The South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame will be inducting 23 sports legends on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.
The 2025 class includes perhaps the greatest kicker in NFL history, world record holders, champion coaches, women athlete pioneers, a pro cowboy and South Dakotas most well-known musher and sled dog racer -Flandreau’s own Vern Halter.
VERN HALTER
1967 Flandreau/1971 USD graduate who later earned law degree in Vermillion. One of the worlds and South Dakotas most famous sled-dog racer, Halter competed in the 1,000-mile (Anchorage to Nome) Iditarod 19 times in a 22-year span (1983-2005). His best finish was third in 1999 to earn about $46,000, with three top five and nine top 10 finishes.
His fastest time came in the 2002 race when Halter finished fifth in nine days, seven hours, 47 minutes and 48 seconds.
He has also raced in the Yukon Quest (1,000 miles from Fairbanks to Whitehorn, Yukon) six times, winning that 1,000-mile race in 1990 in 11 days, 17 hours, 9 minutes to earn $20,000. Halter also placed second in 1989 and sixth in 1991 in the Yukon Quest.
Also had had success racing in Minnesotas John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon and is a past champion in Alaskas Moose Creek Nugget 100. Halter secured one of the largest corporate sponsorships (Norwest/Wells Fargo) in the history of mushing. Has lived in Alaska since 1977.
Halters friend David Monson (from Roslyn, SD), who married four time Iditarod Champion Susan Butcher, inspired Halter to run his first Iditarod. Halter won more than $300,000 in career earnings.
Halter was a wrestler in high school and is a member of the Flandreau Athletic Hall of Fame.
He also tirelessly promoted his sport, bringing some of his puppies to schools across South Dakota over the years. A former mayor, public defender and judge in Alaska, Halter and veterinarian wife, Dr. Susan Whiton, own and manage the successful Dream-A-Dream Sled Dog Tours, Bed & Breakfast and Kennel. Whiton also was a musher and played a key role in Halters success in the sport.
Other 2025 inductees are: Jo (Haase) Auch, Tom Casey, Jessi Combs (deceased), Cathy Coyle, Donovan Gibbs (deceased), Vern Halter, Ryan Jansa, brothers Edgar and Hobart Lone Hill (both deceased), Guy Mackner, Bill Marquardt, Kim Nelson, Candi Nielsen, Tom Reeves, John Deac Sanders, John Stig Stiegelmeier, Jumping Jim Tays, Mark Tetzlaff, Dennis Tiefenthaler, Buck Timmins (deceased), Lemoine Trout (deceased), Jim Uttecht and Adam Vinatieri.
Tickets are now available at the SD Sports Hall of Fame website at www.sdshof.com. Click on the PURCHASE TICKETS tab or COPY & PASTE this link (https://www.zeffy.com/ticketing/sdshof-induction-banquet–2025) in a web browser. The cost is $60 for adults, and $35 for kids 12 and under. You may designate an inductee you wish to sit near when you order online. You can also purchase a table. Social time and media availability begins at 4:30pm. Dinner is at 6pm, and the program begins at 7pm. All major credit cards are accepted. There will be a VERY limited number of tickets at the door, so please purchase yours in advance.
With 23 new inductees, the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame will honor 395 individuals from over 30 sports at both the state and national levels. Founded in 1968 by the South Dakota Sportswriters Association, it is now managed by volunteers from across the state.
Inductees are voted into the hall in four categories: as athletes, coaches, contributors (such as media, administrators and/or officials) and/or legends (deceased).
To support the preservation of the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame and its ongoing mission, tax-deductible contributions of any amount are gratefully accepted. The campaign aims to enhance display hardware and install digital displays at multiple locations throughout the state, as well as implement a digital display on the organization’s website. To donate, please click the CAPITAL PLEDGE CAMPAIGN LINK tab on the website, copy and paste the following link into your browser (https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/d8d5f2c6-2ab8-4fa8-a232-cc1022f9d46b), or contact Scott Fiedler at (605) 940-5564, or send your contribution to:
SOUTH DAKOTA SPORTS HALL OF FAME
PO Box 2077
Sioux Falls, SD 57105
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