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Floods close roads in Davison County
Several segments of Davison County roads were closed Sunday evening as creeks within the county left their banks, pushing water, ice or both into the path of traffic.
Recent letter to EPA is welcome, Thune says
A group of Democrats has sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency and questioned the EPA’s plans about regulating carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases.
Eight Democrats sent the letter last week to EPA Director Lisa Jackson, stressing the economic implications attached to regulating emissions. The letter adds weight to the ongoing efforts of Republicans, including South Dakota Sen. John Thune, who for months have been publicly concerned that the EPA could make sweeping changes in regulating gases without the consent of Congress.
Johnson: Today’s summit a peace offering
Sen. Tim Johnson said it’s time for members of Congress to put aside their differences as they prepare for a summit on health care today at the White House.
Johnson, speaking with reporters on a scheduled conference call, stressed that the meeting is not only bipartisan, but also needed as Congress continues to struggle with the health-care issue. The 9 a.m. meeting will include Democrat and Republican leaders. “Republicans and Democrats will meet at the White House (today) and try to find common ground in health-care reform legislation,” Johnson, D-S.D., said. “There is a lot that both parties can agree on and it’s time to put politics aside and finally address a problem we have talked about for decades.”
District 20 delegates to discuss session Saturday
District 20 constituents should “bring all the questions they can bring” to the first of two legislative forums scheduled in Mitchell, says state Rep. Noel Hamiel.
“We’ll try to answer them,” Hamiel said. “I’m not sure we’ll have the answers, but we’ll give it our best shot.”
Candidates discuss use of state’s military personnel
The federal government must be questioned about its military intentions as more South Dakota National Guard members are pressed into active duty overseas, Lt. Gov. Dennis Daugaard told attendees of the state Vietnam veterans reunion Saturday.
Daugaard, a Republican, was joined at the event by former Brookings mayor Scott Munsterman, also a Republican, and Democrat Scott Heidepriem. All seven candidates for governor were invited to take part in the short forum at the annual reunion, held over the weekend at the Mitchell Ramada Inn.
Pay-go passes, pleasing Herseth Sandlin
The U.S. House of Representatives on voted to adopt pay-as-you-go spending, an act that Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin said has been “nothing short of a battle” to get accomplished.
Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D., said Thursday was a “proud day” and noted to reporters during a morning conference call that adopting a pay-as-you-go approach has been one of her priorities since she was first voted into Congress in 2004.
Palace, Mitchell featured on Oprah Winfrey Web site
Mitchell and its famous Corn Palace have been included in a feature on a Web site run by and focused on television talk show host Oprah Winfrey, prompting the director of the local visitors bureau to say that she’s “thrilled” and especially pleased by the article’s timing.
RELATED CONTENTRepublicans meet to discuss ways to balance state budget
PIERRE — Several Republicans — including two from District 20 — said Thursday they believe all state programs should be considered for cuts as the Legislature discusses ways to balance the state budget.
Democrats roll out plan for state budget
PIERRE — South Dakota Democratic leaders on Thursday outlined a plan they feel can cut approximate $35 million from the state budget and said that if specific financial belt-tightening doesn’t work, they are prepared to suggest “targeted” across-the-board cuts to balance the budget.
The Democrats presented the plan to members of the media during Newspaper Day at the Legislature, which annually brings to Pierre reporters, editors and publishers from weekly and daily newspapers across the state.
Father, son endure quake, long trip home from Haiti
Bruce Blumer is safe, sound and at home, but with a host of sad memories of the earthquake that last week devastated Haiti. On the Haitian island of La Gonave for mission work when the quake hit, Blumer, of Mitchell, and his son, Ian — a student at the University of Sioux Falls — arrived home around 4 a.m. Tuesday. Their post-earthquake journey included lending aid in the wake of the disaster, followed by rides on a lobster boat and a cramped truck, a flight to Florida and, finally, an arrival at the Rapid City Regional Airport.
RELATED CONTENTColumns
Opinion: Quirks of language confront us all the time
It was hard to watch the new movie “The Dilemma” without considering the true meaning of the word “dilemma.”
So many people use that word incorrectly. And when this newspaper lets slip an improper use of “dilemma,” a former boss here is quick to pounce, sending e-mails reminding us what the word really means.
I often hear people say they’ve got a dilemma on their hands. Maybe they can’t decide between going to lunch or working through the noon hour. Maybe they can’t decide between the BLT or the club sandwich.
Opinion: Deep-fat frying, stains can prompt the holiday blues
“Deep frying a turkey,” the press release says, “can be a hazardous endeavor.”
Numerous Thanksgiving related press releases are sent to newsrooms across America in the weeks leading up to the holiday, most of which at best prompt a smile from editors who likely only glance at the self-promoting prose before tossing it away.
Golf video kicks off Daily Republic's 'How-To' series
The ladies love the long ball, an old television commercial used to proclaim.
Maybe that’s why typical advice-seekers ask Dakota Wesleyan University golf coach Adam Anderson how to improve their long game.
“More people probably want to know how to hit their driver longer or straighter,” Anderson said after playing 18 holes Thursday afternoon. “It’s frustrating for me because if I could change one aspect of everybody’s game, it’s their chipping and putting, rather than their driving.”
Opinion: Let’s hear it for the girls: Local women achieve college basketball success
Jill Young sure is continuing a tradition of exceptional women’s basketball players from Mitchell who are doing well at college.
It’s hard not to think of Young as the baby-faced seventh-grader at Mitchell Christian, earning playing time alongside her older sister as her family — and especially her dad, Tom — watched nervously on the sidelines.
Opinion: Tell us your ideas: Reader input sought for upcoming projects
We get them all the time — unsolicited submissions of stories or requests for our reporters to pen feature pieces about interesting people.
We always welcome them, but sometimes simply can’t get to them or, in some cases, just can’t find the “hook” — to use an industry term — to get the story into the newspaper.
Opinion: Seeking role models: A-Rod may be great, but he did it on drugs
I think it was in 2006 that I declared Yankees infielder Alex Rodriguez the greatest player of this era.
A regular attendee of Twins games, my family has seen the Yankees play at the Metrodome for four consecutive years now. We’re forced into such cliché attendance because my 10-year-old son adores the team.
Opinion: Disabling ‘guardians’: Think before pulling legals from papers
It’s Thursday, and for those of you who reside in small towns in South Dakota, that means your weekly paper is either still fresh on your kitchen table or in your mailbox.
Opinion: South Dakota insight: Woster, Mercer, Ross great additions to our product
Penning a weekly column isn’t easy.
At first, it seems simple enough. But as the weeks fade into months and years, the ideas tend to dry up and the wit — or bite, depending upon the writer — begs to follow.
It’s precisely why the editor’s column generally only appears here every other week.
Opinion: Scams hurt real people: Mitchell woman a victim of deceit in latest ploy
Lila Steiber was hesitant to give me her name when she called to politely complain that The Daily Republic hadn’t done a good job of publicizing the latest scam to hit South Dakota.
What we call a “brief” — a short story only three or four paragraphs in length — had run at the bottom corner of Page 2 of Saturday’s edition. We should have done more, she said.
As we talked, the floodgates opened. Embarrassed, she told me how she fell for the scam just a few weeks ago.
Opinion: Recipe for success Wesleyan’s best teams tend to follow same approach
Dakota Wesleyan’s greatest football season came in 1992, when coach Joe Kramer pieced together a team that not only breezed to a league title, but gained national recognition.
In 1992, his Tigers finished the regular season unbeaten. The next year, they were 7-3.
I hadn’t given much thought to those great teams until I read the other day that Wesleyan finished this football season 7-3 — the best finish for the Tigers since Kramer did it 15 years ago.
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