25th district Representative Randy Gross The 99th session of the South Dakota Legislature is in the books, except for a final one-day meeting on March 25 to consider any vetoes that may be made by the Governor. As with most legislative sessions, this one had its own...
Senator Brent “B.R.” Hoffman Ask any senator or representative to summarize the legislative session, and you’ll likely get a different answer from each one of them. Which makes sense, given the wide range of perspectives and constituencies that shape our opinions and...
Sara Stadem | Editor As the Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce keeps rolling into their 2024 year, they welcome new Chamber members while celebrating returning members.The Hartford Area Chamber of Commerce (HACC) was under the leadership of President Ashlie Matthews,...
Kelsey Sundermann, Chase Mebius, and Axel Lanham are pictured with their trophies. Sunderman took home 4th place in the 10 Girls division, Mebius (whose older brother Connor was previously recognized by the Knight of Columbus worldwide for his free-throws) won 1st in...
Dave Baumeister | County Correspondent SIOUX FALLS – The Minnehaha County Director of Equalization Chris Lilla went through several trends his office has seen over the past year during this week’s county commission meeting.While many people are seeing their tax bills...
Troy Schwans | Managing Editor of The Special It’s that time of year again when we “spring ahead” in what is officially known as Daylight Saving Time. At 2:00 a.m. on Sunday morning we will set our clocks ahead to 3:00 a.m., effectively moving an hour of daylight from...
Submitted by Sue Hovey The Sioux Empire Fair is held on the W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds in Sioux Falls. Dell Rapids Lions are known for their delicious pancakes. Lyons, SD, population 70, is an unincorporated community 10 miles north of Sioux Falls. Lions Clubs...
BROOKINGS, S.D. – The 40th annual Rangeland and 19th annual Soils Days for youth is June 12-13, 2024, in Watertown.South Dakota State University Extension, Codington Conservation District and the South Dakota Natural Resources Conservation Service co-host the event,...
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The IRS announced that eligible South Dakota taxpayers can now use IRS Direct File, a new service that provides taxpayers with the choice to electronically file their federal tax return directly with the IRS for free. “Direct File is accurate,...
The Senate Page Program is a wonderful way for high schoolers to see firsthand what happens in the U.S. Senate. Pages have the opportunity to participate in the day-to-day operations of the Senate, including delivering correspondence and legislative materials to...
Leaping into spring means a little fun on this “extra day” in February for the Tri-Valley Mustangs! Mustangs in 5-8th grade celebrated Leap Year with a little fun and fact. The science teachers put together a LEAP FROG HUNT. 100 miniature frogs were hidden around the...
Mrs. Van Asselt’s 5th grade class has been exploring hydroponics in the classroom. Throughout this process, the class will continue to dive into the background of hydroponics and study the vegetables being grown. The students also stated guesses of which they think...
Tri-Valley Basketball Cheer Pictured are the Tri-Valley Mustang basketball cheerleaders for the 2023-24 season. Pictured (left to right) is Aubree Johnson, Avery Felsheim, Hailey McNamara, Sydney Schnider, and Rosalynn Focken. (Photo/Submitted) West Central Basketball...
Midwesterners are appalled by news stories of mobs of looters ransacking stores while owners look on helplessly and law enforcement fails to intervene, neutered by orders to stand down. We naively think such lawlessness cannot happen here, but it can and is. Summit...
Randy Gross 25th District RepresentativeAs bills move through the legislative process, it is worthwhile to know when a bill becomes law. Once passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate AND signed by the Governor, most new laws go into effect on July 1....
Senator Tom Pischke The 8th week of the 2024 legislative session ended on February 29th. At this point, many of the policy related bills have either passed or died and we are now mostly working on spending priorities and putting together a budget.While the session may...
Meeting with folks at PURIS. (Photo/Submitted) Representative Dusty Johnson BIG Update The surge of migrants coming across the southern border certainly isn’t news to many people. But, as the crisis rages on, more and more Chinese nationals are crossing our southern...
The students in Mrs. Spielmann’s second-grade class celebrated “Read Across America Day” and Dr. Seuss’s birthday, on Friday, March 1. The students are shown with their hats and vests. We enjoyed listening to Dr. Seuss books read by our guest readers. It was a great...
Central States Manufacturing employees came to West Central Elementary School to read to our students during Read Across America Week. Pictured are students from Mrs. Peterson’s and Mrs. Spielmann’s 2nd grade classes. Great job! (Photo/Carolyn Spielmann)
Sara Stadem | Editor Each month throughout the school year, the teachers of the West Central High School nominate and vote for a Student of the Month (SOTM), with two students being selected from each grade.A new addition to the SOTM this year are the featured...