It’s difficult to know how to start an article for our readers this month.

Dear Dave,

Following a meeting of the membership on March 5, 2020, with presentations by River City Domestic Violence Center, Lewis and Clark Theatre Company, Avera Medical Group Coordinated Care, Healthy Yankton, and Missouri Valley Pregnancy Resource Center, the majority vote winner of the 100 Women …

DENVER — The U.S. Small Business Administration is offering low-interest federal disaster loans for working capital to South Dakota small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza announced. SBA acted under i…

With the spring growing season just around the corner, this is the beginning of home lawn care and property maintenance. In a time of uncertainty, one thing we know for sure is the grass will still grow! As a homeowner for 25 years and a property maintenance professional for almost as long, …

Dear Car Talk:

CUFD SCHOLARSHIPS

Dear Car Talk:

Dear Dave,

Menno

Yankton Community Forum

History has its eyes on you. That is a quote from the popular musical Hamilton, but as we are dealing with a global pandemic it also applies to all of us. The year 2020 is going to be remembered someday in history books. How it will be remembered is in part, up to us. Will this year go down …

Dear Car Talk:

Karen Head lives in Georgia, and possums seem to live everywhere. You may drive past a dead one on a roadside somewhere today. Here’s a poem in which the poet chooses to keep a safe distance from wildness. Head’s most recent book is “Lost on Purpose,” published by Iris Press in Oak Ridge, Te…

Donovan Johnson

2 Corinthians 5:7 — For we walk by faith, not by sight.

Dear Dave,

PIERRE — The Department of Social Services (DSS) is asking childcare providers in South Dakota to take steps to ensure that the health and safety of children, families, and providers remain top priorities in the days and weeks ahead.

As COVID-19 cases have now been reported in this region, Avera reminds the general public of what they need to know concerning this virus.

With the coronavirus causing school to be cancelled, my son brought his schoolwork home. He shared with us a Greek mythology worksheet about Pandora’s Box. If you aren’t familiar, the Greek god Zeus gave a wedding present to beautiful Pandora but instructed her not to open it. Like many of u…

Dear Car Talk:

I’ve mentioned the anthology, “Local News: Poetry About Small Towns” from MWPH Books, P.O. Box 8, in Fairwater, Wisconsin. Here’s one of the many poems I’ve enjoyed, by Scott Wiggerman, who lives in New Mexico. His latest book is “Leaf and Beak: Sonnets,” published by purple flag, 2015.

AVON — Local farmers Darla Hento and Scott Meiers each recently directed a $2,500 America’s Farmers Grow Communities donation, sponsored by Bayer Fund, to the Avon School District Science Program.

NEW YORK — If you are family caregiver of a person living with Alzheimer’s or another dementia-related illness, preventing the spread of illness is important, particularly as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to make headlines. The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA) is s…

PIERRE — Gov. Kristi Noem and her team are working closely with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to activate the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program in South Dakota. This program would help eligible businesses and non-profits impacted by COVID-19.

FREEMAN ACADEMY

Social Security is here for you when you travel, whether you’re in the United States or overseas. The online services page at www.socialsecurity.gov/onlineservices provides you a wide variety of self-service options you can use on your phone, tablet, or computer.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary for Rural Development Donald “DJ” LaVoy has announced that USDA is accepting applications for grants to help increase access to education, training and health care resources in rural communities.

VERMILLION — Two University of South Dakota School of Law students, Josey Johnson and Josey Blare, competed in the 28th annual National Native American Law Students Association Moot Court Tournament hosted by the University of California-Berkeley School of Law.

DAKOTA RETAILERS SCHOLARSHIP

I’m in need for the spring weather to arrive.

Dear Car Talk:

PIERRE —The South Dakota Retailers Association Scholarship application is now available for students enrolled in post-secondary schooling during the fall of 2020.

It’s March and that means two things. First, it means I will take up my annual mission of finding a way to stream March Madness online for free. This is usually a lost cause since I have no interest in signing up for cable. Welcome to my struggle.

VERMILLION — The 2020 Annual Banquet for the Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company (VCDC) has been set for Thursday, April 2, with tickets now available for purchase.

“We learn that even though something bad may happen, in the end, something good will happen,” says Elizabeth, 9. “My cousin’s parents got divorced, but it turned out to be kind of a good thing because she got to get a kitten.”

Our nation has a large and growing public health problem called suicide. It is the tenth leading cause of death in the United States and it is preventable. The Centers for Disease Control indicates suicide was responsible for more than 47,000 deaths in 2017, resulting in about one death ever…

Dear Car Talk:

Lest we forget our vegetables, here’s a poem by James Bertolino about one of our dearest and healthiest ones. The poet lives in Bellingham, Washington, and this is from his book, “Every Wound Has A Rhythm,” from World Enough Writers, Kingston, Washington.

BROOKINGS — SDSU Extension and NDSU Extension will be hosting a free webinar entitled “How to stay in your home longer.” The webinar will take place on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, at noon CT. Individuals will be able to participate from the comfort of their own home or during their lunch hour…

BROOKINGS — The South Dakota Newspaper Association is accepting nominees for the 2020 SDNA Eagle Award.

SOUTH DAKOTA FARM BUREAU SCHOLARSHIP

Dear Car Talk:

VERMILLION — An $11,000 donation from First Bank & Trust in Vermillion to the University of South Dakota’s Department of Sustainability & Environment will create a gathering place for students working on activities related to sustainability. Tom Schaack, community bank president of F…

VERMILLION — The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity (PIKE) at the University of South Dakota hosted our 10th annual Taylor Trudeau Cycle for Life on Wednesday, February 26 at the USD Wellness Center. This year’s fundraiser allowed the chapter to raise more than $1,000 to benefit the M.D. Anderson Cen…

OMAHA, Neb. — Between the political ads and the news coverage, the 2020 presidential election is impossible to ignore. But voters aren’t the only ones paying attention. According to recent BBB Scam Tracker reports, scammers are using phony political fundraising calls to trick Americans into …