It seems like many people are missing the sun these days. I just read on Twitter that it was shining in Sioux Falls. But just after I stepped outside, it went to hide behind a cloud.

Meteorologist Brian Karstens kicked off Wednesday’s morning meeting by updating us on the forecast. And it sounds like today is the best shot we have at seeing the sun for the rest of the week. There’s another system expected to start start developing to our south tonight with a chance of overnight rain and snow in Rapid City. It will move to the east on Thursday, with showers likely in eastern KELOLAND.

That additional rain isn’t good for areas that are already experiencing flooding in South Dakota. There are meetings in Hecla and Claremont today; both communities are asking Brown County for help dealing with the flooding. Roads around the small towns are in rough shape, so people are hoping the county can do something to fix them. KELOLAND’s Erich Schaffhauser will have more on the concerns later in the day.

Also today, Hamlin and Codington Counties are opening a call center where homeowners and farmers can report flood damage. The information will help officials in the two counties assess the amount and type of damage. Shawn Neisteadt is talking with people at Lake Poinsett to find out what sort of damage they are reporting.

More rain and snow is on the way to South Dakota.  That makes me want to sing one of my niece’s favorite nursery rhymes, “Rain, rain, go away.  Come again another day.”  I think we could all use a few days of sunshine right about now!  It sounds like we may have to wait until the weekend for that.

The additional precipitation will push river levels higher.  The Big Sioux and James rivers are expected to go up about a foot. But the National Weather Service says the crests should be lower than last month. KELOLAND’s Shawn Neisteadt will look at if there’s any additional cause for concern in areas that experienced flooding in March.

Homeowners who live along the Vermillion River are keeping a close watch on the water levels. According to the USGS gauge near Vermillion, the river is up five feet since Friday. We’ll check in on the conditions later on KELOLAND News.

Did you catch Erich Schaffhauser’s story on the flooding around Claremont on Monday’s 10 p.m. news? The video was the talk of the meeting today! Besides the flooded roads and all of the water, there’s still a lot of snow on the ground. And that area is expected to get more this week. There are winter weather advisories in effect for northern and western KELOLAND including Aberdeen, Pierre and Rapid City. KELOLAND Meteorologists will be tracking the snow and have updates throughout the day on Midday in KELOLAND, plus KELOLAND News at 5, 6 and 10.

An economic impact study on two potential sites for an Events Center in Sioux Falls is scheduled to be finished this week. It’s an important step that could help the city whether to pursue building a new facility downtown or by the current Arena and Convention Center.

The mayor would like to see the Events Center built by the Arena; the architectural firm hired by the city selected the parking lot to the east of Cherapa Place as a potential downtown location. In addition to helping pick where the Events Center should be built, the study is also expected to show how much money the project will bring in for the city. At Monday afternoon’s City Council Informational meeting, Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether will update the council on progress on the project. KELOLAND’s Ben Dunsmoor will be there and have the details following the meeting.

Senator John Thune is getting a look at flooding damage in South Dakota. Thune is at Lake Thompson, where the recent wet weather is adding to flooding concerns.  We’ll hear from Thune as he tours the area later on KELOLAND News.

The forecast includes a few more chances for rain and even snow again this week. Meteorologist Brian Karstens says Tuesday will be a messy day with rain and snow likely. Learn more about what to expect in the Monday morning Storm Center Update. And later in the day, Meteorologist Tony Barlow explains the role the jet stream plays in the weather this week.

The weather is once again making headlines. Only this time, it’s more than just rain.

Heavy, wet snow is falling across KELOLAND. There are already a couple of inches on the ground in Aberdeen, which is an area that doesn’t need any more moisture. And the return to wintry conditions created travel hazardous for some drivers Friday morning. A semi jackknifed on Interstate 29 near the Summit exit. KELOLAND’s Erich Schaffhauser is heading to that area to check out conditions.

I don’t know about anyone else, but this isn’t what I want to see on April 15th. Check out these pictures from along Interstate 90 taken with South Dakota DOT Cameras:

The one on the left is from the Cactus Flats area, where snow is sticking on the ground. And it’s already made its way to Mitchell, which you can see in the picture on the right. KELOLAND’s Austin Hoffman is checking on the conditions in the western part of South Dakota and we have a crew out of Sioux Falls going west on Interstate 90 as well.

Winter storm warnings remain in effect for Aberdeen, Pierre, Chamberlain, and Winner. Winter weather advisories are in effect farther east including Mitchell, Watertown and Brookings. Meteorologist Brian Karstens says snow is expected to mix in with the rain later Friday afternoon and into the evening in Sioux Falls. Check out the Friday Morning Storm Center Update for more details. And be sure to tune into Midday in KELOLAND at noon for the latest forecast.

The 2011 South Dakota legislative session is wrapping up and lawmakers still have a lot of important decisions to make. After today, lawmakers have five days to come up with a budget before taking a two-week recess.

Much of the discussion at today’s morning meeting was about all that is left to be worked on. Coming up this morning, KELOLAND’s Peggy Moyer will ask Governor Dennis Daugaard about the progress legislators have made and get his thoughts on the big decisions that are still coming.

Many of us noticed gas prices jumped again overnight. On Wednesday, I saw gas was at $3.29 a gallon; this morning, it was up to $3.45. Why didn’t I fill up yesterday? I found that nationwide, prices went up four cents overnight and the nationwide average is now at $3.40. It adds to how much the average driver has to pay and also to how much cities pay to fuel up vehicles. Kelly Bartnick is checking in on how Sioux Falls is affected by rising gas prices.

A new flood outlook has been released for South Dakota. And not much has changed. It still looks like the state will see flooding this spring. Meteorologist Scot Mundt will review the outlook and Shawn Neisteadt will be talking with people preparing for flooding.

Concern over proposed cuts to education funding spurred a group of parents and others to plan a rally at the capitol in Pierre. Some of those attending spoke early Wednesday at a House Appropriations Committee meeting. They are urging lawmakers avoid the cut or at least reduce the size of the budget cut to schools. Katie Janssen is in Pierre and will bring you more about what happened later on KELOLAND News.

It was another slick drive for people on Interstate 90 this morning. Photographer Mike Simundson saw a number of cars in the ditch as he headed west from Sioux Falls. KELOLAND’s Shawn Neisteadt is out checking on the road conditions.

Not surprisingly, the weather was the top topic during Monday’s morning meeting. While Interstate 90 between Wall and Chamberlain is once again open, Interstate 29 from Sioux Falls to the North Dakota border remains closed as of 10 a.m.  And the city of Sioux Falls just issued a snow alert.  Plows are clearing emergency routes first; Zone 3 streets will be next.

The winter storm kept the KELOLAND meteorologists busy over the weekend. This morning, Brian Karstens put together a weather blog that includes the latest snowfall totals.

People in Aberdeen are digging out from more than 16 inches of snow that fell; KELOLAND’s Erich Schaffhauser told me he had to pull out the snow blower to clear a path in the alley near his house. Erich will have more from the Hub City later on KELOLAND News.

All of that snow made getting home a challenge for a couple that lives near Aberdeen. Sunday evening, meteorologist Tony Barlow noticed a car stuck in a drift on our Aberdeen Skycam. The weekend crew put in a call to authorities and continued to keep an eye on the vehicle. It took more than two hours before the couple was finally safe in their home! KELOLAND’s Jon Wilson put together a story on the rescue for KELOLAND This Morning. He’s working on another story about it for later today; this one will include a deputy who was part of the rescue efforts.

Thursday morning, the National Weather Service bumped up the odds for major flooding in the Fargo area this spring.  The latest flood outlook shows a 70 percent chance the river in the Fargo area will beat last year’s crest of about 37 feet.   Flooding is already taking place in parts of KELOLAND this year. Austin Hoffman is in Pine Ridge today, checking on flooding in that area.

Even as the snow starts to melt, Great Bear Recreation Park is still open for business. With so many school kids out of class the next few days, it’s expected that the ski, snowboard and tubing hills will be busy. KELOLAND’s Nicole Winters checks on the end of the season at Great Bear.

The happenings in the South Dakota Legislature generated a lot of talk at this morning’s newsroom meeting. Kelly Bartnick is looking into HB 1241, which would revise certain penalties for the sale or service of an alcoholic beverage to a person under the age of twenty-one.   It’s a good follow-up story to Kelly’s piece on the most recent Sioux Falls liquor sting that five businesses failed.

And how about that fog this morning!  I couldn’t see more than a block ahead as I drove to work this morning.  Co-workers said it got worse as the morning went on.   According to a weather update by Meteorologist Brian Karstens, the fog and wind are the big weather stories of the day.

How was your commute to work Monday morning? When I headed in, Minnesota Avenue in Sioux Falls had been plowed but many of the side streets were still covered in snow. And it sounds like conditions quickly got worse! Co-workers who arrived for our 9 a.m. meeting reported a slower than normal commute and some even admitted to sliding through intersections. Later on KELOLAND News, Jon Wilson follows up on the early morning crashes.

The weather will likely be a big story for the next few days. With snow, blowing snow and bitterly cold temperatures all in the forecast, you may not be thinking about spring flooding. But it’s likely to be a big problem in South Dakota once the snow melts. The National Flood Insurance Program is holding flood awareness meetings across the state. KELOLAND’s Ben Dunsmoor will have more on what’s being discussed on KELOLAND News at 5 and 6.

There’s an update on the Augustana band that had been touring Egypt when riots broke out across the country. As of this morning, all of the band members had left Cairo. Some will arrive in Minneapolis later today. The last of the group will be back in the states on Tuesday. KELOLAND’s Austin Hoffman will talk with a woman whose daughter is part of the band. And Hailey Higgins is working to talk with a man from Egypt about what sparked the unrest.

In the couple of years since I left my position as the 10 p.m. News producer, I can’t remember a time when I sat down to watch the State of the Union.  As a newscast producer of a show following the speech, I had to pay attention, but I have found other things to do during that time in the past few years.  Chatter about the SOTU that I noticed on Twitter prompted me to tune in last night. 

One of the things I took away was President Obama’s emphasis on education for American students.  Starting at a young age all the way through college, Obama stressed the importance of education.  It really struck me considering all the talk about the budget situation facing South Dakota schools and it was a topic of discussion at the morning meeting.  KELOLAND’s Katie Janssen is going to look into what the president said and get reaction from a South Dakota school district.

We’ll also be following up on the stories we did Tuesday on Interlude Bridal Shoppe.  A number of calls have come into the newsroom from concerned brides and their mothers wondering what will happen with any orders they placed at Interlude.  The owner told KELOLAND’s Nicole Winters the store isn’t closing, just moving, but she didn’t share a location.  Either way, it’s left a lot of brides in a panic about how this might affect their dream day and dress.  KELOLAND’s Peggy Moyer is working new angles of this story.  And in an Eye on KELOLAND on KELOLAND News at 10, Nicole Winters will have the story of a bride who’s waiting for her bridal gown and seven bridesmaids dresses to come in.  She was told it would be January 7th at the latest, and with her wedding less than a month away, she’s not sure what will happen.

Also, an overnight high-speed chase in Minnehaha County ended when driver crashed his car into a snow bank.  KELOLAND’s Perry Groten will be following up on the chase and crash.  The driver, 28-year-old Ronnie Young, faces a long list of charges. 

 Try to get outside and enjoy this warmer day!  According to a weather update from KELOLAND Meteorologist Brian Karstens this morning, cold temperatures will soon return to the area.