JANUARY 21, 2012 Y D RESS ANKTON AILY D
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BY RANDY DOCKENDORF [email protected] The Missouri River reservoir system has gained nearly a half- million acre-feet of storage capac- ity thanks to the warm, dry winter, U.S. Army Corps of Engi- neers officials said Friday. After a year of historic flood- ing, the basin sits in a good posi- tion heading into the 2012 season, according to Jody Farhat, chief of the basin water management of- fice for the Corps’ Omaha Dis- trict. The Corps has taken a flexible and aggressive approach to its releases and opening up more storage, she said. “All of the 2011 flood water was evacuated from the main- stem system. As of today, we have an additional 400,000 acre-feet of flood control storage available,” she said. “The snowpack is significantly lower than a year ago, but it’s still early in the snow accumulation season. We continue to remain vigilant and monitor the situation closely.” For perspective, Farhat noted the additional storage capacity of 400,000 acre feet represents nearly the equivalent of Gavins Point Dam’s reservoir storage of 450,000 acre feet. At this point, Farhat doesn’t foresee a return to last year’s record releases. The 160,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) re- leased at Gavins Point Dam, which was maintained for much of the summer, more than dou- bled the previous record of 70,000 cfs. “Looking at the current fore- cast, I don’t anticipate a record flow out of any reservoirs this year,” she said. The total reservoir system cur- rently contains 56.4 million acre feet (maf), Farhat said. Last year at this time, the system held 56.9 million acre feet — about 100,000 acre feet above the base of the annual flood control pool, she said. A major difference this year BY CHET BROKAW Associated Press PIERRE — South Dakota’s economic development agency helped 61 businesses last year in expansion projects that will create an estimated 3,000 jobs in the state, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Friday. The Governor’s Office of Economic Development helped some businesses from other states locate in South Dakota, but more than 70 percent of the agency’s development efforts in 2011 involved companies al- ready in the state, he said. South Dakota’s economy continues to fare better than the national economy, the governor said. State of- ficials recently announced South Dakota’s unemploy- ment rate for December was 4.2 percent, half the national rate. “We’re seeing the tepid national economic picture brighten a little bit, and I’m pleased South Dakota is leading the way,” Daugaard said in his weekly news conference. YANKTON RECYCLING NEXT WEEK: NORTH OF 15TH STREET REGION 3 | OBITUARIES 3 | LIFE 5 | WORLD 7 | SPORTS 8-9 | CLASSIFIEDS 11-14 | MIDWEST 15 MONDAY: District 18 Lawmakers Hold First Forum Session Printed on Recycled Newsprint Printed with SOY INK Sunday, January 29 Bridal Registration Starts at Noon Exhibits Open Noon-4:00pm Fashion Show 3:30pm Riverfront Events Center DowntownYankton 75¢ Windy, Late Flurries Possible 9 a.m.: 2 | 3 p.m.: 25 | DETAILS: PAGE 2 Y ANKTON D AILY VOLUME 137 NUMBER 229 SATURDAY ■ JANUARY 21, 2012 The Dakotas’ Oldest Newspaper | 16 PAGES | www.yankton.net P RESS & D AKOTAN BY NATHAN JOHNSON [email protected] Saying he wants to tip the balance in Washington back in favor of middle class Americans, Matt Varilek used Yankton as the staging ground Friday in his campaign to become South Dakota’s next U.S. House member. Varilek, 36, a Democrat who grew up in the Tabor and Yankton area but now lives in Sioux Falls, an- nounced his candidacy for the seat held by Republi- can Rep. Kristi Noem in December. He was set to launch a statewide “Meet Matt” Tour at Ben’s Brewery in Yankton Friday night and stopped at the Press & Dakotan office prior to the event to talk about his candidacy. Minnehaha County commissioner Jeff Barth is also seeking the Democratic nomination. Having raised more than $100,000 for his cam- paign and getting endorsements from Sen. Tim John- son (D.-S.D.) and former Sen. Tom Daschle (D.-S.D.), Varilek said he feels very good about the race. “There is a lot of frustration with Congress right now and the person I’m running against, Kristi Noem,” he said. “I’ve talked in this campaign about want- ing to focus on the interests of middle class people and working people. I’ve talked about trying to take a differ- ent approach to politics that focuses more on bridging di- vides between people who have different perspectives so that we can find solutions to things we all care about as Americans instead of being stuck in our ideologi- cal corners. With Kristi Noem, she takes a different approach. She is part of the Tea Party movement, a leader of it, and a leader of the dysfunctional Congress.” While Noem was chosen last year to serve on the House Republican leadership team, she is not an offi- cial member of the House Tea Party caucus. She has, BY SHAUNA MARLETTE [email protected] ith the economy in Yankton bouncing back from the lows seen throughout the past two years, the Yankton manufac- turing community is seeing a shortage of skilled labor applicants — specifically welders. Representatives from Dakota Trailer (DT) and Kolberg-Pioneer, Inc. (KPI), as well as Josh Svatos, Regional Technical Education Center (RTEC) general man- ager, said if 100 skilled welders walked in the door looking for positions, they could be found in Yankton’s manufactur- ing community. In order to meet that need, RTEC has been offering 12-week courses in welding starting with basic welding and finishing with an American Welding Society skill upgrade course. “Right now, our biggest issue is find- ing the bodies,” Svatos said. “We are to the point where we are at the end of what we have of an available training pool. We are just not seeing the individu- als walk through the door that want to learn the skill set. Now, as a community, we have to figure out how to get creative selling the profession, number one; and number two, sell what we have to offer in terms of employment opportunities. I think the last piece of that puzzle is sell- ing the community to bring them in from the outside.” Jaci Benjamin, human resources man- ager and safety instructor at Dakota Trailer said the key words are “skilled” welders. “While we are in need of welders, we are in need of skilled welders,” she said. “Every time we train a welder, it takes us a good 40-60 hours for them to be able to go on their own. So you have to realize where your labor dollars are going. “The RTEC program is a good feeder program for us at Dakota Trailer because they come in with a skill set. So it is not like you have to stand right next to them and monitor them. They are able to com- plete a task that you give them because they are trained to do it. It alleviates some of that pressure on our current staff for training purposes.” Benjamin and Rhonda Kocer, human resources manager at Kolberg-Pioneer, said that within two weeks of each new RTEC welding course beginning, they are in the classroom interviewing the students. “We have probably hired 15-20 guys in the last six months out of the RTEC pro- gram,” Benjamin said, a number Kocer concurred with for KPI. “We are not get- ting the skilled welders walking in our door. We are getting a lot of good appli- cants for fabrication or whatever area we need, but the welders, the skill set, isn’t out there right now.” Kocer explained that because the manufacturing community is a group, The Shortage Of Welders In Yankton Offers Glowing Opportunities, Officials Say The Shortage Of Welders In Yankton Offers Glowing Opportunities, Officials Say Wanted: Welders! Area Native Kicks Off Campaign For House BY DEREK KRAVITZ AP Real Estate Writer WASHINGTON — Home sales rose in December to the highest pace in nearly a year. The gain coincides with other signs that show the troubled housing market improved at the end of last year. Still, sales remain depressed and ended 2011 well below healthy levels. The National Association of Realtors says home sales increased 5 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.61 million. For the year, home sales totaled only 4.26 million, up from 4.19 million the pre- vious year. Since the housing bust four years ago, home sales have slumped under the weight of foreclosures, tighter credit and falling price. Decision ’12 Corps: Mo. River Basin In Good Position W KELLY HERTZ/P&D Juan Gutierrez, a junior at Yankton High School, works on welding skills during an Industrial Manufacturing and Fabrication class at the Regional Technical Education Center (RTEC) Friday. The high school training introduces kids to the skilled trade. Welders are in high demand in many area communities, including in Yankton. Adult classes that train prospective welders fill up quickly, and the students are usually hired shortly after the classes begin. But more bodies are needed. “We are to the point,” said RTEC general manager Josh Svatos, “where we are at the end of what we have of an available training pool.” S.D. Agency Helped Create 3,000 Jobs WELDERS | PAGE 3 Home Sales Up At End Of Dismal Year, Offering Hope JOBS | PAGE 14 CORPS | PAGE 14 VARILEK | PAGE 16 KELLY HERTZ/P&D Yankton area native Matt Varilek, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for South Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat, was in town Friday to launch his statewide campaign.
Transcript of JANUARY 21, 2012 Y D RESS ANKTON AILY D
BY RANDY [email protected]
The Missouri River reservoirsystem has gained nearly a half-million acre-feet of storage capac-ity thanks to the warm, drywinter, U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers officials said Friday.
After a year of historic flood-ing, the basin sits in a good posi-tion heading into the 2012 season,according to Jody Farhat, chief ofthe basin water management of-fice for the Corps’ Omaha Dis-trict. The Corps has taken aflexible and aggressive approachto its releases and opening upmore storage, she said.
“All of the 2011 flood waterwas evacuated from the main-stem system. As of today, we havean additional 400,000 acre-feet offlood control storage available,”she said.
“The snowpack is significantlylower than a year ago, but it’s stillearly in the snow accumulationseason. We continue to remainvigilant and monitor the situationclosely.”
For perspective, Farhat notedthe additional storage capacity of400,000 acre feet representsnearly the equivalent of GavinsPoint Dam’s reservoir storage of450,000 acre feet.
At this point, Farhat doesn’tforesee a return to last year’srecord releases. The 160,000cubic feet per second (cfs) re-leased at Gavins Point Dam,which was maintained for muchof the summer, more than dou-bled the previous record of 70,000cfs.
“Looking at the current fore-cast, I don’t anticipate a recordflow out of any reservoirs thisyear,” she said.
The total reservoir system cur-rently contains 56.4 million acrefeet (maf), Farhat said. Last yearat this time, the system held 56.9million acre feet — about 100,000acre feet above the base of theannual flood control pool, shesaid.
A major difference this year
BY CHET BROKAWAssociated Press
PIERRE — South Dakota’s economic developmentagency helped 61 businesses last year in expansionprojects that will create an estimated 3,000 jobs in thestate, Gov. Dennis Daugaard said Friday.
The Governor’s Office of Economic Developmenthelped some businesses from other states locate inSouth Dakota, but more than 70 percent of the agency’sdevelopment efforts in 2011 involved companies al-ready in the state, he said.
South Dakota’s economy continues to fare betterthan the national economy, the governor said. State of-ficials recently announced South Dakota’s unemploy-ment rate for December was 4.2 percent, half thenational rate.
“We’re seeing the tepid national economic picturebrighten a little bit, and I’m pleased South Dakota isleading the way,” Daugaard said in his weekly newsconference.
YANKTON RECYCLING NEXT WEEK:
NORTHOF 15TH STREET
REGION 3 | OBITUARIES 3 | LIFE 5 | WORLD 7 | SPORTS 8-9 | CLASSIFIEDS 11-14 | MIDWEST 15
MONDAY: District 18 Lawmakers Hold First Forum Session Print
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SOY I
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Sunday, January 29 Bridal Registration Starts at Noon Exhibits Open Noon-4:00pm Fashion Show 3:30pm
Riverfront Events Center Downtown Yankton
75¢
Windy, Late Flurries Possible9 a.m.: 2 | 3 p.m.: 25 | DETAILS: PAGE 2
YA N K T O N D A I LY
VOLUME 137NUMBER 229
SATURDAY ■ JANUARY 21, 2012
The Dakotas’ Oldest Newspaper | 16 PAGES | www.yankton.net
PRESS&DAKOTAN
BY NATHAN [email protected]
Saying he wants to tip the balance in Washingtonback in favor of middle class Americans, Matt Varilekused Yankton as the staging ground Friday in hiscampaign to become South Dakota’s next U.S. Housemember.
Varilek, 36, a Democrat who grew up in the Taborand Yankton area but now lives in Sioux Falls, an-nounced his candidacy for the seat held by Republi-can Rep. Kristi Noem in December.
He was set to launch a statewide “Meet Matt”Tour at Ben’s Brewery in Yankton Friday night andstopped at the Press & Dakotan office prior to theevent to talk about his candidacy.
Minnehaha County commissioner Jeff Barth isalso seeking the Democratic nomination.
Having raised more than $100,000 for his cam-paign and getting endorsements from Sen. Tim John-son (D.-S.D.) and former Sen. Tom Daschle (D.-S.D.),Varilek said he feels very good about the race.
“There is a lot of frustration with Congress rightnow and the person I’m running against, Kristi
Noem,” he said. “I’ve talkedin this campaign about want-ing to focus on the interestsof middle class people andworking people. I’ve talkedabout trying to take a differ-ent approach to politics thatfocuses more on bridging di-vides between people whohave different perspectivesso that we can find solutionsto things we all care aboutas Americans instead ofbeing stuck in our ideologi-cal corners. With KristiNoem, she takes a different
approach. She is part of the Tea Party movement, aleader of it, and a leader of the dysfunctionalCongress.”
While Noem was chosen last year to serve on theHouse Republican leadership team, she is not an offi-cial member of the House Tea Party caucus. She has,
BY SHAUNA [email protected]
ith the economy inYankton bouncingback from the lowsseen throughout thepast two years, theYankton manufac-turing community isseeing a shortage of
skilled labor applicants — specificallywelders.
Representatives from Dakota Trailer(DT) and Kolberg-Pioneer, Inc. (KPI), aswell as Josh Svatos, Regional TechnicalEducation Center (RTEC) general man-ager, said if 100 skilled welders walked inthe door looking for positions, theycould be found in Yankton’s manufactur-ing community.
In order to meet that need, RTEC hasbeen offering 12-week courses in weldingstarting with basic welding and finishingwith an American Welding Society skillupgrade course.
“Right now, our biggest issue is find-ing the bodies,” Svatos said. “We are tothe point where we are at the end ofwhat we have of an available trainingpool. We are just not seeing the individu-als walk through the door that want tolearn the skill set. Now, as a community,we have to figure out how to get creativeselling the profession, number one; andnumber two, sell what we have to offer interms of employment opportunities. Ithink the last piece of that puzzle is sell-ing the community to bring them in fromthe outside.”
Jaci Benjamin, human resources man-ager and safety instructor at DakotaTrailer said the key words are “skilled”welders.
“While we are in need of welders, weare in need of skilled welders,” she said.“Every time we train a welder, it takes usa good 40-60 hours for them to be able togo on their own. So you have to realizewhere your labor dollars are going.
“The RTEC program is a good feederprogram for us at Dakota Trailer becausethey come in with a skill set. So it is notlike you have to stand right next to themand monitor them. They are able to com-plete a task that you give them becausethey are trained to do it. It alleviatessome of that pressure on our currentstaff for training purposes.”
Benjamin and Rhonda Kocer, humanresources manager at Kolberg-Pioneer,said that within two weeks of each newRTEC welding course beginning, they arein the classroom interviewing thestudents.
“We have probably hired 15-20 guys inthe last six months out of the RTEC pro-gram,” Benjamin said, a number Kocerconcurred with for KPI. “We are not get-ting the skilled welders walking in ourdoor. We are getting a lot of good appli-cants for fabrication or whatever area weneed, but the welders, the skill set, isn’tout there right now.”
Kocer explained that because themanufacturing community is a group,
The Shortage OfWelders In Yankton
Offers GlowingOpportunities,Officials Say
The Shortage OfWelders In Yankton
Offers GlowingOpportunities,Officials Say
Wanted: Welders!
Area Native Kicks Off Campaign For House
BY DEREK KRAVITZAP Real Estate Writer
WASHINGTON — Home sales rose inDecember to the highest pace in nearly ayear. The gain coincides with other signsthat show the troubled housing market
improved at the end of last year.Still, sales remain depressed and
ended 2011 well below healthy levels.The National Association of Realtors
says home sales increased 5 percent lastmonth to a seasonally adjusted annualrate of 4.61 million.
For the year, home sales totaled only4.26 million, up from 4.19 million the pre-vious year. Since the housing bust fouryears ago, home sales have slumpedunder the weight of foreclosures, tightercredit and falling price.
Decision
’12
Corps:
Mo. RiverBasin In
GoodPosition W
KELLY HERTZ/P&DJuan Gutierrez, a junior at Yankton High School, works on welding skills during an Industrial Manufacturing and Fabrication class at theRegional Technical Education Center (RTEC) Friday. The high school training introduces kids to the skilled trade. Welders are in highdemand in many area communities, including in Yankton. Adult classes that train prospective welders fill up quickly, and the studentsare usually hired shortly after the classes begin. But more bodies are needed. “We are to the point,” said RTEC general manager JoshSvatos, “where we are at the end of what we have of an available training pool.”
S.D. Agency HelpedCreate 3,000 Jobs
WELDERS | PAGE 3
Home Sales Up At End Of Dismal Year, Offering Hope
JOBS | PAGE 14
CORPS | PAGE 14
VARILEK | PAGE 16
KELLY HERTZ/P&DYankton area native Matt Varilek, who isseeking the Democratic nomination forSouth Dakota’s lone U.S. House seat, was intown Friday to launch his statewidecampaign.
