Around Town
USD students lose “grandparents” after closure of Vermillion Assisted Living
Every Thursday, University of South Dakota senior Scott Cichos has gone to Vermillion Assisted Living to visit his adopted “grandfather” David Hansen. Cichos met Hansen three years ago through the Students Enhancing Resources for Vermillion Enrichment (SERVE) organization at USD. “He’s a huge jokester, and he’s just got the greatest outlook on life,” Cichos said of Hansen. […]
Sculpture Walk to expand to downtown Vermillion
Downtown Vermillion will get a touch of artistic culture this summer as an extension of the University of South Dakota’s Sculpture Walk brings four sculptures to Main Street. Larry Schou saw an opportunity to give recognition to the Arts Department and commemorate the hard work of artists in a way that would also benefit the city […]
PHOTOS: Annual parade lights up downtown Vermillion
Vermillion community members lined Main Street to watch the sixth annual Parade of Lights Friday evening. Among the more than 20 entries in the parade were the University of South Dakota Reserved Officers’ Training Corps, the Alpha Phi and Kappa Alpha Theta sororities, and the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. After the parade, members from the […]
Poverty affects one third of Vermillion residents
The University of South Dakota is getting involved in an initiative to assess why Vermillion’s poverty rate is not being addressed as much as it should. Kelsey Collier-Wise, executive director for United Way of Vermillion, said Clay County has a poverty rate of 24 percent, with Vermillion’s poverty rate reaching nearly 33 percent in 2010. To […]
City Council approves food pantry funding
The Nov. 16 City Council may have adjourned in a matter of 11 minutes, but many recent developments in the city include increased funding for a program targeting low-income residents in the area and a multi-million dollar renovation in Vermillion’s Prentis Park. Funding for food pantry With the harvest season coming to a close, produce donations to […]
Recycling at USD decreased from 2013
Every other weekend, University of South Dakota first-year Gabbie Sefranek, a sustainability major, takes seven peoples’ worth of recyclables back to her hometown of Omaha, Neb. “None of my friends would recycle before I asked them to,” Sefranek said. Sefranek’s mother teaches at a high school where the janitors take all recyclables to a center that […]
Chamber raises $1.67 million to increase economic development
As Vermillion city officials continue to push for economic development, students at the University of South Dakota are involving themselves in the process. Through VermillionNEXT, Young Professionals Network of Emerging Leaders, students have the opportunity to engage with professionals in the area who are between 21 and 40 years of age. “The Vermillion community has […]
City asks for dismissal of Oct. 1 complaint filed by local landlords
The city of Vermillion is denying allegations made by 15 Vermillion landlords included in a complaint stating the rental housing owners experienced financial harm through the amending of city ordinances. In a response filed Oct. 16 by James Moore, an attorney for the defendants with Woods, Fuller, Schultz and Smith, P.C. based in Sioux Falls, the […]
Eagle Creek lawsuit will not affect USD partnership
A pending lawsuit between Vermillion’s Area Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Company and Eagle Creek Software Services Inc. will not affect an academic partnership between the University of South Dakota and the Twin Cities-based technology company. Jim Moran, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, said an Information Technology Consultant Academy is still expected to […]
District 17 elects Ring, Rasmussen, Rusch
Democrat Ray Ring and Republican Nancy Rasmussen defeated Marion Sorlien (D), and Sheri Kaufman (R), for the two open House of Representatives District 17 seats. In the South Dakota Senate race, Republican Arthur Rusch overcame Democrat Michelle Maloney for the open seat, with 58 percent of the vote. Although Ring, who received 28 percent majority, […]