By With the final days of 2025 slipping away, it’s time to take a look back at all that’s happened during the year.
From three new leaders in Aberdeen — police chief, city manager and Northern State University president — to residents rejecting a plan to convert Main Street through downtown to two-way traffic, there was plenty of big news in the previous 12 months.
What follows is a look at the top stories from 2025. The list is based on the importance of news and reader interest. No scientific method was used, and the stories are not listed in any particular order.
Changes at city hall
In September, longtime Police Chief Dave McNeil was hired as Aberdeen’s fourth city manager. That was one piece of a puzzle that has resulted in big changes in the city’s administration.
Bobzien
McNeil
Jondahl
MORE: Robin Bobzien retires, reflects on 31 years working for city of Aberdeen
McNeil was hired to replace Robin Bobzien, who was promoted to city manager in 2023 with the expectation that he would retire this year after more than three decades working for the city.
MORE: Jondahl understands new job as police chief comes with high expectations
When McNeil swapped jobs, the Aberdeen Police Department needed a new chief with the understanding that the person chosen would almost certainly be an in-house candidate. In mid-October, Tanner Jondahl was named the new chief. He’s worked his way through the ranks during more than 20 years with the police department.
LaFave returns to Northern State University
A familiar face is returning to Aberdeen as Alan LaFave was named the new president of Northern State University in November.
LaFave
He had spent seven years as the president of Valley City State University in North Dakota. Before then, LaFave worked nearly three decades at NSU as an instructor, professor of music, department chairman, associate dean, dean of the School of Fine Arts, and provost and vice president for academic affairs. He also earned his undergraduate degree from Northern.
MORE: LaFave looks forward to writing Northern State’s next chapter
LaFave will oversee the finalization of a new strategic plan for the university. He will also have a hand in helping replace two retiring administrators. Vice President for Finance and Administration Veronica Paulson and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Wanous have announced their retirements.
Former Presentation College dorms being converted into apartments
As Aberdeen looks to add more housing, the Presentation Sisters proved a valuable ally this year. Four former Presentation College buildings that had been residence halls are being converted into apartments.
People have already started moving into the former West Suites, now called Sister Janice Klein Village. The three buildings will have a combined 36 three- and four-bedroom apartments thanks to a project led by the Aberdeen Housing Authority.
MORE: Former Presentation College West Suites welcome first renters after conversion to 36 apartments
The former East Suites building is being converted into a 45-unit affordable housing apartment building. St. Joseph Catholic Housing is heading that effort.
Members of Toby Doeden’s family joined him on stage after he announced that he will seek the Republican nomination for governor of South Dakota at the Wylie Park Pavilion on Wednesday, May 28. Aberdeen Insider photo by Troy McQuillen.
Toby Doeden announces run for governor
After months of speculation, Aberdeen businessman and Groton native Toby Doeden announced in May that he will seek the 2026 Republican Party nomination to be governor.
“We have watched the political power brokers get much richer and the most vulnerable get much poorer. I’m here to say tonight, once and for all, that enough is enough,” he said during his campaign kickoff announcement at the Wylie Pavilion.
There have also been accusations of threats against Doeden this year. An Aberdeen woman was arrested after encountering Doeden at a Northern State football game. Shawna King faces misdemeanor counts of simple assault and disorderly conduct. That case is still pending.
Smack Pet Food opens
Smack Pet Food opened in Aberdeen with production beginning on Oct. 17.
MORE: Production underway at new Smack Pet Food plant in Aberdeen
The business, at 714 Production St., produces food made with dehydrated meat products mixed with fruits and vegetables. Smack is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Owners Jonathan Giller and Michael Giller hope the Aberdeen plant will employ 30 people by fall 2026.
Aberdeen water rates continue to rise
City water and sewer rates in Aberdeen went up in 2025 and will continue to do so in the next few years to, among other things, accommodate expanded capacity at the treatment and reclamation plants. The aim, city leaders have said, is to expand economic development opportunities in town that have been limited because of Aberdeen’s lack of water availability.
MORE: Aberdeen City Council approves first reading of water rate increases
Another improvement includes a new water tower and lines to connect it to the rest of the city’s water system. Aberdeen has also partnered with WEB Water in hopes that WEB can provide an additional four million gallons to the city by 2030. That’s through a joint project called Water Investment in Northern South Dakota that also includes BDM Rural Water. It will require connecting Aberdeen’s water system to WEB’s near Ipswich.
Northwestern’s Ella Boekelheide keeps distance between herself and Deubrook Area’s Nora Olsen during the girls Class B state cross-country meet Saturday, Oct. 25 in Huron. Boekelheide won her second-straight state title and third overall. Photo by Kevin Foss for The Aberdeen Insider.
Ella Boekelheide’s dominance
Northwestern High School track and cross-country runner Ella Boekelheide has continued a spectacular prep career by winning four individual state championships in 2025.
During the spring track season, she won the girls Class B 800-, 1,600- and 3,200-meter races at the state meet. Then, in fall, she won the girls Class B cross-country state title for the third time. The senior qualified for six straight state cross-country meets, never finishing lower than sixth.
MORE: Boekelheide wins third Class B cross-country title; Ipswich girls claim team championship
Boekelheide has one high school track season left to add to her already impressive collection of accomplishments. She was also a member of the Wildcat volleyball team that placed third at the Class B tournament in November.
Harris Machine opens
Harris Machine started shipping parts from its Aberdeen plant this year. In town, the company, based in Oakes, N.D., operates out of the former Hub City building.
MORE: Harris Machine now shipping orders from Aberdeen
Harris Machine does welding, painting and machining of components for equipment produced by companies like Terex, John Deere, Caterpillar and Aztec and hopes to keep adding workers in Aberdeen.
Sutton brothers sell Millstone
The long-popular Millstone Family Restaurant has new owners. The business was owned for decades by brothers Duane Sutton and Bob Sutton, and patrons were surprised when news of a possible sale broke.
MORE: Millstone Family Restaurant celebrates 50 years of meals in Aberdeen
Brian and Linda Marcuson are the new owners of The Millstone, which as of earlier this year had been owned by Duane Sutton for 50 years. It used to be a Country Kitchen.
Strife between Brown County, Lunzmans continues
A battle between Brown County and Sheriff Dave Lunzman and his wife Mary Jane, or MJ, shows no sign of resolution. Both Dave and MJ sued the county commissioners, human resources director and state’s attorney this year.
MORE: Brown County Sheriff Dave Lunzman sheriff files lawsuit against county, city officials
In April, MJ filed her lawsuit, claiming harassment, retaliation and age discrimination. The sheriff followed suit in November, alleging violations of due process, selective arbitrary treatment, denial of promotion and raises, disclosure of private personnel information during a public meeting, a hostile work environment, invasion of privacy, interference with official duties, intentional infliction of emotional distress, conspiracy to deprive rights, wrongful termination and retaliation.
The dispute became public after a September 2023 blood draw incident at the Brown County Jail. MJ has been accused of violating warrant protocol while drawing the blood of a person suspected of drunken driving.
MORE: Brown County sheriff’s wife sues county commission, state’s attorney, HR director
Plenty of acrimony has followed as the Lunzmans, county officials and the Aberdeen Police Department have butted heads. County commissioners decided not to give the sheriff a rise this year. That’s one of the issues raised in his lawsuit. He is also seeking money for the work he did as county coroner through the end of 2024, when he completed his term as coroner.
After finishing second last year, Aberdeen Central’s Olivia Braun was the medalist at the 2025 Class A girls high school golf state meet, which concluded Tuesday, June 3 in Sioux Falls. Photo courtesy of South Dakota Public Broadcasting.
Aberdeen Central, Ipswich claim state championships
Plenty of athletes found success in 2025, particularly at the state track meet. But only two local varsity teams won state championships.
In spring, the Aberdeen Central girls golf team won the Class AA state meet. Olivia Braun led the Golden Eagles, winning the individual title by eight strokes.
Central won its first team championship since 2019 in dominating fashion. They led by 10 shots after the first day of the meet and finished 18 strokes ahead of runner-up Mitchell.
MORE: Braun, Aberdeen Central capture Class AA golf state titles; Roncalli third at A tournament
This fall, Ipswich won the girls Class B cross-country state meet. The Tigers had five runners in the top 16 places in collecting their ninth overall team title. Northwestern finished second.
For Ipswich, Isabella Galbraith finished fourth, Jayla Stiles fifth, Maddy Gellhaus 10th, Kalynn Oban 11th and Jennay Gisi 16th. Of that group, Gellhaus is the only senior.
Residents reject two-way traffic proposal for downtown Main Street
A plan to convert South Main Street through downtown Aberdeen to two-way traffic, warded off by local citizens, is an example of grassroots activism.
MORE: Aberdeen City Council shifts gears, Main Street downtown to remain one way
Many city and community leaders wanted to make the change in hopes it would boost the number of people visiting downtown and, as a result, business. But residents were not sold and filed a petition to force a referendum on the matter. Instead of scheduling a citywide vote, the Aberdeen City Council withdrew the proposal, acknowledging the public opposition.
Among the concerns raised by opponents were the cost, the loss of parking spots downtown, possible delivery issues and safety.
Aberdeen city workers vote to unionize
Seeking higher pay and better benefits, a group of city workers voted in July to unionize. The vote was 79-46 and affects about 125 city employees.
MORE: Aberdeen City Council approves collective bargaining agreement after city workers unionize
In November, a three-year collective bargaining agreement was approved by the Aberdeen City Council. The city workers are represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 65. The city’s police and fire departments have long been unionized.
Kessler’s sold to Coborn’s
After 86 years and four generations of family ownership, Kessler’s Food and Grocery was sold to Coborn’s, a regional grocery retailer based in St. Cloud, Minn. The transaction was announced in April.
MORE: Kessler’s grocery stores being sold to Coborn’s
“This partnership is particularly meaningful to us as the Kessler family and Coborns have known each other for decades. We’ve been family friends for many years, and I personally had the privilege of working for Coborn’s earlier in my career. As part of this partnership, Coborn’s will acquire our stores in Aberdeen and Miller, and we will continue to proudly operate under the trusted Kessler’s name,” Reed Kessler, former owner and executive vice president, wrote in an announcement.
Saul Phillips out, Matt Wilber in as head men’s basketball coach at Northern State
There’s a new man in charge of the Northern State University men’s basketball program. Matt Wilber was hired after a year as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA. Before then, he was head men’s basketball coach at Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell for 11 years.
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Wilber
Saul Phillips‘ run with the Wolves ended after the 2024-25 season during which Northern finished 2-26 overall and 1-21 in conference play. He had considerable success early in his six-year tenure, but Northern was a combined 12-45 in his last two seasons, and it became easy to sense local fans had grown disgruntled.
MORE: Wilber tempers expectations for first season coaching Northern State men
Wilber is off to a reasonable start this season considering he faces a tall task in rebuilding a squad with a rich and successful basketball tradition. The Wolves are 4-8 overall and 4-3 in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play heading into the holidays.
Serious crime cases
As is the case every year, there were some serious crimes and court cases in the Aberdeen area in 2025.
Three of the cases are unresolved. June C. Campbell, 27, of Aberdeen faces counts of murder, manslaughter and aggravated assault in a case resulting from incidents on Aug. 5. Campbell has entered not guilty pleas and claims a 67-year-old man who later died was inappropriately touching her. He was badly injured in what was reported as a stabbing, but he was also hit in the head with a frying pan, according to court documents. Campbell’s trial is set to begin in September.
MORE: Murder, manslaughter charges filed against Aberdeen woman after August incident
A vicious assault resulted in four felony charges being filed against Steven Ellis Joseph Groth, 32, of Aberdeen. He entered not guilty pleas to two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of domestic aggravated assault /bodily injury with indifference to human life and one count of burglary.
A woman was badly hurt during an incident on Nov. 18. Groth was then charged, and his trial is set to begin in June.
MORE: Groth enters not guilty pleas to kidnapping, domestic aggravated assault
Mark C. Rathbun, 67, of Sioux Falls and formerly of Aberdeen, has entered not guilty pleas to felony counts of solicitation of rape, possession of child pornography and unlawful use of a computer system to access confidential information. His trial is set for February.
Among other things, Rathbun is charged with trying to hire somebody to rape another person, according to court paperwork. A former employee at the driver’s license station in Aberdeen, he’s also accused of using the state system to gather personal details — including, names, phone numbers, images and Social Security numbers — that are meant to be confidential.
MORE: Former Aberdeen man accused of exploiting South Dakota driver database, solicitation of rape
In other notable cases, Esteban Luis Gonzalez-Cruz of Aberdeen was sentenced to 100 years in prison after being convicted of raping a 3-year-old, and Jeromy E. Loken of Ipswich was sentenced to four years in prison after being found guilty of sexually abusing a 3-year old. That happened at a day care, and Loken was previously a coach and teacher in Ipswich, though his teaching license has been permanently revoked by the state.
Record-breaking cattle prices
After years of rough prices making raising cattle a tough go, things changed in 2025 as prices at local auction barns and beyond hit record levels during the summer months.
MORE: Record-breaking cattle prices keep going up at local sale barns
“It’s caused by two things — tremendous beef demand from the consumer and the shortage of the cattle herd,” Steve Hellwig, who then owned Hub City Livestock, said at the time.
Reder
Reder resigns from South Dakota House of Representatives
Chris Reder, who a year ago was elected to the South Dakota House of Representatives, resigned his seat in May. He had one year remaining in his term.
MORE: Chris Reder resigns from South Dakota Legislature
That happened after residency concerns were raised as he has purchased a home and property in Minnesota. The Warner area Republican didn’t share many details about his resignation, saying only that the decision was for “personal and professional reasons.”
Shortly after his election, Reder was contemplating whether he was going to take his seat in Pierre, but ultimately did.
Republican Nick Fosness of Britton was appointed to fill the remainder of Reder’s term at the request of Gov. Larry Rhoden.
Aberdeen’s Gena Jorgenson races in a University of Nebraska swim meet during the 2024-25 season. Jorgenson was named to the USA Swimming National Team. Photo courtesy of the Nebraska Athletic Communication Office.
Gena Jorgenson continues to impress
Aberdeen native and former Aberdeen Swim Club member Gena Jorgenson had another impressive year at the University of Nebraska and even internationally.
MORE: Aberdeen’s Jorgenson earns spot on USA Swimming National Team
She was named to the USA Swimming National Team in preparation for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. It was her performance at the World University Games in Germany during the summer that helped boost her stock to the point she was selected. Jorgenson finished second in the 1500-meter freestyle in a time of 16:15.44.
Jorgensen is in her final season swimming for the Cornhuskers, where she has earned all-American honors and set many school records.
Roncalli Middle School teacher Dan Gallagher was honored with the Milken Educator Award during an assembly on Thursday, Feb. 13 at the Roncalli Gym. The honor comes with $25,000. Courtesy photo.
Roncalli teacher honored with Milken Educator Award
In February, Roncalli Middle School teacher Dan Gallagher was honored with a 2025 Milken Educator Award, which included a $25,000 prize.
Awardees are sought while in the middle of their careers and for the promise of what they can accomplish if afforded the right resources and opportunities. They attend an all-expenses-paid trip to the Milken Educator Awards Forum in Los Angeles where they network with new colleagues, veteran Milken educators and other education leaders about how to impact K-12 education.
MORE: Milken forum was life-changing for Roncalli science teacher
Gallagher is a science teacher. He’s also the head boys basketball coach for the Cavaliers.
A Roncalli High School and Northern State University graduate, Gallagher was the only South Dakota teacher honored.
