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Daily COVID-19 Headlines: March 16

South Dakota's Hospitality Industry Taking a Hit

The hospitality industry, which depends on crowds of people, could be one of the earliest economic casualties of the coronavirus.

Bill Collins says his Best Western Black Hills Lodge in Spearfish usually loses money in March and makes it back during the summer. This March looked different. Three big sporting events were scheduled in town. The hotel was fully booked three weekends in a row.

Then the coronavirus hit, and all three tournaments got postponed. Now Collins is putting off improvements to his hotel.

"Without a doubt that’s on hold and we’re reviewing all things we can do to save money and still get through until better times again.”

He’s hoping the coronavirus relents before summer. If it doesn’t, he's thinking ahead about options like a low-interest loan from the Small Business Administration.

Kimberly Tilsen-Brave Heart is looking at SBA loans already. She runs Etiquette Catering in Rapid City.

“We were basically booked solid for March and April. We also had a speaking and cooking demo tour scheduled for April as well, and everything has been canceled. We literally have no events on the books for the first time since we’ve opened, and it’s pretty terrifying.”

Getting hospitality businesses connected with banks, government loans and other ways to access short-term cash is a focus now for Tom Johnson. He’s chairman and CEO of the Elevate Rapid City economic development partnership.

“What happens to a business when this first occurs is, they have working capital needs. So immediately you’ve got to carry payroll resources, you might have fixed costs, and your revenues aren’t coming in to satisfy those.”

Johnson hopes any potential relief coming from Congress will take working-capital needs into account.

Department of Tourism Shifting Advertising Due to COVID-19

The South Dakota Department of Tourism is shifting its advertising approach in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Tourism is the number two industry in the state. The virus could have an impact on the state’s bottom line.

The Department of Tourism is pulling back on its marketing spending and messaging. Messages are still going out to major markets, but are moving away from calls to action advertisements, for the time being. Those are ads encouraging people to book their vacation right now.

Instead, state secretary of tourism Jim Hagen says they’re employing a more inspirational message about South Dakota to keep it top of mind.

“We’ve been through these challenges before,” Hagen says. “When we get through it—as previous challenges like SARS have shown us, or swine flu—once we get through those crises there’s a pent up travel demand. People will want to travel, but it’s just weathering the storm right now is something we have to do.”

South Dakota is heading into the shoulder season of tourism, which are the outlying months before and after the major rush. Hagen says the department’s message to the tourism and hospitality industry right now is to stay calm and make decisions rooted in fact.

Last year, visitor spending rose by 2.8 percent, reaching $4.1 billion dollars. That generated $308 million dollars in state and local taxes in 2019.

Parents Putting A Positive Spin On School Closures Through Lakota Culture

Schools across the state have been shut down for the week for deep cleaning at the recommendation of Governor Noem. Some parents are making the best of their children's time at home by adding tradition to the curriculum.

Kim Tilsen-Brave Heart owns a Catering company in Rapid City. She’s currently staying at home with her kids, and teaching them how Lakota history relates to their lives today.

“We all exist because our ancestors were really good resource managers. And they knew how to preserve their food, and they knew how to ration their food and they knew how to prepare for the future.”

Brave Heart has incorporated hands-on activities her kids don’t learn in classrooms.

“Like teaching them how to do tabacco ties and smudge themselves and our home. We’re also boiling sage on the stove because it clears the air and cleanses the air as well. We’ve been reading a lot of Native books and talking about food and traditional foods as well.”

Other Lakota parents have also taken the opportunity to focus on culture while the kids are out of school. Amy Sazue works for NDN collective and is staying at home with her family. She made a social media post to gather ideas for traditional curriculum and got a lot of suggestions. One activity is building a kin-ship tree and incorporating Lakota Language.

“So we did the kinship terms, which they were familiar with but we have never tied them with every single relative in our Tiyóspaye, our immediate family. And so like auntie Franie is mom's sister so you call her Tuwin and that’s where she fits on the tree.”

Sazue says it’s important to make kids feel grounded and safe right now, since so many people are worried about the Corona Virus Pandemic.

‘Trying to get rid of that fear part, like all this stuff can happen out in the world but you’re safe here. And it seems to be working, this isn’t a bath thing to be home. But it also isn't free for all. I was like we’re not going that way with guys”

Sazue says her kids are willing to learn when they’re comfortable at home in their pajamas.

Noem Opening Access to Economic Injury Disaster Loans

Governor Kristi Noem says she is opening access to a loan program to help businesses and non-profits impacted by COVID-19. Noem says she is utilizing the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for the state.

“We’re going to be working with the federal government with the Small Business Administration to help facilitate businesses applying for these loans. They would be zero percent interest, long extended periods, very low interest rates.”

The disaster loan program can provide up to $2 million dollars of financial assistance. Noem ordered an emergency declaration for the state last Friday.

BOR Moves Classes Online for Two Weeks Starting March 23.

The South Dakota Board of Regents has announced it’s moving all public university classes online for two weeks.

Starting Monday the 23rd, students will participate in courses remotely. For now, the BOR expects on-campus, in-person courses to resume on April 6th.

A statement from the board says, “The health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff throughout the state is our top priority and we continue to monitor the situation around the clock.”

The statement advises students and others to refer to university-specific releases and websites for individual campus operation updates.

Noem to Host Townhall with Legislators

Governor Kristi Noem says she’s holding a townhall with state legislators tonight. When asked if she may call a special legislative session to respond to the coronavirus, Noem says they still have veto day ahead of them. That’s a day typically reserved for overriding any gubernatorial vetoes of legislation.

“There are some decisions that could get made with our legislators on veto day that we can deal with,” Noem says. “That’s why we’re not planning a special session. I will be having a telephone townhall with our legislators this evening to that I can give them an update as well, because I know a lot of people are reaching out to them.”

Legislators approved revisions to the Fiscal Year 2020 budget, and set a Fiscal Year 2021 budget based on increased revenue forecasts. The White House is indicating the virus may not recede until July or August. That could mean a hard hit to the state budget, which relies heavily on sales tax revenues.

Minnehaha County Jail Takes Precautions

Four out of 10 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Dakota are in Minnehaha County. The spread of the disease has placed added pressure on local safety officials. Sheriff Mike Milstead says corrections staff is taking additional measures to reduce the spread to inmates.

“We’ve had to implement additional levels of screening—health screening, which we always do anyway, but we're doing some of the screening earlier, even before they come into the jail. If they're symptomatic, then we need to move them into a cell, an isolated cell to keep them separate from other, other inmates.”

Milstead says some inmates are equipped with disinfectant and other cleaning supplies to assist staff in sanitizing cell areas and common spaces. He says people in jail are at high risk for illnesses.

“With a population that we have, it's not uncommon to have numerous people that have flu-like symptoms. So, we have to just use those universal precautions we've used in the past, but to a greater extent because we need to isolate anybody with flu-like symptoms.”

Milstead says inmates who reached the criteria of exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 will get tested. More than 500 inmates are currently in the Minnehaha County Jail.

Sioux Falls to Limit Group Gathering Size

The Sioux Falls Board of Health is considering regulations to bring before the City Council that limit gatherings to 50 people or less in city facilities. This is a drop from last week’s limit to gatherings of 250 people or less to prevent spread of COVID-19.

Jill Franken is the Public Health Director for the City of Sioux Falls. She says this new limit recommendation is based on updated guidance from the federal Centers for Disease Control issued on Sunday. While municipal government can’t mandate private business closures, Franken encourages voluntary commitment to social distancing measures.

“Everyone, in every venue, should be looking at how to avoid being part of crowds of people. That is a number one job of our community right now. We have a chance to impact this. We have a chance—the actions we take now will have long-lasting implications for weeks.”

Sioux Falls City Council members will consider the health board’s recommendation at its next meeting. The CDC’s latest guidelines include avoiding gatherings of fifty or more people for the next eight weeks.

Sioux Falls School District Planning for Longer Closures

The state’s largest school district is creating a plan in the event schools stay closed beyond this week. The Sioux Falls School District is also continuing to provide meals for students. Sioux Falls Superintendent Brian Maher says the district’s primary role is the development of students.

“But right now our role has changed from an academic responsibility to a social responsibility.”

Maher says this week’s closure may only be the beginning, and he encourages families to come up with a plan in the event of an extended school absence.

For the district’s part, Maher says its website will include a repository of free educational materials. He adds the district is planning ways to continue instruction in the event of longer closures.

“Some of that engagement will be from a technological standpoint, but we’re also putting together a distribution plan right now for packets of information, because we know it’s not nearly enough to have a device. It’s also critical to have connectivity. And we’re cognizant that not all our families have that connectivity.”

The district also has several sites open to provide to-go lunches this week. Superintendent Maher says the district is planning how to distribute breakfast and lunch if the closure extends into next week. He says meals are available for all students, not only those who qualify for free or reduced lunch. Though most of those distribution sites are within walking distance of students on free or reduced lunch plans, some are not. Maher says the district does not have a meal distribution plan for students who can’t get to those sites at this time.