Opinion

DITOR Dear editor, Government is Doing Bad #6 Can you believe that “Sage” Eric Putnam in his November 26 letter to the editor perfectly illustrated the main point of my November 26 letter that the mixing of religion and politics derails democratic politics! Testifying to the power of religion to act as an insurmountable barrier to political negotiation and cooperation between groups – necessary cornerstones of successful democratic politics in America – he states: “This old boy, for one, would rather be financially bankrupt than morally bankrupt, which he would be if he would sign on to such a Faustian deal”, meaning work with Democrats. Blocking flexible political maneuvering, speaking the language of religion has had the effect of cutting off South Dakotan small livestock producers from reaping the wide-ranging benefits of representational democracy.

An old pastor of mine used to give the advice, “Don’t wait for doors to open; check the doors, and see if they’re unlocked.” More often than not, South Dakota takes this advice. We don’t settle for the way things are – we always strive to do better and pursue opportunity.

Snowfall in the winter of 1880-81 was unusually heavy in the Missouri River valley and the month of March in 1881 remained extraordinarily cold until the last week. Melting snow in the Dakotas, upstream from Sioux City, poured a large amount of water into the Missouri River.

South Dakota has real cause for concern. On December 2, Governor Rhoden put forth his budget proposal for 2026. The news is bleak. Our state sales tax collections went backward for only the 3rd time in the last 30 years, and education, nursing homes, and state employees will see 0% increases. After years of growth and advancement, it seems that South Dakota is stuck in the mud.

The majority of folks living in South Dakota today do not remember when the Missouri River was a free-flowing river which flooded every spring. This flooding was usually caused by ice jams, which occurred when massive chunks of dislodged, free-flowing ice refroze or got caught further downstream. These ice jams could be started at bridge pilings, shallow areas, river bends, narrow areas, or a myriad of other naturally occurring obstacles such as rocks or tree trunks.

The South Dakota Freedom Caucus commends Governor Larry Rhoden for not recommending the usual, de facto increases in government salaries at a time when the taxpayers are struggling. However, parts of the Governor’s address the Caucus called “deeply misleading” and “fiscally irresponsible” in regard to its characterization of the state’s financial position.

Ultimately, education is about our future. We want our kids and our grandkids to have the very best opportunity to learn and grow so that they can become well-informed and productive members of our society and get into the career of their dreams.

The final step in harvesting the grain was threshing. This was the busiest time of the year on the farm. Someone in the neighb orhood who owned a threshing machine would hire a crew of men and go from farm to farm to thresh. Often the threshing crew was made up of family and neighbors. The crew might be made up of from 10 to 30 men. Each farm’s threshing usually took two to four days if the weather was good.

Dear editor, Who is wounded when the ACA subsidies are allowed to lapse? The ones who really make America great will be most wounded. In South Dakota, that’s farmers and ranchers, people who live in small towns, small business owners and their employees, caregivers, daycare providers.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving full of time with family and friends, great food, and gratitude for our abundance of blessings. As Thanksgiving turns to Christmas and gratitude turns to generosity, I’m preparing to present a balanced budget to the South Dakota Legislature.