City supports 211 Helpline for suicide prevention

The Flandreau city council has voted to support Moody County Cares’ efforts to get 211 Helpline services to the community.
At its Jan. 21 meeting, the council unanimously approved $1,000 toward the $6,000 it will cost the first year of 211 services. Moody County commissioners also have approved $1,000 in funding. Moody County Cares will seek other money from communities and private businesses.
The Helpline answers many types of calls, but Moody County Cares is focusing on having the service as a resource for suicide prevention and help when people call 211. The county is the only one in the area that doesn’t contract with 211 services.
Moody County Cares was started recently because of concerns about suicide among the farm community where farmers have faced financial struggles, said the Rev. Alan Blankenfeld, chairman of the group that includes about 30 people.
In other business,
•Mayor Mark Bonrud has appointed Corey Bruning to replace Paul Lewis as the city attorney, which is a part-time job. Bruning, 41, graduated from Flandreau High School in 1995 and from the University of South Dakota in 2000 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a major in economics. He spent nine years in the financial services industry and earned his MBA and law degree from USD in 2012.
After working on his own in 2012, he and Lewis opened a law firm together. When Lewis went to fulltime Moody County State’s Attorney at the beginning of the year, he gave up the city attorney position. Bruning also is the assistant state’s attorney for the county, serving as needed.
Bruning said with two lawyers on the city council and other lawyers in appointed positions in Flandreau, he knew he needed to step up and offer to represent the city if the business was going to stay local.

“It is a good opportunity to give back and to serve,” he said.
Bruning and his wife, Kara, have daughters, Kassie, 12, and Lexi, 8.
•Bids came in for construction and materials for the fourth phase of the electrical project, which will move overhead lines underground in the areas of town that haven’t been converted.
Dakota Directional LLC of Redfield came in with the lowest offer of $993,617 for construction. Nine bids were received and ranged from the low bid to $1.4 million.
WESCO of Sioux City, Iowa, had the low bid on the primary power cable at $337,476, one of two companies to submit bids. The other bid was $375,890.
Three bids were received for three-phase padmount switches with RESCO of Moorhead, Minn., offering the low bid of $86,081. Other bids ranged up to $98,865. RESCO also earned the low big on single padmount switches at $4,119 and for three-phase padmount distribution transformers at $23,618.
Out of four bids for single-phase padmount distribution transformers, Irby Utilities of Egan, Minn., had the low bid at $48,226.
The engineer working for the city on the project, DGR Engineering of Rock Rapids, Iowa, recommends the city accept the bids.
•Resident Janii White asked the council if there are city rules about making sure vehicles are off the street when snow plowing is done. When cars are left on the street, plows go around them, and it leaves a mess, she said.
City administrator Jeff Pederson said the city’s ordinances are weak when it comes to snow removal.
Vehicles are supposed to be off the street within 24 hours after receiving two inches of snow when parked on an emergency route and 72 hours on other streets. But this last snow was a prolonged event with winds added in, he said. “The conditions have been very challenging.”