Category Archives: News

This year the statewide business plan competition, a part of the annual Lakota Nation Invitational (LNI) that takes place every December, celebrated its 10th year with 33 competitors – nearly double last year and more than any other previous year. The participating students represented White River, Red Cloud, Little Wound, Lower Brule, St. Francis, Todd County, and Cheyenne Eagle Butte High Schools.

Sarah Keefe from White River High School won the top prize – a $1,000 scholarship – as the 1st Place Award in the Senior Division for her funeral home business idea. She will also have the opportunity to receive a $2,500 equity injection from Lakota Funds, a community loan fund on the Pine Ridge Reservation that sponsored the event. The equity injection would be paired with a business loan to support Keefe in starting her business.

“Sarah was really well spoken, assertive, and confident. She was extremely well prepared, and you could tell that she thought about every detail,” says Yolanda Clifford, a loan officer at Lakota Funds, who helped coordinate the event. Clifford was especially impressed by the environmentally friendly burial options that Keefe included in her plan.

Other winners of the competition included: Paige LeBeouf from White River High School with a 2nd Place Award in the Senior Division; Sam Grimshaw from Todd County High School with a 3rd Place Award in the Senior Division; Maia Taranto from Todd County High School with a 1st Place Award in the Junior Division; Arvish Bhinder from Todd County High School with a 1st Place Award in the Sophomore Division; and Wohpe Bull Bear from Red Cloud High School with a 1st Place Award in the Freshman Division.

“With each passing year, the contestants are getting more business savvy and becoming more aware of business and entrepreneurship. It’s great to see the level of fine detail into developing their plans is growing every year,” says Clifford.

Business ideas presented in the competition included a funeral home, taxi service, gym, livestock services, various restaurants, and more. All competitors were required to deliver a presentation to a panel of four judges that evaluated entries on several criteria, including market opportunity, management and operations, and financial projections. This year’s judges were: Jennifer Bear Eagle, an attorney for the Oglala Sioux Tribe; Denton Fast Whirlwind, an artist and small business owner; David Kelly, Director of the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Transportation, and also an entrepreneur; and Bud May of the Oglala Sioux Tribe Economic Development Office, and a long-time rancher.

This year’s LNI business plan competition was sponsored by Citi Community Development, Lakota Funds, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Office of Credit and Finance.

South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal and former SDFB board member Phil Hamburger of Gettysburg, S.D., joined 98 other farmers to ride on a float in the 100th Annual Tournament of Roses Parade on Jan. 1 from Pasadena, Calif.

“Salute to Farmers” is the theme of the float sponsored by Ag PhD of Baltic, S.D. The float is one of only 18 commercial floats in the Rose Parade and checks in at 110 feet long, 18 feet wide and 30 feet high. A total of 100 farmers will ride on the float, and that will be the largest number of people on a float in Rose Parade history.

“This is a great opportunity to highlight agriculture in front of a very large audience,” said Scott VanderWal, SDFB president. “It is a special honor that this is the 100th Annual Parade and we have just celebrated 100 years of South Dakota Farm Bureau. Opportunities like this don’t happen every day!”

Attorney General Marty Jackley announced the State of South Dakota has added the Blue Alert system to their statewide notification systems. A Blue Alert is activated when there is a suspect at large who has killed or caused serious injury to a law enforcement officer or if an officer has been abducted or is missing.

“Anyone who seriously harms or kills law enforcement officers in the line of duty poses danger to all”, said Jackley. “The Blue Alert system will allow quick distribution regarding safety information and details about a subject to the citizens in the State.”

The Blue Alert system uses the existing Amber Alert network to broadcast warnings. Partners in this system include the South Dakota Bureau of Information and Telecommunications, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Central South Dakota Communications and the Division of Criminal Investigation. We would also like to recognize the Rapid City Police Department for their work in advocating the need for this statewide system.

The activation of the Blue Alert comes at the request of a law enforcement agency that is investigating an offense against a law enforcement officer. The following criteria must be met:
1. An individual has threatened a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon, has used a deadly weapon against a law enforcement officer, has caused a law enforcement officer to suffer serious bodily injury or death, or the officer has been abducted or is missing while on duty;
2. The individual has fled the scene of the offense and there is sufficient descriptive information of the suspect, including any relevant vehicle and license tag information available for broadcast;
3. The law enforcement agency investigating the offense has determined the individual poses a threat to the public or other law enforcement personnel; and
4. Dissemination of available information to the public may help avert further harm or assist in the apprehension of the suspect.
1302 E. Hwy 14, Suite 1  Pierre, SD 57501  605-773-3215 http://atg.sd.gov/

The current state notification systems include:

 South Dakota Amber Alert Plan- Statewide notification to South Dakota law enforcement and South Dakota media to disseminate specific details to the public to assist in locating an abducted child.

 Endangered Missing Advisory (EMA) – A partnership between law enforcement and local broadcasters who notify the public about missing and endangered persons. It is designed for those instances when a missing person does not meet the criteria for an AMBER Alert.