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Groton Daily Independent
Monday, Dec. 04, 2017 ~ Vol. 25 - No. 148 ~ 18 of 43
Applicants are also needed for engine crews, aviation support and dispatching. Trainees will go through a “ re camp” at Crawford next spring to be certi ed to ght res on federal lands.
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Information from: Omaha World-Herald, http://www.omaha.com
Missing South Dakota prison inmate back in custody
YANKTON, S.D. (AP) — Authorities say a South Dakota state prison inmate who failed to report to his work release jobsite is back in custody.
The South Dakota Department of Corrections says inmate Benjamin Johnson returned to the Yankton Community Work Center just before 7 p-.m. Saturday.
Authorities say Johnson left the Community Work Center earlier Saturday to go to his work release job, but never reported to the jobsite.
South Dakota university looks to raise $45M
ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) — Northern State University hopes to raise $45 million for campus projects including a new sports complex, practice elds and a new South Dakota School for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
The capital campaign had $25 million in pledges before it began, the Aberdeen News reported.
“Other than the (South Dakota) School of Mines (and Technology) ... Aberdeen is the largest community in South Dakota with a state university, and I think it’s time we start acting like it,” said Jim Thares, a member of the Board of Regents. “This campaign is going to put the stamp on the future of both of these institutions and I think this is the right time.”
The soccer eld and football practice eld is estimated to cost $6.3 million. The school for the blind and visually impaired is expected to cost $13.7 million. The university has yet to announce the price of the sports complex with a football stadium and softball eld.
The Educational Impact Campaign Committee is overseeing the fundraising efforts. The committee has met with Aberdeen of cials and Gov. Dennis Daugaard in the hopes of getting nancial support.
“To kick it off, we met with Dacotah Bank, and they stepped up to be one of our primary sponsors,” Thares said. “They understand not only the economic impact, but the importance of education and the future of education to our state.” The new stadium will be named after the bank in honor of their spon- sorship, Thares said.
Work on the projects is expected to begin next fall.
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Information from: Aberdeen American News, http://www.aberdeennews.com
Western Dakota Tech improves satisfaction drastically
RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Student satisfaction with academic services reached record lows at a technical college in western South Dakota ve years ago.
School of cials decided to make changes, and the turnaround has been dramatic.
Western Dakota Tech was ranked in the eighth percentile on the National Community College Benchmark Project survey in 2012, meaning that 92 percent of schools did better.
“Students felt like they were getting the runaround,” said Debbie Toms, the school’s student success director.
In response, Western Dakota Tech assigned a success coach to every student and created a student success center in the fall of 2014, the Rapid City Journal reported . Success coaches were set up to identify creative solutions to student issues, like transportation problems or child-care needs. Coaches will address all issues essential to a student’s success before classes begin, including housing, tutoring, or unfamiliarity with the college. This gives students an understanding that there’s a place to go should any unpredictable setbacks occur in the future.
By 2017, Western Dakota Tech jumped to the 79th percentile on student satisfaction with academic