Dell Rapids City-Wide Rummage Sales, Thursday through Saturday, May 31-June 2. Over 100 homes participating - something for everyone!

An amazing weekend in mid-May with Mother Nature treating us to beautiful weather just in time for graduation ceremonies for Dell Rapids St Marys and Dells Public and of course, for Mother’s Day today.  Big Sioux Media streamed both graduation events live, and they are archived under the webcast column for you to watch again or for the first time.  Continue checking in to find out other community events that will be streamed, and even though we will not be streaming the opening games of Cornbelt Baseball today…we will be streaming other games throughout the season.  One final comment from all of us at Big Sioux Media----Happy Mother’s Day!

Tonight at the Lutheran Church of Dell Rapids, the following students were inducted into the National Honor Society: Brett Gruis, Miranda Broin, Karen Eddy, Margo Hegge, Austen Hof, Corynn Hoff, Morgan Hoglund, Jessica Houser, Bryce Koch, Nathan Koens, Matthew Kolbeck, Cole Langer, Dylan Lautt, Colin LeBrun, Samantha Mathis, Michael McGee, Riley Miller, Jacob Morris, Amanda Peterson, McKenzie Rinehart, Mackenzie Schildhauer, Cheyenne Schumaker, and Cassidy Wright. 

Current members include: Channing Barber, Zachery Barber, Brianna Davis, Benjamin Dipple, April Erdman, Danyelle Ernesti, Haley Fiedler, Emily Haak, Hannah Hammer, Weston Hansen, Samuel Hinricher, Erica Jurgensen, Jordan Lindberg, Laine Mitchell, Chad Munk, Tanner Munk, Alexis Pierson, Riley Rinehart, Ashley Stanton, Lexy Utech, Derrick Vortherms, and Hunter White.

Congratulations to all the students!

Last week, the Dell Rapids School District continued a long tradition that began in 1951 – hosting an accreditation visit by AdvancEd.  AdvancEd is a global leader in advancing excellence in education through continuous improvement, organizational effectiveness, and accreditation.  For three days, April 23-25^th, Dell Rapids hosted a team of professionals who reviewed, interviewed and researched our district. 

The review team, headed by Dr. Bill Rivenbark, was comprised of professional peers with diverse experience and varied contextual perspective.  The team came to assess and evaluate the district’s effectiveness in meeting the requirements of accreditation.  The review team provides the District and community with important validation and recognition, as well as valuable feedback and direction for improvement. 

During the three days, the team reviewed our Standard Assessment Report and the District’s website; they listened to District presentations; they interviewed District stakeholders; they examined artifacts; they visited the three schools in the District; they observed practices and the learning environments of the schools; they collected and organized data; and they will provide a written report to the District.

One of the more hands-on parts of the process was the interview phase.  The team interviewed a total of 127 stakeholders.  They interviewed 4 school board members, 5 administrators, 37 teachers, 15 support staff, 22 parents and community/business partners, and 44 students.

On the last day of the review, the team shared their findings with the District staff.  The first findings were three commendations.  The District was commended for its teachers and staff that are caring, dedicated, highly qualified, and demonstrate a commitment to student success.  The District was also commended for its excellent facilities, supported by the community, which effectively supports the teaching and learning process.  The last commendation was for the District’s strong support from all of its stakeholders.

The review team also found that the Dell Rapids School District must complete six required actions to help improve the District’s effectiveness and student learning.  These actions are:

(1)    develop and implement, with stakeholder participation, a comprehensive strategic plan;
(2)    design and communicate a clear and sustainable process for continuous improvement;
(3)    commit to an effective process for monitoring progress that utilizes formative data;
(4)    identify and deploy strategies to increase internal and external stakeholder involvement in decision-making and continuous improvement;
(5)    identify and deploy a process for regularly listening to stakeholders; and
(6)    create and implement systematic evaluation of all classified employees.

The team also ranked the District on how it was doing on each of the seven accreditation standards.  The seven standards are ranked as; highly functional, operational, emerging and not evident.     The Dell Rapids School District had four standards ranked operational and three standards ranked emerging.

The team completed the evidence-based accreditation process and their oral report.  The team submits a written report to the AdvancED Accreditation Commission and they determine accreditation status and grants the term of accreditation.  Finally, the Review Team extended to Dell Rapids their appreciation for our hospitality, support, and professionalism; their respect and acknowledgement of our efforts to improve the quality of our district; their congratulations for our progress toward achieving district accreditation; and finally their recommendation to the Commission of Accreditation for Dell Rapids to be accredited on advisement.

Finally, additional information will be shared with the community as it becomes available.

The FFA Career Development Events are designed to develop skills that members can continue to utilize throughout their life. Part of the South Dakota State FFA Convention allows members to compete against others from across the state. The Dell Rapids chapter entered a Dairy Cattle Evaluation team, a Milk Quality and Products team, a Natural Resources team and an Ag Mechanics team to compete at the State FFA Convention on April 15, 16 and 17. The natural resource participants Ryan Nichols and Andrew Wiebenga along with the Ag Mechanics team comprised of Joe Wolles, Ryan Michel, Colin LeBrun and John Merry headed to Brookings on Sunday afternoon. The natural resource event consists of identifying 10 specimens in seven different groups –insects, waterfowl and upland birds, other birds, mammals, fish, trees and shrubs, and wood products, along with a written test and problem solving. There were 218 participants making up 61 teams. Andrew placed 124th and Ryan placed 188th. Since the team score is the top three scores from each school added together having only two participants put our team in 58th place. The ag mechanics event is split into two phases. Sunday night, the members completed a team problem solving activity as well as an individual written test. On Monday, the ag mechanics participants had to complete 10 specific hands-on operations. There were 48 teams comprised of the 159 individuals with Joe receiving 2nd place for a gold award and also received a cordless drill for his efforts. Ryan placed 41st for a silver award, Colin placed 86th and John placed 118th. The scores from our top three individuals were added together for the team total, giving them a 5th place finish for a gold award. The milk quality and products team started out Monday morning completing a team activity consisting of a problem solving activity. A sample of milk was tested with the California Mastitis test and each individual scored it based on the appearance. The next part of the event, Jackson Entringer, Riley Miller, Trevor Peter and Colin Karst had ten samples of milk to determine the flavor along with 10 samples of cheese to identify. The last part of the event was to identify four samples based on fat content. This event had 178 individuals making up 52 teams with the Dell Rapids team placing 12th for a silver award. Riley placed 23rd receiving a silver award and Trevor placed 30th for a silver award. Jackson placed 72nd and Colin placed 106th. Gina Wolles, Erica Jurgensen and Heidi Anderson started their Monday morning out taking a written test and then were bussed out to the SDSU dairy farm to evaluate four classes of dairy cattle. They also had to explain their placing of one of the classes by giving oral reasons. The pedigrees of four cows were provided to the members and they needed to place the animals based on information from their pedigree. They also received a scenario relating to a dairy herd and production records from four bulls and they needed to rank those bulls from best to worst in what is called sire selection. Out of the 82 individuals, Gina placed 11th for a silver, Erica placed 41st and Heidi placed 70th. Out of the 27 teams, the dairy cattle evaluation team placed 10th for a bronze award. This was the first year we entered a team in the Safety Quiz Bowl competition sponsored by South Dakota Farmers Union. The four member team consisted of Trevor Peter, Ryan Nichols, Austin Broin and David Halvorson. They competed against a team from Willow Lake and scored 70 points to win the round. Their team score was not high enough to advance them to the second round, where the top four scoring teams will compete at the Dakotafest Farm show in Mitchell in August.

Monday night’s Dell Rapids Board of Education meeting was a short one with little action.  The official canvassing of the votes was done in the most recent BOE elections.  The resignations of Jeff Welbig and Mark Shriver were accepted as replacements were named for Athletic Director and Boys Head Basketball Coach.   Once the contracts are approved for Jeff Dvorak and Jason Fersdahl they will be in charge of those areas.  Dvorak will continue as Girls Basketball Coach and Golf Coach, but will add the duties of Athletic Director to his areas of responsibilities.  Fersdahl will become the Quarriers new Head Boys Basketball Coach for the 2012-2013 season.   Superintendent Tom Ludens told Big Sioux Media that this should become official at the next regular school board meeting May 14^th.  

It will be a busy day Monday for the Dell Rapids Board of Education as the Quality Assurance Review team will begin arriving in Dell Rapids Sunday to begin a three day review and assessment.  Monday afternoon at 1pm the committee will meet with members of the school board, and over the next 72 hours will have meetings with the public, school staff, students, and others to determine the accreditation of the Dell Rapids Public School.

The Dell Rapids School board will meet in special session Monday night at 7pm to canvass the election results.  Once the board approves, then the swearing in of the two newly elected board members, Steve Stofferahn and Troy Randall, can take place in a few weeks to begin their terms.  Also two of the tabled resignations from Mark Shriver and Jeff Welbig will be approved.  A couple of other items may be discussed before the BOE goes into executive session and then proceed with a work session.

The 2012 Argus Leader Tour de Kota™ will be held June 17–22, with the route beginning and ending in Dell Rapids, SD. This year’s tour will be a challenging ride full of inspiring prairie vistas, rolling hills and heartfelt community support.

Each year Tour de Kota™ travels the back roads and byways of our beautiful state of South Dakota. This year’s bonus is that we’ll also get to experience the lush farmlands of Iowa and Minnesota. An overnight stay outside South Dakota is a first. Marshall, Minnesota is welcoming the tour with open arms.

The outpouring of hospitality from each overnight community will leave a lasting impression. Riders are also touched by the kindness of dozens of small towns and cities long the way. It’s good friends, good food and cycling stories that will last forever.

Check out the website: http://www.tourdekota.com

Director of Admission Adam Heinitz, a resident of Dell Rapids, received the “Augie Pride” award at the Augustana Service Awards Presentation and Celebration yesterday.

The “Augie Pride” award recognizes exceptional service. Since 1999, 17 “Augie Pride” awards have been presented.

Since joining Augustana in 2000, Heinitz has played a vital role on the Admission team, counseling and advising prospective students and families who are considering Augustana. He currently serves as past president for the Dakota Association for College Admission Counseling (DACAC) and as treasurer for the South Dakota Council Executive Board of Dakota ACAC.

Heinitz is a 1999 graduate of Augustana and holds a master's degree in educational leadership from the University of Sioux Falls. Before joining the College, he taught fifth grade at Lincoln Elementary School in Fargo, N.D.

Heinitz and his wife, Sandra '97, are the proud parents of three children, Ella, Maya, and Jake.

Pictured Above: President Rob Oliver presents Adam Heinitz with the Augie Pride Award

Dell Rapids businesses along with other South Dakota businesses are being forewarned of scams from companies that are attempting to sell posters detailing federal laws and regulations involving the Labor Department.  These scams work to sound and look as professional with official looking seals, and putting scare tactics into the business if they do not have this information posted there could be fines and penalties.   South Dakota Attorney General, Marty Jackley, says the Department of Labor and Regulations has free posters available, but if a business has been contacted they should call the Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-300-1986. 

According to Wikipedia, the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) was founded on the North American Continent in Baltimore, Maryland, on April 26, 1819, aiming to provide a framework that promoted personal and social development.  Around the world, the IOOF undertook various community and charitable projects including one in Dell Rapids in 1910 – to build a home for young children, widows and the elderly.  On May 17, 1911, Dell Rapids dedicated South Dakota’s only Odd Fellows Home on 10th Street.  The Home’s main three-story building, its 1923 power plant, and 1923 front gate were each designed by prominent regional architect Joseph Schwarz and were each made of locally-quarried Sioux quartzite with limestone accents, in a simplified Italian Renaissance architectural style.

By 1912, twenty-four residents, including 19 orphaned children and five retired persons, were living in the facility.  With IOOF members helping with schooling of the orphan residents, the young girls would take care of the halls and the cooking, while the young boys would be in charge of farming the 100 acres on the site.  The Odd Fellows Home ceased to be an orphanage after 1947 with the facility housing only retired elderly.  Then in the 1960s the Home changed from a retirement facility to a nursing home.  In 2003 the Odd Fellows Nursing Home closed its doors and remained empty until Joan Rasmussen (daughter-in-law of Dells residents John & Joan Rasmussen) purchased the facility and the three acres surrounding it in 2006.  Joan is currently having the buildings renovated into residential apartments.

Recently Mrs. Rasmussen applied to have the Home on the National Register of Historic Places, and it was found that Jay D. Vogt, director of the State Historical Society, recommended the Odd Fellows Home be registered (http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/feature/weekly_features/2012/oddfellowshome-dellrapids.pdf) by his signature dated 12/29/11 and entered in the National Register dated February 21, 2012.  By going to the above link you can read the entire application which includes description and additional pictures of the historic buildings. 

Monday night the Dell Rapids City Council met in session and approved an outdoor event permit for the Event Center concert during Quarry Days weekend.  Other action included approval of the Wyland Addition Project to the low bidder, W.H.Paving of Tea.   There were 9-bids submitted with W.H. Paving submitting the low bid of $329,888.75 with a startup date in early June and a completion time frame of 6-weeks.  The council also discussed and approved the closing of the ‘campground’ the Thursday before Quarry Days and will remain closed until the Monday following Quarry Days.  The reason for the campground use decision is because of past problems at the campground with too many disturbances and uncontrollable crowds.  Camping will be allowed the Monday following Quarry Days.  At this time, the Chamber of Commerce is discussing ideas of a special event utilizing the campground, but no definite decision has been made by the Chamber or the City for that purpose.  The Highway 77 drainage predicament  was mentioned by City Administrator, Justin Weiland, and he told the council it is still being assessed and discussed.  The next regular meeting for the council will be May 7^th.

The Dell Rapids City Council meets in regular session tonight beginning at 7:30pm.  One of the main items that will be discussed involves Quarry Days campground use.  Big Sioux Media will have the story tomorrow morning.

With about 14% of the registered voters in Dell Rapids going to the polls, the top two vote getters in the Tuesday School Board elections were Steve Stofferahn with 288 votes and Troy Randall with 276 votes.  The results are unofficial until the School Board canvass’ the votes for approval at their regular scheduled board meeting.  The three year terms will officially begin July 1st, 2012.

A final piece of action that took place following Monday night’s executive session at the school board meeting included the hiring and approval of the new Superintendent, Summer Schultz, replacing Tom Ludens effective July 1st, 2012.

A Dell Rapids St Mary student, Christopher Lee, has been awarded one of the eight prizes in the State Securities Division Essay contest.  The essay was to promote the investors education and protection initiative.  Entrants had to submit a five page essay on “How to Create Financial Independence by understanding Five Principles of Investing”.   Lee was awarded $2,000 along with Katie Stahl of West Central for 3rd place.   First place went to Shannon Miller of West Central and Evan Ireland of Rapid City Stevens; 2nd place went to Sioux Falls Roosevelt student, Kirstie Regas and Jussy Tuscherer of Northwestern;  4th place finishers were Anthony Verrier of Plankinton and David Dienert of Parkston.

As registered voters in Dell Rapids prepare to go to the polls and cast their ballots in choosing two school board members, last night the Dell Rapids Board of Education met to go over several items on their agenda.  The board accepted the resignation of Jim Schroeder as a high school teacher and coach, while the board tabled resignations submitted by Jeff Welbig, activities director;  Mark Shriver, head boys basketball coach; and Rod Stanford, middle school girls basketball coach.   The reason the resignations of those three were tabled is because the board needs to find suitable replacements since they will still be under contract as teachers.  Schroeder has been in the Dells system for 9-years.   High school Principal, Kim Kludt, told the board the Quality Assurance Review committee will be in Dell Rapids April 23rd—25th and has requested to meet with the school board, community members, teachers, staff, and students.  Big Sioux Media News will have additional information regarding their visit as the days approach.

Tonight the Dell Rapids Public school board will meet in regular session. Several items are on the agenda which begins at 7pm at the High School/Middle School meeting room.  Big Sioux Media News will have a full report tomorrow morning.

The annual Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce Easter Egg Hunt will be Saturday (weather permitting).  This event, with hundreds of people attending each year, is a festive event  organized by the Chamber and continues to be a highlight for this holiday.  The weather is calling for temps in the mid-to-upper 50’s even though the early morning hunt may be closer to 50-degrees.  And the west/northwest winds may be gusting up to near 25 mph.  People are encouraged to be at the Dell Rapids City Park Band Shelter about 30-minutes early so when the clock strikes 10:00 am the hunt can begin.

The Easter weekend is approaching quickly.  Families are gathering for church services, a little outdoor grilling, and some traveling for this special holiday.  The question remains what will Mother Nature provide this weekend.   After some high 80 degree days, and some windy days as well, the weather has dipped down to more normal temperatures, and the wind…well, it has its moments still.  All in all it looks like our area is in for only a slight chance of light rain, but very pleasant temps to enjoy some of the outdoor activities this weekend.

It’s now less than one week away when Dell Rapids voters will go to the polls to determine what two people will be filling the vacancies on the local school board due to the expiration of the present terms of Brian Davis and Troy Randall.  The four candidates are incumbent Randall, Steve Stofferahn, Glen Kruger, and Amanda Downs.  The polls open at 7am on April 10th and will remain open until 7pm.  The location for registered voters will be old elementary school gym.  Big Sioux Media will have unofficial results posted on this website following the counting of the votes.

Jeff Lautt (from Dell Rapids) was named CEO of POET, the ethanol company announced today. Lautt has been with POET since 2005, serving most recently as President of the company. Company founder Jeff Broin will step down after 25 years as the CEO but will continue managing and leading the company’s board as Executive Chairman.

“For the past 25 years, Jeff Broin has lead POET and the entire ethanol industry,” said Lautt. “He has grown POET from one small plant to a leadership position in the global renewable fuels industry. With the help of the entire team at POET, I will do my best to continue building on the success the company has achieved.”

Jeff Lautt has been with POET since early 2005 and has served as its President since 2011. Prior to that, he was the Executive Vice President of Corporate Operations. In that position, Lautt was responsible for all operational business units within POET. Lautt spent fourteen years in the emergency vehicle industry where he served as President of a Midwestern-based fire truck manufacturing company before joining POET. Lautt has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business and Engineering from South Dakota State University.

“After 25 years leading the company, I wanted to spend more time with my family and take on new challenges,“ Jeff Broin said. “I will continue to be involved in strategic direction for the company as Executive Chairman of the Board, and leave the day-to-day operations to our very capable management team. I would not have done this had I not been convinced that the company would be in good hands. Under the leadership of Jeff Lautt and the entire management team at POET, I have confidence that the company will continue to lead the industry into the future.”

In addition to serving as Executive Chairman of POET’s Board of Directors, Broin will continue to speak out on behalf of ethanol and agriculture as co-chairman of Growth Energy. He also intends to spend more time guiding the activities of his newly created foundation, “Teach a Man to Fish” which will spread the power of agriculture throughout the developing world.

Broin, who is married with three children and lives in Dell Rapids, has been the CEO of POET since the company was founded in 1987. In his more than two decades of leadership, POET has grown from 1 million gallons of ethanol that first year to an annual capacity in excess of 1.6 billion gallons.

*POET Press Release*

The Dell Rapids City Council met Monday night to discuss a few items on a very light agenda. The primary discussion centered around the DGR Consulting Engineers draft report on the Southeast sanitary sewer study. A handful of interested citizens were on hand with a more specific report expected within the next few weeks based upon what the council decides. One interesting point was the ‘rock excavation’ would probably account for at least 50% of the cost. As Big Sioux Media receives additional information we’ll pass it on to our readers. The council also decided to rehire two part-time employees for Public Works with the chance another one could be hired in the future. Also there will be two Saturdays, April 28th and May 5th, that free rubble site days will be held prior to the high school graduations. It was stressed that this is for yard refuse, rubble, and construction waste, but appliances or hazardous waste materials will not be accepted.

The Dell Rapids City Council will meet in regular session tonight at the City Council Chamber at City Hall starting at 7:30pm. The agenda appears to be a light, routine agenda for council members. A couple of items that will be discussed will be the hiring of seasonal staff for Public Works plus the hire of a rubble site monitor. The city rubble site opened this past weekend and will be open this weekend as well from 9am—4pm. Big Sioux Media will have details of tonight’s meeting tomorrow.