Matthew Cecil received his B.S. in History from South Dakota State University in 1995. He earned an M.A. in History from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and completed a Ph.D. in Mass Communication at the University of Iowa in 2000, specializing in public relations.
Cecil’s career includes work as a political reporter and columnist, as well as a media relations practitioner in South Dakota and North Dakota. His teaching career began as a graduate teaching assistant at the University of Iowa. From 2000 to 2002, he served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Purdue University. He then joined the University of Oklahoma before returning in 2005 to his hometown of Brookings, South Dakota, to teach at South Dakota State University. At SDSU, he is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Media Production Emphasis in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication. He teaches a variety of courses, including Introduction to Mass Communication, basic video production, new media, and public relations skills.
Cecil’s areas of expertise include new media and media history, with a particular focus on FBI public relations during the J. Edgar Hoover era. His scholarly work has appeared in American Journalism, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, The Journalism Inquiry, and other national and international journals.
The Milwaukee Road, officially known as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMSP&P RR), was a Class I railroad that operated across the Midwest and northwestern United States from its founding in 1847 until its merger with the Soo Line Railroad in 1985–1986. Over its history, the company underwent several name changes and periods of bankruptcy. Although it no longer exists as a separate entity, its legacy is preserved through landmarks such as the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and through preserved equipment like the Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive.
Originally incorporated as the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad in 1847, the company soon changed its name to the Milwaukee and Mississippi Railroad. Its first rail line, connecting Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, opened in 1850, with passenger service beginning on February 25, 1851. The name was changed in 1874 to the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, and by 1887, it had expanded lines through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn was born in 1930 in Fort Thompson, South Dakota, on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation. An enrolled member of the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe, she currently resides near Rapid City, South Dakota. Cook-Lynn earned a B.A. in English and Journalism from South Dakota State College (now South Dakota State University) in 1952 and completed an M.Ed. in Psychology and Counseling at the University of South Dakota in 1971. She also pursued doctoral studies at the University of Nebraska in the late 1970s.
Her professional career began in secondary education, teaching in South Dakota and New Mexico, before transitioning to higher education. From 1971 to 1990, she taught English and Native American Studies at Eastern Washington University, where she was instrumental in founding Wicazo Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies alongside Beatrice Medicine, Roger Buffalohead, and William Willard. She later served as a visiting professor at the University of California, Davis, and remains active as a speaker and mentor, co-organizing the Oak Lake Writers’ Retreat for Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota writers in South Dakota.
Following her retirement from academia, Cook-Lynn became a full-time writer. Her work spans multiple genres—including fiction, poetry, and nonfiction—centered on Native American experiences, sovereignty, and identity. Her first publications, Then Badger Said This and Seek the House of Relatives, appeared in 1983, followed by The Power of Horses and Other Stories (1990), and the novel From the River’s Edge (1991), which evolved into Aurelia: A Crow Creek Trilogy (1999). Notable nonfiction works include Why I Can’t Read Wallace Stegner and Other Essays: A Tribal Voice (1996), The Politics of Hallowed Ground: Wounded Knee and the Struggle for Indian Sovereignty (1998, with Mario Gonzalez), and the poetry collection I Remember the Fallen Trees (1998).
Cook-Lynn’s writing has been featured in major anthologies such as Harper’s Anthology of 20th Century Native American Poetry and Reinventing the Enemy’s Language: Contemporary Native Women’s Writing of North America. Her scholarship, book reviews, and editorials have contributed significantly to Native American literary and political discourse.
In recognition of her work, Cook-Lynn has received numerous honors, including a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship (1978), the Oyate Igluwitaya Award from South Dakota State University’s Native American Club (1995), and the Mountain Plains Library Association’s Literary Contribution Award (2002). Her essay collection Why I Can’t Read Wallace Stegner was also cited by the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights. Cook-Lynn is widely recognized for her leadership in advancing Native rights and scholarship through literature and education.
Elizabeth Cook-Lynn died on July 5, 2023 at Monument Hospital in Rapid City.
Lonita Joyce Gustad was born on May 19, 1928, at Sacred Heart Hospital in Yankton, South Dakota, and grew up on a farm near Volin with her parents and younger sister. She began keeping a diary in 1945 at the age of 17, inspired by the historic events surrounding the end of World War II. Gustad graduated from Yankton High School in 1946 and attended South Dakota State College, earning a pharmacy degree in 1950. She was one of eight women in a graduating class of sixty-four pharmacy students, with a minor in chemistry.
Following graduation, she worked at Woodward Pharmacy in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and later in Sioux City, Iowa, where she resided for many years. In 1951, she married Thomas Edward Corothers, whom she met during college. They had one son, John, born in 1952, who died in a motorcycle accident in 1972. Thomas Corothers passed away in 1998. Lonita Corothers maintained a lifelong practice of journaling and writing, ultimately donating her extensive personal and literary papers to South Dakota State University.
Efforts to unionize faculty at South Dakota State University and across South Dakota occurred throughout the latter half of the 20th century. Early attempts by the American Association of University Professors and the South Dakota Higher Education Faculty Association were ultimately unsuccessful but contributed to the establishment of the Council of Higher Education (COHE).
In 1978, the South Dakota Board of Regents officially recognized COHE as the exclusive representative of the collective bargaining unit for higher education faculty. COHE is authorized to negotiate matters related to rates of pay, wages, hours of employment, grievance procedures, and other terms and conditions of employment.
The bargaining unit represented by COHE includes full-time and regular part-time instructional and research faculty at public colleges and universities, the Agricultural Experiment Station, Cooperative Extension Service, Auxiliary Services, the South Dakota School for the Visually Handicapped, and the South Dakota School for the Deaf. Supervisory personnel are excluded from the unit.
Excluded from the bargaining unit are faculty at the Medical School, Law School, and Institute of Atmospheric Sciences; as well as deans, directors, department chairpersons and heads, principals, superintendents, program managers, supervisory and managerial staff, emeritus faculty, teaching and research assistants, clinical faculty, county agents, county home economists, and ROTC personnel.
Caryl Crozier was born on August 1, 1938 to Raymond Lyle Kinkner and Elvera Violet (Erickson) Kinkner and raised on the prairies of Southeastern South Dakota, where her grandparents and parents operated farms near Beresford, SD, surviving the Depression. She attended a one-room country school through 8th grade, graduated from Beresford High School, and earned a BS in Home Economics from South Dakota State University.
Caryl and her husband, Ed Crozier, have two daughters, Michelle Kegler and Cherise Barnes, and three grandchildren, Rachel, Claire, and Nathan Barnes. Her career has included roles as an Extension Home Economist, a Home Economics and adult education teacher, and a long-term care administrator for 13 years. She also owned and designed for her pattern business.
The couple has lived in Wisconsin, North Dakota, Illinois, and for over 40 years in the Twin Cities, Minnesota area. Caryl enjoys gardening, boating, and fishing. She has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Central America, and much of Europe, often for genealogy research for the seven family history books she and Ed have written.
The South Dakota State University Dairy Club has a rich tradition of fostering student engagement, education, and professional development within the dairy industry. Established several decades ago, the club was founded to unite students interested in dairying, regardless of their major, and to provide hands-on learning opportunities beyond the classroom.
Over the years, the Dairy Club has grown into a vibrant student organization that supports both academic and social aspects of dairy science education. It has consistently offered activities such as monthly meetings featuring guest speakers from the dairy industry, farm tours, and community service projects.
A significant part of the club’s legacy is its commitment to competitive excellence. The Dairy Club has organized and participated in regional and national contests, including cattle judging and dairy product evaluation, helping students sharpen their skills and build professional networks.
One of the hallmark events has been the club’s involvement in the Midwest Regional Dairy Challenge, a prestigious competition held at SDSU that draws students from multiple universities to evaluate dairy operations and present improvement recommendations.
Fundraising efforts such as the annual Holiday Cheese Box Sale have also played a vital role in supporting student scholarships, club activities, and travel to industry events like the World Dairy Expo.
In addition to collegiate activities, the club has historically extended its impact to youth education through the Jackrabbit Dairy Camp, where young people learned about dairy farming, cheese making, and livestock handling. Although the camp is currently on hiatus, plans for its return demonstrate the club’s ongoing commitment to community outreach.
Guided by dedicated faculty advisors and student leaders, the Dairy Club continues to evolve, maintaining its mission to provide valuable educational experiences and to prepare the next generation of dairy professionals.
The Dakota Agricultural College Board of Regents was established in 1881 by the Dakota Territory to oversee the founding and governance of a land-grant college in Brookings, later known as South Dakota State University. During the territorial period, the Governor of Dakota Territory served on multiple institutional boards, including that of the agricultural college, actively shaping educational policy between 1883 and 1889.
The board appointed George W. Lilley as the college’s first president in 1884, under whose leadership the first permanent buildings were erected and academic programs were initiated. In 1885, James Plummer Day, a Civil War veteran and legislator, was appointed to the college's Board of Trustees and remained involved through the transition to statehood.
Following South Dakota’s admission to the Union in 1889, the newly formed South Dakota Board of Regents assumed oversight of all state higher education institutions, including Dakota Agricultural College. Day and other early trustees continued their service under the restructured governance model. This early board laid the foundational policies for curriculum, facilities, land use, and administrative structure that would shape the development of the institution for decades to come.
The Dakota Farmer was established in 1881, eight years before North and South Dakota achieved statehood. It was first published in Alexandria, in what is now Hanson County, South Dakota, by founder James Baynes. Within its first year, Baynes sold the publication to Augustine Davis, who relocated operations to Huron, South Dakota. In 1883, Davis sold a half-interest to William Bushnell, who became sole proprietor by 1885.
Under Bushnell’s leadership as editor and manager, The Dakota Farmer gained early prominence. The publication relocated to Aberdeen in 1893 and became a vocal supporter of agricultural development in the region. It advocated for improved livestock, crop quality, and the advancement of local farm organizations. Bushnell’s influence extended beyond publishing—he was active in public affairs and later served as state statistician for South Dakota.
Over the following century, The Dakota Farmer continued to evolve with its readership, providing trusted agricultural news and guidance through changing economic and environmental conditions. In 1979, the magazine was acquired by Webb Publishing, which viewed it as a natural complement to its flagship title, The Farmer.
Today, The Dakota Farmer is part of Farm Progress Companies, a leading publisher of agricultural media. Farm Progress oversees 18 state-specific farm magazines and operates eight major farm shows across the country, including the nationally recognized Farm Progress Show.
Dakota Rural Action (DRA) is a grassroots, nonprofit organization founded in 1987 in South Dakota. Its mission is to build leadership and promote social, environmental, and economic justice by organizing rural citizens around issues that directly affect their communities.
DRA supports sustainable agriculture, environmental protection, responsible energy development, and local control of natural resources. Over the years, the organization has been active in campaigns against corporate farming, uranium mining, and the Keystone XL pipeline. It advocates for local food systems, family farms, clean water, renewable energy, and public participation in policy decisions.
The organization operates through a network of local chapters across South Dakota and emphasizes member-led decision-making. Through education, lobbying, and community organizing, Dakota Rural Action empowers individuals to engage in the democratic process and influence policies that shape the future of rural life in the state.