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Noel Hamiel’s 35 years in the newspaper business and innumerable contributions to the newspaper industry are being honored with Hamiel’s induction in the South Dakota Newspaper Hall of Fame on April 27 during the convention of the South Dakota Newspaper Association. Read more about Hamiel’s career and honors here. Through his work with the South Dakota Community Foundation, Hamiel also ... Read More »

by George Thompson Webster community leaders learned last week that the South Dakota Army National Guard will end its 56 year presence at the armory next year. Adjutant General Tim Reisch said Webster is one of six communities that the guard targeted for pull outs. The others are Winner, Platte, Redfield, Miller and Salem. The time line for the Webster ... Read More »

Groton’s senior seventh-hour government class hosted the first school board cracker barrel session April 2. Photo by Char Telkamp/Groton Independent   Want to get students involved in politics? Put them in the driver’s seat—or, in this case, the moderator’s chair. Groton’s senior government class, and the community, got a first-hand look at the candidates running for school board during the ... Read More »

Wayne Carney knew there would be controversy when the staff of the South Dakota High School Activities Association brought a proposal to its board to bring all volleyball, wrestling and basketball tournaments to the new, yet-to-be-named Sioux Falls events center, instead of spread among a half-dozen or so sites across the state. “It’s going to take a lot of thinking ... Read More »

A trio of nearly intractable factors—super-wet conditions, higher costs for materials and heavier equipment using area roads—is creating a dire picture overall for road conditions throughout the Dakotafire region. Read More »

Rural communities facing the loss of their post offices may be more greatly affected by the change than more urban communities would be, according to a February Reuters report, and a former postmaster general says the closings won't provide any significant cost savings. Read More »

The answer to that question is not as intuitive as you might think. (Also check out a regional map of gas prices.) Read More »

Whatever you think of the Keystone XL pipeline, you may want to take note of who stopped it. It was not, as reported in The New Yorker, Professor Bill McKibben and other East Coast activists. Instead, the power behind the brakes originated on ranches in Nebraska. NPR reported the story, and Daily Yonder gave their take on it: (NPR reporters ... Read More »

Check out these stories from Dakotafire-participating newspapers, which may be of interest to others outside of the target community — some ideas to borrow, and some that may serve as cautionary tales. Read More »

A few items that might interest you today: Growing up on a farm is good for your immune system, according to a new study from the University of Bristol, as reported by The Rural Blog. It raises the number of T-cells a person has, which helps keep a person from developing allergies. However, your health might be compromised if the ... Read More »