12 Broadcaster Press “Make sure you only look in a safe way,” Sander said. “We have eclipse glasses; we also have two telescopes … and those have solar filters making it safe to look at the sun through them.” Despite the cloudy skies, the crowd near the Akeley-Lawrence Science Center kept growing. At its peak, the number of people hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse approached 1,000. As new people joined the crowd, Sander repeatedly warned them to view the event safely. “You should not look with unprotected eyes; it’s not because the eclipse is more dangerous than looking at the sun at any other time,” he said. “You never want to look directly at the sun … the danger is you can’t feel damage happening to your retina. Your retinas have no pain sensors. With the sun you can’t feel it happening, so don’t look other than in a safe way. That way, you know for sure you’ve got your eyes for a lifetime.” September Carlsen’s Dedication Left Lasting Legacy In Clay County Although long-time Vermillion resident Nancy Carlsen passed away two months ago, her hard-work and dedication will long be remembered in Clay County. Carlsen, who died July 25 at the age of 70, contributed to the history of Clay County and the Missouri River in several tremendous ways. For example, if you want to know anything about the 28 cemeteries located in Clay County, more than likely you’ll need to consult the maps, photographs, and information found in the nine-volume guide to Clay County cemeteries that Carlsen created in conjunction with the Clay County Historic Preservation Commission. While you are enjoying time on the Missouri River, meanwhile, you may notice the large, double-sided informational signs that can be found for more than 90 miles along the Mighty Mo. These signs were researched, designed, and written largely by Carlsen. Looking for information about the Missouri River or do want to know how it’s changed since the days of Lewis & Clark? Again, Carlsen has provided the answers for you through her meticulous research and mapping of the Missouri River. Or perhaps you find yourself searching records of properties in Clay and Union counties? Chances are, Carlsen made that possible through her extensive work archiving, indexing, and mapping properties in the two counties. These are just a few of the ways Carlsen’s work has had a lasting and positive impact on Clay County. The list could go on. Carlsen left an indelible mark here, agree her family and friends. “As a fifth generation resident of the County, [Nancy] just loved living here and learning about the people and places of Clay County,” said Cindy Kirkeby, Carlsen’s sister and long-time collaborator on numerous projects. “She contributed significantly to the history of the county through her massive work documenting all the cemeteries in the county, through her dedicated 72 YEARS IN BUSINESS 80 YEARS IN BUSINESS January 30, 2018 www.broadcasteronline.com work with the Spirit Mound Trust, the Spirit Mound Cemetery, and the Clay County Historic Preservation Commission, through her work creating interpretive signs for a number of historical locations throughout the county and for all of the sites on the Missouri River Water Trail – both the 59-mile stretch and the 39-mile stretch – and through her creation of many beautiful and meaningful maps of Clay County.” Carlsen’s curiosity took her down many interesting paths in life. Carlsen was born in Vermillion on Jan. 8, 1947, and spent much of her life here. Carlsen attended the University of South Dakota, graduating with a BA in psychology, and then went on to Purdue University, there earning a MS degree in clinical psychology. After five years spent in Hawaii and California working as a counseling specialist, clinic director, adjunct faculty member, and researcher, among other things, Carlsen moved “back to the land” in 1975, settling in a farmhouse in Union County. There, Carlsen enjoyed a “slower pace” of life, relishing nature, conversations, reading and research, and friends – things Carlsen would continue to value for the rest of her life. In 1981, Carlsen moved to a house on Prospect Street in Vermillion, where she resided until her death. County Gives Final Approval To CAFO Ordinance The Clay County Commission has unanimously approved changes to the county’s zoning regulations regarding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The commission took the action at its regular meeting Tuesday morning, after holding a public hearing for the second reading of an ordinance that would implement the changes. Commissioners heard from both opponents and proponents of the changes before approving the ordinance. The action comes after dozens of hearings held during the last three years by both the Clay County Planning and Zoning Board and the county commission. During that three-year period, the proposed ordinance that will become part of the county’s laws was amended several times. Areas of change in the zoning regulation include maximum allowable number of livestock, setback to buildings, dwellings, roads and water supplies, and rules regarding manure application. “I do feel we have listened. I know there are definitely different sides. I also feel that we have tried very hard to put in qualifications or additions within any application for a conditional use permit so that additional setbacks can be set,” said Commissioner Phyllis Packard after public testimony was heard. “I did not like the reduction on the setbacks, but we do need an ordinance that works so that we can move forward, and I do feel we have a document that allows us to move forward and to work with farmers, with agriculture to expand in directions that will work for Clay County. “I know it’s unpopular on one side and acceptable on the other side, but I do feel it is time to start seeing how it works rather than constantly 96 YearS in buSineSS 107 YEARS IN BUSINESS 122 years in business 133 years in business 137 YEARS IN BUSINESS The congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church in Vermillion celebrated the institution’s 125th anniversary Sunday, Oct. 22, in the fellowship of worship and a noon meal. In the process, members recalled the past, celebrated what the church is currently accomplishing, and looked ahead to the opportunities that await as it fulfills its local and global missions. Trinity Lutheran is located at the corner of Plum and Clark streets in a sanctuary finished in 1992. An earlier structure, built in 1960 on the corner of Plum an Clark streets, was initially the place of worship until the current church was constructed. That 1960 structure remains a part of the overall church, serving as a fellowship hall and as home to the Vermillion Food Pantry. Trinity Lutheran’s second church building was located at the corner of Main and Harvard streets. The church’s congregation worshiped there from 1909 to 1960. Trinity Lutheran’s first church, which was in use from 1892 to 1909, was located at the corner of National and Harvard streets in Vermillion. Brokaw, Legvold Host Public Forum On United States Relationship With Russia Former NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Brokaw has reported from the front lines of the Cold War, including coverage of the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. The Yankton native and University of South Dakota graduate has also interviewed Soviet leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Vladimir Putin. But, Brokaw said Wednesday, the world is entering a new Cold War more dangerous than the era following World War II. Unlike the previous Cold War, Americans aren’t united against a common foe, he said. November Evan Project Provides Diapers To Families In Need With the cost of diapering a child for one month averaging between $80 and $100, diapers are often an overwhelming expense for struggling families. Now, a new non-profit organization in Vermillion, the Evan Project, has been formed to help. “A lot of people think there is diaper assistance available through programs like WIC or SNAP but there’s , not,” said program founder Ellie Pyles. “If you are working a minimum wage job, after paying rent, which can be very high in Vermillion, utilities and other basic services, you may not have enough money left to be able to afford diapers. A lot of daycares require you bring in a supply of diapers for your child. If you’re not able to do that, you can’t take them to daycare and then if you don’t have daycare, you can’t work, and it becomes a vicious cycle.” Since beginning in September, the Evan Project has already distributed more than 1,000 diapers to 25 families in the Vermillion area. Those seeking assistance have included single parents and low income families, young parents, grandparents raising grandchildren, and guardians. “It really runs the gamut,” said Py- 121 West Kidder Street #104 • Vermillion, SD 57069 605-624-2068 • contact@claycountytitle.com UNIVERSITY CLEANERS & Formal Wear Tuxedo Rentals for all your special occasions 124 E. Main Street • Vermillion, SD 57069 • (605) 624-2645 605-624-2673 1410 E. Cherry St., Vermillion www.clayunionelectric.coop YEARS SERVING ITS MEMBERS years in business October Trinity Lutheran Celebrates 125th Anniversary “America is in a very fractured state. We’re separated in a way I can’t recall in my lifetime,” he told a University of South Dakota audience. The fracture is fueled by social media and the rise of “fake news,” particularly concerns about Russian hacking of American elections. “You can get very sophisticated analysis with a keystroke,” Brokaw said. However, he feared that Americans are relying on misinformation or just one point of view. The nation needs to safeguard itself against adversaries seeking to undermine the United States through cyberattacks. He called for the public to rely on unbiased news reports and to take a critical view of what they see and read, particularly on the Internet. People also need to focus on important issues, move away from an obsession with celebrity news. “I recommend you change your habits. Get aggressive about what you read,” he said. “You have access to sophisticated (news) coverage, but it’s not as much fun as watching the Kardashians.” Brokaw was joined on the program by Robert Legvold, a fellow USD alumnus and a Russian policy expert. Legvold agreed on the escalating threats around the world. “We live in a very dangerous period,” he said. “It is very different from the original Cold War. The Cold War saw other dangerous periods, including the Berlin Wall blockade and the Cuban missile crisis in the 1960s. The United States and the Soviet Union were recognized as the two superpowers. “But that was in a fixed context. That was a bipolar world,” Legvold said, referring to the firm line drawn between the two nations. “Today, everything is in motion, and all things are in question.” Clay County Abstract & Title 82 83 putting off a decision,” she said. “I trust that we will look carefully at each application and we will be working closely with DENR (the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources). I know one of my suggestions in the past has been as it progresses that we look carefully at funding another position that watches over this kind of growth.” Commissioner Leo Powell noted that over the past three years, the county planning commission has work hard to craft the amended ordinance. “Members of the planning commission weren’t too happy when I voted against the ordinance the last time,” he said, referring to his no vote when the ordinance failed to pass on its second reading in early July. Powell said in July he wasn’t comfortable with the ordinance allowing dairy herds of up to 5,600 head. The version approved Tuesday sets 4,000 head as the maximum number of animals allowed in a large dairy CAFO. It also allows a dairy operator to increase the herd up to 5,000 cattle by requesting bp Broadcaster Press 201 W. Cherry • Vermillion • Phone: 605-624-4429 Since 1934 Broadcaster Press www.broadcasteronline.com Vermillion: 605.624.5618 Yankton: 605.665.4348 Sioux City: 712.252.2000 kalinsindoor.com 605-624-2655 113 W Main • Vermillion 402 East Main St Vermillion, SD 624-4466 www.koberfuneralhome.com Award-Winning News Coverage Since 1884! 201 W. Cherry • Vermillion Phone: 605-624-2694 www.plaintalk.net 5 W. Cherry St. • Vermillion • 605.624.4444 les. “[The use of The Evan Project during the past month] shows that there is definitely a need for a diaper bank in Vermillion.” Pyles was inspired to create the diaper bank after serving as operations coordinator for the Vermillion Food Pantry. In that role, Pyles saw Vermillion’s needs up close and personal. Simultaneously, she heard about efforts across the nation to establish diaper banks and she began to realize how many diapers are needed to care for a child when her son, Kess, was born. “Vermillion has a high poverty rate, and many of its children live near the poverty line,” said Pyles. “There is help for those in need with food and childcare costs, but not diapers. Yet, diapers are a necessity the same as food and childcare. A lack of diapers can create many problems. Parents who work cannot take their children to daycare without supplying sufficient diapers; if they don’t have diapers, they cannot work. Some parents might delay changing their child’s diaper in order to save money; but if diapers are not changed regularly, health problems such as infections, skin rashes, and other problems will occur. Diaper need is a very real problem in our community. Surely all babies deserve to be clean, healthy, and dry.” First United Methodist Church of Vermillion, where Pyles currently serves as office manager, is host to the Evan Project. “I’m so grateful to this church and to Pastor Nicole for making it a reality,” said Pyles. “So far, it’s been going really well. We’ve been getting a really good response.” Jensen Becomes 50th Justice of SD Supreme Court Shortly after being sworn in as the 50th justice of the South Dakota Supreme Court, Steven R. Jensen injected a bit of levity into the solemn ceremony. “My sisters, Connie (Tjeerdsma of Springfield) and Gayle (Strand of Sioux Falls) are here, and their families. They helped teach me at a very young age what injustice looks like,” he said. The capacity crowd on hand for the investiture ceremony, held in the courtroom of the University of South Dakota School of Law, roared with laughter. “Being the youngest and also being the only boy, fighting injustice became an important role,” Jensen said, laughing along with the audience and his family. Just moments before, Jensen, with his wife by his side holding a family Bible, was given the oath of office by Chief Justice David E. Gilbertson. The new justice made sure the spotlight focused not just on him that afternoon, but also on his family. He introduced his daughter, Rachel, and sons Ryan and Andrew during the ceremony. “When you start as a parent, you think that you’re going to mold and teach and train your kids, and hopefully I’ve done my share of that over the years, but I realize as I look back how much I’ve learned from them about life and love and relationships,” he said. The most important person in his life, Jensen said, is his wife, Sue. “I’m so thankful she said yes when I asked her to marry me a number of years ago,” he said. “She’s made me a better man.” Jensen, 54, of Dakota Dunes, grew up in Wakonda and is a graduate of the University of South Dakota School of Law. He was presiding judge in the First Circuit when he was nominated to the South Dakota Supreme Court by Gov. Dennis Daugaard. In his new role as justice, he will establish an office at the USD Law School in Vermillion. “When I was serving in the Legislature and later running for governor, I was aware that governors would occasionally be called upon to fill a vacancy on the bench, but I really didn’t fully appreciate the thorough vetting process that precedes that privilege,” Daugaard said. “Before anyone ever trusted me to interview candidates for appointment, the Judicial Qualifications Commission undertakes a very thorough and tremendous effort to ensure that I’m choosing among the best of the best for the bench.” A former South Dakota Supreme Court law clerk, Jensen replaces fellow USD law graduate Justice Lori Wilbur who retired earlier this year. He was appointed to the First Circuit in 2003 by Gov. Mike Rounds after 14 years of private practice in the Dakota Dunes area. December USD Speaker Encourages Citizens To Fight Islamophobia Hate groups are waging a multimillion dollar national campaign to help spread Islamophobia and anti-immigrant and refugee bigotry, according to Taneeza Islam, an immigration lawyer, human rights advocate and executive director of South Dakota Voice for Peace. Tuesday afternoon, while addressing a small audience in the Muenster University Center on the University of South Dakota campus in Vermillion, she urged her listeners to act as “upstanders” – to, in other words, stand up for the truth. A network, fueled by $57 million in approximately the last year, is helping to spread Islamophobia across the nation, Islam said, and South Dakota is not immune. Islamophobia is rooted in xenophobia, which is the fear of people from different countries, she said. “It’s really this contrived fear or prejudice against Muslims, and most importantly, I think, those who appear to be Muslim,” Islam said. “Data is showing us the impact of Islamophobia in hate incidences across the United States impacts non-Muslims greater or to the same degree that it affects Muslims, because people can’t delineate what a Muslim looks like. “Where is this fear coming from? Where is the message being pushed from? Who is really behind these efforts in spreading great misinformation and fear about the religion, which is Islam and the religion’s practitioners, which are 1.5 billion worldwide who are Muslims?” she asked. “The big themes when it comes to messaging of Islamophobia is that Islam, the religion, is somehow not coherent with Western values – that’s it’s this other thing that’s based in Medieval times, practices and beliefs, and that whatever happens in the West is somehow superior to other beliefs and practices and cultures worldwide.” Islamophobes, particularly in the United States, focus on how violent the religion is. She emphasized the term “religion.” “As a practicing Muslim, I don’t think anyone who carries out an act of violence in the name of religion is actually a true practitioner of that religion,” Islam said. “That’s my personal stand on that.” Islam said she hadn’t been involved in local politics in South Dakota before the last session of the state Legislature in Pierre, where she found herself having to learn the ropes of lobbying against what she felt were harmful proposals. “This past session, I was alerted by some friends in Pierre that there were a lot of anti-refugee, anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim bigotry going on, and it was coming from state legislators, and it was being drafted into not just resolutions but also bills which had the chance of becoming law,” she said. Resolutions may not have the power of law, Islam said, but their success in the Capitol could give momentum to proposals that would eventually be offered as bills to be considered by lawmakers. Islam said her friends expressed how important it was for the coalition of South Dakota Voices for Peace to show up to fight very bigoted, hateful resolutions that were offered in Pierre. During the last legislative session, an anti-refugee bill was introduced. “Our coalition worked together with Lutheran Social Services,” she said. “Lutheran Social Services is the only refugee resettlement entity in our state … and they basically receive refugees to resettle into our state.” LSS, Islam said, was happy with an amendment offered to lessen the anti-refugee effects of the bill which was eventually passed. Controlled Burn At The Bluffs Friday Will Mean Greener Course This Spring Members of the Vermillion Fire EMS Department spend countless hours each year training in how to put out fires. On Friday, Dec. 15, however, their expertise was needed to set fires at The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion. Beginning at 10 a.m. Friday, local firefighters were joined by Vermillion Parks and Recreation staff and employees of the golf course to conduct prescribed burns in certain areas of the course. Approximately nine different sites were purposely set on fire. Prescribed burning of portions of the golf course is essential for the maintenance of the grounds and will allow new growth of natural vegetation to return next spring. Firemen began the controlled burns at about 10 a.m. Friday, and the activity at the course was scheduled to be complete at about 4 p.m. Weather conditions were mild Friday, with a light breeze that helped dissipate the smoke. A burn permit was issued by the City of Vermillion to allow the fires to be set. Passick Presented With Community Service Award Captain Chad Passick of the Vermillion Police Department had been awarded the department’s Community Service Award. Passick was presented the award by Police Chief Matt Betzen for his efforts through social media and other means to step up the department’s communication efforts in the Vermillion community. Betzen presented Passick with the award at the Dec. 4 noon meeting of the Vermillion City Council. “He has taken proactive measures to expand this (social media) platform so that it has become an effective form of communication for our community and society in general,” Betzen told aldermen. “This has allowed us to effectively provide timely warnings of criminal threats to our community, enlist the community in solving crimes, communicate department and city events, communicate information during crisis events and build a stronger rapport within the community and beyond.” The chief said Passick’s efforts go beyond simply setting up social media accounts. “He has taken it upon himself to constantly monitor these accounts throughout weekends, holidays, etc., and he keeps me appraised – since I don’t like Twitter – of what’s going on,” Betzen said. “Together, we’ve worked to develop responses to different situations that have come up. He has truly made this an effective communications tool that I think has been recognized by members of this board as well as other members of the community.” “I appreciate this recognition,” Passick said after members of the city council jokingly asked him to speak. “It’s certainly something that I don’t need, but I do appreciate it. On behalf of the department and what we represent, I think we’ve made great strides just in terms of being able to communicate well with the people we serve and doing it in a way that has been collaborative and helped build a team. “I think we’ve made some real steps there so that’s something that I’m pleased with myself and I appreciate the recognition by all of you,” he said.