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South Dakota BOR and DOE launch user-friendly college planning website

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South Dakota BOR and DOE launch user-friendly college planning website


RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) – A website making it easier for students and families to plan for college was unveiled on Wednesday by the South Dakota Board of Regents and the Department of Education.

The goal of the website is to provide extra information and opportunities to students, parents, and educators in the state. Along with the BOR and the DOE, the South Dakota Board of Technical Education, the Department of Labor and Regulation, and the nonprofit organization Mapping Your Future contributed to the website, allowing for a wider variety of college readiness resources. The site so far includes information about South Dakota’s colleges and universities, scholarship information, events, and even tips for younger students on how they can make the most of their middle and high school courses.

“All are working to communicate college preparation activities and grant programs in South Dakota,” explained SD Board of Regents system academic program manager Molly Weisgram. “There’s some great information out there, but it can be overwhelming, and so what we wanted to do was really have a collective voice to share information to kind of decode that process.”

If you are interested in learning more about the resources available for students, parents, and educators, you can visit the Dakota Dreams website.

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South Dakota State University researchers lead the charge against new turkey virus threat

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South Dakota State University researchers lead the charge against new turkey virus threat


BROOKINGS, S.D. — South Dakota State University’s Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory is taking a leading role in combating a new strain of avian metapneumovirus, a virus that is causing significant economic loss to the United States poultry industry.

Avian metapneumovirus, or aMPV, is an upper respiratory tract viral infection that affects all types of poultry but is most harmful to turkeys. The virus is divided into four different subgroups: A, B, C or D. While each subgroup can be found in different parts of the world, the U.S. has previously only experienced outbreaks of subgroup C.

In January 2024, SDSU researchers became the first in the U.S. to identify the first known case of aMPV subgroup B after testing a sample from an outbreak in a North Carolina turkey flock. Since then, the virus has continued to spread throughout the United States, wreaking havoc for poultry breeders across the country.

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Sunil Mor, assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at South Dakota State University and section lead for virology at SDSU’s Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory.

Kennedy Tesch / Agweek

“A and B, were worldwide in Europe, South America and Asia, but never detected in the U.S.,” said Sunil Mor, assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at South Dakota State University and section lead for virology at SDSU’s Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory. “First time introduction of the subgroups A and B in the U.S., it’s a huge economic impact, especially on the turkey industry. The breeders are seeing up to 80% to 90% reduction in egg production.”

In Minnesota, which is home to a major portion of U.S. turkey production, the virus has made a significant impact. Ashley Kohls, executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, said the Association started conducting surveillance on the virus last spring. From April to June, they found that nearly 100% of the turkey flocks in the state of Minnesota were impacted by aMPV.

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Ashley Kohls, executive director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association.

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“It’s unfortunate, and it’s massive,” Kohls said. “In addition to commercial turkeys or the meat birds, our breeder flocks are negatively impacted as well. For breeder birds, they have a significant reduction in the amount of eggs that they lay. Anytime you have breeder flocks impacted, there’s ripple effects, obviously, through the entire industry — less eggs, less poults, less birds, less turkey. It’s kind of been a rolling compound effect. There’s less baby poults, but then there’s also less birds coming out on the back end because of sick flocks.”

While the virus continues to cause issues for poultry producers, researchers at SDSU’s Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory are working around the clock. Their quick identification of the virus was a game-changer.

“I remember the first meeting Dr. Mor confirmed that it was subtype B, people were actually not even able to believe that,” said Tamer Sharafeldin, an assistant professor Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at South Dakota State University and veterinary pathologist at SDSU’s Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory. “But, within a week, the USDA confirmed that as well, and that was actually a leading discovery for South Dakota State University.”

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With the virus confirmed, SDSU researchers pivoted to focus on vaccine development. They are currently working on three types of vaccines: a killed vaccine, a live attenuated vaccine, and a vector vaccine. The killed vaccine is the quickest to develop, as researchers can isolate the virus, inactivate it, and then test its safety and efficacy.

“We have isolated the virus, so we just inactivate it, test the safety potency, and then get the USDA approval to give it to the birds,” Mor explained.

The team is also working to improve diagnostic tools, however, vaccine development remains the highest priority.

“The process is not going to happen in a day or two. It’s going to take some time. We are actually competing with time to be able to achieve this,” Sharafeldin said. “We have produced the weakened virus — that’s number one. Number two, we are starting to establish the baseline needed for vaccine safety and efficacy.”

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Tamer Sharafeldin, an assistant professor Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at South Dakota State University and veterinary pathologist at SDSU’s Animal Disease Research and Diagnostic Laboratory.

Kennedy Tesch / Agweek

SDSU’s leadership in identifying the virus and developing solutions is vital not only for South Dakota but for the entire U.S. poultry industry.

“There’s a rapid need to develop vaccines for both the breeder flocks but also commercial turkey flocks as well. Developing that vaccine domestically will take some time, but there are a lot of folks working around the clock to make that happen,” Kohls said.

“South Dakota State University is not only the university that serves South Dakota citizens, it’s a university that leads research that would help the whole U.S. poultry industry in different states as well as it plays a very important role to enhance the U.S. economy,” Sharafeldin added.

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Kennedy is a reporter for Agweek based out of South Dakota. She grew up on an organic crop farm where her family also raises cattle in eastern South Dakota. She graduated from South Dakota State University in 2023 with a major in agricultural communication and minor in agricultural business. She enjoys connecting with producers and agribusinesses across the region while reporting on all things agriculture.





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State Sen. Anthony Kern making his way back to Phoenix after icy crash in South Dakota

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State Sen. Anthony Kern making his way back to Phoenix after icy crash in South Dakota


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State Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, announced on the social media platform X on Sunday that he had left the hospital, about a week after breaking bones and suffering other injuries in a single-car crash in South Dakota.

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Kern, who was visiting family, was riding with a friend through a snowstorm when the car hit ice and the driver lost control.

He posted that he was out of the critical stage and making his way back to Phoenix, but he couldn’t fly due to a collapsed lung.

Kern is finishing his first state Senate term after three terms in the state House. This fall, he opted to run for a congressional seat rather than seek a return to the state Capitol but lost the GOP race for Congressional District 8 to Abe Hamadeh.



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South Dakota comedy performer dies

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South Dakota comedy performer dies


SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A local South Dakota comedy legend has died Saturday. Terry Ree, of the comedy duo Williams and Ree, died Saturday morning. Williams and Ree performed for over fifty years together, performing with names such as Garth Brooks, the Oak Ridge Boys and Tim McGraw.



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