After a decade in service, the Tea Chamber named President, Andrea Kuipers Citizen of the Year. With a passion for community connection, Andrea Kuipers joined the Tea Chamber in 2016.  “My background is in social work and the part of the job that I enjoy most is the networking. The Tea Chamber offers me those same opportunities, and I feel I really get to know people on a personal level here,” Kuipers said. Owner of Squealers Smoke Shack Bar & Grill, Andrea enjoys the challen

The South Dakota All-State Middle School Band results have been announced, and Tea Area Middle School students were among those selected to perform at the prestigious event held March 6–7 in Mitchell. This year’s All-State Middle School Band auditions drew a total of 524 students from 71 schools across South Dakota, making selection a significant achievement. Representing Tea Area Middle School at All-State Band will be: Levi Finnegan, trumpet; Ava Anderson, clarinet; Alexis

The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday, January 13 in the Lincoln County Boardroom. Chief Civil Deputy State’s Attorney, Drew DeGroot requested board discussion and possible action regarding the Lincoln County Board of Commissioner Public Comment Policies.  “Pursuant to your rules and procedure that you adopted last year, there needs to be an annual review of the public comment policies. At this point, we haven’t heard any feedback from the commissioners and st

On Friday, Jan. 9 the Tea Area High School girls’ basketball team took on West Fargo Horace during the Border Battle at the Pentagon. Horace jumped out early and the Titans couldn’t recover, suffering the 70-41 loss.  Tea Area was led by Anna Binde who finished with 12 points in the game, going two of four from downtown. Binde also grabbed six rebounds and had one assist. Emma Lingren finished with ten points, going five of seven from the field. She pulled down five rebounds.

On Friday, Jan. 9 the Tea Area High School boys’ basketball team competed against Sioux Center in the Border Battle at the Pentagon in Sioux Falls.  The Titans fought hard and earned a 54-52 victory.  “Talk about a tough, gritty win. Sioux Center is a very good team with a lot of depth and a lot of talent. They did a few things in this game that gave us fits, but we executed down the stretch very well and got some hard-nosed stops when we needed it most,” said Titan head coac

Tyler Woodring captured a championship to lead the Tea Area High School boys wrestling team at the 2026 Mid Dakota Monster, held recently in Presho. Woodring went undefeated on the day to claim first place at 138 pounds. Woodring received a first-round bye before pinning Caden Singrey of Kingsbury County in 2:49. He followed with falls over Luke Olson of Mobridge-Pollock in 0:56 and Witt Myers of Stanley County in just 0:13 in the semifinals. In the championship match, Woodri

The Tea Area School Board recognized two students at its Jan. 12 board meeting. Superintendent Tonia Warzecha recognized Jackson Bender and Dawson Ballman for their perfect scores on the spring 2025 math and science assessment. Bender had a perfect score on SD Science Assessment during the Spring 2025 administration and Ballman had a perfect score on SD Math Assessment during the Spring 2025 administration. One more student will be recognized at the February board meeting. Th

After nearly a decade of Service with the Tea Chamber, Josh Chapman of J&R Mechanical was recognized as Business of the Year. Josh Chapman got his first taste of the trade life through his father, a local plumber in Mitchell.  “My dad had a plumbing and heating business that he wanted my brothers and I to be as passionate about it as he was,” Chapman recalled.  Fighting fate alongside his brothers, Chapman thought life was going to take him in a different direction.  “My brot

With all members present the Lincoln County Board of Commissioners met Tuesday, Jan. 6 in the Lincoln County boardroom. Commissioners heard agenda items including electing positions, salary discussions, the courthouse, and airport. Chairwoman Tiffani Landeen called the meeting to order asking to elect a new chair and vice chair. Motion to approve Commissioner Landeen as chair by Jim Schmidt, seconded by Betty Otten, motion carried 3-2 with Doug Putnam and Joel Arends being th

This past weekend, the Tea Area High School girls’ basketball team headed out west to face off against Douglas on Friday, Jan. 2, and Sturgis Brown on Saturday, Jan. 3.  The Titans earned victories in both match-ups, defeating Douglas 58-27 and Sturgis 49-31.  Against Douglas, Emma Lingren led the way with 12 points, seven steals, and two rebounds. She went three for three from downtown.  Anna Binde finished the night with nine points, seven rebounds, and one steal. Both Elli