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Newsmakers profiled in 'Seven in '07' lived up to promise
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FarkA year ago, the Rapid City Journal profiled "Seven in '07" - people to watch this past year. (Go to www.rapidcityjournal.com and click on "Seven in '07" for the original stories.) Last year's seven to watch included one ranch couple and a pair of business partners. Here's how they fared in 2007:
Hadricks 1, drought 0
Troy and Stacy Hadrick made the list last year for using innovative techniques on their ranch north of Bear Butte. "A drought's not fair, but sometimes, it can teach you something," Troy Hadrick said as 2007 began.
At the end of the year, Hadrick reports that a South Dakota State University experiment to clean runoff from their feedlot for use in irrigation is a success. They got a second hay crop in the research area.
"The system is working well," he said. In fact, SDSU has expanded the study.
The Hadricks also installed four more miles of pipeline for irrigation. "We've got a lot more water available now."
Planetarium delivered
A year ago, engineer Rob Christensen was opening a Rapid City branch of a laser-projection company in the Black Hills Business Development Center on campus of the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.
Evans & Sutherland, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, sells ultra-high-definition systems all over the world. Christensen recently installed a system for a planetarium in China, but he mainly focuses on developing new products for the company. He has even hired Aaron Costello, another Mines graduate, to help him.
The folks in Salt Lake City call the Rapid City branch "the Skunkworks" because "we work on the newest, coolest stuff."
Tanka bars launched
A year ago, Karlene Hunter and Mark Tilsen were planning the launch of Tanka Bars, a buffalo-based high-protein energy bar produced by their company, Native American Natural Foods, which is based in Kyle on the Pine Ridge Reservation.
Tanka Bars debuted at the Black Hills Pow Wow in October, when 30 yellow-shirted volunteers hit the streets with free samples.
Stories in the New York Times and on wire services led to an avalanche of orders. "We thought this would be a small, soft launch," Tilsen said.
"It was more growth than we were ready to handle." But they've found a second processor in Idaho. "It's been a great year," Tilsen said.
The Dahl moved
Darla Drew Lerdal, who raises money for the Rapid City Arts Council and coordinates programs at the Dahl Arts Center, faced big changes in 2007.
The Dahl moved into the old Montana Dakota Utilities building next door to make room for $6 million project that will create five new galleries and a 250-seat event center.
The art didn't stop. A temporary gallery was packed last month for an opening featuring artists who work in glass. Music moved to the Masonic Temple across the street and to The Journey Museum.
"It's been a cool metamorphosis," Lerdal said.
The new Dahl could open as soon as late 2008.
Drug court opened
A year ago, 4th Circuit Judge Jerome Eckrich was preparing to lobby for a new "drug court" in Sturgis.
The Legislature approved spending more than $200,000, and in July, the new court got a $350,000 federal grant to fund it a few more years.
Drug court opened for business Sept. 4, as a way for addicts (mostly methamphetamines) to avoid prison by agreeing to intensive supervision for 18 months.
There were six participants as of late December. They all had jobs and places to live, and there hadn't been a single "dirty" urinalysis.
"One lady went from jail to getting her kid back," Eckridge said.
Contact Bill Harlan at 394-8424 or bill.harlan@rapidcityjournal.com
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