Inside KELOLAND: Heart Month
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – February is Heart Month across the United States.
Former Governor in spotlight as Secretary of Homeland Security
In this week's Inside KELOLAND, find out why the 'Go Red for Women Gala' was so important to one Sioux Falls woman and hear from a Sanford Health cardiologist on how to keep your heart healthy.
After that, you'll hear from KELOLAND's Dan Santella about his exclusive tour of the State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls.
Lastly, take a look at the Sioux Falls Burger Battle winner and preview another food battle in Sioux Falls.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Resources for Men's Mental Health Awareness Month
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Helpline Center has been providing mental health resources for the last 50 years. 'The helpline center is here 24 hours a day. Somebody can call us, text or chat with our 9-8-8 counselors and ask any kinds of questions,' said Janet Kittams, CEO, Helpline Center. 'You know whether they're looking for a counselor. They want to understand more about depression or anxiety. Or they're in the midst of a crisis.' Gov. Rhoden tours Israel with South Dakota Trade 'We provide mental health first aid trainings, and then we have another training referred to as QPR, which is Question, Persuade, and Refer, which helps people have those conversations with individuals who might be thinking about suicide,' said Mike Keller, Director of Outreach and Suicide Prevention. Keller says, statistically, men are four times more likely to die by suicide than women 'Oftentimes, just with the masculine culture, we typically don't want to talk about our feelings, and we feel like that's all that mental health is about,' said Keller. 'But reality is, it's much broader than that.' Men are less likely to speak up or ask for help. 'And so we want to call attention to that. So they recognize that it's important for them to ask for help when they're struggling,' said Kittams. With June being Men's Mental Health Awareness Month, the Helpline Center wants to encourage everyone to ask for help if they need it and to also learn the warning signs in case someone you know needs support. For anyone needing help, the mental health/crisis line is 9-8-8 and the community resources line is 2-1-1. Links to resources: Helpline Center Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration National Alliance on Mental Illness Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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After outcry, 4-year-old girl can stay in U.S. for lifesaving care
Deysi Vargas's 4-year-old daughter was fussy on Wednesday as she carried her into their Bakersfield, California, home after a dental procedure. In a few hours, Vargas would have to prepare the girl's next feeding — washing her hands thoroughly, measuring formula and flushing her daughter's gastric tube. It was a routine Vargas had perfected through fear. Missing even one step could mean disaster, she said. But for the first time in months, she felt like she could finally breathe. Vargas and her family, who hail from Mexico, could stay in the United States, the only country where her daughter can receive the complex and specialized treatment that keeps her alive. The girl has short bowel syndrome, a condition where the body cannot absorb enough nutrients from food. The relief that washed over Vargas had come after nearly two excruciating months, she said. In April, the government had abruptly revoked the family's humanitarian parole without giving them a reason. The move triggered swift international outrage and prompted 38 Democratic members of Congress to send a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem urging her to reverse the decision. Then on Tuesday, Vargas received a notice from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: The family had been granted another year of parole. 'I felt more than tranquility — peace,' Vargas, 28, told The Washington Post. 'These moments of not knowing whether we'd be deported or allowed to stay were beyond overwhelming. It was horrible knowing that my daughter's ability to stay alive depended on this humanitarian parole.' In a statement Friday, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the family was approved to stay in the United States. The agency did not respond to questions about why their parole had been revoked after initially being granted until July. Vargas's attorney, Gina Amato Lough, said the family fit into two categories of people who have seen their status canceled amid the Trump administration's crackdown on immigration: people with parole and those who entered the country through the Biden administration's CBP One app. The Trump administration has also rolled back humanitarian protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants. The girl, whom the family's lawyers identify by the pseudonym Sofia, was born in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, in fragile health. She had her first surgery at four days old for a malformation in her intestine. Four more surgeries followed, Vargas said, and left the girl with short bowel syndrome. Soon, the girl was transferred to a hospital nearly 800 miles away in Mexico City. Vargas and her husband uprooted their lives to move close to the facility, which their daughter did not leave for two years. After two more surgeries and a near-death experience, doctors told Vargas they were running out of options. The only thing left to try was an intestine transplant, which had never been done in that hospital before, Vargas recalled being told. 'They told me my child was most likely going to die,' she said. Vargas refused to give up hope. She started researching transplants and alternative treatments in Spain and the United States, and contacting hospitals. At the same time, she prepared an application for humanitarian parole, which allows people to temporarily live in the United States for urgent humanitarian reasons. In 2023, the family boarded a flight to Tijuana from Mexico City. They carried the girl — still connected to nutrition bags — to the border and legally entered the United States through an appointment secured through the CBP One app, Vargas said. They were granted humanitarian parole until July 2025. The girl arrived in California as an emaciated toddler and was transported to a children's hospital in San Diego. She soon began to thrive under specialized care, Vargas said, including hours tethered to an intravenous feeding system — a machine that pumps nutrients into her through a tube. Little by little, the child reached milestones — like sitting up and taking her first steps — that to Vargas had once seemed impossibly out of reach. She was transferred to Children's Hospital Los Angeles after a year. In September, the girl was discharged and allowed to live something close to a normal life: playing in the park, painting with her father and attending day care while Vargas works in a buffet-style restaurant. She loves dancing, especially to 'Mambo No. 5' by Lou Bega. 'She feels the rhythm and starts moving her body,' Vargas said, laughing. For a while, it felt like the family was moving forward. Then came the April 11 letter from DHS, giving them just seven days before their legal status would be revoked. 'Do not attempt to remain in the United States — the federal government will find you. Please depart the United States immediately,' read the email, which was reviewed by The Post. The family received two more such notices. The last one, from May 13, warned Vargas that her work authorization had also been canceled. 'I can't explain the fear,' she said. 'Feeling like any time we were out on the streets someone was going to take us away and deport us.' Adding to her anxiety, Vargas said, was the fact that her daughter's medical team had said the equipment that keeps the girl alive can't leave the country — and patients on this treatment aren't allowed to travel. DHS denied in its statement that the family was 'actively being deported.' 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South Dakota confirms 2nd case of measles in 2025
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The South Dakota Department of Health (DOH) says a second case of measles has been detected in the state in 2025, this one also in West River. The DOH sent the announcement out at 4:48 p.m. on Friday, informing the public that there was potential of a measles exposure at two locations in Pennington County. 21-year-old Brookings man arrested for rape of minor These were the Sam's Club at 925 Eglin St in Rapid City on June 1 from noon to 6:00 p.m., and the Dakota Premier Medical Clinic at 2006 Mt Rushmore Rd in Rapid City on June 2 from 11:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The DOH is advising any person who visited those locations during the mentioned time frames that they may have been exposed to measles, and are asked to self-monitor for symptoms of measles for 21 days after the exposure date. Measles symptoms appear in two stages. In the first stage, the individual may have a runny nose, cough, and a slight fever. The eyes may become reddened and sensitive to light while the fever consistently rises each day. The second stage begins on the third to seventh day of symptoms and consists of a temperature of 103-105°F, and a red blotchy rash lasting for four to seven days. The rash usually begins on the face and then spreads down to the trunk and out to the arms and legs. Information from the DOH 'We are sharing this information to help individuals who may have been exposed take steps to protect their health,' said State Epidemiologist Joshua Clayton. 'Any South Dakotan who lack immunity from vaccination or past infection can get the MMR vaccine to prevent measles infection and its complications.' South Dakota's first measles case of 2025 was reported on June 2, and was identified in a man in Meade County who developed the infection after traveling internationally. That man had visited the following locations, where people who may have been exposed are also asked to self-monitor: Rapid City Medical Center Urgent Care waiting room (2820 Mt Rushmore Road, Rapid City, SD May 28, 2025, from 7:15 am to 10 am MT Monument Health Sturgis Urgent Care waiting room (2140 Junction Ave, Sturgis, SD) May 29, 2025, from 9:45 am to 3 pm MT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
