South Dakota is such a wonderful state that millions of visitors come every year to see it for themselves. And who can blame them? There’s something here for everyone in all seasons of the year.
I made my living in our state’s largest industry—agriculture. But because agriculture can be so up and down, it’s important that we have other thriving economic sectors. Variety helps keep South Dakota stable and growing—and our tourism industry is very helpful in that regard.
The 2025 Black Hills Forest District mountain lion season came to an end April 30. The season runs from Dec. 26 through April 30. Its a little confusing because Dec. 26 is 2024 and the season runs into 2025 and will start up again in 2025 on Dec. 26. Does that make sense?
Greetings! In last week’s article we ended with “to be continued.” I see the Hill City Prevailer didn’t pick that article, so let’s get caught up. The “S” in the late Gov. George S. Mickelson’s name stands for “Speaker.” His father, George Sr., was Speaker of the House of Representatives. The late George Jr., went on to also become Speaker of the House, as did his son G. Mark Mickelson. The “G” stands for “George” but he goes by Mark and he was Speaker of the House during my (and Sen. Howard’s) first two years in the legislature.
Greetings! Spring has sprung with green grass growing, needing mowing, robins, geese, turkeys and deer everywhere. One other sure sign, up where we live (about a mile high), is when the marmots come out of hibernation. Some people call them woodchucks or squealing pigs because they make this unique squealing sound.
Our life is a constant whirlwind. When people ask me what I do in my free time, or what I’m doing this weekend, my typical response is “chasing kids.”
It’s true. We chase kids from one event to the next, from one season to the next. It can be a lot. It gets to be pretty exhausting at times. But it’s extremely rewarding and the truth is, I wouldn’t trade it.
My dad used to say out of all of his children, I was the one that called it like I saw it. It makes me unpopular at times, but even as a child I wanted things to be “fair.”
I also believe in supporting small communities and buying local whenever possible. It’s why I stayed out of big box stores for over a decade.
But here in Pennington County, it’s getting flat out harder to live. As I am about to pay my property taxes I see lots of numbers on my bill. Some are hard to swallow.
He is risen! He is risen indeed! Happy belated Easter. Here in District 30 we have two world famous monuments. No, not the civic center nor the hospital —drum roll—I guess everyone knows we have Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse. One of the most gratifying religious events in the Black Hills is the Easter Sunrise Service at Mount Rushmore.
Now that the legislative session is in the rearview mirror, I’m focused on looking forward and unlocking new opportunities for South Dakota. We had a historic 100th legislative session, and we accomplished a lot for the people of South Dakota—but there’s more work to do!
Greetings! Let’s talk property taxes, shall we? First off, let’s put things in the proper perspective. The state of South Dakota receives zero dollars from property taxes. All of our property taxes are collected by the county and dispersed to the different tax entities within the county. The state is funded by sales tax, federal monies, unclaimed property, etc., not property taxes.
