The Dell Rapids School Board will hold a regular meeting on Monday, March 25th, at the Elementary Pod Commons area at 7:00 p.m. Some of the items on the agenda include amendment of the 2012-2013 school calendar, approval of the summer Haven food program contract, and the administrative report. The full agenda can be found here.
Variance Request and TIF Resolution Passed Unanimously
A near-packed city council chambers on Monday night saw the the Dell Rapids City Council pass a variance request for Lamb Properties LLC on behalf of Casey’s General Retail Store. The request allows a variance on the footage in the front and back of the store to be built in the area of Highway 115 and West 3rd. One person spoke out against the passage during the public hearing stating that there were already two convenience/gas stations in that area (T & C Self Service and Cubby’s) and a third one added would just take business away from the existing businesses. The council then unanimously passed the variance.
Also, the council passed a resolution for the creation of a tax incremental financing district #1 for County Fair Foods. The Dell Rapids grocery store will be expanding to the area of Highway 77 and 10th Street with projection of the
multi-million dollar store to be opened before the end of 2013. Previously the Planning Commission approved the plans presented (see the webcast of that meeting on our website under the webcast link), and now that the council unanimously approved the TIF and project plan, the store will need to finalize financing for the project.
In other business, an outdoor event permit was granted for the Chamber’s upcoming Easter Egg Hunt, and an outdoor event permit for a film production crew for the last weekend in April to use the main street area for the filming of a short film. Other routine items and meeting dates were acknowledged including the convening of the Board of Equalization meeting today (March 19th).
DRHS Jazz Ensamble Results and Upcoming Competitions
On Tuesday, March 5th, the Dell Rapids Jazz Ensemble competed at the “Jazz on the Upper Great Plains Festival” held on the campus of Augustana College. The group received fourth place out of twelve bands in Class A competition. Drum set player Zane Lodmell received an award for “Outstanding Musicianship” for his drum solo on the Joe Zawinul piece “Mercy, Mercy, Mercy.” Later that evening, the members of the band had the opportunity to hear one of the world’s greatest trumpet players perform with the Augustana College “Northlanders” Jazz Ensemble. Dizzy Gillespie protege Jon Faddis displayed his high-note playing skills, leaving everyone in the audience amazed at his abilities.
On Thursday, March 14th, the jazz band competed in the University of South Dakota “Coyote Jazz Festival” in Vermillion. The band placed eighth out of fourteen schools from South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, and Nebraska in Class 2A competition. The scoring in Class 2A was very close, as only three points separated fifth place from eighth place. Once again, Senior band member Zane Lodmell received an award for “Outstanding Soloist” on the drum set.
The Dell Rapids Jazz Ensemble will be performing once again at the annual “Pop, Popcorn, and Jazz” concert. This event takes place on Tuesday night, March 26th, at 7:00 p.m. in the Dell Rapids Middle School Commons. The concert is FREE and open to the public. However, if you would like to help the group raise some money, you can purchase all you can eat popcorn and all you can drink pop at the concert. The cost is $5 for adults, $3 for students, and children age five and under can eat and drink for free.
The DR Jazz Band will also compete in the SDSU/Brookings Optimist Jazz Festival on April 4th, and they will peform for a rating at the South Dakota Region II Large Group Contest on April 17th.
Dell Rapids City Council: 3/18/13
The Dell Rapids City Council will meet in regular session on Monday, March 18th, at 7:30 p.m. at the City Council Chambers. Some of the items on the agenda include a public hearing on a variance request at 309 West 4th St, discussions on outdoor permits, and the administrator’s report. The full agenda can be found here.
Interview with Travis Nagel
Big Sioux Media had the opportunity to interview Travis Nagel of Dakota Golf Management. Nagel is the new golf pro for Rocky Run Golf Course.
Dell Rapids City Council: 3/12/13
The Dell Rapids City Council will hold a Special Meeting on Tuesday, March 12th, at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall. The agenda for the meeting is the planning and zoning commission’s public hearing on the County Fair TIF District and TIF Plan. For those who are unable to attend, Big Sioux Media will webcast the meeting.
Dell Rapids School Board: 3/11/13
The Dell Rapids School Board will meet in regular session on Monday, March 11th, at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Elementary Pod Commons area. Some of the items on the agenda include the approval of the financial report, federal sequester discussion, and the second reading ICA-School Calendar. The full agenda can be found here.
South Dakota Ranks 12th in the Nation for Personal Income
PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota’s growth in personal income from 2000 to 2011 surpassed the growth rate for both the region and the nation. South Dakota’s personal income grew by 82.5 percent, compared to a rate of 51.4 percent for the nation, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Since 2000, South Dakota’s per capita personal income has increased by 67.4 percent. South Dakota’s per capita personal income of $44,217 in 2011 ranks 12th of the 50 states.
State Labor and Regulation Secretary Pam Roberts said, “In 2009, during the midst of the recession, we were ranked 36th. In just a few short years, South Dakota has improved dramatically.”
South Dakota has also performed well economically in recent years based on the BEA per capita disposable personal income measure. This measure represents the amount the average person has available for saving or for consumption.
“South Dakota’s per capita disposable personal income in 2011 was $41,133,” Secretary Roberts said. “This ranked the state 10th in the nation, a healthy climb from our 35th ranking in 2000.”
The 2011 rank of 10th indicates the average South Dakota resident had more money available for household spending than the residents in 40 other states.
For more information on South Dakota’s comparative performance in economic measures available from BEA, read the current issue of the South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation’s monthly South Dakota e-Labor Bulletin at www.sdjobs.org/lmic
Local Lego League Team Wins “Innovation” Award at State Competition
Four boys from Baltic and Dell Rapids competed in the South Dakota State First Lego League Competition on February 9th at Augustana College. After qualifying for the state competition in December, and going head-to-head with nearly 40 other teams at the state level, they won an award for the “Most Innovative Solution.”
Evan Schmidt, Henri Carrette, Isaac Land and Jasper Carrette – naming themselves the “PreTeenage Kung Fu Mutant Ninja Wombats” — worked together from August until February to prepare for the four areas of the First Lego League Competition: Robot Design, Robot Performance, Core Values and Project.
First Lego League is a national competition structure where middle school students (ages 9-14) design, build, and program an autonomous robot to earn points for accomplishing prescribed missions on a 4×8 playing field. They also give presentations on research projects where they have tackled a problem and propose a novel solution.
Participants must work as a team and be able to articulate what they did and how they accomplished it. The national organization calls it “Sport for the mind.”
For more information on this press release, contact Anita at 529-5505, 261-5996 or Carrette@alliancecom.net
Dell Rapids Little League Sign-up
The registration period has begun for the Dell Rapids Little League for the 2013 season. Forms were sent home with the boys from school. They can also be picked up at City Hall or downloaded from the Dell Rapids Little League website, www.dellrapidslittleleague.com, on the Handouts tab. All the forms need to be turned in by March 15th back to the schools or to City Hall.
Dell Rapids Little League will have four age brackets again this year: Coach Pitch, Transition League, Pee-Wee, and Midget.