Jackie Hendry

South Dakota State University is moving forward with its new precision agriculture center after a groundbreaking ceremony on Saturday. Stakeholders say the Raven Precision Agriculture Center will make Brookings the “Silicon Valley” of ag innovation.  

Precision agriculture incorporates data analytics, GPS mapping and other courses to help future farmers use new technology to better predict and increase yields.

Many school districts focus on recruiting the best teachers for their classrooms, and they struggle to bring in a diverse pool of candidates. Even when they’re successful, some can’t retain the teachers they’ve hired. Donald Easton-Brooks, the Dean of USD’s School of Education, says the challenge is about more than money. 

Before Donald Easton-Brooks pursued a career in education, he was a counselor at a residential treatment facility in Denver. He says something about the job didn’t feel right.

As mass shootings make headlines more frequently, many companies are training their employees for the worst. Hospitals can present a unique challenge if a situation blocks access to the emergency room. On Thursday, Avera McKennan partnered with Sioux Falls police and fire rescue teams for a simulated active-shooter situation. 

Avera McKennan Emergency Management Coordinator Kevin Schlosser explains the situation: a woman is brought into the E.R. after a car crash. Her husband comes to check on her.

Former Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe is joining Governor Dennis Daugaard to promote technical education in South Dakota. The all-day event (on Thursday) called “A New Day in Tech Ed in South Dakota” revolves around changing the conversation around educational opportunities. 

Governor Daugaard has made workforce development and tech ed a mainstay of his administration. He credits Mike Rowe for proving on a national scale that the world of work is more than pushing pencils and typing at computers.

President Donald Trump made his first appearance in South Dakota today. He stopped in Sioux Falls for a private fundraising event in support of U.S. Representative Kristi Noem’s bid for South Dakota Governor. 

Air Force One touched down at the Sioux Falls Airport shortly after 3 p.m. A group of about 50 supporters greeted the president, who shook a few hands before heading to the motorcade.

The rates for both suicide deaths and drug overdoses are highest in rural America, and those statistics continue to rise in South Dakota. On Thursday in Sioux Falls, Avera Health and the Department of Justice held a conference to help community members respond to the ongoing crisis. 

This is the fifth year that Avera and the DOJ have partnered for a conference on a particular topic. U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons says this year’s theme suggested itself.

In The Moment ... September 6, 2018 Show 416 Hour 1

Drug overdose is now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50—a  statistic that was not true even five years ago. In South Dakota, opioid related overdoses are also on the rise. Last year brought 10 opioid-related deaths in Minnehaha County alone, and this year that number is already higher.

The merger between Sanford Health and the Evangelical Lutheran Good Samaritan Society is now set to start two months before initially scheduled. But joining two of the area’s largest employers signals a change in the healthcare industry both at home and around the country. 

Sanford Health Chief Administrative Officer Randy Bury says healthcare is an evolving industry. He says it used to be that clinics were separate from hospitals, and long-term facilities like nursing homes were separate from acute-care providers.

In The Moment ... August 9, 2018 Show 397 Hour 2 

Suicide rates continue to rise throughout the country, and here in South Dakota. How can we help our neighbors--and ourselves--as many begin to consider the state to be in a mental health crisis.

SDPB's Jackie Hendry joins In The Moment host Lori Walsh to discuss the most recent numbers, and how two communities are responding to the growing need.

Project Stand Up was first used to text anonymous drug tips to law enforcement. Now it’s expanding to cover concerns about school safety, making South Dakota the 7th state in the nation with such a program. 

By texting the word SAFE to the Project Stand Up number, users answer prompts about the potential threat. Those messages are monitored in real time and sent to appropriate law enforcement and school administrators.

In The Moment ... July 30, 2018 Show 389 Hour 2

The school supplies are on the shelves, and changes are ahead for South Dakota High School Graduation requirements.

SDPB's Education reporter Jackie Hendry joined In The Moment with an update on the new policy. 

In 2017, South Dakota saw the highest number of suicides in state history. This is the second time the state has broken its own suicide record in less than five years.

The state Department of Health reports 192 South Dakotans died by suicide in 2017. State epidemiologist Dr. Josh Clayton says the last time the state broke this record was in 2015 with 173 suicide deaths.

“In 2017 we did see about 80% of the suicides from male individuals," he says. "The highest rate of suicides did come among the population of 20 to 24 year-olds.”

In The Moment ... July 19, 2018 Show 382 Hour 2

If your kids are at a loss for things to do this summer, don't count out your local library.

Many South Dakota libraries are taking part in national summer programming, and the state library has just released the list of finalists for this year's Young Adult Reading Program.

SDPB's Jackie Hendry joined In The Moment with a look at what's happening around the state. 

The South Dakota Board of Education Standards unanimously approves changes to the state’s high school graduation requirements after a public hearing in Pierre. The changes allow students more flexibility without changing the number of credits required for a diploma. 

The changes include three endorsements that can be added to a student’s high school transcript. Each endorsement requires particular courses to fulfill existing credit requirements, but students don’t need to choose an endorsement in order to receive a basic high school diploma.

A group that encourages teens in Lower Brule to do community research is receiving a grant from the Society for Science & the Public. Lower Brule Research works with middle and high school students who are interested in science and culture. 

The jury finds a defendant connected to Mid-Central Educational Cooperative not guilty on all counts. They deliberated for more than five hours before bringing the State v. Hubers trial to a close. 

The verdict brought relieved sighs from several members of Hubers’s family who were also present for the reading—as they had been for most of the trial. The case ends on Hubers’s 46th birthday, but also hours after word that her mother in law has passed away.

The jury is deliberating after hearing closing arguments for the State v. Hubers trial this morning in Sioux Falls. The defendant Stephanie Hubers is accused of receiving more than $55-thousand worth of checks from her boss Scott Westerhuis for work she didn’t perform. 

One of the defendents connected to the Mid-Central Educational Cooperative investigation is facing trial in Sioux Falls this week. Stephanie Hubers has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of grand theft and alternate charges of receiving stolen property. SDPB's Jackie Hendry joins the program with an update on the trial. 

The State v. Hubers case continues with a denial of the defense’s motion to acquit. The motion comes after the state rests its case. 

The state’s final witnesses were the agent who interviewed Hubers after the Westerhuis deaths, two former board members at Mid-Central Educational Coop, and a founding member of the American Indian Institute of Innovation non-profit. Jurors also heard a second recorded interview between Hubers and law enforcement from early 2016—about five months after the housefire at the Westerhuis residence in Platte.

One of the defendants connected to the Mid-Central Education Cooperative investigation is facing trial in Sioux Falls this week. Stephanie Hubers has pleaded not guilty to felony charges that include grand theft or alternative counts of receiving stolen property. The jury reports Tuesday morning. 

Every morning behind the Turtle Creek Crossing grocery store just west of Mission, South Dakota, a growing group of young people plants the seeds of a healthier community. The Rosebud Economic Development Corporation—or REDCO—is the largest employer of interns on the Rosebud Reservation. Most of their interns work in the community garden. 

Officials with Avera health hope their new hospital on 69th and Louise in Sioux Falls becomes more than a place for patients to receive care. They’re looking to make it a gathering place for a growing community

The new hospital is set to open next year, and will include operating rooms, addiction care, a meditation room and a restaurant. The $130 million undertaking is the most expensive construction project in the history of Sioux Falls. But for now, steel beams and concrete floors only hint at what’s to come.

What is America's best loved novel? South Dakota Public Broadcasting and PBS bring you The Great American Read. The choices have been narrowed down to a list of 100 fiction books, and you can find the list and vote for your favorite here. Vote daily and tune in throughout the summer to In The Moment as we discuss books and all their many wonders. 

SDPB's Jackie Hendry took a look at the list to tell us about one of her best loved novels:

South Dakota’s rural communities often lack resources to combat drug and alcohol addiction. Thanks to a new grant, Avera Health is looking to expand its telehealth services in some under-served areas. 

The Health Resources and Services Administration is awarding Avera a $750,000  grant to expand its addiction recovery services. The project starts with the Avera clinics in Flandreau and Aberdeen.

Malia Holbeck is the outpatient manager for Avera’s addiction recovery program. She says telemedicine can help bridge the gap for areas that lack certain services.

In The Moment ... June 12, 2018 Show 356 Hour 1

People stay in their careers for more than a paycheck. They seek purpose and a positive work environment, benefits and continuing education.

Mentorship can play a big role in not only improving outcomes at work, but in retaining staff. SDPB's Jackie Hendry has been exploring how mentorship works with South Dakota teachers.

The Kennedy Space Center in Florida is hosting the first Rocket Girls Cyber Space camp later this summer for high school junior and senior girls. Of the camp’s 16 initial participants, 14 are from South Dakota. That’s largely thanks to a partnership between the new camp and the CybHER program at Dakota State University. 

Proposed changes to South Dakota’s high school graduation requirements are now open for public comment. The total number of credits are the same, but the changes could provide students more flexibility and additional opportunities for post-high school credentials. 

Sanford Health is expanding its Sports Complex in Sioux Falls with a facility focused entirely on golf. The space will include an interactive driving range and the Sanford POWER Golf Academy. 

Sanford Health President and CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft says the upcoming facility is called Great Shots. He says the $12 million project will combine sports medicine research with a year-round golfing facility, restaurant, and spaces for kids and corporate meetings.

Computer science has tended to be a male-dominated field, but Dakota State University is seeing a shift in the numbers. The school has seen a nearly 300% increase in female computer and cyber science majors over the last five years. 

The Beacom College of Computer and Cyber Sciences at DSU includes majors like cyber operations and network security and administration. Five years ago, 26 undergraduate students in the Beacom College were women. By 2017 there were just over a hundred.

How do we create communities where our children grow up to live and innovate close to home?

We bring you a special In the Moment. We break down the numbers behind generational migration. We probe the outer reaches of the battle against Brain Drain. We ask the questions: Who are we and Who are we becoming?

This hour we meet educators and innovators, business leaders, policy makers, and advocates.

South Dakota The Next Generation