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Lawmakers rightly kill anti-democracy bill for many of the wrong reasons
Sometimes lawmakers do the right thing, but for the wrong reasons. A case in point would be the defeat of House Joint Resolution 5001 early Friday morning by the House State Affairs Committee. HJR 5001, sponsored by Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, would require that backers of a defeated constitutional amendment wait one general election cycle […]
Leaders needed to reconcile the races in South Dakota
In December of 1989, Gov. George Mickelson wrote to Lakota Times publisher Tim Giago asking for his help writing a proclamation that would declare a year of reconciliation between the races in South Dakota. In the letter, Mickelson noted that racial harmony in the nation had been helped along by the work of Martin Luther […]
Two-and-a-half party system operating in Legislature
The first week of the legislative session is feast and famine for Capitol reporters. The famine is in the mornings when committees are supposed to meet. In that first week, some of them won’t meet at all. Others will meet to “organize.” Few, if any, will make any news that first week. The feast is […]
Don’t let party loyalty trump voting for competent candidates
There will be some new faces in Pierre this month as legislative and executive oaths are administered. One face, however, will be familiar. Marty Jackley will return to serve as attorney general. Jackley’s previous time in the office was highlighted by competence and integrity, two qualities missing during the tenure of his successor, Jason Ravnsborg. […]
Democrats deserve blame for one-party rule
The South Dakota legislative session is about two weeks away and it should be an interesting one as it offers impressive dueling tax cut plans. Gov. Kristi Noem wants to cut the state sales tax on food, while a group of Republican legislators have an idea for cutting property taxes. There is some concern about […]