(Continued from page 26)

• Cooper is a longtime friend of the academy's founder and namesake, Chuck Brennan.
•

• RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota School of Mines & Technology has been accepted as a full NCAA member for Division II athletics
• The Rapid City school received word from the association on Friday, marking the end of a four-year transition from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. The Hardrockers have been part of the NAIA for 50 years.
• The change takes effect Sept. 1, making School of Mines student-athletes eligible for post-season competition and post-season academic and athletic awards.
• School of Mines President Heather Wilson says it's a great day for the Hardrocker family, and the change will help the school attract academically and athletically qualified student-athletes.
• The school applied and was accepted into the NCAA Division II level in 2010 with nearly a year of preparation followed by two candidacy years.
•

• LOWER BRULE, S.D. (AP) -- The U.S. Marshal's Service says the last of the four inmates who escaped from a jail in Lower Brule has been captured.
• Authorities say 21-year-old Troy Fairbanks was caught early Friday morning in Lower Brule.
• Fairbanks and three others broke out of the jail Tuesday night. The other three were caught earlier.
• Fairbanks was being held by the Lower Brule Tribe on allegations of domestic assault.
•

• SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Volunteers in Sioux Falls will be planting hundreds of trees this fall to replace some of those lost in a three-day ice storm in April.
• The "Tree the Town" event will focus on planting trees at the homes of disabled, low-income and elderly residents. Helpline Center spokeswoman Sara Carothers says as many as 1,000 trees might be planted on Oct. 26.
• The Helpline Center is teaming up with the Sioux Empire United Way, KELO-TV, Argus Leader Media and the Washington Pavilion on the project.
• The storm hit South Dakota's largest city on April 9. Cleanup of downed trees

(Continued on page 28)