This year marks 49 years since I purchased my first film camera. For the last 10 or so years I have been asked by my employers to select some of the better images I had made during the past year.
This year has been about average as far as capturing great sports moments in the area, so you won’t see any Pulitzer winners here. But as I reflect on the current condition of my own health and the anxiousness of the world we live in, I am reminded of what is most important this holiday season.
Which is why I lead this year’s selections with what I feel is the best and most important photo I took this year. An image of my grandchildren and the view of them walking off to face whatever there is ahead of them in this world….together.
I wish all of our readers, subscribers, social media followers and advertisers the happiest of holiday seasons and a Happy New Year! Enjoy the photos.
Aberdeen Central’s Taryn Hermansen, left, Ava Yeske, center and Kenadi Withers, right, go after the ball as Sioux Falls Jefferson’s Abby Horner, middle, is lifted off the floor while hanging onto the ball during Friday night’s SoDak 16 game at the Golden Eagles Arena. Looking on at far left for the Cavaliers is Bree Umbreit. Photo by John Davis taken 3/7/2025Aberdeen Central’s Lilly Nelson, right, celebrates with her teammates after defeating Mitchell’s Taylor DeJong in their semifinal match at the Region 3 Girls Wrestling Tournament Thursday at the Golden Eagles Arena. Photo by John Davis taken. 2/20/2025Milbank boys basketball players, coaches and fans celebrate after winning Friday night’s Region 1A semi final game at the Roncalli High School gym. Photo by John Davis taken 3/7/2025Deuel softball coach Sarah Hagberg holds up the Class B Championship trophy as her players celebrate Saturday at the South Dakota State Softball Tournament at Players South Complex. Photo by John Davis taken 6/7/2025Clark-Willow Lake’s Lincoln Reidburn, left, sprints down the sideline ahead of Aberdeen Roncalli’s Will Haskell, far right and Austin Schmit (behind Haskell) during a game at Dacotah Bank Stadium. Photo by John Davis taken 8/22/2025Members of the Sioux Falls Christian soccer team celebrate in a huddle as Aberdeen Central players react as time expired in the second overtime period Saturday at the Brownell Activity Complex. The Chargers defeated the Golden Eagles 2-1 to advance in the soccer playoffs. Photo by John Davis taken 10/11/2025Northern State University’s Izzy Moore, right, reacts as she was fouled going to the basket by University of Jamestown’s Daviney Dreckman. left, during Wednesday night’s game at Wachs Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 11/26/2025Northern State University’s Tobi Obiora dunks the basketball as University of Jamestown’s Henry Meyer, right, looks on during Wednesday night’s game at Wachs Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 11/26/2025Castlewood’s Jamison Keszler, center, moves to the basket between Wessington Springs’ Ryder Michalek, left, Wesley Molnar, back right and Colby Flowers, far right, during Friday night’s semi final game at the South Dakota Class B Boys Basketball Tournament at Wachs Arena. Photo by John Davis taken 3/21/2025Northwestern’s Ella Boekelheide looks to the video board for her time as she crosses the finish line alone to win the Class B 1600 meter run Saturday at the South Dakota State Track and Field Meet at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls. Photo by John Davis taken 5/31/2025Deuel head softball coach Sarah Hagberg, center, reacts as she is hugged by her players in the dugout doorway after the Cardinals defeated Alcester-Hudson Friday in their Class B game against Dakota Valley at the South Dakota State Softball Tournament at Players South Complex. Photo by John Davis taken 6/6/2025Milbank’s Sam Rick reacts to clearing 13 feet 6 inches during the Class A pole vault Thursday at the South Dakota State Track and Field Meet at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls. Photo by John Davis taken 5/29/2025Aberdeen Roncalli’s James Behan runs through the smoke of the starter’s pistol in the 400 meter relay Friday at the Dial-A-Move Last Chance Track and Field Meet in Warner. Photo by John Davis taken 5/23/2025Redfield’s Jacksan Rude, bottom left, slide across home plate to score as Warner-Ipswich-Northwestern catcher Chays Mansfield, right, goes after the ball during Thursday’s Region 2B baseball game at Peterson Field in Northville. In the background for Redfield is Chace Odland. Photo by John Davis taken 5/22/2025Groton’s Jaedyn Penning (15) celebrates a point with teammates Jerica Locke, left, McKenna Tietz (1), Rylee Dunker, back right and Sydney Locke, far right during Thursday night’s Region 1A match against Britton-Hecla in Groton. Photo by John Davis taken 11/6/2025Sioux Valley’s Kameron Hauck, center, leaps to catch the ball as Redfield’s Micah Zastrow, right, slides into second base during Thursday’s Region 2B baseball game at Peterson Field in Northville. Behind the play is Sioux Valley’s Damon Uecker. Photo by John Davis taken 5/22/2025Hamlin’s Paxton Neuendorf reaches in an attempt to hit the ball during their Class A semi-final match against Dakota Valley Friday at the South Dakota State Volleyball Tournament at the Monument in Rapid City. Photo by John Davis taken 11/21/2025Warner volleyball players and coaches celebrate winning their Class B semi-final match Friday at the South Dakota State Volleyball Tournament at the Monument in Rapid City. Photo by John Davis taken 11/21/2025Northern State University’s Carter Campbell (5) reaches for a pass just beyond his hand as Minot State University’s Kevin Speed (12) defends during Saturday’s game at Dacotah Bank Stadium. The pass fell incomplete on the play. Photo by John Davis taken 11/8/2025Brandon Valley’s Mikah Peters (285) looks back to check his lead as he runs for the finish line in the Class AA race Saturday at the State Cross Country Meet at Broadland Creek Golf Course in Huron. Peters went on to win the race. Photo by John Davis taken 10/25/2025Aberdeen Central’s Evan Sichmeller, left, intercepts a pass near the goal line intended for Sturgis’ Cole Litzen, right, during a game this past season at the Brownell Activities Complex. Sichmeller has been selected to the ESD All-Conference team as a defensive back. Photo by John Davis taken 9/26/2025
Contains information related to marketing campaigns of the user. These are shared with Google AdWords / Google Ads when the Google Ads and Google Analytics accounts are linked together.
90 days
__utma
ID used to identify users and sessions
2 years after last activity
__utmt
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests
10 minutes
__utmb
Used to distinguish new sessions and visits. This cookie is set when the GA.js javascript library is loaded and there is no existing __utmb cookie. The cookie is updated every time data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
30 minutes after last activity
__utmc
Used only with old Urchin versions of Google Analytics and not with GA.js. Was used to distinguish between new sessions and visits at the end of a session.
End of session (browser)
__utmz
Contains information about the traffic source or campaign that directed user to the website. The cookie is set when the GA.js javascript is loaded and updated when data is sent to the Google Anaytics server
6 months after last activity
__utmv
Contains custom information set by the web developer via the _setCustomVar method in Google Analytics. This cookie is updated every time new data is sent to the Google Analytics server.
2 years after last activity
__utmx
Used to determine whether a user is included in an A / B or Multivariate test.
18 months
_ga
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gali
Used by Google Analytics to determine which links on a page are being clicked
30 seconds
_ga_
ID used to identify users
2 years
_gid
ID used to identify users for 24 hours after last activity
24 hours
_gat
Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager
1 minute
Matomo is an open-source web analytics platform that provides detailed insights into website traffic and user behavior.
