A new taste has found its way to tables in Sioux Falls.

HuHot Mongolian Grill is one of the newest restaurants in the city. Located on Western Ave., next to the big Scheel’s store, HuHot features a new take on a familiar favorite. The food is very similar to Chinese food, featuring rice, noodles and different types of meat and fresh vegetables. But the way the food is made is what makes the place unique.

I decided to head to HuHot around 4 p.m., hoping to miss the dinner crowd.

Despite the early hour, plenty of people were already there. Fortunately, we didn’t have to wait for a table and our waitress came almost as soon as we sat down.

Our waitress was spectacular. After she took our drink and appetizer orders (I ordered a Sprite and a Mongolian Feast appetizer which consisted of egg rolls, crab rangoon, pot stickers and two kinds of dipping sauces), she knelt beside the table and explained how things work at HuHot.

HuHot isn’t like any other eating establishment I have ever visited. Instead of ordering food and having someone in a hot steamy kitchen cook it and then having a waitress deliver the meal to the table, at HuHot, you get up and make stir-fry for yourself.

First, I started at the meat counter. This particular reporter dislikes looking at raw meat, so this was my least favorite part. Patrons may choose from a variety of uncooked meat, including beef, chicken (my choice), sausage and certain types of seafood.

After I selected my meat, I headed to the noodle station. Three different types of noodles are featured, I picked yakisoba noodles, which remind me of lo mein noodles.

Once I was satisfied with my noodle selection, I moved on to the fresh veggies. I was shocked at the number of vegetables from which I could select. There were carrots, broccoli, cabbage, watercress, the list could go on and on. I picked broccoli (yes, you can pick more than one, but I’m boring)and made my way to the crazy selection of sauces.

At the sauce location, diners had the choice of creating a mixture from recipes listed above the station, or they could invent their own concoction. Some of the names of the sauces included: Samurai Teriyaki, Not So Sweet and Sour Sauce and Mean Bean Garlic Sauce. Since I’m kind of a baby when it comes to spicy things, I picked their mildest formula. It included two ladles full of Kahn’s Favorite (which had sort of a ginger flavor), a ladle of Samurai Teriyaki, a ladle of sesame oil and a bit of garlic oil.

After I seasoned my meal to taste (although, I didn’t try it first, since everything was raw), I made my way over to the massive grill in the center of the room. I found this to be the most confusing part of the whole meal.

There really weren’t any signs that told you where to start and where to put your bowl of ingredients. So, I headed to an empty spot and then a very rude man behind the grill made fun of me for “cutting” in line.

The grill was covered in grease and the remains from other people’s meals. I wondered how sanitary this arrangement could be and I concluded that maybe the devices used to cook meals in restaurants should stay behind closed doors.

Once I found my seat again, I sat down with my plate of freshly grilled stir-fry, with a large bowl of steamed rice and the appetizers waiting. Everything was delicious. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the way I seasoned my food, but it was perfect. And whenever my glass of Sprite was almost empty, the server had another one waiting for me. I never went thirsty eating the salty meal.

I would have to say that the atmosphere of HuHot is really the selling point. The restaurant had a “contemporary Mongolian” feel. It had a large mural painted on the far wall depicting Mongolian soldiers. Everything was in deep colors, which gave the room a kind of cozy, warm feeling. My favorite part of the d

Valentine’s Day is fast approaching and many women will be hoping for something sparkly from their sweetheart.

Three-diamond jewelry is what most people are searching for this year, Karen Rzepecki of Johnson’s Jewelry said.

Anything with three diamonds — rings, earrings, pendants – if it has three diamonds, it’s hot this year. Pendants with diamonds in ladder shapes are big sellers, but the biggest hit are the pendants with diamonds in a three-leaf clover shape.

Settings in white metal are what people are looking for.

“We have a lot of people looking for things in 14 carat white gold or platinum,” Rzepecki said. “Round and princess cut diamonds are really popular as well.”

Silver is also in-demand.

“Guys are buying silver chains for gifts,” Cheryl Young, also of Johnson’s, said. “They buy a lot of necklaces and bracelets.” Rzepecki said the most popular items every year are single-diamond pendants or earrings.

“We have a lot of men who buy solitaire round diamond pendants,” she said. “Black Hills gold is also a favorite.”

Guys aren’t the only ones doing the buying. Johnson’s has had some girls come in looking for Valentine’s Day presents.“Girls usually buy watches or gold chains,” Rzepecki said.

Rzepecki said she has noticed women buying more all-occasion watches and shying away from the dressy watches.

“Guys aren’t wearing suits and getting as dressed up as they used to,” she said.

Despite Valentine’s Day being only a few days away, Rzepecki said that Johnson’s won’t see a rush of jewelry-buyers until the day before Valentine’s Day, or the day itself.

“Men usually wait until the last minute,” she laughed.

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“You’re getting very sleeeepy…your eyes are getting soooooo heavy…”

Most people think of hypnosis as a sideshow trick used at fairs and high school graduation parties. The image of a pocket watch swinging slowly in front of a person’s eyes as he starts to drift off into a peaceful slumber is quite familiar. However, hypnosis is gaining popularity as it helps people overcome phobias and addictions.

Norma MacArthur owns Hypnosis Therapy in Sioux Falls.

The retired social worker became interested in hypnotherapy after attending a presentation by a hypnotherapist when she was attending Sioux Falls College.

“I actually got hypnotized myself, if you can believe that,” MacArthur said. “That’s really where my interest got started.”

In addition to a degree in psychology and sociology, MacArthur has taken several classes on hypnotherapy to help her with her business.

To be considered a hyponotherapist, an individual must induce a hypnotic state in a client to increase motivation or alter behavior patterns through hypnosis, as defined by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Directory of Occupational Titles. The hypnotherapist must also consult with the client to determine the nature of the problem and prepare the clients to enter the hypnotic state.

MacArthur treats people for all sorts of reasons. She said the most popular reason people seek hypnotherapy is to kick their addiction to smoking. But she also works with individuals on particular phobias and past-life regressions.

During a typical session, MacArthur talks for one solid hour and brings her patient into a deep state of relaxation. She encourages the patient to focus on deep breathing and tells the patient to get in-touch with himself as a small child. This helps the patient to pinpoint where his addiction may have started. Then he imagines the himself and the child going inside his body with a bucket of fresh water and a paintbrush and cleaning his black lungs.

If a person has a specific phobia, MacArthur will bring them face-to-face with their phobia and help him overcome his fear.

MacArthur said her patients tend to have a high success rate. But she doesn’t take just anyone.

“Before I will work on someone, they have to give me five good reasons why they should be hypnotized,” she said.

She said that desire fuels a patient’s success. If a person does not want to stop smoking, even after the hypnotherapy, they aren’t going to be able to quit.

MacArthur gives her patients a total of four sessions, each of which cost $40.

Hypnosis isn’t a magic cure. Patients are usually required to come for four sessions. According to MacArthur, a person can’t go through hypnotherapy once and be cured.

“It takes time,” she said.

MacArthur said that hypnosis is misunderstood. Most people use it therapeutically.

“It’s not what people think,” she said. “You don’t go under.”

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With $11.3 million in donations last year, alumni gave about $1.3 million more in 2001 than in previous years.

According to David Marquardt, executive director of the SDSU Foundation, donations are up 20 percent from the year 2000.

The university has received from alumni an average of $10 million a year for each of the past eight years.

Alumni donations over the last 12 years averaged $154,000 each, according a press release from Marquardt.

More money means more benefits for SDSU students, faculty and staff.

Alumni donations help some students directly.

“The most popular donation last year, and every year, is in the form of scholarships,” Marquardt said.

Last year, $2.2 million went to scholarships.

The largest alumni scholarship, the Stephen F. Briggs Family Scholarship, is a $6,500 per year renewable scholarship given to 12 freshman each year. It was established in 1956.

Other alumni money went to the renovation of Solberg Hall and the construction of the Performing Arts Center. In all, $2.2 million of last year’s contributions went to the building and grounds of SDSU.

Various programs received $3 million, while $1.4 million went to aid teaching and research. Another $2.2 million went to life income trusts.

Marquardt said transfer of stock to the university is one of the most appealing options for donors.

This year, however, he expects to see fewer stock donations because of trouble in the stock market.

“Donations of cash, gifts or property may be more popular this year,” he said.

Student employees at the Foundation, known as the “Phone Jacks,” call alumni to ask for donations on Monday through Thursday evenings.

Hallie Thomas, a senior political science major, is heading into her second week of making the nightly phone calls to SDSU graduates.

She said most of the 16 computer stations from which “Phone Jacks” make calls are occupied each night.

“One of the more interesting parts of my job is seeing where people do go from here,” she said. Alumni files on the computer provide that information for the “Phone Jacks.”

Thomas said she enjoys learning how someone ends up using his or her degree from SDSU.

Doing this job makes her wonder “where you’re going to be 10 years down the road when some little Phone Jack is calling you,” she said.

Estimating how many people she calls in a less than four hour shift is difficult, but Thomas said she’s on the phone to alumni the entire time.

“They’re typically pretty friendly because they know you’re going to call,” she said.

Alumni receive a letter notifying them of the phone call about two weeks in advance, she said.

Each year a new group of SDSU students become alumni. According to the Registrar’s office, the total number of graduates from summer 2001, fall 2001 and spring 2002 was about 1,618.

#1.888032:2635298226.jpg:front.jpg:With the help of $3.93 million in alumni funds raised by the SDSU Foundation, the 101-year old Solberg Hall is getting an internal overhaul. The project on the engineering building should be done by the fall of 2003. Solberg Hall is the second oldest building on campus. :Mike Gussiaas