Event set for December 4-5 in Sioux Falls at the Ramkota Exhibit Hall
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Nov. 14, 2019) – The South Dakota Soybean Association invites soybean growers and friends in agriculture to attend the 2019 AgOutlook event, set for Thursday, December 5 at the Sioux Falls Ramkota Exhibit Hall. The event includes a trade show featuring more than 70 vendors and a day-long agenda of speakers who will share their expertise on useful and informative topics.
“We’ve all had quite a year, full of market and weather challenges. That being said, there’s also a lot to be excited about as South Dakota soybean growers,” commented Jeff Thompson, grower from Colton, S.D., and President of the South Dakota Soybean Association. “I encourage farmers to take time to attend AgOutlook, to make some new friends and reconnect with old ones.”
AgOutlook is held in conjunction with the South Dakota Soybean Association’s annual meeting, which will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 4. A free social, themed “Uniting Agriculture,” will follow in the Washington and Lincoln Rooms, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Preregistration is requested but not required at www.sdsoybean.org or call (605) 330-9942.
“As we wrap up one of the most challenging years in agriculture, now is the time to make plans for a successful new year by attending AgOutlook,” added Craig Converse, soybean grower from Brookings, S.D., and Chairman of the South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion Council. “Your checkoff investment continues to create new market opportunities by expanding into new countries and creating new products.”
Thursday, Dec. 5 kicks off with the Calyxt “Early Riser Breakfast,” at 8:00 a.m. on the topic of “Join the Journey Toward Healthy Foods and Healthy Premiums.” No pre-registration is needed for this open-to-the-public event.
New this year to AgOutlook is a women’s program, which will be held Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Featured topics include “Annie’s Project,” an educational program dedicated to strengthening women’s roles in modern farm and ranch enterprises, and an SDSU Extension presentation of “Helping My Neighbor with Farm and Ranch Stress.”
South Dakota Soybean is pleased to welcome DTN Senior Meteorologist Bryce Anderson to this year’s AgOutlook, who will speak at 10:30 a.m. to share his insights from 25-plus years of in-depth analysis and weather forecasts for DTN and Progressive Farmer.
After a noon meal in the trade show, Bob Farmer, writer and spokesman for Farmers’ Almanac, will take the stage to lift our spirits with some down-home humor taken from the pages of the fabled publication. At 3:00 p.m., AgOutlook attendees will hear from Tom Steever, whose radio career began at Sioux Falls’ KSOO and is now 17 years in with the Brownfield Ag Network.
“I enjoy making new friends and renewing old acquaintances with farmers and agribusiness professionals,” Jerry Schmitz, South Dakota Soybean executive director, said about the upcoming event. “AgOutlook is an opportunity for farmers to exchange information about farming, family and friends. We’ll also share the challenges and successes on the farm this past year and discuss how what we learned from them will shape our business in 2020.”
There is no cost to attend AgOutlook. Pre-register for the event and see the detailed schedule online at www.sdsoybean.org or by calling (605) 330-9942.
Samuel Blackstone, South Dakota News Watch correspondent
Many home births are "water births" in which the mother is immersed in a pool of warm water to ease the birthing process. This photo taken after a home water birth is a stock image with no known connection to residents of South Dakota. Photo: Shutterstock
Legislation passed in 2017 in South Dakota opened the door
to licensing of a new classification of “professional midwives,” who can become
certified to perform home births with far less training and education than
“nurse midwives” who have been regulated in South Dakota for 40 years.
While midwives with the new professional certification have
successfully delivered 10 babies since then (two of whom required transport to
a hospital), one top medical official in South Dakota is concerned the new
certification may legitimize lay midwives who can put mothers and children at
risk.
A main concern is that the new classification of legal
midwifery, the Certified Professional Midwife, demands far less education and
clinical training than a Certified Nurse Midwife, a classification that
requires a nursing degree and which has been regulated in South Dakota since
1979.
Some supporters of home births say CPMs are fully capable of
delivering babies safely and that midwives in general create needed birthing
options for prospective parents, particularly in rural areas where access to
hospitals may be limited. They also note that lay midwives have been working
outside the law for years and that at least now they must be certified.
Dr. Robert J. Summerer
But opponents of the CPM licensure law, including Dr. Robert
J. Summerer, president of the South Dakota State Medical Association, cite
studies showing higher neonatal mortality rates in home births than in hospital
deliveries.
Summerer, a Madison, S.D. surgeon, also noted the
discrepancy between the hours of clinical training demanded of Certified Nurse
Midwives (1,040 hours) versus Certified Professional Midwives (about 50 hours
depending on the program) before they can deliver babies independently.
“It is very clear that their training is inadequate and it’s
putting two people at risk: the mother and the child,” he said. “We still think
it is unsafe that the state would sanction something that is so risky for our
residents in the state.”
The rate of home births has been rising in South Dakota and
across the country, and is much higher among Native Americans.
In South Dakota, there were 50 intentional home births in
2014, compared to 79 in 2017 and 75 in 2018, according to the state Department
of Health.
In 2003, about 8% of American births were attended by
midwives, more than double the 1990 rate of 3.9%. The rate of home births is
more than double among Native Americans nationally, with 19.9% of all Native
babies delivered by midwives in 2017 compared to only 9.1% of all births that
year, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 2017 CPM law was passed in South Dakota after more than
a decade of effort by midwifery supporters and lobbyists to legitimize the
practice of home births assisted by lay midwives, which they argued was
occurring regardless of the law and thus should be brought under state control
to ensure safety.
Per state law, a CPM is responsible for “the management and
care of the low-risk mother-baby unit in an out-of-hospital setting during
pregnancy, labor, delivery and postpartum periods.” CPMs differ from Certified
Nurse Midwives (CNMs) in a few regards, chief among them the level of education
and training necessary and the location where each can work.
As is the case in many other states, CNMs practicing in
South Dakota must undergo a more academically rigorous program than CPMs before
certification. CNMs are also registered nurses and typically study nursing for
four years in an undergraduate setting before obtaining their master’s degree
in nursing after two or three years of further study.
The payoff is greater autonomy and opportunity, as CNMs are
free to practice in hospitals, birth centers, clinics, for the Indian Health
Service, or to start their own midwifery business. There are 37 active CNMs in South
Dakota, according to the state Department of Health.
In the spring of 2019, the state board tasked with
regulating home births performed by non-registered nurse midwives began to
issue their first CPM licenses in South Dakota.
Known as the South Dakota Board of Certified Professional
Midwives, it was created as part of the 2017 law that legalized and created a
framework to regulate the Certified Professional Midwife industry.
State Senator Deb Soholt, R-Sioux Falls
“We were trying to create the legislative highway for that
Certified Professional Midwife to be able to be in practice in the sunshine
instead of in the underground,” said Sen. Deb Soholt, R-Sioux Falls, a
registered nurse, chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee and
former president of the South Dakota Nursing Association.
When the law became effective on July 1, 2017, South Dakota
became the 32nd state to have a licensing track for CPMs on the books. To date,
there are 35 such states. Soholt voted against the bill for years before voting
in support in 2017.
“For 20 years I fought against [it],” she said. “Finally I
came to the realization that as a senator, if I believe in local control, and I
know what it means to have a baby, who am I to say to another family ‘I am
going to write your birth process for you?’ Families have the right to
self-determination. If those families are willing to take that risk [of home
birth], then we need to understand that risk. Let’s create a structure where we
can see it.”
The board began issuing licenses in March. So far, just four
CPMs and two student CPMs have been licensed in the state, with 10 recorded
home births, two of which required transport to a hospital. As the industry
begins to inch away from infancy, the safety records remain inconclusive and
the bill’s efficacy is up for debate.
Supporters of the CPM licensure law point to some studies
depicting a reduced risk of health complications and death for mothers and/or
babies in home birth settings as comparable to hospital births. According to
the state Department of Health, there have not been any reported deaths during
342 home births recorded since 2014.
In that same period, there have been 60,379 hospital births
in the state, with 374 infant deaths, an infant mortality rate of 0.62%. The
national average for infant mortality in 2017 was 0.58%, the CDC said.
Both sides of the issue said the tracking of such rates is
difficult because of differences in how hospitals may label a birth. For
example, if complications occur during a home birth that require transport to
the hospital and the baby is then delivered in the hospital, it is labeled as a
hospital birth.
State law permits a home birth only if the pregnancy is
deemed “low risk … based on an assessment of the woman’s past medical history
and ongoing assessment of the mother-baby unit throughout the pregnancy, labor,
delivery and postpartum care.”
Measurements of the woman’s vital signs, blood work, and
results from the 20-week ultrasound are typically part of the assessment. As a
result, Summerer said statistics for home births constitute results only for
the lowest risk populations.
“I’m not sure that they are really comparing apples to
apples,” he said.
Cassie Applegate, R.N., CNM, followed the nursing school
route in Colorado before opening Apple Tree Midwifery in Rapid City in 2016.
Her job, she said, is to perform the duties of a women’s health nurse
practitioner, offering care for women from puberty through menopause.
The breadth of education and scope of practice for CPMs is
more limited.
Per state law, CPMs must complete an educational program
certified by the Midwifery Education Accreditation Council and receive their
certification from the North American Registry of Midwives. They can then apply
for a state license.
Typically, the course load for a CPM in training requires
students to shadow a licensed CPM as they perform prenatal health assessments
and care, home births and postpartum care. CPMs primarily practice in client’s
homes and are not allowed to practice in hospitals.
Applegate added that more midwives also means more options
for women and increased access to care for rural and low-income populations.
“Our state needs more midwives in any birth setting to give
women options and to really reach that access to care which we’re lacking,” she
said.
Summerer, however, flipped the argument that women who live
far from a hospital are better served by a home birth.
“Those people are probably the most vulnerable in a home
delivery because if they are far away from a facility where babies are
delivered safely and something goes wrong then they are even further behind the
8-ball as far as getting the appropriate care,” he said. “I get that people
want to go to a more natural kind of setting but you just hate to put your
child or yourself at risk to make those decisions. We’ve come so far in
medicine, it just doesn’t seem like a smart thing to move back.”
Redfield celebrated the 100th anniversary of South Dakota’s first official pheasant hunt with a big party last week. Hundreds of men and women marched the cornfields of Spink County and then gathered for a prime rib dinner and some wonderful storytelling. The festive event prompted us to remember some of our favorite pheasant tales from the last 35 years of publishing South Dakota Magazine.
Madison wildlife artist John Green once told us the story of when he went afield with some out-of-state sportsmen who had only seen jackalopes in pictures and gift shops. As they neared the end of a corn row, a jackrabbit with tall ears — but, needless to say, no antlers — jumped from the corn and hopped away. One of the hunters yelled out, “Don’t shoot! It’s a doe!”
Lots of famous people have come to South Dakota to hunt pheasants. That makes for some interesting conversations, especially for the Zoss family. Adolf Zoss was hunting near Letcher in 1945 when an old Ford came down a dirt road. It was Lawrence Welk, the famous champagne music man, with members of his band. Welk asked Adolf if he knew where there might be birds, and the South Dakotan gladly guided them to several of his favorite spots.
Zoss couldn’t wait to tell his wife, Amelia, but unfortunately neither she or any of their 11 children believed him because he was known for telling stories.
Photo by Bernie Hunhoff, SD Magazine
As Welk gained greater fame and a national TV audience, Zoss told and retold the story to his doubting family until he died in 1957.
Imagine his survivors’ surprise, however, when an issue of Lawrence Welk Magazine was published in 1968 with stories about Welk’s days in the Dakotas and a picture and story about a successful pheasant hunt. There on page 56 was a photo of Welk with a shotgun, and sitting in the old Ford were his band members and a slightly bemused Adolf Zoss. No doubt they all had a “wunnerful” time.
The Brooklyn Dodgers came to Winner to hunt pheasants in the 1930s. After quickly limiting on birds, the players were looking for more to do so the hotel manager suggested they talk to David Busk, who told them about rattlesnake hunting. Busk was known for eradicating more than 3,000 rattlesnakes to protect local children. He took the ballplayers to the White River valley where they caught and killed quite a few snakes. The players came back for several years to help Busk in his mission, giving double meaning to the old Dodger saying, “Wait ’til next year!”
Peggy Schiedel of Yankton remembers meeting Cary Grant when he came to their Faulkton farm to hunt. He was a friend of her uncle, who was a Navy captain in California. “My brothers and I slept in the mudroom so our guests could have our bedrooms, but we were still thrilled to have them because they brought boxes of La Fama Candy.” She says Grant taught them how to walk on stilts, and he showed her dad how to build them.
Monte James, a South Dakota farm broadcaster on the Ag Network, once guided some Coca Cola executives from Atlanta on a hunt near Vivian. Despite their enthusiasm, the Southerners couldn’t hit the proverbial barn. But they were determined to get some birds. Finally, James and his dog Ice Cream flushed some pheasants in some very high grass and the hunters emptied their shotguns to no avail. But James hollered, “You knocked a couple down!”
Then he and Ice Cream disappeared into the brush to look for the birds. He stealthily pulled a few birds from his own pouch. He sent one with Ice Cream and he carried the other himself. The hunters were giddy with excitement and left James a big tip, which he used in part to buy Ice Cream a buffalo ribeye.
Out-of-state hunters do, unfortunately, become the inspiration for some of our pheasant humor but they probably don’t mind — at least not any more than we mind the joke about the South Dakota cowboy who traveled to Kansas to see the Statue of Liberty.
These past 100 pheasant hunting seasons have been all about having a fun time and turning strangers into friends. Here’s to another 100 years, humor and all.
Katie Hunhoff is editor and publisher of South Dakota Magazine, a bi-monthly print publication featuring the people and places of our state. For more information visit www.southdakotamagazine.com.
I would like to begin by thanking Bruce Brown for his letter in the Gazette (November 21, 2019) defending Tom Godbey's position regarding updating the city's ordinance dealing with the number of pets allowed in a household.
Secondly, there are still a few corrections to be made in regards to the newspaper article which Bruce referred to in his letter.
#1. Tom did not apologize to anyone other than the mayor and fellow city council members for getting them dragged into this through social media. Unfortunately, they are used to getting hammered on social media due to the problem with 3rd Street construction. They are a tough group!
#2. As far as "owned up to his mistake".....Tom did not say that he made a mistake in bringing this issue up. He merely EXPLAINED why he broached the subject of the pet ordinance at a recent city council meeting. Also, there were citizens at the November meeting whom spoke up and agreed that there is a problem with the number of pets allowed. It gets quite tiresome listening to dogs constantly barking in certain neighborhoods.
# 3 For the record, if the new ordinance would have passed, existing pets would not have been "taken away". They would have been grandfathered into the amended ordinance. In addition, Tom is not anti-pet. He had a dog growing up. We also have three grand-dogs that we take great pleasure in playing with!
Tom considers it an honor and a pleasure to serve you through his position on the city council.
Respectfully,
Karla Godbey
717 4th Street
Garretson SD
Editor's Response
Public office does come with criticisms, and at times, those may seem unwarranted. The public statement that Tom read to the council and the audience in attendance came across as it was portrayed in the article.
Anytime a council member feels unfairly represented, we consider it an honor for them to approach us in person and clarify their positions right away, because we feel that discussion makes all of us better serve our community. In this case, it would have been easy for Tom to get a copy of his statement to the Gazette prior to publication of the article, and it likely would have been reprinted word for word, as we want to ensure the community understands what its government is doing or attempting to do. As it was, the closest approximation to how the audience understood the statement was instead published. This was done, as always, with as much accuracy as possible.
It is not the Gazette’s goal to misrepresent any facts, and the fact is, most members of the community, while they want to ensure that they are not infringing on their neighbor’s rights, also want to ensure their own rights are not being infringed, either. Limiting the number of pets so severely is an infringement, and would punish good pet owners and not necessarily punish bad ones. It does only take one bad pet owner to ruin it for all of us, just as Tom said, and making changes to the ordinance with regards to noise infringement, which is the direction the council decided to take, is a much better way to approach the situation, and the Gazette is grateful to the Garretson City Council for being thoughtful and well-reasoned.
James Leo Liester Jr. was born in Garretson SD to James and Gertrude (DeClerk) Liester on November 20, 1932. He attended country school and graduated from Garretson High School in 1950. After high school, he was drafted into the army and served from 1950-1953 as a military policeman. On January 7, 1953 he married Helen (Fiegen) at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Dell Rapids SD. He was a farmer for over 60 years on the family farm. He served on the Garretson Elevator Board for many years and was a member of the Garretson Legion Post #23 for 65 years. James enjoyed dancing the polka, playing cards, watching baseball and football, especially the Twins and Vikings and spending time with family and his lifelong friends and neighbors. He always had cookies ready for family and visitors.
James passed away on Saturday, November 16, 2019 at Avera McKennan Hospital at the age of 86.
Survivors include his children: Wayne (Cheryl) Liester, Garretson SD; Elaine (Dave) Chapman, Dell Rapids SD; Paul (Julie) Liester, Baltic SD; Cynthia Dierks, Fulda MN. 9 Grandchildren: Amy (Tom) Endres, Jodi (Jeff) Stebbins, Beth (Shane) Carlson, James (Sydney) Chapman, Rayanne, Katy & Tess Liester, Cole & Justin Dierks, 10 Great Grandchildren: Olivia, Abby, Ben and Will Endres, Kylie & Quinn Stebbins, Lola & Poppy Carlson, Machenzy & Tytan Chapman. Brothers: Mark Liester, Bill Liester Sisters: Mary Ellen Sorenson, Jean Wick.
He is preceded in death by his loving wife, his parents and son-in-law Brian Dierks.
Mass of Christian Burial will begin at 10:30 AM Thursday, November 21, 2019 at St. Mary Catholic Church, Dell Rapids. Burial will be in the St. Mary Catholic Cemetery. Visitation will be from 4:00-7:00 PM Wednesday, with a Wake Service at 5:00 PM at the Minnehaha Funeral Home, Dell Rapids.
Casketbearers are his 9 grandchildren: Amy Endres, Jodi Stebbins, Beth Carlson, James Chapman, Cole Dierks, Justin Dierks, Rayanne Liester, Katy Liester, Tess Liester
Karen Lee Hagedorn, 76, passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by family on Friday, November 22, 2019 after a long-fought battle with cancer. Karen Lee Anderson was born August 12, 1943 in Sioux Falls, SD. She grew up on a farm outside of Garretson, SD with her three brothers. After graduating high school, she attended Mankato State and later completed her accounting degree at Minnesota School of Business.
Karen married Melvin Stelling in 1964 and had two children-- Michael and Michelle. She later married Guenter Hagedorn and had a son, Jurgen. She spent 39 years of her career in finance at Meyers Printing and retired in 2011. Karen was passionate about gardening and spending time with her family.
Karen is preceded in death by her parents, Leland & Alice Anderson (Peterson) and her brothers, Raymond & Peter Anderson. Karen is survived by her brother, Richard Anderson (Sue); her son, Michael Stelling (Tera); daughter, Shelly Paulsrud; and son, Jurgen Hagedorn (Katie); two step-children, Peter Moore & Patricia Hagedorn; five grandchildren, Gabby & Josh Paulsrud, Andrea & Tristan Stelling, and Seth Hagedorn; three step-grandchildren, a niece and nephew, six step-great grandchildren, her four-legged companion Ruby along with many other beloved family and friends.
Visitation 3-5 p.m. Sunday, December 1, 2019 at David Lee Funeral Home, 1220 East Wayzata Boulevard, Wayzata.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, December 2nd at 11 a.m. at Oak Knoll Lutheran Church, 600 County Road 73, Minnetonka and Tuesday, December 3rd at 12 p.m. at Split Rock Lutheran Church, 25798 483rd Ave, Brandon, SD with visitation 1 hour prior to each service at church.
In lieu of flowers, the family would prefer donations be made to the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute at Abbott Northwestern Hospital or Allina Health Hospice Foundation.
This month I would like to discuss Garretson’s 2020 budget. The city is required by law to maintain a balanced budget. In September the city council met for a special meeting to discuss the budget and set the final numbers. The final deadline for submitting the budget to the county is October 1st. There is a safeguard in place to prevent any inappropriate use of budgeted money, the city has an annual report completed by an independent auditor submitted for review by the SD Department of Legislative Audit. Every 2 years, an audit and review is completed by a secondary firm which is also submitted to SD Department of Legislative Audit.
Anna Uhl is the city’s finance officer. Most people know her as the friendly face of city hall, but Anna wears many hats with her job. Her most important job is maintaining the finances of our community. She is also a great resource when it comes to calculating the upcoming year’s budget.
The city’s budget for 2020 has a large milestone. We will be paying our final payment for the natural gas utility. This loan was a 25 year loan but was refinanced in 1998. There were extra payments made and we are slightly ahead of schedule for paying the loan off.
The city receives numerous requests from non-profit groups for a subsidy. These subsidies go to promote or improve our community. All of the subsidy requests were approved. The largest of these was the Garretson Fire Department and Garretson Ambulance. Both of these groups are extremely vital to our community and received the full amounts that they requested. The money for both groups is used for equipment, buildings and vehicles.
The city has used a capital outlay program for many years. This fund holds a set amount of money for equipment that the city needs. Each year we set a portion of money for things like a front end loader, pickup, and mower, just to name a few things. It is much easier to set aside a small amount each year than trying to find money from the budget for the entire amount of a piece of equipment.
The city has also budgeted for 2 street projects this coming year. The first will be the completion of the 3rd Street/Main Street/Truck Route project. Anna has been working with the project engineer and state in an attempt to receive more grant money because of all of the difficulties we’ve had with this project. The second project is the 5th Street bridge project and this project is more difficult financially. The state will cover 80% of the project, but the city will need to completely pay for the project before we can submit to receive the state grant money.
Some changes to the budget for 2020 will be adding 1 full-time employee for the street department and 1 part-time employee for office staff. The full-time position will allow Craig to start mapping the infrastructure of the city. The part-time employee will help in the office during busy periods. In addition to the new employees, another change was that a couple of projects will be put on hold for 2020; tuck pointing the bathhouse and repairing the leak on the west side of the dam at Splitrock Park. Both projects need more studying to be done and we need to research if there is grant money available from the state.
The city council and staff work hard on the yearly budget. We have done everything we can to eliminate unintended expenses. A surprise will quickly ruin a budget. The budget is so important that the council holds a special meeting to plan and work on it and there is discussion months before that final meeting. As always please contact your city council members if you have any questions. Thank you.
SIOUX FALLS – The Minnehaha County Commission Chamber was mostly full on Tuesday, Nov. 19, to hear a final report of the Facilities Task Force.
The commissioners and others heard about needs for main facility projects – the highway department, the administration building, the extension offices and the Juvenile Detention Center.
The task force, made up of local people from the building and construction sector, as well as three commissioners and other county employees, met several times over the summer, and with a team from the University of South Dakota, to look at the county’s needs.
And while commissioners realized that much work needed to be done on some aging facilities, they seemed happy to hear a plan from the task force that could bring about all necessary improvements with no, or very little, need to increase property taxes beyond existing levels.
Keith Severson, who spoke for the task force, gave a detailed briefing on the group’s findings.
He pointed out that with interest rates being historically low, the county’s “cash on hand,” and their ability to sell surplus property, the ability to do debt service and make payments on any building bonds could be taken care of without any increases to taxes.
Severson gave details on what needed to be done and methods of finance that could be used.
The specific areas Severson and the task force put together were $8 million for the Highway Shop, $234,000 for the Extension Building, $4.6 million for the Administration Building, $1.9 million for Metro Communications, $2 million for other equipment replacement, as well as between $200,000 and $841,000 for the Juvenile Detention Center.
The task force recommended that the JDC needs be taken care of with funds available, and according to figures presented, the other needs could be taken care of over the next 20 years.
Severson explained that the county currently has $2.89 million budgeted for debt service on previous bonds, but those would be expiring soon, and that money would be available to service another bond.
He also said that if another bond issue were necessary to get necessary funds, the cost to local taxpayers would only be $4.33 per $100,000.
However, he emphasized the task force did not believe that a new bond issue was needed.
No action on any of this was taken by the commission at this time, but Commissioner Gerald Beninga said, “The longer we wait there’s a good chance the projects will cost more. There is no question we need to do this, and now we have a roadmap to get us there.”
Prior to the Facilities Task Force presentation, commissioners held the regular weekly meeting.
While it was very brief, Jay Masur of MedStar Ambulance in Brandon did have a brief message during the public comments.
Over past months, Masur had asked the county commission for a “stand-by” fee to help off-set some of his costs.
At those times, it was said that Masur needed to complete certain paperwork to request that money, although Masur was refusing then, as he said he did not want to provide financials for his other business.
(MedStar looks at its ambulance business and medical transport business separately, Masur explained in the past.)
From later conversations, though, Masur said he was in the process of doing the paperwork and doing what the county required, but according to one commissioner, even right up to the day the budget needed to be finalized, Masur still hadn’t turned in completed paperwork requesting funds to the level commissioners felt was necessary.
However, at the regular meeting on Nov. 19, Masur said, “We weren’t funded again…and my family makes that up with our personal income.
“That’s the way it is, and I’m not here to fight that anymore… For those areas that are funding us, I want them to know that if the county decides to lower its standards, which is what this new ordinance would have done, MedStar Ambulance would never have a decrease in services.
“In fact, some of our services will continue to increase, with or without a subsidy from this county.
“MedStar is going to continue to work hard, and I am not going to be here anymore requesting anything from this county, because, obviously, as far as this county is concerned, we’re not worth the help."
In regard to the “ordinance” Masur spoke of, he seemed to be referring to an ambulance ordinance which had the first reading on Nov. 4, but will not have the second reading, public hearing and vote until Tuesday, Dec. 3.
When that issue comes up on the agenda, all people present for public comment will be heard.
One of the proposed changes would bring county requirements in line with state law, which only requires that one EMT be on any ambulance run. Currently, in Minnehaha County, two EMTs are required.
The Minnehaha County Commission has its regular meetings each Tuesday at 9 a.m. on the second floor of the county administration building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
These meetings are open to all, and public comment is always encouraged.
By Rhea Landholm, brand marketing and communications manager, Center for Rural Affairs
Shopping at a locally-owned and operated business is truly a unique experience.
The atmosphere surrounds you as soon as you step out of your car. Sometimes, holiday music flows through the main thoroughfares of your small town. Almost always, twinkling snowflakes line the streets.
Large storefront windows decorated for the season beam welcoming lights onto the sidewalk. These windows offer a snapshot of what you can expect when you enter the small business.
Upon taking that step inside, chances are you’ll get a friendly “hello.” This likely is the small business owner.
While shopping, the quiet is soothing. It gives you time to ponder that gift you’re looking for. Is it something your loved one will like? You can ask the business owner’s advice. They’ll be happy to chat with you. Sometimes they’ll make suggestions. If they don’t have the item you’re looking for, they may send you to a neighboring store that’s also locally-owned.
You can shop whenever their doors are open. One special day this year to keep in mind is Small Business Saturday, which is Nov. 30. Many of these businesses will have special activities and offers planned specifically for that day.
Small businesses help drive our rural communities. They help our downtowns thrive. This holiday season, and year round, it’s up to us to support them.
Shopping locally bolsters our community’s economy. Each dollar spent can bring in as much as $3.50 to the local economy, according to the American Independent Business Alliance. This gives a hand up to the business, its employees, and allows them to shop in town, multiplying your dollar.
This holiday season, I challenge you to go downtown. Step out of your car. Take in the sights and sounds. Support our small business owners. After all, they are our friends and neighbors.
Beginning on Monday, November 25th, County Highway 122 (254th St.) will be closed between County Highway 155 (461st Ave) and 462nd Ave. This will allow the contractor to remove and replace a bridge. Highway 122 traffic should follow the signed detour via County Highways 155, 110, and 149. This work is expected to take four months.
Prahm Construction Inc. of Slayton, MN is the general contractor for the project.
