News briefs - July 22, 2026

OLLI plans fall social meeting
The Brookings Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) announces their upcoming fall social and invites the public to learn all about OLLI and what the fall semester has to offer.

This community get-together will take place on Aug. 5, from 10 a.m.-noon, at The Children’s Museum of South Dakota, 521 4th Street in Brookings.

The social, sponsored by Brookings First Bank & Trust, will be held in the Community Room on the second floor of the museum.

There will be complimentary breakfast pastries and cookies along with hot coffee and iced tea.
In addition, there will drawings for many door prizes, OLLI fall class information and featured speaker, V. J. Smith.

The topic of Smith’s talk is “A Grateful Nation” which will cover the significance of gratitude in our lives. He’ll also focus on “The Greatest Generation”, those that gave us the country we live in and how we must remember their sacrifices and be forever grateful.

You do not need to be a current OLLI member to attend the social and are welcome to bring a friend. Join us for a relaxing morning enjoying refreshments and fellowship while learning about

OLLI and getting the latest information on the upcoming semester of outstanding classes.

Although oriented towards retired or semi-retired individuals, OLLI welcomes adults of all ages and education levels to become members. Through membership, inquisitive and active adults are brought together in their communities to engage their minds and senses by continued learning for the love of it.

There are no tests or grades; just fun and attaining knowledge of the world around us.

Register for OLLI Fall Semester
To attain a 2026 fall catalog, call the OLLI office at 605-274-9528 or email OLLI@usd.edu for a link to 2026 fall e-catalog. Catalogs will also be distributed to various public businesses in Brookings. Visit the OLLI website at www.usd.edu/olli to become a member and register for classes.

Fall class on-line registration starts on Wednesday, Aug. 12 at 9 a.m.

You can join OLLI at any time; however, it is advised to obtain your membership a few days ahead of the course registration date.

Rotary hears data center research
Devan Schaefer, Brookings Rotary Club president, presented research he had written exploring data centers and South Dakota. The paper was created for the Dakota Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan economic research organization focused on South Dakota and the Great Plains.
The presentation began with an overview of the four types of data centers: edge (small, company-level facilities like a bank’s internal server), enterprise (larger company facilities), co-location (a landlord model where processing power is rented out), and hyperscale (massive facilities operated by companies like Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI). Schaefer noted that hyperscalers are the type generating the most public attention and debate, and that two had been proposed for South Dakota — a 430-megawatt facility in Deuel County and a Sioux Falls facility tied to Google’s Gemini platform.

On the topic of energy consumption, Schaefer explained that a 500-megawatt data center — such as the one proposed for Sioux Falls — would consume enough electricity to power roughly 350,000 South Dakota homes. Nationally, data center energy consumption nearly tripled from approximately 60 to 176 terawatts between 2023 and 2024, driven largely by the expansion of AI platforms. Schaefer noted that energy demand projections are exponential rather than linear, raising significant questions about grid capacity. The key efficiency metric discussed was PUE (Power Usage Effectiveness), which measures total facility energy consumed relative to energy used purely for computing. The national average PUE in 2024 was 1.56, with best-in-class facilities reaching 1.1, indicating meaningful room for improvement.

Schaefer then turned to why South Dakota is an attractive location for data centers. Approximately 80% of South Dakota’s in-state electricity generation is renewable — primarily wind and hydro — which is highly appealing to large tech companies that must report green energy usage to shareholders. The cold climate also reduces cooling costs for the GPUs and CPUs inside data centers, which is one of their largest operating expenses. Additionally, South Dakota has no corporate income tax and a favorable business tax environment. However, the Schaefer noted that South Dakota’s industrial electricity rates are slightly above the national average at roughly 9 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is a less competitive factor compared to some neighboring states.

Schaefer highlighted that the 2026 South Dakota legislative session proactively passed new regulations, including a no pass-through provision, that prevent data centers from passing increased electricity costs directly to consumers. This legislation was cited as the reason the Deuel County project backed out, while the Sioux Falls facility remained approved to proceed. Schaefer noted that these consumer protections were put in place before any hyperscaler had even arrived in the state.

Schaefer also addressed South Dakota’s connection to the broader regional electrical grid through the Mid-Continent Independent System Operator (MISO), which serves South Dakota and 15 neighboring states. MISO approved a new transmission plan with 24 projects totaling approximately $21.8 billion, with two of those transmission lines crossing through South Dakota. Schaefer’s key point was that even if South Dakota chooses not to host data centers, it might still bear some share of grid upgrade costs driven by data center demand in neighboring states, meaning the state is not entirely insulated from the broader regional impact.

On the economic side, Schaefer noted that hyperscale data centers do bring large capital investment and a significant spike in construction jobs, but once operational, typically require only 100 to 200 people to run the facility. An audience member added from personal experience that at a fully operational hyperscale facility, security personnel actually outnumber tech workers, pointing to security as a key employment category. Schaefer acknowledged that labor pool limitations in South Dakota could be a factor in site selection decisions by some companies.

The presentation closed with the Schaefer’s core takeaway: the question is not simply whether South Dakota should or should not pursue data centers, but rather, if the state is going to do it, it must ensure adequate consumer protections are in place and carefully weigh the costs and benefits. Schaefer pointed to the 2026 legislative session as a positive example of proactive policymaking and encouraged attendees to read the full article on the Dakota Institute website, where free research and interactive municipal tax dashboards are also available.

Schaefer emphasized having no political affiliation or lobbyist ties, and that his goal was simply to present data-driven trade-offs for decision makers to consider.

HWY patrol checkpoints planned
PIERRE — The South Dakota Highway Patrol will hold sobriety checkpoints in 12 counties throughout the month of August. Checkpoints are planned for Brown, Brookings, Campbell, Codington, Davison, Hand, Jackson, Jerauld, Lyman, Meade, Stanley, and Yankton counties.

The enforcement effort is aimed at reducing impaired driving and improving roadway safety. Funding for the checkpoints is provided by the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety, and operations will be carried out by the Highway Patrol in coordination with local law enforcement agencies.

Motorists are reminded to make responsible choices and avoid driving after drinking alcohol, whether or not a checkpoint is planned in their area. Drivers who plan to drink should arrange for a designated sober driver or use public or commercial transportation.

Both the South Dakota Office of Highway Safety and the South Dakota Highway Patrol are agencies of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

Man killed in skid steer accident
An Elkton man was killed after he was ejected from the skid loader he was operating near town.

First responders were were requested to a residence on SD Hwy 13 near 483rd Ave for an accident involving a skid loader on July 14.

According to a release from the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office, responding units arrived and located Shane Brown, 40 of Elkton, with unknown injuries.

An investigation was made at the scene and responders found Shane was using the skid steer for a construction project. While operating the Case 1845B skid loader, Shane was ejected from the tractor and was trapped underneath. Other individuals on scene were able to free Shane from underneath the skid loader. Life saving measures were attempted on scene but were unsuccessful.

This case remains under investigation by the Brookings County Sheriff’s Office and the Brookings County Coroner.

— From staff reports