SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The names have been released following a fatal crash in Meade County near Sturgis on the 4th of July.

The Department of Public Safety release reads as follows…

What: Two-vehicle fatal crash

Where:  SD Highway 34, mile marker 38, two miles east of Sturgis, SD

When: 10:10 a.m., Monday, July 1, 2024

Vehicle 1: 2017 Chevrolet Silverado

Driver 1: John Joseph Lundin, 82-year-old male from Sturgis, SD, fatal injuries

Seatbelt Use: No

Vehicle 2: 2005 Dodge Ram 2500

Driver 2: Jerry Lee Seaman, a 72-year-old male from Newell, SD, serious, non-life-threatening injuries

Seatbelt Use: Yes

Passenger 1: Dixie Lee Seaman, 72-year-old female from Newell, SD, with serious, non-life-threatening injuries

Seatbelt Use: No

Meade County, S.D.- An 82-year-old man died July 4 from injuries sustained in a two-vehicle crash July 1 near Sturgis, SD.

Preliminary crash information indicates John J. Lundin, the driver of a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado, was traveling eastbound on SD Highway 34 near mile marker 38. At the same time, Jerry L. Seaman, the driver of a 2005 Dodge Ram 2500, was traveling westbound on SD Highway 34. While initiating a left-hand turn into a gas station, Lundin turned in front of the Dodge Ram and the vehicles collided head-on. The driver and passenger of the Dodge Ram were transported to a nearby hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries. Lundin was life-flighted to a Rapid City hospital, where he passed away July 4 from his injuries.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.

The Highway Patrol is an agency of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.

An energy company has applied to construct another wind farm in northeastern South Dakota.

The company is Chicago-based Invenergy. It wants to build up to 68 turbines through its South Dakota subsidiary, Deuel Harvest Wind Energy South. The turbines would be spread across 54 square miles of privately owned land near the small town of Brandt in Deuel County. The project’s estimated cost is $621 million.

The “south” in the project’s name distinguishes it from the 109-turbine Deuel Harvest Wind Farm, which Invenergy completed in 2021 and sold to Atlanta-based Southern Power.

The new project would be located about six miles south of the existing Deuel Harvest wind farm. Another wind farm, Tatanka Ridge, is adjacent to the southwest edge of the proposed project area. If the new project is approved and built, it would raise the number of wind turbines in Deuel County to 233.

The new project could deliver up to 250 megawatts of electricity. South Dakota ranks 13th in the nation with 3,462 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity, according to the American Wind Power Association.

The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission issued a public notice Wednesday about Invenergy’s application. People with a direct interest in the project have until Aug. 27 to apply for “intervenor” status, which would allow them to participate in hearings, file motions, request facts or documents, and engage in other aspects of the permitting process.

The new application says Invenergy will not use eminent domain, which is a legal procedure to obtain land from unwilling landowners.

“South Deuel Wind has entered into long-term, voluntary lease and easement agreements for the placement of Project Facilities with private landowners within the Project Area,” the application says.

Invenergy estimates the project will generate payments to landowners totaling $78 million over the next 30 years, and property tax revenue generated for local governments will total $38 million during the same period. The project is expected to create 243 jobs during construction and eight long-term operational jobs.

While Invenergy was working on its previous project, some local residents challenged special exception permits issued to the company by Deuel County. The permits were ultimately upheld by the state Supreme Court.

Deuel Harvest Wind Energy South project map

The Deuel Harvest Wind Energy South project map. (Courtesy of South Dakota Public Utilities Commission)

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Update: 17-year-old Vevon McGee was located in Yankton Saturday around 6:15 pm, which is nearly 50 miles from where he went missing.

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The search is on for a missing person in Turner County. Tevon McGee went missing Friday night around 11:00 pm.

He is 17 years old and has the development of an 8-year-old.

He was last seen near Marion wearing the same shirt as the one on the missing poster.

The Turner County Sheriff’s Office and the other local rescue agencies are assisting with the search effort.

Those with information are asked to call the Turner County Sheriff’s Office at (605) 297-3225

Copyright 2024 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.