The Dells Nursing and Rehab Center’s annual Easter Egg hunt was a great success on Saturday, April 4th. The event got underway at
11:00 a.m. and was held for children ages eight and under. The Easter Egg hunt was divided into different age groups, and each age group had a golden Easter Egg winner. Children attending were also able to get a picture with the Easter Bunny and have their face painted.
St Mary Student Council Recognized as an “Outstanding Student Council” by SDHSAA
The South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) announced today that 25 South Dakota high school student councils have been recognized as being “Outstanding Student Councils” for the 2014-15 school year. This is the 25th year this statewide program has been sponsored by the SDHSAA to recognize those South Dakota high school student councils that meet or exceed the rigorous standards of excellence that are necessary to achieve the “Outstanding Student Council” designation. Student councils that achieve this recognition can best be described as being very active within their school and community throughout the school year. Outstanding Councils excel in having a well-rounded program of activities and projects which benefit both their school and their community throughout the school year.
The “SDHSAA Outstanding Student Council” program requires each participating student council to complete a self-evaluation of their organizational structure and their successful completion of projects in a variety of areas. The evaluation also considers the involvement of the student council in their school and community. James Weaver, SDHSAA Assistant Executive Director, stated “The High School Activities Association recognizes the student councils that have met the stringent standards and criteria demanded by this program. The 25 student councils that have been recognized this year are well organized, highly motivated and have met the rigorous standards necessary to be declared outstanding. The self-evaluation focuses on the structure of the student council as well as the positive involvement of the student council in the activities of their school and community.”
To be recognized as an “Outstanding Student Council”, each council was involved in projects in the areas such as “Community and School Service”, “Health, Safety or Chemical Awareness”, “Education”, and “Leadership”. Completion of projects in a wide range of areas was necessary to fulfill a variety of goals for the student council. Each school receiving the “SDHSAA Outstanding Student Council” award has demonstrated a desire for self-improvement and individual growth by participating in leadership workshops and conventions, as well as other educational programs.
The 2014-15 “SDHSAA Outstanding Student Council” Award recipients are:
- Aberdeen Central High School
Advisor: Kevin Rook - Custer High School
Advisor: Jean Diedtrich - Dakota Valley High School
Advisor: James Schmit - Dell Rapids St. Mary High School
Advisor: Joni Smith and Cami Bacon - Edgemont High School
Advisor: Scott Corbett - Faith High School
Advisor: Deanna Fischbach - Harrisburg High School
Advisor: Michael Amolins - Huron High School
Advisor: Becca Briggs - Irene-Wakonda High School
Advisor: Landra Knodel - Lemmon High School
Advisor: Linda O’Donnell - Lennox High School
Advisor: Mary Stack - Lyman High School
Advisor: Carol Birgen - McCook Central High School
Advisor: Tracy Chase - Mitchell High School
Advisor: Nancy Leach - Pierre T. F. Riggs High School
Advisor: Brittany Green - Rapid City Central High School
Advisor: Cassie Furchner - Rapid City Stevens High School
Advisor: Courtney Pool - Sioux Falls Lincoln High School
Advisor: Jennifer DuBois - Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School
Advisor: Michele Jensen - Sioux Falls Washington High School
Advisors: Sandy Hoff & Kristy VanMeerteren - Sully Buttes High School
Advisor: Wanda Meyer - Summit High School
Advisor: Nichole Hoffman - Vermillion High School
Advisor: Paige Chapman - Wall High School
Advisor: Ronda Wilson - Yankton High School
Advisor: Becky Tasa
Dell Rapids Student Wins South Dakota Junior Duck Stamp Contest
SPEARFISH – Judges spent four hours Sunday, March 29th, viewing hundreds of pieces of artwork to find the South Dakota Junior Duck Stamp Contest Best of Show for 2015. Students from across the state entered the contest for a total of 489 entries.
This year’s top winner for the state of South Dakota is Brittnay Welbig, an eighteen year-old student from Dell Rapids. Welbig’s depiction of a Red-breasted Merganser caught the eye of the judges. Welbig used acrylic paint on her piece titled “Morning Merganser.” Her painting will now go on to Washington D.C. to be judged against 52 other Best of Shows in the National Contest. The winning submission from the national contest will be used to create a Federal Junior Duck Stamp the following year, which is sold for $5 a stamp. Proceeds go to continuing the program.
Contest participants also had the option to write a conservation message explaining why wetland conservation is important. A Spearfish Classical Christian School student, Jessica Hanson, age 15, won the Conservation Message award with the message “Ducks help us to stay calm and are peaceful to our nation. And their colors make the world smile.”
35 other South Dakota student artists placed in the competition, and 64 more received Honorable Mentions for their art. The top 36 winners will receive art and conservation related prizes and recognition for their outstanding art.
The South Dakota Junior Duck Stamp Contest is an annual U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service program designed to teach students about the importance of wetlands and waterfowl conservation through art. It is open to students kindergarten through high school and is a free contest. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Booth Society, the Friends Group of the D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery & Archives in Spearfish, sponsor the South Dakota contest.
More information about the contest, a complete list of winners, and pictures of the winning artwork can be found at sdjuniorduck.org
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Contact:
April Gregory
SD Junior Duck Stamp Coordinator
(605) 642-7730 ext. 221
april@dcboothfishhatchery.org
Dell Rapids Resident to be Palm Sunday Guest Soloist
In Yankton — a Palm Sunday tradition and gift to the community this Sunday will be the United Church of Christ Adult Choir as it presents Mark Hayes’ new “Requiem.”
The large choir, under the direction of Jennifer Powell, will be accompanied by a chamber ensemble, organ and piano. Guest baritone soloist is Dr. Wayne Mitchell of Dell Rapids. Originally from the Midwest, he has taught at Westmar College, Dort College in Sioux Center Iowa, Bethany College in Kansas, Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, has been guest soloist with the Sioux City Symphony, and other appearances.
The concert will begin at 3 p.m. on March 29th and the public is cordially invited to attend. Please join us at the reception following the concert in the church parlors. The United Church of Christ (Congregational) is located at 210 W. Fifth Street and Walnut in Yankton.
City Council Election to be Held April 14
The Dell Rapids City Council will fill four open spots in 2015. Each ward has one open seat on the council. Ward elections will be held on Tuesday, April 14th, at the Lutheran Church. Residents must be registered to vote no later than Monday, March 30th. Absentee ballots can be cast starting on Monday, March 30th. Those ballots can be picked up and submitted at City Hall.
Click here to determine what ward you are located.
Ward 1 Candidates:
- David Sommerfeld – Incumbent
- Doug Geraets
- Mike Carpenter
Ward 2 Candidates:
- Paul Miles – Incumbent
- James Rueckert
Ward 3 Candidates
- Jeff Schwebach
- Mike Sterud
Ward 4 Candidates:
- Chad Andrews – Incumbent
- James Borchert
- Mary Klockman
Dell Rapids Student to Tour with Northwestern Choir
ORANGE CITY, Iowa—Jordan Stone, a student at Northwestern College in Orange City, Iowa, is a member of the college’s A cappella Choir and will perform in churches and schools in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota March 26–29.
The three-part concert will begin with sacred selections, including a powerful setting of “Amazing Grace.” The choir will also perform settings from the Psalms and “Prayer,” which was written from a prayer by Mother Teresa.
Section two of the concert will feature virtuosic choral works, including the women performing “Eatnemen Vuelie,” a Norwegian tune from the soundtrack for the Disney movie “Frozen,” and “Blue Tail Fly,” which the men will perform. “Hee-oo-hm-ha” will feature a tenor yodeler, and “Bohemian Highway” is a musical “duel” between the alto section and the rest of the ensemble.
The concert will conclude with a selection of spirituals and gospel music as well as the choir’s traditional final hymn, “Beautiful Savior.”
Stone is a freshman and is majoring in religion at Northwestern College. She sings soprano in the choir. Stone is the daughter of Dane and Jody Stone of Dell Rapids.
The 43-member A cappella Choir is directed by Dr. Thomas Holm, professor of music at Northwestern and conductor of the Sioux County Oratorio Chorus. The ensemble has performed across the U.S. and in Europe.
Northwestern College is a Christian college of more than 1,200 students in Orange City, Iowa. Rated the nation’s eighth-best baccalaureate college by Washington Monthly and a top-10 Midwestern college by U.S. News & World Report magazine, Northwestern provides an education committed to academic rigor and a Christ-centered worldview.
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by Tamara Fynaardt, fynaardt@nwciowa.edu, 712-707-7115
Chamber of Commerce Hands out Awards at Annual Banquet
![L to R: Mike Park (T&C), Matt Larson (Big Sioux Media), Loren Fjellanger Photo courtesy of Holly Davidson](https://bigsiouxmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/ChamberBanquet2015-2-300x199.jpg)
L to R: Mike Park (T&C), Matt Larson (Big Sioux Media), Loren Fjellanger
Photo courtesy of Holly Davidson
The Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce held their Annual Banquet on Saturday, March 7th, at the Grand Opera House. During the banquet, the Chamber of Commerce handed out three awards. Mike Park and the Park family, owners of T&C and The Other Place, received the 2014 Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award. Big Sioux Media was given the 2014 Community Spirit Award. Loren Fjellanger was awarded the 2014 Volunteer of the Year.
After the awards were handed out, attendees were treated to keynote speaker Lisa Brouwer. Brouwer spoke about having a wild imagination for your business, and dreaming big. Brouwer also spoke of her upcoming Inspired Tour in which she’ll be riding a motorcycle from New York to San Francisco. More information about The Inspired Tour can be found on their website, http://www.theinspiredtour.com/.
Dells Nursing and Rehab Senior Prom
The Dells Nursing and Rehab Center held a “Senior Prom” for their residents on Sunday, February 22nd. The event was held from 2:00 – 4:oo p.m. Champagne and appetizers were served, and there was also a crowning of the 2015 Sweethearts.
Decorations, corsages, dresses, jackets, and many other items were donated to make the event a success. Kerri Deats helped the residents with hair for the event. Shane Skinner provided the music. The 2015 Sweethearts crowned were Arnold and Nita Heinemann.
Maranda Koernke, Activity Director at Dell Rapids Nursing and Rehab Center, said, “Thank you to our wonderful team and families at DNRC for your hard work and dedication to making everyday special for our residents.”
More pictures from the event can be found on their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/DellsNursingAndRehabCenter.
St Mary 6th Grader Qualifies for State Spelling Bee Competition
Dell Rapids St Mary school sent three students to The Scripps Spelling Bee regional competition for the very first time on February 28th. The regional competition was held at Augustana College. The three students that participated were 4th-grader Gabe Nelson, 5th-grader Seth Roemen, and 6th-grader Ella Heinitz.
There were two parts to the regional competition. First approximately 45 contestants from grades four through eight were asked to write their responses to 50 pronounced words. 90% of the pronounced words came from the lists studied by participants before the competition. The remaining 10% of the words were of greater difficulty and were found from different sources. 22 contestants with the highest written scores continued to the second round, the oral spelling portion of the contest.
Heinitz was the 20th name announced to participate in the oral competition. Heinitz spelled the words guffaw, flambé, grandeur, harbinger, chintzy, domicile, tautology, and herbivore correctly through nine rounds. In the 10th round, she incorrectly spelled the word kitsch. However, Heinitz advanced far enough into the competition to finish in second place, qualifying her for the state competition which will be held at the University of South Dakota on March 21st.
Senior Art Majors to Display Work in Northwestern College Gallery
ORANGE CITY, Iowa—Two senior art/graphic design majors at Northwestern College will display their work March 16–20 in the college’s Te Paske Gallery. “Something Beautiful,” an exhibit by Megan Timmer and Karen Ettleman, will include a public reception Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m.
Flowers are the subject of Timmer’s oil paintings and monotype and collagraph prints. “Each flower is different and unique from each other, yet each one is beautiful,” she says. “This relates to how each one of us is unique, but God created each one of us beautiful in his eyes.”
Timmer is the daughter of Rick and Julie Timmer of Dell Rapids, S.D. Following graduation this May, she plans to work as a graphic designer.
Ettleman’s artwork will include prints, oil paintings on canvas, mixed media, charcoal drawings and ceramics. Several of her pieces will feature horses. “From a very young age, I loved horses and was always drawing them,” she says. “I think they are a wonderful example of one of God’s beautiful creations, and they’re often referred to in the Bible.”
Ettleman will work in Orange City after graduation while her husband, Levi, finishes college and his last football season at NWC. In addition to her art/graphic design major, she has a minor in business and a coaching endorsement. She is the daughter of Kelly and Fran Hutson of Logan, Iowa.
Northwestern’s Te Paske Gallery is located in the Thea G. Korver Visual Arts Center, on Highway 10 at 214 8th Street SW in Orange City. Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to midnight Sunday.
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by Anita Cirulis, acirulis@nwciowa.edu , 712-707-7369