Five KELO radio stations in Sioux Falls, originally owned by Midcontinent Media, were sold Sept. 22 to Backyard Broadcasting, a company based in Baltimore, Md.

Midcontinent, which provides cable and high-speed Internet, sold KELO-AM 1320, KELO-FM 92.5, KRRO-FM 103.7, KTWB-FM 101.9 and KWSN-AM 1230. The purchase price was not disclosed, and the deal is subject to a review by the Federal Communications Commission.

“This sale to Backyard Broadcasting will encourage the continued growth of our stations and staff as part of an exciting national organization dedicated to radio broadcasting,” said Larry Bentson, chairman of Midcontinent in a press release.

KELO radio has been part of Midcontinent since 1952. Midcontinent owned KELO-TV until 1996 when Young Broadcasting purchased the station. The company sold its movie theaters to Carmike Cinemas in 1995.

Midcontinent wants to focus on providing cable, telephone and high-speed Internet services in South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska, according to a Midcontinent press release.

“There is a great deal of sentimentality that goes with this sale,” said Tom Simmons, a Midcontinent executive. “The radio stations were the first major acquisition, 52 years ago, beyond our origins of the movie theaters. They came along with the construction permit for the start of the TV side: KELO-TV,” he said.

Backyard Broadcasting purchased 20 radio stations in Pennsylvania, New York, and Indiana from Sabre Communications Inc. in August 2002. The company now owns 27 radio stations.

The president of Backyard Broadcasting, Barry Drake, has not announced any plans to change the Sioux Falls radio stations. Employees at the Sioux Falls stations will be able to continue their careers here or have the opportunity to work in other markets that are part of Backyard Broadcasting, Drake said in a press release.

“We are careful to grow in selected markets, we look very closely at the technical side, only buying top-notch facilities. And finally, we look for heritage call letters like ‘KELO,’ with a strong community recognition.” Drake said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Automotive Service Center, which is located at 124 w. Folsom st., opened its doors on Sept. 21. Owner and manager Kevin King hopes to provide automotive services to SDSU student.

King is working on letting students use their Hobo Dough for car repairs.

King, who graduated from SDSU in 1994 with a business/economics degree, worked for automotive repair shops while he was in college and said he always wanted to open his own business.

“I felt Brookings needs a more modern approach to automotive services,” King said.

The shop provides maintenance services for both foreign and domestic vehicles, including oil changes, transmission flushes and tire rotation. They also work on brakes, shocks, belts and engines.

“We emphasize maintenance over repairs. You can do maintenance for $40 instead of repairs for $400,” King said.

But the Automotive Service Center provides more than just car maintenance.

“I want to educate our customers, make them comfortable while they wait, and we have a really clean and modern shop,”King said.

The service center will show car parts to customers to explain what caused a problem — a service many repair shops do not provide, King said.

Along with King, the shop also employs main technician Chris Rouge and service technician Jim Straight, an SDSU student.

“It works really well with my school schedule. I can work all day on Tuesday and Thursday,” said Straight, a park management major from Gregory, who works part-time at ASC.

Straight said he did his own car maintenance work before starting at the service center in September. At the shop he changes oil, provides regular service on vehicles, changes spark plugs and performs light mechanic work.

The award-winning film American Indian Graffiti will be shown at SDSU on Tuesday, Oct. 5.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs is sponsoring the film as part of Native American Heritage Month.

American Indian Graffiti opened in February 2004 in Oklahoma City. The film won Best Feature Film at the Cherokee Film Festival 2004.

Steven Martin, program advisor to Native American Programs at the Office of Multiculutural Affairs, heard of the film from his friend Steve Judd, one of the Oklahomans behind the film’s production.

American Indian Graffiti was written and directed by Judd, along with Tvli Jacob. Judd, of the Choctaw/Kiowa tribes, and Jacob, of the Choctaw tribe, formed Restless Natives Motion Picture Production Company to portray a realistic view of Native Americans today.

American Indian Graffiti will begin at 7 p.m. in Ag-Bio room 100B. The event is free to the SDSU community.

Martin will introduce Judd, who will answer questions from the audience after the film.

The Office of Multicultural Affairs is sponsoring other events on campus in celebration of Native American Heritage Month as well. The events scheduled include:

* Tuesday, Oct. 12: Richie Plass of the Menominee and Stockbridge-Munsee tribes will present Indian 101. He will share cultural views and discuss the issue of abolishing Native American mascots. Plass will speak at Biostress room 103 at 7 p.m.

* Wednesday, Oct. 20: Floyd Red Crow Westerman will present his documentary on the holocaust of American Indians and will also sing. The event will be held at 7 p.m. at Dairy Micro room 100.

* Monday, Nov. 8: Luke Warm Water of the Oglala Lakota will share his stories and poetry at noon in Ag-Bio room 101.

Part 1 of 4 in a series- A soldier shipping out- A soldier in Iraq- A soldier home from war- Support groups help

Nate Graff, a 19-year-old from Sioux Falls, has always wanted to go into the army.

Graff likes the band Incubus, watches football on Sunday afternoons and is debating about switching his major to political science.

But as a soldier in the Minnesota National Guard, Graff is going to Iraq. He left Sept. 20 for mobilization at Fort Dix, N.J.

Graff, who joined the army during his junior year at Sioux Falls Washington High School, is a combat medic with Company 151 Field Artillery Battalion. While he is in Iraq, he will be treating injuries ranging from headaches and rashes, to shrapnel wounds, bullet wounds and amputations.

Graff’s unit will be provide convoy security, riot control, SWAT-team like building searches, and protection for Iraqi politicians and visiting dignitaries.

“Medics are expected to do just as much fighting as healing,” Graff said.

Graff considered attending SDSU his freshman year after he graduated from high school. Instead he decided to major in nursing at USDSU in Sioux Falls during the 2003 fall semester.

“I wasn’t able to get in for housing at SDSU because the army was talking about sending us to train (for deployment) so I didn’t want to make any commitments,” he said.

When Graff’s parents, Tim and Joyce, first heard of their son’s impending deployment to Iraq, they were saddened.

“My first reaction was fear, and probably still is the foremost in my mind,” Joyce Graff said. “I have talked to soldiers returning from Iraq, and they have calmed some of my fears. Now, I think of the experiences he will have and how he will carry those for all time.”

A year ago, Graff began dating Allison Mielke, now a sophomore apparel merchandising major at SDSU. They met through mutual friends and had been dating only a few months when Graff received orders from the National Guard to report for training.

He was sent to San Antonio, Texas, for Advanced Individual Training (AIT) that lasted from February until June. Graff described AIT as a program of Warrior Ethos (Warrior Spirit), “to train every soldier as a soldier first, instead of a medic before a soldier, or administrator before a soldier.”

While at AIT, Graff kept in touch with Mielke through letters and daily cell phone convesations. Graff returned to South Dakota shortly after Mielke completed her first year at SDSU.

“My parents thought I might be deployed after 9/11. Allison thought after I got back from AIT. I always expected to get deployed since April 2002, when I signed up,” said Graff.

News of Graff’s deployment was difficult for Mielke to accept.

“I started crying and I couldn’t talk to him on the phone,” she said.

“I didn’t like it, but I was more calm than she was,”Graff said about his deployment news.

Communication overseas will be more challenging than it was to Texas during Graff’s time at AIT. The cell phone conversations will be less frequent, but the couple can also keep in touch through email.

Before leaving for Iraq, Graff will spend from one to three months at Fort Dix, N.J., and possibly up to one month in Kuwait.

Graff said our society will learn from the Iraq war.

“The only thing good that comes out of war is that a generation sees it and experiences it, so it knows it (war) is not something to be rushed into,” Graff said.

Graff expects to change as a result of his service in Iraq.

“When you look into somebody’s eyes that you don’t know and see that they want nothing more than for you to be dead or the first time I see a soldier whose wounds I can’t treat … I just think it’s hard not to change after seeing that,” Graff said.

Graff plans to continue his college education, possibly at SDSU, when he returns from Iraq.

Mielke will continue to support her soldier boyfriend as part of her academic routine at SDSU.

#1.886011:365451329.jpg:soldiermug.jpg:Nate Graff:

Penny Brandt, a junior from Granite Falls, Minn., first heard about the Boys and Girls Club of Brookings through one of her classes at SDSU.

When she needed field experience for her human development class, Brandt knew just where to volunteer.

“I first heard about it through class, and I like working with kids,” said Brandt, a human development and family studies major.

The Boys and Girls Club of Brookings first opened its location on sixth Street on Oct. 30, 2003.

The program operates on the Brookings school district schedule, and is open from the school’s close until 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday.

“If the school dismisses early, we’re open,” said Chris Wiegert, director.

It gives children in first grade and older a chance to play after school in a safe environment and do homework while spending time with their friends.

Along with volunteers, the Boys and Girls Club also has a paid staff to supervise the children.

To become a volunteer at the Boys and Girls Club of Brookings, Brandt underwent a background check and paid a $10 fee.

“We run a background check on anyone who wants to volunteer with the kids,” Wiegert said.

Volunteers are required to attend an orientation session. After volunteering for more than 50 hours, the organization will reimburse volunteers for their initial $10 fee.

Brandt volunteered throughout the spring semester for her field experience, and she wants to go back this year.

“Hopefully I’ll have time to go back,” Brandt said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Described as an after-school program, the Boys and Girls Club has a game room, a craft room and an education room where students can do homework.

Brandt spent most of her volunteer time with local school kids.

Nearing their first anniversary, the Boys and Girls Club is looking for volunteers this fall.

“We could use a lot of volunteers, I’d say 30 to 50,” Wiegert said.

To volunteer your time, call the Boys and Girls Club at 692-3333.

If you live on campus, chances are you’re benefiting from Residence Hall Government.

Hall government plans programs like dances and games. It also decides how to spend voluntary dues to improve the hall’s community.

The activities are meant to give students a break from studying and it introduces them to other students.

Pierson Hall has planned programs in the past such as, the Marshmallow Mafia, a Holiday Break Party and game nights.

Hall government also lets students share their ideas on what they would like to see in their building.

“Hall government serves as a voice for students who live in the campus residence halls,” said Susan Sandberg, the associate director of education and staffing for residence life.

One of the easiest ways to get involved is to show up at hall meetings. Signs are posted in residence halls announcing meeting times and dates. Students can also talk to the resident assistant on their floor about getting involved.

“We like to see representation from every floor,” said Dana Northrup, Residence Hall Director for Pierson.

Hall government also offers first and second year students, who live on-campus, a chance to develop leadership skills. Residence assistants and residence hall directors act as advisors at hall government meetings. Elections are held for officers, but any student can volunteer as a member of hall government.

“Generally hall government has meetings weekly or biweekly, according to each residence hall,” Northrup said.

Experience with hall government can lead students to other on-campus leadership positions, such as becoming a residence assistant.

“It’s a wonderful way to get involved as a student leader here at SDSU,” Sandberg said.