Because of Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, city garbage and recycling pickup will change.
Residents who normally have their garbage and recycling picked up on Thursday are asked to have their garbage and recycling out for pick-up by 8 a.m. Wednesday (Nov. 21). Wednesday's and Thursday's garbage and recycling will be picked up on Wednesday.
It can be done, he said, but you have to work at it.
"I've never had a bad turkey," said McKiver, who lives between Aberdeen and Groton and is generally charged with overseeing his family's Thanksgiving preparations.
Now 60, he served more than 15 years in the U.S. Army Reserve's 452nd Ordnance Co., where he learned cooking tips and tricks from Isadore Sahli, a fellow cook in the Aberdeen-based unit.
When it comes to turkey, the most important thing to remember is to fully thaw the bird before you start the cooking it, McKiver said. If you don't, the turkey will be tough when it's finished.
He said he just sets the turkey out on the counter for a night or two to thaw it. Some folks, though, prefer the thawing be done in the refrigerator to cut down on the chances of problems like E. coli.
As a rule of thumb, most cooking sites recommend allowing a frozen turkey to thaw 24 hours for every 5 pounds. That's in a refrigerator at a temperature below 40. That means starting the thawing process early is important.
McKiver said even new chefs shouldn't be afraid to get creative. They should season the bird with salt and pepper and stuff it with whatever they like - onions, peppers, carrots, celery, etc. Even a little wine or beer in the pan will add flavor, he said.
When it comes to picking a pan, McKiver's wife, Renee, has a suggestion: Get a disposable aluminum pan and toss it out when you're finished.
Renee authored a cookbook filled with her favorite recipes last year. The introduction includes a story from her youth when she and her sister, Lynette, tried cooking their first big holiday meal when she was about 12 and Lynette about 14.
It was for New Year's Day in the mid 1960s, several years after their mother had died.
The dressing recipe said to boil the turkey's gizzard and neck and grind them. And that's what Renee and Lynette did - bones and all.
"Uncle Martin and Dad ate our dressing and really bragged it up, stopping now and then to spit out the tiny little bones as they tried to choke it down," Renee wrote in her cookbook.
There was one other mishap that day. To make the pumpkin pie, the girls simply emptied a can of pumpkin mix into the crust without adding the other necessary ingredients.
Renee still recalls those stories of her days as a novice cook.
Her husband has also made some mistakes through the years. Cooking in the reserves, he remembers using a very sharp knife to cut a cake. The knife cut right through the pan, lopping it into eight parts.
"There are going to be mishaps," he said.
Ultimately, though, the potential for mistakes shouldn't hinder new cooks from trying to prepare a holiday meal. The cooking process is fun, said Jack, who prefers a little trial and error instead of sticking to strict recipes.
Some people cook turkeys in bags to keep them moist. Jack said he's never done that. He said the best thing to do to ensure moist meat is to cook the turkey breast down - the opposite of what most folks do. That keeps the breast meat in the juice at the bottom of the pan.
Another tip he offers is to cook the bird at a low temperature, again to keep it moist. Most say to set the oven at 325 or 350. Jack, though, said 300 is better, even if it means cooking the turkey an hour or 90 minutes longer.
"The slower it can cook, the better it is," Jack said.
When it comes to dressing, he likes to use some of the juice from the cooking turkey to add flavor. The juice that has cooked off the bird is tasty because of the vegetables and seasonings in and on the bird. He said he starts cooking stuffing about an hour before the turkey is done.
He also uses some of the cooked turkey juice in his gravy. He makes a roux of milk and flour about an hour before mealtime. He shakes it up thoroughly, and then puts it in the refrigerator to keep it cold. That prevents chunking, he said. Just before it's time to eat, he adds the roux to hot turkey juice.
Mashed potatoes are easy, he said. And there's no secret. Peel the potatoes, boil them and add milk and butter as you mash them.
Peeling the potatoes is one thing that can be done in advance to cut down on the hectic nature of cooking on Thanksgiving, McKiver said.
His wife offered a couple of other tips. Buns and desserts can also be baked early and stored in the freezer, she said.
She also suggested preparing a thorough shopping list in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.
"I write down each food on the menu with a list of ingredients needed to complete each one. If I have it on hand, I cross it off the list. I also try to check the staple ingredients I have on hand. That way, there are no surprises when you are making a meal and you find you are missing a key ingredient," she said.
And when all else fails, she said, have somebody else do the cooking.
"That's my biggest tip," she said with a chuckle.
Jack, though, enjoys cooking and thinks others should give it a shot and not be afraid to makes mistakes.
"I think a guy should just try it," he said.
Turkey Day tips
For Thanksgiving Day cooking tips and recipes, tune into The Food Network's "Thanksgiving Live" during which Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and other celebrity chefs will field live calls from viewers who have questions about all things Thanksgiving. The two-hour special will air 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. today and at 3 p.m. Monday.
Turkey cooking tips from the South Dakota State University Extension's iGrow teaching and education division.
There are are also a number of hotlines that offer holiday cooking help, if you find yourself in a bind.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Meat and Poultry Hotline: 888-674-6854, open from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.
Butterball turkey hotline: 800-288-8372, open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. weekdays and Thanksgiving Day starting at 6 a.m.
Libby Consumer Hotline: 800-854-0374, 7 a.m.-7 p.m., for pumpkin pie and other pumpkin questions.
Ocean Spray Consumer Hotline: 800-662-3263, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays and Thanksgiving, for cranberry questions.
Instead, we'll be slicing a bird and playing euchre at my brother's home near St. Louis. It will be a 350-mile day rather than a 2,000-mile holiday.
Outside the mandatory sauerkraut, our Thanksgivings are like that; they bump along in four- or five-year phases rather than glide for decades in one direction. For example, cows kept us home most Thanksgivings on the southern Illinois dairy farm of my youth.
In fact, the first real memory I have of any Thanksgiving is the year my mother baked two Canada geese, donated by the hired man's poacher-brother, for us and good friends who had nearly as many cows and kids as my parents.
Two events made that day memorable. First was the main dish. My mother - someone who could have taught Julia Child a thing or two about great cooking - was flying blind with those geese and none of 'em made a good landing.
The goose was, well, cooked. Let's just say you have shoes with softer leather than the meat those two birds wore that day.
The second event was equally spectacular: it snowed. Snowfall in southern Illinois was common, sure, but never on Thanksgiving and never so beautiful. The flakes were as big as our wide eyes and they danced and drifted to a symphony we could see but not hear. It was, yes, unforgettable.
A half decade later, when my brothers and I were of sufficient size and age to help Howard the Herdsman in the dairy, all my family but the designated dairy boy left the farm each Thanksgiving for some aunt or grandma's in-town feast.
I often volunteered to be the milk martyr because the downside, missing Grandma's chocolate meringue pie, never matched my personal upside-six or seven hours watching football while not having to be around my brothers. I mean, come on.
Thanksgivings during my college years are a bit of a blur.
I do, however, remember one time - it was one of the three Thanksgivings I was a freshman or sophomore (what?!) - that my now life-long college friend Jim and I traveled to my family's farm in his square-rigged prairie schooner.
OK, it was in his unheated, Eisenhower-era IH pick-up whose top gear got us hurtling down the interstate at, maybe, 50 miles an hour. We were two frozen turkeys when we finally made it home.
Returning to Champaign was easy, though; we followed the rust trail the truck had laid down four days earlier.
When Catherine and I moved into the Big House in her hometown in 1986, we began a long run of Thanksgivings at our home. Each seemed to welcome almost everyone west of Pittsburgh for an annual four- and five-day blowout.
The revelry began the night before each holiday with a soup supper for guests, parents and college kids who had traveled the farthest. The next day's turkey dinner often brought 40 to 50 people to our home and many stayed for a fish fry my mother and father sponsored Friday evening for neighbors and friends.
Since we were just amateur gluttons, though, we reserved Saturday for digestion and good-byes and then, on Sunday, Catherine and I always counted the silver.
Just kidding.
This year feels like the beginning of another run of Thanksgivings different than all the others. Whatever is in store, I am very thankful for my family and the memories. And, like every year since 1962, I'm really, really thankful Mom isn't cooking a goose.
'Course that doesn't mean I won't cook my own.
The Farm and Food File is published weekly in more than 70 newspapers in North America. Contact Alan Guebert at http://www.farmandfoodfile.com.
It could seem like a challenge to transport pheasants, guns and dogs on an airplane, but it's actually really simple, said Scott Finkel, a hunter from Dustin, Fla.
Finkel, who flew into Aberdeen Regional Airport on Friday afternoon with plans to hunt in Seneca, picked up the gun he brought from home, a Benelli Super Black Eagle shotgun, at the baggage claim area. It was just one of many guns that were flown Friday, all of which were locked in large metal cases.
Finkel said he has flown into Aberdeen for many years with his gun, and not once has he ever had an issue.
"It's pretty easy, actually. As long as you've got a locked case, you're fine," Finkel said.
It's illegal to bring a firearm onto a plane, but they can be checked in and shipped as cargo as long as travelers adhere to Transportation Security Administration requirements. All firearms must be unloaded, carried in a locked hard case and declared during check in.
Ammunition can also be transported as long as it is shotgun shells or smaller than .75 caliber. It must be securely packed in cardboard, wood, or metal boxes and declared. It is legal to carry the the ammunition in the same case as the firearm as long as it is secure. Finkel said the easiest way is to leave the ammunition in the box it came in when traveling.
The complete list of regulations can be found at http://1.usa.gov/QGojj2.
Pheasant travels
Bob Ness, who was at the Aberdeen airport waiting to fly home to Minneapolis on Friday afternoon, said he decided to bring his pheasants back with a carry-on bag.
He held up a small red bag that was packed with ice to keep the pheasant meat fresh, he said.
People are allowed to bring take coolers as carry-on or checked baggage, but each one counts as an individual bag, according to a spokesperson for the TSA.
Some hunters who plan to bring many birds home prefer to ship their birds through package delivery services, who have specific methods for shipping pheasants, said Samantha Oakes, a sales associate with the UPS Store in Aberdeen.
The UPS Store has designed a box with Styrofoam lining that uses frozen gel packs as cushioning to make sure the pheasant stays cold and intact while it's shipped, which many hunters have taken advantage of, she said.
"They are really popular. Hunters come with normal coolers and use ours," Oakes said.
The boxes come in three different sizes: the smallest holds one to six birds, and costs $19; the next size up hold seven to 12 ($32); and the largest holds 13-18 pheasants ($37.95), Oakes said.
"A lot of hunters prefer to ship pheasants home rather than carry them on a plane or use their own coolers because it's cheaper and more convenient," she said.
An ordinary cooler would have to be boxed in cardboard and shipped at normal rates, which winds up costing more than the specialized coolers anyway, Oakes said.
It's typically a good idea to have the package shipped overnight to ensure the birds don't sit in a warehouse too long, she said.
Pet flights
Delta Airlines, which serves the airport in Aberdeen, has a few different options for people who want to travel with their own hunting dogs or other pets, according to delta.com.
If the dog can fit in a kennel small enough to fit underneath a seat, and is at least 10 weeks old, it can be carried onto the flight for a fee of $125. A person can only carry on one pet.
Dogs and other animals that require larger kennels can be checked in for a $200 fee, or shipped as cargo if booked 24 hours in advance, with fees of varying rates depending on the breed.
For more information on Delta's animal policies, visit http://bitly.com/T3kLWe.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The Great Plains Zoo says its new baby giraffe will be named Gerald.
In September, the Sioux Falls zoo's 13-year-old giraffe Libby gave birth to a 6-foot-tall male calf weighing 147 pounds.
The zoo held a naming contest that began with 61 submitted names but was later whittled down to two for a runoff. Some 1,600 votes were cast.
The winning name was submitted by 5-year-old Katie Palmer and 3-year-old Addie Palmer of Rapid City in honor of their grandfather. For their effort, Katie and Addie had an opportunity to meet a giraffe up-close and talk to the zookeepers.
The $1,700 raised from the contest will benefit the animals at the zoo.
A curious thing happened after the Nov. 6 elections.
Thousands of Americans, unhappy with the results of the presidential election, have signed online petitions hoping to secede their states from the United States.
The ultimate act of "taking your ball and going home," as it were.
Usually after an election, some wingnuts (on the left and right) will declare, "I'm moving to Canada!" How many of them ever do it?
Secession is three ticks more extreme than that.
But not so extreme that your friends and neighbors won't sign their names to petitions on the whitehouse.gov website asking for South Dakota to be allowed to "peacefully" secede from the Union. Folks such as "Pamela R" from Ipswich, "Carol L J" from Rapid City, "Gene D" of Canton, "Dirk R" of Elk Point, "rebecca n" of Aberdeen and "Martin F" of Glenham, among several others, are apparently ready to update their passports and build a 12-foot fence around the state.
Of the 6,100 or so signatures on South Dakota's petition as of Friday, relatively few are from South Dakota. Not sure what it says about our state that thousands from around the country have signed a petition for us to secede?
We can understand the frustration for those who feel the country is going down the wrong path. Now you know how the other half felt during eight years of George W. Bush. And recall how you might have felt during eight years of Bill Clinton and how many Americans felt during eight years of Ronald Reagan . . .
We also understand the joke. These people aren't actually wanting to secede - at least we hope not. But they are exercising their right to be heard, and that is a good thing.
A better thing might be to recognize that the country has a way of righting its own ship and that most Americans want to live happily in the purple. Look deeper than the harsh map of red and blue states. Detailed county-by-county U.S. voting maps, such as one at uxblog.idvsolutions.com, show a country much more centered than we might expect.
Now that President Barack Obama has been re-elected - as Bill Kristol of the conservative Weekly Standard points out, Obama joins only Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower and Reagan as presidents in the last century who have won 50 percent of the vote two times - it's time to work together to support our country and fellow citizens.
But let's quickly walk down the imaginary secession path, just to be sure that's not a better choice. Do the remaining South Dakotans think that they will have hospitals and schools? What would keep Avera and Sanford in the state?
Growing businesses would not consider the independent state for relocation - unless South Dakotans could do the work of Americans for a fraction of the pay and no benefits.
And most of all, who would get custody of Mount Rushmore, a symbol of the best of American spirit and history? Surely it would be inappropriate in sovereign Dakota.
If this path still appeals, visit the American Indian reservations in the state. They, too, are sovereign nations within this country. Those residents might have some thoughts on what it is like to live outside the United States.
A $15 million donation to Northern State University from the estate of a farmer who quietly built a fortune will be used to strengthen Northern's School of Education for years to come, said Northern State officials.
The announcement that Millicent Atkins, a Columbia-area farmer and businesswoman, included NSU in her will as a major beneficiary was made at the Northern Nights Foundation Banquet at the Dakota Event Center on Saturday night.
"It is the most special announcement that I've been able to make, certainly in the four years that I've been here, but it's the largest announcement I've made in the 30-some years I've had in higher education and K through 12," NSU president Jim Smith said on Saturday night.
When Smith announced the dollar figure, several people in the audience gasped as a round of applause swept through the event center.
Dr. Connie Geier, the dean of NSU's School of Education, said Saturday after the annoucement that she was overwhelmed by the generosity of the gift, which she said will help attract high quality students into the field of education.
"The ultimate beneficiaries are the students of South Dakota, because high quality teachers are imperative to their development," Geier said.
The donation is the largest in the school's history.
"It is breathtaking," Smith said Friday in an interview.
In accordance with Atkins' wishes, the money will be used for the improvement of the early childhood and elementary education programs at NSU, including scholarships for education majors, he said.
"Within reason, we will get as much as we can into the hands of our students," Smith said.
To honor Atkins for her gift, Northern plans to name the School of Education after her.
"We have every intention of naming the school after her," Smith said. "Given the impact from now to eternity, it is the right thing to do to honor her legacy."
The proposal to rename the School of Education will likely be brought before the state Board of Regents when they meet in Aberdeen on April 2-4, he said.
Atkins graduated from Northern with a teaching degree in 1940.
"A gift like this symbolizes so much about Northern," Smith said. "She could have donated to any number of philanthropic groups, but she chose to give it to NSU. It is humbling. It makes one realize how important Northern must have meant to her."
Atkins, who died July 25 at age 93, never married and had no children. She inherited land from her father, Fred Atkins, and bought more land after his death.
She owned 4,127 acres of cropland around Columbia and in northern Brown County, according to the 2011 Brown County Plat Book. She rented out all the land.
Atkins never physically farmed any land, but managed her properties, said Stan Carlson, 87, a Columbia-area farmer who rented land from her for 65 years.
Smith said the university was informed before her death that NSU was in her will, but that he did not know the size of the gift.
"We knew about the acreage, but didn't know the magnitude of her other investments," Smith said.
NSU will receive money annually from a trust for the next 10 years, said Todd Jordre, NSU Foundation CEO and president. On the 10-year anniversary of her death, all assets from the Atkins portfolio will be divided among the beneficiaries, Jordre said.
The total amount Northern is expected to receive from trust payments and asset sales is $15 million, but it could be higher depending on the markets, Jordre said.
The money will be put in an endowment and NSU will use the interest for scholarships and programs that will strengthen the School of Education, Jordre said.
"This is a game changer in terms of our ability to offer scholarships, bring in speakers or improve the school," he said. "We will be able to pump up the school in any area it needs it."
The largest previous donation to NSU was an anonymous gift of $5 million, he said.
Smith said Atkins' endowment will allow NSU to attract more talent with scholarships and provide some financial relief in a time of cutbacks in educational funding.
"Really, this is special for everyone involved," Jordre said.
- Reporter Scott Feldman contributed to this story.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota feedlots with capacities of 1,000 or more head had 220,000 cattle on feed for the slaughter market as of Nov. 1.
The Agriculture Department says the inventory is down 20,000 head over the year but up 25,000 head over the month.
Placements in feedlots during October totaled 71,000 head, down 4,000 from last year but up 21,000 from September.
Marketings of fed cattle during October totaled 45,000 head, up 6,000 from 2011 and September.
NEW TOWN, N.D. (AP) - A woman and her three grandchildren have been shot and killed in New Town. Authorities are investigating whether a man's death in Parshall is connected.
Mountrail County Sheriff Ken Halvorson tells the Minot Daily News that the New Town incident happened about 3 p.m. Sunday, and the death in Parshall about 8:30 p.m. The five bodies are being brought to Bismarck for autopsies.
The Grand Forks Herald reports that New Town School Superintendent Marc Bluestone called off classes Monday because of what he called "the tragedy in our community."
Halvorson and FBI spokesman Kyle Loven did not immediately return telephone calls to The Associated Press early Monday.
New Town is on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in northwestern North Dakota. It is the headquarters for the Three Affiliated Tribes.
In the 110th season of Northern State men's basketball, fewer than 50 players have scored more than 1,000 points in their careers.
Northern State senior Collin Pryor quietly and humbly did it Sunday with 20 points in leading his Wolves to a 74-64 win over Dickinson State at Wachs Arena. Of the 46 former Wolves who have accomplished the feat, Pryor's 1,014 points puts him in 44th place, nestled between the 1,039 points of Scott Boekelheide (1991-95) and the 1,009 of Nick Schroeder (1999-03).
"Wow, I didn't even know about the 1,000 points," Pryor said. "But I have to give all the credit to my teammates. They are the ones who gave me the ball and put me in a position to be successful during my career. They are the ones who should be honored. They have been great over the past five years and have helped me become the player and man that I am today. So I have to give it up to all of my current and past teammates. It is a shared experience between them, our coaches and our great fans."
Pryor was a highly-prized recruit out of Illinois, and NSU has reaped the rewards from landing him during the past several seasons.
"It has been an interesting journey coming here to South Dakota from Chicago," Pryor said. "It was a lot of changes to take in, but it has been fun and I wouldn't trade the journey or give it up for anything. I have really come to love it here."
As he has done throughout his career, Pryor is the one who put the Wolves in position to win Sunday. He came up with key plays throughout, not only leading the Wolves in scoring, but rebounding as well, with nine.
He also sparked the Wolves when Dickinson rallied early in the second half to trail by only one. The Wolves then went on a Pryor-inspired 24-10 run to put the Wolves back up by 15. Pryor had nine points, a couple of rebounds and an assist during the run.
"Collin hit some big shots and got some key rebounds for us when we really needed them," NSU coach Paul Sather said. "When they came back on us, Collin and Seth Bachand really made some big plays to bring us back."
After that run, Dickinson stayed within striking distance. But the Blue Hawks could not again catch the Wolves.
NSU could have helped itself by making more free throws. The Wolves made eight of 16 in the final eight minutes and 19 of 33 (58 percent) for the game.
"Give credit to Dickinson," Sather said. "Sometimes you need to get a good lesson about how hard you need to compete on both ends of the floor. We got that lesson tonight because Dickinson competed harder than we did and outhustled us. We need to have more pride in who we are defensively. We need to have more of a blue-collar approach. There are a lot of average teams out there because they don't do the little things right. It is those details that come back to haunt you."
NSU will practice the next three days, and then take the rest of the Thanksgiving week off after a long stretch that started Oct. 15.
The Wolves will next host Carleton College of Northfield, Minn., at 7 p.m. Nov. 28. On Nov. 24, Carleton will be in Honolulu for a single game against Hawaii Pacific University.
After Carleton, NSU will open Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play by hosting Moorhead at Wachs Arena Dec. 1. The women will play at 5 p.m. followed by the men at 7.
DICKINSON STATE UNIVERSITY (1-3): Ty Ackelson 5-8 1-2 12, Robbie Morey 1-3 0-0 2, Jarek Hansen 4-8 3-3 12, Matthew Lee 5-11 0-0 11, John Hanstad 1-6 2-2 5, Anthony Hodges 3-8 2-2 9, Ryan Sullivan 0-0 0-2 0, Johnie Sanders 1-3 0-0 2, Brock Boos 2-3 0-0 6, Phillip Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Tevin Russell 2-6 0-1 5. Totals 24-58 8-12 64.
NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY (3-2): Mitch White 1-2 0-2 2, Geoffrey Firmin 2-4 5-6 10, Michael Emge 4-10 1-7 10, Collin Pryor 8-12 4-5 20, Dustin Tetzlaff 0-3 0-2 0, Jared Hannigan 1-2 0-0 3, Mack Arvidson 4-8 2-6 10, Trent Zomer 2-5 2-3 6, Seth Bachand 4-5 5-7 13. Totals 26-51 19-33 74.
Halftime score - NSU 30-22. 3-point field goals - DSU 8-23 (Ackelson 1-3, Morey 0-2, Hansen 1-3, Lee 1-1, Hanstad 1-5, Hodges 1-3, Sanders 0-1, Boos 2-3, Russell 1-2); NSU 3-13 (White 0-1, Firmin 1-3, Emge 1-5, Hannigan 1-1, Arvidson 0-3). Total fouls - DSU 25; NSU 15. Fouled out - No one. Rebounds - DSU 33 (Lee 13); NSU 35 (Pryor 9). Turnovers - DSU 20; NSU 16. Assists - DSU 9 (Lee 2, Hodges 2); NSU 13 (Firmin 3, Bachand 3). Blocked Shots - DSU 0; NSU 4 (Zomer 2). Steals - DSU 8 (Lee 2); NSU 8 (White 2, Bachand 2). Officials - Jim Johnston, Randy Hagedorn, Kelly Pfiefer. A - 2,054.
Q. I am newly situated on a street with the wide trail, where we just had a regular sidewalk before. Do I have to shovel that whole area out to the curb?
A. Clearing a normal space is enough. The area close to the street is then available for piling up what is plowed to the side and can also provide a bit of a barrier to keep plowed snow from always cascading over your cleared off walkway. As applies everywhere, please remember that we can't shovel or blow snow back out into the street after the plow passes.
Q. Why doesn't the Aberdeen Downtown Association grow a tree to use for their Christmas tree display each year instead of cutting down a live one, using it and then just having to throw it away?
A. The association doesn't own that property, so they couldn't do anything permanent there on their own. Presumably, the ownership would like to keep the property in a state that is conducive to some future commercial use, so some adding a long-term obstruction would not be reasonable to ask for.
City Council attendance
Last week's City Council had to postpone a work session due to absences. As it became apparent that we would not have most of the members at the 4 p.m. meeting, I mentioned that three members had contacted me to say they had unavoidable conflicts. I had forgotten that councilman Jeff Mitchell had also informed us that he would be absent; I was still expecting him to be there soon, just a little late.
Not including his name left an incorrect implication that Jeff did not have a good excuse. Actually, he was very properly absent because he was attending a state housing conference in Pierre.
Aberdeen Mayor Mike Levsen's views are his own and don't necessarily represent those of other city officials. Send your questions to askthemayor@aberdeennews.com.
Aberdonians will enjoy sunshine and warmer than average temperatures as Thanksgiving approaches.
The average high this time of the year is 39 degrees, but highs exceeding 50 degrees are expected early in the week, before the temperature drops to about 40 degrees on Thanksgiving Day, said Aaron Dorn, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Aberdeen.
The projected high today is 51 degrees; Tuesday's is 54; and Wednesday's high is 56, Dorn said.
A cold front will cause temperatures to fall on Thanksgiving, which has a projected high of 43 degrees, he said.
The weather will be dry and mostly sunny throughout the week, he said.
A police car pursued a vehicle at 2:07 a.m. Sunday near 14th Avenue Southeast and South Washington Street on the western edge of the Northern State University campus, according to the Aberdeen Police Department.
The vehicle was stopped and a man was later arrested east of Steele Hall, said Capt. Neil Bittner of the police department.
Brenda Dryer, NSU university relations director, said the university is aware of the incident and will assist the police department in any way it can.
Bittner said it does not appear that the man arrested was an NSU student. No other information was available, he said by phone Sunday night.
An Aberdeen man was arrested after a brief Sunday morning chase that ended on the Northern State University campus.
Police tried to pull over a man, who was driving erratically in the 1000 block of South Main Street, said Capt. Dave McNeil of the Aberdeen Police Department. The driver led police on a pursuit for a few blocks before it ended when the man pulled into an NSU parking lot, McNeil said.
According to court paperwork, Justin A. Grover, 32, is charged with aggravated eluding, drunken driving, running a stop sign and going the wrong way down a one-way street.
Aggravated eluding is a felony punishable by as much as two years in prison and a $4,000 fine. The other charges are misdemeanors. Grover appeared in magistrate court Monday but did not enter pleas. His next court date is scheduled for Dec. 20.
McNeil said multiple officers responded to the NSU parking lot. He said that for a brief time, Grover was not complying with commands from officers, who displayed weapons. Grover was taken into custody after an officer used a Taser on him, McNeil said.
PIERRE - An unusual circumstance came up in discussion by the Legislature's Executive Board last week. Of the 35 men and women elected to the Senate for the new term that starts in January, there's not a lawyer among them.
That leaves the choice wide open for the Senate member of the state code commission, the panel that oversees compilation and publication of South Dakota's laws.
Sen. Corey Brown, R-Gettysburg, gets to make the selection in his role as the incoming Senate president pro tem.
"I'm still sorting that out," Brown said Monday.
He added that it also makes difficult the selection of a judiciary committee chairman, although as recently as the 2009-10 term, a nonlawyer, Gene Abdallah, R-Sioux Falls, served in that role.
The Senate appointment currently is held by Sen. Joni Cutler, R-Sioux Falls. She is a lawyer, but she didn't seek re-election to the Legislature.
Not many years ago, the Senate was ripe with as many as three to five lawyers each term. The last time the Senate didn't have at least one lawyer was the 1993-94 term.
The House of Representatives will have at least four lawyers among its 70 members in the coming year.
The new speaker, Rep. Brian Gosch, R-Rapid City, has been on the code commission. He appoints the commission's House member for the new term.
All aboard
The governor appointed Sheldon Cotton of Brookings to the state Rail Board. Cotton succeeds Ron Mitzel of Rapid City.
Cotton attended many dozens of the board's meetings in his past role as a representative for the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern railroad. He's continued to go to board meetings as a matter of personal interest after Canadian Pacific bought the DME.
He previously served three-plus years in the Legislature and was state lands commissioner for two years, all in the 1980s.
Session leadership
The four caucuses held their private elections over the course of last week to select their party leaders for the 2013 session of the Legislature.
Senate Republicans, who will hold a 27-13 majority over Democrats, chose Russ Olson of Wentworth for a second term as their leader. They picked Brown as Senate president pro tem, the No. 2 presiding officer after the lieutenant governor, and they selected Tim Rave of Baltic as their assistant leader to succeed Brown.
Senate Democrats returned Jason Frerichs of Wilmot as their leader for a second term. Billie Sutton of Burke is the new assistant leader, succeeding Jim Hundstad of Bath, who is retiring.
In the House, Republicans will have a 53-17 advantage over Democrats. The Republican caucus elections resulted in Brian Gosch of Rapid City moving up to House speaker after being speaker pro tem, and Dean Wink of Howes won a contest for speaker pro tem. Gosch succeeds Val Rausch of Big Stone City as speaker.
Republicans returned David Lust of Rapid City as House majority leader and Justin Cronin of Gettysburg as assistant leader, both for a second term.
House Democrats returned Bernie Hunhoff of Yankton as leader and selected Julie Bartling of Burke as assistant leader. She is returning to the Legislature after a two-year break and succeeds Mitch Fargen of Sioux Falls, who lost in a Democratic primary.
The 2013 session officially opens at noon Jan. 8 with 33 brand-new members among its 105.
In making three purchases Monday for Aberdeen's public works department, the Aberdeen City Council spent $27,978 less than anticipated.
At a brief meeting Monday, the council purchased the vehicles and heavy equipment for the Public Works Department.
The council purchased a refuse collection unit for $108,263.11. The $125,000 budgeted for the unit was $16,736.89 more than required.
The council also purchased a 2013 single axle truck cab and chassis, box and hoist. The cost was $70,114, which was $4,886 less than the city had budgeted.
In addition, the council paid $93,644 for a 2013 tandem truck/box and hoist. The city had $100,000 budgeted for the purchase, which was $6,356 more than required.
After the meeting, city manager Lynn Lander attributed the lower prices to competitive bidding.
City engineer Robin Bobzien pointed out, that in obtaining the tandem truck, the city used a truck from the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department as a trade-in. By doing so, the city upgraded its fleet by getting a new truck and, for parks and rec, a newer truck with fewer miles on it. So, "It's a better deal for both departments," Bobzien said after the meeting.
The council was scheduled to discuss an amendment to its landscaping requirements at Monday's meeting. But Mayor Mike Levsen noted that councilman Todd Campbell, who wanted to be part of the discussion, was not able to attend Monday's meeting. So the landscaping discussion was postponed to Dec. 3.
A car was destroyed by a fire Sunday evening on the north side of Presentation College, said Randy Meister, battalion chief for Aberdeen Fire and Rescue.
Two fire engines and firefighters arrived shortly after 6 p.m. to a fire that engulfed the engine of a 1999 Mercury Sable, he said.
The fire was contained within the engine of the vehicle, but there was also smoke and heat damage to the interior of the car, he said.
There's no indication why the vehicle caught on fire, Meister said. The vehicle, which belonged to a college faculty member, was driven minutes before it caught on fire, Meister said. Meister said the vehicle was likely a total loss.
Aberdeen police are investigating a rape that was reported early Sunday morning, said Capt. Dave McNeil of the Aberdeen Police Department.
He said nobody had been arrested as of Monday afternoon. The two people involved were acquainted, he said. The rape was reported at 3:09 a.m. Sunday from the southeast part of Aberdeen.
Two women were injured in a three-vehicle traffic accident Sunday afternoon south of Aberdeen.
Jayne Heather, 52, of Groton and Laurie Stahl, 64, of Redfield were taken to Sanford Aberdeen Medical Center by ambulance after the accident, according to the South Dakota Highway Patrol. They were both treated and released, according to a Sanford Aberdeen administrative resource center.
Heather was driving a vehicle that was southbound on U.S. Highway 281 about three miles south of Aberdeen near 136th Avenue when she tried to turn in front of two other vehicles, causing a collision, said Lt. Doug Coughlin of the highway patrol. Stahl and Reed Kessler, 29, of Aberdeen were driving the two other vehicles, which were also southbound, Coughlin said.
Kessler was uninjured.
The accident was reported at 12:27 p.m.