News came recently of the completed sale of the downtown Ramada hotel to South Dakota-based Mekenda LLC. All the Ramada employees lost their jobs when the sale was completed and the building will close for business and undergo major renovations for the next 9 months. Our regular meeting venue in the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center will remain open and functioning during the hotel renovation, and the convention center staff are still employed. Click here to read a recent Courier article about the hotel project.