Commentary

COMMENTARY
Cattle near Stoneville, South Dakota, on July 21, 2021. (USDA Photo by Lance Cheung)

On ag pollution, state’s carrot doesn’t work and the stick is a twig

BY: - February 16, 2023

Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources (DANR) Secretary Hunter Roberts confirmed what long has been known about South Dakota during a Jan. 19 briefing before a legislative committee. South Dakota gives only lip service to controlling agricultural pollution. In a broad discussion, Roberts told the House Ag and Natural Resources committee that financial efforts to […]

COMMENTARY
(Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Salivating over a surplus: Tax cut proposals are enticing, but shortsighted

BY: - February 11, 2023

Most national news about the economy seems to be filled with worries about whether or not the nation is heading for a recession. In South Dakota, we’re worried about what to do with this avalanche of tax revenue. In this state, tax revenue projections are traditionally conservative. Lately, they have also been wildly inaccurate. In […]

COMMENTARY
A Sioux Falls election polling place on the morning of Nov. 8, 2022. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Medicaid work requirement would undermine election, threaten cancer care

BY: - February 6, 2023

Just a few short months ago, South Dakotans voted, by a wide margin, to provide access to affordable health care. They voted to help thousands of fellow South Dakotans stuck in the coverage gap, and they voted to prevent the Legislature from adding additional burdens to that access. Before Medicaid expansion is even implemented, politicians […]

COMMENTARY
The Senate floor in the South Dakota Capitol at Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Bill on public comments at meetings doesn’t go far enough

BY: - February 5, 2023

Whenever the topic is citizens being mistreated by their local government, it’s not uncommon to hear the phrase, “There oughta be a law.” Well, if you’ve been mistreated by a local government entity and your friend is a member of the state House of Representatives, a new law is what you’re going to get. That’s […]

COMMENTARY
(Getty Images)

New clean energy incentives are an opportunity South Dakotans can’t afford to miss

BY: - February 2, 2023

South Dakota households could save thousands of dollars on energy costs and tax payments, thanks to new programs from last year’s federal climate law. The first of those incentives — tax credits on residential clean energy, energy efficiency upgrades and electric vehicles — launched last month. With programs from the climate law that passed last […]

COMMENTARY
State Rep. Phil Jensen, R-Rapid City, on the House floor during the 2023 legislative session. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Judging by some bills, South Dakota must have no real problems left to solve

BY: - February 2, 2023

Everything is OK in South Dakota. We’ve taken care of all our problems, big and small. We’re on the right track and no one can stop us now. Cynics who read the above paragraph and don’t believe it should direct their attention to the Jan. 25 meeting of the House State Affairs Committee. During that […]

COMMENTARY
(Getty Images)

Treating health care as a commodity has not driven costs lower

BY: - January 29, 2023

Assuring effective health care to a population is a challenge for every society. As care options become more complex — and expensive — the challenges increase. In the U.S. both the organization and the financing of health care are perennial issues in public discussions, political campaigns and among social policy researchers. Basically there are two […]

COMMENTARY
The House of Representatives Chamber of the South Dakota state Capitol building in Pierre. (Getty Images)

Term limits lead to legislative whack-a-mole

BY: - January 26, 2023

In the 1990s, term limits were a hot topic in a variety of states, including South Dakota. In 1992, voters here endorsed a constitutional amendment that would limit U.S. senators to two consecutive six-year terms, U.S. representatives to six consecutive two-year terms, state constitutional officers to two four-year terms and state legislators to four consecutive […]

COMMENTARY
A person climbs the stairs of the South Dakota Capitol. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Several early bills show some legislators could use a dose of common sense

BY: - January 22, 2023

It puzzles me why some South Dakota legislators, who depend on voters for their jobs, are so afraid of their constituents. And why isn’t common sense a legislative job requirement? Oh, right. Voters establish the job criteria. Maybe that is why some legislators are petrified. If they voted the legislator into office, what might they […]

COMMENTARY
Rep. Fred Deutsch, R-Florence, testifies before the South Dakota House State Affairs Committee during the 2023 legislative session. (Joshua Haiar/SD Searchlight)

Lawmakers rightly kill anti-democracy bill for many of the wrong reasons

BY: - January 20, 2023

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 […]

COMMENTARY
Members of the Wambli Ska Society perform a Lakota drum song at a ceremony on Sept. 13, 2022, in Pierre to celebrate the launch of a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons liaison within the South Dakota Attorney General's Office. (Courtesy of Attorney General's Office)

Leaders needed to reconcile the races in South Dakota

BY: - January 16, 2023

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 […]

COMMENTARY
A sunrise silhouette of the entrance to the Wounded Knee Massacre memorial in South Dakota. (Getty Images)

Success brings Rounds an opportunity on Wounded Knee medals

BY: - January 13, 2023

Senator Mike Rounds deserves praise for his recent repeal of laws that discriminated against Native Americans. There’s a related issue he should consider next: the medals awarded for the Wounded Knee Massacre. Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota, has momentum on Native American legislation from the passage of his bill that wiped away 11 egregious […]