Opinion

On January 3, the new Republican majorities in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives were sworn in and I officially took over as Senate majority leader, and in a few weeks President Trump will take the oath of office. We have our work cut out for us to get this country back on the right track, and we are not wasting any time getting to work.

January serves as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, an important time for reflection, awareness, and action. This month is a solemn reminder of the urgent need to protect the most vulnerable among us from one of the most insidious crimes in our society. Today, I want to speak directly to you about what this means for us and how we can all make a difference.

One of the first areas in Dakota to be settled was the area along the northern edge of the Missouri River between Sioux City and Yankton. The earliest pioneer settlements in that area included Bon Homme, east of Springfield, Mixville below Fort Randall, Vermillion, Elk Point, and Yankton.

DITOR Dear Editor, Now that we have a new year, we need some new shops. As for shopping local, I do that except for things we don’t have in town.

Originally known as the Upper Platte Agency, it was renamed the Whetstone Agency in 1869, then Spotted Tail Agency in 1874, before finally acquiring the name Rosebud in 1878. The Agency served the Sicangu Lakota people led by Spotted Tail as well as members of the Sans Arcs, Oglala, Hunkpapa and Minconjou bands.

Dear editor, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17 These sacred words were written by a man under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit, and there isn’t a man who could appreciate this truth more than the man who penned these words because the man who wrote this once had a reputation for being the enemy of Christians everywhere. Being an enemy of Christians made him the enemy of Christ. This is why in Acts 9, Paul heard the voice from heaven say, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou ME? What Saul had been doing in harming the church, was indirectly bringing harm to Christ.

New Year’s means looking ahead. Growing up on my family ranch, we always looked forward to a long year of hard work. After all, calving season wasn’t too far in the future. We celebrated the holidays; we wished each other “Merry Christmas!” and “Happy New Year!” with smiles, good food, and the enjoyment of each other’s company. And then we got back to work taking care of the land and the animals so that they can feed us and everyone else.

As we enter the holiday season, LifeServe Blood Center is reminding everyone of the importance of donating blood during this critical time of year. While many are busy with celebrations, the need for blood donations remains constant, and your donation can make a life-saving difference for patients in need.

The section through North and South Dakota is the youngest valley of any of the large streams of the world, dating from the great glacier which pushed the stream out of the James River valley and caused it to carve out a new course.

Every year, I am always blown away by the decorations at the South Dakota State Capitol. Volunteers decorate dozens of trees and decorate the whole Capitol in a theme. This year, the theme is “Through a Child’s Eyes,” and everything is larger than life to make you feel like a little kid again. If you’ve never experienced Christmas at the Capitol, I would encourage you to do so before the season is over – the last day to see the trees is December 26.