About twenty students were evacuated from a residence hall on the University of South Dakota campus Tuesday afternoon following a report of suspected explosives being found there.
University of South Dakota spokesperson Phil Carter says authorities were notified after the possible explosives were discovered during a search of an unoccupied room at U-S-D’s Coyote Village.
Carter says the staff at the residence hall deserve credit for taking action to maintain public safety once the possibly explosive items were found.
Carter says the investigation is being handled by the South Dakota Department of Criminal Investigation.

Registration is now open for underserved children in our area who need to make an appointment with the Dakota Smiles Dental Mobile program before it arrives in Yankton on March 26th.
Pre-registration is required for the program which provides comprehensive oral health care to children ages zero-to twenty.
United Way Director Pam Kettering says registration forms are available at a number of locations throughout the Yankton community including schools, churches and the Yankton County Contact Center.
The program is sponsored by Delta Dental and the United Way and Kettering says a number of local families have benefited from their services during past visits by the Dental Mobile. 
Kettering says the registration deadline for the Dakota smiles dental mobile program is March 12th.

At Tuesday's meeting the Yankton County Commission gave a new  ordinance aimed at regulating drainage throughout the county its’ first public reading.
Drainage Ordinance Task force Vice-Chairman John Gunderson says the new ordinance is designed to look after the interests of both large and small landowners throughout the county.
Commissioner Allen Sinclair says putting the new ordinance in place is vital if Yankton County residents want to control drainage themselves rather than turning that authority over to state authorities.
Public comment on Yankton County’s newly proposed drainage ordinance will again be taken at the next county commission meeting set for February 22nd.

A bill to increase state funding for K-through 12th grade education moving through the South Dakota Senate has gained the approval of one local Democratic legislator.
The proposal by Republican Senator Larry Rhoden of District 29 would make the one-time money used to soften last year’s cuts to education funding a permanent and on-going revenue source for schools. 
House Minority Leader Bernie Hunhoff says if Senate Bill 124 is heard in the South Dakota House he will support it.
Hunhoff says without those one-time dollars being included in this year’s education funding formula South Dakota’s public school will suffer another funding cut this year.
The Senate State Affairs Committee passed Senate Bill 124 by a nine-to-nothing vote yesterday date has not yet been set for Senate bill 124 to be considered on the floor of the South Dakota Senate.

As absentee voting opens for the February 28th Yankton School District opt-out election citizens who support the two-year one-point-four million dollar proposal are working to get their message in front of local voters.
School District Business Manager Jason Bietz  says while the perception may exist that the Yankton School Board controls how the opt-out levy is applied, that levy is set in state statute, the school board only determines the dollar amount and duration of the proposed opt-out.
Bietz says there is no doubt that the Yankton School District will need to utilize some of the their health insurance reserves to make up for general fund budget shortfalls over the next two years, the only question is to what extent will those reserves be used.
Bietz say the deadline to register to vote in the February 28th opt-out election is next Monday, February 13th.

A pair of public input meetings has been set in our area for later this month with officials of the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to help develop a land protection plan for this region of the Missouri River.
Missouri National Recreational River Superintendent Steve Mietz says the plan will identify areas on the Missouri River that have special significance in terms of wildlife, scenic and cultural importance.
Mietz says the meetings are being held to give landowners and other people who have an active interest in the Missouri River the opportunity to let government officials know their thoughts and concerns.
Mietz says public input meetings on the proposed Missouri River land protection plan will be held at the W.H. Over Museum in Vermillion on February 23rd and at the W-F-L-A Hall in Niobrara on February 24th .
Both meetings are scheduled to begin with an open house at 5:30 PM.

Local business owner Chris Ferdig has submitted his petition seeking to serve a term on the Yankton City Commission.
Ferdig says by running for the city commission, he is looking for a way to contribute to the community that has helped his business thrive over the past eight years.
Ferdig says his personal qualities such as the ability to work hard and level of personal commitment to the Yankton community make him suited to serve as a city commissioner.
The terms of current commissioners Dave Carda, Pauline Akland and Mayor David Knoff expire this spring.

One of the most dramatic eras in modern American history, school desegregation in the southern United States is the focus of a series of presentations beginning next week at the Yankton Community Library.
Local historian Doug Sall says 2012 marks the fiftieth and fifty-fifth anniversaries of two historic events during the civil rights movement, the integration of public schools in Little Rock, Arkansas and Oxford, Mississippi.
Sall says while serving in the U.S. Army he was stationed at Oxford, Mississippi during the civil unrest that took place there.
School Desegregation Revisited will be presented in three parts with The Little Rock Nine on February 9th , James Meredith at Ole’ Miss on February 16th  with both programs beginning at 7 PM and concludes with a showing of the film Mississippi Burning at 6:30 PM on February 23rd.

United Way and Volunteer Services of Greater Yankton is hosting its’ Third Annual Shoot From the Heart Fundraiser later this month at the National Field Archery Association headquarters in Yankton.
United Way Director Pam Kettering says the Shoot From The Heart event has gained in popularity over the past two years.
Kettering says U.S. Paralympic Archery Team member Chuck Lear will display his archery talents at this year’s Shoot From The Heart.
The Third Annual Shoot From The Heart fundraiser is set for 5:30 PM on February 17th.

Despite the record flooding last spring and summer, tourism spending in Yankton County was still decent in 2011.  Yankton convention and visitors bureau director Lisa Scheve says a SD Dept. of Tourism report showed a 1.1% increase in visitor spending last year in Yankton County.  Scheve says the statewide report showed a 1.5% increase in visitor spending across SD in 2011.

Community Response Emergency Team training will soon be available in the Yankton County area.
Emergency Management Director Paul Scherschligt says CERT training educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and teaches them basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety and light search and rescue.
Scherschligt says people who go through CERT training have a better understanding of the potential threats to their home, workplace and community and can take the right steps to lessen the effects of these hazards on themselves and their families.
Scherschligt says the first night of training is set for February 1st  at 6:30 PM at the Yankton County Emergency Management Training Facility.

Two local residents, Randy Tramp and Nancy Saunders were recently sworn-in by First Circuit Court Judge Glen Eng as the first South East CASA  volunteers.
Program Director Sherri Rodgers-Conti says Court Appointed Special Advocates provide support to abused or neglected children while they are involved in the foster care or family court systems.
Rodgers-Conti says CASA volunteers receive specialized training on a variety of issues including the courts and child welfare systems.
Rodgers-Conti says another CASA training session is scheduled to get underway in March.

A challenge has been issued to the citizens of Yankton by a former resident to provide funds to benefit and expand the Sack Pack program which provides weekend meals for hundreds of local school students.
Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether grew up in Yankton and was in town yesterday to kick-off the Sack-Pack fund raising campaign.
Huether says he and his family will match donations up to a total of twenty-five thousand dollars from the Yankton community for a total contribution of fifty thousand dollars.
Huether says as he grew up in the Yankton community he was taught the value of striving to reach goals and he is bringing that attitude to the Sack-Pack fundraising campaign.
The Sack Pack program has been active in Yankton since the 2009-2010 school year.

Tickets are on sale now for the Fourth Annual Gourmet Guys fundraiser set for February 11th.
The event is held to benefit the Yankton Community Library and Director Kathy Jacobs says dishes served at previous Gourmet Guys events have included wild game, chili, and desserts.
Jacobs says the money raised through ticket sales and a silent auction has been used by Friends of The Library in the past to purchase equipment and supplies for the community library.
Jacobs says tickets for the Fourth Annual Gourmet Guys fundraiser are fifteen dollars and may be purchased at the Hy-Vee service counter or through Friends of the Library.

Yankton native and nationally known human resources consultant Alice Dendinger will be the keynote speaker at the 2012 Yankton Women of Distinction luncheon in Feburary.
Dendinger says through her work with the Alice Dendinger Alliance Group, a Texas-based human resources firm she has seen that most often, problems within business organizations are due to poor communication.
Dendinger says one area of special concern for businesses is communicating through email.
The 2012 Yankton Women of Distinction luncheon is set for February 20th at Mount Marty College’s Roncalli Center.