It's harvest time! To celebrate and wish our local agricultural folks well, we've got a harvest-themed issue, with updates on this weekend's harvest festival, what our Ag students are up to, FFA update, and more. Plus, a local Banker receives an excellence award, the local Lion's Club keeps moving forward on establishing itself, a meeting on Referred Law 21 and a Q&A on the grocery tax, and so much more!
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by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
The City of Garretson will be adding two GHS students to its city council roster this fall. On Friday, Kaitlyn Steinhoff and Eliza Potter were announced as the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) representatives.
Both are seniors, are looking forward to the experience, and are "super excited to get started," according to GHS Blue Ink.
Initially proposed by Mayor Bruce Brown at the July meeting, the Youth Advisory Council will be a way for students in the school district to give input on how the city is governed and learn how local governance works.
In the July 2024 council meeting, Mayor Brown proposed that two students be recruited to sit on the council as an advisory committee. He had contacted the school last April to suggest the idea.
"This is a resolution that I'm proposing. I worked with the school, and talked to a number of people about having some students take part from government class, take part in city council meetings."
As the YAC, the students will be able to participate in discussions, give input, bring ideas, and act as student liaisons with their peers. However, they will not be able to vote.
"The motive behind the creation of the council is to give young people in our community a direct voice in shaping decisions that impact them," said Garretson High School Social Studies teacher Reece Moehlenbrink.
While there was some consternation within the initial council discussion as to whether every student who would be interested in the program would be given a fair opportunity to participate, the council ultimately left the administration of the program up to the school.
With that, the school handed the reins over to Moehlenbrink. He introduced the program to the students, and requested that students who were interested sign up. He then let teachers and staff know what the program was and the qualities the council was looking for, and had them fill out a form to vote for their top two choices.
"We’re involving students in brainstorming sessions and encouraging them to share their input on everything from recreational spaces to local events, and even broader community development initiatives," Moehlenbrink said. "The goal is to make sure that our youth in Garretson feel heard and valued, and that their ideas are taken seriously in city planning and development. It’s been really exciting to see how engaged students have been during brainstorming sessions and the creative solutions they come up with for improving our community. The students are really excited about having the opportunity to have this platform for their thoughts and concerns to be heard in our community."
Steinhoff and Potter had their initial meeting last week with Mayor Brown, and will officially be starting at November 4th's regular city council meeting after observing in October.
Story submitted by Joanna Baatz
This past weekend The Country Apple Orchard in Harrisburg, SD hosted the 2nd annual ‘Fittest on the Farm’ strongman competition with all proceeds going to Make-a-Wish South Dakota. The competition had four divisions which were based on individuals’ experience with powerlifting; Female Farmers, Female Ranch Hands, Male Farmers, and Male Ranch Hands. The competitors took part in five different events where each were scored based on times, number of reps, or distance. At the end of the five events, the top 3 individuals with the combined highest scores were awarded medals and prizes from the sponsors. Siri Wollmann (25) and Tanner Baatz (16) both of Garretson competed and placed in the competition.
Bryce Wollmann, a 2015 graduate of Garretson, has been into powerlifting for many years and even converted his two car garage into a personal gym back in 2021. Bryce had initially signed up to compete and talked Siri and Tanner into joining him. Unfortunately due to an illness, Bryce was not able to compete, but was there to coach and cheer Siri and Tanner on. Siri was put in the Female Ranch Hand division with 3 other females and Tanner was put in the Male Ranch Hand division with six other males.
The first event was the Tractor Pull. The females were challenged with pulling an approximately 1000 pound tractor in neutral 50 feet within a one minute time period or as far as they could if not the 50 feet. Siri came in third place in that event pulling the tractor the full 50 feet in just 24 seconds. The Male Ranch Hand division had the same requirements but the tractor was put into first gear for an additional challenge. Tanner came in first place in that event pulling the tractor 30 feet 6 inches in the 1 minute time period.
The second event was the Sledgehammer Hold. Each division had an 8 pound sledge hammer that they were to hold straight out in front of them for as long as possible with their backs flat against a railing. In the Female Ranch Hand division, Siri kept the sledge hammer up for 1:57 tying for second place. Tanner ended up with a first place keeping his cool and sledge hammer elevated for 3:27.
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By Dave Baumeister
County Correspondent
SIOUX FALLS – When the Minnehaha County Commission met on Tuesday, Sept. 24, the meeting room was mostly filled with supporters of county auditor Leah Anderson.
Although there was nothing on the agenda specifically regarding the auditor’s office, people showed solidarity with her over a call for her resignation made by Commissioner Joe Kippley on Sept. 10.
And Kippley’s call came as a result of a claim Anderson made in June when she alleged 24,500 ballots from the 2020 General Election were missing in the totals.
In June, though, she did state she needed time to do more work to ascertain what happened; however, she still sent out a media release a few days before that June meeting making the same 24,500 ballot claim.
On Sept. 3 – almost three months after Anderson made that initial claim, Kippley asked that she be put on the Sept. 10 agenda to explain what she had learned.
It was at that following meeting that Anderson did say that the 24,500 “discrepancy” had been cleared up so that she felt “comfortable” with the totals.
After she explained her findings, Kippley asked Anderson if she had any “regrets” about making her incomplete findings public.
The call for her resignation then came after she said she wouldn’t have done anything differently.
Kippley later stated that it was her response to his question which led him to suggest that Anderson resign her position.
One of the public commentors at the Sept. 24 meeting did imply that silence from the other commissioners after Kippley’s remarks meant that they all agreed with him. But the facts that no one said anything at the time in support of Kippley, either, and that the 2025 budget was adopted without the addition of more funds for litigations, as Kippley suggested, could just as likely, if not more likely, mean that the others did not agree with him.
The same commentor also used the example of a previous home-rule charter briefing as a testimony the commission wanted to get rid of Anderson, but in that case, the only thing that ever happened from that original briefing, was commissioners chose not to pursue it.
(That proposal called for the elimination of the elected county auditor, treasurer and register of deeds in favor of one appointed county finance officer.)
Even if something about home rule had come to a vote, that would have just been to put it on the ballot, as only the county voters, and not county commissioners, can adopt that form of government.
FY2025 budget
As the last meeting in September is when the state says budgets for the next year must be in place, commissioners unanimously passed the approximately $131 million proposal for next year.
While this budget is a major reduction from the 2024 figure, the main take-away from Tuesday was that, once again, the tax levies were going down.
While it is considered normal to complain about taxes being too high, increases in property taxes have come from increases in property values, and not in increases in how the county charges people.
Finance Officer Susan Beaman provided figures that the county mill levies have gone down eight of the 11 years since 2015. In that time, the tax levy has gone from $3.424 per $1,000 of assessed value to $2.97 (there were slight upticks of 9-cents in 2018 and 5-cents in 2020).
But, basically, as Minnehaha County Director of Equalization Chris Lilla said in the past: “Don’t blame the county if your assessed value is going up, blame your neighbor!”
The next county commission meeting will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 1, in the third-floor meeting room of the Minnehaha County Administration Building at 6th and Minnesota in Sioux Falls.
Last Thursday and this past Monday, Garretson Cross Country headed first to Chamberlain then to Dell Rapids for competition.
In Chamberlain, sophomore Carter Siemonsma medaled with a fifth-place finish in Varsity with a time of 18:27, and sophomore Ethan McGregor medaled with a third-place finish at 17:28 in JV. In Dell Rapids, Siemonsma finished fourth with a time of 18:11.80.
The team now has some time to rest and rejuvenate before heading to Volga and Lennox next week Tuesday and Thursday.
Chamberlain Results
Varsity Boys
5. Carter Siemonsma 18:27
35. Sebastian Deyoung 21:09
52. Noah Schotzko 23:40
JV Boys
3. Ethan McGregor 17:28
15. Nathaneal Roberts 18:31
22. Talon Miller 19:22
29. Michael Hanisch 20:20
33. Cooper Smith 20:34
35. Bence Bonte 20:49
40. Blake Benson 21:27
43. Lukas Ludewig 22:42
44. Cooper Danforth 22:46
48. Isaiah Coburn 24:03
JV Girls
17. Eliza Potter 25:31
24. Taylynn Luedtke 29:48
Dell Rapids Results
Varsity Boys
4 Siemonsma, Carter 18:11.80 3
25 Deyoung, Sebastian 20:43.70 21
27 Schotzko, Noah 21:15.40 22
JV Girls
21 Potter, Eliza 22:44.70
31 Luedtke, Taylynn 26:42.30
JV Boys
27 Miller, Talon 17:55.90 19
29 Smith, Cooper 18:08.30 21
32 Bonte, Bence 18:32.40 24
33 Danforth, Cooper 18:35.60 25
39 Ludewig, Lukas 19:34.60 29
41 Benson, Blake 19:53.20 31
46 Coburn, Isaiah 21:13.60
After three wins in a row, the Blue Dragon Soccer team has had a difficult time keeping that ball rolling, taking losses on the next three games against Dakota Valley, Vermillion, and West Central.
The Blue Dragons hosted Dakota Valley on Saturday, September 14, and the opposing team showed the Dragons their teeth. The Dragons lost 1-4 as the Panthers sneaked the ball past the defense. Despite doing a solid job of keeping the ball on the opponents' side of the field, the Panthers didn't allow the Dragons too many shots at the net. They went into the half 1-3.
On Tuesday, the Dragons hosted Vermillion, a team they beat the week before 6-4. Unfortunately, the Tanagers wanted revenge, and got it on the Dragons' home pitch, going home with a score of 3-4. The Dragons had some good shots at the goal, but were unable to sneak it between the posts. Vermillion appeared to have studied the Dragons' tactics, and were able to counter their plays, targeting their weaknesses and slipping the ball into the back of the net. They went into the half 1-3. However, the Dragons weren't going to let the Tanagers off easily, and kept Vermillion down to one while they scored 2 more goals in the second half.
West Central, who is 7-2-0 on the year, didn't give the Dragons any quarter, sending them home with a loss of 0-4 on Thursday, Sept 19.
The team looked to turn their season back to gathering the wins this past Tuesday as they headed to Dakota Valley for a re-match (results not available at press time). Today (Thursday) the Dragons will be hosting Sioux Falls Christian, and next week, they will wrap their regular season with a home game against Groton Area.
After their tough losses at the Big East Conference, Lady Dragon Volleyball turned it around last week in games against Flandreau and Parker, snagging the win in both.
On Tuesday, the Dragons headed to Flandreau to take on the Fliers, who didn't give the Dragons the win very easily. It took five sets to take their opponents down, as the Fliers managed to sneak a win past the Dragons in sets 2 and 4.
In set one, it looked as though the Dragons would take Flandreau down easily, as they handily won the set 25-13. However, they had to fight for the game in set two, as the Fliers clocked their 25 points when Garretson was at 23. The Dragons handed it back to their opponent with a 25-15 in set three, but watched as the Fliers again stayed neck-in-neck with the Dragons in set four, ultimately ending 26-28. Now out for the win, the teams battled back and forth in set five, with Garretson pulling ahead 13-12 and keeping the lead, ending the set 15-12.
Thursday saw the Dragons travel to Parker and overpower the Pheasants in three sets. However, the opponent didn't go down easy, as they stayed even with the Dragons until nearly the end in each set. Ultimately, however, the Garretson team took home the win 25-22, 25-20, and 25-20.
Now at 7-5 on the season, the Lady Dragons hosted Dell Rapids on Tuesday (results not available at press time) and will be hosting Chester tonight (Thursday) with Varsity starting at 7:15 p.m.
PRO. 23-0077
In the Matter of the Estate of
LYLE EVERETT O'DONNELL,
Deceased.
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA IN CIRCUIT COURT
:SS
COUNTY OF MINNEHAHA
SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
PRO. 23-0077
Notice is given that on the 20th day of March, 2023, the following person was appointed as Personal Representative of the estate of Lyle Everett O'Donnell:
Jamie Kopp-O'Donnell
7205 W. Stoney Creek, St., Sioux Falls, SD 57106
(605) 653-0117
Creditors of the decedent must file their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of this Notice or their claims may be barred.
Claims may be filed with the Personal Representative (by sending to her attorney at the address below); or Claims may also be filed at the Courthouse with the Minnehaha County Clerk of Courts, and a copy of the claim must be mailed to the Personal Representative (through her attorney below).
Jamie Kopp-O’Donnell
7205 W. Stoney Creek, St, Sioux Falls SD 57106
(605)6530117
Angelia Gries
MINNEHAHA COUNTY CLERK OF COURTS
425 N. Dakota Ave.,
Sioux Falls, SD 57104
(605) 367-5900
ATTORNEY FOR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE Lindsay M. Harris, JD
Harris Law & Co.
5019 S. Bur Oak Pl., Sioux Falls, SD 57108 605-777-1772
Published three times at the total approximate cost of $52.61 and can be viewed for free at www.sdpublicnotices.com.
9-26-24-3tc
In the Matter of the Trust
Administration of
JAMES MICHAEL LOE
Deceased.
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA )
:SS
COUNTY OF MINNEHAHA)
Notice is given that on May 16, 2024, the following person:
Tammy Becker-Egger
1500 E. 32nd St.,
Sioux Falls, SD 57105
was appointed as the Trustee in the trust administration for James Michael Loe. As Trustee, Tammy Becker-Egger has full power and authority to settle all claims and administer the Trust Estate of James Michael Loe.
Creditors of the decedent must file their claims within four (4) months after the date of the first publication of this Notice or their claims may be barred.
Claims may be filed with the above-named Trustee by mailing a claim notice with supporting documentation to the address above. Alternatively, claims may be emailed or mailed to the Trustee's attorney.
Dated this 4th day of September, 2024.
Lindsey M. Harris, JD
Attorney for Trustee, Tammy Becker-Egger
HARRIS LAW, PROF. LLC
5019 S Bur Oak Pl., Sioux Falls, SD 57108 605-777-1772
Published three times at the total approximate cost of $53.33 and can be viewed for free at www.sdpublicnotices.com.
9-12-24-3tc
CIV:24-3712
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA) SS COUNTY OF MINNEHAHA)
IN CIRCUIT COURT
SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
In the Matter of the Petition
of Chloe Lynn Person,
For a Change of Name to
Leo Lou Person
CIV:24-3712
Notice is hereby given that a Verified Petition for Adult Name Change has been filed by Chloe Lynn Person, the object and prayer of which is to change Petitioner’s name from Chloe Lynn Person to Leo Lou Person.
On the 22nd day of October, 2024, at the hour of 11:00 a.m. said Verified Petition will be heard by this Court before the Honorable Judge Hoffman 5A, at the Court Room in the Minnehaha County Courthouse, City of Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, or as soon thereafter as is convenient for the court. Anyone may come and appear at that time and place and show reasons, if any, why said name should not be changed as requested.
Dated this 4th Day of Sept., 2024 at Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Attested by,
Cathy Arant, Clerk of Court
Published four times at the approximate cost of $50.69 and can be viewed for free at www.sdpublicnotices.com.
9-19-24-4tc
CIV 24-3820
STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA) SS COUNTY OF MINNEHAHA)
IN CIRCUIT COURT
SECOND JUDICIAL CIRCUIT
In the Matter of the Petition
of Jean Ann Heisler,
For a Change of Name to
Jean Ann Eller
CIV: 24-3820
Notice is hereby given that a Verified Petition for Adult Name Change has been filed by Jean Ann Heisler, the object and prayer of which is to change Petitioner’s name from Jean Ann Heisler to Jean Ann Eller.
On the 29th day of October, 2024, at the hour of 11:00 a.m. said Verified Petition will be heard by this Court before the Honorable Judge Pekas Presiding, at the Court Room in the Minnehaha County Courthouse, City of Sioux Falls, Minnehaha County, South Dakota, or as soon thereafter as is convenient for the court. Anyone may come and appear at that time and place and show reasons, if any, why said name should not be changed as requested.
Dated this 11th Day of Sept., 2024 at Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Attested by,
Cathy Arant, Clerk of Court
Published four times at the approximate cost of $50.69 and can be viewed for free at www.sdpublicnotices.com.
9-12-24-4tc
MINNEHAHA COUNTY 5-YEAR TRANSPORTATION AND BRIDGE IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Notice is hereby given that a public meeting will be held at the Minnehaha County Commission Chambers located at 415 N Dakota Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD. The Commission Meeting begins at 9:00 am on Tuesday, October 1st, 2024. The purpose of the meeting is to review and solicit comments on the Minnehaha County 5-Year Transportation and Bridge Improvement Plan.
Meeting Assistance: Accommodations for the meeting will be provided for persons with disabilities upon request. Please contact the Minnehaha County Highway Department at (605) 367-4316 (voice or TDD) 48 hours in advance of the meeting.
Dated this 18 day of September, 2024.
Published at the total approximate cost of $10.65 and can be viewed for free at www.sdpublicnotices.com.
9-26-24-1tc
In this week's issue: Two GHS seniors were chosen to be on the Youth Advisory Council, a new committee on city council that allows young people a voice in city governance; two young Garretson residents participated in a Strongman contest and placed well this past weekend; and Garretson Cross Country is running hard in competition. Plus, volleyball, soccer, openness in state government, and more!
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Editorial by Dana Hess,
South Dakota Searchlight
Editor's note: This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations covered how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org.
As the nation celebrates Democracy Day, it’s a good time to be thankful for the freedoms that we have but also be wary of the threats that democracy faces. Those threats aren’t limited to Washington, D.C. They exist in the statehouse and the local courthouse as well.
Democracy is threatened whenever government at any level wants to keep the public in the dark. In July, South Dakota Searchlight reported on one such government official who prefers to stay away from the prying eyes of the public, Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko. The secretary was speaking to the Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee after two bouts of violence at two different prisons.
According to Wasko, the less said in public about those incidents, the better. At issue was her relationship with the state’s Corrections Commission. The citizen commission is bound by law to weigh in on criminal justice issues as well as sign off on funding requests for prison industries. Commission members complained that they were kept in the dark about the violent incidents at the prisons.
Wasko said she would prefer to answer to lawmakers because Corrections Commission meetings are open to the public. Wasko said she would feel better about talking to legislators if they could “close the door and get into the nitty-gritty.” She actually said “close the door” on what should be public business.
However, If Wasko wants to keep the public in the dark, she’s in the right place: state government. Twice during the 2021 session, legislators brought bills designed to unearth the cost of protecting Gov. Kristi Noem. The much-traveled governor was a rising star in the Republican Party, often accompanied by two Highway Patrol troopers.
Lawmakers, who were under the impression that they held the purse strings for state government, wanted an accounting. The response from the Noem administration: You’re not getting one. There would be no accounting for the governor’s protection detail, lawmakers were told, because anyone who posed a threat could use those figures to determine how well the governor was protected. The administration would not even allow a lump sum to be released. It seems bad guys have an algorithm that could take that figure to deduce how well the governor is protected, whether she’s in Pierpont or Paris.
Majority Republicans, in the same party as the governor and, in 2021, getting along with her better than they have of late, accepted the premise that the budget for protecting Noem needed to be kept secret. That’s because Republican lawmakers have secrecy penciled into their daily schedule during the legislative session.
Each day before the afternoon session, the super majority Republicans in the House and Senate are squirreled away for caucuses that shut out the public. Not only do they meet in secret, away from the prying eyes of the public they serve, they do so in the Capitol, a public building. That means the very people who are being shut out of the meeting get to pay the cost of the heat, lights and furnishings, not to mention the payroll for the people they employ to make their laws. That’s a chore many of us thought they were supposed to do in public.
Occasionally, during legislative sessions, a bill comes along to tweak the state’s weak executive session law. That law is used whenever local governments — city, school, county — want to go into closed session away from public view for various reasons: personnel, student expulsion, attorney consultation, contract negotiation.
While executive session bills appear infrequently, their committee hearings are filled with irony as Republican lawmakers extoll the virtues of openness in government all the while knowing that after lunch they will head into a caucus that slams the door on the public.
Democracy works best when the public is informed.
It’s the role of citizens to show up at the voting booth, at public meetings and at candidate forums to let elected officials know that someone is watching. For their part, officers holders and those charged with running our government have to do so in the light of day. Whenever they close the door on the public, they damage the democratic ideals of this nation.
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.
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