Winner While traveling to Winner, I drove south on Highway 47 to 49 and finally to 44 west. I have traveled to Winner via this route before, but as I traveled south on 47 I had a new appreciation for the countryside that I saw. Traveling around the state has made me realize just how beautiful the state of South Dakota is and just how lucky we are to be able to have so many scenic variations.
When I arrived at Winner, the first thing I recall seeing was a sign on a building that reads “Welcome to Winner, Home of Frank Leahy” (Frant Leahy played football for Notre Dame from 1928-1931 and was also head coach for Notre Dame). I was a little early, so I drove around town to check it out and see some of the town that I had not seen this past winter while driving through to the Armory for a wrestling tournament. Winner is another wonderful town in South Dakota and I encourage everyone to visit!
I failed to ask Electrical Superintendent Myles McIntyre where he wanted to meet upon my arrival, so of course, I went directly to Winner City Hall. City Hall, which was the old Winner Middle School, has been purchased by the
The old Winner Middle School now houses City Hall. 20
city. There is also an SDSU Extension office in the building. I walked in and was greeted by Finance Officer Rhonda Augspurger, Public Works Director Brent Gill and Mayor Frank Finney. I also quickly found out that Myles does not have an office in the building and they needed to call him to come show me around. At this point, I felt like I needed to communicate a little better!
Myles arrived and proceeded to show me around town. The first thing that we decided to check out was the substation which is located just south of town. It is a WAPA sub and has a bay for the City of Winner, as well as a bay for Rosebud Electric.
WAPA Substation: Winner bay to the north, Rosebud Electric bay to the south.
We also drove to a couple of locations where the Electric Department has been working on installing underground services. Earlier this summer, in August, they were working on installing 1,000 feet of underground primary and Myles informed me that they usually install 2,000 feet per year. They also have a boring machine and bore their secondary to the houses. Winner has been making progress on converting some troubled overhead to underground and are excited to continue to make improvements to their system. WMU also tries to replace power poles in the fall. SOUTH DAKOTA MUNICIPALITIES
