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The South Dakota Board of Regents announced the expansion of the Gateway Certificate Program, aimed at giving students an advantage in university-level academics and career exploration. This program is specifically designed for high school students taking dual credit courses, ensuring they engage in career-focused coursework while earning college credits. Having introduced the Gateway to Education certificate in August, the Board has now approved three new certificates to introduce students to career paths in agriculture, engineering, and business.

Families across South Dakota will be receiving a free turkey ahead of the holidays, through a partnership of Team Buche Cares and G.F. Buche Co. 100,000 pounds of turkey will be distributed to 121 communities, including all nine South Dakota tribes.

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As you read this, Christmas day has likely passed, but the family parties, and hopefully the joy and celebration of the season continue. Although we can all imagine what the Hallmark version of this looks like, there are many variations of Christmas tradition that make it special for each person or family. When the question is posed about what Christmas is about, we can likely rattle off some common answers such as faith, Jesus, family, gifts, love, traditions, to name a few. These are all things that have potential to bring an abundance of joy and meaning. Unfortunately, finding joy at Christmas can also be a complex experience as many of the same things that bring joy can be the cause of stress and pain, diluting our joyfulness.

Commentary by Bill Bullard, CEO, R-CALF USA The Corporate Transparency Act would have required tens of millions of United States small businesses, such as limited liability companies (LLCs) with fewer than 20 employees and gross receipts less than $5 million annually, to report their private business information regarding their “beneficial owners” to the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which according to them, would then store this sensitive information in a secure, confidential database.

Attorney general announces new indictment and pledges legislation A former state employee faces criminal charges for allegedly forging and falsifying reports of food-service health inspections she never conducted, South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Tuesday. Renee Lynn Strong, 55, of Springfield, was indicted Tuesday on 26 forgery-related charges carrying a maximum combined sentence of up to 91 years in prison and up to $182,000 in fines, Jackley said.

Decorations adorning homes and businesses in the familiar colors of red and green are popular come the holiday season. Even gift wrap, greeting cards and clothing tend to lean toward red and green as the holiday season hits full swing. It is difficult to think of Christmas without envisioning everything awash in these popular colors, broken up only by the inclusion of gold, white or silver accents.

It is possible, especially if you are over a certain age, that you have heard the Christmas song “Here We Come a-Wassailing.” But what is wassailing? Wassailing is the practice of people going door-to-door, singing and offering a drink from the wassail bowl in exchange for gifts; this practice still exists, but has largely been displaced by caroling. The word “Wassail” actually comes from an Anglo-Saxon word that means “be thou hale”, or “be in good health.” It originated as a greeting, but by the twelfth century, the cry “was hail” and reply, “drink hail” became a toast.

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We all know the story of the cunning curmudgeon known as the Grinch. But what do you know about how he came to be? On the morning of December 26th, 1956, Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr.