Vermillion Police Department
Vermillion Police looking for missing person
Vermillion Police are looking for a 31-year-old man missing “under suspicious circumstances.” Authorities posted on Facebook Thursday evening a call for people to help look for Evan Stajduhar. “(He) left his residence between 10pm last night and 8:30am this morning, and police are trying to locate him to verify his well being,” Vermillion Police said on Facebook. He […]
Vermillion Police Department implements use of body cameras
With a small battery pack attached to the hip and a wire snaking up to a camera on a pair of sunglasses, Vermillion police officers are now filming their encounters with the public. Implemented in mid-July, the body cameras are worn by all on-duty Vermillion Police Department officers. When VPD Chief Matt Betzen started to advocate for their integration […]
Parking and Traffic Committee pumps up parking permit prices
Students who own automobiles are paying a bit more to park their vehicles in University of South Dakota parking lots this year than they have in previous years. Annual parking passes for this year cost $138, a $12 increase from last year’s price. The increase was approved by the university’s Executive Committee after the Parking and […]
Car crashes through vacant storefront, driver taken into custody
A car crashed into a vacant storefront on Cherry Street on Sunday evening, resulting in the driver of the vehicle being taken into police custody. Shannon Draper, chief of the Vermillion Fire Department, said the cause of the crash at the University Plaza strip mall was “medical in nature” and firefighters arrived on scene to […]
VPD utilizes confidential informants to bust businesses for selling alcohol to minors
One of eight businesses involved in an alcohol compliance check April 2 failed after selling alcohol to a minor. Speedee Mart, located at 802 E. Cherry St., failed its check after an underage confidential informant for the Vermillion Police Department purchased alcohol from the convenience store. “You really have to almost make an effort, or […]
Students, community address litter concerns as summer months approach
As temperatures begin to rise with the warming spring season, so does the amount of litter on Burbank Beach. Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe said traffic to the beach has increased in the past two years as university students have discovered its existence. Howe said the road to Burbank Beach is currently closed because it […]
University parking passes could lead to secondary citation
University of South Dakota parking passes must be displayed to park on campus, but displaying the parking passes on the rearview mirror could lead to secondary road violations. “Secondary enforcement laws only allow an officer to pull over drivers for a separate violation — speeding, headlight out, etc. — and then ticket them if there […]
Twice-daily alcohol testing ‘huge commitment’ for diversion program participants
In the pilot year of the local Underage Alcohol Diversion program, about 10 percent of offenders opted for this alternative to forgo conviction. The Vermillion Police Department reported 278 underage consumption citations last year. Twenty-seven people chose to participate in the diversion program, while 11 have successfully completed the 60-day course. “It’s pretty close to what I expected, because this […]
Active shooter training in community could mean fighting back
Virginia Tech. Columbine. Newtown. All could be considered shorthand for mass school shootings that sent shockwaves through the United States. Schools and offices, in their wake, have widely adopted a fairly typical lockdown procedure: sound the alarm, call the police and wait behind locked doors. But some security experts believe this approach is insufficient and are offering a […]
USD women’s group says ‘No More’ to Clery report findings
Junior Emily Grode, president of the Association for the Advancement of Women’s Rights, is saying “No More” to sexual violence and the underreporting of such crimes. This is why her organization is tabling for the NOMORE campaign, which raises awareness to prevent domestic violence and sexual assault, Thursday and Friday in the Muenster University Center from […]