No. The South Dakota State University men’s basketball team ranks second in conference tournament championships, behind former Summit League member Valparaiso.

Gregory 41 vs. Corsica/ Stickney 42 The Gregory Gorillas fell to the Corsica/Stickney Jaguars by the score of 41-42 on Tuesday night in Region 5B action in Gregory.

If you’ve ever built something from the ground up, you realize that nothing worthwhile happens overnight. It takes steady work and a willingness to do the tough tasks. On the ranch, that means checking fences after a snowstorm or putting calves on the ground in frigid weather. The same goes for turning good ideas into law here in South Dakota.

March marks a historic (and highly anticipated) moment for the South Dakota Highway Patrol. They are officially switching to no ties with their uniform.

R eport Senator Mykala Voita District 21 Aurora, Charles Mix, Douglas, Gregory, Tripp Counties Committee: Appropriations Capitol Address: 500 E. Capitol Ave.

Dear Editor, This summer our nation celebrates the 250th birthday of its independence and the establishment of our democratic form of government. Glorification of these momentous events is already well underway, but this occasion also provides the opportunity for taking stock of the state of our democracy, and this is what I have set out to do. What I have found is that there is a startling contrast between democracy as it exists in South Dakota today and democracy as originally envisioned by our founding fathers and that this contrast is directly linked to what our founding fathers warned against: the mixing of religion and politics. This mixing initially occurred in South Dakota several decades ago when the Republican Party and Right-to-Life supporters formed a voting bloc alliance. Securing Republicans decades of uninterrupted Republican monopoly control of state politics and opening the door for Right-to-Life supporters to legislate their Bible-based antiabortion dogma into state law, this mixing has had far-reaching antidemocratic impact on governance in South Dakota. In my February 18 letter, I focused on how the principle of religious freedom has been narrowed to accommodate the violation of the First Amendment right of citizens to practice their religions or ethical beliefs without state interference. Today I focus on how mixing has undermined our founders’ understanding of citizen voting.