July 8, 2025

This piece is sponsored by Knife River South Dakota.

For nine concrete mixer drivers, it was showtime one recent Friday night.

As families, friends and co-workers gathered in the summer sun in a parking lot at the Denny Sanford Premier Center, each driver got behind the wheel of a ready mix truck to demonstrate some incredible skills.

It’s the annual Knife River South Dakota Truck Rodeo, part of a larger national competition through the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. Open to any full-time driver, the Knife River team came into the June competition after months of practice.

“It showcases their talent,” said Rick DeVries, ready mix supervisor, who helps organize the event. “Knife River invests a lot to support it and sees the value, and our team has responded with enthusiasm for it.”

After a written test in April, followed by a pre-trip inspection of their vehicles judged by the South Dakota Department of Transportation, just a handful of points separated the competitors heading into the skills portion of the competition.

“We did this for the first time last year and changed a few of the obstacles while adding new ones,” DeVries said.

Think you’re challenged by parallel parking? Try doing it with this truck — more than 30 feet long and 10 feet wide.

Then, pull it in between a tight row of tennis balls. And back it up through them.

In a maneuver called The Serpentine, drivers wove around a twisted series of cones.

For the final of the 10 obstacles, they shot soccer balls down the chute of the truck and attempted to make a goal.

“These obstacles took some practice, but they’re not that different from what our drivers face and perform successfully every day,” DeVries said. “It gives their friends and family a greater appreciation of the skills they’ve gained.”

At the end of the evening, longtime driver Lou Gutierrez emerged the winner.

“He’s a really good driver, a mentor driver who teaches other guys,” DeVries said.

Gutierrez joined Knife River 14 years ago after a career in military service.

“We gained experience from last year, and I practiced going into it,” he said. “Whoever wins get bragging rights, and last year it wasn’t me.”

But after practicing his parallel parking and some reverse maneuvers, he performed at his best in front of his children and grandchildren.

“I really enjoyed The Serpentine,” Gutierrez added. “Backing around the cones was probably my easiest one. It kind of felt natural.”

As for the soccer goal? “That was one of the hardest,” he said. “I hadn’t practiced it, and I ended up one out of five.”

Still, it was enough to secure the win and send him to the Knife River championship this month in Oregon — the qualifier for the broader national competition.

“I’ll keep working on parallel parking because the events will change,” Gutierrez said. “My family loved it. They had as much fun as I did and were cheering me on.”

Many of the obstacles reflect what he encounters in his daily work life.

“Definitely not so much parallel parking, but backing up and driving up to things happens a lot as we approach a job,” he said.

Coming home with the win “was definitely a surprise,” Gutierrez said. “I thought everyone did well. I was happy to win but sad others didn’t because everyone worked hard.”

He enjoys his work at Knife River, including training other drivers, he added.

“The company has been really good to us,” Gutierrez said. “The pay is good, the benefits are good, the people are really good, and the bosses take care of us well. If I had found it 40 years ago, I would have done it 40 years. Now, I try to pass it on to those coming after me.”

To learn more about opportunities to join the Knife River team, visit here.