Late-fall blizzard, Ellsworth top S.D. news in 2005

By Dennis Gale, Associated Press Writer | Monday, December 26, 2005

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SIOUX FALLS - Droughts, tornadoes, blizzards and temperature extremes have hardened generations of South Dakotans, who have always shared a bond with the weather. A late-fall ice and snow storm that paralyzed a big portion of the state tested that hardiness in 2005.

Associated Press editors and broadcasters voted the storm and its aftermath as the top South Dakota news story of the year.

Here are the year's top 10 news stories:

n The brunt of the storm hit central and eastern South Dakota on Nov. 27-28, cutting off electricity to about 56,500 utility hookups in 157 towns and rural areas. It destroyed more than 11,500 power poles and disrupted service on 9,000 miles of power lines. Crews worked continuously to get power back on, and it was mid-December before some rural areas were restored. Three storm-related deaths were reported.

n Ellsworth, a 63-year-old base that houses about half of the nation's B1-B bombers and is the state's second-largest employer, narrowly escaped a round of military base closings. The Base Realignment and Closure Commission took it off the Pentagon's list of recommendations in August. In June, at least 7,000 people attended a hearing hosted by three BRAC commissioners in Rapid City.

n In October, state lawmakers meeting in special session approved $19.9 million to help fund an interim underground laboratory in the closed Homestake Mine at Lead. The National Science Foundation also narrowed the choice on constructing a lab to Homestake and a mine in Colorado.

n South Dakota's first-ever mountain lion hunting season could have endured as long as Dec. 15, but it ended Oct. 24, when the fifth breeding-age female was shot and killed. A total of 13 lions were killed after the season opened Oct. 1.

n South Dakota lost six soldiers in 2005 as fighting continued in Iraq. One of the soldiers died in Kuwait. Three of this year's casualties were in the National Guard and three served in the Army. That brings the toll of South Dakotans and those serving in South Dakota units who have died in the region to 15 since early 2003.

n Nineteen cases of Legionnaires' disease were reported in South Dakota in 2005 - most of them in Rapid City, where 55-year-old Merrilyn Burchell died of the disease July 1. Legionnaires' disease is spread through the air from a water source. The Rapid City outbreak was traced to a decorative fountain at a restaurant.

n Local and state officials scrambled early in September in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to stock shelters for as many as 1,000 displaced storm victims. But for various reasons, South Dakota's shelters were not called upon.

n In November, the Sioux Falls-based Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad said it will apply for a $2.5 billion federal loan for its long-discussed coal-train project.

Officials said the application would be filed in 2006.

n An 11th-hour ruling by U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier blocked a South Dakota abortion bill from becoming law on July 1. The legislation would have required abortion doctors to tell women that abortion ends the lives of human beings and poses various medical and psychological risks.

n The Federal Aviation Administration began a review of Gov. Mike Rounds' use of state-owned aircraft after Democratic leaders raised concerns about aircraft use and repayment to the state for personal trips taken by Rounds, a Republican.