Approximately 1,600 Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) members from across South Dakota attended the 2012 South Dakota FCCLA Leadership Meeting April 22-24 at the Ramkota Hotel and Conference Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At the meeting, members have the opportunity to show their leadership skills through educational workshops, STAR Events, and general sessions.

Professional fire crews from Badlands National Park and the Northern Great Plains Fire Office successfully completed the park’s first prescribed fire of the spring: a 560-acre burn on Tuesday, April 24.
The burn location was west of the Pinnacles Entrance, between the Badlands Loop Road (Highway 240) and the Sage Creek Rim Road. Fire is native to the prairie ecosystem, and part of a healthy landscape. 
The goal of the burn was to restore Grassland habitat by reducing accumulated vegetation and non-native grass species.  

A deadly crash occurred behind the Wall Community Center on Wednesday, April 25. The crash was the result of a drunk driver hitting a suburban full of young people. The crash sent seven to the hospital, one to the mortuary and the driver to jail.