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We have endured March-like temps recently. But hopefully it will start improving now that we are in to May, which is one of the busiest months of the entire year. That’s for sure. Hard to believe, but the Graduation edition is coming soon. Hint: if you want an ad in that newspaper call Tena (605-426-6471). It wouldn’t hurt to dry out just a bit. When we see the forecast mentions likely showers we head for our three rain gauges. Yes three! We like to average them out by dividing by three. As I am writing this I notice aother rain shower in pro...
Many of Saturday’s area high school events (including Ipswich) fell victim to rather disagreeable weather conditions. Oh well! Let’s hope that conditions return to more normal. But then again what is normal in our climate changed weather patterns? Good question — so we will have to wait and see! We want something that doesn’t mention that little four-letterword — wind! Yes, the wind can and does appear from several different directions and some times just in a single day. So I hope you haven’t put away your kites just yet. But you would proba...
It is certainly the time of year for sports’ fans. And I believe that true baseball fans really enjoy major league baseball as well. But we should mention that there is year-around NBA basketball with the women’s version during the summer and the men’s NBA still in progress. Yes it’s playoff time for men. The great college playoffs for both women and men won’t be forgotten. The women can play at a level of competition even exceeding the mens’ game in some aspects. This past D1 hoops certainly was one for the ages in both men and women’s act...
DEG saved this from last week after his column was X’d when it turned out the Council candidates were too long. So a few post-Easter thoughts. There is nothing tastier than leftovers, especially when they are ham dinners. Think of the many different ways you can cook it. Entire recipes or modifications of your own or someone’s that are quite different and unique. I am thinking in particular of the Holy Cross KC cheesy potatoes that went with their recent fish meals. You betcha, we did look on the internet for a substitute. And also as you can...
To the Voters of Ipswich City: Did you read the published meeting minutes from the City Equalization Meeting held on March 21? There appears to be a serious conflict of interest regarding the assessment votes at that meeting. Five of the six council members were present. Per published meeting minutes, the members voted unanimously to approve all requests for tax relief. To approve those requests a minimum of four yes votes would be required. On three of the items two of the council members present appear to have a conflict of interest...
The long month of March is quickly coming to a close, as it always seems to. And along with that the Easter weekend is this week! So Happy Easter everybody! Be kind to the Easter Bunny and leave him (or her) some eggs or even candy. But before that we have to ask an old question: did March come in as a Lion and will it leave like a Lamb? I think the beginning of the month was Lamb-like. We already experienced some wintry weather last weekend, but that could have been a lot worse than the amounts that we measured! Easter week could include some...
The state's Class B boys basketball tournament certainly lived up to its pre-tourney hype and then some. The tournament concluded with a narrow championship win in overtime by Howard thus preventing DeSmet from obtaining its fourth straight title. They had to settle for second this time around. Under that new SoDak 16 format anybody could win this tournament if they would play the entire event again this week. And we had wondered how our Lake Region Conference member Leola-Frederick Area would do there and the answer was apparently not so...
THE GHOST OAK In 2017 with our youngest daughter graduating from high school, and the corporation I worked for being simultaneously acquired by a larger firm, my wife suggested we make yet another move. After 13 years in Colorado, she wanted someplace wetter, greener, and warmer. We ultimately settled in a home outside New Bern, North Carolina that met both my bride’s and my prerequisites; hers as previously stated, and mine being near a military base, a home on a single level meaning no s...
Tornadoes rolled through Rapid City last weekend. Fortunately they weren't real tornadoes, but they were a girls basketball team playing in the State B there. That's right the Centerville Tornadoes would cap their amazing weekend with an impressively relatively easy championship night victory over Arlington, the top-seeded team entering the event. At the other end of the spectrum a Lake Region Conference and Region 1B member Warner didn't fare all that well. They would not manage to win a single tournament game including a seventh-place loss to...
Senate Report by Bryan Breitling 2024 Legislative Wrap-up The 2024 legislative session is complete! The South Dakota legislative process is amazing; nine weeks of work to complete the state’s balanced budget and update any lawmaking necessary to facilitate the great standard of living we are proud to call South Dakota home! In Joint Appropriations, this ninth week, we completed budget setting for the remaining departments, resulting in a FY2025 ongoing balanced budget! While we can make our way on general consensus items, the last few items a...
To the Editor: What is it with our Representatives? A few things going on in our political realm you may or may not be aware of. We have Senator Thune, Rounds and Congressman Johnson that are off the rails! A vote to censor Congresswoman Rashida Talib, one of the biggest Country haters in DC was shot down with the help of our Representative Dusty Johnson. Mr. Johnson also voted to reauthorize FISA 702 which is basically a tactic to spy on all Americans. All our representatives in DC continue to vote on spending billions of our tax dollars to...
Big surprise here, but the return of Daylight Savings Time is just around the corner. And I'm still getting used to the current time! I would imagine that would also be true for many of our readers if we took a poll. But it is between late winter and early spring according to my calendars. So sometimes you don't really receive a whole lot of daylight this time of the year anyway. It can be cloudy and or foggy for several days That has been especially true this year. But we can still get a lot of wind from time to time. So isn't March supposed...
To the Citizens of Edmunds County: I am writing today to encourage you to support the upcoming bond election that would create a new law enforcement facility here in Edmunds County. As some of you may know we had shut our jail down and move our dispatch and sheriff’s office to a temporary location in November of 2022. Since that time it has become clear to me and our staff that the status quo is not working. Now is the time we must address this issue for the betterment of our county. This facility would do several things for our county. It woul...
To the Editor: The Edmunds County proposed Sheriff's Office, Jail, and Dispatch building project is ultimately the Edmunds County voters decision, although as a concerned citizen and as one of your Edmunds County Commissioners, I am interested to continue the conversation about a county issue that affects all of Edmunds County residents as well as all the travelers through Edmunds County. The Commissioners along with the Edmunds County Sheriff Office is focused on serving Edmunds County through professional emergency protection services...
Senate Report by Bryan Breitling Final Legislative Week With the end of session, there are a few more deadlines to focus on this week. Monday, all bills need to pass both houses, and by Wednesday, the General Budget bill needs to be heard in the House, followed by the Senate on Thursday, the last day of the 2024 legislative session. So, we will work toward the resolution of the final bill, conference committees, and final budget negotiations to pass a balanced budget in South Dakota! In Joint Appropriations, this eighth week, we completed...
There was a really great Aberdeen Concert performance in the Johnson Fine Arts Center in Aberdeen last Thursday. It was three young ladies from the Los Angeles area, singing the popular hits from the ‘50s and ‘60s. The acoustics are amazing in that place for sure. Their voices totally overrode the canned background accompaniment music that you could not even tell it was there. I will have to admit that I remember or recognized each and every song even including their encore. Wow! Fast forward to last Friday in the same location! The stage was...
Senate Report by Bryan Breitling Final Budget Setting With crossover week complete, legislators are now focusing on bills from the other house and beginning to work on conference committees for when a bill passes the first house and amended in the second house. Crossover week is a stressful week where the final bills that have been adjusted and vetted all session need final disposition in the house of origin. Some make the cut, while many don’t. Joint Appropriations, this seventh week, was entirely focused on hearing testimony and passing or d...
House Report by Scott Moore As we enter the final two weeks of legislation many spending bills will get debated as legislators look to finalize the budget. The incarceration fund, financing our state prison updates, will be a big topic during our next two weeks. I believe our prisons need updating and I agree that the best way to fund these improvements is without borrowing construction cost and strapping future generations. As we move through the figures the question that continues to be asked by some is what the correct amount is to put in...
A new Jail is a WIN for everyone in Edmund’s County After the closing of the Jail in Ipswich at the County building it has come to my attention that anyone that is detained by the Edmund’s County Sheriff has to be transported to the nearest jail that has room. This causes an issue for the safety of the residents of Edmund’s County. We currently have five law enforcement officers - a Sheriff and four deputies. With Edmunds County covering 1151 square miles, our safety is at risk if one of the deputies has to transport a prisoner out of the C...
We are quickly transitioning into post-season local sports events starting with Kadyn Weisser and Sophia Knittel going to the State B in wrestling for Ipswich-Bowdle. So good luck! Some other regional results were not available in time for this week's edition due to the Presidents Day Monday holiday. So for now there doesn't seem to be any major blizzards the next several days at least. So we will keep our fingers crossed on that! They are saying that if we would receive any precip it would be in the form of rain due to the unbelievably mild...
House Report by Scott Moore February 16, 2024 As South Dakota Legislators close out week six and move into week seven the workload continues to be steady but organized. In week six House Education committee heard bills on school funding HB 1048. This bill was originally brought forward from South Dakota Department of Education and is titled “School Accountability” bill. As the terms/ agreements of the Blue-Ribbon School Task Force end, June 30, 2024, there needs to be some new policy/law put in place to give schools a road map to follow whi...
Aren't overtimes exciting? Just ask the Super Bowl fans. Although I should admit that this OT was just a little past my usual bedtime. Maybe one too many commercials, that's for sure! But there can be overtimes or the equivalent of an OT in just about any sport at any level of competition. For instance major league baseball has its tenth innings and volleyball teams have to win a fifth set by at least two points. North Central's girls and boys basketball teams have already had an OT or two in their regular seasons. And the rest of high school...
Senate Report by Bryan Breitling Revenue Setting Stage of Budget Finalization Now that we are past the halfway point of the 2024 legislative session, this week is revenue setting. We will hear economic reports from the Bureau of Finance & Management and the Legislative Research Council. Following those reports, a Revenue Setting Subcommittee will negotiate the various estimates of FY24 revisions and FY25 revenues. Those will then likely be adopted on Wednesday, 14th. When this stage is finalized, this sets the final revenue and expense...
The Edmunds Central third grade just finished a lesson on caring for the environment in social studies and persuasive writing in language arts. The students wrote Letters to the Editor, which follow: January 29, 2024 Dear Editor, Stop and recycle that can! Did you know that you can recycle cans, glass bottles, and plastic? You didn't? Then I will tell you how. 1. collect empty cans 2. take to a recycling center. You just recycled! Sincerely, Jack Meier January 29, 2024 Dear Editor, Did I just see you throw wrappers on the ground? I don't want...
House Report by James Wangsness It’s Ground Hog Day! While this is a day to boost our spirits in the dead of winter, it has more significance to me. This is my mom’s birthday, she would have been 86 today. This is also the day my dad passed away, 4 short months after he lost his life partner. Finally, 2 years ago today the AG shop attached to the Miller High School blew up! My son, an 8th grader, was evacuated with all the students at the Miller school. It was a surreal experience on a very cold day. I do not want to repeat Ground Hog Day. On...