REE HEIGHTS — History will be made in the small Hand County town of Ree Heights on Saturday night and everyone is invited to come and witness the event at the 10 Mile Tavern.
Somebody, and nobody knows just who it will be, will be the first person to purchase and enjoy a drink at a bar in Ree Heights.
It could be you.
Stefan Jones, a 34-year-old Sioux Falls native, who was brought to the area with the renewable wind energy business, was looking for an opportunity when he came across an old building in Ree Heights.
“I was interested most of all because of the low cost of entry, frankly,” Jones said via telephone on Wednesday. “The building was for sale, it had been a bar - among other things in its 100-year life - and it had been closed for about a year.”
He made the deal and opened 10 Mile Tavern as a beer bar. Along the way, he learned that the Town of Ree Heights had never issued a liquor license in its existence. Ever.

“They had always issued malt beverage licenses in the past,” Jones said. “The town board was somewhat reluctant when I said it was my intent to add an on/off sale liquor license down the road. There had been applications before, but none had ever been approved.”
There was a great deal of reluctance, even from the person from whom he purchased the building, who discouraged Jones from his idea.
So he went to work, campaigning throughout Ree Heights and showing the people who live there that he was sincere in his desire to do nothing more than run a business that would benefit the entire town.
“People saw that whatever I earned was turned around an invested back in the community,” Jones said. “I was granted a hearing and nobody showed up to oppose my application. The only people from town who did come to the meeting were in support of my getting the license.”
In recognition of the milestone, Jones is planning to auction off the first drink at 10 Mile Tavern on Saturday, with the high bidder getting his drink of choice. “As long as I have the stuff to make it, the bidder will get his or her drink of choice.”
Jones came to the area several years ago, brought by the wind - literally.
“I’ve been involved in the wind industry since around 2007,” he said. “It was a boom time in wind energy and that is when I got involved. I was working in Colorado when the opportunity came up in Miller.” He moved to the area and has completed his degree in Applied Science while working in the operations sector of the industry.
“I basically do all of the things that need to be done to keep the turbines running on a day-to-day basis.”
But he said he always had a hankering to own his own business, so he went looking for an opportunity.
“I had never owned a bar, but had spent some time in different bars over my lifetime so I thought that maybe it was time to begin making some money in one instead of just paying it out,” he said with a smirk in his voice.
“A bar works because I can run it on evenings and weekends and I don’t have to give up my day job,” he added.
Saturday night will be historic, if only from the standpoint that it is something new for Ree Heights. Located less than 13 miles west of Miller on Highway 14 and just a bit south, the town was a stopping place on the old Chicago/Northwestern Railroad. In the 1930s, it boasted a population of nearly 350 people, but that number has dwindled to fewer than 70 in the 2010 census.
“We’re going to have some fun with the first drink thing,” Jones said. “I plan on taking their picture and might have a plaque of something to commemorate the event. It is an historic event you know.”

COURTESY PHOTOS
Stefan Jones perches on the bar in his 10 Mile Tavern in Ree Heights. Jones has been granted the first ever liquor license in Ree Heights and will host an open house on Saturday night in celebration.

Next, Stefan Jones poses in front of his bar in Ree Heights. This weekend Jones will be able to offer his patrons a drink other than beer, after receiving the first liquor license in the history of the small Hand County town.