Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Plenty of stories were covered by the Gazette in 2023, and it would be impossible to summarize them all. However, we have attempted to highlight the biggest parts of the year and look forward to what 2024 brings us!
While 2024 has jumped in on the snow by dumping approximately 9 inches this past Monday into Tuesday morning, 2023 took the cake when it came to the white stuff, dumping two feet on Garretson to open the year. The area ultimately got over 65 inches for the 2022-2023 season, sending snow budgets over the line. While the total fell at number eight on the top ten list for recorded snowfall, it didn't match up to 1968-69's record snowfall of 94.7 inches, 1961-62's 79.8 inches, or 2017's 70.4 inches. It was, however, a big difference from 2021-22's paltry 19.9 inches. Local students were able to take advantage of it, with snow and sledding parties held. As of mid-March, school had been called off due to snow nine times, extending the school year another week.
Carbon pipelines were a constant story throughout 2023 as property owners fought against two projects that were slated to come through Minnehaha County. Both purported to reduce ethanol companies' carbon footprint by transporting, under pressure, the plants' produced carbon dioxide to Illinois and North Dakota to be buried underground. One, Navigator CO2 Ventures, would have passed within two miles of Garretson and just south of Palisades State Park, alarming residents who were concerned about possible leaks and subsequent quality of life and property damage. The other company, Summit Carbon Solutions, began taking eminent domain and court actions despite the lack of a permit.
After the 2023 legislative session, where lawmakers made no progress on regulating pipeline installation and insisted that anyone against the pipelines was against ethanol, county governments began taking individual action, including Minnehaha County. After weighing different options, one that would have put a 1-year moratorium on pipeline projects and was ultimately rejected, the Minnehaha County Commission voted to implement a 330-foot setback requirement from dwellings, businesses, or churches. This, according to the three commissioners who voted for the 330-foot requirement instead of a 750-foot requirement, protected landowners while still allowing for the pipelines. However, thanks to a coalition of people across the state, both pipeline permit applications were ultimately rejected by the Public Utilities Commission. This caused the company that would have passed near Garretson, Navigator CO2 Ventures, to pull its project from consideration. The story will likely continue to impact South Dakotans in the future as the other company, Summit Carbon Solutions, continues to work towards getting the pipeline project greenlit.
Local and State taxes were another big conversation piece in 2023 as the legislature fought to reduce the tax burden on residents and tax opt outs were passed by both the County Commission and the Garretson School Board. While the legislature ultimately rejected a measure to eliminate grocery taxes in favor of a 0.3% reduction in the state sales tax, from 4.5% to 4.2%, both opt out measures passed. The tax opt out for the school was the second one passed in three years, as the first had been voided after issues with following state law at the ballot box were found. A public vote on the school opt out passed 344-277 (55% in favor), giving the school and residents five more years to increase the school population and to fight for changes in the funding formula at the legislative level. The commission passed its tax increase in the form of bonds to help fund the construction of a new juvenile justice facility, which is estimated to cost around $50 million. Tax burdens haven't been helped by the significant increase in property assessment values, which have doubled in town since 2017, and the Gazette reported on the increase.
In recognition of the hard work the staff and students put forward in the Garretson School District, the Gazette highlighted several of the in-class activities and accomplishments experienced by students during the school year. Wax museums, celebrating 100 days of school, school plays, and science fairs were just a few of those activities, and students did well in reading, writing, and arithmetic. Retiring teacher Bev Howe was named 2023 Teacher of the Year while the REACH program gave the support students needed, and the Wednesday afternoon program reduced the number of D's by 75%. However, the state grade said the district still has plenty of room to improve, despite other standardized testing showing that students are being well-prepared and educated, an issue the Gazette looked into in-depth.
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However, in early April the state Department of Education passed a controversial set of standards for Social Studies, which were heavily panned by educators due to lack of educator input, unrealistic expectations, and a lack of quality curriculum. This replaced a set of standards that were rejected in 2021, which had been set with educators but were panned due to a lack of substantial Native history. The newest standards did not appear to improve on that criticism.
In other school news, the Garretson School District received three new electric buses near the beginning of the school year, and so far, they have been well-received. While students were busy learning about safety before, after, and during school, unfortunately, one high school student found themselves in trouble after weapons were found in their vehicle, resulting in an arrest and expulsion for the rest of the year.
Big construction plans were on the docket for 2023, as the athletic complex, the 5th Street bridge, Dows Street, Blue Dragon Academy, and the golf course/state park road all finished large projects. The football field and track at the athletic complex were completely overhauled over the summer in a $2 million dollar project, giving athletes a new, safer turf to compete on. The old turf had gone years past its expected use date and replacement was overdue. The 5th Street bridge project meant a historical arch bridge was saved and prolonged its useful lifespan another fifty years, with new joints and decking ensuring its safety. Dows Street had an additional length added to the water main, connecting two separate water mains between the Hose It! car wash and Nordstrom's PTLA Storage, creating needed redundancy in the system. Blue Dragon Academy finished construction on its expansion, increasing from 6,900 square feet to 9,700 square feet and allowing a larger school-age program along with an expanded kitchen and eating area. The road leading to River Ridge Golf Course and to Palisades State Park was reconstructed during the summer, thanks to funding that had been received in 2022. This was highly needed, as the road had fallen into severe disrepair; however, the state had been reluctant to fund the reconstruction as the entrance to Palisades State Park will be moving in 2024. The road is projected to last at least 25 years before replacement will be required. At that time, it will be fully the responsibility of the township unless something changes.
In city government news, the city purchased the pool from the Garretson Community Pool Association in the spring. This allowed the city to administrate the pool during the summer months while the pool board wrapped up its functions.
At the end of 2022, the city had purchased a 15-acre parcel of land south of Garretson, originally for the intent of building a new city hall and community center. However, after further discussion in early 2023 it was decided to hold off on the community center due to costs and to rebuild city hall in its current spot instead of moving it out of the business district. After meeting with the architects to discuss the building plans, no further public movement was made on city hall by the end of the year. Instead, the city opted to work on plans to ready the purchased land for development and housing.
After two years working together for insurance and licensing purposes, the city and the American Legion opted to part ways on the fireworks display due to differing and unresolved expectations. The Legion will continue with other July 4th celebratory plans, and the city will continue with the display. The Legion will no longer provide fundraising for the fireworks, something it had done for many years.
During the summer, a downtown building that was one of the first built in Garretson was discovered to be unsafe for residents after facade began falling off the south side. Upon entering the building, the city inspector and outside engineers asked for the building to be condemned due to several structural issues. The building had been under a contract for deed, complicating the process, but ultimately the deed-holder opted to have the building torn down with the city in charge of the logistics. The building was removed at the end of November after two weeks of delays. While some discussion was held in public meeting regarding having the city purchase the lot, as of the end of 2023, the land was still privately held.
In sports, the Garretson Girls' Basketball team did well in the 2022-23 season, taking third at the Big East Conference and making it to the SoDak 16 for the first time. While they ultimately fell to #4-seeded Red Cloud, the #13-seeded Lady Dragons made a comeback play for the ages, ratcheting 11 points in the last two minutes of the game and missing the win by only six points. GHS sent five athletes to state in wrestling, with Jaden Richter placing fourth overall in his weight class. Six athletes went to state in golf, and several athletes went to state in track. The baseball season was fun, with athletes in 12U, 14U, and 16U along with the amateur league Blue Jays. None of the teams advanced far into postseason play, and thanks to a technicality and miscommunication, the Blue Jays ended their season abruptly due to a disqualification in the district playoffs.
When fall sports began, football and soccer had trouble getting their footing. Despite a winning first game, the soccer team was unable to snag another win during the season. Football had similar luck, only winning their final home game of the season. Volleyball and Cross Country fared better, though cross country mostly competed in junior varsity until the end of the season, when three athletes moved up into varsity. Though they were unable to reproduce the results of the prior two years of volleyball, the team still performed well, winning 16 games out of 26.
In November, the Gazette broke the news that Garretson would be a launch point for the Ride Across South Dakota, a large biking event that takes place every year. RASDAK is expected to bring approximately 250-300 cyclists into town in June of 2024.
2023 was quite a year, and it will be interesting to see what 2024 brings us. Here's to a positive and successful year for all of our readers, and we thank you for your support!
A look back through the year in photos
