Opinion

hoden As the 2026 Legislative Session wrapped up this week in Pierre, lawmakers have spent the past couple months working through the issues that matter most to South Dakotans. We accomplished a great deal, but one thing tops it all: we delivered the largest property tax cut in South Dakota history.

Ahoy, young adventurers in Gregory! Theatre 605 Tours is searching for the next crew of daring explorers to star in their original musical production, Space Pirates! Presented through special arrangement with Beat by Beat Press (www.bbbpress.com). Ready to embark on this cosmic journey? Take note of the audition details below and prepare for a week filled with interstellar fun! This production welcomes all ages, skills, and experience levels—no need to have pirate expertise (unless you already do!).

DITOR Dear Editor, Since my last article, I watched the winter Olympics and then the longest ever State of the Union address. As a Canadian, I was very interested in the USA-Canada men’s hockey final. The goaltender who got a presidential award was the reason that USA won the game in overtime. These players also play on NHL teams, and that goaltender plays for the Winnipeg Jets. His last term, we learned “don’t listen to what he says, watch what he does.”

Leavenworth did not regard the Yankton Indians as being entirely trustworthy. In a letter to the United States Indian agent O’Fallon, at Fort Atkinson, he said: “These Yanktons appear to be zealously determined to cooperate with us, but I have doubts as to the continuation of their enthusiasm.”

The first battle between the United States troops and the Indians to occur on what is now Dakota soil took place on the 10th of August, 1823, near the mouth of the Grand River which empties into the Missouri River Wakpala and near the North Dakota border. The United States troops engaged were a detachment of riflemen and infantry commanded by Lieut. Col. Henry Leavenworth, of the Fifty United States Infantry.

About a week ago, I went to sleep on Friday night as a peacetime Governor, then woke up Saturday morning as Governor at a time of war. While we slept, President Donald J.

The first fort established at Yankton was built in 1862. It was constructed to protect settlers from maraud ing hostile Sioux Indian raiders during the Civil War. The fort was a stockade that included a quarter of each block on Broadway between Third and Fourth streets. This was the first organized army for the Territory of Dakota and also its first and only fort at that time.

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.

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.

South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces that a South Dakota Circuit Court has ruled that the state’s lawsuit against Mayday Health over allegations of deceptive and unlawful abortion pill ads can move forward and ordered that a trial date be set.