Opinion

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.

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!

Silt caused great difficulties for navigators. The sediment that collected on sandbars forced the main channel to change its location or diverted the current through many small channels. Vessels passing over these bars between deep-water pools frequently ran aground. The channel changes caused by the bars increased erosion, added more silt to the river, and caused the silt to accumulate on the downstream bars. These changes occurred in continuous cycles.

The Colome School District is holding an election June 24, 2025, on a general fund opt-out resolution of $400,000 for the next five years to address the increasing financial pressures on the district. This move comes as a response to rising costs, insufficient state funding, and mandated salary requirements that have significantly strained the district’s General Fund.

There’s a beat-up old book sitting on my desk at the State Capitol. It’s full of pictures that were taken by my dad. Long after he passed, we found an camera hidden amongst his possessions. We got the film developed, and lo and behold – the photos were all from his service in World War II. They started with his service in the Battle of the Bulge and continue through the end of the war in Europe.

Most of the improvements carried out by Major Charles R. Suter conc entrated on the lower reach of the river between Kansas City and St. Louis. He did devote some of his efforts to upstream projects, among them stabilization works opposite Nebraska City, Nebraska, and farther upstream to Sioux City and Vermillion in Dakota Territory. At several locations, the removal of snags was accomplished.

hoden My family has ranched the same area of western South Dakota for generations. My hometown of Union Center is a very small community.

May is graduation season. Kids across South Dakota are looking forward to enjoying the summer, and they’re also looking ahead to whatever comes next.

On July 12, 1879, Captain Charles Howell of the Corps of Engineers boarded the steamboat Miner at Sioux City. He was det ermined to go far up the Missouri to Fort Benton, Montana, to make a government survey of the river.

The first South Dakota newspaper that was digitized containing a story recognizing those men who had served their country as a soldier was The Mitchell Capital in 1886. Seven different issues of that paper contained stories commemorating their military service. No other South Dakota paper had reported on the sacrifices made by these men for our freedoms today.