Latest news with #SummitLeagueChampionships
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Yahoo
Loved ones honor woman who died from exposure
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Exposure to the frigid cold took the life of Cassandra Shields in January. Now, her loved ones are holding an event to honor her. The family of Cassandra Shields, affectionately known as Cassie, remembers her as an outgoing, happy person. Sunday Funday for Summit League Championships 'She would always bring joy to like everybody I guess, you know. She's like the life of the party pretty much,' Cassie's Son, Teighton BigEagle said. 'She was always willing to help people. She would go out of her way to make somebody feel good. Bring people up when they were down,' Cassie's Mother, Jacquelyn Gayton said. Cassie would have turned 36 tomorrow, which is why her family and friends are hosting a meal and vigil at Watecha Bowl in Sioux Falls. Fifty-percent of all sales will go to her sons. 'We're going to have a bunch of raffles. There's going to be beadwork, ribbon skirts, there's gas cards, meal cards,' family friend Ella Pretty Bonnet said. Her body was discovered in Madison Street on January 19th when the weather was brutally cold. The event will honor Cassie, and her loved ones don't want it to be a solemn day. 'It's going to be a good energy kind of day. We're not going to, you know, try to make it a sad thing. I want it to be happy because we're going to be honoring her. You know, we're going to be it's her birthday is going to be her day, you know?' Pretty Bonnet said. However, her loved ones still want to have a clearer picture of the events leading up to her death. 'We need answers and we need to know what these people know, whoever knows anything. So we won't really grieve until then, but we'll just try to keep each other up, you know, as much as we can and be there for each other,' Gayton said. And as friends and family prepare to honor Cassie on her birthday, they have one request. 'Just step up and say something if you know something. Somebody know something out there and we need those answers. So we can all heal. Otherwise we're just going to be at a loss, be lost trying to figure everything out ourselves,' Gayton said. If you have any information about Cassie's death, contact the Minnehaha County Sheriff's office or crime stoppers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Summit League tournament return to Sioux Falls beyond 2026?
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Expect an answer on whether or not Sioux Falls will be host city for the 2027 and beyond Summit League basketball tournament 'soon,' officials said this week. 'We're just kind of going through the analysis phase now,' Summit League Commissioner Josh Fenton told KELOLAND News this week. 'We will get to a resolution on that process soon.' 'The presidents (of league member universities) are all here this week, meeting in person,' said Thomas Lee, the executive director of the Sioux Falls Sports Authority. Lee said one of the agenda items is the selection of a tournament site for 2027 and beyond. Sunday Funday for Summit League Championships In July 2024, the Summit League announced the 2026 tournament would be held in Sioux Falls, exercising a fourth-year option as part of a three-year agreement announced in December 2022. As part of the bid process, the Summit League 'engaged a membership committee to kind of identify the priorities for the tournament and went out and sought information from various markets and venues around,' Fenton said. The Sioux Falls Sports Authority, along with the city of Sioux Falls and Experience Sioux Falls and the PREMIER Center cooperate to develop and submit a bid to be the host city, Lee said. 'Close to eight months ago, we submitted all this information to the Summit League,' Lee said. The Summit League shares the bids with the presidents and athletic directors at each member university, Lee said. Bid packages are 'very robust and detailed,' Lee said. The bids include: 'What the city can offer,' Lee said. Bids include any discounts at the PREMIER Center as well as features for the tournament. Sioux Falls has been the host site of the Summit League since 2009. But, Lee said, there are other cities bidding for the tournament. 'We're not taking this tournament for granted,' Lee said. 'We really want it here.' Sioux Falls' location is an advantage, Lee said, because it is at the intersection of two major interstates and less than one hour from two major in-state universities. 'We have a fan base that really shows up,' Lee said. Those aren't just fans from South Dakota State University of the University of South Dakota, he said. Last year, daily session attendance figures released by the league showed total attendance through the five-day tournament was 73,287, up from 57,165 in 2023 and besting the best four-day tournament record of 65,533 set in 2016. Basketball fans, no matter the school loyalty, show up for the tournament, Lee said. 'This is one of the biggest events in March, if not the biggest event,' Lee said. That's another advantage for Sioux Falls, he said. He doesn't believe other potential host sites can say the Summit League tournament is the biggest event in March. Fenton also cited the success Sioux Falls has had in the past with the tournament. 'Ultimately we know the great experience we've had in Sioux falls now for many years,' Fenton said. In a way, Sioux Falls is competing with itself as well as the other interested cities. 'How can we top ourselves,' Lee said is a focus for those who work on the city's bid. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New work starting at Outdoor Campus East
PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) — The Outdoor Campus East building in Sioux Falls is about to get bigger. Regional supervisor Kip Rounds briefed the South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Commission on Friday about the expansion project. He said Peska Construction is ready to go. 'We expect them to get started in the next week or two,' Rounds said. Sunday Funday for Summit League Championships The building's footprint will be expanded to add space for 12 archery lanes for year-round shooting, as well as three classrooms that can be converted into a single area for larger meetings, and more storage. The 18-month construction plan points to completion in fall 2026. Rounds said the state Department of Game, Fish and Parks regional office at the campus will remain open. The expansion is the second phase of new work at the campus, which opened in 1997. A July 2024 groundbreaking marked the start of phase one's 12 outdoor archery lanes. Rounds said that part will be completed on March 12 and will open to the public 'very soon, as soon as the spring weather breaks.' Archers will face west, and the outdoor lanes include a baffle to deal with errant arrows and provide a sun shade for shooters. He noted that Harrisburg High School's construction class built the target holders. You can view a rendering of the building here. 'We're extremely happy about the way it turned out,' Rounds said. State Wildlife Division director Tom Kirschenmann said the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation reached its $3 million goal of donations for the overall project. Federal Pittman-Robertson funds also will be used, he said, along with some department revenue. State lawmakers are considering requiring GFP to get authority from the Legislature for any projects exceeding $2.5 million. Republican Sen. Chris Karr has specifically referred to projects such as the Outdoor East Campus expansion and the shooting range complex being built east of Rapid City as examples. The Senate voted 35-0 to add the requirement. The House is scheduled to debate it Monday. GFP Commission chair Stephanie Rissler, who often works in Sioux Falls, said Friday that she frequently visits Outdoor Campus East. 'It's full of people. It's full of families,' Rissler said. 'They do great work.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
