By John RittenhouseThe Ellsworth boys’ basketball team survived a challenge by Adrian to advance to the semifinal round of the South Section 3A Boys’ Basketball Tournament Saturday in Worthington.The top-seeded Panthers were pushed hard by No. 8 Adrian, but the seedings followed form as EHS came out on the winning end of an 80-66 decision.Ellsworth, 23-4 overall, moves into tonight’s semifinals in Worthington. The Panthers play fourth-seeded Southwest Christian at 6 p.m.Adrian ends the year with an 11-13 mark.The Dragons didn’t go down without a fight.Trailing by 18 points late in the first half, AHS rallied to trim Ellsworth’s advantage to four points early in the second half.Ellsworth, however, answered the challenge by riding the scoring of Aaron Van Der Stoep and Cody Schilling to a 14-point victory.Van Der Stoep nailed nine three-point shots and led all players with 29 points. Schilling, who had 11 rebounds and 10 assists, scored 14 of his 26 points during the second half."They made a couple of good runs, but we maintained our poise," said EHS coach Markus Okeson. "Adrian is a better team than an eighth seed."The game started with both teams putting together six-point runs.After taking its first lead (10-9) at the 13:47 mark of the first half, the Dragons opened a four-point (15-11) cushion when Jory Haken drained a three-point shot at 12:56.Ellsworth countered with a 34-12 run in the next 10:38 and gained a 45-27 advantage when Weston DeBerg converted a field goal with 2:18 remaining. The Dragons fought back with a 7-0 run ending when Brad Lonneman hit a field goal with five seconds remaining to make it a 45-34 game at the intermission.Adrian started the game playing a 2-3 zone in order to protect the tender ankle of senior post Brad Brake. Van Der Stoep carved up the zone by draining six threes and scoring 20 points in the first 18 minutes of play."I didn’t know if we could play man-up against them right away, and I wanted see what we could do in a zone," said AHS coach Chris Rozell. "We let Van Der Stoep go off on us early, and it continued that way throughout the game."The Dragons executed well during a 7-0 run that ended with Lonneman sinking a three-point shot at the 16:08 mark, which trimmed Ellsworth’s advantage to four points at 45-41.Ellsworth resumed control by going on a 21-10 run ending with a three from Van Der Stoep to make it a 66-51 game with 7:23 left to play.Adrian did trim the difference to seven points two different times with less than five minutes remaining, but Ellsworth led by as many as 16 points while outscoring the Dragons 10-3 in the final four minutes."They came out in a zone, and we busted them out of it," Okeson said. "We executed well offensively. We got some good looks and we made our shots."Kramer scored 10 points for EHS, which made 10 of 21 three-point shots during the game.Lonneman (21 points and 14 rebounds) and Brake (19 points and 14 rebounds) registered double-doubles for AHS. Lee Stover scored 14 points and charted seven assists."We went on some runs, but we just couldn’t get over the hump," Rozell said. "When we came within seven points late in the game, we didn’t capitalize on their turnovers. Give Ellsworth credit, because they shot the ball well and did what they needed to."Box scoreAdrianSwayze 2 0 0-0 4, A.Diekmann 0 0 0-0 0, Lonneman 8 1 2-2 21, Kontz 1 0 1-1 3, Haken 0 2 0-0 6, Stover 4 1 2-2 13, Brake 9 0 1-3 19.Ellsworth: DeBerg 3 0 1-2 7, Kramer 2 2 0-0 10, Schilling 8 1 7-8 26, Van Der Stoep 0 9 2-2 29, Herman 4 0 0-0 8, Chapa 0 0 0-0 0.Team statisticsAdrian: 28 of 58 field goals (48 percent), six of eight free throws (75 percent), 34 rebounds, 11 turnovers.Ellsworth: 29 of 54 field goals (54 percent), 10 of 12 free throws (83 percent), 29 rebounds, five turnovers.

By John RittenhouseThe top-seeded Luverne Cardinals dodged a bullet during the quarterfinal round of the South Section 3AA Boys’ Basketball Tournament Saturday in Luverne.Playing No. 8 Jackson County Central in the tournament opener for both teams, the contest had the look of being a mismatch on paper.The 18-6 Cardinals knocked off the 4-20 Huskies twice during the regular season, including a 13-point win over JCC in Luverne Feb. 23.Although the Cards would be the favorites playing on their home floor, LHS coach Tom Rops was taking nothing for granted. The LHS mentor expected JCC to play like a team with nothing to lose, and that’s exactly what happened during a hard-fought, 46-43 victory for the hosts."We’ll take this win and run with it," said a relieved Rops after Saturday’s contest."JCC is the best eighth seed we’ve seen in the last couple of years, and I knew they wouldn’t be pushovers. They came into the game with a good game plan, and they executed it really well."Luverne never trailed in the game, but the Cards never opened a comfortable lead, either.Derek Boeve, who led the hosts with 15 points, gave the Cards a 5-0 lead by scoring five points in the first 1:54 of the game.Luverne led by six (9-3) when Marc Boelman converted a field goal at the 11:20 mark of the first half, but JCC answered with a 9-4 spurt to trail 13-12 with 6:24 left.The Cards returned the favor by scoring eight unanswered points with Jake Hendricks sinking three free throws with 1:14 remaining to give LHS a 21-12 cushion. JCC countered by trimming the difference to four points (21-17) before Luverne reserve Weston Sawtelle hit a driving shot with five seconds remaining to make it a 23-17 game at the break.It looked like the Cards might put the game away when they opened the second half with a 6-1 surge ending with Nick Heronimus converting a layup at 16:06 to give LHS its biggest lead of the game at 29-18.JCC, however, didn’t lose the faith.The Huskies controlled play in the middle part of the second half, trimming Luverne’s lead to two points (37-35) with 8:08 left to play and down to one point (44-43) with 1:31 remaining.Boeve then capped his 15-point effort with a pair of free throws with 34.4 seconds left to play to give the Cards a 46-43 lead.JCC got the ball back twice in the final 30 seconds, but Heronimus ended one possession with a steal, and an over-and-back violation with 1.2 seconds left sealed JCC’s fate."I give JCC a lot of credit. It wasn’t that we played badly, JCC did a really good job as a team," Rops said."We had good defensive intensity, balanced scoring and had a lot of different guys chip in. We’re going to be in more situations like this one down the line, and hopefully we’ll make the shots when they matter," he concluded.Luverne will be the site of both South Section 3AA semifinals tonight. The Cards play No. 4 Redwood Valley at 6 p.m., with No. 3 Windom and No. 2 Martin County West playing the second game.Box scoreBoelman 4 0 1-5 9, Miller 1 0 0-0 2, Hendricks 2 0 4-5 8, Clark 1 0 0-0 2, Sawtelle 1 0 0-0 2, Boeve 5 0 5-7 15, DeBoer 1 0 0-0 2, Heronimus 3 0 0-0 6.Team statisticsLuverne: 18 of 46 field goals (39 percent), 10 of 17 free throws (58 percent), 23 rebounds,11 turnovers.JCC: 19 of 40 field goals (48 percent), three of five free throws (60 percent, 18 rebounds, 13 turnovers.

By John RittenhouseAdrian’s eighth appearance as a team ended the same way the last one did: with a third-place finish.The Dragons went 2-1 at the Minnesota State Class AA Team Wrestling Tournament staged at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.Adrian toppled Plainview-Elgin-Millville by seven points in Thursday’s quarterfinals, earning the right to face two-time defending state champion St. Michael-Albertville in Friday’s semifinals. SM-A, the only team to beat AHS at the state tournament the past two years, did so again Friday on its way to winning a third straight state title.The Dragons bounced back on Saturday to nip Little Falls in the third-place match."We went second, third and third at state the last three years, and we’ll take it," said AHS coach Gregg Nelson."Like most of our matches all season, we fell behind early before rallying late in the match to get our two wins. Our little guys did an awesome job of staying off their backs to keep it close, and the bigger guys got the job done. We had a pretty good weekend," Nelson said.The Dragons end the season with a 33-8 record.Adrian 27, LF 25The Dragons staged their second impressive comeback of the tournament to best the Little Falls Fliers by two points during Saturday’s third-place match.LF, the state’s third-ranked team entering the tournament, bounced back from a 3-0 deficit incurred when Adrian’s Brock Bullerman topped Sam Marcus 6-2 in the 103-pound match by winning the next six matches to take a 21-3 lead.Adrian’s Andy Heitkamp ended the run by topping Steve Strack 11-9 at 145, but LF answered when Josh Bue handed Zach Reker a 16-5 major decision setback at 152 to give the Fliers a 25-6 lead heading into the 160-pound match.Instead of giving in, the Dragons countered with a dramatic rally that featured AHS scoring 21 unanswered points to win the battle.Clint Metz and Tyler Wagner ignited the rally. Metz handed Josh Jendro an 11-3 major decision setback at 160, and Wagner posted a 7-2 decision win over Andy Hegnaat 171 to make it 25-13.The Dragons trimmed LF’s lead to one point (25-24) when Nate Engelkes pinned Mike Ladermeier in 32 seconds at 189 and Cody Reverts won by technical fall against Lucas Lien at 215. Adrian heavyweight Cody Lutmer settled the issue by posting a 2-0 decision win over Dylan Bue.Match wrap-up103 (A) Bk.Bullerman 6-2 Marcus.112 (L) Brill 10-5 S.Loosbrock.119 (L) Groshong 8-4 C.Bullerman.125 (L) Przybilla 14-10 Gades.130 (L) Wilczek 9-5 Thier.135 (L) Biermaier pinsT.Loosbrock.140 (L) Raoch 6-2 Bd.Bullerman.145 (A) Heitkamp 11-9 Strack.152 (L) Bue 16-5 Reker.160 (A) Metz 11-3 Jendro.171 (A) Wagner 7-2 Hegna.189 (A) Engelkes pins Ladermeier.215 (A) Reverts t.f. Lien.275 (A) Lutmer 2-0 Bue.SM-A 48,Adrian 18The Knights dominated the Dragons early in Friday’s semifinals and never looked back on the way to posting a 30-point victory.With a lineup featuring six individual finalists and eight individual place-winners, SM-A opened up a 48-0 lead by winning the first 11 matches.Adrian did end the battle by recording three consecutive pins, but the Knights already had settled the issue by then.Engelkes (1:34 over Matt Nerdahl), Reverts (2:00 over Kyle Schumm) and Lutmer (48 seconds over Justin Die) secured pins for Adrian.Match wrap-up103 (S) Thorn 17-5 Bk.Bullerman.112 (S) Hackenmueller14-5 Tiesler.119 (S) Greeno pins S.Loosbrock.125 (S) Thorn pins Croat.130 (S) Becker 14-5 Gades.135 (S) Grygelko t.f. Thier.140 (S) Lefebvre14-5 T.Loosbrock.145 (S) Little t.f. Hietkamp.152 (S) Kirk 16-8 Reker.160 (S) Gindele 8-2 Metz.171 (S) Schumm 2-1 Wagner.189 (A) Engelkes pins Nerdahl.215 (A) Reverts pins Schumm.275 (A) Lutmer pins Die.Adrian 33, P-E-M 26A four-win run at the end of the match gave the Dragons a seven-point win over Plainview-Elgin-Millville Gophers during Thursday’s quarterfinals.Trailing 26-15 after the Gophers won three straight matches from 145-160, the Dragons were backed against a wall late in the match.Adrian met the challenge with Tyler Wagner nipping Zac Peterson 8-6 before Englekes, Reverts and Lutmer recorded consecutive falls to give the Dragons the win.Engelkes pinned Konkel in 2:51 at 189, Reverts stuck Jeff Chapman in 1:45 at 215 and Lutmer sealed the win by covering Cameron Miller in 56 seconds at 275.Brock Bullerman gave AHS a 3-0 lead with a 6-5 decision win over Greg Naschanske at 103 before P-E-M countered with three straight wins to gain a 10-3 advantage.Adrian trailed by three points (10-7) after Tony Thier recorded a 10-0 major decision victory over Jesse Schumacher at 130, and the difference was two points (14-12) when Brandon Bullerman posted a technical fall win over Ethan Carlson at 140.The Gophers then went on their three-match winning streak to open an 11-point lead before AHS captured the final four matches.Match wrap-up103 (A) Bk.Bullerman6-5 Naschanske.112 (P) Campbell 7-3 S.Loosbrock.119 (P) Miller 13-0 C.Bullerman.125 (P) Dilinger 7-4 Gades.130 (A) Thier 10-0 Schumacher.135 (P) Snyder 13-5 T.Loosbrock.140 (A) Bd.Bullerman t.f. Carlson.145 (P) Reiter 6-4 Heitkamp.152 (P) Wolf pins Reker.160 (P) Meyers 8-6 Metz.171 (A) Wagner 8-6 Peterson.189 (A) Engelkes pins Konkel.215 (A) Reverts pins Chapman.275 (A) Lutmer pins Miller.

By John RittenhouseAlong with competing as members of Adrian’s third-place-finish team, five Dragon grapplers competed individually at the Minnesota State Class AA Wrestling Championships staged at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul Thursday through Saturday.Three of the five AHS wrestlers placed in their respective weight classes. Two of the Dragons bowed out of the competition after receiving first-round setbacks."We had a pretty good weekend. Three of our five kids placed individually. I’ll take that any time," said Cardinal coach Gregg Nelson.Senior Cody Reverts turned in Adrian’s top individual effort by placing second at 215 pounds.Reverts handed Lester Prairie-Howard Lake-Waverley-Winsted’s Jason Latzke a 10-4 setback in Thursday’s opening round before nipping Mahnomen-Waubun’s Jon Brunner 3-2 in the semifinals later that day.The AHS standout strolled into the finals with a 15-6 major decision victory over New Prague’s Jake Schoenecker in Friday’s semifinals. Joe Nord, the defending champion from Waconia, ran his record to 48-0 after saddling Reverts (41-4 overall) with a 9-1 setback in Saturday’s championship match."Cody really wrestled well," Nelson said. "He was in control of his first three matches, but he ran into a kid ranked second in the country in the finals. Cody definitely earned it (his second place finish)."Junior Will Lutmer ended his 40-7 junior season by placing fourth at heavyweight.Lutmer nipped Stewartville’s Greg Reeves 7-5 in the opener before receiving 2-1 overtime victory over Thief River Falls-Goodridge’s Andrew Peralta when Peralta was penalized for head-butting Lutmer in overtime.Jackson County Central’s Jared Knips, the eventual champion, pinned Lutmer in 3:03 during the semifinals. Lutmer ran into Peralta again in the match for third and fourth place. This time Peralta used an escape in overtime to edge Lutmer 2-1.Brandon Bullerman ended his senior year with a 43-6 record after placing sixth at 135 pounds.Bullerman rolled to a 10-0 major decision win over Mankato East’s Kyle Carriveau before topping Little Falls’ Troy Biermaier 10-8 in the quarterfinals.St. Michael-Albertville’s Joe Grygelko, who eventually placed second, handed Bullerman a 7-4 setback in Friday’s semifinals.Bullerman lost to third-place finisher Travis Rutt of New Prague in Saturday’s wrestlebacks. After injuring his knee during the team competition on Saturday, Bullerman didn’t take the mat against Long Prairie-Gray Eagle’s Sam Schad in the match for fifth and sixth place."We didn’t want to send Brandon out there with a bad knee. It’s not the way you want to end your senior year, but that’s the way it happened," Nelson said.Seventh-grader Brock Bullerman (23-20) and junior Tyler Wagner (31-12) both went 0-1 at 103 and 171 respectively.New London-Spicer’s Chad Henle, who placed third at 103, bested Bullerman 14-3 in the first round. Roseau’s Mark Przekwas, who finished third at 171, upended Wagner 14-6 in the first round.

John Curtis Rath, 72, Luverne, died Saturday, March 4, 2006, at his home.Services were Tuesday, March 7, at Grace Lutheran Church in Luverne. Burial was prior to services at Maplewood Cemetery in Luverne. John Rath was born to John and Ida (Beyer) Rath on Dec. 2, 1933, in Madison, S.D. He was raised and attended school In Madison. He graduated from Easter High School in 1952. Following graduation he enrolled at Dakota State University in Madison. After one year he enlisted in the U.S. Army. He was stationed in Germany where he served as an M.P. Upon his honorable discharge he returned home to Madison where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Education. He married Sally Ann Parker on June 1, 1958, at United Methodist Church in Madison. The couple lived in Pipestone. He was a teacher in Edgerton for three years. In the fall of 1961 the couple moved to Luverne where he began his position as Junior High School principal in the Luverne School District. During this time he earned his Master’s Degree in Education at South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D. He continued to work in administration at the school for more than 30 years. He retired from education in 1991. He taught a driver’s education course through Luverne Community Education. Mr. Rath was an active member of Grace Lutheran Church, where he had various offices, serving as trustee and most recently as member on the endowment committee. He was involved with the Minnesota State High School League Association and also served on the Luverne Community Hospital Board. He enjoyed getting together with his fishing buddies with whom he won several awards. He was an avid gardener and took pleasure in cooking, observing the weather, traveling and watching sports games. Survivors include his wife, Sally Rath, Luverne; two children, Michael (Elena) Rath, Ketchikan, Alaska, and Nancy (Joe) Zewiske, East Troy, Wis.; three grandchildren, Zachary, Katelyn and Jacob; one brother, Don (Ann) Rath, Pierre, S.D., two sisters, Alma (Ed) Bode, Trego, Wis., and Audrey Birkland, West St. Paul; and other family and friends.Mr. Rath was preceded in death by his parents.Hartquist Funeral Home, Engebretson Chapel, Luverne, was in charge of arrangements.

Sharon Faye Boeve, 62, Beaver Creek, died Monday, Feb. 27, 2006, at the Hospice Cottage in Luverne. Services were Friday, March 3, at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Hills with the Rev. Lowell Berg officiating. Burial was in the church cemetery. Sharon Techen was born May 6, 1943, in Hull, Iowa, to Elmer and Erna (Schulz) Techen. She grew up in the Hull and Doon, Iowa, area. She participated in activities at St. Paul Lutheran Church near Hull, where she was also confirmed. She graduated from Central Lyon High School in 1961. She married Conrad Boeve at St. Paul Lutheran Church near Hull on Oct. 6, 1961. They lived near Hull until 1967 and then moved to Beaver Creek, where they still farm. She worked at the local grocery store in Hills for 22 years and at Hy-Vee Food Store in Sioux Falls, S.D., for seven years.Mrs. Boeve enjoyed family get-togethers and serving good meals. She also enjoyed camping, biking, walking and reading.She is survived by her husband, Conrad; one son, Doug (Lois) Boeve, Beaver Creek; three daughters, Wanda (Eric) Hoyme, Hills, Sheryl (Lars) Nielsen, Otterup, Denmark, and Twila (Jon) Heigre, Sandnes, Norway; 12 grandchildren, Brianna, Brittany and Brandon Boeve; Alissa, Ashley and Andrew Hoyme; Conner, Caitlin and Crista Nielsen; Teresa, Erik and Dina Heigre; and a special little friend, Madison Spath, and her family; one brother, Ron (Betty) Techen, one sister, Nancy (Ken) Nielsen, all of Hull; several nieces and nephews; and many other relatives and friends.She was preceded in death by her parents.A tree will be planted in her memory by Hospice of Sioux Valley Luverne Hospital.Roste Funeral Home of Hills was in charge of arrangements.

10 years ago (1996)"Searching every nook and cranny, students at H-BC Elementary gathered pennies and donated them to the Minnesota Chapter of the Leukemia Society. Their pennies totaled $200.03."25 years ago (1981)"Scott Greenfield of the H-BC FFA Chapter ranked 7th out of 78 applicants in District 11 State Farmer competition. Thirty-nine state farmers were chosen. They will receive their degree at the state convention in St. Paul in April."50 years ago (1956)"Steen had its first break-in Saturday night for a long time. Someone broke a window in the depot and pried open the cash drawer. Earlier in the week the railroad auditor had advised Cliff Rust, agent, not to keep more than $10 in change on hand as a number of depots had been robbed lately." 75 years ago (1931)"Drop in some time and have a look at Tom’s spick and span drug store. It’s painted and decorated from ‘top to toe;’ and you really must blame Carl Nygard and Leonard Hagen for the artistic finish. No use sending to New York for decorators — we have them right in Hills. And they’re speedy, too. No laying around on the job with them fellows around. If you want to see what a real drug store should look like, drop in at Tom’s."100 years ago (1906)"Agent Jordan informs the Crescent that a seven-year-old boy at Garretson named Willie Morten who had been in the habit of jumping on the cars, taught him by older boys, climbed to the top of a box car and in some way slipped and fell between the cars last Saturday. The wheels passed over him and cut off one leg above the knee. There are a number of boys in Hills who have also formed the habit of jumping on moving cars and the accident at Garretson should be a warning to parents to keep their children away from railroad yards."

Last week I had a conversation with Hills resident and American Legionnaire Wendell Erickson.During our conversation, he mentioned that the Legion and Legion Auxiliary were searching for candidates to send to Boys’ and Girls’ State this summer.As a former South Dakota Girls’ Stater, I was sad to hear that students at Hills-Beaver Creek hadn’t expressed interest in the program. In fact, the Legion Auxiliary has not sent a candidate to Girls’ State in years.So, I’m volunteering this space to help promote the programs.Boys’ and Girls’ State are week-long adventures where students participate in a functional practice of democratic activities.Students representing their town’s American Legion spend the week living together in dorms. As a group they become fictional citizens working together to form a government body.They organize and operate their own city, county and state governments. They introduce and argue their own bills in legislature. They establish their own law enforcement agencies, and their courts administer justice.For parents this experience is an outstanding way to get their children interested in college. The opportunity to spend a week in a dorm on a college campus is enough to inspire most seniors in high school to seriously consider college as an option.Suddenly for a week, during a very important summer of a young adult’s life, they are with hundreds of strangers their age. It encourages them to develop and share dreams with these new friends. If they don’t have plans for their future when they arrive, they will by the end of the week.When compared with spending another week of the summer driving around, shopping in Sioux Falls, watching television or working, this experience wins every time.For students, the week is like a mini summer camp, except there aren’t bugs, camp directors or bad camp food.During the days, students choose what level of participation they want in the government. They can decide to run for representative, mayor, governor or just help a winning campaign. From there they can write speeches or laws, make campaign posters and play. That is really all it is. They are playing government.For students who have enjoyed playing lawyers and witnesses in the H-BC Mock Trial program, this is definitely for them.In the evenings and afternoons, students pretty much have the run of a college campus. Meals are served in the cafeteria, people work out in the gym and there is plenty of running amuck in the hallways of the dorms.I used the week to forge some life-long friendships. The girls on my wing of the dorm were amazing. We had so much fun together that we were all in tears when the week was over and we had to go home.A year later when I was packing my car to head for another, more permanent dorm room, I wasn’t scared. I knew from experience that I would be fine. I knew that I would make friends, that I could share a bathroom, and most importantly, that I would have a great time.This year will be the 58th Boys’ State session in Minnesota. The experience will be June 11-17 at St. John’s University campus in Collegeville. Officials expect more than 450 candidates to participate.Girls’ State participants will come together at the same time at Bethel University in St. Paul.All current H-BC juniors are eligible candidates. Interested students can contact David Deragisch or Steve Wiertzema at the high school.Story ideas or comments can be e-mailed to Lexi Moore at lexim@star-herald.com or called in at 962-3561.

The Rev. O. Paul Haugen and his wife, Helen, Decorah, Iowa, visited Friday with Hills friends. They came especially to attend funeral services for Sharon Boeve. They served the Bethlehem parish prior to the Bergs.Wednesday afternoon Betty Elbers met Iva Elbers, Luverne, Cena Tilstra, Steen, and Nelvina Kroese, Hull, Iowa, at the Vintage Brew and Sugar Shack in Rock Rapids, Iowa, for lunch.Brian Kirsch, Valley Springs, S.D., spent Saturday in the home of Bob and Twila Kirsch.Chuck and Rheta DeBoer spent from Wednesday until Saturday in the home of their daughter and husband, the Rev. David and Bonnie Fagrey and family in Rapid City, S.D.Saturday morning Wilmer and Betty Elbers attended their grandson Tony Elbers’ basketball game in Sioux Falls.Jerry and Diane Thorin, Sioux Falls, were Sunday visitors of Dorothy and Arnold Thorin. Bonnie Olson, St. Paul, came Saturday to spend until Sunday in the home of her mother, Luella Schlueter.Saturday afternoon Betty Elbers joined others at the Arnie Veldkamp home in Luverne to celebrate Malena Boeve’s birthday. Vicki Nelson came to spend last weekend with her parents, Ray and Lois Nelson. They took her back to Mankato on Monday. Wendell and Kathryn Erickson drove to the Cities Friday afternoon to spend overnight in the home of Hans and Susan Erickson. Saturday they, along with 30 other relatives, attended the fourth birthday of their granddaughter, Siri Erickson. They returned to Hills Sunday night.Ray and Lois Nelson attended the Dallas Brass Concert Tuesday night at the Performing Arts Center in Brandon, S.D.