Gregory Co. murder case trial begins

The Daily Republic

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FORT PIERRE-Opening statements were given Wednesday morning at the Stanley County Courthouse in the jury trial of a Hamill man charged with murdering a woman in June 2017.

For the rest of the week, the state will try to prove that Chance Harruff is guilty of the first- or second-degree murder or manslaughter of Kristi Olson. Next week, the defense will make the case that Harruff did not kill Olson, and that no one else did, either.

Breaking down the language barrier

The Daily Republic

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The percentage of Mitchell’s population that identifies as Hispanic or Latino may not be large, but it is a group that, for local manufacturers, is significant enough to revamp hiring practices.

Especially in recent years, manufacturing companies in Mitchell have started utilizing bilingual employees to get through the language barrier that often keeps non-native English speakers looking for work from the jobs that manufacturers are almost always seeking to fill.

Guericke pleads guilty to falsifying evidence

The Daily Republic

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ARMOUR-One of the men accused of backdating contracts between the Mid-Central Educational Cooperative and the American Indian Institute for Innovation accepted a plea bargain Friday morning.

Dan Guericke, Mid-Central’s former executive director, pleaded guilty to and was convicted of one count of falsifying evidence, a Class 6 felony, at the Douglas County Courthouse. In exchange, the state dropped five additional felony charges against Guericke.

Litigation still pending for building at Third and Main

The Daily Republic

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The road at the corner of Third Avenue and Main Street has been closed for more than a year, and it’s not likely to open any time soon.

Last week, the judge originally assigned to the case concerning the now-110-year-old, crumbling building on the corner recused himself, and a hearing originally scheduled to take place Tuesday was pushed back to Nov. 1.

Lake Mitchell isn’t the only lake with substandard water quality

The Daily Republic

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With a nearly $20 million cleanup plan currently on the table, it’s no secret that Lake Mitchell’s algae growth has gotten severe enough to keep the lake from being recreation-friendly.

But although the proposed plan is one of the first of its kind in the area, Lake Mitchell is not an outlier in terms of usability. It may receive more attention than many South Dakota lakes, but it’s far from the only lake to have issues with water quality – statistically, it’s actually more unusual for a South Dakota lake to not have any water impairments.

Delmont’s festival weekend: Kuchen, farming events honor local traditions

The Daily Republic

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Delmont celebrated traditions both in farming and in German baking last weekend with two concurrent festivals that have been around long enough to become town traditions of their own.

The Kuchen Festival took place downtown, with kuchen being sold alongside a craft show in the Legion Hall on Saturday and art and quilt shows being held in local businesses on both Saturday and Sunday.

Just a quarter-mile away, the Twin Rivers Old Iron Association simultaneously hosted its 15th annual Harvest Festival. Beginning at 8 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday, the festival featured demonstrations on a variety of antique farming equipment, live music, a parade, kids’ activities, food and a petting zoo.

Seven men arrested in August for sex crimes against minors

The Daily Republic

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Two brothers were indicted on Aug. 16 for the alleged sexual assault of a 9-year-old girl in August 2017 in Wagner.

While their charges are some of the most serious in the region recently, the brothers represent two of the seven total men arrested for sexual offenses against minors in The Daily Republic’s coverage region in August.