January 28, 2020 • Page 18 October 29 The City of Yankton unanimously accepted a $10,386,500 bid from Welfl Construction for building the Huether Family Aquatics Center. October 31 This week 37 employees at Kolberg-Pioneer were laid off. November 1 Two people were found dead after a house blew up in Wagner. Two other people were injured, the investigation remains open. November 2 New MMC Business Chair Jamie Rounds Brings Wealth Of Experience In Business, Law, and Politics. He previously worked on his brother Mike Rounds’ successful first campaign for Governor of South Dakota. He then served in his administration seeking innovative methods of economic development for South Dakota. Jamie has since built a business career featuring entrepreneurship, while his brother, Mike, now serves in the U.S. Senate. November 5 The U.S. Supreme Court late Monday cleared the way for South Dakota to execute a man who fatally stabbed a co-worker in 1992, denying three separate appeals filed in recent days. Charles Russell Rhines was scheduled for execution at 1:30 p.m. on Monday for the slaying of 22-year-old Donnivan Schaeffer at a Rapid City doughnut shop, but the appointed time came and went as the state waited for the Supreme Court’s rulings. The state said it would begin moving forward with the procedure. Rhines, now 63, last week unsuccessfully challenged the drug the state plans to use in the execution at the state prison in Sioux Falls. A year ago this week, a Yankton woman was reported missing and later found dead, setting off a murder investigation that shook the community. But so far, the investigation into the death of Phyllis Hunhoff has yielded few answers as to what actually happened. The last year has 81 YEARS IN BUSINESS 87 YEARS IN BUSINESS been filled with grief and speculation as the community grasped for answers in this tragedy, but not much more is known about what happened on that dark November night last year. November 6 A former Yankton County commissioner says he will file a complaint against the current commissioners for allegedly violating South Dakota’s open meetings law. Todd Woods, who served on the board until last year, addressed Tuesday’s County Commission meeting about actions taken at the Oct. 1 regular meeting. The presentation produced some terse exchanges between Woods — who along with two other incumbents were defeated in the 2018 county election — and current commissioners. November 7 1SG Brooks Schild was recently promoted to Command Sergeant Major (CSM) of the 1/147 Field Artillery of the SDANG. Schild officially received the promotion back in September, but the formal ceremony was held last weekend in Watertown. Democrats announced Wednesday they will launch public impeachment hearings next week, intending to bring to life weeks of closed-door testimony and lay out a convincing narrative of presidential misconduct by Donald Trump. First to testify will be William Taylor, the top diplomat in Ukraine, who has relayed in private his understanding that there was a blatant quid pro quo with Trump holding up military aid to a U.S. ally facing threats from its giant neighbor Russia. November 8 Releases at Gavins Point Dam are anticipated to stay at 80,000 cubic feet per second through the rest of the month and into mid-December. The Northern Plains remain wet, and it looks like this trend will not stop as winter sets in. Some of the locations have received in excess of 300% of normal precipitation for this period.” Some locations in Missouri have received upwards of 8 inches over the past month. November 12 A former Yankton County commissioner has followed through on filing an ethics complaint regarding actions of the current County Commission. Last Wednesday, Todd Woods filed a notarized complaint with the Yankton County State’s Attorney’s Office. The complaint concerns actions taken by the present county commissioners on Oct. 1. During this meeting, an agenda item read “Appoint Acting Zoning Administrator” with no further elaboration. Deputy Zoning Administrator Jessica Atkinson was named acting zoning administrator. Commissioner Joe Healy was also appointed to guide Atkinson and, further, the motion established that the Planning Commission would be authorized to act as zoning administrators in cases of zoning enforcement. Neither of these items had been alluded to in the commission’s agenda. Last week, Woods appeared before the County Commission at its regular meeting to go over his concerns. But as for public agenda items, for the public to be engaged, we should know what other items may or may not be on the agenda, “Woods said. “Giving authority to the planning and zoning board was not a published agenda item.” He gave the commissioners an opportunity to reverse its decisions from October 1 which they did not. Woods told the Press & Dakotan that he moved forward with the complaint because the board chose not to act on the concerns raised. November 14 A Yankton man suspected of murder has been sentenced to over a century in prison. Last week, Jameson Mitchell was sentenced to 124 years in prison for the shooting death of Lucas Smith, also of Yankton. Mitchell, 22, had pleaded not guilty in April to a charge of first-degree homicide as murder in the death of Smith, 24, but changed his plea on Sept. 19, in conjunction with a plea deal. Mitchell’s sentence does include the possibility of parole, according to Erich Johnke, deputy state’s attorney for Yankton County. On April 6, 2019, the Yankton Police Department was called to the downtown area for a report of a male with a gunshot wound. According to court documents, there had been an altercation inside Mojo’s between Mitchell, Smith and Jamie White, a woman, whose connection to the incident was not mentioned in the court documents. November 15 A student pulled a gun from his backpack and opened fire at a Southern California high school Thursday, killing two students and wounding three others before shooting himself in the head on his 16th birthday, authorities said. The attacker was hospitalized in critical condition, officials said, and investigators offered no immediate motive. The gunfire began around 7:30 a.m. at Saugus High School in the Los Angeles suburb of Santa Clarita. Authorities estimated that the suspect took just 16 seconds to 107 YEARS IN BUSINESS 110 YEARS IN BUSINESS 145 YEARS IN BUSINESS 158 YEARS IN BUSINESS Nearly 50 current and former members celebrated the 244th birthday of the U.S.A. Marine Corps. The event was held at Czeckers Sports Bar and Lounge in downtown Yankton. November 18 Kim Olson a Yankton Middle School (YMS) instructor was recently rewarded for her classroom excellence with her selection as the VFW Teacher of the Year. She was announced as the winner during the Veterans Day program held at YMS. November 19 Mount Marty College just announced plans to build a new $4.5M residence hall. Cimpl Arena recently finished up renovations, the Ruth Donohoe First Dakota Fieldhouse continues to rise up on the west side of the campus, and preparations continue to add football as a varsity sport. Construction of a new three-story, 96-bed residence hall is scheduled to open in time for the next fall semester. The new residence hall will be located to the east of the new fieldhouse and be open to juniors and seniors on campus. At 20,000 square feet, many of the rooms will be done in single-room and double-room suite-style, a break from the traditional dorm setup in the other three residence halls on campus. November 21 A couple of familiar faces have returned to the Yankton cityscape. The statue “Spirit of Discovery,” depicting explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, has been erected at the city’s new water treatment plant. The statue, created by Sioux City, Iowa, artist Steve Kammerer, was first brought to Yankton in 2002 and was displayed in front of the former Lewis & Clark Specialty Hospital. When Avera Sacred Heart Hospital purchased the specialty hospital, Avera presented the sculpture to the city, and the work has now been placed at the water plant. It is on the east side of the plant, facing southeast down the Missouri River. November 22 The Boys and Girls Club of Yankton have a new sewing club. Lori and Wayne Ibarolle got the idea for a crafting supply closet for the children at the new Boys & 44414 SD Hwy 50, Yankton, SD 57078 605-665-9351 • Fax: 605-665-0274 • 800-594-9433 1509 E. Hwy. 50, Yankton, SD 605-665-3693 • 800-658-3388 We’re more than just auto parts! 95 97 95 YEARS IN BUSINESS November 16 Chauntel Wright is the new general manager of RTEC; she takes over as general manager after the departure of Josh Svatos. John A. Conkling Distributing Co., Inc. AUTO PARTS • • Pharmacy Pharmacy • Pharmacy • Gift Shop • • Gift Shop Gift Shop • Liquor • Liquor Shop More • Liquor Shop Shop & & More & More 109 3rd 3rd Street, 109 W. Street, 109 W.W. 3rd Street, Yankton Meridian District Yankton Meridian District Yankton Meridian District 605-665-7865 605-665-7865 605-665-7865 YEARS BUSINESS YEARS IN IN BUSINESS YEARS IN BUSINESS 99 pull out the weapon, shoot five classmates and turn the gun on himself. As a third-generation family owned business for 99 years, we couldn’t be more THANKFUL for all the support the community has given us over the past year. Yankton: 605-665-4348 Vermillion: 605-624-5618 kalinsindoor.com Guiding and serving families with compassion and trust. Funeral Home & Crematory, Yankton Memorial Chapels, Tabor, Menno & Tyndall 665-9679 1-800-495-9679 www.opsahl-kostelfuneralhome.com 2409 N. Broadway, Yankton, SD 605-665-9651 Yankton School District The mission of the Yankton School District... Optimize student potential for success in a global society. 2410 W. City Limits Rd. • Yankton, SD • 605-665-3998 319 Walnut St. • Yankton • 665-7811 • www.yankton.net Since 1875 October 24 Bravo Battery is coming home this weekend. A welcome home ceremony for the 112 soldiers with the South Dakota Army National Guard’s Bravo Battery. The unit is returning from 10 months deployment to Europe. The Friends of the Gavins Point National Fish Hatchery & Aquarium will be hosting a “Halloween Event” on Saturday. They will be unveiling their one of a kind plush paddlefish. All events are free. shop online at www.missourivalleyshopper.com Girls Club named in memory of their daughter Khrista, who was shot and killed in California during a 2014 carjacking at age 31. “She was very artistic and she could make something out of nothing,” said Lori Ibarolle, Khrista’s mother. Khrista’s Kloset will be on both the middle-school/ high-school side and on the elementary side, kept full of crafting supplies through donations. November 23 A March trial has been set for a Fordyce, Nebraska, and man facing eight charges, including two counts of first-degree attempted murder. Kevin Haug appeared Friday for his arraignment in Cedar County District Court. He entered “not guilty” pleas on all eight counts. November 25 Meth. We’re On It. Governor Kristi Noem says it seems we’ve captured attention not just in South Dakota, but around the country and even the world with our new anti-meth campaign. We needed that. In today’s age, traditional messages don’t cut through the noise. We knew we needed to make a bold statement to make people stop and think and it is working. November 26 Yankton’s Water Plant No. 1 quit processing water last week as its planned decommissioning commences. City officials are now looking at the future of the 90-year-old water plant. Yankton City Manager Amy Leon said there are around 9,500 square feet of usable space on street level and 2,200 square feet of space on the lower level. November 27 Last week, in conjunction with National Rural Health Day, the Yankton Police Department announced the receipt of a grant of next-generation Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) one for every patrol car in town. The grant, facilitated through the South Dakota Department of Health, came from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust. The trust gave South Dakota $3.6 million for training and placement of 1,200 AEDs in law enforcement vehicles, with conservation officers and at critical state park locations. December 2 Nine members of an extended family died when their plane crashed in a South Dakota field as they were heading home from a hunting trip. Jim and Kirk Hansen founders and brothers of a company called Kyani and members of their extended family died when the plane went down near Chamberlain amongst a winter storm. The three survivors were hospitalized; the crash is still under investigation. December 6 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is starting to take action in anticipation of possible ice jams due the cold weather and the formation of ice. They are continuing to run the Gavins Point Dam releases of 80,000 cubic feet per second one of the highest releases in the dam’s history and triple the normal figure for this time of year. December 7 At least 200 potential jurors will be called up next month for the trial of a Yankton man charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing and dismembering a Yankton woman. Stephen Falkenberg appeared Friday in First Circuit Court at Yankton for a motions hearing. He is charged in the death of Tamara LaFramboise, with investigators believing he then drove her body to Michigan. The jury selection and trial are scheduled for Jan. 9-24 at the Yankton County Courthouse and Safety Center in Yankton. If convicted of the Class B felony, Falkenberg could receive life imprisonment and a $50,000 fine. veterans and also served with Jean Hunhoff as co-chairs of the American Legion Auxiliary unit in Tabor. He and her family cooked for the veterans at the Human Services Center at Christmas time for many years. December 13 A man’s body was found in an Irene alley earlier this week. It was determined during the investigation that the man had been struck by a vehicle. It was also determined the incident was related to a domestic disturbance that had been reported to the Turner County Sheriff. David Dracy is a former farmer who is currently offering counseling to farmers and their families who may be in crisis. Dracy is a clinical psychologist at the Lewis & Clark Behavioral Health Services. December 17 The Mount Marty College Fieldhouse is taking shape and work is set to begin on the residence hall. The construction crew said work is on schedule and will be ready for the fall semester in 2020. Construction is scheduled to begin on the residence hall later this week. December 19 The 45th President of the United States Donald Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives last night, becoming the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the constitution’s remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors. The articles of impeachment will now go the Senate for trial. The trail is expected to begin in January. December 21 Shannon Ibarolle-Koenig had the opportunity to be aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt earlier this month. The opportunity came through the U.S. Navy Recruiting Command’s Educators to See Program. The program is aimed to expose educators firsthand the vast array of opportunities the Navy can provide to recruits. December 23 Wakonda Renames School Gymnasium for Legendary Coach Ron Flynn who guided the Wakonda girls’ basketball program to several state titles. Flynn’s 18-year stint as Wakonda’s head coach featured a 101-game winning streak, three state championships (1988-90), 111 straight Tri-Valley Conference victories and no losing seasons. Flynn passed away in November. Chris Bornitz was Named City Employee of Year. He works for the Yankton Parks and Recreation Department, but Bornitz’s main duty is as the sexton at Yankton Municipal Cemetery. He began working for the city in 1993. December 24 On December 19, Yankton’s 100 Women of Yankton awarded a $16,250 donation to Food For Thought, also of Yankton. Donations from 100 Women of Yankton are given out a couple of times each year to Yankton-area non-profits that apply. Donations from 100 Women of Yankton have no strings attached, so groups are free to use the money for any needs they see for their organization. Later, winners report back to 100 Women of Yankton on how they spent their donation. December 28 Yankton County Director of Emergency Management Paul Scherschligt has been named the Press & Dakotan’s 2019 Newsmaker of the Year. He could be found on the front lines of response to two floods that wreaked havoc on the region in 2019. He has been the director of Emergency Management since January of 2011. December 9 Dave Fuller recently painted a mural of the Yankton Buck and Gazelle on the wall in the Yankton High School main gym. He finished the project over Thanksgiving weekend. Fuller is the art teacher in Parker, South Dakota he has painted a number of similar murals throughout the region, including at Sioux Falls Lincoln High School and Harrisburg High School. December 30 Mount Marty College Professor Jim Reese latest book “Bone Chalk” marks his first book of prose after previous collections of poetry. The non-fiction book of essays hits the market tomorrow. The book’s title comes from a line in Don Welch’s “Requiem by a Teacher.” Reese’s book pays tribute to the hardworking Midwesterners and their important voice of the heartland that needs to be heard by others. “It’s about working yourself to the bone. December 10 Two major archery tournaments set to come to Yankton received a boost to logistics Monday evening. Yesterday, the Yankton City Commission voted 7-0 to approve a funding request for help funding transportation to, during and from two upcoming world archery tournaments. Yankton City Manager Amy Leon said the city’s archery facilities have done a lot to expose the city to the rest of the state and the world. December 31 Yankton County is taking steps to address a potential challenge to its zoning ordinance. During a special meeting Monday, the County Commission voted 5-0 to impose a temporary emergency zoning ordinance in case the old ordinance is challenged and found invalid. Development Services Director Gary Vetter said that the emergency ordinance is virtually the same as the existing ordinance. December 11 Girls State Director Cheryl Hovorka passed away last week. Her patriotism went far beyond being symbolism she advocated for