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City of Dell Rapids Receives Grant from GF&P for Trail Updates

August 11, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Dell Rapids has received a grant from the Game, Fish, and Parks department to be able to expand the recreational trail. This announcement came from City Administrator Justin Weiland at the Dell Rapids City Council meeting on Monday, August 7th.

The city applied for $249,000 with the Game, Fish, and Parks Recreational Trail Grant. The grant application included two extensions to the current trail. One extension would run south to the overlook on Dells Drive, and the other extension would run west to the dam area.

Game, Fish, and Parks representatives said the full grant request was for nearly 100% of the grant’s available funds for the entire year. Dell Rapids was instead awarded a $55,000 grant to be able to do the south extension project. The estimated cost of that project is between $68,000 – $70,000. The city will be responsible for the remaining funds needed to complete the cost. Weiland mentioned that the city will work with the Sioux River Red Rock Trail Committee to assist with the funding for the remainder of the costs for the project and will budget for this to occur in 2018.

“I think it will get more people there to experience that, and potentially put the city in a position to make some improvements down there, or at least get it cleaned up and looking sharper,” said Weiland of the south extension. The extension of the trail would start at Dells Drive and run to the overlook area of the Big Sioux River.

Weiland also said that since Game, Fish, and Parks couldn’t help fund the dam extension, the city sent a letter of intent to the Department of Transportation for the Transportation Alternatives Grant. Recreational trails were added to that grant this past year. Weiland said that the Department of Transportation will be meeting with city officials to look at the area and hear plans to potentially get that funded through this grant in the future.

Dell Rapids Library Sees Increase in Numbers During Summer Programs

August 10, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Dell Rapids Carnegie Library Director Brittany Moeller gave an updated report from the summer programs to the Dell Rapids City Council during the council’s regular meeting on Monday, August 7th.

“We’ve had a really good year so far and an amazing summer,” Moeller said.

She reported that the library has seen a little over 430 people registered for the summer reading program which is up about 30 people from last year. Moeller says they have seen an average increase of about 20 people per year over the last three years.

A new addition to the library this summer was the addition of summer programs for adults. An average of 10 to 15 people attended the program per week. The library also saw an average of 15 to 20 teens per week for their programs.

Computer classes for seniors were also held for the first time by the library. Moeller said that between 5 to 10 people came every week to learn everything the basics of turning on a computer to learning Facebook. There are plans on doing more classes for seniors sometime during the fall.

Dell Rapids City Council member James Borchert said, “I just want to say in the last few years if you look at where the library has been and where it’s gone with the increase in programming for adults and now seniors and children, it’s just been the gem of this community. A lot of towns this size don’t have a library, and they certainly don’t have a library like this.”

Local Student Becomes National Officer at FCCLA National Leadership Conference

July 23, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

July 2017 – Brigette Nelson (17), a Senior at Baltic High School in Baltic, South Dakota, has been elected the 2017-2018 National Vice President of Finance and as a youth member on the National Board of Directors of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA). Brigette Nelson is one of ten national officers elected during the 2017 National Leadership Conference, held July 2-6 in Nashville, TN. Being elected a national officer is the highest leadership honor an FCCLA member can achieve.

Brigette Nelson’s election took place during a five-day leadership event centered on the theme, “Unlimited Possibilities.” During the week, more than 7,500 FCCLA members, advisers, alumni, and guests attended workshops and sessions on relevant youth issues such as career preparation, financial literacy, environmental education, traffic safety, community service, and leadership development.

Along with nine other members of the National Executive Council, Brigette will travel to FCCLA national headquarters in Reston, Virginia, during the year to attend training and program planning sessions. Brigette will also help set policies and develop future goals for the organization as a committee member of the FCCLA National Board of Directors. During the year, Brigette and the other national officers will represent the organization by leading workshops and giving speeches locally and throughout the country, in addition to helping plan the focus and content of FCCLA’s 2018 National Leadership Conference, to be held June 28 – July 2, 2018 in Atlanta, GA.

Brigette is the daughter of David and Nena Dyce of Baltic, South Dakota. Suzy Ries is Brigette Nelson’s FCCLA chapter adviser and national adviser.

About FCCLA

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a dynamic and effective career and technical student organization that helps young men and women become leaders and address important personal, family, work, and societal issues through Family and Consumer Sciences education. FCCLA has more than 164,000 members and more than 5,300 chapters from 49 state associations, in addition to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

FCCLA: The Ultimate Leadership Experience is unique among youth organizations because its programs are planned and run by members, and it’s the only career and technical in-school student organization with a central focus on careers that support families. Participation in national FCCLA programs and chapter activities helps members become strong leaders in their families, careers, and communities.

For more information on FCCLA, please contact Suzy Ries at (605) 529-5461 or suzy.ries@k12.sd.us

Rickeman Field Comfort Station Halted for Now

July 20, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids City Council voted to table a decision on the new comfort station during their regular meeting on Monday, July 17th. The comfort station was planned to be built at Rickeman Field sometime this year. The city had put the project out for bid and had received bids for the project, however, the bids came back higher than expected.

The city had budgeted $240,000 for a combined project of adding a new comfort station and expanding the campground. The city has received a $75,000 grant from the South Dakota Game, Fish, and Parks department to offset some of the costs. The rest of the budgeted amount would be covered by city funds. Last year the city received bids of around $99,000 on a design that was not done by a structural engineer. The council at that time felt the costs were too high and moved the project to 2017. Over the winter the city had a structural engineer help design a building for the new comfort station to make sure the building could withstand high winds so it could be used as a safety shelter for campers. The bids for the new design received by the city were double the bids received last year.

“I would like to table the whole thing because I don’t like it at all. We’re going to burn $240,000 on this thing. We already spent $12,000 on engineering this thing. I haven’t been up there, but I’ve just heard that Flandreau recently built something in their park. I’d like to know where. I’d like to know if that’s subject to getting hit by a flood sometime, and I understand it was a pretty reasonable deal. I understand Baltic has just had plans drawn. I don’t know if they’re building it. Their plans cost them about $300. They’re going to be building something out by their ballparks. I have a real problem with $250,000 tied up in a set of restrooms. I don’t know how we got to this point. I do remember saying no to the $12,000 worth of plans. My opinion, I’m not in favor of it. I think we should start over and find out what Flandreau and Baltic have done and take a look at other options. I think it’s ridiculous to spend that much money,” said Councilman Mark Crisp.

If the council had awarded one of the bids, the cost of the project plus the utility expansion to the building would take most of the $240,000 budget and would not leave much money for the campground expansion.

“I think it’s more important to get our campground in,” added Crisp.

“These new campers have showers and bathrooms,” Councilman Gary Haak said. “What I’m saying is that everybody that comes camping in Dell Rapids knows there are no showers. They will have to use their own shower.”

Plans are still in place to add a couple of dump stations to the campground expansion piece of the project along with more camping spots. The plans also include having water and electric hookups at the new camping spots.

Weiland also mentioned to the council that one stipulation of the grant from the SD Game, Fish, and Parks is the project includes showers. He said that he’d have to talk to them if they removed the shower portion of the project.

“I think we can do this for a lot cheaper than $200,000,” Haak said.

Haak made a motion to table any decisions on the project until the August 7th meeting. The motion was seconded by Councilman Bob Mier. The motion was approved unanimously.

Friday Service to Start for Dell Rapids Transit

July 19, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Friday service will be starting soon for the Dell Rapids Transit. The Dell Rapids City Council voted to add Friday service during their regular meeting on Monday, July 17th.

City Administrator Justin Weiland shared with the council that adding Friday service would cost the city an additional $5,800 annually. Weiland also mentioned that the extra cost could potentially be lowered based on a grant package the city might receive from the 5311 grant that the city submitted, but he cautioned the council to plan for the city to pay for the full additional costs. The additional cost for the city for 2017 would only be half of the total $5,800 by adding Friday at the start of school.

Councilman James Borchert motioned to approve adding Friday to the Dell Rapids City Transit service, and Councilman Mike Geraets seconded the motion. The motion was approved unanimously.

Softball Clinic to Benefit Daily Bread Food Pantry

July 15, 2017 by Submitted

By: Steph Bittner

Growing up in a small town is quite often taken for granted! As young children we grow up thinking how annoying it is that our parents know everyone, and everyone knows who we are, but as we get older, we realize how wonderful our small town is. This really hit home this past year for a group of softball players I coach. We participated in a tournament in Brookings where two younger Dell Rapids teams were also playing. As my team played their first game on Sunday, all the girls noticed the younger Dells teams watching them play! The younger girls were cheering for them, and knew most of their names. My players, seeing all the young talent and excitement for softball, decided they wanted to do something to give back to these young players. We decided to team up with the Daily Bread Food Panty and help their “still new” Back to School Program! Last year, they supplied 51 local kids with all the school supplies they needed. The girls feel this is a great cause and would like to help!

A softball clinic will be held Tuesday, July 25^th, with registration beginning at 6:00 pm and clinic from 6:30-8:00 pm. The clinic is for all girls who play softball from U6-U12 age groups. It will be held on Fields A and B at Dell Rapids City Park. The “cost” for the clinic is two donations to the Daily Bread Food Pantry’s Back to School Program. Feel free to donate anything on the school supply list for all ages!

If you have any questions or would like to help with the clinic, feel free to call or text Steph Bittner (605) 212-5946, Ryan Rinehart (605) 951-1211, or Amber Fountain (605) 359-4530.

Dell Rapids School Board Sets 2017-2018 Fees

July 13, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

The Dell Rapids School Board set fees for the upcoming school year during the regular meeting on Monday, July 10th. The rates and fees that were set were meal prices, admission and activity ticket prices, and transportation rates.

The following meal prices were adopted by the board:

Student breakfast – $1.45
Reduce price breakfast – $.30
Adult breakfast – $1.80
Extra breakfast entree – $1.20
K-4 student lunch – $2.80
5-12 student lunch – $2.90
K-12 reduce price lunch – $.40
Adult lunch – $3.35
Milk – $.50
Extra traditional entree – $1.75
Extra pizza – $1.85
Chef demo meal – $2.25

Admission to activities were set at $3.00 for K-12 students and $5.00 for adults. Admission for doubleheader basketball games are $4.00 for students and $6.00 for adults. Activity ticket prices are as follows:

Resident senior citizens – free pass available in district office
K-8 student pass – $15.00
9-12 student pass – $20.00
Adult 10-punch pass – $30.00
Adult all-season pass – $50.00
Family all-season pass – $100.00

The transportation rates for the upcoming year will be as follows:

Resident in-town and open-enrollment transportation (on designated route), St Mary non-resident rural transportation (on designated route), and Haven transportation (between elementary school and River Community Church) – $80.00/child or $200.00/family
St Mary transportation off designated route – $432.50 annually per mile added to the route
Open-enrollment transportation off designated route (as determined by the school board on an individual basis) – $432.50 annually per mile added to the route
St Mary / outside organization transportation – $2.00 per mile (minimum of $20.00) plus actual driver cost

Local Boy’s Dream Comes True

July 13, 2017 by Submitted

Local Racer Competes for National Spotlight in AMA National Motocross Championship
Historic Loretta Lynn Ranch Set to Host Largest Amateur Motocross Championship
By: Jess Hoyer

Colman, SD: Colman’s Camdyn Hoyer just made his dream come true. The 7-year-old dirt bike racer has qualified for the largest amateur motocross race in the world, the 36^th Annual Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship, presented by AMSOIL, to be held this August at the historic Loretta Lynn Ranch. Hoyer took on over 22,000 hopefuls from across America to earn one of just 1,482 qualifying positions. Hoyer will be the very first South Dakota kid to compete in the 50cc class.

“The Amateur National at Loretta Lynn’s is the event every motocross racer in the country wants to compete in,” said Event Director Tim Cotter. “A win at Loretta’s gives a racer instant national notoriety and can serve as a springboard to a lucrative professional motocross career.”

Most of America’s top professional motocross racers, including James Stewart, Ricky Carmichael, Travis Pastrana and Ryan Dungey, have won AMA Amateur National titles at Loretta Lynn’s.

Camdyn Hoyer, who attends Chester Area School in the 1st grade, has been riding dirt bikes since he was 5 years old.

Camdyn’s older brother Callyn Hoyer, who is 9, made it past the Local division in the 7-8 class and moved on to regionals in IL where he finished his Lorretta career for the year. For now he will focus on his 65 for next years races. He will be cheering loud for his little brother and be helping him train for his big event over the next couple weeks.

With the help of sponsors such as Hoyer Construction, Storm Racing, Al & Janet Dorn AKA Nana & Papa, Aunt Rachael & Uncle Tim Feekes, Ahrendt Designs, Paul & Becky Beirne Family, Falcon Plastics, Deanna Hoyer AKA Granny Dee, Hoyer Farms, Spearfish Canyon Fireplace and Spa, Jami and Jen Jensen and Lance Anderson who help pay his way to the races, Hoyer has had the opportunity to pursue his dreams. He has won 19 races in the last 2 years and competes nearly every weekend at local tracks such as Fiddler Creek in Homer NE, SVCC in Renner SD, Spring Creek in Millville MN, Dirty Dozen MX in Kellogg MN, MotoCity Raceway in Little Falls MN, 4GMX winter series in Rapid City SD or “in AMA local to national races across the country”.

Hoyer will make the long journey to Hurricane Mills, Tennessee along with his mom and dad/mechanic Clark and Jess Hoyer two sisters Jennilee and Jayda, big brother Callyn Hoyer and grandma Dee Hoyer. In the meantime, Hoyer will have many family members and friends cheering him on from back home in SD. The race runs July 31^st-Aug 5th, 2017. Hoyer and his family will be camping onsite for the week-long event, and will participate in many non-racing evening activities.

Hoyer is just one of the over 22,000 racers across the country who spent the last four months qualifying for the event. The top finishers in Area Qualifiers and Regional Championships earn a gate position in the National Championship race at Loretta Lynn’s. Racers may enter a wide variety of classes, from minicycle classes for children as young as four, all the way up to a senior division for riders over 50. There are also classes for women and classes for both stock and modified machines. In total, there are 38 different classes of competition. Hoyer will compete in the highly competitive 50cc Limited 4-6 class.

The track is built on a section of Loretta Lynn Ranch and Campground in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee. The course contains a variety of jumps, corners and other obstacles designed to test the skills and stamina of the racers. The motocross track is used only once a year for motorcycles, so there is no hometown advantage. Racers compete in three 15-20 minute races over the course of the week per class, sometimes in grueling temperatures. Proper training and preparation are paramount.

Most riders attend the event with the help of their families. In fact, many consider the event their family’s summer trip, nicknaming it the “World’s Greatest Motocross Vacation.” Besides the races, the week-long event hosts many family-friendly activities, including swimming, talent show, concerts, and live entertainment.

The race action will be broadcast live daily at www.RacerTV.com, July 31^st-Aug 5th, for a total of 40 hours of live coverage. In addition, two highlight shows featuring the event will air on NBC Sports Network in the fall.

For additional information on the Amateur National, visit the official website at www.mxsports.com or call (304) 284-0101. Also, follow the official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts for exclusive content and to catch the latest news.

About the Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship

The Rocky Mountain ATV/MC AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship is the world’s largest and most prestigious amateur motocross racing program. The national qualifying program consists of 59 Area Qualifiers (February through May) and 13 Regional Championships (May through June), hosted at select motocross facilities across the country. The qualifying system culminates in the National Final (first week in August) hosted annually since 1982 at the home of country music star Loretta Lynn in Hurricane Mills, Tenn. Nearly 22,000 racers attempt to qualify in 38 classes for the 1,482 available positions at the National. Christened “The World’s Greatest Motocross Vacation”, the National event serves as a launch pad for some of the biggest names in professional motocross and supercross, including Ricky Carmichael, James Stewart, Ryan Villopoto, and Ryan Dungey. The national program is produced by MX Sports, Inc., a West Virginia-based race production company and is sanctioned by the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA). For more information, please visit www.mxsports.com.

-MXS-

Dell Rapids School Board Swears in New Member

July 12, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

During the Dell Rapids School Board regular meeting, Jeffrey Traill took his oath of office on Monday, July 10th. Traill was elected to a three-year term in April. He will take over the seat vacated by Tom Morris.

With Traill joining the school board, new officers were selected. Matt Weiland was voted the new president. Troy Randall will serve as vice president. Weiland will also serve as the Prairie Lakes Educational Cooperative Board of Directors representative with Jody Schumaker serving as the alternate. Schumaker will be the ASBSD voting delegate with Steve Stofferahn the alternate.

Each of the school board members were voted to different committees. Stofferahn and Schumaker will be on the Technology Planning and Wellness/Insurance committees. Stofferahn and Traill will head the Facilities committee. Weiland and Randall are on the Transportation and Negotiations/Personnel committees. Randall and Traill will be on the Budget/Finance committee. Weiland and Schumaker will head the Curriculum committee, and Schumaker and Traill will be on the Policy committee.

Bathhouse in Dell Rapids Could See Updates

July 7, 2017 by Matt Larson, Big Sioux Media

Could the Gina Smith Campbell Bathhouse at City Park in Dell Rapids see preserving and restoring updates? It could according to Dell Rapids Mayor Tom Earley.

Mayor Earley gave an update to the Dell Rapids City Council during their regular meeting on Monday, July 3rd, about a meeting he had with South Dakota Governor Dennis Daugaard and Linda Daugaard. The Daugaards and Mayor Earley met earlier in the day on July 3rd. It was indicated to Mayor Earley that the Duagaards have some interest in providing support to preserve and/or partially restore the bathhouse. Some of the ideas that were reported to the council were to put together a working group to assess the building and provide some basic options that could make the facility usable again. To help on costs of a project like this, the hope is that some of the people in the working group might be able to donate materials and do in-kind-service work on the building. Funding for some of this type of work could come money provided by the city, monetary or work-in-kind donations from interested community members, and potentially a matching donation by Governor Daugaard. The facility should also be eligible for grant dollars given out by the Deadwood Historic Preservation Commission’s Outside of Deadwood Grant Program. Application deadlines for those grant dollars are January 2nd, 2018, and June 2nd, 2018.

The Gina Smith Campbell Bathhouse was dedicated on July 4th, 1934 after being built by the Dell Rapids Park Board and the Dell Rapids City Council in coordination with the Civil Works Administration. The bathhouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on January 10th, 1986.

The ideas of projects to restore and preserve the bathhouse are in the very early stages of talks. However, there does seem to be interest in making the bathhouse usable again.

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