Opinion

Your options for voting in June

Published by admin on Thu, 04/16/2020 - 8:18am
Greetings again! Happy early voting! Yep, early voting starts this Friday, April 17. To vote early, go to your respective courthouse in District 30. Those court houses are in Hot Springs (Fall River County), Custer (Custer County) and Rapid City (Pennington County). This election is called the Primary Election. This means each party has a runoff of their party’s candidates who are running for office in the General Election Nov. 3. It’s like the semifinals before the big game.  

You’re gonna live in what? Where?

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 11:11am

Well in the age of the zombie apocalypse I didn’t want my column to be all gloom and doom. So I figured I could write about one of the proudest achievements — surviving winter in a camper!

What got done on Veto Day

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 9:17am
Greetings!  Veto Day (or should I say Veto Days) has come and gone. We gaveled in caucus at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 30 and gaveled out, or traditionally called sine die, at 3:40 a.m. on March 31. Sine die is Latin for “without assigning a day for further convening.” The tradition of opening both back doors to each chamber, then at the same time, the speaker of the House looks across the rotunda to the president of the Senate and they gavel out dismissing the legislative session. This protocol didn’t happen because of the COVID-19 virus.  

Pierre politics now mirror D.C.

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 9:16am
We all know that the government in Washington, D.C., has become absolutely dysfunctional. Over the past two years, unfortunately, Pierre has come more to resemble the politics of Washington, D.C.  
Gov. Noem vetoed two bills that went through the entire legislature on unanimous votes. House Bills 1012 and 1013 had both passed two committees and both the House and the Senate, all by unanimous votes.    

Times that try our souls

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 9:16am
“These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.”
The above immortal words are taken in part from “The Crisis” by Thomas Paine, an English-born American political activist, philosopher and revolutionary. It was Paine who inspired patriots in 1776 to declare their freedom from Great Britain.

I’m already sick of COVID-19

Published by admin on Thu, 04/09/2020 - 9:15am
My, how the world has changed since I last wrote a column.

Let’s hear it for the helpers

Published by admin on Thu, 04/02/2020 - 10:25am

Right now, we’re in the middle of a crisis.

 

Now is time to step up!

Published by admin on Thu, 04/02/2020 - 8:58am
It’s hard enough for businesses to make a living in Custer during the first three months of the year. This is why so many of them shut down for the first quarter of the year. There are no tourists and locals tend to do business elsewhere, like the internet or Rapid City.

Leaning into the wind

Published by admin on Thu, 04/02/2020 - 8:57am
I recently sat next to a man from Florida at a birthday party who exclaimed, “Boy, tourism in the Black Hills should do really well this summer!”
He added, “Nobody is going to travel abroad for awhile and who wants to go to a big city right now with all the crowds?”
He’s right. Once the shelter-in-place restrictions and quarantines are lifted, I’m guessing people will be more than ready to take off on a vacation. I doubt anyone will forgo a vacation after being stuck at home for weeks.

Eleven new bills have surfaced

Published by admin on Thu, 04/02/2020 - 8:44am
Greetings! What can we expect on Veto Day, March 30? We have 11 bills that surfaced since our last legislative day on March 12. Here’s a rundown:
1. Education bill to allow minimum number of student instruction hours to be waived this year and allow virtual/remote hours to be included in the total hours.  Schools don’t have to meet minimum number of hours currently required by law.