Rapid City Journal from Rapid City, South Dakota • A8

A8 Sunday, auguSt 11, 2019 Rapid City JouRnal 00 1 LOCAL STATE JOE SNEVE The Argus Leader SIOUX FALLS First it was the Washington Pavilion. Then came SculptureWalk, Levitt at the Falls and, most recently, the Arc of Dreams. Downtown Sioux Falls has experienced what Mayor Paul TenHaken and other community advocates have called an art re- naissance in recent years. And art murals on exterior building walls could be the next step. Sioux Falls already has a few them.

Artist and muralist Shaine Schroeder in 2017 created a mu- ral on the side of the Common Sense building at 12th Street and Second Avenue. And a large art piece, also has graced the patio wall of M.B. Haskett on Phillips Avenue for years. But now a concerted effort being spearheaded by the office and Downtown Sioux Falls, Inc. (DTSF) to trans- form blank walls into large pieces of art.

want to bring people to all areas of downtown and activate them through art, and murals are a great way to do DTSF President Joe Batcheller told the Argus Leader last month. A mural is essentially any piece of artwork placed directly on a wall, ceiling or permanent surface. It could be painted or applied similarly to wallpaper. Erica Beck, chief of staff in the office, said the Ten- Haken administration is taking intentional on culture and arts through all of downtown, including murals. The south side of the new parking ramp, which faces one of the busiest thoroughfares downtown and sits on the busiest corner in the neighborhood, is an ideal candidate for a mural, she said.

She also sees the north side of the 10th Street viaduct bridge as a future mural site. kind of art leads to ad- ditional people wanting to visit our community and experience our Beck said. She said she also sees murals and other art works as a way to connect downtown to other core Sioux Falls neighborhoods that surround it through known as taking a static, underused space and creating vibrancy, often- times through art. When it comes to the rules around murals, city ordinance is generally permissive. However, in 2016, a mural on the side of the Elegant Mommy retail store location near 37th Street and Minnesota Avenue prompted administrative action from City Hall.

The mural featured four ren- derings of mothers with their children along with the store name and a description of the type of goods and services of- fered. City zoning officials ruled that was in violation of ordi- nance, which says murals double as advertisement. Even- tually, the store removed the text to get into compliance with city rules. Zach DeBoer, vice president of the Sioux Falls Visual Arts Commission, said that was an unfortunate situation that had a cooling effect on aspi- rations to create murals on their places of business. lot of people think the city has either been stopping or pre- venting it, and instances like the Elegant Mommy he said.

nothing that ever read in our ordinance stops anyone from painting or creat- ing a mural as long as not advertising sold And with a City Hall now embracing murals, real optimism that more will start showing up downtown. Batch- eller said DTSF is working with building owners to garner inter- est in murals and has an arts fund in its budget to aid in paying for the creation of more art down- town. In 2017, DTSF supplied about of the funding for the mural on the side of the Common Sense retail store at 12th Street and Da- kota Avenue. Today, become a place where people take selfies and group photos. was meant really as a pilot project to see what sort of response get from Batcheller said.

can all say been very successful. become a Why murals will be the next public art trend in Sioux Falls SHAYNA BURT PHOTOS, THE ARGUS LEADER VIA AP In this July 21, 2017 photo, Shaine Schroeder, a well-known artist and muralist in Sioux Falls, stands in front of his mural spanning over three walls in tommy Pub in Sioux Falls. M.B. back patio walls transformed into a mural by Sioux Falls artist Shaine Schroeder, covering all four walls. ASSOCIATED PRESS PLATTSMOUTH, Neb.

An eastern Nebraska grower has added industrial hemp to its crop list as it searches for ways to reap more profits from its land. Annette Wiles drove to Colorado recently and paid $5 apiece for 72 plants in each of four varieties that since had planted in a Plattsmouth greenhouse. She and her husband, Bruce, own Midwest Hop Produc- ers. one of 10 grow- ers randomly selected for the first year of the Hemp cessing Research Program, which was established by a bill signed into law this past spring by Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.

A provision of the 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the list of federally controlled substances and treats the low-THC version of the cannabis plant like any other ag- ricultural crop. THC is the compound that gives marijuana its high. The Wileses had been growing corn and soy- beans, but Annette Wiles told the Lincoln Journal Star that not a lot of money in those crops these days. why she and her husband looked into specialty crops such as hops, used mostly to flavor beer. Now learning how to grow hemp.

learned a lot of les- sons with hops that be able to bring over to what doing with she said. The Wileses have con- sulted with University of Nebraska-Lincoln agron- omy professor Ismail Dweikat, who has been do- ing research on the cannabis plant. He said that although many products can come from hemp, its CBD oils are the most profitable. He speculated that grown outside under ideal condi- tions, with high CBD, hemp could gross up to $100,000 an acre. By comparison, an acre (0.4 hectares) of corn yielding around 190 bushels would sell for about $725.

there is a huge po- tential for the farmers in Nebraska to start grow- ing hemp for he said. am excited to see the first legal hemp farming in Ne- braska Grower adds hemp in bid to reap more profit from landphotojournalist, marketer, author and South first FAA 333 Exempt drone pilot. Hughes, 63, is a for- mer Las Vegas limo driver and stuntman. He lives in the desert community of Apple Valley, California, and is part of a group of people worldwide who trust sci- ence. His interest in rockets was fueled by his land- lord, friend and men- tor, Waldo Stakes, who encouraged Hughes to read about rockets and physics, Brusseau said.

Hughes considers him- self a self-taught rocket scientist though he refers to his rocket launches and inquiries into the shape as experiments, not science, Linn and Brus- seau said. Hughes trusts only his own experiments and observations because he believes all other evi- dence has been tainted by conspiracies. docu- ments one of rocket launches. long-term goal is to build a rocket powerful enough to propel him 62 miles into space higher than com- mercial aircraft fly so he can see for himself whether the Earth is flat. Before Linn and Brusseau conceived the idea for their documen- tary, Hughes had already gained worldwide attention with appearances on CBS, NBC, Comedy Central, Tosh.O, the Daily Show, Fox Business and other media outlets.

Brusseau and Linn said in their film they chose not to parody Hughes but to simply show him as a man pursuing his dream. storytellers, we felt there was a deeper story behind Michael Hughes, and we wanted to document his journey, not from a place of mocking a wild theory but of finding Linn and Brusseau said in a news release. could any- one truly think the Earth is Linn and Brusseau spent three weeks in the Califor- nia desert filming Hughes and his small crew as they attempted to launch a homemade steam-pow- ered rocket. Building the rocket costs thousands of dollars. Hughes has some sponsors who help offset expenses, but he also for- ages for parts and incor- porates some found objects into his rocket, Brusseau said.

wanted to tell a story that shows what going to take to launch this Brusseau said. three guys (Hughes and his friends) in the desert and the Unlike reality TV, scripted or rehearsed. Instead, the filmmakers let the events unfold and chronicled what happened foibles, mishaps, successes and all. wanted to be flies on the Linn said. sure what we got ourselves into.

been an incredible They knew they could be injured or worse if the rocket exploded. ex- tremely Brus- seau said. fact that we die is a very large story also has a unique tie to South Dakota. first Flat-Earth Society was right here in South Dakota in Hot Springs. I told Mad Mike that and he loved the Brusseau said.

Brusseau and Linn de- scribe Hughes as an under- dog whose determination is surprisingly inspiring. find yourself rooting for this anti-hero for the 21st Linn said. Ultimately, is entertainment, but the filmmakers hope it con- veys a thought-provoking message about moving past first impressions and get- ting to know people whose beliefs differ from ours. lot of people believe things without evidence, on faith. We need to know how to talk civilly.

De- bates on social media get Linn said. need to observe, listen and be For more information about go to realrocketman.com or fol- low on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Movie From A1 COURTESY OF LAWLESS MAGICIAN PICTURES Waldo Stakes, left, and Hughes are shown in the California desert in this image from Mad Mission to Prove the Stakes is friend and mentor who encouraged his interest in rockets. Linn Brusseau Family owned operated since 1968 605-269-2434 1-800-564-0224 1020 LAUREL STREET WHITEWOOD, SD 57793 HOURS: Monday Friday 7:30 am 5:30 pmSaturday 8:00 am 4:00 pm $9999 Hero Black Lizard Print Collection Suggested Retail $16600 Style NL 5404 Levi Original Fit Button Fly $4499 Ladies (605) 342-2104 www.BlackHawkVans.com Independence Mobility for the Physically Challenged Personal and Commercial Stair way and porch lifts Buy or Rent a Comfortable Wheelchair Equipped Van Over 20 years experience! Love getting news on the go? DownLoaD our app at rapidcityjournal.com/apps.