By JODELLE GREINER
The Brookings (S.D.) Register

BROOKINGS, S.D. – Three men stated why they wanted to become the next city manager of Brookings at a meet-and-greet Monday at Café Coteau in the Children’s Museum of South Dakota.

The three Brookings city manager finalists are Paul Briseno, Shawn Kessel and Sean Pederson. Brookings has a population of about 22,000.

City Manager Jeff Weldon announced his retirement in late January. He has been city manager for 10 1/2 years in Brookings, and his last day is set for June 30.

The City Council is scheduled to select the new city manager on Tuesday, April 24.

Paul Briseno

Paul Briseno has been the assistant manager in Kearney, Nebraska, since July 2015. He and his wife, Heidi, have four children: a daughter who’s a sophomore in college, another daughter who’s a freshman in high school, a son who’s a seventh-grader, and another daughter who’s a fifth-grader.

Originally from Wood River, Neb., Briseno earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at Chadron State College in Chadron, Neb., and a master’s degree at Fort Hays State University.

Briseno was the assistant to the city administrator in Grand Island, Nebraska, from 2004-09; the assistant city manager in Hays, beginning in 2009; and then went to Kearney.

He’s long been drawn to Brookings.

“I’ve followed Brookings ever since I worked in the city of Hays and it was identified as a peer community,” Briseno said. “Brookings truly is a progressive community that values quality of life, safety and it’s all very welcoming. It’s a beautiful community,” Briseno said.

In fact, Brookings is the only place on his radar.

“With that said, I’m not looking to leave Kearney, other than for the Brookings position opening. Brookings is a beautiful community, like I said, and I’d love to be city manager here,” Briseno said.

As great as he thinks Brookings is, he figures he can contribute quite a bit.

“I would say my years of experience in peer cities with major universities, working with comparable opportunities in those cities, the ability to build relationships and partnerships, work with staff and citizens and elected (officials) to move this community forward,” Briseno said.

Shawn Kessel

Since January 2009, Shawn Kessel has been the city administrator in Dickinson, North Dakota, where he was born and still has family. He is recently divorced and has a son, Braden, 20.

Kessel has a bachelor’s degree in social work from Moorhead State University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D.

He was in health care administration for Beverley Health Care as an executive director of a facility.

“I got my master’s degree while I was actually employed by the city of Wahpeton, North Dakota,” Kessel said.

“I worked there for 9 years. I really enjoyed that position,” Kessel said.

“One of the things that I’m proud of in Dickinson, is we’ve been recognized nationally by a lot of different organizations,” Kessel said

Those awards include livingability.com’s Best Small Town in 2013; the North Dakota League of Cities’ City of the Year in 2013; No. 6 on Money Magazine’s Best Place to Live list in 2018; and No. 9 on Money Magazine’s Best Place to Start A Career list in 2018.

“There’s a lot of similarities between Brookings and Dickinson,” Kessel said.

Those items are things he looks for in a community because they provide stability, employment and a “dynamic economy”

“There’s a lot of things I look for in a community,” he said, listing a county seat, a university, an interstate, good health care, a good K-12 education system, and a strong arts culture.

“I think I bring proven success and teamwork. I really enjoy and appreciate that team environment. I think any community that’s successful has to approach things from a team perspective … in order to really thrive and be considered a quality-of-life community,” Kessel said.

Sean Pederson

Originally from Vermillion, Sean Pederson has been the city manager of Bonner Springs, Kansas, since October 2015. He and his wife, Shannon, have two sons, Oliver, 4; and Otto, 2.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Kansas, a master’s degree in public administration from the University of South Dakota, and a graduate certificate in economic development from the University of Oklahoma.

While he was in graduate school, Pederson interned in the city manager’s office in Yankton, then went to work in the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. He was an economic development coordinator for the city of Hamilton, Ohio, and was city manager at Canton.

He wants to come back to South Dakota.

“To be perfectly honest, it’s always been a position that I’ve aspired to get to,” he said of the job in Brookings. “Brookings lends me and my family the opportunity to be close to family and also being in a community like Brookings with great quality of life and to raise our family.”

He thinks Brookings is going places.

“I think there’s a lot going on in the community and there’s a lot of positive momentum for infrastructure and economic development and really bringing the community together around priorities of projects and plans,” Pederson said.

He’s been “very diligent” about working with different groups to figure out the priorities and get them to come together “with a common idea on how to go about getting things done,” Pederson said.

Another big thing for him is transparency.

“My career’s been about open government, really showcasing what it means to be transparent local government. That’s how I approach budget presentations, that’s how I interact in the community,” Pederson said.

— Republished with permission

FHSU University Relations

Students in the Criminal Justice Club – Delta Tau Omega, Fort Hays State University’s chapter of the American Criminal Justice Association, won nine awards, including four first-place awards, at the association’s recent national conference in Cleveland.

The conference included written competitions on topics such as corrections, juvenile justice, police management and crime scene investigation. Also included were paper competitions, which requires an original manuscript about an issue related to criminal justice, and a lip sync competition.

The chapter also visited the FBI regional headquarters, toured the Lutheran Metropolitan Ministries Shelter, Cuyahoga Hills Juvenile Correctional Facility, and the Cuyahoga County Jail and Sheriff’s Office.

Members performed volunteer service while at Lutheran Ministries and the juvenile correctional facility.

Competitors and awards are listed by divisions:

Written Competitions
Corrections
Lower Division (freshman, sophomore) – Brooke Luedke, Scandia sophomore, third place.
Upper Division (junior, senior) – Andrea Jamiel, Hays senior, third place. 

Juvenile Justice
Lower Division – Beatrice Walsh, Thornton, Colo. freshman, third place.
Upper Division – Anneka Sundell, Salina senior, first place.

Police Management
Upper Division – Jamiel, first place. 
Professional Division (faculty or members who work full time in the criminal justice system) – Dr. Tamara Lynn, assistant professor of criminal justice, first place.

Crime Scene Investigation (teams of three)
Lower Division -– Tayler Petersen, Grainfield sophomore, Breanna Markley, White City freshman, and Walsh, honorable mention.

Paper Competition
Upper Division ­– Jamiel, first place. The prize is $150 and publication of the article in the next edition of the American Criminal Justice Association journal.

Lip Sync Competition – All members of the group participated in the lip sync competition and placed third: Casey Higgins, McPherson senior; Jaden Flower, Cawker City senior; John Ramirez, Oakley junior; Abby Escamilla, Weskan sophomore; Luedke; Jamiel; Sundell; Walsh; Petersen; and Markley.

The Hays Police Department responded to 7 animal calls and conducted 20 traffic stops Mon., April 16, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

44 Traffic Stop–2700 block Vine St, Hays; 12:16 AM
Disturbance – Noise–400 block W 7th St, Hays; 12:16 AM
Animal At Large–2700 block Barclay Dr, Hays; 8:42 AM
Welfare Check–2800 block Augusta Ln, Hays; 9:10 AM
Assist – Other (not MV)–2500 block Gen Hancock Rd, Hays; 9:15 AM
Animal At Large–1500 block Marjorie Dr, Hays; 9:45 AM
Burglary/vehicle–200 block W 36th St, Hays; 4/15 9:30 PM; 4/16 9 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–200 block E 7th St, Hays; 12:45 PM; 12:48 PM
Animal At Large–12th and Tamarac, Hays; 2:08 PM
Juvenile Complaint–2300 block E 13th St, Hays; 2:24 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–1000 block E 22nd St, Hays; 2:38 PM; 2:41 PM
Theft of Services–1000 block E 41st St, Hays; 2:30 PM; 2:50 PM
Found/Lost Property–100 block Main St, Hays; 5:27 PM
MV Accident-Private Property–2400 block Main St, Hays; 6 PM; 6:10 PM
Burglary/vehicle–100 block W 36th St, Hays; 4/15 11 PM; 4/16 7 AM
Lost Animals ONLY–2200 block Marjorie Dr, Hays; 7:58 PM
MV Accident-Property Damage–600 block E 6th St, Hays; 7:59 PM
Disturbance – Noise–1400 block Fort St, Hays; 8:58 PM

 

OFFICE OF REP. MARSHALL

WASHINGTON D.C.- Congress passed legislation Monday to recognize the Fallen Educators Memorial in Emporia, Kansas a national memorial. The Fallen Educators Memorial honors teachers, administrators, and staff members who lost their lives while working for our nation’s schools.

“Educators devote their lives to preparing our children for life-long success and rewarding careers, it is so important to remember these men and women as the heroes that they truly are,” said First District Congressman Roger Marshall (R-Great Bend).

Rep. Marshall and Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) both introduced bills in the House and Senate for its designation.

“Educators play an integral role in shaping the next generations of Americans, and their dedication to the safety of their students too often goes unrecognized,” said Sen. Moran. “I applaud the House for passing this legislation to designate this memorial a National Memorial and I look forward to the president signing this bill into law, making certain the memorial continues to recognize fallen educators whose passion and commitment to their students have benefited us all.”

Once the president signs this into law, the memorial will be the first nationally designated memorial in Kansas.

“On behalf of The National Teachers Hall of Fame staff and Board of Trustees, we are deeply indebted to the hard work of Senator Jerry Moran and Representative Roger Marshall to bring our vision of a national memorial to a reality,” said Carol Strickland, director of the National Teachers Hall of Fame. NTHF created the memorial.

The United States currently lacks a national memorial to honor our fallen teachers.

“They are sometimes the first responder, protector, and guardian of our children, providing a safe haven for learning to occur. The memorial will forever remember the names and stories of these educators who lost their lives while doing what they loved, working with America’s school children,” Strickland said.

“While we hope that no more names will ever have to be added, this memorial site provides a degree of comfort and solace to the loved ones left behind after accidents and tragedies occur in our nation’s schools,” she added.

Following the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 that killed six educators and 20 children, the Emporia community and NTHF began brainstorming ways to honor the educators who lost their lives in the attack. That’s when they realized that there was nothing currently commemorating our nation’s fallen teachers. They began raising money and built the memorial in just two years.

“This was a true community effort. I am so proud of the folks at the National Teacher’s Hall of Fame and Emporia State University for their leadership that got this memorial off the ground, and I’m proud that it will soon get national recognition,” Rep. Marshall said.