REGION 2 | OBITUARIES 3 | VIEWS 4 | LIFE 5 | MIDWEST 7 | SPORTS 8 | CLASSIFIEDS 10 | WORLD 12

TOMORROW: Local Lawmakers React To Governor’s Budget Address Print

ed o

nRe

cycle

d Ne

wspr

int

Print

ed w

ith

SOY I

NK

YANKTON RECYCLING THIS WEEK:

SOUTHOF 15TH STREET

75¢

Winter Marches In: Snow, Wind And Cold9 a.m.: 32 | 3 p.m.:31 | DETAILS: PAGE 2

YA N K T O N D A I LY

Volume 139Number 186 The Dakotas’ Oldest Newspaper | 12 PAGES | www.yankton.net

PRESS&DAKOTAN

TUESDAYDecember 3, 2013

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

BY DIRK LAMMERSAssociated Press

SIOUX FALLS — A Democratic statelawmaker wants the Legislature toschedule a special session to authorizean independent forensic audit of SouthDakota’s participation in a federal in-vestment-for-green-cards immigrationprogram.

Rep. Kathy Tyler of Big Stone Citysaid her House and Senate colleagueswill find a copy of the petition on theirchamber desks when they arrive inPierre on Tuesday for Gov. Dennis Dau-gaard’s budget speech.

Tyler said Monday that state investi-gations into alleged misconduct and thedeath of a former economic develop-ment official have failed to examineSouth Dakota’s participation in the fed-eral EB-5 program and the extent of itsoversight of SDRC Inc., a private com-pany contracted to solicit foreign in-vestors.

The South Dakota Governor’s Officeof Economic has asked the Departmentof Legislative Audit to conduct a com-plete audit of the agency from 2009through 2013, but Tyler said that effortwill do little to answer questions abouthow money flowed through the EB-5program.

“These audits are not forensic au-dits,” she said during a news conferenceMonday. “They do not follow themoney.”

GOED for years contracted with theprivately held SDRC Inc. to administerthe federal EB-5 program, in which for-eign investors can secure permanentresidency for as little as $500,000. Theprogram helped fund several large proj-ects in the state, including the idledNorthern Beef Packers plant in Ab-erdeen.

Late last month, Attorney General

Marty Jackley issued areport in response toDaugaard’s request tolook into possible finan-cial misconduct beforehis administration.

The attorney generalfound that $550,000 of a$1 million state grantgiven to Northern Beeffor construction and

equipment costs was improperly di-verted to SDRC Inc. to pay EB-5 immigra-tion loan monitoring fees. Jackley alsofound that former economic develop-ment director Richard Benda, who be-came a loan monitor for SDRC Inc.,double-billed the state for three flights.

Benda was found dead Oct. 22 with a12-gauge shotgun wound to his ab-domen. Officials have ruled his death asuicide.

Tony Venhuizen, Daugaard’sspokesman, said Monday that state offi-cials don’t have the authority to auditthe complete records of a private com-pany and they have no jurisdiction overa federal program. That’s why Jackleyhas turned over all information to theU.S. attorney and is cooperating withfederal investigators, Venhuizen said.

“They have jurisdiction over the EB-5 program, which the state doesn’t,”Venhuizen said. “They’re completely in-dependent of the state. That’s who’slooking into this at this point.”

Tyler’s proposal must have backingfrom two-thirds of lawmakers for theDec. 30 session to be scheduled. Shesaid she’s asking for a special sessionbecause the issue is too important towait for the regular session that beginsin January, when it could get lost in thepile of bills.

“Let’s find the problem and let’s fixit,” she said. “Let’s get it taken care of.”

BY ROB NIELSENrob.nielsen@yankton.net

Area residents will have an opportunity to getinto the holiday spirit this Friday thanks to theannual CookieWalk and Holiday Parade of Lightsand Vendor Fair.

Beginning the day of events is the RiverwalkCommittee’s fourth annual CookieWalk. Commit-tee Vice President Katie Hunhoff said the eventhas evolved a lot since its inception.

“We look at it as more than a fundraiser,” Hun-hoff said. ”The community’s been so great inhelping out and showing up to buy the cookies. Ifeel it’s become more of a community traditionthan a fundraiser.”

The CookieWalk raises funds for the 15 stat-ues placed annually by the Riverwalk Committeearound downtown Yankton and throughout River-side Park.

The event will be held at the Dakota Theaterand runs from 10 a.m - 2 p.m. Visitors can take apizza box and fill it with holiday cookies, payingfor them by the pound as they leave. Cider andChristmas music will also provided

Hunhoff said the idea originated from afundraiser that used to be held by Avera SacredHeart Hospital.

“The hospital used to do a really great cookiefundraiser and they ended it the year before we

BY DEREK BARTOSderek.bartos@yankton.net

The performers of thisyear’s Mount Marty CollegeVespers will be singing out totheir largest audience yet.

In addition to sold-out liveperformances this weekend,the event also will be broad-cast Dec. 24 on radio and, forthe first time, on television.

“We’re very excited to beon TV this year,” said KennethTice, MMC director of choralactivities. “It’s a wonderful op-portunity to showcase our stu-dents and to showcase ourchapel — the beautiful space

we have on our campus thatwe’re able to utilize every dayat Mount Marty College.”

The Benedictine Sisters ofSacred Heart Monastery andthe MMC music departmentwill present the annual Ves-pers performance at 4 p.m.and 7 p.m. Sunday. The freeevent will be held in theBishop Marty MemorialChapel on the MMC campus.

This year’s Vespers per-formance, titled “The Rose ofChristmastide,” will includemusic from classical settingsof Marian prayers, contempo-

LawmakerCalls For

EB-5 AuditSpecial Legislative Session WouldBe Needed To Authorize Inquiry

Tyler

By The Associated Press

RAPID CITY — A formerhead of South Dakota’s statewildfire agency who left of-fice last year for the privatesector says he’s running forgovernor, becoming the firstDemocrat to do so.

Joe Lowe, 68, was direc-tor of the state Wildland FireSuppression Division fromits creation in 2001 until his

retirement in 2012. He nowruns an art gallery in RapidCity and leads an emergencymanagement consultingfirm.

Lowe started his fire-fighting career in Californiaand was a city councilmanand mayor in Mission Viejo,a city of about 95,000 peo-ple.

BY NATHAN JOHNSON nathan.johnson@yankton.net

MENOMINEE, Neb. — An 18-year-old Yankton woman died Saturday asa result of injuries sustained from anaccident earlier in the week in north-east Nebraska, according to CedarCounty (Neb.) Sheriff Larry Koranda.

He said Destiny Suing was travelingeastbound along 894th Road approxi-mately four miles east of Menomineearound 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 25, whenshe lost control of the vehicle on thegravel. The vehicle rolled, and shewas ejected. Suing was the only occu-pant.

No seat-belt was used, Korandastated.

Suing was airlifted to Mercy Med-

ical Center in SiouxCity, Iowa, where shedied Saturday as a re-sult of injuries sus-tained during theaccident.

In addition to theCedar County Sheriff’sOffice, the NebraskaState Patrol and theNebraska Game and

Parks Commission responded to theaccident.

Suing’s obituary can be found onpage 3 of today’s Press & Dakotan.

You can follow Nathan Johnson onTwitter at twitter.com/AnInlandVoy-age. Discuss this story at www.yank-ton.net/.

Yankton Woman Dies FromInjuries Sustained In Accident

Suing

* * *

Holiday Staples Loom

Dam Work Resumes

KELLY HERTZ/P&D

Work resumed Monday on the concrete slab below the Gavins Point Spillway west of Yankton. This project isa continuation of repairs which began in 2012. This stage of the repairs will replace substrate in the gravelfrost blanket below the slab and make repairs to spillway drains. This project is expected to take severalmonths. The slab was damaged when record amounts of water were released from the spillway during the2011 flood. The parking area along the north wall is now closed until the work is completed.

These fourth graders fromYankton’s Sacred Heart Ele-mentary School bring somepercussive accents to theclass’s performance of “Star ofPeace” during a Christmasconcert held Monday night atthe YHS/Summit ActivitiesCenter theatre. Students pre-Kthrough grade 4 presented theprogram, “‘Twas the Night be-fore the First Christmas.” Tosee or purchase images fromthis event, visit spotted.yank-ton.net. (Kelly Hertz/P&D)

Wildfire Specialist Set ToRun For SD Governor

Sunday’s Vespers Will Give Mt.Marty Some TV Exposure

CookieWalk, Parade On Tap Friday

FRIDAY | PAGE 3

VESPERS | PAGE 5

KELLY HERTZ/P&D

Mount Marty’s annual Vespers takesplace Sunday at the Bishop Marty Me-morial Chapel in Yankton. Performancesare at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., but tickets areno longer available for the annual pro-duction.

LOWE | PAGE 5

MelodyMakers

YHS Gymnasts OpenSeason Vs. Mitchell • 8