The Pierre Governors football program has their own revolving door at the front of the DakotaDome when State Championship week comes around. You can almost bet that the Govs will be in Vermillion for State like you can bet South Dakota’s winds will be blowing. From someone like myself who hails from Georgia, a hotbed for high school football, it almost leaves me speechless to see what Steve Steele has done over the past decade. But all of that success needs a base, and that foundation was set by Ken Koistinen who took the Governors to their first State Championship in 1988. Becasue of Ken’s lifelong dedication to South Dakota High School athletics, he has earned a spot in the SDHSCA Hall of Fame.
Koistinen, a Lake Norden native and graduate of Huron College, began his teaching and coaching career in Erwin. He would move to Wessington Springs where he spent 14 years coaching football, basketball and track. In his time there, his football teams won three Central Conference championships and finished the 1979 season ranked #1 in Class B.
In 1981, Koistinien moved to Pierre to teach mathematics and coach track and football. He would spend 19 years in the capitol before retiring in 1999. He took the Pierre Governors to their first State Championship game in 1988. He would also spend a decade on the South Dakota Football Coaches Association Board and has earned his Hall of Fame spot not only with the SDHSCA but also with Pierre High School’s HOF.
Ken’s induction ceremony will be held on July 19th at 1:00 PM in Mitchell.
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