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This Saturday, April 22 is annually recognized as Earth Day. And you can probably guess that the earth including all the people in it could definitely use recognition!!!! That day and all the rest of the year for that matter! I'm not sure if there are any Aberdeen area Earth Day celebrations planned on that day this year, but you could check that out. I found a couple ways to celebrate the planet this April. • Leave the car at home. Winter weather is a distant memory by late April in many places, making Earth Day an ideal time to travel by f...
To the Editor: Justice has a Price I have been in contact with an attorney regarding the curb, gutter and sidewalk assessment and the decision by the City Counsel to disregard the petition to bring the resolution to a vote. I raised a couple of questions about the validity of the Ipswich city attorney’s opinion and find that he is not quite correct. Below is part of my attorney’s opinion regarding my assessment. I do not disagree in principle with any of the points that you have made. There is definitely an argument that the first res...
We certainly don't mind a gradual thaw such as we are starting to experience. In fact that is sort of ideal and we'll have to keep an eye on the sky in the next few days. The South Dakotans that live in the southern part of the state are really warm and relatively dry for this time of the year. So if they planted their potatoes on Good Friday they shouldn't have too much difficulty getting them to grow, especially if they have a Green Thumb, which I certainly don't! I see that I can finally see grass on parts of my lawn where the snow banks...
Here we go again! As I am writing this brief little column on Sunday, April 2, we are being requested by our printers from Ortonville, Minn. to publish our papers a day early due to the impending possible wintry weather that the National Weather Service predicts. That would include some accumulating snow and wind. You get the picture and it's not a pretty one. Unless you enjoy seeing all that white stuff. Back in the good old days, whatever they were, people would attach a little orange-colored ball on their vehicle's radio antenna so they...
Ipswich City Residents — I have lived in this community my whole life and have been a member of the Ipswich Fire Department for over 40 years and the Ipswich Ambulance Service almost that long. I am currently a member of the Ipswich City Council and have been for a few years. Being a member of the City Council can be gratifying when looking at what has been accomplished, and it can also be difficult at times when making decisions because of the small community and having friends and family. During my time on the City Council, we have been v...
The weather has been showing a little improvement but still not that great for this time of the year. I guess we live too close to North Dakota in the spring and fall. Have you heard or seen your first robin? I think that I have! But you can always head south and west in South Dakota and things might be a little more agreeable weather-wise. In the meantime high school golfers should use a colorful ball and the high school track and field coaches (and golf) should be keeping a watchful eye towards the sky or hear the latest TV and radio...
To the Editor: In regards to the Storm Sewer Project, I’m not saying that we don’t need it. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t do it. The question that comes to my mind is why isn’t the city council budgeting for Ipswich’s infrastructure before spending on projects that aren’t a necessity. Its my understanding that approximately $400,000 was spent on the sports complex west of the swimming pool. This amount could have gone to the Storm Sewer Project. I encourage all concerned citizens to approach their council members about the city budgetin...
Monday was allegedly the first day of spring, believe it or not. Up in this neck of the woods, you wouldn't necessarily believe it with the chilly weather we have had to endure lately. But South Dakota's snow cover seems to melt away quite faster in the southwestern part of the state and of course the temperatures tend to average out quite a bit warmer. Even though those guys can get wintry weather from time to time in the form of those infamous late spring blizzards. I can remember a particular May Day snow storm there that was unreal. Now we...
Since the introduction of the SoDak 16, State Tournament teams are more matched from top to bottom than in the “Good Old Days!” That seventh place game can even be exciting because nobody but nobody wants to go home winless. But when it was all said and done, Viborg-Hurley won the Girls State B over Wall and Hamlin won the Girls A over Wagner. Now for the Boys B in Aberdeen this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. (Or the Class A in Sioux Falls.) It will be fun, fun, fun! Even for us watching in our living room. Class A State Tournament at Sio...
Senate Report by Bryan Breitling 2023 Legislative Session Review WOW! What a busy and exciting nine weeks of the 2023 South Dakota Legislative Session! We were able to accomplish many good things for South Dakota this year. For starters, operationally, we were able to provide a seven percent increase for state aid to schools. This will help keep more teachers in South Dakota and keep this very important industry competitive with non-education occupations. We were also able to provide a seven percent increase, plus some additional targeted dolla...
Upcoming Meeting In case you missed it, I would like to remind everyone that the City Council is going to have an informational meeting regarding the sewer plans. It will be held on Monday the 20th at 6:00 pm. Please try to attend the informercial if you can. It seems to me that it would be more open, honest, and effective if the council would just use the City News Letter or the Ipswich Tribune to inform everybody that can read and chooses to do so. Forcing people to take time out of their busy lives to attend a meeting, for which the mayor ge...
Congratulations to the Ipswich boys' varsity basketball team for making a deep run into the playoffs. (The Tiger boys were scheduled to face familiar faces from Aberdeen Christian during their SoDak 16 game in Aberdeen that was scheduled for Tuesday, March 7.) That winner advances to the State B on March 16-18 also in Aberdeen at the Barnett Center. And let's hope that the rest of March will have more agreeable weather and begins to act more like April. But even April, especially early April, can have a weather surprise or two. So don't put...
Senate Report by Bryan Breitling 2023 Legislative Session Week Eight We are nearing the end of the 2023 session. There are some policy bills still making their way through the process, including some hoghouse bills that are being tried a second time. The spending bills are being vetted and those with support are advancing, while those with less support are voted down for the year. The FY23 supplemental budget and FY24 budget are beginning to near the final negotiation points to get to South Dakota’s balanced budget! Week 8 was very busy with s...
The midweek weather systems are getting old. Especially when we have to deliver our Wednesday newspapers to the Post Office. We got a call last Monday morning from our printer in Ortonville, Minn. They wanted us to send them the completed newspapers by Monday evening due to the snow forecast. The usual printer deadline is Tuesday at 5 p.m. We made it and the papers were printed Tuesday morning instead of Tuesday night. Most of your newspapers were late due to the blizzard conditions in this area. And speaking of the Post Office. We are now...
Senate Report by Bryan Breitling 2023 Legislative Session Week Seven As we near the end of the 2023 legislative session, major milestones are being achieved. Wednesday, Feb 22 was crossover day, when all bills need final action in the house of origin. Friday, Feb 24, was the last day for Joint Appropriations to pass appropriation bills to the house of origin. So, this past week was busy! In our seventh week on the Senate floor, significant bill votes included SB185 – which would establish a committee on foreign investment in South Dakota and ow...
To the Editor: Our ability and responsibility to vote A petition to bring to a vote Resolution #2023-02, Uniform Assessment Rate, has been circulated and filed. This is a resolution passed by the Ipswich City Council that will assess $80 per linear foot of street frontage to construct curb, gutter and sidewalk. The assessment will essentially amount to a tax lien on the property and is to be paid back over a period of 15 years. For corner lots that are affected on two sides, 40 linear feet would be forgiven. That is to say, if your lot is 75ft....
DEADLINES March 6 — Deadline to apply for ECP due to November 6th fire March 15 — Deadline for 2023 ARCPLC Election & Enrollment March 15 — Deadline to purchase 2023 NAP Coverage March 22 — NRCS and Conservation District Workshop June 2 — PARP/ERP Phase Two Deadline February 27 through April 7, 2023 — CRP/General Signup ECP Sign-up for Fire Damage We're running an Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) sign-up for anyone who lost fences in the November 6, 2022 fire in Edmunds County. Sign-up runs through March 6th. Please contact the office if y...
It's out with your Valentines-related colors of red and white and now you should quickly be replacing your decorations with the color green for St. Patrick's Day on March 17. And remember that February only has 28 days so don't procrastinate. But on second thought you just may want to keep the white stuff because of our upcoming weather forecasts. Our printers have told us there will be an early deadline for this week's papers so we'll have to deal with that. It had been fortunate that everything went too far east during the most recent...
House Report by Scott Moore As we finish week six in Pierre, we are also seeing some work/legislation that is getting completed. The atmosphere is positive in the caucus and there is good debate both in caucus and on the floor of the House Representatives. Wednesday Feb. 22 is “Crossover Day”, last day to pass bills or joint resolutions by the house of origin. It is interesting in some bills and debates about what is the legal age for a person to make their own decisions. Being on both the Health and Human Services and Education Committee this...
I overheard an expression after the Super Bowl that this game was one for the ages. That may or may not be true, sports fans will just have to wait and see. There is certainly a youthful Kansas City quarterback who could rather quickly make people forget the name Brady. Time will tell. The fourth quarter in any sport, from elementary school on up to the pros, can certainly produce some memories for the ages. And the high school post-season wrestling and basketball drama is about to begin. When it's all said and done there will likely be some...
Senate Report by Bryan Breitling 2023 Legislative Session Week Five We are now more than halfway through the session. Up to now, the policy committees have been working through their bills and appropriations has heard the budgets and plans from all departments and bureaus in the state. Next up is revenue setting, which firms up the final budget to work with for next year and the one-time dollars for this year, then cross over day, which is the last day to get a bill out of the house of origin. In our fifth week on the Senate floor, the...
February is a short month, but a lot of scheduled (and unscheduled) February events are starting to pop up. So you might just have to pencil them on your calendars as reminders. And lately the weather has been fairly mild for this time of the year. But it is that time of the year when it can be 32° above zero and still have 32 mph wind gusts making it seem much cooler. And our snow banks can shrink in the afternoon so then you wake up to frozen icy spots all over the place the next morning. Until they finally re-thaw! One annual February...
House Report by Scott Moore Week four in Pierre has been busy and good. HB1080, titled prohibiting certain medical and surgical interventions on minor patients came out of Health and Human Services committee 11 yeas-2 nays and came through the full house of representatives Yeas 60 and Nays 10. We had a passionate debate in committee and on the house floor. SB 41 titled workforce housing was signed by Governor Noem this week and will bring $200 million to small and large communities. Foreign ownership of Agland and eminent domain along with CO2...
I think I’ve mentioned this once before in this column about my Cincinnati Bengals hat that actually very closely resembles an Ipswich Tiger hat. I thought I would be able to dig it out for the Super Bowl, but no such luck. The Bengals apparently lost their NFL semifinal to Kansas City over the weekend. And some strange things must have happened at the very end of that game. So the KC Chiefs would end up stopping the Bengal 23-20? And the Ipswich Tiger boys were also defeated by Highmore-Harrold on Saturday. So that hat might not be all that l...
House Report by Scott Moore Week three was once again a good week in the House of Representatives. We got SB41 across the finish line. This is the $200 million housing bill that was a carryover from 2021. Good debate was held on Monday January 23 both for and against approving the bill. In the end the bill was approved and will allow communities to start their housing projects this spring. I serve on the Education Committee and bills being assigned to the committee have been slow. This isn’t a bad thing, but I am guessing this will pick up over...