Darlene Horst woke up Wednesday night, March 13, 2024, to what she thought was the sound of hail hitting her house. Upon inspection, she discovered that it was burning embers from the house next door.

In today’s seemingly unlimited telephone service via satellite phones and other modern contraptions, it’s hard to believe we once used common barbed wire to carry voice messages. For many of us today, these new gadgets are so complicated, we need to have our grandchildren show us how to operate them.

Commentary by Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALF USA The good news is that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has finalized a rule to end the deceptive labeling practice that has gone on for eight years. You see, the multinational meatpackers were allowed to affix a “Product of the USA” label on meat that was exclusively produced in a foreign country.

Funeral services to be held for Corine Thomas Funeral services for Corine Thomas, age 85, of Gregory, SD, will be held on Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 2:00 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Gregory, SD. Burial will follow in the St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery. A prayer service will be held Tuesday, March 19, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at the church. Visitation is thirty minutes prior to each service. Kotrba-Smith Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

On Saturday March 2nd, thirteen students from Gregory High School traveled to Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell to compete against other teams from the state in the first ever South Dakota Kid-Wind wind turbine design competition. The South Dakota KidWind Challenge, sponsored by the South Dakota Wind for Schools and the South Dakota Renewable Energy Association, is a hands-on wind turbine design competition that engages 6th - 12th grade students in STEM. Student teams brought small-scale wind turbines that they had designed to the challenge where they were tested in a wind tunnel. The team's turbines were connected to an electrical system that measured the power produced in a 30 second time span. The team with the highest power output would score the most points. Teams also meet with a panel of expert judges to present their design process and demonstrate their contextual knowledge of wind energy.

A new three-year opt-out was a topic of discussion at the regular meeting of the Gregory School District Board of Education’s regular meeting on Tuesday evening, March 12. The current opt-out of $160,000, which was an extension of an earlier three-year opt-out for the same amount, expires at the end of 2024.