The Outlaws are riding into town for Jesse James Days

Carrie Moritz

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June 12, 2025

The Outlaws are riding into town for Jesse James Days

The outlaws are coming, and they'll be here to celebrate Jesse James Days this weekend!

The Garretson Commercial Club and local business have been pulling out all the stops to make this year bigger and better than ever. For instance, there will be two street dances, one for ages 18+ and one for all ages.

A member of the "Jesse James Gang" at 2024 Jesse James Day parade. //Carrie Moritz, Gazette

"Everyone loves the street dance," said Garretson Commercial Club president Carrie Moritz. "This year's main dance will be held by The Gulch with the band 'Driven.' It'll be a great time for those over 18. But as the organizers were brainstorming ideas to bring teens and older kids some entertainment, the idea for a second street dance was born."

The all-ages street dance will be headlined by 280 FIFTH, and will set up in front of First Bank & Trust and The Combine/Sports Cabin. The all-ages street dance will be from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, and will be accompanied by family games on the green and toddler train rides.

That won't be all for live music that weekend. On Friday night, Dealer's Choice will be here, setting up in front of the library, and inside Palisades Art Gallery, Dan the Man on sax and Cary Hofer on guitar will be performing that evening for the Art Show Opening Party.

For more musical entertainment, a DJ will be blasting music at the Jaycee's Sports Complex on Saturday afternoon, and there are rumors of music at both the Glow Kayak and the Jesse James Road Race 1mi/5k/10k walk/run.

Speaking of the Road Race, all are invited to participate! Whether you walk or run, this fun event is open to all. The 5k/10k goes through Devil's Gulch, and is a fun way to open the action-packed day that is Saturday. This year, it's been moved an hour back, so it's not just the early birds who are going to get this one! Pre-registration is encouraged to ensure a t-shirt is on hand for you, but the deadline is today (Thursday) so don't wait to sign up.

Food stands will be provided by Garretson FFA, Garretson Historical Society, Caring for Carter, Zion Lutheran Youth, The Gulch, and Jeff & Julie's Lotus Drinks. Check the schedule for when and where each of the food stands will be happening.

More fun activities this weekend will include a Car Show on Friday, model trains all weekend, inflatables on Saturday afternoon, and the FFA Fishing Derby on Sunday. Plus, Goats on the Green, a Petting Zoo at Jaycee's Sports Complex, the infamous Firemen's Pancake Breakfast at the firehouse, and rumors of some outlaws headed our way!

A full list of activities is posted on-line at VisitGarretsonSD.com.

Garretson water tower woes

Carrie Moritz

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June 12, 2025

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On Monday, the Garretson Water Tower was emptied for a routine inspection and an attempt to fix a leak that had developed, and was scheduled to be bypassed for a short period of time by Minnehaha Rural Water to prevent any loss of service.

inside of a tall tower — The inside of the Garretson water tower upon emptying this past Monday. //Photo courtesy Jordan Doane

However, in a perfect storm of events, at the same time a water main was hit by the construction company working on 4th Street, according to City Finance Director Paetyn Dreckman. This prevented the bypass from occurring as the construction company needed time to fix the break.

"The only way to repair it and isolate that area was to shut down the feed to town," wrote Public Works Supervisor Jordan Doane on Garretson Living. "This is our last resort when shutting valves off because of the headache it causes."

The result was an unexpected loss of water citywide, and although the water was turned back on mid-afternoon, the empty water tower meant there was not enough pressure built to bring the water to households across town.

As of 6:00 pm Monday, the city was still asking for patience as pressure re-built through the system. Some areas of town were reporting better pressure while others were at a trickle.

The bypass remained in place overnight and into Tuesday as the tower's leak was patched with a temporary fix, but more will be needed. At the most recent city council meeting, Doane had stated the tower was running approximately 20 feet lower than normal, which was already affecting water pressures around town. Due to the age of the tower, a game plan is needed for long-term sustainability.

"Our entire system is gravity-fed," said Mayor Bruce Brown. "With the leak, our tower was already underperforming."

"The tower is old and will need a liner," Doane wrote on Garretson Living.

However, Mayor Brown was pleased with how well everyone worked together to fix the issue. Employees with Minnehaha Rural Water, First Rate Excavate, and the City of Garretson all dropped everything to try and get everything back online as fast as possible.

School Board talks cell phone ban & school culture

Carrie Moritz

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June 12, 2025

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School Board talks cell phone ban & school culture

The three big topics for the Garretson School Board on June 9were about the same core issue, school culture. The discussion included a potential cell phone ban, creating a school culture survey for staff and students, and a report from board member Tana Clark regarding the recent Humanity Launch town hall.

playground area under construction with two workers in the middle — Construction on the new school playground is going full force. Garretson PTO’s Heather Schiltz said that she hopes it will be compete by July 1. //Garrick A. Moritz, Gazette

Though board member Shannon Nordstrom was a few minutes late, the whole board was in attendance as well as the new board members elect, who take their seats in July.

The board first tackled their regular business with Business Manager Jacob Schweitzer noting that this month is debt payment for their Capital Outlay funds. Superintendent Guy Johnson also noted that there will be a $90,000 payment on the new playground, which he would talk about more later.

Under old business, there was a budget discussion, and Schweitzer noted a couple of fixes to the overall budget. A few items had been fixed, and notably, the price for the Zamboni floor scrubber was much less at only $16,000. It was noted that this was a significant price decline. Schweitzer told the board that he’d gotten a model at a great bid price, and it was the model the custodial staff wanted, so he was happier to take the lower price. Nordstrom commented that he wanted to see that bid, and maybe try and get one for his own business at that price.

Cell Phone Ban

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14U Baseball runner up in I-29 Tournament

Carrie Moritz

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June 12, 2025

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14U Baseball runner up in I-29 Tournament

Garretson's Post 23 14U Baseball team went 3-0 in tournament play last week, propelling them into the 14U championship round against Volga on Sunday in the I-29 League tournament.

baseball player ducking away from ball in upper frame — Chase Costello at bat. //Carrie Moritz, Gazette

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Edge of seat games for 17U

Carrie Moritz

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June 12, 2025

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As Garretson Post 23 17U looks ahead to the I-29 League 17U Tournament next week, they played four games last week and three games this week.

baseball player bending down to pick up grounder — Dan Hoskins catching ball on first. //file photo Carrie Moritz, Gazette

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Jays Fly to 3-0 Start After Back-to-Back Wins

Carrie Moritz

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June 12, 2025

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Jays Fly to 3-0 Start After Back-to-Back Wins

courtesy of Garretson Blue Jays

The Jays are off to a red-hot start, moving to 3-0 on the season after back-to-back wins. Game 1 couldn’t have started much worse—Kathy Winter shut down daycare at her house, nearly throwing the team’s plans into chaos. But the Jays stayed locked in and delivered a 22-3 beatdown over Parker in an absolute yard burner.

baseball player in blue and white laying on ground near home plate while catcher goes after ball — Jesse Brockhouse slides home. //Carrie Moritz, Gazette

Brady “Deballs” took the mound and looked like a young Clayton Kershaw, striking out two of his first three batters. Unfortunately, the second and third innings were a bit rough, as Deballs got slapped around and gave up 3 runs. But the bats stayed hot, and the hits came from all over the lineup. Everyone got to play.

In his highly anticipated return, Brett Fischer rose from the ashes after a four-year hiatus and casually collected five hits like he never left. Trey didn’t give a ton of info on the game, but if we had to guess, it probably went something like this:

Trey did curls pregame for the ladies.

Deballs kissed his fiancée before stepping on the bump.

Brady and Nick stretched each other out.

Tayson checked the mirror to see if the mustache had come in yet.

Steck and Splett played catch like besties.

Jesse told Dylan to suck it up.

New player Siegel hit a frozen rope.

Koch worked on his sprint speed—he’s lost a step since last season.

Fan favorite Jack Sparrow was MIA.

Game 2: Jays Grind Out a 5-4 Win

The Jays kept rolling in Game 2, pulling out a gritty 5-4 win behind an absolute pitching gem only 3 hits allowed. Nick Bonte walked 6 and beaned 2. Trey Buck wasn’t far behind, walking 8 and hitting 5 batters 3 of them in the dome.

With 30 mph wind blowing in, offense was hard to come by, but that didn’t stop Kindt from cracking a double off the wall. Brady Bonte had more hits (3) in this one game than he had all of last season. Splett did what he always does gunned someone out. Verm was ready to throw hands after getting hit so many times, but one look at Tayson Swatek convinced him that might not end well.

Siegel notched another hit, and the dynamic duo of Cole Koch and Jesse turned five double plays—seven for the game, setting a new Jays record. Dave and Deb made it out to watch the magic.

The Jays are officially turning the corner winning regular season games. The only thing that could hold this squad back? Kids, wives, injuries… or maybe a few too many drinks the night before a game.

But make no mistake:

This is the year of the Jays.

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GHS Golf at State in Watertown

Carrie Moritz

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June 12, 2025

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by Kelsey Buchholz, Head Coach

The Blue Dragon golf season officially wrapped up at the State B Golf meet in Watertown last week. Garretson had three representatives: senior Maci Rotert and sophomore Anna Ebbing played at Prairie Winds Golf Course for the girls and freshman Blake Benson took on Cattail Crossing for the boys.

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The Outlaws are riding into town for Jesse James Days

Garretson water tower woes

School Board talks cell phone ban & school culture

Cell Phone Ban

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Minnehaha County Commissioners compromise lien bill at June 3 meeting

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Garretson FFA Hosts Bike Safety Program for Local Youth

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Trap team comes home from Aberdeen with hardware

Wolf is State Champ!

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14U Baseball runner up in I-29 Tournament

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Edge of seat games for 17U

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Jays Fly to 3-0 Start After Back-to-Back Wins

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GHS Golf at State in Watertown

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