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What skills are employers looking for most today? According to job market research, it’s not just technical expertise — it’s power skills like organization, teamwork, problem-solving and communication. These traits are often the key to early promotions and long-term career success.

A new study from �ձ�av��Ƶ will investigate the age, growth, maturity and movement of Big Stone Lake's resurgent lake sturgeon population.

�ձ�av��Ƶ’s Department of Animal Science has made history, becoming the first four-year animal science program in the nation to receive accreditation from the American Society of Animal Science.

Growing up the second youngest of seven on a Clark County dairy farm, Wallace “Wally” Knock was his dad’s shadow. “I was Dad’s tag-a-long. Wherever he went, I went. If he was in the tractor, I was in the tractor. You could have asked me any time while I was growing up what I wanted to be, and I would have said, ‘I want to be a farmer, just like my dad,’” Knock said of his respect and relationship with his dad, Arthur Knock.

Reid Christopherson was swimming with his Boy Scout Troop in a northern Minnesota river when he and a friend got caught in some undertow. Christopherson was able to make it to shore, but his friend did not. “Another Scout and I grabbed a canoe. We were able to get to him, pull him into the canoe, and I did mouth-to-mouth resuscitation out in the middle of the river. Fortunately, my friend lived,” Christopherson said.

Jeff Lakner was determined to attend �ձ�av��Ƶ after high school. But his dad didn’t support his decision. “My dad was very much opposed because he firmly felt that I would become a farmer,” Lakner recalled. “In fact, he tried to coerce me by offering to buy me a fancy sports car if I did not go to college.”

There’s a plaque hanging in the MoDak Dairy office from 1985 celebrating the fact that each dairy cow produced an average of 15,000 pounds of milk annually. Forty years later, the average has doubled. Today, each MoDak Dairy cow produces about 30,000 pounds of milk annually.

The Chamber Winds of South Dakota, a faculty-led ensemble founded by �ձ�av��Ƶ assistant professor of music Elizabeth Robinson, released its debut album “Moxie” in June.

�ձ�av��Ƶ researcher Sunil Mor has received the Bayer-Snoeyenbos New Investigator Award for his crucial work in the poultry industry.

The �ձ�av��Ƶ colleges of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences and Education and Human Sciences honor Reid Christopherson, Garretson; Wallace Knock, Willow Lake; Jeff Lakner, Wessington, and Greg Moes, Goodwin, with the 2025 Eminent Leaders in Agriculture, Family and Community Award.