Sioux Falls parent speaks out on son’s death by shooting
Crystal Boehrns spoke frantically, like sentences with no commas from a mother who hadn’t slept in days.
Like a mother who was tired of repeating herself.
“Please don’t tell me you’re sorry,” she said.
“Please just stop asking me what you can do,” she said.
“Nothing will bring him back,” she said.
“Please,” she said twice more.
Boehrns is a 37-year-old grieving parent who has more than 50 text messages on her phone, even more on social media, calls that keep coming, voicemails, knocks on her door, family “bombarding” and a copy-and-paste response for them all:
Please just let me be.
At about 3 a.m. Aug. 20, Boehrns awoke to the knocks that started it all, from two police officers at her door telling her that one of her children was in the hospital with a life-threatening gunshot wound to the face. It would be more than an hour before she got to see him.
Only then, it would be to say goodbye.
Deontaé Montrell Boehrns, who turned 17 last month, died that same morning when Boehrns herself had to take him off life support. He was the second of her seven children, a “spicy” teenager who “just wanted to be free, Mom.” She said he was handsome, a caring friend, hard-headed, a good brother, and “at the wrong house at the wrong time.”
“I feel like I could scream at the top of my lungs right now and then sit there for hours not breathing,” she said. “I’m just so angry. It’s a lot.”
Read about what happened:A Sioux Falls woman, her 13-year-old son charged after a 17-year-old dies in 'accidental shooting'
According to a written affidavit by Lt. Carter Hand, with the Sioux Falls Police Department, Boehrns’ son was the victim of what was investigated as an “accidental shooting” and later deemed a homicide in the bedroom of a 13-year-old while a few friends were playing video games in the middle of the night.
Two handguns were in the room, one of which was stolen from an unlocked car the week prior – the one that stole Deontaé’s life.
But, according to Boehrns, her son was “unfortunately” in a home he had never been in before and shot by a 13-year-old he never knew.
She said he went to the house with his best friend, went upstairs to an unfamiliar bedroom and sat on a computer chair next to a couple Xbox consoles. Boehrns said she was told that Deontaé wasn’t even aware there was a gun in the room until the 13-year-old started holding it up to her son’s face in jest.
“Accident or not," she said, “it still happened.”
Among the four or five kids in the bedroom where the shooting occurred, Deontaé was the oldest.
After initial statements from witnesses first reported that Deontaé “shot himself,” as noted in the affidavit, Boehrns said she was told the truth of what happened that night by her son’s best friend.
She said Deontaé’s best friend was the one who was sitting right next to Deontaé when he died, and he’s the one who provided an accurate account to the detectives after the 13-year-old’s mother was charged with false reporting. The mother, Savannah Randle, 33, of Sioux Falls, was also charged with accessory to manslaughter and nine counts of child abuse in relation to the case.
Boehrns said Deontaé’s best friend, who has had “a rough couple of days,” was at the ER with her, worried for his friend, and that he is the one she trusts.
“Everyone else was so scared to tell the truth,” Boehrns said, expressing frustration that detectives “didn't even get the story right” when they finally told her in the ER what had even happened to her son.
The mother of the best friend, age 16, could not be reached for comment, and the teenager was not publicly identified in court documents because of his age.
“I don’t know any mother who could sit by and allow my son to suffer the way she did just to cover her own son’s wrongdoing," Boehrns said. "It’s wrong.”
Support from schools
Two days later, Broehns awoke steadfastly to still ensure Deontaé’s siblings arrived at both Edison Middle School and Laura Wilder Elementary for their first day of school.
It’s where they are safest right now, Boehrns said. His younger siblings range in age from 6 to 13.
“I just want them to have recess,” she said. “I want them to go and make friends. I don’t want them to feel stressed. I want them to know that everything is going to be OK.”
As for Deontaé, he was a student at Axtell Park. Just two weeks ago, Boehrns said her son told her, “I’m going to make sure I finish school for you, Mom.” She said he had a new job, a new checking account they had just opened for him at the bank and that he wanted to “save up” to get his own home.
“This is what I want to do for you, Mom,” he told her before what would have been his first day of senior year.
Boehrns said she is grateful for the compassion that the schools have shown to her family and friends.
“My kids have nothing but the best support there," she said.
DeeAnn Konrad, the community relations coordinator at the Sioux Falls School District, says their crisis teams have skilled staff to respond to grief for both students and their families.
“It’s an unfortunate necessity we need to have,” Konrad said. “Of course, we always look at the academic needs of the child, but the social and emotional needs are critically important to help get them the best education they can. And if a student is having challenges working through their emotions, we make sure they receive all the support we have available.”
Tory Stolen, a multimedia specialist for the Sioux Falls School District, added that the crisis teams act as a liaison between the students and their families and local agencies, such as the Helpline Center, Southeastern Behavioral Health, Avera Counseling Services and the Sioux Empire United Way's PATH program, which provides counseling sessions at the schools for K-12.
'Not the city I grew up in'
Anthony Cortez said Deontaé was “a good kid.”
Deontaé had just started working for Cortez at Boston’s Pizza Restaurant & Sports Bar. They hadn't even been open a month when Cortez received a phone call about Deontaé.
“This has affected everyone here,” said Cortez, who is general manager at the new restaurant inside the Sioux Falls Ramada. “These kids are young, we’re still building bonds and connecting with one another.”
Deontaé has relatives who work at the restaurant and at the hotel, so the tragedy has been personal. A sign at the host stand shows a picture of Deontaé, with a GoFundMe link to support his family.
A new restaurant, still settling in, still meeting new customers, and in grief.
“This is just not the city I grew up in,” Cortez said, who has worked in management for nearly 20 years and is raising a family in Sioux Falls.
“I’m a gun owner myself, and I have three daughters,” he said. “They know the severity of what happens when guns are not dealt with properly.”
Cortez said that further community safety initiatives need to be in place as gun violence increases in our community and that local gun owners need to be sure their guns are secure.
An Argus Leader review in 2022 of stolen gun data reported that most guns in the state at that time were stolen from unlocked vehicles, like the handgun stolen in Deontaé’s case. South Dakota law enforcement officers also stated at the time that the number of minors involved in stealing those guns is increasing.
“We’ve seen a number of cases where juveniles are using stolen guns in committing different crimes,” said Sgt. Paul Creviston in the 2022 article.
Lastly, data from The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) showed in 2022 that the most commonly stolen gun in South Dakota in 2020 was a 9-milimeter handgun, the same gun that was used when Deontaé was fatally shot.
“Gun safety needs to be prioritized in education,” he said. “You see this in video games but, in reality, you don’t get to come back from that.”
Boehrns said that, before her son was shot, the kids in the bedroom were likely playing “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” a first-person shooter video game in which defenseless characters are killed with no motive. According to the Pew Research Center, over half of U.S. gamers younger than 18 play violent games like this.
The report, published in May, also states over half of teens who play video games do say the social activity helps with their problem-solving skills. Nearly half also share that they have made a friend online because of playing a video game. But 80% of young gamers think harassment and bullying while gaming "is a problem for people their age."
Cortez said his team appreciated Deontaé for who he was. “It’s just sad that it resulted in what it did,” he said.
Honoring a teenager's life
Stolen said that classrooms or classmates cannot organize vigils or memorials on school grounds for a friend who died. But Boehrns’ friends have set up a GoFundMe website to support her family, and they celebrated the life of Deontaé on Wednesday, at the George Boom Funeral Home in Sioux Falls.
“I want everyone to know that my baby deserves to be acknowledged,” Broehns said. “He was always finding the positive, and I want to give that back.”
Family and friends, more than 100 of them, all wore black and red to the funeral, with matching sweatshirts that said “Long Live Deontaé” on the back and a photo of him on the front. Another sweatshirt read, “Forever screaming, I'll forever rep yo name.”
There were red roses atop his casket, young kids consoling their mothers, and Deontaé’s siblings close by their mother's side while Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey’s “One Sweet Day” played in the background.
And I know you’re shining down on me from heaven
Like so many friends we’ve lost along the way
And I know eventually we’ll be together
One sweet day
“We got to find some light in this,” said Deontaé’s “unc” Joshua Durrah. Durrah helped Deontaé get the job at Boston’s and had been encouraging him to finish school and stay on the right track.
“In honor of my nephew, I want to start a nonprofit called Breaking Cycles,” he said. “The nonprofit will help to prevent gun violence, sexual abuse and all the other things that kids should not have to go through here.”
Among Durrah, gathered other aunts and uncles, cousins and siblings, dressed in sharp black tuxedos and huddling close together in mourning. People kept pulling into the parking lot, car by car, to go in and quietly honor Deontaé.
Durrah knew grief. He lost his brother, Deontaé’s father, in 2022, and he lost his mother the year before that.
“It's taking me a lot to be here today and to be in a right place,” he said, dressed in a bright red shirt and holding his daughter, Lou. “We have to channel this energy into a positive light and help to prevent this from happening to somebody else.”
Deontaé was on the right track, his mother said. She stood solemnly by her son’s open casket Wednesday and was surrounded by loved ones as she stood to greet guests at the visitation.
He was “happy in the last days of his life,” she said, and she was excited for him.
Now she’s without him, and she said she just wants to be left alone.
“I am grateful for all your support,” she said, speaking to all the calls and texts and thoughtful outreach. “But I’ve done this for 17 years by myself. I've never asked for any help. What you can do now is just … when you see me, just give me a hug.”
An annual fundraiser is giving courage to those with cystic fibrosis
Ashley Ballou-Bonnema has less than 50 percent lung capacity. She might tire walking along our bike trails before you do or go in for blood draws on a holiday weekend. She might stay home and worry about her liver enzyme levels while you go to a basketball game and not even notice the crowd. For her, every breath is a relief.
But she can sing.
Ballou-Bonnema was born with cystic fibrosis, an invisible disease that causes thick mucus to clog the lungs and the digestive system. This leads to malnutrition, respiratory infections, chronic coughs, salty skin and wheezing. Her older brother died of CF when he was a teenager and would be 44 years old today.
But she still sings.
Our community is so abundant with local nonprofits to support. The Washington Pavilion held its annual gala this past spring and raised nearly $160,000 for its visual arts programs. The Children’s Home Society just raised over half a million dollars at their annual Caring for Kids fundraiser. Sioux Falls Cares delivers meals to families in need every Christmas, and the Ty Eschenbaum Foundation’s annual Earn the Gift Gala raised nearly $240,000 last year for youth cancer survivors. Over 800 people were in attendance.
Last year, with over 350 people in an entire day of rain, Ballou-Bonnema hosted her own fundraiser for Breathe Bravely, a global nonprofit that advocates for people with CF.
They sing.
“Singing has saved my life so many times,” Ballou-Bonnema says. “It’s about the spirit of what our voices can do.”
Breathe Bravely is a local nonprofit that connects people worldwide living with CF through the opportunity to sing. They provide virtual 1:1 voice lessons with professional instructors who promote the foundational mechanics of breathing, good posture and self-confidence.
“Our teachers really understand that it’s not even about the talent or the output,” Ashley says. “It’s about believing in the effort, the potential and music as the tool.”
Singing opens the lungs, for anyone. It requires respiratory strength and breath management that also serves someone with CF very well. The day might be scary, unknown, and the body might be worn, but when someone with CF sings, they feel peaceful and full, not lacking.
Breathe Bravely is a virtual program because people living with CF cannot be in the same room together, for fear of spreading unsafe bacteria with one another. Covid was nothing new for CF patients— they’ve always needed six feet of space and a mask in their purse. Their bodies are incredibly vulnerable, and their time is finite.
But there is still power in the gathering. Ashley says participants join the Zoom call and don’t even talk about CF. They are just grateful to have a safe space together, to understand one another without words, and to not have a secret they don’t even want to keep. For once, they’re understood and free.
“CF isn’t a fair disease,” she says. “It has no remorse. But, it is not what has been given to me. It is who has been given to me in this priceless life. These are some of my best friends! They are my family.”
Ashley has always advocated for herself. She knew the power of singing was serving her lungs well. It was a boost to her emotionally and physically. She feels more in control when she sings. And Breathe Bravely is to give that confidence away.
“Cystic Fibrosis isn’t a fair disease. It has no remorse. But, it is not what has been given to me. It is who has been given to me in this priceless life. ”
“A comfortable place of silence does no one any good,” Ashley says. “It doesn’t promote progress or protect the people I love. Fatigue only begets fatigue, so you can either sit and wallow, or you can do and enjoy. I enjoy.”
This weekend, you’ll be able to watch some of the virtual choirs on the big screen at the Levitt. And you’ll have no idea that their body is not as strong as ours. They are beautiful together. No matter that the song is beautiful or that they are singing beautifully— you’ll be most moved to realize the risk of something as free as a song: They are breathing bravely.
Ashley is among many in Sioux Falls who uses her energy to teach us so that we might support one another with a greater understanding.
I don’t have CF— I don’t know the pain of an embolization procedure or the stress of daily treatments or the fear of a fatal disease— but my friend Ashley does, and if singing makes her feel better, I want to help her sing.
‘An empowering experience’: Two brothers granted Make-A-Wish trips
Two brothers in Watertown recently returned from two Make-A-Wish trips with their families.
Each was born with a neuromuscular disorder and each was granted their own trips in August and September.
Even hidden within a lifetime of hardship, wishes do come true.
Jagger Boehm is 12 years old and was born with a neuromuscular disorder. His younger brother, Carsen, is 10 years old and also was born with the same critical disease. This past year, their doctors asked the family if they could send in request forms to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Aptly, the foundation stepped up to exceed expectations for the X family.
“When a child has a critical illness, they are told ‘no’ a lot,” said Sue Salter, CEO of Make-A-Wish South Dakota and Montana. She helped to organize Jagger and Carsen’s trips. “This becomes a very empowering experience for the child and the family.”
Jagger’s vacation was first. His wish was to fish for sharks in Florida and then to mount a fish in his home.
A replica from his catch will arrive in Watertown soon.
“It was so fun for him,” said Dad Shane Boehm. Shane says Jagger loves outdoor sports and that the two of them hunt and fish a lot together, especially now during deer season. Jagger caught Mahi Mahi and a blacktip reef shark in the Key Largo Bay. The Mahi Mahi coming home weighed about 10 pounds and is nearly 3 feet long.
A month later, Make-A-Wish sent Carsen and the family to the opposite side of the country, fulfilling Carsen’s Star Wars-themed wish. At Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., he and 19 other wish kids got to be a part of “Blaze Your Path: A Star Wars Adventure,” the first-of-its-kind, multi-day wish event for families.
“There is no doubt that a wish brings hope to a family and a child. A wish can do so many things. It is truly magical.”
“Disney is a national partner of ours and grants about 50 percent of the wishes we do,” Salter said. Her foundation granted over 100 wishes this past year. “But every wish is as unique as the child who makes it. We let them be the architect of their wish!”
Dad Shane said Carsen hopped on a few Disney rides but most enjoyed building drones and a lightsaber while immersed in the staged planet of Batuu.
“We’re humbled that so many children choose Disney to make their dreams come true,” said Josh D’Amaro, chairman of Disney Experiences and Make-A-Wish America board member. “We’re constantly finding innovative and uniquely Disney ways to grant wishes at our parks and experiences around the world.”
Neuromuscular disorders affect the nerves that control voluntary muscles. This can cause difficulty in mobility and hindrance in independence. Shane says both brothers use wheelchairs but can still walk sometimes.
“It’s been a challenge, but we have lots of family support,” said Dad, who works in town at Terex Utilties.
The Boehm family just moved to Watertown a couple years ago. Jagger attends Watertown Intermediate School, and Carsen goes to Mellette Elementary.
Although they will always need full-time care, trips like this are a boost in moral for the whole family.
Make-A-Wish America says research shows that wish trips revive spirits and offer strength to fight harder in diseases. Parents might feel optimism again, kids might gain courage to withstand treatments.
“There is no doubt that a wish brings hope to a family and child,” said Salter, who has been working with Make-A-Wish South Dakota and Montana chapters for six years. “A wish does so many things for a child – it truly is magical.”
Premier Center celebrates ten years of success with P!nk
The Denny Sanford PREMIER Center turns 10 this month, and pop singer P!nk is coming to the birthday party.
Already, Falls Park is aglow in cotton candy pink to celebrate her Summer Carnival tour’s arrival, and the road in front of the Denny has been renamed P!NK Place. There are pink banners uptown, pink drinks downtown, pink balloons in the hotels, and a custodian at the PREMIER Center is already preparing to sweep up pink glitter for days.
The cornerstone concert is this Monday, Oct. 21.
What did it take to get to such a grandiose celebration?
After the Sioux Falls Arena, built in 1961, could no longer hold our Sioux Falls community’s capacity – which had nearly doubled in size from the 1960s to the early 2000s – talks of an updated, larger event center rumbled. There was pushback, but study groups and a citywide vote ultimately committed to add on to the arena and Sioux Falls Convention Center what would be named the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, a namesake made possible by a 25-year, $20 million agreement with Sanford Health and First PREMIER Bank.
“So many memories are going to be created in this facility,” said then-mayor Mike Huether during the ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration in September of 2019. The public was, at last, invited to tour the anticipated $115 million endeavor. They settled in to one of the 12,000 event center seats among four levels, took in the view from each of the 22 suites and 18 loge boxes, took in the views from the bar rail seating and enjoyed discounts at the concessions, which now a offer grab-and-go option for fans who need the popcorn but don’t want to miss a beat.
“I’d love to have everybody to feel proud when they leave,” Huether said.
And how could we not? Within the past 10 years, we have welcomed to our darling Queen City infamous performers like Garth Brooks and his wife, Trisha Yearwood, for nine days’ worth of sold-out concerts in 2017. Dolly Parton came to town the year before, also with lots of pink and sequins, The Eagles brought their “History” tour a year after the Denny opened, and Stevie Nicks cried on stage when Fleetwood Mac came to woo us in 2019.
The Denny’s assistant general manager Jim Johnson said that country music is our city’s most beloved genre. To please us, Johnson said they’ve worked hard to lure Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Shania Twain and Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire, Eric Church and Jason Aldean, who was one of the first performers to step on stage at the Denny on Oct. 3, 2014. The giddy crowd sang along to “Wide Open” and “My Kinda Party” for his “Burnin’ it Down” tour.
I was there.
We are faithful fans in Sioux Falls, and Aldean’s was the first of over 50 sold-out shows over the years. Metallica currently takes the cake with a record-breaking 12,980 fans in the stands earlier this year. Before that, Elton John brought in over 11,000 fans in 2015 for his second visit to Sioux falls and then Carrie Underwood broke 12K fans in the fall of 2019. The venue continues to break its own records.
With around 20 concerts a year – and nearly 100 events per year, including basketball tournaments, hockey games, rodeo and the popular Disney on Ice shows every December – the PREMIER Center sells over 700,000 tickets annually and nets nearly $3 million.
“This is one of the best markets I’ve seen,” Johnson said, who has been booking shows for the Denny since 2018. He was new to Sioux Falls after moving here from California and says that Sioux Falls has an ideal community feel. “Building this venue took years of foresight, but it’s truly been a successful venture.”
Today, that venture continues to churn with the help of around 50 full-time and nearly 500 part-time employees, who come to take tickets, sell food and drinks and usher guests to their seats. Mike Krewson has been general manager of the facility since 2018, succeeding Terry Torkildson, the only other GM for the Denny.
“Our team here has worked tirelessly to make this complex the leader in the region that it is today,” Krewson said. “We continue to raise the bar year after year, increasing our event offerings and elevating the guest experience.”
The effort has received national attention and accolades, including multiple nominations for “Arena of the Year” from the Academy of Country Music Awards. Last year, the Denny was one of the top six event centers to be honored at the ACMs, including arenas in Texas, Florida, Arkansas and Tennessee, all of which seat at least 14,000 and up to 21,000 butts in seats. Comparatively, the Denny only seats 12,000.
“This is why we work as hard as we do for our guests and touring artists,” Krewson said last year.
Johnson contributes a thriving culture to their success.
Even during a pandemic in 2020, when most tours were canceled, Johnson said the staff morale sustained and maybe even increased with thanks to a supportive city and Denny management. They’ve always kept up with monthly staff meetings, work anniversary celebrations, team building “pulse checks,” rock-paper-scissors tournaments, and even see who can drop rubber duckies from the third floor and into a bucket in the bowl of the arena.
“Here you know you’re giving up a lot of your nights and weekends,” Johnson said. “We spend a lot of time together, we’re like a family, and so we want to get people out of their offices as much as we can and have some fun together.”
Externally, the Denny and our city is well known among performers as a place they want to return to.
Doria Drost, the event center’s director of marketing, says that performers swoon over venue catering – some say it’s the best they have tour – the kindness from staff and the unexpected extra miles.
“Jim Gaffigan and his wife were blown away by the venue donating a portion of ticket sales from his show toward a nonprofit one of their children runs, The Imagine Society,” Drost said. Gaffigan was just here last month. “And Lauren Daigle mentioned that she loved the gift box from local artisan, Wonderfully Made, and a flower crown-making station backstage.” Daigle was here in 2019 and again earlier this year.
Johnson adds that the staff insists all tours visiting feel at home and have “the easiest day possible” when they’re on the road. The Denny’s great sales history is enticing, too, he said. Their first year alone netted over $1 million in sales.
“Every now and then, we’ll run into an agent who hasn’t been here before and has ‘Little House on the Prairie’ on their mind of what they think South Dakota is like,” Johnson said. “But when they see how quickly we are expanding and experience everything we have to offer, it’s an easy selling point for promoters.
And the focus is equally on the fans, too, Drost says – ensuring smooth concession lines, a clean building and friendly greeters.
“Denny Sanford PREMIER Center’s brand is all about fostering community,” Drost said. “It’s all about creating positive, unique experiences for the public.”
“In the end, we’re really just trying to be good members of our community,” Johnson added.
What’s next?
Johnson said the Denny has their sights on continuing to break their own records in ticket sales and sold-out shows as it enters its next decade. The focus is otherwise on upgrades to the existing building, still in very good shape – “we’ve had the Arena for 60 years and even that is still doing great!” – and long-term expansions for the Sioux Falls Convention Center, which is at capacity as it continues to host conferences and tourism events.
He says any need now can take up to five years to implement and so they keep their focus on funding, tech upgrades and building structure needs.
“My brain is really in the future here,” Johnson said. “I usually know more about what’s happening next year than what’s happening next week!”
As we continue to reflect on what a treasure the venue has been to our community, Mayor Paul TenHaken says he “can’t imagine a Sioux Falls without a PREMIER Center.”
“This venue has been a catalyst for economic growth, cultural enrichment, and unforgettable experiences,” he said. “I’m grateful for the visionary leadership and dedicated team who made this achievement possible and will continue to see its success.”
REO Speedwagon performs for local Chamber
This month, the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce will welcome classic rock band REO Speedwagon to town for their annual meeting that celebrates a new year ahead.
The event will bring over 2,000 people to the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center in what is always a special gathering for local businesses.
“The Chamber’s annual meeting is a tradition that people plan their schedules around,” said Jennie Doyle, the Chamber’s vice president of member services. “They will attend regardless of who or what is on the program, but this year is a big one.”
In the past, the Chamber has welcomed motivational speakers, comedians, musicians and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra. It is perhaps the only networking event of the year where all members have an opportunity to network in an upscale affair and celebrate the success they bring to our community.
This year, instead of a formal dinner, guests will mingle among heavy appetizers and drinks in the bowl of the PREMIER Center before the concert begins.
“Having REO Speedwagon perform at the event is a fantastic way to really embrace the celebratory nature of the meeting and have some fun,” Doyle said, who added that the theme on Oct. 15 is fittingly “Keep Pushin’ On,” a nod to the band’s hit single, “Keep Pushin.’ ”
This Chamber meeting has been a stalwart in our community for well over a century but has only taken place at the PREMIER Center since the event center’s opening in 2014, when Chicago performed for the Chamber. The PREMIER Center celebrates its 10th anniversary this month.
“I remember that concert,” said Miles Beacom, CEO of Premier Bank Card. “Dana Dykhouse was the board chair at that time. I think the entire audience loved it.”
Like a family reunion of sorts, Beacom said he always looks forward to catching up with people as well as meeting new members of the community.
“It’s like having growing children every year!” he said.
But what a special one for Beacom, who will launch his one-year term as the incoming chair of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. He succeeds 2023-24 chair, Scott Lawrence, CEO of Lawrence & Schiller.
“How powerful is it that I can step back now and let Miles take over?” said Lawrence, who will now assume past chair in his final year on the board. “He knows I’m there for him the way he’s been there for me.”
Lawrence said he met many new faces during his tenure, learned a lot about the influence that the Chamber has on local businesses and looks forward to supporting Beacom in his new role.
“He’s going to have a fun year ahead,” Lawrence said.
But Beacom is not new to local boards. As CEO of Premier Bank Card for over 30 years now, he has served for United Way, the Catholic Diocese and Catholic Community foundations, Sanford Health International and Dakota State University, his alma mater.
This proves his steadfast leadership skills and ability to encourage growth wherever he sees potential. Beacom is affable, well-known and has an infectious high energy.
“Look how far we’ve come in Sioux Falls,” Beacom said. “We haven’t fallen into a comfort zone. If we want to be one of the top communities in the country or the world, we must continue to work together and not let up for the overall good of Sioux Falls.”
He touts the new Barb Iverson Skate Plaza, the Steel District, updates at the Great Plains Zoo, the beloved Arc of Dreams, one of the top United Ways in the nation, and an invested city council as proof of our vitality and inspiration to other communities.
“I believe Sioux Falls is a lot like Disney World,” he said. “Disney World is magical and make-believe. Sioux Falls is also magical, but we are real. When you look at the success Sioux Falls has had, I’d say the majority of communities in our country would give their right arm to be like us.”
Beacom grew up in Sioux Falls. Today, he and his wife raise their three daughters here. When he’s not acting as a CEO or board member, he’s likely on the bike trails or enjoying a high school or college football game.
“People will ask, ‘Why are you here?’ And I’ll say, ‘Well, I heard this is going to be a good performance!’ ”
As a local leader, it’s important that he mind and encourage continued growth, but he can also use his own upbringing to prove he’s in the right place.
“When I was growing up, there wasn’t a lot of job opportunities,” he said. “But the diversity of business opportunities today is just amazing. Look at our healthcare, financial services and retail. I’m really proud to be a part of it.”
He includes cyber research in that list of opportunity. In May of this year, Beacom’s alma mater broke ground on the Dakota State University Applied Research Lab, a $50 million cybersecurity research center that plans to bring in around 400 jobs to our region. Job opportunities will be in the field of software development, malware analysis and digital forensics.
The building will be located at the Sanford Sports Complex, and its projected opening is in two years.
“We are helping to build that facility,” said Randy Knecht, CEO of Journey Construction. Journey is a founding member of the Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce. “But what happens inside that building is what is more important here. It will create high-paying opportunities for students we’d love to keep in our community and in our state.”
Beacom, too, is eager to keep college graduates home, many of whom will come from DSU’s Beacom College of Computer & Cyber Sciences, Beacom’s namesake.
“This is a completely new field that will continue to build on our diversity here in Sioux Falls,” he said.
Community involvement is a wonderful part of the culture at First Premier. For years, employees have donated their time to nonprofits like Junior Achievement, Special Olympics, Lutheran Social Services and The Banquet. They also help to host free track meets every summer for ages 2-18.
Beacom said he fully intends to maintain this mindset with the Chamber board and its members.
“This is how we build unity,” Beacom said, adding that mentorship is also a large player in community involvement. “There is no better way to get involved than with the many organizations who help our community.”
Already, Chamber members understand this role. Knecht at Journey said it’s not only about “working together” but encouraging one another, too.
“Building community is about giving back and leaving an impact,” he said. “We’ve been through three or four leadership generations at Journey, each one building upon another. It’s a legacy we try to impart on our employees.
“We want to leave an impact that is bigger than ourselves.”
Beacom steps up to lead an honorable business community here in Sioux Falls.
The Chamber’s annual meeting this month will be emceed by local real estate broker Alexis Mahlen and former board chair Dana Dykhouse. Along with crowning Beacom as new board chair and celebrating local business success, the event will also rally around challenges that can be defeated if working together as one community.
Myriad ribbon cuttings also mean myriad families are moving to Sioux Falls.
“We have over 5,000 people coming into Sioux Falls every year,” Beacom said. “That’s 50,000 new people who have moved here within the last 10 years. We need to make sure they all fully understand the importance of working together for the overall success of Sioux Falls.
“We are growing at a very fast pace, but we’ve also had some great leadership to make sure our infrastructure’s ready for it,” he added. “I’m fired up.”
REO Speedwagon last performed in Sioux Falls in 2021 at the Washington Pavilion and in 2019 to a sold-out concert. Regina Ruhberg at the Pavilion says that classic rock always does well here, and she’s excited for the Chamber community.
Having REO Speedwagon is “a great win for our community,” Beacom said.
Welcome, my pretties: Neighborhoods turn into Halloween haunts
Our fascination for skeletons runs deep in this town.
They are crawling out of our front yards, loitering on our porches and lurking in our trees.
Sometimes, we also might see in our neighborhoods a giant spider or a ghost, Chucky or the Corpse Bride, maybe a tombstone or a cauldron or a coffin in the grass.
To trick-or-treat on Halloween night is no longer enough. Community residents now use their lawn as an eerie display for the entire Halloween season, like Christmas lights and Santa Clause, only with the sounds of chainsaws and screams.
And we love it.
“Halloween is not my obsession, it is my expression,” says Jana Keller, who hosts “Grandma Lu’s Hallow” every year in her front yard off 37th Street and Minnesota Avenue. She welcomes up to 4,000 visitors who lurk and play and participate in her “haunt” every year. “We are just a family who loves Halloween and want to keep its traditions alive for our community.”
We visited “Grandma Lu’s Hallow,” trying not to look too closely into the bleeding eyes of a vintage haunted doll. You can visit this weekend, too.
We also visited the McNamaras, a family living in McKennan Park with 12-foot skeletons and a Grim Reaper crowding their lawn, all for the neighborhood to enjoy.
“It gives me joy that everyone in the community loves it,” said Jacque McNamara, the homeowner of the annual display. “It’s a lot of work, but what I get back from it is from the people who appreciate it.”
We invite you to get to know the Kellers and the McNamaras, and to visit their yards in the next week, too … if you dare.
When Keller was 8 years old, her parents took her to the Sioux Falls Jaycees Haunted House (now known as the Jaycee’s Feargrounds). It was there she first saw what could’ve been a tormenting childhood nightmare: A severed head floating in a bathtub full of blood.
“I can still see that image so vividly in my head,” she said. “And it didn’t scare me, I just wanted to know how they did it!”
But it’s no wonder. Her mother, Luella, used to leave rubber snakes in the cupboard and plastic spiders in the cereal. She would wear around a fake bloody finger for anyone with their guard down, and she showed up to Keller’s classroom every Halloween dressed as a witch delivering sugar cookies.
Luella died in 2020, and “Grandma Lu’s Hallow” is a dedication to “the matriarch who taught us all to love Halloween.”
“This has been very therapeutic for me,” says Keller, who has been decorating her yard for eight years now, each year a new theme. This year is haunted dolls. “It’s like a living memorial to my mom, but it’s also out of love for my son. We bond over it and work on this all year together.”
Her son, Lennon, 23 years old and now decorating his own home for Halloween as early as July, remembers all the Halloween costumes his mother made for him growing up – like Robin, Harry Potter, Gilligan, Luke Skywalker and Kermit the Frog. On his 12th birthday, which happens to be in October, he invited over his classmates to carve pumpkins and watch “Night of the Living Dead,” and every fall growing up he would eagerly await when his mother was going to surprise him and have the house decorated for Halloween.
“When I came home from school and saw that all the curtains were down, that’s when I knew everything was up,” Lennon said. “It was just awe-inspiring to walk in the door, to have the entire house transformed into a Halloween exhibit. It was a wonder.”
The two of them start thrifting for props as early as April of every year. When it gets closer to Halloween, family and friends will all pitch in to decorate and then work the nights of the events.
There are a couple “live actors” ready to spook – “if we get a carload of teenagers to who think they’re smarty-pants, then we’re going to let ’em have it” – as well as hosts handing out candy, toy clowns and even free children’s books.
Meanwhile, Jana spends the night greeting guests, just like her mother would do.
“She was very outgoing, very spunky, such a prankster,” Jana says. On the night of her holiday of the year, she shares stories of her mother.
“This is my Christmas,” Jana says. “And we all need that sense of community. Halloween is a night to just welcome the stranger as they are, and if I can make it memorable for someone,
Just like Jana when she was younger, Ronan McNamara is 5 years old and has yet to be spooked.
“When he was two years old, there was this house on 41st Street, between Fourth (Street) and Phillips (Avenue),” says Ronan’s mother, Colleen McNamara. “They would put up scary decorations in their yard for Halloween, and Ronan would want us to drive by every night.
“So I sent them a card and said, ‘My son absolutely loves your house. Thank you for making his day!”
A few nights later, Colleen said when they drove by once again, there was a sign in their yard that read, “Happy Halloween, Ronan!”
“I was in tears,” she said. “It was after that we realized we wanted to do this for him.”
Colleen enlisted the front yard of her parents, Jacque and Mike McNamara, to decorate for Ronan every Halloween.
They live in McKennan Park, the neighborhood that hands out freshly-made cotton candy, freshly-popped popcorn and full-size candy bars on Halloween night and has a live band in someone’s driveway. The neighborhood will see around 2,000 trick-or-treaters within a couple hours, but Jacque says they’ve been welcoming drive-by visitors and passersby all month.
“It’s Halloween here every night,” Jacque says. “Ronan will go outside to give tours and loves talking to everybody.”
Colleen says he watches YouTube videos of the latest Halloween props and is always sneaking outside to rearrange their display or invite over a neighbor walking by. They set out dog treats, too.
“Forty-five, 46, 47, 48 …” Ronan counts the skeletons in his grandma’s yard. “Oh, and that’s Ground Breaker, he’s my favorite.”
He hugs the bones coming out of the grass and then goes on to count 50 more.
N.C. family on a 50-day run to support a cleft-focused nonprofit
A North Carolina family ran through Sioux Falls on Tuesday in support of Smile Train, an international nonprofit that supports free surgeries for cleft-affected children.
A small community of local runners joined the family of four at Falls Park, beginning their 5K fun run on the bike trail and looping back.
“I couldn’t get over the really nice park and trail system,” said Jeremy Hough, who is the father of the family and has been planning this trip for more than a year. “You all are so lucky to have that here.”
Jeremy, his wife, Kelly, and teenage daughters Campbell and Caroline began a 50-day charity run on Sept. 11 in Anchorage, Alaska. Their goal is to run 50 5Ks for 50 days straight in all 50 states. They've made it through Alaska, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and South Dakota, and are on their way now toward North Dakota and Wisconsin. They'll continue to loop clockwise through the U.S. and end their endeavor Oct. 31 in Maui, Hawaii.
“We’re looking to generate awareness, maybe raise some money and interact with people as we travel around the country,” Jeremy Hough said. “We want people to cheer us on or come alongside us and share their stories.”
Why they are running
Since 2018, the work of Smile Train is made possible by training hospital staff worldwide and providing resources that allow dentists, orthodontists and oral surgeons to offer cleft-affected children high-quality, necessary care.
A cleft palate or a cleft lip is a common birth condition in which the roof of the mouth and / or the lip has an opening or a split that can make it difficult for infants and children to eat, breath, speak or hear. It’s the most common facial difference in children worldwide and is also associated with ostracization from society, bullying in school and even children being rejected by their parents or family members.
The Hough’s oldest daughter, Campbell, 17, was born with a cleft lip. Her experience is her family’s inspiration to take this on. Since birth, she has endured a lip repair at 3 months old, a palate repair at 10 months old, a bone graft and lip revision at 8 years old and an oral surgery to pull down a tooth just this past year.
“Oh, my word, she was in so much pain,” Kelly Hough said. “It was horrible. But Smile Train has a whole team of social workers, psychologists, oral surgeons, dentists and orthodontists to help families like us afford multiple surgeries. It’s an incredible comprehensive team approach.”
Their fundraising adventure is called “Miles for Smiles: Run 50 Strong.” The Houghs thus far have raised $100,000 for Smile Train and hope to raise $50,000 more during their 50-day nationwide jaunt this fall.
They first flew from home to Alaska, then flew to Seattle from Alaska for their second run and will now continue the remainder of their trip in their camper by staying at KOAs. They spent time in the Black Hills before visiting Sioux Falls and were able to attend the nightly lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore.
“Let me tell you, it was so moving to be there,” said Jeremy Hough. “The ranger spoke so well and passionately about our history and the importance of voting.”
Jeremy Hough recently retired from the military and said that, at the ceremony, all veterans were called down to the stage to retire the flag together.
“I got to stand on the stage with fellow serviceman,” he said. “I could never had known I would get to experience that! It was really incredible.”
Dedication to the cause
Kelly Hough said a lot of friends have scoffed at the family's decision to embark on a two-month, cross-country road trip in a camper and with their two dogs. “But we get to see every state,” she said. “We feel called to do this, and it’s for such a good cause.”
Campbell is a senior in high school. She and her sister are doing online learning until they return to their school for spring semester.
“I kept asking Caroline, ‘Are you sure you want to miss half of your senior year of high school?’ ” Kelly said. “And she said to me, ‘Mom, I’m not missing anything. I want to be here for these kids, it’s important to me.’ ”
“There are so many families that have no idea Smile Train even exists,” Campbell added. “They are in countries that don’t have the same resources as we do and need serious help. But this is such an easy fix and a simple surgery. Why wouldn’t I want to talk about that and help kids?”
Kelly Hough said the typical cost of a cleft repair surgery in a foreign country is about $250.
“That’s someone skipping their Starbucks for a month,” she said. “That can transform the patient’s life and a family’s life. What an incredible impact a dollar can make.”
Smile Train has supported more than 2 million free cleft surgeries in more than 75 countries, and the Hough family has raised more than $100,000 for the organization.
“It was a lot of work to get here, but we are absolutely committed to this,” Jeremy Hough said. “It’d be great if we could get a smile out of our visit from Sioux Falls—or even more would be incredible.”
To donate, visit SmileTrain.org.
Moves for mental health: Dancing With the Stars an annual fundraiser
A gym owner, a Realtor, an interior designer, a filmmaker and a property developer walk into a bar … and do the tango?
Bet you didn’t see that coming.
Neither did they.
Last summer, five “local celebrities” were tapped to compete in Dancing With the Sioux Falls Stars, the second annual fundraiser for local nonprofit Empire Mental Health Support, being held Saturday night at The District.
Since the invite, all five participants and their professional partners have been rehearsing jazz, some waltz, “something poppy” and maybe even some freestyle for the big night.
There may be stunts? But there will definitely be sequins.
“This will be the night of my dreams,” says Phyllis Arends, board treasurer for Empire Mental Health Support. She helped to begin the mental wellness advocacy troupe four years ago, which raised around $60,000 for last year’s fundraiser. “The event is so gorgeous and meaningful. It’s a dressy, intimate affair, everybody has a good time talking to one another.
“I’m getting goosebumps just talking about it! It’s so magical.”
As is the work of Empire Mental Health Support.
Before EMHS, Arends worked with NAMI Sioux Falls for two decades. Dancing With the Sioux Falls Stars was a successful fundraiser for NAMI as well. When their local chapter shut down in 2020, Arends saw to it that the work ― and the dancing ― went on.
“We still needed that level of mental health support in the community,” said Arends, a retired nurse who touts her prima networking skills and collaborations among a tight-knit community here in Sioux Falls as tools to see EMHS to fruition. “I really just want to help people understand their worth in this community and that they are not out there alone.”
A personal story for an intimate cause
Empire Mental Health Support offers free services ― like weekly support groups, educational programming and connections to local professionals ― provided by people who also live with mental illnesses or are the loved ones for people who do.
They are a “determined” board of eight volunteer members who serve as advocates in our community and as confidants for an invisible illness that’s equally in need.
“Everybody has somebody they know who is dealing with their mental health,” said CJ Wehrkamp, one of the competition’s local celebrities and owner of FitBody Boot Camp. He says he will have clients often use the gym merely as a healing outlet for both their physical and mental well-being. “I have even had clients tell us one of the reasons they are still living is because of our gym community.”
Arends says that each contestant of the competition will talk about their personal connections to mental illness and the importance of speaking out.
“Our dance tells a story of losing someone,” says Tara Allen, CEO of Allen Edge Real Estate Team and will compete with professional dancer Clinton Store. Just this past summer, Allen lost her brother, who also struggled with his mental health, from an unexpected accident.
“Clinton and I have both lost people to mental health,” she said. “This process has been like therapy for me, it couldn't have been better timing.”
Arends estimates there are over 40,000 community members in Sioux Falls with a formal mental health diagnosis, but so few of them are unaware of support services or are reluctant to actually seek treatment.
“When you go through these things, you’re not always well-received in the community,” Arends said. “We want the Sioux Empire region to be a more welcoming and comfortable place for people whose lives are touched by mental illness.”
This effort includes not only making connections between a service and a community member but also advocating for existing services, like Southeastern or Avera behavioral health centers, that they receive proper funding and support.
“There’s just such a need here,” said Sarah DeWitt, local interior designer and co-owner of DeWitt Designs. She’ll be performing on Saturday with local professional dancer Tony Bartholomaus. “But, as it is in many illnesses, there’s also such a variety of ways to help somebody. It hits everybody differently, so it’s difficult to maintain a self-sustaining program that would work for everybody.
“What we are doing here is one small step to help, but it’s still a step,” she says.
Advocating for something 'bigger than ourselves'
Our local celebrities were chosen partly because of their success and outreach in the community ― DeWitt has been serving both regional and national client homes for well over 30 years; Wehrkamp’s successful “Fit & Healthy” podcast streams weekly; Allen’s real estate team just hit a milestone of serving 2,000 families over the past decade; videographer Vince Danh just completed his Mission 100 goal of serving over 100 businesses within one year; and real estate developer Nate Welch recently made a big change from finance and government.
“But we don’t have to talk about that here,” Welch said. “We are all so identified by what we do, reputation is so huge in Sioux Falls. And then when you make a career change, you often have to think about how you want to talk about that, but what’s so beautiful about this event is that we don’t have to advocate for our work or for ourselves.
“This one isn’t about me, and it’s one of the reasons I’m so honored to be a part of it.”
Addie Graham-Kramer, owner of The Event Company who is helping to host the fundraiser and dance competition, said it’s an equal honor to work with Arends and the EMHS mission.
“To be seen and to be heard is so important through the work that EMHS does,” Graham-Kramer said. “One of my favorite parts is that community leaders from all walks of life will come together just to raise awareness for mental health education.”
A learning experience for the competitors
Wehrkamp said he had never danced before this big event. “Maybe at wedding dances!”
His gym is not a ballroom, but right now the ballroom is his gym, and he is so invested in this opportunity to serve his community.
“I find myself driving in my car and just thinking about our dance,” Wehrkamp says, who will be dancing with professional Magen Richeal. “Magan is putting all this together for us. I want to make sure I do well for her!”
Welch does have some performance background, as a former mascot for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and some nationwide theater tours since then, but there is still intimidation for him.
“Being on stage is not the scary part,” said Welch, who will be performing with reigning mirrorball trophy winner McKenzie Kock and said he’s even been practicing dance moves with his family in their kitchen. “Dancing with talent like this and for such a good cause, that’s the nerve-wracking part. I only have these dance moves to tell a story.”
Local videographer and business co-owner Vince Danh, too, has some experience having once learned ballroom dancing from his godmother as a teenager. He and his professional dance partner, Stephanie Kessler, have bonded thus far on their unique music choice.
“I’ve never had the courage to go up and dance on a stage, but I look forward to when we have our practices together,” Danh said. “We have a lot of fun with this, I just want it to be true to ourselves.”
As a well-known interior designer, DeWitt prioritized her focus for the competition on costume design, colors and presentation ― “I’m going to have the coolest dress!” ― while her partner choreographed “an art form” that reflects her personality.
“He read me so well,” DeWitt said. “I love it. I feel comfortable, and I’m enjoying it. I really am.”
And what about Phyllis?
“Oh, I am no good!” she says. “I do not like making a fool of myself on the dance floor. I am just ‘Hostess with the Mostest’ and will make sure everyone has a good time and feels appreciated.”
The Saturday charity event expects around 300 guests, who will surround a “round style” dance floor underneath the spotlights. Judges will decide a winner at the end.
“They’re going to be almost part of the audience in some respects,” Arends said. “It’s going to be really, really special this year.”