John Thune

A U.S. Air Force team will be at Ellsworth Air Force Base today for an on-site evaluation of the facility as the possible home to an expanded mission with unmanned drones.

A U.S. Air Force team could be at Ellsworth Air Base within a week to consider the facility for a new mission in unmanned drone deployment, Sen. John Thune said Tuesday.

Sen. John Thune, R-SD, has won a 2010 Wetland Conservation Achievement Award from Ducks Unlimited.

The award is presented in six categories and recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the restoration and conservation of North America's wetlands and waterfowl. Thune was chosen as the federal representative.

The headlines from papers dating back to the 1930's tell you that Harold Thune made an major impact on the local basketball scene.

That's why he, along with 18 other players, was inducted into South Dakota's inaugural class of the High School Basketball Hall of Fame.

Every decade for the past 80 years was represented, and the oldest of the group was Harold Thune of Murdo, who never sought out the spotlight but couldn't manage to avoid it in this case.

Like it or not, the former player, coach, teacher and Navy fighter pilot symbolizes the rural romanticism and small-town appeal that give our hoop history such a storybook flair.