In my State of the State Address, I talked about the freedom to be secure. We are so fortunate to live in a nation where we have many Freedoms, including the Freedom to feel secure in our own communities. Unfortunately, that security is now being threatened. And today, we are even more at risk of having our security ripped out from under us than ever before.

News Briefs..... Gregory High School instrumental contest is Wed.

Senator Erin Tobin District 21 Aurora, Charles Mix, Douglas, Gregory, Tripp Counties Committees: Chair of Health & Human Services, Executive Board, Agriculture and Natural Resources, State Affairs Capitol Address: 500 E. Capitol Ave.

District 21 Aurora, Charles Mix, Douglas, Gregory, Tripp Counties Committees: Vice Chair Agriculture and Natural Resources, Member of Local Government Capitol Address: 500 E. Capitol Ave.

The first h i g hway s into the prairie grasslands of what would later become South Dakota were the rivers used by the earliest adventurers, explorers, mountain men, and fur trappers. For the late eighteenth- and early nineteenthcentury travelers west of St. Louis, their road was the Missouri River.

Lee Qualm, a Platte, SD resident and 4th generation farmer, has announced his bid for District 21 House. This is not the first time Qualm has served in the legislature. Lee was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2013. During his eight years in office, he served as House Majority Leader for four years, Chairman of State Affairs, Chairman of Ag and Natural Resources, on Executive Board, on Ag Land Task Force, Transportation, Local Government, & State and Tribal Relations Committees. Qualm notes, “I love working with people to help this District and to make sure SD remains a great place to live, work and raise our families.” As a family man with a wife of 48 years, four married children, and twelve grandchildren, he knows we must establish a greater South Dakota for the next generation.