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. 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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. 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