Tim Cowman News Today

Cindy and I had only been married about six months when we tuned in “Superman,” the movie, on our small television set in the small living room of the small

WAKONDA — After last weekend’s earthquake near Wakonda, geologists were finding fault.

A small earthquake shook the ground near Wakonda, South Dakota. We ask state geologist Tim Cowman what causes these quakes. One cause goes all the way back to the ice age.

We ask two questions: What makes a good foster family and what support do they need to be at their best? Plus, we learn the science beneath earthquakes in South Dakota.

WAKONDA — After last weekend’s earthquake near Wakonda, geologists were finding fault.

The waters of the Big Sioux River are infiltrating the drinking water pulled from wells near Watertown, causing potentially harmful effects that aren’t fully understood yet.

Credit Office of State Geologist / SD DENR That 3.2-magnitude quake may have been caused by massive plates shifting along faults underground. Or, said State Geologist Tim Cowman, there could be another cause. “The thing that probably more likely caused this earthquake,” he said, “is something that we call ‘glacial rebound’ or ‘isostatic rebound.’” It sounds complicated, but it’s simple. “During the last Ice Age,” Cowman said, “the ice sheets that covered this part of Nor...