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I refuse to believe this, but January is almost over. No matter what calendar, they all say the same. Yes, even the Chinese New Year is finally upon us, including their New Years Day that was actually on Sunday the 22nd. Of course we had to eat some Chinese takeout on what I would call their New Years Eve. That would have been on Saturday evening. So this all means that January will indeed soon be over with just a few days left to make your belated New Years Resolutions. Even in the brand new Chinese New Year!...
House Report by Scott Moore As we gaveled out completing week two for SD legislation, I have several updates/comments. South Dakota Tourism had their annual convention which I was able to attend. After listening to some discussion and sitting through the awards presentation it is obvious the past and current members and state employees had and still have a vision to build on tourism. Some numbers from 2022, 14.4 million tourists visiting the state and spent $4.7 billion an increase of 8% over 2021. South Dakota tourism employs 56,826 people...
It won't be too long and the Famous Groundhog Punxsutawney Phil will be making his annual appearance. And I'm betting he will be emerging from his underground burrow again this year. And quite possibly it might be still covered with snow in that part of the world. But you never know whether to believe him or not especially with global climate change in progress. December had featured terrible weather, but January has been rather dry so far. And I guess historically that has been the case. However we did get some precipitation on Martin Luther...
Senate Report - by Bryan Breitling 2023 Legislative Session Begins! The 2023 Legislative Session opened on Jan 10th with Governor Noem’s State of the State Address. “Our state’s agriculture industry is now a $32 billion industry, and it’s responsible for 1 in 5 jobs in the state.” She also addressed points on her ‘Building the American Dream’ initiative by supporting education and building workforce in SD, and points on her ‘Promoting Stronger Families’ initiative with expanding the state employee FMLA from eight weeks at 60% of pay to 12 week...
We are quickly approaching mid-January, believe it or not! And that means that a federal Monday holiday will be observed on January 16 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day. And there are plenty of sports events remaining in January. And probably even more in February which will mark the start of the annual winter sports post-season events around the state. So keep your fingers crossed that more really nasty weather will not interfere with our remaining area events, not just those that involve athletics and athletes. Remember there will be no mail on M...
Assistance for Edmunds County Fire Assistance is now available for producers who suffered damage to fences in the November 6, 2022 fire. FSA will take applications for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) January 9, 2023-March 6, 2023. Please contact the office for more information. USDA Previews Crop and Revenue Loss Assistance for Agricultural Producers Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced plans for additional emergency relief and pandemic assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). USDA is preparing to roll out...
Can you believe it the holiday season is done and we are actually in a new year, so happy new year. I once had a landlady that would always say "I would like to be the first person to wish you a Happy New Year." The only problem with that was that she was still saying that well into the spring. And speaking of spring every day is one day closer to spring. And we still need to get rid of more of that snow and ice before the next major winter storm if and when that would arrive. It is always difficult to remember to write 2023 on your paper work...
You all know what time it is. Yes, you still have time to make your New Year’s resolutions. And the #1 resolution, hopefully, will not be a New Year Revolution or worse yet a civil war that would threaten our nation’s experiment in democracy. We seem to indeed be that divided. I hope your Christmas was a Merry one in more than one way indeed. It was definitely a sweet one in more ways than one. How many Christmas cookies do you think you’ve eaten for starters. And there are probably plenty of leftovers in the fridge that you guys are still...
This column is very often about the weather or sports and this one for obviously reasons will be about both, the weather and the sports (and other extra-curricular events) that had to be postponed (or possibly even cancelled) due to last week’s historical weather event. Our local weather guy Marv Seyer explains how he is able to accurately guestimate with a formula for the amount of precipitation in a blizzard. This one was one that was ushered in by freezing drizzle and then some nasty freezing rain that once again preceded the snow. S...
Santa came early this year and it's a good thing he did for obvious reasons. What was his gift, you ask? It was for the North Central Thunder basketball program in the form of a girls/boys varsity sweep of McIntosh on the road over the weekend. Coincidentally the Thunder were to host Ipswich in Bowdle, weather permitting of course. So that could be quite interesting, as the Ipswich girls hadn't broken into the win column in two appearances, starting with a loss to Sully Buttes and that was the same team that had defeated the Thunder girls. The...
The weather was mild last Sunday for this time of the year, allowing a huge turnout at an Aberdeen Holiday Concert at the Johnson Fine Arts Center. The Medora N.D. summer musical cast were the performers. And they had been in Ipswich with their Christmas show a few years ago then at the Johnson Fine Arts Center three years ago, despite a massive blizzard in the area. And this year the concert featured the Waddington Brothers bluegrass band touring with the Medora group. They were indeed four brothers from southwestern North Dakota. The...
Believe it or not — we got a Christmas card or two this weekend. The holiday season is upon us! It seems people took the opportunity over the weekend to put up their holiday decorations and put away their fall decor. The weather was so cooperative with the temps up to 40° to 50°. Take a drive through Ipswich (and I bet the same is true in Roscoe and Hosmer) to check out the colorful displays. My wife was hinting over the weekend that she could use some help. Warmer weather is predicted later this week. We’ll see... Christmas concerts begin...
The volleyball season came to a conclusion last week in Sioux Falls. And Warner won the B for the second straight year, while Sioux Falls Christian won the Class A event as you might correctly have predicted. (They certainly don't like to lose!) I don't know how interested you would be in the AA results, but here they are. Harrisburg won it all including defeating Sioux Falls Jefferson in their championship clash. So the Tiger girls avenged Harrisburg's recent football loss to Jefferson in the Dome with a state volleyball title. Getting back...
Two area nine-man high school football teams lost their Dome appearances last weekend, Herreid/ Selby Area to Hitchcock-Tulare which would actually be yet another area team themselves in 9B, while Warner was defeated by Gregory in Class 9A. Meanwhile, Wall remained undefeated in Class 9AA, the big schools league. Starting in 11-man with a 11B showdown Elk Point Jefferson was able to remain undefeated in their first-ever trip to the Dome vs. Winner which nearly always wins in the Dome but not this year. Class 11A won by Dell Rapids over West...
The new weather (climate) goes from one extreme to the other. This has been especially true this year. We’ve had recent problems with blowing dust, but now the forecasters are predicting blowing snow. Well at least that should alleviate grass fire danger for a while. Our office will be closed on Friday, Veterans Day. There will be two Veterans Day programs to attend. One on Thursday, Nov. 10 in the Edmunds Central School in Roscoe at 2 p.m. Then on Veterans Day, Nov. 11 at 10 a.m. in the Ipswich School Theatre. Thank You Veterans for your...
October Legislative Report Thank you for the opportunity to return to the South Dakota State Senate again in 2023! I am honored and humbled by the support I continue to receive as I travel our district. We have many topics on our agenda this session, from landowner rights to tax relief, from support for our counties and schools, to access to healthcare for our rural residents. Our topics are diverse, but we all agree that our rural South Dakota roots continue to make South Dakota the great state it is! Our last Interim Appropriations meeting...
There are a few items to briefly comment on here. For one thing the upcoming time change. And please don’t get me started on that! It was fun to watch the ocean of faces in the recent All-State Orchestra and Chorus concert. It’s always fun to look for and hopefully locate some familiar faces. Fun to watch and easy on the ears. Even the trumpets seemed to be quite mellow. Tena looks at it as a live version of “Where’s Waldo.” You look for the unique items in the chorus. The boy with a large red afro hair really stood out. One year an Ipswich s...
The election day is rapidly approaching and is indeed right around the corner. If you haven't already voted by then. Signs are all over for the various candidates and maybe even a few for the ballot issues this year. You can study the sample ballots and voter instructions etc. in this week’s Tribune and Independent. Next week we’ll have more about the local elections. One thing before the election, though, is Halloween and this year the actual October 31 Halloween Day falls on a Monday if you haven't already been trick and treating over the...
Amendment D Before the General Election on November 8, 2022, please do your research on Constitution Amendment D. You will see large amounts of money being spent on full page advertisement to vote for Amendment D. In 2019 there was an estimated 884,000 citizens living in South Dakota. An estimated 64% are in the 18-year-old to 64-year-old age group or 565,760 people. That means there will be 523,760 contributing their tax dollars and 42,000 South Dakota citizens, ages 18 to 65 years old, that currently do not carry health insurance but would...
The fall air is definitely feeling crisper by the day. How is that? Well I looked at our digital indoor/outdoor thermometer when I first got up on Tuesday morning and it would read -4. But I didn't believe there was that much frost on the car to scrape. So I pick up the thermometer just to get closer look and guess what you guessed it, bumping it up against the wall would change the thing back over to the F scale not the C scale and I already felt warmer. But that wasn't the case last Wednesday in Webster for Ipswich's cross country regionals....
The regional cross country meets in high school autumn sports is beginning Wednesday. Ipswich has been moved into Region 1B over in Webster, while North Central is in Class A and their regional cross country action is in Chamberlain. There is just one weekend left of the regular season before the football play-off season begins. Locally that will be a Lake Region Conference event between Ipswich and North Central to be hosted by Ipswich on Friday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. Time certainly has flown by so fast, it seems. There are always a few things in...
Gypsy Day is Saturday in Aberdeen with a parade at 9 a.m., if I recall. So good luck to all the high school bands in the parade and their ratings. The weather hasn’t been all that warm and some fairly recent Gypsy Days have indeed been downright chilly. So speaking of chili, you might want to grab some hot chili to eat. It will warm you up from the inside. Hot coffee isn’ t a bad idea either. Some vendors might actually be selling hot coffee or hot cocoa that day. Or you could bring your own coffee container from home. Ipswich did quite wel...
By David Bordewyk South Dakota Newspaper Association This week is National Newspaper Week – an annual celebration of the special role that newspapers have in our nation. Since well before our statehood in 1889, newspapers have staked a claim in helping to build and connect residents and communities in our great state. Today, that role continues. Now more than ever, we need good newspapers and good journalism. It’s vital for the health and well-being of our democracy and our republic. Facts and truth matter. Credibility matters. A good new...
by Steve Barnett South Dakota Secretary of State I wanted to take this opportunity to share important information regarding the upcoming general election, which will be held November 8. South Dakota voters have the choice of voting in-person on Election Day or by casting an absentee ballot. South Dakota’s absentee voting processes have long been in place and provide numerous security measures for voters. Only registered South Dakota voters are eligible to vote absentee. Voters choosing to cast an absentee ballot are encouraged to account for m...
We are starting to see some hints of fall and just dodged some freezing. I guess the calendar agrees. But it’s nearly always windy, some days more than others. We are officially into fall as the calendar confirms, so don’t be surprised what is next. They say that the days and night hours are about equally long this time of the year as well. Annual fall activities are occurring, along with some brand new ones. I noticed somewhere that there is an Oktoberfest in Aberdeen again this year. But guess what — it will actually be on November 5 in th...