The Daily Republic, Mitchell, March 28, 2016
CHEERS to Mitchell Mayor Jerry Toomey, who wants to clean up Mitchell’s streets.
The mayor is looking to update a city parking and nuisance ordinance to be presented to the City Council during the April 4 meeting. The plan is to ban those annoying large vehicles, such as campers, and boat trailers that remain parked in the same spot for several days.
“Anything big, has wheels on it and is licensed should not be sitting on the street,” Toomey said.
We agree, because we’re tired of driving through Mitchell’s streets and seeing traffic signs that are blocked by campers, nearly causing crashes because someone cannot park their recreational vehicle off the street.
We’re also tired of these vehicles and trailers clogging up the street side parking in our city and the eyesore that comes with this problem.
We hope the Mitchell City Council considers this proposal for approval in another step to make our city a better place to live.
HISSES to the heartbreaking loss the South Dakota State University women’s basketball team suffered last week at the NCAA national tournament.
Whether you’re a fan of the Jackrabbits or not, it was tough seeing SDSU lose in the final seconds of the second-round game against Stanford.
It hit especially close to home for Mitchell, as two of the Jacks’ five starters hail from our city. We say CHEERS to Macy Miller and Kerri Young for representing Mitchell so well, and we look forward to another year they’ll be sharing the court with the Jackrabbits.
CHEERS to the alternative learning options available within the Mitchell School District.
From extended school year programs to individualized learning plans, the Mitchell School District continues to embrace these options for all ages.
Each school in the district offers a learning opportunity beyond the traditional classroom setting, and we applaud that. As school officials know so well, not every child learns the same way.
These programs are having success, it seems, as more students are opting to join.
There are a number of positives for these courses. Specifically in middle school, students can work ahead and learn at their pace. Then, if they advance far enough in high school, they can obtain college credit.
That’s a win-win for everyone.
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Aberdeen American News, Aberdeen, March 31, 2016
As always, there is plenty of good news worthy of celebrating, one more time, in our pages.
New Vikings stadium has Aberdeen touch: To build a $975-plus million football stadium, it takes a village and then some.
And when the 1.5-million-square-foot U.S. Bank Stadium on 38 acres in Minneapolis opens come summer, some of those villagers have an intimate knowledge of Aberdeen.
First of all, the president and CEO of the architectural firm in charge of designing the Minnesota Vikings’ new stadium is an Aberdeen native. Dan Noble is the leader of HKS Architects, a firm with offices and employees worldwide. HKS has designed many well-known buildings and stadiums, including Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis and AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Also, former Northern State University artist-in-residence Ben Victor will have a 42-inch sculpture depicting a Viking on ship as part of the artwork in the new stadium.
“As soon as we saw the piece, we fell in love with it and wanted to make sure we found a home for it,” said Tanya Dreesen, vice president of partnership activation and special projects for the Minnesota Vikings.
Victor, now of Boise, Idaho, said that he learned to love the Vikings during his 10-plus years in Aberdeen.
“You pretty much have to be a Vikings fan if you’re gonna live in Aberdeen, S.D.,” Victor said.
89-year-old offers health advice: Our doctors wouldn’t recommend beer and popcorn as part of a healthy diet.
Try telling that to 89-year-old Dick Schooley. He is the hard-working gentleman who keeps the Dacotah Prairie Museum humming as its maintenance man. He’s been there since 1990.
“It’s a healthy job, keeps me active,” Schooley said. “You’ve got to bend over quite often and twist and turn.”
In all seriousness, the museum folks say he is very health conscious and takes good care of himself, a good example for all of us.
“I think if you sit around too much, you deteriorate, but that’s just my opinion,” Schooley said. “Some people sit around and that’s OK.”
Turton church builds community: On Sunday, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Turton will host a service of gratitude.
Church leaders believe many thanks are due for the parishioners who have kept St. Joseph’s afloat during a few years of turbulence.
Churchgoers, too, should feel gratitude for the local place of worship, which is now home to several congregations made one.
St. Joseph’s absorbed the congregations from Doland, Frankfort and Conde, where local parishes were closed in a series of consolidations throughout northeast South Dakota.
Though the transition was difficult, St. Joe’s is up to the task.
“It’s almost like the people are coming together, and now we all belong to the same family,” the Rev. Mike Kelly, priest at St. Joseph’s, said. “I think the reason we were successful, we brought it together with a little process, but with everyone having a voice.”
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Watertown Public Opinion, Watertown, April 1, 2016
More commutations raise questions - Thumbs Down
It must be getting close to the end of his two terms in office, because Wednesday, President Obama granted 61 commutations to what looks like all drug offenders convicted of possession and selling drugs. (None of the 61 were from South Dakota, by the way.) Of course, we don’t have any of the details, but it is rather interesting, and happens all too frequently, when an elected president or governor gets to the end of their term(s) in office, the commutations come out in a big way. It seems to us, this list also suggests a glaring need to have our nation, state and local levels re-examine our drug laws and the costs associated with incarceration and housing of those guilty of our low-level drug laws. Is there a better way?
National championship within reach - Thumbs Up
The University of South Dakota Womens’ basketball team was undoubtedly disappointed when it lost to in-state rival SDSU in the Summit League tourney and had to settle for a berth in the NIT instead of the Big Dance. But the Coyotes are making the best of the situation, having charged through the preliminary rounds and into today’s championship tilt. Led by Watertown’s own Tia Hemiller, the Coyotes will take the court at 2 p.m. Saturday in Vermillion. Hemiller was all over the airwaves and Internet on Thursday after sinking a one-handed, half-court desperation shot in the semifinals against Oregon. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on our P/O Facebook page — check it out!
Willing to serve in Pierre - Thumbs Up
We were heartened to see so many people file petitions to run for seats in the South Dakota Legislature. We will have contested races for most area spots, and will even have several primary races. That’s a good thing for all of us. The more people who get involved in the political process, the better that process works for all of us. Being a member of South Dakota’s “citizen Legislature” requires much sacrifice, and the pay is low, yet so many were willing to throw their hats into the ring. For that, we say thank you!
Much interest among airlines - Thumbs Up
Even our always-optimist Mayor Steve Thorson was surprised! Four (count ’em) airlines submitted proposals to serve Watertown Regional Airport under the federal Essential Air Service program. Included among the proposals is one from Aerodynamics, Inc., which was thought to be the front-runner the last time the city sought proposals. Also submitting a proposal was Great Lakes Aviation, the company that was all but kicked out of town last year for providing such dismal service and driving down demand for flights from Watertown. Boutique Air’s name has been brought up before, but the final airline, Key Lime Air (based, naturally, in Colorado) is a new name. Some of the proposals are for daily flights to and from Denver, while others are for flights to and from Minneapolis. Were sure the Airport Board and the City Council will carefully study the proposals and pick the right one, because Watertown needs reliable air service to resume soon.
This should spark some discussion - Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
The April issue of Twin Cities Business magazine’s cover story is labeled “Bye-Bye Billions - Our exclusive study finds Minnesota’s tax policy is chasing away its wealthiest citizens.” The story goes on to show $1.5 billion in annual taxable income, $12 billion in net worth and $22 billion in gross estate value is what has moved, or has began planning to move out of Minnesota in the past two years. That’s a Thumbs Up for states like South Dakota, which offer up a less tax-intensive state for individuals and businesses, and for communities like Watertown on the eastern side. (By the way, Florida is the #1 destination state for those leaving … imagine that!) Then again, for our Minnesota readers, that’s probably a Thumbs Down. The goal of the article and study, according to the magazine’s editor is to “fuel dialogue and further exploration of the subject.” We are guessing this study and article will do just that for our neighbors in Minnesota!
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