Seniors woke on Sunday morning to find a small surprise in their front yards. A gift from the junior class and First Bank and Trust, every senior student received a yard sign that said, “Garretson Class of 2020 #Forever a Blue Dragon.”
The Gazette requested submissions, and these were received. We will be more than willing to continue publishing more photos as they are submitted!
On Thursday, the community came together in order to recognize the GHS senior class. High School seniors have had their milestones, whether it is prom or graduation, suddenly disappear and have had to take it in stride. On Thursday afternoon, an announcement went out that the Garretson School District was joining schools across the state for a “Light it Up” event similar to that of “Light Sioux Falls,” which was held a few weeks ago in honor of healthcare workers, who are on the front lines.
The call went out earlier in the week to different schools to recognize their students in a similar manner, and very quickly, GHS answered.
The announcement read, “Garretson is joining schools across the State of South Dakota in a light campaign for the class of 2020. This Thursday 4/16 (4+16 =20) at the 20th hour (8pm) at the 20th minute the lights at the Garretson Sports Complex will be turned on to show support for the class of 2020. Those interested are encouraged to drive by the football field and honk support. Please do not stop or try to come onto the field as we will still encourage everyone to practice social distancing.”
The event built from there. In a great example of collaboration and leadership, after teacher Kevin Steckler made plans to turn on the stadium lights, GHS senior Jacob Schmidt contacted fellow senior student Mason Hofer, whose father, JR, is known around town for his fireworks shows each July 4th. After Schmidt contacted the City and the school regarding a permit and placement, the idea for a short fireworks display was born.
After the fireworks, the Garretson Fire Department and Ambulance came through and joined the action. Besides fireworks and lights, there was a lot of honking of horns to show solidarity and support.
Three days later, the support continued as seniors woke to find a small surprise in their front yards. A gift from the junior class and First Bank and Trust, every senior student received a yard sign that said, “Garretson Class of 2020 #Forever a Blue Dragon.” The Gazette requested photos of seniors with their signs, and submissions can be found here. (Online subscription required to view)
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The community has rallied around the Garretson High School senior class, celebrating them as they have had to take the consequences of the pandemic in stride. This included an event last Thursday. We also feature an interview with a local virologist, and spotlight food donations. Plus much more!
Photos are also available in the stories above!
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Nick Lowrey, South Dakota News Watch
The ability to quickly, regularly and accurately test for the deadly coronavirus is a key component of the ability of the medical field and the public to understand the extent of the pandemic, and of government officials’ ability to adequately respond.
And yet, the testing for the presence of the virus in residents of South Dakota and around the U.S. has been plagued by a series of problems. Among them: a lack of needed testing supplies; inefficiencies in how the test is administered and how results are analyzed; and the potential inability of the test itself to accurately confirm the presence of the virus.
The consequences of those testing limitations are potentially fatal. Far more people are likely infected with COVID-19 than is known. The lack of confirmed positives has opened the door to downplaying of the depth and seriousness of the pandemic by government officials and individuals. And in some cases, the opportunity for “false negatives,” in which tests do not indicate the presence of the virus in an infected person, can lead to unnecessary spreading of the virus.
South Dakota shares same testing challenges as rest of nation
South Dakota ranks among the top 20 states in testing per capita for the virus that causes COVID-19, and while state officials tout that fact, experts say testing rates are still too low to know just how widespread the disease really is.
Of the state’s roughly 880,000 residents, about 7,100 had been tested for COVID-19 as of April 8, according to South Dakota Department of Health Data. The low rate of testing for COVID-19, though, is due almost entirely to a shortage of critical testing supplies. Similar shortages are being experienced all over the country and are forcing public health officials to put strict limits on who gets tested and when.
by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
The Garretson City Council meeting for April included an extension of Ordinance 655, which requires businesses to maintain 10 patrons or fewer at any one time, temporarily closed playgrounds and the campground, and began to explore creating a “blighted area renewal” tax relief plan for the area containing the Senior Center building.
The meeting began with an introduction from Jesse Folkert, the new executive director of Minnehaha and Lincoln County Economic Development Associations (MCEDA and LCEDA). He has taken the reins from Nick Fosheim, and is excited to work with Garretson to accomplish its economic development goals (for instance, the council worked closely with MCEDA to redesign its ordinances and to create the Capital Improvement Plan, all of which is aligned with the goal to move Garretson forward economically). A 2014 Augustana graduate, he noted that he does have family in Garretson, so is closely affiliated with the community.
The council approved natural gas prices as recommended, then moved into committee reports, beginning with the Fire Department. Dan Wagner is now Fire Chief. He reported there were 66 calls so far this year, and three people have begun firefighter certification training. They have been working closely with the Garretson Ambulance to get training and PPE (personal protective equipment) in readiness for COVID-19. They are currently still short with regards to gowns and face shields, but can work with the ambulance to acquire some until their backordered supply comes in. He noted that they had a great community response regarding the fire truck parade.
Kurtis Nelson with the Garretson Ambulance reported next, noting their numbers of calls and transports have remained steady so far this year. They have had 56 calls and have 17 active members on their roster, including one registered nurse and one EMT who had just finished the advanced EMT course. They did have to cancel their annual ambulance breakfast fundraiser due to the virus, and will be looking at replacement dates. They have also been working on COVID-19 readiness, minimizing contact with patients and doing additional screening when receiving calls. They too are working to acquire more PPE, but Nelson believes they can handle approximately 20-25 patients before their supply runs out. If they are unable to obtain PPE through normal means, there is a state stockpile they could utilize if needed.
Mayor Greg Beaner expressed his appreciation that the Fire Department, Ambulance, and Law Enforcement were working together in this situation.
The Parks Advisory Committee then presented their report with regards to the three parks. With Grow Garretson, they have raised $3400 after expenses toward the picnic shelter, and are planning to move ahead with the concrete for this summer. They’ve also been working on signage and clean-up, and are looking forward to the installation of the security system at the three parks and the curb and gutter placement at the JC Complex.
They then had some recommendations, the first regarding a response to the pandemic. Due to an inability of the City to keep up with cleaning and sanitizing several areas, they recommended temporarily closing areas such as the restrooms/port-a-potties, playground, visitor’s information center, and picnic shelters. They also recommended keeping the campground closed for the time being. It was slated to open April 1, but due to soft road conditions within Splitrock Park, those gates had remained closed. They did note that opening the gates to canoeing, kayaking, and hiking should be allowed once the roads allow, and that foot traffic should otherwise be okay.
“I’ve thought about this, and I don’t know what the right answer is,” said Mayor Beaner.
Councilmember Bill Hoskins expressed a concern that if the toilets are not available, that other parts of the park may be used for such activities, but keeping up with cleaning and maintaining would be impossible. Mayor Beaner also noted that at that time, state park campgrounds and public facilities were also closed.
Councilmember Dave Bonte inquired as to some of the rationale for closing camping, and accepted the answer that it was to prevent group gatherings and the potential for spreading the virus through commonly-touched objects, such as picnic tables. Councilmember Richelle Hofer suggested that perhaps things shouldn’t be closed without an end date, but re-evaluated at each council meeting.
Councilmember Jodi Gloe, Parks Board advisor, noted that this is what the Park Board is for. “What we have them to do, is make recommendations,” she said. It was then up to the council to make the final decisions. With an agreement to visit the recommendations again at the May meeting, the council voted to act on them.
The Park Board then made a few more recommendations on ways to improve the parks, and the council moved on to an update from Vanessa Victor of Infrastructure Design Group with regards to the 5th Street bridge project. She expected that some drilling through the core of the bridge deck would be occurring shortly in order to find the foundations (due to the fact that the entire bridge will be jacked up in order to do some of the work), which is one of the final steps prior to finalizing the plans for the project. The plans then would go to the SDDOT for approval and then out for bid. When asked when the city could expect the project to begin, Victor responded that it is likely to start in mid-July, but that this depends on the contractor. She expects the project to take approximately six weeks, but wanted to clarify that it may often look like no work was being done.
“Residents may think that you’ve closed down the bridge and nothing is happening,” she said. “That is not the case. They have to wait for concrete to cure…they may not necessarily be out there for the month that the concrete is curing.” She noted that this was actually the most time-intensive part of the project. Upon questioning as to which contractors were available, Victor stated that there were very few rehabilitative contractors, and there were two at the top of the list that both had very good reputations.
The council then discussed the Citywide Cleanup. The trend across the state of SD has been to cancel or postpone, though councilmember Godbey was of the opinion that it should go on. Garbage N More is the contracted service provider. It was suggested that perhaps moving it to a later date would be a good idea in order to encourage social distancing, and the council agreed to that. A new date was not set, and it will be re-evaluated at the May meeting.
The Garretson School Board meeting met at their regularly scheduled time of April 13 at 5:45 p.m., but the meeting was unusual in other ways. Using the internet and the Zoom program, the school board convened digitally. To allow the public access to the meeting it was broadcast live on the school’s dedicated public access channel from Alliance Communications. They also allowed a small number of people access to the school commons to watch the proceedings through the large screen television in the commons that is regularly set to the school’s Alliance channel during ballgames. Only the Gazette reporter took advantage of this.
School board member Tony Martens used an empty classroom in the school, whereas Shannon Nordstrom called in from his offices at Nordstrom’s Automotive, and Ruth Sarar, Kari Flanagan, and Rachel Hanisch called in from home. Each administrator joined the meeting from their respective offices, rather than gathering together in one place.
“I’ve done a lot of calls like this before, and especially in this last month,” said Supt. Guy Johnson. “We’ll all be in little boxes just like the Brady Bunch. Just remember, if you put yourself on mute to unmute before you start talking again.”
Despite his warning, he himself and others in the meeting did this a few times. The live broadcast was not without a few technical hiccups and was far from ideal, but it functioned and everyone could be heard.
Board president Shannon Nordstrom held up a small portrait of the flag to the screen and everyone said the Pledge of Allegiance to start the meeting.
First, they talked through, amended, and then approved the agenda. Revision of employee communicable disease policy guidelines was tabled until regular school resumed and the school nurse returned. Nordstrom requested that item F on the agenda, a discussion on Teaching Staff Contract Recommendations, be added until after the executive session and so they would also amend the executive session listed to be for both personnel and contract negotiations. The board approved.
Matt has been teaching not only our students, but many adults as well this year."
Superintendent Guy Johnson
The board then recognized Matt Schrank as the Garretson School District teacher of the year.
“Matt has been teaching not only our students, but many adults as well this year,” said Supt. Johnson. “The nominations came in and Matt was simply the clear winner. Not only is he doing fun and exciting things in his classes, with thoughtful engagement with his students, and he and his students doing regular broadcasts on our school’s Alliance channel, but he has taught all of our staff how to use technology in new ways. And if you have a question, Mr. Schrank will answer it, in a timely manner too. I know he’s gotten midnight questions from students and staff and he’s responded. This E-learning transition we’re doing in the midst of this crisis would simply not have been possible without him.”
Next, Jacob Schweitzer, Business Manager gave reports on the 2019 Audit of the school and the food service RFP. The audit went well, the only notation is the “lack of controls” clause which is the same complaint small districts (i.e. the majority of SD Schools) with limited personnel get annually from their auditor. Schweitzer recommended that Quam, Berglin & Post, P.C. be rehired for the next fiscal year for this service and the board did so.
He then spoke about the RFP. Thrive Nutrition Service was closing its school lunch operations as of the end of this school year. After retooling the RFP that the previous school business manager, Emily Bucher, had prepared last year, it was ready for board approval and posting. Obviously, no one was happy that this had come to pass in the way it did, but Schweitzer and Johnson were hopeful the district would get at least three potential bidders for this RFP.
The City Council extended the ordinance requiring businesses to keep to 10 patrons or less, plus temporarily closed playgrounds and the campground to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. And while the halls of the schools may be mostly empty, the teachers are hard at work, helping Garretson students with distance and on-line learning. Jesse James Days has been delayed to August 14-16. Plus much more!
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With all but “essential” county, state and federal offices being closed during the COVID-19 crisis, many people are left to wonder how to do regular business that they feel needs to be done,
This week, the Garretson Gazette has put together a tutorial on where people can still get things taken care of, and what may not need to be taken care of for the time being.
To handle much of this business, a person needs to have Internet access, but phone numbers of specific offices are included where those offices may be open.
Starting this year, a new online system is in place for people who have to pay Minnehaha County taxes.
Those needing to make a payment by April 30 can go to www2.minnehahacounty.org/property_tax/index.aspx and click on the “Please click here” link toward the bottom of the page.
This takes the taxpayer to the GovTech site that handles property tax payments where a person can enter a last name or parcel number and find and pay any taxes owed.
Of course, people should have received tax notices over a month ago and can mail in a check with the tax coupon. Or they can drop off the payment at the tax drop box outside the main entrance on the west side of the Minnehaha County Administration Building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
People who have questions about property taxes can call the treasurer’s office at (605) 367-4211.
Property tax payments are probably not needed from private homeowners who have mortgages on their property, as those are typically taken care of through escrow accounts.
Another function of the county treasurer’s office is to take care of motor vehicle registration renewals.
Without going into the office, new tags can be obtained online, at a kiosk or through the mail.
Online, people can go to sdcars.org/ and click on the “RENEW NOW” plate on the left.
People who don’t already have accounts will be prompted to make one in order to renew their license tags.
A quicker way to do this is to visit one of the two kiosks in Sioux Falls at the 41st and Louise Hy-Vee or the Get-N-Go at 5400 Arrowhead Parkway.
However, this requires leaving the house and is not advised for anyone under a “self-quarantine.” Also, having disinfectant wipes to clean the kiosks before use is never a bad idea.
There is also a third option where renewal tags can be ordered by mail.
When motor vehicle operators originally received their renewal notices, the card had instructions for obtaining tags by mail.
For those who no longer have those cards, they can contact the Minnehaha County Treasurer’s Office.
While this option takes more time to complete, deadlines currently are on “hold,” as the state has asked law enforcement not to ticket cars for a month after they expire.
This extended grace period will end after April, but it does give people a chance to use the options that take more time.
For people needing to pay taxes and get plates for new cars, they should have gotten information from the dealer, but they can always call the Minnehaha County Treasurer’s office at (605) 367-4211 for more information.
The good news for voting is that last week, South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett announced that all registered voters will receive an absentee ballot application in the mail for the primary elections.
While absentee voting for the Sioux Falls city and school elections is already taking place at the County Election Center at 6th and Main Streets in Sioux Falls, starting next week, the voting will be combined with state primary election for people living in the city.
As always, before folks can vote (and before they can apply for any ballots), they need to be registered, and this can be taken care of, even with the auditor’s office being closed to the public.
This time, there is a combination of online and mail involved in the registration process.
Start by going to sdsos.gov/elections-voting/voting/register-to-vote/default.aspx and scrolling down until a button is seen to “download a voter registration form.”
This brings up a .pdf copy of a form that needs to be filled out, printed off, signed and mailed into the Minnehaha County Auditor’s office at 414 N. Dakota Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57104.
But after this process is complete, all registered voters will automatically be receiving an application for an absentee ballot, thanks to Barnett’s office.
On the application, voters will be able to select any election for which they are requesting a ballot.
Again, fill out and sign the form, then mail it to the Minnehaha County Auditor.
Remember, voters must send in a copy of their driver license (or other official ID) with the applications or have the form notarized (they do not need to do both).
As Barnet has not yet given a date when he will be sending out applications, there is still plenty of time for people who do not have scanners to figure out how to get a license/ID photo copy.
One possible method is to take a photo of the ID with a cell phone and email it home, print it off and mail it with the application.
There may also be a method for emailing the photo directly to Minnehaha County Auditor Bob Litz at , but voters should wait until the application arrives to look for that option.
An absentee ballot will then be mailed out for the voter to complete and return.
But again, absentee voting can be completed at the County Election Center. Personnel at that site are taking extra precautions to sanitize and enforce social distancing.
For other questions, people can contact the Minnehaha County Auditor’s office at (605) 367-4220.
Moving on to the state, all offices deemed “non-essential” have been closed for the past month.
Because of that, on March 13, Gov. Kristi Noem ordered that all driver licenses that expire at this time will still be valid for up to 90 days after her order ends. (It was originally set to end on May 2, but that could be changed.)
However, people wanting to get their licenses renewed now, can go online to apps.sd.gov/PS11eSDDrivers/DLEligibilityCheck.aspx to see if they are eligible for an online renewal.
This can usually be done if a license was not renewed online during the previous renewal period.
Due to businesses being shut down around the country, there has been a huge spike in people applying for unemployment benefits.
In Minnehaha County, that is no different.
People who have lost their jobs during the COVID-19 crisis can apply for unemployment assistance at the South Dakota Department of Labor office at 811 E. 10th St. in Sioux Falls.
Because so many people have been “furloughed” and hope to eventually be re-employed by the same company, usual requirements, such as waiting for payments to begin and applying for a certain number of jobs every week, have been waived.
More information about this can be found at www.benefits.gov/benefit/1810 (there are links on this page that take people to the U.S. Dept. of Labor site) or by calling (605) 626-2452.
By Anna Johnson, policy manager, Center for Rural Affairs
In the face of our public health crisis due to the coronavirus, Congress recently passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provides unprecedented levels of aid to individuals and industries, including a variety of supports for agriculture.
The first is the creation of a $9.5 billion disaster relief program for producers. Funding is for specialty crop, livestock, and local food producers.
The bill also includes an additional $14 billion for the Commodity Credit Corporation, the same fund previously used to make trade mitigation payments to commodity growers.
As of this writing, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has not announced how it will administer this aid.
The legislation also provides funding for small business loan programs, including the newly-created Paycheck Protection Program. Farms apply through existing Small Business Administration lenders, including many banks and participating Farm Credit institutions. Farms with 500 or fewer employees are eligible.
Lenders will accept applications through June 30, although interested individuals should not delay in applying. Visit sba.gov to learn more.
The CARES Act also provides $10 billion in funding for an existing program — the Economic Injury Disaster Loans — which many small businesses, but not farms, are currently eligible for. These loans are for working capital following a disaster, for paying fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid due to a disaster.
Finally, self-employed people, including farmers, are now eligible to apply for unemployment benefits.
Congress has already begun discussions on the next aid package. Farmers seeing adverse impacts from the coronavirus may contact their legislators’ offices to share concerns.
It is nice to have warmer weather and get outside in spite of the unprecedented circumstances. You may have heard many buildings on the County campus are currently closed to the public, it is our priority to keep residents and staff safe. This was not an easy decision and will be re-evaluated near the end of April to see if conditions warrant further closure.
Even though many county buildings may not allow general access, courts remain open per the Presiding Judge of each district and South Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice. Courts are a state function as part of the United Judicial Service and counties do not have authority over how courts operate. Refer to your attorney if you plan a trip to courts for current access protocols.
Given the economic impact of COVID-19 on communities locally and across the state, some residents have asked if property tax due dates can be changed or if interest can be waived. Interest for late payments is assessed at the rate of .833 percent per month by statute. State law clearly indicates counties do not have statutory authority to change either of these items; codified law can only be amended by the legislature.
The County receives twenty cents of every property tax dollar collected, the remainder goes to schools, municipalities, townships, and special taxing districts (i.e. water districts, etc). Without these dollars, the County could not continue to provide important services including public safety, utility assistance, rental assistance, and other services required by statute.
The County recently updated the online property tax system with a new vendor, Govtech. This new platform provides a simplified process for taxpayers to navigate. Taxpayers are now able pay multiple properties at one time vs the previous system of paying a maximum of five properties at a time; service fees may apply. The new system is accepting 2020 property tax payments. In the first three months of the year, over 1300 residents have taken advantage of this method to save themselves a trip to the County Administration Building.
County business can be conducted online, by mail, or by phone. Please go to www.minnehahacounty.org and click on the COVID-19 sliding banner for more information. In this time of social distancing, please do your part to spread a positive attitude and kind words to those you interact with. Together this too shall pass to brighter days.
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