http://yankton.net/articles/2012/10/04/community/doc506d021d8e6b6484986662.txt

 

Students, Schools Have Beef With New Lunch Guidelines

School Districts Adjusting Meal Options To Meet New Guidelines

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

School districts around the country have been adjusting their meal options in order to comply with the new federal guidelines on school lunches that took effect this fall.

South Dakota schools haven’t been spared by the changes.

In a survey conducted last month of superintendents across the state, 90.7 percent said their schools had been affected by the new mandates. Ninety-nine responses were received of  the 152 distributed.

Among the high school requirements instituted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture are an 850-calorie limit, milk that is nonfat or low-fat, one cup each of fruit and vegetables, 2 ounces of protein and 2 ounces of grains per day.

Middle schools have a 700-calorie cap, while the elementary schools have a 650 calorie maximum.

In the coming decade there will also be a maximum amount of sodium students can be served for their lunches.

In the survey, 73.2 percent of the superintendents said they had heard student complaints about not getting enough to eat. Also, 48.5 percent said the number of sack lunches being brought to school had increased.

More than two thirds of the respondents — 72.2 percent — said they would support a freeze on the new rules until further study of the issue could be done.

Rep. Kristi Noem (R.-S.D.) met with Sandi Kramer, YSD’s food services director, on Wednesday to discuss the changes. Additionally, Sen. John Thune got an earful about the new rules from students during a visit to the Yankton High School last week.

“The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) increased the fruit and vegetable totals that we have to serve students across the board,” Kramer told the Press & Dakotan Wednesday. “They’re treating fruits and vegetables separately now. They used to be one food group; they’re now considered two separate groups.”

Kramer added one of the biggest changes with the new rules is there is now a maximum amount of protein allowed to be served to students, when it used to be a minimum amount.

“At the high school level, we used to give about one grain daily and up to 15 each week, and now it’s a maximum amount of 10-12 grains that we are allowed to serve,” she said.

Kramer said the biggest thing she has had to deal with so far is the calorie counts that she is required to serve students.

“The minimum amount of calories that we were allowed to serve high school students was 825, now the maximum we can serve is 850,” she said.

She noted that the when the old guidelines were in effect, high school lunches would average between 900-1,000 calories per lunch.

“When we were planning our kids’ meals at school, we would figure about one-third of the calories they would eat were at lunch,” Kramer said. “However, studies have shown that an active average teenager will burn about 3,000 calories per day, and if a kid does sports, this could be up to 6,000 calories each day.”

Another change officials have had to deal with is that kids now must have a fruit or vegetable on their plate at lunch. Schools must serve different vegetables every day, including serving one dark green vegetable each week, which could include broccoli. Schools must also serve a bean each week.

“I have been experimenting with different bean recipes for the kids’ lunches,” Kramer said.

Kramer noted that officials from the USDA have been telling schools there is not that big of a change from the old guidelines, except now students are getting the fruits and vegetables they need.

“If you just looked at the minimum amounts, there really is not a whole lot of difference, but if you look at the maximums and what we served before, there is a big difference,” she said. “The new guidelines were hard to plan for because there were so many different components that we needed to absorb. I think that if we could rewind this whole thing, I wish they would have given us a year or two to transition between the old and new guidelines to make it easier on the kids.”

Kramer said it takes her a lot more time to work out the menus now with the new guidelines. She is also required to send worksheets to the USDA with the weekly menus to be approved, a process that is very time consuming.

A concern that she has is whether lawmakers in Washington took the time to read the bill when it was on their desks.

“This was a bill that was passed by the House and Senate and was about 288 pages long. I doubt that very many representatives actually really read the bill and absorbed it all, so now we are feeling the repercussions of it,” Kramer said. “Somewhere, we need to find a medium here. Lunch is a lot of the kids’ main meals for the day, so when you start cutting back from their lunch, it is difficult to keep the kids from going hungry.”

She said that parents have called her office to complain about some of the changes. One parent asked why she was not serving the full amount of allotted calories in a given meal. Since the call, Kramer said she has concentrated on serving the maximum amount of calories each meal.

“I’m always trying to think of ways I can squeeze in 50 or 70 more calories to give kids the maximum amount of calories they are allowed to have,” Kramer said.

She added that, even with the changes, students are allowed to have an unlimited amount of fruits and vegetables during lunch.

“I really prefer that kids take what they can eat and not waste it, then come back and get more if they want,” Kramer said. “Middle school kids have always done that, but more high school kids are doing it now.”

Although it is unlikely the USDA will change the law, officials are still taking comments and concerns that students, parents and school officials have with it. Officials from the USDA will meet with concerned citizens in Brandon Valley on Oct. 10.

Despite the new guidelines, Kramer said there has not been as big of a change in the lunches at YSD as some other schools in the state have felt.

“Some small schools have offered their students unlimited bread or milk, but we didn’t do that here,” she said.

Kramer said the changes have all been a work in progress, and some schools around the state have been confused by the new guidelines and what qualifies as a fruit or vegetable. However, she hopes everything will be figured out within the next several months.

“The bottom line is the USDA wouldn’t be making these changes if they thought there was not a problem,” she said. “I just wish we could have a little bit more flexibility with how we feed our kids.”

Kramer added that parents and children must be patient because the schools will eventually find a balance with the new guidelines and the food being served. However, she thinks that the guidelines may be too strict on schools.

“School lunches didn’t necessarily make children obese; there are other factors there, including what happens after school. But we need to all set good examples for our kids,” she said. “This isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing, but there is nothing wrong with a kid putting a fruit or vegetable on their plate as part of their lunch.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

YSD Leaves Behind NCLB Law

School District Looks Ahead, Prepares For New Education Standards

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Officials in the Yankton School District (YSD) are looking forward to moving away from No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and towards the new Common Core standards, already adopted by many other states.

The new standards allow schools to show themselves as being successful if they demonstrate growth and students’ test scores show improvement over time.

Kathy Wagner, director of student services at YSD, said that even with the new standards, teachers and officials in the district want to continue improving scores with students with disabilities and maintain the scores with other subgroups.

“This school year will be the first year with the new model,” Wagner said. “Last September, officials started to develop the new accountability model at the state level.”

She added that last year’s test scores were based on NCLB, while next spring’s test scores will be with the Common Core model.

The new model will also only count students one time. The NCLB model could have students counted more than once if they fell into multiple subgroups.

All of the changes will be in place in 2014-15.

With the new standards, the state will publish a list of schools assigned into one of three categories:

• A priority school will fall into the bottom 5 percent of schools in the state, and the state will try to help the school improve a great deal.

• A focus school will fall into the middle of the pack, with the state helping the school.

• A reward school will be where a majority of the schools are supposed to fall into, and is the highest rating a school can achieve.

The new guidelines will hold schools accountable based on achievement, academic growth, attendance, or college or career readiness, effective teachers and principals, and school climate.

“In order for the state to get their waiver approved by the feds, they needed to include all five of those categories,” Wagner said. “The state is still in a committee in order to determine how they will score some of the categories, including school climate.”

Districts across South Dakota will have two years to get the standards fully implemented, which are based on a 100-point scale, with each factor getting its own point rating.

“We are in a wait-and-see mode to see how all the indicators will be developed and assessed,” Wagner added.

She said that state officials are considering using the Charlotte Danielson model as a tool for evaluating teachers. However, the Danielson model was never intended to be an evaluation tool; it was to be used as a way to make teachers more effective, but in a non-threatening, non-evaluation way. So the South Dakota Education Association is fighting against using the Danielson model as the framework for teacher evaluations.

“Most districts across the state think they should be able to assess teachers the way they want, and not have it be a statewide standard,” Wagner said. “At YSD, we have some of the most rigorous standards for evaluating our teachers. They are very comprehensive standards that we have set out for our teacher     evaluations.”

YSD Superintendent Dr. Joe Gertsema dded: “We don’t believe we need help from the state or federal government when evaluating our teachers. We believe our evaluating system is working.”

Some of the ways that officials in YSD evaluate teachers include going through pages of criteria for teacher standards, along with doing observations of teachers throughout the year.

Next spring’s test scores will serve as the baseline level scores for YSD.

As part of the college and career readiness indicator, ACT scores will be used to assess how ready a student is for a job or for a college education. However, Wagner notes that not all students take the ACT, so another test will have to be offered to students free of charge to help determine if a student is college or career ready.

“You can’t force someone to pay for a test that they’re using at the state level,” Wagner said.

The new standards will also have a gap group that is an aggregate count of student groups in the state that have historically experienced achievement gaps — basically, students that need some extra help. This group will include African-American, Native American, Hispanic, economically disadvantaged, students with disabilities, migrant and limited English proficient students. The non-gap group will consist of the rest of the subgroups.

South Dakota Department of Education Secretary Dr. Melody Schopp said in a statement that the gap group concept serves the state well for several different reasons. First, by aggregating the count of students within the subgroups, more schools can focus on the students that are struggling or are in the gap group. In addition, by using the gap and non-gap group for accountability purposes, it ensures that each student counts only one time when considering student achievement.

Under NCLB, a student could fall into a number of subgroups (for example, economically disadvantaged, a student with disabilities and limited English proficient — this would have counted the student three times). Under this system, a student is only counted once.

Taking on a new system will demand some preparation, Gertsema said.

“Every time you undergo a mandatory change from the state or federal government, there will be an expense there for training,” he said. “There is a lot of new training           involved.”

“Holding schools accountable for their test results isn’t a bad thing,” Wagner said.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

 

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/10/03/community/doc506bb0613048f256518026.txt

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

As time has gone on, more businesses in Yankton and surrounding areas have moved into the wireless network age.

One of those businesses is Ben’s Brewing, a bar in Yankton.

Ben’s first opened in 2005 and has been a thriving bar ever since.

Ben Hanten, general manager at Ben’s, said he decided to have the wireless network in the bar from the day it opened seven years ago.

“I felt as if it was a necessary service for our customers,” he said. “When I’m out of town, I’d always be looking for a wireless network to connect to.

Hanten added that the network gets used every day, but he’s seeing much less laptop use now, and more phones and tablets connecting to the network.

One of the changes he has noticed in the area is more businesses offering free wireless for their customers. Hanten said that when the bar first opened in 2005, there were only a few businesses that offered wireless, and they would have big signs promoting the offering. Now most businesses in town are offering a network for customers, he said.

Another way that the bar connects with customers is through the Frontflip smartphone application.

Frontflip is an application that allows businesses to build relationships with customers and acts as an engagement platform. The application lets customers use their phone scanner and potentially win instant prizes at the business. Owners can then reach out to customers later on by sending targeted gifts directly to their phone.

“It’s a nice way to reach customers because it allows me to see who is using it and how often they are using it,” Hanten said.

Frontflip charges Ben’s a monthly fee for the service, which launched this spring. Hanten noted that it is currently being used about 400 times a month.

Other area businesses in Yankton that offer free wireless to their customers include Burger King, Hy-Vee, Kentucky Fried Chicken / Taco Bell, The Landing Bar, Magilly’s Broadway Eatery, Marketplace Cafe, McDonalds, Pizza Ranch, Minervas, Riverside Park, the Yankton Community Library and the Visitors Center.

In addition to businesses offering customers free wireless networks, many cellular phone providers have also expanded their 4G internet connectivity options to subscribers in the area.
Verizon Wireless recently brought 4G coverage to the area, and also recently activated a new cell site in Yankton, which further expanded its coverage in the area.

The cell site which was recently activated is located near the intersection of U.S. Highway 81 and West Eighth St. The site improves coverage area for Verizon subscribers on north to west 20th street, areas south of the Missouri River, east to Burleigh street and west to Summit street.

“South Dakotans are increasingly relying on smartphones and applications to manage their busy lives and to stay connected at home or on-the-go,” said Seamus Hyland, president of the Verizon

Wireless Great Plans region, in a statement. “This new cell site is part of our continual investment in our network so our customers can use their devices when, where and how they need them.”

In addition, SDN Communications, a business-to-business broadband service provider in South Dakota and surrounding states, has continued to expand fiber optic connectivity in Yankton.

Yankton was the fourth city in South Dakota to benefit from the company’s $25 million expansion, $20 million of which was provided through the federal stimulus-funded Broadband Technology Opportunities Program.

The construction, which is projected to be done by the end of this year, will add 359 miles of new fiber optic cable to the state and benefit 75 communities. That will mean increased broadband access to more than 300 hospitals, schools and government facilities.

Earlier this fall, Verizon Wireless continued its expansion of service in southeastern South Dakota by further enhancing its 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.

The expanded coverage area includes Freeman, Canton, Parker, Viborg and Yankton, as well as U.S. Highway 81 north of Yankton to Freeman; east of U.S. Highway 81 on U.S. Highway 18 and State Highway 44 to Interstate 29 and east on I-29 from U.S. Highway 18 to the Iowa border.

“The expansion of our 4G high-speed network will enable customers to use their 4G LTE devices in more parts of South Dakota to stay in touch with family, friends and colleagues, all with speeds up to 10 times faster than before,” Seamus Hyland, president-Great Plains Region, Verizon Wireless, said in a statement.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

On a local level, Yankton County might be suffering from a housing shortage.

At a City Commission meeting earlier this year, Commissioner Charlie Gross said the housing shortage question had been brought to his attention.

The question was raised at a recent City Commission meeting after the subject was brought to Commissioner Charlie Gross’s attention.

“I’ve heard we’re having trouble getting people to come to work in Yankton because of a housing shortage,” he told his fellow commissioners.

Gross said he was informed that people who work in Yankton are finding apartments in Vermillion.

“One of the concerns I heard was, you run the risk of losing them to Vermillion because Vermillion is also looking for (workers),” he stated. “If we’ve run out of apartments and housing in a certain price range, that’s something we need to ask the Economic Development Council, Yankton Area Progressive Growth or the Planning Commission to take a look at.”

Vision Real Estate rarely has rental openings, and when they do they typically get eaten up very quickly.

“I would say the biggest housing issue Yankton has is the shortage of market-rate apartments,” Community Development Director Dave Mingo said, referring to apartments that have no rent restrictions on them. “We could use some additional moderately-priced lots for smaller independent contractors to build on.”

According to Mingo, there are about 60 homes on the market listed between $75,000 and $130,000 — a price range that is in demand.

“We need to watch the situation closely,” Mingo said, noting there may be things the city can do to encourage home building.
Dan Specht of Vision Real Estate echoed Mingo’s concerns.

“What we’re hearing from the rental market is, there is a definite need for rental housing in a price range of $600 to $1,200 a month,” he said. “There is not a lot of rental housing available right now, especially for people with pets. It’s a crunch. I think there is some opportunity out there for potential investors to gain a lead in the rental market.”

Kaye O’Neal, of Shore to Shore Realty, does most of her work in Nebraska, but thinks there is a definite need for more housing in the area.

“For rentals, I see a huge need for rental property for folks who come into the area for temporary work, such as for the wind farms near Bloomfield,” she said.

Specht added that, even though there seems to be a shortage in housing in Yankton, overall the market has been relatively stable.

“The residental housing market, in terms of the number of sales, has been stable for the last three years,” he said. “We have seen some fluctuations in home values, but nothing too drastic. I think we’re starting to see the residental market tighten up a bit.”

He added that Vision Real Estate has been doing research on how the market in the area might be affected by a decrease in new home construction, and its relationship to the number of lots sold and the number of buildable lots currently on the market.

“The research will help us get a better understanding about where the market is heading,” Specht said. “Our residential rental market is something we don’t get into too much. However, we do see a need for that type of housing. My best guess is that Yankton is missing out on that 2-3 bedroom units that rent for $750-$1,000 a month.”

He continued by saying the market here in the area could use a few more homes in each price range. He said there are not as many homes on the market as there have been in the past 5-7 years.
“Some of that is due to the decline of new construction in both spec and custom homes,” Specht said. “When a home is built, many times those people are selling a home that is of less value, thus opening up the market. That is not happening as much today as past years, leaving the affordable housing market a bit behind.”

He said, based on speculation, Yankton and the surrounding areas will continue to take advantage of the opportunities as they arise and the development of infrastructure, including roads, will play a vitale role in the development of new lots.

“Gone are the days of $15,000 and $20,000 lots as land values, as infrastructure costs have increased,” Specht aded. “We will see some continued rehabilitation of older homes by investors, which provides good housing and upgrades neighborhoods. I also think we will see a new apartment complex aimed at that $850 a month renter. Those renters appear to be out there, but the apartments aren’t.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

As the nation’s economic recovery continues to struggle, Yankton County and surrounding areas have not seen all of the impacts of the stalled economy.

Since March, Yankton County has seen its unemployment rate hover around 4 percent. It has actually fallen from 4.3 percent in March down to 4 percent in June.

In the area, Hutchinson County has had an unemployment rate of under 4 percent since March, while the unemployment rate in Charles Mix has stayed around 5 percent. Bon Homme and Clay counties have seen their unemployment below 5 percent as well.

Dawn Dovre, public affairs director at the Department of Labor and Regulation, said Gov. Dennis Daugaard’s South Dakota Workforce Initiatives (SD WINS) could be having a big impact on the economy.

“SD WINS is Gov. Daugaard’s 20-point plan to address short- and long-term workforce needs,” she said. “SD WINS is a collaborative effort of business, education, health and labor leaders to create a well-trained and well-educated workforce for the job market of today and tomorrow.”

SD WINS is a program that brings together government, education and business leaders to capitalize on many of the state’s offerings. The program should help South Dakota develop and attract a stronger, more educated workforce, which will also help the state to compete in the continuously changing global economy.

Some of the highest growing labor fields in South Dakota include fabricated metal product manufacturing, which is expected to grow by about 17 percent by 2020. Computer and electronic product manufacturing is expected to grow by nearly 16 percent by 2020. Machinery manufacturing workers are expected to grow nearly 13 percent during the next eight years, while transportation equipment manufacturing employee numbers are projected to increase by nearly 14 percent.

Also from 2010-2020, the fastest growing industries in the state are projected to be ambulatory health care services (a 28.5 percent expected increase), waste management and remediation service (a projected 23.4 percent increase), and construction of buildings, which is projected to increase by more than 22 percent.

The industries in South Dakota that are expected to take the sharpest declines by 2020 include private households, an expected 7.5 percent decrease; telecommunications a projected 3.5 percent decrease; and broadcasting (not including Internet), a projected 2.7 percent decrease.

The state Department of Labor (DLR) helps employees that are out of work, or searching for a better opportunity, potentially finding jobs.

“The projects DLR are currently involved in include Dakota Roots, getting people their National Career Readiness Certificates (NCRC) and finding internship opportunities for students,” Dovre said.

There are 18 local DLR offices throughout South Dakota, which provide a wide range of employer services, including screening and testing job seekers to match business needs, offering job training programs and maintaining South Dakota’s largest job database.

The Yankton DLR office posts job openings in Yankton, Bon Homme and Charles Mix counties, and a few openings in surrounding areas, including Hartington and Crofton.

The DLR notes that there is plentiful job availability right now and there are a variety of job openings, not just for one specific area. New businesses that open in the area will contact the DLR to post job openings online.

“We provide helpful advice with labor laws and other employment issues to employers in the area,” Dovre said. “Our local staff all have close ties with local development groups and other business and labor organizations in order to stay in tune with what’s happening.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Employers in the area are constantly striving to draw national talent to help their businesses.

Case and point is Mount Marty College.

When Emily Johnson applied for a job at MMC while living in the Twin Cities area, she did not know what to really expect about the area.

However, a month after starting in her new position at MMC, she is beginning to adjust and enjoy all that Yankton has to offer.

When she interviewed for the position of director of disability services and residence hall director, she asked what people liked to do in Yankton.

“I was told bowling leagues are pretty big here, along with the many outdoor activities that are offered in Yankton,” she said. “I was also told that the Wal-Mart here was recently noted as being the best in the area.”

She added that the people she interviewed with spoke a lot about Riverboat Days in Yankton, as well as several other festivals in the area.

“The group of people I interviewed with shared that Yankton is a developing area and it’s a nice place to raise a family,” she said.

Now that Johnson has been here for over a month, she is finally getting settled in with the town.

“Now that I’ve been here a while and been able to explore the area a bit more, I think that the Lewis and Clark Recreation Area and the dam are big selling points for this area,” she said. “It’s beautiful here.”

Although she had a job in Minnesota as a social worker, the biggest reason why she chose Yankton was the job that she was offered at MMC.

“I tried to do some research about the town and area prior to coming for my interview, but I found that many businesses in the area do not have websites,” Johnson noted.

She added that when she came for her interview, it was raining and dark so she could not get a very good impression of the town and all that it had to offer.

“Mount Marty College blew me away as an employer and as a college,” she said. “I was impressed, and continue to be impressed, with the school every day while I’m here.”

Recently a study showed why healthcare employees choose to work where they do, specifically in rural areas.

A rural healthcare employee retention and recruitment study for 2012 showed why healthcare providers decide to remain in or leave their communities and practices. The biggest reasons include salaries, being able to cultivate relationships with patients, education for children, various incentives such as sick leave, cost of living and an employment opportunity for their spouse.

More than half of the survey respondents felt as if the rural location, size of the community and available patient base, in combination with lack of facilities and equipment available, were the biggest detriments to recruiting and retention activities.

The report also showed that rural areas have more difficulty recruiting and retaining healthcare providers than larger areas do. In addition, rural communities are also more successful in recruiting and retaining providers who have had rural backgrounds or ties to the area.

For healthcare facilities, employees felt as if competitive salary levels, family preferences, flexible call schedules and availability of social, cultural and recreational opportunities were some of the biggest reasons in the decision to practice in a particular community. In addition to the professional issues, family issues, including employment or educational opportunities for family members were identified as some of the biggest factors for deciding to practice in a particular community.

Hospital incentives, proximity of residency programs and lack of hospital specialities were some of the least common responses for where employees chose to practice.

As Yankton grows and develops, employers will continue to have to sell potential employees on the area and why they should come here to live and work.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

South Dakota features planning districts, which are associations of local governments (county, city and tribal) in many of the districts across the state. District III, which encompasses Bon Homme, Hutchinson, Douglas, Charles Mix and Yankton counties, among others, helps to provide planning and development, improve the quality of government services and save costs by providing one source for specialized services.

“District III is a regional development organization that helps local governments and the private sector with various projects,” said director Greg Henderson. “We work on pretty much every kind of major problem.”

The main goal of all the planning committees across the state is to provide comprehensive development assistance to its membership and to organizations and businesses in the private sector. They offer a wide range of services that help their region maintain public services and expand economic opportunities.

Among the projects the group has taken on in Yankton County in 2011 included a sewer system, which the Timberland Park Homeowner’s Association sought. The group also helped the City of Yankton with the East Highway 50 lift station. However, the group denied an application for the Volin Rural Fire Association’s proposal for a new vehicle.

In Bon Homme County, District III helped the City of Scotland with storm water and sewer improvements as well as with a project on Washington Street.

The planning committee helped a few projects in Douglas County, included railway avenue reconstruction in Corsica and a facility upgrade and expansion project within the county.

In Hutchinson County, a number of projects are still under review. However, in 2011, the group helped the City of Parkston with its “safe routes to school” initiative, the City of Menno with a water meter replacement project, and other improvements in Menno and Freeman for a small community planning grant.

District III also helps with many other projects across the area, including community planning, housing, geographic information systems (GIS), business development, grant and loan applications, and other speciality projects.

Since its founding in 1973, each dollar of membership dues paid by counties has expanded to an average of $61 in assistance needed — a number that counties to grow higher. Total outside assistance to date totals more than $247 million on just $4 million in dues paid.

District III is financed through membership dues, administrative charges, state and federal agency service contracts, grants and other technical assistance fees. Expenses in 2011 were at $1.1 million and about 22 percent of the funding came from local government dues.

The group is currently working locally with the Boys and Girls Club of Yankton to try and secure the group a grant to build a new facility.

District III helps many groups and community organizations secure funds to help improve their communities in ways they might not have been able to without the groups help and guidance.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/09/27/community/doc5063b54eee904928024414.txt

 

Yankton County Voting Changes Discussed At Area Meeting

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

About two dozen likely voters gathered at the Yankton County Government Center on Wednesday for an informational meeting about the changes in the election system this fall.

County Auditor Paula Jones said she is excited about the modifications Yankton County will undergo this election season thanks to changes in state law and to the new technology.

The biggest change voters will notice is that they are no longer restricted to casting a ballot on election day at the polling place within their precinct. With the new voting center system in place, a ballot can be cast at any of the seven polling stations across the county.

The voting centers will be at:

• Yankton City Hall, 416 Walnut St.

• Yankton Middle School, 2000 Mulberry St.

•JoDean’s Steakhouse and Lounge, 2809 Broadway Ave., Yankton

• the Rock House, 31120 Quarry Drive, Yankton

• Gayville Community Center, 404 Washington St., Gayville

• Broomtree Farm, Bishop Carlson Lodge, 29827 Ave. Irene

• the Lesterville Fire Hall, Lesterville.

The other old polling stations will no longer be open on election day.

“It’s going to be new to all of us, but I think it’s an exciting concept,” Jones said. “I think voters will appreciate the ease with which they can vote.

“There are always people who come to a voting place at five minutes to 7 p.m. on election night only to discover they are in the wrong precinct,” she continued. “They don’t have time to drive to the precinct they are registered in. That will no longer be an issue.”

Jones said the move could save the county money and make the voting system more efficient. During the last primary election, she said the cost per voter was as low as $10 in one Yankton location and as high as $170 at a rural polling station. The overall average cost was $46.32.

With the new system, it is projected that the average cost could be reduced to $2.79.

Secretary of State Jason Gant, who was present at Wednesday’s meeting also described some of the changes at the meeting.

“With the new system, you are not voting online,” he said. “You still get your paper ballot and pencil to fill in the ovals and cast your vote.”

The new voting center concept has been implemented at three rural counties throughout the state, along with Sioux Falls. Gant said he is happy with the progress of the system and that it has been very successful so far.

“The beauty of the new technology is that we are now able to connect the whole county on one system,” he said. “This allows voters to cast their ballot anywhere in the county.”

He said that voters might be overwhelmed with seeing the new technology when they walk in to cast their vote, but the computers are only used to sign in voters. The rest of the system is done the same way it has been in the past.

Gant added there have not been too many troubleshooting issues in other counties that have implemented the system already. He said the new system allows the check in process to be more efficient, faster and more secure.

“This system is a great step forward for the state,” he said. “We are on the cutting edge of this technology. Yankton County requested the new technology and I was happy to come help them get set up.”

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/09/26/community/doc506272c273633562419190.txt

 

Upward Bound

University Of South Dakota Reports Record Enrollment After Healthy Increase

By Andrew Atwal
andrew.atwal@yankton.net

Total enrollment at the University of South Dakota soared to an all-time high this fall, exceeding more than 10,200 students, the South Dakota Board of Regents announced at a meeting on Tuesday.

Total enrollment at USD for the start of the fall semester is at 10,284, which is an increase of more than 3 percent from 2011.

This year’s freshman class is the largest ever at USD. The 1,251 students in the class is an 11 percent increase from 2011’s class.

Since 2007, USD’s enrollment has grown from 9,243 students to 10,284 this year — an increase of more than 11 percent.

USD President Jim Abbott said that the honors college program at USD is also seeing a record enrollment, with about 13 percent of this year’s freshman class enrolled.

Abbott added that USD has been focusing on retention efforts in recent years, with their goal of an 82 percent retention rate not quite met.

“Once we admit a student we want to make sure they stay for four years and graduate,” he said.

Jack Warner, executive director and CEO of the Board of Regents, said that enrollment is fairly level at the six public institutions across the state this year, with total head count enrollment up nearly 1 percent from where it was in 2011.

“Having enrollment levels up is a positive development in a time where we are exiting a recession,” he said. “Our students tend to forgo schooling and go to work as the economic conditions improve and the employment market improves.”

Statewide, full-time enrollment figures are down nearly 1 percent from last year, which is attributed to a slightly greater number of students taking fewer credits than in years prior. Warner said that this could be due to students working jobs in college and needing to take fewer credits in order to accommodate their work schedules.

Distance education courses in the state saw an increased enrollment of 1,277 students from 2011. The public university system across the state gained a total of 327 students compared to the previous year.

“I am pleased in that the head count enrollment has increased and we are serving even more students,” Warner said. “The modest decrease in full-time enrolled students can be attributed partly to adult learners enrolling in the university system to finish or start their degrees while still working full-time. Those students do not carry a large credit load.”

He added that the universities across the state are doing a great job fulfilling the needs of students enrolled.

Abbott said he is happy with where enrollment levels are at USD.

“The increase in enrollment speaks volumes to USD’s exceptional faculty, programs and resources we provide to students and we can’t overlook the significance of the generous scholarship support provided by the USD foundation,” he said.

Overall, USD was one of only two public universities in the state to post increases in full-time equivalent student enrollment.

In addition, the freshman class at USD had an average ACT score of 23.18, which was above the state and national average of 21.8.

Other universities in the state had mixed enrollment results.

• Black Hills State University saw a decrease of eight students, and a decrease in full-time students as well.

• Dakota State saw an increase of eight students enrolled, but saw a decreasing number of full-time students.

• Northern State experienced an increased enrollment of 42 students, while its full-time enrollment also decreased.

• The School of Mines and Technology saw 113 more students enrolled as compared to 2011, and saw a 4.43 percent increase in full-time students       enrolled.

• South Dakota State University had a decreased enrollment of 142 students and saw a decreased full-time student enrollment.

You can follow Andrew Atwal on Twitter at twitter.com/andrewatwal

http://yankton.net/articles/2012/09/19/community/doc50593cdc5c68f620009625.txt

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