Sensational Sunflowers Sunflower market blooms Pages 8-9 Everyone’s welcome in the Chislic Circle Pages 12-13 CONNECTIONS ERATIVE This year’s sunflower crop is expected to be bountiful as market forces have driven up demand and prices BON HOMME YANKTON ELECTRIC SEPTEMBER 2022 VOL. 23 NO. 5
Hopefully, you can be reassured that because B-Y Electric is in the teamwork business, we have insulated our members from unreliability and high-cost power. In fact, because of our relationship with Basin Electric and East River Electric, B-Y Electric is in a great cost-effective and reliable power position.
2 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2022 MANAGER’S COLUMN
For more information, call our office at (605) 463-2507 or email horst@byelectric.com
After 51 years, it is reaching its load serving capabilities. Expanding the existing Gavins Point substation is not an option due to existing land restrictions and adjacent property development. To address the load growth and reliability needs, East River evaluated several options based on cost, reliability impacts, and feasibility. As a result of its analysis, East River has proposed a new Lewis & Clark substation and associated transmission line to feed the area which takes pressure off the Gavins Point substation.Thisnew substation would be located on Deer Boulevard south of Stringer’s Bar and Grill which is near the high load growth area. This new substation and transmission line would also provide a redundant power source, provide capacity for future load growth, and provide stronger ties for load transfers during system outages.
Stephanie Horst horst@byelectric.com
Basin Electric and East River Electric continue to invest millions of dollars each year in generation and transmission assets to improve reliability. It is B-Y Electric’s mission to provide safe, reliable, cost-effective power to our members, and we could not do it without Basin Electric and East River Electric’s help.
“Many hands make light work” emphasis on teamwork and cooperation to get something easily done reminds me that solely relying on ourselves can be isolating and hard. Times where independence and “I can do it myself” is the stance people want to have, challenges the concept of relying on each other more and more, especially in the electric industry.
Basin Electric is our generation cooperative and East River Electric is our transmission cooperative. Basin Electric ensures that when we demand power there is generation to provide it. East River Electric ensures that this power has the capability to get to B-Y Electric where we can then deliver it to each meter.
I am encouraged since we have this “many hands” arrangement with East River and Basin Electric, that we will continue to provide electricity that our members can count on now and in the future.
Lewis and LakeGrowthSubstationClarktoAddressinYanktonArea This new substation and transmission line would also provide a redundant power source, provide capacity for future load growth, and provide stronger ties for load transfers during system outages.
Currently, B-Y Electric is experiencing explosive growth in the Lewis and Clark Lake area creating a reliability concern. This area is served by the Gavins Point substation that was built to serve the area in 1970.
4035302520151050 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 July 2022 Solar Stats Consumer Directly Energy to Grid SEPTEMBER 2022 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 3 BOARD REPORT CONNECTIONSYANKTONERATIVEBONHOMMEELECTRIC (USPS No. 018-973) Bon Homme Yankton Electric Association, Inc PO 134158S.Lidice St. Tabor, SD 57063 Office Hours: Monday through Friday 7:30am - 4:00pm To pay by phone, call: 1-888-395-5315 To report an outage, call: Local call from Tabor, Tyndall, and Yankton: 605-463-2507 NOTICE: Electric bills must be paid by 10:00am on the 20th of each month to avoid a $10 late fee. Board President: Paul Voigt Board of Directors Dave Sykora - Vice President Dave Sternhagen - Secretary Robert Ruppelt - Treasurer Dean Sternhagen John Lillevold Rick Cheloha General Manager: Stephanie Horst Operations Manager: Ken Carda Office Manager: Nicole Einrem Marketing/Communications Coordinator & Editor: Jaclyn Arens Bon Homme Yankton Electric Cooperative Connections is the monthly publication for the members of Bon Homme Yankton Electric Association, Inc, PO Box 158, 134 S. Lidice St., Tabor, SD 57063-0158. Families subscribe to Cooperative Connections as part of their electric cooperative membership. The purpose of Bon Homme Yankton Electric Cooperative Connections is to provide reliable, helpful information to electric cooperative members on electric cooperative matters and better rural living. Subscription information: Cooperative members devote 50 cents from their monthly electric payments for a subscription. Non-member subscriptions are available for $12 annually. Periodicals postage paid at Tabor, SD 57063. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Bon Homme Yankton Electric Cooperative Connections, PO Box 158, Tabor, SD 57063; telephone (605) 463-2507; fax (605) 463-2419 Year-to-Date Comparison June-21 June-22 Total Revenue ................................$1,109,467 .................................................. $978,744 Cost of Power.................................... $655,044 .................................................. $580,981 Total Cost of Service $952,532 $927,714 KWH’s Purchased ............................ 9,754,208.................................................. 8,126,729 Residential Average kWh .......................1,440.......................................................... 1,325 Residential Average Bill $178 $169 Welcome New Members Avon Mark Johnson Josh Rucktaeschel Menno Hertz Ranch Inc Mission Hill Rodney Grate Tabor Thomas & Mary Widdowson Rhett Johnson Utica Verde Outdoor Media, LLC Jordan Smith Yankton Mark Sorlie Gary & Karan Wolken Buck Properties LLC TL Real Estate, LLC Dan Hoff Jarvis Guill David & Brenda Bader David DustinCrumrine&Andrea Hinker Edward & Justina Smith Virginia Wait Dale & Glenda Bakke The July board meeting was held on July 20, at 8am. All board members were present. Others present were Attorney Sheila Woodward, General Manager Stephanie Horst, Operations Manager Ken Carda, Communications/Marketing Coordinator Jaclyn Arens, and guest employee Linda Schenkel. JULY BOARD REPORT THE BOARD REVIEWED CONSENT AGENDA: • Minutes of the Previous Meeting • New Members & Cancellations • Capital Credits to Estates Discounted$3,250 • Closed Work Order Inventory - $99,894 • Review Special Equipment purchasesnone THE BOARD REVIEWED AND APPROVED: • Communication/Marketing Report • Annual Meeting Logistics • Operations & Safety Report • Office & Financial Reports • 2021 990 Review and 990T Tax Return Review • General Manager Report • East River Cyber Secuirty/IT Report • Director Reports • Legal Report • Rescind as June 1, 2022 Policy 50-22 2022 Dakota Plains Market Rate • Policy 50-22.1 2022 Cargill, Inc Large Load Rate • NRECA Voting Delegate/Alternate for Region 6 • 2022 2nd Quarter Board Expense • Executive Session - Enter & Exit • Next Meeting date set for Wed, August 17, at 8am DaykWhof the month
Take safety precautions during harvest season
FARM SAFETY 4 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2022
Harvest season brings long, grueling hours in the field, which can make workers weary and prone to neglect safety precautions that can prevent serious or fatal electrical injuries. Every year, an average of 62 farmworkers are electrocuted in the U.S., and many more are injured by shocks.
To see a video of this event and learn more about how electric cooperatives serve our members, visit Cooperative Connections Plus by scanning the QR code at right.
Farm operators, their family members and farm employees are urged to beware of overhead power lines, to keep farm equipment safely away and to know what to do if accidental contact is made with power lines.
• Use a spotter when moving tall loads near power lines.•Inspect farm equipment for transport height and determine clearance with any power lines under which the equipment must pass.
Maintain a minimum 10-foot radius around electric lines.Portable augers are the No. 1 cause of electrocution on the farm. Augers being maneuvered by hand around bin sites have caused the deaths of many farmworkers who became the path to ground for electricity when the top of the auger touched overhead power lines. Always retract or lower augers when moving or transporting.
• Make sure everyone knows what to do if accidental contact is made with power lines. These accidents are survivable if the right actions are taken.
The increasing size of farm equipment, particularly grain tanks on combines that have become higher with extensions, allows operators to come perilously close to overhead power lines over entrances to fields. It is vital to keep equipment safely away from these lines.
Beware of the green box
A group of high school students recently gathered together to take a trip and learn how electricity is produced and how it is used to power their homes, farms, appliances and local businesses.Thestudents traveled to Bismarck, N.D., to tour the power generation facilities of Basin Electric, which supplies electricity across nine states and is one of the largest power producers in the country.
Kids, send your drawing with an electrical safety tip to your local electric cooperative (address found on Page 3). If your poster is published, you’ll receive a prize. All entries must include your name, age, mailing address and the names of your parents. Colored drawings are encouraged.
Other equipment commonly involved in power line accidents includes oversized wagons, large combines and other tall Harvestequipment.isthemost likely period for farm-related injury accidents and fatalities. Combines and other equipment loaded onto trailers can contact power lines and cause electrocutions, as can raising the bed of a truck to unload. That’s exactly how a 53-year-old Michigan truck driver was tragically killed when he raised the bed of his semitrailer truck while parked beneath a power line at the edge of a field. He was attempting to clean out the bed, and when he touched the truck bed, he became the path to ground for the electricity.Followthese safety measures:
PRODUCEDPOWERLEARNSTUDENTSHOWIS
Cambrie Koistinen Cambrie, age 11, advises electric cooperative members to use caution around pad-mounted transformers, also known as green boxes, because they contain high-voltage power equipment. Cambrie is the child of Lance and Holly Koistinen of Hayti.
FROMFRESH GARDENTHE
1 1/2 lb tomatoes on the vine sliced in segments
CREAMY CUCUMBER SALAD
1Ingredients:8-oz.pkg.cream cheese, softened 1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix (dry)
1 mini loaf of cocktail rye bread
1-1/21/254112Ingredients:lbs.zucchinilbs.frozenspinachchoppedonionclovesofgarlicbeateneggscupsaladoilcupcrackercrumbs (save 1/2 cup for top)
3/4 tsp. onion powder
Cook and drain first four ingredients. Add eggs, salad oil, cracker crumbs and cheddar cheese. Add salt, pepper and parsley to taste. Spread the remaining crumbs and cheese on top. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
The night before serving the cucumber sandwiches, mix together the cream cheese and the Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix. Refrigerate overnight. Shortly before serving, spread some of the cream cheese mixture on a slice of the cocktail rye bread. Top with a slice of cucumber and sprinkle with dill weed.
Elaine Rieck, Harrisburg
1-1Ingredients:lb.pkg.veggie spiral noodles
1 c. chopped celery 1 bag frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup red onion thinly sliced (optional) 3 tbsp dill finely chopped 2 small garlic cloves grated 1/2 cup sour cream
CUCUMBER SANDWICHES
1/3 c. sugar METHOD Cook noodles according to package directions, drain and rinse. Mix ingredients together in a bowl and set aside. Mix until blended and pour over salad. Stir until well blended.
1 cucumber, sliced fresh dill weed, chopped METHOD
ZUCCHINI CASSEROLESPINACH
2 1/2 c. diced ham
CHERI’S SALAD
RECIPES SEPTEMBER 2022 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 5
Please send your favorite recipes to your local electric cooperative (address found on Page 3). Each recipe printed will be entered into a drawing for a prize in December 2022. All entries must include your name, mailing address, phone number and cooperative name.
1-1/2 cup cheddar cheese (save 1/2 for top) METHOD
Jan Antonen, Arlington
Glenda Morton, Sioux Falls
1Ingredients:1/2longEnglish cucumbers cut in half moons
1 tbsp. mustard 1 tbsp. sweet pickle juice
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp Groundsaltblack pepper to taste METHOD In a large bowl, add cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, dill, garlic, sour cream, salt and pepper. Stir gently from the bottom in the center of the bowl until well combined. Serve salad within next six hours or so. ifoodreal.com
Dressing: 1/2 c. mayonnaise
GIVING BACK 6 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2022 Supporting Our Local Schools Electric cooperatives in South Dakota do not pay property tax on their electric utility systems such as poles, wires, and transformers. Instead, electric cooperatives pay a kilowatt hour tax. This tax is based on the kilowatt hours that are sold to their members during the previous year. School districts in our service area have received $301,595 in gross kWh tax as a result of electric sales to members of Bon Homme Yankton Electric in 2021. The table breaks down the gross kWh taxes paid by Bon Homme Yankton Electric, East River Electric on our purchases of electricity and Basin Electric’s tax based on kWh sales to East River on behalf of our members. Taxes From Providers Bon Homme Yankton Electric $154,064 East River Electric Co-op 80,491 Basin Electric Power Co-op 67,040 Total $301,595 Taxes To Schools Avon 4-1 $15,022 Bon Homme 4-2 70,883 Scotland 4-3 26,723 Menno 33-2 10,316 Tripp-Delmont 33-4 2,886 Viborg 60-5 944 Irene 63-2 16,230 Yankton 63-3 158,591 Total $301,595 Small Change That's Changing Lives COMING SOON! Simply Round Up your electric bill and make a difference in the lives of people in our community. Operation Round Up® is a voluntary program in which B-Y Electric members pool their resources to help those in need. All B-Y Electric members will be automatically enrolled on November 1, 2022. If you would like to opt out, please call our office or email ebiz@byelectric.com. Find more information at byelectric.coop/operation-round-up.
PROJECTS
Loss Control Professional Tyson Brooks from the South Dakota Rural Electric Association (SDREA) conducted the training this July. In an emergency situation, the first step is to call in the mayday and make sure help is on the way. The office personnel practiced the steps in responding to a mayday on the Meanwhile,radio. the rescuer climbs the pole, anchors a rope with a screwdriver or wraps it over the cross arm. After it is securely tied around the victim, the climbing belt is cut allowing the rescuer to slowly lower him to theTheground.crews also practiced bucket rescue and made sure everyone knows how to run the lower controls on all of the bucket trucks. SDREA also conducted dielectric testing on all our bucket trucks to test their ability to insulate workers in the bucket. This testing is done twice a year. To wrap up, I have a few reminders. Don’t cut safety corners while harvesting this fall because harvesting around power lines can be deadly. If your equipment does make contact with a power line, stay in the vehicle and call us at (605) 463-2507 or call 911.
In other operations news, RAM Utilities completed our annual pole inspection this May. We test all our poles on a 10-year rotating schedule. Pole testing increases the reliability and safety of our electric system, and it is one of the many ways we increase safety for our employees and our members. This year RAM Utilities inspected 1832 poles and only 32 of those were rejected. This fall, we hope to continue working on our large 600 amp project from Gavins substation to Oak Hills. If you remember, that is our project to install large single-phase and three-phase cabinets that can handle higher amps to keep up with the load growth in the west Yankton lake area. We are currently 75% done with this project, but we are waiting on a few more cabinets to be delivered to complete it. Despite the ongoing battle to order material, our lineman have stayed busy this summer constructing 32 new services, changing out poles after our 2021 pole inspection and the May storm, replacing bad cable for farm tap/irrigation services, and retiring old services. Our electricians have also been extremely busy. They are continuously troubleshooting and taking miscellaneous service calls. Wes Kloucek has taken over our Load Control Receiver change out project while Kevin Meyer has been doing irrigation panel work, trenching secondary lines for consumers, replacing old wire, and helping convert overhead lines to underground. They were both kept busy after the May 12th storm on repair projects for consumers.
Global supply chain issues continue to affect our co-op, but we are hoping to have enough supply to hold us through the rest of the year and into next year. Transformers are especially difficult to come by with lead times currently around 50 to 150 weeks. This is why it is extremely important that you contact us early with any projects you have going on this year and even looking into 2023 and 2024.
September Operations Update
Ken Carda
top rescue. Alex Caba pole top rescue. Nathan Kloucek pole top rescue. Wes Kloucek and Tyler Suess dielectric testing.
OPERATIONS UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2022 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 7
B-Y Electric employees are re-certified in pole top rescue each year as part of our robust safety training program.
2022
kcarda@byelectric.comLtoR:GunnarDallypole
SAFETY TRAINING
“Ukraine was the largest producer of sunflowers and the largest exporter of sunflower oil on the world market with about 50 percent of the overall market, but a lot of their crop has been destroyed or confiscated by the Russian military. That’s one of the things that have driven prices up, and it’s been good for the Highfarmers.”pricesand high returns are keeping Schecher interested in raising sunflowers, but sometimes he has his doubts. Especially when he gets tired of fighting the fires, a battle that all sunflower farmers are bound to face at someSchecherpoint. said that for all the eye appeal sunflowers hold, it’s not always easy to bring in the crop. He explained that reaping the high-yield, high-oleic variety that he grows for the sunoil market can cause fires to break out during the combining process in the
Sunflower commodity prices are making farmers smile
Commodity prices have broken all-time records by soaring 60 percent compared to a year ago.
Wall Drug billboards, old red barns and shiny grain bins are no match for the attention of motorists along I-90 when the sunflowers are bursting forth in all their spectacular yellow splendor stretching far into the horizon.
The subject of many aerial and terrestrial photographers across the region, sunflowers have a special appeal as they grow tall in the field and seem to greet the day leaning forward with a positive energy that exudes joy and optimism.Thecurrent sunflower commodity market certainly has given farmers a reason to smile. South Dakota farmers raised nearly 600,000 acres and more than 1 billion pounds of sunflowers last year, ranking second only to North Dakota for sunflower production. In fact, for the past decade the Dakotas and Minnesota have alternated the top three spots in their friendly competition depending largely on the vagaries of weather patterns. At least 75 percent of the U.S. commercial sunflower production has taken place in those threeAboutstates.1,000 of those South Dakota acres were grown by Brad Schecher, a fourth generation farmer who also rotates wheat, corn, flax and soybean crops on his 3,500-acre spread located near Bison in the northwestern part of the state, one of the hot-bed regions for sunflowers.Schecher took over the family farm from his father nearly 10 years ago and said the military conflict in Ukraine and other economic factors have converged to form a “perfect storm” that has constricted international supplies and created a favorable environment for the current global sunflower oil market.
Billy Gibson billy.gibson@sdrea.coop It’s hard to keep from smiling when you’re driving past a field of golden sunflowers in full bloom during the late summer months.
“It’s as good as any of the 10 years I’ve been involved in it,” Schecher said.
8 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2022 KEEP THE BULLISH ON SUNFLOWERS
SEPTEMBER 2022 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 9
Today, agricultural scientists are exploring new uses for the plant while also figuring out how to provide protection from wireworms and other threats. Meanwhile, bullish farmers are keeping their eye on the global markets while exuding the same sense of sunny optimism associated with the sunflowers they work so hard to raise.
BULLISH ON SUNFLOWERS
Brad Schecher farms roughly 1,000 acres of sunflowers near Bison. Photo by Brooke Schecher Estimated number of sunflower acres 600,000 planted in South Dakota in 2021
“I have to keep blowing the combine off when I get to the end of the field to keep a fire from breaking out,” he said. “You can see the accumulated piles of dust start glowing red-hot, and you can usually smell it and get it put out before it gets out of control. It’s a hazard that you just have to contend with. Sometimes it can happen two or three times a day, especially when it’s dry conditions.”Otherfarmers, such as Lance Hourigan of Lemmon, S.D., have addressed this common problem by investing in after-market solutions. Hourigan reached northward across the state border and recruited Stelter Repair out of New Leipzig, N.D., to manufacture an air tower to help reduce the risk of fire during harvest time. Resembling a chimney, the device draws in air from above the combine where there is much less dust and debris billowing from the threshing process, and blows the air over the engine to help it stay cool and clean.
fall. The elevated oil content of the plant - ranging anywhere from 38 to 44 percent - along with the dust that’s created during combining can result in a combustible mixture that is sometimes ignited by the presence of static electricity.Tomake sure he’s prepared, Schecher keeps a battery-operated leaf blower aboard the combine at all times.
While Schecher focuses on the higholeic variety that represents about 80 percent of the market, there are other varieties grown for silage, birdfeed and other uses. Confection sunflowers, grown mostly in the eastern part of the state, are those found bagged up on convenience store shelves, the kind loaded with an assortment of flavors and seasonings and meant for chewing.
While sunflowers are native to the continent, their history in North America can be traced to American Indian tribes in present-day Arizona and New Mexico. Archaeologists have found that these tribes domesticated the crop as early as 3000 B.C. The seed was ground or pounded into flour for cakes, mush or bread. Some tribes mixed the meal with vegetables such as beans and squash. The seed was cracked and eaten for snacking, while the oil was squeezed from the seed and used in making bread. Non-food uses included purple dye for textiles, body painting and other decorations. Parts of the plant were used to treat snakebites. The oil was used on the skin and hair, and the dried stalk was used as a building material.
BASIN2022 TOUR
10 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2022
jarens@byelectric.com
For most people, electricity is as easy as turning on a light switch. That is a good thing because it means that we are doing our jobs at Bon Homme Yankton Electric to provide safe and reliable power. However, delivering electricity is not as easy as turning on a light switch. Electricity takes a long journey from the generation source to your living room every day. On July 12-14, 45 cooperative members and 4 employees learned about that journey during our biyearly Basin Tour of the co-op power plants in natural gas, wind, and nuclear to our wholesale power supplier East River Electric before reaching our members’ homes. This year’s power supply excursion was led by Marketing and Communications Coordinator Jaclyn Arens along with Clay-Union Electric’s Jackie Williams and Matt Klein from Union County Electric. Lineman Gunnar Dally from B-Y Electric also attended the tour. The first day was spent driving to Bismarck, ND. However along the way, we stopped at East River Electric Power Cooperative in Madison, SD to discover how power supply sources and transmission lines are managed and maintained. That night we ate dinner at the Paddle Trap in Mandan, ND while enjoying a view of the Missouri River.The group began the second day by driving to Beulah, ND. We first toured a model of the Great Plains
The Basin Tour takes members on a fact-finding electrical journey from the origins of the fuel to the flip of the light switch. The electricity that B-Y Electric members receive travels over Basin Electric high voltage power lines from sources such as coal,
NorthEveryDakota.otheryear, B-Y Electric sponsors a power supply tour with our cooperative neighbors ClayUnion Electric and Union County Electric to educate cooperative members about what it takes to provide electricity to our area. The last trip was in 2019, but we had to push back our 2021 trip to this year because of the pandemic.
Jaclyn Arens
Our tour from July 12-14 was a success!
Right top: Participants at East River Electric. Middle: B-Y Electric members Darrell and Mary Kay Cwach and Leon and Marilyn Kathol geared up to tour the Antelope Valley Bottom:Station. Participants touring Bisman Food Co-op.
Synfuels Plant where they use coal and additives to make a variety of by-products including natural gas. Next, participants got an up-close look at power generation resources at Basin Electric’s Antelope Valley Station coal-fired power plant. Members were able to tour all areas of the plant which can generate enough power for 450,000 average homes.Ourfinal stop in Beulah was the Freedom Coal Mine, where members learned about the layer of lignite coal that is first exposed, blasted, scooped, hauled, crushed, and incinerated. The remaining fly ash is recycled into building products while the land is reclaimed to its original state. The bus was able to go all the way into the mine and see the huge equipment up close. After returning to Bismarck, the group toured the Bisman Community Food Co-op. This was the first year we toured the food co-op, and it was a great opportunity to learn about a cooperative in a different industry and support a local business. That night we ate dinner at the Cracker Barrel in Bismarck.
ELECTRICITY TAKES A LONG JOURNEY FROM THE GENERATION SOURCE TO YOUR LIVING ROOM EVERY DAY.
Lily Park in Ft. Pierre that was sponsored by South Dakota Rural Electric Association (SDREA). We then toured the Oahe Dam and learned about hydropower and the Missouri River dam system. East River purchases about 20% of our power from the Missouri River dams via the Western Area Power Administration.Thistourcomes highly recommended by all past participants. They are amazed at the process involved in bringing electricity into their homes. Watch this magazine for updates regarding the next tour tentatively scheduled forSee2024.more photos on our website at byelectric.coop/basintour.
On the last day while traveling home, we had a picnic at Fischers
BASIN TOUR SEPTEMBER 2022 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 11
DamoutsideParticipantstheOaheinPierre.
Billy Gibson billy.gibson@sdrea.coop
If the name Chislic Circle evokes images of a secret society that conducts mysterious midnight rituals around a raging bonfire deep in the forest, well, it’s not quite that. It’s more of a clever marketing concept, and an effective one for community leaders who take pride in their chislic lore. In fact, everyone is invited to come inside this circle. At the center of the Chislic Circle lies Freeman, S.D., with the chislic realm falling inside a 100-mile radius and including communities such as Kaylor, Menno, Hurley, Marion, Bridgewater, Emery and others. The Circle was spun into creation in 2018 when a small but passionate contingent of chislic connoisseurs decided to celebrate and demonstrate their pride in their unique culinaryAndreaheritage.Baerwas part of that early chislic cadre. She said the catalyst came when chislic was officially declared the “state nosh” by the Legislature four years ago.“Before then, when you mentioned chislic outside of the area, there was hardly anyone who knew what you were talking about,” said Baer, who is a native of Turkey Ridge still living on the farm her forebears from Denmark settled several generations ago. “It’s something that’s very unique to the area and we
12 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2022
The plethora of opinions surrounding the preparation of chislic starts with the choice of meat and springboards from there into seasonings, cooking methods and even serving techniques. Grilled, Step inside the Chislic Circle for unique food and lots of family fun deep fried or air fried? Fork, toothpick or skewer? Don’t get a chislic enthusiast started on the sauce selection. Many people and various cultures have a strong attachment to their particular favorite types of food, but South Dakota’s desire for chislic is unusually intense – especially for those who dwell within the Chislic Circle.
Roger and Lori Pietz claimed the New Age Nosh Award at last year’s Chislic Festival in Freeman. Photos by SD Chislic Festival
At least one restaurant is sending the chislic cosmos into spasms by serving up plates of (gasp) “fish-lic.”
CHISLIC
FESTIVALCHISLICFESTIVAL
In a world already rife with scads of dander-raising hot-button issues, add chislic to the list. It seems that anytime more than a few cocksure chislic chefs gather around a grill, controversy can’t be too far away. The bickering typically begins with picking the proper protein. Opt for the traditional scrumptious cubes of mutton or lamb, or take a risk and go hog-wild with pork or maybe buffalo? How about swinging farther to the edge with venison, goat, beef or chicken? Dare we add emu to the list?
Festival board member and chislic expert Ian Tuttle also presented, “From Russia with Love: The History of Chislic” at the nearby Heritage Hall Museum and Archives. Tuttle enjoys telling the story of how chislic arrived in the late 1800s with a particular group of immigrants described as “Germans from Russia.”
“You don’t have to do a whole lot. I just let the flavor of the meat speak for itself,” he said. “Honestly, I never thought I’d win. I just like to cook good food that people enjoy eating.”
like to celebrate it.”
This year’s festival was held on July 30 with the usual food vendors touting their unique savory recipes, libations, live music, a family-friendly kid zone, bingo, dancing, a cornhole competition, 5K run/walk, helicopter rides and other forms of family-oriented fun.
A group of German Mennonites and Hutterites originally fled religious persecution in the 16th century and migrated eastward through the Russian Empire where they raised crops and sheep.They chopped the meat into small pieces, cooked it over a fire and called it “shashlik,” a word for “skewer” rooted in the Turkic languages of Central Asia. The word is a close cousin to the more widely known “shish kebab.”
Eventually, those migrants found their way to present-day southeastern South Dakota and made sure to bring their shashlik with them. Those residing inside the Chislic Circle generally recognize Johann Hoellwarth as the individual who introduced chislic to the Dakota Territory. Born in 1849 to a German Lutheran family in the Crimea, Hoellwarth settled just outside of where Freeman is today and was laid to eternal rest in the town.
For the past two years the top Traditional Division Award has gone to Kyle Sturzenbecker and his squad of Sheep SturzenbeckerFlockers.saidheand his fellow chef Josh Goehring don’t characterize themselves as competitive, but he also isn’t about to give away any trade secrets.
In 2021, the non-traditional New Age Nosh Award was claimed by Roger Pietz, owner of the Pietz Kuchen Kitchen. The establishment is mostly known for its rich custard dessert, but for the festival Pietz decided to go in a different direction and put together a tangy chislic Ultimately,pizza.theChislic Festival is about celebrating family, honoring the past and preserving the rural lifestyle.
“The tradition of chislic comes not from cities, the wealthy, or the privileged,” Baer said, “but from the rural, hardworking farm tradition of the people who settled this area. We thrive on the rural, while building the region through vibrant community.”
That celebration has taken the form of an annual event that’s been recognized by tourism officials as one of the state’s fastest-growing festivals with an estimated 10,000 attendees last year after a pandemic pause in 2020. Organizers were expecting up to a couple thousand for the inaugural event in 2018, but four times that many showed up. The following year, the party was moved from the Freeman softball field to the more spacious 40-acre Prairie Arboretum.
CHISLIC FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 2022 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 13
Each year a panel of seven fearless judges takes on the task of naming the festival’s “best chislic.”
They explored the Bismarck State College campus and stopped at the National Energy Center of Excellence where they participated in a safe driving simulation and learned how electricity is moved from a generation facility across the regional power grid by regional transmission operators.
Youth Excursion
“Electric cooperatives are committed not only to providing safe, affordable power, but also to providing opportunities to educate our future leaders,” said event organizer Jocelyn Johnson of SDREA. “We need to make sure our young people have an understanding of where their power comes from and the complexities of providing grid-scale electricity that’s not only affordable but accessible around the clock.”
A group of 14 high school students from throughout South Dakota participated in the 2022 Youth Excursion to visit Basin Electric Power Cooperative and learn how electricity is produced and distributed. B-Y Electric planned to send three students on this trip, but unfortunately all the selected students were unable to attend.Thegroup’s schedule of events included a tour of Basin Electric headquarters (Bismarck, N.D.), one of the nation’s largest generators of electricity serving more than three million homes, businesses and farms across nine states.
CO-OP NEWS 14 COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS | SEPTEMBER 2022 Local Discounts with your Co-op Connections Cards Your cooperative membership earns you discounts at local participating businesses. Simply show your Co-op Connections Discount Card and save. • Linda’s Angel Crossing in Yankton 20% off 1 Regular Priced Item. • Royal Sport Shop in Yankton 10% discount on in-store purchases. Some exclusions apply. • Head2Heels in Yankton 10% off any regular-priced item. • Mead Cultural Education Center in Yankton $3.00 Off Admission • Olson’s Pest Technicians in Yankton 20% off for new customers. • Elwood Family Dental Care in Yankton Free whitening strips at recare (cleaning) appointments. • Haase’s Main Stop in Scotland $2 Cheese sticks with specialty pizza order and/or Free 32oz fountain drink with a $5 deli purchase • Loving Hands Gifts in Tabor Pay CASH and receive $10 off purchases of $100. For a full list of ways to save, visit www.connections. Tocoop.request a card or become a participating business, call (605) 463-2507 or email jarens@byelectric.com
The students were sponsored by nine electric distribution cooperatives and was organized by the South Dakota Rural Electric Association (SDREA) based in Pierre.
The students also made a trip to Beulah, N.D., to tour the Antelope Valley Station power plant, the Freedom Coal Mine, and the Dakota Gasification Co. facility.
Watch this magazine, our Facebook page, and website for information about our all-expenses paid youth trips next year.
Right: Jaclyn Arens teaches electrical safety information using PowerTown.
Market at the Meridian
SEPTEMBER 2022 | COOPERATIVE CONNECTIONS 15 CO-OP NEWS CLASSIFIEDS October Issue Deadline: September 1, 2022. Email your classified ad to: ebiz@byelectric.com. Members can post one free ad per year. Repeats or longer ads are $1/column inch. • FOR SALE: Older Two Story Farm House 1400 Square Feet. Fairly New Roof And Siding. To Be Moved. Make Offer. Call 605-665-8682 • FOR RENT: 1 bedroom apartment. Tabor Manor. Contact Gary at 605-463-2209 or Ron at 605-463-2256. • Beseda Hall, Tabor, SD for rent for any special occasion such as weddings, anniversaries, graduation or birthdays!For more information contact Linda Bares at 605-661-6220 or snlbares@gmail.com. • FOR RENT: Tabor Self Storage. Call 605-660-0274 or 605-660-3497. Statement non-discriminationof This institution is an equal opportunity provider and employer. If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_ filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.
FREE Classified Ad Service Members can submit classified ads for the following Giveaway,categories:ForSale,For Rent, and Wanted Ads. All ads must be received by the first of the month to be included in the following month’s issue. Ads will run one time unless resubmitted. Bon Homme Yankton Electric reserves the right to edit content or exclude ads due to space restrictions. Email ads to Jaclyn Arens at jarens@byelectric.com.
On July 30th, B-Y Electric was the featured non-profit at Market at the Meridian, the Yankton farmers market. Marketing and Communications Coordinator Jaclyn Arens worked our booth and put on two PowerTown safetyPowerTowndemonstrations.isaninteractive display that uses real electricity to teach children how to be safe around electricity and electrical equipment. We had information on energy efficiency, our rebates and incentives programs, and distributed generation. We also had giveaway items including cook books, electrical safety coloring books, and take home electrical circuit kits. Contact our office at (605) 463-2507 if you would like to arrange a safety demonstration.
REGISTER TO WIN! Bring this coupon and mailing label to the Touchstone Energy® Cooperatives booth at the South Dakota State Fair to win a prize! Your Phone Number:__________________________________________________ Your E-mail Address: To have your event listed on this page, send complete information, including date, event, place and contact to your local electric cooperative. Include your name, address and daytime telephone event.weekssubmittedInformationnumber.mustbeatleasteightpriortoyourPleasecallahead to confirm date, time and location of event. To view the publication’s master event calendar, scan the QR code below: Or visit moreevent-calendarcooperative-connections-https://sdrea.coop/toviewupcomingevents. Note: Please make sure to call ahead to verify the event is still being held. SEPTEMBER 1-5 South Dakota State Fair Photo Credit: SD State Fair AUGUST 19-21 Yankton Riverboat Days Citywide, Yankton, SD, riverboatdays.com AUGUST 20 Yankton Extreme Bull Riding 404 Paddle Wheel Dr., Yankton, SD, 605-760-2153 AUGUST 25-28 Steam Threshing Jamboree Prairie Village, Madison, SD, 605-256-3644 AUGUST 26-27 Hill City Wine, Brew and BBQ Elm St., Hill City, SD, hillcitywine brewandbbq.com AUGUST 26-27 Sizzlin’ Summer Nights Main St., Aberdeen, SD, 605-226-3441
SEPTEMBER 10 Insect Festival McCrory Gardens, Brookings, SD, 605-688-6707
SEPTEMBER 10 Sidewalk Arts Festival Main Avenue, Sioux Falls, SD, 605-367-6000
SEPTEMBER 4 Dakota Five-O City Park, Spearfish, SD, dakotafiveo.com
AUGUST 26-28 Hot Air Balloon Festival Various Locations, Hot Springs, SD, fallriverballoonfest.com
South Dakota State Fair 890 3rd St. SW, Huron, SD, sdstatefair.com
SEPTEMBER 17-18 Northeast South Dakota Celtic Faire and Games 37925 Youth Camp Rd., Aberdeen, SD, 605-622-0144
SEPTEMBER 8-11 S.D. State Senior Games Watertown, SD, 605-491-0635 or 605-753-3668
SEPTEMBER 10 Germanfest Fawick Park, Sioux Falls, siouxfallssistercities.com/eventSD,
SEPTEMBER 24-25 Menno Pioneer Power Show Pioneer Acres, Menno, mennopowershow@yahoo.comSD, SEPT. 29-OCT. 1 Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup & Arts Festival Custer, SD, gfp.sd.gov/buffaloroundup SEPT. 30-OCT. 1 Oktoberfest Citywide, Deadwood, SD, 605-578-1876 SEPT. 30-OCT. 2 SiouxperCon 1201 N West Ave., Sioux Falls, SD, siouxpercon.com
SEPTEMBER 24 Great Downtown Pumpkin Festival Main Street Square, Rapid City, SD, 605-716-7979
SEPTEMBER 16-18 South Dakota Film Festival Capitol Theatre, Aberdeen, SD, southdakotafilmfest.org
SEPTEMBER 1-5
SEPTEMBER 23-24 Hops and Hogs Festival Citywide, Deadwood, SD, 605-578-1876
AUG. 30-SEPT. 4 Sturgis Mustang Rally Thunderdome, Sturgis, sturgismustangrally.comSD,
SEPTEMBER 10 605 Black Hills Classic Lions Park, Spearfish, SD, 605-274-1999
SEPTEMBER 23-25 HNIRC Championship of Champions Stanley County Fairgrounds, Fort Pierre, SD, indianrelay.comhorsenations
