling are worth the time and money, an hour-long conversation about the book at Gibs Sports Bar with the Happy Hour host also makes for an enjoyable investment of the ear.   Whitney dives into some of his favorite stories of a man whom one of Burns' former players and closest friends describes as "a guy who comes around once in a lifetime, or maybe more rarely than that."   Enjoy the chat. Then, buy the book. Or do it the other way around.   Either way, you'll likely laugh, possibly cry, and be glad you did.

From June 6, 2025: Happy Hour's first interview with veteran sports writer, columnist, and now book author Stu Whitney: Stu Whitney's high school football team celebrated a big win by gleefully ripping to shreds a newspaper column he wrote claiming they weren't worthy of the playoffs. He ended up being right. The head football coach at Michigan State invited Stu into his office to berate him at the top of his lungs and call him every nasty name you could imagine after he unveiled some unsavory information about the program. But George Perles didn't deny his reporting. The Sioux Falls Stampede coach literally got in his face, point blank, after a game to intimidate him after a column about how that coach should be fired. And he eventually was. Stu Whitney's words — in his own words, at times caustic and controversial — had a uniquely strong and memorable impact on those he wrote about as a sportswriter, at-large columnist, investigative journalist, and author of a fictional memoir called "The Covid Chronicles" that tackled the way leaders in Sioux Falls and South Dakota handled the pandemic. Now, "SuFu Stu" is embarking on a second novel, this time a non-fiction about World War II aviator and former Washington High, Augustana, USD, and O'Gorman coach Bob Burns. He also has another script in the about South Dakota and its people, one that won't be in book form, a script he had yet to announce... ...until now, in a 90-minute sit-down with Happy Host John Gaskins from Gateway Lounge. Stu looks back on his 35-years in Sioux Falls — a stretch piled full of colorful characters, stories, columns, confrontations, and, ultimately, massive critical acclaim from readers — whether they liked him or not.  

Down the stretch they come!   J.J. McCarthy vs. Kyler Murray to become Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback.   Christine Erickson vs. Jamie Smith to become the next mayor of Sioux Falls.   Both races have heated up over the last few weeks as the finish line draws closer.   Who will win? What have the combatants done to position themselves for a win?    If only there was a local talk show that could bring on experienced, well-connected and well-studied analysts to provide deft commentary on these races.   Thankfully, there's Happy Hour.   Ben Leber The former Minnesota Vikings linebacker (2006-10) and South Dakota Sports Hall of Famer has had almost unparalleled access for over a decade as a sideline analyst and postgame locker room interviewer for the Vikings Audio Network.   The Vermillion High School alumnus has seen the performances of Arizona Cardinals import Murray and Vikings top 10 draft pick McCarthy up close at recent Vikings mini-camps. Leber also knows Coach Kevin O'Connell's complex and at times wildly effective offensive system well. He has a breakdown on how those two QBs have run the offense so far and what their advantages are within it.   Yes, Leber has a prediction on who will win the job and when "splitting reps" will — or at least should — turn into "No. 1 gets most of the reps."   Leber also weighs in on a Vikings defense that was top 5 in the NFL in many metrics last season but has lost some playmakers. He also assesses the hiring of first-time general manager Nolan Teasley, who has brought over two of the top three lieutenants from the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks' front office.     Patrick Lalley Sioux Falls Live's editor and primary political reporter has spent over 30 years covering city and state government and elections in his hometown of Sioux Falls.     He was part of a panel that peppered mayoral runoff candidates Christine Erickson and Jamie Smith in one of the recent head-to-head debates.   What are his observations from those debates? How much more have we learned about them since our last discussion right after the June 2 mayoral election, when Lalley said he could not decipher major difference in their platforms and views on the city's most pressing issues?   What main differences can we decipher in how the two would lead the city?   How much does the endorsements of Smith from two of the other candiates — Greg Jamison and Joe Batchellor — matter?   And how much does gubernatorial runoff finalist Toby Doeden's scorched earth condemnation of Jamison, Batchellor, and Smith—plus, his endorsement of Erickson—matter?

Sioux Falls Live's editor and primary political reporter has spent over 30 years covering city and state government and elections in his hometown of Sioux Falls.     He was part of a panel that peppered mayoral runoff candidates Christine Erickson and Jamie Smith in one of the recent head-to-head debates.   What are his observations from those debates? How much more have we learned about them since our last discussion right after the June 2 mayoral election, when Lalley said he could not decipher major difference in their platforms and views on the city's most pressing issues?   What main differences can we decipher in how the two would lead the city?   How much does the endorsements of Smith from two of the other candiates — Greg Jamison and Joe Batchellor — matter?   And how much does gubernatorial runoff finalist Toby Doeden's scorched earth condemnation of Jamison, Batchellor, and Smith—plus, his endorsement of Erickson—matter?

The former Minnesota Vikings linebacker (2006-10) and South Dakota Sports Hall of Famer has had almost unparalleled access for over a decade as a sideline analyst and postgame locker room interviewer for the Vikings Audio Network. The Vermillion High School alumnus has seen the performances of Arizona Cardinals import Murray and Vikings top 10 draft pick McCarthy up close at recent Vikings mini-camps. Leber also knows Coach Kevin O'Connell's complex and at times wildly effective offensive system well. He has a breakdown on how those two QB's have run the offense so far and what their advantages are within it. Yes, Leber has a prediction on who will win the job and when "splitting reps" will — or at least should — turn into "No. 1 gets most of the reps." Leber also weighs in on a Vikings defense that was top 5 in the NFL in many metrics last season but has lost some playmakers. He also assesses the hiring of first-time general manager Nolan Teasley, who has brought over two of the top three lieutenants from the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks' front office.

Ryan McKnight tackles the meatiest issues facing South Dakota State football the same way he blocked tacklers in the old Great West conference: He comes right at you, fearlessly and with abandon.   The former All-American center who was part of the Jackrabbits' first FCS playoff team in 2010 returns to Happy Hour a year after walking us through his unique football journey from Sioux Falls Washington Warrior to SDSU walk-on to All-American.   This time around, McKnight looks back on the 2025 season and predicts big things for 2026. He also weighs in on a possible FBS future for SDSU, how well NDSU will compete right away in the Mountain West, and the Brendan Sorsby gambling saga at Texas Tech.   McKnight is closer to the players and coaches in the Jacks program than most people on the planet. He is the founder and president of the Jackrabbit Former Players Association (JFPA), which regularly uses former players' resources to help fund the program's endeavors.    For example, players consume thousands of pounds of beef during the summer months—beef sourced directly from farms owned by alumni who are cattle ranchers.    Another example: Next Friday's JFPA Football & Cheer Youth Camp and the following days JFPA golf outing. Both events will feature "A-List" former SDSU football players, including some who currently play in the NFL.   Thirsty Thursday on a Wednesday with Trent Singer Before the McKnight conversation, Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer joins the Happy Hour host for their weekly "Thirsty Thursday" podcast from Orion Pub in downtown Sioux Falls.   This week's episode airs on Wednesday and covers:   * The Summit League's decision to stick with its streaming and national television package partners from Midco Sports (streaming) and CBS Sports Network (live games — 7-9 games in regular season, plus both men's semfinals and both championship games).    Happy Hour garnered insight from a local Summit League school official who was part of a 7-0-1 vote to continue with Midco and CBS. What were the main reasons to continue the partnership and not go back to a deal with previous streaming and over-air carrier ESPN (via ESPN+ streaming and tourney title games on ESPN2 and ESPNU)?   Other recent local headlines discussed:   * Sioux Falls Christian hoops stud Brant Wassenaar's commitment to former SDSU coach Eric Henderson and Drake   * Harrisburg setter Josalyn Samuel's commitment to Nebraska   * Rapid City native Simeon Birnbaum's NCAA championship in distance running with Oregon   * Augustana volleyball coach Jennifer Jacobs steps down at odd time

Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer joins the Happy Hour host for their weekly "Thirsty Thursday" podcast from Orion Pub in downtown Sioux Falls.   This week's episode airs on Wednesday and covers:   * The Summit League's decision to stick with its streaming and national television package partners from Midco Sports (streaming) and CBS Sports Network (live games — 7-9 games in regular season, plus both men's semfinals and both championship games).    Happy Hour garnered insight from a local Summit League school official who was part of a 7-0-1 vote to continue with Midco and CBS. What were the main reasons to continue the partnership and not go back to a deal with previous streaming and over-air carrier ESPN (via ESPN+ streaming and tourney title games on ESPN2 and ESPNU)?   Other recent local headlines discussed:   * Sioux Falls Christian hoops stud Brant Wassenaar's commitment to former SDSU coach Eric Henderson and Drake   * Harrisburg setter Josalyn Samuel's commitment to Nebraska   * Rapid City native Simeon Birnbaum's NCAA championship in distance running with Oregon   * Augustana volleyball coach Jennifer Jacobs steps down at odd time