Big Sioux Media Sports Network

Your first stop for southeast South Dakota sports!

  • Sioux Falls Specialty Hospital Advertisement
    New Hope Chiropractic Advertisement
    Adam Jones Plumbing
    Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce Banner Advertisement
    Riverside Advertisement
    White Insurance
    Absolute Business Promotions
    Crickets Catering Top Banner Advertisement

City of Dell Rapids Sets Sales Tax Income Record

by

Even though the 2020 year has yet to come to an end, the city of Dell Rapids has already set a record for sales tax revenue during the year.  The latest sales tax revenue figures through the end of November were reported at the Dell Rapids City Council’s regular meeting on Monday, December 21st.

“We had a little dip in November, not too bad though,” said Justin Weiland.  The month of November showed a sales tax revenue of just under $105,000, which is down 2.74% compared to November 2019.  However, the total for 2020 is just over $1.24 million which is still up 9.1% when compared to the same time frame in 2019.

“Hopefully December’s comes in strong, and we can be between 8-10% category for the year increase which is far in excess of the 30% loss we were talking about when COVID hit.  The state was telling us to prepare for,” added Weiland.

The total of $1,242,135.82 collected so far in 2020 already surpasses the total collected for all of 2019 and is the highest amount ever collected in Dell Rapids.

Dell Rapids Elementary Receives Strider Bikes

by

The Dell Rapids Elementary School received an early Christmas gift on Friday, December 18th.  The Strider Bikes Education Team delivered 22 bikes to the elementary school after Dell Rapids Elementary was chosen to receive bikes from the All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Program.

The delivery of bikes and helmets will allow the kindergarten and kindergarten prep classes to work with the PE teacher, Shannon Tjaden, to learn how to ride a bike during PE class starting in the spring.  The mission of the All Kids Bike is to teach every child in America how to ride a bike during kindergarten physical education classes.  The All Kids Bike program also provides a curriculum that can be used which focuses on the entire class learning to ride and progress through their skills together.

Craig Jorgensen and his students at the high school also helped build a bike rack for the bikes and helmets when they are not in use.

More information about the All Kids Bike program can be found on their website at www.allkidsbike.org.

Local Student Named South Dakota Educators Rising State President

by

A local Dell Rapids High School senior was recently named the 2020-2021 South Dakota Educators Rising state president.  Lucas Berg will serve as the South Dakota chapter president for the next year.

The state officer team is expected to plan and run the state conference.  They will also have the opportunity to greet and welcome chapters to the learning expo events as well as take part in training opportunities.

Educators Rising is a national network that provides passionate young people with opportunities to experience teaching, sustain their interest in the education profession, and help them cultivate their skills they need to be successful educators.  While students are in high school, Educators Rising supports curricular programs where students explore the teaching profession and gain hands-on teaching experience.  In college, the program supports campus-based student groups that promote the development of aspiring teachers.

The South Dakota Educators Rising chapter is in their third year of existence and has 17 schools from around the state participating.  Those schools are De Smet, West Central, Madison, Harrisburg, Brandon Valley, Mobridge-Pollock, Tea Area, Brookings, Rapid City, Dell Rapids, Beresford, Yankton, Timber Lake, Milbank, Lakota Tech, Sioux Valley, and Aberdeen.

https://www.edrisingsd.org/

Dell Rapids Mask Mandate Ordinance Receives No Motion after First Reading

by

The Dell Rapids City Council held a first reading of a new mask mandate ordinance during their regular meeting on Monday, December 5th.  The ordinance died due to a lack of motion.

City Administrator Justin Weiland said, “The city had been approached by many members of the community, businesses, as well as council members that thought we needed to have this discussion this evening,” in his opening remarks on the ordinance discussion.  He also noted that the suggested ordinance did not have an enforcement attached to it and was very similar to the mandate Sioux Falls passed.

“Overall I think the people in this community are smart enough to social distance the best they can.  They have a choice to go into a business that is enforcing the rules or not enforcing the rules.  You have a choice to not go into a business if you don’t like the way the are running it.  I just look at this as dividing our community,” said councilman Mark Crisp.  He also said, “The educational part of this, Justin that you have recommended, that’s what I believe we need to do more of.  We get more things done in this community when working together.”

Councilman Chad Ronshaugen said, “In general I’m not for putting in laws that are not enforceable.  That’s a really tough thing for me.  I’ve thought a lot about this as well, and I’ve viewed it more as an act of leadership, along the lines of the education to say that as leaders of our community, here’s the best practice and here’s how we would lay it out.”

After a discussion among the council members, the topic was open for public input.  Dan Ahlers, President of the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce, shared information on a recent survey the chamber conducted about the mask ordinance that indicated 72% of those who responded to the survey would be in favor of the mask ordinance along with the Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce.  Several community members spoke in opposition of the ordinance, however, a few of those opposed to the ordinance were in favor of the council supporting more educational options.

The council members took no action on the ordinance after hearing the public’s input on the matter.

The full video archive of the meeting can be found in the embedded page, along with full meeting minutes.

Senior Dining Meal Tickets Changing

by

Senior dining meal tickets in Dell Rapids will be changing at the start of the new year.

Beginning on January 1st, 2021, the tickets will no longer be sold on Tuesdays at the Senior Center in Dell Rapids.  The meal tickets will now be sold at County Fair Foods in Dell Rapids on Tuesdays from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Any questions about buying meal tickets or the program in general, please call Rebecca Behnke, Nutrition Director, at 605-333-3304.

Dells Elves Event Changing Due to Covid

by

The annual Dells Elves fundraising event for “Christmas for our Kids” is changing due to the covid pandemic.  Serena Campbell, president of the Dells Elves, posted on Facebook that the annual event will be moving to a virtual event.  The fundraiser was originally scheduled to be held on Saturday, December 5th, at Norby’s in downtown Dell Rapids.

In the Facebook post, Campbell said, “After careful consideration and talking with a few patrons that attend our event, we have decided to change our event to a virtual event.”

The plan is to now have the virtual event go live on Saturday, December 5th and run it for a week with the final bidding day on Saturday, December 12th.  They will continue to sell squares for the “Weekend in the Hills” package until they are all purchased.  The gun raffle will also be held at a later date when all the tickets are sold.

The group will share more details about the changes when they have them.

Link to Facebook announcement

SDHSAA Moving Forward with Winter Sports as Planned

by

The South Dakota High School Activities Association (SDHSAA) held a special meeting on Tuesday, November 23rd to discuss the potential of changing the start of the winter sports season along with a couple of other items.

After hearing from athletic directors across the state on both sides of the issue for changing the start of winter sports, the SDHSAA Board of Directors did not make a motion to change the date.  The winter sports season for basketball, wrestling, and gymnastics will continue to move forward as planned and on time as suggested by the winter sports committee.

The board of directors did make a motion and passed two recommendations in regard to the winter sports season.  The SDHSAA high recommends masks be worn by spectators that are allowed into the events, and they also recommend schools put a limit on attendance of the events.  The schools will make the decision as to what the limit will be based on their venue capacity and the ability to social distance.

The new recommendations made by the SDHSAA during the special meeting will not have major impact to Dell Rapids or Dell Rapids St Mary schools.  Both schools had implemented a masking policy and had also limited attendance by the end of the falls sports season.  Those policies will continue to be in place at the start of the winter season.

Jen Lloyd Recognized for “Global Power 150 Women in Staffing”

by

Jen Lloyd, Vice President of Operations at Wapiti Medical Staffing in Milbank, has been named to Staffing Industry Analysts’ (SIA) annual list of Global Power 150 – Women in Staffing. This list recognizes women for their excellence as leaders and influencers in the global talent marketplace. In addition to being featured as one of the 150 most influential women leaders in staffing globally, Lloyd is also featured on SIA’s Americas 100 list.

In its profile of Lloyd, SIA notes, “A 20-year veteran in the healthcare industry, Jen Lloyd is VP of Operations at Wapiti Medical Staffing. Lloyd joined Wapiti in 2018 as Region Operations Director and acquired her current role in June 2020, in part due to her commitment to rural hospitals and providers. Her performance speaks for itself: Facilities where Wapiti provides full-time emergency medicine coverage have achieved 98% patient satisfaction scores. This has helped solidify Wapiti’s Best of Staffing for Client and Talent awards for the sixth year in a row. Lloyd’s knowledge of provider staffing has positively altered perspectives at Wapiti while leading to expansion.”

Founded in 1989, SIA is the global advisor on staffing and workforce solutions. Our proprietary research covers all categories of employed and non-employed work including temporary staffing, independent contracting and other types of contingent labor. SIA’s independent and objective analysis provides insights into the services and suppliers operating in the workforce solutions ecosystem including staffing firms, managed service providers, recruitment process outsourcers, payrolling/compliance firms and talent acquisition technology specialists such as vendor management systems, online staffing platforms, crowdsourcing and online work services. They also provide training and accreditation with our unique Certified Contingent Workforce Professional (CCWP) program.

Known for  award-winning content, data, support tools, publications, executive conferences and events, they help both suppliers and buyers of workforce solutions make better-informed decisions that improve business results and minimize risk. As a division of the international business media company, Crain Communications Inc., SIA is headquartered in Mountain View, California, with offices in London, England.

Dell Rapids Public Alters Winter Break Schedule

by

The Dell Rapids Public School District recently announced changes to the winter break schedule.  During the regular Dell Rapids School Board meeting on Monday, November 9th, the board approved changes to start the winter break after school ends for the day on Friday, December 18th.  Students would then come back to school on Monday, January 4th.

Dell Rapids Superintendent Dr. Summer Schultz said, “Although student contact time is always a priority, this change provides staff and students an additional four days out of school to isolate or self-monitor symptoms before the Christmas holiday.   The additional time will also help our custodial crew as they continue to work tirelessly to clean and disinfect the facilities.”

The original break was scheduled to start with a 1:00 p.m. early release on Tuesday, December 22nd and last until Monday, January 4th.

Several Dell Rapids Organizations Taking Part in South Dakota Day of Giving

by

South Dakota Day of Giving is being held on Tuesday, December 1st this year, and this will be the third year of the event.  South Dakota Gives is an organization that coordinates the day of giving and provides non-profit organizations across South Dakota tools and resources to help them receive donations.

South Dakota Gives is asking residents of South Dakota to celebrate generosity on the South Dakota Day of Giving to help raise as much money as possible for the different organizations.  People can log on to www.southdakotagives.org to find a list of non-profits that have registered with South Dakota Gives to be a part of the day of giving.

Several Dell Rapids organizations have registered to be a part of the day:

  • Brookings Area Transit Authority (Dells XPress bus)
  • Dell Rapids Chamber of Commerce
  • Dell Rapids Lions Club
  • Dell Rapids Senior Citizen Center
  • Dell Rapids Society for Historic Preservation
  • Dell’s Elves
  • Fabulous Moments
  • Post 65
  • Sioux River Red Rock Trail
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy