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Dells Theatre Holds Ribbon Cutting

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Photo taken by Noah Larson

The new owner of the Dells Theatre, along with the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Saturday, February 6th.  Brian Anderson, a former employee of Logan Luxary Theatres Corporation, celebrated his new ownership with the ribbon cutting prior to an afternoon of movies.

Anderson’s plans for the future include expanding the concession menu, and he also brought back the Bargain Tuesdays.  He will continue to offer first run movies at lower prices than the Sioux Falls theaters and will continue bargain matinees on weekends when all ages are only $5.00 for shows starting before 6:00. Anderson will continue the theatre’s Rewards program and honor the annual popcorn buckets. Other new promotions will be announced in the future.

Current hours of the theater are Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Tuesdays for evening showings.  Afternoon matinees will be held every Saturday and Sunday.  Showtimes will vary depending on the running time of the current movie.

Moves and times will be posted each week on their Facebook page as well as their website, www.dellstheatre.com (which is currently under construction).  The theater opens 30 minutes before the first show of the day.  The box office will close 15 minutes after the start of the last show of the day.

Prices are $7.00 for ages 13 and older and $5.00 for ages 12 and younger.  Bargain matinee price is just $5.00 for all ages and showings starting before 6:00 p.m.

Final Sales Tax Numbers Show 10% Increase in 2020 for Dell Rapids

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The Dell Rapids City Council heard the final 2020 sales tax numbers during their regular meeting on Monday, February 1st.  The December 2020 numbers were 22% higher than December 2019.

Total sales tax collected in December was $120,207.00.  With that number, every month but February and March saw over $100,000 in sales tax revenues for the city.

“Just taking into factor the affect the pandemic had and how it was kind of the opposite affect that was expected when we first got into the thing,” said City Administrator Justin Weiland.

The total sales tax revenue for Dell Rapids in 2020 was $1,362,405.82.  That is a 10.1% increase from 2019, which had $1,237,139.75 in total sales tax revenue.

Sales tax revenue was not the only increase the city of Dell Rapids saw.  Alcohol sales were up 20% from 2019.

Five St Mary Seniors Sign to Play College Sports

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For a smaller class B sized school, having one or two student-athletes move on to play college athletics is a celebrated accomplishment.  Dell Rapids St Mary will have at least five athletes participate in college athletics from the 2021 graduating class.  This is the most for St Mary from one class since 2004, which had nine athletes play college sports.

St Mary Athletic Director Casey Michel said, “It’s great to see our kids continuing their athletic careers at the next level. This class, and these five in particular, have spent a lot of time and effort getting themselves to this point, and it’s great to see them rewarded for their dedication. Since I’ve been at St. Mary, we’ve had three total students pursuing college athletics, so to have five from one class is pretty special and has been great to be a part of.  I know these five will represent St. Mary well!

Ella Heinitz, Max Herber, Connor Libis, Sam Palmer, and Ashaun Roach-Valandra all held a signing ceremony at Dell Rapids St Mary High School on Wednesday, February 3rd.

Heinitz will be attending Augustanta University and will be running track.  Palmer and Herber both signed with Mount Marty to play basketball.  Libis will be playing basketball at Briar Cliff.  Roach-Valandra signed to play football at the University of Sioux Falls.

Photo taken and used with permission by Lee Palmer

Staff and Student Recognized at Dell Rapids

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Four staff members and a student at Dell Rapids High School were recently recognized in different areas.

Two coaches were honored by the South Dakota Football Coaches Association for their 30 years of coaching.  Those coaches were Coach Craig Jorgensen and Coach Dane Stone.

Dell Rapids High School Principal Mr. Drew Bunkers received a Southeast Area Principal Pyramid Award for Communicator and Optimist.  Dell Rapids Middle School Principal Mr. Fran Ruesink was recognized by the South Dakota Association of Secondary School Principals as their Region 2 Middle School Principal of the Year.

The Region V FCCLA meeting was hosted by the Dell Rapids chapter recently, and Rylee Rinehart, who ran for region office, was elected as region president for the coming year. She will be installed as one of the state officers at the state conference in April.

Dell Rapids Water/Sewer Bill Could Increase

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The water/sewer bill in Dell Rapids looks to be heading for an increase in the near future.  The Dell Rapids City Council, during the last regular meeting on Tuesday, January 19th, approved the first readings of Ordinances 890, 891, and 892 which are related to surcharges and rate adjustments to cover costs for the 6th Street Water Project that is planned to being this spring.

Ordinance 890 is a Waste Water Surcharge.  This ordinance will implement a surcharge of $5.85 per customer.

Ordinance 891 is a Waste Water Rate Adjustment.  This ordinance will change the base rate charge as well as the per 1,000 gallon rate.  Currently the base rate is $16.90, and this ordinance will lower that base rate to $16.00.  The current per 1,000 gallon rate is $5.78.  The ordinance will lower that rate to $4.82.

For an average 5,000 gallon user, the cost would change from the current $61.60 to $61.75, a 0.2% increase.  These values include the base rate, per 1,000 gallon rate, and existing and new surcharges.

Ordinance 892 will be implementing a $2.70 per customer to fund the drinking. water bond for the 6th Street project.

With the three new proposed ordinances and the water and sewer rates  are added together, for an average 5,000 gallon user, the current cost of $103.80 will increase to $106.65, which is an increase of 2.7%.

“I think it’s important to let our citizens know that we appreciate their support in the fact that through paying their water and sewer bills, they are making it possible for us to do these improvements,” said Dell Rapids Mayor Tom Earley.

The second reading of the ordinances will be held on the first council meeting in February on Monday, February 1st.  If the ordinances pass the second reading, they will take effect on April 20th, and customers will see it on their May 1st bill.  The new charges would be assessed for water/sewer usage for March 20th through April 20th.

Dells Theater Sold to Employee

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The Dells Theatre in Dell Rapids has been sold to an employee of the theatre. In a joint announcement, Logan Luxury Theatres Corporation said it has sold the theatre to Brian Anderson, of Dell Rapids, who has been a long time employee of the company. Final papers will be signed, and Anderson will take over operation of the area landmark on February 1.

Anderson said, “My wife and I are thrilled to purchase the theatre and continue bringing Dell Rapids and the Sioux Falls area new movies in a classic theatre with state of the art projection and sound. We want to continue the friendly, hometown feel of the theatre.”

Their plans for the future include expanding the concession menu. Anderson will bring back Bargain Tuesdays immediately beginning February 5. Currently the theatre is operating on weekends only, but Anderson hopes to return to 7-day-a-week operation as soon as the pandemic is over. He will continue to offer first run movies at lower prices than the Sioux Falls theatres. Anderson will continue bargain matinees on weekends when all ages are only $5 for shows starting before 6:00. Anderson will continue the theatre’s Rewards program and honor the annual popcorn buckets. Other new promotions will be announced in the future.

Anderson has an extensive show business background having been a child actor in TV shows such as “Saved by the Bell: the College Years” and “Full House” before his family moved to South Dakota. He and his wife met while working at the Century Stadium Theatre in Sioux Falls. He later went to work for Logan Luxury Theatres at their Luxury 5 Cinemas in Mitchell while attending Mitchell Technical College.   He has worked for the past 10 years as a Relief Manager at the Dells Theatre while working fulltime in the IT Department of Sanford Health. He will continue at Sanford while operating the theatre. Anderson will retain theatre’s staff.

Jeff Logan, president of Logan Luxury Theatres headquartered in Mitchell, said, “We are confident Brian will maintain this beautiful building and operation to the highest standards. We love the Dell Rapids community and want to thank everyone for their tremendous support over the past 22 years. The theatre is an art deco treasure that has been a labor of love for us. Brian lives in Dells Rapids and will be able to work even closer with the community to serve it better.”

The Dells Theatre attracts a large audience from Sioux Falls and a wide radius to its unique architecture, prices and service. It was built in 1938 having been designed by noted theatre architect Perry Crosier of Minneapolis.

Logan said, “It was a beautiful building that was like walking into a time machine to the glory days of Hollywood. In our restoration we tried to enhance the original décor with the thought, how would Crosier have designed this building if he had a larger budget and the theatre was to be located in a suburb of a larger city such as Minneapolis or Chicago.”

Logan updated all the projection and technical aspects of the theatre, enlarged the lobby and installed new seats and a concession stand. He brought in decorative moldings from Chicago theatres of the same vintage and period signage removed from his theatres in Mitchell and Huron.

The theatre has gained national attention being featured on Small Business Saturday on NBC–TV’s “The Today Show” and hosting the Midwestern premieres and stars of “Walt Before Mickey”, the live action version of “The Little Mermaid”, and “He Leadeth Me.” The theatre also hosted the Library of Congress film festival for South Dakota in 2000 that included an appearance by James Earl Jones.

Logan Luxury Theatres will continue to operate its Luxury 5 Cinemas and Starlite Drive-in Theatres in Mitchell and the Huron Luxury Theatres in Huron. The company was founded in 1933.

Building Permit Valuations up in 2020 for Dell Rapids

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The final numbers for building permits in 2020 for the City of Dell Rapids were presented to the Dell Rapids City Council during their last regular meeting.  The numbers for 2020 surpassed the numbers from 2019.

The total valuation for 2020 was $7,238,823.  That was a big increase from 2019, which saw a valuation of just over $4 million.  There were 10 new homes built in 2020, one new four-plex, and one new two-plex.  There were 12 new homes built in 2019 and 17 new homes in 2018.

Dell Rapids did not have any large scale commercial projects in 2020, but the Dell Rapids public school had over $2.5 million improvements done to the inside of the building.

“We’re looking good going into 2021.  In the last year there was the acquisition of property north of 15th street, so you know we’ve got future residential multi-family and single-family homes that will be slated for building in the future,” said City Administrator Justin Weiland during the council meeting.

St Mary Celebrating Homecoming This Week

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After having school shut down during the original homecoming week in October, Dell Rapids St Mary is making sure students still get to have a homecoming in the 2020-2021 school year.

The Cardinals are having their homecoming celebration this week, January 11th – 15th.  The festivities started with coronation on Sunday, January 10th.  Thomas Eining was crowned the Homecoming King and Macie Brown was named Homecoming Queen.

The homecoming games this week include girls basketball Monday, boys basketball and wrestling on Tuesday, girls basketball at home on Thursday, and boys basketball at home on Friday.

Dell Rapids Chamber Hosting 2nd Annual “Battle of the Buns”

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The Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce is hosting the 2nd Annual “Battle of the Buns” throughout the month of January.  All four businesses that participated in the event last year, Pinz, Papa’s, Norby’s, and County Fair, are participating again this year with new menu items to determine the 2021 Best Burger in Dells!

Everyone is invited to purchase the battle burgers from the four locations, complete a ballot, and return it to one of the four locations.  A ballot will be given for every burger purchase, meaning multiple votes are possible.

The Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce will hold a weekly drawing from the returned ballots.  Chances to win can be doubled by sharing photos of the battle burgers on the chamber’s Facebook page or emailing them to office@ dellrapidschamber.com.

The contest will be held throughout the entire month of January, and the winner of the “Battle of the Buns” will be announced at the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet that will be held on February 21st.  Gronli Cabinetry will be sponsoring the award with a personalized cutting board.

The 2021 burger lineup:

PINZ offers the Cheez-Fection, a 1/2 pound 100% all beef patty, seasoned and grilled to perfection. Layered with Swiss, American, & Cheddar Cheese. This cheesy delight becomes complete by being served on a toasted pretzel bun, deluxe style with PINZ new secret sauce. This burger is sheer Cheez-Fection. Served with fries for $10.50

Papa’s Pub & Eatery offers the Papa’s Italiano, which features Papa’s 1/2 pound patty with one of their fried house-made mozzarella medallions and a house-made Rosa sauce. Served with fries for $10

Norby’s offers the Zesty Mexy De Gallo, a 1/3 lb beef – spiced up with their special seasoning, Mexican cheese & jalapeno – pattied to perfection. Served on toasted brioche bun with Norby’s special sauce & salsa! Served with Spicy Fries for $8.99

County Fair Grocery & Deli offers the Bodacious Bacon PB&J, this hamburger patty features peppered bacon, special seasoning, peanut butter and grape jelly all on a burger bun! Served with cheese balls and drink for $7.77

Christmas for Our Kids Say Thank You

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Please accept our sincere “Thank You”on behalf of “OUR” kids and their families for your generous support this Christmas. Your help for families came in the form of child or family adoptions, cash donations, toys, clothing, homemade pillowcases, and gift cards – all representing your love for others in our community. We found a thankful home for each gift donated and used the financial contributions to buy toys and gift cards. You opened your hearts to spread Christmas joy to families currently experiencing difficult times. Thank you so very much!!!

Because of your generosity, “Christmas for Our Kids” was able to sponsor 51 local families with 130 children this Christmas.  You helped to ensure that all the children of Dell Rapids had a Merry Christmas.

Thank you on behalf of  “OUR” kids and their families for your contributions to our 2020 Christmas drive. You have made the “Dell Rapids” difference!

Here are a few excerpts from the many thank you notes sent by the families we helped:

  • “Thank you so much for helping makeour holiday even more special!”
  • “Thank you so much for your support of our family and all the love and hope you provide to our community.”
  • “Thank you so very much!”
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