There are many reasons for Augustana's ascension from a struggling North Central Conference underdog in most sports to a national Div. II athletics titan. Tom Billeter's building of men's basketball is near the top of those reasons, as Matt Zimmer wrote a year ago when Billeter left for Emporia State .

From his arrival in 2003 — when the Vikings were 14 years removed from their last NCAA Tournament and literally had run out of basketballs — to his departure last year after 21 seasons and 393 wins, the Illinois native and former major Div. I assistant proved the small, private school could indeed compete for and win a national title.

Billeter starts his engaging, entertaining 95-minute conversation with John Gaskins by catching us up to speed on the similarities and differences between Augie and the new gig. But the two spend most of the time reminiscing about how Billeter turned Augie from a doormat to a dominating force in just over a decade, culminating with the 2016 NCAA championship.

Sure, he has legendary stories about that team, but also about his early players and squads that helped dig Augie out of the doldrums — much of which was inspired by Billeter's determination to raise money to improve facilities and get students ("Augieholics") to pack the Elmen Center, then Sioux Falls Arena, then the Pentagon.

But why, despite sustained success, did attendance dwindle in Billeter's last few years? How does a basketball coach keep sane as rosters constantly turn over due to NIL and the transfer portal? Why does Billeter roll with all these punches at age 64 and keep on swinging?

You'll feel it in every answer and colorful story. And don't worry, there are plenty of vivid memories from his years before Augie — as head coach at North Dakota State (1992-97) and as an assistant at Arizona, Rice, and Texas A&M.

Sure, he coached for national champion Lute Olson in Tucson, he beat Iowa's Fran McCaffery the year Augie went on to win the national title, and then faced Duke's Mike Krzyzewski at Cameron Indoor Stadium the year after the Vikings won it all.

But how he ended up as a young assistant coach at Arizona to start his college career after two grueling years as a high school coach and camp instructor is a legendary combo of "right place, right time" and Billeter's own unmistakable grit.

Before that, the "John-o-logue" of topics of the day...

While reputable reports circulated on Monday and Tuesday that the Twins had a potential legitimate buyer for the team and are potentially taking calls to "sell" some key players before the July 31 trade deadline, Byron Buxton again provided what little there is to celebrate this season.

"Buck" announced he will participate in next Monday's All-Star Game Home Run Derby in suburban Atlanta, just 200 miles from where he grew up. Not only is this a feel-good story about a regularly injured superstar who is having a breakout season at age 31, Buxton is wildly valuable (a bargain) to the Twins, according to analytics.

Meanwhile, the Sioux Falls Canaries played through a constant downpour and nearby lightning show on Friday and almost pulled off a remarkable comeback had the umpries not called the game in what could easily be described as "controversial fashion."

The next night, one of the Birds' brightest spots on a team full of them, Augustana alumnus Jordan Barth, once again struck lightning in what we're calling a second "Happy Hour Hike" in a week after Barth joined our show last Tuesday.

While reputable reports circulated on Monday and Tuesday that the Twins had a potential legitimate buyer for the team and are potentially taking calls to "sell" some key players before the July 31 trade deadline, Byron Buxton again provided what little there is to celebrate this season.

"Buck" announced he will participate in next Monday's All-Star Game Home Run Derby in suburban Atlanta, just 200 miles from where he grew up. Not only is this a feel-good story about a regularly injured superstar who is having a breakout season at age 31, Buxton is wildly valuable (a bargain) to the Twins, according to analytics.

Meanwhile, the Sioux Falls Canaries played through a constant downpour and nearby lightning show on Friday and almost pulled off a remarkable comeback had the umpries not called the game in what could easily be described as "controversial fashion."

The next night, one of the Birds' brightest spots on a team full of them, Augustana alumnus Jordan Barth, once again struck lightning in what we're calling a second "Happy Hour Hike" in a week after Barth joined our show last Tuesday.

There are many reasons for Augustana's ascension from a struggling North Central Conference underdog in most sports to a national Div. II athletics titan. Tom Billeter's building of men's basketball is near the top of those reasons, as Matt Zimmer wrote a year ago when Billeter left for Emporia State.

From his arrival in 2003 — when the Vikings were 14 years removed from their last NCAA Tournament and literally had run out of basketballs — to his departure last year after 21 seasons and 393 wins, the Illinois native and former major Div. I assistant proved the small, private school could indeed compete for and win a national title.

So, why did he leave, and what has it been like in his one season at a Div. II public school in Kansas?

Billeter starts his engaging, entertaining 95-minute conversation with John Gaskins by catching us up to speed on the similarities and differences of Augie and the new gig. But the two spend most of the time reminiscing about how Billeter turned Augie from a doormat to a dominating force in just over a decade, culminating with the 2016 NCAA championship.

Sure, he has legendary stories about that team, but also about his early players and squads that helped dig Augie out of the doldrums — much of which was inspired by Billeter's determination raise money to improve facilities and get students ("Augieholics") to pack the Elmen Center, then Sioux Falls Arena, then the Pentagon.

But why, despite sustained success, did attendance dwindle in Billeter's last few years? How does a basketball coach keep sane as rosters constantly turn over due to NIL and the transfer portal? Why does Billeter roll with all these punches at age 64 and keep on swinging?

You'll feel it in every answer and colorful story. And don't worry, there's plenty of vivid memories from his years before Augie — as head coach at North Dakota State (1992-97) and as an assistant at Arizona, Rice, and Texas A&M.

Sure, he coached for national champion Lute Olson in Tuscon, he beat Iowa's Fran McCaffery the year Augie went on to win the national title, and then faced Duke's Mike Kryzewski at Cameron Indoor Stadium the year after the Vikings won it all.

But how he ended up as a young assistant coach at Arizona to start his college career after two grueling years as a high school coach and camp instructor is a legendary combo of "right place, right time" and Billeter's own unmistakable grit.

Enjoy.

Maybe you know him as that guy that took over for legendary Sioux Falls sportscaster Jim Burt on the KELO-TV news in the 1980's.

Maybe you know him as the guy that teammed with Pat O'Brien — then, a well-established national broadcaster on CBS Sports — and Mark Ovenden for the broadcast of the first-ever Sioux Falls Skyforce game in 1989.

Maybe you know him as the guy that hosted the first South Dakota State football weekly TV show, starting in the 1990's with Mike Daly.

You most likely know him as the first managing owner of the Sioux Falls Stampede, which skated out of the gates to instead on-ice and box office success in the 2000's and won two titles during his time.

And you may or may not know him as the guy who, after he became the Sioux Falls Canaries' managing owner, changed the name to the Pheasants in the early 2010's, only to change it back to the Canaries after taking three years of public backlash for it.

Gary Weckworth has been at the forefront of almost every major new sports development in Sioux Falls the last 35 years, whether he was covering it, running it (like his gig as the first general manager of the Canaries when they were formed in 1992), or owning it.

And "Weck" has plenty of colorful stories to tell about all of it, starting with his days as an aspiring sportscaster at St. Cloud State University, where he droppped out a couple semesters short of his degree to take an on-air job at KELO-TV.

That is where part 1 takes us — to his childhood where he dreamed of being a television personality to living that dream for a decade in Sioux Falls.

Part 2 takes us to the rest of Gary's career, spent in sports and business.

Maybe you know him as that guy that took over for legendary Sioux Falls sportscaster Jim Burt on the KELO-TV news in the 1980's.

Maybe you know him as the guy that teammed with Pat O'Brien — then, a well-established national broadcaster on CBS Sports — and Mark Ovenden for the broadcast of the first-ever Sioux Falls Skyforce game in 1989.

Maybe you know him as the guy that hosted the first South Dakota State football weekly TV show, starting in the 1990's with Mike Daly.

You most likely know him as the first managing owner of the Sioux Falls Stampede, which skated out of the gates to instead on-ice and box office success in the 2000's and won two titles during his time.

And you may or may not know him as the guy who, after he became the Sioux Falls Canaries' managing owner, changed the name to the Pheasants in the early 2010's, only to change it back to the Canaries after taking three years of public backlash for it.

Gary Weckworth has been at the forefront of almost every major new sports development in Sioux Falls the last 35 years, whether he was covering it, running it (like his gig as the first general manager of the Canaries when they were formed in 1992), or owning it.

And "Weck" has plenty of colorful stories to tell about all of it, starting with his days as an aspiring sportscaster at St. Cloud State University, where he droppped out a couple semesters short of his degree to take an on-air job at KELO-TV.

The rest is Sioux Falls sports history well lived, plus some bumps along the way — a sudden and unceremonious firing from the Canaries, the "Pheasants" pivot, his ongoing battle with cancer, and his return back to KELO-TV 30 years after he left it to get into the business world.

In part 2 of this two-part chat, you'll hear the story of how he helped start the Canaries, then the Stampede, and eventually own both. Plus, the cancer battele and return to TV.

Part 1 involves his upbringing into becoming a TV sports anchor at KELO-TV in Sioux Falls, which came with it so many stories about working with Burt, the Skyforce debut, and leaving TV to jump into the marketing and sales world of sports before coming back to TV to do the Mike Daly Show.

Maybe you know him as that guy that took over for legendary Sioux Falls sportscaster Jim Burt on the KELO-TV news in the 1980's.

Maybe you know him as the guy that teammed with Pat O'Brien — then, a well-established national broadcaster on CBS Sports — and Mark Ovenden for the broadcast of the first-ever Sioux Falls Skyforce game in 1989.

Maybe you know him as the guy that hosted the first South Dakota State football weekly TV show, starting in the 1990's with Mike Daly.

You most likely know him as the first managing owner of the Sioux Falls Stampede, which skated out of the gates to instead on-ice and box office success in the 2000's and won two titles during his time.

And you may or may not know him as the guy who, after he became the Sioux Falls Canaries' managing owner, changed the name to the Pheasants in the early 2010's, only to change it back to the Canaries after taking three years of public backlash for it.

Gary Weckworth has been at the forefront of almost every major new sports development in Sioux Falls the last 35 years, whether he was covering it, running it (like his gig as the first general manager of the Canaries when they were formed in 1992), or owning it.

And "Weck" has plenty of colorful stories to tell about all of it, starting with his days as an aspiring sportscaster at St. Cloud State University, where he droppped out a couple semesters short of his degree to take an on-air job at KELO-TV.

The rest is Sioux Falls sports history well lived, plus some bumps along the way — a sudden and unceremonious firing from the Canaries, the "Pheasants" pivot, his ongoing battle with cancer, and his return back to KELO-TV 30 years after he left it to get into the business world.

On this Fourth of July day (and long weekend) when we celebrate America's independence and all those who have fought for our freedom in the Armed Forces, Happy Hour found it appropriate to bring back for an encore a February conversation with a true American badass — forgive our language, but that's the best way to describe her — Staff Sgt. Kim Hubers, the 2023 Disabled American Veteran of the Year.

The last time the Iraq War veteran 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 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.

She also describes the physical and mental pain she has suffered to this day 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 heart warmth.

There are few better examples of walking, breathing South Dakota football history than Jim Heinitz, a recent inductee into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.

The southwest Minnesota native came to play for South Dakota State in 1968 and has spent nearly 60 years since making football programs better and communities stronger through his coaching, business ventures, and both community and political service that included time as mayor of Brandon.

Heinitz is most famous for turning perennial North Central Conference underdog Augustana into a scrappy contender in his two head coaching stints there from 1984-2003, during which he became the school's all-time wins leader until current coach Jerry Olszewski surpassed him last season. (He'll also remind you he's the all-time losses leader there, as well).

But the man whom Augie's field is named after was also an assistant football and basketball coach at the University of Sioux Falls, then for Washington and Lincoln high schools — which included Washington's only girls state track and field title in 1977 — and then head coach for a historic season at Rapid City Stevens. Twice, Heinitz "retired" from coaching to go into the furniture business only to return to football, but his third retirement was his last, as he became CEO for Furniture Mart until actual forever retirement in 2021.

In an hour-long conversation at one of his favorite Sioux Falls haunts, the Gateway Lounge, the gregarious and gracious Heinitz had plenty of stories about his decorated life, including some about his teammates (Pro Football Hall of Famer Jim Langer) and players (like Bryan Schwartz) that eventually made it to the NFL.

Plus, a story about a player he recruited but wasn't so crazy about (at the time) and didn't land — some guy named Adam Viniatieri.