Custer County Chronicle

Strengthening rural South Dakota

Published by admin on Thu, 02/06/2020 - 9:25am
In early January, along with two South Dakota producers, I was honored to be at the White House as President Trump locked in a new trade deal with China. The new U.S.-China trade agreement includes a promise to purchase approximately $80 billion of ag products over the next two years. This is a strong step forward for South Dakota’s ag community.

Impeachment futile by the Dems

Published by admin on Thu, 02/06/2020 - 9:23am
We all know it was the goal of the Democrats to impeach President Trump immediately after he was elected. “How could this happen?” they all said in unison between sobs. So what did they do? Just what Hilary Clinton said Trump would do if he lost the election. You just don’t accept the results of the electoral college votes.

Regarding Daylight Saving Time

Published by admin on Thu, 02/06/2020 - 9:11am
Greetings! Week three is done, completing legislative days nine through 12.  Here are a few highlights of the past week.
HB1057 - this bill prohibits sex change in children until age 16.  
It passed out of State Affairs Committee in week two (8-5), and this past week, after a grueling two-hour floor debate in the House chamber, passed 46 to 23. I was hoping for a two-thirds vote of 47 yeas, but 46 is a powerful passage.
HB1085  would provide permanent Daylight Saving Time.  

Trump says fireworks to return to Rushmore

Published by admin on Thu, 01/30/2020 - 9:18am
S.D. Gov. Kristi Noem was in Washington, D.C., recently to witness President Donald Trump signing the initial China trade bill. When Trump saw her in the audience he remarked that July 4 fireworks would be returning to Mount Rushmore National Memorial this year and that he planned to attend. (See District 30 Rep. Tim Goodwin’s column in this newspaper).

Traipsing through Spokane

Published by admin on Thu, 01/30/2020 - 9:17am
It was Thanksgiving Day, a light snow falling, my belly still bursting and with uncertainty of what I might find filling my mind. My 5-year-old son and I were walking a dirt road of unknown length into what used to be the town of Spokane near Custer State Park.
Snow has a tendency to deaden sound. Even though my son had just awakened from a nap, he was his usual talkative self. Still, when we entered the clearing where the caretaker’s house sullenly sits in Spokane, it felt like a hush came over the scene. 

What the State of the State lacked

Published by admin on Thu, 01/23/2020 - 9:27am
Gov. Kristi Noem’s State of the State message was more than 45 minutes, but what she left out of the address was more instructive to me than what she stated. The following is a short list of what issues were not addressed.
First, Gov. Noem did not speak about fulfilling her campaign promise of reducing the sales tax increase with the tens of millions of dollars collected from taxing internet sales to South Dakotans.
Second, Gov. Noem did not speak about fulfilling her campaign promise of confronting escalating property taxes.

Week one of the session is over

Published by admin on Thu, 01/23/2020 - 9:23am
Greetings! Week one of the 95th Legislative Session is in the books. The first week starts slow with the governor giving the State of the State address on Tuesday, followed by the State Supreme Court Justice’s address on Wednesday and the Tribal Leader’s address on Thursday. We had terrible weather East River, so we had an abbreviated Friday to allow those folks to make it home. Some even decided to stay in Pierre and not risk the bad roads.
Here are a few high points of the week:

What the county GIS office does

Published by admin on Thu, 01/23/2020 - 9:21am
The Geographical Information System (GIS) office provides geographical-related resources to county offices, emergency services and government agencies. The office support scounty goals by maintaining data related to parcels, roads, infrastructure and 9-1-1 addressing in Custer County. The department maintains a countywide addressing system and is responsible for issuing and maintaining rural addresses. The department also supports municipal, county, state and federal emergency response and recovery services by maintaining an automated dispatch mapping system.

Grassroots patriots represented at rally

Published by admin on Thu, 01/23/2020 - 9:20am
It probably disappointed a lot of liberal folks and their cohorts in the national news media when the annual Pro-Second Amendment Rally in Richmond, Va., last Monday did not result in any kind of significant confrontations. This was in no small way due to the lack of objective reporting of the event which drew tens of thousands of patriotic Second Amendment advocates from all over the country, not just Virginia.

Appreciating those who protect, serve

Published by admin on Thu, 01/23/2020 - 9:17am
In the waning hours of National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day on Thursday, Jan. 9, a South Dakota Highway Patrolman was earning our appreciation (and his well-deserved pay) in a big way.