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Broadcaster Press 03
January 6, 2015 www.broadcasteronline.com
Wheel Tax’s adoption
unanimously approved
By Alan Dale
alan.dale@plaintalk.net
Why do future
students choose
USD?
By Sarah Wetzel,
For the Plain Talk
Those who live in
Vermillion know of its
appeal and have their
own reasons for staying.
However, a large
portion of the
population is in a state
of constant turnover due
to the University of
South Dakota being
located here.
So what appeal does
the university hold that
draws over 10,000
students to Vermillion?
According to Mark
Petty, USD Dean of
Enrollment, one of the
top reasons students
choose USD is the
quality of the academic
program.
“I came to USD
because the science
department had come
recommended by a
former professor,” said
Marije Wright, who
graduated this month.
Another top reason
according to Petty is the
affordability and cost.
According to Wright,
this was another reason
for her choosing to
attend the university.
“I liked that the out of
state tuition was less
than what the in-state
tuition would have been
at the other university I
was accepted to,” she
said.
Petty also mentioned
many students can’t put
a finger on why they
come here, it just feels
right.
This turned out to be
the case for Heather
Mathisen, a junior
majoring in Psychology.
“My older brother was
a USD student so I had
come up and come to a
couple of USD events
with him,” she said. “In
the back of my mind it
was one that I just
wanted to check out. I
picked USD mostly
because it just felt like
I’d be comfortable here
There are plenty of reasons for students to choose attending
the University of South Dakota located in Vermillion.
THOMAS HATZENBUHLER / FOR THE PLAIN TALK
and that it would be a
decent home for eight
months of the year.”
Andy Aberle, a junior
majoring in history,
shares Mathisen’s
sentiments.
“I guess my biggest
reason for coming here
was my two older
brothers came here,” he
said. “Rather than
looking into other
schools, they both said it
was good so I was like
sure, why not?”
Many students also
appreciate the university
for its location.
“Vermillion serves as a
safe, welcoming host for
the university; and
recreational and cultural
opportunities abound in
town, the nearby
countryside, and in
neighboring
communities,” USD’s
website reads.
While some might
look down on the
relatively small size of
the town, to some this
counts as a plus.
“I went and visited
other places and I felt
like I’d just get lost most
of the time,” Mathisen
said. Mathisen herself is
from a small town 30
minutes south of Sioux
City.
“I liked what I
observed in the
Vermillion community,”
Wright said. “I liked the
idea of living in a smaller
community versus a
bigger city. I also
thought there would be
more job opportunities
available here.”
“I’m from the cities
where it’s crowded so I
thought this was good,”
said Sofia Creamer,
Junior. “Plus South
Dakota has a lot of sites
for archaeology. Because
I want to go for a history
major, it’s nice.”
USD is South Dakota’s
oldest university,
founded in 1862.
According to the
university website, the
fall enrollment for 2013
was 10,235. That’s just
under the U.S. Census
Bureau’s population
estimate for the
Vermillion population
which is 10,692.
For more information
on the university, visit
usd.edu.
The Heartbeat of Vermillion
MEET TODD RADIGAN OF
MAIN STREET PUB
By Katie Clausen
For the Plain Talk
For Todd Radigan,
being part of the
business community in
Vermillion, raising a
family in Vermillion,
and the rich history of
Vermillion are
everything.
“I’m a lifer,” Radigan
says of his hometown.
“That’s what I tell
everyone. “I’m just a
true Vermillion lifer.”
Radigan grew up on
Vermillion’s east side.
He spent his childhood
just as many Vermillion
kids did playing and
running free.
“I liked to play sports
when I was younger,”
Radigan said. “That’s
what we did in the
neighborhood.”
A 1991 graduate of
VHS, Radigan has made
quite the splash around
town over the years, but
has now settled into a
routine of overseeing
The Pub from afar.
“I like to make this
place as Irish as
possible,” Radigan said
of the families’ Irish
heritage. “My Dad
wanted to name the
place O’Radigans Pub.”
During his youth,
Radigan watched his
father, Jeff, open
multiple businesses
around town.
Promoting eateries and
venues across the city,
the elder Radigan
carried the family name
like a torch, leaving
Vermillion staples such
as The Varsity, R-Pizza,
The Prairie, and
Whimps around town.
In the nineties,
Radigan decided to
open a bar and eatery in
the heart of the
Vermillion downtown
district, and he brought
Todd with him.
“My dad opened The
Pub in ‘94, and I came
on in 1997,” Radigan
said. “He owned it with
Billy Wood and after he
went off to do other
things he wanted me to
move on and I kind of
stepped in.”
It wasn’t easy for
Radigan, however, who
was in his early twenties
at the time. He was
green, but willing to
learn.
“I was 24 years old,”
Radigan said. “I didn’t
feel like the boss for the
first four years.”
During that time,
Radigan and his father
pushed through some of
the skepticism that
sometimes shrouds a
new business in a small
community.
“When I first got into
this business, all the
locals made fun of The
Pub,” Radigan said. “But
I found a place where
every single person is
welcome and treated
nicely. I still take that
attitude very seriously
today. Everyone is
welcome.”
Radigan continues to
put his focus on hiring
staff that maintain that
quality of friendliness
and family that is
unique to the eateries’
atmosphere.
“When I think of The
Pub, I think of nice
people,” Radigan said.
“That’s what I think is
important. Some of my
staff have been here for
13 years, many of them
over five years. I hire the
Todd Radigan poses with Sarah Gregg, who has been working at The Main St. Pub for over five years.
KATIE CLAUSEN / FOR THE PLAIN TALK
friendliest staff.”
Radigan also thinks
of excellent food. The
Pub has been serving
large lunch crowds for
years.
“Lunch is what I care
about the most,”
Radigan said. “There’s
not a better tip than
someone sticking their
head in the kitchen and
saying ‘hey that was
really good!’”
Being part of that
lifelong Vermillion
essence, Radigan
appreciates being a
business owner among
downtown merchants.
“I like that any
business you would call
a competitor will still
help you out,” Radigan
said. “We all do the
same for everybody.”
Despite running a
successful business and
having the world
seemingly at his
fingertips, Radigan
began to slip into a
murkier place during
his young adulthood.
He had his business and
lots of rowdy friends,
which also meant he
had access to lots of
alcohol and a party
lifestyle. Struggling with
alcoholism, Radigan
needed to shape up or
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Clay County Ordinance
#2014-04 – a wheel tax–
was approved 5-0 on
Tuesday by county
commissioners with
majority support from the
small group of community
members in attendance.
The ordinance now will
be put into publication on
Jan. 8-9 and 15-16 before
finally going into motion
on Feb. 5.
A total of 421 registered,
county voters (5 percent)
must sign a petition to ask
for a referendum for a vote
on the ordinance by Feb. 5.
The wheel tax means a
$4 tax per each wheel and
up to four wheels per
vehicle.
However, resident Paul
Hasse pointed out that the
Nov. 25 commissioners’
meeting’s minutes in which
Travis Mockler, Leo Powell,
and Phyllis Packard voted
3-0 (Dusty Passick and Les
Kephart were not in
attendance) to move
forward toward a planned
wheel tax, had not run in
The Plain Talk legals which
he believes would be in
violation of the open
meeting law.
Hasse asked if the lack
of those minutes being
printed would cause a delay
in the process for the
ordinance to move forward
as originally planned.
State’s Attorney Teddi
Gertsma told
commissioners that she
didn’t feel a meeting that
essentially was a
“discussion” would cause a
delay if the minutes hadn’t
run. However, she also
added she would look
further into the issue.
County auditor Carri
Crum did say they posted
the agenda of that meeting
24 hours in advance on the
door and on the county
website and those minutes
were indeed posted on the
county’s website.
Larry Brady and Jerry
Wilson were two of three
community members who
spoke in favor of the wheel
tax.
“I know a windshield for
my car is $1,700,” Brady
said. “So I guess I’d much
rather pay a wheel tax than
pay $1,700. I support a
wheel tax in Clay County.”
“We are all in this
together and we as a county
if we want to move forward
we have to use the tools we
have,” Wilson said. “The
state legislature has given
the county an option for a
wheel tax and almost every
county in this region has
passed it and doesn’t seem
to be so controversial there.
“I can’t comprehend
why we’d make an issue of
this when we need to fulfill
the need we have. I want to
support you and the action
you are taking to go
forward with this
ordinance.”
Powell asked Hasse if he
had any solutions other
than a wheel tax to raise
funds to fix the roads.
Hasse suggested property
taxes could aid in this, but
Powell refuted that by
asking rhetorically if the
vehicles that cause the wear
and tear on the roads
shouldn’t be what pays for
the upkeep.
Mockler added that
these road conditions and
the need to fix them is a
byproduct of many years of
allowing the issue to
become a bigger one.
“This isn’t a new
problem,” Mockler said
adding that the road issues
have been a long-term
dilemma that needs to be
addressed now.
The hopes of the
commissioners is that a
wheel tax would help
increase funding to deal
with the issues of road
repair over many stretches
of the 250 miles of road the
county is responsible for.
The Saginaw Road has
been discussed at length as
one of the bigger issues
needing to be addressed.
Passick believes there are
more worries out there
than just the one road in
question.
“Saginaw does get
mentioned frequently
because of the higher
population down in that
area,” Passick said. “There
are at least another five or
six that are in serious
trouble.”
The next county
commissioners’ meeting is
set for Tuesday beginning
at 9 a.m. at the Clay
County Courthouse.
Monday – Friday, 8:30 – 5:30
1714 East Cherry Street, Vermillion
605.624.6291
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