Ag is king in South Dakota, plain and simple. This past week, we hosted the annual Governor’s Ag Summit in historic Deadwood. In my first year as Governor, it was pretty special to have the summit in my back yard!

At the start of fall, many high school graduates embark on a new journey at vocational schools, community colleges, or four-year universities. But a unique group of exceptional individuals begin their college experience in June at our military service academies. After receiving nominations from my office, eight strong young men and women accepted appointments to attend all five U.S. service academies.

Dear editor, I am writing this for the readers of my Canadian Perspective Byline articles, which are published in the Gregory, Winner, and Todd County newspapers. I like to use my byline because it gives me more space beyond the 500-word letter to the editor limit.

Here in South Dakota, we’re blessed to have some of the best healthcare in the country. In fact, a recent ranking by WalletHub rated South Dakota 3rd overall for the best health care. Unfortunately, more than half of the state’s residents will pay more for worse health care if a new tax on health insurance passes in Congress.

On Tuesday, June 24, 2025, Governor Larry Rhoden and United States Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced that the State of South Dakota and the United States Department of the Interior are moving forward with planning for the Mount Rushmore Fireworks celebration to celebrate America’s 250th Birthday. Governor Rhoden and Secretary Burgum signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to move forward with planning.

On the night of February 26, 1866, James Hogan was lynched at Vermillion. It was one of those cases where the people of the community felt that their personal safety demanded that the desperado should be put out of the way of doing violence to others. However, after he had been hung it was said that this act was the most barbarous thing to do and not altogether necessary.