South Dakota
updated
9:28 a.m.
If I'm reading the court record properly , the court slapped drunk driver Tessa Gould with a $516 fine ($136 suspended) and $220 in court costs, along with a month's revocation of drivers license, three months of DUI classes, and a year's probation. And what punishment did her boss dish out? Gould's arrest came two days before Noem won the Republican House nomination. She started working as H...
Madville Times - 7:09 a.m. - 4 clicks 
Remember last April when Valero bought bankrupt ethanol producer Verasun and then reneged on contracts with local farmers ? It gets worse. Now the New York lawyers tying up Verasun's bankruptcy are telling farmers who did business with Verasun right before it went belly up to pony up. If you did business with Verasun ninety days before their bankruptcy, the lawyers want you to pay that money ba...
Madville Times - 6:45 a.m.
Yo, Barack, where's the green love? Unlike the South Dakota press, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch continues to give well-researched coverage to mounting concerns over the integrity of the Keystone pipeline . Reporter Phillip O'Connor finds that the Obama Administration is going softer on pipeline companies than the Bush Administration did: Pipeline safety officials first learned of problems w...
Madville Times - 5:01 a.m. - 3 clicks
Three down, one to go: according to the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources Environmental Events Database , Pump Station #23 on the TransCanada Keystone pipeline sprung a leak on August 10. This one was just a little squirt, five gallons of tar sands oil hitting the ground two miles west and two miles south of Freeman . The database lists the cause as "equipment failure....
Madville Times - 3:29 a.m. - 3 clicks
There's just a half-day left in the latest Madville Times poll: " What effect will Kristi Noem's criminal record have on her standing with South Dakota voters? " Vote now in the right sidebar! The poll stays open until breakfast time tomorrow, so tell your friends, and vote now! effect : Yes, I botched the spelling in the original poll. Effect is the noun, meaning a result or impact. ...
Madville Times - Wed 2:22 p.m. - 6 clicks
Prediction: by November 2, the criminal record of every South Dakotan will have appeared in the press. The Kristi Noem campaign must be in panic mode, trying to divert attention from Noem's habitual lawbreaking by publicizing Lars Herseth's speeding tickets (yes, Lars, who last ran for office in... what, the 1990s?) and SHS campaign chief of staff Tessa Gould's recent DUI. Oops. Maybe should hav...
Madville Times - Wed 8:48 a.m. - 8 clicks
From the court listings in today's Aberdeen American News: Jason Henry Lutz, 28, of 1108 N. Second St., DUI, first offense, fined $505 and sentenced to 60 days in jail with 58 days suspended; stop sign violation, charge dismissed. Mr. Lutz is a staff member in Sen. Thune's Aberdeen office. ...
Northern Valley Beacon - Wed 8:21 a.m. - 4 clicks
Wherein I blatantly repurpose Dakota War College's commentary : An arresting reminder from KELO-TV why Kristi Noem’s $48.50 fine for her blowing a stop sign is a light sentence indeed: A 25-year-old mother and a 21-year-old driver are dead after a car crash just east of White, South Dakota. It happened at about 7:30 Friday night. Jordan Hochstein, 21, of White was driving north on 479...
Madville Times - Wed 7:49 a.m. - 3 clicks
As the Iraq war " ends ", our veterans get some more good news. KELO reports that the Department of Veterans Affairs is adding heart disease, Parkinson's, and hairy-cell leukemia to its list of conditions related to Agent Orange exposure . The VA will review 90,000 previously denied Agent Orange claims and expects 150,000 new claims over the next year and a half. Expected cost: $42 billion ov...
Madville Times - Wed 7:49 a.m.
"So how do I persuade a computer?" That was the profound question asked by a skinny freshman in my English classroom eight years ago. His query was prompted by a new directive from Pierre: our ninth-graders would take their state-mandated writing test online. Rather than penciling essays for well-indoctrinated moonlighting English teachers to grade, the students would type their essays online, an...
Madville Times - Wed 6:20 a.m. - 5 clicks
The South Dakota Constitution Party continues its futile search for an activist judge to give it preferential treatment under South Dakota election law. The Constitution Party is asking the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn Judge Roberto Lange's decision that the Constitution Party failed to follow the legal requirements to place candidates on South Dakota's statewide ballot. The only ...
Madville Times - Tue 10:50 a.m. - 6 clicks
Nobody mows 'til Dwaine Chapel mows! Last summer I had fun teasing the city for not following its own six-inch-grass rule . Now that the city has imposed a $200 fine for lazy lawnmowers , we can expect neat, well-trimmed grass everywhere to maintain our city's image, right? Not in the industrial park owned by the Lake Area Improvement Corporation. An eager reader says he found excessively al...
Madville Times - Tue 8:26 a.m.
Gee, maybe I could get a Sunday gig after all.... A contemplative reader says he heard a good sermon at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Sioux Falls last Sunday. The headliner: Ronald Knapp, minister emeritus of First Unitarian Church of Omaha , who told the congregants why he is an atheist. My correspondent forwards a 2007 PDF edition of Reverend (?) Knapp's sermon : If we can...
Madville Times - Tue 7:03 a.m. - 8 clicks
Joel Rosenthal tells the fumbling Kristi Noem campaign to put on the big-girl pants and get back on message : When the story broke and confronted by KELO, Kristi Noem did the right thing. She said she was not proud of her record, was working to improve, and wanted to talk about important issues other than her driving record. The Noem campaign and Republicans now need to move on. Quit talki...
Madville Times - Tue 6:07 a.m. - 2 clicks
...at least as many as it takes to fix a power outage at Dakota State University. ;-) Power was out all over campus when I biked through 15 minutes ago. I'm betting too many kids brought fridges to the dorms. But hey! You kids weren't going to study this fine summer afternoon, were you? Head for the beach , then enjoy a nice air-conditioned sandwich at Mochavino ! I hear they have student ...
Madville Times - Mon 2:09 p.m.
That didn't take long: You can view the full Wanted poster for speed demon Congressional candidate Kristi Noem on the South Dakota Democrats' newest website, Kristi Above the Law . The poster includes links to the oodles of bad press Noem has received for her six failures to appear in court and two arrest warrants , not to mention the $2100 in traffic fines she's paid. Print and share you...
Madville Times - Mon 8:43 a.m. - 6 clicks
Lake County just can't get a clean break on unemployment figures this summer. We managed to add 20 jobs in July. Alas, we saw 30 people enter the local labor force, meaning a net increase in unemployment of ten people. We now stand at 5.0%, up 0.1 percentage points from June. July roughed up everyone in the neighborhood: every county adjoining Lake also saw an uptick in unemployment: Brookings:...
Madville Times - Mon 7:06 a.m. - 7 clicks
I'm still not jumping up and down to wage casino wars with Iowa . Yet I note with interest a letter from State Senator Gene Abdallah , Republican from District 10, essentially endorsing the position of Democratic gubernatorial candidate and fellow State Senator Scott Heidepriem that South Dakota needs to address the Larchwood casino issue. Senator Abdallah's critique still relies too much on ...
Madville Times - Mon 6:46 a.m. - 10 clicks
On July 20, City Commissioner Nick Abraham asked the Lake Area Improvement Corporation to submit a detailed budget to support its request for continued taxpayer funding to the tune of $240,000. LAIC exec Dwaine Chapel, whose salary eats up $100,000, agreed to submit said budget. Six meetings later , the LAIC budget still hasn't popped up in the city commission agenda packet or minutes. Funny...
Madville Times - Mon 6:46 a.m.
When one enters the military, one loses most of the freedoms and rights that civilians enjoy. On some occasions, one has the right to dissent, but needs to be damned careful about what is said and how it is said. Officers do not have the right to criticize or express low opinions of Congress, the President, or any other member of their command. Gen. McChrystal is a case in point....
Northern Valley Beacon - Sun 9:07 p.m.
Sunset burning through far clouds, windy August evening, where 230th turns to gravel north of Colman, South Dakota. ...
Madville Times - Sun 7:28 p.m. - 10 clicks
The latest Madville Times poll finds a majority of you gentle readers agreeing with me on the use of Peter Norbeck's "Valhalla" cabin in the Black Hills. I asked you " Should Game Fish and Parks open the Peter Norbeck/"Valhalla" cabin for rental to the general public? " The results: Yes: 88 (66%) No: 46 (34%) Norbeck's cabin is a remarkable public asset, built by a remarkable South Dakotan. N...
Madville Times - Sun 7:05 a.m. - 12 clicks
I think Pastor Boese is harder on the hypocrisy of Kristi Noem and her "values" supporters than I am: If this were Rep. Herseth all the “Patriot-Ayatollah Pastor-Priests of the Civil Religion” would be heating the tar and plucking the chickens…preaching sermons about the slippery slope of running stop signs=a form of abortion. However the shoe is on the other foot: it is Noem is running th...
Madville Times - Sun 5:41 a.m. - 15 clicks
Hey, I'm the only blog in the state giving Lori Stacey headlines , and this is the thanks I get? Where's the love? Here's a sure sign Lori Stacey's Constitution Party campaign for Secretary of State is going nowhere. When she could be campaigning hard, promoting sensible ideas for good government, and establishing her credibility so voters might actually consider entrusting her with managi...
Madville Times - Sat 8:23 a.m.
Here's one more small way in which the eminent domain with which TransCanada threatens landowners is wholly unfair. Mother Jones posts a redacted PDF version of a letter TransCanada sent to a Central City, Nebraska, landowner making the final dollar offer for easements for the Keystone XL pipeline. We don't get to see the dollar figure... and neither will the judge if TransCanada goes to cou...
Madville Times - Sat 6:42 a.m.
With TransCanada piping Alberta tar sands oil across our fair prairie (and pushing to pump more ), you might be inclined to take some economic action to help save Canada from its very dirty export. But the average citizen can't boycott TransCanada or Enbridge or any other shipper of tar sands oil. Our main point of contact with the oil industry is the gas station. TransCanada and Enbridge...
Madville Times - Sat 6:10 a.m.
So Kristi Noem does 94 on the Interstate . Well, at least we finally understand why her hair looks like that. Kristi could become the new Ole and Lena. I'm feeling a whole humor sub-genre coming on. (I will acknowledge, however, that there's a strong argument to be made that there's nothing funny about Noem's reckless, unapologetic endangerment of her fellow South Dakotans.) ...
Madville Times - Fri 5:09 p.m. - 11 clicks
Monday, August 24, 1970, 3:42 a.m. I was trying to sleep in my cabin in a pine forest along the Wisconsin River between Spring Green and Lone Rock. This is where I went on most weekends to get away from weekday worries, devote attention to practicing forestry and enjoying nature, and try to find some peace in a very turbulent time to write and work. We were spending an extended ...
Northern Valley Beacon - Aug 23 - 3 clicks
Which set will you vote for? That's Noem on the left and Herseth Sandlin on the right. If you're really undecided this ought to help. If you're into reading leg language. I think. This photo gives me some pangs. It was shot by a Melini Mara on assignment with the Washington Post, and is part of the photo gallery from the Mama Grizzly-Palinesque story that is giv...
Northern Valley Beacon - Aug 23 - 5 clicks
Spearfish writer Lorraine Collins is a regular contributor to the Black Hills Pioneer newspaper, and we're delighted that she shares her column with us for Black Hills Monitor . She's touched upon a wide range of topics, and this time she writes about "Taking America Back.....to what?" You may contact Lorraine at collins1@rushmore.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~...
Black Hills Monitor - Aug 23
My printer cartridges went dry in the middle of a job I was trying to get in the mail on time. I rushed out the door to go to Target, where I buy cartridges. My spouse's car was pulled in behind mine on the driveway, so I took it rather than jockey cars around. No big deal. I rushed from the parking lot and headed for the door to Target. Just as I reached the ...
Northern Valley Beacon - Aug 23
During the 2008 election campaign, I did a couple of posts about the racial comments and attitudes I encountered about Barack Obama, making special note of the fact that many came from Democrats. A black executive I know commented that if we elected a black president, long suppressed racial hatreds, resentments, and prejudices would erupt like dandelions after a spring rain. ...
Northern Valley Beacon - Aug 16
The Dakota Day , which is among the few cerebral blog sites originating in South Dakota, has a series of articles about an Afghanistan veteran soldier who is home on leave. The soldier expresses his attitudes and thoughts on Facebook with some vicious derogation of the President and minorities, which The Dakota Day reproduces in a sanitized version . Follow up articles at The Dakota...
Northern Valley Beacon - Aug 13 - 2 clicks
Writer Lorraine Collins of Spearfish offers her perspective on recent developments at Black Hills State University and the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology regarding their new status in the NCAA. Her articles are published in the Black Hills Pioneer, and we thank her for allowing us to post them on Black Hills Monitor. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not too long ago I was d...
Black Hills Monitor - Aug 4
Bob Mercer was about the first news person in South Dakota to note that Caterpillar, Inc., will have an engineering and design center up and running in Rapid City by October. This is probably some of the most important news for the state since the National Science Foundation selected the Homestake Goldmine for the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory. The story is stil...
Northern Valley Beacon - Aug 4
It is just starting of course, but you might want to click on the initial posts, the Winner Window Buildings Album, and the Winner-related LINKS. Just a hint of what is coming. You can get to the blog by clicking on the Window on Winner menu option above. Might not be interesting to those outside of Winner, SD 57580, but......
Dakota Today - Aug 3
Dear wife and I have been married for about 41 years. She got the recipe for oven "barbecued" pork chops from my mother in the year before we got married. So, wife has been making these pork chops for about 42 years. She shared it with a young co-worker who was really happy when they turned out nearly as good......
Dakota Today - Jul 31
Those of us in South Dakota who have attended any of the meetings with Keystone pipeline and PUC or State Department have heard promises of the rapid response of that company to any, as they say, very unlikely leaks. In the past few days, another Canadian pipeline company that has made the same kind of promises has a line that......
Dakota Today - Jul 29 - 4 clicks
The AP carried stories a few weeks ago on how the floundering around in the Gulf oil spew has thrown many Americans into a state of doubt. They have lost faith in the nation's resourceful ability to meet challenges with new ideas and prodigious efforts to make things work. I would have to count myself among them. I frankly am at a loss at the lack of decisive effort to get on top...
Northern Valley Beacon - Jul 23
Cenk Uygur (yeah, that's his name) states the case as well as it can be stated. If you have the courage, read it here. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cenk-uygur/why-does-fox-news-h ...
Northern Valley Beacon - Jul 22
CNN did some fact-checking in the firing of Shirley Sherrod for her alleged admission that she made a decision about helping a white farmer on a racial basis. That, of course, turned out not to be true. What was true is that the video clip which provided the basis for her firing was an exercise in subreption. Someone had lifted a portion of the tape that totally misrepresented ...
Northern Valley Beacon - Jul 22
STATES FAIL TO REPORT DISCIPLINED CAREGIVERS By Tracy Weber & Charles Ornstein - ProPublica , 19 July 2010 Hundreds of state agencies nationwide have never told the federal government about health professionals they disciplined, undermining a central database meant to weed out dangerous caregivers. The federal databas...
Black Hills Monitor - Jul 21
Spearfish writer Lorraine Collins is a regular contributor to the Black Hills Pioneer newspaper, and we're delighted that she shares her column with us for Black Hills Monitor . She's touched upon a wide range of topics, and this time she opines on the fine art of high-tech information about road construction. Here's her latest offering. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My brother-...
Black Hills Monitor - Jul 20
Recently, the Rapid City Journal blog "Mt. Blogmore" has been giving Shad Olson attention. Olson appears to me to be a wingnut right loon who warrants next to zero attention. His bit of notoriety resulted because he left KOTA-TV after appearing at a "TEA Party" meeting. Anyway, in the midst of the discussion, Bill Dithmer posted a journalistic code of......
Dakota Today - Jul 20
"News" lately on the national media we see has seemed to be a little less than full of newsworthy news. Lebron whatever has filled news. More celebrity crap which apparently also suggests that the BB player Miller from SD, may be getting $5 Million for playing basketball for five years. I guess it should not be much of a surprise......
Dakota Today - Jul 11 - 5 clicks
After 126 years, Dana College in Blair, Nebraska, will close down this month, it was announced Wednesday. Five hundred students, about 40 faculty, and dozens of staff members abruptly found out that they won't have classes or jobs after this month. In a move that says much about the priorities that govern higher education, Midland Lutheran in Fremont, Neb., offered Dana's 18 head coach...
Northern Valley Beacon - Jul 6
Suicide is painless, It brings on many changes, And I can take or leave it if I please (Theme song from MASH) The Week summarizes a comment about those suicides in China and what motivates them (We have the same problem on our South Dakota reservations and in our military): There’s plenty of blame to go around for the spate of suicides at Foxc...
Northern Valley Beacon - Jun 30
A volcano in Iceland created the conditions. It let loose plumes of ash, and aircraft were grounded. Gen. Stanley McChrystal had to get from Paris to Berlin, but nothing was flying. So, he got on a bus with his staff and a reporter from Rolling Stone . And cases of Bud Light Lime (which tastes like a Lifesaver. He could have been fired for bad taste.). They a...
Northern Valley Beacon - Jun 29
