Opinion

It is no mistake that when Thomas Jefferson declared that all men are endowed with the “right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” LIFE came first. The Constitution clearly delegates defending the lives and safety of the people to the government as its chief role. That includes defending the rights and the lives of unborn children.

With the growth of the territory in the mid-1800s, the opening of new lands for homesteading, and the influx of new settlers, wide agitation came to move the capital which had been established by the legislature in 1862 away from Yankton. Because of the massive influx of new residents in the area, a more central location was preferred.

Senator Erin Tobin District 21 Gregory/Tripp Charles Mix/Bon Homme Counties Committees: Commerce & Energy, Education, Vice Chair of Health & Human Services Capitol Address: 500 E. Capitol Ave.

Letter to the editor, Potholes in alley behind Bank-West are very dangerous to vehicles and human foot traffic; with a little snow covering holes, a fall is invited to happen. I asked bank manager nearly two years ago to get some tar mix and fill them - nothing happened.

The Dakota Territory law makers met for the first time in Yankton on March 17, 1862. This was the first legislature in the territory. The two legislative bodies were referred to as the “house” and the “council”, and neither trusted the other. The entire legislative session was stormy and many of the relationships were frayed.

Due to drought last summer and ongoing, Gregory County livestock producers became eligible for the Livestock Forage Program on June 22, 2021. Many producers have completed their applications and provided us with their supporting documentation. This is a reminder that if you have not completed your application or if you still need to provide our office with supporting documentation or sign your application, the deadline to complete this process in its entirety is January 31, 2022.

On January 6, 2022, Governor Kristi Noem and the Department of Health’s rule blocking telemedicine abortions was approved by the South Dakota Legislature’s Interim Rules Review Committee. “Chemical abortions are four times as likely to cause a woman getting an abortion to end up in an emergency room – and we have a duty to protect the lives of those women,” said Governor Noem.

For forty--three years, the location of the seat of government was an important factor in the history of South Dakota. The time which was needed to determine the final location of the capital was perhaps longer than that required by any other state in the nation to find a home for their capital. When we were first part of the Dakota Territory and later s the State of South Dakota, the site of the capitol was a contentious subject. At times, it seemed to cause some of our citizens to demonstrate their worst possible behavior traits.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, on December 31, granted a threemonth extension to a commission tasked with recommending changes to the state’s child support payment laws.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) rolled out their 2nd annual Name the Snowplow Contest in November. The contest was designed to engage people across the state with the SDDOT in a fun way while providing safety information to assist the traveling public during winter weather.