Kimberly Grieve, vice president of student services and dean of students at
USD, said the state-of-the-art theater should be a boon to the downtown area.
“It will act as a mechanism to attract and retain students and high-quality
staff, and will continue to improve our city’s fantastic town-and-gown
relationship." she said.
The theater, the Coyote Twin, hosted an open house for the public to see
improvements such as interior and exterior painting, concession stand upgrades
and improved safety exits. The theater opening included a showing of “Keep on
Keeping On,” presented by the National Music Museum.
“The opening of this auditorium – with stadium seating, new sound and
projection, screen, lighting and egress – is a huge step forward for our
community,” Jason Thiel, executive director of
the cultural association, said. “Our community
fundraising efforts, the generous donation and in-kind support from Masaba, and
ongoing support from the Vermillion Chamber, Rotary, Community Foundation, Dakota
Hospital Foundation, Sanford, First Bank and Trust, the University of South
Dakota, and so many individual donors have made this major leap possible.”
Town-and-gown relationship makes movie dreams come true
The University of South Dakota (USD) recently helped open
the curtain on a new movie theater in its hometown of Vermillion. The school
worked with the Vermillion Downtown Cultural Association on the remodeling.