Building a family away from home
With the holiday season approaching, one student organization has made it its mission to connect with residents of the Vermillion Care Center. The Student Engagement & Refinement for Volunteering Empowerment (SERVE) organization’s Adopt-A-Grandparent volunteer program has made an impact on the environment of the Care Center, especially over the holidays. […]
1981 Dakota Days Queen
Carla Thomsen graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1982 and was the 1981 Dakota Days Queen. She’s also a former Alpha Phi sorority member. Thomsen has daughters who attended the USD and are former members of Alpha Phi as well. She currently works full-time at Sanford and part-time at Scheels. Thomsen was a […]
Music bringing countries together
The memories that about 85 Vermillion residents made this summer in Ratingen, Germany, were a lifetime experience. Two Vermillion high school teachers facilitated the trip to celebrate Vermillion’s sister city’s 750th anniversary. Almost 1% of Vermillion was in Ratingen at the time. Kevin O’Kelley gave his first formal speech as mayor at the welcome ceremony […]
Robots here to help
There’s a new member of the university’s campus but it’s not another student, building, or staff member. Instead of seeing only human facilities management keeping up the landscaping, there’s now a robot lawnmower. USD Facilities Management (FM) has been looking at the possibility of automated equipment to help facilitate their work across campus. Whether that […]
Clay County discusses potential data center
With the rise of Artificial Intelligence, tech companies are in a race to reach general artificial intelligence. On Monday, Aug.31, Vermillion Planning and Zoning Commission reconvened to propose amendments to Zoning Regulations for data centers. Conversations with data center developers have been taking place across the Midwest this past year, some of which regarding the […]
USD runs on Dunkin’
South Dakota only has two Dunkin’ Donuts across the state and one of them recently opened at the University of South Dakota. Students and Vermillion community members are adjusting to this addition after the closing of Starbucks at the university. According to Max Morris, marketing manager for Sodexo’s South Dakota district and Dustin Penderson, operations […]
Striving for a bird safe campus and community
At the Vermillion Public Library on April 23, the Sierra Club and community members came together to learn more about how to protect birds from deadly window strikes and the effects of night lighting. Speakers shared information about how Sioux City became a certified Bird Friendly City and how Vermillion may do the same. Marla […]
A growing season for the Vermillion Community Garden
The Vermillion Community Garden president, Stephanie Nefas, hosted a mason jar terrarium and hanging planter work day on May 2 to fundraise for the upcoming layout renovations. Their goal this summer is to revitalize the community grown food pantry plot area. “We had an amazing master gardener join us last year to increase production from […]
Essential albums for the summer months
“Exodus” by Bob Marley “Exodus” is a reggae album with hints of electric guitar that accelerate the listening experience. It’s a classic album released in 1977 with some of Marley’s greatest hits. The first song of the album, “Natural Mystic,” feels like summer with the iconic bassline and Marley’s vocals. “Exodus,” an almost eight-minute song, […]
From Earth Day to Earth Month
Greening Vermillion kicked off Earth Days starting April 18 with the annual Volunteer Day at Spirit Mound Historic Prairie, and runs until April 26. Vermillion Earth Days are free community wide events and activities hosted across town and on campus. Geoffrey Gray-Lobe is the Clay County Commissioner and is the community organizer for the Sierra […]