The Wrap: This Week in Sioux Falls

• Seven school buses went up in flames Tuesday morning in Pipestone, Minnesota. They were parked at Priester Bus Service and no injuries were reported. The town of just over 4,300 and surrounding communities rallied to to help secure uninterrupted bus service to school children. Owner, Jerry Priester, who was insured, is just glad no one was hurt.

• Augustana College has fired head football coach Mike Aldrich. The South Dakota school released a statement Tuesday saying Aldrich and his offensive coordinator, Steve Olinger, have been let go. The Vikings finished 5-6 this season. They lost their final three home games of the year, one to city rival University of Sioux Falls.

• Wednesday was World Diabetes Day. The night before, a couple of South Dakota landmarks joined the global effort to raise awareness by lighting Falls Park blue in downtown Sioux Falls. Elsewhere, Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills were also illuminated in blue light.

• Teen texting is down for for the first time across America. Better parental discussions on the dangers of texting-and-driving, and smartphones which carry several means of texting without the use of hands are being credited for the decline.

• Several Black Friday ads were released this week along with store hours for major retailers. Many stores will be opening on Thanksgiving again this year creating a firestorm of reaction on the internet discussion boards.

• An eight-year-old girl that was involved in an auto accident Thursday night in Sioux Falls has died. The accident happened just before 8 PM at 26th Street and Discovery Avenue. It is a construction scene and police are still trying to piece together what happened. The driver, Michelle Lee, 46, of Sioux Falls, and her daughter were taken to Sanford Hospital. The mother was released, but the daughter later died as a result of her injuries.

• Last week's Feeding South Dakota Turkey Drive in Sioux Falls raised more than 1000 turkeys. More turkeys are needed and cash donations are always welcome. Please give today and help eliminate hunger in South Dakota.

• Anarchy in the USA? Folks in dozens of states file petitions to secede from the United States! As of Wednesday, just over 3,000 South Dakotans also signed the petition. Although this is largely seen as symbolic, the filers in each state still have a month to gather 25,000 signatures to have their peaceful withdrawal from the U.S.A. considered by the president. Good luck with that.

• A huge football rivalry at 2pm Saturday in Brookings, SD where USD will battle SDSU. School officials are expecting large crowds and there will be large video screens set up on the practice field just east of the Coughlin Alumni stadium. There are also watching parties set up throughout South Dakota. Watch for a sea of blue and red across the region Saturday.

• Quote of the Week: "Florida has finally counted the election votes and Obama clearly beat McCain. Now, on to those 2012 ballots." - Dan Collins

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