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• Allie Luoma, a nurse and nurse coordinator for a family planning clinic on the South Dakota State University campus, has seen an increase in STDs among college students and patients from the community.
• "Even if it's not happening to you, it might be happening to someone close to you," Luoma said.
• She and the wellness coordinator at SDSU are seeking a grant to bring in speakers for a "sex ed boot camp."
• Her office puts out information on STD rates and symptoms, encouraging students to get tested. She said students can access free condoms on campus.
• The President of the National Abstinence Clearinghouse and the Alpha Center in Sioux Falls, Leslee Unruh, said her program educates young people about the risks of sexual activity.
• "We don't feel that latex is the protector," Unruh said in reference to condoms.
• She said kids have been learning about condoms for years, and still the STD rates rise. She blames the prevalence of STDs on a social "hook-up culture" in which it's socially acceptable for people to have casual sexual encounters.
• "It's pretty scary," Unruh said. "If you have sex with someone, you're putting yourself at risk."
• Kightlinger said once syphilis is under control, the state can keep it that way. Disease intervention specialists and other professionals across the state will continue to screen for STDs and track down the sexual partners of people who have been infected.
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• ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) -- Legendary basketball coach Don Meyer is visiting with family under hospice care at home in South Dakota after a yearslong battle with cancer.
• Spokeswoman Brenda Dreyer said Wednesday that family members are reading messages sent to him over social media. The family is asking for privacy, but people can send messages and jokes to him on Facebook and Twitter under his handle "Coach Don Meyer," she said.
• Meyer lights up when anyone talks baseball and enjoys watching the wildlife outside his windows at his Aberdeen home, Dreyer said. He is comfortable, she said.
• "Coach Meyer's health has been drastically declining over the past several months," Meyer's family said in a statement released Tuesday. "After a three-day stay in the hospital with a feeding tube, he is now at home under hospice care. Coach Meyer is at peace, loved, enjoying his family and getting exceptional care

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