News Briefs: Jewel thief gets 10 years

A 52-year-old man with a multi-state criminal record is sentenced to 10 years in the state penitentiary following a burglary at a jewelry store that netted $78,000 in diamond rings.

Larry Lewis Black was sentenced on September 22 by Third Judicial Circuit Court Judge Abigail Howard. Black pleaded guilty on July 14 to third-degree burglary, grand theft and intentional damage to property.

The case stems from an early morning, March 3 break-in at Riddleís Jewelry in Brookings. Upon arrival, Brookings police found the front glass door shattered, a display case smashed open and empty display stands that should have housed multiple wedding rings.

Investigators recovered a blood smear. Surveillance footage showed a suspect arriving at and fleeing the scene on a bicycle along 12th Street South through the Normandy Village Trailer Court. On April 14, the state crime lab identified DNA from the blood sample as matching Black, who was living in Normandy Village. Brookings police secured a search warrant and arrested Black on April 15.

In a written statement following sentencing, Brookings County State's Attorney Dan Nelson said: "Mr. Black has spent the last three decades engaging in violence and theft all-across the country. His latest stop was here in Brookings but due the diligence of law enforcement he was caught and will now serve the next 10 years in prison. The plea negotiations we conducted resulted in the recovery of all the stolen merchandise."

According to prosecutors, Blackís criminal history spans multiple jurisdictions, including prior convictions in Illinois and Minnehaha County, South Dakota.

Under the terms of Judge Howardís order, Black received consecutive sentences for all three counts.

– Jay Roe,

Brookings Radio News

Audit shows mail problems are real

An audit report released Thursday recommends ways to improve mail service in South Dakota, and a member of the stateís congressional delegation said the report serves as
"reaffirmation that the mail service is worse than the Postal Service is suggesting."

Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds made a request in December for an audit by the Postal Serviceís Office of Inspector General. The OIG is an independent agency within the Postal Service answering to the Postal Service Board of Governors.

"Weíre definitely making progress," Rounds said Thursday after reviewing the report. "The OIG agrees with South Dakotans that mail service is as bad as we have been saying it is for the last two years."

Rounds has taken several other actions to pressure the Postal Service, including a hold on Senate confirmations of Board of Governors nominees. Rounds said Thursday he will keep the hold in place "until such time as I see results."

One of the recommendations is determining the feasibility of bringing regional mail processing to the state. The Postal Service responded by saying it will upgrade a Sioux Falls processing plant to a regional processing and distribution center, which should keep most South Dakota mail in the state and reduce delivery time for some packages by one or two days. The service made that announcement Tuesday, two days before the reportís publication, and said the change will take effect in January.

– Seth Tupper,
S.D. Searchlight

Tea time at the  public library

BROOKINGS – On Oct. 8 at 6 p.m., the Brookings Public Library will host "Tea Time with Tami," an educational presentation and tea tasting.

Come learn about various types of tea from Tami Brown, owner of The Spice and Tea Exchange of Sioux Falls. Attendees will be instructed on how to brew the perfect cup of tea and will have the opportunity to try some of the teas mentioned in the presentation. Register on the Libraryís website or at bit.ly/regbpl starting October 1 to reserve a spot.

Tami attended SDSU and taught high school English for 25 years before starting her second career. In June 2019, she and her husband, Vernon, opened The Spice and Tea Exchange in downtown Sioux Falls.

Get started with genealogy

BROOKINGS – On Oct. 5 at 6 p.m., the Brookings Public Library will host a talk entitled, "The Immigrant Experience and Genealogy".

In this talk, professional genealogist Sarah Busse Spencer provides an overview of immigration to the United States and reasons many European immigrants left their homelands. Learn about the most important record types for researching immigrants to the United States, as well as essential charts and strategies for those beginning genealogical research. There will be time for questions afterwards! Register on the Libraryís website or at bit.ly/regbpl starting September 28 to reserve your spot.

Sarah Busse Spencer recently completed two academic certificates in Family History Research from Brigham Young University–Idaho.  Prior to that she obtained a PhD in Sociology and Russian Studies from the University of Chicago.  She specializes in 19th century immigration and German and Eastern European research and helps clients with genealogy research projects. For more information, visit http://www.researchyourroots.com.

Volleyball coach  talks with Rotary

BROOKINGS – Dan Georgalas, head volleyball coach at South Dakota State University, was introduced to the Brookings Rotary Club by Toby Uecker, who highlighted two defining characteristics of the "Georgalas era": building strong community support for the volleyball program and scheduling increasingly competitive opponents.

Under Georgalasís leadership, SDSU Volleyball has become a community phenomenon. The program leads the Summit League in both average and total attendance every year. When the program played its first match in Brookings, 255 fans showed up. Fast forward to September 2, 2026, when the Jackrabbits hosted #1-ranked Nebraska: First Bank and Trust Arena sold out with over 5,100 fans, setting an all-time arena attendance record. Remarkably, the arena was approximately 90-95% blue despite Nebraska bringing a large traveling fan base. Nationally, SDSU ranks in the top five or ten in total attendance among comparable mid-major and high-major programs.

Georgalas described how Jackrabbits Volleyball has been one of the most dominant programs in the country over the past two seasons. In 2024, SDSU went 22-0 before suffering their first loss, making them the last undefeated team in all of Division I volleyball, which is a field of more than 350 schools. In 2025, they went 23-5 overall with a perfect 16-0 in Summit League play. Combined across those two seasons, the Jackrabbits went 50-8, won two Summit League championships, and earned two NCAA Tournament at-large bids.

The current 2026 season shows a 4-7 record, but context is everything. Georgalas noted that SDSUís strength of schedule ranks it 30th in the nation, and all seven of its early losses came against teams projected to make the NCAA Tournament – Nebraska, Tulsa, Kansas, Washington, Minnesota, Villanova, and Pepperdine.

Georgalas discussed standout players who make this yearís Jackrabbit squad worth watching. Sylvie Zgonc is a back-to-back Summit League Player of the Year and former Freshman of the Year. She is one of only two players in the country pursuing a third consecutive conference Player of the Year award. She has accumulated over 550 kills and sits approximately 250 kills away from the all-time SDSU kills record. Zgonc touches 3.5î above a standard 10-foot basketball rim and plays all six rotations.

Alongside her is sophomore outside hitter Hannah Klein, who touches an impressive 6.5" above a standard basketball rim and is considered one-half of the best outside hitter duo in the Summit League.

Rounding out the roster is Brooklyn Meyer, a former four-time SDSU womenís basketball champion who joined the volleyball team as a one-year player at middle blocker. Georgalas said that the transition has been challenging given the rigorous non-conference schedule, but Meyer has shown promise in more favorable matchups.

Georgalas also touched on the landscape of menís volleyball, noting that only approximately 40-50 Division I menís programs exist nationally, a number constrained largely by Title IX requirements and the financial dominance of football within athletic departments. A national initiative called "Grow the Game" is working to expand boys volleyball as a sanctioned high school sport. Currently, only about 20-25 states sanction it; South Dakota is not among them.

Georgalas closed by encouraging Rotary members to attend the Summit Tournament, November 22-24, at SDSU.

Fall harvest bazaar and supper set

Grace Free Lutheran Church in Bruce invites the public to its Annual Fall Supper and Bazaar on Oct. 3, serving from 5-7 p.m. The menu includes Swedish meatballs, lefse, apple crisp and more. Tickets are $15 for adults, $5 for children from  5-10 and free for children age 4 and under.  Take- out   meals are  available. To place your order, call (605) 627 5445 during the festival hours. The church is handicap accessible. The Bazaar will include lefse, baked goods, craft items and garden produce. There will be a drawing that evening for the Grace Quilterís Annual Fundraising Quilt for a donation of $1 a ticket or $5 for 6 tickets.