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.

Ethan horse to be inducted into hall of fame

The Daily Republic

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ETHAN – Marlene Colvin shares her Ethan farm with Heliskier, a lone horse with a history of knee problems who is enjoying retirement.

But as a two-time champion sprinter and champion 3-year-old colt with nine career wins, two consecutive Horse of the Year wins and $279,000 in career winnings, thoroughbred Heliskier is not the typical small-farm horse, and on Saturday, he’ll be inducted into the Canterbury Park Hall of Fame.

Biting into SD’s open record laws

The Daily Republic

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On Thursday, I drove about two hours to Gregory, spent three minutes in the Gregory School District office, and then drove the 110 miles back to Mitchell. Why? Because that’s the only way anyone in the district would give me the answers to three questions about school lunches.

Across South Dakota, thousands of school lunch accounts carry a negative balance

The Daily Republic

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Imagine if every public school in South Dakota gave every one of its students free lunch for a day.

That may seem implausible, but as far as financial impact, it’s not far off from what happened during the 2017-18 school year.