Monthly Archives: October 2018

I cannot grow a beard. Whenever I try, it looks like those photos we all have of our children the first time they grab a pair of scissors and give themselves, or their favorite doll, a haircut: bald spot here, 3 inches of scraggly growth there.

That’s why I sadly never took part in one of my alma mater’s most time-honored homecoming traditions. The One Month Club at South Dakota State University is for students who want to look their hobo-est by the time Hobo Day arrives. Exactly a month before the homecoming game, men stop shaving their faces and women do the same with their legs. It’s all in good fun and a fine way to show school spirit, but I could never compete with my classmates who looked like the guys in ZZ Top after 30 days.

It’s homecoming season at colleges and universities around South Dakota, and when I thought of the One Month Club I wondered what unique traditions students observe at other schools. So I asked around.

One that warms my Scandinavian heart happens at Augustana University in Sioux Falls, where the students nominated for Viking Days king and queen don Norwegian sweaters. It seems appropriate for a school founded by Lutheran Scandinavians, and practical, too. I bet those sweaters take the chill off the cool October morning air on parade day. Incidentally, to celebrate Augustana’s 100th year in Sioux Falls, the school unveiled its version of the popular Monopoly board game, called Augieopoly. One of the game tokens is a Norwegian sweater modeled after one owned by the late Dr. Lynwood Oyos, a longtime history professor.

Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell crowns not one king and queen, but two. In addition to the royal pair that reigns over Blue & White Days, two members of the freshman class are chosen Beanie King and Beanie Queen. They perform many of the same duties as the homecoming court, but wear blue and white beanies, festooned with optional decorations. The tradition began in 1926 and included all members of the freshman class, but over the years has been whittled down to just two.

Students at Dakota State University in Madison enjoy a citywide scavenger hunt. The Student Services department hides a small statue called the Traveling Trojan somewhere on the DSU campus or around Madison. Clues are given on local radio and on the school’s Facebook page. Whoever finds the statue receives a prize package.

West River students incorporate the Black Hills in their homecoming traditions. During Swarm Week at Black Hills State University in Spearfish, students make an annual pilgrimage to a giant letter H that sits on a mountainside near campus. Visitors to Rapid City may have noticed a similar M on a hillside above the city. Students at the School of Mines make a homecoming trek to whitewash the M, a tradition that dates back to the very first M-Day on Oct. 5, 1912.

Alumni of other colleges and universities surely have their own favorite homecoming traditions. Hobo Day will always hold a special place for me. I’m pretty easy to spot watching the parade along Main Avenue or at Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium for the football game. I’m the clean-shaven one.

PIERRE, S.D. – Over 15,700 visitors attended the 53rd Annual Buffalo Roundup at Custer State Park on Friday morning, enduring the cold weather and the season’s first snowfall in the Black Hills.

Custer State Park also hosted its three-day arts festival in conjunction with the Buffalo Roundup. Crowds assembled throughout the celebration to enjoy a variety of entertainment under the big top, educational programs and vendors from all over the country.

“We weren’t sure what to expect Friday morning with the weather,” said park superintendent Matt Snyder. “Despite the cold conditions, we still had thousands and thousands of people come out and enjoy themselves over the weekend. I heard nothing but compliments from how well the park looked, to the variety of vendors at the Arts Festival. It was a successful event for us.”

The annual Roundup serves as a tool to help manage the park’s buffalo herd. About 250 buffalo will be sold at the park’s annual auction on Saturday, Nov. 17. For information on the auction, contact the park at 605.255.4515 or email CusterStatePark@state.sd.us.

Upcoming Buffalo Roundups will be held on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, and Friday, Sept. 25, 2020.

Written collaboratively by Laura Edwards and David Ollila.

As we remember the fifth anniversary of the winter storm and blizzard that occurred on Oct. 3–5, 2013 (which some call Winter Storm Atlas), the event provides a reminder that it is time to begin preparation and planning for winter weather events that can occur from now through May.

Fall Season 2018

By the end of September this year, freezing temperatures and snow had already occurred in the Black Hills. Many northwestern and north central areas have also reported sub-freezing temperatures. Large, rapid temperature fluctuations can occur in October and throughout the winter season. Rain can turn to snow and quickly begin accumulating, particularly in the fall and spring seasons as temperatures straddle the freezing mark. Climatological studies since the 2013 blizzard have shown that snow can often occur in October, but that year was a truly unusual exteme event, and there is no long-term trend towards earlier large snowstorms in western South Dakota.

This year, much of October will likely be marked with unusually cold temperatures and wetter conditions than we typically experience. Although no one is anticipating a blizzard like 2013, placing focused thought and developing winter storm plans that will ensure safety and security for both livestock and humans will reduce risk of injury or loss. At the same time, a winter storm plan can lessen anxiety and increase producer confidence that the storms will be weathered successfully.

Preparing for Winter Weather

What to consider when making weather preparedness plans:

Time of year. Fall and spring weather events tend to have more moisture in the snow along with ground surfaces that are not frozen. This combination can make areas where livestock concentrate “sloppy” and unsanitary, in addition to impassable roads to access livestock.

Consideration should be given to placement of supplemental feedstuffs which are in close proximity to where livestock are grazing or confined, as well as identified locations to provide natural and/or fabricated protection from weather elements. The ability to provide rumen contentment and wind protection will reduce livestock anxiety and stress. Feed placed nearby that can be made accessible without the need of large equipment will provide an immediate solution until roads and trails become more accessible for larger equipment.

As with all winter storms, in the event of impassable roads, loss of electrical power, necessary supplies should be obtained and stored for a potential extreme weather event that could endure for several days.
Suggested supplies and preparation considerations:

Plenty of diesel fuel, gasoline and propane stored to operate tractors, generators, heaters and vehicles.

Make certain to have alternative heat sources to maintain temperatures above freezing in your home, shop, and lambing/calving warming/tack rooms.

Generators can at the very least provide lighting and communication availability, but planning for refrigeration, heating and power to outbuildings, heated livestock waterers and feed handling equipment especially during calving and lambing become high priorities.

Animal health supplies should be adequately stocked during lambing and calving. Extreme weather can place great stress on young animals resulting in more animals experiencing life threatening infections.

Extreme weather preparation includes making pre-storm plans with your neighbors to insure that both human and livestock needs will be met before, during and following a storm.

Having an extreme weather preparedness plan active and in place will lessen the storm’s impact on livestock and infrastructure, while providing personal safety and financial security to the producer and their family during these unpredictable periods. For general winter weather safety information relating to snowstorms, blizzards, extreme cold and so on, visit the National Weather Service’s Winter Weather Safety website.