Opinion

This realist is thankful

Published by admin on Wed, 11/25/2020 - 10:54am

Life, to me, seems pretty bleak right now.

I would never call myself an optimist, but I don’t consider myself to be a pessimist, either. To paraphrase the Latin teacher in “Dead Poets Society,” I’m not a cynic but rather a realist.

I call things as I see them, and right now I’m pretty discouraged for a number of reasons I won’t bore you with. That’s why it’s been so hard for me to write this column about what I’m thankful for this year.

Legislative session is nearing

Published by admin on Wed, 11/25/2020 - 9:12am

The 2021 Legislative Session is almost upon us.   We in the Republican caucus have elected leadership positions, have our committee assignments and know our floor seating chart.  Let’s start with the floor seating chart.  I’m sitting in the back row again with the other four whips, the assistant leader and leader.  Next to me in the back row are the Democrat assistant leader and leader. Both are great legislators and I really enjoy their company.  Rep.

Plenty to be thankful for

Published by admin on Wed, 11/25/2020 - 9:09am

This year above all others, we can be thankful to live in South Dakota and the Black Hills, far from the insanity of unlawful limits placed on Thanksgiving family gatherings in other states due to COVID-19. States like California and New York that have had so many restrictions and lockdowns are now restricting Thanksgiving holiday gatherings to no more than two families or 10 people.

From grumbling to gratitude

Published by admin on Wed, 11/25/2020 - 9:07am

Without a doubt, the year 2020 has given us Americans much to complain about. Besides the public health crisis of coronavirus which has upended most of our lives, we have had to deal with the societal and economic fallout of the reaction to the virus by various levels of government.

Summer of love is over

Published by admin on Thu, 11/19/2020 - 10:52am

Well, I used to love her. It was a very brief affair. I’d call it the summer of love, really. She talked about personal freedoms. Not being sheep. She touted how we were all able to make our own choices. Yes, I saw the signs. But love is so blind, I chose to ignore them. But now she’s shown her true colors. And I don’t like them. As much as I used to think you were a strong, free thinking, personal rights minded, honest politician, I now know you are just another run of the mill politicians. I’m ending my love affair with our governor, Kristi Noem.

Electing our leadership team

Published by admin on Thu, 11/19/2020 - 8:53am

The worst day of the year if you are a legislator.  This past Saturday was our Republican caucus elections for leadership positions. This is one part of being a legislator I do not like. Why? Because it’s your close friends who are running for the various positions and you have to pick just one to vote for.  Making matters even more challenging, they want you to campaign for them. I’m not being a hypocrite. I want them to campaign for me as well.  

Gov. Noem talks COVID-19 response

Published by admin on Thu, 11/19/2020 - 8:53am

It has been nearly eight months since COVID-19 first hit our state. Though there is still much to learn, we are fortunate to have a much better sense of the common enemy we’re fighting today than we did back in March.
Today, we know that hand washing kills the virus. And though anyone can get it, we also know that it’s the elderly and those with certain pre-existing conditions who have the greatest risk of mortality.

The state responds to USA Today

Published by admin on Thu, 11/19/2020 - 8:52am

Over the weekend, we were all privy to more unbelievably bad journalism. “The Dakotas are ‘as bad as it gets anywhere in the world’ for Covid-19” Joel Shannon of USA Today wrote. The facts tell a very different story, but Joel Shannon wouldn’t let the facts get in the way of his fictional storytelling.
Let’s start with the profoundly untrue headline. No, the Dakotas aren’t as bad as it gets anywhere in the world. In fact, the entire United States doesn’t break the top 10 list for deaths (per 100,000) globally.

I hope Dan knows how lucky he is

Published by admin on Thu, 11/19/2020 - 8:51am

Some of our readers may not know this, but Charley and Norma Najacht, the owners of the Custer County Chronicle and Hill City Prevailer News, also own the newspaper in Winner, the Winner Advocate.
The graphic designer in Winner upped and moved to Alaska, and while we search for her replacement, we at the Chronicle have been helping out our sister paper by building ads for them. You would not believe how hard it is to hire a graphic artist or a reporter, for that matter.

‘We need a little Christmas’

Published by admin on Thu, 11/12/2020 - 10:56am

I took a stroll down Main Street in Hill City on a recent cloudy, snowy morning, and I saw the first signs of Christmas start to pop up in town. The Alpine Inn was starting to decorate its porch with garland and the Black Hills Institute had a Christmas tree up in its window.