First Rate has installed sanitary sewer up to the Fourth Street and Oak Drive intersection. All active sanitary services have also been replaced within Phase 2. The contractor is currently installing and testing the new 6” water main between Sherman Avenue and Oak Drive. In addition, Splitrock Landscaping has placed seed, fertilizer, and hydromulch on the disturbed areas within Phase 1.
Next, First Rate will finish installing the water main between Sherman Avenue and Oak Drive. Once the pressure and bacteria testing are complete, they will begin connecting residents to the new 6” water main. The storm sewer, reinforced concrete pipe (RCP), has also been delivered and staged at the east end of the jobsite. This pipe will be installed following the water service installation.
Left: Sanitary sewer main installation. Right: inside a vac truck pothole. Photo includes: the vac hose, pressure washer and located gas service. //Photos courtesy Sayre Associates
By Jakob Etrheim, President of the Garretson Area Historical Society
The Garretson Area Historical Society is thrilled to announce that it has been awarded a grant from Alliance Communications' “Keep The Change!” program. This generous grant will fund the commissioning and installation of a bronze plaque to signify the Garretson Heritage Museum's listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The plaque is expected to be installed by late July and will be placed on the exterior of the museum building near the entrance.
L to R: Museum representative Tony Plahn, Alliance Communication’s Paul Van De Berg, and Historical Society President Jakob Etrheim. //Photo submitted
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June is a great month! Everything is starting to pop and usually the weather is getting warmer. This May has been a little up and down. Lots of really cool things going on in June in our great community!
Split Rock Park and Devils Gulch are officially open and Memorial Day weekend was busy! Both Visitors centers are open daily, and the traffic has been great. Stop in and pick up some of the special merchandise, visit with our staff and enjoy our beautiful parks.
The Garretson pool officially opening On June 2nd. Passes are on sale at City Hall as well as the pool.
The Farmers Market in green space downtown- Tuesday June 10th, 6 PM to 7:30 PM. Lots of cool stuff. Make it an evening out! Have dinner at one of our local establishments.
Jesse James Days is June 13th through the 15th. So many things going on I can’t even begin to list them all. Friday evening there is the Corn Hole Tournament and fund raiser for the museum. The parade on Saturday at 11 AM is always fun, local businesses are always happy to see you. Our great museum is open from 10-4, with new displays and great history of Garretson. Rumor has it that the museum bank is a target for robbery by the James gang. The vendor fair at the Legion is completely booked with lots of cool crafts and more. There is a lot going on downtown and at the Jaycee’s Complex.
Please check out the website and FB page for schedule and details at https://VisitGarretsonSD.com.
We are also working on bringing back Movies in the Park- more on that at later date.
Now the part I really don’t like.
We continue to have an issue with people dumping construction materials, garbage and other waste at the City Branch Pile. There is a very specific new sign at the entrance that clearly states what you can and cannot dump there, in addition to where you must dump it. We have some folks who have been caught on camera and received a visit and citation from the Sheriff’s office, but it continues to happen. We are having a discussion about this at our monthly council meeting. The first option would be to go to our old system where you check out a key at City Hall, the other one will be to close it. The Council will make that decision.
The other issue that I had mentioned previously is blowing your grass clippings into the street while you are mowing your yard. This is bad for a number of reasons; it looks bad, it is against city ordinance, and it washes the clippings into the storm drains and plugs them up. This means when we get a storm, water can back up into the streets (and even homes). Cleaning them out is very time consuming. PLEASE do not blow clippings into the streets. If necessary, we will start issuing citations, something I really don’t want to do.
Lastly, let’s all have a great safe, fun summer, enjoy our beautiful parks and all the great activities we have.
Just like that, the year is over. It feels like just yesterday we were walking into the classrooms, giddy with excitement at what the new year would bring. We experienced stresses and successes, boredom and entertainment, questioning and confidence, throughout the year. Here is a look at what the 2024-2025 school year was for the Blue Dragon community.
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Costello receives scholarship for FFA summer leadership retreat
BATH (May 27, 2025) - Agriculture education teachers/FFA advisors make a world of difference for the students they teach. This spring, students put into words the impact their ag teachers/FFA advisors have had on them as part of an FFA Advisor Tribute Scholarship application. Seventeen students, including Garretson's Jacoby Costello, will receive a scholarship to attend a SD FFA Leadership Retreat this summer based on the powerful stories they shared about the impact their teachers have had on their lives. Costello spoke highly of FFA Advisor Alysha Kientopf.
The selected students were not afraid to share the admirable characteristics of their advisors and how they have placed a lasting impact on them and their fellow classmates.
Costello, a Garretson High School junior, commented, “Ms. Alysha Kientopf helped me out of my shell with public speaking. She encouraged me out of my bubble with ag broadcasting and now I can stand in front of a whole gym of people and not get nervous.”
Costello was awarded the Walt Johnson Memorial Scholarship.
Scholarships are made possible through the SD FFA Foundation by Rhonda Wosje, Jason and Ashley Frerichs, and the Walt Johnson Memorial Fund; in memory of two past FFA advisors: Leonard DeBoer and Walt Johnson. Both men led by example and their advice was truly ripened with wisdom. Mr. Johnson served as the SD FFA Foundation President, as well as on the SD FFA Foundation board, in Newell as an ag teacher, supporter and coach for FFA career development events. He was devoted to agriculture education and earned his Honorary American FFA Degree in 2007. Mr. DeBoer spent his life teaching young people about agriculture and the leadership skills that would make them successful in their career choice. He was the FFA advisor in Chamberlain for almost 40 years where he lived FFA's mission by making a difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.
Along with Costello, 16 other students from around South Dakota were awarded scholarships. They, too, spoke of how their advisor increased their confidence, self-esteem, and leadership skills.
For more information about the South Dakota FFA Foundation and South Dakota's FFA programs, visit www.sdffafoundation.org.
Student safety posters made into roadside billboards
Pipestone’s Saniya Bashir poses for a photo with SSC member Holly Kruger. Saniya’s billboard is in Luverne on Hwy 75. Tri-Valley’s Seneca Gelderman poses for a photo with SSC member Chris Graff. Seneca’s billboard is on I-90 at Brandon. SVE Safety Manager Terry Ebright makes a presentation to Robert Bennis Elementary’s Tristan Topping and Hannah Corlew recognizing their winning safety posters. (Photos by Sioux Valley Energy)
Four budding artists have their work on display on roadside billboards in the area as part of Sioux Valley Energy’s Safety Billboard Contest.
The winning artists hail from elementary schools in Brandon, Colton, and Pipestone.
Pipestone Area Elementary student Saniya Bashir has her winning art on display along U.S. Highway 75 in Luverne, Minnesota.
The artwork of Tri-Valley Elementary student Seneca Gelderman can be seen along Interstate 90 near Brandon.
Two students from Brandon Valley’s Robert Bennis Elementary have their work on display. Tristan Topping’s billboard is located along Interstate 29 south of the Colman exit, while Hannah Corlew’s billboard is located along S.D. Highway 34 east of Madison.
Each spring, Sioux Valley Energy’s Safety Steering Committee (SSC) asks fourth graders at schools in the Cooperative’s two-state service area to draw a poster depicting an electrical safety message. From the hundreds of posters submitted, 12 are selected for members attending the Cooperative’s district meetings to vote upon. The four winning posters are then made into highway billboards that are displayed in May for Electrical Safety Month.
Sioux Valley Energy, a Touchstone Energy® Cooperative, is a member-owned electric utility, providing reliable electric service at cost-based rates to nearly 30,000 homes, farms, businesses, and industries in a seven-county area of east-central South Dakota and western Minnesota.
Last week, the Garretson Track and Field team competed in the final regular meets of the season, finalizing their places in the season's seed roster. The Dragons are sending all six relay teams and six individual athletes to the State Meet being held this weekend at Howard Wood Field in Sioux Falls.
Addison Hove hands off to Lydia Frerk //Angela Bly
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Despite rainy conditions last Friday that canceled a second game, the Garretson 14U baseball team shot out of the gate with a solid 25-1 win against Parker in a 3-inning opener on May 23.
Colton Buchholz (Gazette file photo)
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An equal justice statue sits outside the doors of the Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
Three years after lawmakers put $1 million toward advocacy efforts for children in the court system statewide, two revived nonprofits are starting to support children again.
Volunteers with local Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) programs advocate for children who’ve been removed from their families and placed in state care due to suspected abuse and neglect. The volunteers meet with the children and other contacts, such as teachers, therapists and caseworkers. They also write reports to judges about the children’s needs, strengths and interests.
“This process is crucial as it gives the child a voice in the legal proceedings concerning their welfare,” said CASA state director Sara Kelly in an emailed statement.
Over 330 CASA volunteers worked with 658 children in 37 counties last year, according to the state Unified Judicial System. Most of the state’s 1,049 active cases involving CASA last year — with or without a volunteer — were in the Sioux Falls and Rapid City areas.
This is the first time in 16 years that the state has operated CASA organizations in all of its circuit courts. The Sixth Circuit, in central South Dakota, and the Fifth Circuit, representing northeastern South Dakota, closed in 2009.
Gloria Hutson, in Aberdeen, was hired to lead the reestablished Fifth Circuit CASA in November last year. She told the state CASA Commission at its Wednesday meeting that three counties within her 10-county jurisdiction have a high case volume: Brown, Walworth and Spink counties.
“The focus these last six months has been on building a solid, sustainable structure while building deep community roots,” Hutson said.
Walworth County has a “disproportionate” number of cases for its population, and many involve the Indian Child Welfare Act, Hutson said. The federal Indian Child Welfare Act sets minimum standards for efforts to reunite tribal children in the state’s custody with their families. Walworth county is adjacent to the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River reservations.
As of the end of April, Walworth County had 25 pending cases involving 52 children. Brown County had 32 cases involving 58 children and Spink County had three cases involving three children.
Fifty-seven cases were active in the Fifth Circuit last year, and none of the children had CASA representation, according to UJS. Through April this year, the circuit had 61 pending cases involving 117 children, Hutson said.
Most of those children still do not have CASA volunteers advocating for them. Fifth Circuit CASA has eight volunteers so far, two of whom are advocating for three children. All the children are younger than 2 years old.
Laurie Gill, a former state Department of Social Services secretary who now works with Maxwell Strategy Group, leads CASA for the Sixth Circuit. Gill’s firm was hired to lead the nonprofit, and Gill said the contract was renewed recently by the nonprofit’s board of directors.
Sixth Circuit CASA, which represents 14 counties in central South Dakota, including Hughes County and the state capital city of Pierre, intends to train 10 volunteers this year. The first will be sworn in and assigned cases by June, Gill said.
Thirty-nine cases were active in the Sixth Circuit last year. There were 45 pending cases involving 94 children at the end of April, Gill said. Most are in the Pierre/Fort Pierre area.
The 2022 funding from the Legislature was a result of lawmakers learning about the holes in South Dakota’s CASA coverage, after loosening a requirement to appoint advocates for abused and neglected children in the court system. Lawmakers on the state budget committee approved funding to help restart the two shuttered programs and help existing CASA programs expand.
The Fifth and Sixth Circuit organizations have each received $120,000 so far.
Another $143,715was awarded to most other CASA programs.
The need for volunteers remains one of the biggest challenges for CASA nonprofits across the state, leaders told the commission. Since last year’s report, the number of volunteers has dropped from 330 statewide to 318.
National CASA guidelines require one staff member to supervise a maximum of 30 volunteers. Each volunteer is assigned one case at a time, typically staying with a case until it’s resolved.
The Sioux Falls CASA reports 333 children currently on the waiting list to be represented by a volunteer. The Seventh Circuit CASA in Rapid City reports 455 children on its waiting list.
The 2022 Legislature appropriated $1 million to the Unified Judicial System to award South Dakota CASA nonprofits with grants to rebuild or expand. About $384,000 – less than 40% of the funds – have been spent so far:
$120,000 to the Fifth Circuit CASA in Aberdeen
$120,000 to the Sixth Circuit CASA in Pierre
$58,400 to the Southeast CASA in Yankton
$40,835 to the First Circuit CASA in Mitchell
$25,000 to the East Central CASA in Brookings
$15,000 to the Sioux Falls Area CASA
$2,000 to the Seventh Circuit CASA in Rapid City
$2,480.47 in miscellaneous expenses
South Dakota Searchlight is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. South Dakota Searchlight maintains editorial independence.
