School board passes gender equity policy 3-2

The Vermillion School Board passed a district-wide Gender Equity and Access policy that will allow students to use restrooms of the gender with which they identify Monday night. “Absent a compelling, specific, and documented concern for safety, the District shall permit a student to use the restroom for the gender with which they consistently, persistently, […]

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New grant gives Center for Child Maltreatment new direction

A new grant was awarded to USD’s Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment (CPCM) by the Department of Education after a proposal was made by the CPCM to produce a document called “The State of the Well-Being of Children’s Report”. The grant was awarded to CPCM to better the data given to complete the […]

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New Vermillion bar plans to stand out

EDITOR’S NOTE: In a previous version of this article, The Volante misspelled Patrick Masur’s name as Patrick Mesur. The Volante regrets this error. With a multitude of bars in downtown Vermillion, a new one has entered the arena. Hollarr is a new bar that opened just before Dakota Days and is owned by Patrick Masur. […]

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Vermillion community faces housing market issues

All across the country, Vermillion included, communities are facing issues with the housing market, according to Forbes. The demand for housing is too high for the market availability to keep up.  Michelle Maloney is the broker owner of Maloney Real Estate. Maloney said the country hasn’t been building as much, which in turn causes low […]

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Pandora Papers reveal South Dakota’s role in the global financial system

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has recently begun publishing the Pandora Papers—11.9 million leaked documents showing the offshore accounts of 35 world leaders and more than 100 billionaires, celebrities and business leaders. The publication of these papers drew new attention to South Dakota’s role in the global financial system. Much of the Pandora […]

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Student Federation Executive Director, Chair resign

USD’s Student Government Association (SGA) President Ally Feiner found herself in a new position last Sunday when the Student Federation Board of Directors named her the Interim Executive Director. The decision came after an email from then Student Federation Executive Director Zebadiah Johnson and Chair Elizabeth Benzmiller that included letters of resignation to the Board […]

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Vermillion School District to build new elementary school

Early this month, Vermillion voters approved a bond issue for $26 million to construct a new elementary school. The election, in which 74.8% of voters approved the bond, is the first step toward making the school a reality. Vermillion Public Schools Superintendent Damon Alvey said the new school is necessary because of both the old […]

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Climate change’s impact on South Dakota

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, September was the third warmest September on record for North America. The climate of South Dakota is changing and will continue to change in the coming years. The Earth is beginning to see the effects of pumping fossil fuels into the air, and with that, the entire […]

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Former Executive Director Summoned after Noems Daughter Denied Certification

In July, Governor Kristi Noem summoned Sherry Bren, the former executive director of the South Dakota Appraiser Certification Program, to her office to discuss appraiser procedures after her daughter, Kassidy Peters, was denied her certification to become a real estate appraiser. Peters was at the meeting as well. In Nov. Four months after, Peters obtained her licenses.  After the meeting […]

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