News

For the second year in a row and the fourth time in school history, the best student chapter nationwide of the American Society of Civil Engineers belongs to South Dakota State University.

Starting this Saturday, Fort Sisseton State Historic Park will be hosting a new Smithsonian exhibit: “Crossroads: Change in Rural America.” The exhibit has been made possible at Fort Sisseton by South Dakota Humanities.

“I can’t imagine teaching or raising my children anywhere else,” emphasized Britton-Hecla English teacher Jenna Peters. Peters said this when discussing why she chose to teach in the school district she graduated from 20 years ago. She and many others in the district are part of a noteworthy trend of Britton and Britton-Hecla graduates who have returned to the area as educators.

Editor s Note: April is Autism Awareness Month. In honor of this occasion, the Journal asked Kelley Beck to share her family’s story. She, her husband Matt and their three children live in rural Hecla.

This week is National Library Week. The theme for the event this year is “There is More to the Story.” One Marshall County library that has a rich story behind it is the Langford Public Library. Though small, the library is impressively active and has a strong history of dedicated people helping this local institution flourish.

As an occupational therapist, Jennifer Gustafson of Claremont works to heal people’s bodies. Over the years, she also discovered that she enjoys treating people’s minds as well. To that end, Gustafson explored opportunities where she could provide neurological care in addition to physical care. By chance, she was introduced to the folks at Brain Intercept in Aberdeen, and after working there for the last couple of months, feels like she has truly found her niche.

From one environmental extreme to the next. Merely days after the last blizzard, the flooding began. With high temperatures early last week, the area began to see rapid snow melt.

In their youth, the Holland Brothers of Britton recall days spent at the family business. Keith remembers working in the shop after school and on Saturdays fixing tires and doing oil changes. Kent says he enjoyed providing full-service for customers, pumping gas, washing windows and visiting with locals and travelers. Now, decades later and as they retire, the Holland Brothers look back on the years of hard work and the promising future of the business.

At the Marshall County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, the board passed the resolution to proceed with the Courthouse project and the $5 million bond election to fund the project. The election is scheduled for June 6.

At Monday night’s Britton City Council meeting, Tom and Jamie Moeckly spoke at the meeting regarding the old Norstar Credit Union building which they live near. The building has been purchased by Clear Lake Investments to reportedly be modified into housing for foreign H2 Visa workers. Truss Pros and Precision Wall in Britton have made use of these workers for a number of years.

Jason Tonsfeldt got attacked by a bear and now has a huge scar on his neck. Or at least that is what he and his family jokes happened to him to find some humor in a tough situation. In reality, Jason’s scar was the result of doctors removing lymph nodes from his neck following a cancer diagnosis in 2021. This was not the first time he was diagnosed with cancer, nor would it be the last. Tonsfeldt is again fighting cancer currently. He and his wife, Ali, shared the journey Jason’s cancer has taken their family on.