March 2013

There’s been nothing easy for Brance Simms as he closes out his first year as a starter on the South Dakota State University wrestling team. Simms, a Gilmore City native and 2012 graduate of Humboldt High School, has been the regular 133-pounder all season for the SDSU Jackrabbits, who are led by first-year coach Chris Bono. Competing at the NCAA Division I-A level has been a dream come true for Simms, who has compiled an 18-14 won-loss record over the past four months. “Competing at this level – conditioning is so important. You have to be in top condition to be competitive,” said Simms, who is known by friends and teammates as ‘Bubba.’ “Everyone up here at this level is a state champion or multiple state champion from high school.” “But you can’t let rankings and stuff like that bother you. You have to go out and wrestle your match. I’m not winning every match so I’m not an expert at it.

Humboldt’s Dave Orr is back from a recent winter trip, but it’s not your typical wintertime excursion. Orr, a teacher and coach at Humboldt High School, returned to Iowa after a whirlwind, nine-day trip to Chile and Antarctica, where he ran two marathons within 24 hours under some unique and yet challenging conditions. Orr, who returned to Humboldt on Mar. 2 after departing on Feb. 22, called it “an experience of a lifetime.” “This is something I’ve been wanting to do for about eight years now. I guess you could say it’s an experience of a lifetime,” Orr said. Orr was accompanied by a college friend who lives in Polk City. The pair were among 65 runners and five tour officials who made the trip. After departing Des Moines on Feb. 22, the flight down south included a stop in Dallas, then a direct flight to Santiago, Chile. From there, a flight to Punta Arenas, the southern tip of South America. “Antarctica is mostly a sheet of one-mile thick ice.

The federal government sequester will have an impact on the Humboldt School District. During Monday’s regular monthly meeting of the Humboldt School Board, Superintendent Greg Darling says the government’s reduction in spending will cost the district $15,000. “Because of the sequester, there will be $15,000 less money coming to the Humboldt School District,” Darling said. “That will come through federal programs like Title One, where we will get a shorted in what they pay.” “The school district keeps getting hit and getting hit. It’s basically underfunding one-half of a teacher. It will impact us,” Darling said. “But the only thing we can do is tighten up our belt and go forward.” In other reports, Darling said a state report on graduation and dropout rates indicates the state average for dropouts is 3.2 percent for grades 9-12. Humboldt’s rate is much lower at 1.18 percent for grades 7-12 and for grades 9-12 is 1.53 percent.

RAMON "RAY" N. FISHER, 80, Humboldt, died Monday, March 18, 2013, at the Trinity Regional Medical Center, Fort Dodge. Those wishing to send online condolences can send them to mason@goldfieldaccess.net and we will see that it gets to the family. Be sure to put the deceased’s name in the subject line.