News Briefs September 9, 2026

Birding club meeting tonight

The Brookings Birding Club will have its September meeting on Wednesday, September 9 at 7 p.m. in the Larson Nature Center at Dakota Nature Park. Our speaker will be Cole Heronimus, a Senior Wildlife and Fisheries Science major at SDSU.

Cole will talk about the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies and the Integrated Monitoring in Bird Conservation Regions Project and how they work towards bird conservation. He will also talk about his personal experience working as an Avian Field Technician in the Northern Great Plains this summer.
Brookings Birding Club meetings are free and open to all interested persons. Please bring a friend.

Rotary hears from men’s hoops coach
BROOKINGS — Bryan Petersen, head coach of the South Dakota State University Men’s Basketball program, served as the featured speaker at the weekly Brookings Rotary Club meeting. He provided members with an in-depth look at the upcoming season, roster updates, and the program’s continued commitment to the Brookings community.

Coach Petersen opened his remarks by connecting the Rotary Club’s mission to the values at the heart of the SDSU men’s basketball program.

“Whenever I have the chance to come over here, I kind of think about our core values, two of them in particular: selflessness and gratitude,” Petersen told the group.

He noted that the Brookings community itself has become a powerful recruiting tool, citing two commitments already secured in the program’s 2027 recruiting class, with the warmth and acceptance of Brookings named as a primary reason those recruits chose SDSU.

Petersen highlighted the program’s ability to retain 7 of 12 eligible returners — a figure he described as exceptionally high in today’s college basketball landscape. Key returning players include leading scorer Joe Sayler from White River, South Dakota, along with Kalen Garry, Trey Buchanan, Alec Squires, Davis Kern, Jaden Rogers, and Jadyn Cascio-Jensen.

The program also welcomed three freshmen to the roster:

Blake Ellwein — a South Dakota state championship player who has added approximately 25 pounds in the offseason

Cam Swearengen — a 6’5” wing from Knoxville, Tennessee who fell in love with Brookings during his campus visit

Semaj Stampley — an all-time leading scorer from Alton, Illinois, praised for his leadership qualities

Four transfers round out the new additions:

Jon MeKonnen — a 6’7” athletic forward from Colorado State, originally from the Twin Cities

Jesse Van Kalsbeek— the Debo Francis Award winner, recognized as the best non-Division I player in the country during his sophomore season at Northwestern (Orange City, Iowa)

EJ Ryans — a 6’3” guard from Western Michigan, described as a tireless worker and natural leader

Myles Thompson — a 6’7” forward from SIU Edwardsville, a national championship winner at Barton Community College and NCAA tournament participant

Most recently, the program announced the signing of Youssouf Yatabare, a 6’9”–6’10” forward from France with international professional basketball experience, who just recently arrived in Brookings.

Petersen expressed gratitude for the stability of his coaching staff, noting that nearly the entire staff returned for the new season. The one departure, assistant coach Cole Christian, accepted a similar position at North Texas. In his place, the program welcomed Jahenns Manigat, a former Creighton University player who competed professionally for 10 years and most recently worked with the Creighton and Murray State staffs.

Petersen announced that the Jackrabbits will play eight non-conference home games this season — the most during his tenure at SDSU. Schedule highlights include a home game against Valparaiso University (Missouri Valley Conference); the season opener at Kansas State University; a return trip to Rapid City against the University of Northern Colorado Bears; and a game at the Sanford Pentagon against Green Bay.

Petersen identified key areas of improvement heading into the season, including defensive length and athleticism, scoring in the paint, and getting to the free throw line.

Official practice is set to begin around September 20, following approximately four weeks of preseason preparation.

United Way begins fundraiser
Brookings Area United Way’s annual fundraising campaign, which supports nearly 50 local nonprofits, programs, and collaborations, will kick off with help from two local businesses.

Scooter’s Coffee will help launch the campaign by donating 100% of food and drink sales from 5:30 am to 8 pm on September 15, 2026.

Individuals, businesses, and large groups are encouraged to visit the 22nd Avenue location in Brookings to pick up food and drinks for friends and coworkers. Online and Doordash orders are included as well.

Sanderson Gardens in Aurora will continue the fundraising effort with another special day of giving. On October 1, 100% of proceeds from pick-your-own pumpkins and raspberries sold from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. will be donated to Brookings Area United Way. The public is encouraged to bring containers and fill up. Guests may also take a hayride to the pumpkin patch from 4 to 7 p.m. for a freewill donation.

“These are simple ways for people to support the community while enjoying activities they may already share with friends or family,” said Randy Grimsley, United Way Development Director. “Participants can feel good knowing their involvement benefits the community.”

Brookings Area United Way has served people throughout Brookings County for more than 70 years. This year, the organization expects to need $1.2 million to fulfill local nonprofit funding requests and sustain essential programming.

For more information, please contact Brookings Area United Way at uw@brookingsunitedway.org or by calling 605-692-4979.

Kids run free at Jack 15
The 64th running of the Jack 15 road race will include a free kids on race day morning with T-shirts for all participants.

Miller Wellness Center at South Dakota State University is conducting the race in cooperation with the Prairie Striders running club-sponsored adult race on Sept. 19.

Registration is required and will be conducted on the south side of the Coughlin Campanile on the SDSU campus.

Registration begins at 10 a.m. with the race at 10:45 a.m. Distances are .1 of a mile for age 5 and under, .25 mile for ages 6-8 and .5 mile for ages 9 and older.

Ash trees can go now year-round
BROOKINGS – The City of Brookings is updating its ash tree removal guidelines now that emerald ash borer is present throughout the community. Effective August 2026, ash trees may be removed any time of the year.

Brookings’ seasonal moratorium on ash tree removal was originally established after EAB was confirmed in the community in 2024. At that time, the infestation was concentrated in the eastern section of the city. The moratorium was intended to slow the spread of the insect into other areas of the community by limiting the movement of ash trees during the EAB’s active period.

The updated ash tree removal guidelines take effect immediately. Property owners are encouraged to address dead, declining, or EAB-infested ash trees in a timely manner, before they become a safety concern.

“The spread of EAB was inevitable,” said Park, Recreation and Forestry Assistant Director Josh Bauman. “Our goal was to slow the spread while the infestation was localized, giving us more time to prepare for the impact on our urban forest. Now that EAB can be found throughout our community, our priority is shifting to removing dead and declining ash trees before they become safety hazards.”

Allowing ash trees to be removed year-round will give property owners and tree-removal services greater flexibility to address trees that are dead or declining from the infestation. This will help prevent removal services from becoming backlogged and allow hazardous trees to be addressed in a more timely manner.

EAB is an invasive boring beetle that feeds on all species of North American ash trees and, without treatment, kills the trees. It was first detected in the United States in 2002 and in South Dakota in 2018.

The City of Brookings Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department has been preparing for the arrival and impact of EAB since 2018 and follows the City’s EAB Management Plan. Before EAB was confirmed in Brookings, the department proactively removed less desirable and weaker canopy ash trees from City-owned property as one strategy to help slow the eventual spread of the insect.