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Group unveils new look for Mitchell downtown area
• MITCHELL, S.D. (AP) -- A Mitchell group has unveiled a nearly $6 million plan to improve the city's historic downtown area.
• The project by Mitchell Main Street and Beyond would cover 32 acres and begin with the construction of a plaza with an outdoor amphitheater.
• There are also plans to make wider pedestrian crossings to increase foot traffic and make the area safer for walkers. The downtown would have benches, sitting walls, bike racks, information kiosks and public art displays.
• The blueprint was drafted up by designArc, a Brookings company. Company spokesman Lee Rowland says the health of the communities is usually represented by their downtown areas.
• The group is hoping to pay for the project with local, state and federal funds, along with donations and grants.
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Jury selected for manslaughter trial in Rapid City
• RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) -- A jury has been selected for the trial of a man accused of shooting another man to death in a Rapid City motel parking lot early this year.
• A jury of nine men and five women, two of whom are alternates, will decide the fate of 30-year-old Charles Birdshead.
• The Rapid City man is charged with felony manslaughter in the death of 33-year-old Eustacio Maruffo at the South Dakota Rose Inn on Jan. 7.
• Prosecutors say Birdshead was at the motel to deal drugs. Birdshead's attorney says he was the victim of a setup and that he acted in self-defense.
• The trial is scheduled to last six days. Birdshead also is accused of having a sexual relationship with a teenager. He will have a separate trial on that charge.
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SD Ag Department helps identify development sites
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- The South Dakota Agriculture Department has started a program to help counties identify the best locations for agricultural development projects.
• The department will work local governments and development officials on a site (Continued on page 28)
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