Opinion

oem The men and women in our National Guard serve with excellence. They take their job seriously, so I take my responsibility to them as their commander in chief very seriously.

The early historic wagon trails across the Dakota Territory left their deep-rutted imprints on the prairie where countless oxen and other livestock moved supplies, equipment, and citizens into the sunset. Now obliterated by time, only scattered traces of these trails are visible today.

During the later part of the 1800s and the early part of the 1900s, the stealing of their cattle and horses was a problem which the settlers had to deal with regularly. One of the early tricks which the rustlers practiced was to only take a portion of the livestock from the ranch.

Dear Editor, I recently contacted our senators and congressman regarding the federal omnibus bill. Johnson told me he would not vote for it, but Rounds and Thune made no such promise. On December 22, 2022, Rounds and Thune joined with Senate Democrats and RINOs and voted yes for this porkinfested bill.

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season are all the Christmas songs that we pass down from generation to generation. Some are silly and fun. Others reflect the more serious reason for the season.

The South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) reminds the public and commercial snow removal operators that it is illegal to place or dump excess snow on highway right-of-way, which includes driving surfaces, shoulders, and ditches.

China’s Communist government hates America. That may seem overly harsh or simple – but it’s a fact. They want to be the strongest nation on earth, and they see America standing in their way. Unfortunately, we have a president in Washington who is not taking this threat seriously. If he won’t protect the American people from this very real and growing threat, then states need to step up and do what we can.

Some years ago I read a story entitled “Christmas Time on the Frontier”, which I regularly read at this time of the year. It is the story of a frontier pastor’s wife’s very special Christmas when her faith was put to the test. What follows is an edited version of her story: “I remember a day during one winter that stands out like a boulder in my life. The weather was unusually cold, our salary had not been regularly paid, and when it was it did not meet our needs. My husband was away traveling from one district to another much of the time. Our boys were well, but my little Ruth was ailing, and at best, none of us were decently clothed. I patched and repaired, with spirits sinking to the lowest ebb.

oem Over the last couple of months, I’ve checked out groceries at stores in communities across South Dakota. One out of every four or five customers had to put something back because of how much it cost.

Hello and hang on as we do a whirlwind connect-the-dots in the worldwide news that you won’t hear on FOX (news?). I crossed the Ft. Randall Dam three times last week, and my guesstimate is that the river is down 30 feet. Breaking news: Pres. Biden signed a bill blocking the rail strike so that rail cars carrying freight, fertilizer, grain and ethanol can move north and south. He also will increase ethanol percentage in gasoline to Sen. Grassley’s proposed E30. We knew that fuel prices would come down after the election, and today I saw it locally under $4/gal.